Review of “The Crucible” • elestoque.org
Teens in military display commendable courage • Page 7
opinion
online
Finding the right bra size not as difficult as perceived • Page 19
Injuries can’t keep athletes off the field • Page 15
sports
elestoque
entertainment Connected at the Core
What complete strangers have in common • Page 11
Volume XXXX • Issue 3 • Monta Vista High School • Cupertino, CA
November 12, 2008
Clean canvas
Lights. Missing in Cameras. Action. O
Collaborative art unites community by Allie Choy
Over $1600 in cameras stolen from ROP class by Sabrina Ghaus
R
OP Multimedia teacher Dale Barcellos shuffles through the 13 keys on his key ring before selecting a silver one to unlock a cabinet containing class equipment. He reaches •Cameras can be in and pulls out a set of headphones, anonymously returned then locks the cabinet once more, to the main office withcarefully tucking his key ring into his out penalty. pocket. Normal behavior? Not quite. Ever since the theft of three cam•Information regarderas from the equipment cabinet, two ing the theft can also be of which belong to the ROP Multimeconfidentially submitdia class and one to Histech, Barcellos ted to the main office. has begun keeping the usually unlocked cupboard closed during class. On Oct. 21, the cameras and a pair of headphones were stolen from the room, amounting to over $1,600 of stolen equipment, well into the felony category “It’s the first time in the three and a half years that I’ve been here that something like this has happened,” Barcellos said. “I got complacent, I guess.” see CAMERAS on page 4
Alice Lee | El Estoque
In the midst of controversy Rebel with a cause Proposition 8 approved by narrow margin by Dipika Shrihari
A
s several dozen church groups rallied on Oct. 24, senior Kristen Korz looked out the windows of Petsmart as the group advocating an end to any marriage possibilities for her future. “I remember what it was like clearly. I was working at Petsmart as the cash register and I could see out the window from where I was working,” Korz said. “I was supposed to be cheery for the customers, and yet right outside there was a whole bunch of people who don’t
Kai Kang | El Estoque
YES VOTE Supporters of Proposition 8 rallied on Stevens Creek Blvd. on Oct. 19.
want me to get married because I’m gay.” Although this is a very important issue for her, her experience during the rally was the first time she feared for her safety. “Cupertino and MVHS are like safety bubbles,” Korz said. “They are nothing like what the real world is like. I know that.” With the recent passing of Proposition 8, which “changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California,” many are burning with opinions. Peter Lui, parent of junior Samuel Lui, participated in the rally that Korz witnessed. He claims that Proposition 8 is in no way discriminating against gay people. He says that if anything, it preserves the definition of marriage between a man and a woman. “Being gay or lesbian is not a civil rights issue,” Peter said. “I am a Chinese-American and I was raised in this country. I encounter discrimination, so I know how it feels. I have no choice [because] I cannot change my skin [color], but I can change my sexual orientation. It’s not about civil rights.” Peter advocates for Proposition 8 because he is concerned about the values of the future population. see PROP on page 6
Beginning a journey of confidence by Kanwalroop Singh
T
he bounce house company probably never pictured English teacher Stacey Cler as part of their target audience. But when she was at a friend’s house for a summer barbecue, she climbed in anyway. At the age of 38, she jumped up and down like a kid, and she had no qualms about it. She was living life for the very first time. Cler lost 189 pounds because of a carrying the well-timed epiphany, sweat-draining workouts, and her personThis is the final part al trainer, Danny Page. She of a series of articles changed her diet and exercise discussing English routine every few months, teacher Stacey along with her mindset. Now Cler’s decision to she’s got half the size but twice lose weight, her the spirit. journey to become Cler began by losing fit, and the impact weight on her own. With outher lifestyle change ward humor and inner insehas had on her and curity, she endured the gym her students. everyday, the stares and malicious comments, the “walk of shame” from the pool to the locker room. And one day, when she entered her doctor’s office, she was hoping for encouragement, or even just apathy. But she was shot down. Cler’s doctor told her to seriously consider gastric bypass surgery. Cler was incredulous. Shock. Denial. Fury. And finally, she said the word that clamped a tight lid onto Pandora’s box of misguided advice. “No.”
weight
see JOURNEY on page 3
n a Saturday afternoon, several adults gathered around a small table at the Cupertino Community Hall for coloring time. Armed with markers and coloring pencils, they doodled to their hearts’ content. These meaningful pictures were not just childish drawings, but collaborative pieces of art that were part of an effort to unite the community. The hour-long drawing session was just one of many canvasdrawing gatherings organized by FBLA. For the 2008-09 school year, FBLA is asking members of the community to color and draw on blank canvases. Each canvas has a theme such as “What does ‘green’ mean to you?” or “What does ‘peace’ mean to you?” The purpose of the project is to allow members of the community to express their thoughts on the topic as art. This would allow participants to see the community’s diverse responses to universal questions. Senior Vanessa Ing came up with this project, “Cupertino Canvas,” during a Link activity last year. For the activity, freshmen were given the opportunity to draw or write over sheets of poster paper. They would answer questions about their favorite food or place through small sketches. The art produced captured the uniqueness of each member of the freshman class. They were to draw any place in the world they would most want to visit, and the resulting illustrations would be anything from New York’s Empire State Building to the Great Wall of China. The widely varied range of pictures highlighted the different interests and backgrounds of each freshman. “It occurred to me that as art is a very natural and enjoyable form of expression, it would be a great way to gather community opinions on issues by offering a blank canvas,” Ing said. The opinions gathered reflected the community’s thoughts on topics everyone could relate to. see FBLA on page 6
Allie Choy | El Estoque
COLLABORATE Freshmen Laura Liu and Peter Choi added illustrations to the FBLA posterboard on Oct. 4.
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elestoque
news
recount
in numbers
BLOOD DRIVE
11
Number of teachers and adults who donated blood
14
Number of nurses from Stanford Hospital assisting with the blood drive
6
Number of blood donating stations in the cafeteria
Senior Devina Khanna after donating blood on Nov. 7
86
Number of students who signed up to donate blood CORRECTIONS October Page 1: For “Life-changing program,” Student Advocate Richard Prinz and Assistant Principal Dennis Plaza made the decision to add Challenge Day in place of Camp Everytown. Page 15: Junior Brian Glazbrook was in the picture accompanying the story “Settling the Feud.” Page 16: Boys, not girls, cross country was featured in “In The Zone.” September Page 14: Senior Neesha Tambe has been on Marquesas for four years.
November 12, 2008
newsflash
in brief
Gupta teaches free SAT Chemistry classes
Chemistry A.P. teacher Kavita Gupta volunteered to help teach students who want to take the SAT Subject in Chemistry test. This PTA-sponsored class helps Chemistry and Chemistry Honors students learn new material and prepare for the test. “This is a class that will teach them what’s not taught in Chemistry Honors,” Gupta said. “It’s not a review class.” This class’ purpose is to supplement material SAT II Chemistry book already learned in school classes. It will fill in the holes of the 15-20 percent of material on the test that is not covered in MVHS Chemistry and Chemistry Honors classes.
Math and Science Club goes to Wondercup
The Math and Science club is a place where students can indulge themselves in fascinating facts not learned in the classroom. The club held the first round of the “Wonder Cup,” a 30-minute test with 30 multiple choice questions ranging from A.P. to SAT level. The subjects that were tested are physics, biology, and chemistry. Teams of two girls and two boys with balanced skill levels in each subject went online to take the test at the same time. Those who received passing results moved onto the second round of “Wonder Cup,” which was held on Oct. 30 at Stanford University to compete amongst club members and teams from other schools. Although the MVHS teams performed well, they were not able to advance to the next round, for only the top two teams were qualified to compete in the final round.
Community Leadership to hold AIDS week
From Dec. 1-5 Community Leadership will be putting on AIDS week. The purpose of AIDS week is to raise awareness and learn about the epidemic. This is a change from last year when the focus was on raising funds for finding a cure. Another change implemented this year was the removal of the AIDS quilt. Instead of making a quilt, Community AIDS Support Ribbons Leadership is looking into a project called Unity for AIDS. The project would have students put hand prints on a large piece of fabric to show support. The fabric would be sent to a local hospital at the end of the week. Aside from Unity for AIDS, other projects for the week include passing out support ribbons and a showing of the movie “Life Support,” the true story of an AIDS victim. Community Leadership is also looking into getting a speaker to come to MVHS.
Senior leads Bay Area French Public Forum
The Bay Area French Public Forum is just like any ordinary debate league, but in French. Organized by senior Tarun Galagali and French Honor Society members, this league provides an opportunity for top French speaking students from each school in the district to come together and debate about social and political issues for around 45 minutes to an hour. A different style of debate, this league challenges non-native French speakers to jump out of their comfort zones and talk about issues that they are given on the spot. The first competition took place on Oct. 26 in the MVHS staff room.
Food For All fasts to raise awareness
On Nov. 18 and 19, Food For All will be hosting the 30-Hour Famine. 30-Hour Famine is a worldwide activity in which people from all over the world fast for 30 hours to raise awareness for those in nations where food is unavailable. Those participating are also asking for donations during their famines. The money raised from fasting will go to World Vision, an organization that is working to end hunger in third world countries. The famine starts on the morning of Nov. 18 and ends on Nov. 19. Following Alumnus Canice Lo the famine, Food For All during last years 30 will be providing a lunch hour famine in March 2008. for all the participants.
Plans in the making for first Science Fair
Plans are underway for the first ever MVHS Science Fair. Leadership’s Student Academics commission will be spending the next few months organizing what will hopefully be an annual showcase of experiments at MVHS. Before the actual projects can begin, there are a series of meetings for both information and publicity. The first of these meetings is on Nov. 13 for the entire science department. Aside from introducing the fair to the teachers, Student Academics is also looking into having teachers sign up to judge the fair. After the science department meeting, Student Academics will be contacting all of the science clubs on campus as well as the ROP classes in an effort to garner publicity. Finally, in the week before Thanksgiving, there will be an informational meeting for all students interested. After the meeting the participants have until mid-January to submit their applications with experiment proposals. The Science Fair is tentatively set for March 14 in the gym.
Food: The El Estoque secret sauce O by Alice Lee
m nom nom nom. If you snapped a picture of the El Estoque staff during dinnertime at one of our Tuesday or Friday late nights, you could probably slap that caption on it in a very “Lolcatz”-esque manner. Food is a very important part of El Estoque culture, to say the least. At each late night, parents of two journalism members pair up to bring in enough food for dinner. And ever since adviser Michelle Balmeo told parents at Back to School Night that it’s always “better to bring more food,” we have been greeted with feasts of delicious food each late night. We’ll even drag in one of those large trash cans from the A building hallways because there is absolutely no way A111’s puny little trash cans can handle the inundation of paper plates and plastic cups that follow the devouring of this food. Om nom nom, indeed. Well, food is that which brings us together. It is the universal language all El Estoque writers speak (or, perhaps, eat?). When a parent shows up at room A111 to indicate that the food has arrived, staffers debating about which font to use in that story package or which picture to put into the online sports slideshow drop their editing pens and computer mice and help set the table. You know, a joking part of me thinks that the back page’s Encore photography feature on snacking this issue was partially driven by the prominence of food in our journalism program. Well, okay, that wasn’t the real reason we chose to feature snacking as our back page topic this issue (though it is an arena us El Estoque-ers are rather familiar with).
So why snacking? After all, there are so many interesting photo-worthy events that have happened around campus in the past month—the election, Halloween, sports games and the list goes on. Our purpose, however, as a newspaper, is not to be an activities bulletin. You can listen to the morning announcements and find that (which students really should do more of instead of rudely talking over our hardworking ASB officers). We covered the election, but not just the election—senior Dipika Shrihari explored how a proposal has sent controversial ripples through the student body and members of the Cupertino community. There was Halloween, but we dug a little deeper as senior Natasha Desai interviewed students with the particularly wild costumes for an online feature story. We look for the students’ stories. And everybody has a story. This issue’s centerspread topic, “Connected at the Core,” explores how seemingly complete strangers at MVHS can have so much in common—from those who have endured intense medical treatment to those who, like our newly-elected president, are “lefties.” You and that stranger next to you are connected deeper than you think. It may be that you share the same favorite book, movie, or musical group. Maybe your best friend went to elementary school with theirs. Or maybe you are connected by the power of food. Already I can’t wait for the next feast. This is the fourth issue the head editors and I have led, including the eighth one from last year, which makes me rather sad because we are halfway done with four more to go. Four more issues to produce. Eight more production late nights—eight more dinners to go!
outlook
editor’s letter
elestoque Editor in Chief Alice Lee
2008-2009
Managing Editors Jeremy Lee Serena Lee Daniel Stenzel Layout and Design Editor Stefan Ball News Editors Lauren Parcel Samved Sangameswara Opinion Editor Bhargav Setlur Sharanya Shankar Centerspread Editor Sabrina Ghaus Sarah McKee Entertainment Editor Patty Chao Mansi Pathak Sports Editor Jonathan Chan Dipika Shrihari Business Editor Aileen Le Online News Editor Kai Kang Online Sports Editor Christian Fatoohi Online Entertainment Editor Natasha Desai Print Staff Writers Kunal Bhan Christine Chang Varshini Cherukupalli Allie Choy Sasha Degtyar Brittany Hopkins Jane Kim Kanwalroop Singh Tammy Su Vijeta Tandon Laura Wenus Derek Wong Kevin Wu Online Staff Writers Jackie Barr Ingrid Chang Anthony Chen Tom Cheng Jaime Chu Varada Gavaskar Teressa Ju Deepa Kollipara Selene Rubino Shreya Shankar Natalie Wong Adviser Michelle Balmeo Disclaimer Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. Credits Some of the images used in this publication have been taken from the royalty-free stock photography website sxc.hu Mission Statement
El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. The staff of El Estoque seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the Monta Vista community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately and 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 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com
November 12, 2008
elestoque
news
JOURNEY: Testing the waters of a new life’s promises
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CHRISTINECHANG
continued from page 1
Cler does not believe that gastric bypass surgery is a faulty path. She does not believe that it means laziness or incompetence. She just believes that most teachers at MVHS, like her, will do the exact opposite of what they are told. Cler writes in her memoir, “I was very much aware that I had bucked a stereotype.” She embarked upon the journey of ignoring her doctor’s advice. She got a personal trainer. She silenced the voice that snaked about in her conscience and told her to give up. With stubborn, lifechanging confidence, she did the opposite of what was told. A rebel with a cause. This cause follows her everywhere—at the gym, at home, and at school. Cler has laid down the law. Her students can meet her before school, during brunch, lunch, or tutorial, but if they want to meet her after school, they will accompany her to the gym. Unless they are dead or minus a limb. Why? Because throughout her weight loss experience the one thing she has learned is to look out for herself. She was the Mother Teresa of her family, the selfless sister that dropped everything to help her siblings. And she still is. Except now, she doesn’t forsake her health. And she doesn’t forsake the health of her students. If they labor until 1 a.m. to complete any last minute assignment for her class, she tells them to sleep because their health is more important. These lessons, like others
Boggling Broadcast
De-auguration
M Kanwalroop Singh | El Estoque Photo Illustration
AGAINST THE FLOW Stacey Cler has a history of being rebellious. Discouragement only makes her more determined to achieve great things, like losing weight without gastric bypass surgery. learned at the gym, permeate her classroom. Some of her ELD students have written her letters in English saying, “I know what it is to work hard because I see you do it.” She has opened her book of tragedies at long last and shared her life with her students. She does not worry about being judged. Like all strong athletes, she has converted her weakness into her strength, her insecurity into her confidence. “I believe it’s important to be honest about the things that are going on in your life,” Cler said. People have made fat jokes and commented on her weight, but Cler has a curt re-
ply: “Is that the best you can do? Really, you can be more intelligent than that.” At MVHS, no one has ever made her feel uncomfortable with herself. This summer was the first time she had ever talked about her journey. In her memoir, she expresses her emotions, her obstacles, and her accomplishments. “Every step I took, every new machine I tried, every time I raised the level while exercising gave me a sense of confidence that has helped to contribute to the voice that I have now,” Cler wrote. Going forward, Cler’s strength of mind outweighs her strength of body. Because
of previous complications, her thyroid was recently removed, forcing her to take calcium pills daily, but leading to complete recovery. She has undergone a religious experience. Filled with encouragement, confidence, and joy, she is living a foreign life. A traveler seeing an unexpected sight, a child scrutinizing every inch of a Christmas present, a student on the first day of vacation: discovering, uncovering, relishing. When planning a get together with Page, she exploited her new found life: “Oh, so it’s next weekend right?” “What?” “Hooters.”
Robotics’ new online debut Team to aid in publicity and funding of a humanitarian aid project by Laura Wenus
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s the Robotics team approaches its next tournament, seniors Aravindh Dorai and Prashanth Vijay’s minds wander beyond the robotics room, F108, to a project that will use the team’s knowledge for media to help raise awareness for a cause slightly more distant from their home campus: Indian schools. Jaipur is a rural area in India that is in desperate need of public education. Robotics has joined Vivek Kumar, a board member of Stanford’s MIT Ventura Labs, in an effort to expand a program called Empower through Organization. Their hope is to help provide the basic building blocks of public education and an environment in which children can develop the skills they will need to compete in a technological age. “Their goal is not only [to build] schools, but a place where children can go to find an enriching experience,” Dorai, a publicity representative for the team, said. Kumar first made a connection with Robotics at their display at the Cupertino fall fair. As a relatively well-known
Laura Wenus | El Estoque
UP AND RUNNING Robotics team members huddle around a laptop to design their web page on Nov. 6 in room F108. contributor to the community, MVRT was sought out by Kumar to provide publicity, an image, and eventually even supplies to aid the effort to build these schools. With the help of frequent e-mail communication and regular meetings, a basic framework for the project has already been established. “We just got the web site and logo started, [and now] we’re in the planning stages,” Dorai said. The goals being set are ambitious. Robotics is to provide a
distinctive logo for the project, which will be used in efforts to gain publicity. The web site will hopefully be up and running by the holiday season, a time of year in which people have a higher tendency toward generosity, according to Dorai. Senior Ashwin Mathur hopes to have the basics of the web site and the logo done by November 12. Robotics hopes also to provide basic school supplies and funds to the project through various fundraisers. When the children are well-enough
prepared to take the next step, one dream is to provide a few computers as well as Internet connection in order to allow members of the community access to a broader spectrum of information. “Our goal as a team is bringing Internet and technology to these kids because that’s where the world is going,” Dorai said. At the moment, the web site and logo are the main concern, as well as a group effort to form a workable plan. Media-related work is the focus of activity right now, run primarily by Robotics’ media division. The public relations and finance divisions will be heavily involved once the team’s efforts turn towards fundraising, while the Mechanical and Electrical divisions are preparing for various highly competitive tournaments. Though the goals may be ambitious and the burden falls mostly on two lone sections of Robotics, Vijay believes that there is a lot of vested interest in the project. Though he foresees the challenges ahead, Vijay says the project definitely has a lot of potential.
y literature teacher has a very special clock. A countdown clock, actually. Flat, rectangular, and undeniably eye-catching, It’s the kind of nifty little device designed for being carried around in wallets, so that every time a bit of cash is spent, the clock is read. It’s probably made in China, but the spirit of it is purely American. Along the left side of the clock, bold white letters flash against a blue background: “Our national nightmare will soon be over.” And above these words is the real prize, the juice of it all: a small digital display counting down the time left in our Bush era, down to every tenth of a second. These past months have no doubt been months of great excitement, what with Barack Obama’s racial novelty, John McCain’s most remarkably anomalous V.P., and of course, Joe the Plumber’s rise to fame almost as the Uncle Sam of this century. Prestigious news magazines bustled to get top coverage on this record-setting presidential race, while students all over the country added “presidential debates” to the long list of clips watched on YouTube. But amidst all the hectic campaign drama, there’s been another element of anticipation that many Americans have been waiting to rejoice in. For many people, Nov. 4, 2008 marked a milestone in the exhausting marathon of Bush’s reign. It was a day that assured us a new president would be inducted into office on Jan. 20, 2009, a day that pleasantly reminded the country President George W. Bush would indeed get his “De-auguration” Day. Election Day was, in short, a day where paranoid Bush-haters were kindly reassured, “No, your nightmare of Bush proclaiming the oath of office is not going to happen a third time.” But as much harm as Bush may have inflicted on our economy, reputation, and spirit in the past eight years, we do owe thanks to his mistakes. As our country continues to move on, we should look back at the Bush era and simply accept it as a lesson learned the hard way, an impossible class mastered at the cost of a failing grade. Like all defeats in life, Bush’s presidency was not a total loss. In the long run, it has only made our nation stronger and more mature, because when greater obstacles await us in the future, we can look back and say, “Hey, if we could trump the era of Bush Backfire, our country can pull through this too.” Many of us go through a similar experience here at MVHS. When we sign up to take A.P. classes, it is with the knowledge that we may risk ending up with a lower grade imprinted on our transcript. But just like the Bush era, the “greater good” that results from taking an A.P. class overrides those not-so-satisfactory grades. Not only do A.P. classes provide us with the academic enrichment regular curriculums don’t offer, but the amount of work and frustration they delegate helps build us up to face greater challenges later on in life. So even though the countdown clock won’t hit 0:00:00:00.0 for another 69 days, I do hope the passing of Election Day has somewhat eased my literature teacher’s heart. But I do also hope that once Obama, our new commander-in-chief begins his first day in office, we as united, faithful American people will back him up with lasting support. Because no matter what actions he takes, what decisions he makes, what policies he forsakes, it will be a learning experience for every citizen of our country. It will be a national “A.P.” exam for pupils, young and old, struggling to become better people.
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‘Lab Ratz’ update computers in D105
CAMERAS:
Students uphold tradition of maintaining Linux Lab in their spare time
ROP theft
by Sasha Degtyar
continued from page 1
or many people, there are a couple basic paths to take when a computer problem arises. They can call for help, physically abuse the machine, or get a new one. Senior Greg Klein chooses a different approach—he rewrites the software. When the new computers came and old data had to be transferred onto them, “a really interesting problem arose” Klein said, of trying to make the old software compatible with the new equipment. After hours of work, he wrote his own software to fix the problem. The Linux Lab, D105, is home to A.P. Computer Science, Java, and C++ classes. This year, the lab was updated with brand-new computers which made it easier for students to work and teachers to monitor what is happening on the students’ monitors. The four servers hidden in a room across the corridor operate solely for the 38 computers plus teacher workstation found in the Linux Lab and hold 2,575 separate accounts—one for each MVHS student. However one can’t just put all those accounts onto a server with a simple wave of a wand. First, the version of Linux must be decided upon. Linux is an operating system (like Windows or MacOS) with over 1,000 different “flavors,” and each programmer seems to have his own favorite. Why Linux? It’s free, and it’s open source, which means that any intrepid programmer can modify it as they will—perfect for teaching purposes. Math department chair Bob Van Hoy, the supervisor of the Linux Lab, also praises the new system, which allows for more extras and includes class management software. “It’s fantastic, better than we could have expected,” Van Hoy said. Klein does more than just these big tasks. He along with seniors Alex Martin and Tim Wheeler are the ones who maintain the com-
Barcellos did not realize at first that the missing cameras were actually stolen; he figured a student had taken them to use outside of class. When he checked on Thursday, the equipment was still missing. Barcellos immediately informed Assistant Principal Dennis Plaza and Student Conduct Specialist Ruben Delgado, who, with administration, took over the investigation. “We don’t want to get to the point where we have to monitor people,” Hicks said. “What’s nice about MVHS is we trust students and staff so much.” The culprit faces expulsion if the items are not returned, because it is a breach of Zero Tolerance. Anonymous return will result in no punishment. Barcellos considers the real consequence of the theft the inconvenience of constantly locking and unlocking the cabinet. He is considering having students leave their backpacks in a designated area, or even transferring all equipment to a safe. Meanwhile, Barcellos tells his students not to fear interrogation. “I tell the kids that waterboarding only feels like drowning.”
F
Sasha Degtyar | El Estoque
HARD AT WORK During tutorial on Oct. 23, students work in the Linux Lab in D105. The lab holds 38 updated computers and is maintained by seniors Greg Klein, Tim Wheeler, and Alex Martin. puters. When Klein described his job, he played it down and said, “Things break, things get fixed.” Once, Klein was pulled from class all day to fix a glitch, and though it interfered with his own studies, he was happy to do it, citing that the needs of the 138 students who use the lab daily outweighed his own. According Van Hoy, the “lab ratz” (yes, with a ‘z’) are the ones who maintain the lab. “They [the lab ratz] do it entirely,” Van Hoy said. “I just supervise.” Klein, who has an internship at Sun Microsystems partly due to the experience that he has gained from the lab, is usually in the lab during lunch and up to three hours after school on Friday afternoons. He spent 20 hours with Martin and Van Hoy to install and set up the new computers. There has long been a tradition of upperclass-
men running the Linux Lab while training underclassmen to follow in their footsteps. Martin started working in December of his freshman year and recruited Klein soon after. “First thing I remember was fixing the hinge on the door,” Klein said. Now they are helping others learn, like sophomore Shreyas Siravara who enjoys working in the lab. “Greg knows a lot more than the teachers,” Siravara assured. “I really like computers and I want to learn.” Though the atmosphere in the lab is jovial and accepting, it is obvious the sincere respect that everyone has for these students. “[Klein] has forgotten more about the computers than most people will ever know,” Wheeler said.
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Daniel Stenzel | El Estoque
Facing the Call to Duty Students follow their desire to join the military and serve their country in their adult lives by Daniel Stenzel
T
he military. Because it is unavoidably associated with war, it has become somewhat taboo in our society to discuss soldiers, but underneath the armor and all that camouflage are American citizens who at some point decided to join and fight for their country. Seniors Tom Schiavone and Oliver Lee are two of a small number, about five to six percent of students from the area, who plan on joining the military after high school. The question that seems to permeate throughout their surrounding community—is why? “It was something I wanted to do ever since I was a little kid, but I didn’t take it seriously until last year—the middle of junior year,” Lee said. Schiavone’s decision-making process was similar. He committed to his decision only last January. “I started looking at my options at colleges and outside of college. I decided to explore the different branches and what they had to offer, and I talked to guys from every branch,” Lee said. “I really clicked with the marine guy so I’m headed in that direction, but it’s still not final yet.” Although both are certain in their desires to join, Lee and Schiavone both made the choice not to join directly after high school, and instead opted to find a college first. For Lee, his decision to wait was not of his own choosing. “My family doesn’t really [support my decision],” Lee said. “They don’t understand why I would want to do this. They kind of see it like it should be a profession for people from a lower social status.”
After some convincing, Lee eventually reached an agreement with his parents. “Once I’m 18 it’s my decision, but I’d still rather have my parents support me in it. We eventually reached this happy compromise where I should probably wait until my first year of college before I join.” But this brings up a bigger issue, one involving the whole MVHS mindset. Cupertino is an upper-middle class city, and Lee feels that there is a prejudice towards the military due to the fact that soldiers generally come from lower income families.
“They’re the ones that sort of pushed me to do it,” Schiavone said. “They’re the ones who showed me that there was something like [ROTC].” Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC is an elective taken in college as preparation for military service. It is available at many colleges, and is taken as an elective alongside normal academic classes. ROTC trains students in such areas as physical training, military history, and battlefield tactics. After a student finishes their four years at college, they are inducted into the
“Very few people say, ‘Yes [the military] is where I belong’ at first,” Sergeant Michael Barat said. “Nobody knows where they belong until they’re actually there.” “I guess it’s because we’ve all had this little blueprint that our parents have had ready for us for after high school,” Lee said. “Around here, we all follow the blueprint— follow the path. Everybody goes to college, they do engineering, and then they go out and get a job. That’s fine, but I don’t know if that really works for me. I’m sure a lot of parents are like my parents where they don’t see [the military] as a feasible option, like it’s below us.” Schiavone’s situation is the exact opposite. In fact, his mother is currently in the Army Reserves. “Both of my parents have been in the military and agreed that it was a good idea for me to do it during college, so I guess I decided that way,” Schiavone said. Instead of convincing his parents to let him join, they convinced him.
military. The advantage of entering ROTC as opposed to joining directly after high school is that you join already holding the position of officer. For Schiavone, he plans to take ROTC for either aviation, military intelligence, or the finance corps depending on his major in college. Lee’s plan opts instead for a regular contract where he will go to boot camp this summer or the next. “The summer following that, in sophomore, junior, or senior year [of college], I’ll be doing an infantry leaders course, which is where they send you out to Quantico, Va. and you learn how to be a marine officer,” Lee said. His detailed college plan is due in part to a recruiter that he came in contact with. “[My involvement with my recruiter] has been pretty beneficial. He just acts as a
mentor,” Lee said. “I know people have this bad stereotype of recruiters being like used car salesmen who are just trying to get as many bodies for the meat grinder as fast as they can.” For Lee, his recruiter pushed him at first, but when he told him that his parents weren’t completely open to the idea yet, he was very understanding and backed off. “You have to realize that most of these guys are still active duty and so they still hold the interests of their respective branches,” Lee said. Lee’s recruiter, Staff Sergeant Michael Barat of the United States Marine Corps, is very proactive in communicating with students about the military. “I make an effort at least once a week to go to high schools and talk to individuals, teachers, counselors, and address their needs,” Barat said. “The military isn’t for everybody, but believe it or not, in this area it’s something that a lot of people want to do.” Recounting his experience of joining the military, Barat said, “At first I was scared like everybody else. Very few people say, ‘Yes this is where I belong’ at first. Nobody knows where they belong until they’re actually there. It was that way for me.” Prior to joining—when Barat was in high school—he was opposed to the military. He had a good GPA and a scholarship, and he was content with his situation. “A recruiter contacted me, and I told him all kinds of things just to try to avoid him. I was the guy with the banner saying ‘no’ to tell the military to get away from my school,” Barat said. “A year later, I took the opportunity to actually open my ear. Thirteen years later and I can’t regret it.”
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news
elestoque
FBLA: Canvas project promotes artistic expression
Courtesy of Vanessa Ing
CANVAS KIDS Children decorate posters on Oct. 4 at the Cupertino Community Hall. The project was launched by FBLA earlier this year. continued from page 1
At the Oct. 4 drawing session of the “Celebration of Diwali,” children drew pictures from the meaning of family and apples to trees and hearts to answer the question “What does community mean to you?” Participants in the project felt that the community canvas helped unite the extremely diverse community. “Bringing people together by showcasing differences seems a bit paradoxical, but since one of the strengths of the community is the diversity, we believe that by letting
all the different voices shine, we can strengthen appreciation for the differences within Cupertino that make it a unique community,” senior Connie Wu, a collaborator of the project, said. The project aims to visually show differences in perspectives to allow the members of the community to have a better comprehension of one another. “Hopefully this understanding will help people feel a stronger connection to each other,” senior Annie Wu said, “and create a community that embraces diversity.”
November 12, 2008
PROP: Community split over proposition said. “Demeaning people gives them some sort of power. I would never do that.” However, he feels that the biggest impact of “I want to protect the next generation. I have four children, and I really want to protect them Proposition 8 is discussion of marriage in school. “If this proposition had not passed, it would from all these definitions about marriage,” Peter said. “I want my kids to be exposed to all kinds be okay for teachers to say, ‘Yeah, its okay to like of things, but there are some basic fundamental someone of the same gender,’” Samuel said. “Kids values such as marriage that I really want [them would get confused between who they could like and what the correct definition is. Restoring to] learn.” What Peter wants for his children is something marriage is what I stand for.” His view on gay marriage is a minority here. history teacher Christopher Chiang feels is a topic According to the mock election, only 34.84 % of that is impossible to agree on. “There is little room for compromise when students wanted to ban gay marriage. This feeling it comes to gay issues,” Chiang said. “It is so of isolation discomforts Lui. “Because it’s such a taboo topic and I don’t want divisive,” he added. to be placed in a However, it is situation where not just teachers it can affect seeing this me personally, proposition as an “There is nothing wrong with I don’t talk important issue; gay marriage,” parent Peter Lui about it. I am students feel that this will impact said. “But there are things people very scared about what their futures. don’t see.” people will “I think it think,” Samuel definitely does said. “In a way, affect us,” Korz I feel isolated said. “There is this whole web of acceptance that goes along with in school when kids don’t see what is the marriage. This law might as well be saying that wrongdoing of being gay.” Peter explains that the reason so few students it’s okay to discriminate.” She recalls instances of discrimination that side with his son is because of the circumstances she has faced at school. When she held signs for revolving around this generation. “This generation is really fortunate. They are Gay Straight Alliance, some students would walk by uttering slurs such as “fag” and telling her that not in a [drafting period] or any kind of disaster. It is a time of peace and this generation wants to she is “going to burn in hell.” “Once we were handing out little fliers about try out all kinds of things,” Peter said. “There is Gay Straight Alliance,” Korz said. “Someone took nothing wrong about it, but the problem is [there one from my friend and ripped it up in front of are] fundamental values which they don’t see.” Even though the proposition has passed, her face, saying ‘Oh I’m sorry I seem to have lost many feel that this is not the last verdict. mine. Can I have another one?’ She started crying.” Samuel, who shares his family’s values on gay “In four years, it will be brought up [for marriage, feels that such disrespect is appalling. election] again and hopefully things will be “Kids here are so caught up in what society different then,” senior Sapphire Fein said. “We wants them to believe that they will do anything, may have lost the battle, but I don’t think we like calling people names, just to fit in,” Samuel have lost the war.” continued from page 1
opinion
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No respect paid to late coach Price’s red cart 7 • Fashion censored 8 • Inspired at De Anza 9 •
Excuse the interruption: History in the making Important world and national news merit spending class time studying current events
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or the first time in history, a presidential candidate has not only encouraged more young voters than ever to participate in the election, but has also inspired pop culture fashion tees. Barack Obama became the nation’s first black president on Jan. 20 as students, at that time in third period, struggled to learn. Even for such a historic event, teachers in general ignored it and continued with the usual course of study. It is undisputable that education is a priority and that high school is designed to help students obtain a successful future. However, in order to be prepared for this future, students must be in tune to the very real events happening around them, regardless of what they wish to study in their future. So why is it teachers overlook daily happenings in order to continue the same lesson plan they have been using in years past? If the presidential inauguration does not warrant enough importance to hold off lecture plans for a single day, what does? Sure, CNN’s broadcast of the inauguration ceremony was on in the student center, but only students with a free 3rd were able to enjoy it. It should have been the top priority, especially for history teachers. Lincoln will always be there in the textbooks, but the new president is now. While the inauguration may have nothing to do with math or science, it is still an event that calls for a break from the scheduled lectures. However, teachers’ failure to show the inauguration is only part of the problem. When is it appropriate to deviate from daily lessons in order to address current events? People who are interested in news can read newspapers to stay informed. No matter the opinion they hold on the news, it is not only in everyone’s best interest, but their duty, to be informed on the major happenings. And since school is about preparing for the future, lessons should revolve around what is relevant today. Take history classes for example. Talking about monopolies created by Rockefeller can seem abstract since it is already in the past. However, by taking advantage of the
economy’s downward spiral, not only can teachers better explain concepts of the past, but also better explain economics. In other words, teachers can use world events to add on to the curriculum. It is unfair for students to choose between education and watching the inauguration, and the teachers who turned on the TV for Obama’s speech did the right thing. Administration, unfortunately, was unwise in playing announcements during Obama’s inaugural address. The right course of action, as some teachers took, was to simply delay the day’s activities, and let classes enjoy the historic event. It was a failure on administration’s part to not recognize the
Staff Editorial
Pay respect to Price
The contradictory code Academic manners exist for hypocritical purposes
Late coach’s cart should be memorialized, not shoved aside
by Alice Lee
by Alice Lee
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n the two weeks after its owner’s death, the red food cart remained. It sat in peace, undisturbed and unused save for the five letters of his last name, “PRICE,” added to its display window with white label tape. It stayed in its usual spot outside the cafeteria, a memorial to the man who has left his mark on MVHS in the last seven years through his roles as cafeteria worker, coach for the basketball, track, and football teams, and most importantly, friend. Though Gary Price passed away on April 2, 2008, his memory remained inside that cart. 10 months later today on Feb. 4, 2009, the cart is still on-campus. It now sits, however, in a more undignified location, sandwiched between trash cans, safety cones, and other discarded pieces of junk behind the F-building. The food containers that once held chilled bottles of soda, hotdogs and burgers, and warm packets of fries are now flooded with murky rainwater and floating pieces of trash. The carefully taped letters of his last name, “PRICE,” have begun to peel off the cart’s unwashed and dusty windows. It’s shameful. When the members of the girls varsity basketball team were pulled out of class on the day of Price’s death, they had two requests. The first, that paper be put up on the cafeteria walls for messages and signatures. The second, that his red cart, a symbol of his involvement in and care for the school, be kept outside in memory of his spirit. The girls knew how much Price cared for his cart—how carefully he would wipe its grill down in order to keep it clean, how the cart represented a meeting place at which they would shoot the breeze and sell food items together. The cart held a piece of Price inside, something he put much time and effort into. The current state of his cart, however, indicates anything but. Not only is the cart itself slowly falling apart, its obscure location indicates it was literally shoved aside
national importance of the inauguration. Someday, students will be writing essays on what administration and teachers deemed less important than the daily routine. By integrating current events into the lesson plans, teachers can make lessons easier to relate to. Recognizing such affairs should be a combined effort between administration and the teachers in order to pinpoint and decide what is best for the education of students. Since school takes up so much time, teachers share the responsibility of providing access to news. There will always be important events, both local and national. It is to be learned that some events are important enough to merit the use of class time. It is shameful that some students were not allowed to watch the historical events of January 20. Let that mistake not be repeated.
T Alice Lee | El Estoque
Alice Lee | El Estoque
UNDESERVED Late coach and cafeteria worker Gary Price’s food cart lies behind the F-building on Jan. 29, dirty and broken down.
into a random crevice of the school that students only occasionally happen upon. The cart itself, a physical symbolization of Price’s very memory, is dirtied, abandoned, and forgotten—disrespectful toward a man who dedicated the last seven years of his life to this school. “When I first found out that Price’s health was in trouble, I was kind of in denial,” junior and varsity basketball player Jocelyn Ou said. “Now, his ‘hot-dog cart,’ as my dad liked to call it, is one of the few tangible pieces of evidence that prove he existed.” And this cart, this evidence that proves that Price had even walked the halls of MVHS, does not deserve this kind of treatment. It is difficult, however, to identify one group of people at fault. Rather, it is the collective failure on all of our parts—as teachers, students, administration, custodians— members of the MVHS community for failing to notice the absence of what deserves to be a revered monument. It is the fault of the students for carelessly throwing empty bottles and candy wrappers into the cart’s containers. see PRICE on page 8
here is a code. An unspoken, tacit understanding that if you receive the highest score in the class on one of those notorious Physics Honors quizzes that the rest of the class completely bombed, you do not dance around the classroom flaunting your delight. These are the rules that govern MVHS’ academic environment— manners that prevent students from insensitively broaching the fragile subjects of grades, college applications, and test scores. For example, say there are three students, A, B, and C. Student A asks Student B for his grade, which offends Student B. Student B, however, asks Student C for her grade in the next class, which in turn offends Student C. In order for Student B’s actions to not be hypocritical, he can either not proceed to ask for Student C’s grade, or not be offended by Student A’s graderelated questions when they are asked. This scenario is sym-
bolic of the MVHS student body. Students A and B represent the 90 percent of 439 surveyed students who admitted to having asked a classmate for his or her grade on an assignment or in a class. Students B and C represent the 76 percent of the same pool of students who consider this action to be inappropriate. The very premise of the argument against asking for others’ grades or what colleges they were accepted into is that the questions are not only annoying to deal with, they are judgmental. Yes, it stings that classmates can be so superficial and insensitive at times. But it shouldn’t offend you what others think of you based on scores if you yourself know that you are not an extension of just a few percentages and test scores. Those who are offended the most are those who are not secure with their self-identity in this respect, the very ones these academic manners serve to “protect” from insensitive questions. And thus, there exists a code.
November 12, 2008 elestoque 8 Taking the shotgun approach Hello, college opinion
Applying to large number of colleges creates excess stress
by Shreya Shankar
tiple applications to different private schools can be filled out in one place. Sure, the Common Application has saved he number 10. Sometimes it can be a good thing. 10 students from writing up to six or seven different personal out of 10 on a quiz and 10 percent off everything in statements, but it has not saved teachers and counselors the store. Sometimes the number 10 can also be a from writing up to six or seven individual letters. For most teachers, a well thought out recommendation bad thing. For example, 10 college applications. It is undeniable that applying to college can be a stress- takes at least two hours, and writing four letters can take ful experience, but applying to an excessive number of up an entire work day. Teachers are also receiving requests schools (like 10) only adds to the stress. As a result, stu- from upwards of 30 students. A.P. U.S. History teacher Mardents end up wasting the time of their teachers, adminis- garet Platt has had to put a cap of 30 students—each can only ask for up to five letters— tration, and themselves. because of the high demand Applying to one school is for recommendations she redemanding enough. There are ceives every year. essays to write, recommendaThe easiest way to spend Applying to colleges also tions to request, and SAT scores less time is to cut back on requires a tremendous amount to send. For many, applying to the number of colleges. of money. The applications several colleges helps increase themselves cost around $40 to the chance of being accepted. $80 depending on the school, However, it is popular belief that the chance of being accepted increases with every ap- and the cost to send SAT scores is $10 per school. The easiest way to spend less time is to cut back on the plication sent. A better idea is to send fewer applications. Instead of 10, number of colleges, and doing research is the easier way to a much more appropriate number is three to five schools. remove schools off of the list. It does not have to be time This way, the chances of being accepted increase with the consuming either. It can be a quick look at several college quality of the application. By applying to fewer schools, websites to find the location, the size of the student body, there are fewer personal statements to write, fewer tran- and educational programs. After all the research, an even scripts to send, and fewer recommendations for teachers more important question students need to ask themselves is, “Would I actually go there?” Even minor irrational disto write. In recent years, it has gotten easier for students to ap- likes are reason enough not to apply to a college. But there ply to vast numbers of schools with the glorious invention is a school for everyone out there. The only thing left to do of the Common Application—an online site where mul- is to find it.
by Sarah McKee
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Students to blame for dismal food drive
In wealthy Cupertino, indifference, not inability, is the problem by Lauren Parcel
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wo thousand five hundred and thirty-six students, living in one of the wealthiest cities in the country. We were asked to bring a single can of food to the Homecoming dance in order to help out the less fortunate. We filled a barrel and a half. A mere barrel and a half. The goal for the food drive was 45 barrels. Clearly, this is not a representation of what we are able to donate; it is a representation of what we felt like donating. On top of this, we had an incentive. We were told—countless times—that we would receive $1 off of Homecoming admission if we brought a can. It was probably even possible to buy a can for less than that! What if we didn’t even have this incentive? How many cans would we have donated then? Not a barrel and a half. It’s not that we aren’t “good people.” As a whole, MVHS donates respectable amounts to the community in other ways. But we don’t even come close to
our potential, what we could donate, if we just put in a little effort. Take the dance again; why didn’t we bring that one can? If anyone thought like me, it was just too much extra effort, just another unnecessary thing to think about on the Homecoming to-do list. Get makeup done, get nails done, iron dress, make dinner reservations, meet friends, bring a can? It doesn’t fit. We are too incentive-driven. We shouldn’t need rewards to get us to help our community out once in a while. If a teacher asks us to bring Kleenex to class, the first question we ask is, “Do we get extra credit?” If not, don’t expect to be seeing many Kleenex boxes come in. The same goes for almost every other fundraiser or unrequired activity that takes place here. If we don’t get something—money, discount, extra credit, candy, a chance to add on to our college activity list—we won’t do it. One of the most successful fund-
raisers at MVHS, Cure Cancer Café, owes a large portion of its success to teachers. Many teachers on campus offer extra credit (the most valuable reward of them all) for attending this event, which is enough to attract almost every available student away from their studying, parties, or relaxing Saturday evenings. On top of everything, the burden of donation doesn’t even fall on students. It’s not our money or even our time being spent. All we have to do is reach into the pantry for that can, grab an extra Kleenex box from our Costco supply, or ask our Parents for $20 for that Cure Cancer Café ticket— or for that matter, whatever else we may need. When all is said and done, what we need to do is deliver. I’m not saying everyone fits this category, just the majority of us. Of course, there are those few good souls who do it because they truly care and want to help those in need, and I praise them. But let’s face the facts: we could, and should, do a lot better.
The young people’s election: Bucking the trend by Alice Lee
You don’t have to be a player to change the playing field. In the recent election, young people were more involved than they have been for years.
elestoque
November 12, 2008
MVerbatim
opinion
The Nov. 4 election marked a turning point in American history. With so many firsts, El Estoque asked students a series of questions about their experiences with the election and where they think the country is headed. Below are some of their views in their own words, drawn from the conversations that ensued.
I think Obama will lead this country well because he will get rid of a lot of commission as well as raising wages for workers.
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—Jennifer Zheng, sophomore
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—Sung-Wook Yoo, junior
Do you think California voters should have voted to pass Proposition 8?
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I think they voted incorrectly on Proposition 8 because it’s not right.
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—Jordan Lim, sophomore
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I think they chose correctly to pass Proposition 8 because a man was made to love
a woman.
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—Nathan Han, senior
Did the mock election help educate you on the democratic processes?
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Yes, because it helps you know what it’s going to be like when you actually vote.
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—Sammy Howard, freshman
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Yes, because I did not know what the voting process was specifically —Shreya Pramanick, senior like before.
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Political tensions shouldn’t end in minority strife Students take political activism too far and lose sight of fair play by Samved Sangameswara
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he morning after the third and final presidential debate over the dozens of other voices commenting on the previous night’s event, a single voice was heard making a bold exclamation. “All Republicans are idiots!” Although this statement complies with the First Amendment, it violates a higher rule: The Golden Rule. With the passing election, many in the MVHS population, especially those who choose to lean to the left, lost sight of what it means to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Living in an overwhelmingly liberal place as we do, it is easy to forget that although the majority of us are of the same opinion, there are still those who have opposing views. In the months preceding the election, the pro-Obama population of MVHS became increasingly hostile toward those who chose to side with John McCain. It got to the point where blanket statements are becoming an acceptable way of acknowledging the Republicans of MVHS. This kind of behavior is discriminatory and completely unacceptable. During the mock election, posters for John McCain went up around the school. Within hours, students had torn down a number of them in anger, believing them to be real posters. Regardless of whether the posters were real or not, those students had no right to tear them down. Destroying the posters was destroying the work that went into making them. That is just disrespectful.
Judgment
Turkey time!
I think Obama will be a good president because he is totally different from
Bush.
DEREKWONG
Day
Do you think Barack Obama will lead this country well?
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Daniel Stenzel | El Estoque
INTOLERANCE This McCain poster was vandalized by students who disagreed with it. Students who choose to voice their political opinions have every right to do so, however when push turns to shove and all of a sudden “you would have to be an idiot to vote for McCain” the voices and actions of MVHS liberals become unbearable. Of course, it is unfair to put the sole blame of political bullying on the Democratic side. The argument that Republicans make the same derogatory comments and generalizations as Democrats is completely valid, however is sinking down to the level of an opponent the right answer? Furthermore, the Democrats at MVHS have been shielded from any sort of political aggression due to the simple power of numbers. It is much easier to attack the views of an invisible minority than those of an overwhelming majority.
Government teacher Christopher Chiang noted that the political climate at MVHS made it acceptable for those posters to be torn down. People will act out of order when there is no one to keep them in check. The Pro-Obama frenzy that has been generated in recent months has transformed the supporters from a group of activists to an angry mob. The political arguments at MVHS have moved beyond the field of red and blue states and on to an issue that is bigger and more important: respect. The downright disrespectful behavior that has been carried out in the name of this election is entirely intolerable. MVHS students need to free themselves of this mob mentality and learn how to voice their opinions while respecting those of others.
he traditional Thanksgiving dinner: piles of creamy mashed potatoes, cornucopias overflowing with harvest grain breads, surrounded by platters of pumpkin pie. But missing from this splendid meal is the iconic symbol of American culture, the roasted turkey. Instead of the centerpiece of the feast, browned to perfection by Grandma’s loving hands, a slab of soy tofurky stands in its place. This nauseating beige heap of processed bean product does more than just insult my appetite. Its very existence is an insult to American culture. How can this hunk of machine-made soy product compare to the valiant turkey, considered by Benjamin Franklin as a worthy national bird, proudly serving the American way of life even in death? Refusing to eat the flavorful flesh of roasted turkey is a blatant slap on the faces of our Founding Fathers. Vegetarianism is a disease. Originally manifesting itself in small numbers of people, this epidemic spread exponentially from one individual to another, rapidly wasting away the weak. This dreadful phenomenon has flourished until this point, as people refuse even, on the pain of death, to consume meat. But by no means do I disrespect those who abstain from meat for religious or medical purposes. Rather, I scorn those who are able to enjoy the pleasures of meat, but abstain for their own skewed reasoning. For us humans, meat is a natural part of life. Our ancient predecessors hunted wild game long before farming and gardening were even thought of. More so, our bodies are better conditioned for a meat-containing diet, rather than a pure produce regimen. The comparatively short length of our intestinal tract (only about eight times our height) is testament that our bodies specialize in quickly digesting meat proteins than diets consisting of grains and other vegetation, as the digestive systems of herbivores such as cows and horses, are nearly 20 times the length of their bodies. After all, humans are unable to process fiber and cellulose, key components in plant matter. Our teeth are coated with only minimal amounts of protective enamel, demonstrating how even our mouths are not adapted to eating mass amounts of vegetation. How can it be that these misguided vegans and vegetarians fail to realize that mankind was created to eat meat? Some argue that raising animals to be converted to food is “inhumane,” an overly sentimental approach. Rather, the mass production of fruits and vegetables is equally cruel. To create a lovely steak, a cow is born, raised, and then put to a quick end before it experiences the honor of being converted to meat. Vegetables and fruit, on the other hand, undergo the same process, created solely to die. However, while cattle and other animals meet swift demises before being eaten, vegetation does not have that luxury. These organisms are ripped from their rightful homes in the ground, and placed in facilities where they are insensitively manhandled before being sliced, boiled, fried, peeled, or simply bitten in half. All the while, alive. My own encounters with militant vegetarians have led me to my own reasonable conclusions. While you’re unhappily choking down a lettuce sandwich while preaching your corrupted, meatless lifestyle, I’ll be munching on my triple-stacked bacon steakhouse burger. And unless you somehow prove me wrong, just remember that for every animal you’re trying to save, I’ll eat four. After all, if cows, chickens, and pigs weren’t meant to be eaten, why are they made out of tasty meat?
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elestoque
December 18, 2008
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acloserlook
Our school is made of 2500 individuals, all with different personalities, interests, and quirks. Yet as different as we all are, it is important to remember that we are all
co nnected at the core 1
Junior Ashley Chen “First time I played piano, my left hand would be too loud, but then it balanced out musicunior club commissioner Ashley Chen is in wise,” Chen said. She has suffered inconveniences due to her good company with other left-handed leaders. In the past 30 years alone, U.S. presi- unusual talent. “Sometimes when I write [in a binder], I have dents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have had dominant left hands. Ameri- to take out the paper.” This prevents her hand from hitting the bindca’s future president will also be a lefty—Barack er rings, which can get in the way. Obama is left-handed as well. “For scissors I just flip [the scissors] or use my Being a lefty has come with some setbacks, right hand,” Chen said. especially when it comes to playing the piano.
by Sasha Degtyar
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As a lefty in basketball, Chen didn’t notice any particular advantage, though she did note that the ball spins differently while bowling with her left hand. Being a lefty has other advantages as well. “It is easier for me to fight for the remote control when we watch sports on television,” Chen said, “when the remote is on my left.”
Sasha Degtyar | El Estoque
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Freshman Kathy Kho
Freshman Edward Wang
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by Sasha Degtyar
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by Sasha Degtyar
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hile only about 10 percent of the world’s population is left-handed, freshman Kathy Kho is in good company. Famous lefthanded people include scientist and mathematician Albert Einstein, artist Michelangelo, and comedian Jon Stewart. They are considered to be more creative, though also more prone to stuttering and dyslexia. Kho insists that being left-handed is not a huge deal for her, and she doesn’t notice it much of the time. Though some are surprised when they find out, Kho maintains that being left-handed didn’t particularly matter to her. “People say, ‘Oh cool, you’re a lefty,’”
Sasha Degtyar | El Estoque
Kho said. For Kho, being left-handed hasn’t affected other aspects of her life much because she uses her right hand for other activities like sports. Kho’s case is not unusual: studies have shown that those who are left-handed aren’t always “left-sided.” Traditionally, left-handedness was cast out by society, with some cultures even beating it out of their children. The very word sinister comes from a Latin word meaning “left.” “My sister tried to teach me to use my right hand,” Kho said, but she shrugs it off as a childish whim.
Sarah McKee | El Estoque Photo Illustration; Sabrina Ghaus and Sarah McKee | El Estoque Page Design
reshman Edward Wang is a southpaw—the sports term for lefties. The term originated when lefty baseball pitchers would throw with the arm facing south, unlike the other pitchers. “[Being left-handed has] given me advantages. Like tennis, I play as a lefty,” Wang said. His opponents are thrown off when the ball goes in an unex-
Sasha Degtyar | El Estoque
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pected direction, giving him an edge on the court. Wang shares this characteristic with famous tennis player John McEnroe, winner of seven Grand Slams. Wang’s father made him write with his right hand, though he is used to it now. Now, Wang is relatively ambidextrous. For Wang, being left-handed does have some disadvantages. “Some scissors don’t work for me.”
Pull-out section
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acloserlook
S H V M o t w e n students 1
Sophomore Hye Hyon by Varshini Cherukupalli
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or most students, it’s quite daunting to move across the country in the span of a few years. For sophomore Hye Hyon, it’s really not that big of a deal. Hyon is far from a novice when it comes to relocation. From a young age, her life has been full of new places and new people. Born in Korea, Hyon moved to L.A. at the age of seven. A couple of years later, she moved to New Jersey and moved to Cupertino in middle school. Her dad’s job brought them to New Jersey yet again, and Hyon is now back in Cupertino for the time being. No matter how adept a student is at adjusting, transferring to a new high school in tenth grade can be challenging. Hyon sees many differences between her old high school in New Jersey and her school now, MVHS. “There’s definitely a lot more competition. And [MVHS] is really big—there
are many more people,” Hyon explained. Hyon attended Kennedy Middle School before she moved to New Jersey, so she is not entirely unfamiliar with the students at MVHS. Her social life has become relatively smooth, considering the fact that she moved back to Cupertino only a few months ago. Hyon feels that she is quite lucky to have a social network here because making new friends can be very overwhelming. Nevertheless, instead of moving, hopefully Hyon will stay put at MVHS.
Sophomore Justin Duong by Varshini Cherukupalli
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friend in need is a friend indeed—especially when that friend is your sibling. Sophomore Justin Duong moved last year from Albany, California to Cupertino. He already knew that he would have to rebuild his social and academic life from the ground up. However, Duong soon learned that this would be more difficult than he had anticipated. “At first, when I came to [MVHS], I disliked it to the max,” Duong said. “I was really brought down because nobody was that friendly.” Duong noticed the increased levels of “segregation”—cliques, in fact— which made it much harder to get to know people. He increasingly turned to
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his friends from his temple and to his older brother, senior Brennen Duong, for comfort. Brennen was facing similar challenges, so as a pair their friendship grew much stronger after transferring to MVHS. “My brother and I were always close, but [because of school], we hang out a lot more often now,” Justin said. Brennen motivated Justin to be more outgoing and have fun at their new school. Because of Brennen’s entertaining personality, Justin says that they were never bored and he started to enjoy attending MVHS. “If [Brennen] didn’t go to this school, then I wouldn’t have had anybody to talk or relate to,” Justin said. Together, Justin and Brennen gradually became accustomed to their new lives. Although Justin is settled into his niche here with many strong friends, he still admits that moving was not as easy as it seemed. “This school takes a lot more time to adjust to than other schools,” he said. Overall, Justin feels that he is lucky to have his brother to help him through. After all, two heads are always better than one.
Varshini Cherukupalli| El Estoque
Varshini Cherukupalli | El Estoque
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Junior Varsha Salunkhe
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Sarah McKee | El Estoque
Sarah McKee | El Estoque Photo Illustration; Jane Kim | El Estoque Page Design
xcept for its first two letters, Canada has hardly anything in common with California. That’s why junior Varsha Salunkhe did not immediately adjust to the Cupertino environment when she moved here last year. Salunkhe had lived in Canada her entire life, attending an all-girls private school in Ottawa. Her father, wishing to live in the “Land of Opportunity” and the California sunshine, decided to relocate last year when Salunkhe was a sophomore. “It was definitely hard moving here in the middle of high school because people had already made their friends,” Salunkhe said. “In Canada, people are more accepting and there’s a lot more diversity.” Moving from the capital city in another country entails quite a lot of acclimatization to the Cupertino surroundings.
Upon arriving here, Salunkhe could make out the differences between Ottawa and Cupertino quickly. “Ottawa is kind of like Washington [D.C.], with embassies and big buildings. So it’s really different from [the small-town feel of] Cupertino,” she said. Salunkhe admits that there are some benefits, even if shortlived, to being a new student from Canada. “I was really happy because people noticed me when I first came here, since I have a Canadian accent,” Salunkhe explained, “but it got annoying after awhile.” Since last year, Salunkhe has progressed much further, building solid friendships and adjusting to the competitive academics. However, if given the choice, Salunkhe says that she would definitely opt to move back to Canada. “I can’t really see a melting-pot community here,” Salunkhe said. “People are all the same. And Canada is my home.”
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• In the Zone 16 • Losing star players 17 • Need for speed 17 • Football players shave heads 17 •
HERO at heart by Sharanya Shankar
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hey all came. He came hobbling with his crutches. His sore biceps helped him up the cement hill and onto the upper field. She came limping with a clunky bag of ice, and stepped with her dusty worn Asics. The others, they came in full spirit as well, even if they couldn’t play. They all came, regardless of their physical conditions. The fall season is a busy season with championships and games. The football team is striving for a higher goal than usual this year, the volleyball team is trying to retain its status, and the water polo team is playing its hardest. Currently the girls tennis team and the girls field hockey team are healthy and in shape, while the other teams have some rest to take. “Athletes have a general obligation to the team as long as they are ‘on’ the team,” cross country coach Jeff Payne said. He believes that all athletes, no matter which sport, have an obligation to heal—for their team, if not for themselves. Blocked on an important kickoff return during a football game, football player senior Apoorva Pande twisted his meniscus. An essential part of his team, Pande was irked by the fact that he couldn’t physically contribute as much as he used to. “I still attend the practices and games, because being a part of this team means a lot to me... it’s already pretty much built in me to go to practice every day,” Pande said. Sitting on the sidelines isn’t an easy task for him. “Our varsity team is ridiculously small this year...every player counts,” Pande said. “Since I can’t participate, the rest of the team gets less breaks.” Although gravely injured, Pande puts his team first. His commitment to football remains as he is in the recovery stage of his injury. Pande plans to be back and playing by the Cupertino game on Nov. 14. Sophomore Ann Chang has a different dilemma on her legs. She was just peaking in her season when she felt a penetrating pain in her knee during the presti-
gious Stanford Invitational. Concerned, she consulted a doctor to find out that she had to rest for almost four weeks, a significant part of the season. “I love to come to practice every day, to be in the cross country atmosphere and see everyone after they run,” Chang said. Chang looks forward to cross country year round, and she refuses to let this injury separate her from her team. She tries to help out the team as much as she can, whether it’s cheering them on, or getting them water. She hopes to be back soon, so she can start conditioning for the next season. Despite paralyzing her right thumb for the umpteenth time, senior Matisse Yoshihara finds other ways to play volleyball, a sport close to her heart. Since freshman year, Yoshihara’s right thumb has regressively weakened—jamming, spraining, and tearing ligaments. Nonetheless, she comes back to play and cheer her team on. “It kind of sucks that I’ve worked so hard all these years and that all my efforts have culminated to senior year, to sit on the bench and be injured,” Yoshihara said. Yoshihara acknowledges that she is part of the team as well. “Sometimes I would get really upset just watching on the side...but it’s part of being a team. In games, I still wanted to be there because it’s important to just show that you care and to be a presence, even if that’s your only contribution,” Yoshihara said. Yoshihara’s team means everything to her. And though her injuries prevent her from playing, they will not stop her from spending time with her volleyball family. These athletes are not obligated to their team by coaches, parents, or teammates; they push themselves. Their team spirit overpowers their self-pity and physical condition. Their injury doesn’t separate them from the team; instead the word “team” brings them together. In the end, the athletes’ presence and passion inspires their teams to win.
SIDELINE SUPPORTER Senior Apoorva Pande sets up the football water trough during practice. Physical injuries don’t keep him from being a part of the team every day. Daniel Stenzel | El Estoque
Toughing it out stride by stride, step by step, breath by breath Cross country wins the hearts of countless former non-athletes who join the “no cuts” team by Brittany Hopkins
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f you aren’t already athletic, you can’t make the sports teams—at least that’s the general stereotype. But cross country is one sport that breaks this unspoken rule by including everyone through a “no cuts” system. By this method, any student who wants to participate can be on the team, no matter what his or her skill level is. Sophomore Yoko Kimura joined cross country due to the “no cuts” policy. “I never ran [outside of school] before freshman year,” Kimura said. “I’m not exactly one of the fastest runners.” Kimura swam on a swim team during middle school, but had never participated in any other sports. As she entered high school, Kimura wanted to try something different. She originally assumed that she would be joining the team alone, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that one of her good friends was also trying out. Like Kimura, junior Daniel Esparza did not spend much of his free time running before he joined the cross country team in tenth grade. He was not especially excited about the sport, but tried out anyway. “One of my friends at Saratoga [High School] was doing cross country and he said it was pretty fun. I figured I might as well try it,” Esparza said. “I needed the PE
credit as well.” According to Kimura, one unfortunate aspect of cross country is that many people take advantage of the “no cuts” system. She says that this is a large problem on the boys team. Sophomores, like Esparza, only join the team for the PE credit and quit after a year. The difference in Esparza’s case is that he stayed on the team his junior year because he realized that he actually enjoys cross country. “People come out here for various reasons, but some of the kids really attach to the sport,” cross country coach Jeff Payne said. “They find something meaningful to them and stick with it.” Such is the case with senior Melinda Chen who tried out for the team because a friend had recommended it. “I was never really a runner,” Chen said. “It was never really my idea to join.” Various students, like Chen, try out for the cross country team and appear to be satisfied even without being the best. With MVHS’ competitive reputation, this came as a pleasant surprise to Chen. “There’s not as much competition between the athletes to see who will make the team or not,” Chen said. “It gives the team more of a family atmosphere.” Though they may have joined the team for different reasons, the students form a close-knit group.
Christine Chang | El Estoque
LAST STRETCH Junior Dan Esparza finishes strong during District Championships on Oct 30. On the night of the Homecoming dance, other students went out to dinner with their friends. In contrast, Esparza not only ate dinner with his team, but also took a paid picture with them at the dance. Cross country may be a “no cut” sport, but Payne says that the athletes still try their best to improve. “We have a lot of kids that give a lot
of heart to the sport,” Payne said. “They’re mentally tough, they’re physically tough, they’re willing to work harder.” Although Kimura is not the best runner on the team, she recommends the sport to anyone who is thinking about trying out. “In the beginning, it’s always hard to start running,” Kimura said, “[but it is] a sport that anyone can do.”
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MOMENTS
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SEASON RECAPS
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“I’m late pretty much every day, so coach [Jeff] Thomas makes me run laps while everybody says my sister is better than me at football.” —freshman Israel Young, junior varsity football
November 12, 2008
ZONE 2
“One time my field hockey stick got stuck in my shorts, then I fell on the ground and my pants fell half-off.” —freshman Raelle Alfaro, junior varsity girls field hockey
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“One time during a game against Lynbrook, the other girl hit the ball really hard and I was up at the net, and it hit me in the arm. To make things worse, the whole thing was caught on tape. ” —senior Iliana Nguyen, varsity girls tennis
“During practice, coach made us all play with our left hands. So I accidentally assisted the ball off of my teammate sophomore Sonika Singh’s head.” —senior Molly Karleskind, varsity girls water polo
“During a race, I was wearing my shortshorts, but as I was running, my boxers started to fan out and sail behind me.” —junior Saurabh Rane, junior varsity cross country
“During our Nationals performance at Disneyland, I fell while doing an arabesque.” —junior Amber Myerholtz, varsity cheer
2 Varsity girls volleyball Junior Victoria Lee blocks a Wilcox hit, contributing to their 3-0 win at their senior night game on Nov. 4.
3 Varsity field hockey Junior Kaede Hamilton tries to take the ball out of Willow Glen’s hands on on Oct. 6. MVHS lost 2-6.
4 Varsity cross country Freshman Nandini Chitale races at the Earlybird Invitational meet at Toro park.
5 Varsity football Juniors Kalon Zandbergs and Brian Glazbrook tackle a Homestead player on Oct 31. MVHS lost 9-13.
by Derek Wong
by Derek Wong
by Kunal Bhan
by Kunal Bhan
by Kunal Bhan
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1 Varsity girls tennis Junior Sylvia Lam serves a a hit to her Saratoga opponents on Oct. 7. MVHS won 4-3. he girls tennis team has been living up to its tradition, finishing third in the De Anza Division, with an overall record of 10-3. However, the team has an intimidating reputation to fulfill, after the team placed first in the De Anza Division for the past five years. Nonetheless, the team has again qualified for the CCS tournament under the strong play of singles number one sophomore Sylvia Lee. “The girls had a solid year even though they placed third, considering that the De Anza League is just the best in California,“coach Gene Fortino said.
he varsity girls volleyball team had a strong season this year, finishing with a 10-2 record in the competitive division one El Camino League. Playing through debilitating ankle and knee injuries, the 14 athletic girls clinched second place in their league. Coach Colin Anderson remarked, “We really improved in hitting, passing, and our allaround game. We’re a really young team with only five seniors this year, but all our players are contributing and hitting well, even our shortest players.” They are expected to do well at CCS.
he varsity girls field hockey team ended a tough season at their game on Nov. 6 against Willow Glen. The team was defeated 2-6 at the end of a fierce match, leaving them with a winloss record of 3-9-2 at leagues The girls noted that despite their record, they bonded both on an off the field this season. They were said to have to most on-field communication this year. “Even though our win-loss record may not show it, we played off of each others’ strengths during the season,”sophomore Erin Chiu said.
he varsity cross country team ended their season on Nov. 4 at the De Anza League meet at Crystal Springs. The varsity boys team, led by junior Kranti Peddada, placed fourth, earning themselves a place in CCS, which will take place this Saturday, Nov. 15 at Crystal Springs again. Varsity girls, led by senior Jean Feng, placed third overall, thus qualifying for a spot at CCS as well. This victory adds on to a series of consecutive CCS qualifying races which the varsity cross country has done well in. The varsity teams will be training for CCS, hoping to win.
he varsity boys football team has had one of their strongest seasons, with a 7-1 record. The team maintained a perfect streak for the first seven games. However, their streak was broken on Oct. 31 in a game against Homestead High School, where MVHS lost by only four points. In spite of this upset, the team still maintained its morale, playing hard in the final games and striving for CCS. Senior Justin Rahn, the team’s quarterback, has been instrumental in games. After suffering a major 48-0 defeat, the team has a small chance for CCS.
FALLSNAPSHOT Freshman Amrita Mohan used to say ”sorry” so often that that her team made a rule forbidding her from saying that. She still says it, though.
Before every football game, senior Nick Tong wears a skin-tight Kennedy Middle School cheer shirt under his gear for good luck.
Senior Linda Guo is nicknamed “Bendy Lindy” by her closest school friends because they are amazed by how flexible she is.
Junior Alexis Weckel is usually considered very quiet by her friends. However, after eating anything sugary, she, according to senior Shefali Agrawal, “bounces off the ceiling.”
When junior Varsha Salunkhe is caught in an awkward moment or an uncomfortable situation, she begins to laugh uncontrollably, even when nothing is funny.
After a big race, sophomore Aman Singh gets such a runners high that he feels compelled to hug people. He also likes to receive hugs.
“I was practicing my passes by bouncing the ball off the poolside, but it came back and hit my head. “ —junior Andrew Stewart, varsity boys water polo “During practice, sophomore Josh Migleart hurdled me while I tried to tackle him, and coach couldn’t stop laughing after a 260 pound noseguard jumped over me.” —freshman Nathan Frost, junior varsity football
Kunal Bhan, Christian Fatoohi, Varada Gavaskar, Dipika Shrihari, Derek Wong, and Natalie Wong | El Estoque
elestoque Going bare for Homestead November 12, 2008
sports
DIPIKASHRIHARI
Varsity football team shaves heads in the spirit of team bonding
Inside Out
by Dipika Shrihari
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bout 30 shaved heads ran around on the football field, masked under helmets, of course. On Oct. 30, when the Varsity football team had their team dinner at senior Max Ratkovich’s house before the Homestead game, they decided to shave their heads. This game against Homestead served as the deciding game of the team’s future. If they won, they guaranteed a spot in this year’s CCS. If they lost, their chances would be up in the air. The team wanted to do something enjoyable before their big game, and they felt that going bald or sporting mohawks would be a fun way to do so. “We shaved our heads more for fun than anything,” Ratkovich said. “We wanted to play a game to remember, but it was disappointing in the end.” The team suffered a bitter 13-9 loss. With about 30 team members shaving their heads, the idea of team bonding was captured in the spirit of their new hair cuts. “We wanted to look more united. We kind of stick together,” senior Jay Voigt said. “By having a mohwak or shaved head it’s like we’re all the same. We’re all from the same team.” Voigt paralleled the idea of shaving their heads to what is done in the military. By looking uniform, he said that the team is like an army where
Need for speed
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Dipika Shrihari | El Estoque
CATCH THIS Senior Aaron Turner practices on the upper field on Nov. 6, sporting his new mohawk as a part of the team’s bonding and morale-boosting activity. everybody feels a sense of belonging. However, while some people took shaving their heads lightly, others shaved their heads with a more serious and deeper purpose. “It was basically for intimidation factor [against Homestead],” senior Apoorva Pande said. “Last year, we beat them in overtime and it didn’t count. So this year we had to show them that we were better than them. This was just kind of a way to psych up for the game.”
This form of intimidation affected not only the Homestead team, but also surprised the MVHS parents. Voigt did not tell his parents about shaving his head. Instead, he went home wearing a hat. The first time they saw him was right before the game during senior pictures. “It was a funny story,” Voigt said. “My dad was speechless and my mom was like, ‘It’s okay. We still love you.’” Pande offered that the team’s idea of shaving their heads was definitely a way to show their
dedication and loyalty to the team. Although they have never shaved their heads in the past, the most radical thing they have done in the name of fun, according to Voigt, is wearing their jerseys to school. “I think that [shaving our heads] helped us more than it hurt us. It got us more excited and everybody wanted to play a little harder,” Ratkovich said. “This might possibly be a new tradition.”
Sports teams recover after losing star players
Many athletic teams struggle to find substitute players to compete by Mansi Pathak
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hey’re better, faster, and stronger. They come and go and, in many cases, lead their team to success. The senior players contribute a lot to MVHS sports teams, and every year they leave, leaving other players the responsibility to take their place. However, some years, the seniors seem to be irreplaceable. The Class of 2008 contributed many powerful players. The boys varsity water polo team, for example, lost four of their strongest players, one of them was the team’s only goalie. There are currently only two seniors on the team this year. Junior Andrew Stewart recalls the scramble to find a goalie, considering last year’s was “one of the best in CCS.” “Our starting goalie had a little experience, but he got injured early [in the season],” Stewart said. “One of our field players with no previous experience had to play goalie. He deserves a lot of credit for step-
ping up to the challenge.” Girls varsity field hockey has had to work extra hard this season to make up for the loss of their key players. The girls started off losing against Cupertino, twice against Presentation, and tying their game against Westmont. “Each time a player leaves, there is a hole on the team that must be filled,” junior varsity coach Cheryl Blatt said. Blatt agrees that while it is hard to fill their shoes, it is far from impossible. She hopes the girls can keep a positive morale and use their losses to excel to their best ability. According to Stewart, many of the teams MVHS plays are made up mainly of seniors, so not having many seniors this year has put MVHS at a definite disadvantage. Last year, the boys varsity water polo team easily made it to CCS; however this year, Stewart sees it as a challenge. “Seniors have more experience on the team and are usually bigger than the juniors and sophomores,” Stewart said.
As of this year, the water polo team has incorporated morning practices into their already strenuous practices. Though tiring, the morning practices provide the boys an additional hour and a half of practice. As the softball team prepares for their next season, they too struggle to replace last year’s players. Sophomore Lucia Lin describes her ex-teammates as role models for the rest of the team. “The seniors last year played amazing games and their determination carried the team to CCS,” Lin said. “They drove us all to do as well as we did.” Lin knows that the team is going to need a lot of energy and hard work to make the next season successful. Many athletes, like varsity water polo player sophomore Alex Bagdasarian, do not see last year’s seniors as the team’s essential players, but simply as encouraging teammates. “The [Class of 2008] definitely made practice fun,” Bagdasarian said. “But [losing them] doesn’t keep us from working even harder.” Junior Suzanne Stern is optimistic for the end of the girls varsity field hockey team’s season, and believes there is little correlation between losing both games and key players this season. The team has been improving their teamwork and preparing for a strong end to the season. “The seniors last year didn’t win games for us,” Stern said. “Everyone contributed to our success.”
have a need for speed. Despite the fact that the fastest horses are found at the track, I found Molly by the sea shore. As I stood in line waiting to be given a horse, I prayed that I would end up riding one of those majestic sun-kissed stallions, like the kind you see in Disney movies. Meeting Molly was a letdown. She was grayish brown and looked as though she was worn out from racing at the track. When I tried to pet her mane, she snarled at me. “I didn’t do anything!” I wanted to yell in anger. As I watched the other potential jockeys waiting in the same line, I realized that this other girl and I were the only two people of about 20 others who had no previous horseback riding experience. To kindly rub it in, the woman whose horse was next to me began to tell me all about how she owned a farm many years ago and had been horse racing all her life. In my head, I silently cursed her good fortune and wished I had a solid riding background like her. My deeply suppressed competitiveness kicked in, urging me forward. Unaccustomed adrenaline pounded through my veins. Despite the fact that I was scared that Molly would buck me off her back any minute, I was determined to be ahead of the group and prove myself among the real horseback riding champions. It was supposed to be “a fun and casual trot across the farms and beaches.” Although nobody else in the group was aware of it, it was a race. While the others laughed and chatted while the guide got ready, my eyes narrowed and I got my game face on, gritting my teeth and tightening my grip on the leather reins. My first course of action was something that most of the others had already done: mount my horse. I looked at Molly, whose eyes were cast sideways in a look of unconcerned boredom. I craved a need for speed and surged with the sort of intensity that only seasoned NASCAR driver Erwin “Cannonball” Baker was thought to possess, though Molly only wanted to eat hay. On the way to the beach, Molly lounged around the back of the group, occasionally exchanging conversational “nays” with her fellow horses. I was so overcome with frustration that I wanted to jump off my goodfor-nothing horsey and drag her to the front of the riding group. As we descended the bedrock to the shimmering sea of sand, something sparked alight inside Molly, her drowsy eyes sprung wide open in startling excitement and she almost jerked me off her back. Molly’s ironcloven hooves beat the moistened sand at a faster and faster rate as she began to depart from a comfortable trot to a full-on gallop The gray horse, well beyond its prime racing age, raced ahead of all the other horses. If this was a real horse race, those who bet on the other horses would have owed me millions. She splashed through the slushy sandwater and sent chills up my bony spine. Unprepared for such an unexpected turn of events, I was almost bucked off. I was scared that boring Molly had gone crazy. She would have made an amazing race horse, but she was too much for inexperienced riders. By the end of my time with Molly, I was completely shaken awed by her. The beach was Molly’s inspiration, and she was mine. We finished in first place at the end of the trail and I glowed with pride. Molly and I were meant to race.
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elestoque
November 12, 2008
Job Shadow
Monday, February 2, 2009
Don’t miss out. Here’s your chance to see your favorite job first hand! Talk to the professionals and see what it’s really all about.
Registration: December 1-December 22 Sign up at: www.montavistapta.org/jobshadow
“I got a chance to visit Russell Leong Design, a graphic design company. In the end we even got to try designing some logos ourselves and they gave us practical critiques. It was an enlightening experience in a fun, comfortable environment.” – Evelyn Shaw, Class of 2008 MVHS students shadowed Cisco Systems, Inc. on Job Shadow Day in 2008.
Other hosts include: Campbell Millard McCollam Elementary School Optometrist - Teresa Lui NF Wealth Dr. Clifford Marks Current junior Albert Tseung gears up for a tour of Qualcomm for Job Shadow Day on Feb. 2, 2007.
Cat Hospital
“At Graniterock, we got hands on experience in designing buildings and got to see the actual blueprints of a highway construction project. In addition, we took a trip to an actual construction site, during which we wore hard hats, vests, and sunglasses, which we got to keep.” – Connie Wu, Class of 2009
...and many more!
entertainment 19 • La Pluma on its way 20 • Drama goes online 22 • Capturing Laura Plouse 23 •
Correct bra fit vital for girls
by Patty Chao
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Specialist Sue Barnheart said. lthough bra fitting is not the typical Sunday activity, sophomore In her five years at the job, Barnheart says younger women, especially Nicole Yuen and senior Alice Du were persuaded to give it a try. teenagers, usually make the mistake at the band; they tend to wear bras When a specialist at Nordstrom asked who would like to be fitted with bands that are too small or tight. Also, sometimes bras stretch out, first, both exchanged hesitant looks, laughing. Contrary to popular belief, so girls don’t know their size is going or has gone no disrobing was required. up. Because girls can change very rapidly, Barn“I thought it’d be awkward, like at a doctor’s the wrong fit heart recommends a fitting every six months, just office, where they make you take everything The band is too small if... to make sure. off,” Yuen said. the front of your bra rides up when you raise However, each store’s fit is unique to its prodMost girls don’t discuss their bras in public, your arms over your head. ucts, so the sizing may vary at different stores. A much less with complete strangers. However, fitting at Victoria’s Secret suggested different sizes when it comes to buying them, experts believe The band is too large if... for both Yuen and Du. some advice should be taken. After all, shopyour bra straps keep sliding off your shoulFor Du, both the cup and band varied by two ping for bras is simply another necessity. ders even after constant readjustment. sizes, even though the bra fit was exactly the All the same, deciding on a bra takes more same. This is because each increase in band size than a mere glance. How many know exactly The cup is too small if... and decrease in cup size is equal to the original what they should be buying? Both Nordstrom there is uncomfortable pressure at the side of bra. For example, a size 32C bra fits the same as a and Victoria’s Secret cite the national statistic the ribs where the band is connected to the 34B and a 36A. that 80 percent of women are not wearing the cup. “It only takes, like, two minutes,” Du said. “You correct bra size. However, in Nordstrom Bra may as well get fitted at whichever store you’re Specialist Marina Curran’s experience, it has The cup is too large if... getting the bra from.” been 99 percent. there is a lip, or gap between the tops of the For some, it may still seem uncomfortable to “Very rarely, I’ll get that one girl who has it bra and your skin. get measured in a public area. While VictoriasSeright,” Curran said. cret.com offers a step-by-step guide for an atCurran, who has worked in her position for home fitting, Curran says measuring yourself can 10 years, had to pass a test in order to become be harder and inaccurate. a certified fitting specialist. She was put through a training program with “You can get a general idea, but specialists also take into account the others seeking the same job; it was not an overnight process. shape of the body, which cannot be measured and matched to a chart,” After Yuen and Du entered the lingerie section at Nordstrom, a lady Curran said. around her early 30s immediately asked if she could help; every worker In the end, a bra should still always be tried on in order to determine in the lingerie department has been trained to fit bras. For the fitting, which one is most comfortable. After fitting at both Nordstrom and Victothe specialist only asked Yuen to lift her shirt so that she could wrap the ria’s Secret, Yuen and Du would recommend for others to do the same. measuring tape around her ribs, just below the bra. “It’s eye opening,” Yuen said. “I never realized I wasn’t wearing the cor“The wrong bra can be uncomfortable and has the tendency to cause rect size, and a lot of girls probably don’t know it either.” a lot of trouble, such as riding up and being a hassle,” Victoria’s Secret Bra
Members only: Sheep-summoning supernaturals not allowed Roleplaying Club offers an imaginative escape for members to create stories of their own by Alice Lee
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our students huddled around a sheet of binder paper, blank, save for a scribble of notes in the center. Arrows and lines crisscrossed the page, short, illegible details scribbled on the side. The letter A sat atop of the jumble of words, and an arrow coming out of it pointed to another letter below, D. To those unfamiliar with the art of roleplaying, it was simply a jumble of words and random letters; yet for freshman Wells Santo and seniors Erica Cei and Lisa Chen, the mismatch of scribbles made perfect sense. “I think the game should start with the... not main character,” Santo said, gesturing to the letter A. With the tip of her pencil, Cei traced the outline of the arrow in the air. “The character’s going to die so we wanted to make secondary main characters so that when the main character dies the other two can become the main characters,” she said, tapping the pencil to the letter D. “No, you must start with the main character,” Lisa said. “You can’t not have the main character die in any game.” At the roleplaying club’s weekly Tuesday lunch meeting on Oct. 21, Melinda, Cei, Santo, and the rest of the club were mapping out the plot and setting of the
club’s latest project, a computer game to be presented at the Festival of the Arts event in May. Melinda founded the group her sophomore year after having been exposed to both console and forum-based roleplaying the prior year. Roleplaying is an activity in which players are assigned characters in a specific setting, and then act out actions of those characters in that scene. Scenarios that Melinda and Cei have participated in range from playing a group of students in a Harry Potter and Hogwartsesque setting to pupils attending an institution the equivalent of Stanford University on a Mars-bound spaceship. “If you think about it, roleplaying is a way to put yourself in someone different’s shoes,” Melinda said. “You can do stuff that isn’t always realistic and it’s fun to see what people can come up with.” The most unrealistic, “crazy” character Melinda and Cei have seen is a pink-haired fairy in one of the roleplaying club’s liveaction (in person) roleplays. This fairy had the ability to conjure sheep out of thin air, and spinning sheep filled the scene of the fictional scenario. In that particular example, the club had hosted a sample forum to help introduce the very concept of roleplaying to new members.
“A lot of people going into the club don’t know how to roleplay, so the officers posted what to do and what not to do,” Melinda said. In the example of the sheep-conjuring, pinkhaired wizard, it was definitely a roleplaying-don’t. “That’s not realistic; that’s not good character development,” Cei said. Cei, who also serves as the club’s social manager, began after being introduced by a friend who was familiar with the roleplaying club in GAMES Freshman Julie Qi, senior Melinda Chen, and her junior year. junior Ben Juang play a game of Munchkins on Oct. 21. When it first started, the roleplaying club’s main project was a scene project at last year’s Festival of the Arts in in which characters lived on two contithe form of a board game. This year, they nents that were part of the same nation. look forward to creating a console computEach continent had its own political party er-based game to present at the same event, and the nation was in a situation akin to and they spend their meetings organizing the Civil War and each player acted as a this project in addition to roleplaying. government official. “It’s the same reason why people write “Players got to make decisions on things stories. You create plot, actions, and a set like whether or not to spend more money of characters,” Cei said. “With roleplaying, on improving morale, or to expand the na- you control one character and the actions tion,” Cei said. of others shape the plot. It’s like improvisaThe roleplaying club presented this tional story telling.”
November 12, 2008 elestoque 20 ‘La Pluma’ is mightier than the sword entertainment
Published Writers complete their first student-run, student-written literary magazine literally write any style of story you want,” Jammu said. “There’s no set assionate about community rules for anything.” service? Great! Join Interact. This creative freedom and the Passionate about business? chance to explore different types of Great! Join DECA. Passionate about writing styles was what prompted creative writing? many students to join Published Uh-oh. MVHS, we have a probWriters in the first place. lem here. “I was kind of curious about how This was the dilemma that juit would work,” club member and niors Somel Jammu and Kanwaljunior Katherine Lu said. “[Since] roop Singh faced last school year it was creative writing, would we as they set out to further pursue have to all choose a different topic their passion for creative writing. and write a piece on it, or would we Realizing the need for a writing all write about the same thing?” club on campus, the two decided In the end, the club members to start their own organization, MV decided to stick to the same general Published Writers. theme but focused on interpreting “Our original goal for the club it in their own way. The result is a was to publish a book where [stuliterary magazine brimming with dents] could write about all sorts creativity and presenting a neverof things, not [necessarily] personbefore seen type of publication al [items],” Jammu said. to MVHS students. The Published This goal eventually changed Writers hope that this first issue, set when Jammu and Singh realized to come out near the end of Novemhow difficult it would be to comber, after the collection of $1500 Vijeta Tandon | El Estoque pile pieces written by high school through vigorous fundraising efPOWER OF THE PEN Juniors Somel Jammu and Katherine Lu edit new literary magazine, “La Pluma.” students into a book. They would forts, will encourage more people to have to send the compiled book to a pub- zine instead. The pieces in the magazine a variety of genres, including short stories, join the organization. lishing company who would accept it, and would be centered around an overarching poems, creative pieces, and nonfiction nar“[I hope] lots of people will submit stothen go through multiple edits in order for theme. The theme for this first issue of “La ratives. The works have then been com- ries, wanting to get published,” English the book to get published. piled as a literary magazine with graphics teacher and Published Writers advisor Pluma” is “Storming of the Brain.” Following the advice of their family Drawing their inspiration from this and artwork. Stephanie Platte said. “I really hope it raises and friends, the two decided to change the phrase, a total of eight student writers have “What makes [La Pluma] so different a huge interest and everyone reads it. It’d club’s focus to publishing a literary maga- written nine literary pieces. The works span from [other publications] is that you can be awesome!”
by Vijeta Tandon
P
Stepping it up: Students bring new moves to the dance scene The raas-garba team spreads knowledge of social Indian dance form to student body by Laura Wenus
S
enior Teresa Vellaringattu skipped out onto the rally court’s damp bricks and began to mark the steps of a short tryout routine. “We’re gonna dance in the rain? Let’s do it!” Vellaringattu said. She quickly and gracefully twirled their footand-half-long wooden dandiya through the air in time with the music. As the afternoon wore on, slowly the number of hopefuls she led in the steps increased. The dandiya sticks are used in raas, often in a complex pattern of rhythmic unison among two lines of dancers whose sticks meet in time to the music in patterns of either twelve or five beats. Garba involves more hand motions and does not make use of the dandiya. In general, raas-garba is associated with the festival Navrati, around the same time as Diwali, around the months of September and October. The dance is generally done in temples and halls, though the team is planning to perform their combination of raas and garba dances at school events like Diversity Week, alongside other less traditional, less folk-
dance groups like Bhangra. Vellaringattu is one of five executive team members who held tryouts for the new dance group. This was their second attempt, said senior Nehali Mehta, another executive, since last year’s tryouts did not seem to yield committed team members. Junior year stress and SAT’s took their toll on potential dancers, but this year, a senior’s schedule and more widespread enthusiasm may make the team a reality. According to junior Sejal Mistry, last year’s team lacked an adviser, a post English teacher Stacey McCown has agreed to take this year. The raas dance and garba dance are slightly different dance styles, but this dance team will practice a fusion of the two. Part of the reason for last year’s dwindling numbers of prospective team members, Mehta explained, could have been the competition from the wildly popular Bhangra team. This year there is more enthusiasm. “People enjoy [dancing] it,” Mistry said. She, along with her sister Swaroop, has been practicing the dance form for around nine years. “It’s really smooth… It’s a really graceful dance.
Laura Wenus | El Estoque
MIRROR IMAGE On Nov. 7, juniors Sejal and Swaroop Mistry practiced raas-garba, an Indian style of dance involving decorated sticks, which has made its appearance on campus this year.
elestoque 21 Med drama: one dose a week entertainment
November 12, 2008 STEFANBALL
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ offers educational value along with entertainment
BRIT WIT
Introspective I hate politics
Photographs from abc.go.com
NO FATALTIES The characters of “Grey’s” weave through their complicated lives with minimum casualties every Thursday at 9 p.m.
I’m a video game expert because I’ve been playing “Pokémon” and “Tetris” since they came out. I play video games almost every day. I like role-playing games because they have a plotline. It’s really easy to get into the game and it’s really addicting! I don’t like games that are based off of books or TV shows because I already know their plotline, so it’s not as original.
I’m a video game expert since I have been gaming for so long. I know what makes a game good and have written many reviews for sites like Games FAQ. I like real-time strategy games, but I also play lots of shooter turn-based strategy games. They’re very appealing to me because of the micromanagement and simulation involved. I don’t like games based off of movies; they’re usually total disasters. I can only stand 10 minutes of the game.
Jay Boinapalli
freshman
Christina Lee
We spend hours in front of the TV screen, trying to get to the next level. We want to know all the little tricks of the video game world, according to...
sophomore
WE WANT TO KNOW
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY.
our health. Teachers now have a new medium to convey their lessons. And fans have a reason (or an excuse) to spend their Thursday nights catching up on the lives of “Grey’s Anatomy” characters. Another survey conducted jointly by Junior Achievement Worldwide and Verizon revealed that “doctor” is the top dream profession among teenage girls. Although there is no direct proof, many suspect that the reason is due to an increase in primetime viewership of “Grey’s Anatomy.” If this trend is true, it is frightening to many experts, since the lives of the doctors in “Grey’s Anatomy” is often embellished. Senior Jen Wong agrees that “Grey’s Anatomy” does not offer a realistic portrayal of the lives of professional medical doctors. “[‘Grey’s Anatomy’] is like a soap opera during primetime,” senior Jen Wong said, after she watched the series. “It’s heightened reality.” But senior Amruta Patil believes that “Grey’s” motivates her to pursue a career in the health field. “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” Patil said. “But Grey’s kind of hyped me up more. I watch the medical parts, but I think the injuries are often exaggerated.” “Grey’s” is a great medical drama to snuggle up with every Thursday night for an hour. Set around realistic medical cases, it offers the necessary drama to escape from the stresses of life as well as education about health, without the exaggeration typical of most primetimes.
senior
“G
rey’s Anatomy” connects two polar opposites: education, and primetime. Seriously. Not only do swarms of fans tune in every Thursday to catch up on the love lives (and, of course, the professional lives) of the doctors at Seattle Grace, the educational value of “Grey’s” is beginning to shine— to the delight of fans who feel cozy when they hear the theme song. After an underdeveloped fourth season, season five introduces new characters to move the plot and increase the medical coverage. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), the halfsister of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) who has a photographic memory and is a Harvard graduate, was not fully developed in season four. George O’Malley, portrayed by T. R. Knight passes his intern’s exam, with the help of Lexie, but he does not appreciate her enough. Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh, meanwhile is clearly developing an interest in a new trauma surgeon, Major Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). Hunt pulls an icicle out from Cristina’s chest and staples his own wound together in front of her—without anesthesia. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) officially begins a relationship with orthopedics resident Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), but her role in the show is cut after only a few episodes. “Grey’s Anatomy” offers much entertainment for fans, who quickly
develop a compulsion to find out what happens to their favorite doctors prior to episode airings. “I think the drama is what attracts fans most,” sophomore Alex Chin said. “It makes you want to keep watching and find out what happens next.” A new study published by Kaiser Family Foundation asserts that the “Grey’s” audience picks up on the medical talk during the show. In the experiment, medical researchers inserted a medical fact into the show, with the help of the producers, and surveyed viewers to see how many remembered the idea after the show ended. The scene used is when Katherine Heigl’s character tells a mother with HIV that she has a 98 percent chance of giving birth to a HIV-free child if she takes her medications responsibly. She also adds that there is a greater chance of her child being born with Down Syndrome than with HIV. According to the study, a substantial amount of viewers who didn’t know that HIV-positive mothers could give birth to HIV-free children remembered that even several weeks after that episode. Viewers also recalled the statistics in the script. More studies are still in progress, but these statistics are shining the light on a new type of TV show, one that is entertaining and popular, yet contains priceless health educational value. This is a positive for everyone alike. Parents can rest assured that teens are picking up important information about
Kyle Ju
by Jonathan Chan
I’m a video game expert since I play video games practically every day for at least two hours. I’m interested in a lot of different types of games. I like action and adventure games because they generally have a great story. I also like multiplayer games. I don’t like sports video games because I’d rather play the sport in real life.
I am exhausted with the election and all the baggage that comes with it: the arguments, the boring newscasts, the ignorant band-wagon-hopping supporters. I’m tired of all the biased information sources, making it so that I couldn’t form a legitimate opinion even if I wanted to. It’s all just too much. I don’t know what to think, what is right and what is wrong, and which skeletons in the candidates’ closets are plastic and which are bone. It’s too much for my little brain to handle, and this is why at the end of the day I choose to occupy my mind not with whether or not we’ve set ourselves up for debt and socialism, but with my newly rediscovered Tamagatchi pet. I also occupy my mind with my misunderstood obsession of Volvo wagons, and whether or not I’d rather own a Volvo wagon or a VW Caddy, a car-based pick-up of the early 80s. My mind can handle that. I don’t want to think about politics. But pretend you didn’t read this, because if you all stop thinking about politics, I won’t have an excuse to really not care.
Crutching catastrophe
I have recently discovered walking next to people on crutches is a little bit of a liability. I was pretty lucky to escape unscathed from my injured friend. But it wasn’t his fault because all crutch-wielding hallway walkers are an imminent threat to our health and safety. As I was walking by my friend I had to not only suffer the stress of whether or not he might, at any unknown moment, trip down the stairs and break his face, but also whether his crutches might trip me and lead to my personal face-breakage. Of course, there was also the threat of crutch to crotch contact, and then I wouldn’t much mind the broken face. Walking on flat terra firma I was equally worried about falling overboard from my stable, straight, two-legged walking capacity, because he was now in full motion and extremely dangerous. Maybe injured students need reflectors, or horns, or indicators—anything to stop me from having to borrow the crutches.
Don’t walk toward me
What do you do when you’re meeting someone, and you find yourself walking towards them? It’s the pinnacle of awkwardness. A smile usually comes first, but it’s generally slightly awkward, because there is an impulse to add a wave and say hello. Waving doesn’t ever really go down smoothly, let’s be honest, and I’m generally too far away to do anything verbal, unless I go ahead and shout, “Hello! What’s up?” across the rally court. I could run, and put the awkwardness behind me quickly, maybe even sprint. But then I’d feel awkward because they’d be looking at me. Everything feels awkward, walking feels unnatural if somebody watches you do it. Goodbye to un-awkward hellos.
Ah, muscle pain
I played countless straight games of baseball last Saturday night. I won about half of them, my opponent most definitely formidable. They struck me out numerous times, throwing wild 90 mph or faster fastballs straight by me. I buried my enemy right into the pitcher’s mound a few times, winning a grueling yet satisfying—I ran through my batting order nearly twice in one inning—2 runs to three game. Then I turned off my Wii and went to bed, but the next day my arm still felt like I’d batted 500 games and torn a few ligaments in the painful process.
November 12, 2008 elestoque 22 A barista, a swim coach, and a locksmith entertainment
Students avoid common teenage jobs to gain different work experiences for their futures by Jane Kim
I
n “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” actress Amber Tamblyn portrays a teenage girl with a less than appealing job at a local department store, Wallman’s. However, not all teens have to settle for jobs flipping burgers and asking, “Would you like fries with that?” Although most teenagers believe otherwise, it is possible to
find a job that won’t put you to sleep and provides job experience colleges are looking for. Many students break the stereotype and know what it is like to have both an interesting and rewarding job. Junior Naicheng Wangyu works at a company called Street Keys, a small online company that cuts keys for people. “[Street Keys] takes the identification number on the window of a car,” Wangyu
Kevin Wu | El Estoque
GRINDING COFFEE Senior Zeba Naqvi greets a customer and takes her order on Nov. 2 at her workplace, It’s A Grind.
said. “Then we convert the number into a code and cut the key for the customer.” Wangyu mostly processes orders, but he also aids the company in other ways. “I helped come up with a marketing scheme, and I helped design the advertisements,” Wangyu said. “It’s really unique because I get to use some of the stuff I learned in Business class from the first two years [at MVHS].” Before Wangyu got his job at Street Keys, he searched around, hoping not to fall into a “cliché” teenager’s job. But after searching for awhile and not finding anything, Wangyu turned to some new methods of job hunting “I put my resume on Craigslist and I actually got three job offers,” Wangyu said. The two offers were on opposite ends of the spectrum, a high-tech company that took back its offer once realizing Wangyu’s high school status, and the other was an offer to move boxes on Saturdays and Sundays. Thus he took the third offer, ending up at Street Keys. “I feel like I save so many people’s day,” Wangyu said. “Because at the end, the customers are like, ‘Wow, you just let me open my car.’” But it’s not only Wangyu that benefits from a job he enjoys. Junior Shunei Asao, took a lifeguard and swim coach job over the summer for DACA and plans to resume coaching next year. “I’m a lifeguard half the time,” Asao said. “I teach kids ages 4 to 12 how to swim.” Asao once saved a boy from drowning.
“I didn’t know he was drowning,” Asao said. “I thought he was just playing around until someone said, ‘Hey dude, go!’” Asao’s coaching job with children lets him receive as much as he gives in forms besides money. “When you teach the kids, they are so nice and appreciative of everything you do for them,” Asao said. “There is this feeling of accomplishment.” The rewards that both Asao and Wangyu take from their jobs are worth much more than the paycheck. Senior Zeba Naqvi, who works as a barista at It’s a Grind, values the new experiences she takes from her job. “Before I worked I didn’t talk to strangers that much,” Naqvi said. “But now I feel like it’s helped me talk to anyone.” To Naqvi the job means more than the money or the experience to put on her college application. “Now I can interact with more people,” Naqvi said. “All in all, the reward is that I’ve built new relationships.” Like Asao and Wangyu, Naqvi has also received something valuable from her job. “I feel like I’ve become stronger,” she said. “And my time management skills have become better now just because I got a job.” Although Naqvi isn’t completely there yet, she feels she is ready for the future. “I’m still in the process of managing my time right now, but it’s getting a lot better,” Naqvi said. “I think it will help me in college because I have work experience ahead of time.”
Drama launches new online ticket system to help fill the seats International Thespian Society publicizes on the Internet in hope of selling more play tickets in the district. But this school year has seen change. In addition to selling tickets through the old-fashioned boxumor has it that 21st century Salem witches are on office method, drama teacher Holly Cornelison decided to the prowl, slinking through hallways and scuttling implement a new ticketing system online. The online sysup and down the stairs of our camtem has expanded the scope of popus buildings. Except this time, the witches tential audiences, as people beyond the crucible have upgraded their conspiracy milieu from the local vicinity now benefit from a creepy forest clearing to a contemporary easy access to tickets. In addition, it Presented by MVHS Drama Black Box. And instead of casting spells of allows ticket-buyers to reserve seats Where: Helena Theater witchcraft, they’re conjuring the minds and ahead of time. When: 7:30 p.m. on: spirits of Bay Area residents—with the help “We were really surprised how •Fridays, Nov. 7 and 14 •Saturdays, Nov. 8 and 15 of a modish new gadget called the Internet. well it worked,” ITS co-president During an International Thespian Soand senior Emily Williams said. Tickets may be purchased ciety meeting last year, a board of drama “We’ve gotten orders from people online at http://www.seatymembers set a new goal—to inspire the who work in San Jose, or even farourself.biz/montavista beauty of drama in more people, to open ther places. It’s definitely helped us Helena Theater’s stage curtains and see the in opening up to the public.” auditorium seats filled by people from beCornelison also registered Drama yond MVHS. And when the drama department performs its to be included on an online search engine that compiles version of “The Crucible” this month, that is exactly what upcoming Silicon Valley entertainment events, including they hope to accomplish. theatre. “The Crucible” is listed under an archive of plays In past years, the lines of people waiting to purchase premiering in the near future. play tickets consisted mainly of the usual mob of students “People who don’t even go to MVHS and randomly eager to gain a few extra credit points, parents of cast mem- decide ‘Hey, let’s watch a play this weekend’ can actually bers, and occasionally drama students from other schools search for us on this website,” Cornelison said. “It makes
by Christine Chang
R
Daniel Stenzel | El Estoque
HOW IT WORKS Senior Emily Williams explains the different features of the online ticketing system on Nov. 5. things a lot easier.” So when Drama performs “The Crucible” in Helena Theater this week, the only witches of the scene will be up on stage playing a part of the cast. But hopefully the Internet magic will work all the same, and the auditorium seats will be filled with people from beyond MVHS, people from all over the Bay Area.
entertainment elestoque 23 Expression through black and white November 12, 2008
Photographer creates complex manipulated self-portraits as a reflection of human life by Daniel Stenzel
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CAPTURE THE SHOT Junior Laura Plouse stands in the photography room (upper top), Plouse’s photography pieces (right) include a broken down barbie doll self portrait and an abstract piece (top).
Daniel Stenzel | El Estoque
unior Laura Plouse has long enjoyed living in the darkness—of the photography classroom’s darkroom that is. Unlike students who take drawing classes or music lessons over the years to build up their skills in their respective art form, Plouse just sort of fell into photography. “Last year I was in Photo 1, and I just started out as a normal student, but then I became really obsessed with it,” Plouse said. Her interest sparked around the time the class began shooting portrait photography, which has come to be her dominant style. “I pretty much try to reflect what I see in people—kind of get their essence in a photograph,” Plouse said. “I do a lot of self-portraits now, too, because it’s not always convenient for me to find people to take pictures of.” Although they are self-portraits, many of Plouse’s pieces have been manipulated through darkroom processes to the point where it’s hard to recognize her in them. One picture hangs on the wall of the photography classroom with all of the facial features darkened into a sort of hazy muddle, except for the eyes, which stand out with a contrastingly bright whiteness. Plouse shoots both digitally with a newly acquired digital SLR that she received over the summer, and with film, although the celluloid medium is used primarily for her school photo projects. “Obviously digital is a lot more convenient [to use], but I’m not that good at using Photoshop—actually I’m pretty bad at using Photoshop—so I can just control a lot more when I’m printing it myself and I can do a lot of cool effects,” Plouse said. “It’s just a lot more easy for me to do it analog because that’s the way I learned it.”
the lookbook
MVHS’ photography lab is not able to process color film, and produces exclusively black and white film. This could be seen as a discouragement to many students, but Plouse, however, embraces the advantages of black and white photography. “I really like black and white, even a lot of my digital images—I make them black and white,” Plouse said. Plouse’s creativity from her photography spills into other aspects of her life, like one of her other passions—writing. This year Plouse is serving as a teacher’s aide for photography teacher Wendy Crockett. “We have to do these things called artist’s statements, which are sort of a summary or essay on your work,” Plouse said. “Even when they’re not assigned I like to do them anyway. Photography forces me to think about things consciously, and to understand people, so it’s sort of closure or a reflection.” One of Plouse’s more unusual pieces involves a photograph of a woman sprawled out on a chair, with actual torn off body parts of a doll glued to the photograph, framing the subject. The doll’s head sits right on top of the subject’s, and the whole thing is rigged up so that when a button is pressed, the doll’s head lights up bright red. Plouse’s work allows her to stretch her mind’s creativity and really test her abilities. “Photography is really different than other art forms because it’s a mentally creative type of thing, but you can’t do something exactly as you imagine, because you have to take a real image. It’s different in that it forces you to consciously think about things and interpret them and express them in your own way,” Plouse said. “In that way, I think that it’s really unique, and I would definitely recommend it to people.”
Chic and Snug Finnish Flair
senior JUSTIN WANG
Pin-striped hat: Hot Topic Jacket: Finland Striped scarf: Hot Topic Messenger bag: Reaction by Kenneth Cole
Scarf: Nordstrom Jacket: Hollister Co.
junior MORGAN WANG
junior NAICHENG WANGYU
American Stripes
Winter Wrapsody Scarf: American Eagle
Scarf: Gift Sweater: Ralph Lauren
junior SAIJA SALMINIITTY
aces of the arctic
The winds may have picked up pace, but students have armed themselves in fall’s best with patterned scarves and utilitarian jackets. Let the winds blow! Patty Chao and Jeremy Lee | El Estoque
encore
snack attack
BLUE BITES Junior Ashley Chen bites into a blueberry muffin during a sunny lunch on Oct. 5. 56 percent of students view breakfast items like muffins as most important of their meals.
W
hen the lunch bell rings, the mad dash to 7-Eleven is on. The sidewalk alongside Lincoln Elementary becomes a clutter of students, a thick line of people determined to grab their snacks from the shelves, pay for them, and leave as quickly as possible. Waiting in line, after all, is a waste of time, minutes that could be spent munching on scrumptious goodies from the store. At MVHS, students love their snacks. According to a survey of 350 students conducted by El Estoque, 98 percent of students snack at least once a day. And 61 percent of these students enjoy their snacks at least three times a day. But though students share in their universal affinity for snacks, they don’t quite agree on the very definition of what a snack is. Fruit and cookies are snacks, as 87 percent and 83 percent, respectively, believe. Other foods, like the staples of the pearl milk tea stores scattered around Cupertino, popcorn chicken and pearl milk tea, aren’t considered snacks by the majority of students. Even Jamba Juice, a mainstay of the health trend, is only thought of as a snack by 50 percent of students. So are students using snacks to replace their main sustenance? Perhaps not, as only 43 percent of students eat snacks for lunch. And as evidenced by the numerous burrito bowls from Chipotle and individual servings of pizza slices from Pizza My Heart scattered around the Rally Court at lunch, the allure of a warm meal isn’t going away anytime soon.
QUICKLY, PLEASE Seeking a quick meal at lunch, junior Victoria Lee accompanies her friends to the nearby Quickly store for the popular snack of pearl milk tea and crispy popcorn chicken on Oct. 6. 40 percent of students feel pearl milk tea is a snack, while 42 percent say popcorn chicken is one.
Story & design by Jeremy Lee | Photography by Daniel Stenzel
MUNCHIE MONDAYS Sophomore Brian Thai nibbles potato chips from 7-Eleven, while his friend, sophomore Victor Tran, drinks Mountain Dew from the cafeteria on Oct. 3. 23 percent of students shop for snacks at 7-Eleven.
NOODLE NIRVANA Grasping a warm Cup of Noodles in her hands, sophomore Lucia Lin slurps the noodles on Oct. 5. 40 percent of students eat snacks on school days.
YUMMY IN MY TUMMY Junior Tyler Young snacks on a Nature Valley Oats ‘N Honey granola bar, as fellow junior Donny Jennings looks on Oct 5. A majority of students, 45 percent, mostly buy their snacks from local grocery stores to consume.