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First Week of School Issue
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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Joshua Yang Managing Editors Madison Nguyen Nikki Suzani News Julianna Chang Catherine Chu Forum Jessica Wang Jessica Zang
munication. “Communication is really key in Austin, PAUSD will be working closely with Social studies teacher Laurel Howard also times like these, and getting with a trusted adult Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Saratoga expressed concern for group projects requiring can help you problem solve and find the right and Fremont school districts in observing the safety of the classroom environment between physical collaboration in the classroom, such as way to combat problems,” she said. Oct. 12 and the first week of November. posters and presentations. “A lot of the If schools do not return in-person during things that I love to do in the classroom are activities and simulations,” Howard “I want to acknowledge that it's a rough time, and there the first week of November, high schools said. “Those are going to be so much are disappointments, but I'm looking forward to a day will remain in distance learning until harder over Zoom. I’m trying to replicate with noisy hallways and a bunch of people greeting winter break. Austin also highlighted the importhat digitally, but the reality is that it’s just each other again. It's not going to be tomorrow, but it's going to happen.” tance of student and family input in not going to be the same.” —Superintendent Don Austin decision making. “We’re going to ask However, Howard remains optimistic high school students directly and send about online learning. “I think [online out questionnaires throughout each week learning is] possible if we use breakout to keep getting feedback to monitor how Currently, PAUSD plans to remain online rooms or Google Drive, and I will continue to work with the other history teachers to provide until Oct. 12. “We’ve already made a com- we’re doing as a school system, and where we mitment [to distance learning] until Oct. 12,” can make adjustments,” Austin said. support for students,” she said. There will be higher expectations than last Nevertheless, teaching in the fall will em- Austin said. “That allows teachers to get their phasize independence. “Knowing where your feet under them, and for students to not worry semester for the quality of learning. “I want to acknowledge that it’s a rough time, and there are strengths and challenges are is a really impor- about checking the watchlist everyday.” The purposes of this decision are twofold. disappointments, but I’m looking forward to a tant part of learning about yourself, which is what’s really going to help students in the future, Besides public health concerns, postponing day with noisy hallways and a bunch of people a physical reopening also ensures stability in greeting each other again,” Austin said. “It’s not especially in college,” Pennington said. Pennington stressed the importance of com- the transition to online learning. According to going to be tomorrow, but it’s going to happen.” District reopening
Features Dori Filppu Mia Knezevic Centerfold Annika Bereny Katie Shih Sports Calvin Cai Devon Lee Lifestyle Haley Pflasterer Arjun Shah Online Genna Bishop
Courtesy of Laurel Howard and Laurie Pennington
Left: Social studies teacher Laurel Howard describes her desk space as a glorified closet. Right: Science Department Instructional Lead Laurie Pennington sits at her desk at Gunn, preparing to use it for the upcoming school year.
INBOX
Photo Editor Mia Knezevic Graphics Editor Sophie Fan
Staff Business/Circulation Sophia Stern Graphics Artists Sarah Chang Madeleine Chen Ella Koehler Clair Koo Heidi Purnama Mihika Sane Zora Zhang Adviser Kristy Blackburn
The Oracle is a student publication and open forum published by and for the students of Henry M. Gunn High School. In a time when journalism at all levels has increasingly come under scrutiny and attack, the staff of The Oracle is committed to promoting students’ rights and delivering high quality, trustworthy and unbiased reporting. To that end, we will correct any significant error; corrections should be submitted to oraclegunn@gmail.com. The unsigned editorials that appear in this publication represent the majority opinion of the editorial staff.
The Oracle strongly encourages and prints signed Letters to the Editor and Comments. Comments are generally shorter responses, while Letters are longer pieces of writing. Please include your name, grade and contact information should you choose to write one.
Letters and Comments may be edited to meet space requirements and the writer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content. Letters to the Editor, Comments and ideas for coverage may be sent to oraclegunn@gmail.com or posted on our Facebook page. These letters need not be from current students.
Letter from the Editor
Dear Titans, Welcome to the Gunn Oracle’s first week of school issue, and welcome to the 20202021 school year. To put it succinctly, life has changed in profound and unpredictable ways. These past few weeks and months, as The Oracle staff has circumvented and overcome numerous obstacles to create, produce and publish the issue you’re holding in your hands, we’ve often been reminded of that reality. From enduring glitchy Zoom meetings to putting finishing touches on page designs at 1 a.m., being an Oracle journalist has never been a more demanding, challenging and exhilarating endeavor. At this time, it feels appropriate to remind all of our readers what exactly this endeavor is driven by. Simply put, The Oracle is news written by the students, for the students. Throughout the course of what is undoubtedly going to be a tumultuous year, the ethos and principles of The Oracle will stay the same. We’re dedicated to providing timely, insightful and thought-provoking coverage; we’re dedicated to sparking much-needed
conversations and inspiring paradigm shifts. We’re dedicated to the truth. Conversely, what will change and will continue to change is how we’re best fulfilling those ideals. We’re rethinking how we best engage and interact with you, our readers. This past semester, we began revamping our social media feed as a way to directly involve you in our storytelling process, and we’re doubling down on those efforts this semester. (By the way: follow @gunnoracle on Instagram, if you haven’t already!) We’re ushering in new designs for our website, and we’re reevaluating the most important priorities to focus on while pushing the envelope. And, of course, we’re always looking to recruit new talent. If you’re even a little interested in writing, reporting, design or photography—or if you’re simply interested in telling impactful stories, working in a fast-paced newsroom and finding a vibrant community of like-minded peers, join us. We’d love to have you. That’s a quick summary of what we’re doing on our part. To our readers—and at the risk of sounding like an advertisement— one of the best methods to support us and our mission is through subscribing to The Oracle. This issue that we’ve mailed home to every single student is a preview of the interesting, diverse and nuanced content to come in the following weeks and months,
and we’d be thrilled to deliver future copies of The Oracle straight to your doorstep, especially since we won’t be able to distribute our issues on campus. To get started, visit the Gunn webstore. A closing thought: former Washington Post publisher Philip L. Graham once remarked that journalism serves as the first rough draft of history. At this point in our shared history, national news is dominating the airwaves and social media right now. We’re facing a near-unprecedented global pandemic, a national reckoning over racial equality and a deeply divisive presidential election with momentous ramifications—all at once. Yet, even in the turmoil that is 2020, I urge you to remember the news that impacts you the most—I urge you to invest in hyper-local, student-centric journalism. Follow along as The Oracle chronicles how the Gunn community navigates the difficult, daunting months ahead; witness The Oracle document a year unlike any other. Join in as The Oracle captures each controversial debate, each debilitating setback, each tenuous step forward. In the upcoming year, this is where the story of Gunn will be written. Readers, we can’t wait to get started. Sincerely, Joshua Yang, EIC 2020-2021
