Volume 45, Issue 1, September 24, 2014

el

estoque MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL elestoque.org

OUR

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 Issue I, Volume XLV

STATE EMERGENCY OF

25 SPECIAL REPORT

Preparing mentally and physically for the next quake 9 NEWS Unpacking teacher tenure 16 OPINION DECA/FBLA controversy fairly dealt 18 ENTERTAINMENT What to expect for fall leisure 34 SPORTS PE creditable outside sports

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NEWS

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The business plan

Changes to DECA and FBLA membership leave many confused

We are equals Out of the blue

The truth of tenure Tenure uncovered

OPINION

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Tenure on trial

Teacher tenure is only a band-aid for a much greater problem

A&E

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Fall preview

What to look for this autumn

I’m in the band(s)

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The next quake

15 16

From our backyard

22

Ask a senior

Back to buisness

23

My (un) happy left foot

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Don’t shake off these necessities Monta Vista Market’s healthy impact should be preserved

After the law, that is

Sophomore’s experience in two bands Upperclassmen relieve freshman worries

Driving stick is a dying art form

Why every politician should be like Rob Ford Because we all could use a little more honesty

Letter from the editors T he title for this issue’s st aff editor ial on teacher tenure is accompanied by a provo cative opening: “T his is a long stor y about a complicated issue that’s impor t ant — so read it.”

Not many st udent s are enthralled by the topic of teacher tenure. Not many st udent s even k now what it is. Or what a CTSO is. Or why we should care about A B 300. So why are we spending an entire issue repor ting on topics that our readers show limited interest in?

T he shor t answer is that we should all care a bit more about these issues.

Because tenure helps explain why your favor ite teacher was out of a job last year. Because F BL A and DECA’s st at us 2

as CTSOs is the reason why your f r iend can’t join a business club this year. Because A B 300 repor ted that 14 out of 14 M V HS buildings may not be ready for a major ear thquake.

But of course, these cont roversial issues have many sides. Tenure keeps veteran st aff on campus. T he recent changes to business clubs could improve per formances in upcoming competitions. A nd according to the F UHSD Direc tor of Facilities, our 14 unsafe buildings have all been upgraded recently.

So what’s really going on here? Is teacher tenure necessar y? W hat’s the motivation behind these new business club r ules? Is M V HS ready for a quake?

W hile the desire to answer these t y pes of questions is the foundation for all jour nalism, the answers are not easy to come by. In all honest y, there are not absolute answers to these complicated issues. T his complex it y is compounded by the fac t that so many of our st udent s and st aff share differ ing opinions on these issues.

A s many of our st aff w r iters found out this cycle, it’s hard to deliver the t r uth when sources’ beliefs conf lic t. It’s even harder when numbers don’t add up, testimonies don’t match and repor t s don’t make sense. We want desperately to find the t r uth, but with such complicated issues, there just isn’t a clean line EL ESTOQUE

Editors-in-Chief: Nathan Desai, Daniel Fernandez Managing Editors: Yifei Wu, Kathleen Yuan Copy Editors: Jady Wei, Varsha Venkat Webmaster:

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Varsha Venkat

News Editors: Elia Chen, Maya Murthy Sports Editors: Alina Abidi, Amol Pande Entertainment Editors: Christine Liang, Sarah Ramos Opinion Editor: Gabriella Monico Special Report Editors: Kristin Chang, Harini Shyamsundar

Design and Graphics Editor: Rhonda Mak Business Editor: Claire Lu

SPECIAL REPORT

25 30

Without warning Recounts of earthquakes

Are we ready?

Reviewing our earthquake safety

bet ween r ight and w rong. T hese issues affec t each of us differently and it’s impossible to capt ure ever yone’s exper iences or beliefs. We only have a few dozen pages each issue and while we do our best to include as much as we can, we cannot f ully explain these problems, their implications, or their solutions.

However, the int r icacy of these problems shouldn’t deter us f rom pursuing complex stor ies. It may be a hassle to submit open records request s, follow a paper t rail and digest complex legislat ure, but it’s nonetheless impor t ant.

T his isn’t to say that we go out of our way to make topics more complicated or cont roversial than they need to be. Nor do we go after these stor ies to bolster por t folios, win awards or have something unique to include in a college esSEPTEMBER 24, 2014

SPORTS

33 34 36 38 30

Traditions

While teams change each year, traditions remain the same

Missing the point

PE credits from sports outside of school

Pass it on

Living up to prior seasons’ results

All nine innings

Rookie of the year

What’s in your bag?

Cross country runner shares the contents of his track bag

say. We go after these stor ies because we believe that you deser ve answers and that on o ccasion you should your beliefs challenged.

We’ve t aken upon ourselves the responsibilit y to repor t what you don’t k now. It’s our job to answer your questions, even the questions you never k new you had. W hether that’s telling you why a cross count r y r unner keeps toilet paper in his bag or repor ting on the safet y of the campus’ buildings, our job is to investigate, repor t and publish week after week after week for the rest of this year.

Unfor t unately, we’re never going to answer all of your questions, or have the oppor t unit y to uncover ever ything about an issue. T here simply isn’t enough time to record and inter pret the

Staff Writers: Rabina Bisht, Ashmita Chakraborty, Brandon Chin, Aditi Desai, Brian Fan, Kalpana Gopalkrishnan, Pranav Iyer, Rahul Iyer, Pranav Jandhyala, Trisha Kholiya, Elliot Ki, Justin Kim, Anjana Melvin, Sanjana Murthy, Vishal Nagar, Colin Ni, Neha Patchipala, Aditya Pimplaskar, Avni Prasad, Pranav Parthasarathy, Malini Ramaiyer Vanessa Qin, Caitlyn Tjong, Dylan Tsai, Sharon Tung, Anushka Tyagi, Sarah Weinberg, Lydia Seo, Joshua Tsuei, Emily Zhao Mingjie Zhong Adviser: Michelle Balmeo Credits Some images in this publication were taken from the stock photography website sxc.hu.

Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. The staff seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the MVHS community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately, and we will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. Letters of any length should be submitted via email or mail. They may be edited for length or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion. We also reserve the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication.

breadth of exper iences that each st udent on our campus has. We cannot predic t how an event affec t s each st udent on our campus; our only hope is to t r y and offer a few perspec tives.

Because of this breadth we’re going to make er rors, and you may even think that we covered event s or topics unfairly.

T hat’s fine. We’re not infallible.

But each month when you pick up our maga zine we hope you set it dow n having lear ned something. We hope that our work exposes you to new ideas, invites meaning f ul dialogue about these import ant topics and offers a perspec tive different f rom your ow n.

d.fernandez@elestoque.org | n.desai@elestoque.org

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Through federal support of career and technical educaNEWS tion, provided through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-270), career and technical student organizations are permitted to receive financial support for activities at the state and local levels that will help improve student learning and assist students in achieving their career goals. Many

The Business Plan New CTSO rule change affects business clubs,

BY ELIA CHEN, ADITI DESAI AND VISHALRATHNA NAGAR

of the details of how CTSO activities may be supported are determined by state and local policies. The term “cocurrricular� refers to the relevance of your program to the educational curriculum. This means that your program must coordinate with and enhance the delivery of the state or local curriculum. It must be relevant to improved teaching and higher levels of student performance in career and technical education, and you must be able to prove this.

You will be required to report on your success using meaAccording to the CTSO Guide to Accessing Federal Perkins Funds, 2008 SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

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ast year when junior Julianna Liu first joined FBLA, she did not know what to expect. She had heard some things from her friends who were involved, but at the time, she believed that she was not ready to commit both her time and energy.

However, after participating in a few conferences, studying with her friends on a bus at 4 a.m., and consoling team members after losses at conferences, she began to devote more time and attention, eventually realizing that FBLA was more than just an organization or a club.

It was a family.

When she received the email on Aug. 24 notifying her that she could no longer be a part of FBLA, she was heartbroken.

“It was like losing a family,” she said. “It felt like I was disowned.”

Both clubs have been hurt by the rule change. DECA has lost 30-40 award winning members, and FBLA has lost 20-30 competitively successful members.

aa well as annual fees to the national DECA and FBLA organizations. Previously, DECA’s membership fee was $50 and FBLA’s was $35.

“We spend a lot of money making the membership experience better,” a DECA officer, who spoke to El Estoque on the condition that he not be named, said. “It all gets reinvested into the members.”

Although members from DECA and FBLA had always been CTSO’s and had been receiving funding from the Carl D. Perkins Fund for three to four years, they had not been following the rules. According to

Vice President of Operations at Silicon Valley, DECA and FBLA have been CTSOs since 2006, and have been receiving funding since 2008.

The Carl D. Perkins Act, which was passed in 2006, aims to increase interest in career technical course and provides approximately $1 billion in funding across the 50 states. According to the CTSO Guide to Accessing Federal Perkins Funds, to receive funding, a CTSO program must “coordinate and enhance the delivery of the state curriculum,” and schools must report their annual progress to the government.

In previous years, however, business department chair Carl Schmidt IT WAS LIKE LOSING A FAM- had reported that DECA and FBLA members were all in business classes Core of the Issue ILY. IT FELT LIKE I WAS DISin order to receive and collect fundAccording to Principal April Scott, the OWNED. ing. Despite the funding from the rule change was a matter of stricter adherjunior Julianna Liu state, DECA and FBLA are still raisence to the definition of a Career and Techniing prices this year. Fees for national cal Student Organization. A CTSO is defined level competitions are expected to as an organization in which “individuals are enrolled in a career and technical education Krithika Rao, Vice President of Operations rise about 100 dollars this year because acat Silicon Valley, DECA and FBLA have been cording to Schmidt, money from the Carl D. program.”

“It was tightening up that definition of a CTSOs since 2006 and have been receiving Perkins fund allocated to DECA and FBLA only cover about 1-2 percent of each organiCTSO, aligning it to that course of study and funding since 2008.

“We spend a lot of money making the zation’s costs. saying that ‘to be in one organization, you The anonymous DECA officer believes must be in an organization that’s tied to the membership experience better,” an anonymous senior DECA officer said.

“It all gets that part of the reason for the change is to course of study,” Scott said. reinvested into the members.” make the business program more legitimate.

After the California AB 1575 bill passed Although DECA and FBLA had always By involving DECA and FBLA students in in August 2012, DECA and FBLA, along been CTSO’s and had been receiving fund- business classes, the business clubs may be with other clubs, could no longer receive funding from membership dues, which were ing from the Carl D. Perkins Fund for three able to focus more on preparing students for to four years now, they had not been fol- DECA and FBLA competitions. used to cover the organizational aspects, lowing the rules. According to Krithika Rao, “[With this rule change] the business such as the printing and event-related costs, classes are forced to grow and become more of a legitimate four-year program,” he said.

According to the officer, some other schools in the country already have business courses geared primarily toward DECA competitions, so he believes that Schmidt wants to equalize the playing field.

Rao also believes that Schmidt may have also wanted to boost DECA and FBLA’s competitive results. Last year, DECA fell from first to second place and FBLA fell from second to seventh place.

“Its not just money, money is part of the PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF SCOTT LEE. issue,” Rao said. “[Schmidt] wants to make sure that every student in Monta Vista FBLA MEMBERS TAKE A GROUP PHOTO at the ontario DECA is serious about doing competitions.

convention in 2014. FBLA PREDICTS THAT IT WILL LOSE AROUND 20-30 MEMBERS due to the rule change.

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Schmidt, however, believes that the rule change was a matter of following the CTSO rule, rather than helping DECA and FBLA perform better at competitions.

enrollment will swell to between 300 and 400 students, boosting the clubs’ membership counts, and making the students better competitors Mixed opinions of the rule “In an ideal world ... maybe The new membership rule has sidelined three-fourths of a business several students. Part of this issue is due to class’ members are avid comthe lack of communication. Although mem- petitors, and they’re all working bers from DECA were informed two weeks really hard to get that A, which before the start of school, FBLA members will in turn make them better were informed about the rule change a week competitors,” he said. after school started. It was due to the lack of However, although the rule communication that members from both or- may benefit clubs in the long ganizations were unable to receive a sched- run, he acknowledges that the ule change. rule change may hurt DECA and According to Scott, students were only FBLA’s competitive chanes this moved into a business class if their schedules year. permitted them to do so. “[Schmidt] wants to be num“The only accommodation would be ber one in the world on a differ[for a schedule that] requires zero schedule ent timeframe,” the DECA ofchanges, for example, if they have a hole...we ficer said. “[The club wants] to are not going to have it affect another elec- be number one in the world this tive program,” Scott said. year.”

Although members from both sides had Due to clubs’ concern for to make changes to their schedules, the rule their competitive success this has severely affected students, preventing year, groups of students and ofmany from competing for their organization. ficers from both business clubs In an online survey of 399 students, 76 have met with Schmidt and percent of students believe that the new Scott regarding exceptions to change is not needed. Although Liu under- the rule. FBLA members Liu and stands the reasons for the rule, she would junior Radhika Dhomse started like to see more exceptions made. a petition calling for more ex“We feel this year should be more of a ceptions to the rule and asking transition year, but the exceptions are not as for explanations from adminisinclusive as we would have wanted tration and Schmidt. [them] to be,” Liu said.

So far, some exceptions have been made although they will only last for this year.

Looking Ahead However, Liu believes that further excepIn the long run, the DECA officer believes tions could be made if more members would that the rule change will benefit DECA and speak out against the rule.

FBLA since he predicts that business class “A lot of people think this is unfair... I know that there are a lot of people that want these changes to be made, trisha kholiya i el estoque but they didn’t want to take a stand for it,” Liu said. They just lost hope.”

New business classes, as of now, will not be created in order to accommodate students who want to add a class due to the short-term notice and the fact that MVHS can only have 418 sections, so adding new business classes would mean cutting down on classes in other departments.

Scott believes that most of the confusion stemming from the rule FORMER AND CURRENT change was due to the lack of communicaDECA MEMBERS REUNITE tion between the clubs and their members.

AT THE COMPETITIONS FAIR In order to prevent this in the future, adminON SEPT. 6. SOME former istration and the clubs will make communication a priority. members believe that the “It’s going to be over and over and over in

EXCEPTIONS TO THE

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TAKE a business class

2

TAKE a computer science class

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Principles of Business, Principles of Marketing, International Business, Law, Money & Banking

Required to have been enrolled in Principles of Business before

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Be a senior

4

Attend BUSINESS BOOT CAMP

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rule change was unfair.

RULE

Must have previously participated in DECA and FBLA competitions

Business Boot Camp counselors and freshmen, who have attended Business Boot Camp, do not have to take a business class inorder to join DECA.

take a cte multimedia class Required to have been enrolled in Principles of Business before

every single mode of communication that we can think about, and we’re just going to lay it out very clearly,” Scott said.

According to Scott, the information will be disseminated through the FBLA and DECA websites and through informational flyers that will be handed out to students.

In addition, Scott believes that the chaos and confusion due to the rule change will reduce in the coming time. She compares it to a time when FUHSD had to limit the number of science classes a student could take at one time due to budget cuts. After the rule change, Scott made sure to continuously inform all parents and students. “[We] said it a thousand times,” Scott said. “[We] said it in every single way you could say it. Nobody got caught off guard.”

Scott believes that in the future, the controversy will fade away.

“We are walking into unknown territory,” she said. “This year is the year that [DECA and FBLA] are trying to be strict, and it’s the rockiest year,” Scott said. “[However], I’ve dealt with these types of turmoils. This will die down.” e.chen@elestoque.org | a.desai@elestoque.org v.nagar@elestoque.org

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We are equals The argument for feminism and why it matters

S

ometime over this summer, the word or more jobs in STEM fields is for you to lose feminist at our school became a slur. In them. between the Facebook posts, the angry I am a feminist. comments, the articles sent back and forth, a woman looking for equal pay and some representation in her governing body became something ridiculous, ludicrous, obscene.

So, I’m just going to come out and of victims are of men see say it right now. feminism as I am a feminist. under 18 Cue angry comments. Cue lights, negative cameras and the self-righteous fury of people who have never been handed a The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network Huffington Post survey can of pepper spray, or taught in 9th grade defense how to piss on a rapist in in in order to create the amount of shock needed to try and escape.

Feminism (noun): the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic rape victims are college-aged equality to men. women were That’s it. Nothing more, and more MALE importantly nothing less than equality.

RAPED And yet, say the word, identify The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network One in Four USA yourself as a feminist and risk the In 2013, among full-time, shock and outrage of 42 percent, of men who see feminism as something year-round workers, women negative. 42 percent of men who see you as a man-hater. Say the word, were paid 78 percent of what and watch as a group of rational boys men were paid. erupt in a cacophony of “male rights” and incidents where a man is taken advantage of by a system they say is The American Association of University Women geared against them.

In short, when they are treated, for once, like a woman.

Feminism is not about bringing men down, but rather boosting women to the point where men who have been raped won’t feel OUT OF THE BLUE ashamed, won’t feel “girly” when they try and report their sexual assault. According to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, Today, right at this moment, there’s a one in 10 of reported rape victims are men, but talk to a guy and the only victim he’ll girl at Columbia University carrying a dorm admit to possibly being is of a girl who mattress everywhere she goes. It’s standard “regrets” having sex with him and accuses issue — blue and cheaply made, one that probably doesn’t keep the sheets on very him of rape.

The mistake manypeople make is well. It’s also where she was raped by a assuming that the entirety of human rights fellow student, and its a tangible symbol for was parceled out at the beginning of the crushing burden carried by girls three, creation, and that for me to gain equal pay four years older than me who are violated

44% 42%

110 1 4

and then treated like yesterday’s trash by the system that was supposed to be on their side.

I was at Columbia a few months ago and I walked past a couple of the landmarks in the background of the pictures being circulated. I have a friend who applied there, another friend who would give anything to go there. I have a friend who goes there now.

And each of us four girls could have been her. Each one of us is her. Because living in a country where according to the One in Four organization 25 percent of college aged women are survivors, the odds of all of us making it to 30 without a story of sexual assault is lower than my chance at acceptance at any of these schools where we are so liable to violated.

I am a feminist because I have the radical view that when I leave high school, I should be able to go to a party and not have to bring my own lemonade because any drink that’s handed to me could be drugged with something used to coerce consent. I shouldn’t have to break the fingers of a man who touches me without permission in order to prove to the courts that I wasn’t simply playing coy.

I am a feminist because I have been taught each of those things by adults over the course of my life. For some reason I think that I am myself before I am a woman, and that maybe I should be treated accordingly with the respect I deserve.

It’s a funny thing when you realize the cards are stacked against you. When you look at the news and see stories where people of color are gunned down in the streets, and girls raped in between their sheets. It’s like a light switches on, and the stories that run across the bottom of the television screen become more than simple words, more than the lives of someone else, anyone else but you.

I am someone’s elder sister, someone’s daughter. I am someone’s friend, an acquaintance, a lab partner to call at two in the morning to confirm that the solution was indeed yellow-orange rather than orange-red.

I am someone, and that is why I am a feminist.

MAYA MURTHY

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m.murthy@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

W

NEWS

The

Myth MYSTERY Rumor

Truth of tenure O

BY Rahul Iyer AND MAYA MURTHY

n a humid spring afternoon, the sound of a bell jolted a male senior to consciousness. By closing the door, his teacher had limited air circulation and his fellow students had started to fall asleep in their seats. The student, who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of teacher backlash, also started to close his eyes. Angered by the audacity of the drowsy students, the teacher rang a bell next to the worst offenders, in an attempt to take back control of the classroom. As he shook his head in confusion, the tenured teacher reportedly started to yell at the class, impervious to consequences.

Situations like these have caused many to question teacher tenure, especially in the wake of the recent ruling of the Vergara vs. California case, which ruled California’s system of tenure unconstitutional.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

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NEWS anything to get rid of you,” Scott said. “That’s false. The hope is that tenured teachers, no matter how long they have tenure, are as devoted to education and to personal growth as they were when they first became tenured, that new teachers and veteran teachers have the same passion and commitment.”

Many view tenure as a many sided issue. This is likely due to eacher tenure is a form of due process, put in place to prevent the fickle nature of tenure, which protects academic freedom and administrators from firing educators without proper cause. questionable teachers alike.

“All it means, with permanent status, is that there is a “I want to be sure that what I do as as a teacher, assuming that process that needs to be followed before a teacher is let go,” co-site I am an ethical person, that I’m not going to be attacked for voicpresident of the Fremont Education Association of FUHSD Teaching my opinion on something in a way that might be interpreted by ers, and history teacher, Bonnie Belshe said. “So it’s not just ‘we someone as being threatening for whatever reason,” history teachdon’t like you, you’re gone.’” er Margaret Platt said. “In that way, the decision is a precarious, Tenure became more prominent in the early 1900s, in an attempt slippery slope. On the other hand, I recognize that there’s a bunch to protect teachers whose positions were subject to the political, of dead wood out there, teachers that aren’t doing their jobs, and racial or personal biases of school administrators. In addition, it they need to be gone.” serves to shield educators who choose to teach topics that may be Vergara vs. California controversial with school administration.

The opponents of teacher tenure recently struck a significant “I don’t want to feel like I can’t teach a controversial topic beblow against the system with their victory on June 10, when Judge cause administration or whoever doesn’t agree with me, and that Rolf Treu of the California Superior Court for the County of Los that would interfere with my job ability,” co-site president of the Angeles ruled teacher tenure in California to be unconstitutional.

Fremont Education Association of FUHSD Teachers and science This controversial decision has experienced significant backlash teacher Lora Lerner said. “I’m only gofrom many teachers. ing to be judged on what I should be “[The judge] did not follow any, quite judged, which is my teaching.” “[The judge] did not follow frankly, evidence to support that,” Belshe School administrators view tenure any, quite frankly, evidence said. “It’s an issue within a district.” in California as a commitment by the Treu ruled tenure unconstitutional on school to a teacher who has displayed to support that. It’s an issue the basis that the process was denying scholastic excellence as a probationary certain students the right to a high quality within a district.” educator. education, particularly those from low in“It’s a big decision for any school history teacher Bonnie Belshe come areas where poor teachers can have because once you become tenured, a large effect on ttheir students’ future. then you’re considered a permanent The California Teacher’s Association plans to appeal the deciemployee,” Principal April Scott said. “You really want to make sion, as it would result in the loss of job protection for all teachers sure that the people on that path are committed to education, care within the state. While teacher tenure is a polarizing issue, some about kids, [want] to grow personally, and have the same belief have argued for compromise rather than continued litigation. system as your organization.”

“Usually I’m not a compromiser, but I’d like to see something Despite the change in name, however, teacher tenure does not done where there’s compromise,” said Platt. “I think we need a guarantee permanence. process to be able to get rid of dead wood, but at the same time, “The misconception about tenure is that once you’re a tenured maintain the positive aspects of tenure, protecting the teacher in teacher, you will always be a tenured teacher, and nobody can do the classroom, that academic freedom. I thinks that’s a balanced,

In its technical definition

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Vergara California

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the resULT he California Superior Court ruled teacher tenure to be unconstitutional based on its alleged violation of every student’s right to a good education.

tudents Matter, a nonprofit organization.

PLAINTIFF

APP EAL

C

alifornia Teacher’s Unions

DEFENDANT

The California Teacher’s Union has stated that it plans to appeal the decision.

EL ESTOQUE

reasonable solution.”

How the evaluation process works Students often complain that tenure makes teachers lazy and promotes inefficient behavior. In a survey of 299 MVHS students, 86 percent of them believed that there was a correlation between incompetent teachers and the presence of teacher tenure.

“It promotes inefficient and subpar teachers,” said a student who wishes to remain anonymous, due to fear of teacher backlash. “We live in a more affluent area, so we don’t lack teachers. But here at Monta Vista, it promotes inefficiency. I had a teacher who was really mediocre, despite the high standards of our school district. A lot of our class thought that they should be replaced by a better teacher, but they had been teaching for a long time and had seniority.”

Teacher evaluations become less frequent if a teacher has taught for longer periods of time. Teachers who are on probationary standing are observed and evaluated twice a year, tenured teachers are evaluated every other year and teachers that have taught in the district for 10 years can be evaluated every five years.

“If unions want to maintain quality education, if they say they’re all about the kids, then they need to be willing to look closely at the concept of tenure, because tenure, we know, promotes, in some instances, lack of quality, from a /teny r, -yoor/ teacher’s standpoint,” the right to remain in Platt said.

1 an occuation for as The process for long as desired after a removing a tenured probation period teacher is long and the conditions by which complex, but has de2 one can retain ownerfined criteria that ship of property would merit evaluathe length of time an tion of the teacher in 3 office, position, etc, question. While stulasts; term dent input does not factor directly into the removal process of a teacher, it can initiate evaluation of their merits as an educator. Students have the ability to inform the administration about ineffective teachers, which can lead to administrative involvement despite set evaluation criteria.

“It’s always something that we consider, but in a vague way,” Scott said. “If I had students pounding down my door saying, ‘We’re concerned about all these things that are going on with teacher X’, the first thing that I would do is I would go to the teacher and say ‘We’ve got some concerns, and this is what I’m hearing from students. Let’s see what we can do to remedy that.’ While student input can’t impact their tenure, I wouldn’t want students to be silent.”

What comes next Neither teachers nor administrators can imagine a future without tenure, as the loss of such an ingrained practice would require a complete overhaul of the education system and teacher assessment.

“It’s going to take a long time to implement anything [from the Vergara case],” said Tom Avvakumovitz, the Director of Human Resources for the district. “In the mean time though, instead of trying to focus on writing policy, at least in Human Resources, we’re trying to focus on hiring the best teachers we can.”

While the future is uncertain, if the decision stands, teachers will no longer be viewed as invulnerable.

“If it did come to the point where there would not be tenure, teachers [would] be just like everybody else,” Platt said. “They [would] have to perform on a daily basis, like in the real world.”

IF a teacher Has committed a heinous act against a student was not planning lessons correctly was not grading things on a timely basis was not giving students feedback was showing up late for classes was abandoning students

ten ure

was walking out of classrooms

e

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

was doing other things that were completely unprofessional

The

administration would start documenting behavior

how to get

fired

Evaluation +

Meet with teacher to discuss areas for growth

teacher improves

Reteach and assist teacher in fixing mistakes

mistakes start dismissal fixed case 3 person panel teacher

fired

INFORMATION from Tom Avvakumovitz and April Scott 11

OPINION

TENURE ON ON TRIAL TRIAL TENURE

F

This is a long story about a complicated issue that’s important— so read it..

rom the moment students enter a school,” said President Barack Obama at the 2009 Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, “the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents, it’s the person standing at the front of the classroom.”

Our President’s fitting comment is a prelude to the Vergara v. California case. This landmark case struck down any laws that prohibited schools from providing students with the most effective teachers possible.

Citing Brown v. Board, California State Judge Rolf Treu claimed that California’s grossly convoluted tenure system, vas well as the principle of “last in, first out,” undermined the precedent of equal opportunity of education established in Brown.

Treu’s assessment of the California tenure system is spot on. Convoluted and unfair are but a few words that describe this broken system. First off, the permanent employment law forces administrators to grant or deny teachers permanent employment within 16 months. This means an administrator must decide on the status of a teacher before he or she has completed teacher induction programs. And more importantly, 16 months is definitely not enough time to measure the overall long-term effectiveness of a teacher.

And this is where the system gets even more absurd: firing an ineffective teacher is a bureaucratic system so convoluted that it borders on impossible. Firing a tenured teacher, a teacher who has been granted heightened job security, requires years of documentation, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and still rarely works. Districts would rather move a teacher to a different school within that district than remove him or her outright.

According to a survey of 275,000 teachers national wide conducts by Students Matter, exactly 2.2 percent of all California teachers are fired yearly for ineffectiveness,

which is 0.0008 percent of all California teachers. Yet, according to a national survey conducted by Public Agenda and Learning Point Associates in 2010, 59 percent of teachers reported that there were a few teachers in their building who “fail to do a good job and are simply going through the motions” and 18 percent of teachers reported there were more than a few. Furthermore, according to the New Teacher Project, a survey done in 12 districts nationwide, 81 percent of administrators and 58 percent of teachers believe there is a tenured teacher in their school who delivers poor instruction.

These numFiring an an ineffective ineffective teacher teacher is is aa bers do not add up.

Firing are a reflection bureaucratic system system so so convoluted convoluted of aThey bureaucratic fundamental problem in the California educathat it it borders borders on on impossible. impossible. that

12

tion system, a problem reflected in flawed tenure laws. However, tenure is a side-effect of a greater institutional failure, not the root cause. It was not created on a whim, but for the purpose of trying to fix a problem inherent in California, which ranks 43rd out of 50 in per student spending, and yet over a quarter of total state spending goes to education.

The issue of tenure comes down to the ineffective spending of and inequitable distribution of funds. Tenure is, from an economic standpoint, a measure to remedy budget problems by forcing schools to keep experienced teachers. Like most educational policies, its original intent was to protect students and teachers from the financial pitfalls schools often face. Some of the financial problems faced by public schools are spurred by federal laws such as “No Child Left Behind,” EL ESTOQUE

which costs billions yearly to maintain, while having little to no significant impact on the nation’s educational ranking. The bureaucracy present in state funding of public schools also leads to inefficient use of those funds.

MVHS, which is funded mainly by property taxes, does not face this issue to such a large degree, but it still must adhere to California policies when it comes to budgeting.

With this in mind, it is logical to to examine the details of tenure and what each part of the system is meant to accomplish.

Furthermore, experienced teachers ate is their students’ scores on standardized are more expensive. Thus, when a district tests. The problem with this simplistic apconfronts money problems they may pre- proach is that it does not necessarily reflect fer to look toward dismissing experienced the teacher’s capacity for teaching, but inteachers and replacing them with cheaper stead the student’s knowledge —- whether teachers that that knowlhave less exedge was perience and Prior to the two years in which s e l f - t a ug h t qualifications. taught by teachersare arenot nottenured, tenured,they theyare are or teachers This potenthe teacher tial problem probationaryemployees. employees. cannot be probationary is the reason deter m ined we have “last by the results of these tests alone. in, first out” —- a policy that protects exIn addition, teachers are evaluated by perienced teachers by having schools layoff administration officials. However, in most the last teachers they hired if reductions oc- schools, including MVHS, the number of cur —- as well as tenure in place. The state teachers dwarves the number of administratries to compensate for the distribution of tion officials. Because of this, teachers are teacher salaries by making the price of fir- only evaluated on a yearly basis as admining an experienced teacher higher than the istration simply lack time to consistently money saved by replacing them with a less sit in on classes. Furthermore, administraexpensive teacher. Unfortunately, the state tion is not the final authority on teacher has equated experience with effectiveness, effectiveness. It takes three to five years a crucial mistake that costs students dearly. of teaching to become an administration While the security net offered by the official, while a teacher may have been tenure system provides a large enough teaching for a much longer period of time buffer for errors to promote creativ- and knows best what works and what does ity with teaching, it also can serve as not in certain classes. This could also disa refuge for incompetent teachers who advantage certain teachers who employ abuse the security given through tenure. unconventional teaching methods, even if For the tenure system to succeed there those methods prove effective for the class. needs to be an easier way to remove these This is where a third part of teacher evalineffective teachers. It should not be so uation may help fill the gap. New programs costly to fire an incompetent teacher and it like Panorama Education have created anonshould be a process that lasts no more than ymous surveys that allow students to ana year to ensure the least possible number of swer very specific questions about their exstudents are exposed to that teacher. Also, perience with their teachers. Teachers then tenure should only be given after four or have access to the survey results, which are five years of teaching at a school. Admin- so detailed they can tell teachers which deistration thus has twice as long to tell how mographics they are appealing to most and effective a teacher is and there is a larger which groups of students are not finding pool of students to evaluate the teacher . their teaching methods effective. These surThe catch here is that teachers should veys are starting to pick up steam in the acaTenure was created because prior to the have more job security right from the start. demic circles and many, including Panoratwo years in which teachers are not tenured, This means that even before tenure they ma’s, are provided free of charge to schools. they are probationary employees. Thus, it is should only be removed for legitimate reaSo we are left with the question of tenure that sons. During whether teacher tenure should be in place. grants them the proba- Yes or no? This is the trick question your any kind of tionary pe- teacher puts at the end of the test for exjob security. riod it will tra credit points, smugly aware that nobody Job security be easier to will get it. As our mind battles between is crucial in a t e r m i n a t e “yes” or “no” we fail to realize there are an OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE job in which t e a c h e r s infinite amount of options between those a ny t h ing than after two words —- utilizing Panorama EducaEDITORIAL BOARD done by a they have tion being just one. The only way to sift teacher that tenure so out the best option is by trying and failing looks unfar e c e i v i n g and then trying again. Although guess and vorable to administration, students or parents tenure is still an important career milestone. check may be considered a childish way of of students can cost them their job. If an inHowever, another problem lies in identi- solving the extra credit problem, it is the competent administration is in place, teacher fying which teachers are ineffective. A teach- necessary approach as this problem has turnover time can occur regularly and sporader, with or without tenure, is held to certain no definite equation to use or method to ically, which detracts from student learning. expectations, the easiest of which to evalu- follow that will lead to the perfect answer.

STAFF EDITORIAL

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

1

OPINION

A

ccording to Bloomberg Businessweek, less than one out of every nine homeowners in California has earthquake insurance.

Less than five percent of homeowners and businesses in the South Napa region had earthquake insurance when a devastating earthquake struck on Aug. 24. According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, one-third to two-thirds of home retrofits in the Bay Area are inadequate to prevent structural damage should a major earthquake strike.

In light of these statistics, we need to reexamine our preparedness. Should a major earthquake strike,

What would you do?

by Pranav Parthasarathy

Do you have earthquake insurance?

Earthquake insurance is quite rare in California considering the relative presence of destructive earthquakes in the region. While premiums for earthquake insurance may almost double the average homeowner’s standard rate, a lack of earthquake insurance comes back to bite. Neither retrofitting nor enhancing can stop a massive-enough earthquake, and the only other option: opting for a Federal Emergency Management Agency loan will still burden the homeowner with a significant liability. It goes without saying that our home is our single most precious asset. We should ensure that our homes are protected against earthquakes, for the chance of one striking eventually is high.

Do you have emergency supplies handy?

We should all have an emergency kit on hand should an earthquake strike. And that quake is a real possibility. According to science teacher Andrew Goldenkranz, the next quake could strike soon. With the 25-year anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake coming up, and the chance of another earthquake within that time span 70 percent according to Goldenkranz, the disaster is not a fringe possibility, but an inevitability. And it’s an inevitability we are poorly prepared for, with only 37 percent of students indicating that they have a disaster survival kit.

Would you rather be at home or at school during an earthquake?

Assistant principal Michael Hicks places such confidence in the school’s precautions and building code that he believes he would rather be at school than at home in the event of a major quake. And it’s easy to see why, given the strict building codes established by the Field Act and the consequent confidence in the strength of our buildings. Yet there are other variables at play here, as evidenced by the fact that 62 percent of survey respondents believed that they would rather be in their home in the event of a quake rather than at school. This may be attributed to the security students feel within their home and among their own family; however, if so few students actually perform earthquake drills, have insurance, or have the requisite emergency supplies, that confidence is unfounded.

Have you practiced an evacuation route?

Without preparation, a safe and consistent evacuation cannot occur, which is why drilling is a constant occurrence at school.

We practice evacuation drills at school, and the MVHS population as a whole seems to value them: 86 percent of respondents to an El Estoque poll stated that drills are important.

Why shouldn’t we drill at home? Very few students do, with only 29 percent of respondents to an online survey indicating that they have practiced an earthquake drill. Planning routes at home and practicing them regularly will put us in a much more comfortable situation should disaster strike — we will know when to duck and cover, where to run and hide, and where to regroup afterwards.

14

Is the school prepared?

According to assistant principal Michael Hicks, MVHS follows the strict California building codes laid down initially by the Field Act. Various aspects of Monta Vista’s architecture help reduce the damage a potential earthquake could inflict. From sturdy desks, to reinforced concrete structures to new, updated buildings to a centralized gas main which automatically shuts off in the case of tremors all stand to testify to the school’s ability to withstand a quake. Indeed, building codes in California are so strict that since 1940, no public school has partially or completely collapsed, potentially injuring and killing children in the process, even though some schools have been deemed unsafe. Siixty-five percent of survey respondents stated they believed that buildings in MVHS are prepared to withstand an earthquake. p.parthasarathy@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

Ce

O fied i t r

rganic

D R A Y K C A RB

U O M

FRO

With its organic and local produce, Monta Vista Market should stay open and continue to influence its customers positively

BY RABINA BISHT

sity found that when a strawberry organic markets, most notably Whole Foods, plant gets to grow without persis- have only some free trade items for sale. The tent pesticides – it produces certain idea of fair trade is a moral one. Fair trade phytochemicals to help do its own provides a safe, non-discriminatory, and just pest control. And new studies are find- workplace. Therefore, buying products from ing that those chemicals may enhance the organizations promoting fair trade is a way of agreeing with and supporting their nutritional profile of the plant.” values. When purchasing fair trade MVHS students have little access foods, consumers embody their moral to organic or even healthy foods. Stuhat was once a market filled dents who drive off-campus for lunch integrity. Awareness of free trade with vibrant fruits and vegetables have a time constraint of 45 minutes. is important for high school is now a deserted grocery space left with The choices of where students students as many are reaching Want to learn more only a “For Lease” sign and its previous name can go are limited to nearby or have already reached an age about the MV Market? hovering over it — Monta Vista Market. The fast food chains like Chipotle, where they can get a job. With a Visit elestoque.org for Monta Vista Market opened in October 2011. Taco Bell and Pizza My Heart. market so close to us advertising more information.

Unfortunately, the store offering fresh, local, Students who walk off-campus free trade, students may then reand organic produce was forced to close in are at an even greater disadvantage and must alize the benefits and moral justness brought July of this year due to low profits. rely on food from Seven Eleven, which is not through working for an organization commitThrough the compassion of a few dedi- necessarily a model for healthful eating. If the ted to fair trade. cated individuals working together we could Monta Vista Market stays open, it will give These are all qualities residents of our potentially “save the students an acces- community should have access to. With willmarket” and reopen sible way to get ing community members attempting to reit as a co-operative, MVHS STUDENTS HAVE fresh, local, or- open the market as a co-operative, there will which a few comand health- once again be a market filled with vibrant LITTLE ACCESS TO ORGANIC ganic, munity members are ful foods instead fruits and vegetables containing fresh, loalready mobilizing to of the fast food cally grown, organic produce. Resulting in a OR EVEN HEALTHY FOODS. do. Our community they are accus- greater emphasis on these ideals that will stay could thus preserve ingrained into our community values. tomed to eating. its organic market The market would without financially straining a single owner. continue to provide its services through fair r.bisht@elestoque.org Creating this co-operative may not benefit trade, which includes fair pricing of products, volunteers financially, but it will benefit our a safe work environment, workplace noncommunity’s accessibility to fresh, local, or- discrimination, and non-exploitive labor. The Bananas imganic produce.

MV Market advertises a holistic approach to ported from Costa These are valuable qualities for a market free trade, while most other Rica. Traveled to have because it provides the community 3,000 miles with a sense of awareness when it comes to Grapes the food they buy. People are more prone to imported from think about what they are putting in their Chile. Traveled bodies when they know where the food 5,900 miles comes from. It leads consumers to think

W

about the potential benefits and harms each product could have. The market should continue to sell local produce, grown within 150 miles of Monta Vista.

The organic food would benefit Grapes from consumers due to its “health benefits, Lucero Organic environmental benefits, and animal Farm in Lodi, CA. welfare” as stated by Greening PrincTraveled 100 eton. There is also the potential for miles organic produce to have a higher nutritional value than conventionally farmed produce. According to the Whole Foods Market, “Researchers at Washington State UniverSEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Bananas from Tomatero Organic Farm in Watsonville, CA. Traveled 45 miles

15

OPINION

BACK TO BUSINESS

Business organizations attempt to accommodate members while adhering to state laws

BY ANJANA MELVIN

P

anic broke out at the beginning of August when MVHS students participating in DECA and FBLA were notified that they could no longer be members of either club unless they fell in line with strict new policies.

The two largest organizations on campus lost many members, and the issue only escalated during the first few weeks of school. Petitions were signed, constitutions drafted, meetings assembled and adjourned; it seemed like the student body, or at least those students affiliated with the business clubs, were mobilizing for war.

If it isn’t common knowledge already, DECA and FBLA are no longer labeled as clubs, but as Career and Technical Student Organizations. The goal of CTSOs, according to Principal April Scott, is to connect what students learn in classes like business or marketing, with “real world” experiences.

Students participating in CTSOs must, under the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006, be enrolled in a CTE in order for the organizations to receive federal funding. Up until 2013, this law was easy to ignore because both DECA and FBLA received ample funding from their members. But early last year, California passed Assembly Bill 1575, which gave students and parents the right to file a complaint against schools that were charging illegal fees. These illegal fees included the membership fees that DECA, FBLA, and many other clubs on campus collected. Because the business CTSOs could no longer receive funding from their members, they were forced to enact the new membership policies in order to receive federal funding. Students have proven

that they could self-learn and champion in did not significantly broaden the restrictions.

These policy changes were only able to DECA and FBLA competitions; enforcing the Perkins act earlier when funding was not bring back a little over 10 members, which needed would have been fruitless. Now, how- begs the question: What good is it for orgaever, narrowing eligibility is probably better nizations as large as DECA and FBLA to deny than having to shut down the clubs due to lack students, who put such relentless effort into their cause, memberof funds. ship?

The original nArowing eligibility is No matter how lemembership gitimate the reasons policies were probably better than were for enforcing that students having to shut down the the new membermust be currently enrolled clubs due to lack of funds. ship policies this year, there is no in a business justification for the class or previously enrolled in Principles of Business and poor communication. After all, AB1575 was currently enrolled in JAVA. Freshmen that at- passed long before course enrollment began. tended the 2014 summer business boot camp All DECA and FBLA members should have or seniors that were members before the been told clearly what classes they were exchanges were also allowed to join the organi- pected to take in order to be eligible to participate in either organization before course zations this school year.

A week after students were informed of registration, not a week before school started.

Despite how poorly the new policies were these new policies, a constitution was drafted.

It’s preamble, mimicking the US Constitution, implemented, administration did respond to began with “We the students of Monta Vista the issue professionally and with a relatively High School” and went on to state why they open mind. In the future, students need to believed the restrictions should be modified. It be given all the facts so that they can make also listed competitively successful members informed decisions. The new business memwho were no longer eligible to participate in bership policies must be communicated in emails, on the course registration forms and on either organization.

After numerous meetings with business ad- the DECA and FBLA websites. If proper comvisors, counselors and Scott, a few minor ex- munication is a cardinal rule of business, then ceptions were made, such as allowing the sum- there is much to be concerned about regarding mer boot camp counselors to join this school our business CTSOs. a.melvin@elestoque.org year. On the surface, administration seemed to take students’ perspectives and needs into consideration, though only to the extent that it August 6, 2014 DECA BBC counselors notified of policy changes

September 29, 2012 Governor Brown signs AB 1575 into law

August 12, 2006 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act authorized SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

January 1, 2013 AB 1575 put into effect, students can now file complaints against illegal fees

August 26, 2014 DECA and FBLA draft a petition against new membership policies August 20, 2014 FBLA members notified of policy changes 16

Why every politician should be like

Rob Ford I

’d like to say that I was shocked when I read about the whole Ray Rice scandal, but I’m sad to say I wasn’t.

I mean really, we knew this guy had beaten up his then-girlfriend back in February.

TMZ (the gold standard of American journalism) released a video showing Rice dragging his beaten girlfriend out of an elevator. Rice was consequently indicted by a grand jury on third-degree aggravated assault with a possible jail sentence of three to five years and a fine of up to $15,000.

Then the strange stuff starts happening.

About a month after this whole fiasco, on Mar. 28, Rice married Palmer. You got that right; the woman who brandishes a possible three-year prison sentence over his head is now his wife. Totally logical.

Meanwhile, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell waits around five months to suspend Rice for a whopping two games. That is the same penalty the NFL levies upon players who are found committing substance abuse.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think an abuser of a substance and an abuser of a person deserve the same treatment.

The sad part though, is that even basic common-sense morals would tell us about the problem here. Violence against women is wrong. Violence against women is common, in fact, according to the U.N. up to 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet even considered a crime.

Yet the NFL, the biggest league in America, refuses to identify and attempt to fix the problem until TMZ and the rest of United States football viewers (basically the entire country) breathe down their necks, at which point it is necessary to make the change. Values be damned; if Ray Rice plays well, keep him until we can’t.

And yet we have other utterly inflexible “values” which we choose to apply selectively and rather harmfully. Remember James Foley?

The brave journalist whose beheading has reignited the countries’ desire to kill ISIS? Said terrorist group asked for a ransom for Foley’s release, as they did for 23 other hostages, according to the New York Times, yet a ransom could never be secured for Foley. Why? European countries pay ransoms to free their citizens regularly, and, in this case, the government could have saved the life of a citizen for around $2 million, which is about the price of

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

When life is full of hypocrisy, a little honesty can’t hurt

the average bomb we drop on a terrorist’s stronghold. So why did we not consider this option before?

Because the United States of America “does not negotiate with terrorists.” Remember how we entered into a prisoner exchange with the Taliban, trading Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners? Oh, and our “talks” with the Taliban which were mediated by the obviouslyneutral Qatar, I guess those are Sharon Tung | El Estoque Illustration also problematic then. We can’t let Foley get his ransom, but we can definitely talk to the Taliban faceto-face. There is so much stuff goON HIGHER GROUND ing wrong here.

It’s honestly so boring listenand handing out endorsements. ing to the media these days: it’s all just about But I have a theory why Rob Ford has been hypocrisy. Gone are all the glorious Malaysia so politically successful. In this day and age, an Airlines conspiracy stories courtesy of CNN, age with compromised values galore— from and all the Rob Ford stories courtesy of, well, the NFL to the federal government — people Rob Ford: He is truly the journalist’s gift that want a politician whom they can empathize keeps on giving. with, a politician who cannot appear perfect Actually scratch that! Rob Ford is back! because his improprieties are on wide display.

And he is better than ever. Well, depends on In essence, a politician who feels real because how you define “better.” The world-famous he is so fake. While these politicians do seem crack-smoking mayor (probably the second quite questionable initially — one need only most famous Canadian ever after Justin Bieber) to look to Rob Ford for an example — at least has suffered a sickness which has caused him they can’t pretend like they are better than to drop out of his election for mayor, but has they are and then give two-game suspensions. somehow allowed him to run for City Council, I’m looking at you, Goodell. and he’s leading the polls by massive margins.

PRANAV PARTHASARATHY

In fact, he’s feeling so confident about his political standing he has bestowed his prestigious endorsement upon his brother, Doug Ford, for mayor. This is a man who justifies his drug problem with his drinking problem.

And the best part is he’s ahead in the polls

p.parthasarathy@elestoque.org

17

A&E

Fall Preview

BY CHRISTINE LIANG AND EMILY ZHAO

We hate to break it to you, but summer’s officially over.* As you retire your flip-flops, iced drinks and summer TV shows, welcome autumn with these in mind: *Autumn officially began on September 22nd

W

ait for the temperatures to drop and get ready to get chills of a different kind: Three popular TV shows are coming back early to build preHalloween excitement. Here’s what to check out if you’re looking for something scary:

‘SUPERNATURAL’

Network: The CW, Returns: Oct. 7

IN A SENTENCE: Brothers Sam and Dean Winchester hunt down and kill supernatural beings while trying to not be killed by supernatural beings.

The ninth season of the three-time Emmy nominated show ended with a plot twist that left fans agonizing over the cliffhanger for four months.

“Maybe [the plot twist] wasn’t entirely unexpected for some people,” said senior Simone Christian, “but for me it was ‘Oh, what the hell is going on!?’”

‘THE WALKING DEAD’ Network: AMC Returns: Oct. 12 IN A SENTENCE: Rick Grimes and company navigate an apocalyptic world plagued by zombies, fighting the undead as well as other hostile survivors in their quest to find safety.

One of the most-watched series in basic cable history, ‘The Walking Dead’ delivers what its name promises: hordes of flesh-eating zombies.

‘ONCE UPON A TIME’ Network: ABC Returns: Sept. 28

SUPERNATURAL THE WALKING DEAD

IN A SENTENCE: Fairy tale characters living in the modern world rely on Emma Swan to break the curse that wiped their memories of their universe.

Alright, so OUAT is not that scary, but its re-imagining of iconic characters like Snow White and Belle in a modern setting makes the show a grounded fantasy adaptation, fitting for the Halloween mood. Characters from Disney’s Frozen are also slated to appear in the coming season.

18

EL ESTOQUE

getting ready

B

e prepared to come to school before the sun rises with chunky knits and hot drinks to keep you warm.

76%

Thick cardigans are slowly replacing jackets for fall fashion. They work great as inner layers and contribute a stylish look to an outfit.

Sophomore Vivian Zhang states that she often wears thick knit cardigans to school. “Cardigans are common in the fall,” Zhang said, “they’re really comfortable”.

When choosing an outfit to wear in the mornings, consider slipping on a cardigan as a cozy outerwear item.

Boots are a prevalent choice among girls shoe wear in the cold weather. They keep your feet warm and add a style to an outfit. Junior Michaela Murphy enjoys wearing booties as a fashion statement during autumn.

“Booties are pretty popular; they are actually quite comfortable and I like them because they can add height if you are short,” Murphy says.

of MVHS students* have not tried Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Consider changing that statistic and celebrating Fall with the coffee chain’s most popular seasonal drink. *From a survey of 399 students

A

utumn may be draining the life out of the local foliage, but there’s still liveliness around town.

Plan a visit with your friends and family to local pumpkin patches for a fun day. Pick out pumpkins to carve and decorate your house with in order to get in the halloween spirit. Take advantage of the once-a-year opportunities to enjoy the bouncy houses and slides as well.

With the weather in the fall, oversized knit sweaters become a common and fashionable clothing item.

“They are super warm and comfy,” junior Julianna Xie says. Xie enjoys wearing thick knit items as they can help you stay cozy. Layer up with an oversized sweater to keep yourself bundled up during the chilly season.

Music, dance and food in Cupertino’s Memorial Park on Sept. 27 celebrate the annual Hindu festival of lights.

c.liang@elestoque.org | e.zhao@elestoque.org

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

19

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EL ESTOQUE

I’M IN THE BAND(S)

Junior Mallory Strom transitions between student-organized bands

#

BY ASHMITA CHAKRABORTY

MAKING PERFECT Junior Mallory Strom plays the keyboard as OJ Squeeze and a Well-Balanced Breakfast rehearses on Sept. 14 at junior Gabe Preising’s garage. The band will perform at MVSNL on Sept. 26 and 27

S

itting at the keyboard, junior Mallory Strom bursts out laughing when she hears singer junior Zach Sanchez introduce a song in German with a British accent. In front of her, junior Vincent Tran tests out the pedal on his drum set with his foot. “I don’t know how I feel about wearing flipflops while playing,” he says.

It’s a Sunday afternoon, and the band OJ Squeeze and a WellBalanced Breakfast is getting ready to start rehearsal. After a brief exchange of “you start; no you start,” rehearsal gets into full swing. Strom waits for the other band members to play a few chords, then slowly eases into her part of the song.

Strom joined OJ Squeeze and a Well-Balanced Breakfast this year, when her friends decided to form a band to play at MVSNL and realized that they needed a piano player to join them. Her prior experience playing in a band called Chalk helped prepare her for her performance with OJ Squeeze.

Strom is the youngest member of Chalk, which she formed with alumni from MVHS class of 2014. Strom characterizes

the band spanning a wide variety of musical genres because the band members write and play their own music, ranging from pop to indie to rock.

Chalk has performed at various coffee shops, as well as at MVHS on multiple occasions over the past two years, including at the annual La Pluma Coffeehouse. However, Strom is not sure if the band will continue performing as much in the future.

“With everyone else in college, I don’t see much happening in the future for Chalk as a band,” Strom said. “However, I definitely see the [former] seniors coming back next summer with new songs that they wrote, and we’ll arrange a few new songs to play at a reunion gig or two.”

Strom joined OJ Squeeze when Sanchez and junior Eric Crouch, both drama students, decided to pull together some of their friends, including Tran and junior Gabe Preising, to perform with them at MVSNL. The band will be performing a threesong set during the intermission.

The band name is a play on “OJ Squeeze featuring Added Calcium,” the name that Sanchez and Crouch gave them-

selves when they performed at a talent show two years ago.

“We decided to keep the ‘OJ Squeeze’ moniker as something ridiculous and fun for SNL, but since we’re a full band this time, we couldn’t

GUITAR - 13 years KEYBOARD - 8 years INFLUENCES - Jazz & Brazillian classical guitar just make ourselves something like ‘OJ Squeeze featuring Various Vitamins and Minerals,’” Crouch said. “That would’ve been a pretty cool name, but we just named the rest of us ‘a Well-Balanced Breakfast.’”

Although their performance at MVSNL will be the band’s first time performing together, Strom is excited to see where else OJ Squeeze will go as a band. She anticipates that they will perform at future school shows and events.

Strom’s experience playing in bands has reinforced her desire to pursue music in the future,

and she currently intends on studying music composition in college. Having the freedom to run a band with her friends allows her to learn far more than participating in the music program at school, and band members are able to develop their skills more by becoming their own biggest critics.

Playing in two very different groups has also contributed to Strom’s learning experience, allowing her to adapt to playing in two very different types of groups.

“Chalk and OJ Squeeze and a Well-Balanced Breakfast are not even remotely similar bands,” Strom said. “In Chalk, I usually play original songs written by one of the band members, but OJ Squeeze is actually a cover band —- a garage band in the purest sense of the term. I was able to learn so much from playing in both because I have to utilize completely different playing styles in the two bands.” a.chakraborty@elestoque.org

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

21

A&E

Fresh Words & Senior Advice Concerns of freshmen are addressed by seniors

BY BRANDON CHIN AND ADITYA PIMPLASKAR

W

hen freshmen first walk onto MVHS’s red brick campus, they bring with them a host of preconceived ideas.

When they stand at the edge of the rally court, they stand for their first day in a series of four years. High school is yet to show its nature but regardless of the future they must face it.

Pink schedules direct them from class to class as their eyes scour for monsters or worse — upperclassmen on the horizon. In a new world there are new dangers and nobody knows, and nobody knew, what to do with the appearance of hundreds of strangers.

Or maybe grades are more frightening than people. According to the class of 2018, grades and exams for the upper years are more intimidating than the actual people.

“My grades and my SAT’s, I know I’ll have to deal with them,” said freshman Kendall Yu. “My neighbor is a senior, so I know how all this works.”

Two dimensional script has grown in importance but the freshman’s fear does not belong to letters alone. When years become smaller factors, others characteristics will compensate. Gender, for instance.

As MVHS starts another year, so does a host of new worries and only time tested advice can respond. Recorded in the phrase of a question and answer, the freshmen confess their worries for the new year and the seniors respond their claims.

Question 2 What are your biggest concerns regarding MVHS?

“

Girls and the fear of getting rejected. freshman David Zhang

Grades are important, too. It’s only going to get harder from here. freshman Kevin Yang

It’s about going with the flow and enjoying life. It’s a step into another world.

”

senior Andrew Yadegar

b.chin@elestoque.com | a.pimplaskar@elestoque.com

Question 1 Were you ever/Are you afraid of the seniors?

“

I am not intimidated because i can overlook a three year age gap. freshman Gina Yang

I don’t really think there’s a reason tO be afraid of seniors — They’re People too. freshman Kendall Yu

I wasn’t afraid of seniors as a freshman...I don’t see a reason for [the anxiety].

”

senior Samuel Sanford Sharon Tung | El Estoque Illustration

22

EL ESTOQUE

MY (UN) HAPPY LEFT FOOT Driving stick is a dying art form

I

tion

ustra

ak | Ill

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

da M

SARAH RAMOS

It’s a powerful skill to be able to drive any car out there, and have freedom of choice when it comes to purchasing a car on a college student budget. Who cares if bumper-to-bumper traffic makes your left leg as large as Superman’s? Rock that abnormally muscular appendage.

Who cares if driving stick makes you seem like more of a guy than your guy friends? Maybe you’ll help them man up and help bring back stick.

Rhon

f you hear some serious engine-revving slamming on the breaks and down-shifting or loud, grinding sounds coming from a because drivers refuse to use their turn sigtiny, green Honda in the student parking nals. I still resent those looks I get when my lot, it’s probably me. And I resent those weird car revs too loudly, or when I can’t engage looks and zigzags you do to get away from the ever-elusive reverse gear on my 15-yearmy green monster. I’d like to see you try old vehicle. It’s not easy — I dare you to try. and control its angry, manual transmission. Perhaps driving stick is deemed “manly” I assume everyone with their driver’s li- because it’s made out to be so much cense or learner’s permit has, at one point, harder than driving automatic, and battled their parents in a screaming match that’s mostly because, well, it is. out on the open road. But if you think learn- Driving stick requires at least a miling how to drive an automatic car, try it in one lion more brain cells, acute concenwith three pedals and an emergency brake tration, a ridicuthat is not optional. My dad threw me behind the wheel of our family’s manual car just a few weeks after I got over the anxiety of my driving test, and it was like learning how to ride a bike all over again. That is, if bikes had three pedals and made frightening sounds. I stayed far away from it for as long as I could.

And then one day, the clouds parted and angels descended from heaven and I realized lous amount of that driving stick is not scary or dangerous patience and you — it’s fun. And more importantly, it’s an have to get used to art form. But back when I avoided my green your left foot screamdeath machine, perusing the internet for rea- ing in pain and your sonably priced used cars grew increasingly right hand wailing to frustrating. The newest, best-value models be freed from the realways came with a catch: they were stick. strictive gear lever. At As we are p r o p el l e d far ther into the technologi(mugshot) cal future SHE’S THE MAN where cars plug in like appliances and smartphone screens touch us, it seems like man- some point you’ll end up on an incline ual cars are no longer “in,” and the price and spinning the wheels just to make disparity further exemplifies how driv- sure you don’t roll back on the jerk that ing stick has become a dying art form. decided three inches is a safe distance Car buyers and high school students alike between cars. Not to mention how awkprefer automatic transmissions, and once ward it is on a first date to have finally your entire left leg cramps up in the stu- grabbed your date’s hand, only to let it go dent parking lot during Wednesday morn- when the engine starts revving at 5000 rpm. ing traffic, this makes complete sense.

Now when I put it that way, driving stick Learning to drive stick is an incred- doesn’t seem so manly-man after all. If we’re ibly long, frustrating process, and Cuper- going to stick with the social stereotypes, tino’s crazy drivers don’t make it any easier. girls are generally seen as smarter, more paThere’s a reason Drivers’ Ed instructors tient and level headed than their male counpreach basic rules of the road, and it be- terparts. So actually, driving stick should comes increasingly apparent that people be more natural for girls. It should be do not follow them when you’re constantly construed as kickass and resume-worthy.

s.ramos@elestoque.org

23

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% &&

&

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www.apexclassroom.com Mr. Andy Kao ( Lead teacher ) sakao69@hotmail.com (408)644-6814 APEX Classroom has a classroom near Homestead High to serve Cupertino / Saratoga area.

We have 10 years experience on AP / SAT II Biology.

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SPECIAL

WITHOUT WARNING...

SPECIAL

...THE FREEWAY WAS ROLLING LIKE WATER. IT KEPT GOING AND GETTING BIGGER. NOBODY WOKE HER UP. THREE DAYS LATER, THEY FOUND HER BODY. Here are stories of losses — loss of friends, loss of home, loss of security

BY YIFEI WU AND MINGJIE ZHONG

WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? Senior Muchen Wang’s first encounter with death happened when she was 12 years old.

She was living in China when the earthquake happened — the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that shook the Sichuan province in southern China and destroyed houses, offices, schools and lives in those terribly short yet deadly minutes. Wang acutely felt the pain of loss — her friend, 12 years old at that time, died under the fallen bricks in the earthquake.

Wang recalls trying to find her friend online, trying to understand why she had gone for so long, why she suddenly disappeared out of her life.

It was almost a year later when Wang heard about what had happened in those seconds. The earthquake happened early in the afternoon, when her friend was sleeping in a hotel alone.

“Nobody woke her up. Three days later, they found her body,” 26

Wang said.

It happened through a series of unfortunate coincidences. Her friend had skipped a grade less than a year before and was able to go on an early summer vacation. She happened to fly to Sichuan to see her favorite animal, pandas, and happened to stay there on May 12. And the earthquake hit when she was sleeping, alone.

Wang did not talk to her friend’s parents until long after she graduated elementary school. She learned that the parents were trying to teach elementary school children earthquake safety in all parts of the country. Through them, Wang learned how to properly protect herself in case of an earthquake, when she realized that she, as well as her friend, was not as prepared for earthquakes as she thought.

She recalls the earthquake drills in her elementary school in China. All students were supposed to evacuate the buildings, and the school conducted yearly speeches raising awareness of natural EL ESTOQUE

disasters. Wang and her classmates had always wanted to laugh and earthquake lasted a really long time; it kept going and getting bigger. chat during the drills — they were only kids. Yet they had always When the shaking finally stopped, [my mother and I walked] around been scared to silence by their stern teacher who forbid any talk- to see what was broken, but there were so many aftershocks that we ing during earthquake drills or during the biannual speeches about had to keep running back to the doorframe.” awareness of natural disasters.

Griffin and her mother were right at the base of a foothill, an area “I used to be really scared of that teacher,” Wang said, “but now where the police used a bullhorn to announce an evacuation due to that I think about it, I think she is a responsible teacher. She was try- broken gas lines. The two packed up some possessions and turned ing to save our lives.” off their water heater, resulting in the lack of hot water for at least When she heard about the Sichuan earthquake, she was shocked two weeks. Griffin says that she and her mother had to ask friends by what she saw on televifor permission to shower at their houses. Howevsion: piles of bricks, rows of er, even attempting to contact others had become homeless people, half-buried a difficult task; not everyone had cell phones. backpacks. It was the first Afterwards, Griffin discovered from her time that she felt the power friends who were in San Francisco at the time of nature and the vulnerabilof the shaking that the Oakland Bridge had colity of human lives in the face lapsed during the earthquake. of natural disasters. She do“‘The freeway was rolling like water,’” Griffin nated all her pocket money; said, quoting the words of her friends. it was all she could do.

Griffin recalls participating in earthquake From that point on, Wang drills during elementary school, but she believes stocked up bottles of water that what really prepared her for a considerable under her bed. And whenearthquake were the smaller earthquakes that ocever she went to an unfamilcurred throughout her childhood. She remembers iar place, she would always being calm at the start of the Loma Prieta earthfirst find the emergency exit, quake precisely because she had gone through so so that she would not be many little earthquakes and knew what to do. trapped inside.

As a result, Griffin believes that the “DuckWhen Wang moved to and-Cover” drill that students regularly practice Cupertino in 2011, she was within grade schools today would not be entirely surprised by the earthquake useful in the face of a major earthquake. In the drills at school. She was told drill, students are told to put their hands on top by her deceased friend’s par- SPANISH TEACHER RICHELLE GRIFFIN of their heads for protection. According to Grifents, who started voluntarily fin, in the event of a substantial earthquake, the doing safety education in elstudents’ heads will not be protected sufficiently ementary schools, to always, always get out of a building during an by their hands. earthquake. And yet, what made her uncomfortable was the lack of In terms of awareness, Griffin believes that residents of California seriousness during the school’s earthquake drill. generally are aware of the occurrences and consequences of earth“I was in the library when we did the drill,” Wang said. “People quakes. However, she feels that certain aspects of preparation are were laughing and talking. I thought, ‘Why are you doing that?’” still inadequate.

According to Wang, students need to be more aware of the seriWhen it comes to earthquake safety supplies, Griffin felt that she ousness of the earthquake. and her mother were not prepared for the Loma Prieta earthquake.

“There should be speeches by people who have been through Of all the indispensable earthquake supplies — bottled water, batearthquakes, so that people get [a sense] of how serious it is,” Wang tery-operated radios and a food supply — Griffin and her mother said. “When it comes to natural disaster, it can be life or death.” only had water, and simply because they used to order water to drink.

Griffin recollects that when she worked at a preschool a few years later, another earthquake struck. This time, she says, they were ready.

“We had water, a food supply, flashlights and first-aid,” Griffin said. “That’s the part I don’t think people are prepared for.”

Spanish teacher Richelle Griffin still remembers that late afternoon 25 years ago when she was watching television in her parents’ house in Los Gatos, and the couch in the living room slid across the floor carrying Griffin’s mother with it. Her mother screamed, cup“I could hear glasses and windows breaking everywhere at boards opened and vases, bottles and everything else in the room home,” Senior Erika Sudo said. “I was scared.” broke as the once-stable earth began to roll.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan.

It was Oct. 17, 1989 — the day Loma Prieta shook the area Sudo was only in eighth grade, but it was not the first earthquake she around Santa Cruz and claimed nearly 60 lives.

When Griffin first felt the earthquake, she ran to the doorframe had encountered. Having lived in Tokyo all her life, Sudo was used to of her parents’ house and braced herself for the shaking, which did smaller earthquakes every now and then. However, it was the first not seem unusual until she realized that it was not one of the numer- time she had to go through an earthquake that big, alone.

Sudo immediately called out to her puppy and they hid together ous, smaller quakes she had experienced growing up.

“When I was younger, it seemed like we had earthquakes all the under the dining table. She hugged her puppy hard and waited until time,” Griffin said. “It would be small, and it was kind of exciting, the shaking stopped.

“My dog was quiet,” Sudo said. “Maybe he was scared, too.” because it would be a little shake, then it would be over … But [this]

“When the shaking finally stopped, [my mother and I walked] around to see what was broken, but there were so many aftershocks that we had to keep running back to the doorframe. “

REMEMBERING LOMA PRIETA

HOME ALONE

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

27

SPECIAL During that one minute of glass breaking, she thought about her parents at work and her brother who was in school at that time, and wondered if they were okay. But what also went through her mind were the boxes of instant rice stocked up in the cupboards, the rice that they used to ready themselves for an unexpected earthquake.

After what felt like an hour, Sudo climbed out from under the dining table. Piles of broken glasses lay in front of the cupboard and under the holes that used to be windows.

She immediately took out her phone and called her parents and her brother. Later she learned that her brother was stalled at the train station.

Then she continued what she had been doing before the earthquake began — she opened up her textbooks, now covered in a thin layer of dust, and continued studying.

“I had to study for my finals,” Sudo explained, shrugging her shoulders.

During the next three hours before her parents came back home, Sudo stayed at the dining table so that if an aftershock came she could hide under the table again, and she checked in with her friends through emails — to see if they were okay, and also to discuss a pressing issue, whether they still had to study for their finals.

However, as the conversation continued, Sudo slowly realized the severity of the earthquake. Her friends’ houses all suffered from turned-over bookcases and broken glasses, but one of the houses had to be rebuilt — it was tilted by the earthquake.

“I realized that Tokyo was not safe,” she said. “And I noticed danger was nearer than I thought.”

On the Talgar fault “It felt like the entire house shifted,” PE teacher Dasha Plaza said. “It was almost like it had wheels and was rolled from one side to another.”

Plaza was only a young girl when she experienced a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1991. China, crystals and glassware slid off shelves and crashed onto the floor, houses collapsed, fractures and cracks appeared in walls and the city camped outdoors for days.

The nighttime earthquake struck when Plaza was at home watching TV with her mother and brother. They ran under a doorway for a few minutes, but soon after, her mother went to pack important documents, passports and food. Then they ran outside.

“There was an additional aftershock and you could see the whole house moving from side to side,” Plaza said. “All the neighborhood was running out and gathering.”

Plaza remembers the radio alerting the public that aftershocks would be at least of a 4.0 or 5.0-magnitude, which was the predominant reason the city camped outside for two days. Because Plaza and her family had a large backyard, Plaza’s family stayed in their own backyard on sheets. However, not all Almaty residents were as lucky; one of Plaza’s friends lived on the top floor of a 12-story building, and, worried about potential aftershocks, she set up tents in a park.

“You could tell that people were panicking,” Plaza said. “The whole city was in such a situation. The stores would have limited food because people were buying everything off the shelves.”

When it was safe to move back into the

Loma Prieta Earthquake

6.9 magnitude

San Francisco, CA Oct. 17, 1989 5:04 p.m.

buildings, her house had cracks all along the outside base. There were several fractures in the walls of more weathered buildings. Some of the older houses, built in the early 1900s, even collapsed.

As a city situated right atop the Talgar

THOUGHTS ON THE NAPA EARTHQUAKE

FRESHMAN JULIANE TSAI I feel like [the earthquake] is just a one-time thing. I think it was just coincidental that it happened here.

28

FRESHMAN SHAURYA SRIVASTAVA Each civilian needs a better plan in general about what to do, and each city needs a better plan for what to do if an earthquake strikes.

SOPHOMORE KRITIKA SHARMA I was scared that aftershocks would happen in our city.

EL ESTOQUE

Tohoku Earthquake

Almaty Earthquake

9.0 magnitude Honshu, Japan Mar. 11, 2011 2:46 p.m.

6.5 magnitude

Almaty, Kazhakstan 1991 (time unknown)

Sichuan Earthquake 7.9 magnitude

Wenchuan, China May 12, 2008 2:28 p.m.

Varsha Venkat | El Estoque Photo Illustration

fault, Almaty is a seismically-active area, with smaller earthquakes occurring quite a few times per year. Large-scale earthquakes with extensive impacts have also happened before in Almaty’s history, nearly demolishing the entire city.

Plaza recalls that although she went through earthquake drills in school about once a year, what really reinforced preparation for her was her parents’ wary attitude.

“My parents were really cautious about it and they kept reminding [my brother and I] what to do,” Plaza said. “I remember my mom always said, ‘ … If an earthquake happens, you have to run under a doorway.’”

As a result, Plaza does not believe that doing earthquake drills once a year will help prepare students well enough for a larger earthquake. She believes it is necessary to continue those drills throughout the year to reinforce students’ mindset regarding earthquakes. Plaza believes it is important for students to know that earthquakes are not mere myths and can inflict colossal damage.

“Doing one drill will never prepare you mentally for something like that — something big and dramatic and devastating,” Plaza said. “I don’t think [students] really understand how damaging this experience SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

can be, because they are only taught in a movie or newspaper or on the news. But I think we just always have that thought in the back of our minds because we do live in this area where we are prone to earthquakes, so we always have to know where our safest places around us are.”

What Plaza also finds faulty is the amount of protection MVHS students are offered by the chairs and attached desks.

Her school had sturdy, individual desks that were separate from chairs.

The benches in the PE locker rooms do not seem appealing to Plaza either as places of safety; she would rather run out of the building than attempt to crawl under a low, narrow bench with twenty other kids.

The mentality with which students and society in general face earthquakes is extremely salient, in Plaza’s opinion. She says that her friend, who was teaching in a tall building in Tokyo, Japan when a 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck the area, informed her that all of the students were calm and prepared — the class quietly evacuated without rushing or stumbling over people.

She attributes this to the way the entire society is mentally prepared for earthquakes.

Ultimately, Plaza thinks that staying calm

is the most important aspect of preparing for earthquakes. If the training is planted in at a young age, students may be more ready for an extensive earthquake — if and when it strikes.

What still frightens Plaza is the damage an earthquake can deliver in mere seconds and the lack of control human beings have in earthquakes. She recollects that twenty years ago, in Almaty, very few families had organized a survival kit because many people were in denial. She hopes that no one would have to experience an earthquake like she did.

“It’s something scary and you cannot control nature, and you cannot control the power of nature,” Plaza said. “It’s not like somebody’s shaking [his] foot and you tell [him], ‘Stop shaking your foot.’ You cannot tell the earth to stop shaking. I just hope that it’s not going to happen too often, and that [we will] be ready. Just know your stuff, be aware and educate yourself about the areas you live in.” y.wu@elestoque.org | m.zhong@elestoque.org

29

SPECIAL

ARE WE READY?

BY SARAH WEINBERG

Analyzing the earthquake preparedness of MVHS

N

early a quarter of a century has passed since the Loma Prieta earthquake. With pressure building in major faults, the chances of the inevitable next major earthquake striking California have since risen dramatically. It is virtually certain (99.7 percent chance) that a 6.7 magnitude or greater earthquake will hit by 2038—with a 63 percent chance it will happen in the Bay Area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2008 estimation.

Rocking the North Bay early in the morning, the recent 6.0 magnitude Napa Earthquake relieved some o­­ f this pressure and decreased the chance of a larger quake, as one would imagine. But according to Tom Brocher of USGS, the opposite is more likely—the relieving of pressure in one fault often adds pressure to surrounding ones.

Coastal California, encompassing the San Andreas fault, has been shaken into disquietude, with calls for improved early-

warning systems to be rekindled and safety concerns to be revived in preparation for the next 7.0 earthquake. But in the quake-prone Bay Area, schools—such as MVHS—have long been preparing, educating their students about emergency procedures and retrofitting their buildings.

Disappearing is the ambiguity as questions slowly begin to shift from “if” to “when,” but one remains unchanged for MVHS. Are we ready? s.weinberg@elestoque.org

The Loma Prieta earthquake was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that took 63 lives.

The 1988 Armenian EarthThe 1988 Armenian Earthquake killed 25 thousand. The quake killed 25,000. The difference lay in Armenia’s difference lay in Armecheaply constructed brick nia’s cheaply constructed or concrete buildings, which brick or concrete buildings, collapsed on its inhabitants, which collapsed on its inand of which only 24 percent habitants, and of which only remained habitable after the 24 percent remained habitshaking. able after the shaking.

Do you have these items in your safety kit?

30

AB 300

A bill ratified by the state legislature that requires the Division of the State Architect to evaluate and report the structural integrity and safety of buildings in public K-12 schools in California.

AB 300 Results

Listed 14 buildings at MVHS Notes that all 14 buildings had “limited seismic upgrades.”

crank radio: communication FIRST AID KIT: basic medical supplies WATER: drinking water NON-PERISHABLE FOOD: temporary food supply flashlight: light source (keep batteries separately) EL ESTOQUE

“Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do.”

— Federal Emergency Management Agency

WHAT’S THE CURRENT STATUS?

MONTA VISTA BUILDINGS “We’re only on the list because of the age.”

—Erik Walukiewicz, Director of Facilities for FUHSD said.

The buildings on the list were built before the stricter legislation of which were the standards for the AB 300 inspection in 2002.

El Estoque is currently verifying this information and the extent of the “limited voluntary upgrades”.

Visit elestoque.org to read about these findings.

WHAT DO WE DO IN THE EVENT OF AN EARTHQUAKE? “If something happens at a large scale ...our resources for emergency response are overwhelmed.”

—Ken Eriksen, Emergency Preparation Coordinator for Cupertino To combat this, Eriksen is currently working with other city officials to improve the emergency plan by integrating new information both from USGS findings and evaluative reports on recent disasters in the area.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

31

ADVERTISEMENT

1. Cross country athletes oversee Coach Kirk Flatow’s watermelon execution on Aug. 28. 2. Pictures of the players hang around the field hockey team room. The posters contributed to a sense of team unity. 3. Junior Namrata Subramanian finishes off her second piece of watermelon. Eating watermelon cooled the players down after the run. 4. Every field hockey senior’s locker is lettered and topped with a pink crown. Th e team seniors met in the beginning of the season to decorate the room with lights and streamers.

2

2

3

1 4

1

USED BUT IN GOOD CONDITION Teams change every year, but some traditions always stay the same.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KALPANA GOPALKRISHNAN

H

ey Coach, are you really good at Fruit Ninja?” said a runner as cross country coach Kirk Flatow drove a butcher’s knife through another watermelon.

Every year, the Cross Country team kicks off its first time trials with the Watermelon Run. After running from MVHS to Stevens Creek County Park, the players organize into groups based on speed and begin a loop that ends at the picnic tables. Times are ceremoniously tallied on a posterboard that two people have to carry. Then, the team marches to Flatow’s truck and carry the dozens of watermelons to the picnic tables.

For the grand finale, Flatow and co-coach Jodi Johnston slice the

Other Practices SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

fruit open to the great enjoyment of the team.

Every year, cross country runs, slices, and eats.

“I had to fill the whole shopping cart with watermelon,” Flatow said. “Everyone was like, what are you doing?”

Though Flatow shows his support with a cartload of watermelon, the runners take their turn to cheer every athlete at the finish line.

“I thought [the cheering] doesn’t really make a difference... because they can’t make your muscles physically less sore,” junior Isabel Ju said. “But it really does.”

Although every athlete runs a different time, everyone gets the same prize: lots of watermelon.

Boys Water Polo During homecoming week, the team runs around the campus in Speedos during “The Speedo Run.”

T

he team room’s locked. Junior Bronwen Hardee, who sees field hockey coach Denise Eachus, runs to her and fetches the keys.

The players, who wait on the curb, line up to enter the room. “[The team room] kind of creates a sense that we have our own field hockey oasis or home,” junior Nikki Stuart said. “It just fosters a sense of community.”

Unlike other after-school sports teams, field hockey doesn’t just treat their team room as a place where they get ready to play.

Each year, the team fixes up the room in a unique way.

During the first week of school or so, the team seniors rally together to decorate the room.

Free time is utilized to cut, glue and stream materials in utmost

Girls Water Polo Every newcomer carries a ball for the first two weeks of school. If they forget, 10 pushups.

secrecy. After an unveiling of the room to the varsity and junior varsity players, the room is free to be used for the season.

The players get ready with Christmas lights on top of the lockers and purple and gold streamers running across the ceiling. Quotes that range from “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take” to “YOLO” to “I like it raw” adorn the walls.

The team hashtag #wwbd (What would Belshe do?) glares at players from the various posters around the room.

Even though the team is only in their team oasis for 10 minutes or so a day, it’s a part of the field hockey experience. k.gopalkrishnan@elestoque.org

Football After every home game, win or loss, the whole team goes to In-N-Out. 33

SPORTS

Missing the point

Two students learn that athletes may receive PE credits in training for sports outside of school, an option omitted during course selection

BY MALINI RAMAIYER

After packing a racquet, shoes and glasses, junior Tara Arya wraps her calluses with medical tape every day before squash training. As a part of her regiment, Arya has clinic and gym time on Mondays and Thursdays, Stanford team practice on Tuesdays, privates lessons on Wednesdays, training with her dad on Saturdays, and matches with other competitors on Sundays. Only on Fridays, does Arya relax and just hit around. In one week, she trains for 10 to 11 hours, and squash season is year round.

Immediately after school, junior Talia Yukelson collects her white knee high socks, fencing shoes, an underarm protector, a chest

protector, a body cord, a fencing jacket, a glove and a mask — and that doesn’t even include the weapons. She travels for an hour to The Academy of Fencing Masters. Yukelson fences on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays, takes private lessons on Tuesdays and conditions on Friday. In one week, she also trains for 10 to 11 hours. Like squash, fencing takes place all year long Last year, both girls completed their PE graduation requirement. Ranked sixth in the nation for squash, Arya found that she could replace PE with her own rigorous training. Yet as one of the top 22 épée fencers in America, Yukelson was unaware of how to receive credits and struggled through a s even-p er io d year.

With one more period, Yukelson was forced to choose between school and fencing with what time was left.

“It’s really hard to find a balance b et we en [fencing and

THREE STEPS TO RECEIVE PE CREDITS

Kathleen Yuan | El Estoque Illustration

1.Submit proposal to PE Department

Kathleen Yuan | El Estoque Illustration

2. Wait for approval and sign contract

Rhonda Mak | El Estoque Illustration

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EL ESTOQUE

school],” Yukelson said. “I’d normally want school and SAT’s to go first, but my coach gets upset. If I put fencing first, my grades would go down. ” Know What Counts Before sophomore year started, Arya and her instructor looked around on the MVHS website to see if she could receive PE credit for squash. Arya eventually asked in the office and was handed an application.

To prove the FUHSD requirement of 400 minutes every 10 days, Arya and her instructor wrote up a proposal with a sample regimen. Then her Alpha administrator, Ben Clausnitzer, and the PE department chair, Jeff Thomas, decided whether she would receive PE credit.

Clausnitzer explains that most students do not even make it to the application

3. Report progress every grading period

request PE credit. This accommodation is not created for them. FUHSD set these guidelines for all five schools in the district for the sake of fairness — this rigidity eliminates possibilities of students taking shortcuts.

Time and Circumstance Both Yukelson and Arya travel an average of once or twice a month, even during the school year. Their tournaments frequently take place across the country or on entirely different continents.

Yet Yukelson headed to the Dance room for third period every day last year.

“There were sometimes we would do P90x or Cardio Fusion and then I’d have to go condition for fencing after school,” Yukelson said.

“It was awful. Just non-stop sweating.”

Yukelson believes that she did not receive PE credits because she did not ask at the proper time. As a freshman, Yukelson asked her father who asked her coach who asked his daughter, MVHS Dance teacher, Dasha Plaza if fencing would fulfill the PE requirement.

Everyone has to take PE as a freshman — the answer was no.

Only grades 10 through 12 may receive PE credit for sports not offered at MVHS. Had Yukelson known this, she would have applied a year later. FUHSD requires 400 minutes of exercise and Yukelson trains for 600 minutes a week.

She would have received PE credit.

This third option is not presented during course selection because it is rare that people actually fall under “extraordinary circumstances.” The office expects that students

who are working hard enough will take initiative and ask for PE credit themselves.

Fortunately for Arya, a inquiry at the end freshman year became a life saver. With a mere 50 extra minutes, Arya could get home, complete her homework and finish training just in time to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Clausnitzer describes that this rule was not created as a shortcut for those who play sports recreationally or sports offered at MVHS. Rather, it aims to provide relief for those already working hard enough and do not have the opportunity to play for the school.

Though selective, this process begins during course selection in spring when students are planning their classes for the upcoming year. Clausnitzer suggests that students discuss their situation with their guidance counselor or alpha administrator before they apply.

“That’s a good place to start anyway,” Clausnitzer said. “In my four years, I’ve only seen two. It really only is extraordinary situations. ” m.ramaiyer@elestoque.org

Kathleen Yuan | El Estoque Illustration

level as they often fail to meet one of two key criteria. First, the school must not offer the sport.

“This is really about a [MVHS] transcript and [MVHS] graduation requirements,” Clausnitzer said. “Students should be taking full advantage of what is offered at [MVHS].”

Second, the student must be performing at a highly-competitive level, which Clausnitzer repeatedly described as “extraordinary situations.” He explained that students sometimes play for local recreational teams and SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

35

SportsSPORTS

Pass it on

Results of previous seasons often put pressure on teams to maintain similar results or live up to higher expectations

BY SANJANA MURTHY

G

irls so ccer. Girls tennis. Boys cross count r y. T hree different spor t s, three different teams, one thing in common. T hey all have something to prove. T hey all want to prove those who doubt them w rong and show that they are st rong, capable and ready to win. T hough the three teams are doubted this year for different reasons, they all want to show that they are not weak, but are in fac t st ronger than ever before. A nd most impor t antly, they all want to create a legacy to pass on to f ut ure teams for them to lo ok up to and st r ive to uphold. But sometimes, others’ pressure and expec t ations can get in the way of this deter mination.

No pressure, no motivation “[Girls so ccer’s last season] definitely wasn’t as go od as I had hoped, but losing gave us an edge and has made us want to do bet ter this season,” junior A lissa Paterson said. “T he losses might ac t ually help us improve and motivate us to work harder.”

Rhond

a Mak

36

| El Es

toque

Illustra

tion

To Paterson, the results of previous seasons define her approach and the way she prepares for future seasons. Although the team’s losses last year have led to lower expectations from others regarding the success of the team, she and her teammates will not take this as an opp or t unit y to relax. Instead, the team is determined to tr y harder to be more successful in future seasons.

Paterson believes the team will have a much bet ter exper ience this year because last season, with a new coach and a team consisting of an unusual number of f reshmen, it took the girls long to build a st rong foundation and get to k now each other well as players on the field. T his season, she look s for ward to a tighter-k nit team and the chance to f ur ther improve upon st rategies f rom last year.

“Pressure to a cer t ain extent helps me, but a lot of negative feedback from coaches or teammates br ings my game down and makes me lose my focus,” Paterson said. “T his year, I’m going to change my at titude and tr y to believe in the team and our abilit y to win.”

Clearly, although pressure can motivate a player, it can also be det r iment al. Never theless, Paterson has decided to forget about it and fo cus on what is impor t ant: being there for her team when her exper tise is more necessar y than ever before. A long with the expec t ations to do better than last year, there is also an added responsibilit y to being a par t of the team as an upperclassmen. She believes that because several key players graduated last year,

she and her fellow upperclassmen will have to step it up a notch, a thought that was daunting at first, but now has made Paterson deter mined to play her best this season.

Success that comes with a price W hile the girls so ccer team hopes to prove that they are still a st rong team that is capable of qualif ying for CCS, the girls tennis team, after winning CCS and Nor Cal the past three years, must live up to the high expec t ations of previous years.

“It’s almost expec ted that ever y year we’re going to win, but at some point, that cycle has to change,” girls tennis coach Gene For tino said.

According to For tino, he and his team are planning to t ake the season game by game and point by point, rather than wor r ying about the expec t ations f rom others. A s a coach, he t r ies to be laid-back and makes an effor t to not put unnecessar y pressure on the players. A s a team k now n for being consistently successf ul, he k nows how much st ress the girls already have on their shoulders and do es not want to f ur ther add to that weight.

For tino is proud of his team for having remained st rong throughout a difficult per iod of losses and injur ies last year and believes they are capable of handling pressure in a calm and composed manner once again.

Much like her coach, capt ain senior Nicole Stomak hin has lower expec t ations for this year, but still hopes to be able to live up to the team’s glowing reput ation. With the graduation of most of their top singles players, Stomak hin is unsure about what is in store EL ESTOQUE

for the team this year.

According to Stomak hin, when the team won CCS and Nor Cals last year, many were sur pr ised and even sho cked.

T his reac tion really showed her how much of an effec t the players on a team have on the expec t ations set for it. She admit ted that the loss of those players had t aken a toll on the overall st reng th and sk ill of the team, but was not aware of the ex tent to which that loss had changed the way people viewed the team. However, Stomak hin hopes that consistent hard work and dedication will more than make up for what the team cur rently lack s in raw t alent.

W hile she hopes to qualif y for CCS and possibly even win it, at the same time, Stomak hin do es not want to set unreasonably high expec t ations for the team this season.

“T his year is different because our team isn’t as st rong as it was last year,” Stomak hin said. “Even mak ing it to CCS or winning it would be a huge accomplishment for us, while last year, ever yone pret t y much expec ted us to win.”

W hile some players get ner vous and dist rac ted under pressure, for Stomakhin, the feeling of k nowing that her f r iends are watching and ro oting for her motivates her to play to the best of her abilit y. T hough the expec t ation to const antly be at her best, both physically and ment ally, can o ccasionally become hard to manage, as a capt ain, she believes the team is depending on her to st ay st rong and dedicated throughout the season.

Dealing with disappointment Unlike girls tennis and girls so ccer, last season, the boys cross count r y team did not have a black and white season that was clearly either go od or bad. Finishing fifth in CCS, they had a relatively successf ul season, but the capt ains of the team are not ready to stop there.

“I feel like we could have done better and I think we had a lot more potential as a team,” capt ain senior Rohan Choudhur y said.

A lthough he was proud of what the team accomplished, Choudhur y felt they could have done bet ter, which is why they hope to win CCS this year by mak ing go od use of the st rong po ol of r unners that they have and st aying st rong together. Choudhur y also admitted that even though ever y year it get s SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

harder to win as they lose seniors that were a cr ucial par t of the team, the losses motivate the athletes to t rain even harder. According to him, the feeling of k nowing that you are capable of more or that you have done bet ter in previous years can prove to be a tough ment alit y to get over. “[Per for ming below expec t ations] really affec t s the way you t rain in the off-season because you want to do ever y thing you can so you don’t have to exper ience the same disappointment again,” Choudhur y said. “It makes you t rain a lot harder and you’re excited to come to prac tice ever y day.”

Choudhur y’s co-capt ain, senior A k s h ay T hont a k uTHE LOSSES di think s beMIGHT ACTU- that cause the ALLY HELP US team has perIMPROVE AND not f o r m e d exc e p t i o n MOVTIVATE ally well US TO WORK the last few years, HARDER there is not junior Alissa Paterson as much pressure as there might have been had they exceeded expec t ations previously. T his will allow the team to fo cus on improving as much as they can without having to wor r y about expec t ations.

W hether they are a player on the field, a coach or a parent on the sidelines, past seasons affec t ever yone involved with a team. Teams are const antly look ing for ways to improve and become bet ter than they were previously. A s a result, the st ress that comes with those expec t ations can sometimes be over whelming.

A s past players graduate, they leave behind a team that isn’t the same without them. However, it is impor t ant for teams to recover f rom this and realize the impor t ance of not dwelling on the past. T hey should st r ive to st ar t f resh ever y season, with the hope of leaving their mark and creating a legacy to be upheld for years to come. s.murthy@elestoque.org

GIRLS SOCCER

LAST SEASON: With a new coach and few returning players, the team was only able to win one of their games last season and did not qualify for CCS.

THIS SEASON: Junior Alissa Paterson (featured) aims to win more games, qualify for CCS and overall have a much better season.

GIRLS TENNIS

LAST SEASON:

Girls tennis won NorCals as well as CCS for the third year in a row.

THIS SEASON: Captain senior Nicole Stomakhin (featured) hopes the team will continue as reigning CCS champions and maintain their nearly spotless record.

37

SPORTS

The whole nine innings After Iearning the trials of baseball, I’m exhaused

I

n the Ramaiyer household, the living room is always occupied. Glued to the screen, my father normally follows whatever sport is on ESPN while I try to switch to Grey’s Anatomy.

But last Friday, I decided to sit through a whole baseball game with my father to see what kept him so captivated throughout the summer. With the Oakland Athletics up against the Seattle Mariners, my father generously explained the stakes while peeling potatoes for dinner.

The A’s started off the season successfully with a 72 - 44 record and were projected to be the top team in the West. But ever since they traded star-player Yoenis Cespedes, the team has been on a downward spiral.

Trying to make myself excited for a three hour game, I sat down and turned to Pregame Live on ESPN. I checked the guide, and apparently these two oldish men had already been sitting and discussing the upcoming game for 17 minutes.

Besides the astonishment that they could talk for so long about how other men hit balls, I almost got a seizure from the numbers that constantly appeared on the screen.

All I saw were mugshots and percentages, baseball fans and more percentages.

The spectacle of me watching sports brought the whole family to the living room, so I had moral support for my treacherous journey through the recesses of the MLB. The first batter from the A’s goes up — Coco Crisp, that’s an actual name? The batter who seems to be named after a Vishal Nagar | El Estoque Illustration

38

sugar cereal taps the bat on the plate and breathes as if performing a ritual.

Jason Paxton from the Mariners pitches, and his bat barely flinched. Is Coco blind?

My father explained that Crisp passed because it was a bad pitch. A pitcher’s mistake is a ball, and a batter’s mistake is a strike.

Four balls is one walk, and three strikes is an out. I tried to predict which pitches would be a ball and which would be a strike.

First pitch: Ball! Strike.

Second pitch: Ball! Strike.

Third pitch: Strike! Foul.

None of the players shave as a superstition so they looked like shamans in tights, chewing gum and never smiling. However, only nine of these uncouth players have to cover one whole field — no wonder they never smile.

My family went out to get dinner. It was just me and the game. Focus Malini.

The score was 1-2 with the A’s down, but the A’s had the bases loaded after two walks with two outs. Jed Lowrie comes up to bat, and I focused in.

My noisy family had swarmed back.

Right when I opened my mouth to tell them to shut up, Lowrie struck out. According to resident umpire a.k.a. my father, he should have passed and made it a ball. With the A’s back on defense, the game had hit a plateau. The bottom of the eighth and the score hadn’t changed since the sixth inning.

T h e p l ay e r s had been at it for two hours already, and I was mentally exhausted.

Baseball is like a game of Sorry. You rarely ever roll ones or sixes to break out of your home, but when you do, the game becomes

a race to the finish. The batters rarely ever break their ruts of balls, strikes and fouls.

When the batter actually does get a hit or steal a base, the game wakes up and slaps you in the face with mere seconds of action.

And so at the top of the ninth, the game begins again. I guess seventh and eighth innings filter out the weak — my father wanted to switch to the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers game at 9-0, but I was going to go the whole nine innings. Suddenly, the A’s were getting on the bases. They had a sliver of a chance to win.

Two outs for the A’s already. One more, and the game would be over. The A’s batter walks up emotionless. Five pitches: ball,

MALINI RAMAIYER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

strike, ball, strike and strike — he’s out.

A game that ran for three hours ended in three minutes.

My dad cussed and switched to the more positive Giants vs. Dodgers game. Then he moved back to watch postgame analysis.

I was a little more upset. I had just struggled through three hours, and the team lost.

From the reason the pitcher suddenly throws the ball to first base to the difference between a ball and strike, at least I understand how America’s favorite past time works. The gray area begins with the tenacity of the players to go on for three hours everyday. They were to play the next day and the day after. I got even more tired just thinking about it.

Baseball is a game of commitment and vigilance through and through, commitment and vigilance that I didn’t have. While I nodded off, pitcher Jason Paxton served up his 96th pitch. While I wandered onto Twitter, the umpire called on every pitch. While the A’s played for another three hours the next night, I slacked and skipped the game for a party — the A’s won. m.ramaiyer@elestoque.org

EL ESTOQUE

What’s in your bag?

Senior Young Guo’s must haves for cross country

BY JOSHUA TSUEI

5

1

6

2

4

7

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Senior Young Guo is preparing for his third season on cross country.

Though he initially joined the team his sophomore year to have fun and exercise with friends, Guo intends to improve and run seriously this year.

While his attitude toward running has one thing has stayed the same: Guo brings a bag to every cross country meet he has participated in hat holds a specific set of items necessary for his success in the sport.

1

Cross country runners need comfortable shoes to run well for long distances. “Can’t run in flip flops!”

2

“Granola bars are a quick source of energy. I eat them before the race to prevent any chance of cramping up.”

3

“We are really sweaty after a race so it is nice to have clean clothes to change into.”

4

“They usually don’t have nice facilities to use for a lot of people, so sometimes there’s not enough toilet paper and it’s better to be prepared”.

5

Runners wear shorts and a singlet when they compete, each singlet is uniform to the school it comes from.

6

Runners wear these warmups over their singlet and shorts before running to keep warm.

7

Meets are “rain-or-shine” events so it is important to have somewhere to put clothes that might have gotten wet during the race. j.tsuei@elestoque.org

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

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