Volume 38 Issue 7 April 11, 2007

pg 10-11 // centerspread April 11, 2007

www.elestoqueonline.com

preview

INSIDE: Turning points in MVHS students’ lives

Breaking the habit

pg 6 // news

Jammed Up: Student lot overflows with unpermitted cars

pg 9 // perspectives

Point for Point: Is prom too extravagant?

by Carolyn Chuang

D

sports editor

CHANGED MAN At top, Burns strikes a pose with his sister Mallory in 2004; At right, Burns is shown at Second Nature wilderness camp in 2005.

Senior Cameron Burns reflects on time in drug rehab

ecember 27, 2005.

The date rolls off senior Cameron Burns’ tongue clearer than anything. Dressed in a black hat conspicuously labeled “Black Hat,” and a plain white tee shirt, his austere appearance is misleading; Burns has gone through what practically no other student has gone through.

On December 27, 2005, Burns disappeared.

At 4 am that morning, several men came into Burns’ house and took him away. Not mentally awake, Burns felt completely confused as the strangers drove him to the airport, and one of them accompanied him on a flight to Utah.

Following his arrival, Burns went on a two-and-ahalf hour drive through what Burns described as “the middle of nowhere.” Only desert sand and sparse

plants remained in his line of sight.

“We just stopped somewhere, and I looked around, thinking ‘Where am I?’” His destination was Duchesne, Utah, at a place called Second Nature, a wilderness camp for students who need to reevaluate their situations. Burns’ mother Sandy Boyd chose to send Burns there because he had been heavily using drugs.

“I tried having him work with a therapist. I tried putting restrictions on him. I tried grounding him. I tried talking to him, working with him. We got him jobs. All kinds of different things, trying to help him figure himself out.”

“When somebody really gets into drugs, they need someone to pull them out of it.”

Burns first tried smoking marijuana when he was

see BURNS on page 10

District hangs up on Saferides Due to liability concerns, FUHSD pulls support of program, denies resources and endorsement

by Anagha Vaidhyanathan managing editor

pg 13 // entertainment

Students model original creations on runway

Baseball team in year of rebuilding

photo illustration by Aniqa Hasan

pg 18 // sports

I

t has become a well-acknowledged custom that high school students spend the prime hours of the weekend partying with friends. However, a team of MVHS students has a different plan in mind. At 11pm, senior Hamish Ferguson and his peers gather at a common house, armed with pizza, video games, and a cellphone. The Saferides team knows well that their focus is not to just enjoy the night: it’s to save lives.

Saferides, the program created by Leadership, to prevent students from driving home intoxicated by providing a safe alternative, flourished during the fall of 2006. With a fresh team and new advertising mediums, Saferides was receiving between six and seven calls each night. Earlier this year, the team sought an opportunity to expand the program to the four other schools in the District. Although students showed interest,

parents and Administration presented strong arguments against it, alluding to the possibility of district lawsuits. The liability concerns led to multiple meetings with both District and school representatives.

“We showed them the proof of insurance and tried to explain that we were fully covered,” Ferguson said. “The District, however, feared a

larger lawsuit could occur.”

The result of the meetings came to a roadblock for the team: Saferides could no longer be affiliated with MVHS or any other high school in the District. With the District’s inability to sponsor the program, Saferides is now on an independent mission.

see SAFERIDES on page 4

Surge in support for those in service Zooming In Arranged marriages page 5 Q&A Open mic night page 15 Snapshot Boys swimming page 20

Group sends care-packages, letters to military

Lunchtime hunt benefits veterans memorial

by Cheryl Ho

by Jordan Kolb

design editor

editor in chief

A

young middle schooler sat at her desk in class, twirling her pencil with a blank paper on her desk. Wondering what to write, she contemplated when the desert storm soldier she was writing to would receive her letter. That same teacher grew up to be history teacher Maria Carter-Giannini, who is now bringing back memories of her past and applying them to the present.

Within a week, Carter-Giannini riled up over 60 students to write letters and send packages of beef jerky and Otter Pops to strangers overseas.

see HOMEFRONT on page 6

W

ith a rally court not used for rallies and a cafeteria more frequented by break-dancers than snackers, name-sense is not one of MVHS’ strong points.

But thanks in part to the school’s selfless student body, another Monta Vistan hot spot may finally live up to its name: Memorial Park is finally getting a memorial. And with it, a deserving MVHS graduate will be honored.

Matt Axelson grew up in Cupertino, making his way through local schools and graduating from MVHS in 1994. A year after graduating from Chico

see AXELSON on page 4

flashback From our vault of El Estoque archives...

April 15,

1994

Top Story: “Saturday School May Violate Student Rights”

When the Saturday School Program existed at MVHS, its use was unfortunately violating the law. The purpose of a Saturday school was punishment for students who cut class or violated school policy. Truants are required by Section 48260 of the California Education Code “to attend make-up classes conducted on one day of a weekend.”

Truants are those who miss more than three days of the school year, but MVHS students were given Saturday school for missing only one day. Maribeth Smith, the Assistant Superintendent said, “The District believes that schools using Saturday school programs in lieu of suspending students...these truant students fall under the category of insubordination and could be suspended.” It was highly unlikely for anyone to be suspended because of truancy.

“This violation of the law should not go unnoticed.

The law is there to prevent Saturday school from being used as a punitive measure,” the article reads. Administration saw Saturday school as an effective punishment, while students saw it as a waste of time and money. After Administration was informed about the use of the program at MVHS, the policy went under a review. Today, on Saturdays, the only objects still on campus are pieces of unpicked litter across campus.

Senior’s Self-Portrait Best in Show Surprise can be a wonderful thing. For senior Rosa Ng, it came in the form of winning an art competition. Ng won the Best of Show award when she submitted a self-portrait to the Olympiad of the Arts competition.

“I was really surprised,” Ng said. “I didn’t believe [art teacher Jay] Shelton when he told me.”

Ng plans to use her $250 cash award for art supplies in college.

Cheer Team Soars High at Nationals The MVHS Cheer team placed first in the High School Spirit Nationals on March 23 – 25 in Anaheim, California.

The team received the highest score of 16 teams, making them the Super Varsity Novice champions.

“We were really excited to make finals because we didn’t think we could. Then our coach told us we had the highest score,” freshman Amber Myerholtz said.

The next day, the team moved to the final four, where they placed first and claimed the title of national champions for the first time in MVHS history. As champions, each member received backpacks labeled “#1”, medallions, a large trophy, and a banner to hang in the gym.

highlights Substitute Meshes Math and Humor

Fresh Plants Take Root at MVHS

Because of math teacher Ed Puccinelli’s leave of absence, substitute teacher Dick Klokaw has taken over his classes for the rest of the year. Klokaw was an electrical engineer at Lockheed Martin for 30 years and taught at MIT for two. His path to substitute teaching was rather accidental.

In 1990, Klokaw saw an advertisement for a position as assistant coach of MV’s JV football team. Since then, he has been substitute teaching for 16 years, an expert at taking over entire classes when teachers leave for the year.

“I’m 82 and I can still do a little math. It’s a privilege to work with students from Monta Vista,” Klokaw said.

“Now if there weren’t any freshmen boys, it would be total pleasure.”

Students who find the inside of the locker rooms a bit of an eyesore may find the outside a relief. A wave of fortune recently swept over the MVHS campus in the form of greenery. Because of cash donations, the perimeters of the locker rooms have been lined with plants donated by the city of Cupertino.

Bombarded with multiple construction projects over past few years, the Administration had not made any immediate plans to beautify the locker rooms. The price for the design to cover 5000 square feet of barren ground was approximately $25000. Principal April Scott said, “We were unable to afford landscaping when the remodeling was finished. We were just planning to nickel and dime it.”

Mayor Kris Wang approached Administration with an offer to donate Aloe plants to beautify the Monta Vista campus, so long as the soil was mixed and ground was broken by March 17. “I really need to sing the praises of our grounds crew. They put in an extraordinary amount of time seven days a week,” Scott said. It took approximately 280 overtime hours to prepare the flower beds.

On the day of planting, many volunteers joined the ranks of the custodians in planting the ice plants and installing sprinkler lines, including 50 students and MVHS alumnus Sherman Wang at the forefront of the project.

School facilitator and director Gilbert Zamora said, “By graduation in June, the parents will be able to come and see the hard work the students poured into the area.”

Chance to Renew Honor, Sleep In Students were treated to an extra 15 minutes of sleep time on the morning of March 27. Representatives of the California Department of Education came to visit MVHS before renewing MVHS’ Distinguished School Award. The recognition is awarded to schools that show comprehensive excellence, involving not only grades but clubs, activities, sports, support services, and more. The award is not contingent on test scores.

The visitors came at 7 am to first meet and talk with students, parents, administration, and community supporters. They then introduced themselves to the teachers and explained their purpose in coming. The early meeting and introduction gave way to the late start. The visitors stayed until 4 pm, visiting every classroom on campus throughout the day.

Assistant Principal Brad Metheany said, “This is a special place. I want to see a high school better than us, giving a balanced comprehensive program.”

Orator Breaks Decade-long Nationals Drought The Speech and Debate team competed at the National Qualifying Tournament at Bellarmine High School on March 24-25.

Although only five members attended, three received awards and commendations.

They even proved able to adapt when in a clinch. When senior Mindy Chu’s partner was unable to attend, freshman Sabrina Ghaus stepped in for her. They made it to the final round and won sixth place in the Duo Interpretation event.

“Although we had a low turnout, if students maintain their commitment, they’ll continue to do well,” said Speech and Debate adviser Sharon Prefontaine.

Junior Janhavi Athavale took third place in the Original Oratory event and qualified to attend the National Forensic League’s National tournament in Wichita, Kansas this summer. This makes her the first Speech and Debate member in ten years to qualify for the tournament.

School expands with new courses To those who have taken just about every class offered on campus, course selection opportunities will expand next school year. The school currently plans to offer of AP Statistics, American Studies and potentially AP Music Theory. Although Statistics is already an offered course on campus, it is currently open only after school.

English teachers and social studies teachers Michelle Balmeo, Stacy Cler, Andrew Sturgill and Bonnie Belshe will be teaching American Studies, an integrated American Literature and American History course.

Cler said, “There are so many natural connections between American History and American Literature that it seems natural to teach it together.”

In order to foster a stronger relationship with their students, the teachers plan to collaborate their block day lessons for groups of 60 students.

AP Music Theory is still undergoing a District survey to determine whether or not it will be offered. The course, should it be passed, will consist of the basic components of music composition including music reading and writing and chords. Unlike any of the other music courses offered on campus, Music Theory will not include any performances, but rather important groundwork.

Letting go and embracing the gnome

by Jordan Kolb and Steffi Lau editors in chief

T

he stress is almost over and the terror of our reign is coming to a close.

Soon we pass the torch and hand over the fate of our newspaper to a new set of hands. We say our goodbyes and move out of our Cupertino bubble into a foreign land known as College. Still 8 weeks from summer, and it seems that our time here is over and our futures decided.

And we have a secret to tell you: we are scared.

For the first time, we’ll be completely independent, and make decisions on our own—everything from what to have for dinner to what career path to take. And as much as seniors talk about how they can’t wait to get out of here, under that bravado is a trembling, insecure teenager not ready to grow up and leave childhood. In the same way, as much as late nights have driven us to insanity and we cringe at the thought of having to hear Balmeo sing one more time, we don’t want to leave this niche we’ve found. It’s rare that you find a place where you are the boss of 30 adoring fans, you know exactly what to do, where you’re headed, and where you belong. Leaving that haven, both C210 and MVHS, is at once both thrilling and terrifying.

One of the things that makes it so scary is the thought of change.

As editors of a paper on the bridge between the new world of online journalism and our own world of old-fashioned print, we know exactly how scary change can be. Next year, El Estoque will be moving towards a more

modern approach, creating an online paper that will be an integral part of MVHS news. The entire staff structure will be revamped and reorganized.

We just can’t fathom the idea. Jordan is afraid that the online paper will overshadow the tangible one while Steffi fears that the new editors just won’t be as good at whipping lazy staff members as we are. But this isn’t a first. See, change is a cyclical thing. Last year’s editors thought we were out of our minds for putting a garden gnome on our back page, thinking it was silly and juvenile. Now, they scramble to be the first to find Pawkit—from across the country, at that! And as great as we like to think we are, they too were worried sick about leaving the paper in our hands, wondering if we were ready and if we would live up to them. (But as you can see, this paper PWNS last year’s! BURNNNN!) And back in Balmeo’s dinosaur days, they worked by painstakingly laying out cutouts piece-bypiece onto a paper and were nervous about transitioning into today’s methods of mouse clicks and computer screens. So far, every apprehensive thought has been proved wrong.

So let’s let this cycle thing start over again. The uneasy thoughts have already started. Will next year’s journalism structure pan out? Will we be able to handle hundred-person lecture halls and insanely long midterms?

At first, no. But after kinks are worked out and new lifestyles adjusted to, everything will turn out fine, just as every changeover has. Ask us in one year’s time and we will probably be El Estoque Online’s biggest fans.

Change is scary. Change is necessary. And best of all, change has its perks--just ask a two foot, bearded man with a walking stick.

EDITOR’S LETTER

elestoque

2006-2007

Editors in Chief Jordan Kolb Steffi Lau Managing Editors Aniqa Hasan Anagha Vaidhyanathan Copy Editor John Ho News Editors June Kim Samika Savanur Perspectives Editors Nandini Dasarathy Audrey Feldman Centerspread Editors Jenny Sun Daniel Yang Entertainment Editors Symrin Chawla Ishita Mitra Sports Editors Ellen Casavant Carolyn Chuang Design and Layout Editor Cheryl Ho Photography Editor Austin Cheng Online Editor Shibi Murali Staff Writers Janhavi Athavale Radhika Chandrasekhar Cameron Lee Eric Lu Chris Moe Ahmed Naguib Harold Pan Kevin Ragothaman Bilwa Ravikiran Pooja Shah Shawn Shah Casey Wong Cindy Yeh Adviser Michelle Balmeo Disclaimer Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District.

Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. The staff of El Estoque seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the Monta Vista community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers.

We strive to report accurately, and will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. 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. El Estoque also reserves the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication.

Contact Us El Estoque 21840 McClellan Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014 Attn: Michelle Balmeo, C210 elestoque07@gmail.com www.elestoqueonline.com

Tunes to SATs: a student venture Senior Chris Parcel markets new SAT vocabulary program for students to use on iPods

by Ishita Mitra entertainment editor

I

t’s the middle of junior year and there are two more days before the SAT. Students are scattered around desks in the library with their heads buried in SAT books. However, one boy seems to be oblivious to the frenzy that has gripped the others. With headphones in his ears, then junior Chris Parcel is stress-free as he fiddles with the touch-wheel to change songs. No one could guess that Parcel was, in fact, studying.

Ever since he was in eighth grade, Parcel has taken the less trod upon path in life.

While most eighth-grade boys would waste the day with thoughts of skateboarding and afternoon snacks, now senior Parcel was a little different. Different in that he was ready to get down to business.

“My dad quit his job to start his own venture, which really inspired me to get into the whole world of business,” Parcel said.

When Parcel entered MVHS, he joined FBLA, of which he is now an officer, took business electives, and even converted the typical community service hours into doing taxes for the elderly. It wasn’t until his junior year that he created his own company.

“When I was a sophomore, I realized you could put notes on your iPod, but that no one used [it],” Parcel said. “I started to build a software application to make a program where you could upload SAT words.”

Although he had little knowledge about creating computer applications, Parcel continued in hopes of creating a helpful program that students could use and learn to love. He recruited the help of friend and fellow FBLA member senior Seong-Won Youm to help him create a professional looking web page to promote his product. “[Chris] basically already had the logistics of his program ready, but he needed a new

1. Click the Notes sec-

tion on the main menu of your iPod and select your iStudyToGo Start.

The harsh reality

M

Austin Cheng | photography editor

iLearn Better Senior Chris Parcel demonstrates studying his SAT vocabulary on an iPod. website that could advertise it,” Youm said.

With Youm’s company, www. sagetreecreations.com already in the works, Parcel’s final product was ready for public viewing in less than two months.

Parcel built the study tool on the basis that “it won’t replace good old fashioned studying, but if you have a spare minute while waiting for a ride, you can go over the words and listen to music at the same time, which is always a plus.”

The program is ready for downloading on www.istudytogo.com, with a set of 1000 words for $9 and 5000 words for $12.

“I’m still in the process of fine-tuning, but you should expect to see it on the market in a month or so,” Parcel said.

His target audience includes freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Parcel hopes that even when he’s in college he will be able to keep the business alive and profitable.

2. Select the iStudyToGo Words on the iStudyToGo menu.

Taking business courses has paid off for Parcel. He has done everything from incorporating a coupon code to make his product a possible fundraising option, to contacting SAT prep centers for publicity.

“I am optimistic about it at this point. A good number of people know about it so I’m hoping for the best,” Parcel said.

Whether it becomes a hit or not, Parcel got something else out of developing the program: $40,000 to be exact.

Earlier this year Parcel received a scholarship from the McKelvey Foundation for his active entrepreneurship.

“It was cool because the guy in charge is the same guy whose company owns Monster. com, which is a really popular website,” Parcel said. “There were 50 other winners, and at the end of June we’re all flying out to New York to meet each other and listen to what everyone achieved.”

3. Select the word that you would like to learn the definition of.

4. Study the spelling, part of speech, and multiple definitions of the selected word.

SAFERIDES: District decision halts promotion continued from page 1 Since the Every 15 Minutes event in 2005, Saferides has been through a tremulous three-year journey. In 2005, with the persuasion of a small group of students, the team finally managed to run two sessions on Friday nights, where students accepted phone calls for rides home over a four hour period. Unfortunately, the phone never rang.

This past school year, when Saferides became a focus group in Leadership, Ferguson chose to take part in reviving Saferides. The Saferides committee spent hours training volunteers to recognize the effects of alcohol poisoning and the importance of confidentiality.

Supported by funding from the PTA and backed with liability insurance from the Boy Scouts of America, they was ready to go. Saferides took advantage of funding and school resources to promote the program to students using a Donut Hole campaign, a Keychain promotion drive, and other mediums. By November 2006, more students began to use the program and Saferides’ services shot through the roof.

“We were operating every single Friday from 11pm to 2am without fail,” Ferguson said. “We knew that advertising was going far.”

After the District’s decision, Saferides is no longer allowed to use any school materials for publicity, conduct operations on school property, or affiliate themselves with MVHS or the District.

“If anybody asks, we say that we’re just a bunch of students who all happen to attend Monta Vista,” said sophomore Natasha Desai. “We still believe in it so we do it as a part of our private lives.”

District Director of Guidance Shelby Spain explained how Saferides’ insurance coverage is roughly $30,000 for accident and injury, and if the damages exceeds that amount, the sponsors would become liable and be required to pay the remaining.

“In this case, if the District sponsored Saferides and something terrible happened, the District must carry liability over and above what the insurance covers,” Spain said. “The District can’t sponsor Saferides, but that doesn’t mean we won’t support it.”

Spain also explained how Saferides is found more in colleges rather than public school districts, where liability concerns are large.

“I totally understand [Saferide’s] concerns regarding publicity but there are other ways to get the message out there,” Spain said. “We don’t sponsor programs like this but it’s not just us. Our board policy is common to all districts in the area.”

Representatives at the IDC meetings also claimed that Saferides was promoting alcohol use because students were no longer being punished or “taught a lesson” for drinking under age.

“The liability is huge in this situation and it makes total sense but I like the positive concept behind the program,” Principal April Scott said. “It provides a safe avenue for students who need a ride home for a variety of reasons – not just because they were drinking.”

Despite the liability concerns and new limitations, the Saferides team strives to continue their program. The students’ main concern is the sudden drop in calls.

“It’s really shocking because you can see a direct correlation between the amount of promotion we did and number of lives saved,” said ASB President senior Kimberly Ang. Saferides now uses Facebook, e-mail, and other sources to promote their services.

“The irony is that we still receive calls from students from Homestead and other high schools in the District,” Ferguson said. “We know they need the services but right now, we’re the only ones that can provide it.”

Although the familiar stickers on the backs of ASB cards no longer serve as reminders, the Saferides team still meets every Friday night from 11pm to 2am, waiting for the phone to ring.

“We’ve acknowledged that it’s a problem and we don’t expect students to stop [drinking alcohol],” Desai said. “All we want to do is give them a safe ride home.”

ost of us have heard the story of the weak but determined Little Blue Engine that Could. Despite the weather, the terrain, and, most importantly, the repeatedly articulated skepticism of the more powerful engines around him, the Little Blue Engine kept chugging and chugging, sustained only by his own reassurance that he thought he could.

By this point in your life you’ve been told the importance of taking charge of your own situation, that you are responsible for the attitudes that will shape the outcome of your successes or failures. You’ve been reminded of this by family, teachers, and friends, and now it’s gotten a little cliché.

Sometimes it can be daunting to face a reality that seems to be intent on ruining you.

The picture painted by the whimsical tale of the Little Engine entails a huge departure from reality. Just ask presidential candidate John Edwards, whose situation was carefully picked apart by the media when he announced on March 23 that his wife had been re-diagnosed with an incurable form of breast cancer, but still assured the public that “the campaign goes on strongly.”

Swiftly and surely, the media pounced on the news, with several pundits and analysts claiming that citizens would be unlikely to vote for a candidate that they saw as bogged down with his personal life. In the end, skepticism begets more skepticism and the scrutiny surrounding his situation could end up doing more damage to his campaign than the situation itself.

In other words, no matter how hard he keeps chugging along, Edwards is going to run into some formidable critics of his feasibility as a candidate. The concept isn’t uncommon. Others’ skepticism of our choices shape our everyday lives, whether it’s because it changes the way that others treat us or we feel that we have to fulfill some expectation. Consequentially, many of us end up in a situation in which what people expect from us can dictate our behavior even more so than what we expect from ourselves.

It’s not dissimilar from the way that many high school seniors can feel pressured to accept an offer at a prestigious school that they may not want to go to. Yes, it’s that proverbial “big envelope vs. small envelope” time of the year and the senior class is abuzz with who got in where and who should pursue what waiting list, and, of course, the all too common “oh-my-god-I-can’t-believewhat’s-his-face-got-into-XYZ.” Even if their ideal school might be an obscure liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere, most seniors will say they feel pressured to matriculate to the “big-name” school, or in other words, the one that was ranked highest in last year’s US News and World Report. Rankings are helpful, but in light of how heavy the consequences of this decision can be, that’s a lot of merit to place upon a few sheets of paper.

Students can be looked down upon for choosing a school that is an all-around fit. Not that this bizarre ideal is justified, but those who succumb to this type of peer pressure are failing to do what Edwards has managed in spite of the criticism surrounding his personal decision: to refuse to let the skepticism of others define his continuing choices of action.

Edwards made the choice to continue with his campaign despite his hardships.

He’s earned a lot of praise and attention as a result, and it may not hurt his campaign.

We could all learn a lesson from John Edwards and the Little Blue Engine that Could, even if our own self-assurances will never save us from the doubts of others. By refusing to accept the negative predictions and labels of critics, we can set ourselves apart from others who raise a white flag and call it quits in the harsh face of skepticism.

AXELSON: Coming together to honor an MVHS alumnus continued from page 1 State, Matt enlisted in the military and became one of the elite few to become a Navy SEAL. On June 28, 2005, Axelson was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan, and on September 13, 2006 was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery. According to the Cross recognition, Axelson had “total disregard for his own life and [thought] only of his teammate’s survival… [with] undaunted courage, fortitude under fire, and unwavering dedication to duty, Petty Officer Axelson reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for the cause of freedom.”

One of Axelson’s friends suggested honoring him with a plaque in Cupertino’s new library; after hearing the idea, ex-city council member Sandy James and the city thought they should do more.

“We wanted to build a real veterans memorial to all the veterans and people currently fighting in the military because we had never done that before,” James said. “All we had at Memorial Park was the flagpole.”

So she and Donna Axelson, Matt’s mother, started the nonprofit Cupertino Veterans Memorial Corporation to fund the project.

The memorial will have three parts: a bronze sculpture, a wall of honor, and a walk of remembrance. The statue will be of Axelson and his partner James Suh, who also was killed in Afghanistan. Although Suh was not from Cupertino, mother Donna Axelson said, “In the SEALS, they always talk about teams. You’re never alone…Matthew and James were a two man team.”

The Wall of Honor will list those killed in the military who graduated from Cupertino schools, while the walk, which Axelson said “opens it up to the world” will be for anyone wishing to write a quote or dedication. The opening of the memorial will be held Veter-

ans Day, 2007.

Until then, only $350,000 stands in the way, which is where MVHS—and other Cupertino schools—come in.

According to Community Leadership adviser Maureen Deal, “lucky timing” got MVHS involved. Deal had spoken with Principal April Scott about the Community Leadership class holding an event for the troops, and the next day, Donna Axelson contacted Scott about fundraising for the memorial.

Putting the ideas together, the “Treasure Trail for the Troops” was held by the Global Outreach commission. At lunch on April 6, twelve teams of students dashed all over campus, picking up different colored clues leading them from shed to locker to classroom. Once all clues were found, winners sped back to the start to pick up a prize. Students paid approximately $8 apiece to participate, although those not racing around campus were also given an opportunity to donate. A photo display was also set up.

At the scavenger hunt’s end, Matt’s mother got up to speak and thank the crowd.

Talking about Matt, and looking out at the “amazing support” around her, she was moved to tears, and silence fell over the north end of the Rally Court. “We are just so appreciative. I just want to thank you all for doing this.”

Junior Sukrutha Sujai believed it was the mother’s emotions that truly gave the participants a feeling of what they were there for.

“Before she spoke, [the hunt] was about competition and beating your friends,” she said. “After [she spoke], we came back to reality and realized what were doing was for the troops and it was a great feeling.”

Matt’s dad, Cokie Axelson, was also moved by the experience.

“I think back to the time that Matt went to school here and just to be here where he was is pretty special,” he said. “Kids come

SERVING OUR COUNTRY Late Navy SEAL and MVHS graduate Matt Axelson, (top left) poses with his combat partner James Suh (top right) in Afghanistan. (Below) A sketch of the monument, subject of the fundraising efforts, to be placed in Memorial Park. up and talk you and introduce themselves and ask questions—it’s really special that young people care about what these men and women [in the military] are trying to do.”

“We had a great turnout,” said sophomore Devina Khanna, Global Outreach commissioner. She estimated they raised

around $300 to support Axelson and the memorial.

“He was very proud of this school and enjoyed going here,” said Spanish teacher Maria Coughlin, who once had Axelson as a student, and stopped by the event to greet the Axelsons. “I’m glad that Monta Vista is returning the favor.”

on prearranged

: marriage

Is it “happily ever after”?

by June Kim and Shawn Shah

P

binding thoughts: “I am totally against it. It isn’t fair to force two strangers to spend the rest of their lives together. Marriage is one of the biggest decisions you can make in your life.

I think it should be love then marriage, not the other way around.” – Leslie Kon (11)

“I think they’re a bit pointless. Marriage is a special thing so if you don’t get a choice it seems like it would create lots of problems. I think it used to work better as tradition in the past but now that there is gender equality, both can express their own opinions.” - Ryan Satterlee (10)

“I’m in the middle. I’ve seen both positive and negative aspects of arranged marriage through my family. This has allowed me to form a balanced view on the topic.”

- Indranil Karmarkar (11)

news editor, staff writer

urvi, a sophomore whose name has been changed to maintain her privacy, considers herself a leader. Dynamically involved in clubs, sports, and other activities, Purvi is a natural when it comes to paving her own path. Her teachers, peers, and friends all consider her to be a steadfast student, capable of making her own decisions.

Yet, while Purvi is in charge of many aspects of her life, socially, she is bound by tradition and culture. Purvi isn’t allowed to go to dances, is forbidden from dating, and will never be allowed to choose her own husband.

In the MVHS community, pre-arranged marriages may appear to be obsolete; however, behind the veil, students such as Purvi are very familiar with the concept. She knows that her parents will arrange her with a suitor.

“Everyone in my family so far has had an arranged marriage,” Purvi said. “There are some exceptions but for the most part, all of them are happily married. My parents see this as proof of why I should also get one.”

Purvi’s parents believe that she should follow their example and stay true to her culture by having an arranged marriage.

“I know that it is a cultural thing,” said Purvi. “In India, people are still expected to have one. It’s more lenient than it used to be, but the parents are still make he final decision.

At MVHS, students who are in Purvi’s position feel the need to hide their future marriage plans. The skepticism that this concept receives in public has made students hesitant toward revealing this part of their culture.

“I don’t want people to know because they tend to have pre-determined negative responses to pre-arranged marriage,” she said. “They see it as oppressive and old-fashioned.”

Although it is prevalent in many other parts of the world, pre-arranged marriage is virtually unknown in the US. Second generation students are often torn between what they’ve come to regard as marriage in this modern society and their cultural customs.

The custom of arranging marriages is an ancient tradition and still occurs in many countries around the world.

“People have been doing it for years,” said Purvi.

“The family consults a local priest, and

he looks at the horoscope of the person in question. The priest then compares it those of potential ‘candidates,’ and sees which are compatible.”

Contrary to popular belief, the soon-to-be newlyweds are given the opportunity to meet each other before they actually accept the proposal.

“People think that the man and woman are just thrown together, without having ever met,” said Purvi. “But that’s not true. It’s not as strict as most people think it is.”

The man and woman meet privately and personally introduce themselves.

After going on multiple “dates,” the two decide whether or not they are the best match. Then, the families of the two parties negotiate the logistics of the proposal because in the end, the parents make the final decision.

A few weeks later, the families finish the wedding preparations together, and the couple ties the knot.

Purvi also disagrees with the gender-based differences regarding pre-arranged marriages. Traditionally, women were the ones who needed to showcase their personality because the men had more freedom of choice. This can still be seen today in that the women still go to the men. However, nowadays, both the man and woman have an equal opportunity to voice their opinions of one another.

While Purvi’s parents choose her husband, Purvi still wants to have a say in who she marries. “If my parents don’t let me choose my husband, I will most likely rebel,” said Purvi. “I think that they should have a say in who I marry, but I should have the final decision.”

As Purvi begins to look more into her future, she can be well assured that one aspect will be determined; she will be having an arranged marriage. However, the extent to which it is “arranged” will be up to her.

“I don’t want people to know because they tend to have pre-determined negative responses to prearranged marriages.” - Purvi*

Permitless parking amplifies frustration

by Ellen Casavant

sports editor

R

eturning from a doctor appointment, junior Amita Sharma is anxious.

Not because her appointment was a disaster, but because she knows that a disaster awaits her in the student parking lot.

Arriving at the lot, she notices a spot in the farthest corner from campus and takes it.

But Sharma deems herself lucky. On any other day, finding a spot would be like winning the lottery. After all, people without permits are parking in the student lot, meaning people with permits are not guaranteed their spots.

“You walk by and see all the cars without permits,” she said. “It’s annoying because you know you could have a better spot.”

As a holder of an MVHS parking permit, Sharma said, “It’s annoying because if I’m even a little bit late all the spots are full and I know there should be a spot for me.”

While in past years MVHS staff used to hand out more permits than parking spots, this year they have been careful to not make this error through a seminannual lottery.

However, people often receive their licenses later than these dates or have other reasons for missing the pool, which results in people parking illegally in the student lot.

On March 26, a count of the number of cars parked in the student parking lot without permits was taken and of the 250 cars, 67 lacked permits. Had a law enforcer come on that day, he could have issued $2,010 in ticket fines.

The police work alongside Ruben Delgado, MVHS Student Conduct Specialist, to stop the crime. “When I’m walking through the parking lot and see quite a number of cars without permits, I’ll call the police and they come and ticket the cars,” Delgado said.

If a car is ticketed two or three times for the same infraction, Delgado will call the tow company. “I’ve come pretty close to towing a few cars,” he said. “The kids were lucky and got out to the parking lot right before the tow truck arrived.”

The police have come without Delgado’s calls too. “We have an agreement worked out where they can ticket people anyime,” Delgado said.

With the police’s cooperation he has noticed “quite a bit of improvement” in the student parking lot.

The school is not only concerned with fairness. There is a large safety hazard from students parking without permits.

“The kids without permits will come to school earlier,”Principal April Scott said,

Steffi Lau | staff photographer

BEYOND THE LIMIT In the student parking lot, parking spaces are commonly difficult to find due to permitless parkers taking away the “guaranteed spots” from those with permits. “and so the seniors with the permits will find no spots. And, because there aren’t any spots, they’ll park in a red zone.”

On April 3, a tally was taken of how many students were in prohibted spots in the student lot. Five cars were guilty of parking where there was no designated parking spot, and one had even parked in the handicapped zone.

Though the school tries to monitor the parking lot regularly, and even hands out warnings, the safety issue forces them to call the police.

But, unless new parking spaces are created, students with permits will have to continue fighting for their spots “All I hope for is that they’ll be able to fix the situation,” Sharma said.

HOMEFRONT: Students convey gratitude across borders continued from page 1

Inspired by an article of a third grade class writing to deployed troops, Carter-Giannini recalled on her junior high memories of writing to a desert storm soldier and decided to start the program at MVHS. Her program, Matadors on the Home Front, reaches out to deployed soldiers to establish personal connections. The process is rather simple; the students must write a letter at least once a week, and send out a care package at least once a month.

Carter-Giannini said, “If the article said third graders are doing it, our high schoolers definitely can do it as well.”

Still, the program seeks much more support and funding that it has at the moment.

“I can provide for these troops for a while,” Carter-Giannini said, “but I can’t keep on supporting 140 people.”

Even so, the challenge of the program is finding truly committed students who will continue the relationship built.

“I have been emphasizing to my students that it’s crucial they cannot drop this; their letter may make the difference in soldier’s lives, and whether they make it through, or not.”

Such a student is junior Chery Sutjaho, who plans to write two letters a week instead of the required one.

“It’s often hard to understand and relate to these people,”

she said. “They’re so far away. Taking part in this helps me gain a stronger sense of connection and involvement.”

Carter-Giannini also feels strongly about removing the war from political contexts.

“Whether or not we agree, those soldiers are there, and they need our help,” she said. “These are individual soldiers, and we have to support them as human beings, let them know we haven’t forgotten, and thank them for their sacrifice. We have to take care of our family. I want my students to understand that no matter how far away, the war still does affect our own.”

Support has been flowing steadily—teachers and students are working to take the program a step further. Last Friday, Community Leadership’s Global Outreach commission held the Scavenger Hunt for Troops in the Rally Court, designed to spread awareness and collect donations.

Despite these efforts, funding and support for Matadors on the Home Front is still lacking. Carter-Giannini’s plan of further action includes a military support drive – one that will last approximately a month, and a Coin Wars to raise money for shipping expenses.

As the organization grows, Carter-Giannini hopes to convince Cupertino to adopt the military troop and help

with the effort.

“I know that cities can actually volunteer to adopt a troop as their own,” she said. “I hope to speak with the mayor about this in a few weeks, and hopefully they will be supportive of the cause.”

So far, Carter-Giannini’s efforts have proven rewarding.

While the program is still early in foundation, CarterGiannini still feels the importance.

“I have had students personally come up to me and say thank you,” she said. “They said that they always wanted to do something like this but never had the resources to do it.”

Recently the issue has become more timely. Just recently, news of the deaths of four paratroopers from a suicide bomb became available. With these deaths in mind, students like junior Ram Sachs decided to take an active stance.

“I think it’s really important that in light of the recent death in the unit that we continue to show support regardless of opposition to the war,” he said. “I think it’s important for everyone to get involved, even if it’s just a letter, it means a lot to the soldiers abroad.”

The program is expected to run as long as troops are deployed. For this one, it is scheduled for anywhere between 6-9 months.

Saferides program needs support

Do MVHS students need District’s refusal to affiliate itself with Saferides puts student well-being at risk tables during lunch?

“I’m okay with standing up or eating on the stairs.”

sophomore Jay Voigt “There should be lunch tables because having to walk around with your lunch is annoying. People should be able to sit for five or ten minutes while socializing at lunch.” junior Katsuri Malaviya

senior Harry Li

Audrey Feldman | staff artist

A

s children, our parents covered our eyes from the world’s vices. They plugged our ears at the swear words in movies, and hurried us past accidents on the road in an attempt to protect us from the unhappy realities of life. However, with age came the discovery that the trials in life do not disappear if we close our eyes. Although we may understand this, FUHSD has decided to close its eyes to the tricky issue of drunk driving, in hopes that it may disappear.

Students in the MVHS Leadership program have taken the initiative to organize Saferides, a confidential pick-up service aimed at curbing drunk driving. The Saferides program has seen great success in the past months after publicizing its service around campus. On-campus lunchtime promotions during first semester resulted in many more callers. And yet, though the service has been well received, the District does not want to have any association with it. Rather than embrace the organizers’ attempt to save lives, FUHSD has not allowed the Saferides program to affiliate with MVHS or the District in any way, in fear that liability problems may arise if someone gets hurt.

The District refuses to take legal responsibility for Saferides, even though it increases the safety of its students.

By not allowing Saferides to be associated with MVHS or the District, the District is thwarting the program’s effectiveness. The coordinators can no longer publicize their service at school, which was their principal means of promotion. The District’s decision has limited Saferides’ resources and exposure. It is clear that the program needs the support of the school and the District in order to reach the most students and in turn save the most lives possible.

The District’s first priority should be protecting its students, not protecting itself from petty liability issues. Their response to Saferides shows that FUHSD has a higher value for maintaining its legal well-being than the well-being of its students.

By denying Saferides any affiliation with MVHS or FUHSD, the District is essentially cutting off all resources which the operation enjoyed during its previous months. Now Saferides cannot be publicized on campus or on Schoolloop, and the promotions which increased knowledge of Saferides last semester are no longer an allowable option.

Any materials needed by the students who

Staff Editorial

run Saferides must be bought out of their own pockets. The effectiveness of the service is seriously dampened when its only oncampus publicity is through word of mouth.

FUHSD may not feel that the necessity of Saferides outweighs the District’s necessity to maintain a sound legal report card, but Leadership should be commended on their proactive approach to a vital matter.

Rather than just passively studying alcohol use, Leadership has gone a step further by taking action to save lives, even if students choose to use alcohol. Although some may argue that Saferides promotes alcohol use, since students know they have a secure way home, the bottom line is that Saferides saves lives, rather than waiting for lives to be lost before addressing the issue.

Until the District realizes the importance of this program, and the value of using school resources to promote it, Saferides will have to continue being run from the homes of proactive students. Hopefully, students will embrace the service responsibly, realizing that there is always an opportunity to make a good decision after making a poor one. Perhaps then, the District will correct its own poor decision and open its eyes to the potential lives being saved each week

by Saferides.

“I don’t mind not having lunch tables. When you aren’t sitting down in one place, you have more freedom to sit where you want and how you want.”

“Not having tables makes lunch a little less formal and you can go wherever you want. People can socialize where and with who they choose.”

freshman Christopher Chui

“We should have lunch tables because right now people have to sit on the ground or in the dirt. It would be nice to sit down and chill.”

senior Shree Chowkwale “I’m used to it because they didn’t have them at Kennedy [Middle School] either. It’s nice to not be confined to a cafeteria.”

senior Amy Young

ASB positions should stay limited to more experienced seniors Leadership Council’s vote to keep ASB positions unavailable for underclassmen and juniors completely justified

by Eric Lu

E

staff writer

ager to open opportunities to the school, the Leadership Council recently debated whether to alter the ASB eligibility to include lower grades, after which the proposition was voted down. From a glance, it does seem fitting for the ASB slots to be opened up to all grades. ASB, after all, caters to the entire school through prominent events such as Homecoming and Winterball, so it is only fitting that the members who form it come from all classes. However, allowing lower grades to enter the ASB officer group would undermine the effectiveness that seniors bring to the table.

The three years of experience and understanding of the way the school works that seniors have is the reason a senior-only ASB has worked for so many years.

When a person is inducted into a leadership role of the school, he or she is burdened with the responsibility of keeping the student body satisfied. Seniors carry with them the

matador ((vibe))

high school experience that underclassmen lack. If a sophomore led the ASB, would he or she know what works and what doesn’t in events such as Homecoming? They would have one year of experience compared to seniors’ three.

Every year, students are exposed to mistakes and success of key events; they take note of these, accumulate them in their minds, and come senior year, can use that knowledge to make the most effective and rewarding choices. Leaders can be more effective in their senior years if they become accustomed to their own high school experiences.

Another flaw in this system is that sophomore ASB officers would most likely win their positions again in the following years. Currently, the ASB also allows a range of contenders every year to lead the school. Having the same ASB leaders throughout a series of three years would discourage potential students from trying out for the spot. The worst mistake of a democracy is instilling fear in candidates who want to try out. A tenure of more than three years would backfire on the

To the new landscaping that now adorns the area around the gym.

To the seniors who brag incessantly about college acceptances.

ideal of diversity. The school needs an assortment of ideas and not forcing a change of leaders every year would eliminate the spontateneity that every new candidate brings.

Moreover, ASB should be an experience worth treasuring. The people holding the positions should be motivated to do an exciting job, not bored of completing work that has become monotonous after three years. Every person in this school has the opportunity to run for ASB as soon as they reach senior status---this makes it the final frontier for those involved in student government, and a lucky and memorable one-time experience for those involved. ASB is a learning experience, not a domination.

The current system of seniors in ASB fits the school well.

Seniors, in their last year, carry knowledge on their backs to inspire the school. Our Leadership program thrives, with many thanks to our strong ASB team; the system ain’t broke, there’s no fixing to be done, and Leadership Council made the right choice.

To the ASB officers, for hosting MVHS’ second movie night this year.

To giving teachers sexually explicit lyrics to sing during Take On Your Teacher Week.

Rogue vehicles don’t belong in student parking lot Administration takes stringent but necessary measure in working with police to issue parking tickets

by Janhavi Athavale

T

staff writer

wo students lock eyes and grip their steering wheels tightly, in front of the last open parking space. All thoughts of chivalry are forgotten as each thinks of the same thing: the concern that they will not make it to first period on time. Little do they know that a good majority of the parked cars are there illegally. As one student finally pushes through, makes a swift turn and pulls into their victory space, the other grimaces at the prospect of being late to class, once again.

There has been an ongoing problem of parents and students without permits parking in the student lot. These unauthorized drivers take spaces away from students with permits, for whom the parking lot is reserved. About a month ago, Administration contacted police officers to issue parking tickets to offenders. Sure enough, tickets were soon seen sticking up from multiple windshield wipers, and the number of parking violations decreased.

Administration must be commended for the steps taken toward making the student parking lot less congested. In a school of roughly 2500 students, it is reassuring to know that they are still able to identify the problems facing students and take the time to try to solve those problems.

However, that is not enough. This situation calls for more than just a one-time slap on the wrist, and there is still work that needs to be done. Obstinate parents and students are still stealing parking spots, and although the police are helping the problem, it has not been fixed.

The fact that parking tickets are insufficient to discourage individuals from parking illegally sends a clear message: the current consequences are not intimidating enough. To resolve this issue, Administration needs to bring in greater enforcement, or has to make the current repercussions more severe. Such punishments could include fines for parents (the ultimate penalty for parents is money spent on something other than their kids’ college tuition) or the paramount horror of any teenager’s life: the suspension of his or her license.

Another way that the demand for parking can be decreased is setting up carpool networks and urging students to form carpools with their peers who live in the same neighborhood. This will decrease the amount of cars on the road, and subsequently, the number of cars

John Ho | staff artist

scouting parking spaces, as well as benefit the environment.

Although the majority of MVHS students are frustrated because of this problem, there are a few who hold a dismissive view of the current situation. Administration should introduce appropriate incentives for students to form carpools and to apply for parking permits.

Lastly, because of the high density of schools in this area, the problem, stemming from overbearing traffic, can be solved by introducing school buses. Granted, Cupertino isn’t exactly a “send-your-kids-off-to-school-with-a-brown-paperbag-lunch-made-with-love-and-a-kiss-before-they-get-on-the-

bus” kind of town, but both students and parents will benefit from the reduced congestion, and more available parking.

Administration has done a good job tackling the parking problem in the student lot, and the parking tickets have helped.

However, to fully eradicate the problem, more action needs to be taken. If students, parents, and Administration implement the above-mentioned suggestions, the student parking lot will no longer resemble the climax scene of an old Clint Eastwood movie. Students with parking permits, for whom the lot is reserved, will no longer have trouble finding a space to park.

Of course, first period teachers will also greatly appreciate it.

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p o i n t for p o i n t Man in the mirror

Are formal dances excessive? “I

Audrey Feldman | staff artist

Limitless extravagance unnecessary

by Steffi Lau editor in chief

I

t’s the most demanding test for the male sex in their four years of high school—one that requires them to sing, invent cleverly rhyming clues, maintain an element of surprise, and maybe even tap dance—all in front of a crowd of 30. A freakish circus act? Not quite. More like a typical prom ask.

It used to be that flowers and a “Will you go to prom with me?” were reason enough for a girl to be excited. These days, it’s a sure sign that the asker is downright lazy if he didn’t at least put on a scavenger hunt. With higher standards from askees, askers are pressured into racking their brains for the most outlandish asks they can think of.

While there is nothing wrong with creativity, it is unreasonable of askees to consider it a prerequisite. The pressure to ask extravagantly undermines what asks should be about: sincerity. When it comes down to it, it should be enough that someone liked you enough to screw up their courage and ask. After all, the fear of rejection by a crush can be enough to convince someone to not ask in the first place. Askers should not have to face the added stress of worrying if their poem is catchy enough to snag a date to the dance. They are the ones risking embarrassment to ask you.

But it is not only askees who need to take responsibility. Lately, more and more askers are proposing in front of classes or even the whole school— turning a very private thing into a public spectacle.

But asking someone in public is just plain inconsiderate and downright cocky. Askers have no way to be sure that the askee will say yes, nor can they be sure that the askee won’t be absolutely humiliated.

Public asks put askees on the spot, pressuring them to say yes whether they want to or not. Askees must be given the freedom to answer as they wish---meaning, in private.

This extravagance concerning prom has infested itself not only in prom asks but prom as well. It is expected that couples splurge their money on one night for limousines, corsages and high-class restaurants.

Add the price of the bid and prom attire and expenses can add up to a startling several hundred dollars.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel like a VIP for one night. However, when these expectations put pressures on people to empty their pockets, they become unacceptable. Not everyone has the financial means to spend so freely. Others are required by their parents to pay for their own costs. When you look back on your prom years from now, your memories will not be about the finely braised lamb you tasted, but the people you laughed with.

Next time prom season rolls around, Monta Vistans need to go back to the heart of prom and recall what it truly is—a chance to spend a night having fun, not a race for extravagance. Let us simplify, simplify, simplify. After all, it’s just a dance—not a circus freak show.

pro

Prom: A one-time spending event

Statistics

by Ahmed Naguib staff writer

I

t’s the one occasion when MVHS students get to shed their sweats, free themselves of their 1) What are you planning to do textbooks, and indulge themselves in a night of before prom? extravagance. No other dance besides prom requires the same level of preparation invested in A. Going to a formal dinner with it—and that’s a good thing. After all, students only my group B. Going to an informal dinner with get four years of high school, and two chances to break free of their usual down-to-earth habits. my group As prom only comes around once in a while, C. Other private plans it makes sense that students will put in all of their money, efforts, and hearts into making it the best possible experience. A big part of prom is the ask 24 itself. With so much competition, askers need to de18 viate from the standard bouquet of roses in order 12 to stand out. An ordinary ask for an extraordinary event is not acceptable—like wearing flip-flops to A B C the White House. Additionally, the only way to create this once-in-a-lifetime experience is to indulge in limos, corsages, and fancy dinners.

A big part of prom is a student’s date. Askers 2) Would you reject somebody if should make asks spectacular, which in itself fits they didnt make a big enough deal the whole system. Simple and bland asks detract out of asking? from the whole “special” aspect of prom. An asker A. Yes needs to show effort and creativity in the ask in B. No order to prove that he or she will be a good date, one who does not try to avoid paying for bids, securing reservations, and other necessary obligations in the preparation for prom.

40 Creative asks also show a asker’s true feelings for the askee, demonstrating to that askee that she is not just some last minute pick.

10 With the askee’s desire to have creative asks, more askers tend to ask in public where everyone A B can watch. Even though public asks cause pressure to say yes, in most cases, askers will not risk such embarrassment to ask someone who will most likely say no. Such public asks are done for girl/ boy friends, close friends, and absolute locks for a date, and thus, are not embarrassing.

3) How much do you expect to As for all the money that goes into the prom spend on prom, including dresses, experience, it is well worth it. Let’s face it: most jutuxes, limos, and dinner? niors and seniors may not be able to participate in A. Less than 200 such an extravagant evening until their wedding.

B. 200-300 What’s the point of a prom if all you’re going to C. 300-400 A do is go to McDonald’s for dinner and have your D. 400 or more parents drive you to prom? You might as well58 just go to a regular school dance. Such an informal attitude towards the one night when high school students get to feel like VIPs is not acceptable. It also makes prom less memorable. After all, a din20 ner at McDonald’s is certainly not going to make 12 10 prom stand out in one’s mind years from now. All 8 it shows is a lack of respect for the formal nature of prom.

A B C D The large amount of effort and money that goes into preparing for prom is what makes it special.

It may cost time and money, but it is well spent as one of the most memorable events of high school.

have been thinking about what I should do in the future,” I ventured to say. My alter ego looked up with a genuinely astonished expression. I frowned, wishing that I hadn’t made him so unnaturally honest. One should always avoid overindulging in the truth. It makes outcasts out of perfectly decent citizens.

“One of these days, and only one of them, I want to write a famous novel.

All literate people will read it and finish without knowing what any of it meant.

Then they shall make their children read it in schools.”

“People who can’t understand it will have no reason to finish it,” he said. He stopped stroking his beard and smoothed his long wavy hair. I like to think that he represents everything I aspire to become.

“Those would be the illiterates and the clinically hysteric,” I informed him. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything about them; every winner must make a loser, you know. I shall make the novel so spectacularly vague that everyone respectable would have to read it through. And the novel will have its share of unexplained coincidences and symbolic moments. They will stimulate imaginations, and people will invent all sorts of reasons for why I put them in.”

“You’re more likely to be rewarded posthumously than not,” he said. “Famous novels are always obscure until their authors die; they do it to make it fairer for the untalented writers. You can’t have money and great artistic books at the same time.”

I heaved a sigh. “I suppose. What of poetry? I think I would make a brilliant poet.

I have a great mental collection of vague, overarching themes on subjects like Peace and Love. And as long as they can fall on paper in lowercase with ample white spaces in between, it will at the very least appear in one of those great, thick collections of poetry, begging to be discovered.”

Again, he shook his shaggy head.

“All distinguished poets must die horrific deaths. It adds to their intrigue. Only then can one read through their works with that distinctive tingle that comes from knowing someone psychotic was behind the words.

There are the few who were excused from accidentally dying in a normal fashion, but you can’t always count on being an exception.”

I scratched my head viciously. “What of a musician? It shouldn’t be all that hard.

I imagine that it would be much like the athlete, only with more mental activity and fewer physically enhancing chemicals. I would only have to sit around, practice, and wait for inspiration to strike. It seems to be a generous life.”

He must have already had an answer prepared, because he neglected the beard stroking and the head shaking. “Musicians must be child prodigies. If you failed to do something exceptional by age five, I fear you’re destined for musical mediocrity.

Musicians are quite an exclusive group; there is all this stuff you absolutely must be born with. ‘To have reached age three and not attained perfect pitch is to fail in life,’ someone once told me. Given the noises I’ve endured from your instruments, I think you would do the public a favor by following the fate of a poet.”

I rose from my seat and paced about like those novelty caged lions. “It’s so difficult to argue against oneself. You’ve shattered just about every one of my plans. I won’t lie.

I’m beginning to reconsider my future plans as a respectable citizen. Nowadays, it seems that one must either enter life horribly contorted or leave in some unwholesome manner.”

He shrugged, “You could always be a doctor or a lawyer.”

this month

by Austin Cheng, photography editor

through the lens

MARCH 24: NEW YORK FLAVOR Volunteers work backstage, scooping pasta for Octagon’s 7th annual Cure Cancer Cafe. While eating MARCH 29: RUNNERS TO YOUR MARK Freshman Natasha Sakela full course meal, attendees enjoyed a night of many performances including a ventriloquist, the MVHS Bhangra team, and singers. lar finishes first in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.5 seconds Octagon raised $10,000 that night; all proceeds went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. at a dual meet in Palo Alto.

MARCH 24: WALK THIS ‘HEALTHY’ WAY Sophomores Vanessa Ing, Connie Wu, and MARCH 30: MONTOYA!!! Senior Andrew Segal makes an improv move during Open Irene Steves walk at FBLA’s ‘Walk for Healthy Life’ Campaign. Senior Sante Kotturi Mic Night, crying in vain for history teacher Vivianna Montoya-Hernandez. The song was tributed to Montoya Hernandez, put on by the Chris Moe John Kho Experience ran the longest distance of 20.6 miles.

MARCH 26: THE GRASS IS GREENER AT THE LIBRARY New foliage was planted around the school in a project to give the school a greener look. The beautification was carried out with great effort by the custodial staff.

APR. 6: EGG SCRAMBLE Sophomore Kristie Woo gathers plastic APR. 4: HEALTHY TREATS FOR A HEALTHY START Bagels and MARCH 21: GET TESTED CSF members stand by a board displayed eggs during the Water Walkers Club’s egg hunt in celebration of the fruit line a table outside of the bike racks as treats for incoming for the five days of HBV Awareness Week. Heptatitis B affects one Easter holiday. in ten Asian-Americans. students who participated in ‘Walk or Bike to School Day.’

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“The dress took me two days to make.

I combined things that I had seen in fashion magazines and Vogue.”

— freshman Katherine Ong

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“I had a crazy quick change backstage because I was modeling for both [sophomore] Christine Yu and [senior] Rena — junior Kelly Dennis Cheng.”

a flowing strapless muslin and polyester dress with red lace embellishment

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“At first it was scary walking down the runway, but then you just want to keep going again and again.”

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— sophomore Rockxanna Garajehdaghi

a loosely knit, halter-necked top that took more than a week to piece together 8

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Wa

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lk

a strapless empire waist dress with individually sewn fabric strips

“I wanted my collection to be themed off of fun clothes you can wear when you go out with your friends for a night out.”

— senior Rosa Ng on her collection, pictured on the runway

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the

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During this year’s Fashion show on March 31, budding student designers from MV’s Fashion Club showcased their daring designs. Models walked the runway in everything from lace and chiffon to grocery bags and seat covers. With so much haute couture, the temperature won’t be the only thing bringing in the heat this spring.

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runway playlist

plastic stars by freeze pop my doorbell by the white stripes

Designer: Maria Chimishkyan Model: Katya Zorko Time spent: 1 month or so Materials: Chair covers, pajama cloth, coat lining, hats, chiffon Cost: $10 Inspiration: The idea of spring butterflies floating in mists of magenta, the little things in life

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15

romeo and juliet by pink dress you up by madonna 16

you and me by cassie my lady by lenny kravitz

Designer:Jennifer Wen Time spent: one week Materials: blue fabric with sequins and plaid fabric Cost: $7 Inspiration: cute, spring, sky blue

9

1 Freshman Catherine Ong in her own design 2 Freshman Shreya Shankar in freshman Maria Chimishkyan’s design 3 Junior Kelly Dennis in senior Rena Cheng’s design 4 Sophomores Helen Fan and Rockxanna Garajehdaghi in sophomore Toni Louie’s designs 5 Freshman Lenira Chan in freshman Doris Yeung’s design 6 Senior Dominique Kraft in sophomore Christine Yu’s design 7 Dianna Kuo in junior Tiffany Kuo’s design 8 Junior Monica Ho in sophomore Christine Yu’s design 9 Senior Melody Fu in senior Rosa Ng’s design 10 Senior Melody Fu in Rosa Ng’s design 11 Senior Laura Leong in Rosa Ng’s design 12 Senior Pamela Ho in Rosa Ng’s design 13 Sophomore Christine Yu in Rosa Ng’s design 14 sketch by sophomore Maria Chimishkyan 15 Katya Zorko in Maria Chimishkyan’s design 16 sketches by senior Rosa Ng 17 sketches by junior Jennifer Wen

it’s

IN

it’s

ON

Buy: Tamagotchi Version 4.0 Lonely? Want a friend who never dies and can be reset whenever you wish?

These new Tamagotchis, a blast from the past, have come back with a variety of backgrounds to choose from. It seems like some things just never get old.

E-40 Featuring.

Hoodstarz

Listen:

Satisfy your classical music craving by listening to Orchestra and Wind Ensemble in the Auditorium

Click:

WeeMee- aim.weeworld.com/welcome.htm Dr. Evil took the concept of twins to a whole new level when he created his own Mini-me. Now AIM let’s you join in the fun by making your own WeeMee. Use it as your buddy icon, and when you type ‘LOL’ your WeeMee will laugh out loud too. Visit WeeWorld with your online twin to play games and make friends.

Watch:

San Francisco International Film Festival From London to Paris to Tokyo, the International Film Festival is making its final stop in San Francisco from Apr 26 to May 10, showcasing hundreds of indie movies. Visit www.sfiff.org/festival/index.html for more info about times and locations.

it’s

OUT

Flashy Myspace layouts With more loyalties falling towards Facebook, the era of HTML backgrounds has come to an end. After all, myspace is for friends, not showing off your tech savvyness.

Doors open at 8 pm at the Club Barcelona in Sunnyvale. Tickets sell for $25

‘House’ worth visiting twice

by Radhika Chandrasekhar staff writer

W

ith humor, wit, horror and of course a whole lot of severed limbs, writers and directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino have done it again. Famous for unconventional films, the talented moviemakers teamed up to create the double-feature “Grindhouse,” an action-packed thriller that keeps its audience on its toes.

“Grindhouse” includes two film features --- “Planet Terror,” written and directed by Rodriguez and “Death Proof,” by Tarantino. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a “grindhouse” refers to a theater from the mid 1900s that played lowbudget and unusual cinema, containing primarily violence, gore, crude language, and sexual situations. Most grindhouses showed a series of movies per night, with trailers between each film from the next. In this production, Rodriguez and Tarantino capture all essential elements of a grindhouse, breaking all the conventions of 21st century moviemaking.

For anyone craving a film unconventional in structure and genre, look no further.

Modeled after the showing of movies in the actual grindhouses, the production begins with fake trailers for western horror films, moves on to “Planet Terror,” shows more fake advertisements, and concludes with “Death Proof,” totaling a well-spent three and a half hours (two movies for the price of one!).

In “Planet Terror,” the most unlikely few try to a stop highly contagious disease of sores from spreading to the rest of the world, which would otherwise eliminate the human race. Robert Rodriguez does not fail to satisfy an audience looking for an integration of blood and mayhem, and romance and

humor. It is the perfect integration of gagworthy boil-covered “sickos” and exploded guts with romance and perfectly timed humor.

A message displays on the screen from the “management of the theater” to apologize for missing reels. This is not only a realistic portrayal of a true grindhouse, but is also an atypical tactic to skip straight to the climax of the plot, leaving the audience to decide what happened during the missing plot points.

Following the excitement of “Planet Terror,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof,” with its own style, strongly contrasts yet complements Rodriguez’s film. The film involves Stuntman Mike’s plots to murder young women, using nothing but his deadly car.

Though it has its own share of suspense and gore, Tarantino’s approach to this movie involved highlighting his characters’ conversations and personalities, rather than furthering the plot through action sequences.

However, sometimes the dialogue seemed a little lengthy. What saved the film were not only the action sequences, but Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Stuntman Mike, the villain of the film. Russell depicts Mike as a multidimensional character, rather than a flat villain.

When he is shot in the arm by one woman, Mike has a nervous breakdown and begins to flee from the crazy female trio.

As the movie wound down to the closing seconds, the classic “The End” displayed on the screen and the audience began to rise, expecting the credits to role. However Tarantino, as always, had other plans in mind.

The scene resumed, only to end with Rosario Dawson’s character bringing her stiletto heel down on Stuntman Mike’s face with a deafening crunch.

Fade to black. Now that’s a classic Tarantino ending.

Concerto Concert

4/27

The Kooks

4/30

MVHS Film Festival

5/18

Live at SF with presale and at for $15

Slim’s in tickets on for $13 the door

Submit your original films to the annual Film Festival and view the creative genius of your fellow peers in the Gym

Lazy Eye

by Silversun Pickups —sophmore Jenny Michaelfelder

Leave The Pieces

by The Wreckers

—senior Kendall Lawson

Godspeed by Anberlin

—sophomore Becca Wagner

Texas Is South

by Devil Wears Prada —junior James Jang

Lex

by Ratatat —junior Alex Wu

[hallways]

in the

Volta - Bjork When most artists say they have a sound like no other, they’re just exaggerating. Bjork on the other hand has a little more credibility with a sound like trance meets opera meets country. It’s about time she released her latest album to show the world her latest vocal stylings.

4/15

The days of tree-hugging, shaggy hair, and Woodstock may be long gone, but hippies are making a not so ‘dazed and confused’ comeback. It’s time for peace, love, and headbands.

Renaissance faire renews heritage Beyond the realm of MVHS, ASB Secretary Deb Mandac is a medieval royal maiden

by Audrey Feldman

perspectives editor

F

or most five-year olds, marriage might seem like a far-off fantasy encountered only in Disney movies. During the Renaissance period, though, marriage most likely would have felt more tangible for young children. Back then, betrothals weren’t only accepted at that age; they were expected.

Just ask ASB Secretary Deb Mandac, who volunteers at Renaissance faires around 12 times a year. In fact, one of Mandac’s roles as a volunteer is to play the part of an antiquated woman to give the general public, especially small children, a better understanding of what Renaissance life would be like.

“It’s fun to see the little ones who are five years old and ask if they’ve been betrothed and if they know how to do their sewing, or ask something like, ‘You don’t know what your dowry is?’ It’s just kind of fun,” Mandac said.

All this acting is with a purpose; through her role in Renaissance faires, Mandac hopes to

help educate the general public about the Renaissance period. As such, she views Renaissance faires as living history books.

Mandac volunteers with a group called the St. Geniseus guild, which performs and teaches Renaissance dancing. All Renaissance faires are comprised of groups called “guilds,” with each guild centering on a specific activity that it is responsible for. Some exhibit sword fighting, for example, while others reenact the lives of royalty.

The St. Geniseus guild has set times for performances at every faire where they exhibit their dances and also educate and instruct members of the public about Renaissance dancing. Mandac describes Renaissance dance as “a fancy type of square dancing,” and indeed even square dancing has its roots in the refined and elegant dance style of times past.

This is all in good fun, but Mandac emphasizes that dancing was an integral part of Renaissance society. In old times, all the nobility would be expected to know this type of dance. “[Dancing] was a social norm at the time and if you didn’t dance or know how to dance you

Don’t wish me luck

F

KILTS AND DRESSES ASB Secretary Deb Mandac catches up with a friend at the faire.

b Mandac

tesy of De

photo cour

were frowned upon,” Mandac said, noting the importance of dancing in renaissance life.

Even though a large part of her role involves dancing, her favorite part of performing is playing music. Mandac has been playing the flute since she was seven years old and she continues to do so for both her church and guild.

“The music was really what finally drew me to the games,” Mandac said, “which is what initially catapulted me into this whole Renaissance thing.”

In fact, music acted as the catalyst for Mandac to attend her first Renaissance faire. In 2000, she attended the Pleasanton Highland Games for the first time, hoping to explore her Scottish heritage and listen to the music that would be played there, especially on pipe instruments like bagpipes.

She quickly became intrigued with the faire and found herself caught up in a conversation with a few members of the St. Andrews guild.

see MEDIEVAL on page 16

Talented teachers dazzle audiences

by Kevin Ragothaman

T

staff writer

he audience cheered as they saw the bhangra performers, each of whom carried a dazzled expression in response to the applause of the studentfilled auditorium. As they stood atop the stage with their scarves and bangles ready to float through the air in a synchronized fashion, a fervent student bellowed, “I love science!”

Looks like sucking up does not have to be saved for the classroom.

As Take on Your Teacher Week came to a close in a dramatic tie, the class of 2007 and the Staff Relations committee of MV Leader-

&answer

question

What did you feel was the best performance of the night? “[Junior] Ryan Walker, because he is the culmination of talent, wit, and confidence.” senior Eric Katz

“I’m not a big rock fan, but I really enjoyed all of the acts.” junior Justin Dahmubed “The stalling part because it was improvised and hilarious.” sophomore Ethan Lin

ship capped off the annual festivities with a fusion of Open Mic Night and MVHS’ first ever Teachers Got Talent show on Mar. 30.

Students worked hard to show their peers their various talents and teachers were given a little homework of their own, having to set aside their lectures and lesson plans to show students what talents lay beneath their composed stature in the classroom.

“This is the first time that teachers came out to show a different side of their lives,” Staff Relations Commissioner senior Aneesha Nilakantan said. “At Monta Vista, we are so academically driven that we fail to realize that teachers are people too.”

Students roared in excitement as physical education teacher Jeffrey Thomas threw out his running shoes and taught a lesson in turntablism for change. The science department, along with a little help from the modern language and math departments, heated up the stage with their bhangra while Japanese teacher Minako Walther unveiled hidden talents with a tango performance.

“We wanted to make sure that teachers felt accommodated... like the stars of the event,” class of 2007 President Alicia Kim said. “They probably appreciated that people are interested in what they offer.”

see TALENT on page 16

riday should be considered a bad word. After all, what other day unites a murderous Bio AP test, a killer math quiz and an in-class literature essay? On Thursday night it’s safe to assume what most Monta Vistans have their heads buried in.

But unlike my studious peers who are hoping for last minute textbook-brain osmosis, I have a very important appointment to take care of before studying. What is it, you ask?

Why, to pack my lucky ballpoint pen, calculator, and pencil, of course!

No joke, I have a black belt in dabbling in superstition. Though some believe superstitions to be frivolous, I find them invaluable.

Is there anything else that acts as a one-way pass to ultimate success? They’re easy too; I simply avoid ladders, hope that I never see a black cat, and hold my breath under anything that resembles a tunnel. I look forward to birthday cake candles (trick candles are ruin) and I dream of the day I can find my first four-leafed clover. I am— or was— a firm believer in superstitions- until I found myself in a patch of dandelions.

It was just last weekend that I came upon a whole field of white, fuzzy flowers just asking to be wished upon. Dandelions are what people call these flowers, and it’s textbook: if you blow off all of their seeds in one breath your wish will come true. (Does anyone else think this is an amazing ploy to urge people to help this weed reproduce?) I leapt at the chance to have my wish granted by simply exhaling and promptly plucked a flower.

Sizing up the dandelion, I raised it to eye level. It was just the dandelion and me. Unfortunately, I had picked a generally chubby one, but I figured a plumper flower for a plumper wish. Making my wish and laying it on the line of a couple hundred seeds, I closed my eyes and blew. I huffed and puffed until there wasn’t any air left in me. And then I opened my eyes.

To my utter embarrassment, two mocking seeds stood upright, undisturbed, on the dandelion head. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach and, after hastily blowing off the last two seeds (maybe because two was my lucky number it would still come true?), I dropped the dandelion and got out of that field fast.

Sulking along, my spirits were not only dampened, but doused with icy water. Had there been any flame of hope ignited by the possibility of a successful execution, it had been fully extinguished upon my inability to deliver. I had never calculated what would happen if I failed to fulfill a superstition and frankly, I’m not sure I wanted to know.

But, notorious for never giving up, I thought about what exactly would happen.

And that’s when the clouds parted, the sun shined, and my previously doused self became drier than a raisin. Nothing would happen. Just as nothing happened when I blew on an eyelash (the pony I wished for when I was seven never did arrive), the world would not swallow me whole for failing to deseed this dandelion.

And then I connected another dot: that superstitions were simply for my mind; a pillow for failure, a step for success, and only that. They were not responsible for getting me that A in math class (so perhaps I don’t actually need my lucky calculator) or for allowing me to write that perfect essay (and all the credit couldn’t be given to that black pen). No, my preparation, hard work, and self-sufficiency had been the ultimate factor of getting the gears in motion. The superstitions had just jumped on the bandwagon.

It looks like on ‘F’ day (refer to my first sentence) I may have to put my trusty magic 8 ball away. It’s time to get my fingers caught up in something other than a cross, and plus, my lucky sweatshirt probably isn’t sending me genius ideas through diffusion.

TALENT: An exhibition of new talents takes MVHS by storm continued from pg 15 hoped, but each of the ones that we had, exceeded our The student acts caught the audience’s attention with expectations.”

The class of 2007 was riddled with problems of their performances driven by music and comedy.

Rock band “Slak” shook the audience with their own, having to postpone Open Mic Night to the same pounding guitar riffs while “Dead Alchemist” returned date as Teachers Got Talent. As a result, they decided without their drummer to show a bluesy side to their usually to ask the Staff Relations Committee to combine the two hard rock side. “The Winnie Chans” took to amusing the events and pitch the show as a culmination of Take on Your audience with an Ode to History while “Dumplings and Teacher Week.

“This is the first time that I’ve helped the kids organize a Samosas” entertained with their stage antics and familiar show,” Leadership adviser Brian Dong said. “I let the kids song selections.

The auditorium was filled with laughter when take care of most of it themselves. It’s a good experience sophomore Jason Lindstrom and junior Ryan Walker each for them.”

The class of 2007 and the Staff Relations Committee took the reigns of the stage, poking fun at familiar quirks used their inexperience with theater to their own advantage of everyday life.

Junior Jennifer Chuu altered the humorous mood of the expressing an element of actor and audience interaction show with an original Speech and Debate piece titled “Crazy” we are so academically driven that we to recognize about a hospital employee who is — senior Aneesha Nilakantan seeking psychological help.

“This performance was very different from what I normally that cannot be seen too often in theatre. Such a situation do in Speech and Debate,” said Chuu. “I’ve never actually took place before the teacher Bhangra act, in which the performed [my piece] in front of so many people. The music refused to play over the sound system.

Unprepared for such an occurrence, senior MCs Chris audience is definitely more supportive than my competitors.”

By the end of the show, however, it was easily noticeable Hara and Andrew Segal took to entertaining the audience that the number of student acts greatly outnumbered those with games while the class of 2007 officers and the Staff Relations Committee rushed to find a suitable amplification of the teachers.

“During the show, it seemed like there weren’t enough device to play the music. The humor that ensued involved teacher acts,” junior Puja Gupta said. “A couple more of Hara searching his memory for suitable Link Crew games while Segal made an instrument out of his Adam’s apple. them would have been good.”

“At first, it was kind of scary,” Segal said, “but then you “I wish more teachers would have participated,” science teacher Katheryn McElwee said. “It would have have to remember that [the audience] is here for you and that the show must go on as planned.” made the experience more fun.”

As Hara and Segal’s ingenious ideas began to dwindle, However, lack of interest does not appear to be the root of the problem. In this case, it was the teachers’ turn members of the audience volunteered to showcase some of their own talents. to use the excuse of not having enough time.

“It was good that whoever wanted to speak got the “Teachers were very supportive of the idea to have a teacher talent show,” Nilakantan said. “Unfortunately, a chance to, since that is what the show is all about,” lot of teachers had to drop out because they had other Alicia said, feeling that the show lived up to its name.

“I even heard people say that it was their favorite part .” engagements. It is more of a time commitment than teachers Despite the minor setbacks, Open Mic Night vs. are used to, since they almost always have their own stuff going on. We didn’t get as many teacher acts as we had Teacher Got Talent showed an array of talent that both the

“ teachers are people Too”

fail

Austin Cheng | photography editor

ACTIVATION ENERGY Science teachers Katheryn McElwee and Supriya Moore impress the audience with their hidden Bhangra dancing talents on Mar. 30 in the auditorium. student body and staff possess. The class of 2007 and the Staff Relations Committee hope that the talent displayed in the future will continue to increase.

“Hopefully it will become a tradition and more teachers and students will come out to show us their unique talents,” Nilakantan said.

MANDAC: Curiosity of heritage leads to cultural adventure

photo courtesy of Deb Mandac

ROYAL DINING ASB secretary Deb Mandac, with the Queen of the Faire and her subjects, eats a traditional feast of bread and pie in a fleur de lis and a coat of arms decorated tent at a recent Renaissance festival.

continued from pg 15 “I went to go hear the bagpipes at the Highland Games, and ended up falling in love with the Renaissance games and the big dresses and what they did,” Mandac said, “and that’s how I got involved.”

As for the organizational structure of Renaissance faires, the hierarchy of authority is certainly representative of the Renaissance period. At any faire, an actor impersonating the “monarch” dominates the events at the faire; he or she is the main person responsible for coordinating performances and engaging crowds.

“At an actual faire we act as if we lived in that time period, so whatever the queen says, we do,” Mandac said. “If the queen decides to play croquet at 2:00 and wants you to be the human wicket, you’ll bend over and be a wicket for the rest of the game.”

It is this type of authenticity that intrigues Mandac about Renaissance faires. To her, faires are not only a weekend outing, but an opportunity to live in a completely different world.

“Character development is a large part of our role,” Mandac said. “You talk to [the people at faires], and they know nothing of TV or electric mixers.”

Out of the bunker, onto the green

With newfound success, golf team strives to perfom well and create a separate, competing girls team

by John Ho copy editor

T

photo illu

sration by

Ellen Cas

avant an

d Kevin R

agotham

an

he course is silent, aside from the distant hollow thud that signals the flight of another golf ball some hundred yards across the field. There are three players who stand perfectly still, along the edges of a box marked in the grass. The fourth stands at the edge and makes a tentative swing, flinging a chunk of grass into the air before a final solid stroke sends the ball after it. By the numbers, the match seems even, but numbers speak nothing of the team’s drastic improvement.

While the golf league does not rank its divisions, the team, in previous years, has made its place among others as a strong competitor, but never a threat to Los Gatos and Saratoga, the schools that regularly lead the division.

The golfs team’s season began this year with a surprising win against the top seed Los Gatos. This put the team at the lead of its division, though most expected that it would be quickly put back down. But by the time they defeated Saratoga, it became obvious that its success was no fluke. The MVHS golf team would join the others for the bid for the CCS title.

“Before it was just Los Gatos against Saratoga playing each other for first place,” senior Alex Huang said. “Then this year we came and took it.”

Interestingly, the team is not composed of only boys.

Junior Jiin Park plays fourth postion of the six that compete during games. She is not entirely alone; since last year, three more have joined the team at the training level.

Female golfers have also surfaced in several other schools in the District this year, though they still must compete with the nominal boys golf team.

“We have considered creating a separate girls golf team,” golf coach Travis Hambleton said. “Funding is a problem since golf is an expensive sport, but more importantly we need more interest. There PUTTING PERFECTION Senior Philip Lee need to be at least six participants bedemonstrates a putt on April 6.

fore we can create any team.”

While a fully competing girls golf team remains a far-fetched goal for next year, Hambleton suggests that a District team could be formed first. The team would merge the female golfers from across the District; it would meet regularly for practice but not compete outside its own members.

The coordinators hope that the team can attract enough players to eventually create a fully functional girls golf league. There are still a number of prerequisites to forming a team, and the decision still must be approved by the athletic directors.

Placing girls on a team composed of primarily boys also seems to skew the games.

“Of course it’s unfair,” junior Trevor Sambyal said. “[Girls] on the team can’t compete in our CCS, but still have to play at the men’s level.”

The most striking difficulty for the girls on the team is the difference in starting point, or the ‘tee box.’ In normal play, women begin at the red ‘forward’ tee, however, under the current system they are obliged to play from the blue ‘back’ tee, where the boys began as well.

The difference is usually significant, ranging from ten yards to sometimes almost a fourth of the course. This makes golf perhaps the only sport where girls must compete directly against boys without handicap.

“Guys can hit much farther because they have more chest muscles,” sophomore Nichole Yee said. “We have to hit from the men’s tee even when we can’t hit as far. I guess it’s fair in that we have equal [footing], but it’s not balanced.”

While disadvantaged, the girls have contributed to the team’s success.

Led by senior Philip Lee, the golf team has racked an impressive five wins against only one loss so far. Lee has been playing golf for over 10 years and is one of the only two seniors on the team. In second position, junior Michael Shwe has also been invaluable.

“We’ve become much more consistent on this team,” Lee said. “That’s a large part of why we improved over last year.”

The team has since qualified for CCS, and based on previous matches, they are confident that they can place at least second overall. Of course, the guys must still play their part when playing against girls.

“There’s pressure for us to win,” Sambyal jokes. “We’ll be disgraced if we lose to a girl.”

Up to Par Brush up on these golf terms and sound like a pro on the green Albatross: Three strokes under par for a given hole.

Dunk: When a ball lands in water.

Fat Shot: When the club strikes the ground well before hitting the ball.

Lip-out: Ball touches the edge of the cup but doesn’t drop in.

Fried Egg: When your ball is semiburied in the sand.

Pigeon: An opponent you should beat easily.

Sweet Spot: Perfect point on the clubface with which to strike the ball.

Safe at home, both in and out of the ballpark Wearing Two Hats: Assistant coaches and their daughters find balance between bond as family and team

by Daniel Yang

ca said with a laugh. “But sometimes it’s like ‘Okay, I need a break from softball. I don’t want to talk about it right now.’” t was a rainy afternoon. Instead of going through their Ashley and Monica, who have also been playing softball usual stretches, warm-ups, and hitting and defensive since their little league days, agree that it can sometimes drills, the girls of the MVHS varsity softball team were be awkward. clustered together on the wrestling mat. Loud cheers and “I love having my dad around,” Monica said. “But at high-pitched screams erupted from their close-knit huddle as the same time, sometimes I find it a little hard to balance the girls flipped softballs at because I have to react to him as a coach one another in a good-naand not as a dad. And sometimes he doesn’t “IT’S NICE TO HAVE YOUR DAD AS YOUR COACH BECAUSE tured game of bonding. react as a coach but more as a dad.”

The softball team is a Teammate senior Anneliese Fetterman TO HELP YOU WITH ”— senior Monica Vernazza said, “I know that [Monica, Ashley, and Jesclose bunch, maybe even in more ways than one sie] feel a little weird having their dads as might expect. They are family. Literally. In addition to being “He comes to as many tournaments as he can. He takes me their coach, but the rest of the team totally loves have Pete assistant coaches for the varsity team, Pete Vernazza and to batting cages or to extra practices if I need it. He has and Brian around.”

Brian Barry are also team dads. Their daughters, junior Jes- always been huge on softball. It’s his thing. He loves it.”

All parents want their children to do well. Pete and Brian, sica Barry, sophomore Ashley Vernazza, and senior Monica Being a dedicated father and coach has given Brian a being dads, are no exception. Whether consciously or not, Vernazza, all play on the team. busy schedule. He gets up at about 5 am, and works until 2 their aspirations for their daughters sometimes translate into Jessica started playing softball when she was about pm. After work, he is usually at softball practice for much of tougher standards during practice. seven years old. She first started in the little leagues. Now, the rest of the day.

“My dad doesn’t want to favor us,” Monica said. “So she plays for the MVHS varsity softball team and her travel “It’s nice to have your dad as your coach because he’s see SOFTBALL on page 18 team outside of school. She also hopes to continue playing always there to help you with anything that you need,” Jessisoftball in college.

For the entirety of Jessica’s softball career her dad, Brian Barry, has been there to support her. In addition to currently serving as an assistant coach on the MVHS team, Brian has been coaching his daughter ever since she first picked up a softball.

“My dad is really involved in my softball,” Jessica said.

centerspread editor

I

HE’S ALWAYS

THERE

ANYTHING YOU NEED.

Baseball team unites despite losses SOFTBALL: Players use team chemistry to work through an abrupt coach departure and rocky record

by Shibi Murali

A

staff writer

loss. They’re always hard to deal with. The varsity boys baseball team walks away from the game silently.

They know they lost and that, in time, they will commit to fixing their mistakes.

The baseball team came in to the new season confident after a season opening win against Cupertino and a blowout win against Menlo Atherton.

“Their goal was to make it to CCS,” their self-proclaimed number one fan Michael Gottwald said.

However, these ambitions soon came to a halt; the team suffered three routs in which their opponents posted a combined 29 points, puting only one point on the board all three games. It became clear that the season wouldn’t go as smoothly as planned.

Instead of planning a comeback, the team focused on rebuilding the program.

Now, as the team goes into the final stretch of the season, the rebuilding scheme isn’t getting easier. The team recently lost Jon Gass, baseball coach of three years.

“Last year, when Coach Gass left for one game, the team was really unspirited and we lost,” sophomore Denny Sun said.

“But when he came back, the team really stepped up.”

The only difference is that this time Gass isn’t coming back. After receiving his M.D. from Stanford University, Gass returned to Pennsylvania. Although the team accepts his decision, his absence is still felt.

With the help of strong chemistry, the

continued from page 17

Shibi Murali | staff photographer

OUT OF THE BALLPARK Junior Niyanth Anand takes a swing at the incoming ball pitched by his coach. Batting practice is a daily routine for the players on the MVHS baseball team. team is able to look to the problems in front of them. During games, the coaches and players make mental notes of what the team needs to improve on. Even during their drills, it isn’t uncommon to see the coaches beckoning players over with advice.

To keep their spirits alive, the players always joke around, calling each other by nicknames, or making an exaggerated scene over missing Gatorade. In warm ups and drills, there are no groans, but rather avid chattering about everything from school to the latest games coming out for the Wii. Much of this team unity is due to the team-

LOOKING BEHIND

27 The varsity boys soccer team Goosey leader

mates’ long history together.

“We all grew up together,” Voigt said.

“We know our strengths and weaknesses.”

However, the chemistry hasn’t translated to wins on the field. The 4-10 baseball team recently lost a pair of games at the Lion’s Tournament, an event put together by a group of schools. The Tournament’s purpose is to garner attention to promising teams and help add points to a team’s CCS bid.

Although these losses hurt, the team is staying steadfast to their goals and focusing on what’s important, rebuilding the team in hopes of a promising future.

carried on the tradition of passing on a plastic goose to a junior who they felt would lead the team the following year. Senior and previous goose possessor Nick Eulau presented it to junior Kenta Akaogi.

mar

21

Senior football players Alex Atkins, Kota Kojima, and Marcus Woo were selected to play in the 33rd Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game sponsored by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club. On top of that, coach Jeff Mueller was chosen to be head coach for the North team. The game will take place on July 18 at Spartan Stadium.

20

So long to a mar good run

Sneak peek before cheer nationals mar

Though the girls track team has gone years without defeat, it suffered a loss this year to rival team Los Gatos. The two have been closely matched, and they will be competing for CCS spots in the future.

The cheer team participated in a cheer exposition at Homestead High School with some of the most elite teams in the Bay Area.

Spectators had an opportunity to view the routines before the teams traveled on to nationals.

Surprise (un)Birthday mar

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Senior Shawn Voigt and junior Jason Hogan organized a surprise birthday party for junior Dustin Brown, though it was not his birthday. They decorated Brown’s house, invited the team over, and had cake.

Senior Danny Ahn wins the NCAA

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The mens basketball bracket tournament, that is. Ahn’s submitted bracket beat out about 25 other entries, with three out of four teams in the Final Four, the championship teams and the winner correct, winning him a $15 grand prize.

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JV softball strikes back

The school-wide March Madness three-on-three basketball tournament is taking place this week in the gym. Check out your own peers bringing their skills onto the court at lunch.

Even with their rocky start of losing seven pre-season games, the JV girls softball team has performed strongly in league.

The team takes on Milpitas this date at home on the lower field.

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Badminton to dominate CCS

Rivalry... swim meet?

6 The new song team was anNew song girls

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nounced after a main tryout day the day before.

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Badminton is one of the most consistently successful sports at MVHS, and this year, senior top boys singles player Emmanuel Pun will be contending for his fourth straight CCS title. Pun has gone undefeated in all matches through four years.

Tryouts for the nationally acclaimed dance team take place for next year. All interested should pick up an application in ASB.

where we’re going

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Awards for our athletes

GIRLS SWIMMING Varsity 3-0 Junior Varsity 3-1 Varsity 2-1 Junior Varsity 3-0

BOYS VOLLEYBALL Varsity 4-6 Junior Varsity 6-3

BOYS TENNIS may

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The annual athletic awards night will be held to recognize outstanding athletes and teams for their contributions to sports at MVHS this year.

Varsity 7-6 Junior Varsity 9-3

BADMINTON Varsity 6-0 Junior Varsity 5-1

GOLF

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Varsity 4-0 Junior Varsity 3-1

BOYS SWIMMING

After having lost to Palo Alto High School in swimming for many years, the girls swim team defeated them last year in a neck-to-neck competition.

They hope to add another win this year.

may

SOFTBALL

Varsity 2-5 Junior Varsity 6-1

this is now.

March Madness apr Basketball

SCORE BOARD

BASEBALL

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that was then.

Making the Marquesas

sometimes he will overcompensate by being harder on [us]. It’s hard because it’s not really fair. But overall, the girls really like him.”

Even Brian himself admits to sometimes holding his daughters to a higher standard.

“I think every coach is a little harder on his own daughters,” he said. “I try not to, but I think I end up doing it.”

Jessie also acknowledges that her dad acts tough because he wants her to do well, but she added, “It gets annoying at times because I don’t like him telling me what to do. I don’t mind when the other coaches tell me what to do, but it’s different coming from my dad. I guess he’s pretty good about not always being on my case.”

Monica feels having a dad as a coach leads to endless arguments. However, everything is taken in good humor.

“We are both very stubborn,” she said.

“He’ll nag me and nag and nag and nag and I’ll argue back. And he’ll keep on nagging. It’s how we are.”

While the girls don’t always act like it, they value the dedication their dads have put into their sport, even though it means being aware of the scrutinizing eye of a parent.

“I think I’ll appreciate it more when I get older,” Monica said. “I definitely will.”

where we’ve been

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feb

All-star football coaches and seniors

Dads and daughters team up

RUNNING AHEAD

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TRACK AND FIELD Girls: 1-2, Boys: 0-3 scores updated on 4/7/07

Among the fastest fish in the sea

Talented sophomores bring fast edge, dedication, and spirit to support swim team

by Nandini Dasarathy perspectives editor

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he last relay. The last teammate. The last chance to make it or break it. Feeling the pressure, then freshman Megan FischerColbrie pushes hard through the water. She’s the anchor for the relay and the outcome of the race and the meet are all up to her.

It’s one of these moments that, amidst the cheers of fans and the adrenaline rush, sometimes can become a defining moment in an athlete’s sports career. It was such a moment at last year’s swim meet between MVHS and Palo Alto High School that became a milestone for Fisher-Colbrie.

Fischer-Colbrie and fellow teammate sophomore Emma Drysdale had been in this situation before, but this particular meet was a moment of awakening after years of commitment to swimming. Drysdale and Fischer-Colbrie are not only leading members of the MVHS swim team, but are also national level swimmers, CCS qualifiers, and Junior Olympic participants.

Unlike many competitive swimmers of their caliber, Drysdale and Fischer-Colbrie have found their passion and dedication as ways to avoid being burnt out by the sport.

Drysdale reflected back on that moment and laughed. “We ended up winning, but it took that meet for me to realize the competitive spirit and the fact that there was no turning back…those were the reasons why I swim and why I love it.”

Fischer-Colbrie agreed; swimming provides her the exciting opportunity to race against people. As the anchor for that race, she calmly and swiftly led the team to victory. Both Fischer-Colbrie and Drysdale did exceptionally well in their freshman year on the MVHS team and outside. Fischer-

The number game

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Kevin Ragothoman | staff photographer

THE PERFECT STROKE Sophomore Emma Drysdale overtakes her competition in the 100 yard freestyle event at a swim meet against Mountain View High School on Apr. 5.

Colbrie placed first in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the individual medley at CCS, with a time that was 1.6 seconds behind the Olympic trial qualifying time.

Although both Drysdale and FischerColbrie are an integral part of the MVHS swim team, both have been involved in club and competitive swimming and often find the need to balance both. Drysdale and FischerColbrie’s practice schedules are rigorous and consist of daily practice for around two and a half hours and additional morning practices three times a week.

“A lot of my friends don’t get it; they say you know a swimmer is good if he or she barely has any time to do anything else or

talk to anyone else,” Drysdale said.

Fischer-Colbrie was recently at a tournament in Florida where she qualified for the national meet, the fastest meet in the country. The next stage after the national meet is Olympic trials, where Fischer-Colbrie and Drysdale hope with hard work and discipline, they will be able to attend in 2008.

“Swimming is a significant part of my life, not only because of the competitive aspect, but also because of what it has taught me in my life,” Drysdale said. “I have now learned to set more goals for myself time wise, I’ve become more committed to the things I do and I now take action and be assertive when making choices.”

Many athletes, specifically swimmers, tend to get burnt out after the continual practices and their frustration with the sport. FischerColbrie attributes her interest in swimming due to the fact that she belongs to a good team, in and out of school. “I personally think my huge passion for swimming is what prevented me from leaving it,” she said.

“You need to absolutely love it in order to stay in it for so long.”

Girls swimming coach Dan Kemnitz agreed. “[Drysdale] and [Fischer-Colbrie] are both very hard workers who are motivated not only to do their personal best but also to do well for the team,” Kemnitz said. “Every kid burns out for a different reason, but aside from the external motivators such as winning or qualifying, they motivate themselves internally to achieve a personal best and not get too caught in what can be tiring and mundane.”

In swimming, one often gets frustrated if he or she is unable to meet certain goals.

“It’s hard when you have setbacks, but you need the perseverance and you need to be able to deal with not improving,” Fischer-Colbrie said. “Last year, I became frustrated with swimming and talked to my coach who helped me work around it. A lot of the time, the frustration is about how you performed.”

Often, swimmers tend to overuse their bodies and develop injuries. As much as swimming is beneficial to individuals health-wise, competitive swimmers know the difficulties behind excessive practice.

“I always try to avoid overuse by setting realistic goals for myself to make sure I’m improving day to day. At the same time, it’s not good to be too conservative and each person needs to believe in their own potential,” Drysdale said.

Currently, both Fischer-Colbrie and Drysdale are in the process of being contacted by college recruiters, but the formal process will not begin until they are juniors in high school. They both intend on swimming in college before deciding if they want to pursue it further as a career.

“You can’t let yourself be intimidated by things,” Drysdale said. “If you know yourself and your true potential, you’re good.”

y parents ask me one question when they catch me playing video games: who are you playing with?

That leaves me with two options, either say “single player” and be banished towards AP studying oblivion, or sputter “socializing with friends through World of Warcraft in the dungeons on Kalimdor” and continue playing for another fifteen minutes. I most certainly appreciate the latter but the burning question still exists: why are adults so supportive of communication? To answer this question, I decided to venture into the sport that was composed of absolute teamwork and balls flying at a sizzling speed: volleyball.

The first thing I noticed was that the nets were set up high, so high that my fingertips could barely reach over the top. Though I am slight embarrassed to say this, my dreams of spiking the volleyball with ease while wildly yelling like an animal were dashed.

The team kept the humor light even during stretches. The leader motioned for everyone to do junior Marc Chew’s exercise, which consisted of twisting one’s back in a model pose. A JV player whispered to me, “He brought sexy back.” I was absolutely puzzled by the confessions of the team.

Coach Jeremy Ebbink called for time to practice serves. As an instinct, I tried slapping the ball as hard as I could to get it over the net. It honestly felt like slapping Sylvester Stallone in the face as John Rambo.

I struggled with each serve but it gradually got better as I applied my fingertips.

We practiced transitions next. The task was composed of passing a serve and rotating. Every time the serve came, every member of the team yelled “short” or “long”, including Coach Sarah Jensen. This didn’t just occur once, it happened every single time. When the ball is served, it plays tricks on the eye. A seemingly monstrous serve can actually be a baby shot. I unfortunately had to learn the hard way. After everyone yelled short, I thought I had it but the volleyball landed in front of me. Every member was involved in the yelling regardless of whether they were on the court or not. The only stop to their team chemistry was, sadly, me.

I saw the team as a whole at the end of practice. One side served while the other practiced transitions. In the course, the team would point out potential serve spots and adjust to fill it in after the serve. They blurted out numbers over and over as attack plans. “Free” stood for a pass bumped to the other side. “Two” was for a middle attack and “four” was a corner spike. Over and over, I listened to numbers being yelled by everyone. Rather than becoming mere chatter, the numbers loomed as everyone moved as a whole. I felt schizophrenia clutch my mind like I was Jim Carrey in the film “The Number 23.” The only thing different was that it was a volleyball team repeating the numbers two and four. The only period of rest was during a miscommunication. Two people froze over a spot and induced a moment of silence that disrupted the mood.

There are other miscommunications off the court. Sexual innuendos or the wrong interpretation of seemingly harmless phrases, are common. For instance, some members enjoy whispering the Facebook phenomenon “That’s what she said” after a member may call out to “Smack that [volleyball]!” The phrase in today’s urban dictionary, stands for much more than just hitting a ball.

After watching the team, I thought I had it all down. Communication determines your entire team. A missing slice makes a pie so much worse than a whole pie. Teamwork is what makes the volleyball team stand where it is today. I still can’t serve or slap, but now all I need to do is figure out how to communicate with my parents to let me play more World of Warcraft.

5 sophomore Michael Wang badminton

With the weather finally warming up, a trip to the beach seems like the best idea for some fun in the sun during spring break. But no visit to the beach is complete without a supply of cold drinks to cool off with, and here’s the fastest way to get the drinks as cold as possible.

Fill your cooler with enough ice so that your beverages will be covered by it on all sides. The more surface that is exposed to the ice, the colder the drinks will be.

Pour enough regular table salt on the ice so that the entire surface of the top layer of the ice has salt on it. The salt is what will make the cooling happen so fast. Ask a Chemistry teacher about the details!

Close the cooler so that you can then shake the contents around, allowing the salt to spread around. Within two minutes, the ice will be able to reach -5 degrees Celsius, and your drinks will already be ice cold.

T w o

Congratulations to senior Sanjana Dey and junior Gillian Decker for finding Pawkit behind the F building next to the custodian offices on Mar. 15.

t w o

s p o r t s .

o n e

d a y .

“Volleyball tournaments are really early in the morning.

I always wear my beanie before competing to stay warm.”

sophomore Mara Spelick track and field

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Pawkit the gnome has gone hiking at MVHS, but where is he on campus? The first person to reach the location shown will find instructions to claim a fabulous prize.

p e o p l e .

Junior Ted Landa Sport: Volleyball beanie

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photo illustration by Ellen Casavant | staff photographer

s Wang heads towards the hurdles, Spelick stops him.

“Not just yet,” Spelick said. “We have to warm-up first.”

After their warm-up run, Spelick told Wang to stretch out so that he would not pull anything. Then Wang saw the hurdles.

“These look pretty high,” Wang said.

“They come up to my waist!”

Thankfully, however, Spelick moved the bar of the hurdles three notches down.

“Make sure you get a running start,” she instructed. “The point is to get your leg higher so you make it over the hurdle.”

After Spelick told him how to jump over the hurdle, she asked, “Do you want an example first?” Wang nodded.

After watching Spelick’s example, Wang then took off and managed to jump over the hurdle.

“Remember what I showed you?” asked Spelick. “Make sure your leg is over to the side. You could have hooked your foot to the hurdle and taken it down.”

“I guess I just need a lot more practice,” Wang said with a laugh.

erving the birdie over the net, Wang’s opponent, Spelick, lunges to return the shot.

“Keep your wrists loose,” Wang said.

“Don’t keep your arms so stiff.”

“Okay,” said Spelick with a laugh. “I’ll keep my wrists loosey-goosey.”

Before playing a set with Spelick, Wang taught her some of the basics of badminton.

He showed her the proper way to carry out an underhand stroke, how to hit a drive, and he also taught her how to serve properly.

And so, the two began playing a set of badminton. And, with Spelick just starting this endeavor, this set lasted for an abnormally long time.

“You’re pretty good,” Wang said to Spelick. “Just make sure to mix up your shots and focus on staying loose.”

“Thanks,” Spelick said. “I’m doing my best to stay as loose as I can.”

And while Spelick doubted herself at the beginning, at the end she even received a few compliments from her ‘coach.’

“She was able to hit most of the shots that came her way,” Wang said.

kneepads “When I dive for the ball, these make it hurt less. I have had to replace them before, but they still last for a really long time.”

wrist brace “I had sprained my wrist previously, and I wear this to prevent that kind of injury from happening again.”

whistle

“We use the whistles when we referee at tournaments because we referee for the other teams when we don’t have a match.”

shoes “When getting shoes for volleyball, I look for style, brand, and comfort. I always make sure they look cool.”

Boys Swimming