e
e
EL ESTOQUE ONLINE
CHECK OUT FALL SPORTS WRAP-UPS, CCS RESULTS WITH EL ESTOQUE SPORTS NETWORK
PLAYING AROUND
A look inside the fall production of “The Servant of Two Masters”
PERFECT
WHEN THE
TOUGH GET
SICK
Girls water polo ends the season undefeated, falls to Aragon High in first round of CCS
An look at what happens when we find ourselves fighting illness
WHAT HAPPENS?
SPORTS page 15
A CLOSER LOOK page 15
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
VOLUME XLISSUE 3MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOLCUPERTINO, CA
Due to the failure of Measure G, the district now faces a potential loss of
GOVERNMENT TEACHER CHRISTOPHER CHIANG
“How can teachers find places to talk to people about these issues and find support for them?”
$5.4 million. With an uncertain future, everybody wants to know
WHAT NOW? by Jordan Lim and Tammy Su
O
ver the past years, educational funding has steeply dropped in the state of California, but the Fremont Union High School District has been able to weather the storm through several publicly funded bills, bonds and parcel taxes that balance out the lack of funding from the state. With the failure of Measure G, and a resulting decrease in community funding, the district will be forced to confront future financial issues. The Measure G parcel tax required a two-thirds majority to pass, but failed in the general election on Nov. 3, only bringing in 59.66 percent of the vote. According to the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, the final results for Measure G were 19,995 votes yes (59.66 percent), and 13,518 votes no (40.34 percent). Measure G was a proposed parcel tax for the residents of FUHSD aimed at maintaining the same annual rate of $98 per household from the Measure L parcel tax that will expire in 2011. The results were announced the night of the election and were officially confirmed the following morning. Shortly after the results were con-
ASB VICE PRESIDENT CATHERINE SHIEH
“What’s going to happen to all our classes and programs?”
firmed, FUHSD Superintendent Polly Bove released a statement to the schools in the district. “It was disappointing, obviously,” Principal April Scott said. “People put a lot of time, effort, and energy in trying to get this parcel tax to pass. But at the same time her statement was positive, that we stand together, we’ve always done that, that’s what the district is known for. The staff has really rallied behind tough times in the past and we know we can do it again.”
PRINCIPAL APRIL SCOTT
“What else are we going to do to get that $5.4 million?”
The current situation
Still, the failure of the measure has a definite consequence: as the current parcel tax expires in 2011, the district is currently slated to lose $5.4 million in funding. Unlike bond money, this funding lost in the failed parcel tax is dollars directly tied to teacher salaries, class resources and program funds. The district, like any institution, needs to balance its budget, and the inevitable cuts to make up for the decrease also come from these areas. see MEASURE G on page 6
New event brings jazz, swing dancing to campus First ever MVHS Blue Pearl, a 1920s themed event, to be held on Dec. 4 by Ashley Wu
J
azz tunes, swing dancing, flapper dresses — Blue Pearl 2009, a 1920s themed event will take place on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The event will give MVHS students an opportunity to spend a night in a 1920s themed jazz club, where they will learn how to swing and jazz dance while listening to live music. In past years, a similar event has taken place at Lynbrook, whose band ran the event as a fundraiser, but will be the first year MVHS will host Blue Pearl. Senior Maayan Yakir, lead commissioner of Student Life commission, has helped the commission organize the event and has been to Blue Pearl before. “We’re bringing it to [MVHS],” Yakir said. “We just want to show people what the 1920s were like.” There will be a dance instructor teaching and demonstrating the basics of jazz dancing at the event. MVHS’ Blue Pearl is being modeled off of Lynbrook’s event, with the only exception of allowing students from other schools to attend. The school has wanted to organize this event for many years and has finally been successful in planning it. Because this is the first time the school will have Blue Pearl, the commission is pushing themselves to be as organized as possible so that they can accomplish everything they need to. And in addition to the event being new, the Student Life commission is working on a time crunch. Although they have been working on the event since last year, Blue Pearl was given the green light by administration in late October. This gave Student Life only about a month to get everything in order. But they weren’t alone. Student Life employed the help
DANCE REVOLUTION
The Student Life Commission is bringing the first ever Blue Pearl to MVHS. The jazz club themed event has traditionally been held at Lynbrook High School. Here are the details of the upcoming event:
Long time, no teacher
Diane Bodwin takes long-term substitute position — again by Erin Chiu
What: A night of 1920s
W
of every commission in the ASB Leadership class. Student Recognition commission will be helping by hosting a fashion show on Nov. 30 to model the appropriate attire for the event, and the Spirit commission will be working on decorations. Students are encouraged to wear 1920s apparel, but it is not required. As of right now, Student Life is working hard to make this event a success. Sophomore Steffanie Sum, another member of Student Life, said that they are getting the school’s jazz band to play at Blue Pearl, as well as finding a food provider to cater, and planning out the decorations necessary.
hile most substitute teachers come into a classroom on a given day and are gone by the next, substitute teacher Diane Bodwin tends to stick around. In the beginning of November, Bodwin took the place of math and computer science teacher Bob Van Hoy, who taught AP Computer Science, C++ and Geometry. Van Hoy is on personal leave for an indefinite amount of time, according to Bodwin, who is filling in until a permanent substitute is found later this year. Bodwin, the mother of MVHS class of 2007 alumna Kelly Bodwin and class of 2009 alumus Greg Bodwin, is no stranger to taking on the challenge of filling in for a teacher for an extended period of time. In 2007, Bodwin was asked mid-second semester to substitute for former science teacher John Boyce due to an unexpected leave. Bodwin taught sections of Chemistry from March until the end of the semester.
see BLUE PEARL on page 3
see EARTHQUAKE on page 3
themed jazz dancing and music
Who: Student Life Com-
mission organized the event and jazz band will be providing the music
When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4
Where: MVHS Gym
Photo Courtesy of Devina Khanna
JUST DANCE Class of 2009 alumni Keaton Chiu and Mattise Yoshihara dance at Lynbook’s Blue Pearl in March 2009.
EL ESTOQUE NEWS
PAGE 2
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
BRIEFING: IN SHORT
FROM THE EDITORS
2 | STAFF
1
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el estoque 2009-2010
Editor in Chief Aileen Le Samved Sangameswara News Editor Varshini Cherukupalli Tammy Su Opinion Editor Vijeta Tandon Jiachen Yang Centerspread Editor Jane Kim Ashley Wu Sports Editor Jordan Lim Hannah Lem A&E Editor Victor Kuo Mansi Pathak
Layout and Design Editor Sabrina Ghaus
Managing Editor Stefan Ball Bhargav Setlur
Business Editor Natalie Chan Christophe Haubursin Sarika Patel Photography Editor Erin Chiu Copy Editor Kanwalroop Singh Print Staff Writers Joseph Beyda Christine Chang Somel Jammu Sahana Sridhara Roxana Wiswell 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 images in this publication were 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
Dean of Students welcomes baby into his family
THE BIG PICTURE Nov. 6, 2009 Community Leadership Blood Drive
On Oct. 25 at 4:08 p.m., Dean of Students Michael Hicks’ wife, Jennifer Hicks, gave birth to the couple’s first child. They named him Miller Ryan Hicks. Hicks was very excited to welcome his first son into the family. “It was like when you have that Christmas gift and you are pretty sure you know what it is, but you are still so excited to open it,” Hicks said. “You finally get to meet this person that you had all this curiosity about.” According to Hicks, staff members were betting on Miller’s delivery date. Principal April Scott and Assistant Principal Dennis Plaza placed a Subway sandwich bet on the date, which Scott won when Miller was born on the expected delivery date.
Twice a year, the Health Commission of Community Leadership hosts the Stanford Blood Drive. Anyone over the age 16 who met eligibility requirements was allowed to donate. According to the Stanford Blood Center website, one more person in the U.S. needs blood for every second that passes. Here, junior Karthik Kumaravel sits in a recliner while donating blood during the drive. Stefan Ball | El Estoque
3 | CAMPUS
5 | CAMPUS EVENTS
7 | NEARBY COUNTIES
Dumpsters moved, locked up
Challenge Day comes back to campus
As of Oct. 1, the school dumpsters were moved from the student parking lot to the end of the access road. “They were an eyesore,” Assistant Principal Brad Metheany said. The public was taking advantage of the unprotected dumpsters, leaving refuse in and around the school bins. The school then had to pay to empty bins of trash that didn’t come from campus, as well as cope with used space. Over the summer, items such as mattresses and construction waste were left in the school bins. The solution has been effective so far, with the bins locked up in a fenced area. Los Altos Garbage supplied the school with new dumpsters that have functioning lids, and the bins are less obtrusive in their new enclosure.
Nov. 5 marked the third Challenge Day held at MVHS. Approximately 100 students and staff members were chosen to participate in the emotionally stimulating activity that encourages students to fight cliques, intolerance, and peer pressure. The Challenge Day program was started by a school teacher and counselor in 1987. The program has been adapted by schools around the country in hopes of bringing about positive change in the community. The next Challenge Day is set for March 11.
Cupertino City Council election results in two incumbents, one newcomer
4 | COMMUNITY Muslim Student Association brings back Pennies for Peace citywide Inspired by Greg Mortenson’s novel, “Three Cups of Tea,” the Muslim Student Association began a year long effort to raise $2,000 to support Pennies for Peace on Nov. 9. The non-profit organization, started by Mortenson, builds schools for less fortunate students in the Middle East. While MSA is beginning their fundraiser with simple donation envelopes throughout the school, they plan to expand their project to include larger donation kiosks informational movie nights, Henna for Humanity, and a House of Falafel fundraiser.
9 | COUNT OFF DRAMA PRODUCTION: A SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS
6 | CLASSES AND CLUBS Government classes host mock-election for Cupertino City Council on campus Government teacher Christopher Chiang’s classes held a school-wide mock election on Nov. 3, to simulate the City Council elections held in Cupertino. Each of the three classes campaigned for a different candidate: Daniel Nguyen, Darcy Paul, and Mark Santoro. Different strategies, including posters, facepaaint, stickers, and verbal campaigning, were used across campus. The Government Team class manned the booths and also voted as “super-delegates” wth a large number of electoral votes. Chiang’s vote was also weighted, and given to the most spirited campaign. Final tally:
Orrin Mahoney, Barry Chang, and Mark Santoro were elected for the City Council on Nov. 3. The elections were held to fill the positions previously held by Dolly Sandoval, Mahoney, and Santoro; Mahoney and Santoro were eligible for this term. Mahoney’s campaign focused on helping Cupertino’s businesses. Chang, moreover, called for controlling the Lehigh Southwest Cement plant and opposed having unfenced, off-leash areas for dogs in Cupertino parks. Santoro promised to decrease traffic around schools. Orrin Mahoney
18.12%
Barry Chang
15.83%
Mark Santoro
15.57%
Marty Miller
14.30%
Mahesh Nihalani 12.58% Daniel Nguyen Darcy Paul
12.44% 11.16%
123
Darcy Paul
106
Mark Santoro
8 | FOR THE RECORD
98
Daniel Nguyen
13
Mahesh Nihalani
Corrections from El Estoque’s October issue
3
Barry Chang
2
Orrin Mahoney
0
Marty Miller
Total: 345
36 120
Actors involved with the production Hours spent in rehearsal
Page 18: Senior Daniel Chang is co-captain of the Song team. Senior Megumi Sugimoto is the head captain of the team. Page 24: The Diwali “Mela” event was hosted by MV Hindu Awareness Club.
28 459
Gallons of paint used Tickets sold for opening night
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE NEWS
Senior tries out philanthropy Student participates in cultural program, travels to South America by Kanwalroop Singh
S
enior Jessica Simmons has two mothers. One is her biological mother, the other is not. One lives in Cupertino, Calif. and the other lives in San Pedro, Paraguay. One she has known her whole life; the other, for a few weeks. Over the summer, Simmons took four connecting flights and a three-hour bus ride to a village in San Pedro, where she lived in a house made of bricks with no electricity, no running water, a flapping shower curtain, and a new family. Most importantly, however, on the way to a bathroom 50 feet away from her house, she would discover that Paraguayan chickens lived in trees. Like these chickens, Simmons had been accustomed to dwelling on the ground, her nose to the grindstone in the midst of the hustle and bustle of MVHS. But after this trip, she understood more of the world from her perch atop the tree of experience. She had been elevated, and now, both she and the chickens could see outside of the coop that had enclosed them. Although her trip, hosted by an organization called Amigos de las Americas, was cut short due to personal reasons, she was still able to help plant a community garden, create a recreational group for women, lead lessons on health and nutrition, invite a guest speaker to talk about sexually transmitted diseases, and build stoves for the villagers. Along with the community service part of the trip, Simmons found that her conversational Spanish improved dramatically. She was forced to speak Spanish with her family and found that her Spanish classes at MVHS had not fully prepared her for daily interactions
PAGE 3
BHARGAV SETLUR
Say it like it is
You (may have the) swine! Symptoms of swine
Courtesy of Jessica Simmons
TUG-OF-WAR Senior Jessica Simmons, second from the left, plays during her summer stay in Paraguay in 2009. Simmons traveled there as part of a program called Amigos de las Americas. that did not require usage of complex grammatical tenses and vocabulary words. Simmons’ Spanish teacher Joyce Fortune agrees that the Spanish classes do teach theory over practice. She believes, however, that she still armed Simmons with tools she needed to get along in Paraguay. “I try to give students practice,” Fortune said, “but I’m one person, not a country. In Spanish 3, students aren’t asking someone how the nonflushing latrine works, but their foundation is being built, so that when they do go to a Spanish-speaking country, they’ll be able to do that.” Aside from dramatically improved Spanish, Fortune believes that the trip allowed Simmons to gain confidence and expand her experience of the world. “[She] got out of a class culture,” Fortune said. “She saw a poverty-stricken environment.”
For Simmons, however, cultural differences were more noticeable than poverty. In Paraguay, if you obsessed over Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers at 19 or 20, you were considered culturally savvy. And the pace of life was never overwhelming. “Life here is very rushed, very fast,” Simmons said. “[In Paraguay], if you did one thing in the day, it was considered a lot. They have a very relaxed way of life.” Simmons grew close to her host family over the weeks. They greeted her when she woke up, cooked and cleaned for her, ate meals with her and answered her pressing questions. Her host mother made her tea when it rained outside, and her four-year old sister followed her around and made funny faces at her. Spending time with them resulted in a kind of love similar to what she had for her own family.
“Except, they never got to ground me, so I liked them a lot more,” Simmons joked. Consequently, saying goodbye wasn’t as easy as, “Hasta la vista baby!” It involved tears and hugs and promises to call in the future. Simmons has begun recruiting students to participate in the program for next summer. Training will last all the way through to next year and students will learn basic skills to help them interact with the villagers. For the past two years, only one student has gone from MVHS. Simmons hopes this number will change with more students participating in future years. “[The whole experience] doesn’t change who you are, but expands that, and changes your perspectives,” Simmons said. “[It] causes you to have a new world view.” Especially after realizing that Paraguayan chickens live in trees.
SUBSTITUTE: Bodwin to teach until further notice continuted from page 1
Many students who were in her class that year, a class which went through four different teachers, praised Bodwin for her teaching style. Senior Jacquie Stuart, who was in one of those classes, noted that Bodwin did an excellent job of adapting to the students’ needs. “She was really nice and asked for our opinion on [how we wanted her to teach the material],” Stuart said. And helping the students adjust to a new style of teaching is not the only challenge a long-term substitute teacher faces. When a substitute teacher is asked to cover for a teacher, they are provided with specific lesson plans for that day. The substitutes go through the same lesson plan every period, and when they finish teaching their last period, they leave. When a teacher knows that they will not be at school during a certain period of time, they must provide their substitute with lesson plans regarding what the students are learning. However, in Bodwin’s case, she was given very short notice before beginning her job. Currently, Bodwin is working out her own lesson plans for the three subjects that she must teach for the next few weeks. Although the task may seem daunting, Bodwin is up to the challenge, with degrees in math and computer science. After completing her undergraduate years in college, Bodwin received her B.S. in Mathematics and in Computer Science at Denison University. She then went on to get her M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Michigan. In addition to her educational background, Bodwin cites her students as one of the biggest aids to her teaching. “It’s a challenge,” Bodwin said, “but the students help out a lot and tell me what’s been going on in the class.”
Many students have discussed with each other the differences between Bodwin’s teaching style versus other teachers. However, ultimately, Bodwin feels that it’s the student preferences, not the teachers’, that make the difference in the overall learning experience. “I think that [the teaching style’s] pretty much the same because in the end, it’s the student that has to do the program no matter what.”
BODWIN’S BACKGROUND
Personal: • Is the mother of two MVHS alumni: son Greg Bodwin and daughter Kelly Bodwin Education: • Denison University: graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science • University of Michigan: Master of Science in Computer Science Experience: • Has subbed for almost every office position except the assistant principals and Principal April Scott • Longest sub job: half a semester in the 2007-2008 school year
A congested cough reverberates through the classroom as the guy who sits next to you tries in vain to clear his throat. Heads turn. You ask to borrow his eraser, but he touches it with the same hand that he used to cover his mouth. Disgusted, you decide not to. Welcome, MVHS, to flu season. This year, in addition to the normal gardenvariety flu that we sneeze around, say hello to the H1N1 influenza – more sensationally known as the swine flu. After making its way from an unknown origin somewhere in Mexico, this virus—commonly referred to as “the swine”—made headlines as it affected tiny handfuls of people nationwide. As the swine made its way north, several terrified administrators shut down their schools. It makes sense, because in times of sickness, schools are nothing more than disease-exchange facilities: remember your sick deskmate? In spite of all precautions it appears that this ominous-sounding virus has arrived at MVHS, with a number of student cases already confirmed. Yes, that’s right. The guy to your right may have swine flu.
Before you evacuate the city
Take off the surgical mask. Don’t throw away the pork rinds. Relax. Yes, we are dealing with a pandemic. No, it’s not like the Spanish Influenza of 1918 that killed millions of people. In fact, the swine flu is not any more severe than the common flu. The severity of symptoms is similar, and the same treatment – bed rest and lots of liquids – will have you back in shape in a few days. So why is everyone so worked up? The other day, I went to Kaiser to get the regular vaccination as well as the one for the H1N1 virus. To my surprise, I saw that a huge line stretched from the door of the vaccination room, over 300 feet through a long hallway, and out toward the exit. With a line like that, you would think that they were handing out new cars at the other end, not poking people with sharp objects.
Much ado about nothing
Don’t get me wrong. It’s good for people to take the time out of their schedules to come and get vaccinated, protecting them and those around them from sickness. But let’s be honest – last year, when I showed up at Kaiser for the common flu vaccination, there was no line. What makes people wait for more than 40 minutes to get vaccinated for swine flu, which isn’t even more severe than the common flu? There’s only one reason: it’s new. You fear what you don’t know, and the flu is no exception. All anyone has to do is slap some sinister name on a new strain, like “swine,” and hordes of terrified people will form 300-foot lines in front of clinics on a Thursday evening. That’s the power of fear. Who cares that “swine flu” is a terrible name for the new strain, as it contains genetic code from not just pigs but birds and humans as well? We’ve never seen it before! Who knows what it might turn into? Almost 6,000 people have already died from it! Clearly, we have a potential catastrophe on our hands. Meanwhile, as the relatively benign swine flu runs its course and follows the avian flu into the distant past, I’d like to take a moment and remember the 36,000 people who died last year of complications from the common flu, and the year before that, and on. Because no one else is.
PAGE 4
EL ESTOQUE NEWS
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
FBLA members winning big cash in competitions Blue Pearl: Students place at states and receive travel awards to go to nationals by Aileen Le
F
BLA members are winning and they are winning big: $11, 875 to be exact. After placing second in the business team competition at FBLA’s State Leadership Conference, senior Esther Steves received $250 in the form of a personal check at the beginning of the school year to attend the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim the previous summer. FBLA president, Christopher Chui, explains that everybody who qualifies to compete at Nationals from the state competition will receive some form of reimbursement as travel awards, as long as they attend the competition and certain workshops. “In order for students to gain knowledge and participate in the experiences available to them, unfortunately they have to meet the costs [of it], and sometimes that gets in the way,” FBLA State Secretary-Treasurer, Panos Kanellakopoulos said. “Therefore, we believe it best to help members in any way possible to get there.” That money comes from California State FBLA, funded in part from member fees. State FBLA sends individual checks to the school, and in turn, the school sends the money out to the respective individuals in the form of a personal check. If a member places first to third in an
TRAVEL MONEY RECEIVED BY STUDENTS
25 38
Percent of FBLA’s state budget spent on travel vouchers for the National Leadership Conference Number of MVHS students who received travel awards for nationals
individual event, he or she will receive anywhere from $150 to $350 in intervals of $100 to attend the national competition. If a team places first or second in a team event, they receive $250 or $350, respectively. The money is meant to pay for a member’s traveling fees. However, travel awards are capped at $500. Members can also win prize money at the national competition as well if companies choose to sponsor events that members compete in. “If [companies] want to give them prize money, whether to generate interest [in the company] or from the goodness of their heart, they are choosing to support and foster the potential of members,” Kanellakopoulos said.
29 500
Percent of MVHS FBLA members that received travel awards at the competition
continued from page 1
Largest amount, in dollars, won by an MVHS FBLA member for travel costs
Kanellakopoulos feels that prize money isn’t on student’s minds when competeing and that it isn’t even clear how much money is awarded until the actual ceremony itself. Once members receive this money, whether from travel awards or prize money, there is no way for officers to actually regulate what the money is used for. Senior Esther Steves uses her money to pay for her traveling fees, but knows of other members who use that money for whatever they want. Some parents pay for a member’s traveling fees, but end up letting their student keep the money because they worked for it. “In the end ,it’s just a check,” senior Karen Zhou, vice president of written competitions said. “It’s the member’s [and the parents’] choice as to how to use it.”
How Members Earn Travel Awards
Members compete at states
Place first to third in individual events or first to second in team events at States
Get promise of money for Nationals
Receive money in the mail as a personal check
Go to Nationals
Jazz club setting attracts student body According to Sum, the budget for the event is around $1,000. Dean of Students Denae Moore says that they’re shooting for the entry price to be around $10-$15. All proceeds will be donated to the American Diabetes Association. One issue that has come up with Blue Pearl is that Commission wanted it to be a dance instead of an event. However, adding an additional night out for administration and contacting the people required to host a dance, as well as adding a new dance to the school schedule, is something they were not willing to do. “MVHS already has the most dances in the district, “ Moore said. “[Blue Pearl] will not have much of a dance atmosphere, so the lights will be [completely] on. Also, making it a charity event and having costumes always helps.” As the news about Blue Pearl coming to MVHS spread throughout campus, students have been giving feedback and sharing their thoughts about it with the Student Life commissioners. “At first, kids [who haven’t attended Blue Pearl before] say, ‘I don’t understand what this event is’ and just think that this is Admin’s solution to the freaking problem,” Sum said. “But after [they understand what Blue Pearl is], most people seem pretty excited about it.”
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NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE NEWS
PAGE 5
Operation sanitation Inspections reveal minor violations, cafeteria works to maintain health standards
Problem:
Equipment is old and outdated.
Problem: Problem:
Much of the food is homemade, making it difficult to adhere to precise regulations.
MVHS is the biggest school in the district, but has the smallest cafeteria.
Problem: Non-solid food has to be reheated at a specific temperature to prevent spoilage or contamination.
Solution: Measure B funds will be used to renovate and update the cafeteria.
Solution:
Solution:
New refrigerators recently arrived to replace the old ones.
by Joseph Beyda
W
hen students buy a meal at the cafeteria, they pay for more than just food. Much of the money goes to pay for the cafeteria workers, who both make the food students eat and ensure the sanitation of the cafeteria as a whole. In the latter regard, however, the workers’ efforts have not always been perfect, at least in the county’s opinion. Routine health inspections are held twice a year by Santa Clara County at every retail food establishment in the state, and school cafeterias are a part of the inspection. The MVHS cafeteria was inspected on Oct. 6, and five minor violations were recorded. “These violations were warnings,” Emerin Wang, the MVHS cafeteria manager, said. The problems were fixed on the spot during the inspection, often as simple as adjusting the thermostat on one of the food storage units. She also explained that the violations were not nearly severe enough to have the cafeteria shut down or penalized; a violation of that magnitude has not occurred in her 17 years working for the MVHS cafeteria. “They won’t let you pass 100 percent,” Wang said. “They have to find something. It’s their job to tell you what to improve on.” To ensure that restaurants maintain proper sanitation year-round, the inspections have no scheduled date and the workers don’t know when to expect them, though they generally come six months apart. Assistant Principal Brad Metheany feels that the cafeteria is adequately clean. “The cafeteria workers are just so trustworthy and have done it the right way for such a long time,” Metheany said. Metheany adds that, to ensure safety, the cafeteria is sanitized at night on a daily basis, well after the cafeteria manager and five workers have finished cleaning up. The violations recorded during the October inspection included food storage temperatures, kitchen equipment conditions, wiping cloths, hand sanitation and “proper reheating procedures for hot holding” — bringing food back up to temperature after it had been out waiting to be sold.
Solution:
Procedural changes are recommended by inspectors.
Food safety training is held annually for workers.
The cafeteria is the smallest in the FUHSD, though MVHS is the largest school in the district. Bill Schuster, the district’s Nutrition Coordinator, attributes some of the problems to the size.
Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque Illustration
cafeteria workers had more to do, and consequently, the chances of violations increased. Training is held for cafeteria workers yearly to reduce these violations. “Sometimes we get a little forgetful,” Schuster said. He insists, however, that the sanitation problems in the cafeterias are not persistent VIOLATIONS occurrences. El Estoque compiled a list of local restaurants and the number To ensure the cafeteria’s accountability, a copy of the inspection report is posted on the county of violations noted on their most recent routine inspections. website, under the California Public Records Act. Institutions are inspected approximately once every six months. According to the California Retail Food Code section When violations are found, they must be corrected within days; a 113725.1, however, “The food facility shall post a follow-up inspection is scheduled and institutions are penalized notice advising consumers that a copy of the most or shut down if violations are not corrected by then. recent routine inspection report is available for review by any interested party.” MVHS cafeteria KFC Upon request, a copy of the report was given to 5 minor violations 6 minor violations El Estoque by cafeteria management. The required 7-11 Fremont HS cafeteria notice is posted in a window visible from one of the Not inspected 3 minor violations cafeteria’s five cash registers, above a refrigerator. 1 major violation Schuster and Metheany agree that the posting of Chipotle notices is not a major concern. 1 minor violation Cupertino HS cafeteria “Once the inspection report is done, everyone [in 2 minor violations the cafeteria] is very aware of it,” Schuster said. “I’m Subway not concerned with the paper, I’m concerned that 6 minor violations Lynbrook HS cafeteria we fix it right away.” 2 minor violations He also points out that Measure B money to Quickly renovate cafeterias will be used to replace old dishHomestead HS cafeteria 1 major violation washing machines and sanitation equipment, 13 minor violations 1 minor violation reducing the chance for violations. New refrigerators recently arrived. More information can be found at www.sccinspections.org In a previous inspection in May, four violations “The biggest challenges are the facilities,” Schuster were recorded, one of them major. By the October said. “When they were built, there were two meal inspection, minor violations surfaced in three new periods and a closed campus.” categories, but the major violation was fixed. This For the last two years, the cafeteria has been run by violation, as well as a minor one, were both recorded the district. This is because the company the cafeteria in the “wash/sanitize” category. was contracted out to decided to leave when the state “I’ve been proud of [the improvement in] most of increased regulations for healthy foods in schools. the reports so far,” Schuster said. Since then, deep fryers and soda have been removed, Despite the minor problems, Wang still feels that frozen foods have been reduced, and the number of cafeteria food is the healthiest option for students; whole meals sold has tripled. lunch items are restricted to 400 calories each and These changes improved the quality of the food that sanitation is much better than at many schools. students eat, but according to Schuster, the increase “We are moms,” Wang said. “If we won’t serve it to in foods that had to be made from scratch meant that our own kids, we won’t serve it to other kids.”
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EL ESTOQUE NEWS
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
MEASURE G: District reflects as parcel tax fails, financial future unclear STUDENT REPRESENTATION Each year, one senior is selected to represent the 10,300 students of FUHSD. This year, the Student Board Representative is MVHS senior Christopher Chui. He will have the role of representing student voices in upcoming board discussions, as the members address budget issues. Chui was seated as Student Board Rep on Aug. 18 and will serve until the end of the current school year. Q: What are your responsibilities as Board Rep? A: It’s mostly reporting what’s going on at the schools. I go to the Intradistrict meeting between all the schools’ ASB presidents and IDC representatives the Monday before the [Board] meeting, and at that meeting we go over what exactly has been going on at the schools, and what events they’re planning, and I report them to the board. Other than that, I can participate in voting and debate and stuff like that. Q: As a representative for the schools and for the board, how do you facilitate communication? A: Through things like this — interviewing, school newspapers. I think one of the important things is just letting students know, and they should let their parents know. The best thing that I can do is tell people what happened and how we can remedy that: everyone makes a difference when they’re informed. Q: Personally, what message would you send to the board regarding budget cuts? A: If conservative measures were necessary, I would say to perhaps focus on subsidies to student activities, so that the financial burden can be more divided among students participating in those activities. Even though this would result in making events more costly, it would help relieve the financial burden on the district that’s been caused by the parcel tax failure, and parents can send funds toward activities that their children are directly involved in. Q: How could other students make sure their voices were heard in a board meeting? A: I guess they would have to either contact me or someone on the board. In terms of contacting [someone] concerning program or budget cuts, I guess the best way would be to email me or someone on the board. And if you email me, I’ll bring it up during my part of the report, that I was contacted this way and that people are concerned. Q: If a student wanted to be proactive about an issue, what else could they do? A: They could come to a board meeting, which is the first and third Tuesday of every month, and when you get there, you can fill out a card. When you fill out a card, you’re allowed to speak and present your concerns in front of the board. That’s probably the most proactive you can get.
continued from page 1
“The number one expenditure of any school district is salary — to the tune of about 80 percent of our overall district budget,” Scott said. “So if you ever needed to save money, that’s the number one place to save it. It’s the place that’s the least pleasant because we’re talking about people we work with side-by-side every day, people that we care about. Other districts have had to make this decision recently as well, and it’s difficult.” In light of that fact, rumors of staff reductions, program cuts, and class offering decreases were conversation topics all over campus immediately following the release of the Nov. 3 election results. According to a recent district decision, however, very little change in these areas will be made in the upcoming months. “I don’t think you’re likely to see us lay off teachers in March, unless something dramatic happens,” Superintendent Polly Bove said. “I think you’re more likely to see that a year from March.” Instead, the current focus is on saving money away from the classroom. The district has already been cutting down on administrative costs, saving $600,000, as well as travel costs for staff and discretionary money for principals. According to Chief Business Officer Christine Mallery, those working in the district office are not the only individuals making sacrifices. “I think it’s important that you know your teachers haven’t had a raise for a couple of years now,” Mallery said. “They would have been entitled to some one-time money last year, and in a conservative move, they chose not to take that.”
Into the future The district’s conservative response is due to one reason: the time to fight for another longer-term district funding solution is not over. The district is currently waiting for a professional data analysis of the Measure G campaign, set to come in around the beginning of December. Scott explains that the goal behind campaigning for a renewal early was to preemtively solve the problem. A hidden benefit of this is that the district was able to allocate time to deal with the situation they’re facing now. “It’s not like the parcel tax expires in June, and we’ve got five or six months to scramble like mad. We have a year and a half. We were just hoping that if it passed now, it allows us to do better planning, so that we knew what our financial status was prior to the expiration of the current parcel tax.” The analysis will provide the district with insight on how to proceed with another measure, tentatively set for June or November of 2010. This would be the last attempt to retain funding before the current parcel tax expires and cuts become substantive. Focusing on a new longer-term measure also means that the district’s focus is currently on reflection and analysis of the recent campaign and not on passing an emergency tax, as was speculated previously. “I shouldn’t say no [in regards to an emergency tax] so quickly because obviously the board are the deciders,” Bove said. “But we are the recommenders, and I would say that we’re not even thinking anymore about an emergency parcel, although it may be a strategy that emerges when we see the [analysis].”
Bove explains that the current financial situation forces management to put emphasis on preserving the money that is still left. Every time the district puts a measure on the ballot, money is drained from the district — a campaign similar to that of Measure G, which cost $260,000, could easily cost upwards of $600,000. Plus, every district worries about being able to retain and attract teachers. Because so much of the budget already goes to salary, the district is more concerned about maintaining what funding they already have and using it to try to stay competitive as a district — a constant concern. Finally, there is also a question of exactly when the district should start again. “It’s a matter of, can our community stand [another measure so soon]?” Academic Deputy Superintendent Kate Jamentz said. “Will they see it as a good idea, or [think] ‘Just quit begging’? And can our staff, and all you guys who did all the work, can we muster the strength to turn around and do it again so soon?”
Potential consequences The district has made it clear, though, that while no changes will be seen this year, the failure of another measure will force them to make very difficult decisions. The situation is compared to financial issues that occurred in the 2003-2004 school year — the year that MVHS lost several AP classes and electives. “[That year] was a $9 million crisis,” Bove said. “[When] we lose the parcel tax, that’s [$5.4 million], but if we lose the parcel tax and property tax and more cuts from the state, it could easily get to $9 million.” And as the magnitude of the situation grows, the potential consequences also become more dire. Staff members have acknowledged the possibility of staff and program cuts, not for this year but highly probable down the road if future measures continue to fail. If it gets to a point where the Board needs to start cutting funding, money won’t be taken from any one source. “What that means is that everything gets cut,” Jamentz said. “You don’t just cut out sports, visual and performing arts. When you make cuts, everyone suffers a little.” In respect to staff reductions, Scott explains that educational positions are based on seniority. In the case in which lay-offs become necessary, all the teachers in the district would be placed in order of how long they had been teaching, and the least-senior members would be let go. Staff members would then be moved around the district to fill voids, if necessary. Finally, if funding can’t keep up with the growing district, limitations could be imposed on the amount of classes that students are allowed to take — with emphasis on only allowing classes required for graduation.
Unforeseen issues The district and Scott agree, though, that many of the substantive decisions will be occurring down the road and with a lot of analysis. The district is cautious about making decisive cuts now, when in fact many more financial figures — mid-year cuts, property tax values and state cuts — have yet to be determined. The failure of the tax could, or could not, be the beginning of more loss. “The problem is that there’s still a ton of question marks about the funding we’re going to get,” Bove said. “The total problem that we’re facing isn’t clear.”
MEASURE G CAMPAIGN: REFLECTING AND LOOKING AHEAD
In light of the recent parcel tax failure, El Estoque spoke with some individuals involved with Measure G. Here’s what they had to say, thinking back on the recent campaign, and looking forward to the measure potentially to appear on the ballot in June or November of 2010. “We should address people who don’t know [about Measure G], instead of just those who do know. We need to expand our target group.”
“I think a lot of people worked very hard on the campaign, and I appreciate all the work that was done. I think we had a very low voter turnout, and I think it was hard to explain to the community why the measure would save money over time.”
“There was an organization we worked with that specializes just in election tactics — what we should do, how often we should do it — so there will be many discussions with him for the future about what he thought worked well, what didn’t.”
Samuel Lui ASB President
Bill Wilson Board of Trustees, VP
April Scott Principal
n o i n i p o 7 Voters miss big picture on Measure G PAGE 8
Letters to the Editor
PAGE 9
Swine flu zombies
PAGE 10
Clubs: Cash for competition?
Failure of parcel tax points to double standard, misguided principles among community
Jiachen Yang | El Estoque
STAFF EDITORIAL
I
t’s a lesson that all of us are taught when young. Don’t get lost in the small details and the immediate realities. Worry about the long-term, major trends, and the short-term will solve itself. Big-picture thinking works for many of the challenges that we face in life but voters who voted against Measure G neglected it. They worried about the small things–and ended up making a big mistake. Intended to shore up funding for FUHSD with a $98 parcel tax, Measure G was a necessary measure in a time of state budget turmoil and falling education funds. The measure was designed to replace Measure L, the existing $98 parcel tax that is set to expire in June of 2011. The vote
required a 66 percent majority to pass. It received approximately 60 percent. Only six percent short? That doesn’t sound like much, but the very fact that such an important measure didn’t pass overwhelmingly points to some very big lessons that our community has yet to learn. Voters were immediately scared by the wording of the ballot measure. Phrases like “indefinite tax” and “adjusted for inflation” made them wary of a tax that they saw as open-ended and constantly increasing, but they failed to look at the big picture. Instead of making accusations of “waste and inefficiency” in school budgets, voters should have taken some time to consider some compelling reasons for an indefinite tax. Did they really think it costs nothing to mount a campaign
Study Buddy not a buddy to all students
Tutoring service should extend aid to all, not exclude C students by Samved Sangameswara
F
or a school ranked sixth in the state in API scores, we have a serious problem with education. While we do an excellent job of helping the best get better and bringing our slower students up to speed , our peer-to-peer education system has created a different problem in the process: lack of educational aid for the C student. The Study Buddy Society, a free peer tutoring service offered after school, has gathered a wealth of A and B students to help out the D and F students. However, by limiting eligibility to two grade levels, a rather wide spectrum of students who clearly need help have no access to such a service on campus. The C students of our school are put in a rather unfavorable position. Although they are not failing their classes, they could clearly use the help. It seems as if they would be the ideal students for our peer tutoring system: those who need help and are willing to learn. Unfortunately, under the current SBS policies, these students do not have access to that aid. The SBS is an extremely useful service, but it is not being utilized to its fullest extent. At the moment, the only students with access to SBS tutors are students who have D’s or F’s in their classes. If the service was expanded to be inclusive to all students, or at least those with C’s, the program would truly be working to it’s fullest potential. Of course, like any need-based service, SBS has an obligation to serve those who are in need of tutoring the most—the D and F students. However, at the moment, there is a substantial number of “unemployed” tutors who could easily be put to work tutoring the C students.
QUICK TAKE
by Sarika Patel
A snapshot of the issues surrounding campus today
In addition to the “unemployed” tutors, we are in no shortage of intelligent students at MVHS. The SBS could very easily expand the number of tutors it recruits and, in the process, expand the number of students it is able to tutor. This would be a very easy and quick remedy to the absence of tutoring for C students. With a wealth of knowledge in its tutors waiting to trickle down to those who need it, the SBS is skipping over the ravine of need that is the C student. The SBS tutoring program is undoubtedly effective. However, until it reaches out to offer help to each and every student who needs it, it will continue to fall short of its noble goal.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Study Buddy Society is a free peer-to-peer tutoring service on campus. However, in order to access these tutors, potential tutees must meet certain requirements. Here’s a look at eligible students by the current policy:
Only students who fall in any one of these categories can receive help: • Receiving a D, F or I in Math and/or English • Scored 40 percent or below basic in Math and/or English on the STAR test • Did not pass the high school exit examinations • Seniors who do not meet graduation requirements • English Language Development students
Privacy invaded Page 15 of the Student Planner lists that students are prohibited from “going in groups to a car” or eating “in the upstairs hallways.” It states that students are only allowed to be in the cafeteria, rally court, or academic court during lunch and brunch. If a student wants to make a phone call or work in small groups, there is no quiet place to do so. The library doesn’t allow talking or eating, and everywhere else is too loud. Being in a car and working near the upstairs lockers should be allowed if the students are not causing any problems.
to renew a parcel tax? In fact, it’s quite expensive—to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Essentially, the members of our community who voted against Measure G would rather the district spend a million dollars every few years to renew a simple parcel tax than spend it on textbooks, or classes, or teachers. How’s that for cutting out waste and inefficiency in school spending? If the fiscal myopia of Measure G opponents is sad, then their misguided sense of political righteousness is downright depressing. Another argument that opponents cite is the lack of priorities in Sacramento – how instead of funding education, the state is throwing money after everything from social services to corrections. They argue that the problem should be fixed at the state level, not at the local level with a parcel tax. No one can disagree with the first part. Yes, the state does spend too much money on things other than education, including corrections. That does have to change. But by refusing to alleviate the problem with a measure at the local level, voters essentially cut off the nose to spite the face. Look at it this way: if an accident victim is gravely injured and in need of blood, is it really the time to lecture him about how he shouldn’t have gotten in the accident in the first place? Absolutely not. Measure G was a muchneeded cash transfusion, and without it our innocent victim—our excellent schools—will continue to worsen. Disappointing though it was, the failure of Measure G hasn’t put the FUHSD in dire straits – yet. District administrators are considering another parcel tax measure for the upcoming elections in June and November. If a parcel tax measure makes it onto the ballot, let’s not forget the painful lessons of Measure G. Now is not the time to worry about the state of politics in Sacramento, or the effect of inflation on the tax value. Our community is special because of its schools. It’s absolutely vital that our schools get the money they need to continue a standard of excellence.
Effort to go green only saves greenbacks Administration shirks environmental responsibility, students shoulder burden of printing by Jiachen Yang
I
n an age when we grieve at scenes of polar bear cubs stranded on shrinking icebergs and when those who adhere to a “I’ll keep my clunker, no thanks” mentality meet glares while they rev up their gas guzzlers, eco-obsession defines righteousness. But when the administration claims a high moral ground by advocating a “reduction” of paper use, it forces students to choose between two evils—destroying trees or going without notes. Administration is using environmental consciousness to camouflage its unique love for green—that is, green paper money. For the sake of fairness: the administration does not impose arbitrary photocopying quotas on teachers. So essentially, teachers can deluge students with stacks of worksheets. But they don’t. And somehow, students’ printers have been profusely bleeding ink onto pristine white paper. Simply stated, the administration is tracking every teacher’s photocopying usage. Seems familiar? How about “Oh, I’m not limiting the time you spend on video games—I’m just tracking you. And if you’re spending way more time than your brothers…”?
Turn on your announcements It doesn’t matter whether announcements are third or fifth period, some teachers refuse to use their TVs. Teachers who neglect announcements feel they can use the extra five minutes awarded for their own lesson. Students don’t get to hear the announcements and often miss out on important information, club meetings and other school activities. Another alternative would be to broadcast announcements via loudspeaker, but more students tend to talk over the speakers, so it’s not any more effective. Teachers need to realize the importance of the announcements and not use the time for their own lessons.
see GREENBACKS on page 8
Classroom textbooks Not having a classroom set of textbooks is one problem with two solutions. There is the obvious solution of new lockers, but often overlooked is buying a separate set of classroom textbooks. Thanks to educational budget cuts, it’s hard for every student to have a textbook from classroom and another for home. A less expensive alternative would be for each class to have half the number of textbooks as the number of students. That way students can share textbooks and every classroom would only need about 15 textbooks.
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NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE OPINION
Blue Pearl: A gem among school events Student Life commission plans new event to transport students to the Roaring 20’s by Roxana Wiswell
A
nyone who has ever felt uncomfortable at a school dance needs to give Blue Pearl a try. A different type of event, Blue Pearl is exactly what this school needs. School dances can stay with pop music and freak dancing, and Blue Pearl can provide an alternative with jazz and swing. It’s not meant to replace a school dance, since we’ll still have just as many. It’s just another option that is meant to cater to a larger portion of the student body. Blue Pearl is not technically a dance, but it has the same focus of socialization and music, without the elements that have caused complaints about school dances. Instructors will teach dances to jazz music in a 1920sthemed environment, aiming to transport attendees to a different era. Costumes are encouraged to get everyone involved in the theme. The official difference between this event and a school dance is that Blue Pearl will be well lit and no “intimate contact” is permitted, so no one should feel uncomfortable. This will allow a larger part of the student body to participate. As we all know, administration has been experimenting with new dance policies this year. Some attempts at reform seen at the Welcome Back dance were more lighting, less freaking, different styles of music— all part of the infamous “face to face with a little space.” The goal of these changes was
to make everyone feel welcome and allow all of the students to participate. However, it’s impossible to change existing school dances to satisfy everyone. Maybe those few students who submitted complaints will be happy when we’re all listening to the Jonas Brothers and hopping in circles, but the rest of the students will be upset. Instead, new alternatives can help include everyone without turning high school dances into a middle school throwback. The event is run not by administration, but the Student Life Commission of ASB Leadership. The students of this commission have worked with each other to create an event that will include all students, without detracting from established events. And that is the essence of Blue Pearl. It’s not an event to replace any of the dances that students know and love. It’s simply another option to involve more students in social activities. To that end, it’s a great idea and one that deserves strong student support. If Blue Pearl is going to be the solution to our dance policy woes, we have to make it happen by showing up with the right attitude as well as an open mind. It’s going to be different, and that’s what we want. The first year, however, really counts. The more successful the event, the better its chance of returning in future years. Attendance is key, so students should get out there and support Blue Pearl.
Letters to the editor Letters of any length should be submitted via e-mail [mv.el.estoque@gmail.com] 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.
Business clubs do help As a current freshman at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and former FBLA member, I strongly disagree with Hannah Lem’s article [“Clubs do not teach real business” by Hannah Lem, Oct. 22]. First of all: there is nothing in life that will “teach” you “real business” other than experience in running a business itself. But that’s not what clubs like FBLA and DECA promise to offer. They expose high school students to the world of business and, with the exception of actually starting your own company, are what I believe to be the single closest thing a student at MVHS can get to a taste of “real business.” At Wharton, I’ve definitely benefited from my experiences in FBLA. For example, as my classmates struggled with their initial business proposal assignments, I knew exactly what areas in marketing, management, etc. to target after competing two years in a row in FBLA’s Business Plan competition. And as with any activity in high school, you can either make the most of it or not try at all. If you know that there are competitive events that are essentially comprised of glorified [expletive], do your research beforehand and avoid them. If you’re in an event that asks you to write your own business plan, act as a mock consulting firm for small businesses, or anything else that might sound like even a somewhat worthwhile experience, don’t blow it off and blame the event itself. Make the most of it. Who knows? In the process, you might end up discovering an entirely new subject you are passionate about — and will continue to pursue for the rest of your life. — Class of 2009 alumna Alice Lee
Interview the leaders, not just members So I’ve been reading the paper, and I have to say that I’m very dissatisfied with the Spirit article [“Boy factor in female-dominated sport” by Jane Kim, Oct. 22] you guys did on senior Daniel Chang. Senior Megumi Sugimoto is definitely not the cocaptain of the song team. Daniel and I are. She is the head captain of Song. Many of your interviews are with random people from the clubs and teams, when it is really all the leaders that should be interviewed and speaking for their
El Estoque poll
Are you planning on attending Blue Pearl? I don’t know what it is 24% No 18%
Have you ever felt uncomfortable at a regular school dance? I’ve never been to one 19%
Maybe 36%
A little bit 21% Yes 21%
Do you think Blue Pearl will be a good alternative to regular dances?
Yes 24%
No 40%
Why did you feel uncomfortable?
6% The music was inappropriate. I don’t know what it is 34%
Yes 40%
No 26%
8%
It was too dark. 26%
Other. People’s style of dancing.
33%
I’ve never felt uncomfortable.
39%
*107 students responded to this online poll
team. I understand that when obtaining information, it is best to get every point of view and be unbiased, but I still feel that it is a captain/president’s responsibility to say what needs to be said for their team or club, not the members. —junior Jenny Lee
Awaking the sleeping giant at the right time I want to commend El Estoque for their expanded political coverage, especially the city council piece [“Meet the Candidates,” Oct. 22]. The readers may not know this, but El Estoque’s coverage of the Cupertino City Council is longer and more detailed than any of the San Jose Mercury News’. It’s too bad that city residents can’t get a copy of your paper. El Estoque’s emerging political voice could not come at a more pivotal time. Youth now have more political power than ever before. Three hundred thirty-one Monta Vista students will turn 18 before they graduate. That number would have been enough to swing the outcome of the past 2005 city council race, 2004 school measure, and will likely be greater than the margin of victory in 2009. From various communication devices and social networks, the remaining 2,193 Matadors can nearly instantly mobilize armies of under 18 campaign volunteers and friends who are 18 to the polls in an exponential manner that, frankly, terrifies political strategists. That doesn’t even touch on the persuasive potential of political creative content Matadors are capable of producing and distributing online, like Obama’s viral videos. The political establishment’s only comfort is that you don’t yet realize how much power you have. I hope El Estoque will embrace and relish their role in awaking this sleeping giant in local politics. — Christopher Chiang social studies teacher
Youth Commission is not a club Hi, this is Youth Commission from Community Leadership; your reporters wrote an article [“Dressing up the bags” by Kanwalroop Singh and Christine Chang, Oct. 22] about our Artistic with Autistic event. We appreciate that you included our event in your paper but do not appreciate how you placed us under a heading meant for clubs. Please understand that grouping us with clubs on campus undermines our integrity. Community Leadership is a school organization and would like the El Estoque staff to recognize this. Just as Journalism, Yearbook, and ASB are school organizations, we are too. If you could incorporate us in another way in your paper, maybe put a separate label for us or add us under another section where you report events about school organizations, we would greatly appreciate this. Next time, if you wish to write about us as a club, we would prefer that you didn’t write about us at all. — Youth Commission
Cross country not a second-class sport I recently read your article in El Estoque about Cross Country [“Second class sports” by Samved Sangameswara, Oct. 22]. First off, just know that this isn’t “hate mail.” However, I was somewhat offended by your article. First of all, you say that cross country deserves less coverage because it is a boring sport. Okay, so I can somewhat understand this. You are correct that running is NOT a big spectator sport, at least not in America. However, you really need to run cross country to realize what it’s all about. I urge you to come run with us one of these days. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s not as bad as you probably think it is. You also stated in your article that sports like XC deserve less coverage since less people are interested in them; however, you have coverage for gymnastics right next to it. Gymnastics? Let’s be honest, nobody cares about gymnastics any more than cross country. Cross country is also one of the few sports at Monta Vista that is doing well right now. You guys give field hockey tons of coverage but they SUCK. So does the football team for that matter, they BARELY qualified for CCS last year, then they went on to lose in the first round. I don’t know if you know this, but our boys team is ranked very high in CCS and has a legitimate shot at qualifying for state finals! Lastly, I thought the title of your article was demoralizing. “Second-class”? Again, you have the right to say what you wish; however, there’s no need to be mean about it. You also said, “You know where to find me: anywhere but at one of your games.” Today at cross country practice some of my teammeates were discouraged and upset because of your article. That’s not what our team needs, especially so close to the end of the season. I’m sure there are things in life that you love to do, which aren’t the most “cool” or “interesting” things to do; however, does that stop you from doing them? No, and that is great, do what YOU love to do. —sophomore Arif Hasan
Bike racks need work I can’t agree more with the article about the bike racks [“With great number of cyclists come great chaos and congestion” by Victor Kuo, Oct.22]. Most of the time, I bike to school and oftentimes when I get there, the bike racks are overflowing. I have to push bikes to the side to find a space on the racks where I can lock my bike. Also, many bikes are abused—not on purpose, but because it is so hard to maneuver and find a place to park your bike. I have found my bike knocked down, and my helmet thrown on the ground. —sophomore Maya Lewis
EL ESTOQUE OPINION
November 18, 2009
Swine flu zombies
PAGE 9
SARIKA PATEL
It’s all in your Head
Suck it up — you’ll need it
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Lack of vending machines results in unhealthy food choices
uckily, we go to a school that cares enough about us to teach us what life’s all about. However, there are two contradictory rumors that echo through campus all the time. One: We live in a small, air tight bubble, almost entirely separated from the world, and our high school offers no resemblance to the variety of that exsists in the real world. And two: We are being prepared for real life. Now it seems impossible for both to be true—one must contain more truth than the other. Teachers tell us that once we make it through MVHS, college won’t seem as bad, but alumni return only to tell us that college is nothing like high school. So who’s right?
by Vijeta Tandon and Sarika Patel
Masters of our craft
Christine Chang | El Estoque
As the flu season approaches, students are forced to weigh the value of an APUSH lecture against the health of an innocent classmate. Spreading sickness for the sake of education simply indicates brain-inflammation—good luck understanding that lecture.
Hungry students miss machines
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lubs use it as an incentive to attract more members, and it’s one of the things the human body can’t survive without; yet, it continues to remain absent from the MVHS campus every single day after school: food. Since the California School Wellness Policy was passed in December 2005, regulating what can and cannot be sold on public school campuses, MVHS has removed soda vending machines and has switched to Gatorade and water — much healthier options, but by no means substitutes for actual food. Athletes and students who stay after school often need snacks to hold back their hunger, but have no place to get substantial food besides walking all the way to 7-11. By not providing students healthier alternatives on campus, administration is just adding to the problem by essentially leaving students with no choice but to consume unhealthy food or stay hungry. Instead, by installing a vending machine on campus that provides students with healthier food choices, administration can curb the hunger issue while following the guidelines of the law and promoting healthy eating. Students will be much more likely to buy the food that is on campus rather than take the time and effort to walk all the way to buy junk food at 7-11.
Erin Chiu | El Estoque Photo Illustration
HEALTHY FOOD Since the California School Wellness policy was passed, schools are required to sell only healthy food on campus. Administration should consider selling healthy snacks, instead of inducing students to seek unhealthy food. The essential goal of the policy is to promote healthy eating on school campuses, not to stop eating altogether or force students to buy their food from elsewhere. By not replacing the snacks with healthier alternatives like granola bars, the administration is basically defeating the whole point of the law. To truly achieve the law’s intended purpose, it is administration’s responsibility to teach students to make healthier food choices, not just to deprive students of the
ability to choose. Although it may take a bit of extra effort and money on administration’s part to find companies that offer healthy food products for vending machines, it can be done. Granted, healthier food tends to be more expensive, but the cost can easily be made up by charging a little bit more for each food product being sold. In the long run, both students’ minds, and stomachs, will be grateful.
GREENBACKS: School saving money, not paper
continued from page 7
Anyssa Karnkaeng | El Estoque
Naturally, teachers feel reluctant to be singled out as tree-killers by the administration—AP Chemistry teacher Kavita Gupta has stopped printing 10-page notes templates. So a few trees in a forest are saved and everyone’s happy, right? But the notes do get printed by diligent students, who are definitely not happy with their wheezing printers or with printing scanned documents with two perpendicular gigantic columns of black. Once we pry apart the overgrowth, we see the administration’s façade of eco-friendliness and the attention it lavishes on saving money instead of trees. The administration is very successful at demonstrating the proper way to deal with budget problems—to shove them onto
someone else—and it even plays its civic role by arbitrarily dumping on all students the financial responsibility of printing stacks of paper. What a brilliant way to accomplish two tasks with one policy! Unfortunately, not all of us can afford its teaching, for surprisingly enough, not everyone within our gilded Silicon Valley possesses the means to buy a $17 Canon ink cartridge every fortnight. And when hundreds of printers are whirling in students’ homes, we find it hard to be hoodwinked by the administration’s cover of environmental-consciousness. Of course, all these are justifiable from the administration’s perspective, for nobody can blame human nature for fixating on a shrinking pool of greenbacks and a burgeoning educational budget crisis, instead of on falling greenery somewhere. But change we can. To save paper without “outsourcing” print jobs to students, the school does have options. AP Biology teacher Pamela Chow hands out just enough copies of notes for her students, with less extra, so they are not burdened with printing a whole binder of notes. Social studies teacher Christopher Chiang inaugurated a 99 percent paperless policy for the Government Team this year, so that all work is done electronically. And here’s another plan: students can indicate whether they can bring laptops to view electronic versions of handouts, and teachers give hard copies to those who cannot. But before that, the administration could do with a lesson from AP Environmental Science: reducing paper use in school while increasing tree-killing at students’ homes still leaves polar bear cubs stranded on melting icebergs.
In this case, I think the teachers have it right. MVHS prepares us for college, it prepares us to get what we want when we need it. We’ve been equipped with the right tools and trained to use them to get what we need. It’s been ingrained in our minds to get whatever it is we desire by whatever means necessary. We become experts at getting extensions from the lenient teachers, masters of using connections to cheat on the hardest tests, and kings of using flattery to get people to give us the answers or whatever other help we might end up needing. We become artists, to the point where using these tools becomes second nature, to we learn to apply th ese skills to succeed at school. With each passing year at school, we realize that all the things that once seemed wrong and bad, aren’t so bad anymore— they are completely necessary. Acts that have once induced so much internal moral conflict such as cheating, are no longer novel, but a necessity to play the game: survival of the fittest. As we learn to adapt to the nature of this game, things like cheating, which was looked at as one of the seven deadly sins in freshman year, become vital to our success. Each year we see more cheating and different ways of circumventing the system. Once we mature into upperclassmen, this no longer poses a question of morality. We learn to realize that you got to do what you got to do.
Trained by the best
As our perception of success is modified, the mantra takes on new meaning. In elementary school, we are taught that success is only dependent on achieving personal goals, but as we grow up we realize that it doesn’t matter what we do. Because if someone is doing better than you do, then all of your efforts are virtually worthless. It doesn’t matter if you go from a 2.0 to a 4.0 if the guy in your Calculus BC class is getting a 4.5. We’ve been taught that our performance today affects tomorrow’s success, that our success depends on our ability to beat the competition. When success is at stake, we apply all our newly acquired skills: persuasion, connections and flattery. People complain that MVHS is nothing like the real world, and we are too sheltered to know how the real world works. But it really depends on how you choose to look at it. MVHS is actually the training ground for learning how to survive in the world. We may not have the coolest parties or the most diverse population but you get the real deal. We go to a school that cares about us enough to show how corrupt the world is. It’s an important lesson that everyone needs to learn.
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EL ESTOQUE OPINION
November 22, 2009
Club chaos: Community self-service Student priorities completely out of order
Phone calls for service Phone-banking for measure G not community service by Sarika Patel
Anyssa Karnkaeng | El Estoque
Selfish altruism: Students do right things for wrong reasons by Bhargav Setlur
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ho knows how many students have an innovative idea in them, and are waiting for a club to help them act on it? Many of the world’s most successful self-made men and women will tell you that entrepreneurship – the process of starting with an idea, turning it into a reality, and then offering the result to the world — is one of the most fulfilling things that they have ever done. Compared to that shining ideal, many clubs on campus don’t quite measure up. For example, from what we saw in the Entrepreneurship Club’s promo video, recently shown on announcements, the club’s goals aren’t exactly noble. All we hear about is making money and putting another activity on your college applications. Any mention of the joy and fulfillment of achieving success with individual perseverance and drive? None. Something doesn’t seem right. The club’s recent promo video showcased just how detached clubs at school are from reality. The video, which promoted entrepreneurship as nothing more than a
source of income and another filler for college applications, completely missed out on the biggest reason that people have for starting something new: joy. Doing something simply because you enjoy it, and not because you need the money or because you need to look more busy to admissions committees, is why people like Hewlett and Packard and Jobs struck out on their own. It’s disheartening to see clubs wrongly characterize important and meaningful endeavors in this way. Anyone who believes that motivation and drive are cultivated in once-weekly lunchtime meetings has little understanding of how the world really works. But it is not fair to single out the Entrepreneurship Club for criticism. It’s simply representative of a problem that is all too common at MVHS. Students joining and starting clubs – for the wrong reasons. Service clubs, generally the most altruistic on campus, are guilty of this too. People join for the hours, for the leadership positions, or for a multitude of trivial reasons. It’s painfully obvious that many students don’t join these clubs because they enjoy serving others and helping the community.
A perfect example of this is the California Scholarship Federation, or CSF. Students are required to complete five hours of community service per semester to maintain their membership in the organization. Five. It’s a tiny number that you can count on one hand. More importantly, it speaks volumes about the priorities of the club. It doesn’t have to be this way. All anyone has to do is step back and make a critical evaluation of everything he or she is involved in. What is actually interesting? What feels like a chore? These are hard questions to ask, but the answers are too important to overlook. In a school where most students have immense opportunities to find meaningful ways to spend their time and energy, each and every person is bound to find a club or activity that genuinely interests them. Forgive the idealism, but people should be involved in activities that they would still pursue even if they received no hours, or leadership positions, or another line in the resume. The key to doing anything well is believing in it. When students love what they do, there’s no limit to how successful they can be. Why fill our lives with fluff?
Putting a price on learning and experience Clubs offer students cash incentives to maintain member base by Sahana Sridhara
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ash prizes are offered. It’s a club’s selling point, its gimmick, its draw into their events and competitions. While their whole campaign encourages academic excellence, exemplifies their educational value and gives importance to the learning experience, clubs feel that only one thing can rally members and increase their participation at their clubs and activities: cash. Many clubs use money as a method of advertising, assuming that students at this school are so shallow that only cash will get their attention. The irony of it all is that their audience lives in Cupertino, and therefore the majority come from upper middle class families. If money was all students wanted, they certainly would not be coming to clubs in search of it. One example where the promise of cash awards lures participants is FBLA. When students place highly in state level competitions, they are given scholarships as travel reimbursements to pay for either flights or rooming in the chosen competition location. In reality, the money comes nowhere near to covering the whole cost of travel expenses. Furthermore, the funds are awarded only after the event they were intended to subsidize has passed. California state FBLA should not be handing out money for high performance in competitions. Instead, it should award prizes that emphasize what the club was made to do: educate people in order to make them successful business leaders of the future. There are also a multitude of science and math competitions that hand out cash awards as incentives to participate. The point of the competitions no longer focuses on the thrill of solving problems and challenging yourself. Instead, it now focuses on the pursuit of financial reward. Although clubs may justify that a cash reward is simply a bonus to the actual educational intent of the competition, it’s hard to deny that increasing emphasis is being placed on the money students can win instead of the experiences that they will gain. In reality, if the main purpose of clubs is to enrich students educationally, what reason do they have to draw students with the promise of money? All this money is going out to students, but there is no way
Anyssa Karnkaeng | El Estoque
to ensure that the money will help them on their journey to actually becoming the future of America. Instead of handing out money unconditionally, money should be given out for a specific purpose. For example, give a science competition winner money to buy new equipment — possibly in the form of a gift card for a research supply store. Give an FBLA winner travel vouchers or boarding options as prizes. Give young entrepreneurs money to start up a business or to invest in their next business venture. But don’t just hand them the money. Put it in a fund that will only allow them to use the money for something that will push them forward in their educational pursuits. While cash may sound like a tempting reward, a glistening piece of silver on the ground, what we really need at the high school level is opportunity to further develop our talents. Cold cash isn’t going to do that. It’s time to rethink how we reward the best and brightest.
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he meaning of community service is changing. Community service used to mean helping out people in need and helping the community take a step towards something better. We have now made the term community service open to interpretation; having hands to dial a phone and being able to read off of a paper now qualifies you to earn community service hours even if you don’t fully believe in or even know about what cause you are supporting. Because of the failure of Measure G, several issues could be affecting district campuses soon. It was obvious that the high schools in FUHSD would benefit from this money, necessary to maintain the district’s renowned reputation of academic excellence. The consequences of the failure of Measure G make the future of the class of 2012 and future posterity look bleak. In order to ensure Measure G passes, students were told to encourage people to vote, and whatever else necessary. But, as vital as Measure G is, merely supporting it should not be considered active community service. Two of the larger clubs on campus offered their members service hours for phone banking in favor of Measure G. Students went to a phone banking location, were given a list of phone numbers to call, and were told what to say. Several of the members who signed up for these activities admitted to not even knowing what Measure G was until they got there, and basically only did it for the service hours. By definition, community service is “service volunteered PHONE BANKING by individuals or an The essentials of organization phone banking to benefit a 1. Students go to phone c o m m u n i t y or its banking location. 2. Staffers give students a institutions,” and in no way list of numbers to dial. phone 3. A sheet tells students does banking seem what to say. to “benefit a community”. Community service in its truest form should directly help all members of the community. It seems that people with the authority to grant service hours have morphed the meaning into whatever they think it should be, completely ignoring its true definition. Community service should be something the individual believes in, not something he or she does just to rack up hours. It should leave a person feeling as if he or she has done something and made a tangible difference. It seems as though the people who received service hours for phone banking did so simply because they could dial numbers and recite what they were trained to say. Compare this to students who may have spent the same number of hours volunteering at a local hospital or senior center. Are the two activities truly equal? Not everything can be called community service, and phone banking certainly cannot. It’s important that club officers keep this lesson in mind when they get involved in the future.
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EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
SchoolFever Some students feel the pressure to keep up in school so strongly that they feel as though they cannot take a break even when they are sick. By coming to school with a fever, flu, or even a cold, students compromise the health for not only themselves but also for their classmates, teachers and overall environment of the school.
Students, teacher discuss consequences of coming to school when sick by Joseph Beyda
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enior Tarun Chaudhry felt fine on the morning of Oct. 10. He took the SAT, and the cold symptoms he had felt since Friday morning hurt his concentration, but he still felt he performed well. That night, Chaudhry began to feel worse. He developed a slight fever of 99 degrees and stayed home from the homecoming dance. He woke up the next morning with a fever of 103. His mother, a pharmacist, recognized his dizziness, headache, tiredness and muscle pains as signs of one thing— the H1N1 virus. With medications running out and vaccines not available to many students, the disease, along with the yearly flu and other illnesses, is spreading on campus. History teacher Maria Carter-Giannini reports that 10 of her students were out sick at once in one of her classes.
Other students, concerned with missing tests or quizzes, are coming to school despite being sick. A survey of 302 students conducted by El Estoque showed that 86 percent of students had come to school sick at some point in their lives. Carter-Giannini says its safer to stay home when you feel sick, but that it may not eliminate sickness on campus. “The problem with the flu is that you are most contagious the day before you start showing symptoms,” she said. Commonly known as swine flu, H1N1 is widespread in 48 states, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schools are a prime source of disease proliferation— one 1996 CDC report said that nearly 22 million school days are lost each year due to the common cold alone— because of the large numbers of students in one place throughout the day. “By the time my day is over, there are 150 bodies with all of their germs that have come in and out my door,” Carter-Giannini said.
Carter-Giannini requested that her students stay home when sick; she’s pregnant, so her immunity is diminished and the virus may last two to three times as long if she contracts it. For the most part, students listened. Carter-Giannini says other teachers have been seeing the same results, despite regular student tendencies. “Normally we have kids coming in that just look like death,” Carter-Giannini said. “They look like they haven’t slept in days.” It seems that students understand that swine flu is a more serious threat than the yearly flu. According to the survey, four and a half times as many students would stay home with swine flu than the number that said they would stay home with the yearly flu or common cold. Seventy-three percent recognize that children and young adults are the most at-risk age group for serious complications due to swine flu— the elderly often have immunity due to being vaccinated in the mid-1900’s against viruses similar to the H1N1 virus. See ILLNESS on page 12
Sneak peek: Debunking myths about swine flu
Results for the survey about sicknesses
Watch out for the symptoms of swine flu
EL ESTOQUE A CLOSER LOOK
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
Swine flu superhero
Headache
Father of senior Nausheen and sophomore Aafreen Mahmood works overseas in India to help develop the H1N1 vaccine
Fever Runny or stuffy nose
by Sabrina Ghaus efficiently, unlike the current system. While Kutub has been working in India, his family remains in the United States, trying to function normally without him. “For me, being the oldest of three, it’s meant a lot more responsibility,” Nausheen said. She recalls a time in September when both of her parents were gone—her mother was on a business trip, and her father was in India, working on the vaccine. “I was basically running the household and doing homework...I had to buy groceries, so I went to the Indian store and I spent like 20 minutes trying to figure out which onion to buy!” “I think the whole experience really brought us closer together and made us stronger,” Aafreen said. Not having her father home, especially during the trying time of college applications, has not been easy on Nausheen. During the very family-oriented Muslim holiday of Eid, where Muslims celebrate the end of the holy month of fasting, Ramadan, Nausheen and her siblings had to celebrate without either of their parents home. “It was the first Eid with both our parents gone,” Nausheen said. “But, if you look at it in a different light, this is good training. I’m learning how to live independently.” The family is not very worried about Kutub contracting swine flu, since Cadila Pharmaceuticals has given him housing in the richer, cleaner part of Gujrat, where the illness has not had a large impact, though the chief minister of Gujrat has swine flu. Nausheen, who aims to pursue a career in medicine herself, sees her father’s absence as a necessary sacrifice for the family. “I miss him, but the people in India need him right now,” Nausheen said. “People are dying from the disease, and he’s doing what he has to do.”
28
Percent of students feel that nausea is a good reason to go see the doctor.
Cough Nausea or vomiting
Sore throat Fatigue
40
swine flu
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here’s the doctors, the engineers, the parents who work at Apple or Google, and then there’s Kutub Mahmood—father of sophomore Aafreen and senior Nausheen Mahmood, and head of the research and development team developing the H1N1 vaccine in India. Kutub has been stationed in India since August, and will continue to work there for the rest of the year. His return date is speculative because it depends on the pace at which the vaccine is being developed. India was hit with a severe epidemic of swine flu in the past summer — according to a report by the New York Times on Aug. 12, 17 deaths and around 1,200 cases of swine flu swept through the country, causing the financial capital, Mumbai, to shut down. Kutub is working for Cadila Pharmaceuticals, a company in Gujrat partnered with Novavax Inc., an American biotechnology company that developed the vaccine for the United States. Specifically, Cadila is going to test the vaccine that has been developing in the United States in India, checking its effectiveness in the Indian gene pool and making adjustments as needed, part of Kutub’s job. In addition, the company is working on developing technology to mass produce the vaccine, using special “VLP” technology to cut down production time in half, making it equipped to deal with the swine flu pandemic. VLP, or “virus-like particles,” are exactly what their name implies—they are shaped like viruses but do not contain genetic material that active viruses have. According to a press release from Novavax, VLPs can be mass produced
Symptoms of
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Percent of students said that even if they had the common flu, they would still come to school under all circumstances.
Chills
Body Aches
10%
15%
17%
Percent of students were not surprised at all that the H1N1 flu came to MVHS.
Under all circumstances
If there were a test
If there were a quiz
If there were a project due
These are the percentages of students that chose each circumstance. Multiple selections were allowed.
33
13%
70%
Under no circumstances
If you felt you were sick with the H1N1 flu, under which circumstances would you still come to school?
sports PAGE 16
Tennis player Sylvia Li
PAGE 17
First-time football players
PAGE 18
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Faculty fantasy sports leagues
RISING TO PERFECTION
Stefan Ball | El Estoque
UP AND OVER Junior Sonika Singh raises the ball over the head of an Aragon defender in the varsity girls water polo first round CCS match on Nov. 11 at MVHS. Although the Lady Mats fell to Aragon 15-3, the team still finished the regular season undefeated, surpassing their record of 8-4 last year and becoming champions of the El Camino League.
Varsity girl’s waterpolo has undefeated season, wins El Camino league championship by Hannah Lem
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hake it off, Monta Vista.” That’s what the Lady Mats said after every goal that was scored against them. This was the first game of CCS, that took place at MVHS on Nov 11. The girls ended up losing the game to Aragon High School, 15-3. However, the team was undefeated for the entire season leading up to CCS, which was a complete change from last year. The varsity waterpolo team finished the 2008 season third in the league and didn’t make make it to CCS, so going undefeated this season was a surprise to the girls. “We lost two of our best players last year, and we’ve had to make lots of offensive and defensive adjustments,” junior and co-captian Nicolet Danese said. “The other teams in the De Anza league last year were really competitive, but this year they lost some important players as well. But we’ve really been lucky this season
because we’ve been winning all of our games,” junior and co-captain Sonika Singh said. The girls had an average victory margin of seven points this year. They averaged 10-12 goals a game while only letting in about three. The team’s defense was anchored by senior Alyssa Walker. “[Walker] may be the best we’ve ever had”, coach Don Vierra, said. Walker used to play offense, but because the team lost two seniors, she was moved into the net. Also contributing to the team’s solid defense are juniors Singh and Gaby Antonova, who were moved up to varsity at the end of their freshman year. And the Lady Mats offensive is lead by Danese, who surpassed the Monta Vista record of 122 goals. “It didn’t really fell different when I passed [the record]. It was just an added bonus to an already great season, “ said Danese. Many of the girls played club water polo during the
summer. The girls also practice two times a day, once before school and once after school. Vierra credits this season’s success to the hard work of the girls. “It takes time to develop experienced water polo players, and these girls work very hard practicing twice a day and playing over the summer, “ Vierra said. “I don’t think we were prepared [for CCS]. We’re used to playing in a lower league. The only time we played against better teams was during tournaments, but there’s only so many tournaments we can go to,” Singh said. As the season closed, the girls have new hopes for the next season. “This season, we were really tight, and it felt like were were a family. I’’m nervious [for next year], but also excited to be getting a new goalie, and playing in a new league [De Anza League],” Sonika said. “This season we had our doubts, “ Danese said. “We’re moving up a league, so there will be better teams, better pools and, hopefully, better referees.”
Growing pains sideline athletes: players down, but not out Freshmen Owen Hardee and Drew Granzella suffer discomfort due to Sever’s disease by Natalie Chan
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very day after school, the JV football team practices on the lower field, getting ready for the game by conditioning, running drills and counting every push up. But on Nov. 5, a small group of football players were sitting away from their teammates, on the grass and laughing— out of uniform, off the field. “Oh, you got a Spiderman bandage.” “That’s cool.” “I bet when you take it off you’ll have spider powers.” “What you do is go all skater and attach onto trucks.” “Spiderman in the suburbs.” The students of that group were unable to play due to sprained ankles, broken wrists, or torn ligaments. One of those athletes was freshman Drew Granzella, and unlike the other sidelined players, he has not sprained or torn anything; Granzella is sitting out his freshman year junior varsity football season because he has growing pains. Although his conversation
might be all fun and games, his mindset and reason for sitting out are not. His pain is caused by Sever’s Disease, when bones grow faster than the surrounding muscles and tendons. For Granzella, who plays wide reciever and quarterback, that means tightened heels and pain whenever he puts pressure on his legs. Freshman Owen Hardee also has Sever’s Disease, but he continued his high school sports career by joining the boys waterpolo team. Both Granzella and Hardee’s Sever’s Disease began in middle school, and the two athletes pushed through their growing pains to play in sports—baseball and basketball for Granzella and hurdles for Hardee. However, Granzella’s growing pains worsened at the beginning of this year. He said that his x-rays showed his bones fusing, thus making it impossible for him to run until the pain resides. This, combined with the high-impact running required from football, has made it too difficult for Granzella to practice with the team and play his best. For Hardee, though, swimming in the pool puts much less pressure on his heels
than walking on land, allowing him to continue playinig even with his Sever’s disease. When Hardee is not swimming, he wears cushions, or heel seats, in his shoes to limit the pressure and thus relieve the pain. While he sleeps, he splints his legs, wrapping them with medical tape. Even though Sever’s disease has created many hurdles for both the athletes, they are doing their best to overcome it. Granzella still learns each play, despite not being able to drill with the majority of the team. “Yes, I got it again,” Granzella said after a clean punt. His second attempt was not as successful; his teammate made sure to point it out. “Yeah, man. That’s a four-yard punt.” JV football coach Andrew Sturgill has noticed Granzella’s perseverance and continued hard work. “[Granzella] was just practicing through the pain... fighting through it,” Sturgill said. Hardee has tentative plans for track and field this spring, depending on whether or not he still has Sever’s Disease. “I can live through the pain,” he said.
Photo Illustration by Erin Chiu
ON THE SIDELINES Freshman Drew Granzella sits out of practice on Nov. 12 due to Sever’s Disease, commonly known as growing pains.
EL ESTOQUE SPORTS
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THE PAGE THE PLAYER
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
A LOOK BACK AT THE MONTH IN SPORTS THE GAME
SYLVIA LI - VARSITY TENNIS
CCS VARSITY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VS. GUNN
Sylvia Li Junior Sylvia Li is a quick learner and a natural athlete. Comapred to her competitors, Li is a newcomer to the sport of tennis and has only played for four years. Originally a swimmer, Li switched to playing tennis in the eigth grade. Currently, Li, ranked 78th in the nation and sixth in the state and is leading the lady mats in CCS play this year. Varsity doubles #1 in freshmen year and varsity singles #1 since sophomore year, Li has played an integral role in MVHS’ succesful CCS run over the last three years. EL ESTOQUE: So, Sylvia, how long have you been playing tennis? SYLVIA LI: Four years. EE: You’ve only played four years? Have you had any outside training with a coach or in a team? SL: Yeah, a lot. Well, it’s a group lesson, but it’s not a team. EE: You started when you were 11 or 12, so you must’ve been in 7th grade. That’s a bit late for an athlete to start their career in sports. How did you get started in a sport so late? SL: My parents signed me up for swimming at Cupertino Hills Country Club, but I hated it. They had tennis courts, so I tried it out, and I liked it. Even though I was really young, I knew I wanted to play college tennis. I didn’t want to be pro. I wanted to do college tennis. I was improving pretty fast. EE: It seems that way. You’re ranked 78th in the nation and what in the state? SL: fifth or sixth. EE: What’s it like to be ranked so high?
Stefan Ball | El Estoque
SL: Well, it’s not really where I want to be. I want to go up more, but it’s hard since the year’s almost over. By the end of the year, I want to be around 50th. EE: What’s your playing style? SL: I’m agressive at the baseline. I’ve been starting to come up to the net more, but I mainly stay at the back. I usually don’t play defense. I’m not the fastest person. It’s kind of my mindset. I don’t want to be the kind of person who’s pushing the ball over to win. I always want to have the mindset to be able to play. There are times where if you feel intimidated, your game can totally go down. There’s not too much strategy with the girls my age. It’s just who can exploit the other person better. EE: What’s your biggest strength in tennis? SL: I’d say willingness to work hard. I don’t feel like I’m too natural at anything. My parents told me that the reason I’ve been able to succeed is because of my will to practice. I’ve been really tenacious with that.
Stefan Ball El Estoque
OVER THE NET Junior Sammy Barry tips the ball over the net and the outstretched hands of a Gunn player in the first round CCS match on Nov. 11. The team went on to defeat the Gunn Titans 3-2.
MONTA VISTA MATADORS
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by Jiachen Yang and Christophe Haubursin
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et 5: MVHS 14, Gunn trailing at 10. A big outside hit by senior Nicole Dao shot past Gunn’s blockers and back row. The MVHS gym exploded as the referee signaled the ball in and gave the game point to the Lady Mats. The varsity girls volleyball team’s strong play led to a big win against Gunn and their first CCS victory of this season. “This is our first playoff win in nine years at Monta Vista,” head coach Colin Anderson said. “We’re still smaller than a lot of the teams we play, and yet we still do real well. We’re scrappy, we serve really tough, and I think that’s great.” Immediately into Set 1, the girls faced strong opposition from Gunn’s front row that persisted throughout the game. With a series of tough serves and clutch hits, Gunn quickly took the lead in the first set. The Matadors responded with strong outside, opposite, and middle hits, but Gunn’s tall front row rotation came up with big blocks in key moments of the first set. Though the girls began to counter Gunn’s height advantage with tips and short balls, they were unable to rally back and lost the first set 15-25. “I feel that at first we were really intimidated
THE TEAM
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GUNN TITANS
since it was such a big game, and there was a lot of pressure,” junior Lucia Lin said. Despite the shaky start, the girls stepped up their game in the second set, improving the consistency of their hits and doing a better job of shutting down Gunn’s explosive outside hitting rotation. Solid passing from the back row helped junior setter Jennifer Wang open up the offensive attack and take the second set 25-18. The two teams adjusted to each others’ offensive strengths and started playing a more more balanced and consistent game. The Matadors lost the third set in a down to the wire 24-26 finish, but bounce back with a 25-23 win in the fourth set. “After the third set, we got really fired up,” freshman librero Serena Chew said. “Our captains gave us some good pep talks, and it just kept us going through the fourth and into the fifth set.” The girls finished strong in the fifth set. Proving that they belong in the CCS race, the team started off well and never looked back, winning the fifth set 15-10. “I think we totally stepped it up,” UC Davis bound senior Victoria Lee said. “We pulled together as a team and brought it out with a win.”
THE PLAYERS AND PERSONALITIES OF VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY Senior Kelli Sum Likes to sing “You belong without me forever and always” at practice Freshman Catalina Huang Huang is obsessive about picking up trash.
Freshman Sarena Alsukhon Alsukhon likes to play with sticks during runs.
Senior Christine Chang Claims to get high on hill runs
Senior Aditi Krishnapriyan Has crazy long-distance running habits, and once ran 10 miles in a storm
Sophomore Shana Rubin Enjoys eating food in front of the JV team to annoy them
Sophomore Arif Hasan Hasan makes sure that he doesn’t start too fast during a race, and he analyzes his position after the first mile of the race.
Freshman Malvika Maikel Maikel kicks rocks while running up hills Sophomore Shivam Khannah Khannah is always late when there are no consequences for him. Once, when practice was at 3:30, he showed up at 3:55.
Stefan Ball| El Estoque
Freshman Lucia Dalle Ore Dalle Ore likes to poke fun at upperclassmen.
Senior Peter Feng Ran at 4:30 a.m. during the summer while watching a meteor shower
Senior Hiro Okajima Lost a year of cross-country after skipping junior year. He tries hard and runs every weekend to make up for lost time.
Sophomore Michael Lu Tries to “make it hell” for anyone who wants to beat him and tells himself during races that the pain will go away in 15 minutes Senior Kranti Peddada Wears two shirts to practice. Peddada once ran 5 km at Stanford in 101 degree weather Senior Alex Cheng: Cheng got an ab workout from coughing after running in the rain for 8.5 miles.
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE SPORTS
Football rookies of the year Seniors learn that it is never too late to pick up a new sport
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SAMVED SANGAMESWARA
For the LOVE of the GAME
Woo-hoo for the boos
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Gene Ang | El Estoque
ROOKIE Senior Akhil Raju runs in a football practice on Nov 6. Raju was among a few seniors chose to join the team this year. by Christine Chang and Varshini Cherukupalli
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unched over a rumpled sheet of paper during first period, senior Kevin Nguyen traces his finger over the cluster of chicken scratches and crudely drawn shapes as if cramming desperately for a test. But that sheet of paper has nothing to do with the government. It’s a sheet of formational diagrams that Nguyen keeps in his binder as his guide to understanding the game of football. Many would argue that football’s complexities, with its numerous game plans, earn it a reputation as one of the most strategically detailed sports. Nguyen is one of the few players willing to take on football for the first time as a senior. Since all seniors are automatically placed on the varsity team, new players face a steep learning curve as they master the many tactics involved in football. “A lot of it is building up technique. It’s hard being compared to guys who’ve been playing since sixth grade,” Nguyen said. All through his first three years of high school, Nguyen felt that his small physique would not add to his value on the
football team. With intense weight training throughout his sophomore and junior years, Nguyen gained 30 pounds and finally felt confident enough to join the team. But the mechanics of football aren’t just about being buff and brawny. Senior Akhil Raju realized in his first year of football this season. The game comes with the mental effort of logically mapping out field plays and formations. Having run cross country for his first three years of high school, Raju finds this to be the major difference between the two sports. “In cross country, you just run,” Raju said. “But in football, the game is very intellectual because you have to learn a lot of plays.” Years of experience built up throughout the seasons give four-year players on the team a boost. But Raju took on football for the first time this year not because he was a believer of newbie’s luck. “I knew if I didn’t join it would stay in the back of my head, like, ‘What if I had joined the football team?’ Because I know I won’t have that chance in college,” Raju said. From an instructor’s standpoint, Coach Jeff Mueller acknowledges the often overwhelming challenge seniors face as firsttime varsity players. Mueller says that half
a season may pass before the new players really understand the intricacies of the game and are thoroughly qualified to play. For many of the beginners that means putting in extra time to catch up on fundamentals that veterans have honed over the course of four years. “It’s physically demanding especially for [a new player] because their body isn’t used to the pounding over 14 weeks,” Mueller said. “Then there’s the mental aspect of it. You have to think the whole time you’re playing this if-then statments.” Thus Mueller imparts more merit on those who join football as freshmen and sophomores, continuing the sport throughout their high school career. “I’d really like to have everybody for all four years so they can contribute the whole time,” Mueller said. “If I’ve got enough kids, I’m not going to [allow new seniors to join] since football is a huge commitment. Some kids don’t understand. They think they can just come out to practice and play.” Nonetheless, football still attracts senior newcomers who are up for taking on a grueling season of punts, tackles, and touchdowns.
Taking the hit: Senior plays violent sport Senior Chris Beall explains common but brutal lacrosse injuries by Mansi Pathak
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t is not uncommon for senior Chris Beall to come home with large welts on his legs. He shrugs off the fact that he barely has feeling left in his shins and tapes up his thumbs before games to keep his thumbnail from being ripped off—again. Beall has been playing lacrosse for five years with the Tomahawks, a club team based in Palo Alto. The inspiration to take up the sport sprouted from his dad’s hometown, Syracuse, New York, where lacrosse is very popular. Beall entered the sport an amateur with no exact skill set; however, when the team needed a goalie, Beall tested it out and the position stuck. As goalie, Beall faces 15 to 20 shots per game, which can be quite painful, considering his only protection is a pair of gloves, a helmet, and a small chest protector. “The ball is five ounces of solid rubber and it flies anywhere from 60 to 90 miles per hour,” Beall said. “I’ve seen shots at 100 miles per hour and I’ve taken them right to my skin.” However, Beall explains that taking the ball to bare skin isn’t even the most painful part of the game. At the Naval Academy lacrosse program he joined one year, Beall saw players medevaced off the field by helicopters. Even a legal hit can result in a broken back and an ambulance. “I really don’t think there’s anything more violent than getting hit by a metal pole,” Beall said. “I’ve definitely hit a kid hard enough [to leave a] welt on his arm. That’s just the nature of the sport.” Jeff Eckenhoff, Beall’s previous Tomahawks coach, has also seen a variety of goalie injuries. During his college years playing lacrosse, Eckenhoff suffered broken thumbs, spearated shoulders and bursitis in the knee. According to Eckenhoff, broken thumbs and bone contusions—or deep bruising—are the most common goalie injuries he has witnessed. Likewise, the brutal nature of the sport is apparent during the team’s intense, and sometimes violent, practices. Beall remembers
ith basketball season on the horizon I think it’s time I address a question that arises year after year. Should we boo opposing teams and referees at our games? For the sake of sportsmanship, our administration has taken the stance that booing in any circumstance only reflects poorly upon our student body and therefore has no place inside our gym and out on our fields. Although I understand what position they’re in, I have to respectfully disagree. Booing is an integral part of watching any sporting event, especially one that takes place in as close quarters as high school basketball games, and I would go as far as saying that we should encourage it.
Why we boo
Sometimes, something will happen in a sporting event that is so mind-numbingly infuriating to the spectator, he or she has to do or say something. That’s why we boo. It’s anger on our own team’s behalf. And in the scheme of things, a boo is a relatively mild form of disagreement. We aren’t personally attacking anyone and no one is getting hurt. That’s the beauty of the boo; at the end of the day it really is pretty inconsequential. It is the perfect way to to convey your message at something as trivial and unimportant as a basketball game. Booing sends a clear, universal message of disapproval without directly offending anyone. Compare this to the more uncouth, but always popular practice of heckling. Instead of directly attacking an individual like a heckler does, booing us allows us to vent without stepping out of bounds.
What’s the problem?
Still, there are always those that are going to argue that any negativity, no matter how harmless, has no place in high school sports. I’m going to have to disagree with this though. There is a fundamental flaw with this philosophy because it confuses appropriate action with disrespectful action. Yes, berating people as they try to do their jobs is wrong in almost every single case, however in sports, not only is it acceptable, it is the right thing to do. In a high-energy sport like basketball, a disrespectful fan is not nearly as bad of a fan as a quiet one. And in the event of a blown call by a referee, the only thing the fan can do is voice their concerns.
Proceed with caution
Photo courtesy of Chris Beall
PROTECT THE GOAL Senior Chris Beall plays goalie on his Palo Alto based club lacrosse team, The Tomohawks.
instances where emotions built up to the point of fights. “There was this one practice when I ended up getting in a fist fight with a kid,” Beall said. “But we vented out our frustrations and at the end of the day we would be walking to our cars joking and laughing.” Even with the risk of broken bones, bruises, and ripped nails, Beall is not scared to play aggressively. After games, Beall’s legs are covered in large bruises from making saves. “There are a lot of goalies who get stuck in [the goal], whereas I’ve taken the ball up the field,” Beall said. “As long as I don’t get out of position I’ll go out and knock a few heads.” This “all or nothing” game tactic was inspired by Matt Russell, the professional goalie of the Men’s Naval Academy team. Beall recounts the national championship game when Russell continued playing with a broken collar bone. “He just had this tenacity for the position,” Beall said. “That sort of attitude—that no matter what happens during the game just to keep going—just really inspired me.”
As I encourage you guys to use the boo, I must add that booing really should be done sparingly. It’s a great way to vent your frustration and it’s certainly the best way to react to anything negative out on the court, but ultimately that is all that booing is, a reaction. No one likes an aggressive fan. If you’re out booing for the sake of being a loud angry fan, no one is going to want to watch games with you; you’re going to be that fan. The one that preforms the cardinal sin of fandom, distracting from the game. A quiet fan may be a bad type of fan, but the distracting fan is the worst. So bearing that in mind as the basketball season arrives, I would love to see everyone flooding our gym, cheering on our teams and booing the others, at least when it’s appropriate. And for those of you who still think we ought to keep this “negative energy” out of our gyms, there isn’t much you can do to stop hundreds of angry fans. Either accept the boo or well, boo-hoo for you.
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Senior collects and donates canned foods
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9 1 When work is play
English Teacher travels internationally
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Alumna talks about film career
Drama department’s production ‘The Servant of Two Masters’ revitalizes classic play with fun, contemporary references by Christophe Haubursin
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PUT A RING ON IT Junior Kelly Jackson performs Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” dance at the dress rehearsal on Oct. 24. Drama’s adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s 18th century play “The Servant of Two Masters” incorporated many pop culture references. Christophe Haubursin | El Estoque
CATCH PHRASE Here are some of the pop culture references in the fall production, “The Servant of two Masters.” Used to update the relationship status of Silvio and Clarice when they get engaged and un-engaged. Smeraldina and the clowns perform Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” dance
Lightsaber
When Clarice attempts suicide and fails, a clown holds up an “epic fail” sign. Truffaldino attempts to serve both masters during dinner, complete with In-n-Out and Tartini.
Silvio and Beatrice have a lightsaber battle. Later on, Clarice tries to commit suicide with the lightsaber.
t half past five on a windy Tuesday evening—two weeks before the opening night of the drama department’s production of A Servant of Two Masters—and while the rest of the student body had abandoned campus, the Drama class was hard at work, as usual. Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock” blared loudly from the speakers onstage in the auditorium, drowning out the clamor of cordless power drills, actors’ voices, and a machine they call the “Genie.” They use their beloved machine, a bright orange scissor lift, to reach lights that need adjustment. “This whole thing’s pretty cool,” junior Ab Menon said as he started up the Genie. “We get to act and take part in tech work. I chose drama over cross country because of this. I feel good after I run, but while I’m running I’m not having a good time. But here, I’m having fun all the time.” He climbed up and into the lift and turned around. “You coming?” I paused for a moment before following him, notepad and voice recorder in hand. The platform jerked up under my feet and within seconds the entire production set came into view. This was the work of Tech Week—the two weeks before Drama’s performance where students work until 10 p.m. each night to add the finishing touches to the production and sets. “It’s actually really, really fun,” said Menon, who played the show’s eccentric main character, the servant Truffaldino. “I don’t know about the other guys, but when 10 comes around, I’m sad to leave, ‘cause I’m just having so much fun.” This year’s performance of “The Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni was not the usual high school play. It told the story of Truffaldino, a servant who moves into a new town along with his master, who is disguised
as her own late brother. Truffaldino eventually adopts an additional master and confusion ensues while Truffaldino tries to serve two masters at once. Though set in 18th century Venice, pop culture references were scattered throughout play. Duels were conflicts of lightsabers, not swords, failed suicide attempts are followed by statements of “epic fail,” and there’s even an imitation of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” music video. Yet the play’s incorporation of cultural symbols into its script was more than just a spontaneous twist. “Every show has its own life,” Assistant Director and alumnus Brian Miller said. “This show’s all about popular culture. It’s very topical.” In addition to the allusions, the play also featured a troupe of “clowns”— actors with specific roles who appeared occasionally to behave in a silly and ridiculous manner during scenes and intermission. Miller worked with the clowns, a part of the show’s traditional commedia dell’arte technique, to help them develop their characters and choreograph actions. “We really wanted to pay homage to the commedia dell’arte style,” Director Holly Cornelison said. “Our intent was to make it how the Italians would have wanted it. We’re just trying to have a good time.” As rehearsals progressed throughout the afternoon, the actors expressed excitement with the modernization of “The Servant of Two Masters.” They brainstormed additional jokes involving Fro-Yo and “that’s what she said,” relishing the thought of having everyday jokes replace old-world puns. And as the night approached, their motivation just didn’t stop. Menon lowered the Genie and stepped off. “Right now, we’re working like crazy,” he said. “But it is definitely gonna be worth it.”
My fair lady: Standards of beauty associated with skin color According to some female students, whitening products like makeup in Asian culture by Jane Kim
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n America, facial whitening products aren’t even thought of, much less commonly accepted. But in Asia most drug stores’ shelves are lined with facial masks and cleansers specifically aimed to whiten skin. Before senior Kelly Ni and sophomore Yanni Ma arrived in America, Ni used to use facial whitening products almost every day and Ma, approximately twice a week to fulfill their society’s image of beauty. However, when Ma and Ni came to America, the two noticed the significant cultural difference in what is considered the ideal beauty in America to that of Asia. According to the two it was a common desire for almost every girl in Taiwan to have porcelain skin like those of celebrities in magazines. The consuming desire to achieve a Snow White type of beauty among girls in Asia played a major role in Ma and Ni’s use of facial whitening products. Since the girls have moved to the U.S. the pressure to have white skin has considerably decreased. According to Ma, the main reason for this is that America’s standard of beauty relies more on women’s natural skin color. “When I was back in Taiwan, every girl wanted to be lighter. But when I came here, people didn’t care. They wanted to be themselves,” Ni said. “I still care, but I don’t want to be super white anymore.” However, the U.S. isn’t so different in its pressure for beauty than Asian countries. Both Asia and the U.S. use media to send an image of beauty to young women. Skin
whitening is uncommon in the U.S. However, Ma believes tanning in America is of equivalent importance. “Here in America, girls want to be tan. It’s the exactly the same thing as in Asia when girls want to get white,” Ma said. Both forms are used to achieve a higher level of beauty. Even though their perception has changed, Ni says that the thought of beauty in white skin is still engraved in her mind. For this reason, they won’t go tanning because of the pressure they’ve faced growing up in Taiwan. This view of beauty also applies to the culture in India. Senior Neena Kashyap doesn’t agree with skin whitening. However, she understands that skin whitening is used for beauty and part of the overall culture of a country. “Skin whitening is understandable. Even in India, it’s the same thing [as in Taiwan],” Kashyap said. “It’s a cultural thing, there is this huge skin whitening market in India. It’s a vanity purpose and pretty much the equivalent to make-up.” For the most part Ni and Ma have stopped using these products. There are a couple of reasons for this: the difficulty in finding whitening products here, the different ideal for beauty and for the health of their skin. The facial masks and products Ma and Ni used are essentially harmless, but do stress the skin. “It’s really bad for your skin sometimes,” Ma said. “My skin is kind of sensitive, so when I change from country to country I have to stop.” And Senior Alan Do thinks that although in America
Stefan Ball | El Estoque Photo Illustration
CANDID SMILES Senior Kelly Ni (left) and sophomore Yanni Ma (right) both used products to whiten their faces, an accepted beauty process, while they lived in Asia. the culture is significantly different from that of Asia, the standard of beauty still stemmed from this side of the world. The girls who whiten their skin are not trying to emulate a racial skin color, but whiter skin is just the standard of beauty that girls are trying to follow. “We’ve been conditioned from ads, media and commercials to like pale, white skin,” Do said. “The western hemisphere sets up what’s beautiful.”
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November 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE A&E
Clubs in a flash Fashion club mannequin making by Somel Jammu and Sahana Sridhara
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s freshman Ayam Nouiouat stands still, fellow freshman Nellie Brosnan cuts through the tough vest of blue and neon green duct tape that Nouiouat has been mummified into. Afterwards, the girls tape the vest back together, and begin stuffing it with old newspapers, careful not to leave space for air pockets. On, November 5th during lunch, Fashion Club members gathered for their weekly meeting, but it wasn’t just a regular meeting. This time, the members, along with the officers, took the first step in preparing for the annual fashion show held in April: making mannequins. The mannequins were created by having members wear an old T-shirt, then having a friend duct-tape the clothing as tight as possible, and lastly, by cutting through the back only to re-tape it and stuff it tightly. The mannequins are necessary in being able to measure the size and amount of material needed for members to start developing their designs. Regular mannequins, according to fashion club treasurer sophomore Danielle Chandler, can cost anywhere from $400 to $700. Despite the fact that each member needs at least one to two rolls of duct tape, the total amount of money spent in the end is still comparatively cheaper than buying a real mannequin. Plus, you can’t find a hot pink and orange mannequin elsewhere.
Kanwalroop Singh | El Estoque
STUFFING THE BODY Sophomores Danielle Chandler and Carmella Vong stuff a duct-tape vest with newspapers on Oct 5. Fashion club meets every other Thursday at lunch and has 75 members. The mannequins are a part of fashion club’s preparation for their annual fashion show held in April. MATADORS BACK ON THE HOME FRONT
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t is hard to miss the mass of 15 white boxes stacked in social studies teacher Maria Carter-Giannini’s classroom. For the past few years, Carter-Giannini has been running Matadors on the Home Front, an organization that supports American soldiers deployed in countries around the world by continually collecting donations of all sorts, such as toiletries, comics, DVDs and playing cards. MHF raises funds to send the boxed packages to an assigned group of 30 to 40 soldiers. Throughout the year, the boxes will fill up slowly and multiply in numbers until eventually, they are ready to be shipped off to Fort Taji, Iraq—the location of the new troops. “We send anything that serves as an escape,” Carter-Giannini said. “When [the soldiers] receive the packages, it’s like Christmas morning—it means the world to them.”
FUNDRAISING FOR HUE
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MODEL U.N. REPRESENTS
pending some extra change for change at the Friends of Hue Foundation garage sale on Nov.14. saved many children in Hue, Vietnam. MVFHF organized this fundraiser in hopes of raising a few hundred dollars to support an orphanage in Hue, Vietnam. At the event, they sold a variety of items priced from a few quarters to $100; all donations were from their club members. The items included everything from books to large pieces of furniture, anything the members were willing to donate. There was also a variety of baked goods from Marie Callendar’s and The Cheesecake Factory. Many people came over the course of the day to help raise money for the orphanage. This money will go to fund the educations of many orphans in Vietnam. Their ongoing fundraisers include door to door fundraising, and an Orange Tree gift card fundraiser. The club expects that the fundraising will make a difference in Hue.
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VHS students have proved very successful at the MUN conferences with over 50 percent of the students placing at the event. Twelve members of the Monta Vista Model United Nations Club participated in their first conference at Stanford University from Nov. 6 through Nov. 8. Students were given the choice to represent specfic countries and committees. The conference consisted of two topics in which the chairs would judge them on their representations of their country and their knowledge on the subject they chose to represent. Over half the members competing were new members to the club. According to junior Jeffery Dong, the secret of their success is hard work and dedication. “If you are trying to be a part of the govermental system, start small by getting involved with the bigger issues with the MUN right here on campus,” Dong said.
Collecting 350 pounds of canned food in her own quiet way
Senior Saija Salminitty collects cans of food for a food bank one at a time throughout year by Aileen Le
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t sits in a pile in a space under the closet, silent and still—nearly 350 pounds of cans, piled one on top of another. For any normal teenager, the thought of collecting such an enormous amount of food is overwhelming and something that they would boast about, but senior Saija Salminitty doesn’t even consider it to be a significant part of her life or a “big tremendous thing.” It is just something that Saija keeps in the back of her mind; something that is not hard for her to do if she does it a little bit at a time. She understands the great effect of her deeds, yet partakes in her goal with great humility. “This is something that she does in her quiet way,” Saija’s mother, Jennifer Salminitty, said. “If she bragged about it, that would mean that she was asking for recognition when she only wants to feel good about herself.” During a field trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last year, art teacher Brian Chow wondered why people at MVHS
did not do more to help their community. Jennifer replied that the intention was there, but the time to act was not. These words have resonated with Saija since. If no one one else would act, then she would. “I am really glad that [Saija] is taking my message to heart and making it a priority,” Chow said. Saija started out small, with a couple of cans here and there each week, and as the year went on, the pile of food grew larger and larger. With Jennifer’s support along the way, the two have collected food for an entire year and have almost reached their goal of 350 pounds. Saija and her mother generally take the food that they collect directly to Second Harvest Food Bank, but she occasionally brings some cans to her third period class to participate in the school-wide food drive. She notes the lack of cans being donated as a whole by students. Due to higher unemployment and trouble with house payments this year, it is the first time that many have ever needed to ask for food. Because of this, Jennifer believes the need to donate is stronger.
Photo Courtesy of Saija Salminitty
TREASURE CHEST A glimpse at the cans senior Saija Salminitty has collected throughout the year. When she will soon donate them cans to the Second Harvest Food Bank. And Saija does too. “If you look at all the classes, all their donation boxes are pretty much empty and it doesn’t take that much effort,” Saija said. “I guess I wish that other people would do it, too.” After moving 11 times, for Saija, being part of a community means more than
simply living in one place for a long time. Being part of a community is about caring for more than yourself, it’s about having a genuine interest in people and affecting their lives in a positive way. “Someone out there needs something and it doesn’t really take that much to provide it,” Salminitty said.
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE A&E
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Around the world in thirteen years English teacher Christy Utter shares her traveling experiences abroad in Asia and Africa
Kanwalroop Singh | El Estoque
SHOW DON’T TELL English teacher Christy Utter shows photographs of her visits to Asia. Utter taught internationally and has been to several Asian countries, like Bhutan and Vietnam. by Varshini Cherukupalli
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f you look at pictures of English teacher Christy Utter’s travels, you won’t see Disneyland or New York City. Instead, you will see the snow-covered mountains of Tibet and the red Buddhist monasteries of Northeast India. From Kenya to India to China, Utter has traveled and studied abroad in numerous
countries. Growing up in Minnesota, Utter did not have the opportunity to travel at all, save for the few trips to her grandparents’ house in Iowa. When she went to Dartmouth College, she learned about study abroad programs and decided to take one in Kenya. During her stay in Kenya, Utter discovered her love for other cultures and decided that she would live abroad again. Kenya,
she feels, was a life-changing experience, with a pace of life extremely different from America’s. She stayed with a family in Nairobi who reminded her of her own family, with three kids and warm parents. The more time she spent with them, the more she fit into the household—the parents called her their daughter and specially cooked vegetarian food for her. As the time came to leave, Utter realized she did not want to go. “It was crazy in some ways, but it was also beautiful,” Utter said. “It fostered this belief in me that I could go to other parts of the world and connect with people.” Utter was also able to broaden her perspectives through her first teaching job at a school in Menlo Park called the Peninsula School. It was an unconventional school where students referred to their teachers on a first-name basis and occasionally didn’t wear shoes to class. With only about 21 students total, Utter grew to know her students personally, taking them shopping and bowling. After spending some time at Peninsula School, Utter was ready for a new scene. She moved to a completely different setting: Shanghai, China. While volunteering in a migrant school, which was for students who weren’t specifically from Shanghai, Utter gained knowledge in another kind of teaching style. “[I had] 60 fifth grade students, 80 percent boys, [who were] high energy and all in one room, and I didn’t have any materials. I think of myself as being shy, but I was
willing to do anything to keep their attention,” Utter said. “I’d be dancing and singing songs—things that I’d normally find humiliating—but I was like, ‘Okay, sure, anything to help you learn English!’” In addition, Utter taught Korean students who were much more educated and of a higher class in China. Through these two starkly contrasting positions, Utter learned how to teach in two extremes. Utter appreciates the range of cultures found at MVHS. Having traveled to India twice as well, she feels she has an especially good understanding of the Asian culture which is prominent at this school. “Whether that love for working with the diverse students here has developed because of my travels, or whether I traveled because of that interest, I’m not sure,” Utter said. “It’s the classic chicken-egg example.” These experiences have helped Utter develop more enthusiasm for teaching. “As much as I love English literature, I feel like I have a lot of interests, and I love that I get to develop those parts of myself when I go on these trips,” Utter said. “In a way, I replenish myself when I think about other ideas in the world, so when I get to the classroom I’m excited to start again.” Utter would like to go abroad again, perhaps during the summer breaks. “There’s really nothing keeping me from seeing more, so why not?”
Making and recording music with rock fusion club New club to create a musical community on campus through playing and recording a CD by Somel Jammu
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enior Vincent Nguyen plucks the chords on his acoustic guitar with a small blue pick between the fingers of his right hand. Picking up the pace of his strumming, he begins to sing his original song, “Amiss.” But Nguyen is not simply playing for recreational purposes—he is in room A110, surrounded by quite a few folks, some listening and some recording his melody for a soonto-be released CD. Since first launching MV Rock Fusion in April 2009, seniors Varun Dwaraka, Shreepal Shah, Naveen Venkatesan, and Paarth Shah have been working toward a common goal: to build a community where student musicians can get together to create and enjoy music. The club is coming out with its very first CD, and Nguyen is one of the first to be featured in it along with other student bands such as Brown Sound, winner of the 2007 Battle of the Bands competition held by Community Leadership. “We want [Rock Fusion] to be the hub of music [at MVHS],” Shah added. According to Dwaraka, the idea of Rock Fusion was first drafted by former MVHS student Hyunmin Kim. Inspired to continue what Kim had started, Dwaraka introduced the idea to the current officers, who shared the same passion.
Dwaraka, who first started playing acoustic guitar at the age of six, has long known that music is what he does best. By ninth grade, he was ready to buy an electric guitar and join MVHS’ jazz band to continue his passion for music. But something did not feel right: Dwaraka could only play music of a certain genre in jazz band, and there wasn’t a lot of space for creativity. Instead, Dwaraka wanted for there to be a place where student musicians could get together and create original music—and thus, musical passion and original talent were fused together to invent Rock Fusion. “People should come [join Rock Fusion],” Nguyen said. “There’s so much potential in this club.” Along with producing a CD as their first project, Rock Fusion also plans on holding events throughout the year where bands and singers can display their talent through showcases and competitions. According to the officers, the extra advantage of joining Rock Fusion is having the opportunity to meet others and form bands. “All you need is a single spark to get [your band] going,” Dwaraka said. “Getting that spark is hard.” And with a CD in the works, Rock Fusion could be the spark that students are looking for. But probably most important to the officers of Rock Fusion is what the music means to them.
Somel Jammu | El Estoque
ROCK OUT Senior Vincent Nguyen, a member of MV Rock Fusion, records his original song, “Amiss,” on Oct. 26. MV Rock Fusion is currently making their first CD. “We’re not going to eliminate someone just because they don’t like a certain genre,” Venkatesan said. “Even if you don’t consider yourself good, come—we want to throw fuel on the fire that’s already there.”
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
EL ESTOQUE A&E
Get your game on: Top buys El Estoque’s take on some of the hottest video games of the year by Victor Kuo Halo 3 ODST ($59.99) Xbox 360
Madden 10 ($59.99) PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox
n avid Halo fan myself, I was ecstatic when I heard that Bungie Studios was going to continue the Halo series with “Halo 3 ODST”. The game is centered around a group of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers that fight the Covenant, an alien race, in New Mombasa. The protagonist, the Rookie, wakes up six hours after the rest of his team and travels through the dark city to find his comrades. At each major section, as he discovers clues to his team’s whereabouts, the campaign flashes back so the player can go through the scenes as the other members of the team. The graphics are visually stunning, even better than those of “Halo 3”. The blatant contrast between night and day provides an artistic mood to the story. In addition, Firefight, a co-op mode in which players defeat numerous waves of enemies, provides an excellent alternative to the campaign. My only disappointment with the game was the elimination of free-for-all battles. Players are no longer able to fight against each other in multiplayer games, but all in all, the game provides an extremely different feel from the other Halo games.
nother addition to the Madden series, “Madden 10” is pretty much the same game with some new additions. Tiburon steps up its game by providing a more realistic football experience with the Madden series. The presentation of the game is much more realistic than any other Madden before it. The events are like the real events at any football game: coaches yell at their players, referees argue about calls and fans buy souvenirs. Different weather conditions and game surroundings are also added in to the “Madden 10” version, so the player feels as though he were actually in a stadium. The gameplay as well is much more improved. AI computers rarely run out-of-bounds by themselves for no reason and players can control the team more effectively. Juking and blocking have been slowed down to a manageable speed and gang tackles are now possible. Players are now able to find holes, make cuts and change routes. Besides these added features, “Madden” is pretty much the same. “Madden” remains the football game that it is. So, if you enjoy both playing and watching football then “Madden 10” is a must-buy.
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Image from www.cpcinemas.com
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Image from www.maddennfl10cheats.com
Dragon Age: Origins ($59.99) Xbox 360
Forza Motorsport 3 ($59.99) Xbox 360
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ersonally, I’ve never preferred racing games; I’ve always enjoyed shooting guns more than driving cars. However, Turn has exceeded all my expectations with “Forza Motorsport 3”. First of all, the graphics are simply amazing. The beauty of the mountain race tracks and the noise of crowded city race tracks are all captured stunningly in this game. The cars as Image from www.chequeredpad.com well are astonishingly real. Every curve in the design, every button on the wheel, every reflection on the car is displayed vividly. The physics and gameplay are more realistic than any other racing video game. Every crash, every scrape shows up on the car. Crashes create dents and cars running into cars cause spinouts and in extreme cases, flips. The cars have an extremely realistic touch; driving the cars in the game is like driving them in real life. Every car has it’s own feel, style and statistic. This is quite a feat, considering the range of cars that “Forza Motorsport 3” has to offer. The statistics and gameplay of every one of those cars are true to the cars in real life. In addition, the physics of the game is extremely accurate. Each turn, each crash is meticulously calculated for the most realistic gameplay experience. With beautiful settings and designs and realistic controls and gameplay, “Forza Motorsport 3” is definitely worth its money.
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n epic fantasy game by Bioware, Dragon Age: Origins is part of a long line of role-playing games. “Dragon Age: Origins has the same complicated storyline and confusing names as any other fantasy game. The player begins by choosing between six races and three specialties and then customizes his or her appearance. The player becomes a Grey Warden, a specialized fighter against Image from www.bob.com the Dark Spawn, an evil race, and embarks on a quest to defeat them. Perhaps the best attribute of the game is that anything can happen. It is very open-ended; the game can be played for over 150 hours and not be completed. Every single decision that the player makes affects gameplay and reactions from other characters, among many things, and the player must accept the consequences of his or her actions. Even the start of the game is different for each race. The sheer amount of possible actions used in the game is simply astounding. The graphics of the settings are absolutely stunning. Each scene of the game is carefully constructed and oriented so that the player feels a certain mood, such as the majesty of old relics or the darkness of evil locations. If you are looking to become another person in a diverse world, Dragon Age: Origins is your game.
In pursuit of passion: going for the media arts Alumna creates animation for new movie, ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Kanwalroop Singh
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ne Christmas break, Ann Sidenblad, an alumna from the MVHS class of 1997, stood before her parents clutching two pages worth of research in her trembling hands. She expected them, both engineers, to exclaim, “Bah! Humbug!” at her wish to go to art school. They cut her off after one paragraph—because they supported her completely. Ten years and one Internet Movie Database profile later, in a rented-out theater with 399 co-workers, Sidenblad feels goosebumps as she watches the computer graphics that she designed come to life in a special screening of the new animated film, “A Christmas Carol.” This film, made completely with CGI, or computer generated imagery, has consumed her life for the past two and a half years. Sidenblad is a modeler. She builds basic images on computers, which are used in websites, films or television shows. In “A Christmas Carol,” she has modeled Bob Cratchit, the young Scrooge, some cos-
tumes, and a giant food pile. “[My job] is like ceramics without the mess, “ Sidenblad said. Consequently, the foundation she built inside the ceramics classroom as a student at MVHS is still vital to her job today. Four years of ceramics trained Sidenblad’s eyes to recognize and create art. “I wish someone had told me earlier that I could make a living out of art,” she said. But no one did. So now, she has taken it upon herself to tell others that they can. Art teacher Brian Chow invited Sidenblad to a Career and Art College Information Night on Nov. 5 where they both delivered this message clearly. “Art is everywhere in our lives,” Chow said, “from a tent to a piece of furniture to a firefighter’s suit.” He proceeded to present the immense possibilities available for young artists: from being animators in the entertainment industry to designing products for hightech companies to constructing buildings. Sidenblad was one of the first 55 members of the company she now works for,
Kanwalroop Singh | El Estoque
CINEMA AND ART Ann Sidenblad, modeler for “A Christmas Carol,” inspires students to pursue art on Nov. 5 in the library. ImageMovers Digital. Now she is one of 400 and has just received a promotion to lead modeler. She had a few nuggets of advice to offer the interested parents and students before her. “Focus on whichever art you’re most passionate about, not what makes you the most money,” Sidenblad said. When it comes to art, don’t be a scrooge. It might just be your ticket to success.
PAGE 23
VICTOR KUO
the Temp
Tutor troubles People would rather hear hyperbole than the honest truth. Some are harmful, some are funny and some are just downright ridiculous. But all clouds have their silver lining. For instance, parents just love to excessively brag about their children. My mother was no exception. But quite luckily for me, she bragged to just the right people. My mother, who happens to be a preschool teacher, chats with her student’s parents after class and they often bring up the need for tutors for their older children. So, in light of my mom’s bragging, I decided to offer my services. I recieved a student who needed help in math and soon after I scheduled my first session with her.
Lesson one
Make sure you prepare, especially in the basics. Know the basics backwards and forwards like the palm of your hand. Well, enough that you would be able to explain it. Doing and explaining are two totally different actions, as I discovered. My student wanted help with her Pre-algebra so I unwisely reviewed my unit circle, my equations, my math concepts that I haven’t ever used outside of my Pre-Calculus class just to make sure I was prepared. When my tutee finally came, she didn’t understand anything. But when I began to explain why math has variables, I realized I couldn’t. I had reviewed the entirely wrong material. I froze up. Obviously, I could solve the variables, I could use them in equations but I couldn’t explain what they were or what to do with them. Thankfully I improvised my way through and she understood it somehow. But during the whole process I realized how unstable my own foundations were. I almost messed up my career as a tutor right then and there. Likewise, be ready for whatever comes your way, whether it’s a rainy day, a troubled friend or a sweatshirt for that late night out. Think ahead. Even if it seems ridiculous in the moment, just do it anyway. It just might work out.
Lesson two
Be ready to repeat yourself, over and over again. Tutoring can be a frustrating job because some students don’t understand and some students just try to make life difficult. I had to find multiples ways to explain why x can be a variable in a math equation even though x is a letter and not a number. My tutee wasn’t sure whether her worksheet had a bunch of typos or whether she had grown up learning to count the wrong way. Perhaps worse was explaining the difference between the metric system and the US system of measurement. It did go smoother after those obstacles. The rest of the time was spent watching the student do her homework and helping out with every other problem. I’ve always been told “practice makes perfect,” but I never realized just how much practice it takes to perfect. My student literally would not understand a concept until she had used it at least five times. My biggest temptation was simply to do it for her; I was so annoyed with having to make her understand the material for each problem. But she got there. She understood the material, she could solve for variables and even seemed prepared for her test by the end of our three-hour session. So, always be patient, no matter how hard it is. Even if you’re late or you’re missing your favorite TV show, slow down. Don’t honk at the person that cuts you off on the highway or yell at your brother for messing up your room. I tutored my student twice, but it was just a little too much for me and I made an excuse to stop. Am I ever going to find that perfect job? Maybe there is no such thing as easy money.
TREND WATCH GUIDING THE WAY
UP2DATE
Junior Kasia Gawlas raises and trains puppies to provide company for disabled interview conducted by Stefan Ball
Q: So first of all, how did you get into this? A: My dad’s coworker at HP also [trains
dogs]. She convinced my mom it was a good idea. It’s a volunteer program, so you don’t get paid or anything.
The best and worst features of the Verizon Wireless Droid by Stefan Ball and Mansi Pathak I always wanted an iPhone, but AT&T’s coverage is really bad, so I got the Droid Nov. 7—the day after it came out. One cool feature is that this phone lets you multitask, so you can listen to Pandora music while browsing the Internet. If you are not getting an iPhone, get a Droid.
Q: So other than the basic commands like ‘sit’ and
‘down,’ are there any other special things you have to teach the dog? A: Well, once [the dog] reaches six or seven months, you can start taking them to [places like] malls— my dad is already taking him to work every day. They are supposed to get into really high stress situations, like at school there are kids everywhere and at the mall you have to go through hours of just walking and sitting; they also have to know how to socialize.
the expert: sophomore Ansh Shukla
Q: What is your favorite part of doing it? A: My family’s shepherd follows my dad because he’s
Best features: External notificationindicator light, fast internet
Worst features: Small keys on keyboard, low quality camera
the alpha male, but my dog, Kenny, follows my commands. I feed him and walk him, so he really sees me as his owner; like he’s my dog.
Q: What
Stefan Ball | El Estoque Stefan Ball | El Estoque
Canine Companions for Independence Step 1: Complete online application to train a dog Step 2: Review CCI application packet Step 3: Schedule telephone interview Step 4: Fill out medical and professional forms Step 5: Schedule a personal interview
Cost: $549 without contract $199 with 2-year contract
Useful free applications: Shazam, Pandora
Q: Do
Email: www.cci.org Call: 1-800-572-BARK
CAMPUS RUNWAY
will he go on to do after you are done training him? A: Well, after they go to advanced training, they get tested for fear and medical conditions. If they graduate, they will get paired with someone in a wheelchair or an autistic kid. They don’t work with blind people; that’s a completely different thing because seeing eye dogs get trained a lot differently. Sometimes these dogs will go to facilities like prisons to work with inmates or go to hospitals and work with terminally ill patients. you know what your old dog, Boga, is doing? A: He’s in another program called Dogs for Diabetes. He had a really keen sense of smell and that’s what diabetes dogs need. They pick up blood sugar levels; I never knew they could smell inside someone’s body.
What’s next? Jazz Debut Concert Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Auditorium Relax and enjoy a night of music by MVHS’ jazz band
Students leave a big impression with their hypnotic apparel in various dizzying colors and patterns.
2013 + Link Crew Movie Night
Zebra print sweatshirt Kohl’s
freshman Rajie Langovans
Rocker sweatshirt Kohl’s
Marble blouse H&M
senior Abhishek Khurana
senior Sara Shawki
Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Gym Watch “Transformers 2,” enjoy dinner and snacks. Tickets $4 in advance, $6 at the door
Electric sweatshirt Pac Sun
Blue Pearl dance
freshman Adi Nag Mansi Pathak and Aileen Le | El Estoque
Backpack
Finds
“ ” “ ” [Junior Charlene Gaw] got this coin pouch for me from a street market in Thailand last summer. I use it for bobby pins instead of coins.
What’s in your bag? I got this fake finger freshman year from [junior Take a peek Chris Berger], I think. [You can use it] to scare people, like if a girl walks by into your and you hold it out in your classmates’ junior Nathan Burroughs hand they are like, ‘Ahh!’ bags this month:
junior Melissa Wang
Dec. 4 Dress up in 1920s apparel and learn to swing dance Admission $10 to $15, dinner included
“ ” “ ” I got these pins in Taiwan. They were really cute, so I thought, ‘What should I put?’ So I decided to spell out my name on my backpack.
freshman Angel Li
I got this cross country sweatshirt for $15 from the state meet in Fresno last year. They were selling all of this cross country apparel, like t-shirts and sweatshirts.
senior Kranti Peddada
Photo illustration by Mansi Pathak and Aileen Le