Volume 52, Issue 5, March 18, 2022

elESTOQUE MARCH 2022

VOLUME 52 ISSUE 4

S O R R Y SF A U L T G U

12 GUILT

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L

It manifests in the pang that follows a transaction at the mall and in the crushing pressure to succeed to ensure that immigrant parent sacrifices were not made in vain. How does guilt shape us? And what can we learn from it?

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elESTOQUE

21840 McClellan Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 elestoque.org mv.el.estoque@gmail.com Editors-in-Chief: Michelle Chen, Anushka De, Jayanti Jha Managing Editors: Ishaani Dayal, Devin Gupta, Lance Tong, Matthew Yoshimoto Copy Editor: Meggie Chen, Sophia Chen, Sarah Liu News Editors: Melody Cui, Jefferson Le, Tanish Mendki, Jisha Rajala Opinion Editors: Diya Bahl, Shivani Madhan, Kripa Mayureshwar, Jiya Singh Feature Editors: Riya Ravuri, Jannah Sheriff, Prisha Tiwari, Mira Wagner Entertainment Editors: Justin Kim, Gauri Manoj, Aditya Shukla, Shivani Verma Sports Editors: Anna Jerolimov, Irene Tang, Nika Zamani, Michelle Zheng Graphics Editors: Mikaylah Du, Sophia Ma, Lillian Wang Website Editors: Krish Dev, Devin Gupta, Gavin Hung Staff Writers: Crystal Cheng, Nameek Choudhury, Tvisha Gupta, Minjae Kang, Anna Kaminitz, Taryn Lam, Sarah Liu, Geethi Tarra, Aashna Patel, Kalyani Puthenpurayil, Aashi Venkat, Sonia Verma, April Wang, Alex Zhang, Angela Zhang Adviser: Julia Satterthwaite, MJE Mission Statement: El Estoque will accurately inform our community through well-researched, unbiased and in-depth accounts of the student body and staff, news and developments and taboo topics prevalent in and near MVHS. Investigating various voices and credible perspectives, we hope to foster active discussion, effect positive change and spread awareness of timely, relevant content. As a trustworthy and reliable source of information, we strive to be accountable, adaptable and ready to correct and address our mistakes.

Constantly striving for improvement, we will uphold integrity and ethics to be respectful and empathetic to our sources and our readers. We will exercise our press freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment and California Ed Code 48907 while maintaining a community passionate about our work and journalism as a whole.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS It only takes typing the ‘W’ into the search bar for the game to show up.

Perhaps while taking a post-midnight study break, munching on cereal in the morning or sitting in the car before school starts. Take a deep breath. Play it safe with ADIEU? A good eliminator of vowels, but there’s no chance of getting the word in a single guess. Or perhaps, guess a random word, one that’s a little unconventional (playing after the New York Times’ acquisition is not for the faint of heart).

Guess the word in three or less and we send it to six friends, a sibling, possibly even post it on our story. Guess in four or more and the word is suddenly a personal affront. Close the game with a sigh and grumble about how the New York Times is ruining the game with its overly niche words. Guessing, strategizing, complaining and exulting at five letter words wouldn’t have made even an iota of sense five months ago. But now, it’s a representation of a much more significant five letter word: unity.

The beauty of Wordle is its power to transcend separations by creating common ground. In our Features package, we explore unity and connection through a different lens: language. We traverse learning a new language, but we also mourn the loss of languages we never learned or forgot. Language is the bridge that connects people thousands of miles apart, that ties us inextricably to a country we may have only visited once, to culture and stories and traditions that go back far longer than a five letter guessing game.

Another five letter word we investigate in our Opinion package is guilt. We mourn the sacrifices our immigrant parents made and explore the instances of daily guilt like the desire to indulge in fast fashion. Guilt in any form is a heavy burden, but it is also what fuels us to do better, to push harder, to make a difference.

Guilt. Pride. Unity. The five letter words that define us are limitless. But in the face of the barriers, the highs and the lows, we find reasons to keep connecting with each other. If anything, the five letter word game with its black and yellow and green tiles is evidence of just that.

PHOTO | ISHAANI DAYAL

COVER ILLUSTRATION | ANUSHKA DE

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

Michelle Chen

Anushka De

Jayanti Jha

PHOTO | MIKAYLAH DU

PHOTO | KRISH DEV

8 IN

8 THIS

What’s your sign?

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

8

PHOTO | GAURI MANOJ

ISSUE

What’s your sign?

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

Bidding farewell to Bove

Superintendent Bove reflects on her career at FUHSD

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Guilt off the rack

Addressing the guilt students face from fast fashion

20

Finding a voice

Examining how English Language Learners navigate school

30

Picture us here

Behind Kelly Loy Gilbert’s MVHS-set novel, “Picture Us in the Light”

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Refuse to lose

Girls Basketball goes 12-0 in league and PHOTO BY SOMEONE | USED WITH PERMISSION competes in three rounds of CCS playoffs

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

03

CAN I WE USE THE N - WORD?

n a recent district-wide proposal developed by Cupertino High School teacher Elise Robinson, teachers across English and Social Studies departments at all five FUHSD sites are urged to prohibit the use of the N-word under any circumstance by non-Black students, including in educational contexts where the slur might be mentioned in texts in the curriculum. The proposal states that several anti-racist texts should be employed as resources to educate the community on the word’s specific history, and that the slur is both a “chief symbol of white racism” and “a term of exclusion, a verbal justification for discrimination.”

Although many Literature and History teachers had previously prohibited the use of the N-word in the classroom, Robinson wants to standardize this norm across all humanities classes.

Robinson passed her suggestion to Robert Javier, the Fremont Education Association VP Equity Chair and Fremont High School English teacher, who then reached out to Greg Merrick, the FUHSD English curriculum lead and FHS teacher and Social Science curriculum lead Vivianna Torres. The proposal was created in January and outlines that the N-word should not

Examining the recent district proposal to prohibit the use of the N-word by non-Black students in literature and history contexts

BY JISHA RAJALA AND ANNA KAMINITZ

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

NEWS be spoken aloud or written in any describes a similar experience educational setting. witnessing the use of the N-word “The whole point of sharing this by non-Black students on campus. [proposal] with the Curriculum Leads Having experienced this on several is to broaden the scope of this accounts, Mobley stresses the “moral conversation, especially to educate obligation” of teachers at MVHS to teachers to be effective, appropriate, establish and enforce the prohibition of professional, sensitive and mindful non-Black students using the N-word in their content delivery,” Javier in their classrooms — she shares said. “I have its importance THERE’S A LOT OF NONnot witnessed in “mak[ing] BLACK PEOPLE WHO ARE any teachers sure that their UPSET THAT THERE’S expressing the students feel SOMETHING THAT BLACK N-word, but safe in their PEOPLE HAVE THAT anecdotes from classrooms and THEY DON’T HAVE. IT’S staff at different equal to their THIS REALLY KIND OF sites and from peers.”

BACKWARDS LOGIC OF, students clearly “I think that ‘WHY DO THEY GET show that there it’s normalized SOME PRIVILEGE?’ are teachers everywhere who are not America, MVHS ALUMNA ‘21 in educated or u n f o r t u n a t e l y, MOLLY MOBLEY aware that which is why it’s this is something we do need to also normalized here,” Mobley said. systematically address. If we as “There’s a lot of non-Black people teachers model this correctly for who are upset that there’s something students, we can only hope we have that Black people have that they don’t helped students think twice about its have. It’s this really kind of backwards casual usage.” logic of, ‘Why do they get some Through his experience teaching at privilege?’”

CHS for 24 years, Merrick expresses Mobley says it is important that nonthat he has seen the N-word used in Black students are taught the history books such as “The Adventures of behind the N-word and its multiple Huckleberry Finn,” “Their Eyes Were forms. She states that if students Watching God,” “The Invisible Man” don’t have proper historical context and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” However, on all race issues, a lack of productive he believes that the flippant use of the and meaningful conversations will N-word isn’t necessarily linked to its inevitably cause society to repeat presence in literature texts. the past. Mobley encourages both “We know [the N-word is] in the teachers and students to pursue media that many of our students and, these topics independently through to be honest, the adults on campuses research rather than relying on other consume,” Merrick said. “Whether students in the Black community. With that might be in the form of music, hopes of fulfilling this, Merrick has TV or movies, [our] patterns of media done research in order to provide consumption probably contribute to students and teachers with the proper this phenomenon to some degree. insightful resources.

And that is part of the reason why “We found an article written by we’re developing this norm around someone who identifies as Asian prohibiting the use of it in English and American and talked a little bit Social Studies classes.” about how, from an Asian American MVHS alumna ‘21 Molly Mobley perspective, it’s important to be

mindful of not using the word and how it intersects with some of the interest[s] of the Asian American community,” Merrick said. “We grabbed resources like that, designed to be accessible to students so that they can understand them and hear them from a variety of perspectives.”

According to Javier, while it is crucial to establish norms for other offensive terms, it is also essential to recognize the significance of the N-word and its personal impact on many staff and students.

“It is important that we do not lump in the N-word with all offensive terms [and] racial slurs because the N-word is a very specific, systemic thing that has roots and history that continue to feed the anti-black sentiments that run rampant in society and unfortunately in our schools,” Javier said. “But it clearly falls in line with a zero-tolerance for such hate speech.”

Merrick hopes that the future of literature and history curricula maintain diversity by presenting a myriad set of narratives to students.

“I hope that we continue to move towards literature that allows all of our students with their diverse identities to see themselves fairly and humanly or humanely represented in literature,” Merrick said. “[We hope to do this in] ways that are respectful, that celebrates their cultural identities, their racial, ethnic identities, their gender identities, all those sorts of things.”

NO. NEWS | MARCH 2022

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BIDDING FAREWELL TO POLLY BOVE Superintendent Bove reflects on her career at FUHSD

BY CRYSTAL CHENG

S

uperintendent Polly Bove announced her plans for retirement before the end of the school year on Jan. 7, 2022. After 33 years of working at FUHSD and 16 years serving as superintendent, Bove believes that the school board has excelled in outlining clear goals and will choose an appropriate replacement for her.

“If I waited much longer, we’d have a brand new board, and we’d have to

tough job of figuring out who they want to run the district,” Bove said. “I’ve been superintendent for a really long time, and I think it’s always good to give organizations a new opportunity to grow and change.”

Associate Superintendent Tom Avvakumovits first heard about Bove’s decision the night before her formal announcement. While Avvakumovits offered his support, he admits hoping it would happen “as late as possible”.

PHOTO BY JACQUELINE RAMSEYER ORRELL | USED WITH PERMISSION

rethink things and get ready to do this

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

“It was not a total surprise, because she has over 50 years in the system, [and] when anyone has that many years and reaches a certain age, people start to wonder when it is [they’ll retire],” Avvakumovits said.

“But because she’s been such a great role model and influence on me, I did not want her to retire. I still don’t want her to retire.”

Although Bove started working for FUHSD in 1989, her journey in education started when she moved to California from Illinois looking to work for IBM. However, Bove was unable to pursue working with computers.

Having gotten her teaching credentials at the University of Illinois and remembering her previous enjoyment as a student teacher, Bove found a job teaching math and computer science at a local high school, thinking she would return to computers later in her life.

“I loved [teaching these subjects],” Bove said. “It was addictive to me. I just thought being with kids was the most wonderful thing on earth, and watching them learn and thinking of ways to help them work.”

Bove went on to explore other jobs in education, including being a school counselor, summer school teacher and a Human Resources director at the district office. She attributes her position as the superintendent to being “in the right place at the right time.”

“In some ways, it was a fluke,” Bove said. “It just happened that the superintendent that was here had a falling out with the board and they needed somebody suddenly. And I said, ‘Well, OK, I’ll give it a shot for a little while,’ because there was nobody else to do it … and 16 years later, I’m [still] here.”

One specific quality of the FUHSD

board that Bove felt touched by in approach,’ because traditionally, her transition from working at a high union and management can be on school in San Ramon to being an opposite sides,” Avvakumovits said.

Assistant Principal at Homestead “That stayed with me, that approach, High School, her first job at FUHSD, and has [also] been in this district for was its “commit[ment] to being 20 years.” better.” When she went on to become For the future, Bove hopes to see PHOTO BY JACQUELINE RAMSEYER ORRELL | USED WITH superintendent, Bove operated by the FUHSD community continue their PERMISSION this principle in her efforts to unify work in minimizing gaps in academic Polly Bove gives a speech at the opening of the community and provide a suitable achievement, so that “all students feel the MVHS gym lobby in 2019. space to students and staff. safe and comfortable and valued.”

“The kind of commitment that She looks forward to seeing the surrounds this place and has continued completion of projects and is excited to be part of the culture for years, is to see what changes the community just unparalleled in my mind,” Bove will implement, with her role being said. “There were many times [where] filled with new shoes.

I was building “I really, really THE KIND OF COMMITMENT hope programs, other when I was people get the THAT SURROUNDS THIS working for PLACE AND HAS CONTINUED opportunity to educational do the thing PHOTO BY JACQUELINE RAMSEYER ORRELL | USED WITH PERMISSION TO BE A PART OF THE options or they love, CULTURE FOR YEARS IS JUST because then Polly Bove, second from the right, poses at special ed, UNPARALLELED IN MY MIND. it never feels the Education Options senior center. and had to think about like work,” SUPERINTENDENT Bove said. “It how I could work with staff POLLY BOVE doesn’t mean to create a it’s not hard — program that would meet the needs of sometimes challenging or upsetting students where high school wasn’t a or frustrating — but if you love it, you perfect place for them.” can stick with it. And I’ve had that Associate Superintendent Trudy incredible opportunity to do that here.

Gross is a member of staff who has So for me, it’s really been a gift.”

PHOTO BY JACQUELINE RAMSEYER ORRELL | USED collaborated with Bove on such WITH PERMISSION programs, including a program that Polly Bove, second in front from the left, supported kids with autism. Gross poses with staff at the HHS Innovation sees these programs as “the one thing that [she will] always remember about her.”

“I think she’s very known in the district for her program development, particularly in the area of special education,” Gross said. “But even when she was Director of Educational Services, she brought Middle College, to the district and our college now program and many other things.”

Along with her programs, Avvakumovits believes that another aspect of Bove’s legacy that will stay intact even after she leaves is the culture of collaboration. He recalls an incident when the school district was going through a financially challenging time, and Bove, the HR director at the time, chose by open approach PHOTO BY JACQUELINE RAMSEYER ORRELL | USED WITH PERMISSION Avvakumovits and his team about the Polly Bove, third from the left, poses with members of the Board of Trustees and needed help. community members at the FUHSD school facility at Vallco.

“That was kind of like, ‘What an NEWS | MARCH 2022

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ENROLLMENT DECLINES Explaining the causes and effects of lower enrollment within FUHSD

BY TANISH MENDKI AND MATTHEW YOSHIMOTO

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n the past school year, MVHS’s total enrollment shrank from 2,082 to 1,842 students and is predicted to reach a student body of 1,619 by the 202526 school year. This steady decline in the number of students is “not just a bubble — it’s a trend,” according to Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Tom Avvakumovits.

One explanation for declining enrollment is record low birth rates in the Bay Area. Data collected by the California Department of Public Health shows a large decrease in births in the county, dropping from 26,730 births in 2008 to 22,137 nine years later.

Another cause of declining enrollment is the high cost of living and recent modifications to the interior designs of homes, according to Thomas R. Williams, the Principal Demographer for Enrollment Projection Consultants.

New developments are mainly onebedroom units, which is targeted to young tech employees as opposed to families — this decreases the number of students who would attend FUHSD schools.

“It’s not like we’ve cut your art program or your music program,”

08

2,028

2020-21

2,193

2019-20

2018-19

2,274

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

1,842

2021-22

NUMBER OF STUDENTS AT

Avvakumovits said. “You can still a majority of the student body take band. You still have access to takes these courses. While MVHS five different levels of four different enrollment has overall decreased, the languages. [Although it] gets harder number of sections of certain offerings and harder to maintain, the course has grown, such as AVID, Drama and offerings have not diminished as a Journalism. result of declining enrollment.”

English and Drama teacher Hannah FUHSD has Gould fears that prior experience courses she I’M HEARTENED BY THE with declining teaches “might FACT THAT WE HAVE A enrollment at not exist, or might Lynbrook High just continue to HISTORY OF [OFFERING School.

When shrink moving COMPREHENSIVE LHS faced record forward.” Gould PROGRAMS]. low attendance in is concerned that 2016, the FUHSD FUHSD ASSOCIATE students who Board passed SUPERINTENDENT are interested in the Lynbrook TOM AVVAKUMOVITS Drama might miss Supplemental the opportunity S c h o o l due to the district Assignment Plan, created by the making schedules based on the top Citizens Advisory Committee on 6 choices of students. However, Enrollment. In this plan, all students this year, MVHS added a section of from Miller Middle School had the Beginning Drama and Writing for option to enroll at LHS, while 22 spots Publication by using students’ seventh were reserved for students from Hyde choices.

Middle School.

“A lot of people are just thinking of “That’s an example of [FUHSD] ‘we might have to have a few more trying to say, ‘Hey, we value people split between sites,’ and, ‘No, a comprehensive high school what’s a small thing for the whole experience for our school is this massive thing for these students,’” MVHS electives courses,’” Gould said. “[Other MVHS BY YEAR Principal Ben elective teachers and I are] trying to Clausnitzer said. explain the urgency of the problem “That’s an example from our perspective. I’m honestly not of one solution that’s sure if the people who are in these occurring right now in positions of power to help push these our district, and that conversations forward have a full could be something understanding of how urgent it is.” that is explored in the Clausnitzer acknowledges that future for [MVHS].” smaller programs will be more C l a u s n i t z e r negatively impacted if enrollment says that declining decreases to below approximately enrollment has 1,650 students. a proportionate “I’m committed to [giving] students impact on larger as much choice and as many departments, such opportunities to have comprehensive as Science, Math, programs as possible,” Avvakumovits English, Social said. “We have a history of doing so Science and World when our schools many, many years Languages, since ago were even smaller.”

TAKE OUR FEBRUARY NEWS QUIZ Test your knowledge of key events last month

BY RIYA RAVURI AND MATTHEW YOSHIMOTO

1

5

least 2,500 students?

6

COVID-19

After what date will the mask mandate be lifted indoors in California schools?

Culture

Football

8

Which team won the 2022 Super Bowl on Feb. 13?

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Wordle

9

SNL

Who leading Whichwas the company Republican candidate purchased the popular during the California word game Wordle, recall election? announced on Jan. 31?

Which country’s culture was showcased on the last day of MVHS Cultural Week?

2

Berkeley

Who the leading Whichwas group filed a Republican candidate lawsuit against UC during thecausing California Berkeley, it to recall election? cap enrollment by at

Valentine

On which day were Singing Valentines delivered by MV Choirs?

3

Warfare

Who the adopted leading What was country Republican candidate EU sanctions against during the California Russia on Feb. 28, recall election? despite its history of

Who Whichwas the two leading staff Republican candidate members hosted MV’s during the 18California SNL on Feb. and 19? recall election?

neutrality?

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Olympics

Where were the 2022 Winter Olympics hosted?

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Mosque

In which country did a blast hit a mosque, killing 56 people?

ILLUSTRATIONS | GAURI MANOJ 1) India; 2) Los Angeles Rams; 3) Switzerland; 4) Beijing; 5) Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods; 6) March 11; 7) The New York Times; 8) Feb. 16; 9) Peter Pelkey & David Hartford; 10) Pakistan

Answers:

NEWS | MARCH 2022

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Opinion ADIEU AUX CRÉDITS World language should be emphasized in elementary school instead

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just memorized the answers for the next oral.”

“I just put it in Google Translate and switched around a few words.”

“I’ve forgotten the conjugations from the beginning of the year.”

These statements fly around MVHS hallways during brunch, lunch and passing periods. Commonly taken to be eligible for UCs and to be a more competitive a p p l i c a n t for college admissions, world language classes have become integral to the MVHS experience.

The world language classes offered at MVHS — Spanish, French, Chinese and Japanese — are taught by experienced teachers with a variety of learning methods. From orals and written exams to creative projects, these classes give students a foundation of a new language.

However, the issue lies within the timing of these classes, pushed upon students in high school — a time when grasping a new language will take many more hours of practice rather than when we’re younger.

A Boston research study found that learning a new language, solely from a grammatical perspective, can be done most easily until age 18. But the ability to become fluent in a second language is strongest up until age 10.

After three to four years of taking a world language in high school, most don’t obtain fluency in the slightest — it’s often only months of not being given required homework and tests in class that we forget the basics of the grammar and vocabulary. In fact, even from the beginning of the semester to the end, we can forget words and conjugations that disappear from our brains after memorization for a test.

It’s common for MVHS students to find loopholes around taking the recommended two years of language classes to make room in their schedules for other course offerings by taking summer and online courses. At the end of the day, their counterparts with four years of high school classes just might end up with the same fluency.

And the lack of complete fluency obtained from these classes shows. According to the General Social Survey from 2006, 25% of Americans selfreported speaking a language other than English. However, only 7% of this group attributes school as where they learned the majority of their second language. This 7% isn’t enough for UCs to keep years of world language classes a requirement in high school.

With the implementation of Ethnic Studies and Health courses, space to explore electives in course schedules is limited, and MVHS students simply don’t have the time to invest in language learning.

Instead, we should promote elementary and middle schools to make learning languages a requirement because learning languages obviously comes with many rewards, including the ability to obtain fluency much more quickly, cultural awareness and improved cognitive abilities that’ll pay off in the long run.

If a student is starting to learn a language in high school, they should be choosing out of their own volition, not because it’s a requirement for UC applications. In this case, they’ll be intrinsically motivated to study and seek out immersive experiences themselves, accelerating their language learning journey outside the classroom.

In a world filled with a lack of cultural awareness and appreciation, there’s no doubt that we should be promoting learning new languages.

Let’s focus on teaching kids another language at younger ages when their brains are most ready and removing these courses from the UC’s eligibility requirements. This way, our next generation of graduates will be genuinely interested in their second, or even third or fourth, languages and not just jumping through hoops.

ILLUSTRATION | KALYANI PUTHENPURAYIL

OPINION | MARCH 2022

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LEAVING IT ALL BEHIND Exploring the guilt that surrounds being a child of immigrants

BY DIYA BAHL

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

O

ur parents led whole different dream was to get his MBA and work lives before us. They had their in the business world, but after own childhoods, went to high moving to America, he had to put his school, hung out with their friends and aspirations on hold. He began working had their own hobbies, just like we do. at Subway before moving on to drive a Some of them even lived in entirely taxi cab for many years. He eventually different countries. progressed from being a taxi driver to My mom used to be a fashion being an Uber driver, which he was for designer. She loved the intricate numerous years, but nevertheless, he process of picking colors, cutting still wasn’t doing what he truly desired. fabric, putting pieces together and Being a child of immigrants, I can’t creating something help but feel guilty she would love about the life I have for other people after what they I FEEL BAD FOR ALL to wear. Without had to go through.

THAT THEY DO FOR the opportunity They came here so ME, KNOWING THAT to go to college, I could go to the she dove into the best schools, live THEY LET GO OF world of fashion in a prestigious city THEIR PERSONAL after graduating like Cupertino and INTERESTS TO BE from high school, have access to the 100% SUPPORTIVE OF and even modeled proper resources to MINE. her clothes on pursue my dreams the side. After — something they moving to the U.S. didn’t get the from India in 1999 along with my dad opportunity to have. Their sacrifices and older sister, who was two years for my success cause me to dwell on old at the time, she neglected her what could have been for them, and hobby and instead did whatever she how unfair it is that I will be able to could to help make ends meet. She achieve most of what I want when they cleaned houses, babysat children and couldn’t for many years after moving eventually opened a home daycare in to this country. our tiny apartment’s living room.

And what adds to the guilt is their My dad dabbled in many fields, unconditional and loving support. They from serving in the Indian Army to came here to give us a better life, so somehow also modeling. His ultimate they do all that they can to ensure we

ILLUSTRATIONS | SOPHIA MA AND LILLIAN WANG

never have to go through the hardships they had to deal with. They offer to get me a tutor when I’m struggling in a subject, and they support me when I pursue my hobbies like being on the Bhangra team, or wanting to volunteer at a hospital to further my interest in medicine. I feel bad for all that they do for me, knowing that they let go of their personal interests to be 100% supportive of mine.

But their sacrifices also serve as motivation to make them proud. With the life they’ve worked so hard to give me, I can’t imagine wasting it and not fulfilling their desire for me to be as successful as I can be. I actively try my best to turn this guilt into an incentive for working hard so that their actions weren’t for no reason.

And, it’s not like they’ve completely lost sight of their own ambitions. My mom’s favorite activity in the world is shopping — she’ll go to the mall in her free time, browsing every store even if she has no intention of buying anything. She loves to style the clothes she already owns, and enjoys creating outfits for my sister and I whenever we need the help. Although she was never able to make a career out of it, she never lost sight of her love for fashion throughout the years. In addition, my dad recently became a certified real estate agent, finally fulfilling his goal of working in the business world.

Though it took them almost 15 years, they’ve come back to their goals, and accomplished most of what they’ve desired. My parents now own preschools together, continuing my dad’s love for business and my mom’s history of working with children. I’ll forever be grateful for all the sacrifices they made so I can live the life I am right now, no matter how guilty I feel about it.

OPINION | MARCH 2022

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GUILT OFF THE RACK Addressing the guilt students face from fast fashion

BY NAMEEK CHOWDHURY AND JIYA SINGH

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t seems like every other week, there is another fashion trend blowing up our Instagram feeds, For You pages or at school. Between baggy jeans, sweater vests and the resurgence of 2000s fashion that has gained popularity in the past couple of years, it’s clear that fast fashion plays a key role in students’ clothing choices.

ILLUSTRATI

ON | MIKAY

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LAH DU

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

Fast fashion is defined as an aesthetic. She notes that Instagram approach to the design, creation and trends influenced her choice of collared marketing of clothing that emphasizes shirts, hats and ties. She says layering is making trends quickly and cheaply an integral part of her style. available to consumers.

“When I say [SALES PERPETUATE layering, I mean This speedy distribution of clothing which marks different textures FAST FASHION] trends as being “in” or of clothing, not BECAUSE IF I’M “out” motivates various necessarily wearing GETTING JEANS FOR young people to buy multiple jackets,” $9.99, WHY WOULD I Diaz said. “Layering more cheaply made PAY $50 ANYWHERE clothing for instant different textures gratification. like lace, corsets and ELSE? JUNIOR jewelry. I think that For many MVHS ANKITA students, conversations jewelry has become CHAUGULE very important in my surrounding the morality of fast fashion retailers fashion.” have been circulating, encouraging Junior Ankita Chaugule credits the students to disengage from the constantly changing fashion industry inexpensive and “trendy” styles and for her urge to buy clothing as soon as prioritize sustainability. a new trend comes out. However, while While junior Lourdes Diaz follows she would previously visit websites like recent clothing trends, her style Shein after seeing others find jeans for gravitates towards a “Dark Academia” as low as $7, she now looks towards sales in malls at some of her favorite stores such as H&M and Zara. “[Sales perpetuate fast fashion] because if I’m getting jeans for $9.99, why would I pay $50 anywhere else?”

Chaugule said. “The cheap jeans could be of the same quality [as the $50 jeans] but it might not be, which is probably why it’s on sale.”

On the other hand, junior Darpan Singh does not feel guilty for previously shopping at fast fashion retail stores, due to his purchasing of clothing that isn’t a part of temporary trends.

Longevity of clothing is of importance to him and he believes that people should purchase clothing that they can use for a long time.

“I bought a hoodie at H&M a year ago status. However, she thinks that those and I still wear it,” Singh said. “So for me who are better off tend to shop at fast it’s not really fast fashion. [Fast fashion fashion retailers more often due to retailers] also sell stuff that’s super plain them being able to afford the temporary and the hoodie that nature of the I’m talking about is clothing. just like a plain blue “Clothes hoodie, but there’s produced by fast definitely stuff that fashion don’t last I can tell is trendy long because now and won’t be they’re cheaply trendy later.” made,” Diaz In recent years, said. “It wouldn’t Chaugule has have shopped at a fast fashion make sense acknowledged the for low income retailer harmful effects of families to invest the fast fashion *According to a survey of 164 people in cheaply made industry including clothes.” clothing waste and the exploitation of Furthermore, Diaz considers fast migrant workers, and thus, has changed fashion a tricky issue as she believes her shopping habits by investing in that intent for purchasing clothing key pieces of clothing that can be worn in a variety of ways and that can sustain her for a long period of time.

However, while she feels that choosing to buy from small businesses that are more environmentally-friendly should be everyone’s goal, they lack the convenience and affordability of fast fashion.

“I feel like there’s no real way to alleviate or remove the problem of fast fashion,” Chaugule said. “They’re low prices because they’re mass produced, and with these, small sustainable brands, it’s not that easy for them to mass produce, which is why it’s more on the pricier side. So I still would gravitate towards fast fashion.”

Additionally, Diaz states that some people refute that fast fashion benefits those with a lower socio-economic

61%

of MVHS students

matters. She feels that it is important to take into account whether buying cheap apparel is worth the ill-effects of fast fashion. Such effects include increased child labor, wage exploitation, fossil fuel emmisions, and wastage pile-up.

“No one should die for fashion and there’s a lot of workers who are dying because of it,” Diaz said. “Even though people can afford it doesn’t mean it’s worth [workers] dying for a cute piece of clothing.”

OPINION | MARCH 2022

15

‘‘

WHAT ARE MVHS STUDENTS

MOST GUILTY ABOUT?

MVHS students share what they feel most guilty about on our anonymous survey

“Mainly guilty that I've had it easy my whole life because there are [people] who come from rock bottom.”

“I definitely have a lot of guilt about not living up to my parents’ expectations and falling short of the dream they had for me when they immigrated here.”

“Going on so many trips, and having so many opportunities while others don’t.”

“I FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT PUTTING IN A FULL EFFORT INTO EVERYDAY LIFE.”

“I feel guilty about procrastinating so much and wasting time in general.”

“How I treated a friend in the past.”

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

“I feel guilty about making mistakes because, although I don't admit it, I can be a perfectionist. I don't think we're given enough room for failure, and even if we do, we're still criticized for failing in one area that we forget to cherish our successes.”

“Guilt over my mom’s death.”

“I was kind of mean to my friends in middle school, and I feel really guilty about that but I'm too awkward to contact them and apologize.”

“I feel [guilty] when I'm not being 100% productive all of the time. If I spend an hour watching a show or reading a book, I beat myself up for ’wasting time.’”

“I feel guilty about not getting into a top college due to receiving not so good grades.”

“Not telling my parents about a test I failed.”

“Not spending enough time with friends or family.”

“As someone who is still partially closeted, having crushes is a significant source of guilt.”

‘‘

I FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT ANSWERING MY PHONE WHEN I AM JUST SO BURNT OUT.”

THE

B R U N C H L I N E Cutting the line for the first time

BY SOPHIA MA

SOCIAL MEDIA BITES Observing the issues with short-form activism posts

BY MIKAYLAH DU

17

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

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IN ILLUSTRATION BY ANUSHKA DE

TRADUCTION

வணக்கம்

TRANSLATION 翻译 TRADUCCIÓN Language creates barriers. It is an impassable chasm that makes communication with relatives impossible; a constant reminder of a heritage once familiar but now long lost. Language penetrates barriers. It makes room for new friends in new countries and opens eyes to new cultures. In this package, we explore language in all its triumphs and failures to explore something more human than language itself: connection.

ILLUSTRATION | SOPHIA MA

Understanding how students and staff learn and teach new languages

BY MIRA WAGNER

T

he first time senior Madeline Choi interacted with someone who was hard of hearing, she remembers sweating because she was nervous. Her American Sign Language skills were rusty, but she introduced herself and mentioned that she was still learning ASL. Choi initially thought the man was nonverbal and only used ASL to communicate with him for the first five minutes of their conversation.

However, he later revealed that he was verbal and was just joking with her. He then also began to describe and correct some of the signs she had used as well as mention how great it was that Choi was so respectful throughout their interaction.

Choi’s journey with sign language began with a desire to communicate with her aunt — who is hard of hearing

20

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

— through Korean Sign Language. online courses.

After learning KSL with the help of Senior Lavanya Sundar began her aunt, Choi began to learn ASL. learning French in middle and high Choi slowly realized that there was school and finds that she is generally a difference, especially in terms of too “fickle” of a person to maintain grammar interest in one a n d thing by herself, expression an aspect of o f her personality vocabulary, that school between alleviated.

In KSL and addition to ASL. This the regularly difference, scheduled find language classes slightly as well F r e n c h effective as her classes, the *According to a survey of 161 people passion for conversational aspects of the understanding how people class as well as the ability to rely communicate non-verbally, motivated on a teacher to answer questions her to teach herself ASL through compared to the “endless void of

58%

of MVHS students

helpful to the acquisition process. An instance when Sundar experienced this was during a letter exchange activity initiated by her French teacher.

Sundar was connected with a high school class in France and from there she received her pen pal’s Instagram where they would communicate in French and English, respectively.

Choi also emphasizes the relationships that can be formed as a result of language — she met “one of [her] greatest life mentors” through her journey with ASL, a Judo instructor who is both blind and deaf.

“If he can literally overcome whatever barriers he has in society and instruct Paralympic Judo and keep going on with his daily life — it has really taught me there’s really no challenge that you can’t overcome,” Choi said. “So meeting those people instead of viewing [deafness] as a disability and more so befriending them and really learning from a community that I usually wouldn’t have been exposed to, I think that’s the most unique aspect that came to me in terms of learning ASL.”

ILLUSTRATION | SOPHIA MA

the internet” similarly contribute to “It’s great to have that time and to Sundar’s high regard for the class. have that opportunity. And it’s not just However, despite spending at least learning the language, but it’s really an hour each day becoming aware IT’S GREAT TO on French, Sundar of different ways finds that her of doing things.”

HAVE THAT TIME French proficiency W h i l e AND TO HAVE THAT is less than what volunteering at OPPORTUNITY. AND IT’S she initially hoped her local wellness NOT JUST LEARNING it would be. center and the THE LANGUAGE, BUT “I think I always Bay Area Asian had a little bit too Deaf Association, IT’S REALLY BECOMING much confidence Choi immersed AWARE OF DIFFERENT in myself,” Sundar herself in ASL, WAYS OF DOING said. “I think the and also began THINGS. only time I really to consider realized how connecting more bad I was at the SPANISH TEACHER students to the language, and MOLLY GUADIAMOS hard of hearing how I wouldn’t community in be fluent, was in the middle of French order to widen their perspectives on 2 when we started going into a little different methods bit more complex, grammatical kinds of communication. She started of things. I think that was the most the ASL Club at MVHS for important step in language acquisition for me, realizing that I was not fluent, and maybe would never be fluent to the same degree that a native speaker is, and that all I could really do was try my best.”

Language Department Lead and Spanish teacher Molly Guadiamos finds similarities in her experience learning S p a n i s h .

Although Guadiamos c r e d i t s Spanish classes for giving her the students to learn foundation basic aspects of ASL of her Spanishsuch as introductory speaking abilities, phrases and their names. she finds that she really became In the future, Choi hopes fluent while studying abroad in Spain, to expand to larger as she had to use Spanish for all daily events, especially once the interactions rather than just during COVID-19 restrictions lessen, in order class. to allow club members to gain hands“I always recommend [studying on experience with signing. abroad] to my students because I think Sundar agrees with the benefits they don’t always realize how you’re of the hands-on experience Choi and not going to have the time once you Guadiamos mention and finds that get out of college,” Guadiamos said. immersion within a language is very

FEATURES | MARCH 2022

21

Examining how English Language Learners navigate school

BY JANNAH SHERIFF

A

s a child, Literature and ELD teacher Elly Brown remembers witnessing her mother, whose first language is Spanish, struggle with language barriers as she was learning English. The experience, paired with Brown’s own difficulty as a “painfully shy” student growing up, motivated her to pursue a career as an ELD teacher.

“I always knew that I wanted to help students, especially students who are navigating learning a new language in a new country,” Brown said. “I find that students who are newcomers to the country are often quiet in their classes — they’re very shy. So that was an additional reason why I was motivated to work with ELs (English language learners) — I wanted to provide them with the tools to help them have a voice in and out of the class. Because I feel like when I was a kid, I didn’t have a voice.”

After moving from Hong Kong in seventh grade with a limited knowledge of English, junior Nicole Ni experienced similar struggles with speaking up. She recalls the difficulty she had with understanding her peers, relying on Google Translate on her phone and iPad to communicate.

With a knowledge of basic English vocabulary but unable to understand and participate in the fast paced conversations of her classmates, Ni remembers feeling “invisible” to her classmates.

Ni also describes her memory

22

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

of middle school as “blurry” due to said. “So I think that’s really important the constant language barrier. Over for our ELD [students] because time, however, Ni has grown more sometimes they are a little more timid comfortable with asking for help from about sharing out. So I want to provide classmates and expressing herself, a them with the opportunity to feel that change she attributes to participation confidence before they respond [in] a in school activities and the MVHS ELD whole class setting.” program.

Senior Miranda Lin began learning The ELD program, or English English in kindergarten while living Language Development program, in Taiwan. Although the classes categorizes students into either ELD continued until sixth grade, she 1, 2 or 3, from least to highest English remembers having a limited ability proficiency. Ni explains that sheltered to form sentences. However, after courses also cater to ELD students transitioning to an international school by “slowing down the process” of in seventh grade — an experience Lin learning to ensure that students are describes as a “big challenge”— she comfortable with the content. developed an increased proficiency Brown adjusts and progressed to I WANTED TO her curriculum on writing paragraphs a daily or weekly and essays in English.

PROVIDE THEM WITH basis, based on After attending THE TOOLS TO HAVE the speed at the international A VOICE...BECAUSE which her classes school, Lin began I FEEL LIKE WHEN I comprehend the attending MVHS as WAS A KID, I DIDN’T content. She also a ninth grader where provides graphic she was placed in HAVE A VOICE. organizers and ELD 3 and sheltered ELD TEACHER Biology and Literature written instructions ELLY BROWN classes. Lin initially to students prior to in-class lacked confidence assignments and discussions to in interacting with native speakers. make the process more accessible During P.E. class in freshman year, Lin for students that require additional remembers that whenever students support. were allowed to choose their own “Being a shy student and someone teams, she and the other ELD who was really quiet, being able to students were constantly excluded. think about what I wanted to say The experience left Lin with a desire to or write it down gave me a lot more “break out of the bubble” and interact confidence when I shared out,” Brown more with other students.

ILLUSTRATION | SOPHIA MA

“Pushing yourself out of [your] comfort zone is the most important thing for a lot of the ELD kids because we usually stay in our bubble speaking our own language to the other immigrants,” Lin said. “It’s not until sophomore year when I pushed myself into other extracurricular activities that opened up a new world to me.”

After joining Drama and the MVHS Dance team in her sophomore year, Lin found that the activities helped improve her English skills and confidence to interact with other students. After being elected Stage Manager of the Drama department’s production of Alice in Wonderland, Lin found herself communicating and collaborating heavily with different groups of students. She describes the experience as a “turning point” in her English learning journey.

“I’m [one of those] people that is good at doing stuff but [doesn’t] speak,” Lin said. “But after people started seeing what I’ve done and how amazing [it is], I started to push myself to talk to people. Just through experience, you learn how to talk to people, how to be confident when you are given the mic.”

Ni similarly details that her experience exploring extracurricular activities and pushing herself to interact with native English speakers allowed her to become more comfortable socially and academically.

“With the help [of] the staff and the [ELD] family, I began to grow up and I’m

more brave to talk in English, and I got had difficulties communicating in more interaction with native speakers,” class showed increased interest and Ni said. “I think it’s participation in the a major growth — presentation.

IT’S NOT UNTIL...I me five years ago “They got up PUSHED MYSELF compared to today, there and it was an INTO OTHER not only physically unbelievable two EXTRACURRICULAR but also mentally. hours from beginning ACTIVITIES THAT [The ELD teachers to end,” Maleski said. are] like my second “Every single one OPENED UP A NEW family in America.” of them had a lot to WORLD TO ME. Brown notes say. They also could SENIOR say things in their that although ELD students MIRANDA LIN native language if typically show they wanted to, so “high motivation” to learn English and one of them read a famous poem typically transition to higher levels from his home country and it was just each year, there are challenges in beautiful. Because poetry … the native accommodating the varying levels of language that it’s written [in] is often English proficiency among students in the best language to listen to. It was her class, some of which are “on the just magical. I wish I had the whole cusp” between levels. thing on tape.”

Brown encourages her students Brown emphasizes the importance to speak by allowing them space to of building trust within the classroom, share about subjects that are familiar and views the ELD classroom as a to them, such as their personal “home base” for students due to its experiences, cultural background and close-knit nature. She takes pride in interests. the “immense growth” that students English teacher Karen Maleski, who show over the course of the year. teaches sheltered classes, also notes “Everyone feels like they’re in that students show greater confidence the same boat because they’re all when they are given space to speak navigating the English language about themselves and their cultural together,” Brown said. “I always tell identity. my students that I want them to make For their first semester final, Maleski mistakes, and that they will make instructed her students to present mistakes and that it’s OK because information about their cultural this is where I’m going to have the backgrounds and identities. She opportunity to help them learn from found that students who previously their mistakes and improve.”

FEATURES | MARCH 2022

23

ILLUSTRATION |

SOP H IA

MA

Students share their experiences of straying away from their native language

BY TARYN LAM

W

hile walking home from MVHS offered Telugu or Hindu, Edara owners] speak to me in Vietnamese middle school, now said she would take those classes and then I’ll [respond] in English,” Pham sophomore Elise Chiu instead. said. “I feel really awkward because I recalls a moment when a passerby Edara’s willingness to learn how to can’t speak Vietnamese back to them reached out to her in Chinese. Unable speak Telugu stems from her receptive even though they spoke it to me.” to understand what the stranger was bilingualism. Edara attributes this to Edara often finds herself in a similar saying, Chiu found herself shaking the fact that her situation when her head in bewilderment before parents never she travels back apologizing and “awkwardly walking taught her how to India once away.” every two years, to speak Telugu.

Chiu says the reason she doesn’t mainly because “[My parents] speak or understand Mandarin is would she faces a speak because her parents were both born Telugu detachment to in America, making Chiu a second- me at home w h i l e generation American who lives a s o m e t i m e s , communicating more “Americanized life.” For instance, which is why I speak their native language with her Chiu finds that her family’s choice can understand *According to a survey of 83 people relatives. in vacation destinations reflects this [it] fully,” Edara Despite her disconnect with their Chinese culture. said. “But I never had opportunities to inability to communicate in her “[My family] tends to go on more [learn how to speak] it because most native language, Edara believes that relaxing vacations rather than trying of my life I’ve been in school from nine “language isn’t the only factor in to connect [with my Asian roots],” Chiu to six [where] I’m always speaking culture” because “there are still other said. “Also in general, since I have a English.” ways to be immersed in a culture and little sister, she’s more interested in Like Edara, sophomore Ethan Pham to learn about it [besides speaking swimming and going to Hawaii as doesn’t speak his native Vietnamese, your mother-tongue].” opposed to learning about culture.”

For instance, Edara’s parents try to but he says it does not impede his Instead of learning Mandarin connection with his cultural roots. engage her in Indian culture through and trying to close the cultural gap “I don’t really feel disconnected ancient Indian stories from a Hindu that many nonfrom my culture,” epic, the Mahabharata. She believes [MY FAMILY] TENDS native speakers Pham said. that her parents do this because they experience, Chiu is “Because, I eat [a lot find it impactful to share a story that TO GO ON MORE currently enrolled will benefit her understanding of the of] Vietnamese food RELAXING VACATIONS in Spanish 3. This and I still celebrate culture.

RATHER THAN choice was due to Both Pham and Edara’s experience V i e t n a m e s e TRYING TO CONNECT her parents feeling holidays such as Tet, with culture causes them to want to [WITH MY ASIAN that learning Spanish [which is] a week learn their native language in the would be more long celebration for future so they will be able to connect ROOTS]. “applicable” to high Lunar New Year’s with others in meaningful ways. where you celebrate school.

Similarly, “It’s more internal [motivation] that by partying all day.” makes me want to speak Vietnamese, junior Anika Edara also takes Spanish, H o w e v e r , [rather than social pressures],” Pham rather than learning how to speak her Pham feels the repercussions of said. “It would be nice to have a native language, Telugu. However, being unable to speak Vietnamese, conversation with my grandma and Edara chose Spanish for her language particularly when ordering food. understand what she’s saying. It would class because Kennedy Middle School “When I go to downtown San Jose also be cool to speak [Vietnamese] only offered Spanish and French. If and I try to order food, [the restaurant back to her.”

77%

of MVHS students

24

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

Explaining my guilt for not being able to speak Taiwanese

BY SARAH LIU

W

henever I go to visit my grandma on the East Coast, our conversations in English are often stilted and filled with pauses and grammar mistakes. My dad and my grandma, however, communicate in Taiwanese Hokkien. During their conversations, I often find myself straining to understand their dialogue, trying to pick up on any phrases that sound similar to the Mandarin Chinese I speak every day. Occasionally, I attempt to repeat a Taiwanese phrase out loud, but the words always taste like sour candy, and I want to swallow them and spit them out at the same time. They sound so similar to the Mandarin Chinese I speak every day, yet also so different — the words feel harsher and foreign on my tongue.

Although it is sometimes regarded as a dialect of Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien and other languages and dialects of the Chinese language have different phonology, vocabulary and grammar from those of Mandarin.

As my father is fully Taiwanese — or 99.9% according to his 23andMe results — half of my ancestry is a Taiwanese identity that is mine to claim.

Yet how can I connect to a culture when I cannot even understand the language?

Due to overwhelming Chinese influence, aspects of Taiwanese culture have been declining in recent years.

However, with the rise of the next generation, a widespread revival of Taiwanese

culture has emerged. The sense of language — or my lack of it — seems duty to carry on the language and the to pull me away. tradition of a faltering culture gnaws Language is, undeniably, interwoven at me. Especially living in the United with culture. Communication is a core States, where I already feel a physical aspect of any society, and the different disconnect from my roots, this guilt only languages between different cultures further stresses how, despite being play a large role in what makes each thousands of miles away from the culture unique. But culture itself is island country, it is my responsibility to complex, and the boundaries of take part in this revival what makes each LANGUAGE IS, of culture and learn culture special are UNDENIABLY, Taiwanese. often blurred and At times, I would interlaced with INTERWOVEN WITH consider myself each other. Years CULTURE. BUT Taiwanese.

I love CULTURE IS COMPLEX, of exposure to eating Taiwanese different cultures AND THE BOUNDARIES has taught me this: dishes, from braised OF WHAT MAKE EACH I may not speak pork rice, a staple and must-have Taiwanese but CULTURE SPECIAL ARE Taiwanese, dish, to Taiwanese I am constantly OFTEN BLURRED. sausages. Yet when immersed in its I just start to feel culture. I may not like a part of Taiwanese culture, the be able to communicate with my grandma in her native language, but the laughs and hugs we exchange mean more than any words ever will.

Slowly, I’m picking up new Taiwanese words to add to my tiny collection of phrases. The most recent one I’ve learned is “ka teng,” and it means “family.”

ILLUSTRATION | SOPHIA MA

FEATURES | MARCH 2022

25

CROSSWORD CRAZE: STAFF EDITION Play this crossword to learn fun facts about MVHS staff members

BY MELODY CUI AND GAURI MANOJ

SCAN FOR WORD BANK *Answers are the last names of the staff members

GUESS THE STAFF MEMBER...

ACROSS: 3. Who loves to wear cat ears 4. Who loves Taiwanese singer Jay Chou 5. Who has been to an Everest base camp in Nepal 6. Who loves dancing to ‘80s music 8. Who has a ball python named Udon as a class pet 11. Whose family calls them “Jamie” 14. Who has climbed Mount Fuji in Japan 16. Who used to fence sabre in middle school 18. Who tutored the Prince of Norway in writing 19. Who reads webtoons every morning 20. Who was in a YouTube production with his “clones” 21. Whose maiden name is Yokoyama

26

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

DOWN: 1. Who worked as a bouncer at a nightclub for 10 years 2. Who is the longest serving faculty member 5. Who has visited 22 countries 7. Who sings in a folk, rock and country band 9. Who has been a yoga instructor since 2016 10. Whose favorite sport is cross-country skiing 11. Who meditates for world peace every day 12. Whose last name means “island peninsula” in Japanese 13. Who spent their sophomore year of high school in Poland 15. Who loves listening to foreign music, their current favorite song being “Est-ce que tu m’aimes” by Maitre Gims 17. Who had jobs at a funeral home, as a paramedic and as a chauffeur

Arts & ENT

WORDLE

BY THE NUMBERS Exploring the recent popularity of the five letter word game

BY DEVIN GUPTA AND LANCE TONG

What’s your WORDLE starting word?

A

D

I

E

U 49%

C

R

A

N

E

20%

S

T

A

R

E

11%

R

A

I

S

E 11%

T

E

A

R

S

9%

HOW MANY GUESSES DOES IT TAKE MVHS STUDENTS TO GET THE WORDLE? 1

1% 0

5% of MVHS students have not heard of WORDLE

95% of MVHS students have heard of WORDLE *According to a survey of 173 people

2 2% 0 3

26%

4

53%

5 6

WORDLE is an internet based game by Brooklyn software engineer Josh Wardle that was created in October of 2021.

After rapidly gaining popularity in January of 2022, it was purchased by the New York Times on Jan. 31, 2022. People tune in daily to try and guess a unique five letter word that changes.

15% 3%

NEXT WORDLE

07:24:13

SHARE *According to a survey of 112 people

50% of MVHS students do not play WORDLE daily

50% of MVHS students play WORDLE daily

*According to a survey of 171 people

ARTS & ENT | MARCH 2022

27

NONFUNGIBLE TAKEOVER Investigating the recent popularity of NFTs

BY SONIA VERMA AND LILLIAN WANG

28

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

ILLUSTRATIONS | SONIA VERMA AND LILLIAN

F

rom digital art to music to tweets, a variety of different media can be logged under one’s unique ownership using a unit of data known as a non-fungible token, or an NFT, which investors must then buy using cryptocurrency. In the last few months, art pieces marketed as NFTs have taken the world by storm. The art can be screenshotted or copied and pasted, but the value of the original is not diminished, much like how the Mona Lisa can be photographed but retains its worth. Because of the unique coding involved in the trading of NFTs, the true original can always be identified.

NFTs have exploded in popularity — the art market, in particular, has reached almost $2 billion worth of sales since 2021. Junior Dillon Huang, co-president of the Art of Investing club, attributes the sudden growth of the NFT market to fervor influenced by celebrities, like Grimes and Gwyneth Paltrow, that inspires their fans to also invest.

Nevertheless, NFTs are a controversial topic. An investor’s purchase must be coded on a recording system called a blockchain, a process that uses a large amount of energy. According to artist and technologist Memo Akten, one artist’s

NFTs have created over 160 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in under six months, equivalent to 24 years of electricity consumption for the average American.

Additionally, economics teacher Peter Pelkey believes that the NFT market is currently too volatile for any investment in it to be a reliable choice.

“Anything that goes up that fast will come down just as fast,” Pelkey said.

“It’s better to put yourself into some steady investments. You don’t want to [risk] a big haul in one shot. That’s called gambling.”

Along with its volatility, the NFT market has also been criticized for perpetuating art theft. Anyone can mint a file as an NFT regardless of whether it belongs to them, leading to many artists’ works being distributed on online marketplaces such as OpenSea without their permission or even knowledge, according to research by reporter Kevin Collier.

Senior Olivia Tsui also denounces NFTs because of their exploitative nature towards artists.

“They’re kind of the embodiment of capitalism,” Tsui said. “Really distilled down, it’s not in the best interest of

artists or anyone to invest in them.”

Tsui believes that the negative impacts of NFTs, like the extreme climate damage they inflict and the lack of artistic integrity she believes they possess, outweigh any pros the digital token may have to offer.

“It doesn’t really have anything to do with creativity,” Tsui said. “You’re attaching worth to an image [as if] the idea of ownership is more important than the enjoyment of creating art.”

Despite the plethora of controversies surrounding NFTs, H u a n g acknowledges that the market could be extremely profitable for young artists at MVHS who might “want to get into art to draw their own NFTs,” offering an incentive that could drive students to create.

Likewise, Pelkey states that for artists, social media is going to allow artists to “create more value” in their art, although he’s skeptical of the reliability of NFTs as a method of accomplishing this. However, he still does believe that people are going to continue to “create where the money is.”

“I’m sure there’s somebody out there at MV trying to figure out how

SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE

70%

of MVHS students know what an NFT is

92%

of MVHS students would not invest in an NFT

82%

of MVHS students would not make an NFT

*According to a survey of 159 people

*According to a survey of 129 people

*According to a survey of 127 people

ARTS & ENT | MARCH 2022

29

ILLUSTRATION | SONIA VERMA

Behind Kelly Loy Gilbert’s “Picture Us in the Light,” the novel that takes place at MVHS

BY SHIVANI VERMA This article contains spoilers for “Picture Us in the Light” by Kelly Loy Gilbert.

W

hen MVHS alum ‘03 and author Kelly Loy Gilbert’s mother first read “Picture Us in the Light,” she told Gilbert that because of its setting, “only people from Cupertino [were] ever going to read this book.”

The novel, released in 2018, follows protagonist Danny Cheng, a senior at MVHS who finds out that his parents are hiding their past from him, while attempting to maintain his relationships with his friends. It addresses Asian culture, family, sexuality, immigration, mental health and trauma.

Described by Gilbert as “a family drama about how secrets and traumas can reverberate across generations,” “Picture Us in the Light” is littered with references to the Cupertino community — Danny befriends his best friend during their eighth grade trip to Yosemite, drives down Bubb Road and gets donuts from Donut Wheel. His parents shop at Ranch 99 and his friends worry about getting into their dream colleges.

Gilbert specifically wanted the story to be set in Cupertino because when

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she was in high school, she did not feel truly represented by the books she read. She recalls all the Asian American representation consisting of a character and their culture standing in stark contrast from their surroundings; being in an extreme minority was often part of the books’ plots. Yet Gilbert believes that being in the racial majority rather than a minority was “formative” to her and wanted to reflect that in the novel.

“A lot of the experiences that I had growing up Asian American felt really normalized, and they felt really kind of widespread and not really othered in a way that I think they would have been if I’d grown up somewhere else,” Gilbert said. “So one of the things I wanted to do in the book was write that setting where you could have this diverse variety of Asian American experiences, and where it didn’t feel like this really narrow other experience.”

However, Gilbert still acknowledges that racist perspectives exist in Cupertino. According to her, a unique aspect of Cupertino is how it’s like

a “bubble” that somewhat, but not completely, shields its population of people of color from overt racism. She wanted racism to be an aspect of the book because she believed it would be “more true to life.”

Gilbert not only wanted to capture the nuances of the community’s culture and racial dynamics, but also explore the “class stratification” and “intense academic pressure” that she has found rampant in Cupertino.

Although she says she loved her years at MVHS, Gilbert acknowledges the difficulties of its environment.

“I feel like [everyone I know] still struggle[s] so much with self-esteem or [relaxation] because that pressure and idea that you always have to be succeeding and working really hard and competing really gets ingrained in you [and forms] a really capitalistic [idea of] what success and self-worth look like,” Gilbert said. “My insight is that it’s hard to break out of even all these years later.”

She tried to mirror both her meaningful friendships at MVHS and the issues of mental health that were

A

discussed at school into the “tight- that some people believed that knit” relationships that Danny is undocumented immigrants should preoccupied with for much of the story simply “do things the right way.” and the book’s overarching themes.

“I wanted to write about a family The thick of the Cheng family’s secrets, that was living life on the margins and however — Danny’s discovery of his that was being harmed by things that lost sister Joy, who was kidnapped in were happening in the country, and China, sold to an orphanage and then how they were trying to survive and adopted by an American family — was also find joy and respite in one another inspired from family history. despite their circumstances,” Gilbert “My grandmother grew up in an said. “So I think everything that was orphanage for Chinese girls, and happening in the country and just the she’s always felt that if she hadn’t election and the ways people were [grown up there] — she would have responding — I think a lot of the book been trafficked, because it was during was written as a response to that.”

Great Depression, and there was just Now, a few years after the book’s not a lot of safety or opportunity for release, Gilbert says that she is people who grateful for were in poverty, the way it has especially been received.

Chinese girls She believes in poverty,” that 20% of Gilbert said. the responses “That always she receives really haunted about the book me, the idea are from Asian that that could who haven’t read “Picture Us Americans who have happened in the Light” would read it after grew up in the to her and just knowing it takes place at MVHS Bay Area, and thinking about *According to a survey of 152 people another 20% is how I wouldn’t from gay men exist if that had happened and how who feel represented by Danny and her experiences reverberated through the book’s queer romance. my whole family.”

Gilbert believes that currently it’s However, these family events were “an exciting time” for Asian American not the initial inspiration that started literature, as stories have “[broken] out the novel. In fact, “Picture Us in the of that bubble” and grown much more Light” was originally a different type of varied in the last five years. As of last family drama — Gilbert started writing year, “Picture Us in the Light” has been it in 2016 as a teen pregnancy story, added to the school’s ninth grade in which Danny and his friend Regina literature curriculum as an option for would raise a child together. Yet with students to read in the narrative unit. that plot, Gilbert felt that she was But regardless of where readers are missing “the heart of the story,” and at from or what their personal connection the time, during the height of the 2016 to the book is, Gilbert hopes that presidential election, she remembers everyone can take away something seeing a lot of “hateful rhetoric” about from the book that “they haven’t undocumented immigration. thought too much about before.”

The attitudes that circulated in “My big dream would be that it the country at the time seemed would help affect people’s views “dehumanizing” to her, especially on immigration and people who are because they were being given undocumented,” Gilbert said. “I guess a bigger platform by members of I would hope that it would help people the U.S. government. Gilbert was see more of the humanity behind the specifically interested in highlighting headlines and just would help inspire circumstances that broke the people to push for more ethical and stereotypes of undocumented compassionate laws and policies.” immigration because she had noticed

83%

FRESHMAN ALYSSA YANG “We’re always like, ‘Oh, it’s just the same old Cupertino. ... It’s boring.’ … But I think [this book] was a reminder that there is always so much complexity around us.”

of MVHS students

FRESHMAN KARTIK PATRI “I thought [the book] was really nice because I could imagine all the different contexts in which [the characters were] in ... and I understood the references that were made in the book.”

PH OT O

S |S

HI

I VERMA VAN

FRESHMAN ASHLEY KWONG “I was expecting this book to be like other [books in our] curriculum ... But [there were] twists and turns, secrets and problems that I’ve never faced in my lifetime yet. That really intrigued me.”

ARTS & ENT | MARCH 2022

31

it’s lit Matadors share their opinions on the required reading in literature courses

of MVHS students

BY ADITYA SHUKLA

the most popular books, sorted by grade level

9 “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”

“Fahrenheit 451” “Born a Crime”

10

11

12

“Animal Farm”

“The Great Gatsby”

“Grendel”

“Waiting for an Angel”

“Citizen”

“The Penelopiad”

“American Born Chinese”

“Wuthering Heights ”

“The Kite Runner”

76%

of students actually read the reading material they were provided.

66%

31%

of MVHS students

would remove “Romeo and Juliet” from the literature curriculum *According to a survey of 165 people

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23%

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

choose their literature classes based on book selections *According to a survey of 165 people

of students also enjoyed the books that they were given.

“It seems to be a part of the curriculum because of tradition rather than content.

The book is not very educational nor does its messages relate to the freshmen who read it.”

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ILLUSTRATIONS | APRIL WANG

the amount of pages in “The Hate U Give,” the longest book provided from any school literature class at MVHS

“Though it might provide a dramatic story that is enjoyable by most of the audience, it proves to show an outdated subdialect of English that is used for nothing but humor.”

SPORTS ATHLETE OF THE MONTH BEN RICHARDSON

BY ANNA JEROLIMOV

F

ollowing in his two older brothers’ footsteps, senior Ben Richardson first tried soccer at the age of four.

Fourteen years later, Richardson recently completed his fourth season playing as an attacking midfielder on the Boys Soccer team and his third on the varsity team.

Due to an injury to his left groin, Richardson participated in only eight out of 20 games this season. In these games, Richardson scored three goals, two of which were during the team’s senior night game against Milpitas High School on Feb. 15. Richardson highlights this game as his favorite due to the positive energy of the team that was boosted by the large crowd presence.

In December of 2021, Richardson announced his commitment to play Division Three soccer and continue his academic career at New York University. Richardson says that NYU stood out to him due to it having both a strong academic and athletic program, prompting him to showcase his skills to the coaches there, which eventually led to him receiving an offer.

As a whole, Richardson says that playing soccer has improved his time management skills, as he has learned how to balance the social, academic and athletic aspects of his life. He states that his favorite aspect of playing soccer is being part of the community it brings, as it is “not always just about the sport,” but also “the relationships you build with your teammates.”

3

GOALS*

NYU COMMIT D3 SOCCER

3

YEARS ON VARSITY *from the 2021-2022 season

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

33

SPORTS RECAP Summarizing the winter sports season results

BY ANNA JEROLIMOV

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

Sophomore Yanwei Zhou attempts to take down his opponent in his matchup during a dual meet against Los Altos High School.

The Matadors ended league play with a 4-2 record.

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

Junior Julianna Kimm scores a three pointer in a game on Feb. 2 against Mountain View High School, which the team won 60-39.

The Varsity Girls Basketball team was undefeated in its league and competed in the first three rounds of CCS playoffs, falling 50-30 to Evergreen Valley High School in the quarterfinals on Feb. 22.

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

PHOTO | ANNA JEROLIMOV

Sophomore Moulik Lohmor blocks a Leigh High School opponent from making a layup in a scrimmage against them on Nov. 20, which LHS won 54-47. The Varsity Boys Basketball team ended the season with an overall record of 10-13 and ended league play with a record of 2-10, making it sixth in the SCVAL El Camino League.

Junior Justine Garcia dribbles down the field during the Varsity Girls Soccer senior night against Cupertino High School, which MVHS won 2-0. The team placed fifth in the El Camino League with a record of 3-7-2.

Senior Chancellor Stevens dribbles down the field while blocking a Cupertino High School player from gaining possession of the ball in a game against them on Jan. 20, which MVHS won 2-0. The Varsity Boys Soccer team ended the season with a record of 8-3-1, coming second in the SCVAL El Camino League.

PHOTO PHOTO || ANNA ANNA JEROLIMOV JEROLIMOV

SPORTS | MARCH 2022

35

REFUSE

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

PHOTO | LANCE TONG

to LOSE Girls Basketball goes 12-0 in league and competes in three rounds of CCS playoffs

BY ANNA JEROLIMOV AND MICHELLE ZHENG

R

efuse to lose — that’s the motto that guided the Varsity Girls Basketball team through arguably its most successful season since 1999. As the buzzer sounded to mark the end of the team’s final league game against Saratoga High School on Feb. 15, the players exclaimed with joy — they had just won 53-43, winning the league championship undefeated with a 12-0 record.

Entering the 2021-22 season, the team had three main goals: to win the league championship, be undefeated in league and make it further in CCS than in the previous season.

Although they accomplished the first two goals, MVHS was eliminated in the CCS quarterfinals for the second season in a row, losing to the No. 2 seed Evergreen Valley High School 50-30. Head coach Sara Borelli and fourth-year varsity player senior Siri Adusumilli agree that the team was having an off day, and that its shooting was especially impaired.

“It was a very surreal moment,” Borelli said. “It just felt like our team wasn’t there. [That’s] how I felt at the last CCS game against [EVHS].

Something was not right — like the stars weren’t aligning.”

Junior Varshini Peddinti’s performance in the game, however, was especially exceptional. Out of the team’s 30 total points, she scored 16, 12 of which she scored in the fourth quarter. Reflecting on the team’s overall record, Borelli notes that different players “step up” in each game.

“If you look at our book, it’s several people scoring in every game

consistently, and it was different they adopted a resilient mentality that people,” Borelli said. “One game Siri led to their win. Adusumilli and Peddinti stepped up. One game Vivian [Ong] both agree that defeating NSHS was stepped up. One game Varshini, the highlight of their season.

Julianna [Kimm].

“We went The key is into overtime having that for the first camaraderie time and with their it was the friends on and [loudest], off the court. It’s craziest gym [not] like, ‘Oh, I’ve ever I didn’t get my played in,” points today.’

Adusumilli When you’re on said. “It was the court, you ear splitting. have to have Three of my each other’s teammates back. That was had fouled the mentality out and we and they were were just so supportive of giving it our each other.” all and I’ve Borelli points never felt so to the team’s hyped and game against angry about North Salinas anything in High School my life. We in the second played as round of CCS, a team and SENIOR it was one where the team SIRI ADUSUMILLI of the most won 80-73 in overtime, as a defining time when the games I’ve team chemistry allowed them to shine. ever played in. It was the first time that After entering the fourth quarter up [NSHS] lost in their home gym.” by 13 points, the team faced multiple Due to being league champions fouls that Borelli described as illogical. for two seasons in a row, MVHS will However, Borelli says that after NSHS move up to the De Anza league from tied up the score and pushed the the El Camino league for the 2022-23 game into overtime seconds before season, which is the upper division the fourth quarter ended, the players of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic “didn’t put their heads down.” Rather, League. This means that next year, the

WE WENT INTO OVERTIME FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IT WAS THE [LOUDEST], CRAZIEST GYM I’VE EVER PLAYED IN. IT WAS EAR SPLITTING. THREE OF MY TEAMMATES HAD FOULED OUT AND WE WERE JUST GIVING IT OUR ALL AND I’VE NEVER FELT SO HYPED AND ANGRY ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE.

Juniors Julianna Kimm (left) and Lucy Choy (right) celebrate after the team’s 49-25 defeat of Sequoia High School in the first round of CCS playoffs.

(CONTINUE READING ON NEXT PAGE) SPORTS | MARCH 2022

37

team will face stronger teams in team’s hard working mentality allowed league play, such as Homestead them to repeat its success.

High School, which defeated “[Not getting moved up] was EVHS in disappointing,” the CCS Borelli said. semifinals.

“But we were Peddinti like, ‘We’ll states that she [win in league] is excited for again.’ So we the change, as did it again. I it will allow the think what we team to “bring need to address what they’ve is the work accomplished ethic that these from previous young ladies seasons and had because channel that our preparation into a new for the season environment actually started and setting.” in September “I’m glad of 2020. We we are moving were out there up,” Peddinti practicing in said. “I think 104 degree it will be weather. I don’t challenging, think people but it’s also a really recognize good way to how much work HEAD COACH test our new these girls have SARA BORELLI put in to be as skills. Coming in as a successful as senior, I know there’s more we are.” expectations knowing it’s my Reflecting on the close of her four last year, but I’m definitely years on the varsity team, Adusumilli inspired and empowered says that the team’s CCS run and from previous seniors and successful season overall was an memories that I’ve had from unforgettable experience for her. games from previous seasons.

“You only get four years, and I think we just have to have especially the pandemic made me fun, play hard and just do realize how much you should value what we love, which is to those moments,” Adusumilli said. play basketball.”

“Basketball is like a second family to Borelli says that me. I see them so much in the span although the team’s league of four months and my teammates, championship and 11-1 I can’t imagine [not seeing] them. So record in the 2021 season I’d say cherish the people around you, should technically have because there’s very few moments been enough to move that it’s quite that perfect. It’s never them up a league, the going to be that perfect again.”

THE KEY IS HAVING THAT CAMRADERIE WITH THEIR FRIENDS ON AND OFF THE COURT. WHEN YOU’RE ON THE COURT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACK. THAT WAS THE MENTALITY AND THEY WERE SO SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER.

SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE

PHOTO | MICHELLE ZHENG

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

THE STARTERS SENIOR SIRI ADUSUMILLI POSITION: CENTER

PHOTOS | ANNA JEROLIMOV

JUNIOR EMI KOSAKURA POSITION: POINT GUARD

JUNIOR JULIANNA KIMM POSITION: SHOOTING GUARD JUNIOR VARSHINI PEDDINTI POSITION: POINT GUARD

SOPHOMORE VIVIAN ONG POSITION: SHOOTING GUARD SPORTS | MARCH 2022

39

PHOTO COURTESY OF HILARY BARRON | USED WITH PERMISSION

History teacher Hilary Barron dances with the Orchesis Dance Company at Cal Poly.

BACK IN ACTION MVHS teacher athletes discuss their journeys through sports

BY MICHELLE CHEN AND MICHELLE ZHENG

H

istory teacher Hilary Barron was 3 years old when she first started dance, taking ballet lessons and dabbling in jazz. Her love for the sport carried into high school, when she competed on the dance team, and into college, where she eventually became president of her university’s non-competitive dance organization, the Orchesis Dance Company at Cal Poly. After graduating, she worked at Kennedy and Hyde Middle School and ended up connecting with the dance coach at MVHS “who was kind of phasing out.” She “[helped] a year as an assistant coach” and took over the program at MVHS for about nine years. Ultimately, it was dance that prompted Barron to start teaching at MVHS. Like Barron, English teacher Megan Choate began dancing at a young age. Choate’s experience with dance eventually led her to join cheer in high school. However, Choate says softball was her main sport in her youth, since

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EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022

her parents introduced her to T-ball coached when he started working at when she was five.

MVHS. Guidance counselor Clay Stiver While Barron, Stiver and Choate also participated in T-ball at age six. enjoy competing in recreational sports, In addition to they struggled IT’S HARD COACHING, baseball, Stiver to continue played soccer competitive NOT JUST THE TIME and competed in sports as they COMMITMENT, BUT YMCA-organized took on other ALSO THE EMOTIONAL b a s ke t b a l l commitments COMMITMENT OF THE competitions in their lives.

INS-AND-OUTS AND throughout his However, they childhood. When all found ways UPS-AND-DOWNS AND Stiver entered to continue TROUBLESHOOTING ALL high school, he their athletic THE VARIOUS THINGS. stopped playing journeys, with other sports HISTORY TEACHER Choate choosing to focus on run “casual, HILARY BARRON to basketball for not competitive” his high school as his main sport. marathons, Barron taking yoga However, Stiver regretted dropping classes at home and Stiver hitting the his other sports and branched out gym. According to Barron, as the time into playing other sports, such as she spent on commitments other than flag football, in college. Ultimately, sports began to grow, she felt like it however, basketball remained Stiver’s was time for her journey as the MVHS main sport and was what Stiver dance coach to wrap up and for her

ON

ly.

to begin a new chapter in her life as a “[The marathon] was really special the community parent and teacher. because it was actually on my of friends that “When I was coaching, we were birthday,” Choate said. “They had come with that practicing four days a week after canceled it because of COVID, and it and peers who are school for two hours a day, plus camps got rescheduled to my literal birthday, enjoying the same in the summer, so it was really thing. Now as plus competition special. My best an adult, and I THINK THAT [SPORTS] season, which friend ran it with moving into HELP MAKE THE HIGH [would take] full me too. And I running, it’s SCHOOL EXPERIENCE Saturdays, so I had a birthday more of SPECIAL, JUST THE was just ready crown and sash, something to explore other COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS so everyone was that is selfc h a l l e n g e s ,” wishing me a f u l f i l l i n g THAT COME WITH THAT Barron said. “It’s happy birthday. for me. But AND PEERS WHO ARE hard coaching, It was a really when I want ENJOYING THE SAME not just the time warm, positive to seek that THING. commitment, but experience.” community also the emotional T h r o u g h o u t aspect, it’s ENGLISH TEACHER commitment of the their childhood great doing MEGAN CHOATE ins-and-outs and and into their things like a ups-and-downs and troubleshooting adulthood, the relationship that marathon or all the various things.”

Barron, Choate and Stiver had with half marathon Nevertheless, Barron still sports changed, as seen through their … sharing appreciates the sport — she follows experiences; however, the community in moments local studios and ballet companies like that these sports introduced into their where we’re the New York City Ballet on Instagram lives – whether it’s the people Choate all individual and describes professional dancers as met while running, the students runners, but we “amazing and inspiring to watch.”

Barron worked with at MVHS or the come together to Similarly, with “a lot of life stuff teammates Stiver played with in his do a race.” happening” when Stiver was 30, he high school basketball career – has wanted to take a “little bit of a break” been an unchanging factor that from his five-year coaching career influences their passion to continue with the Varsity Boys Basketball sports. team. However, according to Stiver, “In high school, it was a way to just PHOTO COURTESY OF MEGAN CHOATE | he “eventually would love to get be involved at school,” Choate said.

USED WITH PERMISSION back into coaching,” as he enjoys the “I think that [sports] help make the English teacher Megan Choate runs in her first marathon on her birthday in October. competitive experience and cherishes high school experience special, just the relationships that coaching a team sport brings him.

Despite his busy schedule and the fact that he is “not in as good shape as [he] was when [he] was younger,” Stiver has found ways to continue his passion for sports. For example, in order to still enjoy the exhilaration that competing brings him, Stiver started to lift more weights, run miles and play golf to “have some kind of a competition with [himself].”

As for Choate, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she found herself missing physical activity. Since she had always enjoyed running because of the “runner’s high” and feeling of accomplishment afterwards, she decided to begin training for a PHOTO BY MICHELLE ZHENG marathon, which she says further helped her “fall in love with the sport Guidance counselor Clay Stiver does the second set of his workout’s final routine on a row machine in the MVHS weight training room. of running.”

SPORTS | MARCH 2022

41

MUSCLE ENVY Examining the body insecurities male athletes face

BY TVISHA GUPTA AND AASHNA PATEL

T

he thundering sound of feet slamming onto the field filled the air as the athletes on the MVHS football team sprinted across the field for their running drills as part of their daily practice. Senior Ronit Ramachandani, who was a freshman at the time, pushed himself to keep up with the others, panting and sweating.

However, he soon found himself falling behind and ending up as the last player to cross the finish line, the upperclassmen long cooled down.

After finishing last in numerous other drills over and over, Ramachandani found himself comparing his body to those of the other, faster and fitter members on the team.

ILLU

STRA TION

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| SON

IA VE

RMA

“My freshman and sophomore years, I was not really focusing on my diet,” Ramachandani said. “I wouldn’t be in the best shape compared to the others and it made me feel bad about myself.”

According to Sports Connect, sports like football and wrestling often require certain body types, and players frequently find themselves feeling pressured to keep up the body standard prescribed by their respective sport. In the process, athletes like first-year football player and junior Dillon Huang experience distressing feelings and frequently find themselves feeling low.

“I don’t actually go to the weight room,” Huang says. “I feel like I’m being kind of teased for not being strong enough.”

Senior Kaushal Amancherla adds that in the past, comparing himself to other wrestlers who are more muscular than him has negatively affected his image of himself and reduced his confidence before tournaments. Similarly, Ramchandani recalls comparing his body to those of other, more experienced players when he first started playing football.

He experienced discomfort in his own body upon seeing others that better fit the typical body standards of his sport — standards that include toned bodies and large muscles.

“Not being able to hit as hard as other people affected me,” Ramachandani said. “I didn’t have enough muscle, and I was always looking and [thinking], ‘I wish I was like that.’ It’s really draining because every day you see these people and see them performing better than you and you want to be them.”

According to Gatorade Sports Science Institute, weight management is exceptionally important to football players. Often, higher body masses correlate to acquiring desired positions on teams, higher playtime

and higher pay in the NFL. These done working out and it affects your benefits frequently appeal to high mental health. Because looking at school playersW and push them to other people you’re like, ‘Wow, they pursue the body types of professional look so good. Wow. I want to be like players. Mishra them.’” explains that Similarly, SOMETIMES PEOPLE linemen and Mishra adds that PRIORITIZE AESTHETICS tacklers are a lot of videos on OVER STRENGTH. THEY generally “larger,” TikTok promote while other an unrealistic WANT TO BE THE PERSON positions like the and ON THE FIELD WHO LOOKS exercise wide receiver diet culture, MOST FOOTBALL-LIKE. require one to be which encourage “more agile and athletes to strive fast.”

JUNIOR for idealistic body “It creates a types.

DILLON HUANG culture like ‘Oh “Having a [if] you play at a really shredded line … you’re fatter or not as fast [and] body [is] something that [has been] skilled,” Mishra said. “But it takes [an] popularized a lot online,” Mishra equal amount of talent to do both.” said. “But I think it gets a little bit Huang emphasizes that nationwide overwhelming at times [when] people representations of football frequently will start judging people for it.” pressure high schoolers to maintain However, both Huang and a certain and unrealistic physical Ramachandani agree that players can appearance. He adds that the often use these negative, distressing significance of football in American feelings as a form of motivation in culture only adds to this pressure, and order to help them succeed on and leads to people pursuing impractical off the field. Huang says that he uses appearances. his frustration as encouragement at “People in football want to look like practice to push himself to achieve professional NFL football players with his desired body type when training. big muscles [and look] really fit,” Huang Similarly, Ramachandani has used his said. “Sometimes people prioritize feelings of discomfort to push himself aesthetics over strength. They want to build a type of body that he feels to be the person comfortable on the field who with, one that looks the most can help him ‘football-like.’” achieve on the Ramachandani field. echoes Huang’s “I like to belief that work out a lot the media’s to improve my representation of body and my football players have experienced body confidence. can cause body insecurities in their sport The gym and insecurity for the sport was *According to a survey of 106 people athletes. He says a really big that when he part of my life,” “wasn’t in the Ramachandani best shape,” viewing posts on social said. “In the beginning, it was really media promoting a stereotypical, frustrating, but getting that motivation unattainable body type hindered his and push from teammates … and confidence. [talking] to coaches would motivate me “[People] show a lot of things overall. It was a good environment.” on the internet [that] is not reality,” Ramachandani said. “You want to check out your physique when you’re

43%

of MVHS athletes

WEIGHT CUTTING

Stomach grumbling and mouth dry, senior Kaushal Amancherla feels his energy sapping out of him as he does his tasks for the day. Amancherla, a member of the MVHS wrestling team, is cutting weight in order to fit into his assigned weight category for his upcoming wrestling tournament.

Cutting weight is a common practice for wrestlers and athletes in combat sports, in which athletes reduce their intake of food and water and wear many layers of clothes in order to dehydrate the body and take off as much weight as they can. However, Amancherla feels increasingly exhausted as the negative impacts of this process catch up to him.

“I was so sluggish that day,” Amancherla said. “I could not function properly. It really does take away from your performance if you don’t do it correctly.”

Junior Aditya Mishra says that wrestling’s culture became tougher for him as he progressed in the sport. Mishra pinpoints the moment he realized the effect that wrestling’s weightcutting culture could have on a wrestler’s physical health, when he witnessed one of his friends trying to cut down 10 pounds in one day by running the whole day. Mishra thought attempting to lose this much weight in such a short period of time was not only nonsensical but also extreme and dangerous.

“They’re not eating — they’re completely fatigued,” Mishra said. “When they do end up going into their matches, they’re completely wasted because they’ve spent the entire day losing all this weight and they made it, but they’re not able to wrestle at their best.”

SPORTS | MARCH 2022

43

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