The Oracle- November 2016

Teachers, students discuss their personal blogs.

Seniors reflect on the conclusion of their final fall sports season.

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

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THEORACLE Henry M. Gunn High School

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Kaya van der Horst Lifestyle Editor Palo Alto’s public bus lines are subject to change as Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) redesigns its regional transit network. The project, called Next Network, offers three different options for change: Network 70, 80 and 90. Network 80 and 90 would completely eliminate the VTA 88 bus line which serves Gunn High School. The other concept, Network 70, would keep the 88 and 35 bus-lines.

The VTA plans to reveal the draft network plan to the public on Dec. 7. According to Gunn Traffic Safety Representative Penny Ellson, community members can share their opinions or concerns about the presented concepts through written letters to the VTA or signed petitions.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Volume 54, Issue 3

780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306

The 88 bus line serves Gunn during mornings and afternoons, acting as an important source of transportation for students. The bus is especially vital for students commuting from the Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School (JLS) area as it runs along Charleston Road, Middlefield Road and East Meadow Drive.

The three goals listed on vta.org state that the Next Network seeks to better connect VTA transit with the Milpitas and Berryessa Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, improve overall system ridership and improve VTA’s farebox recovery rate.

According to Ellson, VTA is currently one of the worst performing transit agencies nationwide and struggles with its farebox recovery department. Farebox recovery is the money one pays to ride the bus—students pay 75 cents

per ride. However, Ellson says that only a small portion of the bus ride is paid for by the 75 cents, as maintaining the bus services is much more expensive. “You pay a lot less per ride than it actually costs because they have to pay the driver and insurance on that bus, the fuel, the mechanics and the system that supports marketing the bus,” Ellson said. “It’s expensive to run transit.”

Ellson says VTA wants to improve its farebox recovery rate. “They want to reduce the cost of the bus ride so what you pay is a higher percentage of the overall cost,” she said.

The Network 70 concept would keep the 88 line and maintain the current split between ridership and coverage goals, with 70 percent ridership and 30 percent coverage.

VTA—p.3

Students, teachers raise awareness, money for cancer research Deiana Hristov Forum Editor

Efforts have been growing in the Palo Alto community to raise awareness about cancer, as students and staff members have banded together to plan events and open up the discussion about the effects and impacts of the disease. “Many people have been impacted by cancer, whether through the loss of a family member or friend, to knowing someone who is currently battling cancer,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said. “Having a better understanding for this disease that impacts so many people is the first step in gaining more support for research for all types of cancers.”

Campus events The Haunted House and Harvest Festival hosted by the Student Executive Council (SEC) on Oct. 30 and 31 featured carnival games, food and music, and all proceeds went to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. In addition, students were able to donate to research at a Lucile Packard booth.

“Initially, it was Ronald Cushing’s idea to create this haunted house because SEC has no actual events for Halloween,” Wellness Commissioner Vidhu Navjeevan said. “Planning the haunted house was a little difficult because it had never been done before, but once we figured out how we were going to build the walls of the maze, it was easy to find volunteers and decorations.”

It was also the students’ idea to reach out to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. “We contacted Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and asked them if we could donate the proceeds of the haunted house to them, and they said yes,” Navjeevan said. According to Navjeevan, the festival was a success. “My initial goal was raising $200, but we quickly passed that,” she said. “Our overall contribution to the hospital was $1100.”

In addition, Gunn is hosting a bone marrow drive on Nov. 16 from lunchtime to 4 p.m.. Students over 18 who want to participate can attend an informational meeting during FlexTime on Nov. 10. The event was organized to raise awareness about the difficult process leukemia patients face in finding a bone marrow match. “If you are called on to be a donor, you can have one of two things happen: you might be donating stem cells, which is almost the same process as donating blood, or you might be a bone marrow donor, which would require being in a hospital,” English teacher Diane Ichikawa said.

Because of this, only students over 18 will be able to donate. However, the rest of the student population will still be able to learn more about donating bone marrow through the drive. “We still want to give you the information if you’re under 18 because we realize that’s a large part of our population as well,” Ichikawa said. “Then you can sign up onto another form, give your name, birthdate and e-mail and the Be The Match organization will send you a

reminder e-mail [when] you can come and sign up for the donor drives.”

Ichikawa urges students to get involved, as having a large and diverse pool of applicants raises the chances of finding a bone marrow match. “It’s really important for bone marrow registration to get a bigger variety of people who are willing to be donors because right now on the Be The Match registry, roughly 70 percent of the people who are registered are Caucasians, and this is one of the rare times where race really matters: if you’re the same race, there is a much larger chance of a match,” she said.

Community events Cancer activist organizations are also prevalent in the greater Palo Alto community. Students United Against Cancer (SUAC) is a student-funded organization that meets to plan events surrounding cancer awareness. “We are trying to raise awareness for all kinds of cancer through outreach events, guest speakers and bonding activities,” co-founder junior Jamie Huang said. “Throughout the year we’ve done activities such as Relay for Life, Breast Cancer Cupcake Decoration party and a speaking night where we invited many professionals and doctors from Stanford to talk about their experiences with treating cancer patients.”

Huang’s personal experiences with cancer led her to founding the club. “I have some family members who CANCER—p.3

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News

School board candidates describe their plans, qualifications Jay Blas Cabrera has had many experiences in community organizing, with previous attempts at office positions such as campaigning for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, as well as being elected to the second highest student government position at University of California, Santa Cruz, and helping govern a student body of over 15,000.

The largest obstacle Cabrera sees in the election process is how Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) operates, where power in decision-making comes from wealth, Cabrera says. According to Cabrera’s candidacy organization, 0.01 percent of the population pays for over 40 percent of all political donations in the country.

Cabrera finds that the problem of money distribution comes into play in PAUSD elections. “I’m running on a small contribution campaign [of] 100 dollars,” he said. “One of the other candidates is spending $10,000 out of pocket.”

Since Palo Alto is a diverse community, Cabrera believes the reliance on money

Todd Collins

Todd Collins has served as Secretary of Treasury on the Parent-Teacher Association at both Terman Middle School and Gunn. He also spent four years on the Strong Schools Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

With many years of experience on committees, Collins was inspired to run for school board when he witnessed sharp divisions within the school board.

“What I saw in terms of the way the board and senior district management worked together was not the way that I was used to,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is a situation in which my skills and experience may be useful.’”

As a member of the school board, Collins wants to focus on data-driven decision-making. “If two people look at the same data, they often reach the same conclusions—or at least understand why the other party reached the conclusion it reached,” he said. “I find data really helps drain the emotion out of a lot of debates.”

Jennifer DiBrienza, a district parent and former teacher, believes her experience gives her a different perspective.

“The board grapples with really heavy issues, and a lot of times they make policies that directly impact classrooms,” she said. “They know they want to improve [the classroom], but it might have other effects that they don’t know about because they haven’t been in the classroom.”

One of the main pillars of DiBrienza’s campaign is equity and support for all students regardless of background. She believes that the district can make better use of its resources and provide this support to every student. “We are a public school and our obligation is to educate everyone, and I think we have an opportunity to do that,” DiBrienza said. “We’re well-funded, well-educated and informed, so I think we can actually achieve that goal.”

DiBrienza has many experiences in education that have shaped her core

November 8, 2016

Another focal point of Collins’ campaign is achieving academic success for every student. He has noticed that although Palo Alto students perform very well as an average, low-income students perform worse than comparable school districts.

He hopes to change this by making sure that every student has one year of academic performance increase, no matter his or her level.

Having spent the last 10 years working on school committees and having two children graduate from Gunn, Collins believes he is prepared to be on the board. “I think I’ve got a good understanding, from a school, student [and] district system side, what it is to be Palo Alto Unified,” he said.

Collins’ ultimate goal is unity and understanding between the members on the board. “In our community, when it comes to the schools, we’re all on the same side of the table,” he said. “Everybody wants what’s best for our children.”

Jennifer DiBrienza principles. From her work as a PhD student at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, DiBrienza has cultivated a strong desire to use data and research to make better-informed decisions and wants to bring this insight to the school board to help assess programs and improve them. “I think we can better use data, metrics and evaluation to determine how well the things that we’ve implemented are working,” DiBrienza said.

The end-of-semester evaluation is one source of information that DiBrienza believes can be unlocked to help teachers and administrators provide a more balanced experience for students. “I think that’s a treasure trove of data,” she said.

“We can look at that data and either let instructional supervisors or principals look at it and I think getting more consistency in how our teachers view grading and homework load can really make students much happier, but also just feel like it’s a more equitable situation.”

for achieving government positions is unfair. “Our whole community is almost 45 percent non-white,” Cabrera said. “On a cultural level, there is a huge disadvantage.”

If elected to the school board, Cabrera looks to rethink the entire system of democracy for PAUSD. “I would instantaneously bring in a direct democracy system—every decision on the school board would go online for people to go online and vote for,” Cabrera said. “I want more participation and to use 21st century technology to rethink our democratic system.”

Cabrera feels this change would create a more transparent system of integrating change for students as they would be able to vote on issues themselves.

Cabrera also wants to bring computer programs into the learning curriculum for elementary schools. “I want students to be learning computer programing from the third grade, getting ready for a 21st century economy,” Cabrera said. “This is the direction we’re going; it just needs to be prioritized.”

Ch en

I’ve learned that you have to think through what’s going to motivate people, how we are going to get it done, what is going to stand in the way and how we can remove barriers.”

Caswell also believes that it is important to support teachers’ career goals by addressing the high cost of living in Palo Alto and figuring out ways to help teachers afford a home. “Teachers make the biggest difference at school, and there’s nothing else we can put money into that has that big of an impact,” Caswell said.

Caswell believes that her experience and dedication to gathering input from all parties for decision-making makes her the best choice for school board.

“I’ve created a really wide network as a result of being on the board for this long, and I think that serves our whole community,” she said. “I’m not predisposed to make a decision until I’ve heard all sides, and if new arguments come to light during discussions, I’m still listening.”

ry

Palo Alto School Board member Melissa Baten Caswell was prompted to run for the board upon noticing that its decisionmaking process needed improvement. Upon being elected in 2007, she helped created a strategic plan that helped the board make decisions more effectively.

Caswell is concerned about the loss of experience and knowledge on the board after recent retirements. “I didn’t see that [necessary] knowledge to support the superintendent,” she said. “I can stay on for another term and hopefully set the district forward with a way to capture historical information [and processes] better.”

Caswell believes that her background in economics, psychology and business management is a unique asset to the board.

According to Caswell, one must work well with other board members as well as push for action to happen at the lower level. “I’ve managed multi-level organizations, and

Jay Blas Cabrera

Sh er

Melissa Baten Caswell

Find your polling place at eservices.sccgov.org/rov/

Heidi Emberling Palo Alto Unified School Board of Education President Heidi Emberling is running with the goal of raising the level of attention paid to social and emotional health of students as well as academic excellence. “[I want to] make sure students know there are many different definitions of success and that grades don’t tell the full story of the student, making sure [students are] given a quality education and also tools to live a healthy balanced life,” she said.

Emberling also wants to improve equity in education. The board has already implemented some recommendations presented by the Minority Achievement and Talent Development Advisory Committee which included full-day kindergarten and unconscious bias training for teachers. “We have to be unafraid of delving deeply into our student achievement data and looking at how different ethnic groups and socio-economic groups are doing,” she said.

Emberling talks about equity in context of providing comparable experiences across high schools, specifically course consistency.

She cited 15 different grading practices across the two high schools, data gathered by district contractor Hanover Research Group.

Considering the current budget shortfall, Emberling said that she would manage the budget for the long-term.

“We’re moving forward with evaluating the $13 million in programs and resources we’ve added over the past four years since I’ve been on the board,” she said.

Emberling is looking in the direction of more individualized and personalized learning options for students. “We’re looking at handson, project-based experiential learning opportunities like the Advanced Authentic Research program that is more student-directed and more engaging for students,” she said.

Emberling says that students should be active in decisions, which would lead to a stronger community for students to eventually become leaders in. “I was proud to vote for preferential vote for students,” she said. “The more that students are involved, the better the decisions are made.”

—Compiled by Grace Ding, Paulo Frank, Clara Kieschnick-Llamas, Evalyn Li and Tim Sun Photos courtesy of each candidate

News THEORACLE 780 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 354-8238 www.gunnoracle.com

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Shagun Khare Managing Editors Matthew Hamilton Lena Ye News Jenna Marvet Helen Nguyen Samuel Tse Forum Anyi Cheng Deiana Hristov Janet Wang Features Stina Chang Prachi Kale Ariel Pan Centerfold Emma Chiao Mikaela Wayne Sports Grace Ding Paulo Frank Tim Sun Lifestyle Sabrina Chen Tone Lee Kaya van der Horst Changing the Narrative Cassie Bond Photo Editor Richard Yu Graphics Editor Elizabeth Zu

Staff Business/Circulation Matthew Oh

Friday, November 4, 2016

Proposed VTA 88 bus route elimination to affect riders mornings more difficult.”

Overall, it would retain the busses only during school commute times.

Yu, who lives near JLS, also pointed out the concerns parents in her Ellson believes offering bus services during limited times of the day would neighborhood have about the safety of biking. “I know some parents are ultimately decrease the ridership of students due to the inconvenience of opposed to kids biking, especially around my area because it’s far and infrequency. “That doesn’t work for high school students because they have sometimes you have to cross major intersections like El Camino,” Yu said. jobs or other activities and don’t all come and go at the same time,” she said. “Some people aren’t really comfortable with that and so that’s what the “They’re not going to use the bus if they don’t buses serve for.” have service throughout the day because it In addition to providing safe masslimits their flexibility.” transportation, the 88 bus line reduces The 88 bus line currently runs hourly, but in traffic and carbon dioxide emissions a letter written to the VTA in September, the from cars. According to Ellson, an avParent Teacher and Student Association asked erage of 100 students take the bus per for a decrease in the time it takes for the VTA day, reducing many automobile trips 88 bus to loop back, because buses that circulate that would otherwise further impede more frequently tend to get more ridership.

Gunn’s heavily congested school routes.

The PTSA also requested the addition of bus Advanced Placement Environmentrips at the end of the day to pick up students tal Science teacher Eric Ledgerwood returning home from extracurricular activities weighed in on the environmental later in the day. “If you have a play rehearsal or impacts cutting off the bus-line would soccer practice that runs until 7 p.m., you can’t have. “If students are taking the bus, ride the bus home because it’s too late, so you they probably live pretty far away so Richard Yu choose another way to get home,” Ellson said. Gunn students wait at the VTA 88 bus stop after school. it’s going to add more traffic and more The other two proposals, the Network 80 pollution to the road,” he said. “You’re and Network 90 concept, both plan to eliminate the 35 and 88 bus line in order even going to potentially have more time lost from parents who are now to maximize ridership. However, the elimination of these fixed bus lines would driving their students to and from campus, having to adjust their work result in the removal of Paratransits due to a loss of federal funding; paratran- schedules because of it.” sits are special shuttles that provide transportation services to senior citizens Ledgerwood emphasizes the importance of public transportation and disabled members of the community. “It’s required to provide Paratransit in getting single-car drivers off the road and people to school safely in within three-fourths of a mile of any fixed bus route and federal funding is large numbers. “I think busses are overall a huge saving of fuel, time and provided for that,” Ellson said. “So if we lose the bus lines, we may lose Para- energy,” Ledgerwood said. transits and we built our senior housing along these bus lines on purpose for Although Yu believes it would be unfortunate if the 88 bus line were this reason.” The elimination of the 35 and 88 line would not only impact the to get cut for the current class, she sees disadvantages for future generastudents’ daily commute, but Palo Alto’s veterans, disabled and seniors as well. tions as well. “I’m also thinking about my brother who’s going to be a According to junior Lauren Yu, the bus is her main means of transporta- freshman next year and all sorts of other people who need transportation. “If the bus were to go away or be diminished, I would either have to learn tion,” Yu said. “If this goes through, then many kids won’t have that how to drive or find a ride pretty soon,” Yu said. “It would definitely make my transportation, so it’s important to think about the future of Gunn.”

VTA

Community unites to fundraise cancer organizations CANCER

have been affected by cancer, and since there’s not a lot of Palo Alto High School [or] Gunn clubs that raise awareness for cancer, I wanted to start a club that reaches out to teens who are affected by cancer.”

The organization focuses especially on cancer’s impact on high school students. “We categorize cancer patients as young, like children pediatrics and adults, so the adolescents don’t really have a group they fit into,” junior William Park said. “I feel like it’s a problem that’s kind of not addressed

Assistant Business/Circulation Jack Mallery

that often, so I think that’s a big problem and I want to change that.”

The main goal of all outreach events is to help students see the impact cancer has on the community and to allow them to take an active role in combatting the disease. “I think raising awareness for this disease is so important to the Gunn community because it is safe to say that almost everyone has been touched by this illness, which is why it is so important to support this cause,” Navjeevan said.

Huang agrees that cancer is something that

INBOX

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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.

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Please include your name, grade and contact information should you choose to write one.

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Tech Editors Akansha Gupta Amanda Lee Adviser Kristy Blackburn

October 10, 2016 I really liked the format of The Oracle because everything was really easy to find and well placed. I really enjoyed the Gunnion because it poked fun at some topics, and it was a light-hearted break from school. I also liked how there were a ton of stories which covered every aspect of Gunn.

—Michael Panitchpakdi, 10

is not addressed much in the community, but is slowly being brought into view. “Cancer awareness is knowing that a lot of people in Palo Alto have been affected by cancer and watching out for signs of cancer, [as well as] planning for events that help cancer patients. I think it’s important since cancer is one of the leading causes of death and many students don’t pay attention to signs of cancer. There’s a lot of people in the community who do have cancer but they don’t really talk about their experiences, so students in the community aren’t super aware of it.”

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.

I feel like [the issue] was super cool but it was a bit tough to read all the pages. It was a bit packed with all the words and stuff. I really like the topics for the overall newspaper but the format was a bit tough, I guess.

—Samantha Lee, 10

Graphics Artists Sherry Chen Tiffany Chen Cheryl Kao Jackie Lou Jeffrey Yao

Reporters Sohini Ashoke, Bridgette Gong, Joanna Huang, Evalyn Li, Yael Livneh, Maya Rapoport, Seungik Shin, Grace Tramack, Katie Zhang

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The Oracle is an eloquent and wellwritten newspaper. I am always pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail and quality put in the articles. I enjoyed reading the story about Trump supporters. I am awed by the bravery of Trump-supporting students in a place as liberal as Palo Alto.

[The Oracle] is pretty professional, and provides topics that I have thought about myself and gives me more ideas to think about.

—Kai Cable, 9 I like how there are a variety of articles that cater to many different interests, but are still relevant to what’s going on in the world right now, such as the Donald Trump article and Colin Kaepernick’s protest. I would like to see more short stories. It was enjoyable to read and a nice change from factual articles.

—Elizabeth Wong, 12

—Jenilee Chen, 11 I liked the last page of The Oracle, with the Facebook posts. I also liked the topics that were covered, they were interesting. I also liked the interesting facts on the history of homecoming.

—Annabel Lee, 9

The Oracle is the 2016 JEANC Best of the West newspaper.

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News

Awareness grows around rape culture in the Bay Area Janet Wang Forum Editor

Over the past few years, Bay Area colleges have faced an influx of attention over the increase of campus rape cases. According to the United States Department of Education, in 2014 alone, 26 rape cases were reported at Stanford, 15 at University of California, Berkeley, five at San Francisco State University and two at San Jose State University.

These cases have shown an increase from years past.

The Palo Alto Unified School District has had its own share of sexual misconduct cases in the past. One such case occured at the end of the 2015-2016 school year where Palo Alto High School science teacher Ronnie Farrell was arrested for child molestation, sexual battery and communicating and meeting with a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime.

In 2016, the local Brock Turner case made national headlines and spurred outrage in the community. Community members like Stanford law professor Michele Dauber took action by creating a petition to recall Persky and protesting at a rally against Persky’s ruling.

Although Turner was prosecuted, only 34 percent of rape cases are reported to the police, and of those, three percent of perpetrators serve time in jail, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Because of the negligence in prosecuting perpetrators in rape cases, sexual assault prevention organizations coined the term “rape culture,” created in the 1970s to show how society objectifies women and normalizes sexual violence and victim-blaming.

The issue of rape culture proves to be pertinent topic in the upcoming presidential election. Hillary Clinton has faced criticism for her role in the 1975 Kathy Shelton rape case as the defense attorney for Thomas Taylor, the 41-year-old accused of raping 12-yearold Shelton. On Aug. 9, Shelton publicly revealed herself as the victim in the case, and in interview with The Daily Mail, recalled that Clinton requested that Shelton undergo psychiatric evaluation to ensure that she was not fabricating a story.

Throughout the election, Republica n Pa r t y president ia l nominee Donald Tr u mp ha s b e e n c r iticized for ma k i ng offensive com-

ments about sexual assault and hypersexualizing women. Trump has made comments about trying to have sex with multiple women, including journalist Nancy O’Dell in a leaked video from 2005. He made statements such as “grab ‘em by the p***y” because Age Group Distribution of Sexual Violence Victims

15% ages:12-17

54% ages:18-34

3% 28% ages:35-64 ages:65+

Data from the United States Department of Justice Jackie Lou

“when you’re a star, they let you do it.” Since then, Trump has characterized his behavior as merely “locker-room talk.”

Junior Byron Asch says that these comments should not be normalized as “locker-room talk” in society. “I’ve been in plenty of locker rooms in my life, and that’s not what we talk about,” he said. “Although that’s not what a lot of men do in locker rooms and it’s not what a lot of men like to admit to, there is a joking nature about sexual assault, and that’s not a joke at all.”

Junior Anton Lee believes that, though his actions are not justified, Trump’s comments should not get as much coverage. “The attention that Trump gets for these things is a bit ridiculous," he said. "People know that the things that he is saying are wrong.”

However, the normalization of sexually aggressive comments made by Trump are a dangerous influence to today’s youth, Author of “Warning Signs: How to Protect Your Kids from Becoming Victims or Perpetrators of Violence and Aggression” and retired physician Laurie Berdahl says. Berdahl believes the president should serve as a positive and inspiring role model for youth. “When sexual aggression is bragged about or condoned or promoted by a public figure like a presidential candidate, it makes it seem normal and acceptable,” she said. “This will set back any attempts to educate our youth to understand that this is not healthy or normal behavior and it can lead to not only harm for the victim but also the perpetrators in terms of criminal record and loss of stature and not knowing how to have a healthy relationship with a partner.”

For Asch, sexual assault can become openly discussed and prevented if kids are educated from a young age about it. “You have to teach from a very early age in elementary school, if boys are messing with girls and to stop saying that, ‘Oh, he just likes you, it’s fine,’” he said. To accomplish this, young boys and girls need to respect other people and their bodies, Asch says.

Though students discuss rape in the mandatory semester-long course Living Skills, information is limited. McKeown says that open dialogue needs to be consistent, especially throughout high school. “Before you go to college, you learn how to set up a dorm room and you learn how to set up a meal and get your textbooks,” she said. “It’s a reasonable expectation to also learn how to have safe, consensual sex before you go into an environment where you are supposed to act like an emotionally mature adult.”

In addition, according to Lieutenant James Reifschneider, who has had 12 years of experience at the Palo Alto Police Department and three years supervising the sex crimes unit, it is important for teens to look out for each other and trust their instincts to avoid being victimized in a sex crime. “One of the things that I tell people of all ages is that you were gifted the instinct to feel if something is not right and frequently, we choose to ignore those instincts because maybe we’re afraid of offending somebody,” he said. “If you see your friend doing something that is not smart or putting themselves in a potentially vulnerable situation, then as a good friend, you need to intervene.”

Junior Zoe McKeown says that rape culture continues to be a prevalent issue for everyone. “I think rape culture affects everyone, whether they are female, male, gender non-conforming, transgender, non-binary and more,” she said. “No matter where you are in the United States, no matter how liberal or politically correct you are, it will find you and it stores itself in these little microaggressions that we see around us.”

According to McKeown, these sexual assault microaggressions are found in rape myths and dress codes that hypersexualize women. Oftentimes, the media depicts rape cases as revolving around the storyline of a woman who goes out to party and is sexually assaulted based on the type of revealing clothing she is wearing, McKeown said.

Berdahl agrees that women are often overly objectified. “Objectification of women is making them appear or believing that they are not whole people with feelings, thoughts, talents and worth except as body parts or as physical objects of attraction to be used for sexual purposes,” she said. “When you rate a woman based on her body type or parts and you talk about her breasts or weight and attractiveness, you are discounting the fact that she is a human being.”

Additionally, Asch says that rape culture is also perpetuated by social stigmas and gender norms. “If you don’t have experience with someone who has been sexually assaulted or raped, you don’t really necessarily understand the gravity of the situation and there is a lot of joking about it,” he said. “If a man is to tell his friends that, ‘Hey man, I was sexually assaulted,’ generally, they’re not going to be taken very seriously.”

Ultimately, McKeown hopes to break the stigma surrounding rape and instead establish a society where sexual assault victims are cared for and supported. “Whether it be one in five women or one in 52 women, I don’t care what the statistic is—that’s one too many,” she said. “The more compassion that we can cultivate in society, the more understanding we have, and the less cases of sexual assault and rape will happen.”

Forum

Friday, November 4, 2016

5

STATE PROPOSITIONS RAISE QUESTIONS, CONTROVERSY

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Stina Chang uytWhen English learners start attending school, they are required to take classes that are predominantly taught in English. This is due to the outdated Proposition (Prop) 227 passed in 1998 that restricts school districts’ ability to offer dual-language programs that benefit immigrant students. However, Prop 58 will shift the control of English learners’ education back to parents and teachers.

With Prop 58, English learners will achieve proficiency at a faster rate, English speakers will be able to be involved in second-language immersion programs and school districts and parents will regain control over their children’s education.

Since English learners make up 22 percent of all public school students, they should have access to the most efficient way to become proficient in English. Under this year’s Prop 58, schools would be allowed to use programs such as bilingual education, in which teachers can teach all subjects in English and in the student’s native language, to help English learners not only become fluent

P R O P 6 4

h Evalyn Li gjiiOn Nov. 8, citizens have the opportunity to vote on the legalization of marijuana in California. Specifically, Proposition (Prop) 64 legalizes the recreational use and sale of marijuana for people 21 and over. The benefits of voting yes on Prop 64 outweigh its costs; legalization is a first step in addressing drugrelated crime and arrests as well as providing protection for people working in the marijuana industry.

Legalization would cut down on drug-related arrests, decreasing the amount of money the state spends on incarceration. Without legal marijuana, non-violent crimes such as possession result in arrest. This is unfair, considering there is a disproportionate number of Black and Latino arrests. According to a Drug Policy Alliance report, African–Americans are two times more likely to be arrested, and Latinos are 35 percent more likely to be arrested than Caucasians. In Colorado, where legalization occurred in 2012, the total number of marijuana arrests decreased by 46 percent between 2012 and 2014.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office reports that California law enforcement and justice systems would reduce law enforcement spending by at least $100 million, given that minor possession

faster but also to aid in teaching the student other academic subjects.

Native English speakers also have the benefit of being involved in language immersion programs. The California Department of Education reported that only 312 out of 10,393 schools in the state offer multilingual programs. Prop 58 expands native English speakers’ opportunity to learn by removing barriers that prevent schools from developing multilingual programs.

The current system has seen improvements in Hispanic test scores since Prop 227, according to Ballotpedia. However, it forces a failed method of English instruction on immigrant students. The system requires teachers to teach in a language their students barely understand. Instead, students should learn in an environment that accommodates their learning needs.

For almost 20 years, Prop 227 has restricted bilingual education in school unless enough parents sign a waiver to expand it.

Prop 58 seeks to overturn this requirement, providing schools and parents with more flexibility when it comes to choosing how to teach their kids. Since more parents are recognizing the growing value of bilingual skills in the current career field, Prop 58 gives them the option to help prepare their kids for a skill applicable to the global economy. By voting “yes” on Prop 58, all students will be ensured equal success.

—Chang, a senior, is a Features Editor.

P R O P 5 8

would be legal and penalties be reduced.

From a business perspective, the marijuana industry, valued at $2.7 billion and growing in 2015 according to ArView Market Research, is a lucrative industry that the state could easily tap into for tax revenue. Ultimately, this proposition would regulate an already thriving industry and bring protection to industry participants.

Another improvement to people’s lives are the rights that would be provided to marijuana workers, who would be treated and protected as agriculture workers.

Today, many workers who grow or sell are exploited for participating in an illegal industry. The term “trimmigrants” refers to workers who flock to the Emerald Triangle, a region in Northern California with a high concentration of cannabis production.

While trimmigrants do not come from a single background, recent investigative reports on the National Public Radio and other sources have revealed a phenomenon of human trafficking behind the scenes of the marijuana-growing industry.

Ultimately, a “yes” on Prop 64 would allow funds toward state programs as well as lower incarceration rates and worker protection.

—Li, a senior, is a reporter.

Samuel Tse The single-use plastic bag­is a notorious and seemingly ever-lasting bag that roams from city to city, littering the streets. Proposition (Prop) 67 aims to stop the creation of this trash by ratifying Senate Bill 270, which will effectively ban plastic bags in California.

Over 151 counties and local jurisdictions have already prohibited grocery and retail stores from providing plastic bags to customers at the time of purchase. Voting “yes” on Prop 67 means plastic bags would be banned statewide—not just in certain areas.

Prop 67 has many environmental benefits.

According to The Wall Street Journal, 100 billion plastic bags are used annually in the United States with most only being used once.

This causes space issues in landfills and litter problems in cities. Although plastic bags are recyclable, a single plastic bag can take 20 to 1,000 years to completely break down, Graphics by Jeffrey Yao even biodegradable-specific bags.

Plastic bags can also affect a variety of wildlife. When plastic bags end up in the ocean, they float. Because of this, they can seem like jellyfish, especially to marine animals.

Creatures like sea turtles, tuna and sunfish mistake the bags for food and many die of suffocation or starvation upon ingestion. In addition, birds are also affected by plastic litter.

An example is the island Midway Atoll, a popular mating area for Albatrosses. On the island, beaches are filled with plastic trash from the ocean, and through autopsies, scientists found that many of the Albatrosses’ stomachs were filled with plastic. All this plastic can greatly endanger an animal population.

By effectively banning plastic bags, California sets an example for other state legislatures to pass similar laws. The plastic bag tax that California enacted in August 2014 gives past precedent of this happening.

While some people say plastic bags should be allowed in stores for the convenience of customers, the risk and danger these bags pose to the environment is greater than having that convenience as an option. Instead of using plastic bags, many stores offer paper bags, a more eco-friendly option.

If one plastic bag can have an effect on the environment, think of the billions of plastic bags that will engulf the earth if we continue with our plastic bag usage. This needs to end now.

—Tse, a senior, is a News Editor.

P R O P 6 7

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Forum

are third party candidates worth voting for?

PRO

Many people in the 2016 presidential election state that they dislike both main options. This is where third-party candidates, like Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, come in. It is a common myth that voting third party is a “wasted” vote; however, this is far from true. Voting third-party can have benefits, such as affecting the balance of an election.

In modern United States presidential elections, there are two main candidates—one from the Republican and one from Democratic party, hence the “twoparty” system. In terms of voting, each person’s vote does not directly count in determining who wins the election because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a group of representatives from each state that votes for a candidate. Most states generally vote liberally or conservatively, but 12 states are “swing states” that can go either way. This is where voting third-party can be influential because it can take away votes from a certain candidate without forcing citizens to vote against their beliefs and limiting them to only two candidates.

Voting third-party has shown in the past to have influence on the direction a state swings.

For example, in the 2000 election with Republican nominee George Bush and Democratic nominee Albert Gore, it was believed that part of the reason

Bush won was because of the shift third-party voting caused. In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader, a Green Party candidate, was believed to have shifted the swing state of Florida. In Florida, Bush defeated Gore by 537 votes. Considering that Nader received 97,421 votes, this is an example of how third-party candidates can shift the election. If people want to take away votes from a candidate they don’t support, voting for the third-party is an effective way to implement that. Voting third-party is certainly not a wasted vote, and can make an impact on our country’s elections.

A common reason people do not vote third-party during an election is the “wasted-vote” myth. This happens when the voter considers both parties to be unideal. These voters who view both candidates unfit for presidency generally vote for one of the main-party candidates who they consider the lesser of two evils. People view the lesser evil as someone who will do a better job at leading the country than the other candidate. This, however, is not the right way to choose the president for the next four years, who will make crucial decisions that can affect the whole world. People should vote for who they truly believe will make the best president, and “voting someone who truly represents their personal values. third party If people continue voting for the lesser of two evils, the prevents the two-party system—which only covers specific policies and limitations the values—will continue. The American people will only be two-party system puts on people’s exposed to a narrow view of political opinions. The two-party views.” system itself puts a limit on people’s views, only allowing them to see policies of the Democratic and Republican party.

The reality of it is that there are many registered political parties in the United States, but only few receive media coverage. This is why many third-parties and third-party candidates are unheard of. If everyone keeps voting for the lesser of two evils, they are doing nothing but promoting the system that is forcing them to choose between two subpar candidates. Voting third party can help prevent the limitations the two-party system puts on people’s views.

Voting third party should not be considered a wasted vote because people are expressing their dissatisfaction with the current two-party system.

Jac

k ie

Lo u

—Ashoke, a sophomore, is a reporter.

Clinton 45.3%

National Polling Averages

Stein 2.1%

Johnson 4 .6%

Source: usatoday.com

Trump 43.4% Creative Commons License

The 2016 elections have witnessed both parties candidates launching personal attacks to defame their opponent.

The Republican media has portrayed Hillary Clinton as a lying Wall Street puppet who’s not in jail because she got off on a technicality. Similarly, staunch Democrats consider Donald Trump a racist, chauvinistic xenophobe, who, if elected, would consider nuclear weapons his personal toys.

It’s unsurprising, then, that many American citizens distrust both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. According to an NBC Election Tracking poll, only 11 percent and 17 percent of Americans consider Clinton and Trump trustworthy, respectively. With elections approaching, several American citizens who don’t support either the Republican or Democratic “ voting campaign plan to vote for a third-party canfor a third didate—either Libertarian Gary Johnson or party candidate Green Party’s Dr. Jill Stein. is equivalent to Unfortunately, as history has shown over throwing a and over again, America’s bipartisan govtemper ernment makes it extremely unlikely for a tantrum.” third-party candidate to become president. In fact, Abraham Lincoln, the only president from a third-party, won because the Democrats were split into the Northern and Southern Democrats. Similarly, in 1912, Roosevelt’s Bull Moose party took votes away from the Republican candidate, Taft. This gave Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who had only 42 percent of the popular vote, the presidency. Thus, voting for a third-party candidate doesn’t make the third-party candidate more likely to win; it only makes one of the other candidates more likely to lose because it splits the votes among the citizens who are most aligned.

More recently, when Ross Perot ran as a third-party candidate in 1992, he

received 19 percent of popular vote, but no state votes. America’s electoral system is biased toward a bipartisan system because in 48 of the 50 states, the party with the majority in the popular vote gets all electoral votes in the state.

Third-party voters consider their choice anti-establishment and make grand, sweeping claims about idealism. Though it is certainly noble to vote for the person who most shares your views, it’s impractical—you might as well vote for yourself.

Whether you like the political system the United States has today or not, it’s the one that exists.

This election is historic for many reasons: if elected, Hillary Clinton would be our first female president and Donald Trump would be the first president with no political experience. However, it’s unlikely that this election will be the second time in American history that a third-party candidate will win the presidency.

According to GenForward’s September 2016 survey, support for third-party candidates has been exaggerated and mostly limited to white millennials. For every voter that votes third-party, nine will vote either Republican or Democratic. In a close race like the 2016 elections, voting for a third-party candidate is equivalent to throwing a temper tantrum and choosing neither of the candidates who are running.

Instead, voting citizens should make the responsible, adult decision. They need to research both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to understand their policies beyond what newspaper headlines scream. And yes, if all else fails, voters can fall back on voting against the candidate they definitely don’t want in charge of America.

—Gupta, a senior, is a Tech Editor.

CON

Friday, November 4, 2016

7

SHOULD GUNN REPORT WEIGHTED GPA? On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Palo Alto School Board decided to report weighted GPA for current Palo Alto seniors. Both students and administrators had strong opinions on the topic: a petition on Change.org on behalf of keeping weighted grades had over

NO

YES

1,000 signatures, while 68 teachers at Palo Alto High School signed an open letter urging for the end of weighted grade reporting.

Sabrina Chen

Jenna Marvet

“Students

GPA has enormous magnitude for many students. But what Most upperclassmen have done it: looked longingly at a Naviance graph need to have does that number mean, exactly? For some schools, it is a of a dream school, their GPA just two-tenths below the average. The simreport of how many As, Bs, Cs, or Ds a student has on their a sense of what plified comparison of test scores to GPA in reference to college admission transcript. But for most schools, it represents both the difthey can handle has made many students romanticize that little number. Understanding ficulty of the course load as well a student’s grades. Schools how the admission process works can be confusing, which makes it easy and choose a balshould report weighted GPAs to encourage risk-taking, reto jump on a bandwagon that a weighted GPA would potentially make anced schedule duce stress, give students access to merit scholarships and one student’s GPA look more attractive than the rest. In reality, howincrease students’ chances of getting into colleges. on their own.” ever, the GPA that a high school submits to colleges is inconsequential and, Reporting weighted GPA encourages students to challenge thus, Gunn has no reason to report weighted GPAs on student transcripts. themselves and take harder classes. By giving students a 4.0 if As honors, accelerated, Advanced Placement (AP) and other challenging courses they receive a B in a weighted class, weighted GPAs remove the have become commonplace at high schools across the nation, each high school has pressure to get straight-As. Without the weighted GPA, students who taken on their own weighing system. As a result, weighted GPAs are highly subjective choose to step out of their comfort zone are disadvantaged, as they may have based on the school. For example, someone at one school may get extra weight on their a lower GPA than students who take easier courses. Earning a B in Advanced GPA for an accelerated or middle-level class, while others, like Gunn students, may only Placement (AP) Physics C is much harder than earning an B in Conceptual receive weight for honors and AP classes. For that reason, colleges often recalcuPhysics, and the weighted GPA will reflect that.

High school is the time to take late student GPAs. Without doing this, a GPA is basically meaningless to an risks, so that students know their true potential before heading off to college. admissions representative due to weighting inconsistencies. Universities Weighted GPAs also give students access to scholarships and college admishave often crafted their own system for calculating GPAs, rendering sions.

Students without weighted GPAs are at a disadvantage for schools “Univerany printed GPA submitted by a high school useless in the college adthat use weighted GPAs for merit scholarships, such as the University of missions process. Many college admissions offices will totally disresities have Oregon.

Weighted GPAs will never be lower than unweighted GPAs, so gard any classes that are not considered “core” subjects when recalcrafted their colleges will see applicants in a better light if they have access to the culating, while some will disregard freshman year grades entirely. weighted ones. According to National Association for College Admisown system, renPlus, admissions representatives tend to look more closely at an sion Counseling, two-thirds of high schools use weighted GPAs, and in dering any printentire transcript, rather than just a single number. They can see the Bay Area, only the Fremont school district does not send weighted a student’s academic strengths and any patterns in the student’s ed GPA submitGPAs. Weighted GPAs do not harm the college application process; rather, grades, like an incline in grades over time or a decline over a parted useless.” similar to interviews or optional essays, they give additional insight about ticularly challenging semester. Since the transcript includes the tiapplicants.

Because weighted GPAs are only beneficial to students, they altles of classes, admissions officers can easily see the student’s success leviate the stress associated with college applications and admissions. in more challenging classes without having to see a printed weighted Opponents might say that weighted GPAs lead to an arms race of loading GPA. The transcript as a whole can say positive things about a student’s work up AP classes.

While this may be true for some students, many also take AP habits, skills and passions, while a number that has been concocted by some high classes for the sake of learning.

Removing weighted GPAs will cause more school’s particular weighing standard tells very little. Simply having a higher GPA by reportstress.

Students need to have an intrinsic sense of what they can haning a weighted GPA is inconsequential to an admissions officer trying to figure out how dle and choose a balanced schedule on their own. In addition, you, as an individual, will fit into the academic life of your selected major and school. according to Gunn’s Challenge Success survey, “no signifiIt is true, though, that a handful of large, out-of-state schools will award scholarships cant differences in stress-related physical symptoms were based on whatever GPA is sent in by the high school. Thus, the best solution is to found based on student grade level or the number of AP/ “the best allow students at both Palo Alto Unified School District high schools to request Honors courses taken. ” Although stress and the health that a weighted GPA is reported when necessary. The instances where it truly is solution is to of students are a major part of the weighted GPA denecessary are few and far between, so each student should have to make their allow students bate, studies show that there is no correlation between case and take responsibility for the process. The medium through which this is to request that a stress-levels and the number of AP classes taken.

Thus, reported should be standardized across the district. even though weighted GPAs might motivate students weighted GPA is The college process is confusing to say the least, and it is easy to get caught up to take more honors and AP classes, they do not affect in a whirl of numbers. When it comes down to it, though, GPAs sent by the high reported when the wellness of students. school are subjective and are therefore subsequently ignored to be recalculated it is necesFurthermore, even without weighted GPAs, there is still for a more reliable number. competition to take challenging course-loads. Some may sary.” argue that weighted GPAs cause students to take too many —Marvet, a senior, is a News Editor.

AP classes. However, removing weighted GPAs isn’t the solution to this perceived problem. In every college application, students list the number of AP classes they take in high school. Students who “overload” on AP classes do so with or without weighted GPAs. College admissions, stress-levels and courses taken are huge parts of students’ lives. Removing weighted GPA would only add to that stress by allowing less opportunity for students to take risks and restricting student choice in college choice and scholarship accessibility.

­—Chen, a senior, is a Lifestyle Editor­­.

Elizabeth Zu

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Forum

CURVES AS GRADE INFLATION METHOD HURT, NOT HELP, STUDENTS

Lena Ye These are the three most comforting words a student can hear: “There’s a curve.” In most classes, teachers want the average score on a test to be in the mid-80s, so when the mean falls short of the acceptable range, they introduce a curve. Curves are a way to boost grades if the average score is too low, the test is too hard or the class is not prepared.

Intended to scale scores and even the distribution, curves are almost always introduced to better students’ grades. Although an easy short-term solution to a flawed test, in the long-run, curves foster unhealthy competition and deter hard work, making them unfair.

Curves inherently cultivate a cutthroat environment and discourage collaboration. A curve is usually calculated from the average and scales all scores up to a desired average, which pits students against one another in hopes of getting a steeper curve. If more people do well and the average is higher, the curve will be lower. Thus, there is little incentive to help other classmates. Studying together might not be as lucrative if it means 10 other classmates will do better on the test, lowering the curve. According to vice president of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Barbara Davis, students who work in groups develop an increased ability to problem-solve and display a greater understanding “Curves make the test fit the of the material. Working in groups students instead improves students’ study skills, of making the and curves hamper this. students fit the If teachers use curves on a test.” majority of tests, students will begin to rely on it. Why bother studying for an "A" on a test if you know a "B" will be curved up?

Curves nurture laziness. Students can be secure in their low grades as long as they know the rest of the class has failed along with them. In this way, curves encourage lower standards among students.

Moreover, curves make the test fit the students instead of making the students fit the test.

Teachers should be able to evaluate whether a class is ready for a test since they do write them; thus, teachers should be teaching the material well enough so that the students are prepared for the assessment, or otherwise write easier tests. If a teacher sends in his or her class to take a test thinking they are ready, and the average score is a "C," then there are serious issues with the way the class is being conducted. The teacher should be able to

evaluate student readiness by introducing smaller assessments.

Despite the fact that students' grades could potentially suffer, students will sometimes share information about the test with friends who are going to take the test later. There is generally one curve for a test, no matter the class period or the teacher.

However, oftentimes earlier periods do much worse on a test than a later period because of this cheating. Even if a student in the earlier period didn’t tell any of his or her friends about the test, “There are many they will receive a poor grade on ways to boost a test that was too difficult gr ades, most of for the class, simply because which are far of people who are cheating. better than a Also, a class can be taught curve.” by many different teachers who focus on different content. One class might do better than another class on a test simply because the teacher taught material more similar to what was going to be on the test. To have these classes with different teachers or periods graded together is an injustice.

While curves are an imperfect system, alternative options are still neccessary for teachers. In a perfect world, teachers would understand their tests and classes well enough that they would be able to ensure, without any alternative methods, that the average would be high enough. However, there are extenuating factors outside of the teacher’s control. Things happen—students don’t listen or do the homework—and averages are not always as high as a teacher would like them to be. Thus, there still needs to be some kind of method to adjust grades; curves, however, are not the answer.

Some other techniques teachers can use are retakes, test corrections or extra credit opportunities. Retakes are quite simple. Some teachers opt to put minimums (only a student with a low enough grade can retake the test), or maximums (students can only improve their scores to a certain point) on them. Test corrections are even more cut and dry. Teachers will usually have students write corrections for the problems they lost points on for partial credit. Some classes utilize a method where the most missed questions on the test are given again as a quiz, and students who get the answer correct will have their score changed on the test.

Extra credit opportunities are a bit more uncommon, and there’s a lot of room for improvisation. Ways to offer extra credit can range from givng a presentation on a subject to attending an out-of-school event that relates to the school subject.

Sometimes the average grade does not accurately reflect the class's ability or knowledge.

It’s not fair to students for a test average to be in the low 70s, simply because of a miscommunication between the teacher and the class. That’s not to say that curves are the solution, however—there are many ways to boost grades, most of which are far better than a curve.

—Ye, a senior, is a Managing Editor.

Faces in the Crowd

Elizabeth Zu

Does curving grades benefit students?

“I think curving grades would motivate students to work harder because they will have more hope for a better overall grade.”

“I think it helps take pressure off of tests. If your class doesn't really know the material, it helps you get back on track.”

“I think that curving grades is helpful because people make little mistakes all the time and curving the grade could help fix that.”

“I don’t see curving as a bad thing.

Either the subject was not taught well or there was a lack of understanding.”

Anna Chin (9)

Jessalyn Grant-Bier (11)

Gary Wu (11)

Juan Santos (12) —Compiled by Katie Zhang

Features Student, staff share funny

BLACK FRIDAY adventures

For two more funny Black Friday stories, visit gunnoracle.com

Math teacher Jessica Hexsel shares hectic shopping story Shannon Yang SEC-Oracle Liaison On one Ohio Thanksgiving, math teacher Jessica Hexsel’s family finished dinner early to line up at Best Buy. Though Hexsel didn’t need to buy anything, she tagged along with her family to find a deal on a laptop. Upon arrival at 6:30 a.m., however, 100 people were already in front of them.

Soon, it started snowing. “I did not have enough clothing or gloves or hats,” Hexsel said.

“We took turns going to the nearby gas station to refill our coffee so that everybody was warm and staying awake.”

Hexsel was never a fan of Black Friday. “People were pushing past me and I was super passive,” she said. “I didn’t care if I got in. I kept getting pushed back.”

Now, Hexsel avoids Black Friday. “It’s crazy that the stores profit from making the deals seem like they’re a lot better than normal days, but really they’re not that much better,” she said. “They play on people who don’t have a lot of money, making them feel like that is the time when they can afford more things, and you’re asking people to sacrifice time with their families to be able to afford things.”

Looking back, Hexsel thinks the situation was ridiculous. “The fact that it snowed and we still stayed outside the whole time and didn’t give up because we really could have gone home at any time, and the fact that we stayed sitting there for hours for really no reason whatsoever is the funniest thing to me,” she said.

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Junior Christopher Yang mistaken for Sephora employee by shopper Sabrina Chen Lifestyle Editor Junior Christopher Yang was shopping with his mother on Black Friday when a young couple came up to him and asked if he was an employee at Sephora. “It was crowded,” Yang said. “But then this woman and man came up to me and asked if I knew where some makeup products that they wanted were.”

As shocked as he was, Yang still managed to give a reasonable response. “I told them, ‘Oh, sorr y, I’m not exactly sure,’” Yang said. “‘I think you should try asking someone who actually works at Sephora.’”

Yang hypothesizes that this mishap occurred because he was wearing all black, the uniform of Sephora employees. “It was a hectic environment, but I was still shocked,” Yang said. “I don’t know anything about makeup.”

Although Yang didn’t really mind the experience, he advises future shoppers not to wear all black. “I know that in crowded places people tend to think less, but the situation was quite awkward,” Yang said. “Try to just dress like a normal shopper.”

All in all, Yang sees the experience as adding a bit of spice to his Thanksgiving break. “I thought it was an interesting but funny experience,” Yang said. “I will be able to tell this story many times.”

Graphics by Tiffany Chen and Sherry Chen

10

Features

Members of Gunn community share Senior Uri zakai or plans to join military after high school

After graduation, most high school seniors look to spend the following years of their lives in college or at a job. For senior Uri Zakai Or, however, his path is different. Zakai Or plans to enlist in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) after completing high school. “My plans for joining the IDF, for now, are taking a gap year program in Israel, which would mainly involve learning about Judaism and taking part in community service,” he said.

IDF uses a military draft to make enlistment mandatory for all capable citizens older than 18. Zakai Or moved here from Israel before his junior year and plans to move back after graduation to join the Israeli military.

He is already making efforts to prepare for his career in the military, including intense workout regimes. “In the past year or so I have been getting into running and body weight workouts to make sure that I get to the physical tests in great physical shape,” he said. “Apart from training, I have already participated in the most basic form of testing this summer while visiting Israel, which included a physical check for things like sight, heart rate, blood pressure, a background check, an interview and an SAT-type test.”

Zakai Or sees enlistment as a way of being a meaningful part of his community in Israel. “The motivation for me is very simple: to become the role model I see each and every IDF soldier as and [to give] back to the country,”

he said. “From the moment of birth until the age of draft there is always somebody watching your back, whether it be border patrol, the air force finding and destroying rocket launchers in Gaza or just a soldier staying up all night on guard duty.” Zakai Or places strong emphasis in community, as reflected in his dedication to community service. He is currently the regional board leader of community service in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, a community dedicated to connecting and empowering Jewish youth.

According to Zakai Or, the Palo Alto Unified School District has three to five Jewish students who are seriously considering enlisting in the IDF, himself included.

However, Zakai Or finds the lack of greater participation unsettling. “For me, the amount of Israelis or Jews born to Israeli parents who [go to] college, and never enlist to help out their home country is disturbing,” he said.

To Zakai Or, the choice to join the IDF was unquestionable. “I never doubted my enlistment and will never look back on it,” he said. “The only thought which went through my mind [regarding the service] after landing in the U.S. [is] what the next steps are: when do I do my testing and how do I make sure I can still stay here until the end of high school while still going through the drafting process which takes place back home?”

—Written by Anyi Cheng

Science teacher Cathy Cohn gives her mother a tour of a Navy vessel.

To many students, high school is when they figure out their interests and brainstorm plans for the future. However, not every student ends up with an answer; science teacher Catherine Cohn was one of these students. “When I was in high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Cohn said. “This was after taking the PSAT and I started getting all those glossy flyers in the mail from colleges. I got a flyer from the Naval Academy that piqued my interest.”

This interest led her to join the Naval Academy Summer Seminar, which was a one-week-long summer training that gave a taste of the Naval Academy. “I really liked it and decided to apply to the Naval Academy, and once I expressed interest in the Naval Academy, I started getting flyers about ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps],” Cohn said. “As time went on, I started questioning whether I really wanted to give up a normal college experience to go to a service academy. I ended up deciding to do ROTC so that I [could] have a more traditional college experience and be able to end up with a commission in the Navy after I graduate. It was a great solution to my not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up and, in the meantime, having job security and serving the country.”

During her time in ROTC, Cohn had to balance two different lifestyles. “For the most part, I was a normal college student as I only had ROTC obligations about two to three times a week,” Cohn said. “The biggest time commitment was the classes.

Every semester there was a naval science course I had to take. I did ROTC in MIT and went to Harvard. The classes were about an hour to an hour-and-a-half twice a week so I would get back to my dorm and shower before my roommates were even awake.”

Cohn's time in the military has helped her to learn more about herself. “It certainly helped me get to know my strengths, my challenges and what I wanted to do with my life,” Cohn said. “That is partly why I ended up going into teaching because my favorite part of being a naval officer was the relationship, mentorship and leadership I got to experience.”

After being in the ROTC, Cohn was commissioned as an officer and spent five years in the Navy. In the Navy, Cohn traveled to many places that fed her wanderlust. “I went to Singapore, Dubai, Bahrain, Western Australia and Diego Garcia, which is a tiny island in the Indian Ocean," Cohn said. "I don’t think you can get there if you’re not in the military, so that was cool.”

Although the Navy had good pay and travels, stresses were high. “When I was serving on the ship for two and a half years, I stood watch on the bridge and at certain points we had three watch sections, which meant that I would stand up there every 18 hours,” Cohn said. “I couldn’t get on a sleep schedule and the 12 hours I wasn’t on watch, I would have to do my regular job as a division officer. That was tough.”

Although Cohn was fortunate to not

lose any colleagues to combat, she recalls losing colleagues to death by suicide. “A colleague I worked with in 2007 and 2008 on the ship lost his life to suicide shortly after I transferred and moved away,” Cohn said. “That was really hard for me. He left behind small children.” Cohn recalls the lack of support in the Navy when she lost her father and believes that more support is needed. “I went to see a counselor because I really wanted some grief counseling and support,” Cohn said. “I met with the counselor and after 20 minutes he said, ‘Okay, I’m going to diagnose you with depression.

Here’s a prescription for antidepressants.’

I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want meds. Maybe I need meds but I really want to talk to somebody,’ and he said, ‘Oh, we don’t really do that.’ Now that was over ten years ago so times may have changed but that was really tough for me and I didn’t feel like I had the support to really seek out counseling.”

Cohn also believes that veterans should be given more support while they adjust to civilian life. “The hardest part is transition: leaving the service and going back to the civilian world is a really tough transition and I think that the Veterans Affairs (VA) plays a part but not every VA hospital has the same resources,” she said. “I think that the transition is tough for many military veterans because a lot of folks have PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] or just have a really hard time getting back to a different sort of life.”

—Written by Elizabeth Chung

Cour te

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at hy C o

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Science te acher Cathy Cohn d e sc r ib e s experience in U.S. Navy

Features

Friday, November 4, 2016

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what veterans day means to them Dear Grandpa John,

Navy, and I think that Alth most commendable aspeisctsone of the of your story. partyou, gh I could not attend the At my age you were parti So my father was stunned at me say that our youth defin cipating in one of the most es th wh e o am we ount of appreciation and are, and while going to ous and difficult occupastrenu- has shaped Gu nn re sp ec t ev can think of: being a part tions I has greatly who I am, being in the Navy When that eryone had for you. many people of sh ap th e ed wh o United States Navy in Wor I learn about the differeyou are. When fected by your actions, it are afld W ar II and Vietnam. At my ag what our troops had to nt wars and to be proud of your experieis easy e, I ca nnot imagine seeing what immediately th ink of yo go through, I I also find it interesting nces. yo u ha d u.

Yo that u always yo u have to see during that time of tell stories about your tim yo us ed ur life yo . ur kn ow e led in ge the Navy, from th Experiencing the foref from sa of the most impactful warorsnt of one a night ving another man to enjoying at war. I elovNavy beyond your time is something that must ha in history one of yooff. Later in the Vietnam War, saved a mae the story of when you all of your bravery and ex ve taken ship offsh ur orders was to position your a cruise lin n’s life while captaining er. The man ha ore and give Joining in the Navy at pethrtise. the Army and the Marincovering fire to off the ship, and you used da jumped e ag e of 17 defines patriotism direc fire from the Vietces while taking meth od to search for th zigzag e ma n, ong. Hearing which While I am working on coand courage. thoset sto cations, going to different llege appli- that yo ries is touching because I know Navy. Itis a technique you used in the my friends and studying for events with order u were taking such high risks in always goes to show that there are were on the sea in close qu school, you periencto serve our country. Those ex- in the ways to use what we learn men you had never met. At arters with and pe es greatly affect a person’s life easy tofuture, and I think it can be enlisted to removed charre 17 you were be dif rsonality, which I can imagine can that wo forget that sometimes when rk is difficult. gun turrets, something whd bodies from of yo ficult to deal with. Although some Yo ur beyond the maturity one ich goes far expe ur quirks have stemmed from your and fo life is a very noble one, ag e. Al th ough my kn ow has at that coun riences, the service you gave to our family r that I think everyone in my try outweighs those co appreciates all of th Navy is limited, I can imagledge of th e Although you are not my nsequences. and energ y you have put inte time ine that that grandfa o ou job was not a favored one.

You had by blood, our family still takes pride in ther country. Thank you for your timer your to give up so much of yo ur past and the good you have done. My and dedication. youth and early years family is always impres se in order to be accomplishments you haved by all of the Love, culminated in yo Ca ur ssie life a part of , and how much you had to giv e up .

At your 90th birthda the people who attended goy,esthe roughly 40 of the lives you have toucto show all he and affected so far. d

assie sy of C Cour te

Bond

Staffer C as sie bond de dic ate s l e t t e r to g r a ndf a th e r

Captain John Holmes and his wife Mille admire the view during a cruise.

Graphics by Tiffany Chen, Jackie Luo and Elizabeth Zu Photos by Vibha Arun, Samantha Carlos, Max Wang and Richard Yu

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Cente

A Look into Homeless Helen Nguyen and Maya Rapoport News Editor and Reporter

Despite a 14 percent reduction in homelessness in Santa Clara County from 2013 to 2015, homelessness still pervades many parts of the Bay Area. Many people are trying to combat the crisis by creating organizations, offering resources to the homeless, trying to change policies and providing affordable housing.

Every two years, a nationwide census of all homeless individuals is conducted, and there has been a small decline in homelessness over the last five years.

However, in metropolitan areas, the problem has exacerbated. “In [San Francisco] there was a 4 percent increase between 2013 and 2015,” Deputy Director on Homelessness and Supportive Housing in San Francisco Sam Dodge said.

“We are doing a count in January, but all signs point to an increase in population, particularly street homeless.”

Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) Sergeant James Reifschneider has not seen a significant change in Palo Alto’s homeless population in his 12 years of service, but he believes the ratio of homeless people to the overall population is slightly ; therefore, he believes some change is necessary. “Because our community and police department have taken [a] compassionate approach to homelessness, we probably attract a homeless population that may be disproportionate to our total population,” Reifschneider said. “[Palo Alto] is a safe community and [has] many resources to provide food and housing, and, as a result, we have a substantial homeless population.”

Issues with housing East Palo Alto Mayor Donna Rutherford has been working with nonprofit organizations, faith-based communities and housing advocates to find housing for the homeless in East Palo throughout her term. During this time, Rutherford has seen an increase in the number of homeless people, including families with children. She believes the main cause of homelessness in East Palo Alto is the lack of available jobs and affordable housing. “Many [people] are buying homes in East Palo Alto, [which is driving up] the cost of houses and forcing the renters to move out of East Palo Alto to other places with lower [rental prices],” Rutherford said. She believes residents of East Palo Alto bear a disproportionate housing burden. “People are desperate for housing, and it leads to overcrowding and illegal dwelling units in East Palo Alto,” Rutherford said.

People are then forced to move out of their homes because of unsafe living conditions.

Dodge, who is recognized as San Francisco’s homeless spokesperson, has been working on homelessness for 17 years. Dodge believes that homelesseness in San Francisco is mainly caused by the lack of affordable housing available to the lower class and the failure of federal government to provide rental subsidies. “People are complex. Homelessness is at the intersection of many scales of the institution in our society, whether it’s inadequate entitlement benefits, criminal justice system, the foster care system, substance abuse and mental health systems,” Dodge said. “There’s no one factor that is true for everyone except for inadequate income and lack of affordable housing, but everyone’s particular case often involves other kinds of failures of our society to take care of each other.”

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Project WeHOPE: At this East Palo Alto-based homeless shelter, volunteers can work on-site by helping people with laundry and serving dinner, or they can work off-site at St. Samuel Church on Thursdays, packaging groceries for the Kids NOW program.

Make care kits: Care packages are usually gallonsize ziplock plastic bags that contain small toiletries like toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs and nonperishable food items like granola bars. Money is not recommended. Donate the care kits to a local shelter, or hand them out to the homeless directly.

Key Club: Key Club is a service club on campus that students can join to get involved. Visit the Key Club website to check out its service guides, which include ideas like holding birthday parties for kids at homeless shelters. Decorations and food can be donated and it is recommended to have three or more people involved.

—Compiled by Ariel Pan

erfold

Friday, November 4, 2016

sness in the Bay Area

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Addressing homelessness with compassion According to Reifschneider, since PAPD officers interact with the homeless on a daily basis, they know a large portion of the homeless population in Palo Alto personally. “Our community is small enough that our officers get a chance to get to know a large number of our homeless population by name because we see them around, and they are citizens just like anyone else,” Reifschneider said. “We have a balancing act to do in law enforcement in that we want to be as compassionate as we can to those that are less fortunate, while at the same time being sensitive to some of the health and safety issues sometimes presented by homelessness.” Many of the interactions between the PAPD result from violent or unsafe behavior. However, police officers also interact with the homeless when conducting a welfare check, in which they help homeless people in distress, usually regarding medical problems, both mental and physical.

Palo Alto has numerous resources, including formal service providers and religious establishments, which provide food and housing to the homeless. “Our goal as a police department in general is to help people and if the best way we can help someone is try to put them in touch with resources and food, then that’s a job well done,” Reifschneider said.

During the winter, the police department strives to help homeless people find shelter due to the harsher weather conditions. “Sleeping outside becomes dangerous during the winter because there is the potential for exposure and people getting sick or even dying out in the elements,” Reifschneider said. Although the PAPD does not have the direct ability to reduce homelessness, they are able to offer resources such as shelter and food to the homeless. “Having [resources] gives our officers the ability to steer people toward those resources in the hopes that they are able to take advantage of them,” Reifschneider said. To prepare for the winter and help homeless people survive the cold, the San Francisco Department has winter shelters set up. Churches, synagogues and other religious places also open their doors as shelter during the winter months.

Change through policy

Rutherford is committed to preventing and decreasing homelessness in East Palo Alto. “I will [help] by influencing policy and working collaboratively with public, private and the nonprofit sector,” Rutherford said. In the winter, members of the community give homeless people food, jackets and blankets to help them survive the cold weather. The East Palo Alto City Council adopted a 2nd Unit Ordinance in 2014 to increase housing opportunities.

Dodge has worked in the last year with a non-profit to help build the biggest array of supportive housing in the city through the Housing First Program. “I helped prevent thousands of evictions; together with tenants we organized and changed laws,” Dodge said. Dodge also worked to bring down encampments and provide housing access to those who live on the streets. “I helped start a toilet access program called Pitstop that serves over 25,000 people a month and a navigation center which is a new approach toward shelter and housing for long-term homeless individuals,” Dodge said.

Dodge was able to end homelessness for over 700 people living on the streets in a year and a half, and the navigation centers are now expanding to seven sites. “Together under the mayor’s direction, we helped form a new department to centralize the city’s response to homelessness, now called the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing,” Dodge said. “It’s a $230 million a year department that shelters, houses and outreaches to homeless people.”

13

Opportunity to volunteer Sergeant Reifschneider believes that everyone can help because of the various volunteering opportunities that are available throughout the Bay. Even though high school students may not be able to donate a lot of money, he believes students can help by providing their energy and time. According to Reifschneider, there is also a negative stigma surrounding homelessness. He says, students should try to be more empathetic toward homeless individuals. “Many people that are homeless are not homeless by choice,” Reifschneider said. “If we start looking at it from that perspective and trying to imagine the things that they don’t have that we all take for granted, I think that that can help.” Dodge believes everyone should be supportive. “Every homeless person is someone’s child, family member, former classmate, and they might be at the most horrible moment in their lives,” he said.

Rutherford believes that education is essential for youth to have a better understanding of homelessness and its implications, as well. “Students need to understand [that there are] other issues that can lead to homelessness such as substance abuse, mental illness and physical health,” Rutherford said.

Student efforts Senior Karla Henriquez was inspired to start a photography project raising awareness about homelessness in the Bay Area. Henriquez believes that our society has a preconceived idea that the homeless are in the situation they are in due to bad decisions. She wants to let people know that the homeless are people too, and that society shouldn’t be afraid of or think less of them. Henriquez acknowledges that there are a lot of homeless individuals around the Bay Area— something most people are uncomfortable with. “There’s a major bias against homeless people, and I think it comes from the fear that people have of them,” she said. “We live in a very rich area, and the thought of seeing a homeless individual for most people isn’t very ideal—they usually try to avoid those people as much as possible rather than confronting a problem that has been in our society for such a long time.”

A few years ago, Henriquez served as a librarian at the East Palo Alto library, and often interacted with underprivileged individuals. “They would usually ask for help when using computers, so I would help as a tech person at times and they would usually try to work on projects such as resumes,” Henriquez said.

“Just seeing them there and seeing the great amount of effort that they would put into trying to better themselves—literally by showing up to the public library and getting help on writing—made me realize that a lot of people are very condescending towards them.”

Tired of the treatment and prejudice against homeless, Henriquez decided that she would try to help break the stigma surrounding them by taking pictures of destitute individuals. “Ever since then, it’s been an ongoing project that I’ve had in mind,” she said. Her goal for the project is to make people more aware of a problem that impacts all of society, and show that any positive effort they put into helping can affect others greatly.

Henriquez has gone to San Francisco before to help at a food shelter, and has also helped with donating cans and arranging cans. She believes students can raise awareness and help lessen the impact of homelessness by looking for opportunities to help. “There will always be many ways to help,” Henriquez said.

“Maybe the stigma that revolves around them will slowly start to drain out, and people will be more willing to help.

From top left to bottom right: Derrick, age 29; Sabrina, age 29 & Kalilah, age 22; Cameron Cruz, age 21; Unknown; Unknown, Tom Andrew Morrison, age 53

Photos by senior Karla Henriquez who is working on a homelessness project.

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Features

Teachers, students blog about interests, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is an event in which amateur writers all over the world try to finish a book 30,000 to 50,000 words long in the month of November.

10 Tips to 50,000 words

Find friends to write with.

Don't aim for perfection.

—Compiled by Akansha Gupta

Plan a general plot beforehand.

Don't be intimidated by the number 50,000.

Juniors participate in NaNoWriMo Deiana Hristov Forum Editor Although writing more than 1,000 words a day to meet a 30,000 to 50,000 word count goal may be daunting, junior Jojo Qi has participated in NaNoWriMo four times. “I wanted to do it because in middle school I didn’t have anything to do and I was interested in writing,” she said.

“My first novel was a bunch of vignettes because I wanted to see what it was like just to write over 1,000 words a day.”

Although the novel-writing begins on Nov. 1, some writers plan out their novel beforehand. “The first time I did it, I just started Nov. 1 because it was kind of a spontaneous thing,” junior Carolyn Wang said. “The second time I did it, I did try to write a rough outline of what it was supposed to be like beforehand.”

Time management is essential in order to reach the 30,000 word goal. “Generally it’s a good idea to write 1,000 words a day, but I definitely know I had moments where I would write 500 one day and the next day I would write 3,000 to make up for it,” Wang said. “I would just say ‘Ok, for this one hour I’m going to sit down and write and try to get everything out.’”

However, as the month progresses, the process becomes easier. “It’s definitely like

doing a workout; when you first start it’s very hard to get the gears moving but once you start to get into your story, the words start coming faster,” Qi said.

According to Qi, individuals in a certain area will often get together to support each other. “There’s big groups of people who actually do face-to-face meetings, like there will be a community in a certain city and all of the writers will go into a coffee shop and write together,” Qi said.

Wang believes that the NaNoWriMo website is also a helpful tool. “On the website they have prompt generators, so if you were really were stuck they could generate a prompt for you,” Wang said.

Although there is a big NaNoWriMo community, Wang tackled the novel mostly on her own. “I wasn’t very involved in the [NaNoWriMo] community, but I know there were extensive networks for doing this, and that a lot of people will share what they wrote with other people,” she said.

In the end, finishing a novel is an incredibly rewarding experience. “When I finished and I saw the word count hit 30,000, I packaged the things I wrote away and didn’t look at it for, like, a month,” Wang said. “Once you look at it after a month, considering the pressure I was under, it felt really good.”

Juniors JoJo Qi and Carolyn Wang discuss the plot lines of their previous stories; Qi wrote over 50,000 words about a utopian post-apocalyptic love story in space, while Wang wrote a 30,000 word story inspired by Cassandra Clare.

Features

Friday, November 4, 2016

15

participate in National Novel Writing Month Teacher reflects on NaNoWriMo experience Clara Kieschnick-Llamas Copy Editor

If you can't think of anything to write, write anyways.

Psycholog y teacher Warren Collier has taken part in NaNoWriMo for the past three years. This year, however, Collier will focus on editing one of his previous novels rather than writing a new one.

Collier often thought about writing a novel, but never had the motivation to do it. However, when he heard about NaNoWriMo, he decided to try it. “It was kind of on a whim,” he said. “It just felt like it was a realistic goal to try and accomplish, so it was a good excuse.”

Collier started planning for the novel before November; he wrote an outline, plotting out

Don't give up.

Write every day.

Photo teacher blogs inspirations Amanda Lee Tech Editor Photography teacher Marie Durquet’s blog, called “Think, Look, Make,” features snapshots of different moments she witnesses during her travels around the local community and the world. Durquet started the blog with the aim to explore other branches of art and important social issues, such as women’s rights, the environment and cultural identity; Durquet is Basque, an ethnic group from an area called the Basque Country, which includes parts of Spain and France.

“My work is always photography-based somehow, but the blog is about how photographs allow you to think about other things too,” she said.

The blog is also a place where she can contemplate her life by reflecting on the photographs she takes.

“It’s more like my thoughts,” Durquet said. “It’s almost like a journal, or my musings. A couple of the articles are more kind of serious, but mainly it’s a little like a journal, things that I’m experiencing or that have happened in my life that I make photography about.”

you from writing more.”

A n i mpor ta nt factor of NaNoWriMo is that editing isn’t involved in the process. The main objective is just to get as many words as possible on the page, not necessarily the quality of the story. “Do not hit your delete key,” Collier said.

Collier said that the first novel he wrote was one of the most rewarding experiences of his entire life. He strongly encourages everyone to participate. “It’s for anyone, not just for writers or professionals,” he said.

Collier does not plan to publish his novel, but he does see it as a possibility sometime in the future.

So far, only his trusted friends have been allowed to read it.

Photo courtesy of the Gunn website

Don't edit as you write.

Photography teacher Marie Durquet adjusts the camera before lining up her shot.

which scenes and characters he wanted to incorporate into his story. During the actual month, he had to write 1,667 words per day to reach the goal.

A difficult part for Collier was how time-consuming the project was. “It’s at least several hours of writing every day, and so I had to put a lot of other stuff off to the side,” he said. “As a teacher, unfortunately, one thing that I had to not do as much of was grading.”

Collier urges current and future NaNoWriMo participants to keep persevering. “The whole point is not really to get to 50,000 words,” he said. “The whole point is to start creating something.

Even if you’re 30,000 words behind, you shouldn’t let that keep

Durquet wants her students to practice publishing their work, so she assigns her Advanced Photo students the task of creating their own blogs. “I want them to be able to edit their work and choose their best things, which is hard to edit down,” she said.

“Then [they] present [their photos] in a way that looks polished and professional, [which helps] them see their work in one place and share it with other people.”

However, due to Durquet’s teaching schedule, she does not post regularly during the school year. “I have to be inspired by something for me to want to post,” she said. “I don’t just post regularly. So often the summertime is when I get inspired because I get the chance to travel.”

All in all, blogging is Durquet’s creative outlet to share her passion for photography with the world. “I think [blogging is] like social media, but much better, because people are putting time into writing [posts] and they’re taking ownership of it,” Durquet said. “It’s really a way to get connected with other people that are interested in the same things that you are.”

Don't erase anything.

The point of NaNoWriMo isn't to write a polished novel in a month—it's to start writing.

Graphics by Cheryl Kao Photos by Vibha Arun

Sports

16

FALL SPORTS COACHES, SENIORS Dear Coach PattiSue, Thank you for everything the last four years.

Senior reflects on water polo career

You’ve taught me a lot about running, but more importantly, you’ve taught me how to be a stronger, more caring and more persevering person.

You turned a team into a family, and I’ll never

Mikaela Wayne As my senior year water polo season draws to a close, coach Mark Hernandez is constantly reminding the team of lasts: our last league game, our last tournament and our last practice.

I know I am about to finish something that I have cared about so deeply for four years and thinking about these lasts makes me remember my firsts. I recall my first practice freshman year—terrified of what was to come—and I am thankful for everything that four years of Gunn water polo has given me. I have learned an unbelievable amount about being a good teammate, practicing leadership and persevering through every difficult moment.

Throughout my water polo career, I have found that being on the team means much more than just playing a sport. When I think of all the memories I have made during my four seasons, I do not think of the excruciating swim sets or drills; rather, I recall traditions such as the team sleepover or singing the national anthem before big rivalry games. As a senior, I know I will never have these experiences again. However, I will always cherish these traditions as the moments that brought me closer to my team and closer to the sport.

While it will be difficult to not spend every day of next fall at the Gunn pool, it has been an amazing journey. When this season ends and I have time to reflect, I will remember water polo as being a highlight of my high school career. It is in the team room where I have made some of my best memories, and in the pool where I have learned the most valuable lessons. One lesson that I will take with me through the rest of high school and beyond is one taught to me by coach Hernandez: W.I.N.: What’s Important Now? This mentality has taught me to live in the present. It has taught me not to dwell on the past and not to fear the future. I will take this lesson with me wherever I go, remembering to focus on the now.

I would like to thank all the coaches who mentored me throughout my four years of high school water polo. I would also like to thank my co-captains for their endless moral support. Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow seniors: we have been through thick and thin together, and even on the rough days we were always a team. To the underclassmen who have taught me even more than I could hope to teach them: make me proud and never forget what we as a team stand for.

As Hernandez would say, we are a group of young women hoping to take over the world.

Peace out, Gunn water polo. Thank you for the memories. It has been real. ­­­—Wayne, a senior, is a Centerfold Editor.

be able to forget the memories I have because of it.

I’ll miss you next year, Jonas Enders Senior Jonas Enders poses with coach PattiSue Plumer after a meet.

Seniors, I want to take the time to thank each one of you for four years of commitment to our water polo program. This senior class is very special to me, as my first year taking over the water polo program was this group’s freshman year. I have watched each one of you grow from boys to young men, and I am so proud to have been a part of that. Thank you for the time you have put in, the effort you gave and the part you played in creating an atmosphere and environment that students after you wanted to be a part of. You are the individuals that have paved the path of success for our program over the past four years. Be proud of what you have accomplished.

I wish each of you nothing but success in your future endeavors. I know that you all will be successful in whichever path life takes you.

Best, Coach Matt

Coach Jim,

Thank you for making my four years of Gunn tennis memorable. You helped every member become a leader and encouraged us to become strong, dedicated women. Your positive attitude and ability to think of a joke at any time really helped us get pumped up before each match. I will always remember how much fun it was to be part of the Gunn tennis team.

Sincerely, Quinn McGannon

Friday, November 4, 2016

17

LOOK BACK ON FINAL SEASON Seniors, Coaching, working with and getting to know the terrific seniors on this team has been a blessing. I hope you all take the great memories and lessons you have learned from cross country and apply them to your life beyond Gunn. You all know I like to talk, but I will try to keep it brief.

1) Winning is not guaranteed, but success is. You can work hard, do everything right and still not reach your goals, but there is joy in the journey and victory in knowing you gave it your best.

Similarly, I cannot guarantee that you will win if you try, but I can guarantee failure if you don’t.

2) The lessons that you learn from cross country will serve you well in college. There will be a moment when you question whether you can do something and you will remember when you thought you couldn’t run Crystal Springs without stopping, or break six minutes in the mile, or finish a 10-mile run or some similar accomplishment. But you did and because of that you will know that you can manage whatever challenge is ahead.

3) Keep running. If you can’t make your college team, look for a club; if you can’t find a club, find a committed group (or start one). Believe me, that hour or two per day that you think you gain by not running will not be used more productively.

Best of luck with your future endeavors. You are well prepared for whatever your future holds.

—Coach PattiSue and the entire Gunn cross country staff

What is the best advice you’ve received from your coach?

“The best advice my coach has given me is to think about the positives instead of the negatives. After matches that I would lose, instead of asking what I could have done better, he asked about what went well in the match.” ­­­—Danielle Gee “The best advice my coach has given me is to go through the routes the night before when you’re getting ready for bed. Go through everything and focus on the things that are going to be hard in the race and see yourself struggling through them, but also overcoming them and being strong enough to get through that. You have to acknowledge that those hard parts are there, but it’s finding the strength in you to get through that.” ­­­—Jonas Enders “The best advice [he has given me] is probably to stay in the moment and not let anything in the past, whether it happened two minutes ago or whether it happened a year ago, affect how you play in the future.” ­­­— Sylvia Illouz “The best piece of advice my coach has given me is to just go for it. A lot of my past has been me staying back and being a little more reserved, but football has forced me to just go for it.” ­­­—Andrew Maltz “I think the best advice my coach has ever given me is to ‘just play.’ It seems so simple, but it’s something so important to remember. If I’m in a mental rut, this lets me refocus and put the game into perspective. It just sort of calms me down so I can take a deep breath.” ­­­—Emma Munch ­­­—Compiled by Carolyn Kuimelis

Dear Coach Matt, You have taught me a lot about leadership and strength, and I want you to know that regardless of how this season ends, your legacy will live as much in the life lessons we learned from you as it will in a CCS championship title.

I believe I speak for the team when I say that your impact on our lives is and will continue to be broader than just water polo. Thank you for four wonderful years.

It has been a pleasure, Senior Jackson Waschura poses for a photo with his parents, Jim and Leisa, and coach Matt Johnson at the pool for senior night.

Jackson Waschura Photo s c ou r te s y of Jona s Enders and Jackson Waschura

Sports 18 FALL SPORTS SHOOT HIGH IN CCS GIRLS’ GOLF

CROSS COUNTRY

Maya Rapoport Reporter

Cassie Bond Changing the Narrative Editor

The girls’ golf team had a strong season this year, finishing third place in league with a record of 6-3-1 and placing tenth at Central Coast Section (CCS). Although the team did not qualify for NorCal Regionals, coach Chris Redfield is still proud of the team for making CCS. “It [was] nice [to qualify] because it’s a sort of validation that you’ve had a really good season,” Redfield said.

To qualify for CCS, the team had to score in a league tournament, or be picked based on their scores from other competitions. Senior Margaret Redfield said the team practiced extensively for its league tournaments. “We have contests during practice to simulate high-pressure situations for our matches and tournaments,” she said. Margaret Redfield believes that the work the players have put in throughout the season prepared them for CCS. “You can’t plan to win, you just have to play your best,” she said. Junior Lydia Tsai believes practicing everyday helped prepare her well for competitions. “It’s consistent preparation that gets you ready,” Tsai said.

According to senior Lucy Lamb, although playing golf is fun, preparation for reputed titles like CCS can be stressful. “It’s a lot of pressure to have a score set to yourself but it’s also nice because you feel like a big part of the team,” Lamb said. Despite the fact that the team did not do its best at CCS, the girls’ support for each other kept the team going.

“We encouraged each other and did not get down on ourselves afterward,” Tsai wrote in an email. “I loved seeing my teammates during the round on different holes and waving frantically to them and pumping each other up.”

The girls’ golf team strikes a pose after placing tenth at CCS in Monterey.

With the season coming to a close, the cross country team is setting goals and preparing for CCS on Nov. 12. According to coach PattieSue Plumer, the team has some top runners who are sure to move on to the CCS. Plumer has been working with the varsity girls’ and boys’ teams to prepare them well for CCS. “Our goal is to be top five for both teams in CCS,” Plumer said. “Both teams have a good chance to make it to CCS but we are going to be relying on a lot of new runners, and overall we just want to have a good race as a team.”

The two teams begin by participating in a league championship and then proceeding to CCS if they qualify. To get to CCS, Plumer and the team have some obstacles to face.

Plumer said that the varsity girls’ team will qualify easily, but might not win due to other competitive teams. The boys’ team also has some difficulties to overcome. “The boys have a bigger challenge; their division is really competitive,” Plumer said. “I think we should make it through on time, if not place.”

Santa Clara Valley Athletic League is very competitive, and this year, the weather may prove to be another obstacle. “The thing about cross country is that it is so dependent on conditions, so you can have a really good race, but if it is windy, hot, muddy or dusty, it can really impact how fast you run your race,” Plumer said. “ I was at the course this weekend, and it was pretty mucky, but we hope that they can show how much they have improved over the season.”

Senior Priya Thomas has been on the cross country team since freshman year.

Having been to CCS in the past, she looks forward to the upcoming competition. “I went to CCS last year,” Thomas said. “It was really exciting, and I had never run that competitively before, as far as the team. It is just such a nice community.”

With an upcoming race at Crystal Springs, the team has begun preparing for that race as well as CCS. “After leagues we will probably do some more speed workouts on the track, and then right before CCS we will probably do some tapering, which is cutting down the distance so we don’t get tired for the final race,” Thomas said.

Richard Yu Although the teams have work to do, Plumer is confident in their abilities.

Freshman Justin Chiao starts a course.

GIRLS’ WATER POLO

BOYS’ WATER POLO

Courtesy of Lucy Lamb

Prachi Kale Features Editor

Seungik Shin Reporter

With a league record of 7-3 and Central Coast Section (CCS) coming up soon, the girls’ water polo team has started off strong with a 5-4 win in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals against Mountain View. “We had a solid start going undefeated in the first half of the season,” senior Georgia Hake wrote in an email. “We then had a really rough second half of the season, suffering three losses. But we are seeded third for league finals and plan on coming out hard.”

To prepare for CCS, the team is working on improving their defense and maintaining high intensity throughout the game. “We plan on maximizing every player’s potential,” Hake wrote. “Our coaches have been stressing that every player can and needs to be a threat.”

Though Hake believes that the team is well-prepared for CCS, she realizes the importance of the team maintaining their focus and keeping its goal in mind. “Last year we didn’t have a good backup plan,” Hake wrote. “Part of being a good player and team is being able to adjust and figure out what works and what doesn’t. We didn’t do a great job of that last year; this year I know more of what I have to do going into it.”

Junior Zoe Banks agrees that a strong mindset will be especially important this year for CCS. “[We need] some heavier mental preparation since we’re going to be playing some teams for a fourth time, which makes it a tough game no matter who it is,” she said. “Our coach Mark Hernandez always talks about the acronym, W.I.N., which stands for What’s Important Now, and I think that’s going to be a big focus for me and my team as we go into CCS.” Hernandez believes that the team has had a great season overall. “Our philosophy has always been that iron sharpens iron, and I feel like we’re ready to go for the playoffs,” he said. Even if they don’t win CCS, Banks still believes that the girls have done well so far.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole team come together for our last big games of the season and finishing strong,” Banks said.

Coming off of an 11-0 league record and league championship, boys’ water polo started their season with a win over Los Altos in the neutral playoffs on Oct. 27.

Boys’ water polo coach Matthew Johnson believes that with some improvements, the team has the ability to make it far in Central Coast Section (CCS). “We have the potential to be one of the best teams in the state, and we have flashed that talent here and there but it hasn’t been consistent enough,” Johnson said.

With the competition coming up soon, the water polo team has begun amping up its preparation for CCS. “We are fine-tuning some things to make sure we are playing sharp, smart polo. We are working a lot on defense, and this has been a focus all year,” Johnson said. By focusing on these points, Johnson hopes the team will have a better focus on defense and consistent play.

Along with the coach, players have been setting goals to improve their performance and skills. “Our goal every practice and every game is to improve and learn from our mistakes,” senior Thanh Nguyen said. “We often watch footage of our games to highlight the parts of our game that need improvement.” One area the team is working to improve on is its concentration. “We often get sucked into the flow of the opposing team, making it much harder to win,” Nguyen said. “If we can play at our own pace and force the other team to follow us then we can dominate even in CCS.” According to Nguyen, the team’s strength going into CCS is its awareness and ability to take quick action throughout play. “Everyone is paying attention to the whole game around them and not just the player in front of them,” Nguyen said. “This enables the whole team to play faster, smarter and ultimately at a higher level.”

Senior Quinn Hamilton believes that although the team has a lot of work ahead of them, it still has valuable skills. “We have improved so much since the beginning of the year,” Hamilton Courtesy of Butch Garcia said. “Our center [junior] Aaron Senior goalkeeper Jackson Waschura de- [Babian] has really become a force fends against a shot on Gunn’s goal. to be reckoned with.”

Courtesy of Butch Garcia

Freshman Cooper McKenna prepares to pass the ball over to a teammate.

Sports

Friday, November 4, 2016

19

ATHLETE Junior OF Celine THEShaw,MONTH: Figure Skater The Oracle: What is your favorite thing about ice skating?

Celine Shaw: When skating, I feel more confident and my insecurities rescind. It’s a form of self-expression. In addition, the boots give you a one-inch height boost.

TO: What do you do in ice dancing competitions?

CS: You get a choreographer and they choreograph your routine. To compete, you need to pass [certain] exams and place high enough to advance to the higher competitions. There are different sections [in the competitions]: the lower sections, the middle sections and higher sections. You also have to know all these ice skating patterns, and it is really tedious in terms of preparation.

TO: What are life lessons you have learned through skating?

CS: The lifestyle of figure skating is falling down and getting back up.

That was a routine I did at least 40 times a day. I also learned to start taking risks and that failure isn’t something to be ashamed of. When I first started, I got really embarrassed and started crying because whenever I fell down, the [older] kids on the other side would laugh at me. I felt dumb just doing it over and over. But I got used to the laughing and when I got better, they eventually stopped laughing.

I learned that there’s no such thing as hard work that doesn’t go to use. All the hard work you do, even if you don’t finish your goal, is going to contribute to something. Falling down and getting back up is important, [and so is] taking risks.

TO: What have been your favorite moments as a skater?

CS: One of my most memorable moments is the first time I did a Triple Axel. It's the type of move that's marveled at in the Olympics, so I was really proud of that. My Bielman was another trick that I am really proud of. It was really difficult for me to learn this one because it put a really heavy strain on my back. I can't breathe while holding the position, so the amount of pain I had to go through while mastering this was excruciating.

TO: What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?

CS: My biggest accomplishment was in Taiwan when I traveled there to compete in the Taiwanese International Skating Union Four Continents Competition. My partner and I placed third while he had a swollen ankle. I'm really proud of the both of us because we had worked so hard for this and we didn't let his injury hold us back.

TO: How do you balance skating with your school life?

CS: Last year, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. on Sundays to go ice skating. It was really tough because school is my number one priority. It took a lot of sacrifices and I lost a lot of sleep; it was stressful. In the end, the benefits outweighed the negatives because figure skating is an outlet for me. It’s how I live in the moment.

TO: What are some challenges you have faced while skating?

CS: I won first in regionals, [but] I started slacking off. When I didn’t place at states, [my parents] cut off my skating. No matter how much I begged, they didn’t pay. I had missed skating, and I didn’t realize that I had taken advantage of the opportunity my parents so generously gave me. I [began working] really hard; I used to buy huge packs of pens from Daiso and sell them individually [at a higher price] to pay for the rink fee.

TO: What are your future plans and goals in ice skating?

CS: I do plan to continue figure skating. It’s an outlet for me, and it makes me feel confident and washes away insecurities. I [also] want to host a skating charity fundraiser showcase to raise money for underprivileged children who are in need of general education.

I will be coaching kids to be part of this showcase this summer and will gather some of my friends that I’ve been training with to be a part of this.

—Compiled by Janet Shea

Courtesy of Celine Shaw

Lifestyle

20

November: National Peanut Butter Lover's Month Peanut butter fan defends her side Few things in this world are so rich, so indulgent, so pure as a spoonful of creamy peanut butter. When it comes to condiments and spreads, peanut butter takes the prize. Every food you eat, from brownies to pretzels, is elevated to a whole new level when coated in the nutty spread.

Take celery, for example: normally a tasteless food, with nothing going for it except for a slight crispiness, is turned into a delightful snack when coated in peanut butter. Even Oreos, arguably man’s most perfect invention, is augmented by the spread—why else would Oreo release a peanut-butter flavored Oreo? In addition, versatility is beauty, and peanut butter is arguably the world’s most versatile condiment. From Thai peanut sauce to American peanut butter cups, nearly every culture has incorporated peanut butter into its cooking.

However, peanut butter is not only delicious; it’s good for you, too. In addition to providing healthy monounsaturated fats, protein and fiber, peanut butter has many vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, magnesium and potassium. What other condiment can boast that? Certainly not fructose-syrup-filled ketchup nor artificially-colored mustard. So when you’re standing in the kitchen eating peanut butter out of a jar with a spoon, you can continue guilt-free knowing you are nourishing your body as well as your taste buds.

Through the ups and downs of life, peanut butter has always stuck by my side, comforting me in times of distress with its rich, salty smoothness. Never am I happier than when I’m standing in the kitchen, jar of peanut butter in one hand and spoon in the other, mouth welded together by the savory perfection of peanut butter.

—Written by Deiana Hristov

Peanut Butter Fun Facts • It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.

• There are six cities in the U.S. named Peanut.

• In the U.S., any product labeled peanut butter must be at least 90 percent peanut.

Vibha Arun

Top ten tips to incorporate peanut butter in your life Remove gum from hair Rub peanut butter on the gum and work the gum through with your fingers.

Give medicine to pets If your pet won't eat its medicine, coat it in something they like—like peanut butter.

Seal ice cream cones Put a dollop of peanut butter at the bottom of your ice cream to to prevent dripping ice cream

Moisturize your hair Massage peanut butter in your hair and wash it out with shampoo. Your hair will look as shiny and lush as Troy Polamalu's.

Make cookies Mix one cup of peanut butter, one cup of sugar and one egg.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes, and you’re done.

Feed birds Get a pinecone and cover it with peanut butter and bird seeds and enjoy the bird-watching.

Eliminate smelly odors Fry up a tablespoon of peanut butter in the used pan and it will absorb the odors.

Eat Elvis' sandwich Try some peanut butter, bacon, banana and white bread all pan-grilled with a little bit of butter. Eat like the King.

Shave Peanut butter can be used in place of shaving cream. Peanut oil is great for skin.

Make ice cream Blend frozen bananas with peanut butter for a delicious treat.

Faces in the Crowd

—Compiled by Matt Oh

Why do you like peanut butter?

“I like peanut butter because it goes well with the honey that my dad makes in the backyard."

"I like peanut butter because it's a great source of protein and it goes really well with Oreo cookies."

Graham Delman (9)

Ria Sood (10)

“I like peanut butter because it adds a different taste to a sandwich.

It's sticky and creamy at the same time, yet healthy."

Anthony Cornelio (11)

“I like it because it's salty. It adds taste to bread.”

Megan Hsia (12) —Compiled by Paulo Frank —Graphics by Jeffrey Yao and Cheryl Kao

21

Friday, November 4, 2016

Ways to spend your three-day weekend Friday, November 11 2 p.m. Drive to Los Trancos Open Space Preserve 2 to 5 p.m. Hike trails 6 p.m. Eat dinner at Bumble

Located in Los Altos, Los Trancos Open Space Reserve is a perfect hiking spot with beautiful views to spend the first day of your long weekend. There are many trails you can explore, one of which is the 1.5-mile San Andreas Fault Trail, which also teaches you about earthquake geology. As this weekend is less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, use this opportunity to spend some quality time with friends or family, take cute pictures or pick up some colorful fall leaves. After watching the sunset, drive to Bumble, an organic eatery in downtown Los Altos. It is a great way to relax after your afternoon hike and get something to eat before wrapping up the first day of your long weekend.

Make sure to pay attention to seasonal specials on the menu and try the Fall Harvest Salad.

—Written by Grace Ding

Saturday, November 12 9:30 a.m.

Explore Sunnyvale Farmers’ Market 11 a.m. Bake Apple Pie 6 p.m. Eat dinner at Shabuway in downtown Mountain View 7:30 p.m. See “The Wizard of Oz” at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts

Start off the day with a trip to Sunnyvale’s Farmers’ Market to buy fresh fall fruit, such as apples and pears. If you haven’t had breakfast yet, some local vendors sell pastries while others offer free samples, so make sure to try some. When you get home, invite a few friends over to try out an apple pie recipe using the fruit from the farmers’ market. Think of this as practice for all the culinary delights you plan to make on Thanksgiving or as a fun bonding experience. After eating all that sugar, go to dinner at Shabuway on Castro Street for a taste of savory Japanese-style hot pot. When you’re done with your meal, walk it off and take advantage of California’s weather by window-shopping down Castro. End the day with the Peninsula Youth Theatre’s production of childhood classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Tickets are $24 per person.

Sunday, November 13

—Written by Ariel Pan

10 a.m. Bake pumpkin muffins 1 p.m. Walk at Foothills Park 4 p.m. Ice skate at Winter Lodge 7 p.m. Eat dinner at Peninsula Creamery

Who says pumpkin fun has to end after Oct. 31? Start your day off right by baking some festive pumpkin muffins. They’re a perfect treat to share with your friends and family, although I wouldn’t blame you if you ate them all yourself. After you’re fueled up from breakfast, Foothills Park is the perfect location to enjoy the beauty of fall. Only a 10 minute drive away, Foothills Park has it all. Soak in some sun by the lake, or challenge yourself with a rigorous hike. Next, head to the Winter Lodge. Fall is the perfect time to break out those ice skates and enjoy the Winter Lodge’s outdoor rink before the weather gets too cold. End your day with dinner at Peninsula Creamery for some good ol’ fashioned comfort food.

—Written by Carolyn Kuimelis

Graphics by Jackie Lou Photo Courtesy of Los Trancos Open Space, MV Center for Performing Arts and Palo Alto Open Space Staff

22

Lifestyle

Quiz: What Teaspoon Drink Are You?

1. Do you like teaspoon?

A. No B. Yes C. Maybe, I’ve never really had it D. I would rather go to a Bernie Sanders rally

4. Have you ever worn white shoes?

A. Never B. Sometimes, but not every day C. I buy new ones every time mine get dirty D. Shoes have colors other than white?

7. Which character would you marry?

A. Eric Cartman B. Mr. Krabs C. Minnie Mouse D. Stewie Griffin

2. What is your personality?

A. Isolated B. Warm/friendly C. Sarcastic and cynical D. Basic

5. What is your go-to snack?

A. Fruit B. Any cheese C. Wheat Thins D. Low-calorie anything

8. Which color?

A. Red B. Blue C. Green D. Fuchsia

3. Do you like to watch movies?

A. Movies are for the weak B. Every so often C. About once a week D. Are you kidding me! Of course!!

6. Who is your favorite celebrity?

A. Ben Affleck B. Jennifer Lawrence C. Morgan Freeman D. Beyonce

9. Did you watch the presidential debates?

A. No, the election is rigged anyway B. Yes, I love to stay updated on politics C. Yes, with a bucket of popcorn D. What’s the point without Bernie?

Mostly D:

Mostly B: Mostly A: an orange thing

you’re preppy and classy

Mostly C:

this is a pretty basic drink

you think you’re edgy —Compiled by Jack Mallery

Lifestyle

Friday, November 4, 2016

23

Students nominate each other for president

MELISSA DING

(9)

MILES BADER (10) MIHIR JUVVADI (12)

2) ISHA GUPTA (1

I’d definitely nominate [Miles]. I’ve had firsthand experience seeing his leadership in action. Miles is a cool guy with some of the best ideas I’ve seen. I think he has a really consistent work ethic and he would truly care about his term.

I would nominate Melissa because she is very hardworking and cares a lot about the community and making everyone happy and comfortable. I think she would support the school’s needs and make it a better place.

Freshman Lily John nominates freshman Melissa Ding Sophomore Jack Flinchbaugh nominates sophomore Miles Bader Mihir has leadership skills, but he’s also very mature; he has a job! He has his own money supply and uses his own paycheck to pay for everything. As Gunn Robotic Team’s captain he rocks, so I think he has the potential to really make a difference.

Isha is good because she really likes politics and pays attention to those kind of issues. She’s intelligent and informed. Isha is Model United Nations' president for good reason!

Junior Maya Tene nominates senior Mihir Juvvadi Senior Aaron Schultz nominates senior Isha Gupta Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

24 Homecoming 2016

EXPLORE

#TITANPOD Courtesy of Lisa Hall

@amyworst this makes my heart happy

@sarah.glasser do1ng 8ig things with my fellow business leaders of America

@sgill4127 Your favorite 90’s boyband #seniors

@avitalrutenburg Jew Jew on that beat

@jess.e.choi #day1

@micheungmicheung Breakfast Club 2 #breakfastclub #hoco2k16 #90s

@ztirps Bay Area Sports represent #gowarriors #goniners #homecoming2016 @gunnsec @gunnoracle

@zhou.and.y Dom1n8ing since Day 1!

@grace.ella12 out of this wor19 #XIX

—Compiled by Kaya van der Horst and Lena Ye