Vol. 41 Issue 6 Mar 9, 2011 by El Estoque

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

YOUNG PARENTS PROGRAM Head to elestoque.org to discover the district’s educational alternative for teenage students with children

COMING STARS NEW HOME AND OLD

From the quirky to the meaningful, the most common to the most unique, and the shortest to the longest, learn more about students’ distinctive names

Meet Matthieu Paquet, former MVHS runner who returned to coach

CENTERSPREAD pages 12-13

SPORTS page 21

VOLUME XLI | ISSUE 6 | MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL | CUPERTINO, CA

Besides just usual cast members, Drama opens auditions for play

A&E page 15

MAR. 9, 2011

Epidemic causes district to enforce protective measures Whooping cough more serious than expected; religious issues at hand

he one-time MVHS junior had been living in a neighboring city for a few months when she received a green slip in Physiology one day. She knew that her living situation was illegal, but she never thought that receiving that green slip would end with her being dis-enrolled from MVHS. Armed with evidence that the student’s parents had falsified her residency, a district

official and an MVHS administrator sat down with the student and explained that they only way she could continue to attend MVHS was if her family moved back within district boundaries in a week. Needless to say, that simply wasn’t a feasible option. The junior worried about how the switch would affect her studies. “[I] told them that it was the middle of my junior year... and [the guy from the district said] that [the city I lived in] has really good school districts; it wasn’t like [I would have] to go to Independence High School in East San Jose,” the student, now a senior attending a different high school, said. see RESIDENCY on page 4 Joseph Beyda | El Estoque Illustration

FUHSD prepares for lights lawsuit; costs mount in lengthy process Court verdict to be handed down in about 12 months, as district defends against LMU allegations In what has become an expensive and lengthy legal process for the FUHSD since the approval of field renovations with Measure B in 2008, a lawsuit filed by Lynbrook-Monta Vista United on Jan. 18 is just one more twist the district is working to resolve before students can enjoy Friday-night football games. The suit challenges the conclusions reached by the district’s Environmental Impact Report. Though students have become familiar with the document’s implications over the project’s approval process, many may not realize that the EIR took a year to finalize, had a finished length of 600 pages, and cost the district $120,000. “That might sound like a lot of money, and it is, but a lot of work went into that process,” said FUHSD Chief Operating Officer and Associate Superintendent Glen Evans. But the lawsuit is bound to have further financial implications for the district. While the environmental consulting agency David J. Powers and Associates compiled the EIR, the FUHSD’s legal counsel must now collect additional documents that prove that the district was in compliance with the law when it decided to proceed with field renovations at MVHS and Lynbrook High School. In the suit, LMU claims that it, “[seeks] to ensure that any expansion of use of the Lynbrook and [MVHS] athletic facilities is consistent with the surrounding residential land uses and that it minimize environmental impacts to the maximum extent feasible, as required by [the California Environmental Quality Act].” This law requires state and local agencies to complete and review an EIR

LMU v. FUHSD

$120,000

money spent by the district on the Environmental Impact Report

1 year

expected length of current lawsuit, which will cost the district more depending on the how long it lasts before going through with a project. LMU believes that the district reached incorrect conclusions regarding the audible and visual impacts of night football games hosted at the schools, as well as the turf fields’ impact on water quality. The FUHSD’s legal fees will depend on the length of the lawsuit, though Evans expects the legal process to take about a year since suits of this type require no expert witnesses or testimony. “CEQA lawsuits typically go more quickly because courts recognize that they impact physical projects in the community,” he said. see LAWSUIT on page 2

esidency verification is not the only requirement that must be fulfilled to attend MVHS. Starting July 1, 2011, students will not be able to attend school without providing proof of taking the vaccine for the recently declared epidemic, the whooping cough. According to the statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the past three years, over 17,000 cases of the “100-day cough” have been reported across the United States, and many more have gone undiagnosed or unreported. Because of this increase, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department has mandated that all students entering grades 7 to 12 must receive the vaccine for the 2011-2012 school year. The Public Health Department claims that this rule will be “strictly enforced” and no “grace period” will be given to students who fail to receive the vaccination. So far, there have been two reported cases of the disease in the district, both of which were Homestead High School students. It’s especially important that students take the vaccine because, according to FUHSD District Nurse Susan Lake, prior childhood immunization protection that students have received will “wear off” as students reach adolescence. With over 2,500 students occupying the MVHS campus, diseases like the Whooping Cough can spread as easily as the common cold through air. “Adults and teens can be affected, and if you’re coughing so much that you’re choking, you can’t sleep, and you have this for 100 days. That’s a lot of school you’re missing. It’s not fun,” Lake said. “I’ve had kids who’ve been out of school for six weeks, so a nice immunization is worth it.” see VACCINES on page 3

Does it get better? LGBT alumni share post-high school experiences Alumni contrast LGBT life in high school and after graduating

n September 2010, columnist and Huang said. author Dan Savage began what Similarly, Hsu began to be open became a worldwide movement about his sexuality only after he came that Ellen Degeneres, Google, to terms with it internally. Facebook, and even President Barack “It was junior year when I started Obama joined. Their message: “It really coming out,” Hsu said. “At gets better.” This project was created first I wasn’t sure myself of what I as a response to LGBT harassment was feeling; I wasn’t even aware of and bullying, and to attraction to men. When inspire hope for those you grow up, it’s normal struggling with finding to be straight, so I didn’t acceptance. But does really think about it. it really get better? El When I look back, I Estoque contacted 10 think, ‘Oh I had a crush Twist of Hate MVHS alumni who on him in freshman El Estoque came out during or year,’ but at the time, after high school. In the I didn’t think of it like extends its end, three were willing that.” series to explore to contribute. Here are However, Hsu had his the experiences their stories. doubts about how his of LGBT teens Both Hermes Huang, news would be received after leaving class of 2008, and by his peers when he Anthony Hsu, class of decided to tell them. MVHS 2005, came out to their “I wouldn’t know friends during their time what people would in high school, shortly after figuring think,” Hsu said. “I didn’t want people out their sexuality on their own. to change their perceptions about me. “I’ve been coming out since the Toward middle school, people were middle of freshman year of high like, ‘We know you’re gay,’ and later school, but it’s really not until this on, I didn’t want to admit they were year, years later, that I’m really comfortable with my sexuality,” see LGBT on page 6

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March 9, 2011

NEWS

BRIEFING ROOM French Connection

Neha Simon | El Estoque

Karishma Mehrotra | El Estoque

F=ma competition Out of the 31 total MVHS competitors for the Physics Olympiad, seven students, freshman Prem Nair, juniors Jingyu Oh, Anirudh Suvarna, Sihua Xu and Kenny Zhang, and seniors Lawrence Pan, Kevin Shen and Jason Ye, have all made it to the semi-final round. The three-and-a-half hour exam covers all topics in introductory physics and will be administered to these semi-finalist students between March 3 and 16.

Food for thought

Neha Simon | El Estoque

Filling the seats

Students from MVHS traveled to France over February break for 10 days with history teacher Robyn Brushett and art teacher Jodi Johnson through a non-school sponsored field trip. The photos include the group sitting on a ledge in St. Paul de Vence, spending time at a marketplace in Nice, and reading a map of a U.S. and British military plan at Omaha Beach.

Fast awareness

Intradistrict Open Enrollment transfer to Lynbrook High School began on March 1 and are due on March 31. Based on registration projections, Lynbrook High School has thirty-three spots available for the 2011-2012 school year. All applicants for open enrollment must currently attend an FUHSD school or be enrolled in eighth grade within the district area. Applicants must also have completed residency verification and be registered for the 2011-12 year at their resident school by March 25. If the number of applicants exceeds 33, then a lottery system will be implemented on April 5 at 3:30 p.m. at the district office.

Starting Feb. 28, Interact began to hold sign-ups for the 30-Hour Famine, hosted by Interact and Community Leadership. The 30-hour fasting period will last from March 10 at 6:30 a.m. to March 11 at 12:30 p.m. Participants will only be allowed to drink water during this time. Interact and Community Leadership hope that this activity will raise awareness about the prolonged hunger experienced by children in Africa and other impoverished areas of the world. After the 30-hour period, there will be a feast for all of the participants.

Sara Yang | El Estoque

On Feb. 25, FUHSD installed a vending machine from the Natural Healthy Vending Cravings company as part of a pilot program, extending until June 2011. The machine, which features healthy snacks and requires almost-daily refills, is located near the cafeteria. FUHSD Director of Nutrition Services Bill Schuster predicts that more machines will be coming to the campus in the future.

WANTED: Mr. Monta Vista Mr. MV, a pageant for men at MVHS, was tentatively set to be on the week of Feb. 28 to March 4. The event, however, was canceled because Sadies was suddenly moved to after the break, and the commission couldn’t reconvene with the participants.

Separating business and pleasure

Save the date! Important dates pertaining to 2011-2012 ASB Officer elections Mar 11: Informational meeting (leadership room during lunch) Mar 17: Applications (main office) Mar 23: Forum (rally court) Mar 23-25: Elections open online Mar 25: Winners announced (5 p.m.)

ACED SADIES From March 3 through March 6, California DECA held its annual State Career Development Conference in the Santa Clara Marriot hotel. MVDECA sent a delegation of 238 students. The conference clashed with Sadies, which had been moved from Feb. 18 to March 5 to accommodate coach and teacher Ron Freeman’s memorial. Despite efforts by advisor Carl Schmidt to change the date of Sadies a second time, Sadies remained on March 5. Students feared they would not be able to attend, and Schmidt argued that the loss of over two hundred students would significantly impact Sadies attendance. In the end, administration agreed to admit students who arrived at Sadies later than 9 p.m. due to DECA conference events.

LAWSUIT: District fights for fields in court According to Dean of Students Michael Hicks, construction is currently slated to begin as early as June, though the lawsuit may push the timeframe back further. The planning process is continuing, however, as architects finalize the designs for Lynbrook and MVHS. Hicks advises students to remain patient throughout the process. He notes that, even though the fate of the renovations will now remain in the hands of a judge, students can still show their support for the project. “When the opportunities come up to talk to a community member, or parent, or friend of a parent, those are important,” Hicks said. “It’s about the momentum, keeping that conversation alive about why this project in particular is important to our school… It’s important for young people to see that their voices do matter.” Students and organizations had already spoken up in favor of the new fields at board meetings, and their input was one of many considerations taken into account by the Board of Trustees. The FUHSD understood that further legal action was a possibility, though it was not expected. Evans insists that the district still stands firmly behind its original position. “The district has filed a response through its lawyers... It disagrees with every one of the claims,” he said. Of the 37 allegations in LMU’s legal complaint to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, the FUHSD lawyers denied all but

COMPLAINT SUBSTANCE There were 37 paragraphs in the LMU complaint and 32 of those paragraphs were denied by the FUHSD.

five. The district agreed to only the simplest of facts: that it is in charge of the projects, that the Board of Trustees is responsible for approving them, that the FUHSD is located in Santa Clara County, that LMU gave proper notice to the district prior to the lawsuit, and that LMU will continue to comply with certain public record requirements. Edward Ford of the LMU has declined to comment at the advice of the organization’s lawyers, but besides the complaints listed in the lawsuit, the organization earlier expressed concern regarding traffic delays due to construction, airborne debris from the build site, and the safety and maintenance of a turf field. Though Hicks hopes that the fields will eventually be upgraded, he finds a silver lining in the dialogue that the lengthy authorization process has created. “I think this is a good life lesson for students,” Hicks said. “You guys are going to go off to college one day and be adults, and you’re going to deal with this in your lines of work, and your kids’ schools, and in your business. It’s a good experience for you all to see that there’s two sides to everything, and you’ve got to be able to compromise and find a common ground.” Joseph Beyda || j.beyda@elestoque.org

Increase efforts to promote tolerance, acceptance on campus

espite the cultural and belief-based diversity that is inevitable in a California public school, the MVHS administration is constantly striving to cultivate tolerance on our campus and to prevent our differences from causing divides. We embrace activities such as Diversity Week and a plethora of cultural clubs to promote tolerance of our entire student body. And just recently, administration has taken yet another step to welcome all types of students; they have posted “Safe Zone” signs outside of classrooms and posters that frown upon the slang, and often derogatory, use of the word “gay.” The speed and efficiency of the way in which administration put up these signs is something worth commending. It is events such as these that show us what a great learning environment MVHS truly is. While we readily regard our school as academically competent, we must also realize that it is necessary to appreciate the strides that have been made in order to make our campus an even more welcoming and

MANSI PATHAK & VIJETA TANDON m.pathak@elestoque.org v.tandon@elestoque.org

Letter from the editors

tolerant society. Our campus’ tolerance is evident in senior Amanda Chen’s three-part series, “Twist of Hate,” as well as her follow-up story, “Does it get better? LGBT alumni share post-high school experiences,” in which MVHS alumni state that they felt comfortable enough to “come out” to their friends during high school. Countless students who want to attend MVHS do so illegally, because they do not live within the area boundaries for MVHS. As sophomore Anushka Patil explores in her article “Off the Map,” the reasons behind this are both academic and social. If our school is such a sought-after place to study, then the responsibility to be tolerant does not fall solely on administration’s shoulders. Now we, as students, must continue to prove that we have the maturity to adjust our behavior and take their message to heart. If we can embrace the differences between our fellow classmates, then we can foster a campus where students are comfortable to be exactly who they are.

Mar 9, 2011

NEWS

Students take Le Grand step

Students compete in mandatory national French language competition

he AP test, the SAT II, the final. Achievement in French, as in all of the World Language department, is often measured by multiple choice exams. Yet the curriculum can’t be focused on preparing for these types of tests. That’s where Le Grand Concours comes in—the National French Contest. On March 15 and 16, French students of all levels will be participating in the competition in their classrooms. Organizing French teacher Sarah Finck remembers taking the test during her own time in high school. “It gives a sense of achievement to students,” Finck said. Finck and fellow French teacher Lise Gabet feel that the test is important enough to be mandatory for all French students. It costs $4 per student, but the gains include a measure of French performance on a national level. The test covers topics that are mostly in alignment with the classes’ curriculum, but goes more in depth in areas like grammar. Finck plans to spend class time reviewing for these areas of the test. Although it takes time away from standard curriculum, she feels that it is important, since grammar is just as much a part of the language as the rest of the material. The test also includes relatively realistic listening sections that are meant to be beneficial for students. “It’s authentic speakers having authentic conversations,” Fink said. She hopes that it will inspire students’ enthusiasm, especially with the potential for students to place on the state or national level. To raise student excitement, Finck is considering holding an awards ceremony for MVHS students whose performance is deemed excellent. Though the test has been an option in the past, this year’s shift to a mandatory, mass administration is intended to continue the French department’s efforts to keep their students involved. With multiple other language electives for students to choose from, the French teachers have to get creative in order to differentiate themselves. Senior Valerie Patterson is a student in Gabet’s French AP class, and she agrees that French is overlooked amongst MVHS’s language options. “I signed up for French because I like the way it sounds... not because it’ll be useful in this area,” Patterson said. “People right now are choosing what their parents want them to take, for more practical reasons—not what they’re interested in or like. That shows in the numbers—there’s only one French AP class.” Gabet and the French teachers are aware of the problem. “We always have to promote the program—

Forgiveness in your pocket New confessions app for iPhone generates uproar in Catholic world

ere’s my confession: perhaps the only hater in this month’s column is me. Not that there’s no hatred in the world, but as I scanned the news I looked over the haters tearing Libya up, glanced at all the haters protesting in Wisconsin, and landed upon this: an iPhone app recently released called “Confessional: A Roman Catholic App.” I couldn’t resist.

Erin Chiu | El Estoque

LE GRAND CONCOURS On Feb. 23, French teacher Sarah Finck teaches her sixth period French 2 class, preparing them for the Le Grand Concours French language competition. The test will be mandatory for all French students. and we do that by doing a good job, and by having good results on the AP test,” she said. Gabet also emphasizes the language’s benefits—in addition to being the language of love, French is, according to Gabet, useful for careers in International Business and Science, as well as helpful on the SAT. “All the sophisticated words in English come from French,” Gabet said. French students, especially in the upper levels, are provided with several opportunities to get more involved with their chosen language. In past years, the French program even organized a trip to France over a school break, an opportunity that Gabet hopes to reinstate when the economy permits. Currently, French connections include the option of a inter-school French Public Debate program, and an annual poetry competition

organized by San Jose State University, mandatory for AP and Honors students. “It’s amazing poetry. [Poetry] lowers inhibitions, and they become very creative in the language,” Gabet said. Patterson’s poem was one of the 10 selected from French AP to be submitted to San Jose State, along with the top five from French Honors. She is excited for the opportunity because in previous years, MVHS has had several poetry contest winners and honored them in winners’ ceremonies. Finck and Gabet hope that the same excitement generated among higher-level students for the poetry competition will be echoed for students of all levels with the National French Contest. Roxana Wiswell || r.wiswell@elestoque.org

Streamlining registration from pencil to keyboard Administration takes out paper and lets students register for classes online

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ifteen minutes of English class. Two thousand Scantrons. And in reach all students. Now, these presentations are still made, but all the savings, $129. These are benefits of online course registration, handouts and PowerPoint presentations from Course Selection Nights are available for students even before classes receive the presentation. which administration hopes will speed up the long process. However, students do see downsides to 24/7 course registration. In previous years, during February and March, students received a “It’s good in the fact that we’re used to computers. But at the same Scantron form to bubble in their desired courses for the next year. This year, this step of the process is moving from paper to online in order time, I feel like it fosters procrastination since it’s at home and not at school,” said junior Amy Thomas. to decrease paperwork for administration and Office managers no longer have to provide a source of information for students. Scantron vs. Internet deal with the Scantron sheets, print three The drive for this change came from different versions, distribute them to outside the district, mainly Laura Fong, $32.25 for 500 scantrons English classes, and scan them for results. Associate Principal of Central Valley High According to Executive Assistant Diana School. CVHS has been using the program, 2,000 scantrons cost $129 not including Goularte, we are no longer purchasing four Infinite Campus, to organize scheduling for shipping and taxes. packs at $32.50 per pack of 500 Scantron two years and Fong suggested the program sheets. Also, when the actual schedules are to Assistant Principal Trudy Gross. Now, website saves class time and paper being formed later on, Infinite Campus now Infinite Campus has come to FUHSD. helps balance class sizes. “[With online registration], you can be “This year...there’s a lot of single classes making changes up until we close the window on the [March 11],” said Assistant Principal Trudy Gross, addressing third period, [such as AVID or Community Leadership],” Gross said. “When you’re in a single class third period, we have a lot fewer students the benefits of Infinite Campus. With these four weeks instead of the 15 minutes given in English in their core class third period... By building it in [Infinite Campus], I classes, the students can not only make changes to their decisions, but can see it better and play around with it [to make it balanced].” In the future, administration hopes to include teacher suggestions also use external resources and talk to parents about their choices. While these options were available in previous years, having a online. It is working on a system that will let teachers to choose which continuous presence of the digital form will give students enough time students they think will do better in higher-level classes, the equivalent to go over all their options with leisure. The online program also allows of receiving a signature. With all these changes to registration, students, all students to access information relative to course registration. teachers, and administration will benefit in the process. Previously, guidance counselors and assistant principals presented the information and handouts to different classes, taking a few weeks to Vishakha Joshi || v.joshi@elestoque.org

Bless me iPhone, for I have sinned The app, created by two brothers in Indiana working with two priests and a bishop, is designed to walk the user through the steps of a confession. For the non-Catholics out there—a confession is the Catholic practice of going to a confessional and confessing one’s sins to a priest to be absolved. With this app, users go through the Ten Commandments, each of which has a drop down list of common sins, tailored specifically to the user based TRACY ZHANG on their profile. t.zhang@elestoque.org Users then check off any applicable s i n s — r a ng i ng from wishing evil upon another to adulter y—which are compiled into one list at the end. The app then shows a written act of contrition, a prayer usually recited by the penitent. It even prompts the user to say “amen” when finished. It’s as though God is in your pocket, a handy dose of forgiveness when you’re waiting in line at the supermarket or on a particularly boring bus ride. It’s also incredibly time-efficient—confessions can be completed in a matter of minutes and at any time. Done something bad? No problem, just whip out your iPhone and be forgiven on the spot! Never mind finding the nearest church, just find somewhere with service.

Hating on the Haters

So is it legitimate? The app has already received approval from multiple Catholic priests, but the head of the Catholic world begs to differ. The Vatican steadfastly insists only priests—living, not virtual—can hear confessions. The creators of the app do claim that this is not a replacement for confessions, but a tool to help Catholics organize what they may need to bring up during confession. And while the app does remind the user that this is merely a tool, the opening and closing prayers mimic the entire confession process, making it easy to forget that this is not the real deal. What’s the problem anyway? I will stay my distance from commenting on Catholicism, but it’s safe to say that religious people everywhere will agree that God can’t be replaced by a $2 app. But this app didn’t reach 42nd on the iTunes best-selling app list for nothing. Catholic iPhone users are clearly finding it useful. So while the sanctity of the Catholic Church may be in tact, the buzz over this app brings up a much more pertinent issue: what have we let technology do to us? You hear it all the time—technology is changing the way we communicate, the way we do day-to-day tasks, even the way we think. And at the core of this Confessions app is the chance to not think. It’s like filling out a survey—have I neglected to take care of my kids this week? Check. Have I wished evil on another person? Check. This is where our generation is headed—a lifestyle so lazy that we can’t even do one of the most basic and independent of human skills: self-reflection.

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March 9, 2011

NEWS

Oh, the places we go

Field trips provide students with the opportunity to interact with subjects taught in classroom Singers in the Variations class will fly to Oahu, Hawaii on March 31 for the Heritage National Music Festival and will return on April 4. Students will perform three pieces in front of three prefessional choral judges. After that, a well-known choral clinician will work with the Variations students. The choir competition will only take up one day of the four; the others will be passed with multiple luau dinners, impromptu concerts, a tour of Pearl Harbor and time at the beach, among other activities.

Social studies teacher Christopher Chiang’s World History class visited the Museum of Tolerance and the Holocaust Museum, both in Los Angeles, on Feb. 16 to learn about the Holocaust. The artifacts and visiting Holocaust survivors made the Holocaust real for the students. “It is quite different to walk into a gas chamber, walk into a [Polish] ghetto, walk in to see what it was like,” Chiang said ,rather than learning about the Holocaust through just educational videos and textbooks.

Physiology students visited the Tech Museum of Innovation on Feb. 3 to visit its Body Worlds Vital exhibit. Students walked among cadavers in different poses that had their skin removed to reveal all of the muscles and organs. “I gained a better appreciation of how the body works and how unique the human body is,” said junior Howard Lee. He learned applicable concepts in real life, but what struck Lee the most were the real samples of smoker and non-smoker lungs that showed devastating effects of cigarette smoke.

On Oct. 12, 2010, students in MVHS’s Humanities classes visited the San Jose Convention Center to listen to the Dalai Lama. Over 2,000 attendees of various races and ethnicities came to see the Dalai Lama talk about how Buddhism and its Eight-Fold Path would lead to peace. “I had never experienced something like this before,” said senior Alex Chiu. She had heard about the Dalai Lama in the news, but it was different to finally be able to see him live and in person, even if the Humanities class was sitting in the back, far away from the Dalai Lama on stage.

*These trips were randomly selected and represent some of the many trips taken by each department.

Daniel Tan || d.tan@elestoque.org

Daniel Tan |

El Estoque

Photo Illustr ation

RESIDENCY: Use of falsified records allows kids to attend school question and asks to see the student. The official may also ask in a completely different school environment. It all left her to see the student’s room and study area—basically looking bitter and angry, and the one thing that did go well for her, The dis-enrolled student’s family didn’t have to go through for the things one would expect in the home of a teenager, but academics, was simply a result of that emotion. “I did not talk to anybody,” she said. “I went to school, the same ordeal. Residency verification has been in place at parents have a right to deny entrance into their homes. Home visits are among the several things parents give came home, did my work, and went back to school. It was just FUHSD since 2005, but according to Julie Darwish, FUHSD Manager of Enrollment and Residency, the FUHSD has never the district permission to do when they sign the Residency a routine. I hated going to school.... I isolated myself.” Declaration form. The form The student’s friends at her new school know what prosecuted anyone caught falsifying STUDENT REACTION also allows investigators to take happened, and she says she’s not embarrassed. She was just as their residency. photographs and/or video as part open when she attended MVHS, though it was risky because “It would be a waste of district of an investigation. The district the district makes it very easy for anyone suspicious of a resources,” she said. “It doesn’t benefit Do you feel it believes this process helps saves student’s residency, be they friends or even teachers, to call us in any way.” 24% is unfair for approximately $5 million. the district’s anonymous tip line to give investigators a lead. FUHSD is a basic-aid district, Yes students who 37% Darwish says that she sees It seems antagonistic, but Plaza believes that people have meaning that the district does not live outside of No Opinion many of those declarations of a moral obligation to help the district because otherwise, receive funding based on the number the Monta Vista understanding as deterrents, but “everyone’s getting ripped off.” of students enrolled. The main source boundaries to be 41% the entire process is still taken Still, several of the student’s teachers knew about her move of funding is property taxes, which able to attend No very seriously, because in a outside of the district and didn’t report her. In fact, she says parents who do not live within the Monta Vista? district like this one where high- many of them encouraged her to try to work things out with district would not be paying. performing schools drive home the district so that she wouldn’t have to change schools. One Darwish compared the situation to prices sky-high, parents may be administrator in particular was incredibly supportive. She splitting a pizza. “The more and more turned to him for help after the district confronted people you have, the smaller your slices have to be,” she said. tempted to turn to residency falsification. But they have other options, like renting, her, and he tried arguing her case to the district. “You might have helped to pay for the pizza, but you’re not Darwish said. Assistant Principal Dennis “I asked him to please do something [and] he getting as much as you should be.” For an opinion story really tried his hardest,” she said. “He did a lot Every year, parents of incoming freshmen and current Plaza agreed. “You choose your community about student for [me].” sophomores must provide valid picture ID, a PG&E bill, an based on what you can afford,” he said. “You residency see page 9 But the district would not budge, and the original property tax bill or a tenant original copy of a rental or can’t just be stealing from the district.” While Darwish and Plaza are firm in their student was forced to attend her local high school. lease agreement, and one of the following: vehicle registration, It all means much more than just numbers to the W-2 tax forms, or a current paycheck issued by an employer. attitude toward parents who make the choice Then, if the district suspects a family of falsifying residency, to falsify residency, they sympathize with the students, who dis-enrolled senior. She may have adjusted to her new school, are often caught in the middle. but that doesn’t change the way she feels about MVHS. “Just an investigation begins. For the dis-enrolled student, residency issues took a toll being there for the time I was, I grew so much,” she said.”... “It’s like building a case,” Darwish said of the process. Little things—a lead, returned mail, a disconnected phone—add up. on her relationship with her parents in particular. The move being in that different environment changed me in such a good Home visits are also a way to gather evidence. During these to a new school didn’t mean to them what it meant to their way, and I never realized it [until I had to leave].” Anushka Patil || a.patil@elestoque.org visits, a district official visits the listed address of the student in daughter—having to uproot herself once more and start over

continued from page 1

OPINION

Mar. 9, 2011

NEWS

Page 5

Powder keg

TUNISIA

of the

Jan. 14 - President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted from Tunisia

MOROCCO

February - King Mohammed VI offers concessions to protesters

LIBYA

Feb. 15 - Demonstrations begin in Benghazi outside police headquarters Feb. 22 - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vows to fight “until the last drop of his blood has been spilled”

ALGERIA

February - 19-year-old state of emergency lifted

EGYPT

Jan. 25 - President Mubarak orders Internet shutdown after a day of protests Feb. 1 - 1,000,000 protesters march on Tahir Square in Cairo, Egypt Feb. 11 - Mubarak steps down, military junta takes control of government Elvin Wong | El Estoque Illustration

Arab World protests change African political climate, affect MVHS students with family abroad

leven days. That was all it took for an enraged people to put an end to a thirty-year regime. Unrest crossed the Tunisian borders into neighboring Arabic-speaking countries, sparking rebellion in Libya and demands for reforms in almost 20 nations. International news outlets report Days of Rage and a March of Millions coming in from the Middle East, resonating the magnitude of all that is happening there. But all this time while chaos and violence go on an ocean away, Arab students at MVHS and their families feel the shockwaves coming from their homelands.

news networks circulate names and places where their families had lived along with news of unrest and chaos in places all too familiar to them. “We just followed [the situation] and hoped that it end[ed] soon, and we hope that nothing too drastic would happens,” sophomore Omar Naguib said. Egypt, which has remained the core of attention for all the action and protests due to its swift toppling of the previous regime, has been under Emergency Rule since 1967. Since the beginning of the “Arab Spring” in Tunisia, labeled by media outlets as the rising Arab protests, there had been rumors of unrest to spread into Egypt. For Naguib’s family who Families amidst the chaos had recently visited Egypt, it was becoming In the past two months, the Arab World apparent that an outbreak may happen soon. had descended into a state of chaos and “We were [vacationing in Egypt] during the disorder following the Tunisian Revolution time of the Tunisian Revolution, and people that began in late December of 2010. Over thought that [revolution] was going to happen, time the domino effect had spread through but no one knew for sure,” Naguib said. the Middle East and North Naguib’s family in Egypt Africa like a raging wildfire, had planned to wait it out, inspiring dissent throughout frequently sending news and For an opinion story many totalitarian nations and updates to their family in about the Arab World effectively putting an end to Cupertino. protests see page 7 former Egyptian president “It turned out alright Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship because we Egyptians trust the in Egypt. military, and we just hope that However, for many MVHS students who they keep their promises,” Naguib said. have family in these hot spots of turmoil, news The revolution lasted for only half a month, of violence and death in their homelands could a relatively swift transition which beckons only bring thoughts of concern and worry for a brighter future for Egypt and its people, family members abroad. Meanwhile, major opening a new page for the Arab world.

OPINION

happening in Egypt, you realized how potent Egypt’s homegrown democracy Throughout recent history, democratic that kind of public demonstration can be,” movements for the most part were instigated Recktenwald said. by a foreign power, and what surprised Government teacher Ben Recktenwald was A successful revolution Ultimately, Mubarak’s choice to shut the fact that revolution began in a region known to not have a history of democratic down Egypt’s Internet access led to his fall movements. Recktenwald, a follower of the from power. According to the U.S. Census situation in Egypt, was surprised by the speed Bureau, more than 50 percent of the Egyptian population is youth and of how things developed young adults, and Egypt in Egypt. easily became a breeding “What the Egyptians I am much more ground for dissent fueled realized was [the hopeful in the fact by ideas of change from revolution in Tunisia] was [that] in Egypt, outside of Egypt. However, really easy,” Recktenwald [democracy] rather than being an said. “I think the most is completely uncontrolled riot, the unity interesting development homegrown. of the Egyptian people was what was happening teacher Ben Recktenwald effectively loosened in Egypt, and the people Mubarak’s grip and put an in Egypt are just saying, ‘You know, this is our opportunity to develop end to his regime. On Feb. 9, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper our government in our own way.’” For example, the most notable cases of reported on very organized protesting at foreign involvement have been the American Tahir Square in Cairo. These protests included occupation of South Vietnam in the 1970s protesters checking IDs, patting each other and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. What initially down, and policing themselves. As the world witnessed history unfold was being viewed as just a mild demonstration in Egypt began shocking viewers around with the end of a 30-year-long regime, the the world when the violence escalated to future of Egypt remains in the hands of the military junta in which all Egyptian people revolution for democracy. Furthermore, the ousting of Tunisian trust. And for overseas Egyptians like Naguib, president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali inspired the better days are in store for the Egyptians who Egyptian people that the time to act was at had created their own liberation. hand, and revolution was plausible. Elvin Wong || e.wong@elestoque.org “Once you saw everything that was

VACCINES: Students choose to forego vaccinations for religious, personal reacontinued from page 1

The district is making exceptions for immunization under certain circumstances. Students with verifiable health or religious constraints are eligible for an exemption from taking the vaccine. The district will ensure that all students have access to the vaccine and will take it. “I think that in Pertussis you have to get, like, 90 percent of people immunized and then it suppresses the disease, so those who aren’t immunized are then protected,” Lake said. “Although I don’t think there are exclusions for Pertussis.” Over time, the amount of religious exemptions for vaccinations have increased. Though medical exemptions are accepted, some states do not consider religious or personal beliefs as an excuse. Much of the conflict involves drawing the line between respecting the individual’s beliefs and jeopardizing public safety. Strict followers of Catholicism were in strong opposition to inserting and growing certain vaccines into voluntarily aborted fetus tissues. By taking the vaccine, Catholics believed that they would be indirectly promoting abortion because the vaccines were grown on animal eggs or aborted human embryos and fetuses. Although junior Christine Chen does not identify herself as

a religious person, she still holds personal beliefs in support of because she is more personally against them than religiously. “I generally don’t take vaccines, but it depends on the vaccines, regardless of what they are made of. “I believe that people take vaccines in order to stay healthy. situation. If it’s an epidemic, then I think people should all get When they take a vaccine, they’re not saying, ‘I’m supporting the vaccine to prevent the disease from spreading,” Shaikh abortion,’” Chen said. “People can be against abortion and said. “But if it’s like the flu, cold, or whatever, who cares? Do whatever floats your boat.” still want to stay healthy.” In the case of an epidemic like the To Chen, personal health and safety TAKING THE SHOT Whooping Cough, Shaikh balances her should be prioritized, but religion can be Location: religious constraints in her justification used as support rather than an obstruction Santa Clara Public Health in justifying taking a vaccine. of why she supports the vaccine in this Immunization Clinic (976 A recent swine flu vaccine offered situation because, like Chen, she feels taking Lenzen Avenue, Suite 1500 the vaccine is a personal responsibility for by a Bay Area biotech company called San Jose, CA 95126) public safety. MedImmune caused an uproar for some Muslim and Jewish Americans because “In Islam, you can do this kind of stuff, Cost: $15 per shot the Intranasal Swine Flu Vaccine contained only if it’s necessary, so I don’t think God’s “porcine gelatin,” a compound made from going to grill you for it,” Shaikh said. “I think He could care less.” concentrated pig remains. Pork does not The Public Health Department is currently fall under Jewish kosher requirements and Islamic Shari’ah law prohibits Muslims from eating pork as offering vaccinations at a cost of $15 for students who cannot well. At MVHS, however, students seem to find the balance afford the vaccine or lack health insurance. As of now, the between religion and state regulations much easier than others district is asking that families do not provide evidence of this worldwide. vaccination until fall 2011. Junior Iqra Shaikh abides by the Islamic law by not consuming pork products, but chooses not to take vaccines Aafreen Mahmood || a.mahmood@elestoque.org

NEWS

Page 6

LGBT: Despite obstacles faced, alumni grow continued from page 1

Despite any doubts and concerns holding them back, both Huang and Hsu received overall positive responses from their friends upon their coming out, saying that it was important to surround themselves with people who were supportive. “It was a pretty big deal at first,” Huang said. “It’s more of a shock thing; you don’t really start meeting [openly] gay people until some point in your life, and [when you meet] the first one [it’s] like, ‘What really?’ Not really negatively, more of a genuine surprise.” Alumnus Alex Cohn, class of 2006, did not come out until freshman year of college. However, this was not a conscious decision, but rather the change in lifestyle that gave him more time to consider his sexuality. According to Cohn, he did not really consider his time at MVHS as being in the closet because his focus was on academics rather than his sexuality. “It seemed kind of the norm, just among my friends, not to date, not to think much about romantic relationships or sex or anything like that,” Cohn said. “I think in the back of my mind I knew it was a consideration, but I thought, ‘I have more important things to take care of right now,’ so I waited until college to really think about that, and once I really figured out my own sexuality, that’s when I really came out to all my friends, to all my family.” Being in a high school environment such as MVHS still indirectly affected Cohn’s decision to come out. “Part of me knew that addressing such complex issues about sexuality, was going to be a lot harder in a high school environment, which is why I put off thinking about anything like that,” Cohn said. “MVHS was such a stressful place, why add more stress?” Huang felt comfortable enough to come out in MVHS, but not without taking precautionary steps first. “The way I processed coming out in high school was that I started with my friends who I didn’t think were as close,” Huang said. “I did that because I didn’t want my closer friends to pack up and leave. It was sort of to test the waters, like, ‘If someone who isn’t as close to me can stand it, then maybe it won’t be so bad.’” A barrier that held Cohn back from coming out was the fear of quick judgement of character from others before being known for personality. “One of the things that I was most scared of was that it would take over my identity,” Cohn said. “In high school, I felt like a lot of the people who were out and open, their gayness became the totality of their identity, especially in high school where you

ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES

“It was junior year when I started really coming out. At first I wasn’t sure myself of what I was feeling; I wasn’t even aware of attraction to men. When I look back, I think, ‘Oh I had crush on him in freshman year,’ but at the time, I didn’t think of it like that.” MVHS alumnus Anthony Hsu

“I almost went back into the closet when I started college, especially during my second year when I started my internship [as an athletic trainer] for fear of judgment. I’d rather be seen as a good athletic trainer.” MVHS alumnus Hermes Huang

“In high school, I felt like a lot of the people who were out and open, their gayness became the totality of their identity, especially in high school where you don’t discern identities too much with a sense of self.” MVHS alumnus Alex Cohn

don’t discern identities so much with a sense of self. Being slightly older and then coming out gave me more credibility to know who I was totally, saying ‘I’m all of this, and I’m gay.” However, being older and more comfortable with one’s sexuality does not eliminate all obstacles in for an LGBT student, even post-high school. “I almost went back into the closet when I started college, especially during my second year when I started my internship [as an athletic trainer] for fear of judgment,” Huang said. “We use our hands to do treatment, and professionalism and privacy is of the utmost concern. I’d rather be seen as a good athletic trainer.” Cohn agreed that it seemed wiser to keep his sexuality to himself at the beginning of joining a new staff. “When I started [writing for The Harvard Crimson], I felt that the community was very bro-y. It seemed like a lot of dudes, but sort of professional and uptight,” Cohn said. “It seemed like it wasn’t an important part of me, and that I shouldn’t [tell people I was gay], so I didn’t really bring anything up or say anything to anyone.” However, both Cohn and Huang began to come out to their respective staffs as they grew more comfortable with the new surroundings and coworkers, though Huang is still

careful about the athletes he treats. “Most of [the trainers] know now, but I don’t think any athletes know,” Huang said. “It wouldn’t be appropriate to bring it up in the workplace, but [it’d be okay] if I was in a social situation and I’m comfortable with them.” Despite these sorts of circumstances even after leaving high school, all three alumni have found themselves in a happier, more supportive environment. “I [waited a bit to come out] not to avoid judgement in high school; it was more of a deep-seated fear,” Huang said. “In college, I knew it would be like, ‘Okay, well he’s gay, whatever,’ but in high school I was younger. There wasn’t as much to go on in terms of what was going to happen after I go out.” Cohn says that in college, it is easier to be yourself because people don’t know you, which gives you the opportunity to reinvent your identity. “At MVHS, I was with people who I had grown up with my entire life,” Cohn said, “so even though they were very supportive, during the period where I was sort of figuring it out, my own identity was in flux. So it was nice to form that apart from people who thought they knew me.” As time progressed, it seems, for the three MVHS alumni interviewed, that things did “get better.” Amanda Chen || a.chen@elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

A look back to the first time in high school

Kennedy Middle School shadows recall their experiences visiting high school on Shadowing Day

oth freshmen Michelle Swedek and Paras Jain remembered one thing before visiting MVHS on Kennedy Shadowing Day 2010: feeling scared and apprehensive. They were expecting the worst in their minds. Maybe that will be what this year’s shadows will feel before Kennedy Shadowing Day 2011 on March 14. Many of last year’s shadows had heard MVHS was difficult and expected its teachers to be strict. To their surprise, however, that was not the case. Jain remembered watching an English class having fun while discussing a novel. He had expected a boring lecture. In math teacher Sushma Bana’s class, freshman Rahul Madanahalli was asked to tell the class a few jokes. It was the rally that day that had the biggest impact on the shadow’s perceptions of MVHS. “[It] was really overwhelming,” freshman Michelle Swedek remembered. That was almost the exact phrase used by Madanahalli. Between its noise and attendance size, both of them agreed the MVHS rally had more energy and spirit than rallies at KMS. Madanahalli was also struck by the freshmen’s own cheers and pompoms and by each class’s determination. To the former eighth graders who had only heard about MVHS’s difficult, bookish society, the rally showed MVHS in a different light. According to Madanahalli, the rally showed that MVHS had not just an academic side but also a non-academic one; after attending, Jain also realized that a large part of MVHS was students’ social lives. The inside look at MVHS also eased feelings of apprehension about attending. “I was pretty scared before, but afterwards I was actually looking forward to [MVHS],” Jain said. Although he was originally intimidated by MVHS’s reputation, Madanahalli saw no difference between MVHS and KMS. “It’s the same sort of environment, except with a lot more

SHADOW STATS 90 students from KMS will be coming to MVHS on Mar. 14, 2011 in order to spend a day with their shadow to gain insight into high school life.

energy,” he said. “And with a lot more taller people.” Almost one year later, last year’s shadows agreed that Kennedy Shadowing Day was a very important experience and a good representation of MVHS. Each one of them took away important advice from their shadowees and observations. Madanahalli learned to bring lunch to school every day once he saw the long lunch lines. Begur heard there were hundreds of clubs to be involved in at MVHS. Swedek discovered the importance of knowing the difference between MVHS’s main gym and its field house. Jain took it a step further; he kept in contact with his shadowee, who helped him with his course selection and gave tips on how to study successfully at MVHS. With this year’s Kennedy Shadowing Day fast approaching, many of last year’s shadows wished their shadowees had highlighted one thing during their visit. Although they each came to the conclusion on their own, the shadows believed it should have been stressed more. What was that conclusion? According to Begur, it was simple: “[MVHS] is not that bad as it really seems.” Daniel Tan || d.tan@elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

Page 7

OPINION

Students in core classes benefit from field trips, guest speakers

hile clubs and specialty classes such as FBLA, experience these ideas. The most impactful type of learning DECA, and Government Team take upwards of is one where students can see the real-life value of the facts eight field trips total each year, an average student and skills they are being taught. More alternative learning opportunities are necessary, for the classroom isn’t the only taking core classes could easily graduate from MVHS without learning environment which exists. having been on—or having been offered the opportunity to go on—any field trips at all. It’s safe to assume that any student would rather go on a While cost is an obvious limitation to the number of field field trip like the one DECA took to the Fashion Institute of trips that each department can take, there are simple ways Design and Merchandising on Oct. 11, rather than sit down to bypass this hindrance. For example, two of the field trips and learn about the principles of business from a textbook inside a classroom. Yet this field trip was only accessible to taken this year by the science department involved Biology and AP Biology classes walking DECA members, instead of being open to all students taking over to McClellan Ranch Park and business classes. Had it been more accessible, not only would Blackberry Farm. students be more interested in the actual subject material, Senior Stephanie but they would also feel more inclined to continue their learning by joining business organizations on Hui, who went STAFF EDITORIAL on the AP campus such as DECA and FBLA. The opinion of the Biology trip Keeping financial constraints in mind, there are El Estoque Editorial to McClellan also ways to bring the field trip to the classroom. Board The math department took zero field trips this year, Ranch Park whereas students in classes such as AP Statistics last year recalls, would benefit from meeting real pollsters, or how different it was to even sports statisticians from local sports teams. Granted, apply the knowledge teachers must be open to such suggestions, but students have to make the effort to recognize and petition for these learned in class in a external learning opportunities. For example, if a student different way. “It’s actually a lot different trying to type knows a professional working in a career field related to the trees based on the pictures versus in real life,” Hui said. “I class, it would be wise to suggest to the teacher to host a think people actually learn more when [knowledge is] applied, guest speaker lecture. While educational budgets remain uncertain, we must because you’re using more than one method of learning.” find ways to maintain the quality of education by offering In order to spark student interest in core subjects and help them understand the real-world relevance of topics learned alternative learning opportunities such as field trips and guest inside the classroom, it is necessary for them to actually lectures. Students in all classes deserve these opportunities.

uring March, course selection takes place. There is one new class offered, multiple information sessions for course selection, and a new online system for course registration. With so many resources and opportunities, the work put into providing this goes underappreciated more often than not.

110

BREAK DOWN

Revolution is a personal matter

Students must empathize, identify with protesters Mubarak to Mubarak to resign from Mubarak to resign from office Mubarak to resign from officeMu Mubarak to resign from officeMubarak Mubarak to resign from office Mubarak to Pro-Mubarak street gangs attack Tahrir square Protests escalate in Mid-East Protesters Triumph Egypt fate uncertain Military assumes total control Mubarak to resign from office Mubarakresignation Revolution in Egypt Egypt in total chaos revolution Muba- Internet & cell phone service down civil rights EG Protesters walled in inside Tahrir Square expression YP Egyptian expatriates protest worldwide defiance of TI Tensions escalate all over the Middle East Mubarak to AN Military patrols due to absence of police authorities US Museum ransacked, antiquities destroyed Mubarak to Mu U.S. Embassy staff safely evacuated by ship Mubarak to announces not to seek re-election Muba Egypt Mu Mubarak Tanks parate streets of Cairo youth Mub Libya Mu Egypt protests escalate liberty Jordan M High unemployment dictator M Bahrain E Mubarak Jan 25 protests G Presidents Libya Y government army Cairo MubarakMubarak P to resign unite USA T Nile UN Protests take place worldwide Palin Mubarak NSC Major looting in Cairo streets Military council chaos Protests start in Yemen Govt. toppled Mubarak WH mum on protests high poverty Tunis FreeFreePalin slams president freedom ringFreeUN Free Obama makes speech revolutions will resign Protests start in Bahrain condemning liberty resignFreedom Poverty Mubarak to resign Violence Obama critics Corruption revolts Unemployed Youth Egyptians thrilled opposition United National Museum authorities Nations conemn Egyptian government link arms around National MuseumEgypt is now free Gingrich Protesters Top government leaders resign from party stock exchange suspends trading Bahrain revolts Mubarak family bank accounts frozen no liberties Egypt Brotherhood causes US fears Obama doctrine work in progress Mubarak resigns one-partyMuslim Libya takes lesson from Egypt streets in utter chaos former security chief tried Middle East crisis corruption Cairo Refugees flee nation instability Moammar Gadafi Barack Obama martial law resignation Omar Suleiman Vinay Raghuram | El Estoque Photo Illustration Military rule

one issue – six ways

MINUTES FOR THE COURSE SELECTION FAIR WERE ALLOTTED. On March 2, students had plenty of time to learn about courses.

4 20 200 60 0

SEPARATE COURSE INFORMATION NIGHTS OCCURRED. MVHS offered three Course Selection Nights, with one translated, and a Core/Elective Night, a good way to inform parents.

Egypt will vote on a new constitution Americans, foreigners stranded in airport Foreign Embassies in Cairo closed, evacuated Villages in Egypt experiencing violent protests Revolution ends years of corruption, people free Zapatero of Spain condemns Mubarak dictatorship Moammar Gaddafi denounced by State department Regime of over 30 years toppled in just a month Fears of Muslim Brotherhood takeover arise in US Protesters link arms to protect Museum from looters Protesters link arms to protect Museum from s Benghazi taken by Libya protesters Libyan refugees escape to Tunisia Freedom revolution violence

TEACHERS ATTENDED CORE/ELECTIVE NIGHT ON MARCH 3, ROUGHLY. Each department was represented so parents had sufficient information for each class. PARENTS ATTENDED COURSE SELECTION NIGHT PER ALPHA GROUP, ON AVERAGE. The night was clearly a helpful resource for parents of returning students.

SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTEGRATED WORLD STUDIES, ROUGHLY. Only one section is planned to be offered, which could potentially leave out many students who could want to take it.

STUDENT SURVEYS USED FOR INTEGRATED WORLD STUDIES CLASS. Due to the success of the American Studies course, no surveys were made to check for student interest, a risky decision. Natalie Chan || n.chan@elestoque.org

United Nations supports revolts Oil Prices rise due to Libya trouble Gingrich, Pawlenty criticize Obama administration Obama didn’t answer his 3 a.m. phone call, Palin says Obama delivers speech on Egypt, avoids comments Tanks seen on streets of Cairo as army assumes police role Total breakdown of civilian authority takes place in Egypt Mummies, key antiquities looted from National Museum Burnt cars litter Cairo streets, death toll mounting Stocks fall due to oil prices caused by revolutions Transport through Suez canal severely impacted Protests fire up in Libya, Tunisia, Bahrain, Jordan Egypt military council assumes control of Cairo Mubarak, family flee country, according to WH Protests take place in Egypt, US, abroad

More than just a headline

uring the peaks of the Egyptian revolution, many things happened to my family. My aunt was tear-gassed at a protest, my cousins rode on tanks, and my uncle was stationed on top of his pharmacy shooting warning shots at looters. Before this, any world conflict I heard of was just a headline, nothing more. Being close to the Egyptian conflict, however, gave faces to the people being affected. All of a sudden they weren’t just headlines, they were real. You understood the anger, the sadness, and the urge to unite and stand against whatever tyranny was taking place. This left me with a huge, new interest in the situation. It made me appreciate just how important their effort was and how valuable those human lives were.

Even though I am personally connected to this conflict, all students should make an effort to realize that they themselves could be in the same situation. Try to imagine your own family and friends in the same position. This helps give faces to the protesters, and helps one realize that the protesters are people, too. They have families, jobs, and just as much to lose as anybody else. Learning about how issues have affected people on a smaller scale helps make the issues seem more real. Hearing about how someone’s favorite little cafe is being shut down is a lot more impactful then reading about the economic crisis on CNN. continued on page 10

Page 8

OPINION

March. 9, 2011

The Flip Side

The cost of

million

Sarika Patel || s.patel@elestoque.org

295,000 The number of people that die from whooping cough each year

Illus tratio

| El E stoq u

Ash ley W u

few weeks ago, FUHSD sent out a newsletter indicating that Tdap, a vaccine for whooping cough, was being added to the list of vaccinations required by the school district. However, the term “required” in this case has somehow come to mean that parents can choose to opt their children out of vaccination. The two main reasons the district cites to be eligible to opt out are religious and medical–such as allergies. While the latter is completely understandable, the former does not seem to merit exemption. Several decades ago, certain vaccines were known to be made in egg cultures or contain virus strains from aborted fetus. While these two do seem to be controversial and reason for both vegetarians and conservatives to fear, this is not the case for the Tdap vaccination, nor should it be considered a serious excuse worth putting the rest of the community at risk. Whopping cough, also known as pertussis, is a disease of the lungs caused by bacteria. According to the official “Help Prevent the Whooping Cough” website; the bacteria is most contagious when symptoms of the disease are not fully apparent. Because of this, people can go almost two weeks without knowing that they are infected and continue to spread the disease to the people around them. However, this potential case can be avoided if the district requires everyone to get vaccinated, with the exception of those The number of people with medical allergies. Although it’s not the lack of vaccines that will lead infected with whooping to an epidemic at the school, it’s the few students who choose to opt out cough each year of the vaccination put themselves at risk of contracting the disease. FUHSD has a responsibility of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for students to learn in. By requiring even those who have religious restrictions to get vaccinated, the district could reassure students that they are safe in the school’s atmosphere. Although the First Amendment of the Constitution grants everyone the freedom of religion, freedoms granted by the Constitution only extend until the freedom and safety of others is at risk. Those who choose not to get vaccinated put the community at risk by becoming potential carries of the bacteria. The Tdap vaccination, which is recommended for adolescents age 11-18, is considered harmful to infants to whom whooping cough is known to be fatal. Consider those who have medical reasons for not getting vaccinated. The National Network for Immunization Information recommends that those who have a history of allergic reaction to components of the vaccine should refrain from getting vaccinated. If people on campus choose not to get vaccinated for personal reasons, and manage to contract the disease, those with legitimate medical reasons become at risk as well. Those who have religious beliefs against the vaccination should realize personal sacrifices are necessary for the common good. FUHSD has given students until next fall to be vaccinated and those without legitimate medical reasons should put personal beliefs aside and take one for the team, regardless of what FUHSD policy says.

e Ph

oto

Not getting vaccinated harms others as well

IMMUNI Y NEWS

See “Epidemic causes district to enforce protective measures” on page 1 for related content

Religious exceptions to vaccination are legitimate

he fear of the needle may have some reasoning behind it after all. With FUHSD’s recent letter home detailing the now-mandatory vaccination for whooping cough after two cases at Homestead High School, a new issue regarding individual’s right to recieve or not to recieve vaccination arises. The district seems to have our best interests at heart. Currently, it states that, “Exemptions [from vaccinations are] permitted for verified medical conditions or personal beliefs.” That mindset is correct: The chemicals injected into the body shouldn’t be determined by anyone other than the individual receiving the vaccine. Mandatory vaccinations violate individual rights. It’s a fundamental principle that people should make decisions for themselves. But that’s the thing. If vaccines are made mandatory, those options are gone. We don’t live in a totalitarian society. We have the right to decide, for better or for worse, which vaccines to inject ourselves with. It’s unethical to force vaccinations upon someone because those sorts of decisions should be made personally. Ultimately, how the decision to be vaccinated affects others is irrelevant. Others are responsible for their personal health, and so they will prepare and protect themselves accordingly, regardless of the choices those around them make. It’s a matter of personal responsibility. Controversy over mandatory vaccinations is particularly significant within the religious community. Religion is used extensively as a guiding principle, so when government mandates don’t coincide with personal belief, conflicts are amplified. As people with inalienable rights, individuals should be allowed to act based upon those ideals, not as a consequence of someone else’s. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and so whether The immunity from the the decision to get vaccinated is for religious beliefs or personal ones, it’s a civil vaccine can last up to liberty to have those options. With vaccines like the rubella vaccine, religious implications are particularly heavy, as the virus strains used in production were obtained from aborted fetuses. And so for many, religious principles that deal with touchy subjects like abortion make decisions regarding vaccination more than simply medical—they become moral issues. Government interference with our morals is invasive and unnecessary. In fact, all states but West Virginia and Mississippi allow religious exemptions from vaccinations. Individuals are perfectly capable of making their own decisions and benefiting or suffering as a result. That’s where character is built and lessons are learned. In the past, there has been mutiny and revolution over these sorts of rights in order to shield government control of our personal matters. Now that we’ve moved past that societal dilemma, why even consider taking two steps back? People are going to have discordant opinions, but this is a nation founded on liberty and justice. There’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion, so there should be no exceptions when it comes to medicine. The decision to vaccinate is one solely dependent on individual belief and principle. The school board has it right. It’s our decision.

years.

Cynthia Mao || c.mao@elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

Page 9

OPINION

Not enough pride put in Mr. MV Pageant failure shows severe lack of open-mindedness, school spirit

beauty pageant at MVHS? Definitely not our typical MO—especially with a “Mr.” attached to the front of it, which was certainly an unexpected twist. But that is exactly why it was such a great idea. A Mr. Monta Vista Pageant, which really was less a beauty pageant than an overall male talent competition with a fashion show tacked on for our viewing, was scheduled to accompany the traditional Sadies Dance. ASB Leadership’s Spirit Commission tried to spice things up by switching up gender roles. In theory the pageant could have been a grand success, but due to the lack of participants, it was instead a total failure. Actually, due to scheduling conflicts and the last-minute change to move Sadies after break, it was more than just a failure, it never happened. MVHS is long over-due for a beauty pageant. Okay, well maybe not. But there is definitely no shortage of talent at MVHS. It’s time all those beautiful people hiding behind their books shed their serious faces, and put on sillier, more spirited ones. The lack of enthusiasm shown was pathetic. So let’s admit it. This beauty pageant wasn’t America’s search for the prettiest When everyone knows that Beauty and faces. It was just a quirky way to show some Brains are the killer combination, MVHS school spirit. I have seen boys and guys should have been less hesitant to girls alike put on the craziest participate. Just because the outfit for Homecoming, paint guys were too busy with other See Briefing Room their faces with class colors, and things, our school missed out on page 2 for related participate in the most corny of on a few lunches filled with content games, exuding excitement the laughs—not to mention a entire time. But without the missed opportunity to fill our excitement, what could have school website with all those been a silly but fun show ended up being more precious pictures. of a no-man show. So where’s our funny bone MV? (No. Not

NEWS

Mr. M onta V

ista

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque Photo Illustration

the one near my elbow.) Let’s show a little more spirit, let loose for a change. I’ve heard obsessive studying can lead to headaches, shortness of breath, severe depression, and may be fatal. So take a break, strut your stuff, and have some fun—you deserve it. Plus, we seem to win every other competition we participate in. Let’s show everyone that MVHS Matadors do have the so-called killer combo: Beauty and Brains. Sahana Sridhara || s.sridhara@elestoque.org

Is there no sympathy for the illegal students? Students living outside of district should not be harshly punished

nregistered, yes. Enemies, no. to MVHS. harsh. Instead, it should be tweaked to deal While it’s true that under And what about the illegal students with it more realistically and moderately. California Education Code Section themselves? Living under constant fear of This proposed policy could have two sides. 48200, students must attend a school in “the being immediately disenrolled, they are the On one end, the school could enforce stricter school district in which the residency of either true victims of this whole mess. Paranoia led enrollment requirements and demand more the parent or legal one unregistered frequent residency checks to weed out those guardian is located,” student to make parents who lie. That strategy has been proven PROPOSED POLICY CHANGES unregistered students his friend promise to work; for example, in a recent crackdown 1. Stricter residency verifications through who lie about their not to reveal the on its unregistered students last November, more required documents and more frequent residency to attend illegal student’s the Beverly Hills Unified School District residency checks MVHS should not be true home to changed its residency verification policies to 2. More leniency than forcing students found subject to the harsh anyone else before include five documents, two more than what illegally attending MVHS to leave or move policy MVHS employs. permitting him to FUHSD requires. into MVHS boundaries within a week Yes, they use up visit. Now what In the meantime, any illegal students found resources that are would happen if at MVHS would not be disenrolled immediately. scarce to begin with that student were Instead, students would be notified that they because their parents don’t pay a single cent discovered and forced to uproot himself from would be allowed to stay for the remainder of to help the district with their tax dollars. Yes, this school? that school year. If the unregistered student’s each illegal student in the district reduces While it would be nice for all students to family moves into the MVHS boundaries the amount of money the district can spend have an opportunity to attend before that school year on its legitimate students. Yes, they have an MVHS, it’s impossible logistically ends, making him or her a advantage over legitimate students whose and idealistically. If MVHS were legitimate student, he or she See “Off the map” on families are struggling to afford living within opened up to all students, then would be allowed to continue page 1 for related the MVHS attendance boundaries. But let’s the already large school would attending MVHS. content not point fingers too quickly. fill to a bursting point. That’s It’s a solution that satisfies Once the issue is looked at from the other the reason California Education the requirements of the law side of the fence, it is easy to sympathize. Code Section 48200 exists. It’s under California Education In today’s world, only the best education to prevent scenarios where the school fills up Code 48200 yet also shows sympathy. leads to entrance into prestigious colleges until it is overcrowded and unbearable. Either way, MVHS’s problem of illegal and possibilities for high-paying jobs; the However, the current “Kick the illegals students would cease to be a problem. And illegal students’ parents just want the best out!” policy MVHS employs, which no problem is always the best solution. education possible for their children. To them, immediately disenrolls any student found it makes perfect sense to send their children to be lying about his or her residency, is too Daniel Tan || d.tan@elestoque.org

NEWS

El Estoque Online: Your thoughts last month This comment was posted on Feb. 14 in response to the Opinion story “Keeping Senior Night classy.”

Will you be participating in the Mr. Monta Vista voting? Maybe 10%

Yes 10%

As a volleyball player on the team, I can make it absolutely clear that our intention was not to ‘use our body to get fans.’

No 62.1%

Why not a Ms. Monta Vista? 18.3% Anonymous

*60 people responded to this survey as of March 4

Over the past few weeks, Gay-Straight Alliance’s anti-slur “That’s so gay” posters have spearheaded the movement against insensitive anti-gay jokes. Some students have complained that the posters have been ineffective against homophobia and offensive slang. Have the posters helped the fight against gay jokes? Go online to elestoque.org to comment.

Is it public? The line between privacy and indecency

t is something that most people would find mortifying for both parties. The unsuspecting victim walks down a hallway after school only to spot the couple. Barely hidden in the shadows and pressed against the lockers, they are acting like the dusty, gumcovered corner by the trashcan is the epitome of romance because they are concentrating more on the other’s lip balm flavor than the person who has just walked in on them. The two have been afflicted with the latest outbreak of PDA—public display of affection, tongue optional. But for those of you who contribute to this epidemic, I take this very seriously, and that means I take the word “public” into account, but not many others do. Behind closed doors It is normal for couples to hold hands and kiss. It makes sense that students talk about what or who happened at Saturday’s party. Kids bad-mouth the people they dislike all the time. This isn’t new, but this isn’t the problem. The problem is that students brag in class about how many shots they drank. They joke about the people they dislike when that person is within hearing distance. I have heard of couples using bathrooms as bedrooms—gross in any way you NATALIE CHAN think of it. n.chan@elestoque.org Call me conservative, but this doesn’t sit right with me. Why do we expect privacy when none should be expected? We are reverting back to the logic of our childhood: If I can’t see you, you can’t see me, except that it didn’t work in hide-and-seek and it won’t work now. These actions may be inappropriate, but at the same time I know there is nothing I can do about them. In fact, there is no reason for me or anyone to stop it. Talk about and do whatever or whomever you want. The Constitution says it’s your right in the Third Amendment, or maybe the 14th.

What’s normal anyway?

Out in the open The thing is, regardless of the reason why people choose to take their personal issues into public light, those issues aren’t only theirs anymore. They are everyone’s. Of course you can share that secret with your friend, as long as you don’t mind the six other people around you listening as well. There are no secrets in public. That is why it is not called private. Yet, it’s part of human nature. The theory of natural selection states we have noses to stick in other people’s business and mouths to gossip with. Why else would these things exist? We like to know about the other 6.8 billion people living with us. We’re not trying to be rude. We just want to be informed. It could be find out what happened at the dance, or it could be about what flavor gum so-andso is currently sharing. Why wouldn’t teenagers follow their peers or their hormones? All the cool kids do it. Yet I know that if anything can stop a teenager from confusing public with private, it would be the possibility of being embarrassed. So be warned: If you want to talk about getting to third base during Spanish class, I’ll be there. If you want to insult someone you find annoying, I’ll be there. And if I find you and your boyfriend or girlfriend hiding in the same bathroom stall, I’ll be there. I will continue with my business, regardless of how terribly awkward the situation gets. Of course you are entitled to doing whatever you want with yourself whenever and wherever you want. Just don’t complain if you suddenly find yourself with an audience. Popcorn?

Page 10

OPINION

March 9, 2011

EGYPT: Personal revolution

Schedule conflicts inevitable

continued from page 7

During the peaks of the revolution, many people approached me about the situation. Friends would ask about my family and others would just ask about the situation in general. I made sure to annoy as many people as I could about the revolution and by doing that, I helped them better appreciate the situation. This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to help a cause, simply by talking about it. I would be much more concerned about a current event if it affected a friend of mine. My family being in close proximity to the revolution in Egypt has opened my eyes to how emotional and human these events are, and other students should make an effort to realize this as well. They don’t necessarily need to march at protests or fund-raise. Instead, they should just try to empathize. Try to put yourself in the p osit ion of those in the See “Powder keg of conf lic t. the Revolution” on This will page 5 for related inspire content far more people to take an interest in this cause rather than just hearing about it on the radio. When people empathize with others, it encourages them to help, to contribute, and to be vocal about a cause. It promotes world unity and helps world peace. It may sound like a stretch, but if everybody suddenly started to care more about foreign issues, don’t you think that maybe it could create amicable bonds between nations? If a stranger helps you up after you tripped and were injured, don’t you think you would rather be friends with him than the person who just walked by and ignored you?

NEWS

Morahd Shawki || m.shawki@elestoque.org

Administration should be appreciated, not reprimanded, for events

don’t expect you to have a spare copy of ASB Leadership’s master events calendar lying around, so take a look at School Loop and follow along. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a school day or Saturday with no events listed. It’s a miracle that we’re able to get hundreds of busy students in one place at one time for dances and games, with so many things—schoolrelated and otherwise—going on. It’s only natural, then, that some conflicts would occur. Conflicts like the one on March 5—the one that left dozens of DECA members unable to attend the Sadie Hawkins Dance, due to the business club’s annual California State Career Development Competition. It’s understandable that DECA members would be upset that they had to miss Sadies— though many were able to attend the dance after raising a fuss—but students have to choose between multiple events on the school’s packed calendar on a regular basis. With so many social affairs for administration and ASB to balance, we shouldn’t complain when we have to make tough decisions. Take a step back. At MVHS, we have a group of dedicated assistant principals serving as social managers for 2,500 students, nonstop, helping coordinate scheduling and liability issues. They attend sporting events, they chaperone dances, and they do it at no direct cost to us. It’s part of their pay, but since we don’t see our own money directly funding this function, we still take it for granted. Let’s take a look 10 years down the road. You’re not in school anymore. Welcome to the real world, where entertainment isn’t just handed out for free on a silver platter, day-in and day-out. You want to go watch a sports game? You’ll have to drive at least half an hour in rush-hour traffic and try to buy an overpriced, scalped ticket for $50. You want to go dancing? You’ll have to maneuver downtown near your venue of choice and shell out money for city parking once you

Students expect the school calendar to work like TiVo. Christophe Haubursin| El Estoque Illustration

get there. You want to take the “easy” solution, curling up in front of the computer screen and watching Youtube videos for hours on end? Ten years from now, you’ll be paying your own high-speed Internet bills. The point is that we feel flat-out entitled in this sheltered high-school setting. One day you’re going to have to make your own fun. Attending our games and dances might cost money, just like going to real-life sporting events or nightclubs. For all of the money and work that administration saves the student body, we should appreciate the entertainment opportunities we have—not complain about the ones that don’t work out perfectly for small groups of individuals. All of that still might not be comforting to

DECA members, who had to decide to miss Sadies. Here’s some consolation: Life is chockfull of trade-offs. If you want to watch “The Office” on NBC on Thursday night, you will have to miss “Bones” on FOX, “CSI” on CBS, and “Seinfeld” reruns on TV36. If you’re like me, and three of the four shows I just named are among your favorites, you’re going to have to make a sacrifice somewhere. The same way you’ll have to choose between nearly 70 MVHS sporting events planned this month; the same way you’ll have to choose between dozens of possible electives for next year; the same way you’ll have to choose between school dances and club competitions. Sorry. Life just doesn’t have TiVo. Joseph Beyda || j.beyda@elestoque.org

Staying insulated detrimental to learning

Students who leave comfort-zone become more well-rounded

here is a phenomenon at MVHS that is not discussed face to face with the realities of the world and allows the in public and has only been observed by the few and exploration of new ideas. Staying in the pipeline involves the great. A phenomenon in which students of MVHS staying in the same place, surrounded by the same people never actually leave. for the majority of your life. It’s known as the “MVHS pipeline.” Students from MVHS If students continue staying in their comfort zone, they graduate with a high GPA and amazing SAT score and go to never grow as a person. Someone may argue that going a college, hopefully a UC in SoCal, with former classmates. outside their comfort zone induces unnecessary discomfort After graduation, the students move back to Cupertino, and potentially fear. Going through this fear and persevering where they live with their parents during the job search and through situations that scare you helps you grow as a eventually settle down, buy an overpriced suburban house, person, it builds character. A happy life that is just happy have kids, and become the parents kids complain about. and safe is very shallow. Moving out of the comfort zone The phantom students and into the learning zone allows participating in this “pipeline” are for enrichment of one’s life that THE MVHS PIPELINE like salmon. They are born in the students should take advantage of fresh water of Cupertino, where by avoiding the MVHS pipeline. 1. Graduate from MVHS. they are nurtured. After some Staying in the pipeline, on 2. Go to college preferably to a UC in SoCal. time, the salmon and students the other hand, ensures several 3. Spend college with all your friends from MVHS. both migrate to the doorway of things. One will most likely never 4. Graduate from college. a bigger world. For the students, be mugged or murdered, one 5. Move back to Cupertino and move in with your parents to save money while you look for a job. it’s college; for the salmon, it’s the will probably never have to see 6. Move into an apartment, meet the person of your ocean, where they remain close someone die in front of him or her. dreams, buy a house, and have kids. to the shore. At which point, both On the other hand, you’ll see the 7. Be the parents kids complain about. parties can choose to appreciate same things all your life if you stay the immensity of the world at their in Cupertino; you may miss out on fingertips and explore it or merely experiences that could transform turn their backs to it. Sadly, both and shape your life in unimaginable parties swim back up the current to the place they know. ways. Venturing into the world allows for experimentation Consider what opportunities have been lost simply by not and growth, both of which can’t be found in the pipeline. chancing a swim in deeper waters. These pipeline students may die wishing they had gone Perhaps students and parents should emulate birds. Birds out into the world. It’s better to leave and come back, rather lay their eggs, nurture their young, and when the time is right, than stay and wish you had left. Parents, while it may be physically push the baby birds out of the nest. The baby birds heart wrenching to watch your baby go, allow for it. They never return and forge their own lives. They never return to need the experiences you had the opportunity to have. the nest they called home. Parents, while teary, should insist Teachers, if you speak of it in the break room, bring it to that their children leave and have their own lives. light. Salmon don’t have the brain capacity to understand Cupertino is a fine place to grow up in. To live in. To raise that the ocean could be better than the stream, but students children in. But Cupertino is a bubble, keeping the inhabitants do. Stay out of the pipeline, kids. safe and sheltered, just as the stream keeps the salmon in the water and off the shore. When students grow up and Danielle Kay || d.kay@elestoque.org go to college, it’s a hard transition, but it’s good. It puts one

2010-2011 Editors in Chief Mansi Pathak Vijeta Tandon News Editors Arifa Aziz Sahana Sridhara Opinion Editors Sarika Patel Vinay Raghuram Centerspread Editors Anushka Patil Roxana Wiswell Sports Editors Shanthi Guruswamy Cynthia Mao A&E Editors Amanda Chen Christophe Haubursin Layout and Design Editor Ashley Wu

Managing Editors Joseph Beyda Jordan Lim Business Editors Vishakha Joshi Pooja Ravikiran Photography Editor Erin Chiu Copy Editor Natalie Chan Print Staff Writers Tina Hsu Danielle Kay Aafreen Mahmood Morahd Shawki Daniel Tan Elvin Wong Tracy Zhang Adviser Michelle Balmeo

Disclaimer Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. Credits Some images in this publication were taken from the royalty-free stock photography website sxc.hu. Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. The staff of El Estoque seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the Monta Vista community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately, and we will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. El Estoque also reserves the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication. Contact Us El Estoque 21840 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com http://elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

Page 11

OPINION

One class, increased efficiency

Just one Leadership class could do the same work being done by two

hile ‘two is better than one’ may be an appropriate theme for a dance, the same adage certainly doesn’t apply to Leadership classes. While administration has taken a commendable step in moving course selections to an online process, the actual class options offered must also be reevaluated. Although the role of ASB Leadership and Community Leadership is distinctly different on-campus, both the school and the community would be better served if one group of individuals were to work in conjunction with each other, in order to positively impact both. Both Leadership classes require a similar application process and also outline many of the same traits that candidates should possess. While choices are great to have in other areas of life, this one is wholly unnecessary. It is true that reducing the two classes to just one would limit the number of spots available for students to participate in Leadership, but for a group that is made up of a select number of individuals anyway, the quality and efficiency of individuals should be weighted higher than quantity. Even in the projects that each class executes each year, the lines are already blurred. For example, consider the new MRS Gold Project coordinated by ASB Leadership’s Club Commission, which allows service clubs on campus to clean up McClellan Road in order to earn funds for their club. In essence, the clubs pick up trash on the sidewalks. How much more authentic can community service get? And doesn’t Community Leadership’s Environmental Commission have an interest in the same project? At the same time, events such as Community Leadership’s annual Community Leadership Fair is restricted to students, and thus does nothing to raise awareness of any

sort of cause in the community, for the fair is held at lunchtime in the Rally Court and vaguely informs students about causes such as recycling. If the goals of the two classes are already so intertwined, what is the need for separating them at all? If anything, both of the classes need what the other has in abundance. All ASB Leadership

DOUBLE DUTY The current Leadership classes have separate purposes, but if combined into one would use fewer resources and operate more efficiently.

7 5

Number of commissions in ASB Leadership, each one with an average of five students Number of commissions in Community Leadership, each one with an average of five students

students must realize that there is an entire world functioning outside MVHS, while Community Leadership events need more of an on-campus presence. Heck, there is even a Community Leadership Fair at the beginning of each year with essentially random fun events—just to let people know that Community Leadership actually exists. And after all, both classes are meant to further develop students’ leadership skills and help them to become active members of their community, so why should these students be forced to choose between school and community activism? Granted, combining the two classes would lead to a reduction in classsize, but this is an experience in which quality

needs to be valued over quantity. While it is possible that the number of events coordinated by Leadership may decrease, it is also true that with a more diverse group of individuals involved in the planning process the events themselves may appeal to a larger, more diverse audience. Each spring, as applications for the two classes come around, it is rumored that ASB is harder to get into than Community. Due to this unfortunate perception that being a part of ASB Leadership is harder, and thus more prestigious, than being a part of Community Leadership, students are inherently led to believe that serving their school is more important than serving their community. While this is not the intended message of either class, it is certainly the message that is subliminally projected. Even neighboring schools such as Lynbrook High School function fine without two leadership classes. A group of 30 students plus the ASB Executive team make up the Leadership class, which is further subdivided into committees. While the majority of the committees are school-focused, there is one specifically named “Community Link.” There is no reason why MVHS can’t follow the same model. There was only one Leadership class in earlier years, and this experiment with having two has clearly shown the benefits and detriments of the newer model. The money and resources saved from having just one class could instead be reallocated towards funding for other aspects of MVHS. Just because this is the way that the classes have been set up for now is no reason why they shouldn’t be reorganized for the future. For in this case, one is better than two.

Students lack life skills

Elementary School Sacking that spelling test

Vijeta Tandon || v.tandon@elestoque.org

Letters to the Editor Letters of any length should be submitted via e-mail to mv.el. estoque@gmail.com, mail, or dropped off in Room A111. They become the sole property of El Estoque and can be edited for length, clarity, or factual accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion.

Student opposes jokes, cites experiences Gay. Retarded. Jew. Coon. Beaner. Fag. There are lots of words that we use to describe things today, and unfortunately we have grown accustomed to saying them. I’m not saying that everyone uses them, says them, or is even around people that say them, but many come across those sayings more than once in their teenage and young adult years. It’s sad to think about the way people think of certain things. It’s sad to know that people think it’s funny to call someone a “fag” for the way they dress or retarded for not understanding something. But it’s even more upsetting to know that the people who get called those names… have gotten used to it. I, for one, have. I’m a Jewish bisexual girl, and just to get through the day, I put on a smile and laugh along with my friends. But it hurts to know that my own friends think it’s hilarious to make fun of something that makes up who I am. It’s not their fault. They don’t know any better. And that’s the most upsetting part. Our generations today have gotten so used to calling each other harmful names that we have forgotten when to stop and think, “Man, maybe I’m taking this too far.” Don’t think I’m leaving myself out. I too make fun of people. I call my friends fags or retarded at times, and honestly it’s very difficult to not say [these words]. I think it’s funny in the moment. I think, “Oh, they know it’s a joke. They don’t take it personally.” But the sad part is that I should know from experience that they do take it personally. That even though it’s funny in the moment, they might look back at the day when they are in their bed and think, “Damn, that wasn’t cool.” Or, “Is that what my friends really think of me?” Those feelings suck. You can’t just change a whole generation. You can’t stop us from using those phrases. You can’t stop people from doing something by putting up signs, speaking out against it, or even putting a physical punishment towards it. When something is learned or grown up with, it’s hard to forget about it. It’s implanted in our brains. It’s on TV. It’s in movies. It’s in magazines. It’s pretty much everywhere that people come into contact with in everyday life. The part of the article [“It’s a sense of humor, not hate” by Morahd Shawki, Feb. 2] my teacher read to me was one about how kids joke around when they say that, it’s only bad when someone gets hurt, and they know when to stop. The problem is, we don’t or we just don’t care. Teenagers joke around, and sometimes those jokes are taken way too far. At times, way too far only for the person that the joke is about. That’s when someone gets hurt,

but way before that was the point where the joker should have stopped. There really is no suggestion I can give to this problem. There is no solution to the implemented phrases our generations are learning. All we can really do is try to stop ourselves. Remember when your mom or dad told you that you should always think of others? Well, you should really rekindle that memory and use it. Kids these days don’t mean to make harmful comments to one another. They don’t have the intention of hurting a person so badly that they cause them to become upset about themselves because kids should always be proud to be themselves. No matter what anyone says. People don’t realize the pain they are causing some when they use those phrases. Some have not the slightest clue and because of that they don’t care what they say. “Take a Joke.”; that’s what they say until they are victim. To be of any race or any religion or of any sexual orientation is neither a sin nor an insult to your character. It’s how you were made, and you should be darn proud of it. Those phrases may burn, sting or cut deep, but it’s not the sayer’s fault. It’s time’s fault. The more something is used, the more people think it’s okay to use it. You can’t stop generations from doing something they were brought up with. It’s already implanted in their minds. All you can really do is turn those ideas and thoughts around. Show how they are painful to others. Show how harmful those phrases and words can be. Real emotion can only be felt when one experiences it. —Unsigned

Middle School Rocking the Geology test

High School Crunching the Calculus test

Teacher says that ends don’t justify means In response to the article, [“Twist of Hate” by Amanda Chen, Feb. 2] I have a comment. In harassment/bullying situations, the intent of the perpetrator does not matter. What matters is how it is perceived by the victim. —science teacher Kavita Gupta

Certain jokes hurt regardless, student says After this issue was out [Biology teacher Renee Fallon] gave all the AP Biology students some thoughts on this article [“It’s a sense of humor, not hate” by Morahd Shawki, Feb. 2], and I completely agree with what she said. There is never a sexual-orientation joke that is okay. Not just about gays’ sexual orientations, there are so many jokes about the “FOBs” that [MVHS] students make. Sure, they never intend to hurt anyone, but what does that mean? You can kill someone and say you never intended to kill him/her. Does that make it okay? No. A joke is a joke, when it hurts people, it’s not right, and it doesn’t matter whether the person was intended to say what he/ she has said or not. —junior Sharon Yang

Life Huh...what’s a check? Christophe Haubursin || c.haubursin@elestoque.org

Page 12

A CLOSER LOOK

Students’ names contribute to their identities, but do not define them

unxiong: the Chinese name for two completely different people who come from varying heritages, were born halfway across the world and happen to go to the same high school. Seniors Sean Hughes and Justin Huang found out their freshman year that their Chinese names were exactly the same—spelling, pronunciation, and all. “I looked in the yearbook,” Huang said, “and I [was] like ‘OH, there’s someone with the same name as me!’” “I saw on School Loop one time that someone had the same as me,” Hughes said. “I thought it was really cool.” According to Hughes, his parents named him Junxiong because of the two good qualities it supposedly means: brave and handsome. With whatever traditions or superstitions that were involved in the choosing of their names, the aspects that went into the choice reflect the different cultures and beliefs their respective relatives have. Each Chinese character has a certain number

of strokes. “My grandparents chose my name,” Huang said. “In Chinese, the number of strokes [in my name] corresponds to good luck.” Huang’s grandparents used a sort of fortune teller to determine his name, as many Chinese parents do. His parents chose for him an English name when he moved to America from China when he was four years old. “They thought it’d be easier for me,” Huang said. “They liked the fact that there was a name I could use that wasn’t my official name.” Born in the States, Hughes had his grandparents involved in the choice of his name as well, albeit with a slightly different method of picking a name and including the choice of English name in the process. “[My parents] let my grandparents do the work,” Hughes said. “My grandparents on [my mother’s] side chose Junxiong, and my grandparents on the other side chose Sean.” While they are both grateful to their parents for giving them an English name to simplify the pronunciation and minimize confusion, both Hughes and Huang say they would have kept their legal Chinese name without the English counterpart if they had had the option. “I would just keep my Chinese name because

KEVIN CHEN: MVHS NAME TWINS

I feel like having a name is not one of those decisions that you [get to] choose,” Hughes said. “If I were to choose it, I don’t think I’d ever be satisfied with the choice.” They find amusement in the constant confusion that substitutes go through when seeing one Chinese name for two different people. By this time, after having gone through so many first days of school and substitute encounters, the two are both used to the routine butchering of names during the very first roll call. “We have a couple classes together, which is really cool because the teacher always screws it up,” Huang said. “I just wait for it. I know it’s coming.” During last October, Hughes was one of the nominees for Homecoming King. Because his legal Chinese name was displayed on the voting polls instead of his better-known English name, many students weren’t aware that the unknown name on the ballot was in fact him. “I think it’s kind of disappointing that after four years, people don’t know my real name,” Hughes said. “But other than that, it’s a good

The longest name at MVHS has 28 letters: Karina Schuler Da Costa Ferro. The three runners up are 27 letters long: Muthu Kumar Veeravel Murugan, Venkata Bala Subrah Vedaraju, and Srikrishna Vangipuram Suresh.

[My name] is not that cool. Is there nothing else to report on?

senior Kevin Chen

sophomore Karina Schuler Da Costa Ferro

I knew there were a couple others because I got an email from Naviance about some SAT scores because they didn’t know whose name to put it under.

I don’t even know [where all of the names come from]... we have many cultures included in our family and therefore a long name. I get a lot of questions, and when I have a substitute they get all confused... I like to see the look on peoples’ faces when they hear the full name.

There is a three-way tie for shortest name: five-letter-named freshmen Abe Hu and Dan Ho, and senior Yue Wu.

Ch ell isw aW

an ox dR

an ue

q sto lE

* according to the Social Security Administration

ion

t ra st

The most popular baby names in the United States, in 2009—just about when “Twilight” soared into popularity.

[My legal last name] is actually the name of the sect of Tamil-speaking Brahmins from South India that I belong to. sophomore Aditya Iyer According to sophomore Fangfei Li, names in her Chinese culture are given by older relatives and are designed to reflect some sort of virtue or goal for the child’s future. Often times, names are based on common desired characteristics for males and females. For example girls could be named after “delicate” characteristics, and boys could be named after “strong,” “smart” characteristics.

My name comes from a poem, and it kind of has a long meaning. It means, ‘flowers that bloom nicely in the spring.’ sophomore Fangfei Li According to Turkish law, all citizens’ names must be in Turkish.

My parents were just thinking of Turkish names that have a shortened English version. They wanted to make it so that people could call me ‘Tim.’ senior Timur Mertol

JACQUELINE YEE: MVHS NAME TWINS

Our families are friends also, but we just know who they are talking to when they say Jacqueline. I have a class with both the other Jacquelines, but it doesn’t get that confusing because our teachers use our middle initials.

llu

oI ot

The most popular national baby names in 1994—close to the average birth year of MVHS students.

Indians, for example, will often register the names of their ancestors or their caste-based communities, including religious sects, as their last names.

There are three MVHS students named Jacqueline Yee—the highest number of female “name twins” in the school.

I sat next to the other [sophomore] Kevin in one class and our teacher had to use our middle initials or birthdays while grading papers.

in Er

ISABELLA AND JACOB: USA, 2009 *

A person’s name isn’t just a form of identification. It’s a strong reflection of the culture in which the person was born and raised. Here are some examples of different cultural elements that have influenced the ways that many MVHS students and faculty have been named or have observed in placed where they lived.

* according to school records, legal first and last names only; middle names not taken into account.

junior Kevin Chen

MICHAEL AND JESSICA: USA, 1994*

CULTURAL NAMES

Ashley Wu || a.wu@elestoque.org

LONGEST AND SHORTEST*

There are four students named Kevin Chen—the highest number of male “name twins” at the school.

Page 13

sophomore Kevin Chen I’ve had a class with the other [sophomore] Kevin and we went by Little Kevin and Asian Kevin. It’s pretty funny sometimes.

Elvin Wong || El Estoque

sophomore Kevin Chen

TWINS AND FRIENDS Freshmen, both Jacqueline Yee, who share a name and a friendship, have shared basketball teams and classes.

sophomore Jacqueline Yee I went to middle school with the other Jacqueline and one time our names got combined in the yearbook, so at the back there were almost 10 pages listed next to our name.

Three students, three stories, and three names that affect their lives A look at the unique relationships between normal people and their not-so-normal names

ome parents pull a name out of “The Everything Baby Names Book.” Others decide to name their kids after the first thing they can think of—Apple, Blanket, Kyd. But for some, the name is chosen because it means something for their protection, loved ones, and associations. Holy siblings Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Protector in Hinduism and the brother to Goddess Parvati, who is also known in the form of Sharanya. Vishnu Shankar is a freshman and the brother of Sharanya Shankar, who is also a MVHS class of 2009 alumnus. Their parents decided to give the two these names because it is a traditionally religious way to protect children from harm. “My family wanted me to be close to a god so that they could call my name and whenever they call my name they’ll call a god,” Vishnu

said. “So when you’re invoking a god’s name, you’re invoking a spiritual being inside of you.” Passed down from his grandfather, the name Vishnu has too much significance for Shankar to even imagine having a different name. “There’s so much meaning behind my name—the connection to my religion, my culture, my family, my grandparents, my sister,” he said. Generations past Sophomore Evyatar Asher’s parents chose to name him after his maternal grandfather. His grandfather had died shortly before Asher was born, and Asher’s mother wanted a biblical name to remember her father by. “In Hebrew, Evyatar is broken up into two words: ‘avi’ and ‘yatar,’ which is kind of ‘my dad remains,’” Asher said. He isn’t much like his namesake; he takes after his father’s side in appearance, and Asher

hesitantly says they may share a good sense of humor. But as it turns out, Asher’s name is not very common, just like the one he is named for. Derived from the Biblical name Abiathar, Evyatar is more traditional than what many parents chose for their children today. Depending on the parents, names can be much more modern. Because of this, Asher said that most people with the name Evyatar are one or two generations older than him. Yet the unusual name can bring people together as well. Asher knows three others, all of his generation, from Israel named Evyatar. “It was easier to bond with them because you don’t find a lot of people named like us.” From the Bible to the White House In Hebrew, the name Barak comes from a Biblical figure, but sophomore Barak Gila has found people associated his first name with someone else entirely.

During the presidential elections of 2008 and then into 2009, the comparisons between him and President Barack Obama were constant, especially among people he just met and substitute teachers. “It was kind of hovering between amusing and annoying,” Gila said. “Then some people started calling me Obama. And I’m like, ‘Um, it’s not the same name.’ It got tiresome quickly.” Gila’s name stems from the son of Abinoam of the Bible, and it means lightning. Obama’s name, Gila explained, probably came from Swahili origins. Having a name that sounds like the President’s can be an ice-breaker, but Gila would have preferred to be associated with a different political figure. “It would have been different if my name were Ron Paul or something. I’m more libertarian. [Obama’s] not who I am [politically.]” Natalie Chan || n.chan@elestoque.org

KEVIN, NICOLE, AND LEE: TOP MVHS NAMES

Male first names

Female first names

Kevin

Nicole

30 students

12students students 12

Last names

Lee

61 students

Michael 28 students

Christina 11 students

Wang

Ryan

Stephanie

Chen

Alexander

Samantha Wang

David

Grace

19 students 16 students

12 students

11 students

9 students

7 students

48 students

47 students

Chang 31 students

Kim

31 students

In 1994, close to the average birth year of MVHS students, the nationwide most popular baby names were Michael and Jessica. Michael is a close runner up for most common name at MVHS. Of the 2,531 enrolled students named on a list provided by the main office, here are the most popular male, female, and last names.

Page 14

March 9, 2011

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March 9, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Spring

Page 15

renewal

Junior ties seasonal organization to efficiency

hen Junior Neha Ghalib’s family does spring cleaning, they make sure not to miss the plants. Ghalib’s family chooses to take a more spiritual approach to this annual “holiday” of spring cleaning for their house, as they have followed their tradition of cleaning on the first Monday of Spring Break for as long as she can remember. In Ghalib’s family, however, everything from the garage to the flowers in the backyard is cleaned thoroughly to maintain an environment that is as pure as possible. From sixth grade, Ghalib decided to use spring cleaning as a way to change her unproductive habits into a more proactive way of studying. In particular, Ghalib felt

that the manner in which she organized her room with the orientation of certain objects during spring cleaning most likely affected her thought process. Specifically, her work efficiency somewhat depends on how organized her desk is. “Usually if I get bad grades when my desk is situated in one area, then my mom says, ‘Ok this isn’t working, let’s move it this way.’ One time my mom told me to move my desk to face the direction of the Ka’ba [a religious shrine for Muslims in the city of Mecca] and it worked, CLEANING TIME so it’s always been that According to the online blog way,” Ghalib said. “Healthy Happy Life,”

Senior’s yearly home cleaning job

t’s like learning to read in kindergarten all over again: top to bottom, left to right. Senior Srishti Agrawal has applied this same method to her tradition of emptying her shelves since she was five years old. Agrawal and her family expunge the piles of household clutter during both the fall and spring, but she feels more rejuvenated during her late February spring cleaning, as it is around this time when she organizes her study habits and lifestyle in general. “I like to consider spring as the year’s starting point, though that’s unconventional. For me, spring cleaning is more about the rebirth of mental thought processes and natural processes,” Agrawal said. Agrawal has adopted a five-hour systematic approach to cleaning her room. Every year she cleans her two ceiling-high bookshelves by emptying and dusting each shelf top to bottom, and then emptying her desk items from left to right. But cleaning her shelf and desk during her most recent cleaning spree last month was one of the hardest experiences she had. Avoiding the distraction of the items that she finds from emptying all of her old possessions was the most time-consuming part of spring

Clean stuff, get buff: An active house cleaning session can burn up to 500 calories. Relaxation: Clutter reminds us of all the cleaning we could be doing. Clear it up to keep yourself cool. Healthy shelves: Making sure your fridge is clean and organized leads to healthy food choices. Evade disease: Vacuuming can get rid of allergens, dust mites, and mold spores.

cleaning for her. “A big time suck is keeping the things that I actually need to keep and throwing away the things that I actually need to throw away because for me, especially since I put so much value in the things that I have, it’s difficult for me to just chuck things,” Agrawal said. “Sometimes I chuck the wrong things and then it’s just all bad.” Regardless of the amount of effort involved in cleaning her desk and shelf, Agrawal still feels that the lasting feeling after the strenuous cleaning process is worthwhile. “Even if I haven’t taken a shower all day, I feel clean, Agrawal said. “After I clean my room, I feel like I can work and not have all that clutter in my mind. Spring cleaning is kind of like a mental purge for me, so it’s a lot like a new fresh start.”

Aafreen Mahmood || a.mahmood@elestoque.org Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque Photo Illustration

Pianist impresses with talent, composes full symphonic piece Junior Andrew Tsun composes five-minute classical arrangement to be performed in May

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

KEYS TO SUCCESS Junior Andrew Tsun practices at his home on March 4.

e was five years old when he started learning how to play the piano. After watching his mother’s fingers dance upon the keys of the instrument and listening to the resulting melodies, junior Andrew Tsun knew that he wanted to learn to play music as well as his mother could. “[At first,] I sucked,” Tsun said, “but my mom saw potential in me, so she sent me off to piano class, and I excelled.” Tsun’s piano teacher was one of the first to be impressed by his interest for music— she was shocked to see that the five-year-old boy could play piano, completely focused, for an entire hour. With approximately twelve years of musical experience under his belt, Tsun was inspired to learn many different styles of music, from jazz and baroque to romantic and impressionistic. His love and his natural talent for music have helped him tremendously over the years. Tsun’s most recent—and admirable— feat was the composition of a roughly fiveminute-long orchestra piece.

“My piano teacher started slacking off on me after I passed the Certificate of Merit Advanced Level Testing in like fifth grade,” Tsun said. “So my mom thought I should try something new, and then I took on jazz piano and that’s when I first learned to improvise... and that’s what led me into musical composition.” Tsun’s musical achievements are supported fully by his private tutor, Giancarlo Aquilanti. Born in Italy, Aquilanti has written commissioned pieces for many prestigious symphonies including the Philharmonic Symphony of the Marche, the Stanford Chamber Chorale, and for the Woodwind Quartet at Stanford University. Currently, he is the director of the Music Theory Program at Stanford. With no help from the prodigious Aquilanti whatsoever, Tsun composed the entire orchestra piece, which is scheduled to be played this May in the spring concert at MVHS. Tsun’s achievements have been greatly commended by many peers and teachers. His parents, Steve and Ginger Tsun, are in

particular proud of his achievements, feeling Andrew has exceeded their expectations. “I know [Andrew] is very talented,” said his former chorus-conductor mother, Ginger. “But he never ceased to amaze me with his musical talent! Since I know music, it helps me understand how rare his gift is.” Aside from playing the piano, Andrew can play the violin, which he has been learning since the age of 10, and the guitar, for which he did not take lessons. However, Ginger believes that Andrew’s best musical talent is his creativity in musical composition. “He can sit in front of the piano and just make up the music on the fly since grade two and it all jives.” Ginger said. “He can compose in his mind without playing the tune out using any instrument... Even [Aquilanti] once told me, ‘I must admit that Andrew is really naturally talented. What he is able to achieve today, I had to work very hard for it at his age. But, it comes so easy for him to achieve.’” Shanthi Guruswamy || s.guruswamy@elestoque.org

Page 16

ENTERTAINMENT

March 9, 2011

Drama cast is proud, not prejudiced

Stage adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” features talent both in and outside of drama classes

irl meets boy. Girl and boy fight. Girl and boy fall in love and live happily ever after. Besides that, lots of familial interaction is included in the Theatre Department’s latest production, “Pride and Prejudice”—like any other Jane Austen novel. With the department’s open casting system, which allows anyone on campus to audition and participate, a sense of family is naturally created, making it easy for students to get on stage and do what they came to do: act. After school, drama students can be seen walking around like robots in stiff, formal, Regency-era suits and expensive, flowing dresses, teasing each other at the same time. Some twirl in circles and recite bits of their lines, while others hammer away at freshly cut wooden set pieces, preparing them for a paint job. Even as they rush around from the spacious Auditorium to the small but cozy Black Box during rehearsal, they pat each other on the back and praise one another for a job well done. The actors are spending about three hours a day rehearsing in order to ensure that the show will successfully open on March 12 and close on the weekend of March 19. Director and Drama teacher Holly Cornelison has chosen to put on this particular play because it had enough characters for everyone who auditioned, including students not in drama, to participate. “The play holds wide appeal and allows people to experience human things, like interactions with the opposite sex, that are accessible to teenagers,” Cornelison said. Senior Karina Fathi will play the role of Elizabeth Bennet, an independent young lady who, to her own surprise, falls in love with the haughty and wealthy Mr. Darcy, played by senior Gavin Mueller. Although the two leads are in Advanced Drama Honors, this production featured open

MR. BENNET, PLEASE! Seniors Ab Menon and Stella Ziegler rehearse lines as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. This winter’s production is of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. casting. However, the “outsiders” are by no casting system. Erickson was in drama class means excluded. Non-drama class actors such in the past, but is not this year. as seniors Yeshar Hadi and Rachel Beck fit right “Since I am not in a Drama course, I was in with their drama family. However, since uncertain that I could be in the show. I really acting in the show without being enrolled in a love acting, and being able to act in the show drama course requires extra was quite wonderful,” SHOWTIMES effort and commitment, Erickson said. Dates: March 11,12, 18,19 most students are enrolled Like Erickson, senior Times: 7:30 PM in a class. Rachel Beck is also not Tickets: $8-$10 in advance “Many of the actors have currently enrolled in a $10-$12 at the door taken drama before. Since a theatre course at school. In lot of learning takes place in addition, she is acting in a class, the cast has to be able high school production for to come in during sixth or seventh period to the first time. Although Beck is not in a drama practice,” Cornelison said. class, she feels that the entire cast is inviting. Senior Andrew Erickson, who will be “It’s been a fun and rewarding experience. playing Mr. Collins in the show, is one of I have a lot of friends who are in drama, so the actors who took advantage of the open being in rehearsal allows me to spend an

extra three to six hours with them. The whole drama community is very accepting, and I’m sure even an outsider who didn’t know anyone would definitely feel welcome,” Beck said. In order to avoid getting stuck in a pattern of acting, the actors change their characters’ behavior frequently; each rehearsal looks like a completely new play. Senior Joseph Hultquist spontaneously changes his character’s personality during each take, serious for a few minutes and charmingly cunning within the next few seconds. Other actors take turns prancing around and shaking themselves out to loosen up their worn-out bodies and to avoid monotony in their posture. Not being in a drama class causes actors such as Beck to lose such learning opportunities; however, Beck makes up for this by bringing her previous experience to the table. “I think that I’ve missed out a little on some educational opportunities, but I did take a drama class before. I have also been involved in some other plays, so I’ve learned how to project my voice and memorize lines,” Beck said. Coupled with old fashioned dancing, intelligent humor and wit, a professionally designed set described as “pink and frilly” by Beck, and most of all, well-prepared acting from both actors within and outside of the Theatre Department, both Beck and Erickson predict the show to be a hit. “Hopefully, there will be enough people that respect the play to come and see it because it’s pretty much the ‘original’ chick flick,” Erickson said. “There’s also a lot more to offer besides that. We want people not to come just for extra credit, but actually to see the show for what it is.” Tina Hsu || t.hsu@elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 17

Virtual underwater cafe in the works International Business class works together on semester-long virtual business project

his year, the International Business class is revolutionizing seafood restaurants. Their semester-long project is creating a virtual seafood restaurant—underwater. The plan was first conceived by Business teacher Jeff Mueller after he attended a conference for Business teachers in Bakersfield and was exposed to virtual enterprise programs at other schools. He returned and pitched the idea to his third period International Business class. “For this class, we’ve been putting business plans together since 2004,” Mueller said. “This year, the class is relatively small, so we decided to work on one business and then break it down into different organizations.” To pick the business, the class members all pitched ideas ranging from a shoe repair shop to a dog-walking service, eventually voting for a themed restaurant. Senior Michelle Yang, who pitched the idea of the underwater café, was appointed CEO. “It’s an aquarial restaurant, so basically you’re eating in the walls of an aquarium.” Yang said. The idea is that all diners will feel as though are eating underwater. “It’s theoretically in San Francisco.” Yang then worked with Mueller to review the resumes of her classmates to divide them into teams: operations, marketing, finance, design, and human resources. Each team is responsible for certain aspects of the overall business plan. “Each one of those groups has really dug down deep into what the job means, and what it entails,” Mueller said. “For example, the design team has developed the

layout for the restaurant itself. They’ve gone through, designed the restaurant and the bar, [determined] the capacity, and made sure it fits all the [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] requirements.” Between the marketing team creating the menu, finance covering the budget, operations deciding what positions to create and how many, and human resources determining the employee wages, the business is coming together in extreme detail. Mueller has pushed his students to reach out to local businesses as a form of research. The operations team, for example, has been contacting the Cupertino Library about the cost of maintaining an aquarium. On March 1, the class presented their business plan to Principal April Scott for their first phase review, a check-up on the progress of each of their different teams. Scott was impressed by the level of detail that went into their planning. “They had everything from the layout to the personnel to the detailed menu,” Scott said. “They even had the waiters and waitresses dressed in fish-scale outfits.” She was particularly interested in their additional outreach programs. “They really wanted to make the restaurant feel like a part of the whole city. Any leftover food would be donated to homeless shelters. They want the restaurant [and the] employees to be a part of community action.” Scott’s contribution during the phase review was to bring up any improvements that they could have made, among them adding windows between the aquarium tanks so that

Aafreen Mahmood | El Estoque

THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE VIRTUAL BUSINESS Senior Michelle Yang and junior Mahika Dubey present a project proposal to Principal April Scott. The International Business class’s semester long project is to create a virtual restaurant. diners could still see San Francisco and the view from Pier 39 while eating. Both Scott and Mueller are impressed with the work the students have done. The project is almost entirely student driven and directed. Yang notes, however, that motivation is a big challenge the class faces as a team. “Because this is still a simulation, and there’s no money incentive, it’s hard to motivate people within the class other than just grades,” Yang said. But regardless of motivation, there is much

Campus Highlights

Dance Showcase

MOGOS Food Truck

Role-Playing Club

Bobbivie.com | Screenshot

Nona Penner | El Estoque

DANCETEQUE Freshman Kimberly Zhong performs to “Idioteque” by Radiohead on March 4.

MOBILE GOURMET The KoreanMexican fusion food truck made an MVHS appearance Feb. 17.

RULES OF THE GAME Junior Emerald Ip finalizes details of the game that the club is creating.

Tracy Zhang || t.zhang@elestoque.org

AIDS WEEK

Erin Chiu | El Estoque

to be learned from this sort of project. “This [project] is far more intense because the whole class is involved,” Mueller said. “I told the kids this is the first year I’ve done it this way. This is going to be a semester-long experiment when it comes to designing this type of business, and let’s just see how it goes.” “It’s just fantastic,” Scott said. “This is real learning.”

n the evening of March 4, members of the MVHS PE Dance classes had the “time of their lives” as they performed dance numbers to today’s most popular music. All five classes had the opportunity to perform in front of family, friends, and teachers. According to PE department chair and dance teacher Lori Graham, the major difference between past years’ showcases and this year’s is the great increase in assistant teacher involvement with the choreography. Now, not only does the showcase allow students to perform what they have been learning since the beginning of the school year, but the assistant teachers also get to see all of their hard work in action. Along with the choreography, the assistant teachers selected the music, which included popular hits such as “Welcome to the Burlesque” by Christina Aguilara, which the period two dance class performed to, and “Yeah 3x” by Chris Brown, which period six performed to. Along with the dance classes, the showcase also included performances from MVHS dance, cheer, and song teams. This featured solo performances from two dance team members, and performances from the JV and varsity song teams. In their closing performance, all classes, dance, cheer, and song teams performed a final number to Black Eyed Peas’ “The Time,” dancing the final steps for the night to a rousing applause.

efore kicking off their shoes and relaxing for a week, students found a party for their palates on campus. On Feb. 17, Key Club launched a fundraiser for its annual District Conference (DCON) with MoGo (Korean for “eat” and short for “mobile gourmet”) BBQ Truck, a vending vehicle that roams around the Bay Area selling its signature Korean barbecue tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. The truck is evidence of the recent boom of KoreanMexican hybrid cuisine, which has branched out from Southern California but had yet to reach MVHS—until now. “We heard about [MoGo] from some friends, and it sounded really cool,” said Key Club webmaster sophomore Jeremy Liu. “We decided it would be really helpful for our trip.” Parked on the the basketball courts, the truck distributed its goodies after school— the classic MoGo item, the short rib burrito, was sold out within an hour. “Since it was raining, we thought there would be really [few] people, but the line was really long,” said Key Club historian senior Jessica Chow. “I think a lot of people stayed [after school].” Indeed, the truck drew about 150-200 people, making it a relatively large oncampus fundraiser with an outside source. Key Club, which made use of Facebook, posters, and announcements to promote the fundraiser, gained ten percent of the profits, a considerable help for its upcoming trip to Sacramento.

t the beginning of the school year, game design was just a nebulous idea for the Role-playing Club. Now, that idea for creating virtual world is becoming a reality. On Feb. 15, the Role-playing Club met to discuss the now-finished plot details of their point-and-click computer game. Set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, ambassadors from seven different “domes,” or dimensions, are subjects for a murder investigation. That’s seven worlds’ worth of art for characters, backgrounds, and items. Recently, Role-playing Club has been focusing on character concept art. “The concept art is trying to figure out what the characters look like [and] develop who they are,” said junior Clarissa Hyun. Hyun has been working on the designs of several characters, such as an ambassador in the Medieval Dome, and a pharaoh from the Oriental Dome. The characters are discussed by everyone involved in the game design projects at meetings, but artists have the freedom to tweak the designs as they see fit. Other artists are working on the actual background art of the game, such as junior Tiffany Yuan. “[The process] takes a lot of time—two or more hours for a frame,” Yuan said. Game design is obviously a commitment that burns time, but Role-playing Club has found a way to keep its members on track. “If you don’t finish it by this week, [at the meeting] you either have to sing Justin Bieber or Tik-Tok,” Hyun said.

Erin Chiu || e.chiu@elestoque.org

Hazel Hyon || h.hyon@elestoque.org

Nona Penner || n.penner@elestoque.org

Smitha Gundavajhala | El Estoque

AN EDUCATED SPEAKER Dr. Michael Mulligan speaks on AIDS to students on Feb. 10.

fter a lot of light-hearted spirit weeks at MVHS, Community Leadership has abandoned the whipped-creameating contests and massages of the past for a slightly more serious theme: AIDS. Community Leadership provided students with activities during AIDS Week, lasting from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11, to show support of the anti-AIDS cause. However, the guest speaker, physician and allergist Dr. Michael Mulligan, got to the heart of the matter in his informative presentation on Feb. 10 at lunch in the Leadership Room, open to all students to drop by and listen in. Dr. Mulligan, who was invited to share his insights by junior Megan Perry, studied medicine at UCLA in 1982, when HIV was discovered and the first cases reported in West Hollywood. Students congregated at lunch in the leadership room to listen to Dr. Mulligan discuss a number of different topics surrounding HIV and AIDS, including the origins of the disease—in Africa, the four main types (the four H’s: homosexuals, hemophiliacs, “hardcore” IV drug users, and Haitian patients) of people that were generally susceptible, and methods of prevention, testing, and treatment. Since then, he said, many treatments have been discovered, but every bit helps in the fight against AIDS. “It’s so important that teens especially are educated about HIV and AIDS so that they can prevent it [from spreading],” Mulligan said. Smitha Gundavajhala || s.gundavajhala@elestoque.org

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 18

March 9, 2011

Life in a box: Free apps for easy living

Free iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad applications combine practical, fun utilities for every necessity If you’re looking for entertainment...

If you’re looking for bargains...

E! Live from the Red Carpet

Deals by Citysearch

For entertainment and fashion junkies, this application will make you feel like a kid in a candy store. It features everything “Red Carpet” from articles, pictures, and videos including live highlights fr0 om the most recent awards shows. The app offers more of the juicy award show details on one screen than any other site, with high quality videos from big shows like the Grammys, Oscars, and Sundance Film Festival. Articles feature everything from celebrity interviews, best and worst fashion from the E! experts, and strange behind-thescenes news. However, if your wifi connection is not at its best, loading photos and videos specifically can take ages, which defeats the purpose of having an E! Online app rather than getting your entertainment news from the online site.

This application is like a coupon book and catalog on the go. Using your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad GPS, it alerts you of any miscellaneous deals in the vicinity, including daily Groupons. This app is perfect for students looking to grab a bite on a budget or seek out local shopping deals. On a map of your current location, the app overlays small orange icons of shops, restaurants, and supermarkets with bargain prices. However, oftentimes these deals are extremely vague, like a “Buy One, Get One Free” discount at Walgreens that might apply to a number of items. On the bright side, the map gives you plenty of options on how to retrieve your bargains. If on the go, the app has directions to each of the locations as well as the store’s phone numbers. Otherwise, you can save the deal for later, share it through email with friends, or redeem the coupon through the store website.

1 3

If you’re looking for fitness...

Nike Training Club

Jane Fonda, pilates videos, and magazine workouts might as well go down the drain. The Nike Training Club application combines all of these simple, at-home workouts into the conveniently small screen of your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. The app contains over 60 workout patterns designed to work on getting lean, toned, or strong from the comfort of your living room. On top of that, it is impossible to be confused by the clean, straight-forward application interface, with a voice prompter of directions and tips for each exercise. For first-time users, each position is accompanied by a video clip for impeccable form. To make the workout experience even more streamlined to a gym class, you can choose your own music from your playlists to accompany your workout. Each full body workout ranges in duration from 30 to 45 minutes, while routines focused on certain muscles are 15 minutes long.

If you’re looking for games...

DoodleTruck

2 1 2

E! Live from the Red Carpet Entertainment news Nike Training Club Fitness

Director Cary Fukunaga has broken the mold. Mia Wasikowska owns this part – it’s her Jane. Michael Fassbender shows signs of limitless talent.” KAREN DURBIN,

“LET THE SWOONS BEGIN!” LAURA JACOBS,

WASIKOWSKA Get an exclusive look behind the scenes of JANE EYRE iTunes.com/FocusFeatures

MICHAEL

FASSBENDER JAMIE

BELL AND

JUDI

DENCH

JANE EYRE

EXPERIENCE A BOLD NEW VISION OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S TIMELESS CLASSIC.

IN SELECT THEATRES MARCH 11 Moxie - High School Ad 5x8’’

Deals by Citysearch Bargain shopping

DoodleTruck Mindless entertainment

Mansi Pathak || m.pathak@elestoque.org

“A LOVE STORY AS FIERCELY INTELLIGENT AS IT IS PASSIONATE!

MIA

DoodleTruck might just be the epitome of mindless entertainment. With extremely simple acceleration and break instructions, the goal of the game is to drive a truck full of small blue rocks to its delivery destination while maneuvering over steep hills and rocky roads. While this may seem incredibly simple, the game proves to be increasingly challenging. Steep hills may knock the rocks out of the truck bed or flip your truck over completely. Because of its monotony, I wouldn’t recommend the game for the long-haul, but instead simply for if you have a couple of minutes to kill. And just a warning—you may want to turn off the frantic, repetitive music. It starts to ring in your ears.

The off-campus cafeteria

Eating lunch out of school remains popular

unch, the most anticipated time of the day. It‘s salvation from the academic structure of the classroom and into a wild, food-filled 45-minute period. Some choose the controlled chaos of the school campus, while other prefer to escape and enjoy the vast choices that the city has to offer. Subway, 7-Eleven, or for those more privileged—with the ability to drive a car, one of the many restaurants that Cupertino has to offer. With so many students flocking off campus at once and so few minutes to spare, many choose to stick to locations closer to campus, and for good reason. The time allotted for lunch lends itself to a quick meal and staying closer to campus, allows students to spend more time eating, and less time rushing to get back. According to an El Estoque survey of 120 students, 7-Eleven and Subway topped the lists of preferred offcampus lunch locations, while those students who live closer to campus chose to go home for a warm, fresh, home-cooked meal. For senior Viktorie Reichova, being able to go home for lunch is much more convenient than staying on campus or even choosing a different location. “I can get away from the craziness of school for a bit. It’s nice to be away from the noise, the fluorescent lights, the crowds, and everything,” Riechova said. For some sixth-period teachers—especially those who teach upperclassmen, it can be very frustrating when students go off campus for lunch because they arrive late and disrupt the classroom environment. “My class is pretty good [but] I’ll have one student who is consistently late every day,” said government teacher Ben Recktenwald. Other teachers have reported some problems, but there are few compared to years past. Maybe it‘s because most students prefer locations much closer to campus. Fifty three percent of survey respondents chose to walk to their off campus locations.

Arifa Aziz | El Estoque

THE OTHER CAFETERIA Students wait to enter 7-Eleven during lunch on March 3. Despite the rush to get back to school on time, students still choose to eat lunch off campus. For those who choose to go farther than the intersections of McClellan Road and Imperial Drive, time is of the essence. Sometimes I’m a couple minutes late...I’m usually really good at keeping track of when lunch is over and when we have to leave,” said senior Karina Fathi. But according to Recktenwald, it is the students’ attitudes when they come into the classroom after lunch that concerns him. “Kids who come back from lunch, even when they come back to class, they’re still out to lunch...they’re just not focused on class, which is unfortunate,” Recktenwald said. Arifa Aziz || a.aziz@elestoque.org

March 9, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

From alleyways to teaching AP classes

Page 19

Teacher shares impact of homelessness on his life, teaching style, and educational beliefs

aybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s his size, his powerful voice, or his habit of holding a worn baseball bat in one hand and sipping a can of diet Pepsi with the other. Maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s his eccentric teaching style, evidenced in part by the whiteboard notes scrawled out as he talks, and the numerous pockmarks in the walls, the products of years of dart-throwing. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to tell what exactly makes Economics teacher Pete Pelkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lectures interesting. One thing, however, is certain. Pelkey is bit of a renegade. That persona comes from his years of living one of the most difficult kinds of lives in America; that of a homeless person in Los Angeles. As a young man, Pelkey trained to become a paramedic, citing inspiration from TV medical dramas. Though his studies started out normally, it was only a matter of time before they turned into a TV drama of their own, when Pelkey ran out of funds. Because his parents did not support his decision to become a paramedic, he was reluctant to return home and ask them for help. As a result, he chose pay for school himself, no matter what it took. For a month, Pelkey lived in his car in the crime-ridden streets of SouthCentral Los Angeles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a lot of alleyways

THE LIFE OF PETE PELKEY

PASSING ON WISDOM Previously homeless paramedic, Pete Pelkey, now a teacher, gives a lecture about circular flow to his third-period macroeconomics class. Pelkey hopes to inspire students to learn from their experiences out of school. [you can park in to sleep],â&#x20AC;? said Pelkey. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[I was careful to] pick the ones where the crimes [werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t] going on.â&#x20AC;? Pelkey managed to take showers by driving to nearby beaches and using the facilities there. He also found places where he could do his laundryâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;particularly cheap

Pelkey begins paramedic training, thinking that it would be the right career for him

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laundromats filled with homeless heroin addicts. However, food was a persistent issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d] get a package of oranges for about three bucks,â&#x20AC;? Pelkey said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and [I would] live off those oranges for a couple of weeks. [I would] eat half an orange for lunch, and half an orange for dinner. They were huge.

Pelkey runs out of money and spends a month on the streets

They were beautiful.â&#x20AC;? Pelkey eventually graduated from paramedic training and began work. However, he eventually realized that he wanted to raise a family and that being a paramedic was not the right profession for family life. He decided

to go back to college and made plans to go to law school. However, he was persuaded by his mother and father, who were a teacher and principal, respectively, to get a teaching credential instead. Since he began working as a teacher, Pelkey has taught either Psychology or Economics at every school in the district. Even as he teaches, Pelkey remembers the lessons he learned from living among some of the most destitute people in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[People] are too concerned about prestige,â&#x20AC;? Pelkey said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re] afraid of the bad things that [might] happen, but in the end life is really what you make it, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re never going to know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll happen a few years down the line. Just look at me.â&#x20AC;? Pelkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiences as a homeless person, a paramedic, and a teacher have had a significant impact on his way of thinking. According to Pelkey being homeless has taught him to live life for the moment, and not being too worried about the future. His experiences have also imbued him with confidence if he ever faces situations of adversity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t anything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to mess me up,â&#x20AC;? Pelkey said. Vinay Raghuram || v. raghuram@elestoque.org

Pelkey decides to go back to school, all while working as a paramedic, chauffeur, and others

Pelkey begins teaching at MVHS

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 20

Bieber Fever hits the screen

‘Never Say Never’ gives unique view, goes beyond Biebs stereotypes

March 9, 2011

Confessions of a procrastinator Learn to make time for things that you love by prioritizing

hings don’t always turn out the way you expect them to. For example, this month I intended to write about my week volunteering at Science Camp with the fifth graders of Regnart Elementary, and that alone. An uplifting tale of how rewarding it was; how it’s worth every bit of sacrifice, so every high schooler school student should try it (unless they hate children, the outdoors, etc). All of those things are true, but they’re not the point of this column. A column, I might add, that I expected to turn in quite a while ago.

Paramount.com, Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque Photo Illustration

EENIE MEENIE SUPERSTAR Singer Justin Bieber’s musical documentary hit theatres Feb. 11, and has raked in $64,551,411 at box offices across the nation. The biopic sheds light on the star’s rise to success despite mixed rejection and celebration.

am not a girl. Nor am I a nosy mother of a preteen Belieber. And I’m most certainly not any sort of pedophile with a soft spot for the world’s latest pop sensation. But even the shadows of a dark movie theater couldn’t manage to hide my shame when I sat down right in front of a horde of eight-year-old girls for “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” the Sunday after its premiere. I had no previous exposure to Bieber Fever, and no female date to blame for my attendance. Before that day, I had seen the strands of heated YouTube comments blaming him for the destruction of modern music. And before that day I was as likely as any other teenage boy to set Biebs aside with the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and “Twilight” as the four horsemen of the preteen entertainment apocalypse. But I abandoned common sense and gave “Never Say Never” a shot. Director Jon Chu revisits the same insanity of 3-D cinematography and monotony of just about everything else that he hit with “Step Up 3-D”—minus the bad acting in exchange for interviews of surprisingly reverent artists, friends, and managers. It’s a formula that takes “Never Say Never’s” number-one rank at the opening weekend box office and savagely beats the living daylight out of everything that sophisticated Hollywood cinema has

worked toward over the years—but it‘s enough to make the 12-year-old Bieber Fever victim inside of us squirm in delight. The film starts out by highlighting Biebs’ path to stardom, from his origins as a drum, guitar, piano, and vocalist virtuoso playing on the front steps of the local movie theater to the Madison Square Garden show of his 2010 My World Tour that sold out in 22 minutes flat. It’s a flat-out Bieber-fest. There’s concert footage, baby photos, home videos—even a slow-motion sequence of carefully orchestrated hair swooshing.

BIEBER FEVER ‘Never Say Never’ was produced with a budget of $13 million but has already made $64,551,411 domestically and $5,034,083 internationally.

Yes, the 3-D concert scenes provoke disgust when Biebs stretches his hands through the screen and into the theater. And yes, the music throughout is nearly worthy of earplugs. But that’s just a matter of opinion. Yet what’s beyond taste is the intriguing way the film looks behind the scenes of his rise to fame, with an analysis of exactly how the modern YouTube star is born. It strips the craze down to the essence of his talent and appeal—and yet also sheds some light on the not-so-easy

IN&OUT TECH

Christophe Haubursin || c.haubursin@elestoque.org

ROBO POWER

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LIFESTYLE You won’t have trouble seeing behind tight spaces behind desks anymore with Looksoflat Lamp, a 2-D desk lamp, from designer Stefan Geisbauer. It’s a perfect purchase made for small working areas.

parts of being a superstar, from monthly visits to his hometown to see his friends to swollen vocal chord problems and crammed on-tour science lessons. The interesting bits hit with footage of Biebs’ managers passing out free tickets to desperate Beliebers and of the “One Less Lonely Girl” concert tradition of randomly selecting a girl from the audience to be serenaded by Bieber’s singing. It offers the kind of cuteness that I’d imagine would require a boatload of estrogen to really appreciate, but it’s all weighed down by emotional intensity when Biebs’ manager talks about the singer’s fear of having “his childhood stolen” like critics said of Michael Jackson. Even though you might prefer to see Biebs lend his sensational acting skills to the next “Saw” flick instead, it’s hard not to give the kid a sliver of respect for his success. And if you’re a fan, bring tissues. The rest of the movie attendees seemed to need them. Everything apart from the concert sequences makes the film well worth the watch. You may hate the infamously famous Biebs or love him half to death, but, be it good or bad, “Never Say Never” will make sure you never think the same of the little Canadian fuzzball.

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

MAKING THE BEAST Freshman Jimin Park aligns a piece of the robot’s arm mount into place.

onta Vista Robotics Team’s robot was finished on Feb. 22. It was built for this year’s game, which is called “Logomotion.” The team’s robot, El Toro XIV, has an extendable arm that can pick up pool tubes and hang them on a rack of pegs. It also has a sliding-ejection system which shoots out a smaller robot. This minibot latches onto and climbs up a 10-foot tower in the last 10 seconds of each match. Members are currently working on a second, identical robot. The improvements and changes they make to the alternate robot will then be added to the team’s official robot before it competes. The team’s first competition, the Seattle Cascade Regional, will take place on March 18 and 19. Its second, the Silicon Valley Regional, is on April 1 and 2. The team will attend the championships in late April in St. Louis if it qualifies. Jordan Lim || j.lim@elestoque.org

Dark side of vacation I’m writing this in the dark, in a hotel that’s in the running for World’s Crappiest Hotel, as my parents begin what is to be a three-hour nap instead of a full night’s sleep. I’m also developing a nasty cold, probably associated with aforementioned lack of sleep. The missed plane connection and series of unfortunate airline events that led to this situation are unimportant; the point is, it’s the first day of February break, and I’ve got my laptop out to work at 1:16 AM, Dallas time. Why did I even bring my laptop along on a family trip to Argentina? (Assuming that American Airlines ever manages to get us there...) The ugly answer is procrastination. I need to finish, along with this column, three more scholarship applications. They are all due this week. The plan was to finish them before leaving for Argentina. Before ROXANA WISWELL that, the plan was to finish them before leaving for Science Camp. And even before that, the plan was to finish them before my boyfriend flew home for Valentine’s Day.

r.wiswell@elestoque.org

The Stress-oMeter

Something’s gotta give Look at that list. I am a lucky, lucky girl. Romantic weekend, followed by an incredibly fun week at Santa Cruz County Outdoor School, followed by a week-long vacation to Argentina. Can you even wrap your head around all of that good fortune? I tried to apply what I’ve been practicing all year: the balance of work and fun. If I could just get all of my scholarship applications and journalism work out of the way well in advance, I’d be able to enjoy all of my fun without worrying about my to-do list. The problem is, I failed. These freaking applications have been hanging over me for weeks, and I just never sat down to get them done. Basically, I suck. Experiences that should have been absolutely amazing lost some of their luster because of my own shortcomings. Don’t get me wrong—I had an amazing time with my boyfriend as well as at Science Camp, and I’m sure Argentina will be great as well. But I overshot. That was just too much fun, too close together. I was too busy doing fun (and important!) things that I didn’t have time for the serious, just-as-important things. And that is no fun at all. So the lesson is... Be honest with yourself. If I’d taken a realistic look at this situation, I would have realized sooner that it was impossible to manage. I wouldn’t give up any of my experiences, but maybe I could have gone to science camp a different week and finished my scholarship apps early. If you’re going to try, as I have with this column, to make time for the things you love, you have to be careful not to burn yourself out. Prioritize, compromise, and have fun at a pace you can maintain while still upholding your responsibilities. I guess I’ll put off that lofty goal until next time.

March 9, 2011

Page 21

SPORTS

HEAD OF THE OPERATION

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

Don Vierra started swimming at the age of 10 1974 Coached the Chico Aqua Jets

1992-1997 Coached at Morgan Hill High School 2006 First came to MVHS as a special education teacher and girls water polo coach

1976-1982 Worked as a ski instructor

1994-1995 Trained water polo players in Colorado Springs 2011 Still working at MVHS; works as DACA swim coach

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

JUST KEEP SWIMMING Swim and water polo coach Don Vierra works with the girls varsity team on March 3. Vierra has taken over boys swimming and water polo since teacher and coach Ron Freeman’s passing.

Don Vierra leads MVHS swimming

Girls and boys swimming and water polo combine under Vierra after passing of Ron Freeman

on Vierra faces the desktop in his how our swimming teams stand without office, beside a shelf overflowing [Freeman].” Vierra credits a phone call from Freeman with books that, at a glance, all for bringing him to MVHS. relate to swimming. Freeman informed him of Around the room are People don’t realize an opening for a Special the usual photos—family the vacuum that has Education teacher and a members, students, been left without girls water polo coach at and the swimmers he MVHS five years ago. has coached. Atop the [Freeman’s] presence. Vierra did not know bookshelf, though, is one No one will be able much about MVHS, but of him and “Ron,” recently to fill his shoes. It’s he knew Freeman. deceased teacher and going to be awhile They had met in the coach Ron Freeman, who before we truly know early ‘90s from Vierra’s has been an icon of the how our swimming coaching days at Live MVHS aquatics program teams stand without Oak High School. He for over 30 years. Now, it Freeman. is Vierra who heads the girls water polo and swimming coach and Freeman had also Don Vierra worked together with program. water polo players at the “People don’t realize Olympic training center the vacuum that has been left with out [Freeman’s] presence,” Vierra in Colorado Springs. “I knew [Freeman] and that I wanted to said. “No one will be able to fill his shoes. It’s going to be a while before we truly know work with him,” Vierra said. “The school

came as a surprise. I didn’t know much. It was like I stumbled upon this jewel.” It’s been five years since that phone call and now Vierra is both the Special Education teacher and girls water polo coach, along with the position of head coach for the girls swimming team. However, the pool deck is now absent of Vierra’s straw-hatted friend who got him the job. Making sure that the swimming team remains among the top teams in Northern California, as Freeman ensured for the past several years, is a top priority for Vierra as he takes over the program. Vierra also looks forward to staying at MVHS as a teacher and coach until he retires. As a coach, Vierra has a deep connection with swimming and his students and players. He looks at coaching on multiple different levels, from the scientific perspective which applies directly to the training of his students to the camaraderie, personal relationships, and communication between the students

and the coaches. Shravya Guda, a junior on the swimming and water polo teams, first met Vierra during Hell Week of her freshman year. “He definitely scared me at first,” Guda said, “because I guess that’s what coaches are supposed to do to freshmen during hell week, since it’s so intense. I was especially scared because he had enough faith in [me] to throw me into set. I’m not sure that he knew my name until the end of swim season sophomore year. He pulled me aside and told me, ‘I’m proud of you, Shravya.’ That was a great day.” According to Guda, Vierra is a devoted coach. For Vierra, his first love has always been swimming. “The organization of a team and its core values and culture are what make swimming exciting,” Vierra says. He chuckles and adds, “It goes all the way down to what color the swimsuit is going to be.” Pooja Ravikiran || p.ravikiran@elestoque.org

Going the distance: Alumnus coach brings track team together New track and field coach uses experience as Matador to build close relationship with athletes

In addition to this familiarity, Paquet has brought an increased level of personal involvement in his coaching. “What I really like about his coaching is that he doesn’t just sit on the sidelines and watch us exercise,” said junior long how close Paquet distance runner Pearl Law. “He’ll came to not actually do the intervals with qualifying us.” Hurdles coach Ray Cornell place finish and current substitute teacher 5th at CCS Mike Morris worked as head coaches with Paquet while he was a student at MVHS. Over the years, they provided a degree of personal connection that Paquet feels is missing from the team now due to regular shifts in coaches.

0:3.26

all four years, whereas here the kids have had several coaches over the last couple of years,” he said. “I hope to stay here TOP RUNNER for a while with [current head coach Kirk Flataw] to help Paquet’s mile time in the build that kind of relationship boys 1600m CCS finals that I developed with my own coach during my experience.” in 2005 With the long distance team, Paquet’s familiarity #1 with the MVHS culture and boys runner area gives him an upper hand from MVHS in coaching. “[Flataw] isn’t from the area,” he said. “I know all the trails, I know the Monta Vista spirit. I’ve been helping him out with distance runners while he takes care of administration. I also make a lot of suggestions on how the kids should run and where.”

4:23.58

e’s still a bit jittery three weeks into the job, full of energy, feet popping on the side of the track during team warm-ups inside a dusty, worn pair of Saucony Omni 8 running shoes that he always wears for training. As he steps down from the bleachers at the De Anza track one midafternoon practice on March 2, he’s all smiles as he sends the team off for their run. He rubs his gloved hands together for warmth. “I went on a long run yesterday with the team.” He starts to laugh while stretching his calves. “But I’m starting to feel old! Hurts more the next day than it used to.” This is Matthieu Paquet, track and field’s new distance running coach, and for him, these first few weeks at MVHS are all déjà vu. Paquet graduated from MVHS in 2005 after serving as a member and captain of the track team for all four years of high school. Now, he has returned to his alma mater with plans of coaching here for many years to come. “When I was on the track team, we had the same coach for

see PAQUET on page 23

Page 22

March 9, 2011

SPORTS

hit the slopes SQUAW VALLEY

What to do: Ice skating at the Olympic Ice Pavillion

NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE

What to do: Thirty-five shops and restaraunts

Swimming lagoon and spa at High Camp

Ice skating, tubing, and adventure parks

Cable car rides, tubing, dog sledding, wall climbing, sky jumping

Bungee trampoline

$62 all-day lift ticket 4 hour 15 minute

Pools, spa, and fitness $72 all-day lift ticket 4 hour drive from Cupertino

Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation destination: what to do après-ski MOUNT ROSE

What’s nice is that it’s really easy to get food and if you want to take a break, you get to the top of the mountain and eat at a really large nice cafeteria place.

What to do: Eight restaurants Sports and apparel shops Twenty-five minutes from downtown Reno $55 all-day lift ticket

math teacher Brian Dong talking about Squaw Valley

4 hour 40 minute

drive from Cupertino

HEAVENLY (pictured)

What to do: HEAVEN AT TAHOE Skiiers enjoy the scenery at Heavenly’s Ridge Run. This blue square run offers a breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe from the top of the mountain.

veryone knows the basic necessities of a winter among staff and students at MVHS are the ski resorts in ski or snowboarding trip: It requires mountains, Lake Tahoe, CA. Each of the seven ski resorts there snow, and gear. But when it comes have activities that cater to different skill to details and small comforts that people sets and different preferences. In addition look for, each ski resort has unique Visit elestoque.org to the skiing and boarding, there are spas, qualities that attract people to more than for more skiing and gyms, tubing, sledding, and a variety of just the icy slopes. snowboarding tips other options. With spring ski season under way, Here is a run-down of four of the ski many people are making their way up resorts in the Lake Tahoe-Reno area. the mountains to get to their favorite ski resort. Although many enjoy going out of state to Ashley Wu || a.wu@elestoque.org less crowded ski resorts or cleaner snow, most popular

NLINE

American, Italian, and Mexican restaurants Stores for shopping and souvenirs Salons and spas Ice skating, gondola rides, sleigh rides

$72 all-day lift ticket 4 hour 20 minute

drive from Cupertino Cynthia Mao | El Estoque

sportsnow After an 80-minute battle, two 10-minute overtimes, and a total of 26 penalty kicks, the girls varsity soccer team lost 9-10 in the CCS quarterfinals on Feb. 26 in Mountain View. This is the ninth year in a row that the team has made it to CCS. It finished the season with a league record of 5-4-3. The team witll lose six seniors and hopes to continue the CCS tradition for the 2010-2011 season.

Although the boys varsity basketball team, which finished the season with an 8-16-0 record overall, had solid plays and strong defense, it could not pull off a victory against Mountain View at its senior game on Feb. 15, losing 40-54. With only one graduating senior, the team will have many returning players for next season.

Joseph Beyda | El Estoque

Jackie Barr | El Estoque

The boys varsity soccer team finished its season with the senior game on Feb. 16, which ended in a 2-1 loss. The team the season with a record of 4-6-3. It went through a coaching change this year and will lose seven seniors.

Kevin Tsukii | El Estoque

Used with permission of Tom Trankle

The varsity wrestling team ended its season with a 7-8 loss against Serra and an overall record of 15-13. Six wrestlers qualified for CCS and senior Andrew Pappas went on to round two but lost in the next.

Jackie Barr | El Estoque

The girls varsity basketball team, 7-16. entered CCS seeded 12th. On Feb. 22, the team topped No. 13 Leland High School 51-43. Two days later, MVHS lost 58-44 to No. 5 North Salinas High School in the quarterfinals. Six Matadors, including leading scorer senior Alex Chiu, will be graduating, leaving a core of younger players led by three-year varsity member junior Steffanie Sum.

Page 22

March 9, 2011

SPORTS

hit the slopes SQUAW VALLEY

What to do: Ice skating at the Olympic Ice Pavillion

NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE

What to do: Thirty-five shops and restaurants

Swimming lagoon and spa at High Camp

Ice skating, tubing, and adventure parks

Cable car rides, tubing, dog sledding, wall climbing, sky jumping

Bungee trampoline

$62 all-day lift ticket 4 hour 15 minute

Pools, spa, and fitness $72 all-day lift ticket 4 hour drive from Cupertino

Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation destination: what to do après-ski MOUNT ROSE

What’s nice is that it’s really easy to get food and if you want to take a break, you get to the top of the mountain and eat at a really large nice cafeteria place.

What to do: Eight restaurants Sports and apparel shops Twenty-five minutes from downtown Reno $55 all-day lift ticket

math teacher Brian Dong talking about Squaw Valley

4 hour 40 minute

drive from Cupertino

HEAVENLY (pictured)

What to do: HEAVEN AT TAHOE Skiiers enjoy the scenery at Heavenly’s Ridge Run. This blue square run offers a breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe from the top of the mountain.

NLINE

American, Italian, and Mexican restaurants Stores for shopping and souvenirs Salons and spas Ice skating, gondola rides, sleigh rides

$72 all-day lift ticket 4 hour 20 minute

drive from Cupertino Cynthia Mao | El Estoque

sportsnow After an 80-minute battle, two 10-minute overtimes, and a total of 26 penalty kicks, the girls varsity soccer team lost 9-10 in the CCS quarterfinals on Feb. 26 in Mountain View. This is the ninth year in a row that the team has made it to CCS. It finished the season with a league record of 5-4-3. The team will lose six seniors and hopes to continue the CCS tradition for the 2010-2011 season.

Joseph Beyda | El Estoque

Jackie Barr | El Estoque

The boys varsity soccer team finished its season with the senior game on Feb. 16, which ended in a 2-1 loss. The team ended the season with a record of 4-63. It went through a coaching change this year and will lose seven seniors.

Kevin Tsukii | El Estoque

Used with permission of Tom Trankle

Jackie Barr | El Estoque

The girls varsity basketball team, 7-16, entered CCS seeded 12th. On Feb. 22, the team topped No. 13 Leland High School 51-43. Two days later, MVHS lost 58-44 to No. 5 North Salinas High School in the quarterfinals. Six Matadors, including leading scorer senior Alex Chiu, will be graduating, leaving a core of younger players led by three-year varsity member junior Steffanie Sum.

March 9, 2011

Boys volleyball starts strong

Ater two scrimmages and one game, team knows where to improve

he varsity boys volleyball squad started its season off with a 3-0 win over the Oak Grove Eagles in its first match of the year on March 4. Although the team won the first game of the match 25-18, MVHS started off slow. In the beginning of the first game, inconsistent passing and missed serves allowed Oak Grove to remain tied with the Matadors. MVHS met Oak Grove’s hitters at the net with two-man blocks consistently, but got tooled six times in the first game. The Matadors finally pulled away from their backand-forth tie with Oak Grove in the first game with a strong serving streak delivered by junior outside hitter Calvin Lam. Improved passing and fewer tools off the Matador block led to a 25-14 win in the second game of the match. The improved, more successful passing allowed sophomore setter Derrick Chiu to set up the Matador hitters who propelled the team to quick wins in the second and third games. The third game was won 25-17 with the bulk of the points coming from the outside hitter spot, mainly from seniors Ben Alberts and Ryan Michaelfelder. Although the match was outside of league play and ultimately won’t affect the potential of a post-season run, Lam felt the win was a good one that improved upon their performances in the two preseason scrimmages against Kings Academy and Lehigh High School. “Passing is our weak point this year, but in today’s match, we didn’t do too bad of a job,” Lam said. “The passes stayed on our side of the court and there weren’t many shanks that put us really out of position.” Both Lam and second-year varsity head coach Paul Chiu agree that the passing needs to improve. They also agree that hitting is their strong point. “We can hit with about anyone and we have good setters,” Chiu said. “We have consistent setters; we need consistent passing.” MVHS will play its first league game on March 7 at The Harker School. Last year the team lost to Harker twice, both times in three straight games. “Our biggest upcoming match is against Harker,” Chiu said. “They were one of the upper echelon teams in the league last year. This year [we’ve] got to demonstrate that we can beat them.” In the 2009-2010 season, the Matadors finished with an overall record of 14-14-0 and a De Anza league record of 3-9-0.

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SPORTS

Batsmen hit by rule changes Regulations vital for player safety

f you got a shiny new baseball bat for Christmas, now would be a good time to return it. That is, if you haven’t been thrown out of a game yet. By the time Matadors’ 2011 baseball season started, the California Interscholastic Federation had banned a variety of non-wood bats that have been deemed unsafe. Bats that do not meet the BBCOR standard, which measures the elasticity of the bat when it collides with the ball, will no longer be legal. Similar restrictions have been set in college and amateur leagues—pros use less-powerful wooden bats—but what makes the highschool ban so frustrating for some was its poor timing. The announcement was made on Dec. 29, just a month before baseball teams began practicing and just days after many a young player received holiday gifts. Pitcher protection By and large, the change was made for the safety of pitchers. If a player hits with a non-BBCOR bat, the baseball leaves at a higher speed, increasing JOSEPH BEYDA the chance of a j.beyda@elestoque.org line-drive injury. Senior pitcher Matt Hopkins has never been hit by a comebacker, but he has heard of the dangerous situation. “One of my friends actually got hit in the mouth one time,” Hopkins said. “It’s not a common thing—especially at our level—but when it happens, it’s definitely a problem.” Hopkins’s friend was probably lucky that he didn’t sustain heavier injuries. Gunnar Sandberg, pitcher for Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, C.A., was put in a lifethreatening coma last March after being hit in the head by a comebacker off a metal bat. The near-tragedy sparked conversation about the use of these high-powered bats in baseball. While the NCAA followed through on a 2008 commitment to the BBCOR standard, Little League and the CIF both announced that they would be doing the same. The changes by all three organizations went into effect for the 2011 season.

The Beyda test

Jordan Lim | El Estoque

PLAY BALL Junior opposite and outside hitter Avery Hua blocks the ball at a game against Oak Grove High School on March 4. Besides Harker, MVHS will have to face Los Gatos, Mountain View, and Homestead. Last year, the team failed to win a match against any of those squads. “We will go as far as our serve receive

takes us,” Chiu said. “[Our success] is going to come down to our serve receive and setting up our hitting game.” Jordan Lim || j.lim@elestoque.org

PAQUET: New coach was running champion back in his day continued from page 21

Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque

RUNNER’S WORLD The new track and field coach stands at the track at De Anza College on March 2. While at MVHS, his mile time was just seven seconds shy of the school record.

Bringing that sense of connection back to the team is one of Paquet’s top goals as the season kicks off. Yet perhaps his most unique new opportunity since returning to the MVHS team came with the chance to work alongside Cornell as former head coach and captain reconvened to work together. Thus far, their experience working together again has been more than gratifying. “It’s been great having [Paquet] around, cause he’ll remind me of some of the old days,” Cornell said. “The team needs a positive influence, a positive role model, and that’s a certain quality that makes you always want him around. He was like that as a runner, he’s always brought that for the team.” But Paquet wasn’t just any track runner during his time at MVHS. A team captain and finalist at CCS, he ran a 4:23 record mile time while on the team, just shy of the 4:16 record that he had attempted to beat, held by class of 1983 graduate Grant Foster. Paquet happened to run into the athlete the summer of his high school graduation at an AllComer meet in Los Gatos. “I went up to him when I saw him and said, ‘You know, I’ve been trying to beat your record for the past couple years,‘” Paquet laughs. “He was in his 30s or 40s, but said he was surprised no one had beaten it yet.” As the practice stretches into the afternoon, the laid-back environment that Paquet’s leadership brings to the team is apparent. “What he helps show the kids is that winning is good, but it’s not completely about just that, it’s about other aspects—that’s what he brings to the table,” Cornell said. But with his first season as a coach beginning, he’s already got a full plate in front of him. And, of course, he’s still got that mile record to beat. Chistophe Haubursin || c. haubursin@elestoque.org

Wallet woes But if Sandberg’s accident happened in March of 2010, what took the CIF until the waning days of December to announce the new standard? The price of a high-quality baseball bat climbs into triple figures, and many players that had already received—and unwrapped—new bats for the holidays were left with a worthless relic that was neither legal nor returnable. What’s more, low-income families were forced to shoulder a new burden with no time to wait for the next paycheck, as tryouts rapidly approached. The CIF cites logistical reasons for the late announcement, which left youth players in a post-holiday predicament statewide. Hopkins isn’t sure if the chaos was worth it. “I’m not sure how effective [the regulations] will actually be,” he said. “If someone is going to hit the ball really hard, it’s going to come quick either way.” Ballplayers and their families are surely concerned with the safety of pitchers and infielders, which should be a priority. But in the middle of a recession, we shouldn’t effectively charge athletes an extra hundred dollars to play. If the CIF was too disorganized to make the change in time, you would hope that it could make up for its mistake, but as a nonprofit organization, it likely can’t find a way to subsidize the new bats. So just as the less powerful BBCOR bats will yield fewer home runs, the CIF wasn’t able to knock this one out of the park.

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s SPORTS

March 9, 2011

t i t o g the n i Kick

top

Three students showcase talents at Tae Kwon Do World Championship in New Zealand

GETTING READY Junior Stephen Ho demonstrates a Tae Kwon Do side kick. Ho will be competing in the International Tae Kwon Do Federation’s World Championship from March 4 to 14 in New Zealand.

Mansi Pathak | El Estoque

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT The junior team practices at Mighty Fist Tae Kwon Do on Feb. 18. Three of the U.S. junior team members are students at MVHS. Christophe Haubursin and Pooja Ravikiran | El Estoque Photo Illustration

THE HEAD OF AQUATICS Page 21 Don Vierra steps up to lead the swim team

n April 2004, when sophomore Ruri name to differentiate ourselves, so we came Kobayakawa began Tae Kwon Do, she never up with ‘The Last Stand’ because we did expected that in seven years she would be everything at the last minute.” on her way to the International Tae Kwon Do Kobayakawa, Baokar, and Ho all qualified Federation’s World Championship 6,000 miles for the United States junior teams, which is away. What started as a recommendation for black belts between the ages of 14 and 17. from her tennis coach to gain balance and Kobayakawa’s team is made up of seven girls, discipline has added a first-degree black belt five from her studio and two from Texas and to her athletic repertoire. Philadelphia. The junior boys team is made up Along with Kobayakawa, senior Arjun of 14 athletes. Baokar and junior “I’ve met so many ASPECTS OF TAE KWON DO Stephen Ho have people through Tae reached the pinnacle Kwon Do,” Kobayakawa of Tae Kwon Do said. “I would meet Breaking uses techniques to tournaments, them when we were break wooden boards. Power competing as three at different elementary breaking measures force behind a of the 39 members schools, but when I got move. Speciality breaking involves of the United States to high school I started jumping, flying, or spinning. team heading to to see a lot of people New Zealand from that went to the same Patterns concentrate more on the March 4 to March studio.” artistic aspect of Tae Kwon Do. The 14. The tournament In order to consists of individual perfect their patterns focus is on the details of stances, and team events for routines, Baokar and precision, sharpness of moves, and patterns, sparring, his teammates work the concentration of the athlete. and breaking. with a rigorous and The three will be precise method—they Sparring has two athletes competing against decided that everyone fighting against each other. Each 41 other countries. must perform a move person scores points with different In order to correctly three times in moves made successfully, with qualify for the World a row before continuing the winner being the one with the Championship, on to the next move. most points. Kobaya kawa, “We’ll do the same Baokar, and Ho thing 15 times before had to win at the we get it right,” Baokar national competition said. “We’re pretty in August 2010. much self-coached. It’s Their instructor Jason Morris, who is also mostly just us practicing on our own.” the director and coordinator of the U.S. In preparation for the World Championship, team, encouraged his students at Mighty Kobayakawa attends practice for around nine Fist Tae Kwon Do Studio to participate in the hours during the week and eight hours on competition, held in San Jose. weekends. In order to maintain her weight Baokar remembers the last-minute for her sparring category, Kobayakawa has frenzy of forming the patterns team for the adjusted to a healthier diet and exercise. national competition. The team learned their “I usually put my backpack on with my qualifying routine during the final week prior clothes for Tae Kwon Do and run there,” to the competition. Kobayakawa said. “[Apart from Tae Kwon Do “Even at the tournament in between events practice] that’s usually my daily exercise.” we would run to the parking lot, practice, and run back,” Baokar said. “We needed a team Mansi Pathak || m.pathak@elestoque.org

SPRING SKIING

BUMP, SET, SPIKE

Page 22 A run-down of some of the best resorts at Lake Tahoe

Page 23 Varsity boys volleyball team starts the season with a win