El Estoque will accurately inform our community through well-researched, unbiased and in-depth accounts of stories of the student body and staff, local news and developments and taboo topics prevalent in and near the MVHS realm. By investigating a variety of voices and credible perspectives, we hope to foster active discussion, effect positive change and spread awareness of timely and relevant content. As a trustworthy, consistent and reliable source of information, we strive to be accountable, adaptable and ready to correct and address our mistakes. Constantly striving for improvement, we will uphold integrity and ethics to be respectful and empathetic to one another, our sources and our readers. We will exercise our press freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment and California Ed Code 48907 while maintaining a community of reporters with a strong passion for our work and journalism as a whole.
LETTER FROM THE
We all know that feeling — after a seemingly endless period of overcast skies, 5 p.m. sunsets and the blur of routine, the sun begins to shine a bit brighter and the days get longer. Before you know it, it’s spring. Amidst the chaos of CAASPP testing, summer program applications and looming college decisions, somehow, the forecast reading 70 degrees and the thought of summer brings a certain lightness.
The prospects of a new chapter remind us to pause and take in not just the changing seasons, but also the changes within ourselves — in our Features section, we delve into the identities of five individuals, whose vulnerability in self-exploration illuminates the rich intersections between culture, religion and sexuality. In our Sports section, “Raising the bar” follows the journeys of women who weightlift as they push themselves to new heights while discovering their potential.
Looking inward also means discovering aspects of ourselves and our community that require re-examining or changing. In “Hitting the target” we evaluate goals for the betterment of our school community, while “Love, actually?” explores the nuanced role of social media in shaping our expectations and experiences with teenage romance.
From daily walks soaking in the sun to weekend picnics — gatherings and good company are upon us. Community members share their experiences with recreational sports in “Between the fun and focus,” while our Arts & Entertainment section went around town trying foods from a plethora of cuisines for your enjoyment (perhaps your next favorite restaurant awaits you within these pages).
As we usher in a new season, there is no better time than now to embrace the warmth of discovery. As we enter the new chapter, let’s welcome the unknown in pursuit of better versions of ourselves and our community.
Alyssa Yang
PHOTO | LILLIAN WANG
Jami Lim
Ananya Chaudhary Kathryn Foo
Alan Tai
Samika Bhatkar
PHOTO | ALAN TAI
EXECUTIVE BREAKDOWN BREAKDOWN
EXECUTIVE
A brief overview of Trump’s 2025 presidential directives
BY ERIN LIU AND ALAN TAI
With the executive authority given to the president by the Constitution, they are able to establish or guide policies by issuing presidential directives. For reasons ranging from their controversial nature to their drastic and widespread impact, eight of the 74 executive orders and two of the 14 proclamations President Donald Trump signed in his first month of term are particularly notable.
TITLE
LGBTQ+ X
BY MEGHNA DIXIT AND STELLA PETZOVA
The U.S. Department of Education announced Jan. 31 that it would be reversing Biden-era Title IX changes, ending federally mandated nondiscrimination protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity and protections for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment. The Biden-era Title IX, finalized in April, has been reverted to the version that was implemented in 2020 during Trump’s first presidency.
The ED’s decision comes after 16 Republican-led states sued the Biden administration over the Title IX protections for transgender students, with a Kentucky judge ruling the 2024 version unconstitutional on Jan. 9, 2025.
The court claimed that the
2024 ruling had violated the First Amendment, as educators and sta would use students’ chosen names and pronouns while investigating rather than their legal names. In addition, the court believed that the changes had surpassed the authority of the ED due to the specification that “discrimination on the basis of sex” included genders that weren’t specifically male or female. The 2020 Title IX Rule includes “the interpretation of ‘sex’ to mean the objective, immutable characteristic of being born male or female.”
In response to the ED’s change, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond rea rmed that California would continue to investigate the
discrimination of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity and will remain uninfluenced by the federal change.
FUHSD Associate Superintendent and Title IX Coordinator Trudy Gross also assures that LGBTQ+ students will continue to be protected in the district. She explains that despite the change in Title IX, the process of reporting issues like gender discrimination and sexual harassment, which includes talking to the school sites about the alleged issue in order to investigate the situation, remains the same. According to Gross, FUHSD school sites are concerned with discrimination and harassment in general, instead of specifically gender or sexualitybased. Due to this consistency, Gross believes that the FUHSD community will be more worried about the lack of LGBTQ+ representation as a whole, rather than the process of reporting discrimination.
“The biggest shift that I’m hearing regarding 2024 is people being concerned about this idea of defining gender as male and female, and coupled with the fact that the federal government has removed words like lesbian, gay and transgender from websites,” Gross said. “What I’m hearing from students and other people is the worry about not being represented, not a concern about the sexual harassment process.”
English teacher Randy Holaday is worried about the implications of the reversal along with other antiLGBTQ+ legislation put in place since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, which mark a shift towards increased homophobia and intolerance. He recognizes that California and FUHSD are safer and more accepting of LGBTQ+ students than the rest of America, but believes there is still social stigma, citing instances of antigay vandalism in MVHS bathrooms and historical backlash against English class reading materials, such as the novel “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” studied in freshman literature classes. Holaday disagrees with the reversal, arguing it
The MVHS community reflects on LGBTQ+ safety following the reversal of Title IX protections
makes an already vulnerable group of young people at higher risk for sexual harassment and suicide.
“It’s horrifying,” Holaday said. “Getting teenagers to talk is one of the hardest things that you can ever do, and LGBTQ students in particular are statistically the students that need to know that they have adults that will listen and protect them. The statistics show that this population is for students that are most likely to commit suicide and deal with depression and homelessness. They’re the ones who experience sexual harassment targeted at their identity at the highest rates, who most need protection, and it’s being taken away from them.”
the recent rulings. Holaday agrees, explaining that society has to work harder to establish equality since it has now become a fight against the government.
“ JUST DO YOUR PART AND STAND UP FOR THESE PEOPLE, BECAUSE WE’RE ALL HUMAN IN THE END.
SENIOR JERRY WANG
“These laws take the wind out of the sails for people that were trying to prevent this,” Holaday said. “Because we’re in California, we can still respond to it, but I think we’re gonna have to respond a lot more. And they take away some of the power that came from the backing of the national government, because this is now something the government believes in and emboldens.”
undocumented immigrants, that they remain safe in this community and the district is considering sending a similar message for the recent increase in national discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, to ensure that students of all minorities know they are safe.
“We’re looking at what we might do again to reinforce and send that message that you are valued here in our schools,” Gross said. “School is obviously our concern, but school is a microcosm of the community of the society that we live in.”
According to Holaday, the culture of his own private California high school was very homophobic, with students of the same sex being unable to go to prom together and anti-gay slurs being used regularly. While he’s noticed a large shift towards acceptance, he worries that recent laws, including the Title IX reversal, will lead to more prevalent prejudice against minority groups.
“It’s hard, because I feel like it’s a move towards extreme viewpoints, regardless of what they are,” Holaday said. “People who have hateful ideologies feel more emboldened to say them. They’re definitely more visible, which probably makes it seem like it’s increasing, even if it’s the same, just louder. It starts becoming a place where you just can’t actually have a conversation.”
Senior and Chinese Club president Jerry Wang is also concerned about the grand-scale implications of the reversal and believes that not only the LGBTQ+ community, but other minorities, will also experience increased discrimination due to
According to Wang, MVHS doesn’t feel unified, as people seem too fixated on labels related to identity, such as ethnicity or sexual orientation, rather than character and who they are at heart. He thinks that, along with establishing more opportunities dedicated to bringing people together and focusing on the positives, one way students can practice tolerance and learn about diverse communities is by joining cultural clubs or the Gender-Sexuality Alliance. He believes that learning from communities with members from various backgrounds creates a more inclusive and aware society.
“ IT’S A MOVE TOWARDS EXTREME VIEWPOINTS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY ARE.
Wang recognizes that California as a whole tends to have more nondiscrimination laws and acceptance of di erent minorities, such as cultural groups and the LGBTQ+ community. For example, California has strong employment nondiscrimination laws and protects Native American cultural artifacts. Still, he believes that MVHS has the obligation to continue to advocate for rights and inclusivity, as a majority of the nation’s youth, especially in predominantly Republican states, are significantly impacted by laws like these.
ENGLISH TEACHER RANDY HOLADAY
“There needs to be more activism and advocacy for these protections, and just standing up for these communities,” Wang said. “Whatever it takes really, like going to protests or putting your opinion out there. Just do your part and stand up for these people, because we’re all human in the end.”
Gross, along with the school faculty, also aims to foster a feeling of togetherness and belonging within the community, especially to help minorities like these feel included and safe. After a surge of Immigrations and Customs raids, FUHSD sent out an email to assure all families, including
HITTING THE TARGET
Parents give feedback on MVHS’ four WASC goals to increase student learning and well-being
BY CORINNA KUO, SIH YU (MELODY)
MVHS Parent Teacher
Student Association held two Western Association of Schools and Colleges meetings on Friday, Feb. 7. WASC is a school accreditation organization that supports and advances school improvement. The meeting intended to elicit parent and student feedback on MVHS’ four personalized school goals. Parents attended the event, hoping to educate themselves further about the school’s inner workings, which included taking a closer look at MVHS student performance on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress exams.
Every six years, all school staff contribute to a report together on the school’s current progress on their goals based on consultation with a
LIN AND ERIC ZHOU
WASC official. According to Principal Ben Clausnitzer, MVHS’ four WASC goals, which overlap with FUHSD’s, encompass four aspects of student learning and well-being. One of these goals centers around all students achieving at high levels, which targets four main underrepresented groups on campus: English language learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, Hispanic and Latinx students and students with disabilities.
PTSA Vice President and parent Wei Qiang recently moved to Cupertino from Canada with her family. She says that although she wasn’t originally aware of what the meeting was about, she soon found it insightful, learning more about MVHS’ high graduation rates and the steps the school community is taking to increase a
sense of welcomeness. Although students were allowed to attend the meeting, with an afterschool session made specifically for this reason, Qiang, who attended both sessions, recalls it was mostly parents who attended, with most being familiar with and interested in WASC. As a parent of a freshman, Qiang also says it is important for her to get involved with her community.
“We moved from another country,” Qiang said. “I want to know this community better and to become part of it. So in my opinion, the most effective and valuable way to do this and contribute to the community is by joining the PTSA.”
Every three years, schools are required to publish a mid-progress report on their advancement towards
their six year WASC goals. As one of the WASC leads for last year’s midcycle report, English teacher Jessica Kaufman believes that informing everyone about the school’s goals through these meetings are crucial to building school community and culture, as it affects campus wellness.
“The school community is not just the school itself,” Kaufman said. “It’s literally the people who surround it as well, including parents, since they also have a say in what the school buys and does and therefore are universally part of the school community too. So, it’s all about making sure that everyone is given equitable access to education and treated the same.”
For paraeducator Eddie Puga, who mainly works with students in special education classes, this is not just modifying class assignments and curriculum, but also using devices such as pinboard graphs and modified calculators that are more accessible to his students. Puga also says his work heavily focuses on the social-emotional aspect of the learning environment. He believes a large portion of bridging inequality gaps between students in the four underrepresented groups, especially for students with disabilities, is just to create a stronger sense of community.
He cites MVHS’ Ohana club, which provides an inclusive environment for students with
disabilities and general education students, as a major contributor to this for his own students.
In response to feedback from the mid-cycle report, MVHS created intervention programs intended to better support student success in accordance with MVHS
SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE
support. Teachers are now required to implement at least three of six equitable grading practices, up from two last year. This year, all teachers were also trained and encouraged to implement the Wayfinder SEL program in their classrooms, all in the effort to increase student wellbeing.
39% of 11th graders felt optimistic during the ‘23-24 school year compared to 34% in the ‘22-23 school year.
*According to the California Healthy Kids Survey
Professional Learning Committee teams. Clausnitzer calls these equitable learning practices, and they focus on equity, social emotional learning and grading practices. The piloted admin student assistance team four years ago, which helped administrators monitor students in the four WASC groups who receive D’s or F’s, has led to the Guided Studies program. The program is paid for by MVHS’ own budget and gives assistance to students who need more academic
Such efforts have provided results — Clausnitzer says families in the reflection session especially highlighted an improvement in all students feeling valued, connected and having a sense of belonging between the 2018-2019 and 2023-2024 school years. He says this data indicates a unique cultural change, something that is not often seen in data, which is a reassuring source of feedback that affirms the direction MVHS has been moving in.
“Culture change doesn’t happen in one year,” Clausnitzer said. “There isn’t one thing that makes it happen. There’s a saying, if you want to go far, go slow. Oftentimes, you end up going slow but you have a more lasting impact. Since now we’re in year four, we’re starting to see data in a variety of ways, and start to see this positive culture shift.”
Parents discuss MVHS’ school goals at the WASC PTSA meeting.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE MVHS WASC GOALS
High achievement for all
All students will achieve academic success through standard-based curriculum, effective instruction and early intervention.
Recent efforts
Admin SAT teams
Guided Studies
Study Buddies
Bilingual paraeducator
Professional Learning Communities
Create coherent and consistent courses while incorporating equitable grading practices in education.
Recent efforts
Professional Learning Community (PLC) groups
Belief that good student-centered PLC work is good equity work
MV and FUHSD Professional Development
Wellness Room 3
Social emotional wellness
Every student will feel cared for as a human being and learner.
Recent efforts
SEL Advisories and SEEC
Wellness Room
School counseling teams
Open schoolwide communication
All community members have a variety of opportunities to learn about school events and give feedback.
Recent efforts
Coffee with counselors/principal
California Healthy Kids survey
MV end of year survey
Weekly principal emails
School Site Council
Monty Awards
Wayfinder
EL program honors
TAKE OUR FEBRUARY NEWS QUIZ
Test your knowledge of key events last month
BY ZAID NAQVI AND STELLA PETZOVA
5 Environment
At the UN biodiversity conference on Feb. 28, countries committed to raising how much to protect biodiversity?
2 Archaeology
Egypt announced the discovery of which pharaoh’s tomb on Feb.
World
On Feb. 18, which two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a summit in Saudi Arabia?
7 Cupertino
Which type of energy did the Cupertino City Council vote to install to the Quinlan Community Center on Feb. 4?
Policy
President Trump’s administration announced plans to end over 90% of contracts in which U.S. agency?
4 Trade
Sports
Which superstar NBA player was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers
Entertainment
9 Health
Who won Best Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild awards, held on Feb. 23?
On Feb. 26, which U.S. state announced the first death due to a measles outbreak since 2015?
The United States imposed a 25% tariff on which two neighboring countries on Feb. 1?
Which long-running TV show celebrated its 50th anniversary on Feb. 16 with a special episode?
PHOTO | ERIC ZHOU
PHOTO | ERIC ZHOU
PHOTO | KATHRYN FOO
The MVHS community discusses aspects of their identity BY ETHAN EISLER, ETHAN KELLOGG, JAMI LIM, LIZ LIU, ZAID NAQVI AND ARCHANA VENKATESAN
ful h t ifa
Twins Bernice and Ashley Kwong discuss their lifelong journeys with Christianity
Twindows as the preacher’s voice rang throughout the sanctuary. Senior Bernice Kwong’s attention was fading in and out, as the pastor’s words went over her head. Looking over at her twin sister Ashley, she saw her seated upright, nodding to the pastor’s voice and occasionally looking down to annotate her Bible. Bernice took a deep breath and returned to her Sunday service daze, biding her time until the service ended.
Despite being brought up with the same Christian teachings, twins Ashley and Bernice Kwong recognize their differing approaches to faith. For as long as they can remember, a Christian lifestyle has been an integral part of their lives, with their religious journeys beginning with weekly family church visits and progressing when they began attending a Christian after school during elementary school. One milestone in Christianity is baptism, an event both Ashley and Bernice had planned for two years ago but only
Ashley ended up completing.
“Before I had to get baptized, I had to make a testimony and I had to really think it through before being dunked into a pool of water,” Ashley said. “At that time, I really thought of all the instances in my life that made me feel like I should be faithful to God fully.”
However, since middle school, Bernice struggled to understand her pastor’s sermons in the same way Ashley did. Bernice saw her faith reflected in her morals and did not feel she had the strong central belief
in God necessary to get baptized. After viewing how seriously her peers interacted with their faiths in her baptism classes, Bernice says she began reconsidering the strength of her faith and eventually pulled out of baptism.
“I realized that, if I were really to attend church every day, what’s the meaning behind that?” Bernice said. “I sit there in a chair every single day — what am I doing with my life? And so I thought, ‘I can’t back down.’ I realized that I’ve been in the same room talking to God for so long — I need to figure out what’s wrong with my life. I was having an existential crisis at that point.”
Since deciding not to get baptized, Bernice has focused on answering these questions and searching for a deeper meaning of her Christian faith. Previously, she felt some pressure from her peers to make this decision, but ultimately was reminded by her family that this was her choice and her religious journey.
“If I was going to do something, I was not going to do it forced,” Bernice said. “I had a talk with my pastor and I realized that I need to change my trajectory and my thinking in my life. I realized that talking to God is like opening a gratitude journal every single day and writing down three things that I feel grateful for. I’m trying to change my mindset about faith, and that’s why I haven’t gotten baptized.”
Before the day Bernice planned to be baptized, she says she received a call from her older sisters, Gwyneth and Emily, who encouraged her to reflect more on her baptism. As Gwyneth had also noticed peer pressure in their church, both she and Emily also wanted Bernice to make the decision to get baptized on her own without feeling forced.
“Ultimately, I was quite proud that she was able to say, ‘I changed my mind,’ because that’s something I feel like is really hard to do,” Gwyneth said. “I’m really proud that she was able to really sit herself down and think about her feelings in the moment. I wanted her to go to college and experience different things before she realizes, ‘I am true to my Christian
The call from the twins’ older sisters also prompted Ashley to reflect deeper on the role peer pressure plays in baptism and faith, ultimately leading her to affirm her baptism as a personal action. However, despite being deeply rooted in her faith, Ashley notes she is often hesitant to outwardly display her Christian faith in secular spaces in fear of being set apart. She recognizes a polarizing contrast between the pressure she feels in Christian spaces to present a very religious version of herself and the pressure she feels at school and with peers to hide her faith.
“They look into my faith and they’re in disbelief, like, ‘Aren’t you being indoctrinated? Aren’t you being peer pressured?’” Ashley said. “I tell them about my experience at my Christian afterschool, and they say, ‘Oh, it sounds like a cult.’ So since then, I’ve stopped talking about
Christianity at school, because I feel like people will judge me for it.”
While navigating these complexities that come with a Christian identity, the twins say they continuously turn to their older sisters for guidance because of their personal experiences integrating their faith in secular settings. Gwyneth recalls transforming her own outlook on Christianity after moving to LA, realizing interpretations of the Bible varied. Through her own lessons, she makes an effort to pass the same values on to Bernice and Ashley.
“Most of the older folks in our church are very traditional, and I’m very glad that the twins came to me and Emily,” Gwyneth said. “I let them know that as a Christian, you’re supposed to spread love, and that’s how I want them to grow up. There’s a lot of liberal ways to interpret the Bible and everyone has a different journey. Everyone has a different timeline, so don’t always compare yourself to others, because others are walking in a different path than yours.”
With the support of Gwyneth and each other, Bernice and Ashley say they continue to grow into their faiths. Ashley says that especially with their different stages in faith, their closeness aids them both in navigating their religious identity while reconciling it with other parts of themselves.
“As a twin, I will always be supportive of Bernice,” Ashley said.
“We don’t voice these things out loud to each other — it’s more like we’ve known each other for so long that it’s kind of unconscious. I think faith is very personal. Everyone has different levels of it. I know that she’s got it in whatever she does.”
PHOTO|ETHAN EISLER
Sophomore Juju Ling describes her queer identity and how it intersects with other parts of her identity
BY ETHAN EISLER AND ETHAN KELLOGG
After a long day of speeches at the Arizona State University speech tournament, sophomores Juju Ling and Lisa Fan listened to and cried over an adaptation of “Epic: The Musical.” Although Juju did not know Fan very well, the two quickly bonded over musicals like “Epic: The Musical” and shows like “Alien Stage,” as well as other interests such as drawing. This scene is representative of some of the things that Juju considers to be the most important parts of her identity: theater and friendships.
Another aspect of Juju’s identity is being queer. Juju wasn’t comfortable sharing that she was lesbian around her middle school friends because they were straight, which made Juju believe they would not accept her identity. This changed when Juju began attending MVHS, where she found queer friends who share similar interests.
“They influence who I am and how I act around people,” Juju said. “They’re a really good influence, and they’re always kind of just a reminder that I should be proud of who I am and just be unabashedly myself — and that’s solely because of them.”
Juju also considers participating in performing arts to be a major part of her identity, particularly plays and musicals. As a member of MV Drama, Juju has participated in school and community productions including “The Reluctant Dragon,” “Aladdin” and “Julius Caesar.” Throughout the productions, Juju has noticed ways in which her queer identity interacts with her life in theater.
think that also inspired me to be more expressive of who I am as a queer person. Theater just offers a really welcoming and safe community for everyone.”
Fan, who shares Juju’s interest in theater and is nonbinary, says she is comfortable bringing up being queer in casual conversation with Juju. Fan and Juju were originally acquainted through GenderSexuality Alliance, and ended up becoming closer friends after they stayed in the same hotel room during the ASU speech tournament. Even though Fan believes that Juju can be reserved in front of others, she says Juju is always forward with her identity.
“ I SHOULD BE PROUD OF WHO I AM AND JUST BE UNABASHEDLY MYSELF.
she was in eighth grade, there was not a lot of people like her and she separated from everyone else,” Rocco said. “There are a lot of people in GSA who are different and not really considered ‘normal.’ And she felt like
PHOTOBYJUJU LING | USED WITH PERMISSION
“During GSA meetings she is comfortable discussing her experience being queer, and we’re also able to have conversations that aren’t entirely focused on being queer, because being queer comes with a lot of challenges,” Fan said. “I feel like theater has made her more able to express herself because theater is about performance, so she’s very good at expressing herself and her identity.”
Another part of Juju’s identity that often connects with other parts of her identity is politics, which she considers important to who she is. She believes that her upbringing and values relate to her queer identity. Her values are similar to that of her friends, so Juju often enjoys having political discussions with her friends.
“For a lot of my friends, at worst, they’re just centrists,” Juju said. “I think a lot of queer people are leftists, and that’s why they are so open to other communities and other minorities. And it’s a queer history thing where a lot of minorities who are already being marginalized welcome queer people.”
Although Juju is unsure of her future, she knows that she wants to continue her passion for theater by continuing to participate in community productions. Though Juju believes that her interest in theater, along with her other interests, may be seen as unconventional, she has found a community of friends who also have niche interests.
“In musical theater there’s a lot of queer, non-binary, gay, bisexual individuals,” Juju said. “They’re all very expressive of who they are and I
Juju’s brother, junior Rocco Ling, describes their relationship as very close — he attends some of Juju’s productions and celebrates Chinese holidays with her. Rocco says he has also noticed a change in Juju over time due to her joining clubs like GSA.
“At Monta Vista in freshman year, she felt lonely, because I know when
“My interests are a big part of who I am,” Juju said. “And it’s something that I am now allowed to express, like my friends do, and poke fun at because it is cringe. I will admit that I’m not ashamed. I may be cringe, but I am free.”
BY LIZ LIU AND ZAID NAQVI
energy: music blasts from speakers while children play and adults mingle or dance. Although Mariam rarely participates in these nighttime festivities — preferring to observe
| LIZ LIU
Junior Mariam Mansour discusses how Islam has affected her life
this is who we are
MVHS students describe themselves
BY LIZ LIU AND ARCHANA VENKATESAN
92% of MVHS students are a minority
*According to U.S. News & World Report
“ Growing up in a very loving family and having the morals and manners that they taught me has had a big impact on my identity.
SOPHOMORE NANDITA JOSHI
“ I’m a creator. I like to write stories. I like to draw them out. I like to make things out of what I create.
SOPHOMORE ELEKTRA MASEGIAN
8% of MVHS students are two or more races
*According to U.S. News & World Report
PHOTO | ERIC ZHOU
PHOTO | KATRINA LIN
DEFINED BY THE ALGORITHM
Feeding into social media algorithms restricts people from exploring different facets of their everchanging identity
Scrolling through endless Pinterest pictures, we may spend hours pinning and creating photo boards with images of nails, outfits and hairstyles — each pin aligning seamlessly with our past likes and searches. The algorithm
has learned our preferences, and with each added pin, our aesthetic solidifies, becoming not just a board of images but a reflection of our perceived identity.
Social media algorithms have begun subtly dictating how we see
ourselves in recent years, encouraging us to fit our identity into streamlined aesthetics and trends. From the “clean girl” to the “sigma male,” online culture establishes a packaged way to define ourselves, versions of our identity reinforced by personalized
content loops. Apps like TikTok and Instagram keep users engaged through algorithms that filter content based on data from the user’s preferences and interaction history. A 2024 survey found that 58% of users felt pressured to conform to an identity set by their social media algorithm.
Ultimately, the crux of the issue is that algorithms amplify the amount of content we consume and the aesthetic we align ourselves with to the point of tunnel vision. This is especially true for our clothing choices, a tool for how we perceive people’s personalities — we often turn to fashion and makeup to cultivate our image. Moreover, by adopting these rigid and narrow labels as definitions for who we are, our aesthetics are rendered monolithic, and reduced to a one-dimensional and easily marketable trend. A person interested in cottage core may never see its intersectionality with other styles, like gothic influences or punk elements, unless they intentionally seek it.
Many online subcultures revolve around purchasing specific products — “clean girl” skincare and gold jewelry or thrifted cottagecore cardigans and vintage decor. Identity becomes something you buy rather than something you cultivate. For example, the “what are we wearing this spring/ summer” trend on TikTok highlights how influencers and brands dictate what types of aesthetics are “in” during a certain season. In fact, according to CivicScience, 68% of Gen Z follow fashion trends originating from social media.
This feeds into consumerism, with Gen Z having the highest proportion of fast fashion consumers. Thirteen percent of teens shop at stores such as Zara and H&M, which advertise on social media and track online purchase patterns using AI algorithms. This ironically inhibits true self-expression and identity formation: we fall victim to believing these trends promote individuality when, in reality, they promote conformity due to mass-marketing.
While some may argue that algorithms merely reflect our interests, they prevent interests from evolving. The stagnating effect of algorithms locks us into aesthetics they may not have adhered to long-term otherwise.
“ WE FALL VICTIM TO BELIEVING THESE TRENDS PROMOTE INDIVIDUALITY WHEN IN REALITY, THEY PROMOTE CONFORMITY.
OPINION
differently by diversifying our content consumption. Resetting feeds by clearing caches or actively following content creators with different aesthetics can break the cycle of algorithm-driven identity formation. Exploring historical and academic perspectives on fashion, identity and cultural trends can also provide a more nuanced understanding of why certain aesthetics rise and fall in popularity, helping to detach personal identity from consumerism.
“ TO BUILD OUR IDENTITY, WE NEED TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND ACT AS OUR OWN ALGORTIHMS.
To counteract this digital tunnel vision, we must encourage realworld exploration. Instead of letting an algorithm dictate our interests, we should actively seek experiences outside of our digital comfort zones. This could mean picking up a new hobby, engaging in different social circles or simply taking the time to reflect on what truly resonates with us beyond what is trending online. “Touching grass” — although used humorously to suggest stepping away from digital life — can be a simple yet effective way to reconnect with reality.
That being said, cutting out social media entirely isn’t necessary. Instead, we should approach our online habits
Additionally, raising awareness of how trends and aesthetics are marketed can help individuals separate their sense of self from the products they buy. Rather than feeling pressured to fit into a rigid online persona, we should embrace fluidity — allowing ourselves to evolve and redefine our interests over time without feeling confined to one aesthetic.
Perhaps the next time you find yourself scrolling through Pinterest, you could search for something entirely different from your usual aesthetic. Who knows? You might just discover a new side of yourself that no algorithm could have predicted.
The MVHS community discusses how social media has affected the way we perceive and pursue love
BY SANA KARKHANIS AND MEGHA MUMMANENI
is a lot easier to tell in person than
phone screen, which displayed the profile picture of a teenage boy on Instagram. After clicking the follow button, sliding into their DMs and frequently texting, it took four months for the pair to meet in person. For Araya, who values spending time with people in person, the lack of face-toface communication caused a strain on the couple’s relationship. After months of playing phone tag, she inevitably felt the need to end it.
“It was a little bit more difficult because there’s only so much emotion you can convey through writing and emojis, so sometimes it’s hard to think of what the other person is thinking,” Araya said.
“ I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT EVERY RELATIONSHIP IS DIFFERENT.
While Araya notes the negative impacts of social media on her personal experiences, others have found online platforms helpful for romantic communication. For Guidance Counselor Ashley Voigt, the easier access to communication that social media provides has had its advantages, citing her experience with her now-husband.
58%
to communicate. We also used to write letters to each other and hand them to each other, just as another form of communication because talking in person was a little bit more uncomfortable for both of us.”
of MVHS students
believe that social media is somewhat prominent in fostering relationships
*According to a survey of 122 people
With the rise of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat in the past few years, Voigt agrees with Araya that there are pitfalls to excessive online connections. While AIM was also an online messaging network, it included logging off when a conversation had ended, enforcing a boundary that Voigt believes is no longer found in popular messaging networks today.
SOPHOMORE
During high school, Voigt recounted how AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) — a popular online communication platform in the early 2000s — helped her grow her relationship in its early stages before the couple started connecting in person.
“Actions speak a lot louder than words, and I feel like it’s very obvious in someone’s body language and the way they act when they start getting comfortable with you, which
AMELIA ROJAS ARAYA
“We’re both a little introverted and talking in person was not comfortable for us, so AIM helped strengthen our friendship,” said Voigt. “We were also in different friend groups, so that made it easier
“The ability to constantly be communicating with someone or having their location on your phone kind of blows me away,” Voigt said. “The pressure to always be available to other people, whether it’s a romantic relationship or a friendship, is something I see as a negative. You shouldn’t have to be that connected to people all the time, and I could see that working negatively sometimes in relationships too.”
Similar to Voigt’s perception of
a lack of boundaries through social media usage, Araya points out another side of this issue: the intrusiveness of relationship advice and false representation of real relationships. She recalls her favorite movie “La La Land,” which delves into the idea of losing someone, detracting from a happy ending but showing the reality of many real relationships — something she finds isn’t depicted on social media.
online, they are more prone to lying or pretending to have a different personality, making it harder to form relationships that feel genuine.
“ i very much believe in trying to be in the present with somebody.
“It’svery normalized now on social media to trash your ex online and make trends about them, instead of silently healing yourself,” Araya said. “But I feel like sometimes, social media might sway you into being like, ‘Oh, I was right, he did this, so he’s the a**hole here, and I’m the better person.’ You don’t need some random TikTok or someone on Instagram telling you how to live your life. I think it’s important to remember that every relationship is different, every individual is different and everyone has different experiences.”
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
ASHLEY
“When people meet people in the real world they get attached to the person they see and that they know, not to pictures online,” Tzankov said. “They see firsthand who that person is and how they deal with stuff, and I feel like with social media and modern dating, that does not happen.”
VOIGT
Sophomore Lewly Tzankov, who strongly disapproves of pursuing romantic relationships online, agrees with Araya’s sentiments, adding that teenagers often turn to social media for “examples of love.” He says that it is important that when two partners experience conflict with each other, “they need to figure that out for themselves” rather than taking advice, which is often falsified or glorified, from people online.
While social media’s role in real relationships may be becoming more accepted in society, others like Tzankov view this change as a definite ‘No.’ Looking at his parents who never talked online and have a strong relationship today, Tzankov believes that, in the absence of social media, a real connection will thrive. Recently, Tzankov finds that when people talk
While Araya agrees with Tzankov that social media has presented its cons, she doesn’t necessarily feel that social media has killed romance. She adds that while love is more downplayed now — compared to traditional cliched aspects of dating such as carrying pictures in wallets — it hasn’t disappeared completely. Moreover, as romance has evolved, Araya believes people have also grown more comfortable with who they can be with, proving that change does not entail a death sentence to love altogether. She says that many times, it can be a way for people with geographical barriers to connect in addition to being a more viable option in the modern age for those with busier schedules or those who cannot afford to commute frequently.
Along with Araya, as someone who has worked with high schoolers daily, Voigt acknowledges the collective difficulties and benefits of social media’s impact on communication and
relationships. As a result, she believes it is important to take actionable steps to help students create a healthy balance between technology and the physical world to foster healthy and effective connections.
“Even as an adult, I’m on my phone a lot,” Voigt said. “I very much believe in trying to be in the present with somebody, whether it’s a relationship or even a student or a friend. So I think trying to unplug and just spending time away from that constant communication and spending time with people in person, can be meaningful. I hope that people can still experience that in this generation.”
“deI
IS DEAD UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION”
“DEIISJUSTANOTHER
WORDFORRACISM”
Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and witnessed first-hand the of doing.
During a conference regarding a fatal plane crash in Washington D.C. on Jan. 30, President Donald Trump claimed that the collision was due to diversity, equity and inclusivity hires, citing no evidence. This isn’t the first time that politicians have blamed disasters on DEI programs. Similarly, when the Los Angeles fires broke out in early 2025, Elon Musk blamed the Los Angeles Fire Department’s inability to contain the fires on the now former LAFD chief, Kristen Cowley, for prioritizing “DEI over saving lives and homes.”
de
PEOPLE“DEIMEANS DIE”
bunking DEI
BY APRAMEYA RUPANAGUNTA AND AMBERLY SUN
When DEI is cast in a negative light, those initiatives are misunderstood. However, the misconceptions surrounding DEI are equally as relevant at MVHS. More affluent students tend to be so blinded by their privilege, prioritization of academics and college careers that they fail to see the reality of DEI.
The median family income in Cupertino is $231,139 and only 5% of MVHS is economically disadvantaged; in contrast, 37% of students are financially underprivileged in California. Additionally, 79% of MVHS is Asian. Due to the bubble of wealth and lack of diversity at MVHS, students continue to remain unaware of the systemic racism that puts other minorities in poverty.
When we aren’t able to recognize the issues that systemic racism perpetuates in our society, it becomes easier to cast DEI as “reverse racism,” which deems DEI initiatives as an invalid way to encourage inclusivity. However, the bubble that MVHS students live in isn’t the only reason we fail to see the reality of DEI: a significant factor that plays into this mindset is our obsession with college admissions.
Wealth plays a large role in high school success — wealthy students tend to suceed on the SAT — so, it’s no surprise the mean MVHS SAT score is 1386, around 300 points higher than the state average. Students can also face familial pressures, with 91% of immigrant parents expecting their children to get a degree. This focus on
college, in tandem with many students’ ignorance of systemic racism, makes them solely care about DEI in terms of its effects on their academics.
With many MVHS students driven toward academic success, many of their biggest nightmares would be becoming like Stanley Zhong. With a 3.96 GPA and a 1590 SAT, Zhong was rejected by most of the colleges he applied to. The Asian American Coalition for Education rallied for his case, claiming that he would have been accepted “if he were black or Hispanic” and was rejected “as result of their illegal racial diversity and equity programs.”
a preference over somebody else,’ but, ‘Let’s open the doors a little bit and see who can come through.’”
56%
of MVHS students’
parents make more than 300K per year
*According to a survey of 79 STUDENTS
The opinions expressed in AACE’s press release are a continuation of a trend of believing colleges are biased against Asian Americans. With MVHS students in a similar environment as Zhong, striving for the same goals, they may absorb the same ideology that DEI and affirmative action exist to unfairly discriminate against them based on their Asian identity, blurring the line between DEI and affirmative action.
In reality, DEI is an umbrella term that encompasses affirmative action with both of them focusing on creating an inclusive environment by addressing aspects of inclusivity. However, affirmative action narrows on improving representation by accounting for and providing opportunities for certain groups of students.
Head of the FUHSD Human Resources department, Greg Giglio, believes that even though affirmative action and DEI are related, affirmative action focuses on the specific steps that institutions can take to promote a more representative environment.
According to Giglio, following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, FUHSD began focusing more in-depth on DEI, including recruiting more teachers of color to improve the discrepancy in demographics between the student population and the staff. In its efforts, FUHSD is attempting to ensure that the teachers on campus are representative of the student body.
“Having a diverse group of teachers doesn’t just help the African American student seeing an African American teacher,” Giglio said. “It helps a white student seeing an African American teacher because it starts to provide experiences. That’s something misunderstood, people think DEI only affects people of color.”
While Trump continues to pass executive orders to ban DEI and condemns “immoral race and sexbased preferences,” MVHS students should self-reflect on their views of DEI. By realizing that many students exist in a unique position of privilege and wealth, the experience of less fortunate minorities is the one that might benefit from DEI programs and policies.
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“Affirmative action is really about numbers and ratios,” Giglio said. “We’re not saying, ‘Let’s give someone
Schools should take steps to inform their students about systemic racism. This includes encouraging education on the inherent disadvantages faced by certain minorities by fostering conversation through effective advisories that describe the history and current state of this issue. However, in the long run, schools should move towards funding preparation classes for standardized tests such as the SAT to provide equal opportunity. The first and most important step that MVHS can take amidst the changes in DEI
policies is to remind students why the policies exist in the first place.
RECENT DEI POLICIES
1 Ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity
This policy aims to end DEI programs at a federal level. This includes programs that promote diversity and benefit minority populations.
Ending racial preferences in schools
2
This policy requires schools across the country to end affirmative action. If they refuse, schools may lose federal funding for student loans and reduced lunch programs.
3 Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing
Signed on Jan. 20, this order gives government officials 60 days to end all federal policies and programs that implement DEI.
Restoring America’s fighting force
4
Signed on Jan. 27, this order specifically targets the U.S. army by removing past DEI initiatives when it comes to enlisting and hiring citizens.
#ACTIVISM #ACTIVISM #ACTIVISM #ACTIVISM #ACTIVISM
Selective and surface-level activism leaves real issues unresolved
BY YIXUAN (JOYCE)
ELIZABETH
YANG
TLI AND
he flickering orange glow of wildfires casts an eerie light over Los Angeles, drawing millions of views, donations and online outrage. Meanwhile, the devastation of the 2023 Maui fires struggled to capture the same level of national concern. This disparity isn’t isolated — it is a symptom of a larger issue: selective activism. In an era where most of our news and advocacy is dominated by social media, people rally around causes that online celebrities address, leaving other equally pressing issues to languish in the shadows.
Social media has redefined activism, bringing unprecedented awareness to global issues. However, those same platforms that propel advocacy also breed performative engagement that fades before it can help make a dent in the issue. Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo gained global traction, raising awareness and pushing forward necessary conversations. #BlackOutTuesday was a similar case, with millions posting black squares on Instagram to show solidarity, but within days, many of these same users returned to silence, offering no further engagement in dismantling systemic racism.
Beyond social media, mainstream media coverage and public discourse also have a tendency to lean towards topics that will receive the most views. The war in Ukraine, for example, has received extensive coverage and global support, while the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen — starvation, airstrikes and displacement — has received a fraction of the coverage and remains largely overlooked. This selective spotlighting isn’t based on the scale of suffering but rather on political convenience — actions or decisions made by public figures motivated by the personal or political advantages
they’ll receive — reinforcing the idea that some tragedies are more worthy of advocacy than others.
This phenomenon undermines genuine advocacy. When people only engage with issues that align with social trends, they leave the heavy lifting to those who have been fighting these battles. Furthermore, the narrow focus on specific causes develops a false sense of progress — merely sharing a post or using a hashtag fuels this illusion. The #MeToo movement, for example, brought long-overdue accountability to predatory behavior in Hollywood but largely ignored the plight of lower-income workers who faced harassment without the protection of fame or wealth.
Marginalized communities bear the brunt of selective activism. Indigenous rights, environmental justice and racial inequalities are too often treated as afterthoughts in the larger framework of social justice unless they align with the dominant narrative. The disproportionate attention given to the LA fires over the Maui fires exemplifies this reality.
Indigenous communities in Hawaii, long at the forefront of environmental activism, saw their suffering relegated to the shadows, while a more mediafriendly disaster took center stage.
feeds the cycle of neglect for already marginalized issues.
Breaking this cycle requires a conscious and consistent effort to search for information that is hidden behind what dominates social media. Education and media literacy are crucial in developing critical thinking skills with diverse sources. Schools can’t just bring attention to problems occurring around the world, but should also emphasize critical thinking within their classrooms and encourage students to seek out diverse sources and analyze bias in mainstream media.
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At MVHS, where academic success is often the first priority, there’s also pressure to fabricate or play up a more socially conscious facade. Many students will engage in performative activism themselves, whether it be through posting about issues they don’t exactly understand or through participating in whatever will look most impressive on their college application. School curriculums should encourage students to go beyond passively supporting whatever issues are popular at the moment and cultivate informed discussion over performative gestures, creating opportunities for meaningful activism.
It’s understandable that people gravitate toward causes they relate to — those that align more with the personal beliefs of themselves and people around them. Social media reinforces this tendency, since algorithms show content based on past interactions and general popularity, creating an echo chamber where users are only exposed to familiar perspectives. While this algorithm can help for those specific issues, it also overshadows equally important issues by simply hiding them from their feeds. Not everyone has the capacity to champion every issue, but a lack of bandwidth is very different from willful ignorance. Choosing to never engage beyond the surface-level
Beyond education, media consumers must broaden their knowledge on global problems rather than passively absorbing whatever is at the top of their feed. Activism isn’t posting a single Instagram reel — it demands consistency and inclusivity. Social justice and environment responses can’t be dictated by fleeting outrage and trends. Genuine advocacy requires long-term commitment and a willingness to challenge biases, uplift lesser seen issues and work towards change driven by moral conviction rather than public or economic interest.
ADVISORY
Increased student engagement during Advisory lessons is necessary to spread its important insights
BY KATHRYN FOO
ENGAGED VALUABLE IMPORTANT
PHOTO | ALAN TAI
AS A COLUMNIST
I’m learning a lot about myself
BY JONAH CHANG
Writing this column was an emotional roller coaster — the kind that leaves you frustrated and exhausted. The process was stressful and draining. It challenged my writing ability and grit. However, I ended up learning a lot about myself.
Initially, when I started preparing this column during February break, it was titled “As a perfectionist.” I wanted to begin by discussing my inability to accept an imperfect first draft before transitioning into anecdotes about writing for El Estoque and World Literature.
The problem with that column arose when I attempted outlining a conclusion. I wanted to continue my column formula: a moment of realization followed by a lesson I learned about “letting things be imperfect.” I soon found, however, that I couldn’t.
I had no solution or insight to offer about overcoming perfectionism. It’s easy to say, “things don’t need to be perfect.” Acting on that thought is the
hard part. I sat hunched over my computer for hours, growing increasingly frustrated. I couldn’t find the perfect conclusion for my piece about the pitfalls of perfectionism.
Now feeling the weight of approaching deadlines, I gave up and pivoted to a new angle about fearing judgment, with which I aimed to paint a picture of past-me agonizing over the concept of right versus wrong in writing.
I finished the first draft of this column in a few days. Yet, something felt very off: I thought it had to do with the structure. Perhaps the phrasing wasn’t quite right. Again, this column tortured me. I overedited, trying to achieve some sense of satisfaction. In the end, I submitted a draft which, to my chagrin, I could only pass off as “good enough.”
by all my resurfacing frustration. I had a sinking feeling: I not only lost confidence in my column writing but also in myself. What if I’ve run out of ideas? What if I’m no longer a good enough writer? Searching for some catharsis, I wrote down everything I felt: the inadequacy, the disappointment.
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF
In my lowest moment, inspiration struck. Originally, I switched from perfectionism because I couldn’t make my outline perfect. I struggled to write about my fear of judgment because I was scared I wasn’t meeting a standard.
Even while I waited for edits, the draft weighed on me, a constant burden. I was terrified of what others might think upon reading my subpar work. After an editor finished reviewing my draft, I avoided checking the document tab, afraid to see the revisions she suggested. I’d already lost faith in the column.
I contemplated the irony of my situation. I couldn’t overcome perfectionism and, therefore, wasn’t able to write about it. I couldn’t quit my chase for perfection, fearing not only others’ judgment but also my own judgment of myself.
Thus, the idea for this column was born. I’ve learned that perfectionism is my greatest weakness and that there’s a long road ahead to overcoming my fear of judgment.
When I finally gathered enough courage and checked the edits, I was crushed. Nearly every sentence had a comment attached, each confirming my deepest insecurities about the column. I decided that my only option was to rewrite the entire thing.
I put my head down, overwhelmed
As a columnist, I try to have a clean resolution for every story. But because of the personal nature of column writing, I’ve realized that’s not always possible. I still struggle with perfectionism. I still fear judgment and will continue to. However, it’s OK not always to have an answer. It’s OK to be a work in progress, taking small steps towards eventual growth.
As for this column, I’m proud of how it turned out, even if it’s not perfect. If anything, I’ve taken a step so the next roller coaster won’t feel so bad.
How I learned to navigate using the term "trauma"
BY JILLIAN JU
I’ve seen a lot of original speeches in my time competing in speech tournaments, but there’s one piece that has stuck with me since freshman year. The speaker was attempting to argue that “little-t trauma,” such as being yelled at by a teacher, should be treated with the same seriousness as “big-T trauma,” like sexual assault. The argument was strange, sloppy and diminishing others’ experiences, and to be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
Trauma, like a person’s lived experience, varies so intensely that it’s unproductive and often damaging to compare it. What a “deeply distressing event” means to each person will depend on how they process their life events and emotions— this also a ects the way they discuss and deal with that trauma. This diversity of experiences seems banal to acknowledge, but the range means that the definition of trauma will always be more restrictive than it is descriptive.
my excuse for thinking about my experience so often?
What I misunderstood about processing my emotions was that “claiming” the label was the wrong direction to be looking in. Maybe my body couldn’t magically tell me if my experience could be classified as trauma, but it could tell me that there was something worth investigating. I was inadvertently invalidating what I already knew in favor of chasing validation from a
THE L ABE L WILL NEVER BE WHAT CREATE S YOU. T R AUMA OR NOT, WE CONTINUE LIVING WI TH I T.
the leading question. Psychologist Ruth Gatt recommends starting by identifying what about the situation
For a while, I struggled with seeing if that rigid definition of trauma fit into my life. I didn't check all the boxes: the situation wasn’t imposed, surprising or immediately shocking, and I only started having second thoughts afterwards — so does that even really count if I wasn’t instantly clear on my thoughts in the moment?
This a ected the way I talked about my experiences, even with my most trusted friends. My explanations would be full of caveats and downplaying — phrases like “I don’t know how big of a deal it is” — because I never really felt like I could lay claim to “having trauma.” And if I didn’t, what was
REVIEWS FOOD
TAURANT RUNDO ARTS & ENT
Scan to read El Estoque’s Arts & Entertainment section review four archetypes of Bay Area restaurants
BY SAMIKA BHATKAR, ANANYA
CHAUDHARY,
ALETHEIA JU, SAGNIK NAG
CHOWDHURY, DYLAN NGUYEN, ANGELA POON AND BENJAMIN ZHANG
BREAKFAST BUNCH
BY ANANYA CHAUDHARY AND BENJAMIN ZHANG
HOLDER’S COUNTRY INN
Boasting a cozy and warmly-lit interior and fully decorated with a bar and multiple TVs broadcasting sports games, Holder’s Country Inn invites customers to try its impressively diverse menu. The plates at this restaurant are giant and the portions follow suit, promising a satisfied stomach for all potential customers.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST ($16.50)
An absolute bargain for the price, the Continental Breakfast at Country Inn features two gigantic pancakes topped with butter, two eggs, a choice of two sausages or two slices of bacon and between apple or orange juice — we chose sausages and apple juice. The focal point of the meal is the two pancakes: large enough to cover an entire plate and thick enough to look like several pancakes stacked on top of each other, they are a dream come true for any pancake lover. They are incredibly fluffy and delicate, but not too soft or chewy that they become hard to cut
through. Each bite is a mouthful of golden brown delight, and it is so pillowy that it feels like eating a cloud. The ball of butter is nicely seasoned and pairs well with the supply of maple syrup. The supporting items don’t let down either — the two sausages are nicely cooked and salted, faring very well in taste, albeit having the appearance of a sad hotel breakfast sausage. The two sunny-side-up eggs have a beautiful yolk with a sunkissed complexity and have a very nice texture. The apple juice, filled to the absolute brim, is satisfactory as it doesn’t taste too sweet. A meal large enough for two people if necessary, the Continental Breakfast is sure to leave one feeling satisfied.
SARATOGA BAGELS
Hit by the smell of freshly baked bagels and the warmth of the establishment’s employees, Saratoga Bagels creates a memorable experience with a family-like feel and extensive menu. Although seemingly ordinary at first glance, the New Yorkstyle joint brings a new style to the Bay Area, explaining its popularity among local residents. However, the establishment is slightly overly praised, as it feels like it is almost trying too hard, whether that be adding too much cream cheese or packing a sandwich to the brim — both minimal problems that contribute to a semiunsatisfying meal. However, this is still a must-try bagel place, as the friendly
customer service and variety of bagel combinations make up for slight lacks.
PLAIN BAGEL WITH CREAM CHEESE ($4.75)
The plain bagel with cream cheese starts off promising with its simple yet delightful taste. The bagel itself is fresh, with a satisfyingly chewy texture that pairs well with the smooth cream cheese. However, the experience takes a turn with the almost sickening amount of cream cheese on the bagel. While its flavor is delicious, the excessive quantity makes the bagel difficult to finish and can leave a bit of a heavy feeling.
SWEET MAPLE
With a modern feel, every meal at Sweet Maple is beautifully plated, ready for a picturesque social media post. However, by trading authenticity for aesthetics, the establishment’s food is at best subpar, making Sweet Maple a one-time trip.
PIMPED UP RAMYUN ($24.00)
Adding flair to the average latenight snack, Sweet Maple’s Pimped Up Ramyun elevates a simple cup of “Shin” noodles to an extravagant entree, garnished with a mixed array of vegetables, a giant fried egg and the signature millionaire’s bacon. The millionaire’s bacon — which Sweet
achieve a perfect balance between the nostalgic taste of a street vendor and fine dining.
SMALL BUSINESS SHOWDOWN
BY SAMIKA BHATKAR AND SAGNIK NAG CHOWDHURY
LA CUEVA MEX GRILL
Tucked away in a small complex on Prospect Road, La Cueva is a quaint and family-owned MexicanLatin restaurant that offers plentiful seafood options and generous portions for an affordable price. The aroma of dishes sizzling on a grill, bustling chatter from patrons and warm service from the staff make for a comforting spot that serves nourishing food. It’s no surprise that customers may spot a local firefighter, cop or a herd of Prospect High School students munching on house chips and salsa while watching a
soccer match on the flatscreen TV.
2 FISH TACOS PLATE ($14.75)
This plate comes with two tacos of the customer’s preferred choice of tilapia, sea bass or cod; a scoop of rice; refried pinto beans; and a tangy mango slaw. The dish delivers freshness and comfort, making for a hearty meal that could easily satiate one person. The delicate tilapia is grilled befittingly and is adorned with charred onion and bell peppers, served with cabbage and topped with their creamy chipotle crema and house verde salsa. By themselves, the tacos are a flavor bomb and textural whimsy to one’s palette, with the crunchy cabbage and soft fish playing off each other’s contrasting feel and unified by the charred veggies. The refried beans are creamy and cheesy, making for a comforting bite with the seasoned, tomato-packed rice. The star of the dish is the unique mango salsa and coleslaw, which add a dynamic sweetness and crunch to the dish.
PHOTO | SAMIKA BHATKAR
With a loud crowd and staff deckedout in red tees calling out orders over the restaurant’s microphone, Cicero’s is an ideal pizza joint serving up mouthwatering pies. There’s always a diverse crowd of patrons snug in their green booths, enjoying their signature meat lovers or spicy vegetarian pizza while catching whatever big game is on that night. The homely atmosphere of this family-owned business is amplified by decor that includes vintage pictures and 49ers merch.
Each small pizza has six slices and is the perfect portion for one person. The pizza is served with a thin-crust that nails a crunchy consistency along with a rich marinara sauce and cheese melted to perfection.
SPICY VEGETARIAN
($11.75)
The thin-crust pizza comes with onion, tomato, bell peppers and jalapeños, with each bite delivering a fresh crunch and a kick of heat. This flavor is a perfect choice for those who enjoy bold tastes, as it is a spicepacked delight. The soft, juicy texture of the tomatoes complemented the crunch of the bell peppers and jalapenos well, with the creamy cheese adding contrast to make a satisfying bite.
CICERO’S AMARIN THAI CUISINE
Brimming with families ordering takeout and small groups sitting down for a relaxed meal, Amarin Thai Cuisine offers polished and satisfying Thai dishes. Uniquely, the restaurant gives patrons two menus: one red and one green, each with their respective meat and vegetarian options. Dim lighting and cozy wooden decor allow customers to comfortably dine while taking their taste buds on an enjoyable trip to experience authentic Thai flavors.
PAD KEE MOW ($17.99)
The Pad Kee Mow arrives in a navy blue and gold marble patterned plate, allowing customers to eat with their eyes first. The pops of color from the carrot and bell peppers add charming contrast and substance to the dish. However, for the price, the quantity of the dish is lacking, and no amount of snuck baby corn or bell pepper can offset the scarce noodles. Despite
this, flavorwise, the flat rice noodles have an addicting charred taste from the balanced spice mix and are well cooked — they aren’t too soggy or drenched in sauce. Furthermore, the crisp exterior of the fried tofu and tender broccoli and carrot make for an indulgent bite paired with the starchy noodles.
PHOTO|SAGNIK NAG CHOWDHURY
PHOTO|SAMIKABHATKAR
WORTH THE WAIT? KURA REVOLVING SUSHI
placed at every seat and prices are affordable because of the small
SPICY SALMON HAND ROLL
The salmon mixture, the star of the show, had a strong but tolerable spiciness. The two cucumber pieces, albeit warm, added textural variety in an otherwise boring dish. Whereas the salmon was soft and easily digestible, the seaweed was chewy and diffic[ult to bite through, only worsened by its extremely oily exterior.
IZUMI MATCHA
A popular matcha place in Cupertino, Izumi Matcha is well-known for its authentic matcha drinks and desserts. Despite the long line, the service is quick.
CRÈME BRÛLÉE
MATCHA SWIRL ($8.95)
This drink had a beautifully marbled exterior with a rich matcha flavor that was satisfyingly sweet and not grassy-tasting. Still, as a blended ice drink, it was a little dense and hard to sip. In spite of these flaws, chunks of matcha powder added
an interesting pop of flavor, but the drink was too plain and didn’t have enough elements of a crème brûlée to justify the high price.
MATCHA SOFT SERVE ($5.50)
The famous matcha soft serve lived up to the hype: not only was the portion excellent for the money, the superior quality was evident. Thick, creamy, smooth and soft, this soft serve had it all. The top was also generously dusted with matcha powder, intensifying the strong and authentic flavor.
DIN TAI FUNG
The world-famous dim sum chain Din Tai Fung’s Westfield mall location is packed, even on a weekday. Inside, the dim lighting and the wooden decor contribute to a traditional ambience. The waiters are attentive and the service is fast, displayed by the frequent water refills and the food coming out within 10 minutes. As for reservations, they are easy to secure and necessary to bypass the queue.
PORK XIAO LONG BAO ($17.50)
The famous pork xiao long baos — Chinese soup dumplings — arrived in a steamer containing 10 pieces. The doughy skin is thin enough to easily bite through while being thick
enough to hold the contents of the dumpling, and the umami soup filling is warm without being scalding hot. This dish displays authentic Chinese flavors, with a notably nonsoggy wrapper, flavorful soup and tender meat. The ratios are just right, resulting in a standout dish.
oily. Overall, it is a refreshing start to the meal and lives up to our expectations.
FOOD TRUCK FACEOFF
BY DYLAN NGUYEN AND BENJAMIN ZHANG
SPARTAN TACO TRUCK
In the heart of San Jose, Spartan Taco Truck — an offshoot of the primary restaurant, located right across E. William St. — offers a casual late-night experience with dynamic and flavorful Mexican street food. Open at 8 p.m., two hours past the main restaurant’s hours of operation, the truck attracts families and friends who come to order a variety of
dishes, ranging from their famous crispy tacos to unique fusions like peanut butter horchatas. Although they take cash only, Spartan triumphs in the hearts, or stomachs, of those who give it a try.
LITTLE CRISPY TACOS ($4.00 EACH OR 3 FOR $11.00)
These tacos are small, deep-fried tortillas layered with a customizable protein and served with cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream on top. The marinated steak and tender pork have an incredibly smoky flavor while the tortilla remains crispy, adding a crunch to every bite. Each taco has just the right balance of each ingredient — no one flavor overpowers the others. Adding Spartan’s special orange and green sauces takes the tacos to another level — the orange sauce is rich and spicy while the green sauce is tangy and fresh, both deepening the already flavorful dish. However, the sauces are undeniably required to bring this dish to its full potential, which can be a bummer for people who struggle with spice. Thus, while with the sauce Spartan’s crispy tacos are a transcendent experience in your mouth, the tacos standing alone might provide the same experience for everyone.
Located next to S. First Street in Central San Jose, The Panas Parche is a Venezuelan food truck that serves traditional classics alongside fusion dishes. The area is populated by more than 10 Latinx food trucks, which together form a mini food court in the heart of San Jose. Featuring strong flavors and an incredible sauce, The Panas Parche is an easy gateway food truck to the Latin American cuisine found all around San Jose.
CLASSIC HOT DOG ($8.00)
A fusion twist on the classic American hot dog, the Panas Parche Classic Hot Dog uses a salchichón sausage — a cured sausage made of
THE PANAS PARCHE MOMO GRILL
Located in the same parking lot as the Sunnyvale Costco, the Momo Grill food truck specializes in Nepali and Himalayan cuisine, and is especially known for its Momos, a popular Nepali dumpling dish. In the crimson red food truck, patterned with the Momo Grill logo and chef hats, a cook prepares a variety of dishes, ranging from chow mein to chicken lollipops. With its convenient location, the Momo Grill food truck is a must-try for any Costco shopper tired of the same food court options.
CHILI LAMB MOMO ($17.99)
Instead of being steamed, these circular filled dumplings are fried and smothered with a hot chili sauce. When opening the takeout box, the customer is greeted by glimmering orange momos, topped with sauteed bell peppers and scallions, that emit a wave of fragrant spices. There is an ample amount of filling within
pork — and adorns it with cabbage, cheese, salsa and lettuce. Interestingly, small crispy fries are also tossed on top of the bun and give the dish a satisfying crunch. But even the most powerful fries aren’t able to save the soggy bread. The flavor, which was the strongest aspect of the Cabimera Arepa, is toned down but still packs a punch. Each bite is only an experience of the sausage and barely anything else — the vegetables and ketchup exist just for an enjoyable texture and a hint of tomato aftertaste. While the dish is a unique twist, it doesn’t offer much more compared to the average frankfurter.
each Momo, and each bite contains a pleasing amount of lamb. The chili coating has a punchy and numbing kick to it, and it is rich in flavor. With a hint of citrus, the chili sauce is sweet but smoky — albeit so smoky that one might choke on the abrupt aftertaste. One of the only cons is the outer momo wrapper, which is too thick — a thinner, crispier outer jacket would’ve done the inner bliss more justice.
Senior Clara Fan dribbles past a defender on Saturday, Jan. 25, scoring her 1,000th career point in MVHS’s dominant 68-43 victory over Menlo Atherton High School.
Sophomore Joyce Chou takes a goal kick after the ball is kicked out of bounds in a game against Cupertino High School on Tuesday, Jan. 28, where the team lost 3-0.
Junior Jason Leung locks an opponent from Santa Clara High School in a tie-up position in a tri-meet on Thursday, Jan. 9, where MVHS fell 60-24 to Santa Clara High School and 36-18 to MacDonald High School.
Sophomore Kaylee Kwok passes the ball during the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day game on Tuesday, Feb. 4, contributing to MVHS’s 60-38 victory over Los Altos High School.
WINTER SPORTS
The MVHS winter sports season comes to an end
BY LEAH DESAI AND ETHAN YANG
RECAP
PHOTO | ETHAN YANG
PHOTO | GRACE LIN
PHOTO | SANIA NADKARNI
PHOTO | MELODY LIN
Junior Bhanu Raut defends a Lynbrook High School player on Thursday, Jan. 23, where the team tied 0-0 due to strong defense from both teams.
Senior Ninad Suresh defends against an opponent from Cupertino High School on Wednesday, Jan. 22, winning the game 49-32.
SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE
Junior Ryan Shen takes a jump shot on Friday, Jan. 24, in a neck-and-neck matchup against Lynbrook High School that came down to the final minute, ending in a narrow 63-65 loss.
PHOTO | ETHAN YANG
PHOTO | ALAN TAI
PHOTO| KATRINALIN
BY RADHIKA DHARMAPURIKAR AND ALYSSA YANG
Women who weightlift discuss their experiences, routines and opinions regarding their lifting journeys
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | ALYSSA YANG
Though social media and gym culture led junior Mahika Pandit to believe she needed Herculean effort and bulky equipment to overcome her weightlifting plateau, Pandit set a new personal record almost by accident — she went from deadlifting 200 to 225 pounds in her pajamas, her biggest milestone since she started weightlifting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike running or biking, where progress felt subjective to Pandit, weightlifting grew on her since it offered concrete numbers, like heavier weights.
“When you make progress, it’s very plain,” Pandit said. “You can’t deny that you’re moving forward. It feels like you’ve accomplished something. That’s the biggest thing for me — that I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t ever think I could do that.’”
Similarly, MVHS parent Mungree Singh’s most notable memory is hitting a personal record by bench pressing 25 pounds with each hand. For Singh, the numbers on the weights aren’t just indicators of strength, but also of personal growth.
“You always doubt yourself because you don’t want to drop the weights and hurt yourself,” Singh said. “But I feel like I can conquer any role or take on any individual if I have to. I’m going to be 59 this year, so I’m super excited at how I feel just because of my exercise routine.”
Alongside highs from setting new personal records, compliments on Pandit’s appearance also boosted her selfconfidence and motivation. At Pandit’s peak, she followed a five-day split workout routine. Singh’s routine is slightly more intense — she takes six 5 a.m. classes a week which require her to wake up at 3:45 a.m. To her, weightlifting serves as a form of preventative health care.
“I’m aging,” Singh said. “I need to make my body stronger, and part of that is starting to lift weights. If you’re in a hospital for say, two weeks or three weeks, your muscle mass goes away really quickly. The intent for me is always to ensure a quicker recovery, just in case.”
According to NPR, strength training not only grows muscle mass but improves one’s cognitive abilities, cardiovascular health and mood — especially for women. Its popularity has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic as people like Pandit turned to weightlifting for exercise and embraced its benefits.
she also finds herself motivated to prove people’s expectations wrong.
“ YOU LEARN TO KEEP GOING AND BELIEVE IN WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU CAN DO.
“I see the guys looking at me when I lift a 60 or 70-pound weight, like, ‘Can she lift it?’ so it becomes a challenge,” Singh said. “Everybody has predetermined biases of what somebody else can or can’t do. Gender, height, ethnicity, you name it — I’ve got it all coming at me, not only in the gym but also in the office. It’s everywhere. So you learn to keep going and believe in who you are and what you can do.”
MVHS PARENT MUNGREE SINGH
Sophomore Winnie Liang also began training with weights during COVID-19, but mainly to supplement kickboxing and wrestling. She didn’t approach weightlifting seriously until being inspired last year by watching a MVHS wrestling teammate “muscle through” her matches.
“The first time I stepped into the gym, I noticed a lot of people who had already been there for a long time — they knew what they were doing,” Liang said.
“ ONCE YOU START GOING TO THE GYM, YOU DO ACTUALLY MAKE A LOT OF FRIENDS.
SOPHOMORE
WINNIE LIANG
“When I first went in, I was still immature. I would look at other people and worry, ‘Will they judge me? If I do something wrong, will people look down on me?’
But once you start going to the gym, you do actually make a lot of friends. Those older than you are very happy to help you out.”
Likewise, Singh says part of the high from hitting personal records is sharing her achievement with her “gym girlfriends.” While not everyone she meets at the gym is as supportive,
Liang still occasionally feels self-conscious about her appearance when going to the gym, especially when older men react with surprise to her lifting the same weight as them or showing her muscle definition, believing that a stigma towards more masculine women is still present. On the other hand, Singh believes society has pivoted to a more positive perspective: that women can work on their bodies to be healthy and get stronger.
“When I was growing up, women that lifted weights looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger,” Singh said. “Today, the idea of women lifting weights is very feminine. I mean, my girls tell me, ‘Mom, I want your calves,’ so gaining muscle is becoming attractive. It is attractive to me.”
Liang believes that Singh’s perspective is not the status quo, and progress still has to be made on a broader scale. Personally, she’s learned to center her weightlifting goals around progress in kickboxing and wrestling, rather than her appearance.
“The system that has been created for the conventional beauty standards of women has to be broken,” Liang said. “Right now, we’re still stuck in that traditional structure, and the only way to break out of that mindset is to challenge it.”
SPORTS | MARCH 2025 45
MVHS athletes share how their attitudes differ toward recreational and competitive sports
BY JONAH CHANG AND OWEN LIU
Kicking the ball towards the soccer goal, junior and Varsity Boys Soccer winger Jason He feels a rush of raw adrenaline and jubilation — it’s a feeling he hasn’t been able to shake since his introduction to the sport in sixth grade. The pressure is on, and as he dribbles, kicks and shoots, he uses his extensive experience to outmaneuver the opposition. As he adjusts his rhythm to the game’s beat, he sees the audience’s tightly pursed lips and worried eyes, adding another wave of pressure. Because the sport is highly competitive, this pressure is yet another challenge he must overcome if he wants to secure a goal.
“When I used to play recreational soccer, after every game, my team would get snacks and do fun things, especially with friends,” He said. “But as I got older, especially in competitive soccer, there was more pressure on our team to win and provide good
results, rather than just have fun. That made it more stressful because you had to fight for your place on the team.”
As a result, Weight Training teacher Jeff Thomas notices that the mindset of athletes training competitively differs from those who play recreationally, often by a large margin. From many years of experience coaching physical education, Thomas believes that successful competitive athletes must learn not to dwell on failure, especially when pressured by others. However, he adds that the emotional turmoil in sports is a huge turnoff for many athletes, which is why they might choose to play recreationally.
“Personally, if I were losing in a game, I’d be mad during the game, but afterward I would be like, ‘OK, on to the next thing, learn from my mistake and move on,’” Thomas said. “If you have that attitude, then you can play
competitive sports. If you dwell on negatives and you’re thinking about it for a week until your next game, then I think that that would lend itself to more of a ‘You know what? I just want to play, have fun, enjoy and have some positive interaction with my buddies’ type of attitude.”
He notes that although a competitive mentality adds additional pressure that accentuates the anxiety of the moment, it also pushes him to learn and improve. Over years of training, he’s learned that the emotional resilience of the game is an aspect of competitive sports that, more so than in recreational sports, requires practice and experience to navigate.
“Competition gives you motivation to improve,” He said. “It gives you more anxiety, and mentally, you have to be strong. Even if you play one bad game and get benched in the next,
PHOTO | KIRK FLATOW
you still have to move on and learn from your mistakes, which sometimes is hard, especially in the moment. But as you look back, you start to realize that it’s really about improving on those mistakes.”
To senior and Track and Field athlete Hemani Kamarshi, who runs both recreationally and competitively, pressure during competitive sports is a feeling all too familiar. Similar to He, she feels judgment from members of her team who expect her to be exceptional. To break down the pressure, Kamarshi emphasizes developing relationships with her teammates. Despite competition within sports teams, Kamarshi believes a shared objective for growth unites athletes and fosters a sense of belonging.
to not be good for your body or your mind,” Kamarshi said. “I try telling people that they don’t necessarily have to constantly treat everything competitively, but at the end of the day, I think that’s a lesson you just naturally learn through a lot of sports.”
“ I TRY TELLING PEOPLE THAT THEY DON’T HAVE TO CONSTANTLY TREAT EVERYTHING COMPETITIVELY.
SENIOR HEMANI KAMARSHI
Although Kamarshi and Thomas note that competitive sports have their negatives, Thomas adds that those who can compete often experience morale boosts. Across both competitive and recreational sports, Thomas believes that one of the more appealing aspects of competing in a sport is the way athletes can showcase their skills in a way that boosts their confidence.
“We do a lot of team bonding,” Kamarshi said. “What I like about running is that even though it’s a competitive sport there isn’t so much an emphasis on speed as there is on self-improvement, both characterwise and physically. I benefited from that, knowing that I didn’t have to be the fastest as long as I improved and contributed to the team with everything that I had, and that I would be counted as a valued member.”
As a Cross Country captain, Kamarshi focuses on encouraging her teammates and building a community over focusing on an unhealthy mindset that emphasizes competing only to defeat an opponent. She adds that her style of leadership fosters growth and improvement and helps people enjoy running, rather than treating it as a combative and rigorous exercise.
“Some teammates, especially some newer runners, will often feel like every day is a race, and they have to constantly try to compete with each other when that is scientifically proven
“It’s a great feeling when you’re performing at a high level and when other people can see that you’re good at it,” Thomas said. “If you’re good at something athletic, or you’re very strong, or you’re very fast, or whatever it is, people get to see it.”
Although Kamarshi, Thomas and He all believe competitive sports have their benefits, Kamarshi still finds it best to acknowledge that sports are not always about winning but about togetherness, an aspect enjoyable for both recreational and competitive players.
“My leadership style is based on talking to people and bringing them together through fun experiences, whether that’s planning karaoke at the beach after a meet or bringing face paint to meet so that, after we race, we can paint our faces in silly colors,” Kamarshi said. “I always try to bring something fun so that people don’t necessarily focus on just beating people and getting a certain time. While all that is pretty important, it’s not going to be sustainable long term if you can’t have fun with it.”
SENIOR & LONG DISTANCE RUNNER HEMANI KAMARSHI
Senior Hemani Kamarshi runs both recreationally and competitively as a distance runner for MVHS Track and Field and a captain for MVHS Cross Country. She also bikes recreationally.
WEIGHT TRAINING TEACHER JEFF THOMAS
Weight Training teacher Jeff Thomas has competed in sports his entire life. He played football, baseball and basketball in high school and continued with football in college. Thomas currently enjoys playing golf and basketball.
JUNIOR/WINGER JASON HE
Junior and Varsity Boys
Soccer winger Jason He began his soccer journey at age 8. He played recreationally until 10, and has since played competitively, later joining Monta Vista’s team. He also picked up competitive basketball from sixth through eighth grade.
CROSSWORD @elestoque
BY ALAN TAI
ACROSS
Broadway productions
Brilliance
From head ___
Garfield’s girlfriend
Opposite of competitive (pgs. 46-47)
Gold standards
Police jacket letters
Arab Spring and the American Revolution, e.g.
Is borrowing, as a library book
Eisler or Kellogg (pgs. 16-17)
Complete, as an iK12 form
“Interpreter of Maladies”
Pulitzer author Jhumpa
What residents of 33-Across might use to get around
Toward sunrise
Interlaced
Where Model U.N. members traveled to from March 12 to 16
Tack on
Where sailors go /, to a bowler
Thin as ___
DOWN
Orch. section
Weeding tool
Non-Rx
Collaborate
Words before ghost or doctor
Neighbor to Sudan and Ethiopia
“Keep this meeting private, please”
Python function that determines the number of items in an object
Santa ___ winds
Business card no. (abbr.)
___ (stuck)
How you might undo strings that are 31-Across Xiao ___ bao (pgs. 38-39)
Zest source
“At Last” singer James Used to be
Instagram or TikTok (pgs. 22-23)
Place to get a facial
U.S. intelligence org. with a National Cryptologic Museum, showcasing artifacts like World War II Enigma machines
Workplace initialism that might include harassment prevention training (pgs. 26-27)
Stanford rival, informally
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A.TAI: Not much wordplay, but some tricky answers exist. I know you all got this!
