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I WANT YOU TO BE POLITICALLY AWARE Turn to page 4 for an in-depth analysis of political awareness at Gunn

Alvina Yau

Gunn upgrades WiFi, increases speed Jean Wang

News Editor

In the next few weeks, Gunn will be upgrading our wireless system with new network gear as part of a district-wide network upgrade. “We should see an increase of about 10 times the wireless speeds we have now,” Computer Support Specialist Brett Demetris said.

The network upgrade will be replacing equipment that has been in place for 15 years, and is expected to cost $1.5 million over the next year. The upgrade will help facilitate future Palo Alto Unified School District Information Technology plans and the implementation of a Voice over Internet Protocol system that will replace the district’s current phone system. “The network is the first step in this long term upgrade process,” Demetris said. “It’s laying the foundation for anything we want to do in the future.”

In particular, the new equipment will support thousands more devices on the wireless network, improve wireless speeds by up to 10 times and increase network

security. With this backbone in place, the Gunn technology staff is hoping to eventually replace the current wireless system, which has been the source of many student complaints due to its frequent need for reauthentication.

“It’s easier to just disable WiFi and use slower 3G Internet,” senior Joe Atlas said. The new system would require students to log in once a day or even less to access WiFi. “[The new system] creates a lot of accountability because we know exactly who’s logging on to the network based on students’ IDs and passwords,” Demetris said. “Eventually it’ll get to the point where you’ll only log in one time and that is your school services and wireless log in all in one.”

Student response to the proposed upgrades have been generally positive. “That would be so useful,” senior Ari Greif said. “It would be really great for students who have after school activities because they could more easily access homework online via their phones.” However, Demetris stresses that it will take at least another year before such a system will be in place. “There’s no formal plan to get rid of authentication yet,” Demetris said.

Olympic luger coaches track and field Misheel Enkhbat & Erica Lee Reporters

Although 1992 Gunn alumnus Brian Martin is known as the track team’s assistant coach for sprinting, he spent most of his time postgraduation competing in the Winter Olympics Games for luging. Martin participated in the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympic

Gunn Figures

»

Games with long-time luging partner Mark Grimmette. Martin and Grimmette began luging together in the summer of 1996 after both of their doubling teams fell apart.

Together, they earned a bronze medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics and a silver medal in 2002.

Martin’s drive to compete in the Olympics came at an early age. “There is nothing more ex-

139

Number of students who partipated in Love Match

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citing than to have gotten to go to four Olympics, being able to represent my country and doing well in both of them,” Martin said.

Because luging is a high-speed sport, it is one of the most dangerous events in the Winter Olympic Games.

Martin knows these dangers very well, having experienced smashed hands, concussions and neck problems.

LUGER—p.21

8:7

Ratio of Gunn to Paly Presidential Scholars Program candidates

30

Number of vacation days during the 2011-2012 school year

2

News

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NEWS BITES

Seniors plan class specific dance

After low attendance at the December Winter Dance, the senior class envisioned a creative idea for both fundraising and having fun. “The idea came up during the winter dance,” Senior Class President Jesse Zwerling said. “The outside sound system had a temporary failure, so everyone huddled into the Student Activities Center (SAC). Some seniors turned on the stereo, and others turned off the lights.” This inspired the Student Executive Council to hold similar events in the SAC with the senior class.

The proposition entails class-specific mini dances in the SAC, with simple music and decorations. “Nothing like this has ever been done before and we have an incredibly fun class,” Senior Class Vice President Eamon Barkhordarian said. “Experimenting with something new like this can only make me eager to see how the seniors will take it.”

Ellen Lee

Civil rights activist speaks at Gunn

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. assembly was held in Spangenburg Auditorium on Jan. 31. Organized by the Student Executive Council Diversity Commissioners, the assembly featured civil rights activist, Bruce Hartford, as the key speaker. “The main purpose of the assembly was to celebrate the triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement and acknowledge its continuing legacy,” Diversity Commissioner Natasha Allen said.

At the assembly, Hartford conveyed the importance for youth to stand up to social injustices and civil inequalities. In addition, Hartford included his experiences with King, as well as his belief that the late reverend would have supported the recent Occupy movement.

Cooper Aspegren

Library innovates with Idea Lab

Although a new semester has just begun, more changes are underway in the library, including the new Idea Lab that has taken over one of the corners of the library. New furniture such as movable white board tablets, stools and tables is intended to help students set up a comfortable, personal work space. “The Idea Lab fuels creativity because of the free flowing work space created by unfixed furnishing,” Librarian Meg Omainsky said. “No other place on campus has this.”

Because all the furniture is movable, students are expected to clean up after themselves when they are done and reset the space to its original form. “My goal is to create a very flexible, open space for creativity and collaboration,” Omainsky said. In the future, Omainsky is looking to install projectors so that teachers can effectively use this space for their classes.

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SEC SCOOP Upcoming Events: • Titan 101 (2/14) • Love Match results released (2/14) • Symphonic orchestra concert (2/14) • Holiday (2/17 2/20) • Sadie Hawkins dance (2/24) • Winter sports awards (3/7) • CAHSEE (3/13 3/14) If you have any suggestions or questions, please contact us!

Email: sec.gunn@gmail.com Facebook: “Updates from Gunn SEC” Or ask us a question at www.formspring.me/GunnSEC

Wendy Qiu

Left: Mayor Yiaway Yeh poses with a phone and gavel. Top right: Yeh (right) and reporter Cooper Aspegren (left) discuss the impact Gunn has had on his life. Bottom right: Yeh explains the duties of city council.

Gunn alumnus elected Palo Alto mayor Cooper Aspegren

co-student body president, and Reporter helped start Gunn Service Day with a friend.

According to the new Palo Alto In a campaign video released mayor Yiaway Yeh, his time at during his run for city council, Yeh Gunn helped build his foundation stated that organizing the event for understanding and devotion to was more enjoyable than taking public affairs. “I got really involved AP tests. “The times that I was in student government at Gunn,” able to get reflective and feel more Yeh sa id. “ T hat connected to was what laid the what I was path for my being actually doing interested in public “The goal of setting were through priorities is to provide c om mu n it y service.”

The Pa lo Alto direction to all of the service,” Yeh City Council unanisaid. mously elected Yeh city staff that this is After gradas city mayor on what we really want to uating from Jan. 3. According Gunn in 1996, to current council focus on as a council.” Yeh attended member Joe Klein, Palo Alto Mayor A m e r i c a n several Palo Alto Yiaway Yeh U n i v e r s i t y and Harvard’s High School graduKennedy School of Government, ates have been elected mayor.

Mayor Yeh, however, is the first later serving two years in the Peace Gunn graduate to hold the position. Corps in Burkina Faso. “That’s Elected to Palo Alto’s city coun- when I started to learn about cacil in 2007, Yeh has served as vice reers in government service,” Yeh mayor, and has served as the as- said. “I got really intrigued by it.”

Outgoing mayor Sid Espinosa sistant city auditor of Oakland. Yeh will focus exclusively on being Palo praises Yeh as a colleague and a sucAlto mayor full-time during 2012. cessor. “He is a smart, thoughtful At Gunn, Yeh was elected and experienced public servant,” sophomore class president and Espinosa sad. “He knows the policy

issues and Palo Alto inside and out.”

Klein officially nominated Yeh as a candidate for mayor. “I think that in Yiaway’s case it would be a slam dunk that he would be elected,” Klein said. “I think he’s done a very good job on the council and I was glad to be the one to speak first and explain why I thought he should be the mayor.”

In a process Yeh described as “the sausage making of government,” the city council convened at an annual retreat for the third consecutive year to prioritize city finances, land use and transportation, environmental sustainability, emergency preparedness and longterm community collaboration for youth well-being. “The goal of setting priorities is to provide direction to all of the city staff that this is what we really want to focus on as a council,” Yeh said. “The role and authority of council is to set that policy direction for the city.”

Yeh has applauded Gunn’s efforts to ensure the happiness of students. “There’s a lot going on during adolescence,” Yeh said. “It’s really commendable what all the students are doing on the Gunn campus to be peer support.”

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News

Monday, February 13, 2011

3

Students awarded annual grants from Gunn @ Your Service Emily Yao

Sports editor

According to Martin Luther King, Jr., everyone can be great because everyone can serve their community.

However, with a lack of resources, students may have trouble serving their communities to the best of their abilities. Thus Gunn @ Your Service, a Gunn parent booster club, presented its annual Gunn Grants. The club wants students to be social entrepreneurs who create their own community service projects and thinks that Gunn Grants are a perfect vehicle for that, according to Gunn @ Your Service President Lauren Janov.

The annual grant is open to any student who needs financial help to make his or her community service project successful. “Students come up with their own service project idea, sell us on the need and how they will serve it.

Then we provide funding and mentoring support,” Janov said. Ten grants, up to $200 each, are given to the winners.

This year’s recipients are freshman Leland Wei, sophomores Arjun Parikh and Divya Saini, juniors Tatiana Grossman, Peter Kim, Praniti Sinha and Lily Tsai and senior Natasha Allen. Projects ranged from construction work, city protection

and sports to music, books and education.

Wei will use the grant to create a walkway in the Palo Alto Baylands. “It feels great [to be a recipient], as now the outlook of my project is brighter,” he said. Saini’s project will also contribute to Palo Alto as she is planning on using the grant to pay for a campaign to inform Palo Alto residents of earthquakes.

Parikh, with the only athletic-focused project, will use the grant to help cover the costs for soccer equipment, including 20 soccer balls, 100 cones and 16 training soccer pinnies. They will be used for a summer soccer camp that will help disadvantaged children through sports. “Getting the grant is huge and the money will go a long way towards a successful camp,” Parikh said.

Tsai, one of last year’s winners, received the grant this year again for one of her musical projects. She will be using her grant to buy more instruments, especially flutes, for around 20 students at Costano Elementary School. They will have the chance to take the instruments home to practice. Kim, a first time recepient of the Gunn Grant, will be using the money to purchase sheet music and music stands for musicians performing at the Palo Alto Veterans’ Hospital.

Like Tsai, Grossman was also one of last year’s

recipients of the Gunn Grant. In 2011, Grossman spent the money shipping a new children’s library to Malawi.

This time, she plans to use the grant for her club, the African Literacy Club, to create another library in Africa from donated books. “We are delighted that we will be able to help even more African children learn to read with the help of the Gunn @ Your Service’s grant,” Grossman said.

“I feel honored to be a grant recipient.” Allen, the only senior to received a grant, plans to work alongside the Sudan-American Foundation for Education and STAND, the student-arm of the Genocide Intervention Network to ship academic books to South Sudan. Along with books, Sinha will use her grant to sent computers and food to orphans in Bangalore, India. The money will help Gunn’s Asha Club run a fundraiser for Asha for Education.

According to Janov, Gunn Grants was created to help those being served as well as students who don’t know where to go for advice or who have financial barriers between their ideas and action. Janov hopes Gunn Grants will transform students into life-long volunteers and philanthropists. “There is little in the world more powerful than transforming your own idea into something that positively impacts others in a dramatic and memorable way,” she said.

Hacking in the AC Zoe Weisner

News editor

Wendy Qiu

Lef t: Senior Jack son Gardner ’s air hockey table will b e the newest addition to the SAC. Top right: The air hockey table needs some minor adjustments but will be ready for use soon. Bottom right: The table will be placed near the ping pong tables in the SAC.

SEC acquires air hockey table for SAC Jean Wang

News editor

In the upcoming weeks, an air hockey table will be made available to students in the Student Activities Center (SAC). “Ping pong was a great addition, but air hockey makes it like an arcade,” senior Alyssa Pereault said. “That’ll be sick.”

The Student Executive Council (SEC) was first approached with this idea when Human Relations Commissioner Alex Barthelemy mentioned that one of his friends, senior Jackson Gardner, was looking to sell an air hockey table. After some consideration, the SEC decided the table would be a good investment and bought it for $100. “The funds come from an amount that we put aside at the beginning of the year for the SAC upgrade, as this was my big goal as student body president,” Gunn Student Body President Malik Gill wrote in an email.

Although the air hockey table has already arrived at Gunn, Gill and Barthelemy plan to restore it to better condition before placing it in the SAC for student use. While the table works, the air current isn’t very strong, which Gill and Barthelemy

hope to fix by polishing the table surface and vacuuming the dust out of the holes. “With bean bags, ping pong, hot chocolate and now air hockey, the SAC will be the coolest hang out spot on campus,” junior William Yu said.

When ready, the air hockey table will be placed near the ping pong tables that were introduced to the SAC last school year. Students can expect the air hockey tables to follow a similar borrowing system as the ping pong tables, requiring collateral to receive the puck and mallets with which to play.

However, many students remain concerned that the air hockey tables, like the ping pongs tables, would be dominated by seniors who have several prep periods. “I would like it, but the underclassmen would probably never get to use it,” sophomore Adriana Noronha said.

In addition to the air hockey table, the SEC has several other plans to upgrade the SAC. These include two new televisions and two Xbox 360s, which will be made available in the coming months. “[The air hockey tables] will add more variety to the SAC, and it will also keep kids excited until we get the new Xbox’s and TVs,” Gill wrote.

Over the years, the Academic Center (AC) has had problems with students tampering with their computers. “Compared to last year, hacking hasn’t been so bad but it’s definitely been an issue,” Technical Support Brett Demetris said. Hacking of school computers is a persistent problem because gaining access to the computers becomes easier through social hacking.

“If a student was a teacher assistant, the teacher might give them their password to the computer,” Demetris said. “This allows the faculty passwords to be spread around campus, because that student might share the password with of his or her friends.” Through social hacking, a large number of people can login as administrators.

Students and faculty agree that boredom is the main cause of hacking. “People hack because they’re just bored and not thinking it through,” AC supervisor Pam Steward said. Junior Paymahn Mofidi also had a similar statement. “I think people who hack computers do it for the joy of it,” Mofidi said. However, Demetris argues boredom that alone does not push students to computer tampering. “Hacking is a mentality driven by curiosity and closed doors,” Demetris said.

Completely stopping students from tampering with school computers is unlikely. Steward also admits that she is unable to prevent all hacking at the AC. “I don’t know what every student is doing,” Steward said.

Perhaps the only way to slow hackers is by putting hacking in a different perspective. “I would tell the students that the computers aren’t ours it’s for them,” Demetris said. “Students need to take ownership of their property.”

It takes the technical support team two to 20 minutes to restore a tampered computer. If a large amount of students have control of administrative passwords, the technical support team use a master password that only they possess, which resets all of the computers.

Although hacking does not have major repercussions, it still effects the student body. “Hacked computers would definitely make me more worried when I’m using them,” Mofidi said.

4

News

To what extent are students at Gunn politically aware?

Elsa Chu & Utkash Dubey

teenage demographic. “I think that [the low score] shows we should talk more about current events, because you As high school students reach an age with new political can’t expect high school students to know where to find privileges, the future of society arguably revolves around good resources and information,” she said.

Others agreed with Gold. “I’m not surprised [at the their opinions, perspectives and perceptions of politics. score] because I don’t think there’s a large reason for stuThe Oracle set out to ascertain the level of campus-wide dents to be more politically aware because they can’t vote political awareness. After administering and gathering and there are things that are immediately more important the data from 10 knowledge-based questions, staffers anato them,” senior Jeremy Neff said. lyzed the collected information. Survey data came from Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics teacher Daisy 91 students spanning all four grades and both genders.

Renazco believes that the low scores in However, it should be noted that the the younger grades are linked to their results are not a completely accurate age. “The freshmen are getting lower representation of the entire school “ Developmentally, teenscores, which might be because as you’re due to the small sample size. agers are more interested here longer, you’re learning more,” she While the average student scored said. “At the age of 14, you may have about a 3.7 out of the 10 relevant in [themselves], but the less incentive to be politically aware questions asked, there was a conbrain starts the develop because you’re not near the voting age. siderably wide range of scores. The as they get older and they Developmentally, teenagers are more least politically aware were freshstart to care more about interested in [themselves], but the brain men males, freshmen females and the world around them .” starts the develop as they get older and sophomore females, respectively. they start to care more about the world After that, the middle scorers were — Statistics teacher Daisy around them.” senior females, sophomore males Renazco There doesn’t appear to be a correlaand junior males, respectively. The tion between genders, since freshman highest scoring, most aware students were junior males, junior females and senior males, males scored lower on average than freshman females, respectively. The average score stratified by grade ranged but senior males scored much higher on average than from approximately 3.2 to 4.5 out of a possible 10. Senior senior females.

Renazco gave her perception on why the girl scores Michaela Gold shared her opinion on the score for the Centerfold Editor & Forum Editor

were, for seniors and sophomores at least, lower than those of the boys. “Generalizations made based on gender would come across as sexist,” she said. “From my experiences, though, men feel like they need to know facts, while women are more emotionally tied. For politics in general, politicians market themselves differently to the female voters. Critics have mentioned that JFK appealed to women because he was handsome, which sounds shallow but those comments have been made.”

Since the majority of students did not identify themselves with a party, there were no relevant distinctions to be made between those few who were represented as Democrats, those who were Republicans or others. Approximately 21 percent of the surveyed students identified themselves as Democrats, 3 percent declared themselves as Republicans, 4 percent were Libertarians, 3 percent were Independents, 1 percent were Centrists and the remaining 68 percent declared no political affiliation whatsoever.

Political awareness is a choice rather than a gift, and it increases with age as the outside world becomes more relevant in one’s life. This school’s teachers are very qualified and are not, in any way, responsible for the scores the students recieved. While the average student received a poor score by many standards, it is not a reflection of their intelligence or that of the school’s collectively, but simply an evaluation of how much they pay attention to the political world.

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Letters to the Editor and Comments and ideas for coverage may be sent to gunnoracle@yahoo.com or posted on our Facebook page. These letters need not be from current student.

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Corrections

• Features: The caption for the photo of Middle College students stated “high students” instead of “high school students.” Student Ethan Hausser’s name was spell incorrectly.

• Sports: Senior Allison Doerpinghaus received the Coach’s Award instead of Most Improved Player.

News

Monday, February 13, 2011

Speech and Debate adjusts to loss of coach Lydia Zhang

still struggling with is how we no longer have a chaperone. I never thought that was that big of a deal, but as a team we’ve discovered that chaperThe Speech and Debate Club has experienced ones are very hard to come by.” some changes now that they are without a coach.

Ye says that, though they have an advisor— Hoon Ko, who had been the club’s coach for six Opportunities teacher Ken Plough—the club is years, left last month. “His outside work gave him trying to take most of Ko’s responsibilities. “We an ultimatum,” senior Speech and Debate Club know that it’s a lot to ask for a teacher to agree to President Sian Ye said. “Especially this year, he has be an advisor, so we’re trying to make his job as to do a lot more travelling for his job.” easy as possible by doing every bit of paperwork As a volunteer, Ko received no pay from the that we can,” she said. school for helping Speech and Debate. His work According to Ye, however, the first meeting with the team, however, was very time-consuming. they held without Ko still went well. “At the actuAccording to Ye, the team misses his presence and al meetings, Ko would maybe say something in the work he did. “It’s been pretty stressful,” she said. the beginning if there were any announcements “There are a lot of rules and regulations we have to to be made that day, but otherwise, our officers work around and follow. Ko run the meetings themtook care of everything that selves,” Ye said. “Whathappened behind the scenes.

“There are a lot of rules and ever officer is in charge of Everything in terms of dealthe speech meetings has an ing with the league, dealing regulations we have to work agenda and a plan for what with the administration, around and follow. Ko took he or she is going to do with chaperoning every single his or her hour.” Ye believes meeting and every single care of everything that hap- that the club will attend the tournament we went, he was pened behind the scenes.” tournaments they would there.” usually attend.

Because of Ko’s deparSpeech and Debate Club According to Ye, Ko had a ture, the club officers have President Sian Ye distinctive coaching method had to pick up all of the that makes including a new work that was previously delegated to him. “There coach difficult for the club. “It would be great if is a lot more responsibility given to the officers at we could get another coach, but we would have the club,” sophomore Policy Debate Captain David to find one that could fit in with the way we do Patou said. “We have to make sure all the forms things,” she said. “Some coaches might get too get turned in and make sure that we have teachers competitive and be too focused on winning.” chaperoning for each tournament, whereas before, Perng agrees that Hoon will be difficult to Hoon took care of all of it.” replace. “Hoon has an extremely loose and unJunior James Perng has also seen the changes, orthodox coaching style,” he wrote. “We were but believes that the club has been adapting to the mostly in charge of how good we wanted to be, change. “Everyone on the team has equally taken and he would help us as long as he knew it would on a little bit more of the weight after Ko has left,” make us happy. No one on the team wants a he wrote in an email. “The main problem that we’re change from the status-quo.”

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5

Seniors place in Intel contest Leon Cheong Reporter

Two seniors have succeeded in the Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious science competitions in the nation. Seniors Jin Pan and Jean Wang both placed as semi-finalists, with Pan moving on as a finalist.

As one of 40 finalists, Pan has a chance to win a $100,000 scholarship. His research project was about ribosome transition rates and protein formation. “[My experiment] provided a deeper understanding of how proteins fold into functional units,” Pan said. “The results form a theoretical basis for an improved method to cripple viruses.”

Pan’s experiment will contribute to creating vaccines for serious viruses. “My research can improve on this method by encoding both pauses and fast regions into viral proteins to disrupt translational fidelity, creating a vaccine for any virus, including HIV,” Pan said.

Wang worked to achieve a place as one of 300 semi-finalists. Her project focused on circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are largely considered the origins of metastases, the leading cause of deaths in cancer patients. The lab where she worked created a device to capture these elusive cells in the blood. In her research, she improved the process of enumerating these cells after they had been captured. “I made a program that reduces the number

of cells and extraneous proteins that must be checked and confirmed to be CTCs after the blood has been filtered,” Wang said.

Both Pan and Wang have gained enough experience in conducting research to pass on advice to future science competition contestants.

Wang believes that passion in a researcher area is the key to success. “Whatever you do for your research, make sure you’re passionate about it,” Wang said. On a more technical viewpoint, Pan explains how a lot of the work relies on your ability to program.

However, Wang and Pan both stress that the work required for the competition is extremely timeconsuming. Extensive research must be done in the selected area, and work must usually begin with a professor. Pan was paired with his mentors through the Simon’s Summer Research Program. “I worked with a graduate student and a professor for seven weeks, where I woke up at 11 a.m. and worked to 3 a.m., 15 hours a day,” he said.

Wang also sacrificed long hours to work on her project. “I dedicated most of my summer to researching and worked all day in the lab, often staying until 10 p.m. at night,” she said. Although the work may be tough, Wang establishes that perseverance and good attitude are important for triumph and the preservation of top quality. “I think it’s up to you to be productive,” Wang said.

6

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Forum

Monday, February 13, 2012

7

EDITORIAL: The Opinion of The Oracle

Seniors should be exempt from finals to focus on college applications Four years ago, the head of Harker’s high school division Samuel Keller implemented a policy exempting seniors from first semester final exams. Instead of a finals week, seniors had a week dedicated to college applications.

This change came with a muchdebated decision to move exams to before winter break, an alteration that was designed to remove stress from student lives. As Gunn has recently moved exams to before break, it only follows that a new policy on senior finals should also be put into place. Gunn seniors deserve similarly privileged treatment in order to give them more time for college applications, avoid unnecessary work and improve student, parent and teacher morale.

The majority of Gunn students’ ultimate goals after high school lie in getting admitted to college. At Harker, rather than waste their seniors’ time with finals, they schedule appointments for students with their college counselor. According to Keller, seniors have shown great improvement in the thoroughness of college applications due to the additional college counseling and he lowered stress levels. In such a high-achieving school like Gunn, such a policy to help with college

admissions would be greatly welcomed by students, teachers and parents alike.

Students are the obvious beneficiary of the lack of finals, not only academically but socially as well. The extra week of waking up later and a self-set schedule for college applications vastly improves students’ morale at the end of the semester, and when seniors are happier, they are more emotionally stable. At Gunn, where students’ emotional health is constantly scrutinized, a policy such as Harker’s would assuage concerns of worried critics by improving seniors’ quality of life and time management when it comes to dealing with college.

Teachers also stand to benefit from such a policy. The normal drill for a teacher during finals involves writing, administering and grading tests, which creates hours of extra work. Exempting the teachers whose classes consist mainly or completely of seniors allows them to spend more time advising students on their college essays and otherwise guiding students through college applications and other academic matters. This allows students to receive even more guidance through adults they already work with.

The third beneficiary of a college preparation week are the parents. According to Keller, Harker’s parents gave resounding support when Keller’s idea was proposed, and they have since continued without complaint. Implementing a policy of senior exemption from finals addresses common concerns raised at the school board meetings that discussed the calendar change to pre-break finals. From a parent’s

perspective, he or she greatly prefers seniors to be finishing college applications instead of studying for finals.

For the vast majority of seniors, their final grades will not have a large impact on their grade point averages. As for the few borderline students whose grade will be decided by a final, it seems more logical to go by their semester-long performance rather than a one-day

hit or miss test.

Senior finals are a waste of work and time for teachers and students alike, and they only increase already hefty workloads. Gunn needs to give its seniors a break in their last year of high school and let them focus on what really matters.

—Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the staff (assenting: 29; dissenting: 3) George Hwang

Competition breeds success, not stressful environments Ben Atlas Our school is commonly known for its academic prowess, rigorous curriculum and extraordinarily high levels of stress. This often begs the question: is the amount of anxiety over grades too high a price for academic excellence?

Critics of Gunn’s supposedly competitive nature constantly assert that students aren’t happy and that Gunn has finally reached its limit—school is simply too hard.

Realistically though, the scholastic environment consists of optional amounts of work and stress that allow students to achieve academic excellence and gain realworld experience.

While reputably hard classes such as Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses do in fact breed competition, these are by no means required. A student’s schedu le is only as difficult as he or she makes it; it’s not hard to just drop down lanes, take fewer AP classes and even get a few prep periods as an upperclassman. In fact, a senior’s day

George Hwang

could involve only taking classes desirable to that specific student and leaving school at noon. In addition, the administration ensures that students are not biting off more than they can chew by forcing them to fill out AP contracts, which are forms that each student is required to complete prior to taking an AP course.

This makes the student consider his or her ot her com m it ments t h rou g h a fo cused statement on why they want to take that speci f ic cla ss.

Course catalogs

clearly point out the hours of homework a certain class requires each week. This means students really only

take difficult classes if they want to; time management and planning a reasonable schedule are strongly encouraged. That being said, the common presence of difficult and challenging courses does create competition among the aspiring academic elite.

When students strive to achieve high grades in difficult classes, it naturally follows that our school should gain academic prowess as a whole. In 2011, Gunn was ranked as the 42nd best high school in the nation by Newsweek for a reason. No student truly aspires to a life of no work and no reward; most are proud of their school’s collective intellect, as illustrated by the popular “Pump our gas!”

Chants at Gunn/Palo Alto High football games. Not only does our school’s competitive nature outfit students for college, but it also prepares them for what lies ahead afterwards.

The whole concept of college is essentially competing for high grades, finding job opportunities, and learning about one’s chosen subject. After Gunn’s rigorous lesson in adapting to heavy workloads, students commonly find college much easier than they

otherwise would have. Students will already have been exposed to fighting for good grades, challenging themselves to take difficult classes and constantly giving their best academic performance. Even after college, the competitive style of Gunn’s atmosphere is obviously recurrent in the non-academic world as well.

The United States is founded on the principles of capitalism, and an integral part of real-world society involves competition between

“A student’s schedule is only as difficult as he or she makes it; it’s not hard to just drop down lanes, take fewer AP classes and even get a few prep periods as upperclassmen.” businesses and constant striving for the accumulation of capital gains. Historically, the hardest workers and most tenacious competitors rise to the top. In every conceivable occupation, professionals are forced to pit themselves against each other to not only get a quality job in the first place, but also to succeed in their field of study or practice. These conditions are similar to the presence of high-level commitment to getting a better grade, a higher g rade poi nt average and

more extracurricular activities.

When it comes to making it in America, toughened Gunn graduates will have a critical edge over their adversaries.

Critics of the highly competitive atmosphere misguidedly assume that students are worse off academically with increased competition. However, according to studies done by renowned psychologist Norman Triplet, people generally perform at higher standards when they have an adversary. For example, cyclists cycle far faster when competing against active opponents in races as oppose to when practicing by themselves. Therefore, the quality of Gunn students’ work is far better off because of the competitive atmosphere that is offered.

Although well-intentioned critics of Gunn’s high amount of stress are heard on campus daily, their arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. When students complain that Chemistry Honors is too difficult, they should remember that it was their choice to enroll in it in the first place. When parents whine about their child’s overly studious habits, they should reconsider the purpose of high school: to enlighten their children and prepare them for the rest of their life. The option of a difficult curriculum is able to make Gunn an academic giant and to prepare its students for whatever path they choose to take after graduating.

—Atlas, a sophomore, is an Assistant Business Manager.

Forum

THEORACLE

Dressing for comfort, not style, is indication of self-confidence Utkash Dubey

I cannot say that I get stares or mocking looks at school, even with my presumably hideous fashion

Casey O’Connell

—O’Connell, a teacher, is a guest columnist.

Ky le

Zh u

choices and comical George Hwang style. I’ve never been purposefully ignored nor discriminated against by my peers or my teachers because I wear what I find to be comfortable. As far as school goes, we’re here to learn, not to impress or attract. For this very reason, I look the way I look. I keep it casual and comfortable, and do my best to maintain a likeable attitude that speaks louder than my fashion statement. Yes, there’s a time and place for formal wear. But this isn’t the Republican primary; this is a public school. Within the school environment, I dress to get the job done and thereby prioritize the task at hand.

“I’m not talking fashion... so much as function.” Bruce Wayne’s assertion from the 2008 blockbuster “The Dark Knight” just

—Dubey, a junior, is a Forum Editor.

Prioritizing style over comfort will give better impression Samantha Donat

You were up late studying last night, weren’t you?

How do I know? I can tell just by looking at you.

Although this may seem a bit harsh, there is an often unacknowledged moral behind such a blunt observation. The fact of the matter is that appearances really do make an impact, and your peers’ impressions of you lessen each day you come to school wearing sweatpants.

I completely understand that we often like to pride ourselves on living in a society where what is “inside” is valued more than what can be seen on the outside. However, this certainly does not suggest that your appearances should go unnoticed.

Your work ethic and personality are valued, but your appearance is what people see first. Call me shallow, but there is a truth behind my words.

The phrase “comfort over swag” is one that I have become all too familiar with, and I find it unfortunate that high-schoolers think that they can only have one or the other. It is entirely possible to have swag and be comfortable at the same time. It just takes the slightest bit more effort.

First and foremost, dressing well is a tell-tale sign that you respect yourself. By taking the time in the morning to just put together a visually appealing outfit, brush your hair and wash your face, you are showing the world that you want to present yourself in a decent and pleasing way. Uggs, sweats or the gutwrenching, horrible socks-with-sandals combination do not, I repeat, do not, make an appeal for any sort of respect from peers.

I’m not asking you to put on your Sunday best, but please at least change out of your pajamas.

Studies have shown that first impressions are often made within the first three seconds of meeting someone. As soon as you walk in to each class at the beginning of the school year, everyone in the room (including teachers) develops some sort of impression of you before you can even make an introduction.

And contrary to popular belief, being fashionable doesn’t make you any less intelligent or confident. In fact, I have found that some of the most confident and personable people I know dress exceptionally well.

It’s an unfortunate fact, but it is time to face the truth. People,

especially teenagers, are prone to making snap judgments, which gives all the more reason to actually look presentable at school. So when you arrive in the morning looking like you got dressed in the dark, your appearance will immediately evoke negative responses. Even if you are feeling stressed out or down in the dumps, why would you want your appearance to portray it? ng

The Facebook generation has grown up on stage. Nearly every teen and young adult has an electronic wall of carefully selected flattery. The tremendous pressure to get noticed often plays out at school. Proud owners of sagging pants will flash their boxer shorts like semi-plucked peacock feathers, waddling to and fro like a group of penguins as if to answer a mating call. Girls are under the greatest pressure to physically stand out, and their most notable efforts come across neither as liberating, comfortable, nor welltimed for a day of learning and concentration.

To be clear, it is healthy to be proud of your appearance. Attracting attention is part of the human experience. Nobody should be judged for wanting to be admired or desired. Part of growing up is experimenting and learning to find that balance between self-expression and selfrespect. Many students already have this down.

Some couldn’t care less, and there is admittedly something charming about that too.

My big-brotherly concerns relate to the perceptions and distractions that come with trying too hard to get noticed at school. No one wants to be seen as relentlessly competitive for the attention and the envy of others. No one wants to be perceived as insecure about likability or social status. Yet those who consistently present themselves in restrictive or suggestive clothing, or make a habit of baring body parts, skin and undergarments that are only supposed to be seen in private or at the beach, will risk making these exact impressions. Assumptions will be made about intellect, vulnerability, emotional stability, and wholesomeness. This attracts people who are skilled at feigning interest in your personality and your personal wellness. Friendships and relationships based mostly on looks are not typically known for their quality or longevity. Some students are already accustomed to the hassles, heartbreak and wisdom associated with learning this the hard way.

For those who make meticulous or calculated decisions in the mirror while getting ready for school, I pose the following questions: What messages are you trying to send? What messages don’t you want to send? The unsettling answers are often clear to others before they are clear to the person in the mirror. Your intended audience tends to see the very insecurities you are trying to hide, and the perceptions you wish to avoid are often the first to be embraced. In contrast, when we acknowledge our intentions and reconcile them with our appearances before stepping out the door, we usually present the best versions of ourselves.

In a world full of physically beautiful people, it is just as easy to be forgotten as to get noticed for your looks in the first place. The more disproportionately you rely upon your appearance, the more replaceable you are. Confidence and self-esteem, when based on such a shoddy foundation, will deteriorate as we age. Excessive and noticeable cosmetics can disguise this temporarily, and some people will later turn to surgery. But it is only those with the serenity to be themselves and the determination to grow and evolve, who will turn to their minds and hearts and cultivate their humanity from within.

A more enduring foundation is your creativity and work ethic, your steadfast loyalty to friends and family, and the sort of intellectual and spiritual abundance that is punctuated with lasting respect. This is a desirability for which you will be most deeply loved and admired.

about sums up my stance on physical appearances pertaining to school. It’s not about looking your best everyday; it’s about being comfortable yet appropriate. My interpretation of this is that my general look should not be a priority, because in all honesty, I have better things to do than worry about the sheen of my hair or the stubble on my chin. Yes, many situations essentially require formal wear or fashionable attire, but a high school is not an applicable setting.

While some persist that looking your best everyday contributes to a mutual, respectful relationship between teachers and students, I see the situation differently. Respect is something earned over time; it’s not something you can buy from Macy’s (or some other popular shopping place. I’m a male, I wouldn’t know). Respect is something more powerful than that. It takes time, hard work and effort to show that you respect a teacher’s time and class.

In fact, I feel as though people who make their look apparent are really trying to compensate for weakness in other fields. In essence, the subconscious tends to make up for general inadequacies by exploiting other advantages. When I see a person who dresses with excessive style, I sense, and thereby judge, that the person is missing something towards the intangibles. On the contrary, a generic yet functional look clearly signifies self-satisfaction and confidence. Looking at someone whose fashion choices don’t beg for attention is much more respectable and gives me the sense that there are positive characteristics I can attribute to this person.

I’m not saying that people should be more conscious about their physical appearances, for the sake of avoiding what I criticize. I’m saying that in a school atmosphere, it’s more than acceptable to wear what one finds comfortable and functional.

Wear something that you feel great in, and that also maintains the social order in the learning environment. A scholarly, respectful and disciplined attitude, not one’s appearance, is the key to success.

eo rg eH wa

Dress to impress for right reasons

G

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Some may argue that an emphasis on appearances directly correlates with superficiality, and there is some truth in this belief. It is rather easy to take this concept to the point of an obsession. Of course, such behavior is not healthy—there is a fine line between caring about your appearance and obsessing over how you look. A healthy balance can be found by taking the time to look respectable, but not worrying about others’ opinions.

Long story short, appearances can make or break your time in high school. Even just the smallest change in your wardrobe and in the general way that you present yourself can help create a lasting, first-rate impression on peers. And with greater respect from teachers and peers—well, that’s one less thing you need to worry about in high school. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Thank me later.

—Donat, a senior, is an Entertainment Editor.

Michael Wu

Monday, February 13, 2012

9

Choose your words wisely Annie Tran

Alvina Yau

Art classes provide valuable experience Wayland Fong Every individual strives to find a purpose. For some, it may even take a lifetime to find the career that makes them truly happy. One may grow up believing that he will become an engineer, and later discover that acting is his true calling.

The American education system recognizes this need within every individual and, as a result, provides opportunities such as the art requirement. The art requirement is vital in maintaining wellbalanced students, differentiates our school system from that of other countries and is essential in any future profession.

High school is one of the only places where a person has both the time and privilege to choose from a wide variety of fine arts classes. Throughout the four years of high school, students can channel their curiosity through classes that go beyond

the information provided by a textbook. though other countries go more in depth Whether through a theatre or graphic with the assumed profession, students do not have the option of design class, students can find their own changing their minds. form of creative expression.

While there are those These classes also stimuwho know what they are inlate the mind in a different terested in from an early age, way from a math or science most do not. In America, class. For example, a music art classes foster innovation class fosters self-discipline and found nowhere else in the diligence useful later on in life. Simiworld. Entrepreneurship larly, taking a dance class or theatre is prosperous in America class can make one more self-aware because people like Mark and have a better stage presence, Zuckerberg are able to inwhich comes in handy when corporate knowledge with public speaking. Whether it art. Even the fonts loaded is presenting a new product onto Apple computers are for a company or creating a homage to a typography a logo for a small business, art can play a prominent class Steve Jobs once took. role in one’s future career.

Although many may not g think so, fine arts classes While other countries like an w H e rg Geo are essential in the deChile and Brazil force people to velopment of youths. They give choose their profession at the start of their high school education, the American people life skills that cannot be gained education system gives students the op- anywhere else, and their benefits can be portunity to make their decision after four reaped no matter what path one takes in life. years of trial and error, allowing students —Fong, a junior, is a reporter. to change their minds as they see fit. Even

Hacktivist group’s ‘revolution’ proves ineffective website, hacking into various financial institutions and retaliating against online piracy legislation, have done little to nothing to solve the very issues they protest.

During the BART attack, Anonymous protested the fatal shooting of a man by Amrita Moitra BART police by spamming the company website. This response, while it does have an impact on BART, does nothing to solve One would think that plots of ven- the root issue of the ordeal: police brutality. geance and hi-tech espionage exist only Anonymous exhibited this trend on the silver screen. But the peragain in their harassment of petrators of vigilante jusMasterCard, an event tice have morphed known as “Operafrom fictional chartion: Payback.” Afacters into real-life ter the credit card organizations. The company elimimost renowned of nated funds tothese underground wards Wikileaks, groups is the Hackanonymous shut down over a thoutivist association sand accounts of Anonymous. AnonMasterCard usymous, an internaers.

Once again, tional network of rogue hackers, seeks Anonymous failed retribution for unjust to address the issue, actions committed by big simply wreaking havGe businesses. While Anonyoc with no end result in org eH mind. This sort of “jusmous’ reasons for hacking wa ng tice” is pointless; at best other organizations are justiAnonymous’ hackings serve fied, the group’s methodology is severely as an annoyance for affected companies flawed. Instead of helping the downtrodand an amusing story for bystanders. den, they are in fact detrimental to society.

But what is perhaps the most harmAnonymous’ version of vigilante jusful aspect of Anonymous’ actions is their tice has one major flaw: it is not an efcomplete disregard for casualties. Their fective solution to the problem. Their BART and “Operation: Payback” attacks various activities, including shutting down the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) also illustrate Anonymous’ complete

disregard for helping the public. The organization released the data of over 2400 BART customers, including their names, emails, phone numbers and addresses. This intentional release of information put thousands of people at risk for varying degrees of identity theft.

In “Operation: Payback,” Anonymous shut down MasterCard accounts for thousands of users who had nothing to do with the defunding of Wikileaks. Both protests affected citizens whom Anonymous set out to avenge. Instead, it was those very people who were adversely affected.

Anonymous’ ambition to end social suffering is in fact only a pretense. Their actions go directly against their goals, therefore eliminating any good intentions the organization may profess to have.

The question regarding Anonymous’ hacking protests is not whether it is legal, but whether it is effective. Their attempts at vigilante justice have shown that hacktivism is ineffective is solving social issues. Not only does Anonymous fail to address problems and protect the people they claim to serve, but they also isolate the general public from their cause. Because every person does not possess the ability to hack, Anonymous’ method of protest is meaningful to only a select group. Even if Anonymous were to create protests significant to the issues and completely eliminate casualties, the fact still remains that very few people can be a part of any hacktivist revolutions.

—Moitra, a senior, is a News Editor.

As an American teenager, swearing isn’t a question of morality, but rather a way of life.

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve dropped an F-bomb or used a certain variation of the word poop. These words are practically unnoticeable to the teenage ear, but does this make it any better? While one may argue that profanity is just an immediate reaction or an easy way to “express” your feelings, let’s face it— that’s a crock of poo. As pretentious as this may sound, the use of profanity and slurs truly are just crutches for the lazy and uneducated mind.

Just a simple stroll around the campus results in hearing the kind of language that should be replaced by stars and bleeps. These words have become so commonplace that censorship has become lenient to the point where we fail to remember why swear words were considered taboo in the first place. We fail to consider the power behind profanity. These few words challenge humanity’s flaws and also point out our self-consciousness about topics such as sexuality, religion and race.

Although I must admit that I myself am a hypocrite when it comes to swearing, there are times when I wonder: what do these phrases even mean? Why is the use of “bitches” and “whores” okay when referring to our friends?

They’re honestly just filler words we kids throw in there to make ourselves look or feel cool.

Profanity and slurs inadvertently target and dehumanize ourselves as well as our peers. The ever-so-popular word “bitch” is used constantly and inappropriately. It devalues not only women, but men as well, referring to them as weak or cowardly. In addition, degrading words, like “slut” and “ho,” dismiss anyone seen as being “overly” sexual and perpetuates negativity towards sex.

These words have come to greater popularity when referring to someone who is particularly disliked, regardless of their sexual activities.

Other slurs, such as homo, gay, retarded or lame, have the same power as swear words. It has been stressed again and again by our community that saying “that’s so gay” or “no homo” is not okay, yet many of us continue to integrate those phrases into our daily vocabulary. I understand that many of us don’t even mean it in an offensive way. However, by repeating these slurs, we are unintentionally reinforcing the idea that being homosexual is somehow bad by stressing one’s heterosexuality, masculinity or femininity. This same idea is attached to the infamous “That’s so gay” catchphrase of our era, and it stigmatizes the groups associated with them.

Some could claim that by using profanity and slurs casually and actively, they are showing how the words themselves have lost their power among society, but that way of thinking is wrong in itself.

The fact that we continually put these words into use without thinking about its meaning debases a society that prides itself on being civilized.

When does our generation’s apparent addiction to swearing stop? Most people swear; it’s an obvious given. Most will probably continue to swear after reading this column, and honestly, it’s true—we probably can’t help ourselves in certain situations. However, we should be more aware of what we’re saying and the connotations that follow those words, as well as the timeliness of those words. If profanity simply becomes an annoying succession of bleeps, then people obviously get a bad impression of you and it shows that you can’t express yourself in a coherent manner. We’re a classy school. Remember that, and show it.

—Tran, a senior, is a Business & Circulation Manager.

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Forum

THEORACLE

Cafeteria food is judged too critically Elsa Chu & Lydia Zhang

In The Oracle’s December issue, a school sampling revealed that students consider the cafeteria food to be the worst aspect of school. Over 65 percent of the responses declared the cafeteria food to be between only one and five points, out of ten. While the food is not deserving of three Michelin stars, a D+ rating implies truly horrendous food that is certainly not found in the school’s cafeteria.

Firstly, there is an impressive variety of food, with at least four daily option like pasta, sandwiches, burgers and salads­. Each meal includes a carton of milk, fruit and additional snacks­, enough to fill even the hungriest student’s belly comfortably. In addition, students can choose to make their own salad at the salad bar, which provides a healthy and tasty alternative that anyone can take advantage of. It is therefore strange that, though the food is both varied and of fairly high quality, it still received an abnormally low rating.

Other than the actual quality of the food, there must have been other factors that influenced the poor rating that the school’s cafeteria food received.

Obviously, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is not the average school district, because of its relatively untouched budget during this shaky economic period. According to the PAUSD Budget Book, the district has dedicated $55,000 to the Cafeteria Fund, which manages food distribution for all 17 schools. The amount of money allowed to each school differs depending on the number of students, but in general there is not a substantial amount of money to sell truly delicious food. Still,

George Hwang

ta k ing into account the limited budget available to spend on school lunches, students seem to show unrealistically high standards for the food. The mass dissatisfaction may then be linked to the higher quality of life most students enjoy, therefore making them accustomed gourmet meals.

Though the food is of above-average quality in comparison to that of other districts with fewer resources available, students also may not be able to appreciate

this due to preconceptions of high school food. The media, including movies and television shows, often portrays cafeteria food in a very poor light; even though the district’s food is relatively quite good, students may have been unable to let go of past biases.

Another contributor to the low rating may have also been the survey itself.

It was formatted in such a way that did not allow for an “I don’t eat the cafeteria food” option. Thus, students who have never even tried the food were encouraged to provide a rating. Some may have been subject to the biases previously mentioned and consequently chose to downgrade the meals.

The survey c a n not b e considered completely unbiased, as students w ho k ne w not h i ng about the food firsthand were as eligible in the survey as students with valid opinions about the food.

To be sure, while the D+ rating may be a representation of many opinions, this grade is not an unbiased and accurate reflection of the food served. Those who still have a problem with the lunches are urged to take into account the factors mentioned, and perhaps try the cafeteria’s clam chowder bread bowl.

­ Chu, a senior, is a Centerfold Editor — and Zhang, a senior, is a Features Editor.

Nutrition and calorie count is overrated Melia Dunbar

Loosen up, Palo Alto. There are far greater evils in this world than French fries. If you think sequestering yourself in Whole Foods will make you a better person, you need to think again.

Please don’t take this assertion the wrong way. I am not trying to make light of weight-related health problems, and I am not trying to belittle the plight of individuals who suffer from adult-onset diabetes, hypertension or coronary heart disease. Rather, I’m trying to reach out to those of you who mistakenly believe you can’t enjoy an Oreo once in a while.

To be fair, I know where your food paranoia comes from, and I know that it’s not your fault. I recognize that it’s a cultural phenomenon over which you, as an individual, have little control.

From our Palo Altan pedestals, it’s easy to criticize the artery-clogging atrocities America has to offer. It’s so easy, in fact, that it’s become almost a cliché; we all know how to play up our aversion to junk food. There’s something vogue about working ourselves into a frenzy every time someone deigns to mention the Big Mac: “700 calories and 50 percent of one’s daily sodium? Quelle horreur!”

Yes, it’s easy for us to criticize. But is our criticism productive? It’s no secret that some foods are terrible for us.

Given the heavily publicized findings

of investigative journalists such as Eric instances in which food obsession will Schlosser (author of “Fast Food Na- prevent you from enriching your life tion”) and Greg Critser (creator of “Su- with new experiences. I’ve mentioned persize Me”), I just don’t see it as a point McDonald’s and Dairy Queen, but I am of contention. not suggesting that those are only places Anything taken to extremes can you’ll be faced with unhealthful food, be unhealthy, but I think, in this case, nor am I suggesting that all unhealthful that this “anything” is not food aware- foods come from fast-food restaurants. ness, but self-righteousness. Don’t get Here’s a personal example: I am half me wrong—I am not arguing that Mc- Japanese-Hawaiian, and our local cuiDonald’s is good for you. I don’t even sine isn’t exactly grade-A, farm-fresh, think that’s a tenable argument in the certified-organic nourishment. In fact, first place. I just most of our meals fall think it’s unfortuinto that artery-clogging nate that we have “Anything taken to ex- category I delineated an insatiable appeEven the relatremes can be unhealthy, earlier. tite for stale contively low-fat foods are troversy, and that but I think, in this case, quite terrible for you. we continue to that this ‘anything’ is not Take shave ice, for exregurgitate statisample. What is shave tics that have long food awareness, but self- ice? It’s high-fructose since lost their righteousness. ” corn syrup and artificial juiciness. coloring. It is also an inMaybe acceptance is healthier at valuable part of the island life: you have this point: there is an abundance of un- not experienced Hawaii until you have healthful food in the world, and there experienced shave ice. If you aren’t willalways will be. Could you eat a ham- ing to step down from your pedestal and burger for breakfast every day of your venture a taste, you may as well pack up life? Yes. Could you go down the street your bags and go home.

I’m not implying that we should stuff to Dairy Queen and expend your entire daily calorie allowance on one milk- our faces with Spam; rather, I am sugshake? Absolutely. You can rest assured, gesting that we adopt a broader outlook. however, that you will not earn my sym- If we spend all our time counting fat and pathy for being the ten-millionth person calories, we will miss out on some of the to throw a tantrum. Not all food is good wonderful opportunities other cultures for you. It’s an unfortunate reality, but have to offer. We will insult others, and, though it is hardly our intent, we will it’s not worth losing sleep over.

Maybe it seems counter intuitive to come off as narrow-minded elitists.

I think it’s great that we’re aware of forsake health-consciousness for the sake of health, but that’s exactly what what we eat. At some point, however, it I’m suggesting. I don’t think it’s unrea- would behoove us to balance our health sonable to strive for a balance—in this awareness with a small helping of social case, a balance between awareness of awareness. Now there’s food for thought. your personal well-being and awareness of the world around you. There are —Dunbar, a senior, is a guest columnist.

Presidents’ Day deserves better

Cooper Aspegren During the month of February, it’s Valentine’s Day that gets all the attention, with the majority of Americans using the holiday to cherish their significant other and to celebrate the idea of romance. But why does romance need a special day? Shouldn’t it be celebrated every day of the year? Rather, it’s Presidents who should have a special day in the middle of winter.

Presidents spend 365 days a year on the defensive, trying to do their best for Americans under constant critique and criticism. Presidents are at work twenty hours a day, seven days a week. They are under constant surveillance; almost every word a President utters ends up in the newspaper and on the Internet. If they spell potato “P-O-T-A-T-O-E” on national television, Americans regard them as national pariahs (it was in fact a vice president, Dan Quayle, who actually misspelled the word “potato”–and in the process likely sacrificed the re-election of George H.W. Bush). Presidents can’t go out for dinner or to the movies in a public theater without being scrutinized. As Ronald Reagan said it repeatedly, a president can’t “walk down the street to the corner drugstore and look at some magazines.” Every time a president exercises, it’s a media event. If a rabbit attacks a Presidents’ boat while he is fishing (an event that happened to 39th President Jimmy Carter), the President is regarded as weak and ineffectual.

And the stress! Presidents make the most difficult decisions, impacting millions of lives across the globe. We all know pressure and stress, from exam days, projects and sport events. I can’t imagine what a President must feel when he makes a decision, as there’s always someone who complains or, in the case of the other President Bush, throws a shoe at him.

(Bush might find solace in the fact that, unlike President Taft, he did not find himself ducking from a thrown cabbage.)

For all that they do, we should set aside Presidents’ Day to remember and pay tribute to our past and present Commanders in Chief, famous and obscure, Lincoln-like and Buchanan-like.

The 44 Presidents of the United States all served their nation at wartime and at peacetime, during times of economic strife and in periods of fiscal growth. Regardless of political differences between Republicans, Democrats and other parties, on Presidents’ Day, we should pause to honor these individuals for taking on the most difficult job in the world and, with the possible exception of Warren Harding, for satisfying their duties to the best of their abilities.

I’m not suggesting that we plant peanuts in the garden by T-9 in honor of President Carter, or that the theatre adapt Ronald Reagan movies, like “Bedtime for Bonzo” and “Knute Rockne: All American,” into plays. Though it might be nice if P.E. teachers taught students how to juggle clubs, in honor of 20th President James Garfield, who used this weight-lifting exercise to build up his arm muscles.

As a member of the president-idolizing minority, I think we should find some way to commemorate Presidents’ Day, something more than just a day off from school. I might be biased, given that I share a birthday with a president. But despite the fact that they occasionally commit questionable, unreasonable and shameful acts, Presidents do deserve our appreciation and respect—at least one day a year.

—Aspegren, a sophomore, is a reporter.

Features

11

Monday, February 13, 2012

Photos by Kyle Zhu

Top Left: Freshman Edwin Lai is midair in the process of completing an aerial. Top Middle: Junior Eric Cheng begins a spontaneous freestyling windmill. Bottom Middle: Junior Darrion Yang quickly shows off an elbow freeze for his peers. Right: Junior Blaze Lee improvises his own freeze for the camera on the field.

Students demonstrate tricking talent in new Hip-Hop club Wonhee Park Reporter

Trickers performing intricate maneuvers and turning nimble flips in the air is a sight for all to see. Tricking is an intense style of acrobatics that also has theatrical elements to it. Athletes perform swift and flowing flips and kicks without the assistance of any wires or trampolines. The style is often infused with dancing to enhance the choreography.

This year, junior Blaze Lee decided to create a Hip-Hop club that focuses on tricking. It is composed of upperclassmen and underclassmen dancers who are interested in learning and practicing tricking.

New Crew, a tricking group mainly composed of the upperclassmen trickers who founded the club, hold daily training sessions from Monday through Friday during lunch on the football field.

Practice sessions last for around an hour so that trickers can have enough time to practice their moves and polish their skills on a daily basis. The other sect of the club is largely constituted of underclassmen and novice trickers.

However, it was seniors Derek Lai, Vincent Yang and Jack Kwan who made tricking popular on campus last year. Though they were not the founders of the HipHop club, they motivated many of the current members to continue

pursuing the art of tricking. “I saw them as me a year ago, so I shared with them what I knew,” Kwan said.

According to junior Eric Cheng, these upperclassmen are the HipHop club’s inspiration. Many of the members have looked to them as mentors and have sought advice when they need help mastering a particularly difficult move. “They exposed me to tricking, and it was amazing to see it in real life,” junior Max Woo said.

Each member of the Hip-Hop club has his individual tricking style. Some prefer certain moves to others and develop their skills according to these preferences.

In addition, many trickers also

focus on mastering one move first before moving to another one. Junior Peter Huang is continuously working to improve his favorite move, The Webster, which is also known as the The Loser. The Webster is a forward flip while running.

In contrast, freshman Edwin Lai’s favorite move is the No-handed Gumby, which is a no-handed cartwheel with a twist. However, once trickers master a move, they move on and look for more challenging and elaborate ones.

According to Lee, part of the attraction of tricking is the awe that is seen on the audience’s faces when trickers successfully pull off these dangerous moves. “We were drawn to the shock value that flips

have [on people],” he said.

However, learning new tricks is not as easy and effortless as the final result, and even for the most experienced and trained trickers, there are always a few obstacles that are difficult to overcome.

The club members encourage one another when trying a new move, which helps overcome some of the fear from attempting a precarious move. “There’s a group of people who encourage you. And it makes you feel more confident,” Lai said.

The many hours spent together creates for team bonding moments among the dancers. “The club is about more than being able to dance. We’re a crew, we hang out together,” Woo said.

Artist of the Month: sophomore Shoam Ohana

Wendy Qiu

The Oracle: When did you discover your passion for graphic design?

Shoam Ohana: I was in sixth or seventh grade. I remember looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, and I came across the GNU Image Manipulation Program. I installed it and began experimenting.

My first intention was to draw digitally.

I then started to familiarize myself with all the different tools. It was very overwhelming at first, but eventually I learned to edit photos and what “contrast,” “color balance” and “gradient” mean. Later on, I started to learn to edit pictures in more sophisticated ways.

TO: Are you currently working on any graphic design projects?

SO: Outside of school, I mostly just like to make graphics for Tumblr. Experimenting with pictures on Photoshop is how I learned graphic design. Making those graphics helps me find new ways to use the program to its full potential, I’ve still got a lot to learn. My dad has given me a few ideas as to how I can profit from my designs, so I have that on my mind right now. And, of course, we’re working on a project in class. We’re making the posters for the next play here at Gunn.

TO: How would you define graphic design?

SO: I always like to say that art is what you make it, and what you make is art. Anything is art, and art can be interpreted in a million different ways. Graphic design is another way to get a point across, to spread a message or to get a reaction, which is the goal in every art form. I would say that graphic design is a form of digital art, but that’s not necessarily true. You don’t need a computer to make a design.

TO: What is your inspiration?

SO: I find that I get inspired once I know what I’m supposed to make. When my teacher introduces our next project, different ideas start popping up in my head.

Sometimes it isn’t that easy, sometimes you have to sit down and force yourself to think.

I find my best ideas come spontaneously, though. Sometimes you just need to step back and go do something else to clear your head. It gives you something new to think about which eventually leads to inspiration. I day dream a lot, and it leads me to branch out my ideas and world view which later leads to an idea that my art might express.

TO: Do you believe you could go into graphic design in the future?

SO: A career in graphic design was something I was considering for a long time. I want to also study traditional art in college and do that on the side. I want to be able to support myself financially while doing something I love. My parents are suggesting architecture, and I’m considering it as well.

TO: What do you use graphic design to express?

SO: If you know me, you know I’m a very opinionated person. I am open to learning and hearing other people’s views, and in the end if I agree with them, they influence my beliefs too, but all in all I’ve taught myself to analyze situations and make conclusions. I am good at arguments and debates because I over-analyze things, I think things through thoroughly. It’s easier to express my views that way, I can back it all up with thought-out reasoning. In the end, I use my feelings and ideas toward certain topics to send a message through my art. It could be about anything I have strong ideas towards.

—Compiled by Ellen Lee

12

Features

THEORACLE

The Oracle follows the progress of the Gunn Robotics Team’s 2012

Utkash Dubey

GRT Groups: Controls: Does all of GRT’s programming and electronics work.

Mech (Ball Collection): Designs the mechanism to get the balls from the playing field to the inside of the robot as quickly as possible.

Mech (Ball Transport): Designs a ball transport system to move balls resting in the hopper to the shooter.

Mech (Wedge): Designs the wedge that tips the teeter-totter over in the game

Alvina Yau

Top left: The Gunn Robotics Team (GRT) shows off their prototype (the beta bot). Bottom left: Sophomore Samir Ghosh and junior Thomas Halsted build a prototype mechanism. Right: Junior Tony Jin and senior Philippe Napaa mill side beams with a CNC mill.

Kickoff (Jan. 7) Jan. 7 was no ordinary day for the Gunn Robotics Team (GRT). At 7 a.m., the GRT room was full of students, who were all awaiting the 2012 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Kickoff and the announcement of this year’s game.

Though the broadcast was delayed to 7:30 a.m., the energy in the room did not wane as students chattered away about the possible challenges ahead.

When the broadcast began, silence covered the room as everyone listened. Cheers broke out when the theme of the challenge was announced as Rebound Rumble. This year, the team is expected to build one complete robot that can play basketball against opposing robots on a field with barriers in the middle of

Week 1 (Jan. 8-14) After GRT learned of the theme of the game in kickoff, they entered the first week of build season, which was an important time for creating and testing the basic robot mechanisms.

One of the many challenges in this year’s competition was faced by senior Mechanism leader Alex Sutherland, who is head of the Transportation group. Presented with the challenge of enabling the robot to pick up balls off the ground and transporting them to the shooting mechanism, Sutherland faced a difficult task. “This specific mechanism actu-

Week 2 (Jan. 15-21) With finals’ week at hand, GRT had some catching up to do of their own. Despite this, the turnout for build was more than satisfactory for Ratanaphanyarat. According to Ratanaphanyarat, “team members were very energetic and we had a good 30 to 40 people showing up everyday. Generally, progress and energy went up.”

By the end of Week 2, GRT had finished prototyping different mechanisms, as well

the court. There are three rows of basketball hoops on each side of the field, two hoops in the middle row and one hoop in the top and bottom rows.

The goal is to score as many points as possible in two minutes and 15 seconds; shooting the balls into higher hoops results in more points. Each match begins with a 15 second period where the robots shoot independently without human control. There is also be a bonus round at the end of each match where the robots can earn extra points by shooting while balancing on elevated seesaws.

The team’s response to the theme was enthusiastic. “I think the challenge this year is exciting,” GRT supervisor Bill Dunbar said.

“Even though some may think going over barriers is easy, it is actually a big challenge to play on a field that is not level.” Immediately,

some students began relating aspects of this year’s challenge to those of previous years.

“The concept of balancing is interesting and many people are excited to see that again,” senior Jaxon Welsh said.

However, problems arose with emerging ideas. “Most people stick to the first idea that they have, which can create arguments,” junior Max Woo. Despite the obstacles, junior Francesca Gencarella looked forward to working on the robot. “I am most excited for the trips and seeing the robot run after all the work,” she said.

GRT Team Leader Gregg Ratanaphanyarat hopes that the team learns a lot from the rigorous experience. “I want team members to work together and to learn about leadership, management, cooperation, design process and general knowledge of engineering,” he said.

ally just started a day or so ago,” Sutherland said. “Originally, we thought we could just go from the ‘ball-pick-up’ mechanism to the turret, but we realized that that’s not really feasible so we are behind.”

However, at Week 1, Sutherland believed that his group was catching up fast and said that he had high hopes for the weeks to come.

“We will be able to have a small mechanism, one that utilizes few motors so that we can be light and well-integrated with other parts of the robot in order to make a clean transition,” he said.

Junior Christina Hu also faced challenges in her mini-group, which was delegated with

the task of creating a trident prototype to balance the robot. “We are making it out of wood right now and some of the things don’t work together as they should,” Hu said.

“Because we are a testing group our goals are shortened, so by tomorrow our goal is to finish the entire thing, mounting it up on one of the spots and testing out of it works and if it is necessary.”

Week 1 was a busy time for GRT members because finals week was quickly approaching.

“Our progress has slowed down considerably,” Dunbar said. “If we don’t pick up the pace we are in danger of falling way behind schedule and not finishing on time.”

as proving the validity of their concepts. In essence, GRT was ready to create the metal components and integrate all the mechanisms with a main frame. Ratanaphanyarat hoped GRT would be able to get a working robot by the following week. “We will have a robot that could play the game well, although it will not be our final robot,” he said.

During Week 2, the Drive Train group played an important part. “Drive Train is the wheels of the robot,” junior Drive Train group leader Joey Milia said. “It can be [said

that] it’s the most important part of the bot; [even] without mechanisms the bot can still drive around and play defense.”

Pertaining to this year’s challenge, Milia feels this game is considerably different than those of previous years: “The main challenge for drive train is the four-by-six inch rectangular barrier in the center of the field,” Milia said. “We have to be able to reliably cross it quickly—this was impossible to do with the base we made in the beginning of the year, which had only an inch of ground clearance.”

Monday, February 13, 2012

build season in preparation for the FIRST robotics competition

Utkash Dubey

Left: Senior Hovhannes Avagyan and junior Wyatt Eberspacher use a metal bender. Top right: Junior Francesca Gencarella and senior Rachel Talis work to modify a ball-pick-up prototype mechanism in GRT’s back room. Bottom right: The base of GRT’s robot.

Week 3 (Jan. 22-28) The work progressed smoothly during the third week of GRT’s build season. “Right now we’re doing pretty [well], and the energy level is really high,” Ratanaphanyarat said. “A lot of our deadlines are pretty ambitious, and we’ve already missed a few, but we’re trying to catch up right now.”

The team spent the week working on their “beta bot,” which is one robot that GRT creates for the competition. “The beta bot is the stage after prototyping,” Ratanaphanyarat said. “This is the first time that we’re going to have an actual robot that can move around and play the game, but it’s not our final robot.”

Though Ratanaphanyarat says that deadlines went by quickly, the team finished the beta bot structure on time. “As of now, our robot group can play the game pretty well,”

Week 4 (Jan. 29-Feb. 3) As the deadline for competition slowly creeped in, Week 4 of GRT build season saw the completion of the computer-aided design of their robot and the finalization of various mechanisms for the metal components on their first robot, the beta bot.

According to Ratanaphanyarat, efforts in the past week have been successful. “Our team is communicating very well,” he said.

“And although we’re behind schedule, we always say we are so we can get the work

he said. “Everyone is working really well together right now.”

Senior Delia Gratta, the leader of the Structures and Integration group, was satisfied with the team’s progress. “I was happy that the beta bot’s structure was all welded fairly early on, and I was able to put together what I could,” she said. “The welders did a very good job in welding it quickly.”

As a member in the Structures and Integration group, Gratta worked with other GRT groups to gather all components and put them together to form a working robot.

According to Gratta, her group can also be considered the “architects” of the team. “I try and fit every mechanism and each group into the robot and make the integration and the transition between each component as seamless as possible,” Gratta said.

Gratta says that the Structures team did not have many issues during Week 3. “[We]

haven’t had any major problems, though integration is always a little bit of a challenge because every group is not going to be at the same point in their design process,” she said.

“The main issue is getting everyone on the same page.”

Junior Andrew Gerber-Duffy says that the Controls team, which worked on the electronics and planning of the robot, also did well.

“There were some difficulties implementing the controls systems for the mechanisms, but we’re working on that now and things are looking pretty good,” he said. “We’re on track, [and] I think we definitely have a strong possibility of meeting our deadlines.”

According to Gerber-Duffy, the atmosphere at GRT really improved after finals.

“There are a lot more people showing up now than there were in the previous few weeks,” he said. “Since we’re right in the middle of the season, things are getting pretty intense.”

done.” Finalizing certain mechanisms in the robot seemed to be the focus of Week 4. “We are making the final parts for our wedge and shooter mechanisms already,” senior Phillippe Napaa said.

However, certain parts have been giving the team difficulties. “The front part of the beta-bot has been giving us a lot of trouble and we’ve been having problems with the integration of specific mechanisms,” Ratanaphanyarat said.

Napaa raised similar concerns over issues with the “ball pick-up” mechanism, which is an essential mechanism to the game robot.

“It’s been redesigned two to three times and

it still hasn’t been finalized,” he said. “We’re still testing so hopefully it can be confirmed soon.”

In the week to come, Ratanaphanyarat hopes for the general completion of their betabot. “Our goal is to finish building the main frame and fix issues concerning the mechanisms that haven’t been finalized,” he said.

Since the team has two robots, the beta bot for drive test practice and the omega bot for the final competition, it will need to have both done by the end of build season, Week 6. Ratanaphanyarat is confident that they will make the deadline. “We will have both robots finished at the same time,” he said.

—Compiled by Megan Cliff, Utkash Dubey, Eileen Qian, Anna Qin and Lydia Zhang

Stay tuned for more updates on GRT’s progress in The Oracle’s March issue!

GRT Groups: Mech (Shooter): Designs the mechanism for shooting the basketball from the robot.

Drive Train: Makes the wheels of the robot move. They design and create custom gearboxes for the mechanisms.

Structure and Integration: Gathers all of the Mech teams’ designs, tweaks them, makes transition between parts as seamless as possible.

13

Cente

14

—

erfold

Monday, February 13, 2012

15

Apply the right way Ashley Ngu

%

6 8.

4

17.4%

9.4%

%

6 24.

Graphics by Lisa Wu

Hi there! Most of you probably don’t know who I am. In fact, by the picture of me, you’re probably thinking, “Wait, is this girl actually a senior? She looks like an underclassman.” Yes, well, despite this, I will attempt to share some tidbits of advice that I’ve gathered on my journey through the Land of College Applications.

Like most of my fellow seniors, I began this journey with too many questions and too few answers.

“Which schools should I apply to? Early or regular decision? Will I freeze my Californian patootie off in Chicago? What the heck is a University of California (UC) Davis Aggie?” Thankfully, with the help of my friends and family (and the Internet), I made it to second semester alive and somewhat sane. So, without further ado, here are four pieces of advice to surviving college app season: Start earlier than early. Begin by vaguely thinking about your major and potential colleges during second semester of junior year. At first, your thoughts will probably be a combination of realistic and unrealistic scenarios. “Hey, maybe I’ll apply to UChicago because I heard it looks like Hogwarts.

Maybe I’ll apply undecided and then choose my major in college.” From these thoughts, figure out the kinds of qualities you want and don’t want in a college.

During the summer, push yourself to actually sit down in front of a computer, begin researching, and create your college list. You should be aiming to have a manageable number of applications. For me, this was the lucky number 13. For you, that number may be smaller or bigger.

In the last few weeks of summer, start filling out your applications. Don’t freak out on me; just fill out the easy parts. I think you can handle your name, address and the like. Take a peek at the general Common App and UC essay prompts. You don’t have to start on your essays, but it’s a good idea to start thinking of ways to tackle the prompts.

Keep a journal. Guys, don’t flake out on me here. Writing often about your experiences and yourself will allow you to feel more comfortable with the personal style that is required for college essay writing. Keeping a journal promotes reflection and introspection, which are essential skills for college essay writing. Perhaps you’ll find that an old entry becomes the starting point for one of your essays. Personally, at least two essays of mine were inspired by old Tumblr posts.

Find your Simon Cowell. By this, I mean find someone who will challenge your essay ideas and will give his or her honest opinion instead of playing nice. This someone should be a person who has your best interests at heart, will give constructive criticism and will push you to your limits as a writer.

That being said, take other peoples’ opinions with a grain of salt. Every person has a different viewpoint, and so does every admissions officer.

Some will like a more blunt approach; others will like a narrative style. In the end, your essays should still retain your voice and should be written by you alone.

Take pleasure in the little things. Don’t let college apps take over your life. Remember to go out with your friends and vent. Take a walk on a sunny day and listen to the birds chirping and the squirrels doing whatever they do. Fit in time to do what makes you happy. College apps are important, but not important enough for you to transform into a hermit huddled up in a bubble of college app stress.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, in the words of Phoebe Buffay, some of this advice was “BRAND NEW INFORMATION.” But at the very least, I hope you feel little more at ease about college apps.

Trust me, you’ll survive. Best of luck to you all.

—Ngu, a senior, is the Editor-In-Chief.

16

Features

THEORACLE

HOW WELL DO TWINS The Oracle investigates how well pairs of twins can correctly answer a series of personal questions

Emma and Josh Wilson (9) Emma: Questions

If you had to think of an animal that your twin looked like what would it be?

Answer:

Probably a monkey

Correct Answer:

If stranded on an island, what is one thing your twin would bring with him/her?

What is your twin’s favorite past time?

Which twin does your twin think is the better flirt?

Call of Duty

Playing Call of Duty

Josh, definitely

A computer

Dancing or Call of Duty

Josh

If stranded on an island, what is one thing your twin would bring with him/her?

What is your twin’s favorite past time?

Which twin does your twin think is the better flirt?

Her dog

Definitely dancing

Josh

A computer

Watching Netflix

Josh

A computer

A dog

Josh:

Wendy Qiu

Questions

If you had to think of an animal that your twin looked like what would it be?

Answer:

A panda

Correct Answer:

A monkey

A computer

Isabel and Mariana Torres (9) Isabel: Questions

If your twin had to eat one food for the rest of her life, what

Answer:

I’m gonna say Maruchan ramen.

Correct Answer:

If your twin had one superpower, what would it be?

What is your twin’s favorite Barbie?

Greece

She would fly.

Fairy Barbie

Montana

Fly

Ken

Where in the world does your twin want to live?

A computer

Maruchan

Mariana: Questions

Answer:

If your twin had to eat one food for the rest of her life, what would it be?

She’d probably go with quesadillas.

Correct Answer:

Where in the world does your twin want to live?

If your twin had one superpower, what would it be?

What is your twin’s favorite Barbie?

New York

She’d fly.

Sleeping Beauty

London

Telekinesis

Cinderella

A computer

Chicken

Michael Wu

Noa and Roy Shadmon (10) Noa: Questions

On a scale of 1-10, how attractive do you think your twin thinks he/she is?

Answer:

Roy would rate himself 100/10.

Correct Answer:

100

If you could be any character on any TV show, which character would your Mike Ross from “Suits” A computer The actor from “Suits”

What would your twin want for his/ her birthday?

What theme park ride would your twin never go on?

He would want a car.

He won’t go on any.

A bunch of clothes

Nothing with loops

What would your twin want for his/ her birthday?

What theme park ride would your twin never go on?

Roy: Questions

Kyle Zhu

On a scale of 1-10, how attractive do you think your twin thinks he/she is?

If you could be any character on any TV show, which character would your twin be?

Answer:

Noa probably wouldn’t answer it.

Noa would be anyone from “Lost”.

A computer

Correct Answer:

Doesn’t know

Pam from “The Office”

Clothing A bunch of clothes

She would go on all.

Not the Drop Tower

Monday, February 13, 2012

17

KNOW EACH OTHER? about each other: a smiley face indicates a correct answer, a sad face indicates an incorrect one.

Angela and Isabel Juang (11)

Angela: Questions

If your twin won the lottery, what would she spend the money on?

Answer:

Clothes

Correct Answer:

Save for college and food

Questions

If your twin won the lottery, what would she spend the money on?

Answer:

Save for college

Correct Answer:

Food, chocolate and me

What excuse does your twin use most frequently?

What is her most irritating habit?

What is your twin’s biggest dream?

When she doesn’t talk or listen to me

Be a physical therapist

I’m really tired

I can be over-sensitive.

Find a good husband

What excuse does your twin use most frequently?

What is her most irritating habit?

What is your twin’s biggest dream?

I’m tired

Lack of confidence

Be a nurse

I’m tired

I can be disorganized

Environmental engineering

I’m just tired or busy.

A computer

Isabel:

A computer

Kyle Zhu

Antonio and Maria Puglisi (10) Antonio: Questions

What type of movie does your twin like the most?

Answer:

Romantic comedies

Correct Answer:

What feature does your twin most like about themselves?

What is your twin’s favorite fast food?

What feature is your twin most self-conscious about?

Her eyes

In-N-Out burgers

Her face

Romantic comedies and adventure

Positive attitude

In-N-Out burgers

Her face and hair

What type of movie does your twin like the most?

What feature does your twin most like about themselves?

What is your twin’s favorite fast food?

What feature is your twin most self-conscious about?

Hamburgers and curly fries

His hair

In-N-Out burgers

His hair

Which pop poll would your twin win?

What type of music does your twin like?

Happy at school, sleepy at home A computer

Most unique

Varun likes Classical

Sleepy during school, grumpy at home

Most unique, bundle of joy

Classical

Which pop poll would your twin win?

What type of music does your twin like?

Most Witty

Rock

I wouldn’t win one.

Rock

A computer

Maria: Questions Answer:

He likes action-adventure.

Correct Answer:

Action

Kyle Zhu

Probably his intelligence A computer My sense of humour

Devyani and Varun Bhadkamkar (11) Devyani: Questions

What item does your twin lose the most?

Answer:

Varun doesn’t lose things.

Correct Answer:

I don’t lose things very much.

Which of the 7 dwarfs describe your twin?

Varun: Questions

Kyle Zhu

What item does your twin lose the most?

Answer:

Her student ID

Correct Answer:

School ID

Which of the 7 dwarfs describe your twin?

Sleepy during school A computer Dopey

­—Compiled by Monica Cai, Elsa Chu, Misheel Enkhbat, Ellen Lee, Amrita Moitra and Wendy Park

18

Features

THEORACLE

Teacher pursues hand modeling career Boot Bullwinkle

Entertainment Editor

When the word “model” is mentioned, most people would think of the glamorous wings and figures of Victoria’s Secret models covered with gaudy lingerie. There is, however, a model who has graced Gunn students with his hands’ beauty. His name is Warren Collier.

Known to many as a social studies teacher, Collier also has “Hand Model” on his business card. Although modeling is not his primary job, Collier has propelled his fingers to fame. “The most famous ad I did was for Apple at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference,” he said. “They were talking about the new ways of swiping the mouse pad, and [it] was my hand on the screen.”

The beginning of his career began as a joke in college. The movie “Zoolander” had just been released, and Collier’s friends had always teased him about his “pretty hands.” “The joke was about the hand model, so my friends teased me that I should become a hand model,” Collier said. Little did Collier know, the joke would eventually become reality.

After college, Collier was approached by his then-girlfriend (and current wife),

who asked him to model in an ad for her.

Channeling his inner “Zoolander,” Collier strutted his stuff in his first advertisement.

“All I had to do was hold a computer chip in my fingers, but when I saw the ad in a magazine I thought it was really cool,” Collier said.

Collier was captivated by the modeling scene, so after a search for local modeling agencies, he sent in a few photos of his hands to the agency that seemed to be the right fit for him. “A couple days later, they called me in and said that they thought they were good so they brought me in to sign a contract,” he said.

Now with an ongoing contract, Collier has to keep his hands pristine, and goes through extra measures to make sure that he doesn’t damage his hands. “I’m not one of the super-intense hand models that wear gloves, but I will put on a Band-Aid on the tiniest cut to make sure that it heals quickly and cleanly,” he said. Even though he is only asked to audition a couple times a year, he takes his modeling seriously while still having fun with it.

A man of two careers, Collier’s passion still lies with education. “Teaching is my main job and it’s also much more fun, but I think I’ll still continue hand modeling as long as I keep getting offers,” he said.

Lucy Oyer

Wendy Qiu

Social Studies teacher Warren Collier poses his hand for the camera as if he was modeling a T-Mobile phone for an upcoming commerical. Collier has also hand modeled for Apple.

Lydia Zhang

Wendy Qiu

Left: Sophomore Kelsey Chan, senior Danny Wallace and sophomore Joyce Wen play an intricate piece together in a chamber group of three. Right: Junior Ethan Kim delivers an extended played prelude on his stringed bass.

Students chosen for All-State Honor Band, Orchestra Yilin Liang

Centerfold Editor

Each year, the California Band Director’s Association (CBDA) holds auditions for the All-State Honor Orchestra and Bands. Students vie for a spot in these musical groups and travel to perform at the CBDA’s annual convention in Fresno on Feb. 16 to 19.

Senior clarinetist Danny Wallace, sophomores clarinetist Kelsey Chan and flutist Joyce Wen will play in the Honor Band. Junior string bassist Ethan Kim will play in the Honor Orchestra. During the convention, students in the Honor Band audition for seating arrangements and a spot in the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band or Concert

Band based on skill. The Honor Orchestra and Bands will rehearse under guest conductors in preparation for the final performance.

Kim was in Honor Orchestra last year and auditioned because of the high skill level.

“Last year, I wanted to see how good of a bassist I was, so I auditioned for All-State,” he said.

“I surprised myself by getting in and I had a lot of fun there.”

Kim is the only Gunn string musician to make Honor Orchestra. He will play Graeme Koehne’s “Elevator Music” and Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird.” “‘Elevator Music’ sounds like it could be a soundtrack from a Hollywood action or fantasy movie,” he said. “‘Firebird’ is a really cool ballet piece about a mystical glowing bird. I’m

Experience extreme couponing

excited to playing ‘Firebird’. As a bassist, I don’t get many exciting parts, but I think this piece will make me want to practice a lot because it sounds pretty difficult and dynamic.”

Chan auditioned for AllState Honor Bands for several reasons. “The guest conductors are always very experienced, and participating in Honor Band is a great way to learn more about playing with musicality as an ensemble,” she said.

Chan is part of Wind Ensemble. “In Gunn band, we focus a lot on the balance between different sections and listening to what different instruments add to the music,” she said. “Playing in an ensemble is very different from playing solo.”

Wallace also decided to participate in the All-State Honor Band due to the high standards of the organization, “I auditioned for All-State because I really enjoy playing with excellent musicians, and being surrounded by talented people compels me to become a better player,” he said. “Plus, preparing the audition piece is a

good way to improve, because the audition material is usually very difficult.”

Apart from his Honor Band performance, Wallace will also work on his own solo music.

“My private teacher conducts orchestra and she is going to feature me as a soloist at one of her concerts,” he said. “I will be playing a clarinet concerto written by Leroy Osmon.”

Wen auditioned for AllState Bands due to her love for the flute. “Flute is one of my main interests, and All-State is a major event for youth musicians,” she wrote in an email. Though Wen began with the piano, she later quit to continue playing flute. “Flute just seemed perfect because it matched my personality, and I loved its sound the first time I heard it,” she wrote.

Wen has been part of Wind Ensemble since her freshman year and believes her experiences in band have helped her further develop her skills as a musician. “Gunn band has taught me how to blend my sound when playing in large ensembles,” she wrote. “In addition, it has improved my site reading skills, with the wide variety of repertoire we cover.”

If you want to lose friends fast, take them couponing for five hours the week before finals.

That’s what I did, and they still haven’t forgiven me. Adverse effects on friendships aside, the new trend of couponing is taking our country by storm.

As a fan of reality television, I found it was impossible to ignore the phenomenon as TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” gained popularity. Once Kourtney Kardashian “couponed” on “Kourtney and Kim Take New York,” I knew I had to try it.

After all, who wouldn’t want to clip coupons for copious amounts of semi-useful household items?

The first step was figuring out how to do it. On “Extreme Couponing” people get thousands of dollars worth of merchandise for pocket change, and couponing is a fulltime occupation for them. Though I was going to start smaller, I was still going to do it properly, so I settled on the “Krazy Coupon Lady” blog as my official go-to website. This informative webpage provides a straightforward couponing tutorial, and it posts coupon match-ups for a variety of stores each week.

This being very exciting, I wanted to get started immediately. Over the course of the next week, my friend and I amassed a stack of great coupons and were super excited to go to Target and Walgreens. Before our departure we planned every detail of each transaction. I had folders for the different coupons and lists of the items they went with.

Finally, it was time. We pulled into Target and set forth to find the deals of our dreams.

Though some items were difficult to find, after a thorough search of the entire store, we emerged with a majority of the items we had planned on getting. Next we had to pick a checkout lane— according to the “Krazy Coupon Lady,” young, male employees are typically the friendliest.

Thus, we picked a lane where our gracious, acne-ridden checker Adam stood waiting.

After the items were scanned, it was time for the coupons. Unfortunately, Target’s coupon policy only allowed you to use one similar coupon per transaction, but we had planned on using three of the same coupons in one transaction. Poor Adam had to void over half the items as we buried our faces in shame.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, we left.

Although we were ready to call it quits and go home, we still had to visit Walgreens.

The experience was even more excruciating there as we had to go through the line six times, each more painful then the next. (In order to most effectively use your coupons, it often makes sense to split up your items into separate purchases.) By the end, the checkout lady told us to go to a different aisle. We took that as a cue to leave, which we did very happily.

In total, we bought over $60 of merchandise for about $27. Our haul included three boxes of macaroni and cheese, three bottles of toothpaste, three meal replacement bars and three packages of floss—completely free. Additionally, we procured six packs of Milanos and three boxes of pain relief creams and patches for just pennies each.

Despite all this, when you factor in the hours of work and the cost of the printer ink, couponing wasn’t worth it. Admittedly, it was satisfying to get free stuff, but I would never do it again. As Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband and sub-par basketball player Kris Humphries once said in a shocking display of intelligence: “If you don’t want something, it’s not a good deal.” ­—Oyer, a sophomore, is an Entertainment Editor.

Features

Monday, February 13, 2012

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THEORACLE

Sports

Monday February 13, 2012

Titan spirit blazes as season comes to close 1

Girls’ Basketball:

The girls’ varsity basketball team has had a fairly successful season so far, with a current overall record of 14-5 and league record of 8-2. According to senior Cat Perez, co-captain of the team, the girls have done an admirable job at keeping the scoreboard close in all of their games. They are currently ranked third in their division.

The team recently played Milpitas High School on Feb. 7 and came out victorious, winning by 37 points with a final score of 54-17. The team started the season off strong and is working on combining individual efforts to win their games, according to head Coach Sarah Stapp. “Everyone out [on the court] has to play a role; one thing I can do is stress teamwork,” Stapp said.

According to Perez, the players have acquired much more experience this season and have delivered many wins with their formidable defensive plays. “Our defense is our strong point, and it differs depending on the opponent and what defense they are playing,” Perez said.

For the remainder of the season, Stapp is working on more aggressive offense-minded plays with her team for the rest of the season. “I want our players to be more aggressive [out on the court],” Stapp said.

Wendy Qiu

Girls’ Soccer:

2

With a current record of 5-9-1, the girls’ soccer team hopes to keep up its steady pace and finish in the top four of the Santa Clara Valley Athletics League (SCVAL) De Anza Division.

The team has been continuously gaining momentum since the start of the season. “We have a good balance between youth and seniority, a quick attack, and an every-improving back line,” head coach Damian Cohen wrote in an email.

“Most importantly, we have two captains who are willing to give the team everything and a no-quit attitude as a whole.”

Cohen stresses how teamwork has improved the players’ abilities, and cites it as one of the team’s most effective skills.

“When we act as a team, support one another, and give our opponent hell, we have a reason to smile,” he wrote.

Other objectives for the remainder of the season include finishing with more wins than losses and scoring more points in total than their opposing teams. “We’re working on having greater composure on the ball and speeding up our overall game play,” Cohen said.

Their next match will be an away game on Feb. 25 against Mountain View.

Wrestling:

During an impressive showing at the Mid-Cal Invitational at Gilroy High School on Jan. 21, the wrestling team placed sixth out of a total of 64 schools, earned five individual medals and stands poised for yet another remarkable season. The team has a current overall record of 4-1 and a league record of 2-1.

With several promising underclassmen, the team has high hopes for the rest of the winter season. “I was actually very impressed with the new varsity team members,” junior Blaze Lee said. “There are a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who [have] started on varsity this year [and have] got off to a strong start since the beginning of the season.”

However, the team’s greatest strength is the coaches’ emphasis on endurance. “We have great coaches, and they push us to not give up when we’re tired,” Lee said. “As a result, we’ve won a lot of points by outlasting our opponents.

Currently, the team’s goals are to finish high in the De Anza division standings and perform well at the SCVAL Finals. “We have the potential to place first in SCVALs in our league this year,” Lee said. “We’re doing even better than we were last year, and we just need to keep up our strong performance.”

The team aspires to fulfill their three basic aims during every day of practice. “Our general goals are to have fun, improve every day and get in better shape,” coach Chris Horpel wrote in an email. “I would say that we are doing all three almost daily.”

On Feb. 2, the team beat the Fremont Cardinals by thirty-two points with a final score of 50-18. Their next meet will be the Central Coast Sectionals Preliminary Round at Independence High School on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Boys’ Soccer::

Wendy Qiu

Boys’ Basketball:

The boys’ basketball team is working hard in preparation for the League Championships and are looking to improve off of last season’s plays. With a record of 7-13 overall and 2-7 in league, the team is still working on mastering its new offensive plays for the rest of the season. They will continue to rely on the expertise of a new coach, Michael Ferolino, who coached at Jane Lanthrop Stanford Middle School and was last year’s JV girls’ basketball coach.

Though the boys are defense-oriented, according to senior Malik Gill, Ferolino emphasized the need to improve field goal percentage, decreases in turnovers and positive assistturnover ratios. In addition, senior Nick Kao says the team needs to work on communicating and executing their plays.

According to Ferolino, senior Keenan Venuti, junior Max Girod and sophomore Patrick Skelly have gone above and beyond his expectations this season. With many skillful players like them, the boys’ team has qualified for league championships and will continue to train and aspire to achieve their goals in order to come through with a successful season. “Our goal every year will be to compete for league championships and advance to CCS,” Ferolino said.

3

After a 2-0 win over the Palo Alto Vikings, the boys’ soccer team is on track to complete yet another strong season in the SCVAL De Anza division.

With a 5-4-1 record in the De Anza Division and 8-6-3 overall, the team is adapting well to their new coach, Jill Naylor.

“Varsity is a completely different team compared to last year,” senior Andriy Khrustalyov said. “We only have a couple veterans on the team, a new coach, a new mentality and a new practice schedule. Pretty much everything is different.”

Despite the new start, the team has bonded well and players enjoy friendly rivalries among each other. “We have a lot of good players for many positions so the competition is always high,” Khrustalyov said. “This motivates us to compete for our positions as nothing is ever promised on the field.”

The team’s newfound formidability may be attributed to their athletic improvement as well as their recent additions. “Our fitness levels are up, and our one-two touch is getting really strong,” Naylor said.

The team has set lofty goals for itself for the remainder of the season. “During a whiteboarding session, we came up with a big list, and we essentially agreed that we wanted to make it to CCS,” Naylor said. “In terms of our team mentality, we want to continue our confidence, improve our focus, and have true grit.”

Their next match will be a home game against Mountain View on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

1: Senior Cat Perez attempts to make a lay-up with a defender on her. 2: Senior Scott Kresie makes a move to avoid his opponent. 3: Senior Laura Hayward concentrates as she takes a free kick. 4: Sophomore Sean Lydster demonstrates his strength as he pins his opponent. 5: Senior Daniel Krigel dribbles the ball down the field and out of the opponent’s reach.

All team records are up to date as of Feb. 9 —Compiled by Wonhee Park and Rani Shiao Courtesy of Tim Aiken

4

Kyle Zhu

5

Michael Wu

Sports

Monday, February 13, 2012

21

Assistant track coach competed in four Olympics Alumni Brian Martin won silver and bronze medals for luge in the 1992 and 2002 Olympics athletes is when they can take something “Certainly, crashing is a danger,” he said. you explained to them and put the new “You’re traveling [at great speeds] so if you techniques to practice,” Martin said.

Aside from working at Gunn, Martin is do crash, the friction between you and the also taking classes at Foothill Community ice is enough to give you burns.”

College.

Because Martin chose to pursue Despite the risks though, Martin mainhis luging career after graduation, he did not tained a strong passion for the sport. “My have enough time to get his undergraduate favorite part during the season was being able degree.

He has returned to school in the to go out [to Lake Placid, New York] every hopes of gaining new knowledge and taking weekend and competing against the world’s a step back to gain the best,” he said. “On top skills needed to transiof that, it’s just really a tion back into a more lot of fun to go 85 mph “The most fulfilling part relaxed lifestyle. “Now on a sled.” of training young athletes my main goal is to settle Martin retired afdown and get a stable ter competing in the is when they can take job,” Martin said.

2010 Olympics. “I resomething you explained However, according tired because I was to Martin, transitioning getting old, and all to them and put the new from an Olympic lifestyle of those old injuries techniques to practice” to a less hectic one is kept building up and nothing short of difficult. not healing,” Martin —Alumnus Brian Martin He misses his days of lugsaid. Although he is ing and the thrilling feeling that came along no longer a professional luger, Martin is still with it.

However, he compromises by finding involved with the luging community. He is creative outlets to relieve stress by pursing on the executive board for USA Luge and acts activities such as sailing and recreational as a representative for current lugers. “It’s a way for me to get involved,” Martin said. “I’m soccer. “Sailing is great,” Martin said. “It is still involved with luge on the administrative extremely fulfilling to be able to go against the clock and push my limits.” side.”

Although Martin has settled down, he After his retirement, Martin was asked is still contemplating his future. “I’ve been to come to Gunn by Cross Country Varsity talking to people about transitioning from head coach Matt Thompkins and assistant the athletic world to being back in school,” coach Earnest Lee. He became the assistant Martin said.

“There are some people who I coach for track and field. After spending time with the students, Martin has come have talked to who still do not know what to enjoy working with them and watching they want to do when they ‘grow up’. As for them develop in their track and field abilities. me, I am still a bit wishy-washy on what I “The most fulfilling part of training young want.” n LUGER from pg. 1

Courtesy of Brian Martin

Courtesy of Brian Martin

Courtesy of Brian Martin

Above left: Alumnus Brian Martin smiles as he prepares to enter a luging competition in Konigssee, Germany. Above right: Martin poses alongside luge partner Mark Grimmette after winning the silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Bottom: Martin and Grimmette lay in supine position as they concentrate on achieving the fastest record.

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Sports

THEORACLE

Car companies bring their game to Super Bowl Amrita Moitra

Every year, companies bring their best game to the most coveted three-hour advertising period known to television: the Super Bowl.

This year was no different, as all the big name companies were there, including Budweiser, Doritos and Pepsi and Volkswagon.

So what were some of the best commercials of the 2012 Super Bowl?

1. Honda CR-V Honda’s game day commercial, featuring Matthew Broderick, was a long-awaited ad.

In the commercial, Broderick reprises his iconic role as the 80s schoolboy Ferris Bueller, who is playing hooky yet again.

Not only is it reminiscent of the film’s best scenes, but it also reminds viewers that sometimes it’s okay to take a day off.

2. Audi Any advertiser can tell you that vampires are “in,” which is exactly why Audi’s satirical vampire commercial is such a hit. Advertising the car’s new LED headlights, Audi risks incurring the wrath of Twihards as they mock attractive

Faces in the Crowd Why do you watch the Super Bowl?

“It is a fun sport, and I like to watch it with my friends while eating a lot of good food.”

Torsten Wendl (10)

vampires being incinerated by the “daylight.”

3. Chrysler Narrated by Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, Chrysler’s uplifting commercial is truly inspirational. In his trademark voice (second only to Morgan Freeman), Eastwood reminds the nation that this period of economic downturn and unemployment is only America’s half time. While not specifically advertising a product, Chrysler aims to restore the country’s faith in the American automobile industry with this moving ad.

—Moitra, a senior, is a News Editor.

1 Courtesy of Honda

2 Courtesy of Audi

3 Courtesy of Chrysler

Football fanatic evaluates top plays of game Emily Yao Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite times of the year. However, this year it was even more exciting for me since I am a New York Giants fan, and I was able to cheer for them against the New England Patriots. I had hoped that the outcome of the game would be just like the one in Super Bowl XLII: a last-minute touchdown by the Giants, leading to a Superbowl victory for them. Fortunately, my wish came true.

While the underdogs were victorious again, both the Giants and Patriots had

multiple noteworthy moments. I was able to narrow these down to the most crucial plays of the game.

1. Mario Manningham’s catch This play reminded me of Giants’ retired wide receiver David Tyree’s helmet catch at Super Bowl XLII: his seemingly unreal catch on his helmet in the final minutes helped the Giants score the winning touchdown in their final drive. Like Tyree, wide receiver Mario Manningham miraculously completed the 38-yard catch with two defenders on him. It was the play that helped move the Giants down the field and ultimately led to the touchdown that brought them on top of the leader board.

2. Tom Brady’s record-tying drive and pass completion record The Patriots were able to set one Super Bowl record and tie another, an impressive feat. First, even though they were off to a shaky start, the Patriots were able to pull off a great final drive in the last minutes of the second quarter. By completing 10 passes, ending with a touchdown by

Patriots’ running back Danny Woodhead, their 96-yard drive was the third drive of such distance in Super Bowl history.

This gave them a 10-9 lead going into the second half.

In addition, Brady broke the record for the most consecutive pass completions.

Previously held by San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Joe Montana with 13 in 1990, the record is now held by Brady with 16 straight completions. The 16th catch was a touchdown pass to Patriots’ tight end Aaron Hernandez, giving them a 17-9 lead in the third quarter.

3. Chase Blackburn’s interception Giants’ linebacker Chase Blackburn was able to jump up and surpass Brady’s Hail Mary pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, stealing the ball for an interception. It was the only interception of the night and proved to be significant for New York. The play allowed the Giants to take away the two-point lead from the Patriots in the fourth quarter.

—Yao, a junior, is a Sports Editor.

“It’s the biggest game of the year, so I think it’s wrong for people to watch just for the commercials.”

Chris Rea (11)

“I like to watch the Superbowl to see which team wins and because the ads are interesting.”

Rosamond Hsaw (12) —Compiled by Eileen Qian

1 Courtesy of Associated Press

2 Courtesy of Getty Images

3 Courtesy of Associated Press

Entertainment

Monday, February 13, 2011

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23

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THEORACLE

Entertainment

Change-up: styling the opposite sex The Oracle staffers take on the challenge of dressing each other for three school days

Day 1: Laid-back

Day 2: Typical School Day

Samantha: Yoga pants, red flannel, tank top, Ugg moccasins, minimal makeup, backpack.

Boot: Jeans, graphic T-shirt, purple hoodie, Nikes.

Samantha: Boot-cut jeans, bat-wing top, cargo jacket, pendant necklace, sparkly Toms.

Boot: Jeans, grey thermal, maroon cardigan, Vans.

“super casual.” For the second day, I thought it would be nice to see Boot in something a little more preppy, but still not too dressed up—I decided on casual jeans, a henley and a maroon cardigan. On the third day, I really wanted to push Boot out of his comfort zone Samantha Donat by putting him in something really stylish, Entertainment Editor but still cool and easy-going.

Obviously, being forced to wear yoga Let me make this very clear that I rarely pants, flannel and—gasp—Uggs on the first allow other people to give input on what I day of our trial essentially went against all wear. I pride myself on my unique sense of my morals. My very minimal make-up of style, and although imitation may be the for the day was also a new experience. I felt highest form of flattery, I absolutely hate extremely uncomfortable for the first few when others wear similar clothes to me. So hours, wishing I could have the mental combeing dressed by not just someone other than fort of one of my leather jackets and cat-eye myself, but someone of the eyeliner again. But I opposite sex, made my soon realized that I skin crawl, to say the least. was actually really “I was pleasantly surprised How would I survive three (physically) comthat I didn’t completely sufdays of being dressed like fortable in the yoga fer from a temporary loss everyone else? Knowing pants. It breaks my of individuality.”

Boot and his sense of style, heart to admit it, I figured that I would be but I have the teenwearing painfully simple outfits that might siest bit more respect for them now. possibly be a bit too tight.

I felt slightly more at home in the next You could describe my style as edgy, day’s outfit, but the irony of the situation is monochromatic and chic. Yes, my closet that Boot dressed me in that ensemble for a contains an exceptional amount of neutral- “typical school day,” while I would normally colored items. I own an unusually high num- have only worn something such as that while, ber of leather jackets, and I have an extensive say, lounging in front of the television. I do, collection of oversized rings that I feel naked however, have a new-found appreciation for without wearing. I’m one of those annoying my old, worn-in jeans again. The third day girls who sometimes wears heels to school, allowed me to wear an outfit that was up my and whose giant floppy hats and fedoras alley, but again, it was much more similar block your view of the board in class. I don’t to something I would wear on an average even own a North Face jacket, and Uggs are school day as opposed to “dressing up” for the bane of my existence. Essentially, my style a night out. is wildly different from that of the typical In the end, I was pleasantly surprised in high school student. that I didn’t completely suffer from a temAs a fashion-forward member of society, porary loss of individuality. True, I didn’t my one wish is that the entire population particularly like being taken away from the would dress stylishly as well. Boot dresses usual spectrum of clothing that I wear, but decently, but I definitely saw room for im- it was nice to take a break from my fashionprovement. For our first day, I opted for a ably rigorous routine for a few days. I can’t simple outfit. I’m not a big fan of guys wear- guarantee that I’ll make more appearances ing anything more casual than jeans and a in yoga pants, but I will try to remind myself hoodie—it’s always nice to see them still put- more often that dressing down can still have together even when dressing for something its benefits.

Day 3: Going Out

Wendy Qiu

Samantha: Pencil skirt, beige blouse, bomber jacket, bow belt, nude heels, straightened hair.

Boot: Khakis, T-shirt, leather jacket, loafers.

half of the battle. For every boundary that I pushed with her style, she pushed right back. I can pretty much guarantee that the clothes I wear on any given day are Vans, blue jeans, a T-shirt (maybe a button down if I’m feeling fancy) and a sweatshirt, so I Boot Bullwinkle knew I was in for a ride when Samantha Entertainment Editor handed me a leather jacket. But let’s back it up to day one.

When tasked with dressing Samantha Everything was normal about my clothI was both excited and anxious for the ing: Nikes, jeans and a T-shirt (quintesupcoming week of fashion that lay ahead. sential me). But there was a slight change: I However, I was even more eager to see what wore a purple hoodie over the whole piece. she had in store for me. Samantha may have I can honestly say that I’ve never received so won this year’s pop poll for Best Dressed, many compliments on my outfit at school. but I was skeptical of how far she would And it was all because of the jacket! I was incorporate her edgy, trendsetting fashion befuddled by peoples’ reactions. sense into my laid-back, relaxed style.

I was overjoyed by my peers responses.

I appreciate Samantha’s style. It reflects Until I was handed a cardigan for the next her personality of being a fun and sassy per- day, I was extremely nervous. I was comson. However, my overall goal for dressing pletely out of my comfort zone—I felt like her was to tone down her outfits in a way everyone was silently judging me, but once that would be less fierce than her normal again, I scored dozens of compliments. The leather jackets, studded pumps and gladi- extensive differences between my style and ator rings.

Samantha’s style were For the first day’s a head-turner to those theme, I pushed all of who knew me well, “I can honestly say that Samantha’s boundarbut I couldn’t have I’ve never received so ies by making her wear been happier with the many compliments on yoga pants and a flannel results. I was starting my outfit at school.” shirt. She wasn’t a very to enjoy our experihappy camper. However, ment, but I knew that I was more determined to dress her in a way the leather jacket day was looming. that we could both compromise on for the I was probably a little overdramatic second day. Her jeans and Toms offered a and cranky about my outfit, but there was simple base that I enhanced with a tucked definitely some cause and effect behind my bat-wing style shirt and a cute pendant moodiness. The outfit seemed too over-thenecklace. I thought the outfit was fashion- top, and it didn’t live up to the expectations able without being too eye-popping for a that Zac Efron set in “17 Again.” Sadly, I normal school day. came up just a tad shy of Efron’s couture.

When Friday came, I decided to channel Still, wearing that outfit turned out to be the fashionista within me. I was supposed to a good experience for me to step out of my dress Samantha in clothes I would want her boundaries. My friends also appreciated the to wear to a party, so I went for a sleek and chance to rib me a little. sophisticated look while still being fun and The pros definitely outweighed the cons flirty. The straightened hair and bandage in our interesting experiment, and I took skirt was perfect, and I got a solid “not bad” away a lot from it. I appreciated the comfrom Samantha. Success! ments that I received, and she’ll definitely However, dressing Samantha was only be a consultant in all my fashion endeavors.

Entertainment

Monday, February 13, 2011

Facebook friends used as way to measure popularity Jean Wang News Editor

In recent years, a worrying epidemic has been spreading among high school students all over America: Facebook Popu la rit y Add ict ion. Un li ke your typical Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD), Facebook Popularity Addiction (copyright pending) can be identified by a preoccupation not only with the popular social networking site, but also with the number of comments and likes received on statuses and number of Facebook friends.

Yet, this increased importance placed on Facebook presence begs a pressing question—just how much is warranted, and how much is unhealthy?

To many people, common sense dictates t hat those who are popular on Facebook are popular in real life. Indeed, research by the University of Windsor showed that while shyer people tend to spend more time on Facebook, they do not necessarily have more friends. Instead, shyness is negatively correlated to number of Facebook friends, thus serving as an accurate indicator of real life popularity and presence.

In this way, it seems as if Facebook popularity is a completely justified barometer of real life popularity.

“Facebook likes are generally representative of how many friends you have,” sophomore Adriana Noronha said. “So it makes sense that people want to have more likes to increase their perceived popularity.”

Other students agree, even drawing correlations be-

“Haywire”

Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” features slick action and high-stakes excitement. The film rises above the recent barrage of superhero films due to its generation of thrills and high-quality entertainment value. The film stars mixed martial artist Gina Carano as a doublecrossed covert agent on the run, continuously evading capture by the firm managed by her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth (Ewan McGregor). “Haywire” enlists an exceptional supporting cast, led convincingly by Carano in her debut performance. Most exciting, however, is the full display of Soderbergh’s directorial vision, which is surely to be missed after his pending retirement. Despite periodic gunfights over the course of the film, in my opinion, the violence of “Haywire” does not amount to a heavy R-rating.

Rated R for some violence

Cooper Aspegren Reporter

tween number of Facebook friends and real-life social skills. “I would say people who are well-adjusted to society have between 300 to 500 friends, and more popular people have about 500 to 800 friends,” senior Crystal Nguyen said.

Yet, at the same time, Facebook popularity is often deceptive. How many of those 1000 friends do you actually talk to? What do they actually think of you? Perhaps, contrary to popular belief, those who are more popular and active on Facebook are actua l ly overcompensating for lacking real life social skills.

According to a study by Buffardi and Campell of the University of Georgia, individual levels of activity on social networking sites, such as Facebook, are strongly coru W related to levels of narcissism, a trait a s Li that likely decreases popularity outside of the virtual world. Even students who generally agree upon Facebook’s use as a popularity index acknowledge its shortcomings. “Facebook is generally a pretty accurate indicator of popularity, except for friend hoarders, the people who have more than 1000 friends before college,” Nguyen said. “They seem really fake because there’s no way they personally know that many people.”

At the end of the day, while Facebook may be a decent indicator of real life popularity, it’s important to remember to put things in perspective. “The number of friends you have on Facebook does not define the number of friends you have in real life,” senior Serena Wong said.

“While a Facebook friend is someone you talk to online, a real friend is someone you actually talk to.”

“Red Tails”

Anthony Hemingway’s “Red Tails” intends to commemorate the Tuskegee airmen, the first African-American pilots to overcome racial adversity and serve in the U.S. military during World War II. But the film’s potential allegory dissolves into conventional popcorn entertainment within its first few minutes. To its detriment, “Red Tails” plays like a lighthearted, uneven Saturday morning cartoon episode. As a result, it questions too infrequently the harsh realities of war and the unjust circumstances the Tuskegee airmen faced. By all means, watching the film is not an unpleasant experience. However, given the dramatic possibilities available, “Red Tails” was too forgettable and should have been a whole lot better.

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of war violence

“The Iron Lady”

Senior Bucket List 1. Play juice pong on the quad 2. Study for the AP tests (syke!)

3. Ditch your cars and rollerblade to school 4. Be a couch potato 5. Get buff for the summer 6. Drop a class 7. Sidewalk Chalk Wednesdays 8. Attend freshman classes during your preps 9. Make fun of juniors 10. Drive a golfcart

“The Iron Lady”, written by Abi Morgan, contains the template for a terrific movie. In her screenplay, Morgan clearly draws influence not only from the dry wit of “The King’s Speech” but also from the non-linear structure and emotions of “The Social Network.”

However, “Mamma Mia!” director Phyllida Lloyd’s somewhat unrefined execution diminishes the power of the script. The film focuses on former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, holding special prevalence on her later years, but also delving into her 11-year tenure in office. Despite its widely evident mechanical flaws, “The Iron Lady” nonetheless encompasses a fantastic Meryl Streep performance, worthy of her 17th Academy Awards nomination.

Rated PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity

“Cooper’s Corner” is a new segment on The Oracle, started after a series of published film reviews. Aspegren has been writing film reviews for his blog, www.walkofframe.com, for one year now. His favorite movie of all time is “The Godfather,” and out of all the movies released in 2011, he enjoyed “Margin Call” the most. He does not like to waste his time watching bad movies, although he once had to endure repeat viewings of “Old Dogs” at an orthodontist appointment. He enjoys reviewing movies and analyzing how they relate to our world. He sincerely hopes you enjoy reading the reviews.

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— Compiled by Ellen Lee

“War Horse”

While “War Horse” was certainly a crowd pleaser, those directly affected

by World War I may have a different opinion of the film. Steven Spielberg’s latest war film undoubtedly deserves the Christmas release date Dreamworks well-advisedly scheduled. The film stirs the warm, sentimental emotions that characterize some of Speilberg’s best work. But unlike other Spielberg masterpieces, “War Horse” does not convey enough of the melancholy and apprehension that Great War veterans faced. We see remarkably little of the trenches that distinguished the war as one of the most violent in world history. “War Horse” is clearly far from a bad movie, but given the creative talent and ambition involved, it should have been much better.

Rated PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity

Entertainment

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Students revel in the joys of Mardi Gras Yilin Liang Centerfold Editor

“Let the good times roll!” During Mardi Gras, one will often hear this expression yelled by merry party-goers. French for “Fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras describes the Carnival celebrations that occur around the Christian holiday, Lent. This holiday is celebrated around the world with parades, costumes, masquerades and various traditional foods.

The most famous celebration in the United States, however, occurs in New Orleans.

Each year, the city decks out in Mardi Gras colors: purple, green and gold. Mardi Gras season officially begins each year on Jan. 6 or Twelfth Night. Then, three weeks before the actual Mardi Gras date, various small celebrations and several large parades and festivities begin within the city. People from all over flock to the city during this time to partake in the celebrations.

Seniors Cody Einfalt and Chipper Stotz attended Mardi Gras their freshman and sophomore years. The two have been best friends for 13 years and decided to go together to Mardi Gras because Stotz’s mother grew up in Mississippi. “She wanted us to experience the South,” Stotz said.

During the weeks before Mardi Gras, Einfalt and Stotz attended many of the parades and festivities. “We learned how to get beads,” Einfa lt said, “You have to directly ask for them. We had so many, we had to hold them in bags.” Beads are often thrown during the parade and people scramble to collect these elaborate necklaces. Einfalt and Stotz’s favorite parade so far has been the Krewe of Muses. “They t h row shoes at you,” Stotz said.

Einfalt and Stotz will also be returning again this year for Mardi Gras. “We’ve pretty much run out of things to do, so Chipper’s mom made a scavenger hunt for us this year,” Einfalt said.

Stotz and Einfalt return often to New

International Flirt Week makes for lighthearted fun

Orleans because of the famous Southern hospitality. “The culture is so different from here,” Stotz said. Einfalt agrees. “You can have a giant conversation with random people you meet,” he said. This year, the two have created a list of activities they want to accomplish. “We made T-shirts and on the back, we have a bucket list of things we want to do while we’re there,” Stotz said.

Einfalt and Stotz have plenty of ad-

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Alvina Yau

vice for those who want to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. “There’s a lot of options to eat like you can out here, but if you actually want to experience the culture, you should branch out,” Stotz said. “Go to the parades.”

The pair recommends a buddy system while at the parade so as not to get lost. Einfalt also offers pointers for the Mardi Gras festivities.

“Be ready to see inappropriate things,” he said. “You will get good at the lingo down there. Don’t swim in the Mississippi [River].”

For those who decide not to travel to New Orle a ns , there are still plenty of celebr at ions in the Bay Area.

Each year, S a n Francisco is home to various Mardi Gras balls and musical events. Additionally, many Southern style restaurants in the Bay Area also have Mardi Gras-themed menus for those who want to experience the cuisine of the holiday.

3

Get your corny pickup lines ready: Feb. 13 kicks off the 2012 International Flirt Week. This unique week celebrates the refined art of coquette behavior and recognizes the role flirting plays in the lives of singles looking for their soul-mate.

It’s a week for couples looking to sustain their love and for those available to exchange a playful glance with a stranger, acquaintance and even classmate. Here are a handful of ideas to keep your flirting game in tip-top shape. Grab a fellow flirter and go wild this week, but be sure to keep it classy and casual.

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Flirting move 1: Offer to help stretch your partner’s hamstrings. Move 2: Get physical while helping someone perfect their forehand.

Move 3: Ask to borrow a friend’s shoulder to balance on. Move 4: Ask to borrow your friend’s shoulder again while you rest your extremely heavy biceps. Move 5: Let your flirtee “accidentally” catch you looking at them.

The Oracle’s favorite pickup lines “You must be √2 because I feel irrational around you.”

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“If Mitt Romney and Barack Obama agreed on anything it would be the fact that you’re a total babe.”

“Hello. I’m a thief and I’m here to steal your heart.”

“Life without you would be like a broken pencil... pointless.”

“I wish you were a DNA helicase so that I could unzip your genes.”

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“Was that an earthquake, or did you just rock my world?”

—Compiled by Rebecca Alger Photos by Kyle Zhu

Entertainment

Monday, February 13, 2011

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Romantic date adventures for couples on Valentine’s Day Dinner and a Movie

A Day in the City

It’s cliché but it’s a classic: dinner and a movie. It’s a great first or second date idea that gives you the opportunity to snuggle up to your new beau and get to know the basics of his or her personality.

Although it is nearby, the Century 16 Theaters in Mountain View is a bit rundown and not very appealing for a first date.

Instead, go for a little extra flair by taking a train down to the Century 20 Theatres in Downtown Redwood City. The town is filled with small boutiques and ice-cream shops that set the scene for a perfect date.

In addition, if you’re looking to wow your date, then don’t be afraid to go all out. Take your special someone to the drive-in movie theater in San Jose called West Wind Capitol Drive-In. It may get cold, so bring pillows and blankets (which will also give you an excuse to snuggle up). For food, pick up takeout to eat while the movie plays. Don’t let dinner stop you from getting there early, because the spots fill up quickly. Of course, if you can’t see the movie it’s not the end of the world.

You and your date will be able to talk endlessly under the starry night, and you two will share the moment forever.

Sweets and Scenery

There’s nothing like the great outdoors, and it’s even better Adventurous couples should head out to San with your crush. As spring comes around, sunshine will be Francisco for a date filled with excitement. On your abundant and baby ducklings will be rampant. Add some way to San Francisco, get a bite to eat cheesy music and it will seem like you’re in a movie. at Koi Palace in Daly City for some To add to the experience, ditch your cars and take a delicious dim sum. After eating, bike ride. Strive for cheesiness and rent a go to Chinatown and look around the side streets for your own hidtandem bike together. den treasure buried within the Once you pull yourself together and trinkets of the Chinatown come back to earth, take your adstalls. Then head over venturous date to sea. A paddle boat to Fisherman’s Wharf across Shoreline Lake is a relaxing way to wash away your worries, and on the other side of focus on your partner.

San Francisco. At the If you want to continue your advencable car turnaround, ture outside, pack a picnic and find a located at the end of grassy hill to lie on. The scenery around Hyde Street, there is a George Hwang Shoreline is a perfect backdrop for the perfect patch of grass fit for flydate, and you won’t regret a single moment. ing kites. When you and If you prefer to be in a city, head back to Downtown Palo your significant other start to to Alto for some food. Assuming that it’s still warm out, head feel a grumble in your stomachs, take a trip over to the Peninsula Creamery and Grill on the corner of to Ghirardelli Square where there are many Hamilton and Emerson Street. Their milkshakes are critically cafes and shops that are perfect for a light snack. Enjoy your snack on a ferry to Sausaliacclaimed, and their diner style offers good comfort food. to, which is famous for its seafood restaurants When it starts to get late, drive up to the Foothills. The sun and small community atmosphere. Have an setting over the Bay Area is the perfect end to the perfect early dinner, and finish up by taking the ferry back date. to Fisherman’s Wharf while watching the sunset across —Compiled by Boot Bullwinkle and Erica Lee the ocean.

Public displays of affection: 10 commandments for couples to follow

1. Busy intersections are NOT suitable locations for interac-

6. Please do not look at someone else when making out with

2. Please refrain from making out in classrooms. Teachers

7. No tickle fights. It leads to blatant groping, which is entirely

tions that include more than handholding. You are obstructing the flow of traffic and are posing a threat to society. don’t want to see that. Actually, no one wants to see that.

3. If your romantic counterpart is walking to class with a

friend, avoid lingering goodbyes. Not only do they make third wheeling even more uncomfortable than it already is, but it is also completely unnecessary. You’ll be reunited in 58 minutes, not 58 days.

4. While handholding is perfectly acceptable (and even encouraged), please keep in mind that it does make you and your partner an indestructible wall. Occasionally, such as in crowded places, you will need to let go of each other’s hands and break rank. That being said, non-handholders should try to avoid coming between couples holding hands. It’s just awkward.

5. If you are doing anything in public you wouldn’t do

your significant other. Eyes should be kept closed as to avoid any extremely uncomfortable situations.

inappropriate when in public. Unless someone pukes from laughing too hard—then it’s hilarious and totally acceptable.

8. Eskimo kisses are adorable. Butterfly kisses, on the other

hand, are not. It’s quite obvious that no one above the age of five should be giving butterfly kisses.

9. No caressing, stroking, or any other synonymous actions.

Please.

10. If you decide to deliberately defy these etiquette tips and

continue engaging in displays of affection unwanted by the public, please try to follow just this one rule: for the love of God, do not make any sounds. No moaning or groaning or noises of any sorts. Anything you do in public should be done in silence. No one—and that means no one­—wants to hear that.

—Compiled by Amrita Moitra

in front of your most conservative family member, stop.

George Hwang

Faces in the Crowd

How do you feel about public displays of affection?

“It’s appropriate in more private places, but not at school.”

Amy Macrae (9)

“As long as it’s modest it’s okay; you just can’t be gross.”

Justin Yoo (10)

“I think it’s totally natural; people should do whatever they think is right.”

Koji Habu (11)

“I think it should be PDA as in ‘private display of affection.’”

Allison Doerphinghaus (12) —Compiled by Lucy Oyer

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Sports

THEORACLE

Courtesy of Divya Shiv

Courtesy of Divya Shiv

Courtesy of Monica Cai

Left: Senior Divya Shiv excitedly jumps out of the plane. Middle: Shiv and senior Monica Cai hide their nervousness with smiles. Right: Cai enjoys the view as she floats down.

Divya Shiv Let me preface this by saying that I am not an adrenaline junkie by any means.

I don’t like running, I don’t like rollercoasters and I certainly don’t like things that make me scared. This is why I found myself wondering what exactly I was doing on a Thursday afternoon, 14,000 feet above the ground in a tiny airplane about to jump off.

I don’t think I realized that skydiving specifically meant jumping off a plane and landing with only a parachute to prevent any crashes. But, of course, this all hit home when I swung my legs out of the plane and began falling.

The first few seconds were terrible. My mind was going crazy, and I was so shocked and scared that I screamed as if my life depended on it. However, the wind around my instructor and me was so loud that I couldn’t hear the squeals and shrieks that were rushing out of my flapping mouth. Fortunately, my body took over and kept my head tilted back and my hands secured firmly in my harness while my mind continued to have a little freak out of its own.

Then came the best part; the adrenaline kicked in. Suddenly I was euphoric, proud that I had gone through with this crazy act and also awed by this out-of-body experience. I was in free fall, and although I was still incredibly far away from the ground, skydiving didn’t seem so scary anymore. In fact, it was fun.

My instructor, Matt, then asked me how I felt, and I mumbled something incoherently, mostly because I just couldn’t describe how I really felt. I was still on that adrenaline high, but more than that I was completely amazed by the beauty around me. The sea beneath us was gorgeous, with rolling turquoise waves that met with the horizon right in front of me, a nd everything was so serene and calm that I couldn’t remember what I had been so worried about just a few minutes ago. It was a mixture of peace and excitement that I had never before experienced in my life.

However, the weirdest part was how natural it felt, as if I was supposed to be in free fall sitting in a harness thousands of feet above the ground. Though I did get a bit scared by the jerky movement caused by my instructor pulling the parachute open, I felt as if I was meant to take part in this incredible experience, and I was so grateful that I had gotten the opportunity to do so.

The instructor then gave me the two ropes that helped steer us, and I’m sad to say that I didn’t take advantage of this by doing backflips or anything like that. Despite this, I was still in awe of the feeling of responsibility, knowing that both of our lives were in my trembling hands. We did a few sashays, rocking gently from left to right, and we spun around a bit, but by the time I realized that I was actually in charge of the parachute and could do what I wanted, it was time to land.

Matt, my instructor, took the two cords in his hands, and we pulled gently into the strip of sand that, from my position in the sky, didn’t seem large enough to land on.

He instructed me not to do the stereotypical skydiving method of running toward the ground feet first, so instead we landed on the soft sand as if we were about to sit on a chair. Once I landed, I immediately wished that I had had some more time up in the air. I knew that this would be an experience I would never forget.

—Shiv, a senior, is a Managing Editor.

Alvina Yau

Monica Cai I am an adrenaline junkie. You know those moments on roller coasters when you’re going downhill so fast your stomach is in your throat? I live for those moments. So when I had the opportunity to go skydiving, I jumped at it, literally.

I didn’t feel the nerves until I stepped into Skydive Surfcity’s office. Seeing all of the equipment made me want to turn around and drive home, but I swallowed my fear and went ahead. I signed all of the forms, unaffected by the phrases “serious risk” and “possible death.” I wasn’t afraid that my parachute wasn’t going to open—I knew the chances of that happening were slim , despite my friends’ misgivings. I was afraid that I was going to mess up, and the words “liable for damages to aircraft and other equiptment” kept resonating in my mind. I could definitely see myself somehow breaking the plane.

Once in the plane, I chose to ignore my fear of heights by staring out the window. As Santa Cruz disappeared and fluffy puffs of white clouds replaced it, I felt my heart beat a little faster. Suddenly they were opening the side door, and Divya stuck her legs out and began to fall. That was the scariest moment—watching Divya and her instructor tumble through the air, falling at way too fast of a speed. I felt sick for a moment, but we were already taking our place by the door. I stuck my legs out, arched my head back and we were off.

Although I expected free falling to feel like Great America’s Drop Zone, I never got that weird feeling in my stomach. All I felt was the wind around me as I flipped through the air. I had chosen not to wear shoes or gloves because I wanted to feel the wind in my fingers and toes, but it turns out that the wind is freezing. I remembered to smile though and flashed a lot of thumbs up at the camera, the universal hand gesture for skydivers.

Once the parachute was pulled, the relaxing part began. I felt like I was sitting on air, and although we were still thousands of feet high in the air, it wasn’t scary. The view was absolutely amazing—the golden beach, the blue-green ocean and the brown and green fields dotted with trees.

At one point I got to steer the parachute and I pulled the right handle as hard as I could. We began spinning in circles, picking up speed, and as I looked down at the beach, I felt in control. The beach below me swirled together as we spun, and it felt like being in one of those spinning teacups at Disneyland, except prettier and a million times more exhilarating.

The whole thing went by too fast, and before I knew it, we were landing. My decision to not wear shoes was finally rewarded, and I landed feeling the warm grains of sand between my toes.

I’m not going to lie; I felt a bit sick afterwards.

Once it faded though, the impact of what I’d just done finally hit me. Yeah, skydiving wasn’t what I expected and the feeling wasn’t what I’d hoped for. But I’d still jumped from an airplane 14,000 feet off of the ground and loved that I could say I’d done something that crazy. For me, skydiving is just the beginning though. My adventure made me realize there are so many amazing things out there to do, and although I have plenty of time to do them all, I must admit I’m more than a little anxious to do the next insane, life-risking activity.

—Cai, a senior, is a Managing Editor.