Volume 37, Issue 8, May 222006 by El Estoque

perspectives

Meridian Notes a powerful tool only if used as supplement

entertainment

Jazz band’s catchy music enwraps audiences

centerspread

sports

Badminton enters CCS with undefeated record

Modern Families vol

may22 2006

An art legend commemorated

XXXVII

edition

Students await CAHSEE verdict by Steffi Lau, editor-in-chief

photo courtesy of El Valedor

MURAL Gary Post (right) and a fellow staff member paint a mural to grace the school’s walls in 1985. The murals that Post painted still remain today on MVHS’ buildings. TEACHER Post shows off his student’s work in 2003. As the ROP art teacher, Post worked hard to promote art as a career. SUNGLASSES Post was a generally happy person who always had a smile on his face.

by Radhika Chandrasekhar, entertainment editor

“G

ary Post took great ownership in MVHS and teaching of art. He took even more ownership in the importance of art and having art as a part of your life as a student. His ability to communicate and transfer art to students was unbelievable. He just had a knack with engaging students, creating a wonderful environment for them to be in and then supporting them in their artistic development,” said Assistant Principal Brad Metheany. It was with such commitment and enthusiasm toward his job and students that Gary Post has made such an impact on MVHS. On May 16 at 4 am, Post passed away

of esophageal cancer. Diagnosed last April, Post was forced to reconsider a lot of things, including whether to continue teaching this year. “I hadn’t made a decision, but when they started telling me how serious it was and what I was going to have to go through, it was obvious that I wasn’t coming back to teach this year,” said Post, in an interview three weeks before his death. In July, he underwent surgery and dilation and began a rigorous six-month long chemotherapy process in August that required a lot of his time and energy. Despite such an unexpected setback, Post still retained a care-free, positive, and lighthearted attitude about life. “You know, I worked real hard on not thinking about [the cancer] and not dwelling

on it, which isn’t always easy because I live alone. But I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I was always inclined to live life and take it a day at a time,” he said. What also helped Post get through hard times were his friends. P.E. teacher Dave Vieira, one of Post’s best friends for about 30 years, often visited him at the hospital and even helped him move last month. Through these tough times, his sense of humor never wavered. “[At least] I didn’t lose my hair! They told me I’d lose my hair by the second session. So I got a crew cut so I didn’t plug up the shower, but I didn’t even lose my mustache! So that was pretty cool,” he said with a

see POST on page 24

ost of MVHS’ students knew by the summer of their sophomore year that they were going to graduate with no problem. 220 credits? Check. Exit exam? Check. But even though only 1.5 percent of the MVHS upperclassmen do not pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) the first time, for 10 percent of the students in this state, one of those boxes still remains glaringly empty. “In this system, the test looks like a joke to many students,” said Assistant Principal Dennis Plaza, this year’s administrator for the exit exam. But for many, including those who are learning English, those who have special needs and those who have not been in the California school system or even the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) for all of their school years, the test is not an easy task to complete. This year is the first year that the state of California has required students to pass the exam in order to graduate. Those who did not pass the exam were barred from receiving diplomas. However, on May 12, this rule was reversed when California Judge Robert Freedman suspended the exit exam as a graduation requirement. He claimed that due to imbalances in the California education system, not all students are adequately prepared for the test. But the ruling may not be permanent: State Superintendent Jack O’Connell plans to appeal as soon as possible. Because this is the first year the exam has been required in order to graduate, FUHSD’s Board of Trustees granted a one-year exemption prior to the recent ruling: students in the Class of 2006 who did not pass the exam would be allowed to participate in the graduation, but instead of receiving diplomas, they would receive certificates of completion signifying that they had completed the necessary 220 course

see CAHSEE on page 4

Fire alarm during AP test may mean retake for seniors

Seniors wait on decision while staff offer varied opinions on possible second test by Rachel Lui, back page editor

s the end of the school year quickly approaches, students are beginning to simmer down. Finals will quickly come and quickly go, and the summer awaits two whole months of relaxation. Advanced Placement (AP) tests will not have to be thought of for another whole year, but seniors that took the Macroeconomics test in the field house may have to go through just one more AP test before they go off to college. On the morning of May 11, a startling fire alarm at Monta Vista High School disrupted classes on campus. Normally, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal; students would have to file out of their classrooms and wait for about 20 minutes before they return. This fire alarm was different because it was during an AP exam, specifically Macroeconomics for

students with last names beginning with M-Z. The College Board, the organization that administers AP exams, has tightened their security regarding tests over the past few years. Students are prohibited from bringing cell phones anywhere near the testing site and may not leave the room during any part of testing. There are many strict instructions students must follow while taking the test, including sealing all multiple choice books and sitting at least 10 feet apart between two students to ensure that there is no cheating. Furthermore, College Board prohibits students from ever discussing multiple-choice questions, and they can only discuss free-response questions two days after the test is administered. When the fire alarm went off, all of the students were instructed to go outside and were in an open area outside of the field house for six minutes. They were still in the middle

of their multiple-choice section. The only supervision that the students had were the proctors for the AP exam. The fire alarm, which led all students to evacuate, turned out to be due a large dust cloud. “The smoke detector that went off was in an enclosed area where there was construction. Some smoke detectors are heat sensitive, and some are particle sensitive,” Principal April Scott said. “The smoke detector that triggered the fire alarm was smoke sensitive, and sometimes when a dust cloud is very big, it will cause the smoke detector to be triggered.” One concern that has been expressed about this emergency fire alarm is the likelihood that all of the Macroeconomic tests will be invalidated. If this occurs,

see RETAKE on page 24

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News-Information-Updates

n Apparently, the Monta Vistan obsession with college applications is nothing new.

Photo courtesy of Traci Kim PROTEST Juniors Erica Lee and Traci Kim (left to right) hold a sign protesting the Darfur genocide on April 30 on Crissy Field in San Francisco. MVHS’ Amenesty International joined the 5,000 activists there.

Speaking out with silence n The sound of an occasional car honk was the only noise that broke the silence. On April

30, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge was shockingly quiet as around 5,000 human rights activists, college students, and Monta Vista students gathered for a ten-minute vigil in respect of the ongoing Darfur genocide. After the vigil, the activists walked together to Crissy Field, where the group proceeded to hold a rally to raise public awareness regarding the genocide. MVHS Amnesty International president senior Miriam Morris was among those who showed up at the event. “Brad Wolfe was there. There was the Sweater Club, director of the Holocaust Museum, US House Representatives…There were so many people there, and everyone was really into it. There were people that cared,” Morris said. Senior Anjuli Bedi was also at the rally. “At the rally, [the representatives who had been to Darfur] were telling us personal stories about people who have to live through [the genocide]…it just gave you a lot more perspective on what was going on and what people are trying to do,” Bedi said.

n As of its meeting on April 25, Leadership Council adopted a new process for club creation.

Previously, new clubs had to give presentations and be approved by both Leadership and Club Council in order to obtain club status. Now, new clubs will undergo a probationary period during which the club can demonstrate its capabilities and obtain help from Leadership in starting up before being evaluated for permanent status. The move, Leadership hopes, will make the process more supportive rather than punitive of clubs. The policy change also involves replacing Club Council with Club Conference next year. The purpose of these conference sessions is to allow clubs to share ideas with one another and obtain relevant information about school-wide events and policy. Class of 2006 ASB President Andrew Mok hopes that the new process will be clearer, more concise, and supportive of clubs than past policies. “In the past, there were essentially no defined criteria for clubs and no track record to vote on. Basically, it was how good the presenter was and whether we thought the club idea was good. With all this subjectivity, it was hard to maintain consistency in voting, and we wanted to give all clubs a fairer shot,” Mok said. Mok believes that the richness of the opportunities for students at Monta Vista is what makes the school so great and, a step to encourage new clubs is a step in the right direction. “One thing we considered was whether it really hurt to have too many clubs. It seemed that the benefits of giving every Monta Vista student the chance to start their own student-run program outweighed any harms,” Mok said.

Author Justina Chen Headley, an MVHS graduate from 20 years ago, will be visiting on May 24 to share some of her experience with the college application essay and discuss her newly published novel Nothing But The Truth (and a few white lies). Chen’s novel chronicles a biracial girl’s journey through high school while following the changes associated with accepting various cultures. After graduating from MVHS in 1986 as Tina Chen, she went on to study at Stanford University. Before pursuing her career as an author, Chen worked as a marketing executive for Microsoft. She now lives in Seattle, Washington with her family. Chen encourages students to pursue their writing talents through her “Nothing but the Truth” essay contest, which prompts students to explore truths they have discovered about themselves. The contest features a grand prize award of a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond to be used for college expenses. Principal April Scott is hosting a reception for staff in honor of the author during the morning of May 24. Students are invited to sign up with their teachers to attend a 30-minute presentation with Chen during their second, fourth, or sixth period classes later that day.

This year, an age-old MV tradition is getting a new look—and a new venue. The Senior Farewell Rally will be held in the Rally Court as a result of gym construction during an extended 80-minute lunch period on May 26. The event will include several performances, class competitions, food sales, and a formal farewell to seniors in addition to games and activities for all students. Senior Hidenori Yamada reacted to the change with optimism. “The location has moved out of the stuffy gymnasium, and there will be more to do than stand there, so personally I want to go and see what happens.” Regardless, Yamada and other MVHS students will not have the option of leaving campus for the extended lunch. Students are expected to stay on campus for the first 30 minutes of the extended period to attend the rally. At the end of the rally, students will be allowed to leave campus for lunch as usual. For students anticipating the event’s festivities, an exact listing of activities will be available a week before the rally.

n On May 7, English teacher Kelly Wong race walked her way to victory at Soquel High School near Santa Cruz. Wong competed in a 5 kilometer event and successfully finished the course in 27 minutes and 42 seconds. A total of 11 people, men and women, raced in this event. “It was funny because I beat all the men too!” said Wong. Wong has been training for the past several months with her black lab by doing intervals, distance running, and practicing with her personal coach Laura Cribbins. In Wong’s last race eight months ago, another woman beat her. However, at Soquel, Wong outran her by 1 minute and 17 seconds. Unfortunately, Wong’s husband was not there to watch his wife cross the finish line. “One of my friends was on the phone with my husband as I was racing to give him a blow by blow of how I was doing, which was really nice,” said Wong with a smile.

n Newsweek released their annual high school rankings on May 8 and to the surprise

of many students and parents alike, MVHS fell from number 57 to number 150. However, Assistant Principal Erik Walukiewicz isn’t concerned. “Our administration doesn’t think this is a danger to our schools. Newsweek added in magnet schools into the list this year, so that mainly accounts for the difference in our ranking,” said Walukiewicz. The list also does not consider the high success of MVHS’ students on these AP tests into their numerical rankings, although Newsweek has added a single column for each school’s passing rate this year. MVHS had an 89 percent passing rate for all AP tests taken in 2005. The Newsweek annual ranking is obtained by the total number of AP tests taken compared to the school’s population.

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 Jordan Kolb Steffi Lau Edward Young Managing Editors Aniqa Hasan Neha Joshi Vikram Srinivasan Anagha Vaidhyanathan 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 Cheryl Ho Adam Jacobs Michael Leung Judy Liang Melissa Ni Sonal Patel Samika Savanur Prateek Tandon 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. 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.

Accepting changes, neglecting rules, and unmaking plans I by Steffi Lau, editor-in-chief

’ve always been the sort of person who has to follow rules, who craves consistency and hates changing plans. As a staff writer, I had never understood why we let ourselves deviate from our original plans with extensions given for articles, deadlines unmet and stories swapped around. I had always insisted on adhering to the rules. In my first issue as editor-in-chief, I had to give that up. Senioritis and AP testing took a toll on our paper. This was the issue in which on our first deadline, we only received six stories. The issue in which on our supposed last late night only four pages were finalized out of 24. The issue that we couldn’t distribute on our traditional Friday because of the large amount of students gone on field trips. On top of that, we had no front page photograph. And my article on the California High School Exit Exam? A day after I finished it, a court ruling came out that changed the whole context of it. Even worse, the day supposed to be our last late night was Senior Ditch Day. Ditching class--against the rules, but should seniors be allowed one day to let loose? Would they come? Two did. It was time to say goodbye to sticking to plans. We tried to make the best out of it. Although my co-editor Jordan and I were intent on obtaining a front page photo, it was not possible. None of the stories lent themselves to photographs. We concluded that instead we would make a design package of infographics and Photoshop-ed for the Meridian story. We suffered through multiple frustrating,

nerve-wracking attempts. Then we received the news that we would have a photograph. But not in a good way. On May 16, art teacher Gary Post passed away after a battle with cancer. Entertainment editor junior Radhika Chandrasekhar had already been writing a very positive story about his recovery from cancer. Post had even joked, referring to his radiation treatments, “They cooked me.” What a drastic change. There was no time for breakdowns. There was no way to insist on keeping our front page design simply because we had worked so hard on it. While Chandrasekhar painstakingly reworked her story, we pieced together a collage of his pictures, doing our best to memorialize Post. Then, our server crashed on our third night, with only nine pages done. We panicked. It seemed as if there was no way to get it fixed that night. Should we cancel our paper or come out one day late? We opted for the latter. We would come in the next day during any free time and do whatever we could to finish. Yes, we would be a day late, people would be working on pages that weren’t theirs, but at least we would get it done. What a change from my original insistence on rules. I realized that rules aren’t always the best. So I say, be flexible and take things as they come. Jordan and I hated to use the design package, but in the end, it turned out better than we thought. So don’t forget to laugh, be spontaneous, and when your Senior Ditch Day comes, embrace it.

EDITOR’S LETTER

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Pens tossed aside for online notes Student-created website draws crowd for its copious compilations by Vikram Srinivasan, managing editor

eeti Sudame, a freshman at UCLA and an MVHS alumnus, remembers the infamous “Invaders Realm” Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) online textbook chapter summaries as a sort of inheritance upon entering the course. “They were like notes that people pass on, that’s how I came to know about them,” she said. Classes of newly-crowned seniors would let new APUSH students in on the secret during the first few weeks of the class. “The seniors told me, and when I was a senior, I told the juniors.” If the pattern holds, this year’s juniors will have quite a legacy. For those who aren’t in on the craze yet, a group of six MVHS juniors have adapted the online, Meridian Notes to fit the curriculum of Bio AP, APUSH, and Precalculus Honors classes. Junior Lloyd Lee, a frequent visitor to the website, said the notes are “homologous to something like Barron’s or Princeton Review, but it’s just more related to the actual classes at Monta Vista.” Named after the prime

60% of s tud Bio AP an ents in dA classes h PUSH ave visited Merid ian.*

meridian because it is the “center of things,” founders juniors Tim Qi and John Ho started the project in October 2005. Initially, the two students just sent table-formatted study guides for tests back and forth between each other, but they soon began distributing them to their friends. Seven months later, the notes have grown into a website format with a staff of six, and the notes’ viewership has expanded exponentially. While Qi concedes that on non-test dates, the site usually gets hits from about 50 different computers, that number has spiked in recent weeks, and especially on pre-test days. On April 7, Meridian got 186 hits. A week later, it got 338. And on April 28, the day before the APUSH final and an important Bio AP test, the site hit a new record—920. The site’s success has been so overwhelming that a Lynbrook High friend of staff member junior Amy Young suggested that the site go private, as a corporation, start getting online advertisers

Of students who use Meridian, 86.4% use it for APUSH*, 31.8% for Bio AP,* and 0% for Pre-Calculus.**

see MERIDIAN on page 4

ave nts h d e d u t use of s 44% aded and .* lo s down idian Note r e M

*taken from a poll of 50 students who take Bio AP and/or APUSH. **Of 30 Precalculus Honors students.

Vandalism not limited to gum under the table

Disrespect toward school property remains an unsolvable problem by Jordan Kolb, editor-in-chief

hile most students and staff were enjoying their last, quickly vanishing hours of spring break, campus supervisor Chris Kenney got a call to come into work early. April 21 had been a bad day for Monta Vista’s campus walls. On the last Friday of spring break, graffiti was sprayed on three areas: the fences surrounding the tennis court, the wall of the D building facing the basketball courts, and the basketball court backstops. “We came to school before PE and as we walked into the locker rooms, we saw the words ‘Stelling Families’ written on the D building and we just didn’t understand what it meant,” said sophomore Laura Vainstein. Similar writing was found on the other areas and even at De Anza College. “Either it was a student that was here a few years ago to give references to some families around here, or it could have just been some kids, possibly Kennedy kids, living around here,” said Kenney. “The police haven’t found anything yet.” He and a team quickly had to get to work dealing with the damage, which was covered up with paint during the day on Monday, April 24. Those who hadn’t passed the D building didn’t even get the chance to see it. While it is now covered up, the grafitti’s outline is still visible. It serves as a reminder of one of MVHS’s few major vandalism problems. “Little graffiti—pen on the handrails, gum on the pillars, those are the bigger problems,” said Kenney. Librarian Megan Birdsong knows exactly what he means. “We’ve taken measures to try to prevent

theft, but in order to allow students open and when they took it off, they messed up access to computers, we can’t completely the paint on the back of the car from using a screwdriver,” Pham said. “It was a big deal prevent vandalism,” said Birdsong. “We have had a person or persons because these things cost money, and I work popping off and stealing keys from the to earn this money. People just don’t really computer keyboards. We’ve also had other respect other people’s property.” Other car parts stolen off those computers that wouldn’t emblems were stolen, but Administration really be of use to anyone. Someone must never found out who did it. Pham concedes have all this stuff on display in their room that “Administration can only do so much to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” at home.” Year after year, it seems to do just Spanish teacher Maria Autran is aware of the temptations students face to write on that—happen again. A few years back, the desks. Her classroom has its share of an MV artist vandalized tennis courts in desk markings, but she says they were there the form of a mural. Kenney even felt a bit sad because the artist when she got the desks. was so talented. “It was However, she wants to good—really good. He be proactive preventing just needed to do it on a further destruction. canvas instead.” “One of the Comparing 05-06 things I do is minus to past school years, participation points - senior Edwin Pham Kenney commented that from their grade if I “this year has been light see them [writing], and the other is make them wash their desks— on vandalism.” If “light” is vandalism on and other desks—if I see them do it,” said buildings, cars, and computers, then one Autran. She says the occurrences aren’t too has to wonder what the problem might look common—but common enough to inform like at its worst. “I think the majority of students treat the students about her policy. The school security is understandable for campus with respect, but more students a public school: no armed guards or hidden could make the small effort it takes to clean cameras, just sturdy, locked gates. Much of up after themselves and make choices the campus needs to be accessible at late that don’t have negative impacts on our hours and during breaks for rehearsals campus and its resources,” said Birdsong. and practices, so an entirely closed off “In the most minor cases, I think, these are campus is not possible. No watch is kept probably the same people who still think it’s on the parking lot, either and this became a funny to pee in the pool.” The difference between vandalism problem in early March, when the emblem on the hood of senior Edwin Pham’s Acura and peeing in the pool has nothing to do maturity--rather peeing in the pool is simply RSX was stolen. ”The emblem was taken from the back, more secretive.

“

People just don’t really respect other people’s property.

”

Strangers among us

s I walked down the adobe, bricklain streets of Dallas, Texas on May 1, a day ironically dubbed “International Worker’s Day,” I came to the conclusion that dinner was not on the menu that night. Virtually every restaurant, mini café, and diner that I had visited that evening either had the lights off or a cardboard sign propped against the door ascribed with the words “Closed - Free for Hispanics.” That day, the Dallas area was home to a series of disruptions from the immigration protests and boycott organized by labor, immigration and religious groups against the current immigration laws. Immigrants were asked to skip work and refrain from purchasing items at local stores to simulate an immigrant-free society in response to the newest proposal to instigate laws preventing illegal immigrants from attaining citizenship and working in the United States. Ultimately, this spells disaster for the Bush Administration, which, in 2000, passed a law granting illegal immigrants a period of 6-years to “test” their stay in the United States. Perhaps this all took a turn for the worse when the genial pleas from government officials to follow orders morphed into protests and the use of terms such as “criminal.” While most MVHS students are blissfully ignorant of the issue on campus, a number have developed their own opinions based on the influence of numerous organizations, classes, and clubs on campus. “Well you can look at it both ways,” said junior Chris Parcel. “They take away jobs that Americans could hold, but they also fill the jobs that Americans don’t want.” Parcel, like over 300 other students at MVHS, is a member of one of two business education organizations on campus. These clubs, including other classes that tend to follow the U.S. economy, have taught students how our nation is highly dependent on the labor of illegal immigrants. Many of the protesters quoted in news articles, as well, demonstrated that the illegal immigrants pose more of an advantage than a negative hindrance in society. Others however, had another take on the issue at hand. Members of various organizations across campus explained how “frustrating it was that illegal immigrants had no respect for the laws.” These citizens against amnesty believe that illegal immigrants have spent the last few years taking advantage of the resources and opportunities that our country has to offer without paying the price of admission. The situation also creates a stigma of injustice among the majority of MVHS families who are either first or second-generation legal immigrants. Even as we take a step back from MVHS’ diverse population, the Silicon Valley, California, and view the U.S. as a whole, we tend to realize how America is basically a nation of immigrants. Leaving aside the original Native Americans, we are all immigrants, and without immigrants there would be no America. From all corners of the world, they came to our nation by foot, in trains, by plane and through extremely risky means in order to fulfill the American dream in a land idolized by advanced technology, western culture, prosperity, and freedom. Yet, from the Naturalization Act to the U.S. Immigration Act of 1907 and the Alien Registration Act, time and time again we see examples in history of the restriction of the very people who have believed in and fueled our nation. Whether or not immigrants have crossed the line that divides respectable, granted rights and illegal protest is now a matter of opinion. Perhaps this is just another issue that had been brushed under the carpet for far too long, and quite frankly, the vacuum cleaner couldn’t handle the springcleaning. Either way, I never did get my dinner in Dallas that night.

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MERIDIAN continued from page 3 and charging for the notes. “One of her friends wanted us to make our site like Wiki [Wikipedia], so this way the information would be made available nationally,” Qi said. Nevertheless, the leadership team decided the plan wasn’t for them. “None of us have any intention of making any money from this,” Qi said. “The intention is just to help ourselves and to help other people.” Still, the group takes the project very seriously. According to Ho, each study guide usually takes two to three hours to make, and staff only commit about that much time to the project every week. However, Qi says that over the past few weeks, staff members have spent six to seven hours a week writing study guides. To date, the staff has written about 40 study guides, 20 of which have been published on the website. Each study guide is about seven to 10 pages long. Though the staff advise that students use the notes as a supplement, some are using it to subsidize their personal workload, counting on Meridian for information rather than working independently. Junior Harold Pan saif he uses the

CAHSEE continued from page 1 credits. However, if the appeal fails, this discrepancy will be remedied with all students being allowed to graduate. FUHSD is waiting to learn the status of the appeal. The Coordinator of Curriculum and Assessment Bryan Emmert said, “I’m frustrated that this is coming so late in the school year. The appeals are leaving everything in the air.” MVHS has 10 students who need to pass both the math and English sections, three students who need to pass the English section alone and five who need to pass just the math section. “Most of the kids who don’t pass it are new to our district; they come from outside districts or they’re [English Language Development (ELD)] students,” said Plaza. English teacher Stacey Cler taught her ELD 2 classes a five-week unit to help them prepare for CAHSEE. “I looked at the test to see what I could do to help all of my students pass,” said Cler. When a student does not pass CAHSEE the first time, his or her math and English teachers are notified so they can help the student. The state provides an interactive tutorial in which the student can work with a tutor online. In addition, students can use Plato software that helps them pinpoint and improve in areas of weakness. MVHS has Plato loaded onto computers in the special

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site as a “last resort kind of thing” and tries to do his own work, but he also notef that a number of students have stopped taking notes in class. “A lot of people take it for granted and kinda stopped trying,” he said. APUSH teacher Margaret Platt echoef the same concerns, citing a propensity for students to slack in class, as well as the danger of cheating. “Frankly, my sense is that kids put less time into reading and rereading Bailey, Degler, and [American Political Tradition] [the history textbooks] because they think Meridian notes is their salvation.” Building off a similar sentiment, the site’s founders issued a false post on the website homepage stating that Meridian had been shut down resulting from violations of the academic code of conduct, and that all notes would be removed from the site in 24 hours. Not surprisingly, the announcement set off a frenzy of frantic notes-downloading from the site. This is exactly the kind of mentality that makes teachers concerned. As an extra warning to avoid student dependence on Meridian, Platt hinted that inaugurating pop reading quizzes into her curriculum could be a possibility. Platt did acknowledge, though, that “there is certainly

complexity involved,” and that the site has positive qualities. “Meridian Notes in a small way seem to simulate a ‘cyber-space’ sort of study group,” she said. “In this way, I applaud it. And for those who ‘do all the work’ I’m certain they must be enhancing their knowledge level a bit.” As to the ethical dilemma involved, most of the site’s frequent visitors fervently disagree that using Meridian constitutes cheating. Lee said that the site is most useful for students with several AP courses to study for. “I guess from an outside perspective, it’s easy to see it as cheating. Literally entire classes were cramming using not the teacher’s notes, but Meridian’s instead. In a way, everyone is on the same page in regards to information because everyone is studying from the same source,” Lee said. “But then again, that’s the same thing if you study with the teacher’s notes.” Keeping that in mind, the staff are stepping cautiously with their future plans, realizing that not all courses are suited to Meridian-style studying. According to Ho, the staff is considering expanding in the future to both the U.S. Government and Economics AP classes next year, as well as Physics Honors.

education classrooms, the office, the library and the ELD classrooms so students can work on the program any time. This year, Cler helped the five seniors having trouble passing CAHSEE prepare for the test individually. Three of the students are in her ELD classes and two are in her Contemporary Literature classes. “In most cases, they understand how to take the test,” said Cler of her ELD students. “They just don’t have the vocabulary. They’re recent immigrants; they come from different countries. By the age of four, a child has a vocabulary of 13 million words. They don’t have that same vocabulary since they’ve only been studying English for a short amount of time.” Students first take the exam in the spring of sophomore year. If they fail the first time, they have six more chances to retake the exam, one of which is the July after they graduate, too late to walk in the graduation they missed. When asked her opinion of CAHSEE as a graduation requirement, Cler responded, “It’s good to have an exam to test skills, but I don’t know if it’s the best for students learning English.” She cited the example of the New York State Regents Exam, the state’s CAHSEE equivalent, except that the ELD students are only required to pass certain exams. Cler would like to see a similar provision for ELD students in California. “If they could just make some other test that

factors in their experience, their abilities...” “I tell them that it’s not their fault, that given time they would pass it like everyone else,” Cler said. “I would hate to think that there are stereotypes out there that the only people who aren’t smart enough to pass the test are ELD. The exam isn’t a matter of intelligence.” Cler is hoping that the judge’s ruling remains. “Graduation has always been a recognition of those who have fulfilled all the requirements,” Plaza said prior to the judge’s decision. “Now this exam has become a state requirement that they must meet. Although I emotionally feel bad for those students who meet the 220 credits but can’t pass, at the same time, it’s important to be able to say: Here’s our graduating class. They filled all the requirements and are able to function at a proficient level.” Somehow, that doesn’t make his job any easier. “When you see kids with real faces, when you talk to their parents, it’s hard to say it,” said Plaza. Many of the seniors awaiting CAHSEE results have already been accepted to college. If they discover that they have not passed, they must notify the college so that the college can make its own decision as to whether it will still admit the student. Crossing his fingers, Plaza said, “Everyday I’m thinking of them and hoping for them.”

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news

Hay Fever

Hidden by Austin Cheng, photo editor

may 22, 2006

n May 3, the Department of Theatre Arts held a final dress rehearsal before beginning a three-day marathon of four Hay Fever performances. As smooth as the performance may appear from the audience, backstage actors frantically prepare for their scenes and wait in anticipation for thier cues. A British comedy by Noel Coward, Hay Fever is set in 1925 in the English countryside, satirizing the behaviors of the upper social class.

6 1. A view only accessible backstage through a faux window, actors walk through this main entrance to get onstage. 2. Sophomore Alejandro Schuler puts on a suit for the second act of the play set at a formal house party. Pressed for time, each of the actors dressed in suits had difficulty properly putting on their clip-on bow ties. 3. Senior Irina Khodorkovsky puts on some last minute make up before starting the dress rehersal. In the background, Schuler and senior Adi Singer rummage through a box full of community make up. 4. Freshman Nicholas Erickson arranges all of the silver and glassware on the table in preparation for the maid to carry it out. Each of the drinks were real except for the brandy, which was tea brewed back in the greenroom.

8 5. Senior Andrew Finerty holds up his hair as he uses a white make up pencil to draw wrinkles on his face. Each actor has to apply make up, regardless of gender. 6. Schuler and junior Gina La Guardia sit backstage waiting for their cue to enter. Throughout the run of the show, actors often spend long periods waiting backstage. 7. As the maid, junior Gilly Kelleher awaits her turn to enter with a tray of tea to bring in. 8. Khodorkovsky quietly sits down on the steps after walking offstage, ready to come back onstage to catch David and Myra kissing. 9. (From left to right) Senior Jim Chin, Khodorkovsky, Singer, and freshman Emily Williams play their respective roles in the beginning of Act II. As Jackie Coryton, Williams is being pressured to dance during the house party by the other family members.

Authorities peek into students’ pasts

Psychological effects stem from offhand teacher viewing of grades

Geography Lesson: Saving Senior Map

roudly shouldering new backpacks, brimming with fresh pens, unused pencils, and binders nearly unblemished by human hands, students at MVHS return from summer break ready to start anew, with grades as white as their virginal lined paper, just waiting to be noted upon. Yet students cannot shed their past academic record so easily. With a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse, any teacher at MVHS can look up current students’ transcripts, revealing all their past successes and failures in the classroom. Influencing teachers to grade students based on information outside of the relevant class, this is one resource teachers should not be able to access. While some would argue that a teacher seeing a student’s past grade would have little effect on a student’s current grade, the psychological phenomena of the self-fulfilling prophecy must be taken into account. In a landmark 1968 study, Robert Rosenthal, the former chairman of the Harvard psychology department, administered IQ tests to students at an elementary school in San Francisco. Teachers were then given a list of names drawn at random and told that the students listed scored in the top 20th percentile on the test. At the end of the study, students retook the IQ test. The results showed that students who were deemed to be in the top-20 percent gained an average of 12.2 IQ points, while students who were not listed gained an

Julia Stenzel | Art Editor

average 8.2-point increase. In future studies, the effect was confirmed repeatedly; when a teacher expects students to do well, they do, and conversely when teachers expect students to perform poorly, the do. Though the underlying workings of the self-fulfilling prophecy are not yet fully understood, researchers theorize that teachers subconsciously internalize their expectations and impart this on students via body language and general warmth towards students.

Staff Editorial

At MVHS, where grades are all-important, a hostile learning environment, whether created consciously or subconsciously, is enough to discourage students from trying to achieve their best in a class, in the end receiving a lower grade. This in turn, shows up on their transcript, which future teachers will look-up out of “nosiness,” then internalize these past grades, leading to a cycle of poor academic achievement for the students. In an ideal world, a student’s success in one class is only limited to that class, yet at MVHS, one rough semester is allowed to resonate through a student’s entire academic career because

teachers can look-up a student’s academic record before even building a relationship with students, and indeed, they do. One MVHS teacher looks up all his students’ grades out of “sheer nosiness” in the course of a year. When asked about MVHS’ policy, Rosenthal said, “It certainly is the case that teachers would be influenced by seeing students’ past grades.” However, the policy has its benefits. Rosenthal added that teachers can “individualize” learning and instruction based on how a student has performed in the past, a process also known as differentiation. While access to academic records can be used as a tool to better educate a student, at MVHS, where teachers often have well over 120 students to educate, it is unrealistic to expect teachers to use grades to individualize their curriculum for every student. Certainly, some students could benefit from this and should have their grades viewed by certain teachers for the purpose. Yet in the majority of cases, there is absolutely no need for a teacher to look up a student’s grade out of pure curiosity. What is needed is some protocol, so that teachers are held accountable for viewing student’s grades. Having to request a student’s transcript from an administrator would ensure teachers were only looking at students’ grades when it is necessary. Only then will students truly be allowed to start each year with a “clean slate.”

Online voting fails to capture entire campus

New system doesn’t illustrate full student body opinion by Aniqa Hasan, managing editor and Vikram Srinivasan, managing editor

lthough the Leadership class may conside the recent 49 percent voter turnout for online voting in ASB elections a success, that’s a far cry from the norm. Let’s remember that last year, turnout to vote among freshmen, sophomores, and juniors was much closer to 100 percent. While the decision to inaugurate online voting was without question wellintentioned, designed to make voting more efficient, more representative, and more meaningful, the change seems to have backfired. Instead of fixing the problems of the old voting-system, online voting has made them worse, and in the process managed to reinforce every stereotype about student government elections being a popularity contest.

matador ((vibe))

The fundamental problem with online voting is that it is exclusive, not by some structural flaw, but by nature. At least when people are handed out Scantron sheets in class, they have voting forced upon them and are compelled to make decisions based on however much information they have. True, you can argue that through online voting, only those students who are educated about the issues will go out and make their voice heard. But instead of being a positive effect, it renders a negative one on the school election process. Where in the past, at least those voters who might not have known any of the candidates would have diluted the voting pool, reducing the “popularity effect,” now the only people who are voting are those who personally know candidates. Class elections become less of a competition between competing visions for the school, ...to the new Attendance Technician Monique Orozco in the Main Office. Welcome to MV!

and more of a test of which candidate has the most vocal group of friends. Does the scantron voting process have flaws? Duh. Students have far too little information presented to them about the policies and platforms of different candidates, forcing them to go out of their way to find out more. Let’s be honest here: most students will not go out of their way to learn more about the class elections when they already know very little about student government. Most students don’t know what projects their class treasurer or social manager was responsible for, or what gaffes they may have made. That’s not to say the new program doesn’t have benefits. Under the previous system, students who were absent would not be able to participate in the process. However, since voting is spread over

see VOTING on page 24

...to the people who were drunk at the MVHS Film Festival making it an experience that was tainted by such an infraction of policies.

never realized it until this year, but Monta Vista is unique. As a high school, a student body, and a community with a shared set of values, we are very different from the norm. At most high schools, a C is average—not at MVHS. At most high schools, students sleep by midnight or earlier—not at MVHS. At most U.S. high schools, only a handful of students pursue higher education—definitely not at MVHS. And with that, there comes a competitive academic culture where students are pushed to do their best. Sometimes, students make bad decisions in those circumstances, resorting to cheating, or gauging themselves by the accomplishments of their peers rather than their own. But for the most part, we, as a school, make it work. So, when our journalism adviser, Michelle Balmeo, expressed her generous dissatisfaction with what I have always considered the embodiment of the best aspects of our school’s culture, the “senior map” we publish in our final edition of the newspaper with a list of all the universities, colleges, and our graduating seniors’ plans for the next year, I was a bit taken aback, not quite sure what to say. Now that I have looked critically at it, I’ve only reaffirmed my conviction that our school is remarkable. Balmeo, in her objections, feels that the senior map is exclusionary in its portrayal of what defines student success, since those who elect to put their names on the map tend to be those who will be attending four-year universities, which doesn’t represent the rest of the student body. I’ll give her some credit. She is right----to an extent. Monta Vista’s culture can be biased against those students who do not prioritize their academic growth as among their primary objectives in high school. But not once in my four years here have I thought of that as a problem. I can’t fathom what school principals in other parts of the U.S. would give for the chance to lead a student body as self-motivated as ours. That, precisely, is why I love this school. Despite the bad rep we get for being intensely academically competitive, there’s something spectacular going on here—a genuine sense of community amidst the shared experience of academic effort. At other schools, it’s the nerd clique that cares about their grades, careers and futures. Caring about academics is looked down upon. At MVHS however, there’s no social stigma attached to prepping for an APUSH test the night before the exam because the odds are that a hundred other people are doing it too. Out of our graduating class, 71 percernt go on to a four-year university and 26 percent pursue community college (according to the Department of Education, 80 percent of high school students intend to continue their education, 17 percent less than the number at MVHS). That’s more than 97 percent of the student body that genuinely cares about their education and futures. It may be politically incorrect, but we shouldn’t be basing our decisions on the 1-2 percent of the student population that doesn’t share the majority culture of academic success. A school is primarily an academic institution, and students who fail to take advantage of the wealth of resources they have available to them only have themselves to blame. We are known for our entire student body, both in its academic and extracurricular success. To ignore the positive value of the senior map is to deny this community of the culmination of its joint efforts, what makes MVHS one-of-a-kind, interesting, and ultimately, great. ...to the art exposition in the library, beautifying an environment that MVHS students visit often.

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perspectives

Varying

may 22, 2006

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V i e w p o i n t s Is the senior ball bus a necessity? by Suzie Smelyansky, sports editor

by Rachel Lui, back page editor

e are a lucky school: our senior ball is in San Francisco on a yacht. Very few schools hold their proms in such extravagant locations. Some have had theirs in the Decathalon Club, the very same place where we attended Winter Ball. However, unlike those schools, we are mandated to take a bus to San Francisco. Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t the doing of our senior officers, or even Administration. Rather, they have no control over it. District-wide policy states that students are required to take transportation provided by the school to functions outside of Santa Clara Country. To clarify, this isn’t a new policy. Cupertino High has been taking buses to their prom for several years. The policy has always been around, although never enforced before last year. The class of 2005 managed to avoid the policy because it was introduced too late. San Francisco’s pretty far. Approximately 42 miles and a quarter of a tank of gas, San Francisco is one of the most hectic places to drive in. Everyone is going to be rushing to get to prom in time (because this is one dance for which being late isn’t fashionable. The boat may leave without you as it sets sail under the Golden Gate Bridge) and the streets are definitely not ones that you want to be driving on, aimlessly lost. It’s incredibly easy to lose your way in the city and with friends screaming in the back seat, the driver is going to become stressed before even getting on the yacht. Limos are great means of transportation, they really are. But if you’ve seen MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16” things rarely go the right way and limos are never on time. The bus will ensure the arrival to prom on time and everyone arriving as safely as possible. And really, the bus is just one huge limo. Most limos can only hold about four couples while the bus can hold 20 couples. You’ll be able to spend more time with all your friends, not just your closest ones. The drive back from prom though, would be even worse. After a long night of dancing and staying up until the late hours of the night, the drive is dangerous. While the driver may not feel exhausted initially, the adrenaline will wear off and slowly reaction times will slow down or distractions will be greater. Senior prom is notorious for what actually occurs on prom night. According to a poll done by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, “Nearly half of all 15-20 year olds killed in car crashes during prom season in 2004 involved alcohol.” Despite the administration’s best efforts to prevent drinking, it is hard to control students entirely. However, by enforcing students to take the bus to and from San Francisco, they are ensuring the safety of those who do not wish to partake in it. A large number of drunk driving accidents result in the death of not only those that were drinking, but the victims as well, the ones who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. And it could happen to us. According to MADD, 46 percent of crashes among 15-20 year olds were alcoholrelated. Of these, 72 percent involved a 15-20 year old driver with alcohol in their system. These are some frightening statistics. Let’s not become one.

Pro

o all seniors, senior ball is probably one of the most memorable experiences in high school excluding graduation. It is the culminating event of their entire high school careers. Because of senior ball’s importance, it seems completely unfair that the District passed the policy that all seniors have to take buses to senior prom. In the past years, there have never been any accidents occurring from Cupertino to Senior Prom for Monta Vista High School. If the School Board is concerned with our safety, they should look at our past record and it is quite obvious that it has never been a problem. Though, school officials may worry about the safety of seniors driving to San Francisco late at night, most seniors use limousines during senior prom to make the night even more significant. “The prom experience is completely ruined by us being herded to prom in schoolsponsored buses. I have always anticipated going to prom in a limousine because it would be with a few close friends which makes the environment a lot better than a crowded bus,” senior Nikhil Kumar said. The issue of seniors being on time has also scarcely been an issue at MVHS. Seniors know that if they are late, the boat will leave without them. From this awareness, most seniors take precautionary measures to ensure that they will be on time to the boat. The School Board didn’t take into consideration that seniors do care a lot about their last high school prom and would do anything to preserve that memory. The School Board is an institution that should also listen to students’ opinions on any drastic changes that they make. Just last year, seniors were given the option to take a bus or a limousine to Senior Prom. It seems quite drastic that the School Board would make such a change when most seniors were unaware that there was such a policy being discussed and considered. The school should have arranged limousines with limousine companies and made them drive the students to San Francisco and directly back. In that sense, the seniors would still experience riding in a limousine instead of a large bus. Another alternative that the Administration could have provided was allowing senior parents to sign a form taking all liability off of the school so if their children get into any trouble, the school would not be held responsible. “While I understand why they want us to Nandini Dasarathy | Art Editor take the bus, I wish they had given us another option. For example, if they had gotten limousines instead,”said senior Tiffany Yu. “A bus kind of kills the whole prom image and many people are having second thoughts about our prom because of it.” Although the general reasoning behind this new policy change may have been a good thing, judging by many seniors’ responses, it is obvious that the School Board should have taken into consideration what the seniors feel before they take away a part of the Senior Prom memory.

Con

Voices of MV “It’s not personal going with a bunch of random people. It ruins the experience.” -senior Phillip P. Lee

“I think it’s stupid because people go to junior prom and they don’t have to ride buses.” -junior Sanjana Dey

Statistics

“I don’t really care. It is better getting your own limo, because you get to go with your friends. I think it is for a good reason, but it is unecessary because we need to learn to take care of ourselves in the future.” -senior Sarah Hoang

“Wow! It’s cool because I don’t have to drive myself to San Francisco.” -teacher I-Chu Chang

7 A

What do you think of taking buses to senior prom?

10 C

A. I support its intentions, but I’m not looking forward to it B. I support its intentions, and I’m still looking forward to it C. I don’t support its intentions at all D. We should be allowed to take whatever mode of transportation we want E. I don’t care either way

Do you think this policy will effectively cut down on drunk driving at prom time?

A. Yes B. No C. I don’t know “I think it sounds fun because the boat totally compensates. They could definitely make it better because it seems weird riding in a bus in formal wear.” -junior Elaina Chu

“I think it’s retarded; It takes away from the senior prom experience.” -senior Jeffrey Feng

20 21 A

*Taken from a random poll of 109 students.

perspectives may 22, 2006

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november 18 2005 el estoque

Cupertino’s world grows smaller

Residents should fight Vallco construction for sake of schools

Education: It’s more than just the books Schools need to emphasize application, not memorization by Prateek Tandon, staff writer

Nandini Dasarathy | Art Editor

by Austin Cheng, photo editor

ighteen years ago, Seven Springs was empty open grassland. Only within the last 15 years has Cupertino’s population shot up as a result of people coming here to send their kids to high-achieving schools. And with more people comes a higher demand for housing. There is rarely a time in this city when there isn’t some new housing construction taking place. However, as beneficial as the construction of new homes has been up to this point, there needs to be a cap for the sake of preserving our schools. That time is now. Plans are underway for new housing units in the Vallco area. One hundred and thirty seven units will be built on top of the mall and 380 units in the empty HP parking lot on the southeast corner. Along with these new units will come a new tide of students - and a heavier problem for the District. The Fremont Union High School District schools are overpopulated as is. MVHS itself has 2,475 students, far too many for a campus of its size. A class size of 35 or more is not uncommon for most students. Over the past two years, “aggressive residency verification” has been pushed by the District to alleviate itself of students who could be causing unnecessary overpopulation troubles. Enrollment of more students that live in new houses will place more problems on an already tight budget. To save money, district-wide actions were taken during the 20042005 school year, such as increasing freshman English classes from 20 to 29 and a 4.9 percent rollback on teacher salaries. This year the class sizes and teacher salaries were restored but only after the passing of Measure L, cutting low attendance classes, tightening the number of teachers, and disenrolling students who failed the residency verification. The budget and population problems within FUHSD are well known, yet housing projects are continually approved

by the City Council. It seems that advocates of expanded developments do not understand that Cupertino can only grow so much. Cupertino was never meant to be an urban center. To think that this city could and should keep growing and growing is ridiculous. The carrying capacity of the city has been reached and surpassed, based on the overpopulation in the schools and the kinds of homes that are being built. Overpopulation from the construction of new homes is most damaging when contractors design skinny and nonspacious homes crowded together with the intention of pocketing as much money as possible. Take the new homes at the intersection of Rainbow Drive and De Anza Boulevard. These three-story houses are crammed as closely as they can be to fit as many units as possible. Two neighbors could shake hands in their homes. Houses in Cupertino will always be in high demand, no matter how poorly designed they are, because those who move in only care to throw their kids into the CUSD and FUHSD districts. Cupertino residents have an obligation to speak out against contractors who take advantage of home buyers in building these packed houses. As residents of this city, your voices will be heard if enough effort is put in together. In March, the Cupertino City Council denied Taylor Woodrow Homes a contract to construct 94 new housing units after much opposition through petitions and speeches at city hall. The project was planned to be built near Imperial Avenue, and would have had a large impact on the school’s ability to manage more students. If people do not speak up now, Cupertino will slowly but surely see spacious homes with backyards and front driveways give way to an overcrowded metropolis at the expense of the school districts.

lementary and middle school had science fairs, young author’s exhibits, and mock Egyptian history museums, but all of these hands-on projects seemed to vanish when we came to high school. Instead of giving students the liberty to sharpen their creative skills with hands-on learning, Monta Vista prioritizes an education that goes, literally, by the book. Memorization serves not only as the method of determining grades but the method of education. To start, it’s true that a curriculum does need some memorization in order for students to have intelligent conversations regarding a subject. After all, without knowing the vocabulary of a subject, how can a student communicate effectively regarding a historical occurrence or a scientific phenomenon? However, there is a fine line between memorization being used to familiarize and memorization becoming the primary mode of assessment. There’s nothing wrong with students spending time to internalize concepts. It’s fine if, initially, a teacher does test memorization to ensure students understand the basics. However, if at the end of a semester, a final exam calls just for regurgitation of vocabulary words or key terms without application, something is clearly wrong. Memorization is primarily individual work, encouraging students to study more by themselves at home in their rooms rather than collaborating on projects here at school. This negates the purpose of having a school social learning environment in the first place. The dilemma is that many subjects just call for more memorization than others. One cannot deny that learning a new language requires more memorization than, say, doing an algebra problem. The demands of state and Advanced Placement curriculums further compound the problem. Senior Jesse Cheng said, “It’s not our teachers but the state curriculum that we’re given that emphasizes memorization over understanding and comprehension because memorization is quantifiable and a measure for progress. Our teachers are under a constant burden to make sure these state requirements are met.” To minimize the memorization burden, some teachers give their mathematical equations on tests in order to emphasize application. Couldn’t similar avenues be pursued for other subjects? For example, instead of having literature exams that test the background of an author, couldn’t such information be provided in order to allow the student to deduce something more significant? At the very least, teachers should strive to have their curriculums designed so that the final does more than just test whether a student can recall events or mimic a bunch of foreign sounding words. The goal of education at Monta Vista should be to help students acquire the meaning behind a subject. Application--not regurgitation--best serves this purpose.

Meridian Notes a helpful electronic aid for the studious

Study supplement won’t benefit those unwilling to do their assigned reading homework by Nandini Dasarathy, art editor

dmit it: deep down in your heart, you really love school. Well, it’s only in school that I learn…things! Things like four out of five high school students cheat. You know who you are. But for the record, if you’re one of those 11 p.m.-essay-and-test-the-next-day procrastinators, there is a simple method that doesn’t include cheating: Meridian Notes. Juniors Tim Qi and John Ho, the founders of the website, located at http://meridiannotes.wordpress.com created it as an outlet for juniors in AP U.S. History and AP Biology classes. Students that use this as a source of procrastination shouldn’t be relying on the service in the first place, as notes are updated generally late at night to ensure that students don’t use this as their primary resource to study. Just because the website posts answers to study guides that are passed out by class teachers doesn’t signify that it is necessarily cheating. The Academic Code of Conduct is entirely followed to ensure that none of the material in the study guides is actually based off of test questions. “We generally wait one to two weeks after tests until we add onto the notes to ensure that no cheating is involved. We personally asked Mrs. Platt to check the website and make sure that there was no violation of the Academic Code of Conduct,” said Qi. In fact, most teachers know that this website exists. Qi has enabled a device that checks IP addresses which lead to links such as Schoolloop teacher messages, indicating that teachers are aware of this service.

Additionally, there are companies such as SparkNotes that create study guides for classes, and students in AP U.S. History are familiar with Invaders’ Realm, another internet outlet for such notes. Meridian is extremely similar, and the only difference is that the students actually follow a classroom curriculum. These sites are particularly useful but don’t qualify as cheating because they are only for the purpose of review. If the most common websites for class notes aren’t a violation of the academic code, then there is no reason why Meridian should be a violation of the code either. A downside of Meridian is that students tend to rely on the online notes and stop paying attention and taking notes during class. However, the notes do not actually help until the actual reading has been accomplished. Qi added, “I think that Meridian is increasingly trying to make students less dependent on our notes and more into reading the actual material. Students who think they can get by without reading will find that our notes are not very helpful on tests.” It is the student’s own prerogative to do his or her assigned reading for the class, and blaming the organization helps them little because they had the initial choice of reading as opposed to blindly

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following notes. In fact, there is no way the Meridian staff can enforce whether or not their users do the reading, and they cannot be blamed for offering extra assistance. Meridian is very useful for review but often not substantial. There are a lot of times where a student can lack the depth that they can get from the school materials and books. It additionally proves the importance of studying on your own. Students are becoming more independent, something that the staff of Meridian Notes cannot actually control but nevertheless try to control by making study guides and releasing them at times that people will not skip out on the studying. Additionally, those who are overly critical of Meridian Notes are blind to the positives that the website has to offer. Meridian Notes is helpful to those who take responsibility for their study habits and use it as a supplement. For those who decide to skip out on studying and expect a magical miracle, the disappointment will be overwhelming. After all, each student needs to be responsible for his or her own education. And that’s the goal that Meridian Notes pursues. Students need to make a distinction: Meridian isn’t the cure-all for their academic woes, it’s a supplement. If students realize that, it will be a powerfl tool. For their sake, let’s hope they do before it’s too late.

Meridian Notes is helpful to those who take responsibility for their study habits and use it as a supplement. For those who decide to skip out on studying and expect a magical miracle, the disappointment will be overwhelming.

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perspectives perspectives

may 22, 2006

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ETTERS EDITOR TO THE

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t sits underneath the television, called those who previously took AP US inconspicuously, yet at the same time, it History with Swanson, were opposed ostentatiously stands out. It’s green, fat to the name because it was the name of and completely ugly. Meet Stumpy Fritz, Swanson’s class moose. Now, Fritz stands proudly at the front the resident alien of history teacher Ben of the class where most students don’t even Recktenwald’s classroom. notice it, even after being He landed in Recktenwald’s class for two years ago months. It is just one of those on Winchester objects only seen when the Boulevard and eyes wander. Two Koosh caught Recktenwald’s balls are conveniently attention as he drove located between the toes by. Curious as to what of the alien (who actually it was, Recktenwald has no legs) and are used stopped by where when students are sleeping the wooden alien to give them a rude was being sold awakening. Recktenwald along with statues of would have used it as a some other wooden Teacher: AP Government and hat rack, but unfortunately, things. Economics Teacher Benjamin Mr. Fritz has no shoulders “The guy carved Recktenwald and thus, hats don’t really it with a chain saw,” Recktenwald Object: Stumpy Fritz the resi- stay on. Stumpy Fritz has said, appropriatly dent alien in C101 prompted other gifts for astonished by this by Suzie Smelyansky, sports editor Recktenwald. He now has amazing feat. a collection of numerous Upon taking the other aliens given to him alien home, the teacher had to spray Raid on it and leave it by students. There is Cosmo, the alien who outside on his driveway after seeing a bug talks when his butt is slammed against a crawl out of it. When he checked on it the desk, and there is the alien sitting on his next day, a ring of dead bugs surrounded desk, whose most useful (and pretty much the base of the alien. The base of the alien only) feature is to hold paperclips that hold together the papers of failing history was also rotting. Recktenwald was determined to make students. Beware of touching it though, as tempting it presentable for his classroom though. He chuckled as he recalled going to the as it is to hug the alien. Last year, many hardware store and asking for “alien students had to hug and give it a kiss on green.” After several coats of paint, the their birthdays. Despite the cooties that no alien was finally ready to make its debut doubt contaminate the wooden alien from this public display of affection, Stumpy Fritz in society. Students were the ones who came up is definitely not going to be going anywhere and voted for the name Stumpy Fritz. While anytime soon. “Then again,” Recktenwald said some wanted to name it Mortimer, former history teacher Tom Swanson’s “APUSH mysteriously, “Maybe a spaceship will Groupies.” as Recktenwald affectionately come and pick it up.”

El Estoque 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014

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.

Julia Stenzel | Art Editor and Alex Cohn | Editor-in-Chief

photoshop work by stephanie snipes, centerspread and design editor

A different type of parent Finding bonds within religion by Daniel Yang, centerspread editor

by Radhika Chandrasekhar, entertainment editor

Three years ago, as a freshman, Junior Eric Pham moved out of his parents’ house to live with his sister. Now, he is living with his uncle. While living with his parents, Pham recounted that his life was more strictly controlled by rules. He had a curfew and his friends were constantly scrutinized by his parents. “When I was living with my parents,” Pham said, “they were a lot more strict. I had to be home by 11. And my parents didn’t want me to hang out with a lot of people in the neighborhood…they didn’t want me to be influenced by the bad kids.” After moving in with his sister, however, Pham said that his sister was “a lot more relaxed with the rules…She didn’t really care when I got home or who I hung out with [because] she knew that most of the kids in Cupertino were good kids, not thugs.” He added, “But in the end, my life wasn’t really that different. A lot of people think that [living away from your parents] is really different [from living the traditional family life], but it’s not.”

It is considered traditional to marry someone of the same religion to maintain strong familial bonds and to preserve the customs and traditions of a certain faith. While these things still remain of importance, some families are able to maintain the integrity of their religions while sharing more than one under the same roof, forming stronger bonds as a family. Freshman Brittany Hopkins’ parents share two different religions; her father is a Christian while her mother is Jewish. When Hopkins’ mother and father were married, they were forced to confront the issue of whether to raise their children under Christianity or Judaism. “Basically, [being Jewish] is how my dad decided to raise us,” Hopkins said. “He goes to Jewish synagogue, and he doesn’t go to church. He didn’t convert to Judaism, but he does all the Jewish stuff that we do.” Raised under Jewish customs, Hopkins and her brother celebrate all the Jewish holidays like any other Jewish family. However, they do also celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas as well. While for some religion plays a large role in their life, Britney said, “I think it plays some part but not a huge part [in our family]. If my parents had decided to raise me in a different religion, I would probably have different personality and morals because different religions have different values.” The Hopkinses live life like any traditional family. Regardless of what religion any family member follows, they maintain the importance of being together as a family.

Straddling different racial identities by Nandini Dasarathy, art editor

“In Chinese school, my teachers graded easy on me, making mediocrity into success. When the school had guests, they brought them to my class for assessment as if a half-American student was a rare piece in their collection,” reflected junior Katherine Maslyn. It’s not hard to find diversity, especially if it’s in one’s own household. But what a lot of people don’t see is the struggles that these people go through in establishing their identity. Maslyn, whose father is Caucasian and mother is Chinese, describes the situation as being especially difficult when it comes down to standardized testing. When asked to bubble her ethnicity, she is caught between the choices of ‘Asian’ and ‘White’, finding that choosing one over the other is a form of treachery. For people like sophomore Brandon Hartstein, the stereotype goes both ways. He added, “In China, I’ll always be white, but in a white community, I’ll always be Chinese.” Hartstein has gone to Chinese school for most of his childhood and assimilates to both cultures equally well. He celebrates both Chinese and American holidays, such as New Years, and has learned the values and traditions of both ethnicities. “I have friends of all ethnicities, and I’m pretty versatile in the way I associate with people,” said Hartstein. Junior Shree Awsare, a person of both Japanese and Indian ethnicity, chooses to form his own opinion of cultures and customs rather than integrate his backgrounds. When Awsare tells his friends to guess his ethnicity, most of them are far from the truth. He doesn’t face stereotyping as those of a single race because his backgrounds are divided enough for him to escape profiling. “We [my family] usually do an American-type celebration for common holidays, and I’m pretty versatile with different groups of people as well. I don’t have a set ethnicity that I associate with, and I usually blend in with most groups, just because I’m usually tolerant to most philosophies, customs, and cultures. I judge them by their personalities, not by their background.” Masyln summed it up best when she said, “In Colorado, where my dad is from, I was Asian, but in the Bay Area, I’m white. I’m used to being seen as an outsider, but I’ll never get used to it in Cupertino, which is, after all, my home. But when I look at a map of the world on my wall, I no longer have to wonder where I belong. My family friends love me for who I am, and I smile because that’s where I belong – with them.”

Three’s company, thirteen’s a family by Symrin Chawla, staff writer

The kids from Cheaper By the Dozen have got nothing on junior Rebecca Young, who can honestly say that having a huge family isn’t exactly the “decorated and exaggerated fantasy” that the big screen makes it seem. Young is the middle child in a group of 11 siblings – all of whom share the same roof – which makes it no 7th Heaven for Young. “Everything is brought to a much bigger scale with a big family, so you just have to learn to adjust faster,” Young stated. “There are big goods, but at the same time, there are big bads too.” Privacy, as with any family housing even one angst-filled teen, is a big problem, as well as family bonding. Even bonds between her siblings have to be stretched because, according to Young, “everyone is so independent you can’t get close to them.” Perhaps because of this difficulty in forming connections with everyone, Young falls victim to the guilty daydreams which we all catch ourselves in from time to time. She admits, “I have wondered what it would be like to have a smaller family, but I get this guilty feeling because I know I shouldn’t be wishing that they weren’t there.” In the end, family is family though, and Young knows that “even though we aren’t close, there’s still that something that is holding us together as a family…we all really care about each other.” It’s not the blockbuster-type happy ending from Yours, Mine, and Ours, but then, with family, there is no ending.

entertainment

COMEDY SPORTZ by Sarah Bennett, staff writer

“O

ne time we were in Hell and George Bush was there and we were feeding him Ritalin,” said senior Jessa Deutch, co-captain of Comedy Sportz, who also occasionally finds herself playing the parts like a poacher looking for a rhinoceros in an African village or a paratrooper off the cliffs of an unknown island in the Pacific. “One of my favorite moments ever,” Deutch said, “was when we were playing [against] Mountain View in ‘What Are You Doing,’ and one of the Mountain View kids said he was making a snow angel, and he asked me what I was doing, and I said I was making a snow Moses.” Absurdities like snow Moses are a common sight wherever Comedy Sportz members gather. The quirky group, a division of M V H S ’s

International Thespian Society, has become famous for its hilarious improvisation, but not without paying its dues. Lovingly nicknamed “CSZ” by its members, it saw its meager beginnings when Deutch and co-captain senior Adam Jacobs first took up leadership roles in the fall of 2004. “Last year, we didn’t really make it like you have to come all the time. We were mostly informal,” said Deutch of the club’s weekly lunchtime practices and two low-key performances. “ T h e end of the year show was 12

Serious comic clowning reaps raucous laughter people,” she recollected. “It was a performance will be in the Helene Madison Theatre instead of the Black Box, providing loyal crowd, but a small crowd.” Compare that to the two sold-out them with five times the space and enough Comedy Sportz matches of the 05- room to seat audience members that had 06 school year, set up in the Black previously been forced to crowd in the back Box Theater against other high schools like by the door. “It’s going to be amazing; it’s going to Mountain View. Freshman Emily Williams, an active Comedy Sportz member, noted be big,” Williams said. “It’s our last chance that “the club has seemed to grow a lot to work with the seniors, so I’m really excited for how it’s going to over this year and turn out.” get bigger and more Audience members can organized and just a look forward to a sidebigger deal.” splitting show, the secret Snazzy new unveiling of next year’s approaches in MVHS Comedy Sportz advertising, like mini captain, a guest referee that announcement skits some may remember from broadcast live by the Kennedy Middle School two presidents, taped (whose name has a strange poster pathways likeness to a brand of toilet meandering from paper), and most likely a the rally court to the third win for the MVHS CSZ sales booth, and energized classroom -Freshman Emily Williams team. Improvisational games promotions from like “Oxygen Deprivation,” its members, seem to have made the major difference. Plus, in which performers have to find reasons to after their first show, which roped in over get their teammates’ heads out of a bucket 80 audience members, was a smash of water by sacrificing their own dryness, hit, Comedy Sportz matches have “Spit Take,” where they make any excuse to spit water at one another, and the all-time always been jam-packed. Now that the school year is classic snow-Moses-warm-up, “What Are coming to a close, proof of You Doing?” are a few potential challenges this year’s Comedy Sportz for the upcoming match. To top it off, a team’s success is in the slow motion battle between the two teams numbers; their final to the music of “Chariots of Fire” has been show is expecting proposed as the finale, which is, as Deutch a following describes it, “the funniest thing you’ve ever s i g n i f i c a n t l y seen.” Yet, in the world of improvisation, larger than 12. nothing is guaranteed. As for its members, their dedication should Scheduled for May 26 at be enough to testify to the comedic mastery 3:30, the of CSZ. “I would rather play in a Comedy Sportz game, or watch an amazing one, than study for SATs,” remarked Williams, “and I’m very studious.” A high compliment to any MVHS club, to be sure.

“

I would rather play in a Comedy Sportz game, or watch an amazing one, than study for SATs, and I’m very studious.

”

Adam

bs |

Jaco

staff

photo

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NO MERCY Sophomore Shawhan Shams and freshman Jeanette Deutsch take each other on in a headlock for an improvisation game during a Comedy Sportz practice on May 14.

A dress come true brings originality to the runway Unique designs are brought to life as students learn what it takes to be a designer by Samika Savanur, staff writer

some members like Nguyen, designing their own clothes comes much more easily than it ust like Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, and does for other members. Dolce and Gabbana, MVHS’s very own Junior and president of the Fashion Club Fashion Club is getting ready to present Rosa Ng, a more experienced designer, said, their own unique clothing style to the world. “For this year’s fashion show, I’ve designed Members spent the year designing and four dresses to display. I even designed my sewing their own dresses to display at the junior prom dress, which was white and fashion show. There are about 15 members silver, in less than one week.” each creating at least one dress. For most, skill comes with practice. But Many of the members have some other factors, such as patience and the ability experience in design. ”I’ve to work a sewing been making my own machine, can make clothes for a while, so I’m design a lot easier. used to it. Usually, I just “If you can handgo with my instincts when sew your own clothes, designing,” said junior that’s a pretty good and Denise Nguyen, vice a useful skill to have,” - junior Denise Nguyen Ng said. president of the Fashion Club. “I sort of just start Throughout the with one cut and then go with the flow. year, most of the members have worked Other times, I sketch out my design before independently and solely on their designs, starting.” whereas some members were paired to Depending upon each member’s ability to create dresses together. The officers would sew and create, time and creativity vary. For give out assignments to work on during club

“

I’ve been making my own clothes for a while, so I’m used to it.

”

meetings for a given amount of time and then check on them as deadlines came. They also had members help out with creating advertisements and selling tickets for the show. Newcomer to the designing world, sophomore Rena Chang designed an evening gown for the show. Chang has been working on her dress a couple times a week since the beginning of January. She said, “It was pretty easy to design the dress and find the appropriate fabric, however putting it all together was the tough part.” Chang worked independently to sketch and tailor her own original formal fashion piece. “I guess the best part about designing is getting the finish[ed] product that you wanted,” she said. This year’s fashion show will be held at the black box theatre on May 23. Catered dinner is served before the show and is part of the $10 ticket. Come check it out as MVHS own students model their peers’ creations and show off their catwalk.

Samika Savanur | staff photographer

SIMPLY FITTING On Sat. May 12 during a rehearsal, sophomore Rena Chang makes a minor improvement to her dress as her model tries it on.

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entertainment

Mindless recreated tale of shipwreck keeps audience entertained pretty well. However, the praise more or less ends there. This movie is good mindless entertainment, but really nothing more. It oseidon, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is the heartwarming is incredibly repetitive. The aforementioned “plot summary” is not family story of a glitzy ocean liner bound for New York. The an exaggeration; at many points in the movie it feels as though enormous ship is filled with elaborate ballrooms, small chil- you are being shown the same scene over and over again. There dren, expensive wine, gambling, Fergie, dance clubs, newlyweds, is extreme overkill (excuse the pun) when it comes to dead bodies. swimming pools, and the elderly--that is, until it is hit by a 12-story There seem to be hundreds, even thousands, of them everywhere, “rogue wave” and then capsizes, proceeding to electrocute, bar- and yet not a single survivor. The script is not bad in that “painful to listen to”, over-the-top becue and drown everybody inside. The movie, based on the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, hackneyed way, however it is very two-dimensional, and the bares a completely unique plot line, seeing as how it has absolutely characters are not developed beyond their initial introduction. nothing to do with the original. It is similar to many disaster movies There are some very contrived attempts at creating emotional attachment between the survivors, and in that the audience is first introduced to the audience itself, but they translate as several strangers, learning small details awkward, and end up leaving some loose about each of their backgrounds, until ends and unanswered questions. the “wave” finally hits and all of the Poseidon is a good film to see at least characters come together to try and find once--as far as disaster movies go--the a way out of the situation. effects are realistic, although the events After the ship overturns and begins to themselves may not be, and the scale of sink, the survivors must race to the top, the disaster itself is pretty magnificent. It’s (now the bottom), of the vessel, to try and also a great option for people who don’t escape through a propeller shaft before like to be emotionally manipulated--it is the the boat explodes or sinks or is eaten epitome of predictable, and you will develop by a sea monster. The plot consists of absolutely no emotional attachment to the water rushing into rooms, fire exploding characters. It’s like watching ants in an Ant through windows, lights flashing and photo courtesy of http://www.imdb.com Farm; you don’t really care about them, but flickering, piles of electrocuted and burned dead bodies, screaming passengers, sexual tension, you want to see what solutions they can come up with to whatever problems they encounter--such as all of their tunnels collapsing and floating piles of drowned dead bodies, and alarms sounding. The movie, all in all, is put together well. The effects are good, suffocating their entire family when someone decides to shake the the story line is simple and easy to follow, and the suspense builds terrarium. by Julia Stenzel, perspectives editor

LIST

After the implementation of the new Senior Ball bus policy, some may feel like they will miss out on the prom experience. But never fear! Here are ten brainstormed ideas as prom ride fun alternatives!

. Kick the seat of the person in front of you and yell, “Pass it on!”

2. Count as many license plates as possible that end with two-digit prime numbers.

3. Play the word game and see who

can come up with words with more than four syllables.

4. Look at the guys’ tuxes and make

toy review

bets as to who had their mom’s buy the tuxes for them.

5. Split the bus in half and play mafia. 6. Think about what you could have been doing if you had a limo.

Sing 1,000,000 bottles of beer on the wall with the guys singing high and the girls singing low.

Have all the girls take off their highheel shoes and align them according to color in the aisle and then swap shoes.

10. Take a nap so that you’ll be well rested to party at prom.

6/6 cd

Madonna performs in San Jose while on tour

5/30 concert

MVHS last dance from 8-11 in the Rally Court

The latest fashion accessory for males and females on campus is the iPod’s white trademark headphones. Students make a statement while listening to their favorite tunes.

Sing “This is the song that never ends,” or “Wheels on the Bus” and drive the chaperones crazy.

Live 105 BFD at the Shoreline Amphitheater

In the

HALLWAYS

5/26 dance

Author Justina Chen Headley visits MVHS

5/24 author

The Magna Cube, like its colorful cousin the Rubix Cube, is another braincrunching, cubeshaped puzzle. The Magna Cube is a fist-sized cube that can be broken into eight differently shaped wooden blocks. It is the job of the puzzle solver to reassemble the blocks together to form the original cube. However, the trick is, there are magnets embedded in different locations on each of the blocks. Since the magnets attract and repel one another, the blocks can only be put together in very specific ways. Although the Magna Cube does not appear to be complicated (there are only eight pieces), solving the puzzle is quite a challenge. After the three or four pieces have been assembled, it becomes extremely difficult to find a way to correctly add on another block to the puzzle. Priced at over 20 dollars, the Magna Cube is also somewhat pricey and is recommended for only the most avid puzzle solvers.

7/8 concert

website review Created and written by a man known by the alias Azreal, Outpostnine. com is a compilation of stories and editorials. The stories are largely serious depictions of male-female relationships, while the editorials are comical rants on subjects ranging from Wal-Mart to pornography. The stories are well written, although they are certainly no Romeo and Juliet, and will provide interesting, drama-filled short reads for any procrastination-filled homework session. However, the true entertaining value of the website comes from its editorials. Azreal makes full use of hyperbole, sarcasm, and satire to hilariously depict his everyday experiences. Especially amusing and noteworthy is the collection of editorials describing the author’s experiences as an American student English teacher living in Japan. Although the author takes on a somewhat condescending attitude toward Japanese culture, he fully captures the hilarity and awkwardness that ensue from the clash of Japanese and American cultures.

Posiedon: Sailing into theaters with a splash

the

game review Have you ever wanted to get smart without the hassle and stress of education? Now you can with Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! Well, supposedly. Brain Age is a recently released game for Nintendo DS that claims to boost your intelligence by training distinct areas of your brain through a series of mini-games. Based on the mini-game results, Brain Age rates your intelligence by giving your brain an age, with 20 being the optimum age. It is the player’s objective to achieve a brain age as close to 20 as possible through regular practice. Sounds intriguing? Don’t be fooled. With the exception of the Sudoku puzzle, the mini games featured in Brain Age are nothing more than boring tests ranging from reading out loud to performing simple arithmetic. The only difference between Brain Age and an actual test is that in the game, the problems are complemented by uninspired sounds and animations. Whether or not Brain Age really increases intelligence, it is not difficult to imagine that the game is severely lacking in entertainment value.

may 22, 2006

Be Your Own Pet cd release

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may 22, 2006

entertainment

No blushing for lone face artist My Last Train of Junior Chelsea Hayhurst travels each day to ROP Cosmetology class, eventually to spend 1600 hours to earn her license next year

by Cheryl Ho, staff writer

uring prom season, most teenage girls seek out fashion experts for hairdos, makeup, and nails. Junior Chelsea Hayhurst has no such need - she can do it all herself. The only Monta Vista student in ROP Cosmetology, Hayhurst has devoted over 15 hours a week to get her license. From 1-4:30 every afternoon, Hayhurst travels to Monterey Acadamey of Hair Design to perfects the art of Cosmetology. “I saw the class on the course guide in freshman year, but you have to be 16 or older to take it,” said Hayhurst. Though Hayhurst does not plan to major in Cosmetology, she does intend to pursue a cosmetology job at a salon during her college years. But to get her license, Hayhurst must complete about 1600 hours to finish. In order to do so, Hayhurst claims it will take her the rest of this year, 8 hour days during the summer, as well as the majority of her senior year. “Even though I don’t like cutting into my summer, I realize that I’ve already come so far and there’s no reason to stop now,” said Hayhurst. “What’s cool is that since it’s so much like a job, my parents are willing to pay me to go to it.”

There, Hayhurst joins with students from various schools and of varying ages. “We’re all kind of like friends,” she adds. “It really sets a different tone to the class.” The class simulates real life experiences and allows students like Hayhurst to perfect their craft. “It’s very much like a real job,” said Hayhurst. “When we come in, we have to punch time cards. You can’t be a minute late.” After checkin, students follow a list of tasks to accomplish. Hayhurst and other students perform a lot of their tasks on mannequins to simulate an actual client. “Sometimes when we are assigned hair color application, we use shaving cream instead,” Hayhurst said. “I’m totally sick of the smell of shaving cream now,” she added, laughing. However, sometimes clients come in, and the students can test out their skills on clients. Part of the area is a classroom, but in front is an actual salon, where students occasionally get opportunities to work on customers. Hayhurst gets additional opportunities from her friends as well. “Since [my friends] all know I’m learning that stuff, sometimes they ask me to do their hair,” said Hayhurst. “It’s so convenient to always have my best friend be able to do my hair and makeup,” said

Cheryl Ho | staff photographer MANNEQUIN MAKEOVER Junior Chelsea Hayhurst trims the hair of a plastic mannequin, practicing her newly learned hairstyle techniques. The hair is pinned up in sections to layer it. Hayhurst needs to practice on mannequins before working for a client to increase her expertise.

Hayhurst’s best friend, junior Allison Satterlee. “It’s really nice to not have to go out and pay a lot of money - I’ve saved hundreds of dollars that way. In addition to hair and makeup, Hayhurst also has to study how to perform manicures and pedicures, and has to learn the human antomy. “Part of it is like a science class,” she said. “I

think it might help us know which style fits each face shape.” Though she has learned a considerable amount, Hayhurst still has more to go before obtaining her license. As her first year of ROP Cosmetology closes, she knows she has two years left. In attempts to finish what she started, she is willing to dedicate the necessary time it takes.

Podcasts expand listening opportunities New way to tune into different media through downloading online by Edward Young, editor-in-chief

ophomore Leslie Kon, like many Monta Vista students, can often be seen walking the halls with headphones plastered to her ears. But she’s not listening to Greenday, Kelly Clarkson, or Switchfoot. She’s rocking out to an entirely different beat – SAT vocabulary words. Kon is a subscriber to Princeton Review’s podcast. A podcast is a digital audio file which is broadcasted through the internet, primarily as mp3s. But unlike traditional mp3 files, these can be subscribed to, much like a magazine. So instead of having to actively search for a new mp3 everyday, a program called an aggregator, will go out and automatically download every podcast you have subscribed to. And best of all, as Kon notes, “podcasts are free!” But cost is not the only benefit that is drawing in users. “Podcasts give you the whole song, dialogue, or whatever. There’s one for everything imaginable. There are no commitments or credit card numbers required and no iTunes music store account

Q’s

needed. I can copy them onto my iPod so that I can have the benefits of normal music,” Kon explains. Convenience is most likely the biggest draw for subscribers. Not only can the music be ported to an i-pod (or any mp3 player), it can also be played on a computer or burned to a CD, allowing users to listen at their convenience. It’s like having your favorite radio station everywhere you go. In addition, podcasts can be imbedded with images, or even video, which can be displayed on special players such as the iPod video. Another draw is the sheer breadth of topics that the podcasts can cover. iTunes, which has an extremely comprehensive list of podcasts, lists shows ranging from internet celebrity Strongbad to news anchor Elizabeth Vargas. In addition to the Princeton Review podcast, Kon says, “I listen to the Harry Potter movie podcast, for videos about making the fourth movie, and the Jason Mraz podcast.” For those who do not listen to podcasts, joining the growing trend is extremely simple. All you need is an aggregator. If

you have iTunes, you already have one. Through your aggregator, you need to subscribe to your favorite podcasts, and everything else is done for you. As soon as a new podcast is published by the producer, it will be downloaded by the aggregator. But some MVHS students are not content with just being listeners. Some students, like freshman Cameron Ferguson, would rather try to be creators of podcasts. Ferguson said, “All I did was take music from my playlist and mixed it using a program that comes with [Garage Band].” The process of creating a podcast is relatively simple, yet there are several major hurdles podcasters have to overcome. “I didn’t think I could keep up [posting],” Ferguson explained. “And I didn’t think it was very good.” Although podcasts are a new form of media, it has quickly become a major outlet for information and entertainment. Many feel that its potential has still yet to be reached. With the breadth of topics, there is bound to be something for everyone. And most importantly, as Ferguson says, “It’s easy to use. You don’t have to do anything.”

Sophomore Natalie Tyson

Senior Bradley Hyden

Senior Thomas Oldsfield

How were you introduced to Podcasts?

“Through ITunes”

“Through a website called AskANinja.com.”

“I was listening to NPR and they said, ‘and you can listen to our podcast at....’”

What is your favorite Podcast?

“Some radio station in Utah”

“I only listen to AskANinja.com’s podcast.”

“Just NPR.”

“It’s free and there’s a huge variety”

“Gives you the ability to “It’s like watching TV and surfing the internet at once. It has listen to the radio when you the brain-deadening qualities want, where you want, whatof TV with the interactive quali- ever show you want, while doing your homework.“ ties of the internet.”

What makes podcasts so appealing?

Thought For You o my dear reader-type-chums, This, being the very last of my columns for the year, I thought it best to let all yee faithful followers of the mad, mad, morbid attic that is my mind get the scoop on everything that sprints (very slowly) through my head -- all the things I wish I could have ranted to you about and written a column about in the past year: * Let’s start off with animals. Driving down to L.A., the most memorable moment is not the rest stop at the Harris Ranch loos, but the grotesque smell of cows being shot in the head, hung upside down, sliced in half, having the intestines ripped out of their dead bodies, then chopped into bitesized morsels conveniently sold at the local Safeway. Yummy scrumboes! After all, as a big man living in the woods with a gun once said, “If God didn’t want us to eat them, he wouldn’t have made them out of meat.” I am a vegetarian, but I’ve been addicted to chicken for the past four years. As much of a hypocrite as I am, I still can’t stand the idea of killing animals. For food, is one thing, but when teenage boys get guns and insist on popping the glock on every single beautiful creature out in the wilderness, it’s just plain LAME. Especially as moody, hormone-filled (some more than others) brats, we have this notion that we are superior to everything and everyone else. This need to prove ourselves to others and make sure the world knows that we are, in every imaginable way, better than every single person, animal, and blade of grass that enters our “territory” has taken over our culture and our perspective on what is right and what is very, very wrong. I’m better than you because I ruthlessly slaughtered you, glued googly eyes on your glazed eyeballs and then mounted your lifeless head on my wall...you cute little bobcat, you. Sharing is caring, but that includes life. * Speaking of life, it is absolutely a bore without the comic stylings of cable. As much as people tell us that it’s not important to be popular and that MTV is fake and overrated, it’s all a lie (minus the part about MTV, which is why you go one channel up to VH1). Because of the recent funeral of my cable box, I’ve been forced by supernatural powers to find entertainment in public television which I surprisingly have. I went from digital cable, to basic cable, to a variety of Spanish soaps sprinkled with some PBS. Every time the bar dropped, I thought to myself, “It can’t get much worse than this.” Then, it did, and I wished I was back with what I had thought was the most unbearable situation a moment ago. I learned to cope, as we all do, and nothing that had happened seemed as bad anymore. You just have to imagine how much worse situations can get in order to be appreciative of what you’ve got. You see it every day in class when tests get handed back: All you have to do is pray for a C and feel the extra rush of ecstasy when you really get a B. That doesn’t mean to aim for a C or settle for life without My Super Sweet Sixteen. It means that sometimes, it can do you good to lower your expectations - because rewards go down so much better that way. And as bad as anything seems to get, you have to remember that we are still only high school kids. We have a lifetime to fix anything that is drastic enough to take a lifetime to fix. And everything else, it’s all usually gigantic enough to get resolved during passing period. * If those problems get too crazy for even the local psychic to handle, calm yourself down with the purchase of a plot of land on Mars, name yourself a star, or splurge on a certificate stating that you are in a healthy relationship blessed by the covenance of God thanks to Paula White. Now I’m sure you can only imagine what I have to say about that one... There’s a whole world of hypocritical, superstitious material I would love to get to the nub and thrust of in this extremely vertical piece of space. There’s aliens, demons, celebrities, and many monarch butterflies migrating fast onto windshields that I could talk about -- but that’s what Wikipedia is for. So for now, all I can say as a final goodbye to you savage bunch of mates is: Goodnight, and goodluck (with 6/6/06).

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may 22, 2006

entertainment

Jazz band swings to sounds of success Students in school band all share a long-lasting passion for performing jazz music by Michelle Tanaka, entertainment editor

t might have been when pianist senior Charles Chen let his legs fly into the air as he strummed his fingers on his keyboard, or when violinist Jeff Lo shocked the crowd with his electric violin, or even as drummer Samir Uppaluru’s percise beats resonated in the auditorium. Regardless of when it was, the MVHS top jazz combo captivated the student audience. MVHS’ electric jazz combo consists of Chen, guitarist Jeff Bour, Lo, Uppaluru, bassist Michael Finch, and trumpeter Matt Deloney. All the members joined for two main reasons: because they had an interest in jazz, and it was a great alternative to concert band or orchestra. According to Lo, what makes jazz unique is that everything is improvisation. “A lot of it is about instinct, hearing melodies in your head then playing what your heart is singing,” Lo said. The basic stucture of jazz music is that there is a main melody called the “head” which is played by the whole band. The head contains a set of chords that is played out when each member takes a solo. Each soloist plays a scale of the chord a certain amount of times with their own variations. Then the combo joins back in and plays the head out and ends the tune. Uppaluru says, “In a combo I get to play on a drum set, while in concert band drummers play a single drum or percussion instrument at a time. You get to play in a small combo and rehearse on your own. And in jazz drumming you get to play whatever you like, since it’s all improvisation.” In order to make it into the top combo students go through a twotiered audition. Chen explains, “The first level is just to get in the class. The second level is placement in the class. We basically just run through a jazz tune, and then the best respective instruments get picked into the top band. But seniority plays a part also; if you’re a jazz alum from a previous year you usually get priority.”

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Austin Cheng | photo editor SWINGINGIT (from left to right) Junior Jeff Lo plays a violin solo in the group “Studio Combo” with sophomore Matt Deloney on trumpet, junior Samir Uppaluru on drums, and junior Michael Finch on bass guitar. The group played three songs, Anthropology, Mr. P.C., and Hoe Down, at the last jazz-only concert that was in the MVHS music room on May 16.

After the auditions are finished, the students are placed into either the top combo, one of the two sextets (which is a combo consisting of six members), or the large combo. Each combo is required to have a drummer and bassist, however the other members are determined by a person’s musical talents. In a typical music class, students have a director who advises the students and directs the group through his own perspective. Music teachers John Galli and Jon Fey teach all four jazz groups, however the large combo is mainly directed by Galli and plays sheet music than the other three Junior Jeff Lo more combos. Since jazz is built on scales and chords, all the members have a strong musical background. Most members have played jazz for at least two years and took private lessons or group classes for many years. Naturally, each member has to bring something unique to the melody.

A lot of it is about instinct, hearing melodies in your head then playing what your heart is singing.

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Of the band members, none seem to know that better than Lo. As a violinist, Lo had to make himself unique, simply because violinists are so uncommon in the jazz genre. “Everyone actually laughed at me on the first day of school,” Lo said. “Galli asked, ‘Jeff Lo, instrument?’ I replied, ‘Violin’ and the entire room burst out in giggles.” Still, the high level of skill in the band has motivated him to prove to people that jazz violin can work. “The rest of the band is really good… so there’s pressure to maintain some level of excellence,” said Lo, “The biggest thing is that we actually play because we like it.” As far as their futures go, all members are set on keeping jazz in their lives, however none of them are working toward playing professionally. “I’m not going to major in it, but I’ll probably take some classes, make sure to keep playing somewhere,” says Uppaluru. Nonetheless, the band members doubt that they will ever lose touch with jazz completely. In short, Lo said, “Jazz is fun to play.” No kidding. It shows.

sports

Walking the Beam: School and gymnastics

Sophomore Hatsune Akaogi shares her insight on how she deals with difficulties by Melissa Ni, staff writer

hile many of her peers were beginning to read their first words, sophomore Hatsune Akaogi, then six years old, had other plans. The MVHS gymnast had already began tumbling and spiraling around the jungle gym at school. “I was pretty active and liked doing flips on monkey bars, or anywhere else,” said Akaogi. In the same year, her parents enrolled her in gymnastics classes at the West Valley Gym, which sparked her love for the sport. Two years later, the little gymnast has balanced a crowded resume in the sport. In addition to competing annually in the State competition in gymnastics, last year she placed first. And this year, when she attended the national competition in Oklahoma, she came out with an impressive showing, ranking 15th in the country. Even though Akaogi has been to a lot of big competitions and either won or received high ranking, she doesn’t go into detail about her achievements. One of her close friends, sophomore Kasha Sang remarked, “I admire that she is not showing off how much she can do even though we are aware of how good she is. She is really modest about the whole Nationals thing.” Akaogi’s successes don’t come out of nowhere--she puts in long hours at the gym every day of the week. Akaogi practices four hours or more every day after school and puts in a good couple of hours during the weekends; she has little spare time to spend with her friends. Still, some of her closest friends, Sang and sophomore Rosa Ahn, both admire their friend’s devotion to the sport. “I think she’s crazy for spending so much at the gym, but she is a ‘pro’ so I understand,” said Sang. In times when Akaogi is not busy at the gym or completing schoolwork, she and her friends enjoy watching movies, eating out, baking brownies, talking and playing field hockey or baseball. “Movie nights are the best when a small group of friends stays over at a friend’s house and we watch movies all night and eat brownies until we get sick,” Ahn recalled. Gymnastics also plays an exciting role

Stark truth with Stark

Photo courtesy of Hatsune Akaogi AIRBORNE Sophomore Hatsune Akaogi leaps through the air during the National gymnastics competition hosted in Oklahoma in early May.

in Akaogi’s free time with her friends. Ahn shared, “One time, she did a handstand and walked that way all the way to the park.” But Akaogi’s success isn’t without compromises, both social and academic. “Sometimes I have a hard time getting school work done because gymnastics is a

real time commitment,” she said. However, she elaborated that school is her priority, and she strives to do well. Furthermore, when there is a conflict between school and practice at the gym, she would miss or shorten her practice hours to complete the test or assignment for school.

see STICK IT on page 23

Undefeated badminton team ratchets up CCS championship by Aniqa Hasan, managing editor

or the first time in at least 12 years, the MV varsity badminton team has finished the season undefeated. Though the years past have brought the badminton team to CCS, the team has never had a shutout season. The extra push to the finish came this year with more practice, more people, and just more dedication. Seniors Matthew Yu and Lucy Chang, two of three captains of the varsity badminton team, have been on the team since their freshmen year. Yu realized that in his four years on the team, the number of people interested in trying out for the team has increased steadily and that staying on the team, at least for JV, is almost solely dependent on dedication. “To a certain extent, you have to have some talent, but if you come to practice and work hard, the coach probably won’t cut you.” The practices are rigorous: every weekday during the season from 3 to 6 p.m. Off-season, including during the summer, there is practice about once a week, during open gym every Saturday. Junior Manish - senior Mamidanna said, “We train a lot. The gym is an open resource. It gives us time to expand our skills.” Coach Charlie Situ has been a coach at MV for 12 years. He didn’t notice a significant change in the team as a whole. Even though it is varsity’s first time to finish the upper division undefeated, he said, “We have finished the lower divisions undefeated. We’ve had CCS champions in boys and girls

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singles for the last six years. So there was not so much change.” Although all the training does pay off, it doesn’t come without a price. Chang said, “I almost did the splits last week trying to hit the birdie. I pulled a tendon in my leg.” She continued about injuries suffered by other members of the the team.“We have at least once injury almost every game. But we almost always play with the injuries,” she said. The varsity team looks only to improve. Finishing off the season undefeated this year, and having teams go to CCS, it seems the MV Varsity is starting a legend. Junior Emmanuel Pun placed first at the May 13 tournament, qualifying him for CCS for the third year in a row. Mamidanna and his doubles partner senior Irving Lin qualified for boys doubles, Chang, and senior Irene Yang, the third captain, qualified for girls doubles, and Yu and Annie Chuang qualified for mixed doubles. The team can look forward to improving in the next few years as it has been for the years past. Mamidanna said, “We have a lot of really good freshmen capable of taking the team really far in the coming years.” Freshman Josh Ho is one of the players expected Lucy Chang to do well throughout his high school badminton career. “I plan on going for training again over the summer...a few times a week. I plan on being in badminton through high school and am looking forward to the varsity team next year,” he said. With so much talent this year, as well as the anticipation of a group of well-trained underclassmen keeping the spirit of the team up, it seems varsity badminton has nowhere to go but up.

I almost did the splits last week trying to hit the birdie. I pulled a tendon in my leg.

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or the first time, it felt like a mission. I arrived at ten hundred hours at the Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County. Math teacher Jon Stark met me in the lounge and walked me out to his helicopter, a Bell 47G-3B-1. He helped me step up on a protruding black leg, and I swung myself into the clear bubble cockpit. The seatbelt had four belts. The headsets were huge and had noise-canceling capabilities. There were pedals and joysticks and numbers and dials for everything from Altimeter to Zero Fuel Weight. Stark started flipping switches, and soon the long blade above our heads started spinning faster and faster until it was a single whizzing noise above our heads and I was tense with anticipation. “Reid tower, helicopter niner niner niner delta whiskey at tango 27 for southwest departure under the class charlie with information bravo.” Stark’s voice was clear in my headset. With the beating sun warming everything from me to my cherry Coke, the control tower responded and Stark pulled up on the joystick. The helicopter rose as the grass swept forward in pretty ripples. W e w e r e target: Math teacher Jon at an Stark elevation Location: D107 of one When: April 20, 2006 thousand Mission: To fly a helicopter feet and I was expecting something truly amazing to happen, but nothing did. It really is just like riding in an airplane and looking out a side window—except there isn’t that awkward business man who wants to strike up a conversation with you and that one kid who keeps asking for Ginger Ale and then makes everyone else stand up so he can use the bathroom (that was always me). My eye landed on one dial that looked suspiciously like a speedometer. I wondered how fast we were going, and Stark said about 85 miles per hour. “Then, why are cars going faster?” Though, after seeing the thousandth square house situated on the thousandth mile of gray road you would wonder why people would want to get to these exciting destinations so fast. After he denied flying us at 10,000 feet and denied executing a 360 degree back flip, he did give me the satisfaction of flying over our home town, Cupertino, where I learned something. MVHS is one ugly looking place. We think it’s a wonderful life, but from a bird’s vantage we live in a pretty dull world. Yet, Stark, who one might assume is just some regular math teacher, flies this wonderful helicopter (not to mention a sailplane, a car, three bicycles, and two motorcycles). Funny how things seem different once you get another, closer, perspective. From math teacher Emmett Powers’ refusal to retire to science teacher Kavita Gupta’s role as a student, everything looks different once you see it from another view. The Pilates machines weren’t murder weapons, walking is harder than running, and flamenco isn’t easy. English teacher Andrea Chin isn’t as bad at tennis as I made her out to be (happy now, Chin?). Check out things in another fashion, before you decide what to believe. Stark still closely wrote down numerous times and distances at the end of the flight, a log book of sorts, and checked and then rechecked that everything was locked up as he put a huge cover over his helicopter. Missions accomplished. Who will get the next one?

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may 22, 2006

sports

Hidden players cheer on MVHS sports MVHS team parents play key roles in the unity of various sports teams by Judy Liang, staff writer

n any team picture, the players and the coach are clearly present. However, one of the team’s crucial components comes into the scene only when the sports season begins. While the players’ parents and friends support the team from the sidelines, the team parents, the one or two adults who volunteer for the job, save the coaches from excessive stress. They are often the backbone of the sports programs here at MVHS, as they help with calling parents to organize rides to games, hosting team dinners, bringing snacks to games, and much more. Through various means of communication such as group e-mails and phone trees in which parents are responsible for calling one another, team parents Judy Wilson and Janet Guardino update the JV baseball team almost every day on urgent news about carpools to away games and new dates of rained-out games. Although Wilson has been a team parent at MV for two years, she feels that she has been one her whole life considering that she was one when her sons were participants in little league. “One advantage [to being a team parent] is that you can help with the communication so that everything runs smoothly,” she said. “You can really help the coach, so the coach can spend more time with the kids. It also helps with parent chemistry because you get to know everybody better.” Despite the extra time that Wilson has to put in with Guardino to keep the team on its toes, she finds fun in organizing events such as team pizza parties and aiding an efficient flow of communication. This year, the greatest complication was the rain, causing postponements of many games. Fortunately, Wilson’s and Guardino’s use of the phone tree method made the job much easier. The two parents called a few parents who would then pass on the word to the parents they were responsible for notifying. Essentially, this saved time and effort for the team parents and improved team communication. “If you set it up well, it runs well,” Wilson said. “There really aren’t any disadvantages to being a team parent other than that it takes some time.” For the coaches, the parents work wonders to save them time as well. Hav-

Carolyn Chuang | staff photographer PARENT SUPPORT Team parent Janet Guardino sits on the bleachers to support her son, junior Billy Guardino, and the rest of his teammates. In her spare time, she casually chats with a parent about the game.

ing placed the hassle of organizing rides, bringing snacks, and planning team dinners into the parents’ hands, the coaches can use their time and energy to plan out practices and unite the team. Crosscountry coach Mike Morris explained how difficult a sports season would be without help from team parents. “We didn’t have team parents when I first started coaching. I spent so much time calling parents -team myself trying to set up rides. There’s an awful lot of paper work involved in just getting your entries in. The transportation issue is the biggest thing and then the scheduling of all the parents bringing water, fruit, snacks and things like that…but it really is wonderful to have parents to do that,” Morris said. In cross-country, team parents Lynn Worsham and Lee Pan have encouraged all the runners’ parents to participate in more ways other than just taking time out of their

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workday to drive the athletes to meets as far as Monterey Bay. They have snapped and shared digital pictures of the team, distributed race numbers and safety pins, hosted team dinn e r s , brought snacks and drinks to every race, and planned a barbecue after a meet. Often, they are seen parent Lynn Worsham standing along the course of the race, cheering on not only their children but their children’s teammates as well. Behind the major role as an organizer, the team parent becomes an example for the student athletes and their parents. Morris said, “The team parents are role model parents. They’re there all the time, and I think a lot of the kids see those parents and are impressed with how much the parents are involved in the activities

The reward of being a team parent is getting to know a terrific group of students. I am always awed by their enthusiasm, dedication, and support of their teammates.

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and their kids’ lives. It probably motivates them to go home and bug their parents to do more and be more involved.” Worsham has been a team parent for water polo for three years and for crosscountry for two years. To her, the benefits of being a team parent outweigh the disadvantages of frustration in finding drivers for weekday meets and working around her schedule to drive the athletes. Having collaborated with the team captains to plan out events such as the team banquet, Worsham said, “The reward of being a team parent is getting to know a terrific group of students. I am always awed by their enthusiasm, dedication, and support of their teammates.” Through extracurricular activities, students can show a side of themselves much more different than their lives at home and school. Their school spirit shines through during sports games as they yell and cheer on their teammates throughout the match. “Being a team parent also helps me be closer to my children because I see a different aspect of their lives. I encourage parents to get involved in any way they can because these high school years go by very quickly,” said Worsham.

Don Juan El Toro hits the game floor with a new personality Incoming seniors John Hsu and Erin Donahoe step up to fill the MVHS mascot’s shoes by Raj Dedhia, news editor

sk junior John Hsu why he decided that he wanted to jump around, wear a costume, and dance and cheer in front of hundreds of his peers at sporting events and rallies, and he’ll give you an awkward, if honest, answer: “Because I enjoy wearing tights.” When most think of MVHS’ mascot, tights do not come to mind. Usually it’s the horns, purple suit, and big nose that catch everyone’s attention. But this year, Don Juan El Toro, the bull mascot, will be accompanied by the matador, the newest addition to the spirit team. Brittany Morales, the cheer coach, figured that in terms of school spirit, two mascots would be better than one. Yet, the titles were not easy to obtain. Not only did juniors Erin Donahoe, the bull, and Hsu, the matador, have to fill out application forms and retrieve teacher recommendations, but they also had to spend one week after school to prove that they were up for the job. Hsu added, “We had to go to the dance room everyday after school from 3:15 to 5:30 and practice the basic cheer routines.” During that week, Donahoe and Hsu had to learn the sideline cheer and fight song cheer with the cheerleaders. The tryout was to test how well they learned those cheers. Sideline cheer and fight song cheer may not seem like

a hard skill to develop over one week, but when one, like Hsu, has other physical activities planned during the week, it could be quite tiring. Hsu, also a Kung Fu student, did not

Austin Cheng | photo editor and Cheryl Ho | staff photographer MV PRIDE John Hsu will take the role of the matador while Erin Donahoe will play the bull.

mind the extra training; rather, he enjoyed it. But his body didn’t seem to be with him on this one. “I was practicing Kung Fu one day and I pushed myself too far. I pulled my right shoulder and sprained it badly.” Yet, this didn’t stop Hsu from continuing his training for the rest of that week. Hsu’s primary motivation through the whole process was his desire to be more invovled with the school. “I just

wanted to make a difference and get involved with my wonderful school, so I decided that I wanted to literally represent the school...I went for it,” said Hsu. His co-mascot, Donahoe, found a different source for her motivation. “I have wanted to be a mascot since I was in fourth grade. For some reason, I [thought] it would be super fun.” Together, Donahoe and Hsu hope that the extra emphasis on the mascots will get more people to share their school spirit. “We will now be cheering on our classmates during rallies starting next year,” said Donahoe. Currently, they are working on a routine bull-fight that they can perform during games to get peers, family and friends more excited for the school team. Even though tryouts have finished, Donahoe and Hsu’s excitement for next year as mascots have not. “The only drawback I see is that I have to wait until next year to wear that costume,” said Donahoe. Hsu also hopes that their excitement will be passed on to other MVHS students. “There seriously are not enough people who are willing to participate and make a difference as far as spirit team goes,” said Hsu. With that knowledge, Hsu and Donahoe are committed to taking one giant step for all matador kind.

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may 22, 2006

sports

Hidden players cheer on MVHS sports MVHS team parents play key roles in the unity of various sports teams by Judy Liang, staff writer

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The reward of being a team parent is getting to know a terrific group of students. I am always awed by their enthusiasm, dedication, and support of their teammates.

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Don Juan El Toro hits the game floor with a new personality Incoming seniors John Hsu and Erin Donahoe step up to fill the MVHS mascot’s shoes by Raj Dedhia, news editor

a hard skill to develop over one week, but when one, like Hsu, has other physical activities planned during the week, it could be quite tiring. Hsu, also a Kung Fu student, did not

Austin Cheng | photo editor and Cheryl Ho | staff photographer MV PRIDE John Hsu will take the role of the matador while Erin Donahoe will play the bull.

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sports

may 22, 2006

Queen of clubs commands the green

Freshman Jiin Park adds a feminine flair to MVHS’ formerly all-male golf team

“It’s pretty cool to be in the boys varsity hen the 2006 golf season start- golf team,” said Park. “I’m pretty sure they ed, the boys golf team was in are used to having a girl around now.” for a surprise. One of only six Hambleton remarked, “Jiin is a great varsity slots was given to freshman Jiin player, and gets along well with other team Park, one of the only competitive girls on members. She is friendly and funny, but the golf team ever. Park is now ranked third also brings a real competitive spirit.” or fourth out of the six players. “It’s a lot harder for girls. They have Initially introduced to the sport when her to hit from farther tees, and boys are father wanted a golfing buddy, Park was intimidating,” said teammate, junior Phil competing in tournaments by age 11 and Lee. “Her coming as a freshman and a girl ultimately fell in love with it. “It was the is very impressive.” tournament experiences that led me to play After high school, Park hopes to continue golf,” she said. her passion for the sport. “I would love to Since the starting age of ten-and-a- play the sport which I enjoy for the rest of half, Park’s golf successes have rapidly my life,” she said. increased. Park is now ranked as one of “I think it’s because it’s something I the top ten girl golfers in California. can actually do and I’m good at,” Park “I was pretty frustrated at first,” Park explained. “It feels like this is what I was said. “Frustrated and impatient. I never meant to do - it gives me happiness when I thought I would come this far when I started play the game. I try hard, and it makes me playing. I didn’t know what I was going to feel good about it. Golf gives me something experience.” to be proud of.” Park has been competing in the 12-14 Her plans include hopefully enrolling age group and has been ranked third place in a good college that supports golf and in her past two Junior Golf Association provides scholarships. Some options she tournaments in Northern California. is looking at are UCLA and Arizona State. Although school work Following her college career, has prohibited her from Park would love to play in attending as many the Ladies Professional Golf tournaments as she Association (LPGA). would like, Park will “I think that her dream compete in over 20 is completely in reach for over the summer. her,” said Lee, “as long as -Junior Phil Lee she continues to work as As she entered Monta Vista, Park decided to hard as she does now... She expand her horizons by joining the golf practices three to five hours a day, and like team. Unfortunately, there was no girls golf seven on weekends.” team available for her to join. “It depends Park definitely has the dedication to on what the students want,” said golf coach work her way up to the top. As a freshman and teacher Travis Hambleton. “If there’s in high school, she still can set aside the enough demand [for a girls golf team], it majority of her time for golf. “I get home could definitely happen.” every day at like eight, and when I get However, a girls golf team seems low in home, I do weights 30-40 minutes a day.” demand. “I would love to have a girls golf Park tries to play an 18-hole golf game team, but to my knowledge, I know there at least three to four times a week, but aren’t [enough] girls in Monta Vista who works on putting and long distance hitting play golf to make a team,” said Park. every day. When she gets home, she works Nevertheless, Park has made a name on strengthening her muscles, including for herself even on the boys varsity team, forearms, wrists, legs, and thighs. despite having to hit from farther tees. But at times, Park’s constant involvement “Boys tees don’t really have a big effect on in the golf world can get the best of her. me because I can hit my ball pretty far for She said, “It’s especially in the summer, a girl,” Park said. Thus, Park has come to when I practice 24/7. Sometimes my friends enjoy her membership on the team. tell me what they went out and did, and I by Cheryl Ho, staff writer

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It’s a lot harder for girls. . . boys are intimidating.

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Cheryl Ho | staff photographer

WHAT A PUTT Freshman Jiin Park practices her tournament-winning swing at the Deep Cliff Golf Course in Cupertino, on May 16. Competing in tournaments since she was 11, Park is currently the only girl on MVHS’s varsity golf team. She is ranked third or fourth on a team of six boys.

really want to go out and play too, but I don’t have the time to do that... [but] it’s a better trade in the end. I know I want to go play, but I know that if I practice harder than everyone else, it’ll pay off later on.” Of course, none of her persistence would exist without her parents. “My dad’s always helps me get through hard times,” Park said. “Besides, he was the one who

got me started in the first place. My mom’s been there for me for support and helps me out, even when I’m tired.” As a young golfer, Park shows promise. As Lee said, “Jiin is very lively and brings enthusiasm to the team that none of the guys on the team can. You can also always count on her; if one of the kids mess[es] up, she can always put up a good score.”

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may 22, 2006

sports

Securing a win in a split second Girls track sprints to success at CCS by Carolyn Chuang, sports editor

each year, as she significantly went from running the 100 in 12.6 seconds last t was a roller coaster. The people year to 12.38 this year. As her progress that move on, we’ll get them ready. continues, the current girls 100 meter The people that don’t, we wish [the] record is in increasing danger. team the best for next year,” said MVHS However, Nelson is not completely track head coach Ray Cornell. satisfied with her performance. “I want to Members of the varsity girls track team improve in being more consistent from race jumped, sprinted, ran, and hurled their to race,” said Nelson. way through a strong showing at the Santa In addition, senior Julia Co placed first Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) finals in long jump and third in triple jump even on May 13. though she recently came off an injury. Though the MVHS track team moved up “With Julia being out for almost a month, from the “B” to the “A” league this year, and for her to come back and have pretty the varsity girls have met and overcome strong performances in both jumps was a the challenge by winning every dual meet big thing,” said Cornell. and becoming co-champions with Palo Alto Rubin, another member of the relay High School at the league finals. team, raced solidly to meet expectations as “Since there was better competition she was seeded fourth and then won fourth at dual meets, it made you push yourself place in the 300-meter hurdles. harder,” said junior hurdler Emily Rubin. “It A reason that the girls have been able to helped us gradually improve throughout the be so successful is that most of the various year.” events have strong scorers, so there aren’t However, Cornell was not surprised by particular events that will have large lapses the girls’ success. in points. “When I would coach at other schools, “What’s good about our girls team I would see the girls team at Monta Vista is that whenever anyone has a down would always do well,” said Cornell. “I performance, there’s always somebody expected the girls to perform well.” else from another group, like the distance Going into the SCVAL people who took one, finals, the focus was on one two, and three in the goal: making it to the next league meet, to help round. us win it even if some Or maybe even a few other people didn’t do rounds after that. as well as usual,” said “I really want to make Cornell. states, and I’m really Those key wins pushing for that goal,” said helped to bring along senior Maria Nelson. “It’s the distance runners, always been on my mind, including freshman and I have that goal as I Jean Feng, juniors approach my races.” Angela Hsu and Lisa However, there is a long Worsham, and senior - junior Angela Hsu and difficult journey to the Stephanie Cham to the top. Descending from the CCS qualifiers. top of the track and field food chain, the Other highlights from SCVAL finals top three in each event of CCS finals qualify included Feng and Worsham sticking for the state meet. Before that, only the top closely together in the 3200-meter run to 12 in each event of CCS qualifiers make it finish in about 11.5 minutes, placing first to CCS finals. To receive the chance to just and second, respectively, and Hsu and attempt to qualify for CCS finals requires Cham qualifying for the mile by beating the a top five in an event at the SCVAL finals. CCS At-Large time. Hsu also placed fourth Not to mention, competitors must achieve in the 800 to secure her own spot at the top six or eight in the league before going upcoming meet. to SCVALs. Collectively, they have competed Several MVHS varsity girls are well on strongly throughout the season because of their way. their physical ability and mental strength. Regardless of an early upset in the 4x1 “I want to push myself as hard as I can. relay, members still competed well in their It’s not really about pacing. I just want to individual events. Nelson turned heads as run until I’m totally exhausted,” said Hsu. she took first place in both the 100-meter Looking ahead for CCS qualifiers and dash and the 200-meter run. Nelson’s finals, the team now is just trying to get their teammates often look up to her exceptional best spot for finals. performance, as she helps to motivate the “Once you get a lane in the finals, team. She has been shaving off her times anything could happen,” said Cornell.

“I

1 Austin Cheng | photography editor

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I want to push myself as hard as I can. It’s not really about pacing. I just want to run until I’m totally exhausted.

2 Carolyn Chuang | staff photographer

Carolyn Chuang | staff photographer

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Austin Cheng | photography editor

SWEEPING THE BOARD 1. Senior Maria Nelson anchors the 4x400 meter relay at the League meet at Los Altos High School on May 4, placing fifth overall with a time of 4:11.51. 2. Sophomore Helena Montin raises the bar at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) finals at Los Gatos High School on May 13, tying for first in the high jump. 3. Sophomore Elise Leung puts her best foot forward in the long jump at the SCVAL meet. 4. Freshman Michelle Young aims far in the shot put at the league meet, getting seventh place with a distance of 28 feet, 6 inches. 5. Freshman Jean Feng shows her endurance in the 3200 meter run, winning second with a time of 11.30.19.

Competing in two worlds Stick it

continued from page 19 “School is very important and I am fortunate to be attending Monta Vista,” Akaogi said, “Even though it is a highly competitive school, I feel that it is better for me because it challenges me and helps me balance out my time.” Despite the time commitment, Akaogi feels that gymnastics has had some positive consequences for her academics as well. Amidst the cartwheels and body contortions, she has mastered a great deal of personal discipline. Besides the difficulties of managing her time wisely, Akaogi and many other athletes suffer from injuries that can disable their performance. However, Akaogi stays strong. She said, “I have been pretty fortunate with injuries. I have knee problems and a

broken toe, but other than that, only regular gymnastics pain.” There is never an excuse for missing practice when it hurts in a certain area of the body because according to Akaogi, a gymnast always has something hurting in their body. Although occasionally, school work will affect the amount of hours she practices for gymnastics, she is constantly motivated to improve herself and do even better. Her main drive to perform at her best in gymnastics is strengthened by her hope to continue the sport during college. As for her future goals, Akaogi explained, “I want to continue striving in school in the next two years of high school and remain healthy for the last two seasons of gymnastics.” But for this master gymnast, balancing those priorities should be about as difficult as, well, balancing on the beam.

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continued from front page laugh. Such a philosophy mixed with a generous and giving mentality towards his students were qualities that made Post such an effective teacher and inspiration to his students. While he himself was an extremely gifted artist, his inspiration to teach was derived from recognizing his students’ artistic talents and his ability to share his passion for art with his students. Post also contributed a lot of his extra time to improving the campus as well. He and his art class created seven murals, including the ones depicting a bull fight on the walls of the gym, as well as the murals in the auditorium. He took his dedication to the art program at MVHS to the next level about 20 years ago when he created ROP Commercial Art and Design. Post spent countless hours writing letters of recommendation, visiting schools, making sure that students’ portfolios were in top-shape for presentation. “He was definitely one of the best art teachers that I’ve ever had,” said senior Anisha Bajaj. “We talked a lot about college and stuff. He opened my eyes to a lot of different schools and a lot of different careers that you could go into from art that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.” Over the years, the program has evolved into one of the most widely recognized and successful commercial art classes in the nation. “The way he did that is he made connections with art schools and so through out his time working with ROP, he connected students with just state-of-the-art art schools and opened doors for them to become commercial artists,” said principal April Scott. Students who worked on projects like Toy Story and worked for successful animation companies like Pixar often contacted Mr. Post after many years to thank him for his inspiration and guidance. “So many people talk about what a great academic school this is. If you were to point at some of the things that are prevalent, his graphic arts class has put more people in

voting

continued from page 7 several days, this allows students another chance to make their voices heard. Furthermore, since votes are counted electronically instead of by hand, the potential for errors in the results is reduced significantly. And then there’s the fact that online voting eleiminates what has to be a major hassle for Administration in terms of juggling stacks of paperwork. But any online voting system should be judged by the attitudes of students, not the convenience to the administration. A poll of students who voted indicated that 20 percent favored Scantrons to online voting. That’s 20 percent too much. If even a minority of students feels that the new voting process makes participation in student government more difficult for MVHS students, then that ought to be recognized and remedied. Leadership ought to be recognized for its efforts to be progressive in modernizing the system of class elections. But in the spirit of makin our student government the best that it can be, we should be open to recognizing that more reform may be necessary. Just because online voting wasn’t perfect this time, that

may 22, 2006

major art schools than any other [comprehensive] high school. And he did that on his own,” said Metheany. Though the entire program and its reputation was built by him, Post rejected any credit or recognition. His humility is especially apparent through his actions, as his last wishes were to donate his legacy to an art institute whose program he supports. “And that speaks volumes,” said Scott. “That’s where he wants his mark of life left.” Last spring, despite his illness, Post’s main concern was how his ROP program would fair once he retired. In fact, he handwrote lesson plans and recorded tapes that instructed whoever became the new teacher on how the classroom was set up and what kind of environment the course was taught in. Still, in spite of his preciseness, when Dale Barcellos filled his shoes this year as ROP teacher, Post really honored Barcellos’ teaching methods and differences, calling the ROP program “his and not mine anymore.” Though this year he was struggling with cancer as well as the after-effects of radiation that he was exposed to during treatments, Post was still motivated by his past students’ successes and enthusiasm to learn. In fact, since February, he resumed working at MVHS, but rather than teaching classes, he worked with Barcellos outside of class to improve the ROP program and perfect it for future years. Though the art students and the ROP program were primarily his life, Post was known for being an avid reader and storyteller. He was wise, witty and humorous, and was an expert on the civil war. “We had a duck-hunting club together down in Los Banos. We traveled together. We’d go on vacations together…He was the greatest storyteller there ever was,” said Vieira. “He’s just a dear friend. I’m really going to miss him because he and I did so much together over a long period of time.” In appreciation of his dedication to the school, the administration is planning a scholarship in Post’s name. Post had a huge impact on the development of the ROP program, the art department, as well as MVHS as a whole. His passion for art, enthusiasm for teaching, and love for his students will be greatly missed.

doesn’t mean it can’t work. Perhaps the best part of the old system was the role played by class bonding, where students as a class would fill out Scantron forms together. The spirit of class voting would fill the atmosphere of the school for the week prior to the actual vote, culminating in the moment that the vote was turned in. Votes could still be done during class, and classes could take a rip to the library or one of the computer labs to log on and vote. This would preserve the spirit of the election and maximize turnout, while including the beneficial aspects of the process. In presidential elections, it may make sense to have a system that encourages only those that care about the issues to gout and vote. On issues of tax policy and immigration, the system is served best by having educated voters make policy decisions. But at this level of student government, the same reasoning doesn’t apply. Students just don’t know enuogh about what responsibilities their elected officers have and what actions they take. But that’s easy to solve. Students need to have more information presented to them prior to the voting process. Campaigning alone just isn’t enough. Instead of printing a small number of candidate statements for classroom use, the Administration should print class sets of candidate platforms. It may be expensive, but in the end it’s worth it.

retake

continued from front page then students that have last names beginning with M-Z will have to retake a different version of the Macroeconomic test. The test will be held in the summer and the College Board would notify students on the time and location. “Nothing will happen. The College Board’s questions range from easy to hard and if they discover that students miss most of the easy ones and get most of the hard ones right, then they will use their programmed mathematical equation to see if students actually cheated,” Economics teacher Pete Pelkey explained. “Only if they find out that students cheated will they invalidate the tests.” Other teachers seem to have a different opinion on the matter. “If I took the test, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to take it again,” said math teacher Jon Stark, a former attorney. “Students were out in the open and it was a complete security breach. Though there are many differing opinions on what may happen, whether the tests will be actually be invalidated is still uncertain as of now. “In standardized testing, there are certain provisions. The College Board understands that things like this happen,” Scott said, “We don’t think it will be a problem.”

Attention all seniors!

Senior surveys due Wednesday, May 24 to the ASB office Corrections/Clarifications: Please remember to put your name on the forms. In the future plans section, indicate what college you will be attending or where you will be going after high school. The first nomination should be “most likely to be the director of a chamber orchestra.” Salvador Dali is a painter.