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Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 Palo Alto Unified School District

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The Oracle looks at the issue of racism pgs. 12-13

Rhythmic gymnasts take flight pg. 21

Badonkadonk sighted in Palo Alto pg. 20

Volume 46, Issue 4

Monday, December 14, 2009

http://gunn.pausd.org/oracle

Squirrels inflict damage on cars Colin Chen & Joyce Liu

In the past month, ground squirrels have been chewing through car wires, causing substantial damage to three teachers’ cars. The victims included band teacher Todd Summers and English teachers Paul Dunlap and Julie Munger. All three teachers parked in the lot near the music building.

Dunlap was the first to discover the damage when his speedometer stopped working while he was driving home from school one day. His mechanic concluded that the damage came from ground squirrels, as the visible paw prints on the car engine were too big to be those of rats. The repair cost around $390.

While Dunlap’s car was in the shop, he carpooled with Summers to get to school. “We live two blocks

Sophie Cheng

Engine photo courtesy of Paul Dunlap, other photos by Henry Liu

Ground squirrels (pictured above) have chewed through wires in teachers’ cars—leaving paw prints on the engine (left circle top)—and damaged sprinklers around campus (far left).

Admin eyes stricter rule enforcement at dances News Editors

In an effort to reduce inappropriate behavior at dances, the Student Executive Council (SEC) and the administration are discussing ways to increase the enforcement of dance rules, which include adding a written contract and limiting the genres of music that can be played at dances. If implemented, the written rules may be enforced as early as the Sadies Hawkins Dance in February.

Though the administration has used humor in the form of morning video announcements

Community building time spurs debate Managing Editor

CH E W — p.4

Nicola Park & Linda Yu

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Reporter & Managing Editor

PA I D

and chaperones to try to curb the amount of freak dancing, “there is some amount of concern that despite our best efforts there still is a decent amount of freak dancing,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said.

Principal Noreen Likins agrees. “Some students are less comfortable with blatant sexuality,” she said. “Admin and parent chaperones [have also found] it shocking. The DJ we hire has said that some of the behavior he has seen at our dances is prohibited at clubs.” Hall also believes that since “we are a multicultural school, there are people with a lot of different

values and opinions about what they think is appropriate.”

Although the rules state that students will be asked to leave upon an infraction, the administration has only been issuing warnings. “Our current system of warning students is not working because there have been no actual consequences,” Likins said. “[In the future], students will be asked to leave [with the first offense].”

Some students believe that the written contract will lower the popularity of the dances. “It will be a downer on the morale of the dance,” senior Dance Commissioner Claire Reyes

said. Students may also view signing the paper and turning it in as a tedious procedure, according to Reyes. Junior Leo DANCE—p.3

Jonathan Yong

The administration is proposing to add a weekly community building period into next year’s schedule. If approved, each period could be shortened by five minutes on a selected day to accommodate an extra half hour period at the beginning, middle or end of the day, according to Principal Noreen Likins.

Teachers would facilitate “social and emotional curriculum” during this time, according to Likins. “The period would be structured as a time for students to meet with a teacher in a group of 25 to 30 students, not necessarily for delivering instruction or covering any kind of curriculum to prepare them for a four-year college, but to check in on their lives and to build relationships outside of the normal academic relationship students and teachers share,” she said. Likins added that teachers could also conduct surveys, make announcements and ask students to fill out course request forms during this period.

The administration is looking at curriculum from Project Happiness and Project Cornerstone that would require minimal, if any, prep work, according to Assistant Principal of Guidance Kimberley Cowell. “Right now, we’re exploring Project Cornerstone’s structured conversation method,” she said. “It’s structured in a way to base discussions on topics generated from students. It will also help students develop social emotional skills, problem solving skills and some leadership skills and teach them ways to relate to peers that really work and allow them to be truly supportive of each other.”

Likins first proposed the idea to the Instructional Supervisors on Nov. 18 after students and parents expressed a need to build a sense of community in the Western Association of Schools and Colleges surveys conducted last spring. She stressed that the period should be referred to as a “community building time” instead of an advisory

COMMUNITY—p.4

News

The Oracle

YCS/Interact hosts ‘End Polio Now’ auction

The Oracle members place in D.C. convention YCS/Interact hosts ‘giving tree’ for less fortunate

2

NEWS BITES

For more than five years, the Youth Community Service (YCS)/Interact Club has worked with the Family Giving Tree organization to host the Family Giving Tree event on campus, where students donate gifts to less fortunate kids and senior citizens.

Giving Tree participants come from around the Bay Area and ask for presents such as Barbie dolls and sleeping bags. The YCS/Interact Club signed up for the Giving Tree online and the organization shipped cards that featured a present that a child or citizen requested. On Dec. 3, YCS/Interact Club handed out cards on the quad.

After selecting a card, students bought presents ranging from $15 to $30 and brought them to school unwrapped on Dec. 11. They received two hours of community service for each present. Junior Boshiaw Hsu participated in this event because he never received presents when he was a child. “It feels great buying presents for others and knowing they will receive a gift this year,” Hsu said.

The YCS/Interact Club drops off received presents at a warehouse where the organization wraps and distributes them. This year, all 150 cards were passed out much more quickly than last year, according to senior YCS/ Interact co-president Jillian Du. Last year 120 presents were donated. “Different people have come to take cards, which shows more awareness of the event and more want to contribute,” Interact liason senior Vivian Shen said. The YCS/Interact Club plans to continue the Family Giving Tree tradition next year. ­—Alice Yu The Oracle staff members attended the annual Journalism Education Association/ National Scholastic Press Association Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Washington, D.C. and placed in multiple contests on Nov. 17.

During the convention, students participated in write-offs, a competition to write the best story in various sections in a limited amount of time, which were scored by convention judges. Staff members also had time to explore the nation’s capital by touring the various monuments on the first day. The Oracle Editor-in-Chief Jon Proctor went on the Whirlwind tour. “I saw the Vietnam, Lincoln and Washington Memorials,” Proctor said. “It was powerful to see the monuments I’ve seen in movies in person.” On Friday and Saturday, students attended journalism workshops, such as “How to Edit,” “How to Make Layout More Interesting” and “Review Writing.” “[Convention] is a good opportunity for students to meet other journalists, compare themselves to other schools, get papers critiqued and get new ideas for our own paper,” The Oracle adviser Kristy Blackburn said.

Write-off results: Excellence: Juniors Business/Circulation Manager Elaine Liu (advertising), Photo Editor Henry Liu (sports photography), seniors Managing Editors Joyce Liu and Sophie Cheng (commentary and news writing).

Honorable Mention: Juniors Sports Editor Annie Shuey (sports writing), Forum Editor Sarah-Jean Zubair (news editing/headlines), senior Editor-in-Chief Jon Proctor (editorial). ­—Jesse Klein

The Youth Community Service (YCS)/Interact Club will hold its first silent auction fundraiser at the Los Altos Garden House in order to support “End Polio Now,” a movement, which aims to spread the polio vaccine to children and is led by the Rotary International, a world-wide service organization. The silent auction will be held Dec. 18 and will be open to the public.

The auction will include items donated from external sources, such as the Rotary club, and ornaments crafted by the YCS/Interact club. There will also be assorted baskets containing jewelry, toys, clothes, shoes, and an iPod. “It’s a really easy way to get your holiday shopping done while supporting a great cause,” senior club co-president Jillian Du said. Junior Interact Area 13 director Sophia Jiang agreed.

“It’s like eBay, except without the shipping costs,” Jiang said.

The silent auction will begin at 3 p.m. and end at 5:30. p.m. “Admission is three dollars, but after that food is free,” Jiang said. “It’s going to be a cozy environment, and there will be unlimited food.”

YCS/Interact leaders have also set up additional activities for the silent auction attendees. “There will be live entertainment and a presentation about ‘End Polio Now,’” Du said.

Particpants will receive community service hours if they attend, according to Du. “In order to get community service hours, [participants] have to help serve the people attending,” Du said. ­—Joseph Lin

Students reach out to connect community

Jon Proctor

Above: In late November, Green Mountain High School in Colorado sent Gunn the above poster. On Dec. 3, senior Jon Proctor took a photo of Gunn students posing with the poster as a thank you to the school. The poster was made by the Green Mountain High student group Believe it or Not I Care (B.I.O.N.I.C.) which was created after Green Mountain experienced its own string of four suicides during 2001 to 2002. “Most people who have seen it have been extremely moved,” Principal Noreen Likins said.

Courtesy of Monta Vista

Henry Liu

Left: On Dec. 9, students from the Interact club of Monta Vista High School, presented a poster to the Gunn YCS/Interact club. The poster featured various multi-colored cards containing inspirational quotes and other heart-felt messages. The poster will be displayed in the SAC. Right: Students and staff attended Project Cornerstone, a workshop dedicated to unifying the community through various activities on Tuesday Nov. 24.

Miranda drop-offs prohibited Linda Yu

News Editor

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office (SCCSO) has been issuing citations to drivers who park on or drop off students at the Miranda Avenue bus stop behind Gunn, according to SCCSO Sergeant Rick Sprain.

The issue arose when Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus operators complained that it was difficult for them to maneuver their vehicles around “all the vehicles that are either dropping off students or are parked there,” VTA spokesperson Linh Hoang said.

Sprain agreed. “The buses aren’t able to make the turn until all the drivers move, which slows down the whole route,” he said.

VTA contacted the school on Aug. 3 in an e-mail saying that the curb on Miranda Avenue was to be repainted red to deter drivers from stopping in the area. “We wanted to be proactive and let everyone know before the start of the school year that this has [increasingly become] an issue,” Hoang said.

“Though California Vehicle Code Section 22500 states that it is illegal to park in a bus zone, drivers still do it.”

SCCSO first sent deputies to investigate the issue at the drop off area at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. “We began giving verbal warnings to drivers at the beginning of this year,” Sprain said. “However, the warnings did not work because they were not taken seriously, so we began issuing citations.”

According to Sprain, police ticketed three drivers for $45 fines during the week of Nov. 9. “Though the California Vehicle Code bus stop violation is $265, VTA has the authority to work with the government and issue its own citations, but we didn’t want to charge that,” Sprain said. “It’s exorbitant.”

According to Sprain, the Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) also became involved with the issue. “They sent their own deputies from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20,” Sprain said. “They conducted traffic enforcement, but did not issue citations. SCCSO then went back on Dec. 1 and 2, when we issued two more citations.” According to PAPD Sergeant Robert Bonilla, however, PAPD did not actively enforce the no parking law at the drop off zone.

Because SCCSO deputies work on a by-availability basis, deputies will be in the area when they have a chance, according to SCCSO Sergeant Rick Sung. “Deputies’ response is dependent upon the priority of calls and cover such a large area, so deputies will be out there enforcing the traffic law if pedestrians’ safety is at risk,” Sung said. According to Sprain, enforcement will continue until the issue is resolved.

The citations have been met with a mixed reaction. Junior Kimberly Yu said that her parents are slightly annoyed, but still plan to use the sight as a drop off spot because “it’s the easiest and most efficient way to get dropped off because there isn’t much traffic,” she said. Junior Linda Zhang agrees.

Victor Kwok

The VTA 88M bus drives by the Miranda Avenue stop.

“It saves time to get dropped of there,” she said. “Even if it’s just 15 feet closer, it makes a difference.”

Other drivers have changed their habits. “I get dropped off a little farther from school now,” junior Sam Rusoff said.

Some parents have contacted Likins expressing their disapproval and confusion, but she has stated that the issue is not school-related.

Therefore, no actions can be taken specifically by the school to address the parent complaints.

Hoang acknowledges that some drivers may be upset about the citations, but that “the reality is that VTA has [issued warnings] and the agency will do everything in its power to maintain operator, passenger and pedestrian safety.”

Sprain agrees. “If the parents follow the rules, it’ll be safer for them and the students,” he said.

News

Monday, December 14, 2009

3

Administration discusses rule enforcement for dances

n DANCE from p.1

Moley agrees that the written contract will deter students from attending dances. “I think it will have the same effect as breathalyzers,” he said. “It will lessen the amount of people who attend and be counterproductive.”

Other students have emphasized that freak dancing is an essential part of dances. “It’s a part of the culture of our age group,” Reyes said. “If they want to freak, they will.”

But according to Assistant Principal of Guidance Kimberley Cowell, the fact that freak dancing is prominent in teen culture does not mean that it should be widely accepted. “Many people find the type of dancing we find at school dances as obscene, immoral and extremely uncomfortable,” Cowell said. “Our role as adults is to guide teenagers to find their way and lead them away from things that are not in their best interests.”

Hall brought up the idea of using a signed written contract after discovering that it was used at Downey High School, which is located near Los Angeles. According to Downey High School Assistant Principal Lisa Lucke, the contract has been very effective since its introduction four years ago. “We had to be very vigilant in the beginning, but now some students—especially the freshmen and sophomores who felt uncomfortable at danc-

es—are even relieved that the contract has been implemented,” she said. According to Lucke, the contract did not decrease student attendance from their big dances, such as the Winter Formal and Prom, and has in fact resulted in a change in students’ dance styles. “Because we have a high Latino student population at our school, we’ve been playing more salsa music, and the crowd loves it,” she said.

According to Hall, the written contract would give the administration documented evidence of agreement, making enforcement of the rules easier and ensuring that everyone is aware of the rules. “The contract [would be put in place] to make sure that everyone who comes to the dance knows what is expected of them, [since students, guests and possibly parents will need to sign it],” Hall said. “It would be understood that by signing it, they have already read the contract.”

Hall emphasized the fact that the contract will only put what is already in place in writing.

“The students are already aware of our policies,” Hall said. “They know that no food or drinks are allowed, that they may be subject to bag search, need to be dressed appropriately according to school rules, will be breathalyzed and are not allowed to go in and out of the building.” In addition, the contract would also include information about when the dance

starts and ends, when doors close and where tickets are sold.

The administration is also considering changing the type of music that can be played at dances. “Depending on the music, students behave in a particular way,” Likins said. “Hip hop music, for instance, encourages freak dancing.” Though hip hop music has not been banned, Likins stated that DJs have been given a list of songs that can’t be played at previous dances.

To compensate for hip hop, Hall said that there may be more electronic and techno music.

“There’s a rising popularity in these genres of music,” Hall said.

“There are always students who ask for more of these songs at the dances.” Likins also suggested the possibility of having themed dances. “We can bring back line dancing or rock and roll—something different,” she said. “It’s nice to have a change.”

Despite that the written contract may call for a tedious process, Reyes approves of the measures that the administration is taking. “I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Reyes said. “It’s going to help enforce the rules and show that [we are] getting more serious [with the rules] and that there will be consequences.”

SEC and the administration are currently working together to form the contract, which is still in its early stages, according to Hall.

Nathan Toung

School district cuts spending Annie Shuey

Sports Editor

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is brainstorming ways to stay within budget due to a projected deficit of $5.1 million for the next school year based on the First Interim Report to the Board of Education.

Several options for cutting costs, include adding a furlough day (day without pay), increasing class sizes, cutting the budgets of individual departments and eliminating the food service program.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Relations Scott Bowers has introduced a Budget Advisory Process to allow district employees to voice their opinions on where cuts should be made. District employees and the parent community have been asked to review the list of possibilities and submit their input. The recommendations will help Superintendent Kevin Skelly decide what to bring to the Board of Education in February, who will make the final decision on what to cut.

Various PAUSD school administrators had a meeting during which they brainstormed a list of areas to save money.

Bowers added that other employees submitted their ideas to the list as well. He stressed that “these are just possibilities. We are going to evaluate these and other possibilities using the values adopted by the Board and the input from the various stakeholders to determine which cuts make the most sense.”According to Board of Education member Barb Mitchell, the Board has not yet decided what they will cut. “Everything is on the table, but we’d like to avoid teacher layoffs and minimize increases in class sizes,” she said.

Principal Noreen Likins recognized that the school’s priority of maintaining academic excellence may be jeopardized by eventual funding cuts. “It’s hard to know [whether] the Board of Education’s priorities and [our’s] will

match up,” she said. “It will be hard to maintain what we have with fewer staff. [Maintaining excellence] may be the Board’s priority, but somewhere along the way we have to realize that if we take resources away, we can’t do as good a job. Obviously, avoiding layoffs is a high priority. I would say furlough days would not be high on my list because [they] affect the overall pay for the year. But on the other hand, it might be preferable to losing staff positions.

Everyone would take a little bit of a hit, as opposed to one person taking it all.”

Bowers said the district hopes the budget can be balanced without making cuts to Advanced Placement or elective programs. “We want to maintain programs so students are challenged,” he said. “Maintaining a strong elective program provides students with academic opportunities that prepare them for life after high school.”

To cut back spending, the district set a soft hiring freeze in place. “When someone leaves the district right now, they are not replaced,” Likins said. Both Likins and Bowers cited the example of Becki Cohn-Vargas, former Director of Elementary Education, now Superintendent of the Luthur Burbank School District in San Jose. “It’s not that she will never be replaced, but for the time being we’re saving the money,” Likins said.

Additionally, Mitchell said the Board will be asking voters to approve a local parcel tax renewal in April to help offset budget cuts. Passage would help to offset funding the district lost from reduced local property tax revenues and state cuts. Tax revenue growth for 20102011 is projected to be zero percent, and two percent for the next few years.

Likins remains optimistic that the PAUSD will pull itself out of the deficit. “It’s very hard to know when we will come out of this, but in my experience, it takes two or three years from the immediate crisis to get back on our feet again,” she said.

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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Jon Proctor Managing Editors Sophie Cheng Joyce Liu News Niki Mata Nicola Park Linda Yu Forum Joseph Lin Sarah-Jean Zubair Features Henry Gens Emily Zheng Centerfold Sophia Jiang Alvin Man Entertainment Melissa Chan Tiffany Hu Sports Wen Yi Chin Kevin Gao Annie Shuey Copy Editors Regina Ahn Hannah Schwartz Alice Yu Photo Henry Liu Graphics Nathan Toung Web/Tech Kimberly Han Webmaster Charles Chen

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Letters to the editor and ideas for coverage may be sent to gunnoracle@yahoo.com.

These letters and ideas need not be from current students. The Oracle publishes 10 issues annually. Subscriptions are $40/year.

Teachers cope with squirrel destruction n CHEW from p.1

away, so I called him for a ride,” Dunlap said. “I told him, ‘I hope I can pay you back someday,’ and two days later he said, ‘You can pay me back now,’ The same thing had happened to him.”

One day after school, Summers found that he could not start his engine. “Teachers came over to my car and joked ‘Oh my god, the squirrels ate your car again,’” he said. “And that was exactly what has happened.”

The squirrels damaged Summer’s car more extensively than Dunlap’s. “The squirrels ate up the main wire harness, which contains much of the wires,” Summers said. Because of the magnitude of the damage, he believes it may have occurred over a long period of time. “My mechanic told me that they are attracted to the warmth of the engine,” Summers said. “He also said that they are apparently attracted to the coating on the wires.”

Summers ended up paying $1,800 to fix his car.

Munger’s case was similar to Summers’. “I came out to my car and tried to start it, and it wouldn’t start,” she said. “At first, I thought it was a hybrid problem.” However, after diagnosing her car, her mechanic told her that rodents had completely chewed through the wires. Her repairs set her back around $500.

Summers believes that the squirrels should

be relocated. “It’s a rodent,” he said. “They’re not endangered, so as long as they’re removed in an environmentally safe way, I have no problem with it.”

According to Assistant Principal Tom Jacoubowksy, District Operations Supervisor Chuck McDonnell contacted a private company that sets up traps. “Over the course of two weeks, he caught five rats but did not catch any squirrels,” Jacoubowksy said. The traps have since been removed, and no chemicals or exterminators were used.

Immediately after the incidents, the district put up warning signs saying, “Squirrels Could Damage Your Car In This Parking Lot. Park At Your Own Risk.”

All three teachers now park elsewhere. “[I park] as far away from any natural squirrel attracting things as possible,” Dunlap said. “I now park in a sea of asphalt,” Munger said.

Both Dunlap and Munger also placed bars of Irish Spring soap on top their engines, and Dunlap sprays pepper oil around his car each morning. “[The oil is] called Critter Ridder, and it’s oil of all these different kinds of peppers and supposedly it repels them,” Dunlap said. “To me it just smells like a good meal being cooked.”

“I also have a bar of Irish Spring tucked away under the hood of my car because my

Henry Liu

A sign posted near the staff lounge warns drivers of the squirrel problem.

mechanic says he doesn’t know if it works scientifically, but anecdotally, squirrels don’t like Irish Spring,” Dunlap added. “If I see a lather coming out of my engine, I’m in trouble.”

Admin discusses community building period n COMMUNITY from p.1

or homeroom period in order to avoid comparisons with Palo Alto High School’s advisory system or other schools that have a homeroom.

Photo teacher Mark Gleason taught at a school in Wilton, Connecticut six years ago that tried the “exact same thing,” according to Gleason.

“My personal opinion is that it didn’t work,” he said. “It was very wellmeaning, but after a month, it sort of just became a time to do homework.”

The Student Executive Council (SEC) has formed an Advisory Focus Group to survey students, teachers and administrators about when the period should be and how it should be structured. SEC will continue discussion once they conduct and analyze the survey in January, according to Student Body Vice President senior Scott Baer. “A lot of the student body has different opinions on this,” Baer said. “There’s the question of whether people with G preps would have to come back to school, but a good number of people in SEC are supportive of the idea if it is geared in the right direction.”

Social Studies Instructional Supervisor John Hebert suggested scheduling the period before lunch. “I would vote for the middle of the day before lunch, because that’s when most students are at their peak,” he said.

“I think people would resent having it after their prep period or interfere with their after school activities.”

The Instructional Supervisors brought the idea back to their departments to mixed reactions.

The Physical Education (P.E.) Department unanimously suggested a semester-long trial period followed by a review process including teachers and students before continuing the period for another semester, according to P.E. Instructional Supervisor Donald Briggs.

The Social Studies Department had more mixed opinions. “Some people like the specifics of the idea, like that there would be a fixed time once a week to meet with the same

group of students,” Hebert said. “Most are sympathetic with the effort to increase nonacademic contact with students, but many are skeptical that this is the right way to do it.”

According to the World Language department, teachers said they support reaching out to students through their own language content areas, clubs, trips and international events, but feel uncomfortable in the role of an assigned advisor to students not enrolled in their language. They said they feel that this type of commitment should be voluntary and would like the administration to wait for ideas from the professional development groups that will begin meeting in February.

The Special Education Department’s reaction was more favorable.

“The college process is overwhelming for a lot of students, so teachers could figure out who needs additional help and refer them to the guidance counselor,” Special Education Instructional Supervisor Judy Buttrill said. “I don’t see them supplanting the guidance counselors, just as an adjunct.”

Many departments declined to comment on the subject due to the sensitivity of the issue. According to Science Instructional Supervisor Eric Ledgerwood, some teachers in his department are reserving judgment due to a lack of information.

Likins noted that some teachers have managed to build a sense of community in their classroom environment without the community building period, but she thinks “the key to students successfully navigating their way through high school is having a close relationship with an adult on campus.”

Hebert emphasizes that teachers are not against reaching out to students. “Even the staff who are resistant to this plan acknowledge that we want to help students,” he said. Likins agreed. “It’s an idea we’re talking about, but it will only work if the teachers and staff agree to it, and we’re a long way from there,” she said.

Henry Liu

Students, teachers and administrators discussed Gunn’s academic pressure at an Admin Q&A session last Thursday.

What do students say?

“I believe that some students would not benefit from the extra period. We hardly have enough time for each class as it is, and subtracting five minutes would not help matters. I feel as if putting the period in the day takes away from ‘normal’ classes, and it is likely that students would cut if they did not feel interested in the material.”

—Freshman Anna Jaffe

“Starting a similar program in the middle schools might also help, not so much for the incoming freshmen and current high school students, but for the kids coming into middle school when the program is implemented. It would seem like it’s a part of school for them, so it wouldn’t be a change in high school.”

—Sophomore Nikolaj Sorensen “It really depends on the teacher. Last yea r i n M r.

O’Connell’s class, we spent almost a week just talking about emotional and social issues every day for the whole period,

but I think the whole class really enjoyed it and took away a positive message–if you had given people the option to not attend, I’m sure almost everyone would have still come to class for it. But there are some classes in which emotional discussions cannot occur in a way that everybody would feel involved and interested. Perhaps if students could choose which class they would like to go to for this period it would be more effective.”

—Junior Yasmin Aghajan “I think a lot of people would cut if it was during tutorial because students only attend tutorial when they actually need help in the curriculum. Implementing this extra time into B period would be better for the students because they are already familiar with the assembly schedule and having this extra period once in a while wouldn’t be that big of a change.”

—Senior Charlie Wang ­­­ —Compiled by Sophie Cheng

News

Monday, December 14, 2009

5

I-A building construction completed

Teachers comment on layout of completed building after a year of construction

Auto:

Mike Camicia

Biotechnology: Geri Horsma

“The design for the new biotech room will be very much the same, so it will be very comfortable. We appreciate the help and flexibility of the staff and movers for making sure things go as smoothly as possible.

One of the most difficult things about moving things from the science department is that it’s like moving a huge kitchen pantry because you can’t just put anything into a box. Certain things are delicate and very specific; we have to plan very carefully.”

“We’re not gaining much in the way of new features, other than a new classroom that is big enough to allow the 35 students per class to actually walk between the desks without tripping over each others’ backpacks. I’ve wanted a “real” classroom for over 10 years. Also, the curriculum will be altered a bit as we build shelves and carefully put things away. That’s the best thing about auto­—everything can become a les-

son. Just talking about the stuff as we put it away is a learning experience in itself.

[The time during the move] has been the most frustrating period of my life. [I was] thrown out into a section of the parking lot with only a fraction of my tools and had to work in the weather. I’m a hands-on guy that likes to see things get done and done correctly. I watched my class sign-ups dwindle because students knew hands-on

activities would be limited due to the construction. I’ve worked very hard to build [the auto] program up, and we are nationally recognized. To be handicapped such as we have been for an entire year while hoping the results would be worth it in the end has made this a very long and challenging project. I can’t wait to get back in at this point, regardless of the changes that didn’t live up to my expectations.”

Engineering Tech (GRT):

Biotech

The Shop (Auto and GRT)

Auto Biotechnology Prep Room

Bill Dunbar “We will have a much bigger and better machine shop than we have in the temporary space that we are now occupying, and we will have better storage. All in all, this should be a good thing for us!

Some of our power tools are heavier than small trucks, and moving them in is quite a challenge.

We are preparing for the move by repacking our tools and supplies so that we will be organized when we start work for the new semester. I am hoping that we can then resume our regular curriculum.”

Storage Room Engineering Tech/

Biotech

Video Production: Edward Corpuz

Video Production

Digital

Computer Lab

Electronics Nathan Toung

“The new video studio will include a larger broadcast control room. The larger control room gives us flexibility to add more equipment in the future, and it provides a more comfortable learning environment for the students. The old room, RC-7, was too small and couldn’t fit the whole class. We had to split it up during the mornings; half the class did field production and the other half did studio. The Mid-Peninsula Media Center, which helped us build our original studio during the 2005-2006 school year, will help us move and rewire the new studio.”

Digital Electronics: Bakari Holmes “[Digital Electronics] is moving in last. We’re waiting until after GRT, auto and video production move in on Dec. 18.”

­­—Compiled by Regina Ahn and Alvin Man

- Compiled by Regina Ahn and Alvin Man

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Monday, December 14, 2009

7

Nathan Toung

Dependency on devices dumbs us down Overusing technology deteriorates student attention spans, interpersonal communication skills

C

omputers, iPods, cell phones—technology pervades modern society, inescapable and ubiquitous.

Just over a decade ago, humanity existed perfectly well without the Internet and text messaging. But many people nowadays are hopelessly dependent on their microchiprun companions. This digital dependency, seemingly harmless at first, is actually detrimental to humans’ health and very existence.

There is no doubt that the Internet has changed people’s lifestyles in positive ways, like more convenient access to information and faster dissemination of current events. But according to a study conducted by University College London from 2002 to 2007, using search engines like Google may result in shorter attention spans. To absorb information properly, people need to sit down and read it carefully, not scroll through pages and

pages of search results and news articles at rapid speeds. Over time, regular use of the Internet, with its rapid bombardment of information, has rewired the human brain so much so that people’s regular concentration abilities are altered.

The human attention span ranges from a few seconds to several hours, depending on age, the task at hand and the individual himself. Without the ability to focus, the work process becomes inefficient and drawn out. A common example is a student writing an English essay.

He may begin with all the best intentions, but then one instant message pops onto his screen.

Then another. And another. Before he knows it, his attention to his English essay has been compromised by instant messages.

With distractions like e-mail, instant messages and the entire World Wide Web, Internet users acquire the habit of flitting from one page to the next within seconds, searching for the next object of interest. The ability to

concentrate is decreased gradually as the apparent requirement for it disappears. When the habit transcends net surfing and impacts everyday life, problems can ensue. A student with the impatience of a habitual Web surfer who should be editing her writing assignment might simply glance over the article without finding the crucial errors that can be picked out only by attentive reading. This results in a low quality paper with mistakes that could have been prevented by making an effort to concentrate on careful reading.

Some may argue that deep reading has no point and that zeroing in on the central point of the text is sufficient. On the contrary, “skimming and scanning” is not reading. It is a way that time-pressed biology students glean important facts from a textbook. According to psychologist Maryanne Wolf, skimming is “merely decoding

information.” It is no replacement for reading the text word by word, processing the information at an easy pace and actually storing the facts away in the recesses of the brain’s memory.

Because reading is a learnt skill, not utilizing it can result in it becoming rusty and not as easily done as before.

In addition to a decreased ability to concentrate, online communication is also harmful to human communication skills.

If one relies on e-mails and instant messages to speak to others, face-to-face communication skills cannot be developed. Communication skills are necessary to succeed in one’s life. If a person cannot talk to others, he is set up for failure when it comes to job interviews, relationships and anything that involves other people. He will not perform well in a position that requires personal skills, like medicine. The

real world is not like a thread on Facebook. Lacking the ability to communicate is an obstacle that hinders people in their everyday lives.

Technology definitely has its uses. Electrical lights are much more reliable than gas lamps or candles. Telephones enable fast and convenient communication.

But too much of anything, even a good thing, can be harmful.

When people’s lives are ruled by the very devices they create, there is definitely a problem. Technology should make tasks more convenient rather than make life completely reliant upon technology. We should control technology–it should not be the other way around. By becoming more and more dependent on technology, people lose their humanity, which will be the end of any progress that innovation might have made.

—Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the staff (assenting: 16; dissenting: 12)

Cultural malleability necessary for good foreign relations Sophie Cheng In today’s global economy and increasingly multicultural societies, accepting other cultures is a fundamental part of maintaining good foreign relations with other countries. It came as a shock, therefore, when more than 57 percent of the Swiss population voted on Nov. 29 to ban the building of minarets in their country.

Muslims across Europe and the Vatican protested it as an expression of intolerance, since minarets are mosque towers from which calls for prayer are delivered, but the damage had already been done. In a Dec. 5 Los Angeles Times article, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Manouchehr Mottaki threatened unspecified “consequences” if the ban were to be enforced.

Though the Swiss government did oppose the ban, the fact that a majority of the Swiss population voted this referendum into law is what causes worry. This amendment was originally proposed on May 1, 2007, giving citizens a good two years to oppose it. Instead, a campaign by the liberal Swiss People’s Party and the Federal Democratic Union brainwashed the citizens into approving this clear display of cultural prejudice.

Government leaders have demonstrated support for

cultural malleability. For example, United States President Barack Obama was pictured shaking hands with and bowing from the waist to Japanese Emperor Akihito during his visit to Tokyo on Nov. 14. But when the people themselves misperceive it as a sign of deference, since bows imply inferiority in American culture, how can countries hope to achieve a good relationship?

Obama wasn’t even following American etiquette when he bowed to the Japanese emperor–he was respecting Japanese tradition, which calls for the utmost respect when meeting with the Japanese emperor. Obama could have simply shaken Akihito’s hand while remaining standing, but this would have come off as arrogant, according to Japanese experts. If anything, Americans should be worried that Obama attempted a handshake and a bow at the same time. Japanese tradition does not call for physical contact to accompany a bow.

The government can only do so much, though. The people need to educate themselves on how to be culturally aware of other countries’ unique traditions. They need to make the effort to reach out to other people and not take their own ignorance as an answer.

And why shouldn’t we embrace diversity? After all, Obama himself reflects ethnic diversity. Though Obama has been famously hailed as the first African-American President of the United States, he is in fact not fully African-American; he is biracial. With a Caucasian mother whose roots stem from Kansas, a Kenyan father and an Indonesian stepfather, Obama’s family certainly reflects cultures from all across the globe. Besides, America was born as a country of immigrants.

To be American means to embody diversity. Isn’t it sensible

Kimberly Han

to make an effort to respect everyone’s cultural traditions?

Just take a look at foreign exchange students. When a student from Madrid comes to stay with an American family, he doesn’t insist on eating dinner at 10 p.m., as is typical in Spain. He instead respects American tradition to eat at an earlier time. Obama choosing to respect Japanese tradition when greeting the emperor is comparable to a Chinese exchange student struggling to speak in English with his American family–it’s the effort to communicate with someone at their level that counts.

It never hurts to adapt to other cultures when interacting with people from them. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to remember to bow to the Japanese emperor–if you ever get the chance to meet him.

–Cheng, a senior, is a Managing Editor.

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The Oracle

Salary caps limit questionable bonuses entirely eliminated; they simply need to be reduced to reasonable levels. Currently executives are given massive bonuses; according to the New York Times, the average executive recieves $11 million a year, with only about $800,000 comming from salary. The rest of the money is from Annie Shuey bonuses and stocks. Some executives give themselves even more exorbitant bonuses. Many of these executives are If you buy a cheap cell phone, it’ll probably also supported by bailout money; they break. If you buy cheap food, it’s probably have no real need or any reason to award unhealthy. If you hire a cheap Chief Executhemselves excess bonuses. There actions tive Officer (CEO), it stands to reason that are similar to a student giving himself or your company will fail. Imposing salary caps herself an A on a curved test— the stu- on executives encourages talented directors dent doesn’t deserve the and executives to leave the ingrade and it hurts dustry, discourages entrehis classmates. preneurship and underCurrently, mines the American Wall Street capitalist economy. executives are There is a small given maspool of individusive bonuses als with the comand are being petence and will criticized to run an internaby both tional corporate the presibusiness. Rundent and ning a company the people. is a stressful un“For top dertaking as well executives as a personal risk. to award When people take themselves these risks and these kinds a re successful, of compenthey should ensation packjoy a high reward. ages in the Not paying exmidst of this ecutives fairly for economic their work would crisis is not d r ive t a lent e d only in bad executives into taste, it’s a another industry bad strataltogether. Salary egy,” Presicaps would result dent Barack in less compeObama said tent people willin a speech ing to work for in February. less, giving them Allowing a larger stake in executives to t he A mer ica n reward themeconomy. selves for A com mon failure with m i s c onc ept ion office remodelis that CEOs and ing and luxury jets executives determine Nathan Toung is immoral even by the their own pay. On the constandards of the American financial trary, the board of directors determines the system. If the majority of America were salary. Most major companies are public to decide what should happen to those companies, and public companies are all executives, then they would be shot for required to report how much they paid the their corruption and greed. Unfortunately, five highest-earning employees in annual this is not possible; the way to show proxy reports. these corporations the harsh reality of During the banking crisis earlier this year their wrongs is to reduce the money they when a few major companies were bailed out can make. by the government, those companies had a CEO salary cap of $500,000 instituted upon —Bharadwaj, a senior, is a reporter. them. Taxpayer money shouldn’t be spent on

CON

PRO

The Oracle debates whether CEO bonuses should be curbed in the current economic climate

Arjun Bharadwaj In 2007, the financial industry collapsed, causing one of the worst recessions of the United States’ history. Despite this, Wall Street executives, the very same people who caused the collapse to begin with, continue to give themselves bonuses well over the levels of their generous salaries, and claim to have somehow saved us from an even worse crisis. They seem oblivious to the growing populist rhetoric, which demands that they reduce the amount of money that they can make. They have managed to dodge around recent restrictions by changing how they make money, and recently have been using funds from the $700 billion stimulus package on luxury items, such as airplane fuel, remodeling and other items that they claim will help restore the financial industry. If the federal government were to institute a cap on the amount of money that these executives could give themselves in bonuses to roughly $500,000, the inequity of wages and finances could be significantly reduced, and these people could come to their senses.

Such a cap would help level the gap between the rich and the poor. Currently inequity is one of the greatest problems facing America. In any free market nation, while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer; According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the gap between the incomes of middle and poor families is widening at an accelerating rate. This gap could cause a decrease in spending. As a result, the economy, which is currently dependent on buyers and sellers, could collapse. Although this may sound extreme, one only needs to look at the 1920s, where a stock market and banking crash occurred in the United States and elsewhere, leading to one of the worst periods of economic decline in U.S. History.

One could argue that this plan discourages people from becoming wealthy and may stagnate economic growth. However, almost all of the people who would be affected by this cap already make millions of dollars. These people do not need to be given incentives to become wealthier than they already are. Another ludicrous argument (usually made by pressured corporate higher-ups) is that a $500,000 limit on bonuses is not enough for a person to live on.

However, bonuses do not need to be

lavish bonuses and payments, but capping these companies is counterproductive. Companies receiving the most bailout money need the best leadership and direction. The salary cap makes these tough jobs far less appealing to qualified potential CEOs and directors, when they could take a less risky job for five times that pay.

For example, Bank of America has repaid its federal stimulus money because of the strings attached–most notably the salary cap. They were having difficulty finding a replacement for CEO Ken Lewis, who was planning on retiring at the end of Dec. because no qualified person was willing to take the relatively low-paying job.

In early November, the Indian government abolished a law that limited the total pay of all executives and directors to 11 percent of the company’s total revenue for the year. Instead, shareholders and the board of directors decide the pay and dole it out based on how well the executives lead the company. This ensures that the people running the company are held personally accountable if there is a downhill slide in the company, and rewards them for leading the company in a positive direction.

It compensates executives according to their performance, and doesn’t discourage entrepreneurship the way salary caps do.

If the government insists on capping something in the business industry, it makes the most sense to cap severance packages, a payment an employee receives upon leaving a company. Most of the time, executives leave because they were doing a poor job, and lavish severance packages essentially reward them for leading their respective companies in the wrong direction. Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli was paid $210 million upon his departure, and Disney CEO Michael Ovitz was paid $140 million after only 14 months on the job. A reasonable solution would be to cap these disproportionate severance packages to a year’s salary. This is enough money to ensure their lifestyle can be maintained for a while, but isn’t an extremely large pay.

Capping executives’ salaries is essentially an oversimplified “one size fits all” solution to a complex industry’s pay scale. There are so many sizes and types of companies that would be affected by a salary cap: public and private companies, local companies and companies that operate on an international scale. A CEO of a small, private company that operates on an international scale shouldn’t be subject to the same pay scale as a public company that operates on a national scale.

Executive salaries shouldn’t be absurdly high, but they need to adequately reflect how the company is faring and the enormity of the job. It’s the company’s responsibility to strike a balance using the salary and perks to attain and retain top executives–not the government’s.

—Shuey, a junior, is a Sports Editor.

Multitasking compromises quality in the name of rapidity Colin Chen Most students have multitasked sometime in their stressed-out lives in hopes of getting more done in a smaller amount of time. Through multitasking students sacrifice quality for what might appear to be

quantity. Shifting between two different tasks and trying to complete multiple projects at the same time is not beneficial to the student. Not only does it reduce the quality of one’s work, but also the speed of completion.

Doing one task at a time is the only way tasks should be done.

Through proper time management and taking tasks one at a time, students will actually get more done than if they ramble through multiple subjects at a time. According

to the Journal of Experimental Psychology, multitasking can increase the time needed for completion of all the tasks by 40 percent.

Additionally it is physically impossible to multitask. While the student may feel like he or she is completing two tasks at once, in reality the brain switches between tasks quickly, creating a false impression of working faster. When information floods the brain, the brain stores it in short-term memory and cannot process it efficiently.

This may explain why students have trouble recalling facts during tests if they learned the information while multitasking.

Besides reducing efficiency, multitasking also poses a health threat to students. Multitasking has long-term consequences such as losing the ability to concentrate on a single task. According to The Autism News, in many cases, children who have multi-tasked heavily early in their lifetime develop symptoms that mirror attention-

deficit hyperactivity disorder and essentially develop a “scattered brain.”

Students should still strive to be more time efficient. However, in order to be time efficient, students should learn to manage time by doing tasks individually. Instead of relying on multitasking, students should prioritize each homework assignment and balance each responsibility. It’s time to focus.

—Chen, a sophomore, is a reporter.

Forum

Overfishing empties oceans

Monday, December 14, 2009

9

Get a room, please

Arjun Bharadwaj The ocean, despite its size, is fragile. This is especially prevalent in the case of fishing, where fish such as sharks, swordfish and tuna are overfished to near extinction by fishermen who think in the short term rather than the long term. Overhunting certain fish is detrimental to other fish species, and can actually destroy ecosystems and hurt jobs.

Stronger laws regulating fishing need to be enacted and enforced in order to prevent further devastation of our oceans.

In the interest of conservation, many regulations have been placed on the number of fish that can be caught in a single trip and the size of the fish that can be kept. Unfortunately, many of the current fishing regulations were actually created by the fishing industry, which attempts to make rules as lax as possible.

This has led to disastrous declines in many fish populations. Take, for example, the bluefin tuna, which is considered a delicacy in Japanese cuisine. The amount of tuna caught has dwindled from 90,000 metric tons to well under 80,000 metric tons between 1970 and 2005, according to Washington Post writer Jane Black, and seems to be continuing down this trend despite an increase in fishing regulations. Also important are the

Abalone (farmed) Catfish (US farmed) Clams, Mussels (Farmed) Pacific Cod (Alaska) Dungeness Crab Pacific Halibut Spiny Lobster (US) Black Rockfish (CA, OR) Sablefish/Black Cod (Alaska) Salmon (Alaska Wild) Bay Scallops (farmed) Striped Bass (farmed) Tilapia (US farmed) Rainbow Trout (farmed) Albacore Tuna (US, BC)

Clams, Oysters (wild) Pacific Cod (trawled) King/Snow/Imitation Crab (US) Dogfish (BC) Flounders, Soles (Pacific) American/Maine Lobster Mahi mahi/Dolphinfish (US) Salmon (WA wild) Sea Scallops Shrimp (US farmed or wild) Squid Sturgeon (OR, WA wild) Swordfish (US) Tuna: Canned white/Albacore

Chilean Seabass/Toothfish Atlantic Cod King Crab (imported) Dogfish (US) Grenadier/Pacific Roughy Mahi mahi (imported) Blue/Striped Marlin Rockfish (trawled) Salmon (farmed, Atlantic) Sharks Shrimp (imported) Swordfish (imported) Tuna: Albacore, Bigeye, Yellowfin (longline), Bluefin Yellowtail (Australia or Japan) Nathan Toung

declines in salmon and shark populations, whose numbers have been continually declining since the mid-20th century.

Removing sharks and swordfish from the sea can be extremely harmful to the ecosystem’s balance. Sharks and swordfish are top predators, and compared to fish such as sardines, their populations are very small. When the population of the top predators drop, their prey quickly become more abundant and begin to eat massive amounts of plankton, causing them to completly deplete their food source, creating a collapse of the ecosystem.

Some fishermen protest that regulations hurt their livelihoods. These people, however, are overlooking the fact that

these regulations protect them as well as the fish. If overfishing continues, the fishermen will lose their jobs quicker than if regulations were put into place. For example, the entire New England cod industry in both the United States and Canada has collapsed due to massive overfishing. People may argue that this just means that another fish species can be hunted. However, this is a path that can simply lead to the destruction of entire ecosystems.

This trend, known as “fishing down the food web,” has led to entire food chains being irreversibly damaged and in some cases destroyed.

The belief that “there will always be more fish in the sea” as well as poor estimates

of fish populations have led to massive overfishing by various groups. Regulations have been circumvented by fishermen who refuse to see the bigger picture. Stricter regulations need to be put into place by unbiased groups that are more concerned about the environment than about profit. Another way to stop overfishing is for consumers to use their appetites and pocketbooks. For instance, substituting shark or swordfish with tilapia or black cod is a way to help populations of dwindling fish. A good rule of thumb is to avoid fish that eat other fish and to eat only vegetarian fish.

—Bharadwaj, a senior, is a reporter.

Enforcing fundraising rules hurt clubs Divya Shiv .

The school district’s decision to begin enforcing the state fundraising law, which prevents students from fundraising, hurts students and organizations alike. According to Student Activities Director Lisa Hall, this law was implemented when politicians, in need of donations for their campaigns passed a state law declaring that non-profit organizations, such as Gunn High School, cannot donate money to another non-profit organization. Because of this law, clubs cannot fundraise for outside organizations because they are a part of Gunn. Any money they make can only be used by the club or by Gunn.

This law is detrimental to many clubs at Gunn whose main purpose is to raise money. Stopping clubs such as One Dollar From Life Club (ODFL) and the Cancer Awareness club from fundraising would make them obsolete, forcing them to either disband or change the club’s purpose entirely. New community service clubs, already struggling to become familiar with club procedures, would be affected as well, discouraging students from starting new clubs.

A smaller number of community service clubs would reflect poorly on Gunn.

There isn’t just a drop in the number of clubs at Gunn. There is also a drop in the number of students able to find a club they can relate to and enjoy. As the number of clubs dwindles, students might not be able to find a club they feel passionate about. Without this, students will miss opportunities to make new friends and learn new things.

However, clubs are not barred from collecting items other than money. For instance, clubs can still collect used clothes, as the International Justice Mission club recently did, or collect books, toys and other such items to send to impoverished areas. However, this cannot replace the use of money for clubs. For example, ODFL uses the money from its fundraisers to build schools in developing nations. This cannot be done with clothing and books.

Clubs can also escape the fundraising law’s restrictions by breaking away from Gunn to fundraise. However, this deprives clubs in a different way. Being Gunn-based allows clubs to advertise on announcements and have a wider audience to attract new members. No clubs have broken away from Gunn as of yet, because such clubs would be able to do very little without a lot of members.

Because the fundraising rules are a law, Gunn must follow it or risk legal consequences. But there are a few loopholes. For instance, an organization can collect fundraised money directly without any money passing through the club members’ hands, which explains how ODFL holds their annual fundraiser while still being in compliance with the newly enforced law. Clubs can also give an organization’s contact information to interested donors, who can then give their money directly to the organization itself.

They can also collect checks made out to organizations instead of cash and then pass them on to the organizations.

While loopholes allow clubs to continue fundraising indirectly, it does not alter the fact that a law seeks to impede student organizations. This law negatively impacts students’ high school experience, as they may not be able to find a club they enjoy and relate to. The law was not even started for a good reason. This law was only passed because politicians wanted more donations from organizations.

Students should not have to dodge legal action to help a cause.

—Shiv, a sophomore, is a reporter.

Alvin Man We see it everywhere we go, whether we’re walking to class or sitting down to eat lunch. No one likes to see it, but it’s always lurking close by. Ladies and gentleman, I’m talking about PDA, otherwise known as Public Display of Affection.

Now, what is a public display of affection? Public displays of affection are an unnecessary and vulgar way couples show off their relationship status (as if Facebook isn’t enough).

What starts as a harmless hug becomes a death grip where the couple intertwines and finally bam, a full-on collision of the lips. The tongues move like snakes battling for territory, with neither of the two showing clear signs of victory. I know that this is not an article for the Discovery Channel, but as a reporter, it’s my duty to write what I see, no matter how vulgar it may be.

Kissing someone is supposed to be a private moment enjoyed only by the participants and no one else. It’s a moment when two people can embrace each other and express their feelings for each other. However, no one else should be forced to share that moment.

Letting people see you kiss is like inviting them to share your deepest and darkest secrets. You wouldn’t invite a vampire to your house, so why would you invite them to your mouth?

See I am not talking about the quick peck kisses. I’m talking about those kisses that turn heads and win MTV movie awards. It’s these kisses that make your friends fake a sudden interest in how many tiles are on the ceiling or what three wishes they would use if they were stuck on an abandoned island forever.

The sound a couple makes is also truly disturbing. You would assume that if two mouths collided no sound would escape. Unfortunately, a permanent suction of lips impermeable to dust and air can be clearly heard, so cover your ears. Moist smacks are the most common sounds followed by deep moans and groans—terrible sounds no man or woman should be forced to hear.

Some people might ask: “Who cares?” As long as they are with their soulmate, nothing else should matter, right? It’s understandable the first time, but two PDAs, and they’ve crossed the line. Public displays of affection should only go as far as to subtly tell people that they are going out.

Simply holding hands or hugging each other is perfectly acceptable. A quick kiss is a little iffy and making out in public is a jump into the deep end of PDA shame.

I speak for myself, and I hope a few others, when I say this: “No one wants to see them lips.” But if all else fails and your “thirst” for the other person’s lips rules out reason, do us all a favor —get yourself a room.

—Man, a junior, is a Centerfold Editor.

10

The Oracle

Features

Features

Monday, December 14, 2009

11

Courtesy of Neal Ormond

Owner Neal Ormond cruises across the desert terrain on his Badonkadonk at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, showing off its four-wheeled glory.

Designer of local company creates unusual collectible products Regina Ahn

Copy Editor

Courtesy of Neal Ormond

From top to bottom: FerroFluids is a paramagnetic mixture able to form splendid shapes; Roam-E, a homing robot, interacts with another of its kind; Computer-arranged blasts of fire rock the 12 x 7 ft. Infernoptix; A musical contraption, the Nellophone, is capable of a wide range of 30 different notes.

You may have been wondering who the mastermind is behind the Badonkadonk Land Cruiser, a rusty-looking tank resembling a hybrid between a vacuum cleaner and hovercraft, which can be seen roaming around Stanford campus and accompanying the Stanford Band in its occasional romps.

NAO Design, a single-man company owned by Neal Ormond, is located in the heart of Palo Alto, next door to Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School. The pyrotechnic and technologically innovative company is sure to interest high-class collectors of the unusual. Not only is it known for creating the Badonkadonk, which has gained considerable attention from the media, but it has also cemented a reputation for creating unconventional toy products, such as flamethrowers, liquid magnets and lamps with distinguishing added touches, to name a few.

Ormond named the Badonkadonk back in 2002, when the word’s colloquial meaning (i.e., a large posterior) wasn’t well known. The name was taken from a line on a TV show Ormond and his friend had been watching at the time. “The sound of the word went well with the feel of the vehicle, so the name stuck,” he said.

This land-lubber’s submarine on four wheels can seat up to four people and hit a top speed of 40 miles per hour. As a highly defensive vehicle, it includes a control stick for left-to-right steering, stainless steel meshed windows specially made for looking out of but which prevent an outsider from peering in and its very own set of flamethrowers to discourage pesky intruders.

Infernoptix, version 2.0, a kind of “fire television,” is his newest product under development. Twenty-five of these screens can be displayed on stage, using pyrotechnic effects to create images of text or a live video of a moving object, such as a face.

Because of its marketing potential and use for big entertainment events like band tours, Ormond is “really excited for this awesome, explosive product.”

Ormond draws inspiration from the Circus L.A., the Blue Man Group and the annual Burning Man event to design and

manufacture every custom-made product.

“I have a decent shop where I do most of the wood-cutting and building, but when it involves laser-cutting or some expensive machine work, I outsource them,” he said.

“I’d say 97 percent of the work is done by me.”

According to Ormond, the usual customers are those who need products to enhance theatrical Hollywood-type shows or bands performing on stage. The other market, according to Ormond, mostly consists of individual clients with disposable income.

“In the present economy it’s only those folks who are willing to spend thousands of dollars on things like flamethrowers,” he said. The high prices also help to discourage kids with ill intent from buying flamethrowers. Ormond also makes sure the customer signs a legal waiver. “Since I am a single-person company, there is a lot of potential to get into legal trouble,” Ormond said.

Although consumers in San Francisco and in Palo Alto have not expressed as strong an interest as those in New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles have in buying NAODesign products, Ormond has found the Bay Area to be a great resource. His landlord had formerly been a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford, and Ormond has worked with Stanford students and the Stanford Band on numerous occasions. “They’ve been great,” he said. “There are no limits to them.”

Ormond hopes to fuse function and aesthetics into his products th rough original ideas. “You can have a design of a flamethrower just sitting there, without a function,” he said. “But if it’s real, it’s 100 times as cool.” His passion to engineer unique gizmos and gadgets strives to override the challenges presented by the current economic climate. “They have to be rare or else they wouldn’t be able to compete with commonplace products in commercial stores,” he said. “My philosophy is to do what I think is cool and fun, and if it proves to be a good idea, it’s worth doing. I try to create products that don’t exist anywhere else in the world.”

Check out NAO Design at www. naodesign.com.

12

Cente

The Oracle

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old, huwy and c o n s re a lighter ev ught that ve a much n soak a ta h s re a n a s m id e they ca , and on dhood, k Since chil nt in many aspects [race] skin tone so un more easily k re ited s f diffe I thin up the lim fficient amounts o eryone is is race. “ n o s e d c e n s a re b u fe s s if n d te a a e s m re of tho n of hu nior and c tter ssificatio erited,” ju d Vitamin D. h in an no ma e re is the cla a m t u e a h iz th a d s r c is a ti m s nd A human r she is. It’s the sa characteri la k sa id. On sta t a h w t o u o a e ll colate rh Mor A lb een a cho asked to fi what colo c tw re e a ifi b c ts a g n n P e ti : d a in dor. The ng to tests, stu , as discrim d a yellow Labra they belo n a ry o ic r g f te A a c or differr an ican, race t- Labrado re all min ma kes ve Amer a a ti c a s r it e N a , th tr n o ic Asia hever hat tr uly phenotyp n or whic erson. W cultures. p a Caucasia in s e ir began enc y fit in. nt are the s gives egory the professors and humans differe teacher Phil Lyon l ra e v e s year. s However, ochondrial DNA cial studie race every rent o S n o e re it n tu o all ith m a lec lly diffe testing w at Homo sapiens are rent his students were racia eugenics le p o fe e th p if t d d a f e o v a th ds ces— have pro g thousan at humans “The ide egative consequen and r samplin n e f th rilization o ft te t w s A o lo . d h e a s e c d s rc ra a lt h fo u s t, in s re d u , n race,” live loca people all based o iens, who ement, ho p v re a o a s tribes and s m o l w a cts. m la ri o d igration itochon d from H cientific fa all descen nds of years ago. M sed from racist imm can’t argue with s usa pas . “You Africa tho s the same when ons he said table.” ti ta at school u m in l a ra cism here irrefu ra ’s s, It DNA rem ild, although natu n o o it y L ew people g to ch y, the “m exists. “F Accordin ll ti s mother to cording to the stud ly it te t a u b States no im Ac he said. “ ica approx oved is not obvious, ” fr t, d A is do occur. c in ra d e sm n laws, an ertly Eve” liv mo sapien egan today are ov t anti-miscegenatio ased on o H chondrial s A . o b ears ag l DNA pass racis e people b ious 200,000 y their mitochondria g it longer s can no longer hir in k a bconsc m , , a rn ie e f us has su e interact mpan o o c e t from Afric m its original patt n u o o h h c g a fro n throu d yet, e the way w to split off ce human migratio st humans race. An influence t a th a s ie tr e rl p d stereoty possible to mutations. The ea as racism .” g le East an d in s id u M ry sue such e ith people to is th w r e his to g jo W a a “ . m ic d a e worl . Accordin om Afr However, to vanish moved fr read to the rest of th er Katherg a in e o id g sp ach imply edia, the eventually eople,” science te NA of the is not s Encyclop e c h the n p ie D c e S n e the 300’s wit y, th 1 tl to n e e are all o re th th r u in in C e anish liv gan r said. s to the Sp f race be tribe, who o w n f e a o ine Mose J is t f a o o h th n K versio of the close to mass con ciety. members ert, are extremely So ter, the s e n d a Christi d years la iety. .” n s, e Kalahari e a v s E m u a l o a fr th ri chond have short Almost a still present in soc as the “mito ir, high e Khoisan a th h , y erica h ” ll n race is r a o ic Phys ism in Am nore the h idea of pepperc c ic “ ra h , t w in a , k th s s rown eye fold can’t ig ons noted copper b hen epicanthic darker-skinned Ly d its society. “We d n a s e s a time w e n a e o e w p b th a k re h e s e e m h h ’s o c ica t fr . “T d th m distinc rity of Afr re impact,” he said e sun rotated aroun t, make the make up the majo a th as s t e h e n g o u th at. In p ne tho heekb ho people w Generally, high c ic eye folds, everyo ay, no one thinks th e thought n. nth arth. Tod n everyon populatio casians, and epica y covers e time whe ll a ia different s u rt a a a C p w t there ided into d tha s. li iv n e found in d y ia e e s b r A e ld p in verycou nd the up decades, e s humans ye, are fou c w e a fold at ti fe e s a ri th f te In o c s. r up hara ories corne racial gro those the physical c t the inner e a v th ti c e n ti re re dis ne will ag We just happen to roups.

They sha features o r ethnic g e e u th o iq llacies. n e u th e these two c- were fa for th with all le s e e s s l u between ra a c tu in r a n g jo a d in n v m a li The melanin y that be ch race are igment in the bod periods.” among ea p air colors. is the h d n in a n e la y e e tion. M us skin, e more r the vario uator hav accounts fo ve closer to the eq rker rich Jiang o li g to a da ancer in d a le —Sophia Those wh , in c k s in ir k s e th inst melanin in for protection aga here climates n io e x d latitu s w comple In higher s. rn u b n and su

‘Tis the seaso and racist? That’s thought two years a with blatant racism no family’s holiday spirit, ibly destroyed my paren an entire race.

As a little kid, I was Japanese culture and wond half-Japanese and half-Chine of coaxing and wheedling, I f my parents to break the bank 10-day vacation in Japan with and brother. It was Christmas D wandering around Ginza, Tokyo’s district, looking for a place to dine. place was fully booked and we e a semi-dinky Japanese fas restaurant. Despite it status, the food delicious. Bu of was th waiti te

Playing

As a remnant of cen racial prejudices, racial profi weed to uproot. “Racial profiling certain behaviors to a particular subsec just because they happen to belong to a c Principal Noreen Likins said. “I sincerely h racial profiling at Gunn because it is simply However, interactions between people colored by one’s culture and beliefs and to work hard at overcoming the biases as small children.”

According to Likins although racial p been a problem at Gunn directly, it has of tension in the Palo Alto Police Depa the extreme sensitivity around race-related 2008, Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson officers to stop all African-Americans they s a recent crime. Because of the blatant lack of obstruction of constitutional rights, thousands over this example of racial profiling, leading resignation months after.

On a larger scale, Los Angeles police almos King, an African-American man, to death in 1991. manager caught the incident on film. After a predom jury ruled the policemen innocent, riots broke out i magazine called the worst single episode of urban tory. The riots left 53 dead and $1 billion in da profiling has prompted other riots nationwid nomenon many police forces are working h Bill Massey, an inspector for the San M

erfold

Monday, December 14, 2009

13

Don’t match hate with hate

en Yi Chin

on to be jolly… certainly what I ago, when a bout ot only ruined my , but also irreversnts’ opinion about

in love with the dered why I wasn’t ese. So after years finally convinced and splurge on a h my older sister Day, and we were s prime shopping . Obviously, every ended up eating in st food beef bowl ts tacky fast food was surprisingly ut all I could think he pile of presents ing back in the hoel room. My sister and I, the Santa Clauses of the family,

had secretly hidden everybody’s Christmas presents in our luggage.

We were almost done with our dinner, when racism decided to show its ugly face. The perpetrator, henceforth referred to as “the businessman,” was an elderly Japanese man dressed in a brown tweed suit and matching hat. He had taken a seat next to my mom (we were sitting a bar counter) when he suddenly asked her, in English, if she was Chinese. My mom, thinking that he was just trying to spread the holiday cheer and properly welcome some tourists to his motherland, replied yes and asked him how his day was. He apparently didn’t care to tell us how his day was, and instead told us to get the hell out of the restaurant, and out of Japan for that matter.

He kept repeating that this was a Japanese restaurant and only for Japanese people to eat in. He called us “dirty” and criticized the way we were eating (for the record, we were eating like civilized people with utensils, napkins and all). He continued screaming at us to get out, in a mixture of Japanese and English, along with another string of insults to Chinese people.

Not only was everybody in the restaurant staring at us, but my dad was also starting to get pissed. Now, my dad in general can be short-tempered and stubborn. My dad pissed off, on the other hand, doesn’t see reason anymore. My brother, as he told us later, was ready to throw some punches if necessary. Thankfully, the conflict didn’t escalate beyond verbal abuse, and the businessman stormed out.

Seriously, businessman, way to ruin our Christmas night. But the lesson to be learned here is not that racism exists—we already know that—but that racism begets more racism. My dad now harbors an irrevocable animosity for the one Japanese man who discriminated against him in addition to the entire Japanese race. Although I haven’t entirely forgiven the businessman for raining on our parade, I’ve tried to understand where

profiling has not been a source artment due to d comments. In n told the police saw because of f evidence and s rose in protest g to Johnson’s

st beat Rodney A nearby store minately white into what Time n unrest in hisamages. Racial de and is a phehard to prevent.

Mateo County

—Chin, a senior, is a Sports Editor.

Got change?

Andrew Liu

g the race card

nturies of past filing is a tough g is attributing ction of society certain group,” hope there is no y unacceptable. are inevitably d each of us has s that we learn

he’s coming from. After all, China and Japan have settled some major differences in the past. But what’s in the past should stay in the past. My dad and the businessman are just two stubborn and hardcore traditional men, and it’s really hard to change the opinion of the elderly. Too bad they both have zero tolerance towards each other.

To my regret, I felt feelings of embarrassment and shame wash over me as the businessman scolded us.

Shame on me. If there’s one lesson I took away from this incident, it’s that I should never let anybody else make me feel ashamed of who I am.

As a victim of racism, I want to say: forgive, but don’t forget. Instead, affect change. I’ve only had to face racism once in my life, but some people face it every minute of their lives. Understanding and forgiveness should be used to abate the bitterness, resentment and animosity that might arise from these incidents, but you can’t just stand dumbly and let people walk all over you. After all, ‘tis the season to be jolly… and tolerant.

District Attorney’s office and former Menlo Park policeman, has dealt with and taught about racial profiling. “Although I have left the police department, I am still involved in investigations dealing with the public,” he said.

“I have to always be mindful of racial profiling.”

Massey has been a racial profiling instructor for five years, during which he has provided racial profiling training to approximately 150 police officers in San Mateo County. “I believe that racial profiling does exist in law enforcement today,” Massey said. “With that said, I believe that law enforcement in California has come a long way in realizing what racial profiling is, teaching officers about racial profiling and [understanding] the detrimental effect it has on communities and how to combat it.”

Racial profiling is addressed primarily in the fourth and 14th amendments; the Fourth Amendment requires sufficient evidence before detaining an individual and the 14th Amendment primarily requires that officers must conduct their work without taking race into account. In police work, communication is vital. “You must be colorblind to race and additionally you must be able to articulate the reasons for detaining a suspect,” Massey said.

—Hannah Plank-Schwartz

The bus back from Camp Everytown was full of emotion. Most of us—students and teachers—were impossibly ecstatic, singing together and bonding with the friends that we had met a mere three days ago. There was also nostalgia for the close-knit utopian community that we were leaving behind in the forests of Camp Harmon and the Santa Cruz Mountains. But beneath it all, every one of us had to take the time to process both the joyous and disturbing experiences of those soul-searching days.

It is difficult to pin down the purpose of Everytown and what exactly makes the experience so life-changing. For some, it is about dispelling negative prejudices and painting their impacts on society in their true, appalling form—the social dividers that lead to ignorance and violence. For others, the experience is about opening up and communicating honestly with people who understand and empathize instead of judge. And for many, Everytown has not only allowed us to recognize the inequalities around us, but also provided us with the rare courage to enact change.

In the process, we made new bonds and strengthened existing ones with both students and teachers.

Everytown has inspired a group of students to bring a message of tolerance to others. Leaders of the past, from Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement to feminists in the fight for

women’s rights, show how much positive reform can happen when passionate people apply themselves to motivating others and realizing their visions. I believe that we can accomplish similar things here by breaking down the same barriers and building the same sense of community.

However, the call for change requires that every single one of us, Everytowner or not, make the appeal for social justice. Each of us can make the change, no matter who we are. I hold great respect for those who didn’t attend Everytown but still willingly take up the awesome responsibility to lead the move for equality through example and communication.

For all of us, the first step is to accept that some of us have been more inspired to lead change than others, because we all approach and view the problem of social injustice differently. Everytown alumni, please practice the inclusivity that you preach and don’t separate yourselves from others on grounds of “moral enlightenment”. Non-Everytowners, please don’t change your view of your returning friends who might seem out of character. And all of you, please find the patience and courage to open your minds and stand up for those who are estranged.

Don’t put up more barriers when we should be tearing them down.

I believe we can do great things because humanity and equality fundamentally appeal to all of us. For those who question the realism of my apparently optimistic appeal, I answer with two lines from John Lennon’s song “Imagine”: “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” I believe that equality is something that we all dream of. What’s stopping us from getting there?

—Liu, a junior, is a guest writer who recently attended Camp Everytown.

Photo illustration by Henry Liu and Nathan Toung

14

Features

The Oracle

Student collects shoes for charity Senior Alexandra Yesian gathered over 1,000 shoes to support low income families in the community Emily Zheng Features editor

For the fifth time that day, Senior Alexandra Yesian and her mother, Charlotte Yesian, were driving to the Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP), their car packed to the ceiling with piles of shoes. Yesian had been collecting shoes for donation to the EHP since last summer, and finally attained her goal of gathering 1,000 shoes this October.

Collecting and delivering the pairs of shoes was hard work, but Yesian said she was happy to give the time. “I wanted to give back to the community,” she said. “A lot of people collect dresses and backpacks to donate, but I wanted to collect shoes because that’s something that everyone needs.”

Though the project was initially started by Yesian, it soon became a family effort. Yesian’s mother helped to transport shoes to the EHP office, while her father and brother helped to publicize the project by posting fliers in their office buildings.

Yesian chose to partner with the EHP because “there are many people who help collect items for other countries but there aren’t as many who do local charities,” she said. “So I wanted to find an organization like that. There’s definitely a lot of need in our area.”

The EHP is a nonprofit organization that helps low-income families in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park with food, clothing and support. “We get so many people that come into EHP that have basic needs, shoes for

school kids, weddings, funerals or just a new pair because the old pair has worn out,” EHP administrative manager Melanie Carter-Jones wrote in an e-mail. “Our clothing donations help clients that are looking for work, escaping abusive relationships leaving everything behind and those individuals that just can’t afford the luxury of buying new cloths.”

Carter-Jones first met Alexandra and her mother in May, when they went to drop off shoes. At that time they had collected 688 pairs of shoes. “Since I started working for EHP I had not heard of anyone doing anything so generous at such a young age,” she wrote. “It was refreshing to meet someone that had figured out how their passion could help others.”

Shoes poured in from all over the community, with many coming from complete strangers. Even people from other cities who had heard about the project traveled down to drop off shoes. Each shoe had a story. “I met a woman who wanted to donate her deceased mother’s shoes, but I didn’t take them because the lady was hesitant and felt that there was too many memories behind the shoes,” Yesian said.

A group of triathlon athletes also helped donate shoes, in addition to goggles and swimsuits that they had found unclaimed after a race.

Shoes also came in from family and friends in other places, such as New York and Denmark. “When I sat down with Alexandra and heard the stories behind the shoe collection I knew that this experience was

going to be something that helped shape her life about giving back,” Carter-Jones wrote. “She did this on her own and we really appreciate her support. By collecting shoes, she and her family were also spreading the message about EHP’s work.”

When Yesian graduates, she plans to pass the project down to a junior who wishes to take over.

“My mom is still interested in helping with the project, so she will continue,” Yesian said. “If the shoes keep coming, then the project will keep going.”

Carter-Jones agrees. “Hopefully her story will be an inspiration for others,” she wrote. “Every pair of shoes helps.”

Melissa Sun

Courtesy of Alexandra Yesian

Above: Senior Alexandra Yesian poses with her collection of shoes. Below: Yesian loads the car with boxes full of shoes.

Art teacher maintains peaceful zen garden as hobby Nicola Park

News Editor

Art teacher Erik Bowman transformed a lonely patch of dirt on the edge of the art building into a blooming zen and sculpture garden, a project that started in the beginning of this year and is still being worked on.

“It used to be just mud and useless space,” Bowman said.

“We pulled out all the weeds and boarded up the bottom area, and we put in some river rocks and ground cover to create a flowing river effect.” Help from school gardeners Chandara Vinoukkun and Jose Fregoso was crucial to the construction, according to Bowman.

Graffiti lines the walls that enclose the garden on three sides, a tree towers over the middle of the garden and benches line the walls. Junior William Wang helps maintain the garden by clearing the sand pebbles, creating the garden’s zen-themed waves.

Bowman also planted moss on some mounds to create a more colorful setting and augment the zen vibe and scattered sculptures throughout. “Most of the current sculpture pieces are things that have been left over by Advanced Sculpture students, but we plan on adding more recent work,” Bowman said.

Melissa Sun

Junior William Wang cleaned out the leaves and raked the sand to achieve the zen garden display near the art building.

The Sculpture Club is also involved with the garden and is working on a project to contribute to it. “We’re trying to [make] a totem pole so each person does a little piece of it, and [then] we [can] stack them up on a pole so it creates one large sculpture,” Jensen said. “We’re also thinking of an underwater theme [for the pole].”

Additionally, the club is planning to create another piece for the library if the first project turns out well.

Bowman said that the garden is still a work in progress and more

improvements are yet to come. “We may install a swing and some more benches to make it more peoplefriendly,” he said.

The garden is open to visitors throughout the school. “I want to encourage people to visit the garden and enjoy the space,” Bowman said.

Wang agrees and sees the garden as a great ideal hang-out spot as well as a calm laid-back area for thought and reflection. “Hopefully it can be a place where students can meditate or just hang out,” Wang said.

Melissa Sun

Art students created the graffiti on the walls which enclose the garden, enhancing the unique look of the zen garden.

Features

Monday, December 14, 2009

15

Artist of the Month

Q&A with junior Sahana Kumar The Oracle: When and how did you start making art?

Sahana Kum ar: Last year I took graphic design with Mr. Gleason, and it really showed me that I really CAN do art. Before that I had never been very artistic, and once I found something that I could actually do, I really got interested in it. I also went to a pre-college program at the Rhode Island School of Design this summer where I studied industrial design. That experience made me feel really at home, because it was in an art school around other people who have the same ambitions as I do. I may not be very technically skilled, like in drawing and in painting, but I love the feeling when I have an idea and I can actually follow through with it and make it into a real life piece.

TO: Who is your inspiration?

SK: Mr. Gleason was sort of my inspiration, but it wasn’t entirely him. I like to read blogs but it was mainly the sophomore counseling meetings that convinced me. My counselor saw that I had graphic design on my paper and she just assumed that I would like to go to art school.

And then I thought I might want to go, and now Mr. Gleason gives me special help when I need it.

We have an independent study period and I go in at yearbook times too.

TO: Is art something you would consider doing as a profession?

Why? SK: Yes, I would like to go into art as a profession, but not as a starving artist. I want to be an industrial designer, which is someone who designs things.

In order to do that, I will have to go to an art school or maybe a normal school with a strong design department. I think I will definitely end up with some kind of design career. It’s a really broad topic so I could kind of go anywhere with it, but right now I am really interested in industrial design and more specifically, furniture.

TO: How do you get your ideas for your pieces?

SK: Usually for my graphic design pieces, I am given a prompt

or a project that I am requested to do. Sometimes a teacher wants a poster designed and I have to make something within those restrictions. When that happens, I just think about an idea and try and make it. Sometimes I look at actual professionals’ blogs to get ideas and then incorporate them into my project without copying too much. Also, since I kind of fool around with photography, I might take a picture that will inspire me to do something with Photoshop.

TO: What do you enjoy the most about doing art?

SK: If it’s a school project I want to finish it right away. But if it’s just a project, I can start on it and then work on it all day and never want to stop. I’d put other things behind it because when I’m passionate about something I work on it all the time, and I love that feeling.

TO: Is there a particular style of art that you prefer?

SK: Well I like a lot of colors and shapes and there’s this style in Photoshop that we use, it’s called vectorizing. I would take something and light it one way and then take something else and light it differently. I just like breaking things into simple shapes.

—Compiled by Lisa Wong

Courtesy of Sahana Kumar

Top: Touche Pas a Mon Pote, a french title meaning “hands off my buddy.” Bottom: Sahana on Bike, a self-portrait of the artist, junior Sahana Kumar, riding a bicycle.

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16

Features

The Oracle

Mark Gleason

Marc Igler English teacher Marc Igler was a journalist for 16 years from 1983 to 1999.

He worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for the Los Angeles (L.A.) Times, the Daily Breeze and United Press International Wire Service.

Igler began his journalism career as a reporter. “The funnest part about being a reporter is thinking up stories to write,” he said. According to Igler, one of his favorite experiences as a reporter was being in charge of the police department beat for the L.A. Times. “It was really fun when I was younger and covered cops,” Igler said. “I got to go out with them.”

Igler also supervised reporters as City Editor on the L.A. Times for five years.

Afterwards, he did many other jobs for newspapers, including freelancing for the San Francisco Chronicle, writing an occasional column for the San Jose Mer-

c u r y Ne ws and serving as Associate E d itor for the Palo Alto Weekly’s Friday paper.

Igler had to end his jour nalism career due to Repetitive Stress Injury in his elbows.

According to Igler, it was hard for him to leave his job. “I knew what I wanted to do since I was about fourteen,” he said. “It was really hard. It was all I had done and wanted to do.” Igler turned to teaching as a replacement because he likes writing and working with students.

He has been teaching at Gunn for eight years.

Deanna Messinger Before coming to Gunn, art teacher Deanna Messinger held several part-time jobs, including working on a charter boat in the Caribbean.

In the 1980s, she worked as a freelance housepainter. Later, she got a job as an assistant at an organization called Folk Dance, worked at a greenhouse raising geraniums, bartended at a ski resort and painted logo designs for businesses.

Messinger wanted to work on a sailboat in the Caribbean due to her love of warm weather and water. “My last winter in Wisconsin got to 70 [degrees] below zero while living in a cabin with wood heat—I vowed it would be my last,” she said. “My sentiment was I don’t want to live in this weather ever again.”

The charter boat was located in the St. Thomas Virgin Islands. She worked as cook and crew for the boat and also painted names on the stern of peoples’

boats.

Next, Messinger worked as a landscape designer for eight to 10 yea r s.

Physical pa i n prevented her from continuing her job, and so she turned to teaching. “I realized at that point that I couldn’t continue to build my landscape designs, that I wanted to change careers,” she said. “Since art was a such a big part of my life, I decided I would teach.”

Messinger said she was influenced by her high school art teacher, Connie Janawsek, and has been teaching at Gunn for 10 years.

Soo Ling Chan Student Activities Center Accountanting Clerk Soo Ling Chan, who worked as a model in the 1960s, knows a bit about what is needed to take a good picture. Chan has modeled for department stores such as Orbach’s. “It didn’t pay a lot, but it was fun,” she said.

“It was unique because I was only one of two Asians modeling in the 1960s in Los Angeles.”

Chan first got into modeling because of one of her other jobs at a department store, I. Magnin & Company. The president of the company, Hector Escobosa, asked her to model at a meeting where they presented new fashions to employees. “It was an honor,” she said. “It was such a breakthrough because there was a lot of prejudice back then. He broke the mold by asking me to model for the store.”

Chan has a positive view on mod-

Before coming to Gunn, graphic design teacher and yearbook advisor Mark Gleason held a myriad of part-time jobs, including waiter, bartender, landscaper, freelance artist and DJ at a club.

Gleason said he bartended on and off for about 10 to 15 years. “I got people drunk, and they got me rich,” Gleason said.

He said there were also downsides to the job, however. “I got off shift at 4 a.m.,” he said. “For the whole night, I had been breathing hours and hours of cigarette smoke and cleaning up vomit, and I only came out with a mere 20 bucks in my pocket.”

Gleason also did illustrations for the New York Times on the side, but said he made more money bartending. He also worked at a bumper sticker factory for one day. “They gave me the special job of cutting straight lines for 12 hours.”

Gleason said his favorite parttime job was as a DJ. He worked at The Beat in New Yo r k C i t y with a famous DJ artist, DJ Moby. “That’s kind of my claim to fame,” Gleason said.

From the mid to late 1980s, Gleason continued to DJ, but not at the same level. “I’m a complete music junkie,” he said. “I’m always playing music, and so it was nice to get paid to be in charge.”

After his various jobs, Gleason became a teacher. “I had always wanted to become a teacher,” he said. “That was just a quick way to be productive at night.”

Deborah Sanderson Deborah Sanderson began her career as a teacher in the Sequoia Union High School District, but was an engineer before coming to teach at Gunn.

“After being laid off from my teaching position in Sequoia District, I wanted a new career in the Bay Area that would give me options and pay me well,” she said. Being in the Silicon Valley, becoming an engineer seemed like the only option, according to Sanderson.

She also wanted to stay in the San Francisco area because she wanted to be with her family and friends.

Sanderson began taking math and computer science classes at De Anza College so that she could attend the Stanford School of Engineering. After graduating, she worked for HewlettPackard from 1983 to 1993 as a quality engineer who tested the company’s software.

As an engineer, Sanderson taught many of her coworker s basic skills, taught at De Anza and was a teaching assistant at California Institute of Technology. She also worked at Upward Bound, tutoring kids in physiology. “Of all the jobs I had, I kept coming back to education,” she said.

Because she had always been working with kids, Sanderson decided to come teach at Gunn. She became a social studies teacher due to her experience with her own ninth and tenth grade history teacher, Helen Lasalle. “Her love for [the subject] was infectious,” Sanderson said.

Bill Dunbar e l i n g. “ I t g ives you c o n f i dence,” she said. “You feel like a queen bee wh en you are modeling on the runway shows and it’s such a glamorous job.”

Chan has also enjoyed working with others through her job. “My favorite part was working with people,” she said.

Even though Chan no longer models, she still works with fashion. She currently designs Chinese jewelry that has been displayed in small boutiques and large museums such as the Smithsonian.

Before becoming a teacher, physics teacher and Gunn Robotics Team advisor Bill Dunbar used to work for Lockheed Martin, a company that makes satellites and missiles. As a mechanical engineer, he helped create satellites and contributed to the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Dunbar had always been interested in making things and seeing how they work.

After college, he wanted to find a job in engineering and the field of aerospace seemed like a good option. “My favorite part was seeing projects completed, whether it was a satellite or the Hubble Space Telescope,” he said.

Dunbar learned many valuable lessons through his job. “I learned about making mistakes and failing,” he said. “[I learned] to not be afraid to try things out and see what works. It was something I didn’t learn in high school or college.”

Dunbar advises students who want to become mechanical engineers to try to find a job where they are part of the design of a whole project instead of just parts. “It’s nice to feel like you know what you did and understand how it works,” he said.

Dunbar eventually decided to go into teaching because he thought it would be fun and easy. He wanted to try it for a few years but eventually go back to his former job. “I stayed because I did such a bad job my first year,” he said. “I wanted to get it right. I’m still working on getting it right. I can always do better.”

—Compiled by Yilin Liang and Niki Mata Graphic by Kimberly Han

Entertainment

Monday, December 14, 2009

17

YCS’s Open Mic Night showcases the communities’ youngest and oldest talent acts

Osceola Ward

Math teacher Dave Deggeller showed off his musical talent with attendance secretary Jarrod Pagan at this year’s Open Mic Night on Nov. 24. Together, they played the songs “Time to Pretend” by MGMT and “Oh Valencia” by De-

“I had a good ear and a chord dictionary.”

—Math teacher Dave Deggeller cemberists. “We always have a lot of fun,” Pagan said.

Deggeller began playing music when he was in high school. “I had a good ear and a chord dictionary,” he said.

At Rice University, Deggeller was a radio DJ on campus. After meeting other DJs who worked at the same station, they formed a band called Dinomutt.

When he moved to California to pursue his career in teaching, Deggeller formed his own band, The Secret Primper, which put out a number of CDs. The most recent one was released in 2002, the same year he became a father.

Nowadays, Deggeller tries to practice his music everyday and continues to experiment with different styles of music, but his priority lies within his family. “Unfortunately, music gets the back seat,” he said. However, he continues to have a love for music.

Jane Day According to Palo Alto High School junior Osceola Ward he has never been especially apprehensive about trying new things, so when an opportunity at a slam competition presented itself two years ago, he was not hesitant to enter. “I wrote a whole bunch of poetry the night before [the slam] and ended up getting second,” he said.

Ward uses slam poetry as an outlet for his creativity. “[While slamming] it is like [I am] able to get everything off [my] mind and all [my] anger and happiness out with words,” he said.

Ward’s friend, senior Vivian Shen, who has seen him perform several times has only positive words to describe his ability.“The cadence of his speech is calming yet galvanizing and his passion for what he speaks about is clear,” she said. “In the times that I’ve heard him slam he always manages to silence the crowd with his thoughtful rhymes and unbridled conviction.

His performance at the Open Mic, as usual, was spot on.”

Ward draws inspiration from all aspects of his life. “My inspiration comes from my daily surroundings and my desire to communicate what I see to the masses,” he said.

He added that “as a human being, I [will] develop and grow as an individual,” he said. “My material or style may change [as I grow] but I will always be staying true to myself and expressing myself through rhyme and verse.”

Junior Jane Day has been playing the guitar since freshman year when her dad bought her a Gibson Signature. She began learning and teaching herself through online tabs and “was in love with it,” she said.

Her inspiration comes from Avril Lavigne and Paramore. “I used to write poems, and I had a whole journal of my own poems,” she said.

“When I learned how to play guitar, I thought it would be a cool idea to combine both.”

What inspires her now to write her songs are real life experiences.

Her first song,“Say Goodbye” is about her leaving someone behind because of distance. “I write down everything I’m feeling, it’s like a weight is lifted off my shoulders and all my feelings become a song,” she said.

“I write down everything I’m feeling, it’s like a weight is lifted off my shoulders and all my feelings become a song.”

—Jane Day (11) In the future, she aspires to sing on a stage where fans know every word in her song. “It’s probably the only way she can truly express herself,” her brother, senior John Day said.

Photos courtesy of Charlie Chang

Dave Deggeller

Beni Ran

Juggling, devil sticks, spinning plates and the unicycle—Senior Sonia Ran’s 13-year-old brother Beni Ran is an all-in-one circus act. “I do it simply because it’s so much fun,” Ran wrote in an e-mail. “Skaters skate, computer game addicts play games and I juggle,” During Open Mic Night, Ran performed one of his many talents, diabolo juggling, also known as Chinese yo-yos.

Ran started three years ago by learning how to juggle three balls with the help of an instructional CD. After he mastered three balls he soon picked up diabolos, devil sticks, spinning plates and the unicycle. “It’s just a hobby. But I do actually go out to farmers markets sometimes on the weekends to perform,” Ran wrote.

He practices about three hours a week during the school year and for about four hours a day over the summer.

“When I’m doing it I’m just always trying to do something new or get something I already can do better,” Ran said. “Thanks to that mentality, I’m working on juggling seven balls continuously right now.”

As for the future of his juggling career, he doesn’t plan on making a living off of it, but will definitely continue with it as a hobby.

“The best part is definitely when you land a new trick that is really weird but cool and you just think, ‘yes!’” he said.

Jordan King

Senior Jordan King’s inspiration is Benjamin Gibbard. His favorite song, one of many at the moment, is “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens and his dream is to be a solo performer.

“Music is my life,” King said, “I can sit in my basement for hours and get lost in my music.”

An alternative indie singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist,

“I can sit in my basement for hours and get lost in my music.”

—Jordan King (12) King is popular among students.

His Facebook fan page boasts more than a hundred. “I picked up the guitar and the piano a few years ago and everything just developed over time,” he said.

His performance at Open Mic received great feedback. “I think he is a very talented singer and songwriter who puts his true emotions into his songs and performances,” senior Leilani Graham said.

While the reason King ventured into the world of music is “just because,” the reason he still continues his journey is more focused. “I feel like music is the one thing in life that is constant—I can go back to it at any time and it is something that makes me happy,” he said.

—Compiled by Melissa Chan, Tiffany Hu, Sophia Jiang and Alice Yu

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Entertainment

The Oracle

What we’re listening to this month: 1)“Silhouette”—Milkman 2)“All I Want For Christmas”—Mariah Carey 3)“Under Pressure”­— Queen 4)“Dream”­—Priscilla Ahn 5)“Online”—Brad Paisley 6)“Best Days”—Matt White 7)“Help!”­—The Beatles 8)“Can’t Stop”—Red Hot Chili Peppers 9)“Yes”—LMFAO 10)“Your Love is a Song—Switchfoot 11) Little Pieces­—Gomez — Compiled by Tiffany Hu

Hot Gifts 1) Bath and Body works Sheer Delight­—$20 at Bath and Body Works 2) Merona Flannel Sleep Pants—$8 at Target 3)Burts Bees Natural Remedy Outdoor Kit— $12.99 at Target 4) Hand and Foot Warmers —$10 at REI 5) The NorthFace Beanie—$20 at REI 6) Discovery Ear warmers with built in headphones—$15.99 at Target 7) Peter Thomas Roth Botanical Buffing Beads body wash—$22 at Sephora 8) Juicy Coutre Perfume—$16 at Sephora

—Compiled by Jesse Klein

ten top reasons

why the holidays are the best

10. The really good food 9. You get presents 8. The break from school 7. The holiday parties 6. Being able to give gifts and feel good 5. The ability to get last minute community service hours 4. Great smells of ginger bread, cookies and pine fill the air 3. The time spent with loved ones 2. Holiday lights create an amazing atmosphere in the neighborhood 1. The feeling that magic is possible for a few moments —Compiled by Jesse Klein

Holiday Extravaganza

Students share holiday traditions The Oracle gets the scoop on a few of the unique holiday traditions on campus

Nick Talbott (11) One of the traditions that was passed down by my great grandfather is calling up the chimney to Santa Claus. The entire family gathers around the fireplace late at night after a big feast on Christmas Eve. The eldest family member is the first to call up the chimney. To do this, they have to first say how old they are and what they want for Christmas. The adults in my family usually emphasize the past year and elaborate on what they are thankful for. My mom always lies about her age and says she is 29. As I am the youngest, I am last to call up. When my sister and I were really little, it was terrifying to do so because we were put on the spot as all of the adults were intently listening to our requests to Santa.

Afterwards, we would leave milk and cookies by the back door for Santa’s reindeer.

Lucy Moore (10) Every year since I was five months old, my parents have made my sister and me go to Nordstrom’s and sit on Santa’s lap for a photo. Now, at 15 and 13 years old it feels pretty silly. We nearly crush the poor man and are publicly humiliated when people walk by and see us in the window. The worst part? Every year my mom picks out some outfits for both of us to wear. This year I am being forced to wear my tennis uniform and my sister has to wear her cheer outfit, along with sunglasses to signify that we just recently moved to sunny California. This picture will then be sent out to almost every one of our family members and proudly adisplayed on our mantel along with the fourteen others that almost don’t fit anymore. My mom has declared that every year until she is dead, even when we’re full grown adults, we’ll have to go and take the annual photo.

Zoe Gallagher (9) One holiday tradition that I have is to travel. Every holiday break, my family and I pack our bags and leave home for vacation.

Sometimes we visit family in various places, or sometimes we travel to a country we haven’t been to before. I remember all of the different traditions and ways of celebrating the holidays that I experienced while traveling. Since then, I’ve gone to places such as New York, Thailand, Paris, London and New Mexico over the break, and this year I am going to Costa Rica. I really enjoy being able to spend the holiday break in such interesting places with my family, and I hope this tradition will continue for many more years.

John Tijiboy (11) When I was younger, every other year, my family would go down to Brazil to see my grandpa and other family members for Winter Break. We would spend Christmas and New Years at my grandpas flat in Port Alegre. During New Years Eve, all the kids would find old news papers, and roll them up to hunt flies. The idea was that the more you killed the better your luck would be the coming year; it still happens when ever we go there. The first time I tried this I didn’t get very many flies, maybe two or three. But the last time I tried this I think I got six or seven. This tradition is very fun and I encourage people to try it. ­­

—Compiled by May Wu

Photos by Victor Kwok

Staffer takes twist on classic cheesecake Adding pomegranate to cheesecake makes for yummy holiday dessert

Ingredients 1/2 cup of butter, softened 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar 4 eggs 1 1/4 cups plus 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour 4 8-oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened 1 1/4 cups plus 1/4 cup of granulated sugar 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. of vanilla 1 16-ounce of carton dairy sour cream 1 tsp. of finely shredded lemon peel 1 1/2 cups pomegranate seeds

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, 1 egg and 1 1/4 cup of flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate one portion.

2) Spread un refrigerated dough on the bottom of an ungreased 10-inch springform pan with the sides removed and spread the dough to edge. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto sides to a height of 1 3/4 inches and spread it.

3) Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. For filling, in an extra-large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar until it is fluffy. Beat in the remaining flour on low speed until it is smooth. Add remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla, beating on low speed. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, a lemon peel,and 3/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds.

4) Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes. Remove from oven.

5) Stir together remaining sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake. Return to oven; bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 45 minutes, making sure to loosen crust. Cover and chill for four hours

6) To make the sauce, bring a 16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice to boiling in a saucepan; reduce heat and boil for 10 minutes. Stir together 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until

thickened. Transfer to a bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature.

Store in refrigerator until serving time.

7) Remove cheesecake and Pomegranate Sauce from refrigerator 15 minutes before ser ving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake.

To serve, slice cheesecake and ladle remaining sauce as needed. Makes 16 servings.

—Compiled by Hannah Schwartz

Hannah Schwartz

Entertainment

Monday, December 14, 2009

Wintertime wonderland

Getting back the holiday feeling Joyce Liu

Courtesy of Helen Sol

Left: Junior Helen Sol works to put together shoebox presents for the homeless out on the street. Above: Homeless around San Francisco are overjoyed by the kindness and thoughtfulness of the volunteers from the Full Gospel Korean Church for their gifts.

Junior spreads joy in the city Tiffany Hu

Entertainment Editor

Sometimes during the holidays, it is easy to take things for granted. Junior Helen Sol keeps things in perspective by volunteering.

Since 2007, Sol has met up with the Full Gospel Korean Church every year around winter break to serve the homeless in the streets of San Francisco.

According to Sol, the volunteering process is simple but long, and starts weeks beforehand, with each participating church collecting a specific everyday necessity (Sol’s church collected beanies). Once they have the supplies, people from each church come together to organize and package the items.

“We put food, hand sanitizer, beanies [and more into shoeboxes] and wrap them,” she said. “After we have the box set up, we write

a personal letter and split off into groups to give these presents to the homeless around city hall.”

According to Sol, she was apprehensive to approach the homeless at first but once she interacted with them, she found them easy to talk to and more than relatable. “At first, it is always a little scary because you never know what reaction you are going to get,” she said.

“But it was a really good experience talking with them and hearing about their lives and struggles. Everyone we talked to was just like us.”

Many of the homeless that Sol conversed with were only down on their luck and on the streets because of the economy. “Since they [do not] have an address, it is impossible for them to get a job even [if] they are qualified,” she said.

For Sol, the experience was unparalleled,

and just seeing the expressions on the homeless people’s faces was a gift in itself. “The most rewarding thing [was] when they opened the gifts,” she said. “It was [as if] they were little kids opening presents on Christmas day. They had the biggest smiles on their faces and they [were] so thankful for what they received.”

Despite being just one day every year, the experience reinforces the more important things in life, according to Sol. “I [will find myself] wanting more materialistic things, but [then I meet] these people [who just] want clothes to stay warm,” she said. “It shows me how much I have and reminds me that I am not as thankful as I should be.”

Sol plans to continue volunteering with the Full Gospel Church for the next few years. “I recommend volunteering anytime,” she said.

“It really puts things into perspective.”

Palo Altans engage in fun, enriching local activities

While enjoying the holidays, The Oracle has some suggestions for how to spend your down time

Courtesy of Megan Johnston

Winter Lodge: In a place where the sun shines most days out of the year and snow is practically unheard of - the Bay Area is lacking in opportunities to enjoy a snowy Christmas go ice-skating on the frozen pool or make snowmen are close to none. But at the Winter Lodge, we can at least pretend. Located at 3009 Middlefield Road and standing since 1956, the Winter Lodge is an outdoor ice skating rink open from mid-September to mid-April. Arrive with thick wooly coats, scarves, ear muffs and the works. The Lodge also contains fireplaces and sells hot chocolate to warm people up after skating.

Henry Liu

The Dish: Get off the couch, put on your running shoes and shorts and go for a light jog or a hard run. The Dish at Stanford is a popular place to run, as is the Palo Alto Baylands. But you don’t even have to go that far—the whole city is an ideal trail to run through, with the cool shade from the canopy of trees and relatively flat streets. Run through the scenic parks throughout the city that a lot of us often take for granted and, if sweating, don’t hesitate to run through the sprinklers.

Take a friend with you and wave to people you recognize.

19

Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Cantor Arts Center: History buff? Art fanatic? Look no further than the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. The museum boasts artifacts representing 4,000 years of art history from all over the world, from ancient America to Africa to Asia.

It also has numerous works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin who created pieces such as “The Thinker” and “Gates of Hell,” to name only a couple. The number of works

by Rodin? 200. A sculpture garden made by artists from Papua New Guinea? One. Cost of visiting these? Priceless (it’s free). Visit at 328 Lomita Drive.

—Compiled by Nicola Park

I have a peculiar relationship with holiday music. I can’t say definitively that I hate it, but I also can’t say that it makes me want to scream out in joy to the world. Am I a grinch?

I was determined to find out.

Back in the 1990s, I actually really enjoyed rockin’ around the Christmas tree. What happened?

As the song goes, “it came upon a midnight clear” as to why I have this love-hate relationship with holiday music. That afternoon, trapped amidst a jungle of shopping carts at the new Trader Joe’s in Town and Country, I heard the Christmas song playing in the store being amplified in my mind.

The song and the carts were inching closer and closer. I was stuck and could not escape. I guess I have some self-proclaimed Christmaclaustrophobia. It’s not that I absolutely can’t stand Christmas songs­—it’s just that I want to be able to listen to a greater variety of them, in my own time, preferably in some open space.

When I was little, I remember just lying under the tree, looking up at the ornaments, admiring the colored lights and listening to the music that accompanied the sparkles (we have “musical” Christmas tree lights at my house).

On my sixth Christmas, my hardcore vegetarian aunt and uncle gave me “A Very Veggie Christmas,” thinking it was a CD promoting vegetarianism through children’s songs. I found that it had nothing to do with being a vegetarian—the characters were vegetables, and that was about it. Nonetheless, “A Very Veggie Christmas” became my favorite CD for the last part of 1998 and on through 1999. I still listened to it long after the 12 days of Christmas were over.

At some point, I’m guessing during my “rebellious” teen years, I became a bit jaded.

My dad loves holiday music—it’s the default music in his car during the holiday season.

He says it spreads holiday cheer, but sorry, dad, it doesn’t work for everyone. The sleigh bells were ringing, but I simply wasn’t listening. I was tired of hearing Christmas songs closing in on me right after Thanksgiving.

It’s November. The trees haven’t become all naked yet. It doesn’t feel right.

While I was being a complete downer, however, everyone around me was getting into the holiday groove. I decided to give Christmas songs a second chance.

I created a new Pandora station and named it “Holla Holiday.” Admittedly, I made it sound more “hip” so that I’d feel more inclined to listen to it, but there really isn’t any rap in it. Sorry to disappoint. I thumbed down the overly trite songs—all I wanted for Christmas was something a bit different.

Eventually, Pandora led me to Sufjan Stevens’s Songs for Christmas. I liked what I heard and immediately found a copy of the five-disc winter wonderland. Although it included your traditional fare of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “The Little Drummer Boy,” the songs are in his distinctive style. The CD also contains his originals like “Sister Winter” and “Come On! Let’s Boogey To The Elf Dance!” Things started looking up.

And even if I’m indeed a grinch? Well, some of us just enjoy a silent night—our way of having ourselves a merry little Christmas.

—Liu, a senior, is a Managing Editor.

20

Entertainment

The Oracle

CD reviews Battle Studies —John Mayer

John Mayer is famous for his Grammy-winning pop personality that has been showcased through his continuously successful albums.

Battle Studies is Mayer’s fourth album and he is still trying to cultivate his musical genre between glossy acoustic rock and glossy romantic blues.

Throughout the album, Mayer’s skillful control and use of the guitar is undeniably superb. Several of his more somber tracks, such as “Assassin,” lack stamina. In songs “Half of My Heart,” featuring Taylor Swift, and “Who Says,” Mayer captures his audience by using a less serious and more quirky approach. Mayer his own life and reputation into perspective which is what gives these tracks their noticeable strength.

Battle Studies lacks the same power of Mayer’s third album Continuum, but it has an atmospheric feel that conveys the strong message of heartbreak and the warfare that comes with it.

KEY TRACKS: “Half of My Heart,” “Who Says,” “Crossroads”

No Ceilings

—Lil’ Wayne Lil’ Wayne, sometimes known by the nickname Weezy, lives a life of ups and downs. His newest mixed tape, No Ceilings, came out several short weeks after pleading guilty to charges of gun-possession. Despite these vicissitudes, Weezy still maintains his old skills although they are a little rusty.

In his new album, Weezy remembers how to rap and is generally successful although several of his attempts are downright cheesy.

In his track “Wasted,” he sings over the background song “I Got a Feeling” by the Black-Eyed Peas and in “Poke Her Face,” Weezy fails to deliver a good parody of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

He does, however, deliver in his tracks “Break Up” and “Banned from TV” both of which show that he is attempting to prove himself and is at least semi-successful. While this is not his best piece of work, No Ceilings is another sound endeavor

by Weezy.

KEY TRACKS: “Swag Surf in’,” “ Break Up,” “Watch My Shoes” —Compiled by Elaine Liu

trapper’s Cap

Friendship bracelet

Wool-knit hat

As seen on campus

Samantha Starr Donat, Sophomore

Wook Lee, Senior

Gray Scarf Banana Republic, $20

Blue Leather Jacket Nordstrom, $ 60

Maroon Turtleneck Club Monaco, $30

Studded Belt Pink Stripes, $20

Navy Cardigan American Apparel, $40

Shirt Free People, $25

“I dress for mother nature: woodsy and rugged yet elegant and refined.”

Black Leggings Urban Outfitters, $10

Brown Boots Nordstrom, $50 “My style is something along the lines of uptown city slicker meets flower child, with a twist of rock and roll.”

Jeans 7 Jeans, $100 Sneakers P.F. Flyers, $20 ­­­­­­­­—Compiled by Alice Yu

Striped Beanie

Eternity Scarf Gold-plated earring

Photos by Victor Kwok and Melissa Sun

Sports

Monday, December 14, 2009

21

Courtesy of Maria Recinto

Sophomore Maria Recinto performs her routines with her apparatus hoop, at left, and rope, at right. She competes internationally with the Philippines national team, which is where she was born. Other apparatuses Recinto and senior Liza Ignatova perform with include balls, ribbons and clubs.

Rhythmic gymnastics exhilarates competitors Regina Ahn

Copy Editor

Rhythmic gymnastics is not the perceived “girly sport” with flips, twirls and circus tricks. It demands its athletes to have not only the strength and flexibility required of regular gymnasts, but also the extreme precision needed for artistic performances. Rhythmic gymnasts must train with the apparatus rope, hoop, ball, ribbon and clubs on the floor and in the air, which is different from the usual balance beams and vaults commonly seen in gymnastics. “They’re completely different sports,” rhythmic gymnast senior Liza Ignatova said.

Sophomore Maria Recinto, who is a

national champion and member of the Filipino national team, trains in ballet, Pilates, conditioning and flexibility training at least 20 hours per week. She also has to practice using her apparatuses, each of which is incorporated into a 90-second routine choreographed to music.

Outside of practice, Recinto is required to keep a strict diet of limited portions and no junk food. “People who say [rhythmic gymnastics] is not a sport have no idea what we have to go through,” she said. “We do conditioning just like everyone else, and we work so hard,” she said. “There’s a lot of pressure on us and we have to really focus.”

Despite the grueling and pressure, the experience is still powerfully rewarding for

Cheer and dance squads to perform at 49ers game Lisa Wong

Reporter

The Gunn cheer and dance squads will perform at a San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Cardinals football game on Dec. 14. A mix of girls from the varsity and junior varsity cheer teams along with the song team (also known as the dance team) will attend a camp on Dec. 13 to learn their routines and will show off their skills the next day at halftime.

According to senior cheer captain Caroline Mercer, this opportunity is rare and valuable. “I think it will help the team bonding and just interacting with cheerleaders from other teams,” Mercer said.

The cheer and dance teams agree that there is a dramatic difference between high school and professional football games. According to senior song team captain Claire Reyes, at a 49ers game the crowd can reach over 70,000 people, all of whom expect the best out of the players, cheerleaders a nd da ncers.

“I think we’ll have to bring more energy and excitement in the performance and make sure we’re all doing the same movements together,” Reyes

said. “This is a lot bigger than the rallies and games here and we have to step up our game.”

Though the team only has one day to perfect the new routine, Mercer believes that it is a good opportunity to learn new dances. “I hope we can get more crowd encouragement like getting people off their feet,” Mercer said. “You know how the 49er cheerleaders are really encouraging and make you yell? It’s kind of like stage presence.” According to Mercer, revving up the crowd as well as the Titan teams when performing at Gunn is something they want to improve on.

Varsity Cheer Coach Doris acknowledges that learning the routine the day of the competition will be difficult. “Our biggest challenge this season is [learning] new routines in less than three days before performing it at a game,” Le said. “This is always difficult, but is something we will be able to do.”

Le believes that this learning experience will instill a dr ive for success in the cheerleaders. “By competing, the team will be exposed to a competitive aspect of cheer that they will be able to use to learn and bond with other teams,” Le said.

competitors. “I love the energy I get from competing, and the happiness I get from showing what I can do for my country,” Recinto said. Ignatova agrees that the intense competition can bring euphoric sensations.

“Competing definitely [was the best part of rhythmic gymnastics],” she said. “The feeling of, ‘this is what I have been practicing for,’ of pulling myself together so that I could show my best routine for the judges, and having everyone’s eyes in the room on me. That was the most nerve-wracking and most exciting part of everything.”

As a competitive rhythmic gymnast, Recinto is proud to represent her native country, the Philippines, and the United States at international meets. She competed in Ukraine

last summer and has been to Europe and Asia on many occasions to compete against other gymnasts from across the globe. According to Recinto, the highly competitive atmosphere encourages her to make and foster long-lasting friendships with fellow competitors from countries from Spain and South Africa.

Rhythmic gymnastics is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful sports in the Olympics. The sport is less known, practiced or watched in the United States than in Europe and Asia. “When done right, it can look very easy, but in reality [it] is actually very difficult,” Ignatova said. “I encourage everybody to at least watch it during the Olympics when they have the chance.”

Junior follows dancing aspirations Joseph Lin & Alvin Man

Forum Editor & Centerfold Editor

From ballet to hiphop, dancing is constantly evolving and revealing our cultural identity. Junior Cyrus Wu, a member of the A-Youngin’ Jr. Dance Team, began professionally dancing six months ago. “Although I was introduced to dance through America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC), I don’t dance for ABDC, Courtesy of Cyrus Wu and A-Youngin’ [nor do I] want to be on Wu poses with entire crew of A-Youngin’ after winning a competition. it,” Wu said. them. “Our first competition was at For Wu personally, A-Youngin’ To learn more about dancing, Norcal Prelude and we didn’t place has accomplished these goals. “My Wu watched dancing videos at in that one,” Wu said. “Our second directors have established a family,” home. “I would attempt to imitate was Breakthrough 2009 where we he said. “They always tell us to the videos I watched in front of the placed third and our latest competi- come in with ‘good vibes’ because mirror,” he said. Wu furthered his tion was the World of Dance where dance isn’t about spreading negapassion for dance by enrolling in we placed third.” tive ones. [My directors] always lessons. “The easiest way to learn For Wu, dancing isn’t about say ‘stay humble, stay hungry.’ I how to dance is to take classes,” winning or losing. “I just love [to] dance with A-Youngin’ because Wu said. dance,” he said. “There is no rea- they are my family and [they] help Wu asked his friend Lillian son to why I like it. When I do it, I me grow.”

Huang about auditions for junior feel more than happy, I don’t know Wu has many aspirations for dance crews. “He noticed my photo why, but I just do.” According to continuing hip-hop dance. “The albums of dance crews and started A-Youngin’s Web site, their goal is team that I look up to the most is the asking about them, and I learned to “share dance as an outlet and to Chinese Association Dance Crew that he shared the same interest [as unify youth; establishing a strong from University of California, I do] in dancing,” Huang said. and family-oriented dance team; Irvine (UCI),” Wu said. “I hope to One of the crews Wu found was to give inspiration to other dancers be able to join the team, that is if I A-Youngin’, a competitive under and to give respect to anyone they go to UCI and reach a certain dance 17 dance team from San Jose. cross paths with while staying in- level. They are so creative and don’t Founded in the summer of 2008, spired [and] humble throughout the follow the usual hype from ABDC. A-Youngin’ has danced in three opportunities and experiences they Their dancing is clean and they competitions and placed in two of will receive.” never disappoint the audience.”

22

Sports

The Oracle

“I think that we are going to do really well this year. There is great camaraderie among the team and we all just love being out there on the field.”

Brooke Binkley (12), Girls’ Soccer “We’re looking to go all the way this year because we have more than 10 seniors. Two years ago we went to the Central Coast Section [CCS] quarterfinals, last year we got to the semifinals and this year we’re going all the way.”

Courtesy of Jeff Dean

Left: Junior running back Josh Jackson weaves through a throng of defenders at the Central Coast Section playoffs against Leland High School on Nov. 21. Right: Jackson drives to the hoop for a lay up during the second game against Palo Alto High School last year.

Courtesy of the Jackson family

Junior competes year-round Kevin Gao & Mati Pluska-Renaud Sports Editor & Reporter

Enzo Cabili (12), Boys’ Soccer

“We placed third in the Burlingame Tournament, which is better than we thought we’d do. We have five freshmen and five sophomores and one senior on the team.

We’re improving very fast, but of course we have a lot more room for improvement. We have high hopes for the season, and I think we’re going to win a lot of games”

Julia Maggioncalda (12), Girls’ Basketball “We go for two and a half hours everyday. It’s a lot of hard work, but we feed off each other’s energy. The teams in our league are pretty even, so all of our games should be pretty hard-fought. I think we’ll finish in the top couple teams.”

As a three sport athlete, junior Josh Jackson chooses to stay positive through his athletic career with his motto, “Don’t regret the decisions you make.” Jackson is one of the few athletes who participate in three varsity sports during a school year.

He plays football in the fall, basketball in the winter and will start playing lacrosse this spring.

Jackson has accumulated a number of accomplishments, including being awarded Athlete of the Year in his freshman and sophomore years. Last year, he ranked 6th in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships for the 100 meter sprint for track.

However, Jackson will be dropping track to join the new lacrosse program this year. “Switching to lacrosse would be interesting because I have never played that game before in my life except in P.E.,” Jackson said. “I like the challenge of learning.”

As seasons change, Jackson has to shift the different skills required for one sport to those of another. “The transition isn’t too hard,” he said. “In football, you play really low to the ground, but in basketball you play way up high. [At first,] I wasn’t jump-

ing for a little bit because I wasn’t used to it.” In addition, Jackson believes that the physicality needed to play in football and basketball will roll over into lacrosse.

Even with three sports on his agenda, Jackson tries to focus on one thing at a time. “I focus on the sport that’s in season,” he said. “When a sport is in season, no other sport exist.”

According to Jackson, being a three sport athlete requires him to manage his time better, especially with academics.

“All my teachers know I play sports, but I don’t get any slack,” Jackson said.

Junior teammate Jim Hinton plays basketball and football with Jackson and agrees that there is a lack of free time associated with sports. “Being a multiple sport athlete takes away a lot of your social life,” Hinton said. “You can’t hang out with your friends as much. [Jackson] has always been a good multi-tasker. He’s good at balancing his time.”

Another challenge that comes with playing many sports is a greater likelihood of injury. Jackson has been hampered by injuries in past years, including a broken thumb that bothered him during preseason basketball practice in his sophomore year.

“It hurt me a lot, mostly because I couldn’t play and I had to slow down,” he said. Even so, Jackson aims to make it through each

year without getting hurt.

However, there are benefits of playing in multiple sports. “You stay in shape, and have lots of fun,” Jackson said. “I also have a lot of teammates who are my good friends.” According to Jackson, he even sees a lot of the same athletes popping up in different games in different sports. “I see half of the guys from other football teams on the basketball court or on the track,” he said. “We joke about it.”

According to him, motivation can even come from losses. “Someone that motivates me is my dad who passed away my sophomore year,” he said. “I keep playing sports because it proves to the people around that I am still doing fine with my loss and I love what I do.”

Jackson draws support to continue playing multiple sports from his family and friends. “Josh is good at what he does,” Jackson’s grandmother, Sara Jackson, said.

“Whether it’s playing sports or at school, he’s a good boy.”

Jackson believes that when playing sports, one must overlook any faults and try to look forward to becoming stronger.

“You might lose a game by one point, or by a lot,” he said. “Some guys say, ‘Oh, I should’ve done this or that.’ I don’t regret anything I do or the decisions I make on the field after a loss, I just try to improve.”

Campus offers boys’ lacrosse in spring Sophie Cheng

Managing Editor

Jon Rea (12), Boys’ Basketball

“We have a young team this year, but with a lot of hard work we are hoping to get at least top 10 in CCS.”

Yoni Alon (12), Wrestling —Compiled by Mati Pluska-Renaud

The athletics department will create varsity and junior varsity (JV) boys’ lacrosse teams led by new coach Mike O’Donnell this upcoming spring.

Senior Nick Ciesinski and junior Edward Meyer, who each have Nick six years of experience Ciesinski playing for a club team, (12) the Tomahawks, will be leading the team. “[Meyer] and I are hoping to build a young team that will do well in a few years,” Ciesinski said. “I’m not expecting us to do great this year, since it’s a new team, but hopefully we’ll get better.”

Gunn will be competing in the Santa Clara

Valley Athletic League, which includes Paly, Los Gatos High School, Mountain View High School and Menlo-Atherton High School.

The boys’ lacrosse team will compete with the girls’ lacrosse and track teams for practice time on the turf and grass fields. “With the new renovation, there’s a lot less field space,” Ciesinski said. “The good part is that there are lights now, so either our team or the girls’ lacrosse team will probably end up practicing later, around 6 to 8 or 7 to 9 p.m.”

According to Horpel, another challenge that the new boys’ lacrosse program faces is the limited athletic budget. “In girls’ lacrosse, everyone buys their own stick and the team purchases jerseys for them to use, but in boys’ lacrosse, there’s a much bigger capital expense, since they require a lot more equipment,” Horpel said. “They are similar to football in this regard: pads,

helmets, etc.” Parents sold handmade jewelry by Stella and Dot at a fundraiser on Dec. 9 to raise money.

One of the biggest challenges the team faces is keeping athletes interested in the sport, according to Ciesinski. Ciesinski believes that making the boys’ lacrosse team an official Gunn team will make people more open to joining. “I’ve gotten a few messages from people who are excited to learn how to play the sport,” he said. “There are also people who played lacrosse in the past and weren’t too excited about it, but now that it’s a Gunn sport, they’re really excited about it.”

Meyer encourages beginners to try out lacrosse. “It’s a fun sport, and there aren’t really any requirements to play,” he said. “It’s a great fast sport with a lot of contact.”

Tryouts will be in late January or early February.

Sports

Monday, December 14, 2009

Q&A with

Jim Forthoffer

Boys’ Basketball Varsity Coach The Oracle: What experience do you have with coaching basketball?

Jim Forthoffer: I’ve coached high school basketball for several years. I’ve been fortunate enough to have Jim some success, includForthoffer ing some league championships and being named CCS coach of the year.

TO: When did you first start coaching and why?

Forthoffer: I started coaching basketball at the JV level when I became a teacher several years ago and have been coaching off and on ever since. As a player, I had some excellent coaches who were able to consistently beat teams with much better talent. That inspired me to coach.

TO: What is your own experience with playing basketball? Why did you start?

Why did you stick with it?

Forthoffer: I played basketball throughout high school and have played with a variety of club teams for several years in the past.

TO: What is your coaching philosophy?

Forthoffer: I’d say my coaching philosophy is to play unselfishly, play as a team, work hard and take both wins and losses with equanimity.

TO: How do you think the team is going to do this year?

Forthoffer: Our team is filled with great guys! We do, nevertheless, have limited varsity experience, so our success depends in a large part on how quickly we can gain experience and turn it into positive results.

Coach Chris Redfield is an excellent coach and did a great job for Gunn varsity basketball. My approach is different, certainly not better. My emphasis will be on using teamwork and unselfish play to break down defenses, which include lots of ball movement and player movement.

TO: What are some goals you have for the team?

Forthoffer: Our goals this year are to play with a high level of teamwork and find the synergy that five guys working as one creates. An additional goal would be to have continuous improvement throughout the season.

TO: Which players stand out and why?

Forthoffer: At this point, we are expecting a lot from seniors Jon Rea, Travis Bowers and Simon Hauser, and from juniors Jack Hannan and Tyler Perricone. The standout players are athletic and have good fundamental skills of dribbling, shooting and passing. Furthermore, they understand the concept of team play.

—Compiled by Emily Zheng

23

Girls’ Cross Country

Most Valuable Player (MVP): Erin Robinson (11) Most Improved Player (MIP): Claire O’Connell (12), Rachel Wittenauer (12)

Boys’ Cross Country

MVP: Paul Summers (12) MIP: Alex Johann (12) Coaches’ Award (CA): Ethan Glassman (12)

Girls’ Water Polo

MVP: Katie Lacek (12), Jenny Anderson (12) MIP: Alex Lincoln (12)

Boys’ Water Polo

MVP: Alex Berenfeld (12), Spencer Jones (12) MIP: Alex Doundakov (12)

Girls’ Volleyball

Football

Girls’ Tennis

MVP: Teresa Skelly (12) CA: Audrey Washura (11), Erika Hoopes (12)

MVP & MIP: TBA CA: Jon Zeglin (12), Jon Chaplin (12), Tyler Ziebelman (12), Maceo Parks (12)

MVP: Holly Xiao (12) MIP: Mari Haraguchi (10) CA: Madeleine Traver (12) —Compiled by Yilin Liang

24

Sports

The Oracle

Court to court, heart to heart, these dynamic duos work their art

Tyler & Scott Ziebelman Jonathan Yong

Sophomore Scott Ziebelman and senior Tyler Ziebelman have a lot more in common than their last name. The two brothers both play football, though Scott is on junior varsity (JV) and Tyler is on varsity.

Although they are on different teams, their interest in football began at the same time because their older brother, Brian Ziebelman. “Brian was the one who started playing football first in the family,” Ziebelman’s mother, Cindy, said. “They watched him and his involvement with the football team and that inspired them to start.” Because of Brian, Tyler began playing football in his sophomore year and Scott started playing as a freshman.

The two brothers share a strong family support system for football. Even though football was not a big deal for their family until her sons began playing, Cindy now goes every game and was one of the main proponents behind getting stadium lights for the football field so the team could play games at night.

The Ziebelmans also have pre-game dinners to ensure that Scott and Tyler eat well. “We have a pretty healthy meal on Thursday before their game on Friday,” Cindy said. “They need certain kinds of food before a game, which is lots of carbs and no spicy food.” During these dinners, a lot of football talk occurs as well. “We talk about plays and strategies,” Scott said.

Having an older brother who knows the game helps Scott and Tyler immensely. “We sometimes practice during the summer and go over plays with our older brother,” Scott said. “He has more experience so it’s a great time to practice some moves.” The two brothers also help each other in football. “We play the same position [as a wide receiver and a defensive back], so we point out each other’s mistakes.” Tyler said.

JV football coach Bob Sykes has noticed other similarities between the two brothers as well. “Both brothers work very hard and are very competitive which makes them both very good players,” Sykes said.

Whether or not Scott and Tyler win the game, their family will always be there for them. “To us, winning is not important,” Cindy said. “Instead we celebrate that they played well and a had good game.”

Elizabeth & Jenny Anderson Courtesy of the Andersons

For sophomore Elizabeth Anderson and senior Jenny Anderson, having a sibling on a sports team is advantageous for them and their girls’ varsity water polo team. The two sisters started water polo because of their older sister Catherine Anderson. “Most people start with swimming and then do water polo, but we both started with water polo and then realized we needed to know how to swim to play,” Jenny said.

The two sisters often help each other get ready for games. “We get pumped by running around the halls just laughing and listening to the music,” Elizabeth said. The Andersons use their knowledge of each other to help their team during a water polo game. “We have secret plays that no one knows about,” Jenny said “I have a sense of where she is, which is convenient.”

This understanding becomes useful during a game or even just a practice when quick thinking is necessary.

Because of these secret plays, the two sisters have an advantage over rival teams since they are able to figure out whether to pass to each other from just one look. However, these secret plays do take time to create.

“All of our dinner conversations are on water polo,” Elizabeth said. “We sometimes make plays or secret signals during dinner.”

As well as improving their water polo strategies, the two sisters also support each other during their games.

“We have a secret handshake that we do before every quarter,” Jenny said. “If we don’t do it, we feel like we’re not going to win.”

Although rivalry is common for many siblings, Elizabeth and Jenny don’t experience any such feeling during water polo practices and games. Last year, the Andersons both won MVP for the season“We don’t have any rivalry in a game because we’re on the same team, but we sometimes have some outside of water polo,” Elizabeth said. Sophomore teammate Casey Lincoln agrees. “During a practice there’s always the ‘my team will beat your team’ feeling, but not really because they’re on the same team,” she said.

Peying & Pejing Lee Jonathan Yong

Junior Peying Lee and senior Pejing Lee are two different people who both have one thing in common: their love of tennis. This year, Peying played singles on the girls’ junior varsity tennis team and Pejing played doubles on the girls’ varsity tennis team, but last year, the Lees played doubles together.

The two started playing tennis when Peying was in first grade and Pejing was in second grade. “My mom made me take tennis but then I started to really enjoy it,” Peying said.

Despite starting the same way, the two sisters have different views of the sport. “[Peying] views [tennis] more professionally whereas I just view it more as a recreational sport,” Pejing said.

In addition to having different views on the sport, the two sisters also have diverse strengths on the court. “In tennis, we’re pretty much completely different players, except the fact that we both use a lot of spin,” Peying said.

“I’m pretty versatile in my shots and can run everywhere, whereas Pejing is solid in her technique.”

Because of their different strengths, it is easier for the two sisters to help each other. “She tries to give me tips about how to improve my swings, strokes and technique,” Pejing said.

Pejing also gives advice to her sister on how to improve her game. “When we practice tennis with our coach, sometimes she shows me how to add more spin to certain shots,” Peying said.

According to Peying, the differences between the two sisters are beneficial to their relationship. “There’s not really any sibling rivalry because our interests aren’t the same,” she said. “I love tennis and she just likes it.”

Since their personalities are varied, Peying and Pejing contribute to the team differently. “Honestly, Peying and Pejing have polar opposite personalities so their being siblings did not have too much affect on the dynamic of the team,” senior varsity teammate Sonia Ran said.

“Peying can be fantastically light hearted which relaxes everyone else and when we were playing a tough school that attitude helped a lot.” ­—Compiled by Yilin Liang and Divya Shiv Graphic by Nathan Toung