Volume 37, Issue 7, April 14 2005

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Judging peers by college acceptances detrimental to all

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Senior Andrew Kim aims for future Olympic gold in archery

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Humorous Duo evokes genuine emotions despite time limitations

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Finals before Winter Break by teacher decision School Board and Teacher Union ratification necessary to pass schedule reform

by Steffi Lau and Prateek Tandon, staff writer and news editor

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very year, students giddily anticipate the Friday before Mid-year Break until reality dawns upon them: they have finals to study for. Even if they don’t study, there’s always the guilt lingering upon them for the two weeks that they don’t study for finals. Luckily, students next year may not have to face such anguish.

After a three day vote concluding on April 7, teacher votes on a proposal to move first semester finals before Mid-year Break next year were tallied. After watching the

proposal pass by 82.1 percent among teachers at MVHS, supporters are optimistic as they take their proposition to the next level. The proposal remains to be voted on by the teacher’s union, otherwise known as the Fremont Education Association (FEA), on April 26 and by the Board of Trustees at the District School Board meeting on May 2. If it passes at each of these levels, Monta Vista students could be celebrating New Year’s Day with a new semester.

The proposal came about after being requested by many teachers on staff questionnaires circulated at the end of last year. The purpose of the schedule change, according to

FEA Site President and music teacher Jon Fey, is to “allow students a clean break for the holidays. With finals over, students will have nothing to study for.” This allows students to truly enjoy their break and spend time with their families rather than stressing out over grade-determining tests.

In addition, the proposal may also relieve the burden on teachers during the break. In the past, teachers have had to spend break both creating their finals and planning material for second semester. With finals over earlier,

Reaching across borders

Often cultures are defined by arbitrary lines on a map. On April 6 and 7, these lines disappeared at MVHS as different groups representing an array of countries danced, sang, and performed in the packed auditorium for Diversity Week. Senior Jenny Fong (left), Bhangra Blaze (center), Star of David Club (lower left), and Chinese Dance Club (lower right) all impressed crowds with their cultural dances. This is the first year performances have been held in the auditorium due to the reconstruction of the gym.

see SCHEDULE on page 16

Junior earns position on School Board

by Rachel Lui, backpage editor

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Austin Cheng and Rachel Lui | photography editor and staff photographer

Spanish society serves Sunday Friends

by Daniel Yang, centerspread editor

“C

uanto cuesta?” A Hispanic woman inquires while pointing to a roll of paper towels.

“Um...cuesta doscientos puntos,” sophomore Gina Park replied with the price of the item in hesitant Spanish.

A commonplace scene at Lowell Elementary School--volunteers, often Spanish students, help lead low-income families in excursions of philanthropy and foreign language exercise.

The activity is organized by a unique foundation known as Sunday Friends.

Sunday Friends is an organization that

helps low-income families get back on their feet by providing them with the opportunity to earn, instead of accept as charity, much needed household supplies and toys for their children. Once a month, low-income families, often Spanish-speaking, come to Sunday Friends to participate in a day of games and crafts to earn tickets, which they can later trade in for prizes such as diapers, school supplies, and toys for the children.

Gina Park, like numerous other Spanish Honors Society students, is a regular among Sunday Friends volunteers. Sunday Friends provides volunteers with not only a chance to help out others, but also a chance to practice

their Spanish. During a typical volunteer session, volunteers help the needing families participate activities such as crafts, letter writing, or other activities.

Junior Jennifer Chang said, “It made me want to work harder in Spanish. The first time I went there, I couldn’t really communicate that well…[The Program] forces you to speak Spanish, which definitely improves your Spanish.

Sophomore Pooja Shah attested to having problems speaking in Spanish as well, “It’s usually broken Spanish...like they understand what I’m saying, but barely.”

see FRIENDS on page 16

ext year’s typical six-person ASB team will be changed to a seven-person team due to the Student Board Representative position that will be filled by one of MVHS’s students. It is selected every year by the Inter-District Council (IDC), which consists of the IDC Representatives and ASB Presidents of each school in the District. They are elected to work with the Board of Trustees. The student’s job is to provide essential communication and information about student related issues for the District.

Since only one student is selected to represent the whole District, it is a very distinguished position to hold. For the upcoming 20062007 school year, junior Peter Lu will be the District’s new Student Board Representative.

Besides his job of being an ASB officer, Lu is required to attend all IDC and Board Meetings.

The main purpose of this position is to gather information regarding student issues and provide student perspectives on critical district issues to the Board of Trustees.

Although it may seem like a very grueling task, Lu appears very level-headed about his new obligations for next year. “I decided to run for this position because I heard it on announcements. I didn’t think of myself being an ASB officer until after I got this position,” said Lu. “When I went in for my first interview, I thought that if I didn’t get it, at least I would get some interview experience.”

“I wasn’t too sure what I was getting into,” Lu said, “but it was exciting that I actually had a chance to become the Student Board Representative.”

Since receiving this position, Lu has begun to attend Student Board and IDC Meetings. “I am really excited to be serving as the Student Board Representative of our district, and I hope that I will be able to make a difference to all of the students in the District.”

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News-Information-Updates

Dancing their way to the top

n History teachers Robyn Brushett and Catherine Hambleton are in for a treat. The teachers will be two of four in the district who will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Taiwan from Apr. 13-21. Earlier this year, both teachers applied for the opportunity to take this trip through the Distinguished Citizens Society International (DCSI) program. DCSI works with the Santa Clara County Office of Education to set up a county-wide program open to all social studies teachers.

Brushett said, “More than touring Taiwan, I would really like to see the Taiwanese schools and establish a worldly liaison. Hopefully it will be a potential project to foster communication.”

She plans to have her students send over pictures or videos after her trip to provide tangible evidence of the differences between American and Taiwanese schools.

For Hambleton, she is just excited for the trip to a different country. “I didn’t think I’d ever go to Taiwan or China,” she said. “It will just be interesting to see the varying pop culture. I’d also like to compare the American and Taiwanese viewpoints of their current relationship with China.”

“It’s not only exciting for me,” said Brushett, “it’s exciting for my students. Many of them have been teaching me phrases to say, telling me to visit their aunts and uncles, and have advised me on what restaurants to eat at.”

n After five years behind the attendance desk at MVHS, even though he claims, “It feels like I’ve been here twenty, “ Attendance Technician Bernard Vargas is looking for a change. Starting after spring break, a new employee (who has yet to be hired) will be handling absences and asking the school to log out of SASI. Vargas will be starting his new job at Cupertino High School.

“I’m the kind of person that once I learn something, it becomes repetitious, and I get very bored.

The reason I decided to go to Cupertino is that a position opened up... which is [in] line with what I want to do, which is to learn every single thing there is to learn about the function of a school.” His new job at Cupertino will involve Data Tech in a still unnamed position.

n After three and a half years of persistence and dedication, the MVHS Aquatics Committee’s hard work has finally paid off. Since 2002, six MVHS parents have joined with other parents as well as aquatic instructor Ron Freeman and Principal April Scott to raise approximately $173,000 for the pool fund. Through selling to engraved pool bricks and plaques that will pave the entrance, the fundraising has turned into a large success. Many families have donated, and support from other organizations, such as the PTA, athletic boosters and the FUHSD foundation, have helped the group reach their goal.

“It turns out that it was fortunate the pool took longer to get completed,” committee member and MVHS parent Sherri Karleskind said. “We thought the construction would be finished in six months. Luckily, we had extra time to raise more money.”

With the money, the pool committee plans to extend the District’s plan for a 30 meter pool.

Instead, the pool will be 4.5 meters longer, enabling two aquatic teams to practice at once.

“With the extra meters, we can run two practices at once,” said Karleskind. “We won’t have to have the boys come at 5 am for everyone to get enough practice time in.”

Not only is the money buying a few extra meters for the pool length, it will buy the MVHS pool many more additional features for a top notch pool.

Karleskind said, “The most exciting part for us was to see the generosity shown by our own Monta Vista families. With their support, we were not only able to add 4.5 meters to the pool length, we were able to buy nighttime lights for the deck, a new scoreboard, and a new timing system.”

The pool is expected to be completed later this year.

Photo courtesy of Dance Team SHAKING IT The MVHS dance team poses for photos after winning first place overall at dance Nationals in Anaheim. Senior Brittania Poon and Junior Becky Yen excelled in the solo divisions of the competition.

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From March 17 to March 18, MVHS’ Dance Team, Marquesas, claimed first place overall at Nationals in Anaheim. They competed in five group divisions, which consisted of Medium, Small, Lyrical, Intermediate, and Kick, as well as solo divisions.

Overall, the team performed superbly, and distinguished themselves as national champions and first-place holders for both the Medium and Small division, national champions and first-place holder in Intermediate, seventh place championship in Lyrical, and eighth place championship in Small Dance.

As for solo divisions, both senior Britannia Poon and junior Becky Yen competed. Yen made it to the finals in the first round and placed in the top ten under the “super dancer” category.

“Everyone on the team got to be a part of the Kick routine this year, and it was great because we won and we all got to experience winning as a whole,” said Junior Katrina Wong.

elestoque

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

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.

Editors-in-Chief Alex Cohn Edward Young Managing Editors Neha Joshi Vikram Srinivasan News Editors Raj Dedhia Steffi Lau Perspectives Editors Jordan Kolb Julia Stenzel Design/Centerspread Editors Stephanie Snipes Daniel Yang Entertainment Editors Radhika Chandrasekhar Michelle Tanaka Sports Editors Carolyn Chuang Suzie Smelyansky Back Page Editor Rachel Lui Art Editors Nandini Dasarathy Julia Stenzel Photo Editor Austin Cheng Staff Writers Sarah Bennett Symrin Chawla Aniqa Hasan Cheryl Ho Adam Jacobs Michael Leung Judy Liang Melissa Ni Sonal Patel Samika Savanur Prateek Tandon Anagha Vaidhyanathan Matt Wang Adviser 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.

Justifying broken rules: “Challenging Authority”

by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

Every spring, El Estoque’s staff travels to a national journalism convention. Last year, the journalism staff flew to Seattle for the National Scholastic Press Association conference.

This year, half of the journalism staff went to the Columbia Scholastic Press Association conference in New York City. The conventions offered classes, workshops, critiques, and competitions for newspapers and newspaper writers from across the nation.

While the purpose of our visit was to improve our paper, we still wanted to have fun. In Seattle, my coeditor Alex Cohn attempted to begin a tradition of touring a random hotel. And naturally this was a tradition we hoped to keep alive. Our adviser, Ms. Balmeo, had other ideas.

On the last night in New York, about a dozen of us went for a night out on the town, eating dinner on Restaurant Street and watching “Sweeney Todd” on Broadway. Afterward, the majority of the group headed back for the hotel, leaving Alex, Ms. Balmeo, Jordan, and I seeking midnight sustenance.

What an opportunity. Being the genial, polite people that we are, Alex and I courteously requested if we could tour a hotel. Ms. Balmeo immediately shot down our request. Soon our requests became begs, but to no avail; Ms. Balmeo would not be swayed. We gave up hope, our hearts and dreams shattered, when an opportunity appeared.

Ms. Balmeo was marching intently in front of us when we passed by the Hyatt. Without her noticing, we slipped into the Hyatt and out of Ms. Balmeo’s mind. We sat in the lobby

waiting for her to notice us missing. She didn’t.

We decided to do what we were there for: tour the hotel. As we walked toward the front desk, a shrill voice came from behind us. “ALEX. EDWARD. BACK TO YOUR ROOMS RIGHT NOW! DO NOT SMILE, DO NOT LAUGH, GO DIRECTLY TO YOUR BEDS!” I couldn’t help but smile.

As journalists, we’re trained to question authority. In New York, our authority was Ms. Balmeo. If she made a rule we thought was unfair, she got an earful about it. Our function at Monta Vista is the same. We bring to light issues that bother or threaten students, even when it means confronting authority figures on campus – teachers, administrators, student organizations and student leaders.

For example, a staff member wrote an article calling out teachers for turning a blind eye to students who openly admit illegal behavior in class.

There is, however, a certain amount of responsibility that comes with this position. For instance, we considered publishing a story questioning the legitimacy of teachers viewing students’ grades. As a staff, we decided against it as it made our paper seem overbearing toward teachers. By printing both stories attacking teachers, we feared that the stories would undermine each other, creating an air of animosity toward the staff.

So while we are self-limited in what we can publish, El Estoque will continue to address issues which influence students. MVHS’ authority figures have our full respect, but we will continue to ensure that Monta Vista is always evolving into a better place.

EDITOR’S LETTER

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news

Building strong bonds of steel

Carolyn Chuang | staff photographer

Robotics team collaborates to construct basketball-playing robot

by Carolyn Chuang, sports editor

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he fans in the stands went wild on the weekend of March 25 at UC Davis, enthusiastically cheering and rooting on their favorite basketball players. The twist?

The players were robots.

Each year, the Monta Vista Robotics Team (MVRT) competes in two regional tournaments run by the international organization, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). FIRST puts on hundreds of competitions each year. Six weeks before the first regional tournaments begin, kits with instructions on the task for that year are sent to every team in the world, so each team has six weeks to build their robot. This year’s quest was to build a robot that could participate in a three-on-three basketball game.

MVRT did significantly well in making it to the semifinal round at the Sacramento Regional. “This is the first time we’ve gotten to semifinals in the past three years,” MVRT president junior Pavan Datta said.

Success was a significant accomplishment for this team because 60 to 70 percent of the team are rookie freshmen and sophomores. The last time that the team had gone past semifinals three years ago, the

team consisted of many seasoned veterans.

The robot, el Toro IX, had its humble beginnings in mid February during the brainstorming sessions of the robotics team in the electronics room with instructional assistant Ted Shinta as the team’s advisor. All members of robotics, regardless of experience, contribute to the design of the robot. “Our robot was mostly rookie-designed,” said Datta.

This focus on including everyone and working together as a team is what Shinta, who has been advising robotics for six years, enjoys most about this team. “The best team I’ve ever worked with,” said Shinta. “Everyone cooperates, and there’s no selfishness or individual glory involved.”

“We try to make sure that no one person is only working on one thing at one time,” said mechanical lead sophomore Brij Datta.

Brij said that they definitely do focus on people working together to keep the authority spread over numerous people.

“Some of the members didn’t like [having to work with other people] at first,” said Brij, “But eventually they got used to it and realized that working with other people will help it come out better.”

Returning robotics members played an extremely large role in aiding the rookies

GOT GAME? El Toro IX, the MVHS robot, tears up the arena in a regional tournament run by the international organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). Robotics students had spent many hours after school building el Toro IX and preparing it for competition since the production start date in mid-Feb. Their hard work finally paid off in competition when the robot made it through to the semifinals round. This year’s success is especially impressive considering that 60-70 percent of the team is made up of freshmen and sophomores; the last time the robotics team made it to semifinals three years ago the team was largely veteran-dominated.

during trainings so that they could learn the basics and get their questions answered.

The advisors also contributed to the effort.

“They taught us what to do in training sessions,” said freshman Ashwin Mathur.

Stemming off this lesson of helping others is the FIRST ideal of “gracious professionalism.” These two words are said at least once within every ten minutes during robotics competitions; they represent the attitude that FIRST values and expects of robotics members.

Off the field, the team members joke around and play pranks on each other, including putting a member’s toothpaste in the freezer and toothbrush in the microwave and drawing mustaches on sleeping teammates at Sacramento.

The team even has their own robotics jokes: “We don’t go shopping at the mall, we go shopping at Home Depot!”

Working hard and playing hard together, the robotics team has high hopes for next year.

With more experience, they hope to make nationals.

Regardless of how well they do, parent mentor Brian Laitinen said, “We’re seeing the students do things that most high school students aren’t able to do.

It’s really phenomenal.”

Business as usual: MVHS takes the lead Junior Anagha Vaidhyanathan elected as State President of DECA

semester freshman year when Schmidt presented a chance for extra credit. After serving as Webmaster for the remaining or the first time in a long while, MVHS junior Anagha (pro- duration of the school year, she was appointed as Vice President nounced “Aah-nuh-gah”) Vaidhyanathan was genuinely ner- of Membership and Chapter Development for the club, then only vous. As a former DECA state officer counseled her backstage, 16 members strong.

Vaidhyanathan got ready to address the crowd of nearly 700 waitUnder Vaidhyanathan’s leadership and an aggressive ing for her at the DECA state convention in Irvine. recruitment program, the club exploded—MV DECA currently has His advice echoed in her head. “You realize, it’s all about you 169 members. Now, as State President, Vaidhyanathan has a now. Whatever you say goes.” similar goal—boosting the number of DECA chapters to increase Then, all of a sudden, the former state officer pushed her through overall state membership, currently at about 3,000. “You can walk the black curtain. “I felt like Simba being shoved into the wild,” she up to someone and say, ‘Join DECA,’ but not ‘Start DECA,’” she said. said. “Those are two completely different Facing her audience and seeing her face things.” projected on TV screens the size of a wall, Nevertheless, Vaidhyanathan has a strong Vaidhyanathan used her President’s gavel for business background to help her achieve the first time. “That’s when it really hit me,” she that goal. Both her parents are business said. Vaidhyanathan is DECA’s newly elected professionals: her mother has a Master’s State President and the first ever from MVHS. degree in marketing and entrepreneurship Vaidhyanathan’s success in DECA from San Jose State University, and her father epitomizes the excellence of the student has a Master’s in business administration from - junior Anagha Vaidhyanathan the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, business organizations at MVHS, with MVHS boasting the state’s largest DECA chapter a top-notch Indian business school. and one of the five largest FBLA chapters. With junior Amy Young But despite her impressive credentials, Vaidhyanathan claims running for FBLA State President, junior Eric Katz as Vice President that she’s really not all that intimidating. “They consider me the little of Northern California DECA, and Vaidhyanathan as DECA State six-year-old,” she said, in a matching voice to boot. “I’m an only President, MVHS’ business credentials are outstanding. child. I used to be the shy, hide-behind-my-mommy type.”

For Vaidhyanathan, her DECA career began in freshman It makes sense, then, when she says that the biggest thing she’s year in Business teacher Carl Schmidt’s Principles of Business obtained from DECA is confidence. “It’s really something, knowing class. Interestingly enough, Vaidhyanathan joined FBLA because that you can address a group of people and influence them.” it sounded intriguing, and only joined DECA at the end of first

by Vikram Srinivasan, managing editor

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“

It’s really something, knowing you can address a group of people and influence them.

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see DECA on page 16

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Technology Takeover

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e write our essays on Microsoft Word and submit flawless pieces of work with the assistance of spell-check. We call our parents on cellular phones to give us rides and simultaneously text message our friends to cancel plans that would’ve taken place a minute later.

In the early 21st century, technology advancements have provided the human race with the opportunity to maximize efficiency and save time on mundane tasks. However, lately it seems as though we’ve allowed ourselves to become mechanical, lackadaisical sloths.

Like any other kid, I use AOL instant Messenger – consoling friends with their drama, exchanging casual banter, and of course taking three hours to convey a message that could’ve been conveyed in a mere 10 minutes in person or over the phone. But this past weekend, while I took a break from online life, it occurred to me: how long has it been since I’ve read a handwritten letter? Or even a decent email written without jargon where school becomes “skewl” and “how are you doing” is shortened to “sup.”

Has technology really replaced the need for thoughtful communication?

I recently saw the movie, You’ve Got Mail again in efforts to procrastinate my SAT studying as much as possible. The movie, released in the winter of 1998, highlighted the effects of online relationships – and no, it wasn’t your typical “guy meets girl” love story. The girl and the guy had previously spoken in person and developed a relationship that one wouldn’t normally consider “love.” Yet a few online messages, and BOOM! It was love at first… “type?”

Junior prom was two weekends ago.

You really know today’s teenagers are the epitome of laziness when you are a witness of “AIM proposals” – rare, but real. Whatever happened to your typical boy next door picking daisies and asking out a girl using methods that were once considered time-honored-traditions?

Personalization is completely lost. From e-vite birthday party invitations to college acceptance letters, a single Web Page dictates everything. No more can second semester seniors prepare for that long walk to the mailbox praying for the fat college letter rather than the tiny one. Everything is customized.

Truly, recent advancements in communication have allowed humans to procrastinate for as long as possible before reaching any kind of consensus or making a decision. Last month, for instance, a few friends of mine and I were working on a project that had to be submitted to a collection office by a 5:00 deadline. A few years ago, we may have created our final draft a week or so beforehand and then taken the time to collate and mail two copies to ensure that it would reach the deadline site on time. Well, this wasn’t a few years ago. We finished our project at 11:48 pm the night before and then used Fed Ex overnight delivery to mail it out.

Were we efficient? Probably not. Did we procrastinate? Highly likely.

Ultimately, the latest advances in technology didn’t allow us to create better or higher quality work. They simply gave us the opportunity to delay our project for as long as possible.

So maybe, technology is a blessing in disguise? Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was utilized by expIorers, innovators, and great thinkers alike who were striving to improve day-to-day life for the human race. Yet, in recent years, it has enabled us to procrastinate and has hidden any and all personal touches.

I think it’s time we take a step back and start writing our essays by hand, calling our friends a day or two beforehand to cancel plans, and maybe even trying to have more conversations in person. After all, a machine can’t think for us, can it?

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tudents sitting at desks inside AP Eng- they’re face up, and any paperclips that I lish and World Literature classroom might come across.”

As to how his superstitious beliefs tie C209 will quickly notice something a little bit off about their instructor. English directly into his sock-wearing, Clarke teacher David Clarke has worn mismatched believes his ritual has lasted so long for a number of reasons. “On the superstition socks everyday for the past 15 years.

“I started mismatching my socks some- side of the issue, there is always that worry time during or after college,” said Clarke, that if I don’t wear mismatched socks, who was wearing a purple sock with yel- something bad will happen. It’s better to be safe than sorry. low stars on one foot and Clarke says that a solid red sock on the whenever he has to dress other on the day of his inup for a formal occasion, terview for the story. “It’s where wearing pink-andone of those things that green socks would not happens, and you forget be acceptable, he wears why it happens, so you go socks that are only “slightly back and try to make up mismatched.” a story about how it hapA student of Clarke, pened.” senior Reni Pernova joked, Clarke said he owes “At the first informational much of his current sockI didn’t know if wearing behavior to Teacher: English teacher meeting, he was doing it on purpose laziness when it comes to David Clarke or not. My favorites are doing his laundry. “When his rainbow socks and his it started out, it was my Objects: Spiffy Socks candy striped ones. Once solution to not wanting to he wore them both on the make sock balls. It was by Alex Cohn and Julia Stenzel, easier to just throw them editor-in-chief and perspectives editor same day. That was the best day of my life.” all into a drawer and “I pick out my socks grab two at a time.”

Clarke attributes part of his behavior the night before,” Clarke said. “I do put to his superstitious nature. “I’m not a thought and consideration into each pair. I very religious person. I was not raised don’t get too nitpicky, but I pay attention to with religion being a big part of my life. color coordination.”

Clarke is not ashamed. “It’s always good Superstition, in a way, has taken the place of religion for me. I pick up pennies, if to have a harmless eccentricity,” he said.

El Estoque 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014

Is there an article that perks your interest, admiration, or fury?

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.

Cheerleaders dissatisfied with Matador Vibe After reading the Perspectives in El Estoque, we are extremely angry and offended by the negative comments regarding Sadies decorations. You obviously do not understand how much of our time and effort was spent on this dance... We do not appreciate the lack of gratitude from you as writers. If you had attended this dance, you would have understood that “flor” decorations would not have worked because they would have been destroyed right away because of the amount of people supporting our team.

It would have been nice if you could compliment some of the positive attributes of Sadies decorations because there were so many, rather than just expressing negatively.

On a brighter note, the only part we enjoyed of the Sadie Hawkins section was Joan Orvick’s large photo. Next time, please take into consideration and recognize all of the hard work that we put into the dance. The profit made from the Sadies dance goes into the cheer fund to help us pay to go to Nationals every year, a trip which we have earned by practicing and competing hard all year.

Devoted Members of the MV Cheer Team

Dear MV Cheer Team, We understand and appreciate the dedication and work the cheer team puts into the dance every year, which we hoped to convey through our full-page photo essay on page four of our March issue. The bid price criticism was contributed by a staff member who had attended the dance and was not intended to attack the Cheer Team’s hard work.

Active reader displeased with coverage I appreciate your willingness to delve into school issues, and I feel that you are doing an exemplary job of addressing school issues.. I would like to present my own opinions on some articles that I read in the March 10 issue of El Estoque.

While I do agree that punishments for tardies are getting stricter each day, I would like to bring up that many of the students who are tardy are late because instead of walking to their classrooms after the first bell, they hang around with friends and talk until the second bell has rung. It is only after that second bell has rung that they slowly start to migrate toward the door of their classroom... From a teacher’s standpoint it is very frustrating to see students constantly walk in late; it not only disrupts the class, but is also disrespectful towards the teacher as well... I feel that boundaries need to be set, not on teachers, but on the students who disrespect the teachers.

On the issue of the tutor, while I agree that it is unfair that some students get tests from previous years, I have to say that that information is actually quite faulty. I do take the class, so I can honestly say that we really do not get previous years’ tests consistently. I only remember having some of the test questions for maybe one or two of the tests... In addition, I feel that this problem is quite minor compared to the number of students that give other students information on tests that they have taken earlier in the day.

One subject that I request you look into is the number of new clubs at Monta Vista, which have been multiplying in number. I find that many people have started their own clubs to make their college resumes look more appealing... The founder of the club puts friends in other officer positions instead of selecting qualified individuals who are sincerely interested or have given a lot to the club... I think that Club Commission should do a more extensive job in rating these clubs and should not approve them so easily... I would appreciate it if you addressed this issue in the next issue of El Estoque.

Sophomore Chris Chang Dear Chris, You can find a Perspectives article addressing the topic in our October issue. Check it out and you will find a lot of the comments that you made mentioned in the article.

In the March issue, an article featuring Jessica and Ashley Shannon mistook Elizabeth Shannon for one of the twins, although Elizabeth is the girls’ mother. Also, due to printing problems beyond El Estoque’s control, a portion of the article was covered by a graphic.

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Turning a blind eye to student welfare Many teachers ignore the warning signs of dangerous behavior

March Madness

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o I was at this party and I was chugging down a beer when the cops came so I split and then…”

A conversation like this should be an alarm signal to teachers. Yet, why can such discussions be heard in the front rows of classrooms, loudly, boisterously and obnoxiously so that any teacher can hear?

“It makes me really worried,” said social studies teacher Viviana Montoya-Hernandez of students who often talk in her class about drinking alcohol. “I tell them that outside of school I worry about them.…I tell them don’t talk about it in class. Don’t talk about [it] if you don’t want me to report it.”

Currently if a student is discovered to be drinking on weekends, the school and teachers aren’t required to become involved. “Under the mandatory reporting law, teachers are required to report certain issues where students are being harmed, abused, or there are signs of abuse or self mutilation, no matter how much the student wants it kept confidential,” said Assistant Principal Brad Metheany.

“But as for talk about drinking and drugs, it’s their own decision on how to handle students talking about that.”

Metheany said that the school cannot institute punishments for student behaviors conducted outside of school, so teachers can decide for themselves whether or not they wish to confront parents about their children’s substance abuse.

Mere warnings to students are oftentimes empty threats and students never face consequences for their behavior. Instead of trying to avoid controversy, teachers

Julia Stenzel | Art Editor

must fulfill their responsibility to look out for the well-being of students, even if it isn’t explicitly stated in any law. Students’ futures are at risk, and teachers are the only ones with the authority to combat the drug and alcohol abuse problem. By avoiding direct confrontation, teachers allow themselves to become accessories to students’ crimes.

Staff Editorial

The issue at hand is how instructors should get involved. Teachers have a number of options before them: they can ignore the discussions, they can tell the students to avoid talking about the issues in class, or they can be proactive and confront students’ parents. Ethically, the clear best choice is the latter.

Telling a student to avoid talking about their activities in class is not equivalent to telling them to stop. Rather, it amounts to adopting a mentality of “out of sight, out mind.” It seems teachers care about what is discussed in their classrooms instead of the welfare of their students. They don’t speak up, afraid that it won’t make a difference.

But teachers must take a stand for the sakes of their students. The truth is, these habits are not harmless. Not only are they harmful to the students themselves, underage drinking and drug use are illegal.

By participating in these activities,

students put themselves and others in danger. How would teachers who remained silent feel if they found out that their student had died from drinking or, worse, had killed someone through drunk driving?

How would the parents of the student or victim feel if they knew that the teacher had known about the drinking all along yet not said a word to them?

Even beyond acting for the sake of substance abusers, teachers have a responsibility to the other students in their classes. Talking about drugs and alcohol during class time cannot help but detract from the learning environment and make the other students uncomfortable. By avoiding the problem, teachers jeopardize the learning potential of the classroom.

Teachers cannot assume that parents know what is going on when they are the ones who see the students for eight hours a day. Parents entrust their children to teachers, and for a teacher to know what is going on yet not say anything is a betrayal of the parents’ trust. In talking to the parents, they give the family a chance to help their children, a chance to have a conversation and set guidelines that will benefit the student in the end.

It is time for teachers to stop listening only to the law and start following their consciences. With death at risk, cautionary words are not enough for teachers to sit back in their chairs, satisfied that they have done their jobs. Teachers need to stop lying to themselves, justifying inaction out of fear of retaliation from the students. Words without consequences just don’t cut it.

Best colleges may not be the Ivy Leagues Students rely too heavily on prestige to judge merits of college s

by Sarah Bennett, staff writer

A

n Ivy League college is better than a state university, right? After all, its academics are more rigorous.

This seems to be the dominant sentiment of MVHS students and parents. In fact, our school is so star-struck with the possibility of an impressive college degree and caught up in the uproar of who-got-in-where, that it sometimes forgets the most important part: everyone has their own “best” school.

Lets face it: at MVHS, certain colleges hold a “name” that implies that they are in some way superior or more fitting for students than another institution. Even

matador ((vibe))

though we know that every college has its benefits, we still believe that some colleges are better than others.

Senior Rachel Parker, who plans on enrolling in a CSU next fall, noted that “here at MV, it’s just different. CSUs are looked at as pretty much community colleges. It’s a UC or a private college or you’re stupid.”

That’s just it. Nobody at MVHS is stupid, so why is this sentiment weighing on our campus? Yale may be great if you want to be a wildly successful lawyer, and UCSD might be perfect for future biologists, but these life paths simply aren’t for everyone, and - this is the important part - that’s fantastic. ...to the girls who write vicious comments about their fellow females on the bathroom doors

Still, the brand-name college frenzy prevails, and much of it can be attributed to the inherited cultural expectations of our parents and peers.

Senior Rachel Doran said that her classmates influenced her attitude towards certain colleges. “It sucks when people ask you what college you’re going to, because you know they’re judging you,” she said.

“It’s what stuck in my head: which colleges get a bigger ‘nod.’” She also said that her parents played a large role in her opinion of colleges. “I am influenced by prestigious schools. I’ve grown up with it.”

see COLLEGE on page 16

...to the Diversity Day assembly scheduling, which resulted in many students seeing repeat performances, and some students not getting to see any at all

fter four years of high school in the stressful world that is MVHS, I thought I had escaped unscathed on the verge of graduation. To be completely honest, I had never truly stressed about anything, not a test, not a project, not a homework assignment--nothing. Maybe I’d worried a bit here and there, but I never let it affect me too much—until last month.

Indeed, it was the college application that brought me to my knees. I saw my high school career playing out before my eyes, as if a verdict were about to be rendered upon it. I had always told myself that I wouldn’t regret the choices I made because regrets are meaningless. Yet there I was, thinking, worrying, stressing, and trying to preempt my stamp-sealed fate.

And somewhere between the nervewracking wait and decision week, I realized the obvious truth: I was more afraid of a rejection letter than I was anticipatory of an acceptance. I realized, ironically, that it wasn’t merely my future that was at stake here—it was my self-confidence.

Luckily for me, I caught myself in time.

As decisions rolled in, I was ready—for the good news, the not-so-bad and the unbelievable—and to handle them all in a mature way. In my applications, maybe I had made some mistakes. Maybe I took some big risks. Sometimes they paid off, other times, not so much.

But that’s the beauty of it—it was all my choice.

Look to the words donning the header of the infamously nonconformist college application of the University of Chicago: “A college application is an imperfect way of communicating your qualifications, talents, and special interests. Still, you should find plenty of room for creativity here as you describe yourself and your accomplishments.”

UChicago captures the heart of the admissions process—it is human, and therefore, it is as imperfect as we are.

True, ultimately, it was you, the applicant, who chose to write about that specific essay topic. You chose to prioritize your extracurricular activities in the way that you did. You asked for recommendations in subjects that you chose. You chose.

The good news is, you still can. To believe that admission or rejection is a judgment on your value as a human being is outright stupid. Just as we can make mistakes, we can unmake them. If anything, that should be an empowering message. We can move forward, with the confidence that our sole obstacle to success is self-doubt.

It’s repeated so often that “college is what you make of it” that when you hear it as consolation, it feels like condescension.

But it shouldn’t.

If you head into your college of choice with the mindset that the next four years are a reminder of your failure to achieve something greater, then you will always have a dark cloud hanging over your head.

Successes will continue to be measured against any failures that parallel them. But if you approach it with the optimism that this is your chance for a clean slate, that opens up a whole world of opportunities.

Make the next four years a personal mission—not to rub your success in the face of admissions officers at X University, but to prove to yourself that you never had a reason to stress in the first place. You only lose if you choose to indulge in the self-pity of thinking you did. ...to the Junior Prom DJ who nearly ruined prom by only playing three slow songs and playing rap after the theme song

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perspectives

april 14, 2006

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:

V a r y i n g Is STAR testing necessary?

Viewpoints

Each year, for one week in April, thousands of students across the state of California take time out of their hectic educational schedules to participate in a series of multiple choice tests: the Standardized Testing and Reporting tests ( STAR). As stated by the California Department of Education, “These tests were developed specifically to assess students’ knowledge of the California academic content standards.” The California Standardized Testing Scores then place students in one of five performance levels from advanced to far below basic – scores that are used for calculating every school’s Academic Performance Index (API), which helps determine the amount of funding offered to schools.

by Nandini Dasarathy, staff writer

by Anagha Vaidhyanathan, staff writer

R

ecently, the issue of students’ standardized testing has become an increasingly complex and controversial matter. Long-standing debates about the purpose and role of testing have taken on new fervor as policy makers have raised the stakes associated with test results. An increasing number of students are getting parent permission to be exempt from this tedious task, costing certain low-income schools considerable funding and the state valuable information for educational research. Because of these reasons, it is important for schools to ensure their students take these tests and prevent them from being exempted.

There are reasons as to why STAR testing was implemented in the first place. This growing emphasis was born out of the effort to improve schools by setting high and consistent standards for student achievement. Integral to this standards-based approach is the need to measure whether students and schools are successfully meeting these higher expectations.

Junior Diana Ong said, “I think a lot of people don’t know about the state funding part of the testing; I just figured it was a waste of paper.” Policymakers can use assessments to motivate schools and teachers to focus on these areas of learning. The quality of the tests that are being used and their relationship to what schools should teach and what students need to learn have increased over the years, and when people ignore this test, the state is unable to design adequate educational programs, hurting the students themselves.

Moreover, on the subject of funding, according to the California Department of Education, some low-income, lowperforming schools receive additional funds. However, when certain students are excused, the system collapses. Money invested in co-curricular programs such as athletics, arts and music suddenly isn’t there anymore, just because one morning a group of students decided to bubble in pictures of dogs on their Scantron form. Then when the school announces that it doesn’t have enough funding to continue the programs that students have enjoyed all along, there is an instant uproar.

Additionally, there is a reason why STAR tests have been put in schools since second grade. No, it’s not a punishment for restless kids who won’t come back in after playtime. Rather, in life, there will be several situations in which standardized testing determines a part of your future. In high school, students are familiar with acronyms such as SAT and ACT, which are decision factors in college acceptance. Beyond this, there are examinations for medical school, law school, and workplaces that measure aptitude. Junior Nivi Saxena added, “I think these tests are incredibly annoying and long, but what I figured is that considering that standardized tests are prevalent throughout life, we might as well get used to it. Besides, it’s for our own education.”

The next time you pick up a Scantron that you think doesn’t matter, think again. Maybe this doesn’t count for you getting into college, but it might be the deciding factor in the quality of education you get. Maybe bubbling pictures of dogs just isn’t going to suffice.

Pro

K

ennedy Middle and Monta Vista High Schools’ students continuously perform among the top percentiles in the state and manage to secure extremely high API index ratings in the STAR tests. Yet, aside from bragging rights, what do we have to show for hours of bubbling in circles and wasted educational learning opportunities? For these reasons and more, it is plain to see why high school students, especially at high-performing schools like MVHS, should not be required to take the yearly STAR tests.

High school students have participated in these tests at least eight times in prior years.

Clearly, any learning difficulties that the student may have should have been identified in those eight years of testing.

Does our school truly receive better funding as a result of high scores? Realistically speaking, there are numerous schools across California that receive far better funding than MVHS, regardless of the fact that we score exceedingly high on the API index. Rather than supporting schools that receive a higher API ranking, the California Department of Education (CDE) grants funding to low-performing schools to develop and carry out an improvement plan for their students.

In the 2003-2004 scholastic year, a sudden drop of students participating in the statewide tests resulted in the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) receiving a “Need Help School” label. This was not due to the quality of our scores – rather it was a calculation based on the ratio of students per ethnic group that participated in the tests.

MVHS, however, has always met the required participation rate of 85 percent on the STAR tests, and last year, all FUHSD schools once again met the 95 percent district-wide participation rate.

Annually, the state of California sets goals for every school that does not already have a minimum API of 800. However four of FUHSD schools, including MVHS, already have APIs well over 800.

For high-ranking schools like MVHS, the leading high school performer in Santa Clara County, APIs are mainly used in public reports that allow parents and community leaders to compare schools in their community amongst one another.

In the past, some parents have excused their Nandini Dasarathy | Art Editor children from this testing. Many of these students use that extra time to study for upcoming Advanced Placement (AP) exams, SATs, and their regular coursework. These students often find the usage of this time towards studying to be far more useful than the STAR testing exams.

“Frankly the STAR test is only one narrow piece of information that teachers [use] to assess student progress or achievement in a course,” said Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the FUHSD, Kate Jamentz, Ed. D. “After all, by the time the teacher gets back the STAR scores, the student has moved on to another class.”

Ultimately, the solution is not to completely get rid of all state testing. It is vital that the California Department of Education continues to keep an eye on the progress of California schools annually. Yet, there needs to be a better method of evaluating students in higherperforming schools such as MVHS.

Con

Voices of MV

Statistics

“If it comes down to whether or not students should have the choice of skipping, then they should have that choice. But, students should be told that their results help fund their school, which should make them at least a little more willing to take it.” – junior Jeffrey Chen

“We already have a lot of exams to do.

Even if they aren’t always hard like the exit exam, it’s still annoying to waste another week of school for STAR testing that could be used in covering class material.”

– sophomore Tanmayee Gavaskar

“It’s a lot of unnecessary hassle to go through the process of getting the parents and Administration to excuse you, and also it doesn’t help the school if not enough people take it.”

“Yes, because it doesn’t accurately reflect a student’s skills and knowledge, and it is a waste of time that could be spent in a lot of different ways.”

-freshman Bertrand Cheng “I think that students should be able to skip STAR testing because the amount of funding a school receives should not be related to test scores that don’t accurately reflect the knowledge of [the school’s] students.”

– sophomore Vishnu Gottimukala

– junior Hong Zhang “Yes, I think students should be able to skip STAR testing because those who want to skip, if not allowed, will not try on the test anyway and this will cause inaccurate reporting of scores.”

- freshman Jenny Zhang

How seriously do you take STAR Testing?

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14

10 A

B

A. Very seriously; I review for it beforehand.

B. It’s important, but I don’t stress out.

C. I bubble in weird images and/or sleep.

C

What could be an alternative to standardized testing that would measure student capabilities?

A. School inspections B. Teacher evaluations of students C. Peer evaluations D. Grade comparisons

51 22 16 A

92

A

C

D

Have you ever skipped a year (or more) of taking the test?

A. Yes B. No

8

B

11

B

*Taken from a random poll of 100 students.

sports Diving team jumps off confidently

Daring divers rack up points to boost swim team success

by Austin Cheng, photo editor

T

ake three steps. Then jump, twist, and splash. Although still in a developing stage, the MVHS diving team has been making a notable impact on how well MVHS places at swim meets. Yet, the existence of a diving team still remains unknown to much of the MVHS population because so few people are on it.

Although the diving team competes with the swim team at the same meets, the sport of diving itself is not at all like swimming. P.E. teacher and swim coach Ron Freeman said, “Diving is a whole different sport. I can coach different strokes because it is all related.

But diving is jumping off a board and then doing acrobatics in the air. And the entry into the water is different than jumping off a diving block.”

By having a diving team, a swim team can earn more overall points. Freeman said, “The difference between our [swim] team and other teams like Saratoga and Lynbrook is that they do not have diving teams, and we do. Therefore, our divers get first and second place, giving us ten extra points.”

Even though the diving team has such an

influence on how well the team does overall, the diving team is actually quite small. On the girls team there are only six divers, and on the boys team there are only two divers. An explanation of why the interest is so low falls upon the psychological fear of injuries from diving.

Junior Khanh Ly just joined the boys diving team this season when previously there was nobody on it. The coach asked Ly if he would like to try diving since he was not one of the fastest swimmers.

As a new diver, Ly said, “In a way, [diving] is a little better than swimming, except I’m still scared of the impact if you mess up, like how people belly flop. I’m afraid of flopping and hitting the board.”

In addition to getting hurt, the weather has played a role in keeping swimmers away from joining the diving team.

Freeman said, “The problem is being away, practicing late at night, the wind, and the rain.

It’s not that appealing.”

Despite these factors, the girls who have joined and are on the team this season have had notable experience in diving before coming to high school.

Senior Yaroslava Ryazanova has been diving

for four and a half years, starting out at the Santa Clara Diving Club. Beforehand she had done gymnastics, which now helps her in diving because it provides flexibility while performing acrobatics in the air. Her sisters, freshman M a d e l i n e Calafiore and sophomore Elisa Calafiore, have been diving for three years.

All three of these divers enjoyed the sport before joining the swim team at MVHS. The girls diving team is quite strong e v e n though t h e i r numbers run low.

B o t h

Ryazanova and junior Courtney Rudolph have been CCS qualifiers in the past two years. With the addition of the Calafiore sisters and their experience, the diving team can continue to compete well in future years. On the other hand, the boys diving team is not so strong, for they are recruiting swimmers to become divers since there isn’t enough interest. The boys’ best diver, Vahe Markosian, graduated last year but is back at MVHS to help coach.

Competitive diving in high school is not the same as Olympic diving. The board is 3 feet above the pool water because of the risk of serious injury from very high levels.

Nonetheless, diving is judged based on the same criteria: acrobatics while in the air verticalness and cleanliness of the entry. Commenting on the sparse number of divers, Calafiore said, “Everyone thinks that it is a scary sport, but if they would just try it, they would see how fun it is.”

oto editor

Austin Cheng | ph

CLONK, CLONK, SPLASH Junior Khanh Ly practices his diving at Homestead High School on Apr. 10. Currently, he is a new diver with only a few practices to develop his newfound skill.

Going, going, gone: buying tickets on the Net T

by Raj Dedhia, news editor

he Golden State Warriors are playing the Sacramento Kings at home for one of the highest scoring games of the season. You’ve had this day marked on your calendar for three months, but you’ve just got around to buying your tickets today, hours before the game.

How can you buy the best sports ticket in such little time? Read on.

You have all the benefits of the previous If you want the “biggest bang for your Craigslist.com is a free San Francisco Bay Area (and expanding) online classified buck” then you probably do not want to two websites combined on ebay.com: section, where people can post anything purchase tickets from ticketmaster.com. cheap tickets, email delivery and lastthey want to sell. Many season ticket holders The tickets are already marked up (more minute tickets. When you buy tickets from post their tickets on this website for very little than anywhere else) from the actual cost of ebay, you can search by the team name, profit because they cannot or do not want to the ticket, and they add service fees to the the dates, the number of tickets, or just attend the event. Also, season ticket holders cost of the ticket. Although it may be very the sport itself. For most auctions, there is often get preferred parking, so you do not convenient to have the tickets emailed to you a “Buy-it-Now” option that lets you, well, have to pay an additional fee and you get as a printable PDF file, Ticketmaster adds a buy the tickets NOW. Even when you buy closer parking. Although craigslist seems fee of about $2.50 plus a percentage of tickets last minute, you can get lower-level optimal, it also has its downsides. Because the price. Besides these fees, Tickemaster tickets. eBay is probably the best place to buy tickets, but like all does have its the classified was other places, it does have its advantages. originally focused drawbacks. It is easy to get Usually, they around the San Francisco Bay Area, many sellers require will have tickets even a few hours before scammed because the payment is made that the buyer pick up the tickets. This makes the event starts, so you don’t have to worry before tickets are received. To prevent this, it a hassle to drive the distance. Reliability about being unable to attend. Also, their look at the seller’s feedback. Usually one or is not an issue since you meet the person emailing service allows you to have the two negatives is okay, but avoid sellers with and pay after you recieve the tickets. Safety tickets in your inbox immediately after complaints about tickets being mailed late may be a concern since you do not know you pay, and the payment process is very or unreceived tickets. Also, the payment who the seller is, but that works both ways. simple. Sharks fan senior Bryce Drysdale method can be complicated for first time Fantasy Sports club co-president junior Peter uses Ticketmaster all the time. “I usually buy users. To pay for the tickets, you need a Lu usually buys his tickets from ticketmaster. my tickets from Ticketmaster. They do add PayPal account, which will ask for your com but has seen better deals on craigslist. on a five or six dollar service fee, but it is credit card and bank account information.

“Craigslist works well when you are buying convenient for me,” Drysdale said. With the However, the benefit of paying through this the tickets ahead of time, but when you are extra price comes the security of knowing system is that eBay supports it, making it crunched for time, perhaps this is not the you will have your tickets, which is often easier and safer to pay. If you use eBay, this is the best source for your sports tickets. not the case with other online purchases. best option,” Lu said.

craigslist

11 17

Gupta cheats

A

ny student of chemistry teacher Kavita Gupta would have wanted to be in my slick clown shoes that night at Homestead Lanes. The teacher became the student, the student became the teacher, the GPA-giver became the learner, the GPAscrounger became the educator. Gupta got a delightful taste of her own acid-base tests, and I took a swig, too.

Gupta has such poise, confidence, and intelligence in the classroom, yet she’s off her rocker in the alley. She winds back and swings the ball crookedly forward, and as it flies off of her hand in an off-center fashion, landing with a bam on the polished floor and rolling wildly off to the gutter, she herself is flung in the other direction by Newton’s third law or something like that, leg and arm both flailing out.

Needless target: Chemistry to say, I soon teacher Kavita Gupta realized Location: D206 that it was When: April 7, 2006 Mission: To go bowling I who was the hunter, and she the hunted. I had some experience in bowling so I tried to share it with her. I told her that there was a line of molecules, one right in front of the other, and she must try to hit them all. Instead, her ball was an electron headed toward more electrons.

She eventually thanked me for trying to help her, but said she thinks her own way will work. It’s true, she did get some spares and a strike with her own methodology (after I explained the difference between the two to her). After the second game she said she wanted to stop trying so hard and just play for fun. I exclaimed, “Are students allowed to stop on the fiftieth question on your final? No, they must persevere to the end!”

During the third game, when my scores were dropping toward Tiger Wood numbers, I, too, began to see the pins from the other side. Gupta asked me how I thought a ‘B’ student’s view of Monta Vista compared to an ‘A’ student’s view. I asked her if she understood how her students might struggle in her class. She pointed out how the ‘F’ students have their bowling balls set on ‘B’ students and ‘A’ students aim for ‘A+’ material, much like her happiness at one slain pin and my dissatisfaction at anything below a spare. I said it must be difficult to teach a student who is having trouble understanding. We both agreed that when people are watching or are doing better than you, it puts an intense pressure and stress on you that is akin to circumstances at Monta Vista.

Gupta was a true student that day.

She had trouble learning, felt the pressure to do well, saw no point in the teacher’s methods and opted for her own, and felt the weariness of a long, hard final. There was even some cheating involved before we finished.

Near the end, both of us bowled at the same time, two balls speeding down one lane. It was on our second collaborative attempt that my ball went sailing down for a strike, while Gupta’s got stuck on her thumb and flew backwards, speeding toward the chairs behind us.

After the fourth game, Gupta and I left, reverting back to our original roles. Gupta may not have achieved a passing grade.

I may have not gotten three strikes in a row, though I pleaded inside, ‘Oh my, this would make such a great article, please, oh please, give me that strike.’ Sure as anything, though, I think we understand our own positions and each others’ a bit better.

What happens next is only 62 feet and 10 inches down the way.

Mission accomplished.

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sports

Play by play

Game: Mixed Doubles Badminton against

Saratoga

4:01pm The game starts with junior Jina Wang and sophomore Vivek Ravisankar playing for Monta Vista against freshman Connie Shang and junior Arjun Patel playing for Saratoga.

4:01pm Saratoga scores first with a lob from Patel that barely makes the net.

4:03pm Wang taps the birdie over, tying the game.

4:04pm Ravisankar makes a hard smash.

4:05pm Wang hits Shang with the birdie, uttering a quick apology before putting her focus back on the game.

4:06pm Wang serves a light one which gets returned by Ravisankar, bringing the score to 8-6.

4:09pm Wang lunges to prevent the birdie from hitting the floor.

4:09pm Shang slams, barely makes it in bounds.

4:10pm The teams switch sides, and the MVHS gets a quick pep talk from coach Joe blah.

4:11pm Shang barely misses the birdie, which drops to the ground.

4:13pm Ravisankar slams the bird into the net so hard that it springs over; the score is now 17-10.

4:14pm Game point.

Score: 21-10 Monta Vista

Health on the run Working out in cold weather

With the torrent of rain covering the Bay Area lately, it’s no wonder many athletes are forced to train in the rain. Track Coach Ray Cornell said, “If we didn’t train in the rain we would have had only five days of practice this season.”

Track team member and freshman Mara Spelick said of running in the rain, “I’m wet and get all cold...and [the coaches] always manage to pick rainy days for practice.”

While some student athletes object to the practice, citing the common belief that being out in the rain causes colds, coaches still insist that students tough it out.

“Rain doesn’t cause colds. Germs cause colds,” said former cross-country coach Mike Morris. Indeed, according to intellihealth.com, there is no evidence that the common cold and rain are directly linked. It is more likely that people stay indoors more often during the rainy season.

In close quarters with others, people are more likely to spread the cold to one another. Also, the cold from the rain compromises the immune system, making people more likely to catch cold.

Morris said there are some basic, common sense methods for ensuring that athletes don’t catch colds after being in the rain. He makes sure members of his team “Stay warm and dry before and after events.” Morris brings blankets to meets, and occasionally has athletes wear garbage bags in the rain as keeping athletes warm is critical to maintaining their health.

Additionally, Morris always tells students athletes to rest on proper surfaces after events. Instead of laying on wet, cold grass or gravel, Morris tells students to cool down under overhangs and on concrete.

april 14, 2006

Ambitious archer aims for gold Bow and arrow guide senior to pursue his dream

by Cheryl Ho, staff writer

W

hile other kids dreamed of becoming firefighters or superheroes, six-year old Andrew Kim had no such intentions. Instead of saving the universe or driving the world’s coolest car, he had something completely different in mind: shooting arrows.

“I became interested [in archery] from a toy suction cup dart… when I was five or six,” said Kim. “But my parents didn’t trust me with weapons until later.” Though his interest was sparked by a mere toy, Kim has turned his ideal into a dream come true, after enticing his parents to support the plan.

“I showed them clips of the Seoul Olympic games while I was in middle school,” Kim said. “I’m Korean, and Korea was pretty good at archery.

They won gold in like every event, and it really got my parents interested. They also thought that archery was a unique sport.”

Twelve years later, as a MVHS senior, Kim still continues to pursue archery, practicing nearly every day in his backyard.

“It really feels like I have a connection to the bow and arrow as I draw the arrow to my face – it feels like we’re one unit,” Kim said.

Getting support from his parents is not on Kim’s list of things to worry about anymore. Though archery is an expensive sport, (Kim has about $10,000 worth of equipment!), Kim’s parents encourage him to live out his dream. “They like seeing me devote my time to something that I really care about,” Kim said. “They’re not the type to push me to do things that I don’t want to, so if I have interest in archery, they support it.”

Kim’s parents have gone so far as to set up a 17 meter range in their own backyard. “My house is just long enough to fit the range perfectly,” Kim said. Kim practices for a couple hours out in his backyard every other day, and drives to the range in Menlo Park to shoot under the guidance of Sheri Rhodes, Stanford Archery Team Coach and the Women’s Olympic Coach for the 2004 Athens Games, every couple weeks.

Cheryl Ho | staff photographer TAKING AIM Senior Andrew Kim looks ahead as he demonstrates his form to prepare for a shot. Kim practices on his very own archery range in his backyard. His practice and determination has and will continue his improvement toward a higher level.

“Academic pressures at Monta Vista led [Andrew] to Archery to release that stress,” said father Philip Kim. Kim has progressed quite far in his archery skill; according to his father, he can now “hit most of arrows in the bulls-eye from distances as far as a football field.”

Though he has high interest in archery, it does not sit as Kim’s top priority. “For me, music comes before archery,” he said. Kim has been playing the violin for many years, and due to his dedication, he has not gotten the opportunity to compete in as many archery competitions as he

By the numbers

would like.

“It always seems like those nonnegotiable music performances seem to overlap with archery tournaments,” said Kim. Yet, last summer, in Tulare, CA, Kim placed second in a Bay Area archery competition. “The best part was that the person I defeated actually was ranked around second in California for the under 18 division,” he said.

For Kim, placing second in the Tulare 2005 championship is just the beginning of his future plans. Kim

see ARCHERY on page 16

40

shuttlecocks used by the badminton team during each match

5:13 minutes and seconds in which fresh70 miles per hour, the speed of a pitch by man varsity runner Jean Feng runs a mile freshman junior varsity baseball pitcher Denny Sin 3 home runs hit in one varsity baseball game

0 left handed players on boys varsity tennis

Scoreboard

Track and Field Swimming and Diving Golf Varsity Boys: 0-3 Varsity Girls: 3-0

Varsity: 4-1 JV: 4-1

Varsity: 3-2

Boys Baseball Girls Softball Boys Tennis Badminton Varsity: 2-6 JV: 4-4

Varsity: 3-1 JV: 1-2

Varsity: 8-2 JV: 11-0

Varsity: 9-0 JV: 9-0

entertainment

13

Stand by me: Dynamic

duo makes it to nationals Graduation

Austin Cheng | photo editor

T

he meeting seemed fairly nondescript. Senior Romin Bahk was eating a sandwich, and senior Daniel Zhang was catching up on sleep. Both were waiting for Sean John, an assistant coach for Monta Vista Speech and Debate (MVSD), to finish talking with a debater. About 10 minutes later, Sean was ready to critique their skit, and Zhang was awake, standing in the front of the classroom next to Bahk, who had just finished writing mischievous comments on the white board.

This, by the way, is the team that, along with nine other members of MVSD, qualified for state championships this year. Zhang and Bahk compete together in the speech event known as duo interpretation, an event in which a team of two apply an original interpretation to a skit and act it out either in a humorous or dramatic fashion. This is the second year Zhang and Bahk have been competing together as a team.

At the moment, they are practicing for the upcoming state championships in Rocklin, California.

“Start at the intro,” said Sean.

I felt a noticeable shift in the mood of the room as the joking around died down. Zhang and Bahk were standing next to each other at the front of the classroom, facing an invisible audience.

A look of serious determination crept onto the performers’ faces, and they began to narrate.

“Mr. Green, an 86 year old widower” began Romin.

“-and Ross Gardiner, a 29 year old junior executive-” continued Daniel.

“-find that being Jewish is just one of their similarities-” “-as they bridge the wide gap between tolerance and friendship-” “-and confront the prejudices within us all.”

A pause. Suddenly Bahk hunched his back, stuck his left fist out as if supported by an invisible cane, and put his right hand on his lower back. In an instant, he became Mr. Green, an old Jewish man,

complete with a rough accent.

Zhang, meanwhile, had his left hand raised and was knocking at an invisible door. “Mr. Green?” he called out.

Both were still next to each other, facing the audience. With a quick gesture, Bahk opened an invisible door. Evidently, it was the same door on which Zhang was knocking. “Who are you?” asked Bahk, that is, Mr. Green. It was Ross Gardiner.

In plays, of course, the actors would be facing each other and situated on either side of a prop door. In duo interpretation, however, the performers cannot touch, make eye contact, or use props. Not only must they make their characters convincing, they must also make their imaginary surroundings convincing.

Every movement and gesture must be carefully calculated to properly convey the piece’s meaning. At the beginning of their skit, Zhang was supposed to be holding a bag of food, but John caught him inadvertently playing with his hands during a line and stopped him immediately to point that out. When it comes to duo interpretation, every little detail counts.

“Visiting Mr. Green,” a play by Jeff Baron, is about two strangers, Ross Gardiner and Mr. Green, who met because Ross was ordered to help Mr. Green with his daily tasks as a court punishment. With Ross’s first arrival, idle conversation took a turn for the worse when Mr. Green asked if Ross was married.

He wasn’t.

“I’m telling you, Ross. For every boy, there’s a girl,” said Mr. Green.

“Not if… you’re gay,” said Ross, awkwardly.

Mr. Green’s reaction was similar to see INTERP on page 15 the reaction of Ross’s parents when they MAKING FACES seniors Daniel Zhang (left) and Romin Bahk (right) perform during Open Mic Night on April 7.

by Michael Leung, staff writer

Sine, Cosine, and Rock n’ Roll

Math teacher Carolyn McNabb balances teaching and music

by Rachel Lui, back page editor

C

arolyn McNabb started learning piano at the age of two.

When her older sister first started learning to play, McNabb was inspired to play and began to teach herself. McNabb recalls, “I would climb up and make up songs or I’d hear a song and then start to play the same tune.”

McNabb progressed in her musical talents by taking classical piano lessons in elementary school, jazz lessons in high school and all the way into college. She first fell in love with performing when she began to play in the UC Berkeley Jazz Ensembles.

Through playing in their big bands, she was able to give concerts on Sproul Plaza and compete in the Pacific Coast Jazz Festivals.

After she graduated college, she began to play in a few other jazz bands, then rock bands.

Up until now, McNabb has played various types of music including rock n roll, blues, jazz, country, and rockabilly, just to name a few. Currently, McNabb is in three bands; they include the Emily Lord Band, Bart Shea’s Drivin’ Wheel (blues), and T & Company (southern rock). Out of the three, she has been with the Emily Lord Band the longest. “Recently I have been able to have more time (for music) because my kids are grown up,” explained McNabb, “so now I’m able to be in three bands.”

When asked to recall her most memorable experience, McNabb laughs and exclaims that there are too many, but she shares her most recent memorable experience. Last summer she went to Austin to record an album, and she even compared the experience to band camp because the entire week was full of fun

and excitement. “Everyday we would record from 10 am to 6 pm and then after dinner we would play again for a few more hours.

If we weren’t too exhausted, we went down to Sixth Street and listened to other bands.”

M c N a b b explains her struggle with choosing between professions. “I had to choose between teaching, art, and music,” she explained, “but in the end I thought I was better at teaching math than -Math teacher Carolyn McNabb (teaching) music and I didn’t want to be dependent on a musician’s unstable income.”

Even with McNabb’s busy schedule teaching, she is still able to play gigs almost every week, but luckily most of them are in the Bay Area. She plays various types of gigs, ranging from bars, birthday parties, to coffeehouses. Even though McNabb may be extremely busy with all of her commitments, she doesn’t mind the late hours playing music. McNabb says, “My advice for any aspiring musician is to learn your music theory, practice like crazy, and have a stable job.”

“

You guys make room for your jobs and things like cheer team and we teachers can do it too. We can rock and roll.

”

Speech D

o I have to change my name?

Will it get me far?

Should I lose some weight?

Am I gonna be a star?

I tried to be a boy, I tried to be a girl I tried to be a mess, I tried to be the best I guess I did it wrong -Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone

Yeah right. Judging by Madonna’s career, I’d have to say that if anything, she is the one person in the entertainment industry (let alone the music) who actually did it right. She’s kept us hypnotized since the 80s. Just watch I Love the 80s, I Love the 80s Strikes Back, I Love the 90s, or I Love the 90s Part Deux and take it from the kind, knowledgeable people at VH1 if you have any doubts.

So how does she do it? How has she maintained her position as resident Goddess all these years? By reinventing herself. She changes who she is before we even get a chance to realize we’re bored of who she was. Unlike her counterpart Britney, she’s stayed in the news and in our minds because she truly intrigues us, not because she keeps getting herself knocked up by Kfed (not to mention the infamous sculpture... but thats for another column altogether).

And we don’t shun Madonna because she wears cone boobies and sings about virginity. We worship her. She changes for every generation, and every generation loves her more for it. We respect her because she’s not afraid to do something wrong. She does what we all wish we could, with her hair, her clothes, her music, her religion.

The question is, is she being fake?

As less than famous little children, we’ve been taught the exact opposite. The word on the street was always to never change yourself for anyone. Especially in high school, it’s everything we ever hear. Stick to yourself, right? Be who you are! But honestly, how are we ever going to know who we are if we don’t experiment with being different types of people? How are we going to know if we’ve been fake all along?

Now before the Mothers Against Drunk Driving start persecuting me, just know, I am in no way talking about experimenting with drugs and alcohol. If you’ve read my column before, you know my motto, “Drugs Kill, Symrin Saves.” At least they killed Sid and Nancy, so that’s enough for me.

What I’m talking about is style-personality. Take a page out of Madonna’s book and mix it up every once in a while.

Just because everyone thinks you’re the quiet kid in the polo shirt doesn’t mean you always have to be that.

So scream at the top of your lungs. Be reckless. See what it feels like. Who knows?

Maybe you’ll find something that suits you more than Abercrombie & Fitch, the real you.

And if someone says they don’t get you, then don’t change who you are to suit them.

Stay that way because you don’t have to let people read you like a book your whole life.

So be bi-polar. Be schizophrenic. Be a freak. Be outrageous. Be your own Madonna. Because - now here comes the graduation speech part - high school is the only time you have left to try it. If you take yourself too seriously you’re going to miss out.

Reinvent yourself.

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entertainment

Who knew that the one food that does not taste like chicken would be chicken itself? Tasting the cafeteria’s new health cart offering, cafe wraps, Wednesday revealed this astounding new fact. Three offerings are available: teriyaki chicken, chicken Caesar salad, and vegetarian. A flimsy, pale tortilla that tastes like floured cardboard engulfs brown rice, sliced fried chicken, assorted chopped vegetables, and depending on the order, a generous drizzle of sickeningly sweet teriyaki sauce or heavy Caesar salad dressing. Someone should check if the cafeteria knows what meat actually is because the chicken tasted dry, gummy, and heavily seasoned with nothing that tasted like pepper and salt. The dry rice lacked any taste, but the over-flavored teriyaki sauce made up for it. However, the one part of the wrap that prevented me from throwing it out completely was the fresh vegetables, which included green bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes. At $2.25 per wrap with a side of stale tortilla chips, I suggest you spend five minutes in the morning to make a PB and J sandwich rather than buying this so-called food.

Cliché story of rejects making it to the top works out for the better

by Aniqa Hasan, staff writer

W

ith trailers that consist of dancers switching fluidly from hip-hop to waltz, passionate moments between two strangers, completed by an array of drug raids and prostitution rings, Liz Friedlander’s Take the Lead seemed promising. However overused and predictable the plot line of New Line Cinema’s newest movie is, the cast, choreography, and filming more than make this movie worthwhile.

Based on the true story of Pierre Dulaine, the movie portrays the challenges faced by a group of high school students living in the slums of downtown New York City. Dulaine, played by Antonio Banderas, is a professional dancer who chances upon a group of rejected students who feel the world has nothing to offer them. Though the students are at first reluctant to learn this old-fashioned style of dance, they eventually learn to use it to escape from the harsh reality they usually face.

The plot line has a Disney movie-like predictability, happy ending and the works.

Not to say that Take the Lead doesn’t have its share of twists, including a few subplots that consist of characters transcending the barriers of the social ladder to create friendships that are somewhat quirky,

passionate kiss, to a wide screen shot of a dance number. Overall, the general balance of lighting and sound worked well with the scenes they were depicting.

Finally, the choreography matched the theme well.

Playing off the idea of ballroom music fused with hip-hop music, the dances do the same. Each dancer mixed old with new in a style that was fun to watch and made you want to learn to breakdance and tango at the same time.

Whether you watch Take the Lead for the dance moves or the dramatic undertones, this movie will keep your mind dancing and your toes tapping to the beat of the lively mix of hip-hop and waltz.

but beautiful nonetheless.

Besides the clichéd plot line, the movie was amazing. The cast, including Banderas, Rob Brown from Coach Carter, and Yaya DaCosta from America’s Next Top Model, all played their roles amazingly. Banderas had an elegance about his manner that transported the audience back to the grace of the Victorian era.

The students were characterized by a welcome mixture of feistiness and passion, to produce a very realistic portrayal of teenagers growing up in the harsh world of the inner city.

The cinematography was well-coordinated and the movie utilized camera angles to draw the audience in for everything from closeups on a

LIST

You sit at your desk pretending to pay attention. But when the magical deskmakers of the world created those desks, they probably didn’t have any idea that this is what you could do with them.

1.

Build a tower of desks taller than the teacher and declare yourself King or Queen of the classroom.

2.

Sample exotic gums from different eras by flipping your desk upside-down.

It’s a colorful palate of flavors dating back to 80’s.

3.

Put four desks in a square formation, then cover them with coats and blankets.

You’ve made a fort that not even your teacher can see into!

4.

Push all the desks to the walls and make space for an old-fashioned ho-down!

Fri. food review

5.

Flip all the desks upside-down before the teacher comes into the room.

When he returns, act as if nothing has happened.

6.

Build a barrier with some desks for Code Red alerts!

7. In the event of a blizzard that traps

students in, burn desks for fuel. Use the remaining, heated metal pieces to joust for the remnants of food in the classroom.

8.

Scrape away the laminate, then count the rings in the wood grain. See how long the tree lived before it was ruthlessly cut down for your educational benefit.

in the

HALLWAYS 9.

Weight train by lifting desks, even when not in weight-training class.

10. Play Xtreme Jenga---loser gets crushed by a 7-foot stack of desks.

5/5 movie

5/2 cooking

Humorist David Sedaris at Flint Center

Giada De Laurentiis at Santana Row’s Sur La Table from 12-1 PM

Timeless and classic, stripes bring life to your wardrobe.

For fashionable MV students, there are endless ways to parade a parallel pattern.

4/30 comedy

4/25 cd

Goo Goo Dolls’ album, Let Love In, comes out

Friday’s feature of stirfry bowls is a huge improvement over Wednesday’s wraps and the majority of the cafeteria food. This time, fried nuggets of chicken glazed with a mildly sweet teriyaki sauce and a large scoop of fresh vegetables sit on a bed of white rice. Expecting the fried coating of the chicken to be as soggy as that of the cafeteria’s chicken nuggets, I was surprised that it was satisfyingly thin, crunchy, and not oily. The next surprise was that the meat actually tasted like chicken. It wasn’t exactly tender, but it was edible to the point that I finished all the pieces and decided that this was the best meat that the cafeteria had ever served. The sauce paired well with the slightly salted and mushy rice. Again, the vegetables were a hit. Often, school cafeterias serve olive-colored vegetables, an indication that they have been cooked too long, but MV serves purely green peas and broccoli with orange carrots.

Jars of Clay at Great America at 1 PM

Wed. food review

Antonio Banderas ‘takes the lead’ on screen

5/6 concert

A Styrofoam bowl of steamy pasta drenched with marinara sauce accompanied with cheese bread filled the brown cardboard tray. It looked like an appetizing and wholesome meal to have that Tuesday during lunch. The new lunchtime health cart presented three different shapes of pasta with either the choice of vegetarian or meat sauce. The first couple of bites gave a tantalizing taste of tomato, basil, and garlic. The cheese bread complimented the meal, giving a welcome change of taste after a few mouthfuls of marinara sauce and pasta. However, as my hunger wore off, I realized that it tasted rather bland and mushy. The surprising aspect in this meal was that even though it was being sold at the “health” cart, it lacked the very thing that makes a meal healthy: vegetables. Simple carbohydrates and tomato sauce were so mundane that finishing the meal was much more difficult than I had expected. In the end, I decided that next time I would opt to buy only the bread and ditch the pasta.

the

Tue. food review

april 14, 2006

Mission: Impossible 3 with Tom Cruise debuts

14

april 14, 2006

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entertainment

15

Success of first Open Mic Night brings it back

Unexpected senior-organized encore show brings in new talents, audience, and a returning enthusiastic crowd

by Jordan Kolb, perspectives editor

S

ometimes success for a show isn’t measured by selling out or going without technical glitches, sick performers, and starting late. In the case of Monta Vista’s Open Mic Night, it only took one enthusiastic audience member to get an encore.

“A sophomore came up to one of the officers and said that the first show totally blew his mind and that he would help us organize the second one because he was so into it. That’s when we knew we should do a second one,” said senior class vice president and Open Mic Night performer Anita Koo. In the opening skit of the Apr. 8 encore performance, MCs Chris Lin and Garrett Sheng told a fictitious story of a man whose “only purpose in life was to find a multi-talented performance at MVHS.” Sadly, the man had to wait 75 years between performances. And while the skit was funny, it does seem to ring true: performances for students to show off their talents, other than plays and music concerts, are hard to come by.

“We need a lot more of these. There are a lot of people with a lot of talent out there,” said senior Kevin Ju, who performed a capella and poetry at both performances.

“It wasn’t done last year, so nobody had really heard about it, and we weren’t sure about the turnout. We loved it two years ago and it definitely affected us,” said Koo. Luckily, when they brought up the idea of the encore, “all the performers wanted to go for it and show off their stuff again,” she said.

The show may not have been as “professional” as other Monta Vista performances. It was okay for the performers

to enjoy the other acts from the audience, and while some performers were dressed in suits and ties, others wore their cargo pants and T-shirts. But no one seemed to mind.

“People just wanted to be entertained and wanted to see their classmates perform their talents. It’s great that ‘06 organized this for people trying to showcase their talents,” said sophomore comedian Ryan Walker. Being completely student-run may have helped make the night more casual Performers still got backstage butterflies, but according to freshman poet Erica Cei, “I was so blinded by the lights, I couldn’t see the people, so I wasn’t that nervous.” For Cei, Mic Night was the largest audience for which she had ever performed her poetry.

Cei and 30 other performers participated. Four standup comedians bravely ignored the phrase “dying is easy, comedy is hard” and managed to squeeze laughs from the audience. Four Speech and Debate team members did the routines they had performed time and time again, while others, such as singer sophomore Monica Ho, were singing on stage for the first time. Two a cappella groups were thrown into the mix, along with numerous other guitar, vocal, and piano performances. No one seemed to mind that the show lasted longer than most.

“I thought it was impressive that they could hold the [audience’s attention] for three hours, because usually [shows] run around one and a half [hours],” said junior Tony Song. “My attention was held the entire time, and I believe everyone else’s was too. I liked it a lot and would definitely come back again. I’d say it was worth my money.”

For those hoping for yet another repeat performance, Koo hates to be the bearer of bad news. “We’re too pressed for time too hold another one,” she said. The

Interp

continued from page 13 Mr. Green’s reaction was similar to the reaction of Ross’s parents when they first heard the news: intolerance. Mr. Green later told Ross, “It’s not what God wanted. You never heard of the Ten Commandments? Honor thy father and thy mother.”

“I do honor them, Mr. Green, but what am I supposed to do?” shouted Ross in tearful exasperation. “I’m supposed to wreck a woman’s and some kids’ lives because my parents want grandchildren? Is that what you call being a good Jew?” “Get out of my house! Get the hell out!” Mr. Green shouted back.

“Okay stop.”

It was John. He had a comment about enunciation.

It felt strange getting pulled back into reality so suddenly. John would later comment: “It’s like you’re in the middle of a movie and someone just turned off the TV.” It was that engrossing, if only because the actors themselves were that immersed in their characters.

At one point, Zhang and Bahk were rehearsing the actions of Mr. Green snatching and Ross releasing a letter. When they reached that point in the skit, John reached out and mimicked the action of snatching the paper a few seconds before Bahk was to perform the action, and Zhang opened his hand too early.

In the preceding scene, I was plunged into the center of two on going family conflicts.

I learned about Ross’s failing struggle against his family’s – and society’s – disapproval of

Austin Cheng | photo editor EXISTENTIALISM ON PROM NIGHT Senior Jim Chin performed Existentialism on Prom Night with senior Alex Shei on piano. In addition to this performance, Chin also performed a spoken word, a form of poetry, and a Speech and Debate interpretive act.

eager audience -- especially any enthusiastic sophmores-will have to wait for the next Mic Night, an event that will surely attract audiences for years to come.

his sexuality. I also learned that Mr. Green had a daughter, Rachel, who had angered her father by marrying a non-Jew. The two hadn’t spoken for decades; Mr. Green hadn’t even told Rachel that her mother had passed away.

Perhaps the most emotional of the scenes occurred when Ross came to announce that he was leaving for good. As he was leaving, he turned back for a last word.

“Tell me, Mr. Green, because I really want to understand this,” said Ross with a tearful rage. “You found out Rachel wasn’t gonna be what you wanted her to be, so you never saw her again. Did you immediately stop loving her? Were you really able to go on with your work and your marriage – 59 years, no arguments – and never even think about your only daughter? How could you do that?”

“Ross…” said Mr. Green softly. “I never stopped thinking about her.”

He motioned to Ross. They embrace.

“Okay, stop.”

Sean again. He had some comment about the pace of speaking. Zhang’s eyes were still moist from Ross’s tears, and so the whole mood felt really strange when John made a joke and everyone laughed.

“You gotta have a break in all that drama,” John explained.

I know I needed one. They say that a good dramatic duo interp, a simple skit performed by two people in suits without props and unable to look at each other, can be so gripping that it brings an audience to tears. I think I finally understood that.

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24

back page schedule

continued from front page students will be able to concentrate their efforts on preparing for second semester. Furthermore, having a clear divide between the two semesters allows teachers to plan their curriculum with a clear beginning and end.

A side benefit of the proposal is that teachers have a chance to relax. Finals week, as usual, will be structured to include many half days, allowing teachers ample time to grade their tests and compile semester grades before break. Although the grades will not be due until after break, Principal April Scott anticipates that most teachers will turn them in early.

A consequence of the potential schedule change is that the second semester will be extended two weeks – an impact significant on the government and economics classes, currently the only one semester classes at Monta Vista. However, with the several weeks of California Exit Exam, STAR, and AP testing, the schedule change may actually balance existing inequalities in the semesters.

Social Studies teacher Ben Recktenwald said he had 18 weeks to teach Government AP the first semester this year and 12 weeks the second semester taking the breaks and standardized testing into account. With the schedule change, he will have 15 weeks to allocate to each semester,

evening out the disparity in curriculum time.

Some students have concerns about a shorter first semester. Sophomore Karthik Bharadwaj said, “By shortening the semester, we have less time to bring up our grades.”

There’s also the question of whether having finals before break will actually reduce stress. A stressful break is a function of whether students study or not. Many students simply choose not to study during break and therefore aren’t stressed during it. “I actually don’t study much over winter break. Usually, I casually look over notes, but that’s about it. Break isn’t a great study environment anyway.

I usually go to movies, sleepovers, and other social gatherings,” Bharadwaj said. This sentiment was shared by eight surveyed students. The general consensus was that students attempt to study but normally don’t accomplish much. If students don’t use break to study much, then giving students a less work-intensive break may not make a difference.

The proposal is a one-year waiver, meaning that it would only apply to next school year. Next spring, the school would evaluate the schedule change and decide whether or not to make the change permanent. “We’re just finalizing the concept of moving finals. Small changes can still be made later,” Fey said.

friend

continued from front page Shah said, “You can talk to them, but a lot of the vocabulary we’ve learned in class... you can’t really use when you are talking to someone you have just met.”

However, it is evident that volunteers are not attracted to the program simply by the opportunity to use practice theirs Spanish.

“The Spanish part was good,” Shah said, “but my favorite part is the interaction. You just meet so many people who are all different. You just have a different view on like their culture. I mean, there are stereotypes associated with these [low-income families], but when you get to know them, you don’t really remember the stereotypes.”

For Chang, Sunday Friends has given her a chance to make a sincere connection with the people who she is helping.

“The kids were really excited,” Chang said. “They were all like ‘Oh, I got this for you!

I got this for you!’ They were basically using the money to buy Christmas presents [that] otherwise they wouldn’t have to take home.”

Chang continued, “There was this other girl [who] I brought into the treasure chest.

After we came out, she found me again and asked me if I could stay with her. She was having trouble finding her mom. So I stayed with her since it was getting dark.”

deca

april 14, 2006 A couple of years ago Lynbrook went through a similar procedure and now has finals after break.

Lynbrook senior Patrick Gallagher finds the new schedule an overall positive development. “You actually get to enjoy break,” Gallagher said.

He notes that “some teachers initially had problems switching over to the new system. Some teachers started doing their own thing and would say, ‘My semester ends here, even if the school semester didn’t.”

After a couple years of implementation, however, Gallagher finds that most of the problems with the schedule switch have been remedied. “Nobody really cares that much. Now that the schedule has switched, people don’t really question it.”

Scott views the schedule change as an innovation for Monta Vista. “This speaks volumes about the school looking at the way we do things,” said Scott. “We’re breaking tradition. It’s so easy to say, ‘We do this because it’s the way it’s been done,’ but now we’re saying ‘Why do we do this? Maybe there’s a better way.’”

Although the proposal was staff-driven, the call for the change came from parents and students as well. “I really commend the staff,” said Scott. “It shows we’re being responsive to requests. It shows that we’re listening to parents and students.”

“That stood out the most because someone actually wanted me to stay with them,” Chang said, “They actually specifically asked if I could stay. And I guess that just makes everything worth it. You know you connected with somebody, even thought they might not remember you next time.”

In addition, by participating in the Sunday Friend’s program, as with many other forms of community service, the volunteers walk away with a new appreciation for life.

Junior Aditi Jain said, “Everything that [the families] get from Sunday friends may seem like mundane, everyday things to us, but seeing them working so closely together for these things…it really makes you see the value [of your own circumstances].”

However, what makes Sunday Friends different from other charity organizations is that it is more than simply a charity. Sunday Friends provides the low-income families with a way to earn points and work for the things they need, thus allowing them to maintain their dignity and self respect. The families do not have to succumb to simply accepting the charity of others.

Chang said, “I think that’s the purpose of Sunday friends: to get [the families] together and provide them with the essential things they need and give them motivation to do these things. I think it not just only brings the families together, but it also brings the whole community together.”

college

archery

continued from page 3

continued from page 5

continued from page 12

Schmidt, to whom Vaidhyanathan attributes much of her success, argues that the recognition of that influence is exactly what has helped her excel. In her work for DECA at the school, regional, and state level, Schmidt said, “[Anagha] focused on building the organization, rather than her own campaign.” And it’s for that very reason, he says, that “people genuinely like her.”

Still, when it comes to her business knowledge, Vaidhyanathan is no softie. She placed first in DECA’s International Business Plan competition at the state and district level earlier in the year. Vaidhyanathan and her group came up with the novel idea of “medical tourism,” in which U.S. hospitals could “outsource” non-immediate, such as cosmetic, surgeries to hospitals overseas. This would allow U.S. hospitals to devote their attention to major, immediate medical concerns.

As far as her career goals, Vaidhyanathan hopes to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, one of the best business schools in the country, where she wishes to study international relations. This path, she said, “allows you to pursue and hone the skills you already have to be a successful business executive, and have the knowledge and power at the end of the day to not let yourself get attached to your money - rather step away from it and donate it to charity.”

But as far as the present goes, Vaidhyanathan is soaking in her pride, and responsibility, from leading DECA, and it is clear that she is doing an excellent job.

Vaidhyanthan gets on her tiptoes so she can peek her head over the podium, and lifts her gavel, slamming it down emphatically. “Meeting officially adjourned.”

While the peer pressure might be easier to pass off as gossip, the parental influence is a bit harder to shake.

They love us, after all, and want nothing but success in our future.

In fact, many people are at MVHS in the first place because it is so academically focused. We just forget sometimes, and so do our parents, that the measure of success isn’t going to be in what college you go to, but how much effort you put in once you get there. That is something that we need to remember as college approaches.

MVHS needs to forget the prestigious “name” and find colleges that cater to its own needs. Not everyone would do well at Harvard because not everyone has a “Harvard” personality. In the exact same way, not everyone would do well at Chico State because not everybody has a “Chico” personality. We get this whole “acceptance” thing backwards; we assume that our diversity needs to accommodate the stereotypical student that prestigious colleges look for, when in reality it is the colleges that accommodate us. As MVHS guidance counselor Cathy Katz said, “we all have to look at what’s best for us.” Colleges exist for us, not the other way around.

So, in the leftover spirit of Diversity Week, let’s embrace our diversity and not encourage everyone to follow the same path. When a student chooses to pursue higher education, be it at De Anza or at Stanford, celebrate! They’re doing something with their life and they worked to get where they are. They deserve a congratulations.

wants to continue archery throughout college and possibly even afterwards. Just recently getting accepted to Duke University, he said, “Surprisingly, Duke doesn’t have an archery program. My goal is to hopefully start one to compete in competitions and meet other archers in the process.”

Kim has also been looking to get more involved in the archery world. “After I graduate, I assume more free time will clear up, and I can devote it to archery.”

After accelerating along the path of intense competition, Kim has one other major goal. “I actually want to be able to take part in the Olympic Games,” he said. “I feel that my commitment to the sport is high, and with my mindset, it is definitely attainable.”

“If he has the will, I believe it is possible,” said Philip.

“He has been training for competitions nationally and internationally. However, there is a lot more he can learn.

But in his hope to revive Duke University’s archery team first, then promote the sport for Durham, I believe that what he plans to do will allow him to further intensify his mindset to achieve his goal.”

“Archery is a mental sport,” Philip added. “For him to make it happen, I will give him full support... I know he’s not Olympic caliber as of now, but with these goals in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrew goes on to represent team Korea or USA in lets say, the 2012 London Olympics.”

Still, Kim sees archery as a critical part of his approach to life, not just as a sport. “[Archery] allows me to focus, not only on the targets, but it helps me to concentrate and really develop a mentality that I can use not just for archery but for other things as well,” said Kim.