On top of lengthy DSA approvals, PAUSD Super intendent Don Austin pointed to how global supply chain issues have added to construction lengths due to shortages in building components. “About every budget is going to be over what it’s supposed to be when it comes to construction,” he said. “More than 20% increases in cost are common right now and that’s in addition to the delays in the projects and sup ply chain issues. It is the reality we’re dealing with.”
Once put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, Palo Alto School District (PAUSD) construction has now resumed at full force, with the district taking advantage of the empty campuses during summer to jumpstart this year’s lengthy list of projects. “It’s the busiest summer we’ve had in a long time,” PAUSD Facilities and Construction Director Eric Holm said. At Gunn, work on a new administration, food services and K building have begun with the creation of temporary administration offices and learning spaces for those displaced by construction. In 2018, the Measure Z Strong Schools Bond authorized $460 million in funds for PAUSD to mod ernize or replace classroom facilities. The construction firm Fs3|Hodges has been employed by the district since 2002. Fs3|Hodges Principal Tom Hodges is the program director for the bond program and is involved in the planning and construction of all PAUSD projects. The first step requires relocating facilities other wise used during the school year to empty out areas undergoing construction. “We were really inundated with moves this summer,” Holm said. “[Moving] is a logistical challenge. All of the teachers, administration and support functions pack up in the springtime [and] then the first week of summer, we start moving them.”
Raphael Semeria Managing Editor Construction—p.2 social media
Prior to beginning construction, PAUSD facilities— and any other state-owned or leased facilities—must receive approval from the Division of State Architects (DSA). For large construction projects, such as the A, B and K building renovation project at Gunn, going through the approval process can significantly delay plans. Changes to building plans can require going through the process again. “We’ve been in the DSA for almost a year now,” Hodges said. “We originally want ed to bid the project last spring and start construction in June but there were just too many complications.”
Top: Construction workers remodel the E building to create a temporary administrative office space.
Bottom: Workers remove the artificial turf to access electrical components in front of the K building.
“One of the goals of the project was to create more of an identity and a sense of entry onto the campus.” Fs3|Hodges Principal Tom Hodges
At Gunn, the A, B and K buildings will all undergo major modernization. The first phase of the two-year project will include renovating the food services and administrative buildings to modernize current facili ties while creating space for new culinary and design classrooms. The second phase will focus on the K building, converting it into science lab classrooms. “One of the goals of the project was to create more of an identity and a sense of entry onto the campus,” Hodges said. “[We also wanted] to give better visibility to the campus staff of people coming onto the campus.” While waiting for DSA approval over the summer, the district prepared for the A and B building con struction by relocating staff and facilities to temporary spaces. The E building was reconfigured to become a temporary administration building while construction occurs. “What we’re doing now is transitioning into construction,” Hodges said. “The main reason why we couldn’t start earlier is that we had to get everybody out of the building and into new facilities. We couldn’t
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On June 24, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court with a decision of 6-3. Roe v. Wade is a Supreme Court case that protected people’s right to abortion under the constitution.Theconstitutional right to abortion was established in 1973 when a pregnant woman named Norma McCorve—known under the pseudonym “Jane Roe”—filed a lawsuit against the Texas abortion laws and Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County. In Texas, abortion procedures were only legal when the mother’s life was in danger. Roe argued that the Texas state abortion laws were vague, violated the right to privacy and were unconstitutional. When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe with a majority decision, abortion became a constitutionally protected right. Supreme Court members who supported Roe argued that keeping abortions illegal violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which ensures the right to privacy. Now that abortion is no longer a constitu tionally protected right, individual states can determine whether or not abortion is legal within their borders. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that abortion will remain legal in California after signing legislation aimed at protecting people who need abortions and doctors who assist with abortions. Since the announcement of the overturning, many have attended protests all across the United States. Junior Shea Donnelly attended a peaceful protest at City Hall in San Jose the Saturday after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
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Another area undergoing construction is the Bow Gym, where a new gender neutral locker room and bathrooms are being built. “There will be eight changing stalls, two of them will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) com pliant,” Argumedo said. “We hope that it’ll be completed by September.”
Left : A new conference room undergoes construction where E-2 room used to be located. Center : A large truck tunnels under the concrete area in front of the N building steps. Right: Turf is uprooted for construction to occur. Photos by Raphael Semeria
Kristy Blackburn
Rene-Corail has concerns about the effects that overturning Roe v. Wade will have on other Supreme Court cases and in turn, the health of children and those who can get pregnant. “I’m scared that the effects this might have on gay marriage and interracial marriage, but this is also going to increase the number of kids that are in foster care,” she said. “[It’s] also going to increase the number of people who have huge health problems or who might die because of pregnancies.” Roe v. Wade Safina Hong Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306
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New construction prompts facility relocation do any of that work while school was happen ing.”In order to make space for the temporary administration building, two classrooms had to be relocated to portable classrooms V-5 and V-6. Assistant Principal of Facilities Leonel Argumedo worked alongside staff to relocate them throughout campus. Social studies teacher Arthur Kinyanjui was one of the teach ers relocated because of construction. “My col league and I did not want to move for the sake of our students, and so we had several meetings with the administration team,” Kinyanjui said. “Unfortunately, we were never able to come up with a solution that would let us stay there.”
Other facilities, such as all food services, had to be relocated, too. The main service kitchen, used exclusively for food preparation, will now be located in V-18. “For brunch and lunch, [staff] will cart over all the food to P-116 where the distribution will be taking place,” Argumedo said. The health office will be moved to P-206 and its adjacent rooms. “Initially, when the P build ing was built, the plan was to move the health office upstairs,” Argumedo said. “It already has what the health office needs in order to run as a health office.”
Despite all the relocations, most facilities are slated to return to their initial location in two years’ time. “It was a hard decision [decid ing] who we would move,” Argumedo said. “In the end, we have to weigh what was going to be the least disruptive for students and the school as a whole. It is a big sacrifice that those teach ers are doing [this, and] we’re thankful that they were flexible. Once the admin building is built, we’ll move back and the E building will go back to what it was.” During the week before school, heavy ma chinery was present on campus, tunneling underneath concrete walkways to touch up the sewer system. “They’re also tunneling under neath to add fiber cables,” Argumedo said. “I wasn’t aware that this was going to happen or that it was part of the work.”
“My family and I decided [that] we want to stand up for [the right to abortion] because we’re in California so it’s not necessarily fight ing for our rights but as a whole fighting for the rights of people who can get pregnant around the U.S.,” they said. Outside of California, junior Sarah Shelby protested in Washington D.C. in front of the White House. “It was an overall positive atmo sphere,” Shelby said. “Everyone had creative signs and people were chanting things [such as] ‘the Supreme Court has got to go’ and ‘we wantShelbyaccess.’”also protested in 2016 at the Wom en’s March in San Francisco. She noted the history of protesting and how it has allowed individuals to express opinions in support of many causes, such as reproductive rights and women’s rights. “There were also some women dressed as suffragettes supporting the pro-choice movement, that was quoting when suffragettes also tied themselves to the White House for women to get to vote,” Shelby said. “People were using the green bandanas to tie their wrists to the gate of the White House.” When Shelby was first informed of the overturning, she was shocked. “I thought Roe v. Wade was something that had a precedent and was well established,” she said. “But hav ing it overturned just in the blink of an eye was really scary.” On May 2, before it was officially announced, an initial draft majority opinion of the Supreme Court decision was leaked. Upon hearing the news, junior Chania Rene-Corail attended a protest in Mountain View. “There were people of all races, ages and genders which really showed that this is an issue that affects every one and that everyone should be participating in and helping with,” she said. The overturning of Roe v. Wade opens the possibility for other Supreme Court cases to be overturned, such as Obergefell v. Hodges which protects the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.Donnelly is worried about the decisions the Supreme Court is making and the effects of those decisions for themselves, family and friends. “The Supreme Court is coming for gay marriage next,” they said. “One Supreme Court Justice said legalizing same-sex marriage was a bad idea. Every overturn decision that they make affects someone and a lot of them don’t get as much news coverage as overturning Roe v. Wade because they’re not as big.”
On August 16, the district’s board of educa tion will begin the bidding process for the A, B and K building project to select the most suitable subcontractor to help execute the build. “Once we get the bids and review them, the board has to approve them at their next meeting, which is [on] August 23,” Hodges said. “Once the board awards that, then it’ll probably take them two weeks to get legal requirements in place before we can issue a notice to proceed. We don’t really anticipate any work happening untilOncemid-September.”theworkisapproved, the demolition phase of the construction project will begin. Because elements of the original buildings will remain intact, only select areas will be demolished. This aspect of the construction will in turn reduce the amount of noise that would have otherwise been created with a full-scale demolition. “[Selective demolition] is not like a tractor coming out tearing down a building,” Hodges said. “[Construction work ers] are [first] going to be inside the building tearing down. The exterior walls would be the last thing to come down. That will be disrup tive, but hopefully it’ll just be limited to some short periods of time.” Phasing the project by building the A and B buildings separately from the K building will hopefully reduce the construction’s con sequences on student learning. Despite the precautions, the project will still have major effects on Gunn’s students and staff. “It won’t be on both sides of campus at the same time, but [the construction] will be felt,” Holm said. “It’s right in the heart of your campus so it’s definitely going to have a similar feel as the P building [construction]. You kind of have to live through it for the next class—that’s always the hard thing with construction. It’s a neverending cycle.”
Overturning of
“It was an overall positive atmosphere. Everyone had creative signs and people were chanting things [such as] ‘the Supreme Court has got to go’ and ‘we want access.’” Junior Sarah Shelby
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—Annika Bereny is a member of the class2022.of Hey class of 2024: It’s time for junior year, which is most likely the hardest year so far (especially for those taking AP U.S. History). Many think this is the most im pactful year on your path to college, and to be fair, it kind of is. So here are my main tips for this school year and what to expect. Organization is a must in junior year. Make sure to come up with a homework system if you don’t have one already (trust me, doing your math homework outside the classroom doesn’t make a good impression). Be very wary, as a bit of procrastination here and there can accumu late and lead to a pile of overdue assignments. College applications are on the horizon, so junior year teachers and counselors are the targets for letters of recommendation. Thus, make sure to build and maintain relationships with them. In addition, prepare a list of your extracurriculars—it will be incredibly useful for counselors to write recommendation letters, especially if you don’t interact with them often. In the midst of worrying about academics and applications, don’t forget that junior year is also the time to develop and pursue what you love. Like computer science? Look around for projects or create your own. Want to try out business? Join the Finance club. More of an art ist? Spend time adding to your portfolio. I know this sounds cheesy, but you should do these ac tivities because you like doing them, not because you want to look good for college applications. Finally, throughout your junior year, make sure to also take a look at potential research and job opportunities, but also ensure that these commitments don’t negatively af fect your academics. Don’t over commit and spread yourself too thin. Signing up for 20 different non-profits while doing research at Harvard will lead to burn out, regardless of how pas sionate you may think you are.
—Charlotte Qian, a sophomore, is a Social Media Editor. Irene Hong Photos by Chinyoung Shao Staffers share advice
Freshmen Sophomores JUNIORS SENIORS Graphics by
3First Week oF school issue Friday, August 12, 2022 wisdom for all seasons:
This year is the first time your hon ors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes will have a weighted grade point average. This shouldn’t stress you out too much, as your teachers will still do everything they can to sup port you. That being said, these classes will be at a higher level compared to those of freshman year. Expect more assignments and increased self-responsibility, as well as stricter deadlines. The best way to make sure you don’t fall behind is to develop solid study habits. (One technique that helped me is putting my phone in another room so that I don’t get distracted while I work.) Although you probably could make it through the year by doing everything last minute, it definitely will not suffice for the rest of your academic career. Use the flexibil ity you have to your advantage by seeing what strategies work and don’t work for you. Devel oping these key skills will also help you avoid stress, as you’ll be equipped to handle a heavier workload in an organized and calm manner. Moving on, sophomore year is also a great opportunity to explore your interests. Now that you’re mostly acclimated to Gunn, try joining different clubs or seeking out activi ties that align with the things you enjoy. This doesn’t mean that you need to have every thing figured out yet, since you still have half of high school ahead of you. Do your best to find some meaningful communities to join and most things will end up working out. Throughout the year, you might start to feel some pressure to go to a prestigious univer sity. However, remember that taking certain classes or joining activities just to put on your college application is not productive: Spend time doing the things that you genuinely care about and everything will start to fit in place.
Although junior year is by no means a walk in the park, you’ll have some fun while you’re here. Participate in some school events such as Elimination and prom. They are exciting and can help provide a re freshing break from the monotony of the year. Good luck with your junior year and cheers to a great 22-23 school year!
Good luck, class of 2025—make the most out of sophomore year, and don’t forget to have a little bit of fun while you’re at it!
Welcome to high school, class of 2026! You have an amazing four years ahead of you, full of great opportunities and learn ing. Reading this article, you’re probably looking for the secret formula on how to survive freshman year. However, this is your journey, and there’s more than one right trail to follow. You need to carve your own path and your experience depends on how much you decide to invest in it, so make the most of your time here. Over the next four years, your job is to be a student and to learn everything you possibly can. Surviving freshman year involves three ing new friends and taking care of yourself. Schoolwork, homework, extra credit: all of these tasks can be overwhelming, es pecially when you are adjusting to a new pace. Setting up a system where you can efficiently get things done is crucial to suc ceeding during your freshman year. To-do lists, planners and the Schoology calendar are just the beginning. Make sure you know who you can reach out to for help and es tablish connections with your teachers, advisers and classmates. At the end of the day, you are here to learn, so make sure you succeed in setting yourself up for success. Everyone probably tells you that having friends and people you can turn to for sup port is important—it’s a cliché. However, making new friends that are there for you is especially important in enjoying your time here. Besides your family, they are the people that will cheer you on when you succeed, or motivate you to study for that one unit test that you’ve been avoiding thinking about… Lastly, make sure to take care of yourself. Your health is impor tant to your success, so catch those z’s and exercise—it’s the foundation to your well being, and will be re flected in your academic success. Good luck, and have fun with as a freshman. You will achieve great things in these next four years!
Rejection does not and will not define you. Finally, use this year to focus on making mem ories with your classmates. Go to every event— it’s always better to have gone and left early than to have to live with the question of what could have been. Attend the swing dance, a sports rally, or, and I can’t stress this enough, the choir-staff musical. As you get closer and closer to gradu ation, and the college application season drifts from your thoughts, you will realize that many things are coming to an end. You’ll keep in con tact with your closest friends after graduation, but it’ll be harder to stay in touch with others. In these last moments of high school, I implore you to think about your lab partners in science, your peer reviewers in English and your table mates in all 5 to 7 of your classes and promise me that you’ll make this last year one to remember.
Welcome back, class of 2025! You all were the first class in two years to have a fully in-person fresh man year, so congratulations for figuring things out without much upperclassman advice. For a lot of students, sophomore year might not seem like the most consequential part of high school— you aren’t brand new like you were as a freshman but also aren’t having to balance a lot of difficult classes and ex tracurriculars like in junior year. That being said, sophomore year can be extremely mean ingful and help set you up for future suc cess, both in high school and beyond.
—Chris Lee, a junior, is a News Editor. Welcome back, Class of 2023! I know it seems like just yester day you were freshmen, but congratulations on making it to senior year! (Just between you and me, it’s the best one yet.) Your first semester will be tough, I won’t lie to you. In addition to try ing to sum up your existence in 650 words and keeping up with your school work, you’ll be worrying about what the future has to hold for you, which is why the cardinal rule of semester one is to take breaks. Besides giving yourself a breather, you can also use the time to think about yourself, who you are and what you want from your future. Here’s a free tip: Find what you want and then find opportuni ties/colleges that fit those and are in warm loca tions. Finishing high school is scary, but weath er under 60 degrees is genuinely horrifying. Take it from me when I say that by April you’ll be a different person. Senior year is tru ly transformative—cast a wide net if you apply to colleges in case you want something dif ferent by the time you need to make a deci sion. You may need to put hobbies on a back burner during first semester, but when you truly begin to have free time you can devote it to what you love during your second semester. But, there will be moments this year that are devastating. It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to be mad, to feel cheated. But you need to re member that the admissions process is com pletely subjective—a rejection is not a failure on your part nor does it invalidate all of your accomplishments from the past four years. At the end of the day, your future is still alive and waiting and with whatever you choose.
—John Li, a senior, is a Business Manager.
for year
P building Completed in 2019, the P building is the newest building. Alongside The Oracle and Olympian classrooms, the first floor of the building features the Student Activities Center and student store. The second floor includes the Wellness Center, school nurse and counseling offices.
Ahoy! Steer your course through 1 2 1 2 3
Campus4
Library The Gunn Library and librarians are some of the most valuable resources for students. Aside from checking out books and textbooks, the library has spaces for recording, studying and printing. Students most commonly access the library before school, after school and during their prep periods.
WendyPrincipalStratton
Student Activities Director Lisa Hall is a familiar face to Gunn students. She helps supervise and organize all school events as well as post regular Schoology updates. Hall operates out of the P Building, teaching English and leadership classes. She also helps run the Student Activities Center in the adjoining room.
ampus map 5Friday, August 12, 2022
Student Activities Director
Principal Wendy Stratton has been the principal for the past two school years and will continue to lead Gunn’s administration this year. Although you can frequently spot her around campus and interacting with students, construction on the administrative office and food service buildings this year led to Stratton and the rest of administration’s relocation to the E building by the quad.
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Student Body President Jerome Wu Senior Jerome Wu will serve as the ASB President this coming school year, meaning he will be the leader of Student Executive Council (SEC) and organize events such as the SEC elections. Wu and other SEC members frequently hold lunchtime events at the quad, where students can view or participate in a variety of activities. N building The N Building is a two-story building that houses the English and math offices alongside classrooms on the first and sec ond floors, respectively. The first floor classrooms are numbered in the N-100s and the second floor classrooms in the N200s. Restrooms and a computer science classroom are also found on each floor.
3 —Compiled by Michael Zhang Graphics by Katie Shih Photos by Chinyoung Shao and Katie Shih
through Gunn’s friendly waters
Lisa Hall
This summer, Gold particularly focused on becoming more mobile in the water and swimming with better form. By focusing on the details, Gold was able to improve his swim ming times effectively. “I’ve been leaning out [and] cutting unnecessary weight,” he said. “In butterfly, which is my best stroke, I’m lowering my breath so my head comes out of the water last and I’m more streamlined.” Gold hopes that he is able to improve enough over the summer so that he could eventu ally become one of the top swimmers at the national level. “One thing I really want to achieve is an Olympic Trials cut,” he said. “They’re really hard to hit and I might not get it, but it’s a long term goal of mine.” As Gold nears the end of his high school swimming career, he acknowledges all that the sport has given to him. Most of all, Gold cherishes the life lessons that he learned during all of the time spent in the pool and will apply them in his future endeavors. “We [learned] a quote before we’d get into the water during our training camp,” he said. “One of the ones that really resonated with me was a [John] Steinbeck quote, and it’s ‘anything that costs money is cheap.’ I feel like I grow more the more I put into things.”
Evan Gold: swimming
When the last school bell of the year rings, many students eagerly don their swim trunks and con gregate at the local pool. Senior Evan Gold was one of these students. Unlike many others, however, Gold wasn’t there to simply have a good time with friends. Instead, he spent countless hours in the pool in the hopes of becoming a better swimmer. Summer break allows Gold to be in the pool more than he could during the school year. “In our summer training schedule, the training itself picks up,” he said. “We usually have a two hour morning session where we swim and try to hit yardage. We're increasing our overall workload by the week and then we have a two and a half hour evening session where we do an hour of dryland and an hour and a half of swimming.”
6 First Week oF school issue
This summer, junior Chloe Chiang left Palo Alto to go on tour with her choir to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Chiang first became involved with her choir, the Cantabile Youth Singers, halfway through sixth grade. This summer is Chiang’s first time touring internationally. “We weren't competing or any thing, it was just a [way to] get to know other choirs in the area,” she said. “We got to sing with a choir from Norway, two choirs from Berlin and then a choir from Vienna, which was cool. We sang at six different concerts over 10 days.” Chiang’s favorite part of the trip was the time she spent with her choir between performanc es. “Part of why tour is so important for us is because you get to meet so many new people not only outside of your choir, but also within your choir,” she said. “Normally, we only meet once or twice a week, so part of what made the tour so fun was that I've met a lot of new people. I have a really great support group now.”
Freshman Anika Kumar anxiously waited before spotting her cousins at the airport. She immediately ran to greet her 3-year-old and 13-year-old cousins with a hug. “It was really awesome to see them,” Kumar said. “I wish they could come back again. I’m still missing them even though it’s been a while since they left.” This summer, Kumar and her family resumed their yearly tradition of seeing her cousins. Her household went from four to seven. Although she hadn’t seen them in three years due to the CO VID-19 pandemic, it felt as if no time had passed. Kumar was able to create a lot of memories in the span of two weeks. “My favorite moment was seeing my 3-year-old cousin,” she said. “I’m the kind of kid that loves babies, so it was re ally fun to see her. Because she is related to me, it makes it a lot more special.” Kumar’s relationship with her cousins grew throughout the two weeks as they spent a lot of time together doing fun activities such as playing mini golf, cooking and walking around the park. One of her favorite activities that she did with her cousins was play Pictionary. “I feel like anytime our family plays Pictionary it always ends in laughter because the drawings are pretty silly.” The challenging part for Kumar was when her cousins went back to their home in Michigan. She is now patiently waiting to reunite with her cousins next summer. “I was very lonely when they left,” she said. “I miss them a lot.” As Kumar reflects on her time with her cousins, she is thankful for creating fond memories with them. “It’s important to spend time with people you haven’t seen in a while because it really makes you feel good,” she said.
—Written by Arjun Shah —Written by Madison Yue
—Written by Arjun Shah
Photo courtesy of Evan Gold
Though Chiang noted that it would be difficult for her to name a favorite piece she per formed, there is one song that holds a unique sentimental value for her. “We sang this song on tour [which] was a mash up between ‘I Love You’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’,” she said. “I think that song has a special place just because it's the song that the seniors sing their solos. It’s kind of special because their moment is saying goodbye, but also where we kind of get to support them, their voices and personalities in general.”
Photo courtesy of Chloe Chiang Photo courtesy of Anika Kumar
Students use summer as time
chloe chiang: touring with choir anika kumar: spending time with cousins
Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Green Photo courtesy of Ethan Liang Photo courtesy of Evan Thomas Sophomore Evan Thomas took advantage of the free time over the summer by getting a job at the rock and jewelry store Nature Gallery in Los Altos. Thomas first found out about the job opening at Nature Gallery from a family friend. “One of my parents' friends had a friend who was looking for more employers because she was worried that her store wouldn’t have enough people to manage it through the summer,” he said. “She was mention ing that she was looking for employees, and I mentioned to that friend that I was looking for a job.”On a typical day, Thomas completes a variety of tasks in order to keep the store clean and or ganized. “I do a lot of upkeep of the store [and] interacting with customers like [putting] flow ers outside of our store,” he said. “It’s a lot of maintaining, tagging products and organizing.”
—Written by Arjun Shah —Written by Michael Zhang —Written by Arjun Shah
As the effects of climate change grow more drastic with each coming year, many students have begun educating themselves about what they can do to fight back against it. One such student is junior Mack enzie Green, who attended a climate policy focused study abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark, organized by the Council on International Educational Exchange.
7Friday, August 12, 2022First Week oF school issue
Thomas’s favorite part about working at Nature Gallery is helping customers. The conver sations that he has with customers makes his work more meaningful. “I was working with this woman to help her find three different items that she wanted to match,” he said. “We had to go through a lot of different items and define pieces that all matched. It was definitely nice to be able to spend time with customers and it was rewarding to be able to find something that fit for her and be able to help her with that.”
As his work for Nature Gallery nears its end, Thomas is thankful that he was given the op portunity to work for the store. Thomas recommends working a summer job to other students. “I feel like it’s a really good experience,” he said. “Not only does it help you not waste away your summer at home, it gives you experience for further jobs, some good life skills and it’s actually pretty exciting.” robotics
Liang’s volunteering journey originally began while taking Living Skills, a mandatory course for all students that requires its students to take on 15 hours of community service. Since Liang opted to take Living Skills over the summer, he faced the challenge of identifying an organization that aligned with his interests, fulfilled the time requirement and needed summer aid. “Summer is nice in that there’s more free time, but it’s hard to find an opportunity that’s got as much need for volunteers as you have free time,” Liang said. Luckily, the Redwood City Library was in need of a 3D printing troubleshooter, a role that Liang had much experience with through past engineering experiences, including his involve ment with the Gunn Robotics Team. Not only did he simply work with and set up the technol ogy, Liang was able to guide and mentor people of all sorts through a 3D printing course and robotics workshop. “It was a great opportunity for me to get better at guiding and encouraging not only kids, but also adults interested in learning 3D modeling and printing,” Liang said. Although originally volunteering to complete a course requirement, Liang appreciated the incentive to spend his summer free time on something as fulfilling as volunteering. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had such good motivation to get away from my desk,” Liang said. “Being able to give back and make an impact is a really satisfying experience.”
for connection, exploration ethan liang: teaching
It’s summer. The sun’s shining, school’s out, and eight hours of each student’s day are suddenly free for them to do whatever their heart desires. For senior Ethan Liang, this free time allowed him to volunteer at the Redwood City Library Makerspace, a recently opened center for members of the Bay Area com munity to foster their interests in technology and creation.
Mackenzie Green: studying abroad Evan thomas: working at nature gallery
The program consisted of various educational activities about climate change as well as op portunities for students to explore Copenhagen. “We stayed in a dorm and we had classes in the morning for three hours,” Green said. “We had cultural activities and excursions in the after noon and evening, so we got to experience Danish culture while also learning about policy and advocacy.”Through her time in the program, Green gained valuable insights on how she can become a part of the solution to climate change. “Going on the program really helped me figure out what I want to study in college,” she said. “One day we went to the United Nations (UN) city, which is a spot in Copenhagen where there are a bunch of different branches of the UN that meet and work there. Seeing those jobs really helped me realize what it is I want to do, or at least what I want to study in college.” All that Green has learned from the program has inspired her to start working in climate advocacy back home in Palo Alto. “I am working with the Cloud Project, which is a student-led group with Gunn and Paly students where we teach kids in fourth through eighth grade about climate change and the environment in general,” she said. Looking into the future, Green hopes that the United States can follow in the footsteps of Den mark and enact more radical change when it comes to climate policy. “Denmark is one of the lead ing nations in climate policy and sustainability," she said. “Going somewhere where that is a focus on pretty much everyone's mind is really inspiring.”
DOWN 1. Students will generally find him in the library or typ ing humorous Schoology messages (last name)
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GUNN NAMES TO KNOW
4. A place to attend sports rallies, watch basketball games or just spend your Physical Education (P.E.) period in 5. A community of portable classrooms
12.(abbr.)Assistant principal, helps with Advanced Placement (A.P.) testing (last name) 13. Gunn’s beloved mascot A place to watch assemblies, theatre productions and more!
10. Home of the English and math classes
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ACROSS Books galore! Where special events are held, usually claimed by to destress, get mental health support and eat snacks Go here if you have questions about school events
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UNSCRAMBLE the marked letters! Irene Hong We’ve all been there: that one itch you can’t seem to reach. Your classmates watch as you grow increasingly des perate, scrabbling at your back, your limbs flailing haphazardly. Conversation becomes stilted; solving a trig equation or recall ing an English vocabulary word becomes difficult. After awhile, you become delirious...is any thing real? It’s hard to distin guish between reality and the itch-induced hallucinations. For relief from this and other similarly awkward itches, em ploy a back scratcher, which can be easily and safely stored in the water bottle-holder on your backpack that you never actually use to hold your water bottle. Plus, it can act as a sort of arm extension: you can use it to try and drag things closer to you. If you get one long enough, you’ll never need to go to the front of the class to turn in an assignment again. As a Gunn student, it’s your duty to stay informed. What’s the best way to do so? Keep the latest issue of The Oracle, Gunn’s student newspaper, on hand. The Oracle cov ers issues relevant to the student body, with topics ranging from on-campus construction to students’ summer experiences to what you should have in your backpack (wink wink). This issue even includes a map if summer break has made your recollections of campus hazy. At this point, you’ve probably realized that this is just shameless self-promotion (while I’m at it: follow The Oracle on Instagram and check out its website at gunnora cle.com). Bias aside, though, reading The Oracle is a great way to support student journalism and appreciate student voices. Basically, The Oracle belongs in your backpack. ‘Nuff said.
Back Scratcher
Graphics by Chinyoung Shao
2. Assistant principal, often rides a scooter across campus (last name)
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7. Your source for Gunn related news (hint: you’re holding it!) 8. The principal (last name) A place to complete countless miles In charge of student activities (last name) —Compiled by Katie Shih —Compiled by Amann Mahajan
humor: School Backpack Essentials
8 First Week oF school issue
It’s a well-known fact that many high schoolers undergo superhero transformations. You could brew a solution in Dr. Mellows’ chemistry class that turns you into the next Spider-Man; you could inhale smoke from one of our numerous wildfires that triggers your transformation into a Hulk-like creature. Should you be in such a situation, it’s imperative that you have a disguise or costume to change into at school so you can keep your identity a secret while fighting crime. As you’re planning your outfit, keep a few things in mind: first, wigs and shades aren’t going to cut it any more in this day and age. Seriously, they don’t fool anyone. Reconsider the Spandex, too—it’s a little over rated. Try something different. And finally, in the words of Edna Mode, no capes. They’re too much of a liability, and anyway, they’re too flashy. Other than that, you’re good to go.
FINISHED? Use the map on pages four and five to locate room P-115 (hint: X marks the spot!). Stop by during lunch or 5th period next week with the completed crossword puzzle for a prize!
17. Miss a test? Go here to make it up (abbr.)
Quill and ink hero costume the oracle
Katie Shih Let’s face it: pencils are boring. Yes, you can buy as many fancy mechanical ones as you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that what’s emerging from the tip is a stick of gray, grating graphite. (At this point, I know there are a few of you nitpickers whining, “What about colored pencils? What about my special pencil that uses rock from the moon?” I’m just going to ignore that, if that’s all right.) Forgo this cumbersome writing utensil and instead take up the elegant quill, along with its partner, ink. Animal cruelty aside, it makes for much more refined, graceful writing; you’ll feel compelled to write neatly and carefully having such a beautiful “pen” to guide you, with so rich a color in the ink. It’ll cause your classmates to be con sumed with jealousy. Plus, it’ll make you feel like you’re at Hogwarts. What’s not to like?
