Volume 37, Issue 2, October 21 2005 by El Estoque

perspectives

Temporary locker rooms plagued with problems

entertainment

sports

centerspread

Swordid affairs: Sharp students practice swordplay

Fabulous fashions from Monta Vista’s trendiest club

Homecoming vol

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New site consolidates teachers’ websites by Anagha Vaidhyanathan, staff writer

t’s 4:30 pm. After a long walk home from school, junior Jina Wang collapsed into the black swivel chair beside her computer and contemplated a long day’s journey through homework. Like many other students at MVHS, Wang immediately logged into her School Loop account to see what new work was in store for her that day. Two years ago, it was MyGradeBook.com. Last year, A+ Board. Now School Loop? After the burst of the dotcom bubble in the early 21st century, many high schools have strived to make grades and homework assignments easily accessible on the web. School Loop, as MVHS’ newest test program, was installed in last August to encourage parents and students to use the internet to access grades, important announcements, and links in the comfort of their home. In the past, teachers have found it difficult to communicate with over 300 parents a year in order to answer various comments and concerns. School Loop was specifically designed to assist in this cause. “Both Cupertino and Fremont High School were already using School Loop and agreed that it made a significant difference in their grading system,” said AP Biology teacher and Leadership Director Tim Krieger. “The School Loop board and Fremont Union High School District approached Monta Vista in efforts to maintain a consistent system throughout the District.” Krieger added that the new system allowed him to post all links, grades, and homework assignments on an individual medium which significantly reduced wasting time. So far, School Loop has seemed to have served its intended purpose. Teachers find it easy to use and convenient. Students receive updated homework calendars daily via e-mail and are also informed about upcoming projects, quizzes, and tests which allow them to prepare well ahead of time. “Although the e-mails are annoying, the homework calendar is quite helpful,” said Wang. “It allows me to see the homework assignments from all my teachers who use School Loop for the entire month.”

see LOOP on page 20

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Alumnus loses life in accident by Suzie Smelyansky, staff writer

n Friday, Oct. 14, MVHS alumnus Manuel Stahl, a graduate of the class of 2002, tragically died in a motorcycle accident on Highway 101 as he was en route to UCLA. Survived by his parents and younger brother Roman, an MVHS senior, Manuel was greatly loved by many at MVHS. “I looked at him like an older brother,” said senior Nicole Cooper, whose sister Manuel dated. Cooper explained that he became integrated into her family. “He was a really inspirational person. He was an intellect, and he was adventurous. He was always willing to try new things. He touched so many peoples’ hearts, and everyone’s just heartbroken about it.” “He treated everyone with such respect,” said Cooper recalling that even when he stopped dating her sister, he’d still come over to their house for dinner or to take her out to lunch. “He just had this charisma

when he walked in the room, very down to earth.” Manuel had a passion for sports, and was an outstanding soccer player. He participated on swim team and coach Ron Freeman remembered that he always “gave it everything he had.” Since the accident, the Stahl family has been showered with support. “I just appreciate that people are helping us, and that’s what we can be thankful for,” said Roman. Yesterday, a funeral was held in Manuel’s honor. French teacher Lise Gabet had the privilege of teaching Manuel for all four years of his high school career. She recalled a time when Manuel brought her a bouquet of flowers after he felt that he had been particularly rowdy during a class period. He continued to visit her twice a year while he was in college. “He was full of life,” said Gabet. Manuel died young at age 21, but he never regretted the way he lived his life, and this principle is something that will continue to inspire those who knew him.

State law bans soda at school

Governor Schwarzenegger committed to raising health standards by Sarah Bennett, staff writer

egislation to ban carbonated soda from all public high school campuses was signed Sept. 15 by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who claimed that it will be a step towards curing the “obesity epidemic” in California. The ban was coupled with another act putting regulations on food and one that will contribute $18 million in fresh fruit and vegetables for school breakfast programs. “We are going to terminate obesity in California once and for all,” said Schwarzenegger at Cal Expo prior to signing the bills, “health problems cost $28 billion a year. One of three children, or one of four teens overweight are at risk. This leads to major medical problems like diabetes, heart disease, sleep disorders, depression and robs our kids of a healthy childhood. It is unacceptable [and] we need to turn this ship around.” The legislations, which will start being phased in on Jul. 1, 2007, will allow only drinks with at least

Symrin Chawla | staff photographer

CARBONATED BLISS Monday Oct. 17 Senior Brian Anderson, Sophomores Kendall Lewis and Amar Chatterjee enjoyed their school-bought sodas during lunch.

50 percent fruit or vegetable juice, milk, and drinking water with little or no sweetener to be sold. There will also be regulations set on the

Symrin Chawla and Austin Cheng| Staff Photographers Such bubbly offerings will be impossible to buy in the coming years as the cafeteria will be banned by the California government from selling soda.

calorie, sugar and fat contents of all non-cafeteria food, including club and athletics fundraisers that take place while school is

in session. Its regulations will be completely mandatory by July 1,

see SODA on page 3

Graduate mastermind behind redesign Architect Erwin Lee designed updated library and locker rooms by Steffi Lau, staff writer

hirty years ago, Erwin Lee walked the hallways of Monta Vista’s buildings as, in his own words, “average student.” Now Lee, a graduate of the class of 1975, is now making his mark on the school he once attended by designing its new buildings. Lee, architect for the library and auditorium, said, “I did all the same things that everyone else did in high school.” But when asked about his high school memories, he recalled, of all things, admiring the architecture. “One of the things I always liked about this school was the two-story buildings…how during passing

period you could see people walking around on the different levels.” The Fremont Union High School District began modernizing its five high schools’ facilities in 1998—the reason for MVHS’ new D-building, library and auditorium as well as the continuing reconstruction of the locker rooms and, in the near future, the gym, main office, ASB and cafeteria building. Lee said, “When we went to the interview for the job, it was exciting for me because it was the same high school district… I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get MV right off the bat. Another architectural team got that and we were assigned Homestead. But I guess

as fate would have it...we ended up here finishing up the rest of the projects at MV.” Lee’s company, Deems Lewis McKinley, initially designed the new library and an addition to the music building for Homestead High, before transferring their efforts to designing MVHS’ library and auditorium. Asked if any of his experiences as a student affected how he built the library, Lee laughed, “The irony is, I didn’t remember the library that well. I guess I didn’t go there that much, but coming back into it, all of a sudden, it came back to me…you know, it was always kind of

see ARCHITECT on page 20

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News-Information-Updates

Photo Courtesy of Colin Anderson GETTING READY Math teachers Colin Anderson, Jon Stark and Scott DeRuiter pose at the Santa Cruz Sentinel triathlon before setting off on their race to raise money for graphing calculators for Calculus classes.

Checkpoint: How did they do?

n On Oct. 2, at the Santa Cruz Sentinel Triathlon, Calculus teachers Colin Anderson, Jon Stark, and Scott DeRuiter finished 30th out of 81 teams. Dubbed the “Tri for TI,” their combined swimming, biking, and running efforts paid off for a time of 2 hours and 39 minutes. Money raised from the event is going toward new graphing calculators for the Calculus classes. There were challenges, like bike rider Stark getting bronchitis and swimmer Anderson adjusting to 55 degree water, but everyone was pleased with the result and hopes to race again next year. Any favorite parts in particular? Stark explained, “They marked all the competitors with your team number on your arm and your age on your lower leg. I could see other people’s ages when I was riding. I got a big kick out of passing people who were 15 years younger than me!” As of Oct. 18, the amount of money raised was still uncertain.

n The Biology Club, in conjunction with the Math and Science Club, will be participating in the Wondercup Math and Science competition during this month. Members will divide up into teams of four to compete in this national competition. The first round will be held online and will cover AP-level questions in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The top scorers will proceed to the next round, which will be held at UC Berkeley. MVHS students have traditionally been successful in this competition with students proceeding up the ladder to the national level. Round one results will be accessible between Oct. 17 and Oct. 21 via the web. Biology Club President senior Apoorva Rajagopal said, “The Wondercup competition is really one of the most fun competitions of the year. Being part of a team where each member uses their expertise in a subject to have the team succeed as a whole is very exciting.”

elestoque 2005-2006 Monta Vista High School 21840 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014

n Students were curious during the beginning of lunch on Sept. 27 as the 911 rescue team of firefighters and paramedics arrived at MVHS. Special education teacher Cindy Owens suffered a minor heart attack that afternoon, but recovered quickly with the help of MVHS’ dedicated staff members and those on the 911 rescue team. “I’m feeling really good now,” she said. Owens was especially astounded by the amount of support she received when she fell ill and added that the MVHS staff and the rescue team “calmly got everything done in probably two minutes...it was amazing.” She would like to thank special education teacher Ted Shinta, Attendance Technician Bernard Vargas, Assistant Principal Dennis Plaza, Assistant Principal Erik Walukiewicz, and special education teacher Pat Flaherty for offering a helping hand and providing all relevant health information to the paramedics. She added, “They were just phenomenal.” In addition, Owens gladly appreciates the efficiency of the rescue team along with “the person in charge of delaying the lunch bell, so I wasn’t crowded or surrounded by students.” Overall, “the heart attack was a very odd experience, [but] it made me feel good and happy to be here [at MVHS].”

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 community.

n Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. But each year, only 5 percent of the eligible population donates blood. This is a shockingly small number of donors, but it can be changed. Eligible MVHS students have the option of donating blood at the biannual blood drive put on by the Red Cross and Student Life Commission each year. “Last year we had to turn people away because there were too many. This year, we’ve increased the capacity with more nurses and stations to accommodate more people,” said MVHS AP Biology teacher Tim Krieger who oversaw the blood drive last year. In order to be eligible to give blood, you must be over the age of 17 (or 16 with a special form) and weigh at least 110 pounds. The upcoming blood drive is scheduled for Nov. 4 and will be held in the cafeteria. To sign up, contact any Student Life Commission member.

News Editor Raj Dedhia

n Every year, just before Homecoming, classes receive their t-shirts: the easiest and most prominent way to display class pride. And year after year, classes rush to distribute their shirts first as though the distribution itself is some sort of race. This year, Leadership enacted a new policy, known as Task Force of Allied Classes (TFAC), to help reduce the amount of interclass rivalry. TFAC calls for a “shirt distribution day” so that all the classes will receive their shirts on the same day. It was enacted in hopes of bringing classes together, instead of separating them by adding interclass competition. Also, the more organized distribution day will minimize confusion as to when shirts are coming out. The price ranges from $10-$15 depending on how many colors are used, which company the class chooses, and other factors. Anyone that holds an ASB gold card gets $10 off their shirt; otherwise, students have to pay the full price. ASB President Andrew Mok said, “Class t-shirts are essentially just supposed to be for the members to represent their most immediate link to the school and sport their class and school pride.” Class shirts will be coming out the week of the 24th.

Editors-in-Chief Alex Cohn Edward Young Managing Editors Neha Joshi Vikram Srinivasan

Perspectives Editor Julia Stenzel Design/Centerspread Editor Stephanie Snipes Entertainment Editor Michelle Tanaka Sports Editor Suzie Smelyansky Back Page Editor Rachel Lui Art Editor Julia Stenzel Staff Writers Sarah Bennett Radhika Chandrasekhar Symrin Chawla Austin Cheng Carolyn Chuang Nandini Dasarathy Aniqa Hasan Cheryl Ho Adam Jacobs Jordan Kolb Steffi Lau Michael Leung Judy Liang Melissa Ni Sonal Patel Samika Savanur Prateek Tandon Anagha Vaidhyanathan Matt Wang Daniel Yang Advisor Michelle Balmeo The El Estoque staff can be reached at elestoque06@gmail.com or by contacting advisor Michelle Balmeo in room C210. Advertisements may be sent to the address above. 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.

Homecoming coverage given new light T by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

here are always struggles when writing about recurring events, and Homecoming is no exception. During our story planning sessions, there were two disparate sentiments, “Homecoming is a tradition and therefore important” and “Homecoming is clichéd and therefore boring.” We struggled deciding whether to place it as our centerspread, traditionally reserved for our most important topic, or to cover it in one article in news. Eventually we agreed to cover it in centerspread under the condition that it would not be formulaic. This proved harder than we first envisioned. In our story planning, we developed ideas which had the potential to be unique. For example, my article micro-analyzing one item on each float was something which had never been done before and seemed interesting. The problem was in the execution. The article lacked substance and cohesiveness. When the other articles came in, they had the same problems which I had experienced. Articles were incomplete and overflowing with clichés, specifically the problems we were trying to avoid. This was attributed to several difficulties. First, preparations for Homecoming were incomplete at our deadlines. Second, it requires special skills to avoid formulaic writing, something we, as a staff, have not yet developed.

The editorial staff revised and revised. On second drafts, there was much improvement. Writers became creative and began to eliminate clichés from our articles. But even as we approached our final deadline, the floats still weren’t finished. We wanted to be as thorough as possible, covering all aspects of the preparations, but not all of the preparations had been made. Homecoming court, for example, was announced late in our production schedule, forcing us to rush the photo shoot. Preparations, however, were not limited to the floats. Homecoming is a major event for dance, cheer, and band. It’s the culmination of football’s season. For seniors on the team, it is on of the last games they will play in purple and gold, and many have prepared four years for this game. In sports, we have featured the senior football players that have played for four years, giving them an opportunity to share their best football memories. In the following pages, you will hopefully find interesting and unique articles on Homecoming among other subjects which concern our school. As we grow as a staff, we also grow as a paper. You may have noticed that we now have 20 pages, giving us more room to thoroughly cover issues that affect us as students and as a school. Writing these articles may not always be easy, but as a staff we have committed to bringing you the campus’ news in the most interesting manner possible.

EDITOR’S LETTER

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Registrar says farewell to MVHS After 22 years of service, Yandow to retire in December BUSY WORKING Registrar Ginny Yandow compiles secondary school reports on Oct. 2 in anticipation of upcoming college application deadlines. Yandow, who is in her last year at MVHS is determined to do an excellent job as a final gift to MVHS. She big part of MVHS for the past 22 years, and her dedication to what she does makes her well known among students across campus.

Austin Cheng | staff photographer

by Alex Cohn, editor-in chief

mother with a thick packet of papers in hand whizzes into the main office and immediately positions herself in front of the only half-door at Monta Vista in search of answers. From within the diminutive office appears the bespectacled face of Registrar Ginny Yandow. The mother asks for clarification regarding how her son should apply for secondary school reports, reports colleges use to gauge how an applicant has done in high school compared to his or her peers. Yandow replies that the mother’s son should come in and see her the following school day for all the necessary information. Slightly taken aback, the mother leaves the office. Such is the way of Yandow—direct, but teaming with common sense and experience. Yandow explained of the encounter with the confused mother, “We’re trying to get students ready to go off to college. Mom and Dad aren’t going to be there. It’s up to the student. You guys are on the verge of being adults and you have to learn to take responsibility… It’s not her responsibility to apply to college for her [son].” A critical component of MVHS’ innerworkings for the past 22 years, Yandow will be retiring this December. Her duties as registrar are many: ordering diplomas, ensuring that all student information is correct and secure, as well as sending out secondary school reports and later midyear grade reports to colleges. Eleven years ago, when Yandow first became Monta Vista’s registrar, she had to compile 300 secondary school reports. The workload has tripled as Yandow processed about 1,000 secondary school reports last year-a number she expects will be eclipsed this year. In all her years as registrar, Yandow has dealt with with many unconventional requests. Yandow remembered, “One of the most trying ones was a student who applied to 36 private schools as a senior. That was stressful.”

Being able to precisely handle such an enormous workload, Yandow possesses an extraordinary gift for what she describes as “multi-tasking.” Even during her interview with El Estoque, Yandow simultaneously answered interview questions while listening to an important situation unfolding outside. She said of a different talent of hers, “Obviously, looking at my office, I can work in a hovel, and I can work in complete chaos.” Besides that, Yandow has an incredible memory. Assistant Principal Fred Keep said, “She probably knows the names of more students than anyone on this campus. Not only current, but in the past. People will walk into here from 15 years ago and she’ll know their names and where they went and what they’re doing. She’s just remarkable.” This warm side of Yandow is not often seen by most students. Senior Taline Minassian explained, “She’s friendly and she tries to get the job done. I like her wit. She has this sarcastic side to her… I think she is just really receptive to people who are polite instead of just seeing her as someone who’s going to just take care of their secondary school reports. She would like kids if they were more polite about it and would say thank you and please--the simple stuff that she doesn’t always get to hear. I think that’s why she comes off to other people as abrasive because she’s used to dealing with students who are not polite to her.” Vargas explained about dealing with so many students, “You have to be [to the point with students] because you have to deal with almost 2,500 kids. You can’t just be chitty-chatty. You have to be ‘Hey what do you want?’” In fact, Vargas and Keep, as well as Secretary Judy Lim all learned how to handle working in the oftentimeschaotic main office from Yandow. Lim said, “She practically taught us everything we needed to know. She is

SODA

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completely mandatory by July 1, 2009. According to Assistant Principal Brad Metheany, negotiations will most likely occur with Pepsi, which has a 10-year contract with the Fremont Union High School District permitting them to sell their soda exclusively on the District’s campuses. The current contract with Pepsi provides $23,000 worth of funds that go directly toward student interest areas like the student handbooks, athletics, cheer, drama, choir, Link Crew, and Leadership. “We’ll get a substitute on some of the drinks,” said Metheany, although he believes the replacements will not gather as many funds. “My prediction is that it will take half our Pepsi income from our budget away. ASB will be the most affected.” Opinion over the signed legislation vary throughout the MVHS

the best of the best . She is a wonderful friend and if you’re lucky enough you’ll get someone like that. She is on top of everything.” “She’s sort of a wealth of knowledge… When I switched jobs here, and I switched in the middle of the month, Ms. Yandow was like the source of knowledge for me. I mean here I am supposedly ‘her boss.’ You know I’m suppose to be in charge of guidance…and I would go to her and say ‘O.K. Ginny, who gets to make this decision?’ And she would say, ‘You,’” Keep said with a laugh. Besides helping her co-workers adjust to the administrative environment, Yandow leaves behind other lasting changes to the school. The unique half-door in front of her office was put there at Yandow’s request. She said, “People used to walk in and stand right next to me...If I have a computer open or stuff next to me, most people would not look at it, but you never can tell...if they should just chance to see something they shouldn’t--that’s not acceptable.” To remedy the problem, the half-door was installed, allowing people to be able to talk to her, though not able to enter her office and see potentially sensitive information. Leaving Monta Vista behind, Yandow will have more time to spend with her three granddaughters, ages three, six and eleven, though she will miss being around students all day. “I– truly enjoy being around young people... [being with them] makes me think… [it] keeps my brain moving.” Though she will miss that element of her job, she said she will not miss getting up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready to come to work at 7:15 everyday. She added, “I’m not a morning person at all.” Vargas said of Yandow leaving, “She’s special. She’ll be greatly missed…She is anal-retentive and she knows it too, [but] it’s because she loves the kids and she does it it all for the children.”

campus. “I think it’s a good thing,” said science teacher Katheryn McElwee. “Soda is terrible. It’s got high fructose corn syrup, which we know is really bad for you, and caffeine. It increases stress hormones and this campus doesn’t need any more stress.” Social Studies teacher Viviana Montoya-Hernandez was less enthusiastic. “The intentions are good. It’s forcing students to lead healthier lifestyles, but students need to make those decisions on their own,” she said. Freshmen, who will be the most affected by the soda ban as they reach their senior year, express a relatively negative sentiment. Said freshman Susan Olfield, “School budget-wise, it’s rather detestable, although I’m not a soda person.” Freshman Roya Mirilavassani agreed. “I think kids should be allowed to drink soda,” she said, “if you’re in high school you should be old enough to make your own decisions.”

Biology classes might devolve...

few weeks ago, I sat curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa by my side and a copy of Time magazine in my hands. Usually, I’m a bigger fan of Life, but this particular issue caught my attention due to the image of a chimpanzee beside angels descending from what seemed like heaven, and the words “Evolution Wars” in large letters across the cover. As I leafed through the magazine, much to my amazement, I saw an image of the Prentice Hall book I so clearly remember from freshman year Biology. Beneath it was a quote defending Darwin’s theory of evolution. Defending it? Since when has the theory of evolution been challenged? Isn’t it one of those things that a bunch of old dead guys came up with at one point in time and since then, we have taken for granted until we study it in Biology, and then ignore it all together afterward? Apparently this year in late fall, before ninth graders in the mid-west U.S. began their unit on evolution, high school principals entered biology classrooms and read a short three-paragraph statement explaining that Darwin’s theory of evolution was simply a theory and that “as new evidence is discovered, gaps in the theory may lead to its disproval.” Puzzled, I decided to pose the situation to biology and physiology teacher Lora Lerner. “It’s really not a matter of Biology versus Christianity,” Lerner said with a smile. “Most scientists have been able to draw the clear line between science and religion and the vast majority are able to balance them. It is just unfortunate when some extremists misunderstand what one area is saying and believe only one or the other can be correct.” As Lerner continued to explain the situation and its implications, I began to realize that a very small minority exists in the US that believes religion and science contradict each other. Unfortunately, in some cases, the minority can hold vast decision-making power in influential areas such as public schools. These disputes often lead to students having mixed feelings while trying to learn in a bias-free environment. “Humans and other animals have been evolving for years now,” said freshman Pooja Boinpalli. “How can [critics] say that it hasn’t happened when there is so much evidence of it all over the world?” Although I find that Christianity fails to explain the fact that our genetic sequence only differs by a few nucleotides from a chimpanzee quite a few others have evidence proving otherwise. I continued reading the article in Time hoping to form some iota of information that this would effect MVHS in any way. Fortunately, Lerner came to the rescue once again. “I, like many other teachers at MVHS, am here to teach biological science,” she said emphatically. “I feel very strongly about it and figure, if I were to read some sort of disclaimed before my lesson, it would be like I were teaching religion and not evolution.” Lerner went on to explain how irrespective of the beliefs she carried with her at home, there was a distinct separation between science and religion, and she would only carry her scientific beliefs with her into the classroom. We live in an area in which not many people have argued the impact of the two values upon one another. In essence, I don’t know where concepts such as evolution are headed with the impact of religions breathing down their backs. For hundreds of years, the two have fought battles yet reached a conclusion without disrupting educational environments too much. Will it ever affect us? I guess time-tested theories using disclaimers simply continue to puzzle me.

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october 21, 2005

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by Austin Chen, staff photographer

Community service club Octagon held its annual pie toss during lunch on Oct. 7 in the rally court. All ASB officers, class officers, and some teachers volunteered to be pied by other students and teachers. Each ticket cost $1 and bought the purchaser two plates of whipped cream which could be thrown at the volunteers. Octagon raised over $300 in pre-sale tickets contributing to the Hurricane Katrina fundraiser.

4 5 1. Senior class Secretary Jim Chin rinses off after an onslaught of whipped cream. 2. Sophomore class President June Kim cringes while watching the pie that is about to be thrown at her face. 3. ASB Secretary Danielle Fabrizio retreats from the fire of pies. 4. Freshman class President Steven Chien gets violently pied by sophomore Dustin Chien 5. Librarian Megan Birdsong pies husband, and Physics teacher Jim Birdsong. 6. Senior class Treasurer Emily Liu sits uncomfortably with whipped cream on her face while Intra-District Council Representative Chris Lin waits for more. 6

Founding clubs for wrong reasons

Students false-heartedly creating clubs to boost applications

Indoctrination or education?

Julia Stenzel | Art Editor

very club council meeting, the same question is asked of potential new clubs. “Why do you need club status at Monta Vista?” The answer? “Having club status will allow us to use school facilities and reach out to more people at school. Now instead of a few of us doing an activity, there will be more of us doing it!” New club hopefuls often have the same rationale: they used to do something alone, but now, with club status, they can do it together! So, does this justify a need for a McDonalds or Burger King Club? Before we ate hamburgers alone. However, now we can eat them together! There is very little in place to stop this from happening. Though most clubs come up with the same generic answer, they continue to get approved, leading to a preposterous 73 – and counting – clubs on campus. Now let’s have a look at a neighboring school, De Anza College. The approximate number of students is 22,000, outnumbering MVHS by about ten times, yet MVHS’ clubs outnumber those of De Anza by nearly 20. So why do we need so many clubs? Due to the overwhelming pressure and stress at MVHS, students feel obligated to express

their possibly inept “leadership” abilities by founding and leading clubs to add intrigue to college applications. However, with 73 clubs on campus, starting a club has become more of an “assignment” or “procedure” rather than a tool for students to express their interests.

Staff Editorial

Clearly the mentality of students has changed from “Let’s start a club to bring together students who are interested in this field of study” to “Hmmm. What is Stanford looking for in this section? Leadership? Okay, let’s start a club; one signature here, a couple more here – voila! – we are now the Hungry Hippo Awareness Club (HHAC) at Monta Vista!” Because students are presented with many clubs that are interesting, they must choose and reject clubs because they cannot attend their meetings due to clashing meeting times. With 73 clubs at MVHS and only five days of meeting time, students are forced to leave clubs that they really had

a passion for. Many times, students give one club up to join another, and it turns out that the new club does not participate in any activities or does not even hold regular meetings. Junior Jack Chin, Club Commissioner, states, “An active club should have a worthy number of people – at least 10 to 15 members, as long as they are dedicated.” Ironically, many of the 73 clubs on campus fail to even have consistent meetings, and for some, less than five members show up. Clubs are meant to allow individuals to share personal interests with a devoted group of peers. They are meant for groups who have a goal to achieve. Simply stated, they aspire to actually do something. “Out of all the clubs, only about half of them are serious,” said senior Vanessa Shih, Club Commissioner. This year, the Club Commissioners plan to “weed out” inactive clubs. To ensure this, club council must exercise serious behavior. As of now, club representatives blatantly pass clubs to hurry out to lunch, adding to the overwhelming number of clubs at Monta Vista. Hopefully, with the new, reinforced rules by the Club Commissioners, active MVHS clubs will be the only clubs that remain on campus.

Alternative to planner not sufficient With use of School Loop, student responsibility decreases greatly by Neha Joshi, managing editor

or those of you who have ventured three whole pages into our student planner, you will have discovered that one of the objectives for all MVHS students is that of self-management. Throughout their high school careers, our students are expected to gain a sense of self-responsibility and be accountable for the work that they are assigned. MVHS students welcome the newest technological whim that is helping us do just not that—School Loop. School Loop is a new online feature used to help bridge the communication gap between parents, students, and teachers. The program includes a variety of features,

matador ((vibe))

all surrounding the main idea of sending a personalized e-mail out to both parents and students e v e r y d a y. I don’t really like This e-mail the idea of my grades includes h o m e w o r k being emailed home that is due every night. the next - Freshman Aprajita Yadav day, grades, and test reminders, encouraging students to begin preparing early. Although a brilliant idea by conception, School Loop has become problematic at MVHS. Since many teachers have their own

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...to ASB and all of MVHS’ clubs, who organized a garage sale that raised over $250+ for hurricane victims on Oct. 15.

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websites to post information on the courses taught, they, obviously, see no reason to repeat and reload this information into the School Loop database. Therefore, the one e-mail sent out to students does not include all of the information that they need. Many a student has complained that since their daily e-mails do not include all that they should, it is impossible to solely rely on the program for their course information. Administration and teachers hoped that by directly providing course information to students, they would less frequently hear the customary excuse of, “I didn’t do my homework because I didn’t know what was

See SCHOOL LOOP on page 20

...to the rat that crawled into the C building’s heating system on Oct. 17, filling classrooms with the scent of burning flesh and fur throughout the day.

irst day of school, first period. The door swings open, and, lo and behold, a mosaic of anti-Bush political cartoons hang from the inner door, most prominently a monkey-fied picture of the President’s head. Now on guard, I step through the doorway, and find yet more welcoming signs, most notably a Gore 2000 flag and corresponding bumper stickers on the wall. That was three years ago, but little has changed. Political cartoons, video clips from TV commercials and excerpts from political books have taken the route of squatters and found homes on school property. Teachers could and did get away with political rants in the classroom back then, and teachers can and do get away with them now. We hear a lot about making school a “safe” learning environment, and the Administration makes a legitimate effort to crack down on potential physical disturbances. But what about less tangible threats? What about the danger students face from a politically hostile teacher? Effective learning is based off mutual respect. I accept the authority of my teacher because the teacher respects my willingness to learn. But when teachers abuse this respect and use students as part of an agenda, they lose their credibility and jeopardize the learning potential of the classroom. The classroom should never be used as some kind of therapy for the politically frustrated instructor. If students are afraid to ask teachers questions out of a fear of rejection, then the entire point of a classroom is lost. A student may as well read out of a textbook, without a teacher there, and achieve the same goal of learning a subject matter, without being able to challenge or clarify it, if instructors continue to propagate political causes. This isn’t to say that teachers shouldn’t discuss politics and current events. I should hope that teachers do discuss world affairs, especially considering the appalling level of voter apathy and misinformation among youth. Class forums on news topics can help students attain a greater understanding of how events in the world affect their own lives, and makes for more informed voters in the future. However, unless students are made to feel comfortable voicing their personal beliefs, political discussions hardly serve the purpose of education. It’s easy to say that it’s the individual student’s responsibility to voice his or her opinions. Realize the context, though. This is Monta Vista High School, one of the most academically competitive schools in the nation. Many students won’t mind stomaching their political grievances for fear that failure to do so could interfere with their getting an A. But students should mind. School is about more than getting by; it’s about personal growth. Unless minority opinions are heard and made to feel welcome, a “forum” only works to confirm what students may already think, rather than challenging them and making them either more ardent or questioning of their convictions. In the interest of social responsibility, I urge educators to temper their personal biases and promote classroom openness this election season and onwards. Our education system should create critical thinkers, not dummies for biased teachers’ political ventriloquism. ...to English teacher Erin Robbins who recently had her first baby, Emma Kate Robbins, on Sept. 20. Congratulations!

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october 21, 2005

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V a r y i n g Can they take our soda from us? Viewpoints by Aniqa Hasan, staff writer

by Nandini Dasarathy, staff writer

s students discovered that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had recently approved a bill banning high fat foods and drinks that contained less then 50 percent fruit or vegetable content, they were all but happy. The fact of the matter is: America is not getting any thinner. If nothing is done to stop the rising obesity in the United States, including California, the amount of people struggling with obesity will only go higher. According to Schwarzenegger, California spends $28 billion a year on obesity-related health problems. By cutting junk food from school lunches, California is finally doing its part in contributing to the anti-obesity effort. Until now, high school students have been given the choice between making a healthy choice over an unhealthy one. Elementary and middle school students are not given the choice, but high school students are thought to be more mature and should be able to, in theory, eat what is good for them. High school students have abused this privilege by having routine fatty food splurges, instead of eating junk food in moderation. How many students will, given the choice between a slice of pizza and a salad, choose the salad? However, if all the choices given are healthier, the students will, by default, have to eat healthier at lunch. According to sophomore Eric Chen, “If you take those junk foods away, we will start trying healthier foods and eventually start to like them.” Schools claim students’ safety is their first priority, but since when are heart disease, diabetes, and infertility- all obesity-related health ailments- safe? Every cup of yogurt a student takes over a cookie is 10 less grams of fat-filled, sugarridden, artery-clogging filth coursing through their blood stream. If a love of health foods is instilled at a young age, there is a higher chance that as adults, people will reach for a granola bar instead of a bag of chips. High schools can now say they helped prevent America from becoming a more obese society. Although schools may be losing money by having to give up junk foods and soda, they cannot even argue that they are losing so much revenue that it does not make up for the amount of health benefits that are received. To compensate for the amount of money schools would be losing, PepsiCo, the makers of Pepsi, a company that is currently responsible for a large sum of money coming into our school, recently introduced a new line of water, juices, and sports drinks that will bring back $2 million to the schools. This, plus the numerous health benefits, is enough to make up for our school’s lost revenue. It is time for us to stop hoping for the health situation among America’s youth to change; now is the time to take action. The Governor’s new idea will surely lead to better, healthier lives for us and all of California’s kids. Anyway, if, after all this, you still find your day incomplete without the twice daily fries, pizza, and crispy burrito, you can always head out during lunch. Just promise not to threaten to sue the school 20 years from now when you’re suffering from severe health problems as a result of an unhealthy diet.

Pro

tanding outside a local elementary school, one can see a plethora of young children nagging their mommies to make decisions for them. Being only five years old, they don’t know any better. It’s difficult to choose between wearing a purple hat or a pink hat, writing the ABCs or playing with friends, or having brownies or a salad for lunch. But after ten years or so, Mom trusts them to make their own choices because she knows that they are old enough to be responsible. The problem is, Arnold Schwarzenegger has now assumed the responsibility of regulating the diets of schoolchildren. His concern is valid; the increasing rates of obesity among children need to be contained. However, banning vending machines arouses discontent and takes away the freedom of choice, persuading school-age children to discover other means to continue their junk food consumption. Most of the time, the addiction to junk food originates at home. If parents encourage the consumption of unhealthy items, their child will take up this habit for the rest of his or her life. Granted, there are plenty of households that buy their children fast food everyday for lunch because they’re too “busy” to make one. Parent encouragement makes more of an impact on a child’s life than any other outside force. When these kids come home from school, they open their cabinet to find chocolate, cakes, cookies, chips, soda, and more. It’s a choice between a pack of mouthwatering Chips Ahoy cookies or bland carrot sticks. The answer should be obvious. Lessons of nutrition have been an essential part of the curriculum starting from preschool. It’s not that students have absolutely no clue and are being brainwashed by brand names into consuming their products. They have the knowledge necessary to make good choices and ought to fend for themselves instead of having the government say what is good for them. Not only is this an infringement of the student’s right to have a choice, but it is also unfair to those who are health conscious and consume junk food in limited quantities. Since the rule applies only to the obese, why penalize those who responsibly deal with what they eat? The proposition obviously does not look to the wishes of these responsible students who truly make Julia Stenzel | Art Editor the right decision. If not at school, there are plenty of other places to get these unfavorable items. Many still bring bags of chips or cookies from home, parents bring them lunches from popular fast food restaurants, and local corner stores still exist for the convenience of the junk food addict. Sophomore Vinson Yuen added, “Our nation has grown up on vending machines, and even if there isn’t one, there is always the 7-11. Kids are still going to eat junk food no matter if vending machines are there or not.” Removing vending machines will not cease the addiction problem. Junk food is like any other controlled substance, if not found at one source, people will jump to the next, and so forth until their desires are satisfied.

Voices of MV “Why do they have to ban what we enjoy? People who drink soda should be able to drink soda, and those who don’t can buy water or bring something else. No one is forcing them to buy soda.” - Junior Han Youn

“People should be allowed to buy soda if they want to. The real problem is there needs to be more variety in drinks we can buy here. People feel kind of obligated to buy soda.” - Freshman Michael Forney

“I don’t think this is even going to have an effect...I can just bring soda from my house--it costs less, anyway. It’s not like soda isn’t available to us outside of school.” - Freshman Aki Toyoshima “People who are driven enough to buy so much soda that they become obese because of it are just going to find other ways to get it, like from 711...or even worse, a fast food place.” - Freshman Brad Chew

“I won’t be around by the time it affects Monta Vista, but since it applies to all public California campuses, it’ll have an impact on UCs, and...I’m planning on going to a UC. I wonder if now I may have to reconsider.” - Senior Piotr Kula

Statistics 55 46

“Teenagers need healthy choices, especially in school, because they may not have enough time at home in the morning to pack their own lunch.” - Senior Dana Axelsen

Con

30 7

25 6 E

52 29 5 A

14 D

On average, about how much soda do you buy at school daily? a. None b. A can/bottle every once in a while c. A can/bottle daily d. 2 cans/bottles daily e. More than 2 cans/ bottles daily Do you agree with California’s soda ban? a. Absolutely b. Good intentions, but let students choose c. I do not agree: students can drink what they want d. I strongly disagree

*Taken from a poll of 100 students from all grades

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october 21, 2005

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Lockerless locker rooms pitiful

Theft, lack of privacy, and odor create foul environment

the

extraordinarily ordinary

Life’s full of those silly little moments. Moments that, although fleeting, are cherished, for how they enliven our daily lives with humor and encapsulate life at MVHS. If you are lucky enough to experience such a moment, please share it with our school community by sending a short description of it to ElEstoque06@gmail.com. Submitted by senior Ed Young: While cross country was running reps at the railroad tracks, we noticed a train coming behind us from McClellan. After crossing McClellan, the train stopped. Perplexed, we watched as the conductor hopped off the train, ran into 7-11 to purchase snacks, ran back out and started going again. Is this really good conductor conduct?

Austin Cheng | staff photographer

LUXURY LOCKERS Students store their belongings in unlocked plastic bins in the temporary locker room, located in a portable classroom next to the student parking

lot, greatly increasing theft. The locker rooms also lack partitions, reducing privacy for students changing.

by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

unit would be unbearable. The problem of privacy is compounded by the fact that the doors are often propped open, leaving more than half the portable open to all who happen to walk by. If it’s awkward having another guy see you change, it is infinitely more awkward having the girl in your Biology class walk by and see you changing. And because the boys’ portable locker rooms are adjacent to the student parking lot, many students pass by daily while walking to their cars in order to leave campus. Administration or the PE Department should take several actions in order to resolve these issues. Most importantly, they need to create some measure of security for students’ property. Students carry around calculators, wallets, cell phones, among a slew of other pricey personal belongings which need to be protected. They could purchase large lockers for multiple students to share or ensure that a faculty member is at the locker rooms whenever they are open. Secondly, they need to provide privacy for those who wish to have it. In the past, students had the opportunity to change in stalls, but the portables have no secluded location. This could be alleviated by simple measures such as hanging sheets from the ceiling to provide a private corner. Also, they could take an unused bookshelf and place it near the door, blocking the view from the outside. No matter what path the Administration chooses to take, action is necessary. It is unfair to expose students to the conditions they are in now. With inadequate safety and privacy measures, students’ rights are compromised.

hirtless football players used to sit inside the locker room, confining their distinct odor to the boys’ locker room. With the progression of reconstruction, they are now forced to sit outside the portables, giving all who pass a pleasant view and a delightful smell. Reconstruction has taken hold of the locker rooms, forcing the Administration to convert portable classrooms to changing rooms. These portables, however, are poor substitutes for real locker rooms. They provide little more than a concealed area to change, doing a poor job in that endeavor as well. The most obvious deficiency of the temporary locker rooms is their lack of lockers. Plastic bins have been put out for storage, but bins provide absolutely no form of security. Thievery has been a major problem in MVHS’ locker rooms, made evident by the stealing of calculators, wallets, and other valuables in the boys’ locker room a week before the old locker rooms were taken down. Now, with even less protection, the number of offenses only stands to rise. Security, however, is not the only compromise made with the new locker rooms; privacy is lost as well. The portables are open rooms where everyone can see everyone. Students are self-conscious of their own bodies and are generally unwilling to bear it all in front of others. The open environment provides no opportunity for students to change in private should they wish to do so. It is fortunate that the pool is also under construction, otherwise the awkwardness for freshmen in the PE swimming

Submitted by social studies teacher Ben Recktenwald: Last week in my government classes I gave a fairly simple assignment. For each given government agency, briefly explain what it does (i.e., the IRS - collects taxes and enforces the tax code). Well, on the day it was due, a student who shall remain nameless (after all, I don’t want to embarrass senior Kipp Trieu), came to me and explained that he thinks he might have done the assignment wrong. And then he went on to show me the paper as he explained that he didn’t know some of the answers but he had gone online to find out. After each answer he had included a web site link to prevent any concerns of plagiarism. Everybody knows that MV students are thorough, but... Submitted by junior Austin Cheng: I was in my AP U.S. History class when the teacher had absolutely no idea what to do for the day because of the energy blackout. Without the lights, we would not be able to read our thick packets of Federalist Papers. While the teacher was brainstorming aloud potential activity possibilities, my friend to the right said in complete seriousness, “Let’s watch a movie.” Submitted by English teacher Kelly Wong: I recently assigned my class to write a description of their “perfect mate,” as we prepared to study “Pygmalion.” I asked the students to include details about the person’s personality, looks, and other descriptive information. In response to my explanation, a male student innocently asked, “Can I just write her name?” Submitted by advisor Michelle Balmeo: Before class one morning, as I was checking my email, I got a few funny looks from my first period early bird students as I laughed out loud. Math teacher Ed Pucinelli had sent out an email encouraging us to laugh at ourselves. In the email was an photo of the cafeteria door with, immediately below the cafeteria sign, a sign posted that read, “No food or drink.”

Tenure gives job security, attracts qualified teachers Prop. 74 threatens the established tenure system, changes would shrink teacher pool by Michael Leung, staff writer

he upcoming Nov. 8 special elections in California have reignited debate on one of the most controversial issues regarding education policy: teacher tenure. The tenure system grants teachers a status of greater permanency after they complete a two-year probationary period. During this period, teachers may be dismissed for any reason, but upon receiving tenure, they attain the right to an administrative hearing and an appeal. However, this policy is being jeopardized by Proposition 74, one of the measures Californians will vote on during the special elections. If passed, the measure would extend the probationary period before a teacher can obtain tenure to five years and would allow a teacher to be dismissed immediately regardless of seniority after two consecutive “unsatisfactory” performance evaluations. So while Prop. 74 doesn’t eliminate tenure altogether, it does remove several core aspects of tenure. Thus, the crucial question for the Prop. 74 debate is whether or not tenure is a good idea. The case for Prop. 74 is similar to the anti-tenure position in general: it is an illinformed position that revolves around

a series of myths regarding the tenure system. The most popular, and perhaps most compelling, of myths is the argument that tenure does nothing more than create and preserve incompetent, unmotivated teachers, which Prop. 74 seeks to rectify by allowing immediate dismissal after two consecutive “unsatisfactory” evaluations. This argument, however, ignores the fact that the California tenure system already has a complex network of checks that filter the vast majority of such teachers out. Just how complex are these checks? When new teachers are employed they must endure a two-year probationary period before receiving tenure. During this period, teachers undergo a rigorous evaluation procedure during which they are observed by an administrator twice a year at minimum. There are three stages to each evaluation, and teachers are graded on six different standards, one of which is primary focus for that evaluation. If the teacher receives an overall grade of “unsatisfactory” or “needs improvement,” they are referred to the Peer Assistance and Review program, which sets up the teacher with a Teacher Coach. The two must meet regularly, and at the end of the program, the Teacher Coach makes a recommendation as to whether or not the

teacher deserves employment. If a teacher receives two consecutive unsatisfactory performance evaluations, then that is grounds for dismissal. “The evaluations are nerve racking for most teachers because it feels like you’re on display and being judged,” said history teacher Maria Carter-Giannini. In addition to this taxing procedure, teachers must also cope with the stress of dealing with parents and students while worrying about job security, so it is unsurprising that the average burnout rate of teachers is approximately 3 years, a commonly cited figure in teacher credential programs. The fact is, those who believe that a two-year approval process is too quick to weed out incompetent teachers simply don’t understand the difficulties associated with the teaching profession. When asked what the burnout rate for teachers was, history teacher Margaret Platt laughed and replied, “A week! Look at how many papers I have to grade! Many new teachers realize that the reality of teaching is much different from their expectations, and so are forced to leave early because they just can’t deal with the stress.” Such difficulties give ample assurance that only the most motivated teachers

successfully complete the probationary period, receive tenure, and still remain to teach. Still, some are quick to point to examples of incompetent teachers who remain because they are tenured as proof that teachers have no incentive to work hard after receiving tenure. Yet, such examples don’t prove to be widespread, systematic issues; they are merely isolated incidents that are inevitable in any job market. Carter-Giannini said, “There’s always bad people in each profession, but most teachers always want to improve what they’re doing and be better teachers.” In the end, the probationary period weeds out the vast majority of bad teachers. Now, the biggest problem with the antitenure position is that it ignores the reality of job supply. Even under the assumption that tenure does create and preserve large numbers of incompetent teachers, the solution – removing tenure, or in the case of Prop. 74, severely limiting tenure – would not even address the problem. This is because as it stands and in general, the job supply of teachers is small. Indeed, some fields always have a shortage in

see TENURE on page 20

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hen one thinks of business, asked, ‘Can I hold the bear?’ Mostly girls, but even guys [would ask]. So when I first had the a world of dull accountants, bear it was almost a fight over who had it.” pedantic middle managers, and While many enjoy the bear, its first formally attired executives tends to come to appearance has been known to provoke mind - not cuddly, stuffed bears. Yet, such a confusion from some students. Freshman bear figures prominently into the lectures of Kai Kang, who informed “What’s with Business teacher Carl Schmidt. the…” about the bear via Schmidt said, “Once e-mail, remembered the first upon a time, I thought that day Schmidt brought out having stuffed animals the bear in his Principles was just something you of Business class. “Some had in grade school.” guys were just snickering All that changed with because he was a grown one particularly lowman playing with a teddy energy class Schmidt was bear,” Kang said. Schmidt teaching a few years ago. resolved the problem by Schmidt recounted, “It was showing his students who 7th period, a little boring. was boss-the bear. Kang So I picked up a stuffed added, “It is advisable to animal I had at the time not laugh when he parades and started reading to Teacher: Business his animals around, or he the class from a book and teacher Carl Schmidt might smack you on the all of a sudden people Object: A bear that head with one of them.” started paying attention.” means business The bear not only serves The famous bear was as an attention-getter, but not purchased until later. by Alex Cohn, editor-in-chief also as a way to alleviate Schmidt remembered, stress. Schmidt explained, “About a year ago I went to a conference of teachers and there was “Maybe it brings a little bit of humanity into a vendor selling stuffed animals for use in the classroom. We have a lot of stress in this place, we really do…. not that holding the classroom. So I was really attracted a bear is going to change your day. But you to a rat and there was also a bear.” Schmidt bought both stuffed animals know, someone sees a senior girl holding a bear, you’ve got to have a smile on your and began to use them in his teaching. Schmidt said, “So I had the rat and the face. It helps with your attitude and outlook bear in my room. And all of a sudden I’d be on life. I mean, who can be angry at a bear?”

october 21, 2005

LETTERSEDITOR TO THE

elestoque06@gmail.com Is there an article that perks your interest, admiration, or fury?

El Estoque 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014

Has something at Monta Vista caught your attention? Send a letter to El Estoque responding to articles in the newspaper or issues at MVHS. Letters of any length should be submitted via e-mail or mail. They become the sole property of El Estoque and can be edited for length, clarity, or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion.

Nandini Dasarathy | Staff Artist

Making details ‘Marvel’-ous

by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

Item: Bookshelf [Freshmen]

Item: Buildings [Sophomores]

Item: Octavius aka Doc Oc [Juniors]

Item: Beast [Seniors]

Idea: Matisse Yoshihara

Idea: Ben Lin, June Kim, Natalie Tyson, Ram Sachs, Leslie Kon, and Katherine Hu Materials: Lauren Greenwood brought cardboard; Dana Mack brought paint; Exacto knives brought by June Kim

Idea: Kim Ang, Cheryl Ho

Idea: Stephanie Cham, Anita Koo, Emily Liu, Jim Chin, and Onur Erbiligin

Materials: Picked up by Matisse Yoshihara; Knife brought by Ryan Satterlee Construction: Cut by Brian Miller and Jessica Cheng

Construction: Measured and sketched by June Kim, Leslie Kon, Matthew Whitehill, and Vivek Sivakumar; Design by Grace Lee

Finishing: Painted by Connie Wu, Annie Wu, Natasha Desai, Emma Drysdale, and Steven Chien

Finishing: Windows knocked out by Torin Caroll

Materials: Paint picked up by Winnie Chan and Carolyn Chuang; Styrofoam and painting supplies picked up by Monica Tong and Jessica Lau; Wood picked up by Alex Gatley Construction: Built by Pamela Ho Finishing: Painted by Pamela Ho

Materials: Paint picked up by Anita Koo, Stephanie Cham, and Onur Erbiligin; Projector from Mr. Hambleton Construction: Traced by Anita Koo, Jim Chin, and Emily Liu. Finishing: Bad paint job by Onur Erbiligin and Jim Chin; Complete paint makeover by Anita Koo

Homecoming hopefuls in floatbuilding fury Taking a closer look at MVHS floatbuilding and the people who make it happen by Stephanie Snipes, centerspread editor

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Photos courtesy of staff photographers Austin Cheng, Stephanie Snipes, and Edward Young

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1. Daily Planet globe in Metropolis 2. Lamp and watercooler in Daily Planet headquarters 3. Window with blinds looking out into Metropolis 4. Lex Luthor with city of Metropolis behind him 5. Cut-outs of stars that the sophomores made 6. Sophomore Ram Sachs works hard with papier-mâché. 7. Sophomores Katherine Hu and Matt Ie begin to make the buildings of Gotham City. 8. Sophomore Chery Sutjahjo helps out her classmates by holding onto supplies. 9. The Green Goblin from Spiderman 10. Backdrop with view of New York City and with Spiderman comic strip on top 11. Juniors Jonathan Park and Phil Lee help with papier-mâché. 12. Class of ‘07 floatbuilding sign to recruit juniors 13. The number of buckets of paint that the seniors have been using 14. One of the X-Men, Gambit 15. Senior Michael Lin concentrates as he paints. 16. Senior Vanessa Shih paints the X-Men symbol.

entertainment

Wherefore art thy

sword?

Choreographed fighting in “Romeo and Juliet” intensifies drama by Samika Savanur, staff writer

Austin Cheng | staff photographer

ove. Feud. Tragedy. Emotion. These are the beginning of the many characteristics deeply woven into the timeless classic, “Romeo and Juliet.” This fall, MVHS drama students will be presenting this popular Shakespearean play incorporating aspects of the Renaissance era such as dance, music, and sword combat. New drama teacher and director Holly Cornelison had a vision for this production. Cornelison feels that the story is accessible on many levels to a variety of people. During the start of rehearsals, her drama students discussed the Montague-Capulet feud and how many of the characters were oblivious of it even existing. They saw the two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet, “as healers to the community.” “In essence, [they] heal the wounds of the community that has been blindly forced to follow an ancient g r u d g e ’s path,” s a i d

Cornelison. “Most of Shakespeare’s works have profound life stories and lessons that seem to be almost ahead of their time, but my theory is that time keeps repeating itself with different fads and fashions…our plight continues to remain the same and vary differently for each individual.” Renaissance style sword combat has a significant role throughout the play. Students

MVHS Drama presents “Romeo and Juliet” November 3-5 $6 in advance $7 at the door acting in the several fight scenes throughout the play were trained to use real swords. Cornelison hired professional actor combatant Bob Borwick, from the Society of American Fight Directors, to choreograph the fights in the production. She and Borwick met 11 years ago when they both were working professionally as actors. Cornelison was then introduced to his styles and skills as a choreographer. “People who work in theatre tend to stay very involved with one another…it’s a small world,” said Cornelison. For the play, Borwick thought about the importance of setting some of the character relationships. He and Cornelison felt that the dialogue between each character should be heard, so they both decided on an artistic approach to highlight significant lines throughout each fight scene. Borwick tried to differentiate the scenes for being more truthful than being realistic. He said, “It’s hard to say what real is. The violence is designed to further the story and get the audience to feel something from the characters. But we wanted to keep the actors safe.” Cornelison also mentioned, “Stage combat is a very specific skill, and if not choreographed and taught carefully, can be very dangerous.” It took about three days in September for Borwick and the students acting in the fight

scenes to choreograph and learn each movement. “Key factors in a fight scene include, strong character desires, strong relationships between the characters, and an eye and ear toward serving the play,” said Borwick. “The director and I usually discuss the general shape of a fight scene before the rehearsal, so I have an idea of the overall look that we are going for,” said Borwick. “As for the moves, I usually wait until I have the actors. Then I take what they bring to each character and hopefully choreograph using their strengths while still serving the play.” Borwick spends half the time working with high school students. He really enjoys their willingness to try new things in theatre, their creativity, as well as their energy. His experience working with MVHS students was fantastic. “The cast is very focused and committed, and the students in Ms. C o r n e l i s o n ’s class have been very respectful a n d

attentive,” said Borwick. The students involved in the fight scenes enjoyed the experience of working with a professional, like Borwick. Senior Thomas Oldfield said, “It was incredibly cool

see PLAY on page 20

Decision-making difficulty troubles student artists Two seniors learn to deal with personal challenges while applying for art school by Vikram Srinivasan, managing editor

f all the little things her mom gave her when she was young, senior Helen Ip remembers a makeup swatch. “I thought it was a frickin’ paint palette and I was in love with it. Ever since then I’ve been fixated on this color thing.” So began a journey in art that would bring Ip to the trying crossroads in her education that she faces today. The MVHS senior wants more than anything to attend art school, but an underdeveloped portfolio may keep her from realizing her dream of being a graphic designer. Ip’s dilemma is one faced by many students looking to enter specialty schools, such as those in art, photography, and even cooking. A skills-based education demands an enormous deal of commitment—commitment that even the most talented of students might not be sure they’re ready for, at least until the last minute. “It’s so unfair. I’m only seventeen. I shouldn’t have to make this decision,” said Ip. The art school application process is very demanding, requiring portfolios containing 10-20 pieces of artwork. For students, preparing those pieces can take as long as a year to a year and a half, and every work needs to be of high quality. “They say generic things on their website,” said Ip. “But the more crass thing about it is how they judge you on your

worst piece of art.” And for students who haven’t always known what they wanted to do, compiling that portfolio can be a daunting task. Ip only decided on art as a career at the end of her junior year. Now, Ip is forced with making a difficult decision that demands swallowing some of her pride, or what fellow senior and friend Jiahui Cui dubbed the “De Anza stigma.” Both seniors are considering taking a year of school at De Anza so they can work on their art portfolios before transferring to an art school for four more years. Far from being an easy choice, Cui said, “When you work your butt off, and then you go to De Anza, you feel like high school is completely wasted.” Ip tried to gauge her shot at being accepted to an art school, and possibly avoiding De Anza, based on the work she had done for her MVHS art classes by consulting some private art teachers and getting criticism on her work. “There was this other art teacher, and he was like, ‘I want you to cheat,’” she said. “He started talking in Chinese, and he was like, ‘This is bad, this is bad.’ ” The teacher offered to lend her the work of other students to copy and use as her own. At first, Ip’s reaction was disillusionment. “I was so depressed; I went to work today and I was about to cry.””

see ART on page 20

Judy Liang | staff photographer HEART FOR ART Senior Helen Ip proudly displays one of the sketches from her art portfolio on Oct. 17. Ip must submit multiple pieces of artwork in her art school application.

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entertainment

The first impression of Annie’s Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies from Whole Foods grocery store is that they are copycats of the mass-produced Pepperidge Farms Cheddar Goldfish. To the eyes, the only difference is that one cracker pretends to live underwater while the other pretends to live on land. Once the taste buds take the test to see whether or not the natural, organic bunnies are proven to be worth the price. Rather than being inflated like the smiling fishes, the bunnies are flat with no visible expression. The satisfaction of buying the crackers comes from the first bite. An explosion of cheddar cheese fills the mouth without excessive saltiness. Unlike Pepperidge Farms Goldfish which contain bunches of crunch, touches of flakiness complete the uniqueness of Annie’s Bunnies. At only $2.49 for a box of wholesome snacking without chemicals and trans fat, these are worth the small splurge to treat the mouth and body right.

Film presents an artistic view of becoming a bounty hunter by Matt Wang, staff writer

ver and over you hear in the preview, “My name is Domino Harvey. My name is Domino Harvey. My name is Domino Harvey.” OK, we heard you the first time. The movie Domino is a story about a misfit child unsatisfied with the “normal” lifestyle who seeks to become a human bounty hunter. Domino’s natural affinity toward fighting spurs her to learn the art of weaponry at the age of 12. Her relationships with her boss, Ed (Mickey Rourke) and his righthand man Choco (Edgar Ramirez) both represent her unspoken need of belonging. Their loyalty as a team is admirable. Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) seems like nothing more than an angry yet beautiful woman cursing and launching bullets through the air. Her behavior is barbaric, to say the least, yet it is captivating in an

awesome blend of gorgeous and destructive. Director Tony Scott successfully creates a wild, unrestrained style of screenplay. It is not like the Bourne Supremacy with its head-splitting “fight” scenes, but rather like a beautifully orchestrated symphony. Violins, cellos, violas,

visuals. Many times scenarios are played, rewound, and then changed to an alternate end. However convoluted it may seem, I laud the director for conquering the most common flaw when dealing with unorthodox cinematography. Scott’s handle on the consistency is superhuman, and it contributes to the overall composition of the film without blemish. It would seem that the heroine is indeed Domino herself, but the story delves into a world of multiple stories. Fully equipped with mobsters, casino kings, a reality TV crew, and an underlying story of a dying child, the advanced plot slightly overshadows Domino which, in my opinion, makes the character more credible and down-to-earth. Domino is no less than a masterpiece, completely mastering the art of cinematography, character development, and complex plot sequencing.

and flutes are replaced with overlaid images, slowmo and freeze frames, hyper edits, zooms, and graffiti-style

LIST

Sick and tired of the same old school lunch? Spice up your afternoon meal by trying out one of these exciting themed lunches.

German lunch sausage pizza, pretzel, root beer Hawaiian lunch Hawaiian pizza and punch, Tropical Skittles Mexican lunch Bean ’n Cheese, Chicken ’n Rice, Crispy Beef burrito, taco pocket Patriotic lunch red slushie, bagel with cream cheese, Blueberry Sour Patch Kids

comic review

Vegan lunch french fries, fruit shaker, water Liquid lunch Cup of Noodles, Snickers left in the sun, assortment of drinks Supersized lunch jumbo hot dog, large pretzel, large muffin Idaho lunch french fries, curly fries, chili fries, potato chips

in the

HALLWAYS

Preschool lunch sandwich, apple, milk I-spend-my-money-on-Pearl-MilkTea-and-not-this lunch nothing

U2 performs at the Oakland Arena

11/9 concert

MVHS Drama performs Romeo and Juliet

11/3-5 play

Imogen Heap releases “Speak for Yourself”

Cartoon backpacks were the biggest thing in elementary school, and now they’re making a comeback at MVHS. Though character backpacks started out as a “senior tradition,” now students of different ages have been sporting their favorite cartoons and superheroes around campus.

11/1 music

Prime featuring Uma Thurman premieres

10/28 movie

Ranma ½ is a series of Japanese graphic novels written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. The story focuses on a teenage martial artist named Ranma. While on a training trip in China, Ranma falls into a magical spring and becomes cursed, turning into a girl whenever he touches cold water. But despite his mixed sexuality, Ranma is quite the ladies’ man. He is constantly pursued (and abused) by love-stricken girls. This lays the groundwork for some interesting adventures involving Ranma and his pals. Overall, the series provides a fun read. A typical novel usually consists of half a dozen semi-related mini stories. The miniplots do not make much sense, but are still funny in a clever and random kind of way. Takahashi builds upon the plots’ silliness by completely exaggerating her characters’ emotions and throwing in tons of slapstick humor. Although this is a very cheap formula for comedy and it lacks laugh-outloud moments, readers are guaranteed to keep a smile throughout the entire novel.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire premieres

food review

Domino: more than just child’s play

11/18 movie

cd review

Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park is back with his unique style, but this time it is recorded under the name Fort Minor. “The Rising Tied,” his self-produced album, is filled with self-written songs which he has categorized as hip-hop. Although the album debuts on Nov. 22, three songs are available for listening on the website, www.fortminor.com. None of these include the typical soft, suave beats of radio hip-hop. The introduction of “Believe Me” sounds like another dramatic opening to a screaming rock song, but once the bass beats and lucid rap begin, Shinoda’s ingenuity amazes the listener. “Remember the Name” has so many melodic layers to it that the wonder lies in the fact that Shinoda played every single instrument in it. Here, tambourines, bass, strings, and drums come together in an unlikely combination to support a slow, pounding rhythm of chants. However, “Petrified” contains raw, responsive yells over electric tones. Without doubt, these three previews give the ears fresh sounds and increase anticipation for the debut of The Rising Tied.

october 21, 2005

the

el estoque

february 3, 2006

entertainment

Quirky games for quirky people fun as you make it though, so as an added recommendation, refrain from playing with people who have a bad attitude. But with a whole “23 ways to win!” and pictures of graves, cookies, and war tanks adorning the cards, Fluxx is sure to become a definite favorite.

by Symrin Chawla, staff writer

Fluxx: “The card game with ever-changing rules!”

or those too simple-minded to achieve the art of a well-played poker game, Fluxx is the way to go. It can fill up a lonely night or perhaps even a particularly long block of awkward silence if you have the right, let’s say, “Fluxxability.” With four types of cards including Keeper cards, which, unfortunately, have no connection to Quidditch, it can get a bit confusing for first-time players. Once you’ve got the hang of it though, Fluxx is an excellent addition to anyone’s game collection. For those less skilled in arithmetic, minor math skills are required, which is probably why the makers have labeled the game for those ages 880. In other words, know that 1+2=3 if you expect to follow along the twists and turns in the “ever-changing rules” of this game. Players start out with three cards and spend the rest of the game playing any card they want to change the rules of the game, the motive of the game, or the events within the game. To win the game, you must fulfill a “Goal,” which can also change throughout the duration of the game. With numerous end Goals of “War = Death,” “Toast,” and “Squishy Chocolate,” all of which correspond to certain Keeper cards, Fluxx is as wacky as it sounds and potentially a very addicting card game. Fluxx is only as

Chez Geek: “You can’t throw them out…they live here!”

or those not enrolled in a French class, “Chez Geek” translates to “the geek’s house.” But after playing this card game, it is puzzling that it is not called Chez Slacker instead, as the entire game revolves around obtaining the most points for being the biggest s l a c k e r. It’s the card game version of SIMs that is absolutely hilarious to play with your friends, w h o , as soon as dealt cards, become your roommates in the slacker world. All the players get jobs and income, which of course, are slacker-worthy. Cards are filled with time consuming activities such as dumpster diving, justifiable homicide, and sci-fi conventions which can either raise or lower your slacker level. The box says it all in it’s warning; “No actual maturity required.” A warning, which is missing on the box though, is this: Do not play this game at family game night! What with its repetitive references to “nookies,” “bong,” “booze,” and more than just several other un-family oriented things, Chez Geek is the perfect

replacement for movie night with friends and nothing more. Guillotine: “The revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head.”

on’t be fooled by the ever-so-witty pun on the box. Playing this game is more like a caricature of a history lesson than anything else. The mission: behead the most nobles during the French Revolution and gain the most points by using trickery and witchcraft (a.k.a action cards) to fix the lineup to the guillotine so you get to behead the French nobles worth the most points. Yes, it’s quite a mouthful, and the mission does sound perfectly lovely until you realize there’s no miniature guillotine to chop off the cards’ heads with. I would recommend playing this game with a paper shredder or a pair of rusty old scissors to shake it up a little and add a bit more drama into the executions. The pictures of French nobles are quite entertaining on their own…but staring at them for a good ten seconds just about covers all the perks of playing Guillotine. So if you’re looking for a game to play while babysitting some sadistic little youngsters, this should be your first choice. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a laugh and a good time, Chez Geek and Fluxx are two much better options.

Singers serenade staff and students Variations prepares to perform for school on Valentine’s Day

by Aniqa Hasan, staff writer

here’s a knock at the door. All eyes turn to stare as half a dozen red and pink clad students file into the room. “Excuse us, but may we deliver a singing valentine for ....?” Whispers can be heard around the classroom and her cheeks start burning, as her two best friends discreetly give each other high fives in the back of the room. She hesitantly makes her way up to the front of the classroom and seats herself on a stool. The choir then breaks out in a chorus of “One Fine Day” while slowly surrounding her. The girl sinks down on her stool, attempting to disappear as giggles erupt across the classroom. It’s Valentine’s Day. And, of course, with it comes the everpopular singing valentines, courtesy of Monta Vista Variations. Every year since 1998, students in the choir class have been given the responsibility of relaying a friend’s love and appreciation to another through music. People buy grams in the weeks prior to Valentine’s Day, and on the actual day, Variations sings to those individuals during their classes. Though the program takes place during school and is supervised by Variations teacher Shari D’Epiro, it is mostly studentrun and organized. Variations students sell the grams and are then responsible for

Q’s

What is your most embarrassing Valentine’s Day moment?

What would be your perfect Valentine’s Day evening?

What is your worst Valentine’s Day memory?

working out schedules so that each person who was bought a gram receives it. The entire process begins in early January. Variations is split into three groups of 10. Then, as Senior Chen Chen Jiang said, “Our teacher gives us preliminary songs. If we have music in mind already, then we Aniqa Hasan | staff photographer can change our songs.” FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART A Variations group breaks out its newly-choreographed moves as Each group chooses a they practice with junior Mandy Lucas on Jan. 25 in the choir room to prepare for Valentine’s Day. good learning experience for them.” total of two songs, ranging from “Kiss the Senior Eric Chai, a two-year member of Girl” to “For the Longest Time.” Then begins Variations, said he enjoys working on the the rest of the process, which includes the memorization, choreography, and practice singing valentines. “You get to bond with of each individual song for every group. a group of people. You get to experience Rehearsal includes both class time during working on choreography and singing in a the month prior to Valentine’s Day, as well smaller group than usual.” Singing valentines allow people to work as several hours of practice a week outside of class. When Valentine’s Day arrives, in smaller groups, forming the bonds that each group misses a day of school in order Variations is all about. Said Chai, “It’s a different experience from the things we to give everyone their singing valentines. D’Epiro said of the process of singing usually do in choir. We express ourselves valentines, “Aside from getting to have with choreography.” Unlike last year, this year’s groups will a fun day of singing for their friends and be comprised of both males and females. teachers, I think the process of putting the serenades together with their group is a see VALENTINE on page 20

Teacher Kelly Wong

Sophomore Brittany Azevedo

Junior Lillian Zhang

“[During a musical program], I stepped on my partner’s foot “Breaking up with my boy“Probably getting a valentine and from a boy I didn’t like in first friend a week before Valentripped, knocking over the tine’s day in 7th grade. “ grade.” microphones...” “It would comprise of time with my husband and good food and drink.” “When I got a homemade love Valentine from an exboyfriend.”

“Walk[ing] “Dinner in the city on top of through Times Square in New York drinking hot a building, with candles.” chocolate and holding hands. “In third grade, the guy I wanted to be my valentine did not like me.”

“I ate cookies a crush made me and had an allergic reaction.”

The dangers of invisibility

If I was invisible Then I could just watch you in your room If I was invincible I’d make you mine tonight Yeah, it’s pretty creepy. But Clay Aiken sings it, so who wouldn’t want him stalking you? (Okay, well that’s debatable, I know). I must say, I hate American Idol, but Clay Aiken’s song “Invisible” came back into my life a couple of days ago when I heard a rumor about a new drug that makes you feel like you’re invisible. Yes, a lot of people would say that’s pretty awesome. A lot of people would also say that’s pretty stupid, probably because they visualize you standing stark naked on the freeway, expecting cars to go straight through your “invisible” body. A year ago, I would have set myself out on a mission to find the invisible drug. So why am I not going on that quest right now? Just listen to my story. This summer I took an Introduction to Social Psychology class at De Anza. For the first three weeks, I was quite content sitting, every now and then, amiss some rather attractive college students and a lovely middle-aged woman. The assignment: Write a paper about what you would do if you were invisible for a day. Be completely honest. There was a fancy method to turn in your paper to ensure anonymousness and allow for brutal honesty in our confessions. Of course, in my paper, I went on about how many cars I would steal, the massive amounts of money that would be missing from banks, the clothes that would be gone from Valley Fair, and the people I would stalk. I also had an ingenious plan to break into the school office, hack into the computer and change my transcript to ensure my admission into Harvard instead of having to return to De Anza after senior year. (Note to Administration: I pinky swear I will NEVER do that). A week later, the teacher gave us back the results. In our single class of 31 people, just about everyone that I genuinely respected had admitted to stealing, breaking into places, and stalking others. But that was all expected. What blew me away though, were the three people in the class who confessed they would have raped someone, had they the power to be invisible. One person confessed that he would have killed someone. Invisibility isn’t so cool anymore, is it? The class ended, summer ended, school started, and I got over my fear of college students. But that feeling of thinking you trusted someone, and then finding out they were…twisted…has stuck with me. Now Clay Aiken, he’s a pretty jolly-looking fellow. What’s saying that another person singing his song isn’t so jolly? That makes it a whole lot more…wrong. Appearance is a very strong and useful thing. Everyone trusts the pretty people because the pretty people, they just don’t do bad things. If you don’t believe me, go look up Jack the Ripper. He was an attractive fellow, which is why all the attractive ladies opened up their doors for him. I know, it sucks, but that’s the way we are. I judged all the people in my class based on their appearance. The clothes they wore, their hair, shoes, the pins on their backpacks. I never thought they would stoop to such low levels. What I didn’t realize was that people do things based on reputation, not morality. Back to the drug, then. If it makes you feel invisible, it’s giving you the same sense of security that you can do anything you want without society’s eyes watching over you. And then being high at the same time probably only increases the chances that you’ll do something reckless, a.k.a, murder. You think you know someone, but when the lights go out, their intentions change. So what am I trying to say? Don’t turn off the lights.

el estoque

entertainment

october 21, 2005

Biggest Japanese import since Pokémon Japanese crossword alternative, Sudoku proves to bring new challenge to MVHS by Austin Cheng, staff writer

ired of those confusing word puzzles that cannot be solved? If a newspaper or word scramble book was opened up, one could fine a bunch of jumbled letters such as LNOGLETIIU. Right off the bat it doesn’t make very much sense, does it? One could spend hours trying to unscramble these letters and get absolutely no progress done. Well there is a new kind of puzzle out there that has taken pencils with chipped teeth marks by storm: Sudoku. You don’t need a vast knowledge of vocabulary, or a computer mind to solve this puzzle. In fact, it isn’t even a word game, but actually a numbers game. All the knowledge you need is to know how to count from one to nine. There isn’t any math involved because it’s a game of logic.

4 6

8 6

7 6

4 2

5 3

2 6

4 6

Tip: Transcribe this puzzle onto a sheet of graph paper so when erasing mistakes, the ink defining the boxes does not wear away.

Sudoku was invented in Japan around the 1980s, and brought to life in other parts of the world when Wayne Gould, a retired judge, became hooked on the puzzles. He decided to create a computer program that would develop new puzzles, thus making it simple for newspapers to put a new sudoku everyday. The rules of the puzzle are simple. Fill each of the 3x3 boxes with the numbers one through nine. At the same time make sure that each row and column of nine are also filled with numbers one through nine. It may seem easy at first, but once you start putting the pencil to the paper, things can get pretty complicated. You can find yourself writing numbers and then erasing them multiple times. Sudoku is a great way to challenge the students of MVHS because it does not work on the basis of intelligence, but rather on logic. The math level that a person has taken is not important, given that he or she can count from one to nine. The best way to start out on a puzzle is to use the numbers already given and fill out one 3x3 box first, arranging the numbers based on where it shouldn’t go considering the location of the same numbers in other rows. Never get too comfortable with leaving a number in a box and refuse to change it because there always may be a number that needs to be placed in the same row later on. The best thing that can be done to solve sudoku puzzles is to use a pencil and eraser. After completing one row or column, always double check with the perpendicular row or column to make sure that there are no repeated numbers. Senior Katie Near, Sudoku lover and daily solver, said, “I first work with the rows with the most numbers. I try and see what numbers fit. It’s also a lot of trial and error.” Junior Evan Wells, given a sudoku puzzle for the first time said, “Don’t randomly put numbers. You should rather use process of elimination and try not to get too complicated in strategy.” Wells had such a good time solving his first Sudoku puzzle that he said, “I’m going to print out like a million of these and do them one a day.” Despite the long length of time that can be spent on these puzzles, Near says, “Start on easy ones to build up

your confidence, and then try the hard ones. Don’t give up.” Sudoku puzzles are a great way to pass the time away in a constructive way during the boring hours of the day. What makes them stand out above all other puzzles is that nobody can get stumped at one section and be forced to give up. There’s always a way to solve.

Sudoku Websites CAT SUDOKU

http://www.beckysweb.co.uk/sudoku/flickrsudoku. asp?t=cat Here’s a cool website that provides a game of sudoku using images of cats instead of numbers.

WEB SUDOKU

http://www.websudoku.com/ If there is a craving for more sudoku grids, more can be found on this website.

DAILY SUDOKU

http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml If there is a real bad craving for sudoku grids everyday, this website provides a new sudoku everyday.

SUDOKU PUZZLE HELPER

http://www.forret.com/tools/sudoku.asp If this sudoku grid is so stumping, this website will take in the numbers that have been already filled in and help solve it.

BOXER JAM

http://www.boxerjam.com/ A colorful interactive sudoku website with many sound effects and the ability to put in guesses before giving your final answers.

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El Estoque reaches over 2,400 students, teachers, and community members. Contact elestoque06@gmail.com to in-

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sports

Cross country girls in best season yet Varsity pushes to be top team during Morris’ last year coaching

n Nov. 1, the varsity girls team’s determination, motivation, and hard work paid off as they placed first place in league, defeating their main rival Los Gatos High. However, the CCS meet on Nov. 12 turned out differently from what the team expected. The team placed second, unable to defeat Carlmont High School. However, MVHS qualified for the state championship that will be held on Nov. 26. Two weeks before the CCS meet took place, Coach Mike Morris said, “This year the team has had their best chance yet. These particular girls are ‘seasoned’ veterans, and they are a lot more serious about the sport than most of the kids.” As the team trained intensely week by week, it was the consistency of many of the same runners each year that gave the team the most strength. Runners such as junior Angela Hsu and senior Stephanie Cham have been on the team for the past three years. Each year of training and work with the same girls creates a family-type atmosphere and a well-conditioned team with each runner supportive of her teammates. Cham said, “You could say we’re pretty competitive with each other but in a good way because we want to help the team and each other get better.” With friendly competition going on between team members, each runner’s experience gives the team another push toward success. Most of the girls have been running since middle school; Freshman Jean Feng, the only underclassman on the varsity team, has been running competitively since sixth grade. As one of the fastest girls on the team, Feng’s speed and agility make a huge impact that help the girls’ chances at doing well at meets. “It is nice to be fast,” said Feng. “However, it’s important to keep pushing yourself until you think you have reached your peak moment or time in running.” Because of placing second for the last two years in CCS, the team had more motivation for improving and claiming first place. Before the CCS meet, Hsu said, “We have been so close these past two years and this year, we are even stronger, so our motivation is to do better and get first this year. It seems like we started out strong

Austin Cheng | staff photographer

INTENSITY Freshman Jean Fang and junior Lisa Worsham compete with over a hundred varsity runners on Nov.12 at the CCS championships.

and each year we get even stronger.” Beating Los Gatos was the team’s main focus before the race. They had only raced against their team once this season and were defeated. They knew that Los Gatos was their main competition. Throughout the race at the league meet, all the girls ran well, with the top four getting their fastest times ever. Placing first in league proved to them that they are as good as they wanted to be and the amount of effort that went into the race paid off. “They have made steady progress over last year and last year was a great one. They have been ranked in the top five in CCS all season and on Nov. 1 defeated Los Gatos for the league championship- a team that was ranked higher. Every girl has improved over last year and some have been

amazing,” said Morris. By getting second in the CCS meet for the past two years, there was a need to change their second place streak to first. Yet, the team successfully qualified for the state competition, which is their next hurdle to overcome. “Sometimes you have a really good race, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you’re disappointed, and sometimes you get frustrated. Each day is different but in the end you learn to appreciate running no matter how well you do, because there [is] nothing left but to run with your heart,” said Cham. Currently, the team looks forward to the state meet, improving on their running

see TOP NOTCH on page 20

Rowland retires after 20 years coaching at MV by Nandini Dasarathy, art editor

The Odd Couple(s)

by Samika Savanur, staff writer

he waits anxiously where a group of girls have gathered on the lower field. It’s their last practice of the season, and though this practice has been a common ritual under Coach Jerra Rowland for the last 20 years, this year will be different. It is Rowland’s last season of being a full-time athletic coach. After years of service to both the field hockey and track teams, Rowland will be retiring from this demanding career. Rowland has always had a passion for sports; she has played, watched, and participated in a multitude of different games. After obtaining teaching degrees in physical education and life science, she intended to teach P.E., but became a science teacher instead. “Being in class was good, but I missed sports,” she said. This attitude brought her to Monta Vista High School in 1980 after ten years of teaching at Lynbrook High School. Rowland became Athletic Director in 1985, and she coached field hockey and track, fully committing herself to field hockey in her later years. Her affinity for field hockey is intriguing, as she calls it a “special sport, unique from all the others, because those who are watching have no clue what’s going on.” She further describes it as a sport that not many people play because of the “one-sidedness”; the stick can only be propelled in one direction, unlike ice hockey, which makes it a lot more challenging and complicated. When asked what draws her the most to her team, Rowland promptly replied, “It’s all about working hard, and when you do that

as a team, the bonding just happens. This way, you’re working hard for a common goal.” Undoubtedly, she has achieved massive goals with her team, but she strongly asserts that “[the experience] isn’t always about winning.” After retiring, Rowland intends on playing lots of golf, traveling and watching professional sports, such as women’s basketball and other unusual sports that fascinate her. She also plans to continue working on her hundred-year-old house which she has been working on since 1970. Primarily, her long career in athletics has influenced her decision to always be involved in athletics; this is not the end. “I’ll be back. I’m not just going to turn my back on Monta Vista and never return again,” she stated. She will always be a supporter, and as much as MVHS field hockey will never forget what she has done for them, she will never forget what they have done for her. The transition is obviously not easy for MVHS, and it is especially difficult for Rowland as well. When asked what she will miss the most, she said, “The dayto-day contact with young people, definitely, because they have a certain amount of enthusiasm that mature people don’t, and I will always continue working with young people, because it makes me feel younger.” Rowland’s energy, commitment, and passion for this sport will definitely be missed as she moves into her retirement.

hey didn’t like the gender of my partner, junior Jordan Kolb. I had just finished shimmying under the front gate of Monta Vista at 2:30 in the afternoon to get to the tennis courts when English teachers Michael Kanda and Andrea Chin confronted me with this problem that Jordan was male. Obviously, I should have realized we were playing mixed doubles, and obviously, I was t r y target: English teachers ing to Michael Kanda & Andrea Chin cheat Location: B204 & B205 by seWhen: October 16-17, 2005 cretly Mission: To play mixed enlistdoubles tennis i n g the help of Jordan. I protested—it was only fair that since Kanda had played tennis before, I have a partner that had too. It was definitely an odd turnout. I had brought two rackets along: one wooden and made so long ago it was petrified and the other with such a big surface area it would have made any math teacher drool. And during the actual tennis playing, Chin and I were more or less petrified wood as we stood there and did nothing. After a few rounds, or games, or innings, or whatever they’re calling them these days, Chin and I decided to go off and try our own game of tennis and let the Venus and Mercury sisters duel it out. We played half-court but soon gave up to watch the full-courters. The ball went back and forth, skimming over the net at record speed, back and forth, thwack, thwack, thwack! Compare it to our game, which was thwack, drop, bounce, bounce, bounce. Sometimes there wasn’t even a first thwack. Eventually we all came back together and started a real game. I was at the front of the net, in my ready position, dangling like some drooling monkey swaying in the breeze. This was ridiculous. We played a few more games in which not much happened except that I learned to hit the ball, until halftime ended and we switched sides. Chin raised up for the serve and thwack! sent it right into Kanda’s right shoulder blade. Kanda did a slow turn around and asked, “What the hell was that?” But Chin was already on the floor in a fetal position unable to contain her laughter and exclaiming that she’s never done that before. It wouldn’t be her last time, either. There wasn’t much love in the rest of the game, either, what with me throwing my racket onto the other court twice to see if I would be disqualified. I think the game ended at around the bottom of the sixth, but we weren’t about to stop the set there. The next day, after some insults across the quad, we all met in Chin’s room to continue the competition over a fierce game of Mario Tennis for the N64. This was my stadium. I was so excited as we hustled all the students out of her room, pulled down the projector screen, and closed the door. Among intense button mashing, blaring music, Chin’s glee over the crazy characters, her relentless perseverance to win, and Kanda’s calm composure in the face of tipping courts, banana peels, and flying Koopa shells, I was amazed at this common bond I had found with them. I even left the Nintendo in their room--you think they’re grading your Awakening essays? Once again, Chin thwacked Kanda on the back with a virtual ball. Once again, as I did on the real courts, the underdogs in this virtual realm improved—and actually came back to win the last game. Eh, with all this fun, I guess there was a bunch of love these past two days. The scoreboard certainly showed that. Mission accomplished.

el estoque

sports

october 21, 2005

Bending way out of the norm

Play by play

Game: Varsity boys water polo on Oct. 16 against Lynbrook

Staff and students at MV turn to yoga to relieve stress

3:34pm Second quarter begins 3:39pm Junior Jason Lee attempts a shot, blocked by

by Radhika Chandrasekhar, staff writer

Lynbrook goalie 3:40pm Lynbrook player ejected, MV sets up 6 v 5 3:41pm Junior Chris Moe scores a goal 3:45pm Senior Nick Constant pump-fakes then scores a goal 3:55pm Senior Kevin Leonard ejected 3:56pm Lynbrook breaks away but blocked by senior Onur Erbiligin. On the counterattack, senior Tyler FischerColbrie tips the ball in for a goal 4:05pm Junior Chris Moe ejected 4:14pm Game Over

Final score: MV wins 10-5

Health on the run Back injuries

Cause: Varying, from strains in back muscles to vertebrate fractures Symptoms: Pain at area of injury, leg pain down the back of the leg, muscle weakness, prickling in a part of the leg or foot. Prevention: - Strengthen muscles in the stomach, back, hips, and thighs that support the back with conditioning sports like running, biking, and swimming - Maintain good posture: avoid slouching - Use leg, not arm, strength when lifting heavy objects - Sleep on a firm mattress Treatment: - See a doctor to evaluate injury and refer a specialist - In the case of back or leg pain, take pain killers in the first two weeks as needed - Gradual increase of physical activity as pain tapers off - Physical Therapy

By the numbers

at!

-tre k-or

ric

T 36 calories in one mini Reese’s peanut butter cup

27 grams of sugar in two Twix bars 9 grams of saturated fat in a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar

3.7 grams of fat saved if a small juice box is chosen over a fun size Snickers bars

13 ounces in a bag of miniature size Snickers

bars

216 calories burned by a 120-pound person who walks 2.5 miles per hour 106,000,000

houses in America that have trick-or-treaters each year

18.07

dollars spent on candy by Americans for Halloween

Score board

Girls Volleyball Varsity: (7-3) JV: (4-3) Next game: 10/24 Lynbrook @ Lynbrook

he teacher gave instructions with a calming and peaceful tone to her voice. Some students looked straight ahead of them, and some closed their eyes, concentrating on their breathing as they stood in an intricate pose. Among these individuals was sophomore Brij Datta. Datta has been exposed to yoga from a very young age. “Everybody in my family does yoga,” he said. “My mom is a yoga teacher and she learned from one of the most renowned yoga teachers in the world.” While the poses were what first caught his eye, as he watched his mom instruct classes as a child, Datta realized “that it really helps for pain... what something like yoga does is that Austin Cheng | staff photographer it makes you use lots of muscles in your FAR REACHING Senior Connie Shieh relaxes her body using yoga poses. These poses help calm the body and the mind body you’ve never really used before. So then all of a sudden if you use [a new one] you don’t not only because they will feel a difference in their attitude, but also because yoga shows how exercise and stretching pull it right away.” Therefore, yoga isn’t suitable just for the unbelievably does not necessarily have to be excessively draining. Like Datta, senior Connie Shieh finds an innate quality flexible and mentally focused. If regularly practiced, the otherwise difficult poses become much easier, and the in yoga that allows her to maximize her physical capabilities, while accommodating her demanding schedule. “I run mind naturally becomes calm. Developed over three centuries ago in India, yoga is hard every day so I often get to a point where I’m too lazy a systematic compilation of exercises, coupled with con- and too tired to actually find time to stretch,” Shieh said. trolled deep breathing, designed to improve the quality “Something like yoga is so drawn out and very smooth and slow. I don’t have to feel like I have to make an extra effort of people’s lives. to do something that’s really stretching. And while I’m doThrough creating ing this I also feel like I’m resting myself mentally, because a connection beit’s a great way to unwind in your head.” tween the body Similarly, math teacher I-Heng McComb tries to fit yoga and mind, it reinto her routine every morning. “I do yoga because it duces stress and makes me feel better in every way,” she said. “When I promotes relaxfeel stiff or achy, a session of yoga always leaves me limation, maximizber and ache-less. [It] complements the demands of my ing health. jazz and modern dance classes, keeping me flexible and A simple yoga injury-free.” exercise called Whether it’s for physical or mental strength, yoga rethe ‘Sun Salutainforces both. It even further proves to accomodate everytion’ or ‘Surya - Senior Connie Shieh one’s fast-paced and hectic lives as the supposedly needed Namaskar,’ if yoga mats are in fact unnecessary to enjoying the art of done twice a day, can make a difference in how a person feels during the rest yoga. “When you get to a certain point [in doing] yoga, you of the day. This exercise consists of 12 poses and is done once on the right side and once on the left using a breath- can do it anywhere. You don’t even need to have a [yoga] ing pattern, which takes only five to ten minutes. Sounds mat,” said Datta. But until those skills are mastered, pull like the perfect solution for all the stressed students at MV, out those yoga mats and keep at those poses.

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While I’m doing [yoga] I also feel like I’m resting myself mentally, because it’s a great way to unwind in your head.

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New trainer assists athletic recovery by Symrin Chawla, staff writer

hop back up dancers for Natalise, the coolest people ever.” So what is it that makes Deguzman a pop and hip-hop singer from San icture yourself in the stands, watching a football game. The so cool? Could it be that she is a back- Francisco who tours all around the score is close and the game is at up dancer for a young San Franciscan bay area. Along with teaching her its peak. All of a sudden one of the singer? Or just the simple fact that she how to maintain balance in her life, Deguzman believes that her players gets tackled badly and dance experience has helped sprains his ankle. As he is taken in her job now as athletic trainoff the field and the football player. “Dancing and being in the ers kneel in respect, you can’t spotlight gave me the self-confihelp but wonder, “That must dence I need for this job,” Dehappen a lot.” During practice, guzman said. “It helps when I scrimmages, and games, not need to interact with the kids. only football players, but all our Especially since there is a new athletes are constantly getting trainer every year, it takes time injured. So when that happens, to gain their trust. Having that what do they do? That’s where self-confidence helps.” Charity Deguzman, MVHS’ newAustin Cheng | staff photographer Deguzman hopes to stay at est athletic trainer comes in. HELPING HAND Trainer Charity Deguzman helps an injured junior varsity football MVHS as the athletic trainer, After only several weeks on player stretch during the game against Yerba Buena on Sept. 9. but because of her passion for the job, Deguzman has become sports, Deguzman admitted that, “If popular at MVHS. Her room is more enjoys her job? Ever since her own high school I don’t continue this, I would love to of a cool hang out area for injured athletes than a dreaded doctor’s days, Deguzman has been dancing. teach P.E.” And with her popularity office. Sophomore volleyball player She fell in love with performing, which among athletes, we can only hope that Jessica Barry said, “Charity is one of is why today, she is one of of four hip- if that happens, it will be at MVHS.

Girls & Boys Waterpolo

Girls Field Hockey

Varsity girls: (6-4) Varsity boys: (8-9)

Varsity: (2-6-1) JV: (4-4)

Next game: Girls (3:00): 10/25 Homestead @ Homestead

Next game: 10/26 Prospect

Football Varsity: (2-4) JV: (1-5)

Cross Country

Overall: Varsity girls 2nd at Artichoke Varsity boys 7th at Next game: 10/28 Santa Clara @ Lowell Cupertino Upcoming meet: 10/27 Lynbrook (3:30pm)

Girls Tennis Varsity: (10-0) JV: (10-0) Upcoming game: 10/25 Saratoga (3:15)

october 21, 2005

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sports

Students learn ancient art forms Study of Japanese kendo, Chinese broadsword develops mental and physical fighting instinct for two MVHS juniors by Daniel Yang, staff writer

n a Thursday night, the Mountain View Dojo is filled with the sound of clashing sword and armor. Dozens of warriors clad in dark blue kendo equipment shout savagely as they charge at each other, swords flashing. Among them is junior Eric Kim. Kendo is the ancient art of Japanese sword fighting. The objective is to be the first to strike the opponent on the forearm, head, or torso area, simulating a disarming or fatal strike in real combat. Besides being physically demanding, Kendo also requires that fighters uphold ancient traditions of respect, honor, and spiritual strength. One of such traditions is a deep respect for the sword. Known as a katana, the sword is the essence of kendo and is almost worshipped as a sacred object. Warriors must keep it at their sides at all times and use it honorably in combat. “Kendo is about ‘Ki Ken Tai No-Ichi,’ or mind, sword, and body as one,” Kim explains. “Our sensei [is always saying]…you must practice until the sword becomes like air, until it becomes a part of your hand.” Kim has devoted countless hours of practice since starting kendo one year ago. He only has to show the soles of his

feet to prove the difficulties of training. Due to having to train barefoot as required by kendo tradition, the skin is peeling off of the bottom of Kim’s feet, and certain spots are purpled with bruises. “See this?” Kim says as he points to a large scab of dead skin. “You get these from doing Kendo for so long. If you don’t have this, then you can’t really say you do kendo.” Besides training his body physically, Kim a l s o has to learn to properly channel his sword’s powers through mental concentration. Being able to remain cool and spiritually focused in combat is just as important as being skillful. Kim says, “During competition, I just think about what my opponent is going to do or what I should do to trick my opponent…You must be patient and wait, and watch your opponent’s eyes.” One of Kim’s teachers, Sensei Nishiura, stresses the mental aspect of kendo to his students, “Don’t just simply go through the motion of hitting. Your body [must be] good, your feeling [must be] good.” Kim also adds, “In kendo, you must shout when you hit your opponent to focus your mental spirit. No spirit, no power.” Though studying Kendo may seem unique, Kim is not the only person on campus that knows how to work with a sword.

A silvery blur flashes around junior Quang Nguyen as he tears up the mat kungfu-style, pulling one smooth trick after another. A string of satisfying swooshes of metal slicing air vibrate through the room. As Nguyen slows down, his weapon of choice finally becomes clear: the Chinese broadsword. The broadsword is an incredibly fast weapon. In the hands of a skilled warrior, it becomes a mere blur of air. The weapon itself is very thin, light, and relatively short for a sword. It is also flimsy and, as expected, does not pack much of a punch. But what the sword lacks in power it makes up for in speed and agility. Nguyen says, “Because the sword is so small, and you can use it really fast…what Daniel Yang | staff photographer you do is counter attack. You SWORDPLAY (Above) Junior Eric Kim (right) blocks the attack of a felcan probably get two hits in low trainee. (Left) Junior Quang Nguyen practices with the broadsword. for [your opponent’s] one.” Although training is hard, something to be proud of.” Nguyen has persisted in the sport for alWhen asked about how martial arts has most 10 years. affected his life, Nguyen says, “I guess the Nguyen explains why he continues to cliché answer is self-discipline, but it is true. pursue kung fu despite his half-joking com- When you can focus yourself, make yourplaints of how demanding and hard train- self go through pain…and make yourself ing is, “Because then you know that all your do things you don’t really want to do behard work and lack of sleep on Sunday cause it hurts…[other things] will become morning all go to something, and you have a breeze.”

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loop

continued from front page Parents are easily able to view grades from virtually all of their students’ classes through one medium and are able to keep track of class progress over a full 6-week period. In addition, large files can be uploaded onto School Loop’s economy-sized server. Students are also able to comment in online forums in which they can discuss various study topics in order to answer common questions and prepare for exams. Additionally, some teachers find it convenient that they can view all of a student’s assignments and grades and ideally alter workload to avoid an overdose of homework. Similar to most new technology, some improvement is still needed in the program. While the daily e-mails serve as a useful reminder, some students have been frustrated that the e-mails sometimes arrive late and are often in an incomprehensible format. “I opened up my e-mail as soon as I got home,” Wang said. “All I wanted was to check to see if my British literature group had sent me any updates on our project.” Unfortunately, Wang was greeted with over 20 old

art

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She said. “I’m not going to do that. I want a portfolio, but I don’t want to throw my ethics away.” On top of it all, the meeting with the teacher exposed the arduous road to actually gaining acceptance into an art school. Ip had gone into the meeting with twenty pieces, but crude resources going into their production and careless errors resulted in problems. “Maybe it’s me, maybe I just don’t know how to use it,” she explained, exasperated. “But all my charcoal drawings are smudged just from being in the same folder.” According to Cui, the MVHS art program alone isn’t enough to prepare students for the college application process, so students often need the extra edge from private tutoring. Art Department chair Brian Chow said that the MVHS art department budget has resources enough for only $3 worth of materials annually per student. “To do art here, you already need to know how to do art,” Cui said. “There’s too many boundaries that you can’t go over.” Chow explained that students at MVHS can still produce quality work with

school loop

continued from page 5 student planner has 96 pages for writing coursework down, and that should be more than enough. Organization is a life skill, but in promoting School Loop, students are being encouraged to depend on a piece of technology, rather than themselves. School Loop also makes grades accessible daily to both parents and students. This was instigated so that both students and parents would not be taken by surprise when grades came out at progress report time. School Loop, however, makes grading seem petty, sending out grades daily just to highlight a single assignment that has been graded. Freshman Aprajita Yadav said, “I don’t really like the idea of my grades being emailed home every night. It’s like when you

fashion

continued from page 15 their talents and win publicity for their work, like in professional fashion expos. Independent, original work is a must. “Borrowing clothes makes a lot of sense for [DECA], since they want to experiment the business side of fashion, and donating to charity is good because it is a hook for people to come and [they will] be willing to pay more money,” Ng said.

School Loop homework notifications in what she added, was the “worst HTML format she had ever seen.” In addition many students seem to believe that School Loop is an invasion of student privacy as it constantly informs and updates parents with student’s grades. Luckily, MVHS Leadership has created a School Loop focus group to further investigate the problems associated with the new system. “Over the next few months, the focus group plans to look into the various problems and issues related to School Loop,” said Campus Commissioner and junior Lisa Merkhofer. “Although it isn’t in full swing yet, the group will eventually work closely with both students and the Administration to ensure that all School Loop concerns are equally voiced.” By the end of the first week of School Loop’s introduction to MVHS, over one-third of the entire staff had already created accounts, and to date, over 60 percent of teachers constantly update their calendars while another 30 percent use the grade display feature. Currently, MVHS is using School Loop over a free 6-month trial and plans to look into the possibility of extending their subscription.

limited materials, but that it’s hard to get it to the professional quality demanded by colleges. Financial difficulties in paying for private art classes and the MVHS academic culture also stood in the way of Ip’s development of the independent art style needed for her portfolio. Still, the MVHS senior doubts these will win her any slack. “Maybe if [the colleges] got to know me a little better, they’d understand. [But] they don’t care about crap resources, they don’t care about not going to private art classes, to them you’re not committed enough,” Ip said. Nevertheless, Ip remains focused on her goal, and refuses to give up. Art means too much to her. But what else would you expect from someone who tried painting with a makeup swatch? “To me, it’s more about passion than practicality,” she said. Ip is exploring her options and applying to the UC system, as well as to the University of Washington, which has a specialized program for art portfolio development. However, she is becoming gradually more open to attending De Anza. “I want to go to art school, and if I have to suffer through Cupertino for one more year to go to art have one of those daily small two point quizzes in class, and you miss one of the questions, suddenly you’ve got a 50% and a ‘F’ that your parents begin worrying about, when in reality, it’s just one point.” Even if you forget about all the other problems with the interface, School Loop still doesn’t prove useful. The program is designed to send out e-mails at 4 pm daily, but students usually don’t get the e-mails until 5:30 pm, hours after they have arrived home. Sure, eager students can check the homework online before they get home, but those are the kids who are going to do their homework anyway. School Loop doesn’t help the students who need help. School Loop will probably take a few months to begin functioning properly, but until then, maybe we should stick to our planners. Fashion club has decided to plan their own fashion show that will present their own designs and models. Members are currently brainstorming for a theme for the fashion show that al of the designs will be based off of. As for what Nguyen hopes for the future of the club she says, “Well, I guess just a place where people who are interested in expressing their individual style through making clothes can come together and feed off each other.

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october 21, 2005 “It costs approximately $2 per student per year for MVHS to use all the facilities on School Loop,” said librarian Megan Birdsong. “Although the price is affordable for both the school and the District, we won’t jump into officially subscribing to the system until the Administration is certain that the benefits will outweigh the negatives.” School Loop has currently been made optional for teacher use but is mandated for some students by some instructors in their classes. “As the program is still being run on a trial basis, it has not been required for the entire school to be actively in it,” Birdsong added. “It may not happen by the end of this year, but our goal is to eventually have all of MVHS’ teachers, students, and the students’ parents on an account.” For now, MVHS students can access their teachers’ websites, assigned homework, useful links, and most importantly, grades. As Wang casually turned the page on her Calculus BC homework, she sighed and said, “For now, I guess School Loop isn’t a bad alternative to the usual websites. By no means is it a perfect system, but I’ll stick to whatever they throw at me.”

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working with Bob. He sort of visualizes what he likes in his mind. It’s like a movie playing in his head. He improvises the movements when he shows you and changes it to look cool.” Getting down the fight movements was not a difficult task for the students to do. Everything was kept to a basic level since most of the students had not experienced sword combat before. Oldfield said, “The fight directors realized that we have [a] very little idea of what we are doing, and keep things pretty simple for us, but still let it look impressive.” Another fight director, Kit, came in to work with the students to spruce up their movements. The actors were very enthusiastic about working with him. “[Kit] talked a lot about the parallels between swords in the time setting of the play, and the guns today,” said Oldfield. “[He said] that they had the same sort of mystique and inherit danger to them. Someone pulling a sword on the street was

architect

much like someone pulling a gun out of their coat now. It was really dangerous, and someone was either going to get badly hurt or die, and adding that aspect of danger to our performance really makes it a lot more realistic.” Senior Phillip Cottrell, the head of all the fight scenes, said, “Learning a fighting style that looks good as well as safe on stage is very different, but also very educational” While practicing fight scenes, incidents like a sword being stuck in its sheath while the actors tried to draw them out or sitting down with the swords on their sides. Yet other students took their experiences outside of rehearsals. Oldfield, who plays Mercutio in the play, mentioned, “The funniest thing about fight choreography is that now whenever I see Andrew Segal, who is playing Tybalt, in the hallway, I feel like I have to go ‘Tybalt, you rat catcher, will you walk?’ and pull a sword on him. We both sort of glare at each other, then laugh, then keep walking. Its a bit odd, but it’s funny.” The actors are now at the stage of perfecting each fight movement.

tenure

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a dark place, in more ways than one.” “That was one of the things, once we started the project, to make it a lighter and more inviting area with all the glass. The windows were small for such a big building, although I always kind of liked the covered walkways that went around the building.” He and his architectural team tried to incorporate aspects of MVHS’s original architecture into the library. “We wanted to maintain some of the motifs going on, like the brick walls on all the buildings here, so we decided to put brick on [the library],” he said. “We tried to match the brick as close as we could to the brick that was here before, which was a real challenge to do. We wanted the library to fit in with the campus and not just plop down something that had nothing to do with what had been here.” He reflected, “What’s nicest about doing school projects is that the people you are designing for are the ones that end up using the building,” Lee said. “We’re doing it because we believe that good architecture helps the educational process by enhancing the educational environment. We believe that students learn better in nicer spaces.” As for his own days as a student, Lee always had an interest in art and architecture, taking drafting and art classes at MV. He attended Berkeley for four years before moving on to Harvard’s School of Design as a graduate student. Lee mused that one of the most interesting things in returning to MVHS was finding that some of the teachers he had were still here, recounting the surprise of being reunited with assistant principal Fred Keep, his former history teacher. He said, “Actually there’s a handful, a lot of them I noticed are over at the district office now.” Besides the perk of being able to call his former teachers by their first names, Lee seems to genuinely enjoy the feeling of returning to his alma mater. After all, who else can say that more than 30 years after freshmen PE, they returned to their high school to tear down the locker rooms?

teachers, specifically in math, science, and special education. The queston, then, for opponents of tenure, is this: where will all the new, great teahers come from after the “incompetent” ones have been removed? The basic problem for schools today regarding teachers is not a question of quality, but of quantity. This is unsurprising, given the fact that the teaching profession is very stressful with a high burnout rate, requires a long and costly education, and provides relatively low pay. To pile job insecurity onto this list not only seems unappreciative of the sacrifices teachers make, but it makes it so there’s even less reason to be a teacher, further shrinking the job supply from which the education system can draw new recruits. Tenure, then, is instrumental for the recruitment of new and better teachers. It creates an incentive for people to take up an already difficult profession. Now, the incentive created is not “virtually guaranteed employment for life,” but rather due process. However with Prop. 74, after two “unsatisfactory” evaluations, teachers can be dismissed without being told why their performance was considered unsatisfactory and without an opportunity to correct their mistakes. This is problematic because it opens the system to administrative abuse and inconsistency because teachers can be dismissed for personal reasons, and different administrators can have widely varying opinions as to what constitutes satisfactory performance. Thus, tenure most certainly provides a measure of job security, not in the sense of allowing incompetent teachers to stay, but in the sense of protecting and rewarding competent ones. The fact is, tenure is an important policy that creates an incentive for people to join the teaching profession, gives teachers due process protection, and runs little risk of preserving genuinely poor-performing teachers. Because Prop. 74 will by and large eliminate the tenure system, it is imperative that on Nov. 8 Californian voters vote “no” on Proposition 74.