The Oracle (Oct. 2009)

[SPORTS]

[ENTERTAINMENT]

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

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PA I D

Parkour showcase p. 21

Volume 46, Issue 2

Homecoming proposals p. 20

Talk to me Monday, October 12, 2009

http://gunn.pausd.org/oracle

Emily Zheng

Features Editor

On Oct. 1, students bought variations of a spray painted ”Talk to me” T-shirt designed by seniors Miles Mathews and Sam Zeif.

Though the general design was relatively simple–a profile of a face speaking the words “talk to me”–the meaning that resonated from both the Tshirts and the event itself sparked a call for change at Gunn.

This project was init iat e d a nd carried out

by Mathews and Zeif in r esp onse t o t he r e c ent su icides. “We did this because we realized that the issue, whatever it was, wasn’t going to just go away by itself,” Mathews said. “We’ve done a lot of T-shirt making in the past, so when we thought of what we could contribute, we instantly thought of making these shirts.

It’s a very simple thing that will hopefully have a large impact on the community.”

Mathews, Zeif and other students who contributed to this project hope that through this event, there will be an increase of communicaKimberly Han tion and openness in the

Permit #44 Palo Alto, Calif.

community. “The deaths last year were shocking, and I feel that the entire community felt the intense pain of realizing that our little town isn’t always so happy-go-lucky,” senior Hillary Stangel, who helped publicize and distribute the Tshirts, wrote in an e-mail message. “Hopefully these shirts will let students know that we support them and that we really do care for them,” she said. “It is not a memorial for those who have passed away. Rather, it is a course of action to impress upon others the true importance of increased communication.”

Students may be asked to wear their shirts to school on specific days scattered throughout the year. “It’d be really cool to see this project continuing beyond just the selling of the shirts,” Mathews said. “The ultimate goal is to really bring the community closer together and that cannot be done through a one-time event.”

The T-shirts, which were five dollars each, were sold out within 30 minutes of the lunch period. With this money, Mathews and Zeif were able to completely pay back all expenses as well as raise some funds for the KARA Foundation. From now on, all future funds that are raised through this project will go towards the KARA Foundation, which is a support group that has helped and will continue to help grieving students and families. “Besides the fundraiser aspect of it, I think it’s just a really great thing that people in the community can wear these shirts,” Zeif said. “It’s not necessarily the money that we raise that’s important, but rather the fact that wherever we go, we can carry this message of communication with us.”

To help convey the message more successfully, Mathews and Zeif came up with a design that they believed was both straightforward and sensitive to the issue. “We knew we didn’t want to be blunt and just write, ‘students against suicide,’ because that wasn’t at all what we were trying to say,” Zeif said. “There also needed to be a cool design that students could relate to, and hopefully that’s what we have going on right now.”

Each of the T-shirts is handmade and has a unique color pattern which Mathews and Zeif designed themselves. To mass-produce the shirts, they built a rig where they could place a cardboard stencil on. One person loads the shirt onto a mat, and the other proceeds to spray paint it with the selected design. This process, on average, takes 30 seconds to two minutes for each shirt. “At first we were just going to do solid colors and everyone would end up having the same shirt, but we tried to make each shirt unique,” Mathews said. “It enhances the message of having different students T-SHIRTS—p.10

Photos by Melissa Sun and Victor Kwok

From left to right: Senior Miles Mathews creates “Talk to me” shirts using spray paint and a stencil; Junior Raz Steinhart places a “Talk to me” T-shirt on the table; The stencil that was used to create the T-shirts.

780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Testing day coincides with Homecoming Alvin Man Centerfold Editor

Gunn will be dedicating an entire school day on Wednesday to college admittance, testing and career exploration. Juniors, sophomores and freshmen will be taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT), PLAN and EXPLORE respectively from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., while the seniors will attend Stanford Psychologist Fred Luskin’s stress reduction lecture.

The school decided to host the PSAT on Wednesday instead of Saturday, the usual day of the test. “We did not want to have students come to school on Saturday for the PSAT, so we decided to host it on Wednesday,” Principal Noreen Likins said. College Board administers the PSAT and only offers the test on a specific Wednesday and Saturday of the year.

The PSAT date this year will coincide with Homecoming week. “[The Student Executive Council (SEC)] knew in advance that the PSAT would be held during Homecoming week,” Special Events Commissioner junior Ting Ting Liu said. According to Liu, SEC could not change Homecoming week because it is usually set to coincide with the football schedule. However, the games and activities that the SEC planned for Homecoming week will still occur with the Jamba Chug taking place after school on Wednesday.

TESTS—p.3

District approves construction plan Sophie Cheng & Sarah-Jean Zubair News Editor & Forum Editor

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education approved conceptual design plans on Sept. 22 to construct two new academic buildings and a second gym at Gunn in the next 10 years. The construction will cost about $80 million and will be funded by bond Measure A, passed in June 2008. “The construction plans have our full support,” Assistant Principal of Facilities Tom Jacoubowsky said. “It is a necessary step for us to cope with Gunn’s growing enrollment.”

The district hopes to begin construction in fall 2010. The 27 portable buildings in the Village will be moved to the back of the parking lot near the tennis courts in summer 2010 to accommodate the construction of a new two-story building that will house 28 math and English classrooms. “In the short term, the kids will have a little farther to walk, but the learning will continue,” Superintendent Kevin Skelly PLANS—p.5

News

The Oracle

City manager discusses plan

Keys Middle School splits into two

New vaccine for swine flu released

Burpee sentenced to life in prison

2

NEWS BITES

The Santa Clara County Superior Court sentenced 22-yearold Palo Alto High School graduate Todd David Burpee to 43 years to life in state prison on Sept. 11.

The jury previously found Burpee guilty of two counts of assault with the intent of rape or sexual penetration, two counts of assault likely to cause great bodily injury, one count of kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault and one count of sexual penetration by force on May 27.

Burpee assaulted a 17-year-old Gunn student outside her Arastradero Road apartment complex on Oct. 30, 2007. Burpee twisted the student’s neck and slammed her face into the sidewalk before throwing her into the back of his car. The student feigned unconsciousness throughout the ordeal to avoid antagonizing her assailant.

Burpee sexually assaulted her in the back of his car and then left, presuming her to be dead. The girl was able to escape and seek help after Burpee entered his girlfriend’s house in Sunnyvale.

Burpee will not have the option of parole until he is at least 60 years old.

—Henry Gens On Sept. 10, the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NAID) announced the preliminary results of clinical trials of the swine flu vaccine. Trials by Sonafi Pasteur and CSL Limited found the 15 microgram dose to be just as effective as a 30 microgram dose, meaning the vaccine supply will go twice as far as originally expected.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all individuals receive a vaccine for the seasonal flu, even though it is not expected to protect against the H1N1 virus. According to the CDC, teenagers will not be targeted to receive vaccination against H1N1 except for those with chronic medical conditions, though vaccination is recommended for all people once the target groups are reached. “If there’s an excess [of the vaccine] I’ll get the shot, but not before people who really need vaccination get it,” junior Nilofer Chollampat said.

H1N1 spreads similarly to the seasonal flu: through coughs, sneezes and touching infected areas. The virus also has similar symptoms to the seasonal flu including a fever, cough, sore throat, headaches, chills, fatigue and nausea. To prevent the spread of H1N1, the CDC recommends washing hands often and covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.

—Annie Shuey Keys Middle School expanded to a new campus on El Camino Real, but the move is unlikely to affect the commute times of Gunn students, according to Head of Keys Middle School Michael Thompson.

An average school day at Keys starts at 8:40 a.m. and ends at 3:20 p.m., while Gunn starts at 7:55 a.m. and ends at either 2:05 p.m. or 3:10 p.m. A shuttle will bring students from the old, lower school campus to the new campus during the school day. “I don’t think traffic should affect Gunn students, both because our start time is later and our end time is later as well,” Thompson said. As of now, no traffic conflicts have been reported regarding the new Middle School.

In the future, Gunn will see an increased number of Keys students enrolling in Gunn. Before the new campus was established, each grade had only one class. With two separate campuses, Keys has expanded the seventh and eighth grades into two classes each. Thompson predicts that enrollment from Keys to Gunn will rise from about five to eight students every year to eight to 10.

—Melissa Chan Palo Alto city transportation manager Gayle Likens met with the Gunn administration and staff on Sept. 17 in order to discuss the planned changes for Arastradero Road.

Likens spent the majority of her visit explaining why the plan will be implemented. The City Council and the planning commission debated various methods to control traffic. Likens explained that statistical information pointed out that traffic was particularly congested and that by adopting the plan, the roads would become less dangerous. “Either adopting a fourlane plan or our hybrid configuration are better than doing nothing,” Likens said at the conference.

The school’s reactions were mixed. While some people still felt that the plan would hurt traffic around Gunn, others felt that the plan would help. “It may sound counterintuitive, but reducing lanes may actually help traffic problems,” math teacher Peter Herreshoff said. Herreshoff remained worried, however, that the plan would not benefit bikers on Arastradero. “As long as the plan makes it safer for bikers, it is a good idea,” he said.

—Arjun Bharadwaj

What happened this month

The Oracle recaps recent events

Victor Kwok

Henry Liu

Above: Workers chopped down 63 mature trees on California Avenue Sept. 14, ignoring a 14-day waiting period allowing Palo Alto residents to challenge the plan. Top right: Students browse stands on Club Day Sept. 30. Clubs’ booths extended Victor Kwok from the quad to the Fish Bowl this year. Bottom right: Thousands of people participated in the 25th annual Moonlight Run Oct. 2. Volunteers from Gunn’s Key Club helped collect old shoes to donate to war-torn countries.

Q&A with

Stanford Professor Fred Luskin

The Oracle: What is your background?

Fred Luskin: I’m a licensed psychologist and marriage a n d fa m i ly counselor. I Stanford teach classes Pyschologist on happiness Fred Luskin and stress management at Stanford and Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. In addition, I’ve researched and taught forgiveness as the Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects and written two best-selling books on forgiveness as well as a popular book on stress management.

TO: You are going to be a guest speaker at Gunn for an event in October. Can you explain this event?

FL: This is an annual talk given to the senior class on preparing for graduation and life beyond Gunn.

I’ll be speaking on how to set goals that have a good chance of leading to a happy life. The event includes a discussion of the need to learn stress management and to be be wary of one dimensional approaches to success, as well as a discussion of what research says makes people truly happy.

TO: What are some of your plans to deal with student issues such as stress?

FL: I believe that students should be taught as part of their normal

education how to manage stress when it comes up and how to live intelligently so less stress comes up. In addition, I think that the community could do a better job of modeling a more mellow approach to daily life. Broader discussions of success should be included that allow for diversity and provide a sense of accomplishment to a wide array of life choices. I’ve suggested that all teachers in the school system be given a basic education in stress management practices as well as learn about the research and practices that lead to authentic happiness and apply their knowledge to the curriculum.

TO: How would you describe the current mental health state of most Gunn students?

FL: Most Gunn students have a positive outlook and good self esteem which is the most important foundation for a good life.

That said, they live in a community with exaggerated concern for material success and lifestyles.

Students pick this up and learn to overvalue grades, personal success and material attainment while under-appreciating relationships, purpose and spiritual satisfactions.

TO: How should students go about facing this issue of overwork and under-appreciation?

FL: Students should be encouraged to think and talk among themselves to examine how well the local community values fit their own ones. They should look around and examine who is truly happy and successful and what al-

lows those people to feel that way.

Students should take time out to slow down and enjoy their adolescence. The simplest answer is to remember that the universe didn’t make a mistake in creating you and that happiness often requires nothing more than to appreciate what you have.

TO: Where can students go for help if they feel overwhelmed?

FL: In high school, the most available support comes from peers. Students also have sources available on the web and through books. Students who are suffering would get support from their parents if they were able to articulate their concerns in a non-hostile straightforward manner. At school, counselors are ready to talk to students. Everyone can be encouraged to know that there’s no shame in feeling pain and confusion and that working those feelings out is a surer way to a successful life than never having those uncomfortable feelings.

TO: Do you have any last words of advice for students to lead a happy and successful life?

FL: First, students should truly recognize how lucky they are to have grown up in such a beautiful and caring place as Palo Alto.

Second, they should remember that they have a long life ahead to figure everything out. Third, students should value people more than things and understand that relationships are the most important ingredient to a happy life.

—Compiled by Tiffany Hu

Monday, October 12, 2009 News 3 School prepares students for future with tests, assembly speaker n TESTS from p.1

Freshmen and sophomores will take EXPLORE and PLAN respectively, which are two new standardized tests administered by American College Testing (ACT), on Wednesday. “PLAN and EXPLORE are just like the ACT and aim to give students information on their areas of strengths and weaknesses,” Assistant Principal of Guidance Kimberly Cowell said.

This year the school will pay for students to take PLAN and EXPLORE. “We had money left over from AB-1802, a bill that [the] state passed to give money to schools for personnel and materials, that would help prepare students to pass the High School Exit Exam,” Cowell said.

PLAN and EXPLORE test students in reading, English, math and science–the main subject criteria of high school curriculum.

“The PSAT is based more on the eleventh grade curriculum whereas PLAN and EXPLORE are based on freshmen and sophomore curriculum respectively,” Cowell said.

PLAN and EXPLORE have an interest inventory that students are required to answer when they take the test. The interest inventory is a 72-item survey that helps students identify majors that match their interests. According to the ACT Web site, one of the hardest tasks facing

adolescents and adults is choosing a career, so the interest inventory provides a range of choices students might be interested in.

The survey does not mention any occupational titles or job-specific duties. According to the ACT Web site, the survey uses very few gender-specific terms. Instead, the survey uses items that are familiar to people either by observation or participation (e.g. fixing a toy or conducting a meeting) in order to describe a career category. For example, instead of asking a student if they are interested in being a real estate agent, there will be choices such as business person or houses.

After taking the test, students will be mailed their score report, which includes their testing scores and survey results. The results from the interest inventory are explained to the student through a circular diagram called the Worldof-Work Map. “A lot of people are unsure of their future careers, so the test will open up different possibilities of future careers to students who do not know what they want to do in the future,” freshman Cassie Chen said. The goal of the survey is to show students their likes and dislikes and give them different career possibilities that are geared towards the students’ interests. As PLAN and EXPLORE are both offered freshmen and sophomore

year, students will know what kind of classes they should choose when pursuing a career. “Most sophomores don’t know what they want in the future,” sophomore Kieran Gallagher said. “Having a survey of what career choices we want will help in choosing the electives for that career.”

PLAN and EXPLORE also illustrate students’ weaknesses for each section. “The tests are grade level explicit and the scores of the test are very specific in showing students’ strengths and areas of growth,” Cowell said. ACT shows the questions a student has answered correctly or incorrectly as well as a list that tells a student what to work on in order to improve their grade. “I think that having a score card that shows what you are being tested on, what you missed and what needs to be improved on is extremely helpful,” sophomore Brian Chang said.

“For example, you could be good in grammar but not in vocabulary and good at trigonometry but not in geometry; having a score card would help dramatically.”

The senior assembly parallels the test sophomores and freshmen will be taking except that seniors will participate in discussions.

After attending Luskin’s stress reduction lecture, seniors will be split into groups led by a student volunteer or ROCK mentor.

Each student volunteer will lead

How to: make a college packet

Nathan Toung

1. Compile a list of colleges you want to go to.

2. Download the Cover Sheet for the College Packet form from the Guidance Web page.

Fill out the chart with the colleges you want to attend and the appropriate due dates.

If you are applying for Early Decision (ED) or for Early Action (EA), indicate this on the space provided next to the due date. Be sure to tape it to the front of a 9 by 12 inch envelope.

3. Download the Recommendation Request Form and Parent Brag Sheet from the Guidance Web page and fill them out to help your counselor write your letter of recommendation.

4. Download the Transcript Request Form from the Guidance Web page. List all colleges that require a transcript and Mid-year Report form. The first two transcripts are free, and each transcript after that costs $10.

5. Print out the Secondary School Report and Mid-year Report Forms from each college that needs one. Complete the student portion and make sure to waive your rights. For schools that accept the Common Application, only include one copy.

6. For each school that requires a transcript, include a 6 by 9 inch envelope, addressed and return addressed (with Gunn’s address). It must have three first class stamps.

7. For each college that requires a mid-year transcript, be sure to include a 4 by 9 inch envelope, addressed and return addressed with the school’s address. Put one first class stamp on it.

8. Put everything in a large 9 by 12 inch envelope and double check to make sure all forms are included.

9. When you turn the packet in, be prepared to spend around five minutes with Registrar Tracy Douglas in the Guidance office going over your packet and making sure everything is there.

Note: For a 9 by 12 inch envelope you must use four first class stamps.

—Compiled by Anne Hsiao

Melissa Sun

Juniors, sophomores and freshmen will take the Preliminary SAT, PLAN and EXPLORE tests respectively on Wednesday. the group in a discussion about Luskin’s stress reduction speech.

Afterwards, the seniors will be separated into two other groups that deal with college and career topics. “Students will pick two out of eight career sessions the week before, and they will be attending them after the student-led discussion,” Cowell said. Some sessions that seniors have signed up for will be essay writing tips and University of California/California State University application help. Along with college and career sessions, the administration has brought in 12 people whose careers are either in medicine, education, building, design and business.

“For education, we have an elementary school teacher, a high school teacher and then a professor coming to talk to the students,” Cowell said. The administration

randomly surveyed seniors asking them what they would want to have if there was a assembly about college and career. “A great majority of students asked to have people from different professions come in and talk about their jobs,” Cowell said. “We wanted to bring in a community college official to come to talk to the students, but they had all been booked a year before.”

According to Cowell, Gunn will be having the same assembly for seniors next year if all goes well. The administration will enlarge the range of career categories for students by adding more career categories. “Instead of having just medical, building and design, business and education, we want to add more careers such as financial, but it all depends on what the seniors want,” Cowell said.

4

News

The Oracle

The Oracle 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 354-8238 http://gunn.pausd.org/oracle

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

Staff Reporters Regina Ahn Arjun Bharadwaj Colin Chen Jesse Klein Yilin Liang Mati Pluska-Renaud Divya Shiv Annie Tran Lisa Wong May Wu Business/Circulation Managers Jazreel Cheung Anne Hsiao Elaine Liu Photographers Victor Kwok Alan Phan Melissa Sun Graphics Artists Kimberly Han Andrew Lee Adviser Kristy Blackburn

The Oracle is published by and for the students of Henry M. Gunn Senior High School. The unsigned editorials that appear in this publication represent the majority opinion of the editorial staff and The Oracle's commitment to promoting students' rights. The Oracle strongly encourages and prints signed Letters to the Editor. Please include your name, grade and contact information should you choose to write one. Letters may be edited to meet space requirements and the writer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

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

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

Gunn’s national ranking drops API score evaluates school’s yearly academic performance more accurately Emily Zheng Features Editor

Gunn ranked 117 on Newsweek’s list of top high schools nationwide this year, a 34-rank drop from last year’s ranking of 83. The U.S. News and World Report’s 2009 Best High Schools list also dropped Gunn’s ranking from 66 to 74, but still considers it a “gold medal school.” To be considered a gold medal school, the school has to have a large percent of the students from the graduating class take AP tests.

Statewide, Gunn was able to maintain its ranking on the Academic Performance Index (API), which summarizes a school’s academic excellence and progress through statewide tests. A school is ranked from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) based on its API score. This year, Gunn received a 10 for its performance from 2008 to 2009.

According to Assistant Principal of Facilities Tom Jacoubowsky, however, the administration does not place much emphasis on these rankings. “As a school, we generally don’t involve ourselves or get too caught up in these rankings like some schools do,” he said. “We already know that we are very fortunate and that we have a fantastic student body. For us, it’s just not something that we want to rate the quality of the school by.”

Newsweek’s list of top high schools, called the Challenge Index, is based on the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors. According to Jacoubowsky, the Challenge Index has repeatedly been called inaccurate by many school administrators across the country.

“The system that they’ve set up for ranking schools has nothing to do with how well students perform on their AP exams,” he said.

“There are many schools that make all of their students sign up for the AP exams just so they can boost their nationwide ranking. It’s not a good determinant of how prestigious a school is.”

According to Assistant Principal of Guidance Kimberly Cowell, the statewide API report is a more accurate evaluation of a school’s academic excellence. It is a single-number indicator of a school’s performance, based on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) results. “When it comes to the STAR test and the CAHSEE, we, as a school, know that we actually earned those rankings due to the academic achievements across three grade levels, whereas in the Challenge Index, our school ranking is based on the number of seniors in the graduating class and how many students took AP exams,” Cowell said.

In 2007, Gunn did not participate in the Challenge Index because the administration believed that the ranking system was unfair.

According to Jacoubowsky, the school also withdrew from the ranking system in an attempt to alleviate stress. “We didn’t want to put any more pressure on our students than they already had just so that they can achieve a certain ranking for the school,” Jacoubowsky said. “That’s the whole point of our not having a valedictorian. We don’t want people to sign up for more classes that they can handle just to get a higher grade point average. The same concept applies to these rankings.”

However, Gunn rejoined the Challenge Index system a year later upon the request of Superintendent Kevin Skelly.

According to Jacoubowsky, Gunn’s ranking on the Newsweek list will probably continue to decrease due to the growing presence of small charter schools.

“Many smaller boutique schools are opening up that have graduating classes of only 20 or 30 kids,” he said. “Yes, they’re public,

but public is only a name. Most of them are exclusive in some form. Either way in some shape or form, these places know how to manipulate the system so that they end up on top.”

Jacoubowsky believes that if all the smaller schools were to be excluded, Gunn would rank around 25 among all the full-size high schools with more than 1,000 students.

The API and the Challenge Index do not incorporate extracurricular activities and student support programs. These factors, Cowell said, are essential to a complete high school experience. “The fact is that Newsweek and even API reports use very narrow formulas to measure the general excellence of a school,” Cowell said. “I certainly believe that they could be indicators of academic rigor and how much a school pushes its students, but they don’t show anything about the kind of extra

Kimberly Han

curricular activities that a school offers like athletics, clubs and arts. There are so many different factors as to why a high school is really a wonderful place.”

Overall, the administration is content with the direction of the school. “We don’t take these rankings to heart because we see them as artificial barometers of how to measure a school,” Jacoubowsky said. “The truth is that we’re very happy with where we are. We know that we do a good job and we know that we have great students.”

For more information on high school rankings, visit the following Web sites: www.newsweek.com, www.usnews.com and www.cde.ca.gov

News

Monday, October 12, 2009

5

Courtesy of the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education

Above: Future two-story math and English building will replace the Village in three years. Top right: A second gym will be built next to the swimming pool, overlapping three existing tennis courts. Below right: New World Languages building will be in front of existing science and language buildings.

PAUSD Board of Education, school discuss construction plans

n PLANS from p.1

said. The portables will take up an additional 58 parking spaces, but will not significantly affect student parking. “Mr. Jacoubowsky went out one day this year and counted the available parking spaces in the parking lot, and he found that the number of available parking spaces that day exceeded the number of parking spaces that will be lost,” Math Instructional Supervisor Jeanne Beck said.

The new Village building is scheduled for completion in January 2013 so that the current freshmen class will be able to use it in the second semester of their senior year, according to Beck. The new classrooms will be larger in size and have cross-ventilation in each room. “Ventilation is a major concern in planning these buildings,” Jacoubowsky said. “Some of the [current] classrooms without air conditioning are unbearable on hot days, so that’s something to be improved on in the new buildings.”

Representatives from Gunn attended the PAUSD Board of Education meeting on Sept. 22 to input their opinions and expressed concerns about the plans for air conditioning (AC) in the new building. “We wanted to raise a point that as we’re doing all this new construction, it’s not okay to not take the issue of ventilation into consideration,” Beck said. The school board responded to this problem last Wednesday by deciding to conduct a study to investigate the cost of AC in the existing classrooms.

The district plans to include a multipurpose room in the new Village building where two classes can meet at once and is separated by a special soundproof wall.

It will also have an elevator accessible to disabled students. The stairs will create an arena-style seating during outdoor presentations in the courtyard.

The math classrooms currently have 10 smart boards which will be moved to the projected 14 new math classrooms on the second floor once the new building is completed. An LCD projec-

tor will also be mounted in each dressed,” Jensen said. “On hot room after the smart boards are days, the classrooms can get up installed, according to Beck. to 90 degrees [Fahrenheit]. The Both Beck and Jacoubowsky district has said that alternatives believe that the new building will to air conditioning with green help alleviate Gunn’s increased technology would be used in the population. new buildings.

“The new Whatever is classrooms are going to be designed to used has to be “Construction imgive us more an improveroom which ment on what pacts a lot of classes, will help as we currently but the vision for long as class have.” more space and new sizes don’t The diskeep increastrict will befacilities that we’re ing,” Beck gin constructgoing to have is said.

“The ing a new most students gym, fitness worth the growing we could comcenter and pains that we have fortably fit locker rooms to experience.” into one room for home and would probvisiting teams —Math Instructional June ably be 36.”

2010 Supervisor Jeanne Beck and hopes to Once the new two-story complete the building is completed, the special project in two years. The new education classrooms and offices gym will be located next to the will be relocated from the T por- swimming pool and will take up tables and RC building to the cur- three of the seven existing tennis rent math building. courts, including half of Willie’s The school will also simul- Court. However, four new courts taneously begin work on a new will be built behind the remaining single-story building for World courts and three outdoor basketLanguage classes. The new build- ball courts will be constructed being will be located in the grassy tween the swimming pool and the area in front of the science and baseball diamond. language buildings. It will inAccording to Athletic Director clude five classrooms, language Chris Horpel, the new gym will instructor offices, conference be the primary competition site rooms, an outdoor patio and a for most teams once it is comkitchen. “Overall, we need an pleted, but practices and some upgraded environment and more competitions will still take place classrooms for world languages,” in the old gym. Once the new gym World Languages Instructional is completed, the district plans to Supervisor Anne Jensen said. tear down the wall between the Currently, most language dance studio and the wrestling classrooms are shared between room in the old gym to create one teachers. New classrooms will large wrestling room, according eliminate the problem by ac- to Horpel. They will also build a commodating teachers without large storage room on one side for rooms. The new classrooms are Physical Education and wrestling specifically designed to remedy equipment. problems that are faced in current Construction on the old and classrooms such as lack of stor- new gyms will not exacerbate age and dim lighting. the problem of multiple teams According to Jensen, venti- practicing in the same location as lation is a concern for the new sports seasons transition, accordWorld Languages building as ing to Horpel. “We will not touch well. “If there are to be renova- the old gym until the new gym tions, ventilation has to be ad- is complete, so it will not create

more issues with overlapping seasons,” he wrote in an e-mail. “We will deal with the same old issues of overlapping seasons until the new gym is complete, then we can upgrade our old gym, then we will no longer have the issues we currently have.”

Horpel believes that the construction is definitely worth the benefits. “When Gunn was first built, there was only one girls’ sport and a total of 15 teams, counting varsity and junior varsity,” Horpel wrote in an e-mail.

“Now, there are 50 teams (25 girls’ and 25 boys’). We also started as a three-year high school for the first 10 years. When we became a four-year high school in 1975, our numbers jumped to about 1,000 students. We are soon expected to have about 2,300. More students means more student-athletes and therefore a greater necessity for more facilities. Gunn was fine for when it was first built, but we need more facilities to accommodate our new numbers.”

The Facilities Steering Committee at Gunn, which includes Principal Noreen Likins, Jacoubowsky and the Instructional Supervisors, worked with the PAUSD Board of Education and

PAUSD design consultant Deems Lewis McKinley Architecture (DLM) to plan the new buildings. During a meeting in the staff lounge on Oct. 7, PAUSD Facilities Management Consultant Tom Hodges explained the plans to Gunn faculty members in more detail.

Though the new buildings will help make classroom sizes smaller, they will not particularly affect the teaching styles and effectiveness of teachers, according to Beck. “It’s not the room; it’s the teacher who makes learning happen in a classroom,” Beck said.

Skelly acknowledges that construction noise is distracting to students in class, but believes the long-term benefits make the construction worth it. “Construction going on during the school year will make it tight around the school, but that’s the price of progress,” Skelly said. Beck agrees. “Construction impacts a lot of classes, but the vision for more space and new facilities that we’re going to have is worth the growing pains that we have to experience,” she said.

The schematic design will be up for approval by the PAUSD Board of Education in December.

6

News

The Oracle

        

  





Forum

Monday, October 12, 2009

7

Reduction of summer stunts students’ opportunities

Obama’s summer proposal poses a threat to personal growth and possible future success

P

resident Barack Obama recently proposed to shorten summer vacation and increase the number of school days to ensure that American pupils don’t fall behind their international peers in education. However, this would not benefit Palo Alto students.

Palo Alto students deviate from the rest of the nation’s academic norm.

Students here often use summer vacation as an opportunity to broaden their horizons and pursue their interests.

While Obama’s intentions may be good for the general American student population, shortening Palo Alto students’ summer break would not only eliminate valuable free time, but it would

also hinder their future success.

Over summer vacation, students at Gunn have time to intern at places like Lockheed Martin and NASA. Some take accelerated college classes, while others travel the world on humanitarian missions. Though school is important for developing social skills and building an academic foundation, Obama needs to recognize that summer gives students the chance to explore careers and develop their personal interests. By cutting back on summer vacation, students who could be expanding their intellectual horizons would be trapped in a conventional learning environment.

Creativity is a trait closely associated with success–and for good reason. Though school

helps students academically, textbook problems and annotations cannot always be deemed good preparations for the real world. Fresh ideas get people ahead, and the creativity that is needed to spawn those ideas is not usually found in a school environment.

Creativity comes from students’ life experiences and these usually occur during summer vacation. Shortening this time of growth is like cutting a plant that hasn’t yet budded.

Additionally, students learn crucial lessons from summer experiences. By learning how to tackle challenges, students are prepared for real-life decisions.

They could learn how to overcome challenges that may come up in their future careers. Thus, it would make more sense for the government to lengthen summer

vacation rather than shorten it.

It’s no secret that many Palo Alto students are constantly under stress with workloads that are relatively larger than those of other American students. By shortening summer vacation, students will have even less time to simply be kids. Students are not robots; they need time to catch up on sleep and socialize.

School is not all there is to life.

Kimberly Han

The nation wants people who can propel their communities and the world forward. Increasing the number of school days would not increase the number of successful, educated individuals. Rather, it would ensure the opposite.

—Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the staff (assenting: 28; dissenting: 3).

Students worry over privacy

Nicola Park Grades. Tests. Homework. APs. College. The very utterance of these words quickens heartbeats and causes students to groan with anxiety, fatigue or dread. They are the reasons why many sacrifice their social lives and free time in exchange for hitting the books. Grades are curious things— they can cause nervous breakdowns or elation, but most of the time they simply cause stress. In Gunn’s highly academic climate, grades can be a sensitive topic and consequently should be kept as confidential as possible.

An example of the lack of grade privacy is posting grades in the classroom. When posted, the grades are sometimes left in alphabetical order, with student ID numbers or undercover code names replacing students’ names. Although this system makes grade updates accessible to students with less hassle for the teacher and students, if anyone tried hard or was intent enough, he or she could see what the grades of the people in his or her classroom are. For example, the grade of the unfortunate student with the last name that starts with a Z can be obvious to others if they simply looked at the last grade on the sheet, as with a student with a last name that starts with A. True, many students are unconcerned about how others are doing in the class, but there are consistently the few who invade their peers’ privacy.

A method that many teachers use is displaying grades on InClass. Posting grades online allows students to check their progress without hassling teachers. This is a much more secure and private way to ensure that

grades have little chance of reaching classmates’ eyes. Some teachers may argue that posting grades online leads to frequent and sometimes obsessive checking of one’s grade, but moderation and self-control are virtues that students must learn on their own, just as they balance time spent with friends and time spent on homework or Facebook. Students should not be able to know of others’ grades, at least without their consent.

Some may argue that posting grades on the wall lets students see how others are doing to gauge their own performance. For one, teachers can easily show the scores’ mean, median and so on in class or online. In this manner, privacy will be maintained because the statistics are not student-specific. Also, these statistics, despite all the fuss, are inconsequential. In the big picture, what other people get in the class shouldn’t matter—it should be your performance that matters.

People also need to learn to respect other students’ grade privacy and keep what they hear to themselves.

It’s not uncommon to hear people talking about who got what on a test.

But problems are also evident in the reverse. Some people flaunt their grades, causing others to feel lessthan-spectacular if they scored lower on a given assignment or test. The spread of who got what through word of mouth only exacerbates the graderelated stress that students undergo.

Posting grades for everyone to see exposes students’ personal information. Also, on the student word-ofmouth level, impinging on others’ privacy and knowing information irrelevant to oneself isn’t worth the effort. It, in fact, is a waste of energy and only makes the academic climate more competitive and stressful for everyone. Immediate measures should thereby be taken to maximize privacy.

—Park, a junior, is a Copy Editor.

Nathan Toung

Teen driving age increase urged

Alvin Man Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers with 5,000 teens ages 16 to 20 dying from fatal crashes anuualy. That may not sound like much given the size of the American population, but anyone could be a part of that statistic. In a society where every life counts, raising the driving age will help save lives in the future.

Many states such as California have imposed restrictions onto teenage driving that has reduced 16 year-old deaths by 10 percent. However, motor vehicle accidents are still the leading cause of teenage deaths so the age should be until 18.

Various studies show that a teenager’s brain is not fully developed which greatly affects their ability to drive. According to a study by the National Institute of Health, the part of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully developed until age 25. Risky behavior can range from driving fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit to drinking and driving.

A typical response whenever a teenager is scolded or told to do something is “I know.”

However in an August issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons scientists published a study that followed 262 high school students participating in a oneday injury prevention program. What the scientists found out was that teenagers did not know the real cause of teenage deaths in motor accidents and that they believed that the motor or highway problems were the major causes, not human error. The participants believed that because of their prime age and quick reflexes, they could easily steer out of any accident that came their way, but didn’t realize or acknowledge that getting out of a driving accident is more complicated that that.

States prematurely thrust young teens into life and death situations by having the driving age at 16. The magnitude of this responsibility is underscored by studies that show motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of teenage deaths. Furthermore teenagers are biologically disadvantaged when it comes to making decisions behind the wheel. The brain is not fully developed until the midtwenties but having the driving age in the twenties would not give enough driving experience for teens, however having the driving age at 18 would. Raising the driving age two years higher will get more bad decision making teens off the streets, giving teens a higher chance at surviving behind the wheel.

—Man, a junior, is a Centerfold Editor.

8

The Oracle

Soda tax saves, slims society

Extra charge on sugary drinks helps prevent increase in obesity

Forum

Please don’t freak out

Sarah-Jean Zubair

Sophie Cheng

Last September, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom stated that he would introduce legislation to impose a tax on businesses that sell sugary drinks in San Francisco to help combat obesity and associated health problems like diabetes.

The tax would consist of a per-ounce extra charge on soda and sugary juices, raising the price of a purchase and theoretically reducing people’s desire to consume soda.

Already instituted in some states, a soda tax should move beyond local and state governments and be implemented nationally as a part of the federal government’s attempts to help reduce obesity rates.

Obesity rates, which have grown over the past three decades from 14 percent to 30 percent, are still climbing in spite of readily available nutritional facts and health awareness. This is due to multiple factors, including subsidization of various agricultural industries, which makes processed foods often a less expensive alternative to fresh foods. The corn industry is the major reason for Americans’ overconsumption of soda. Corn can be used to make high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener that is preferred by soda manufacturers over sugar due to its lower cost. Since it became widely used in the 1970s, the lowered price of soda coincided with a steady rise in obesity that has taken place over the past three decades.

On average, Americans consume about 278

No, I’m not referring to the common teenage reaction to academic stress or social drama. This is about the more vulgar practice of “freaking.”

For those who are blissfully ignorant and don’t understand what I mean by “freaking,” I will attempt to explain. Freaking is an obscene dancing style–if one can even call it dancing–in which teenagers express their sexual desires by grinding their bodies against one another, especially in the more private areas of one’s body and often top it off with suggestive noises and gestures.

Sounds bad enough? Try imagining a group of people freaking in a circle. As one of my friends described the dance floor of last year’s prom, “it’s like a massive orgy out there.”

Freaking is a distinctly animalistic behavior. In Puerto Rico, freaking is called perreo, which is derived from the Spanish word perro meaning “dog.” While one could argue that sex is animalistic as well, at least it is confined to the privacy of one’s bedroom–not performed on the public floor of a school dance.

Teenagers as a group are notoriously known for their susceptibility to sexual urges due to fluctuating hormonal levels, but a school dance is not the place to be fulfilling these sensual desires and fantasies, whatever they may be.

I’m here today to denounce this freakishly disgusting behavior. Why? Because I believe that there are better ways for us to express our enjoyment of music and dance without adding to the stereotype of teenagers being crazed sex-driven animals with no self-respect or elegance.

Additionally, freaking doesn’t follow in accordance to school rules. The administration has installed a rule in recent years that prohibits students from bending over more than 45 degrees. Dancers are also required to keep both feet on the ground. This makes it difficult to freak without having an administrator warn you about your lewd behavior. Just how embarrassing is that?

The dance floor is also known to be one of the hottest (heat-wise) and crowded places to be on campus, but these complaints would be alleviated if students just stopped freaking.

Close proximity equals major increase in body heat, people.

But how are you supposed to enjoy a dance without freaking, dare I ask? Don’t engage in bodily contact with another person in inappropriate areas. Yes, it’s that simple. After all, that’s how shows like Do You Think You Can Dance? and Dancing With The Stars rose to popularity–by contestants demonstrating their skill and hard work on the dance floor with sophisticated dance styles, not through suggestively rubbing their bodies against their partner.

At Gunn, we students pride ourselves on being intelligent, civilized human beings. So I’m putting a call out for those who recognize themselves as such to lead the change. Don’t give in to peer pressure! For those who are particularly ambitious, try learning the waltz for slow dances and some two-step and swing moves for more upbeat music before the next dance and you’ll be set.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s keep it clean for the Homecoming dance of 2009!

Kimberly Han

more calories than they did 30 years ago; almost half of which come from soda. Had high fructose corn syrup not been introduced as an inexpensive alternative to sugar, Americans would not have been able to buy soda on a regular basis and therefore would probably not have picked up their soda habit in the first place. The root of soda-related obesity is money; therefore, the best solution must be money as well.

Anti soda-tax groups, which are backed by the $125 billion soft drink industry and the Corn Refiners Association, have stated that taxing a particular food is counterproductive to efforts to curb obesity. But soda is different from other foods in that it is full of sugar and empty calories. Its composition is supportive of an unhealthy lifestyle—a 20-ounce serving contains about 22 teaspoons of sugar, a huge overdose in comparison to the maximum recommended

daily serving of nine teaspoons.

Some have argued that middle class families’ daily lives would be adversely impacted by the tax. The tax will impact middle class families’ daily lives, but certainly not adversely. Since obese people have higher health insurance rates, their overall health care costs would be reduced along with their weight. Soda’s increased price would also result in people turning to a healthy alternatives such as water. Water, which is a part of people’s daily lives, flows inexpensively from a tap and is perfectly portable. When it’s not, the use of filters and kettles for boiling allows it to become so.

The desire to be a healthier individual and society must come from within; a soda tax just gives people a little monetary incentive to take a step in the right direction.

—Zubair, a junior, is a Forum Editor.

Subtle racism continues to thrive in media Arjun Bharadwaj In the early 1920s, it was not uncommon for many white actors to mock AfricanAmericans by donning makeup to make their skin tones look darker. These “blackface” actors enforced early stereotypes of African-Americans; living in squalid conditions, eating fried chicken and usually acting idiotic. While this blunt racism has been pushed out of the media, subtle racism remains prevalent and pernicious.

In place of older stereotypes, new ones have arisen. Asians-Americans, for example, are now often portrayed in a negative light, and are, on a regular basis, passed over in favor of white actors during casting calls. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the film “21.” The novel that inspired the movie has many prominent Asian characters, including the protagonist, Kevin Lewis. In the actual film, however, directors selected predominantly white actors, including actors who had to be coached in developing American accents, in an attempt to gain a wider viewership and make the cast more relatable to the audience. Even the film “Crash,” which attempts to highlight racial tensions, inadvertently came off as racist. From the Asian woman screaming that the woman in front of her didn’t “blake” fast enough, to the disturbing portrayal of a Persian man who

is redeemed by a perceived act of God after film that attracted major controversy attempting murder. (What is particularly is the film “Aladdin,” a film that disturbing is that this stereotype is actutook place in an unidentified city ally believed by many Americans in in the Middle East, originally the post 9/11 atmosphere.) Although incorporated lines in its songs older, the film “Indiana Jones and that referenced violence in Arathe Temple of Doom” bian cities (“Where they cut off unfairly stereotypes Inyour ear if they don’t like your dians, depicting them as face/It’s barbaric, but, hey, it’s people who eat horrible home”). While protests in the food and kidnap children. The Arab-American community controversy surrounding the managed to get these words film caused it to be banned in removed from the home India on its release. release of the movie, the lyrEven more disturbing is ics remained on the official the racism found in children’s soundtrack of the movie. movies, especially those of Also prevalent in these films Disney films. These racist is the “Anglicization” of portrayals have gone back the main character, while for many years, and are often heightening stereotypes of subtle enough to pass unnoticed. other characters. For examAlthough it has been argued that ple, in the film “Aladdin,” these stereotypes are harmless, the main protagonists are even subtle hints and nuances portrayed as fair skinned, can easily influence the minds while the antagonists are of children. As Harvard psydark skinned and greedy. chologist Michael D. Baran The media needs to act pointed out in a recent New more colorblind in its portrayYork Times article, “People Kimberly Han al of characters, and sacrifice think that kids don’t catch subtle cheap laughs for higher ethics. messages about race and gender in movies, Although it may seem hard to do, as old but it’s quite the opposite.” These stereo- hatreds often refuse to die, it is actually types are most prevalent in older films, quite simple. Directors and producers need such as “The Jungle Book,” where the to stop passing over certain races of some monkeys all seem to desire to be human, types, and also stop using blatant stereoand use speech and phrases that are ste- types. Do that, and we can move further to reotypically toward African-American in create a more accepting world. nature (in contrast, all other animals seem to speak in polite British accents). Another —Bharadwaj, a senior, is a reporter.

—Cheng, a senior, is a News Editor.

9 Penalty severity weighed against efficiency Forum

CON

PRO

Monday, October 12, 2009

Colin Chen Drug use and cheating are a pervasive problem in many high schools. Offenders are often rightfully punished with a quick lash of consequences. Cheating and drug use may seem like two completely different subjects, but they share similar concepts. Both are against the rules and, in most cases, can become habit forming if not dealt with quickly and firmly. Consequences of these infractions often entail contacting the student’s guardian, and in the case of drug use, could include police involvement. Harsh punishments should be given to students who break rules in order to teach them that their actions are unacceptable.

According to the 2008–2009 Most of Us Survey, 12.4 percent of Gunn students said that they have tried or used marijuana. That amounts to 236 people in the whole school. Gunn’s response to drug use is vigorous and usually results in police involvement. In addition to punishments, Gunn also uses preventive methods to combat drug use such as assemblies and counselor intervention. Education, however, is not enough. If students try drugs once in a while and get away with it, their habits may never change. Users will also continue to spread these harmful habits to others who see the lack of punishment as an acceptance of their behavior—ruining their own lives and possibly others. People who get away with something once often commit the same act again.

Cheating is a destructive and unfair habit that is relatively common among students. Despite the fact that teachers give students an equal chance for academic success at Gunn, some students still choose to gain an unfair advantage. These

Regina Ahn Most schools have little tolerance for substance abuse, on-campus violence or weapons and cyberbullying. In such cases they resort to immediate disciplinary measures like suspension and expulsion.

These shortsighted and draconian forms of punishment ultimately fail to discourage unethical behavior because they do more harm than good.

Teenagers are in a period of rapid growth and change. They are likely to find themselves in an environment of drugs, alcohol and possibly even violence-inducing emotional stress. The idea that a young adult will never come across these situations, much less experiment when they have the chance, is more idealistic than realistic. Many people make mistakes, and hopefully learn from them, much like a young child learns to ride a bike. Each time the child falls, the parent shouldn’t chastise the child and forbid him or her from bicycling due to the scrape he or she got. The parent knows his or her child needs that experience to learn. Like children learning to pick themselves up after a fall, students will learn to use alternatives to drugs and alcohol for social activity or coping with life’s hardships. Similarly, school administrators cannot hover and overreact to every student’s infractions. In their fear of volatile, self-destructive behavior, school officials unfortunately generalize young adults into a stereotype that dictates high school students

actions are often met with consequences depending on the severity of the cheating.

According to the student handbook, any type of academic dishonesty gives the student an F for the assignment and after a repeat offense the student is suspended and dropped from the class. It is imperative that each infraction is met with these consequences because if a student is let go, it sends the message that cheating is acceptable. While letting a student off the hook after catching them copying a homework assignment may seem insignificant, it is unfair to the other students in the class and robs the student of a valuable life lesson. Most teachers warn students that any suspicious actions will result in punishment, yet students still cheat.

Some students would say that these punishments are too harsh, but it is the only way that the school has to control these unlawful acts. Trusting students to do the right thing does not work because there are always those that choose to abuse this trust. Harsh punishments are the bast way to enforce good conduct because they set an example to keep students from repeating their mistakes. As long as the administration clearly states the rules and consequences of breaking them, it is the students’ responsibility to follow the rules and learn from their mistakes.

—Chen, a sophomore, is a reporter.

lack maturity and self-responsibility.

Not every student who has tried alcohol or drugs will go on to live their lives as addicts.

In addition, suspended students struggling with personal issues are likely to continue involvement with criminal activity and kicking them out of school does not help. Also, using fear instead of positive reinforcement to discipline students can augment the bridge of distrust between students and teachers. Students in their loyal code of silence would only be encouraged to keep secrets and withdraw from adults. That is counterproductive; schools should try to improve communication within the community.

It is without question that illicit behavior should be discouraged. However, schools should seek to reform, rather than punish. Gunn’s method of discipline is effective because it includes requiring additional counseling and offering second chances with strict warnings. Our method emulates the court system, where form of punishment is based on each individual case and the severity of the crime.

Harsh punishments cause suffering that defy common sense. They disrespect students in general, assuming they aren’t self-disciplined enough to learn. The minorities of students that need guidance are actually punished. And finally, the school community suffers as students refuse to speak against their peers, despite the potentially insidious long-term effects. Harsh consequences for illicit behavior have their own set of consequences, and it is dangerous to implement them without serious and sensitive consideration.

—Ahn, a junior, is a reporter.

Kimberly Han

Journalists must uphold ethics in Twitter Age Linda Yu Getting the latest scoop—the scramble for the most luscious and deliciously satisfying morsels of information—is characteristic of tabloids today. However, there is a dark line between this paparazzi mentality of trying to ferret out any potentially publishable information and professional journalism. It is an ethical journalist’s duty to report accurate information from reliable and credible sources, while still respecting the interviewee’s privacy. In the modern day and age however, personal motives have often distorted such moral

standards. Though journalism is a business, and competition for the best stories will always exist, journalists must maintain upheld ethics.

The journalism industry is dominated by corporate giants.

This in itself should signal a heads up to the fact that there are often mixed motives such as wealth and attention woven into the workings of the industry. Big name broadcasting stations are constantly vying for the most appealing stories.

Though this may seem beneficial at first glance, the opposite effect has often occurred—stories of decreased quality obtained through unethical and underhanded ways.

Such an event occurred recently after Kanye West’s outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), in which he appeared onstage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, grabbed the mi-

crophone out of her hands, and declared Beyoncé deserved the award for Best Female Video. The incident sparked so much widespread chatter that the topic was even brought up during a CNBC interview with President Barack Obama. When Obama was asked to share his views on the subject, he replied that West was a “jackass.” This may be an eye-catching news flash, but here’s the catch: the segment of the interview was offthe-record. It took place before the actual interview, and was part of an informal conversation that was unintended for publication. However, due to the fact that CNBC shares a network fiber line with ABC, ABC Nightline co-anchor Terry Moran overheard this part of the interview and immediately shared this information with his million-plus followers on Twitter.com. Needless to say, the incident quickly appeared

on the Yahoo! homepage.

Though various news sources reported that Moran did not know the information was off-the-record, he could have acted differently. He was aware of the fact that the interview was being conducted with CNBC, so he should have at least confirmed the quote and checked to see whether or not it could be released. Though it would be improper to jump to conclusions, there must be a motive behind Moran’s actions. Judging by the massive uproar that followed the VMA’s regarding the incident, there is no doubt he had juicy information in his hands.

Though some may come to his defense and state that he reported accurate information, his means of retrieving the information and his subsequent actions do not exhibit ethical journalistic behavior. Were his actions really even necessary at

all? Sure, modern society may be slightly obsessed with pop culture, but it’s been a month since the incident and everything has pretty much died down since.

Thus, journalists must restore and uphold ethics. Journalism is a business of keeping promises and building trust, with both the interviewees and the audience. So what if the world didn’t know Obama thought Kanye was a “jackass” for stealing Taylor Swift’s microphone? Perhaps Moran felt it was an acceptable thing to do at the time, but he now faces great criticism for not verifying his information—information he wasn’t supposed to even know about. A news source really only has its credibility and reputation to rely on, and it is known all too well that trust is not easily regained after it is lost.

—Yu, a junior, is a News Editor.

10

Features

The Oracle

Melissa Sun and Victor Kwok

Seniors Sam Zeif and Miles Mathews work on creating different variations of “Talk to me” shirt designs to hand out on Oct. 1 during lunch.

Student-made ‘Talk to me’ shirts help unite school body

n T-SHIRTS from p.1

communicate with each other and I think people will want to wear the shirts more if they are different.”

Even though many students have offered to lend a hand, on the whole, it has been mainly Mathews and Zeif who have been making the T-shirts. “We will definitely think about whether or not we need people to help us out,” Zeif said. When we’re making hundreds and hundreds of shirts, it gets tough and we’ll need more hands.” Since using a rig is a two-person job, Mathews and Zeif would need to make more rigs before they can ask for others help.

Some community members and students have also suggested that the project be branched out to other schools such as Palo Alto High School. Though Mathews and Zeif are considering this possibility, they are unsure of what role they want to play in establishing these community events.

“If such a thing were to happen, it’d be really great, but it couldn’t be all Miles and me,” Zeif said. “Making hundreds of

shirts is quite a task. I’m definitely not against branching out, but somebody would have to take that up at their school.”

Mathews and Zeif may make the stencil available online and post a short tutorial on how to make the shirts so it is possible for other students to bring the message to their respective schools.

Overall, Mathews and Zeif said that the event went far beyond their expectations. “I was really shocked at how well this all went,” Zeif said. “We scheduled our original event for two days, but then all of our shirts were sold in half an hour instead.

I was very pleasantly surprised and I think it’s great that people have been able to embrace this project.”

Mat hews ag r e e d. “Ever ything went very well and I was very happy with the number of students participating,” he said.

“We are raising a lot of money for KARA and the best part is that you can see the community coming together as we all support this cause. I am very glad to see this project come together.”

Above: Junior Raz Steinhart and seniors Hillary Stangel and Wook Lee pose with their T-shirts on the quad. Top right: Volunteers help to pass out T-shirts during lunch of Oct. 1. Right: Senior Miles Mathews adjusts the stencil and prepares to make a second bulk of T-shirts to sell.

Q&A with

Melissa Sun and Victor Kwok

Senior photographer Suzanne MacPherson The Oracle: What kind of art do you do?

Suzanne McPherson: I mostly do photography. I like photographing people, so portraits mostly.

TO: What got you interested in photography?

SM: My family always told me that I was very photogenic so I started taking pictures of myself. I liked it and then started to learn more about it.

TO: What is your favorite part about being a photographer?

SM: Taking pictures for clients, like upcoming bands. I take pictures for music artists here at Gunn and I’ve done a couple for a friend’s model portfolio. I’m trying to get myself out there so I can eventually do weddings and other events.

Courtesy of Suzanne MacPherson

Left: Sublime photo of dry ice. Right: Self-portrait with dramatic lighting.

TO: Why do you enjoy photography?

SM: I enjoy it because it’s a way to show my creativity and tell a story using photos.

TO: What is your inspiration?

SM: Mostly the types of pictures you see in magazines. The pictures in magazines, to me, describe a more utopian type of world. It makes it seem like the person isn’t real. Also my friends because they give me lots of ideas and just everyday life because just people talking could be a photo or leaves could be a photo for fall.

TO: What are some of your favorite materials?

SM: I definitely like photo editors, my digital camera and external flashes. I like using sun disks which reflect the light from the sun onto the person.

TO: Are you currently working on any projects?

SM: I’m currently working on a band shoot for a band that had started up at Gunn.

—Compiled by Yilin Liang

Features

Monday, October 12, 2009

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Photos by Melissa Sun

The Oracle presents an inside scoop on perfect Homecomings

Juniors Sophia Jiang and Kevin Gao describe the specifics of their dream Homecoming dates Sophia Jiang Centerfold Editor

I admit in the past two years that I have never had a homecoming date. However, that never stops a girl from dreaming about the perfect homecoming. I generally kick back and watch as girls and guys alike freak out about the same annual tradition.

Who to ask? How to ask? When to ask?

This is how I see it: the perfect homecoming date doesn’t need to be a Channing Tatum (though looks are always a bonus), have a gleaming car or even ask with an elaborate plan. The perfect homecoming date is the guy who can always make me laugh, knows how to have fun and isn’t afraid to give his all to make it a memorable night.

I know it’s ridiculous, but Hollywood nails the idea of the perfect date. I mean, tell me what girl has watched Titanic and not wanted their personal Jack Dawson?

Though how a guy asks is not super important, it is nice to feel spoiled. All I ask is make it surprising, original and meaningful—not something you find in a desperate search through Seventeen.

For me, I really could care less whether he asks in a small private area, or something as public as the quad, as long as he’s able to show he cares and actually wants to go with me, not just a last resort. Oh, and of course, who can ever forget those

classic roses? Those are a must.

As pointless as a corsage may be, it’s just one of those gentlemenly moves that makes the night special. With no sagging at all, the dress code followed and a presentable outfit, he would be able to relax and hang out with my friends without awkward moments. His teeth would be brushed with minty fresh breath and have a smile ready at hand. My point, he would look nice and please the eye. Lastly, but most important, the perfect date must be enthusiastic, pumped and ready to show off some crazy dance moves.

The thing is, no matter what happens, whether I get asked with a simple daisy or a huge bouquet of red roses, by the end of the night, the only thing that will matter is how much fun I had. The guide to being a perfect date won’t be found in some manual or a ridiculous movie. Although, I admit, the media does make men have a “perfect” category, I believe it’s all a figment of the imagination. No guy is going to get an airplane and write “Homecoming?” in clouds or travel to Belgium to get my favorite chocolates. Let’s face reality.

I get it. Hey, sometimes the “perfect” date just isn’t possible. But other times, the perfect date might just be standing right in front of you.

My perfect date would be that guy who is able to be himself and ready to simply have an amazing night.

Kevin Gao Sports editor

It’s October and we all know what that means: time to man-up and ask the perfect honey for the big night. With my regrettably limited experience with the ladies, I have only dreamt of the perfect Homecoming date.

The way I see it, girls are mythical beings which I will never understand. What I do know is that if a boy is lucky enough to obtain a female specimen, he better treat her right.

Logically speaking, for the perfect Homecoming date, a guy has to find the perfect girl to ask to the dance. For me, the one trait that really gives a girl props is the ability to keep a conversation going.

Any awkwardness at all is a big no-no and a night-ruiner. No matter if I am asking a big crush or a good friend, it is important that we share the same comfort level.

And one more thing, the girl best be cute enough to stand by my side in that Len Conrad photograph.

Upon identifying a target comes the meticulous planning of the perfect proposal. I’ve always believed in going big or going home, and after years of hearing about the sweetest ways a boy can ask a girl, I will admit my proposal ideas may have lost almost all originality. I am as big

of a fan of cliché scenes as any guy, but I try to embrace creativity. In my mind, the perfect homecoming proposal would revolve around a girl’s likes and dislikes.

If the girl has an unhealthy obsession, I’ll find out about it. If the girl is extremely turned on by something, it is my duty to exploit it. The proposal just needs to be practical and must contain a creative personal touch.

On the night of the dance, I have some more specific preferences. I think what makes it a flawless night for everyone is to just have fun. Obviously, I would drive with my newly acquired license because having parents in a car is the absolute worst case scenario. I would like to have dinner anywhere nice and cozy with just the two of us.

My gracious date would cover half of the bill because, come on ladies, it’s the twenty-first century now and traditions have changed. Things should to be more balanced between the two of us.

I would dress to impress and I know my date would be looking beautiful. We’ll chat it up and groove the night away without missing a beat.

The rest of the details concerning a perfect night are all a bit hazy. But all in all, if both of us had a great time by the end of the night, I would give myself a pat on the back.

Homecoming mission accomplished.

Faces in the Crowd: What is your ideal Homecoming date?

“What I want in a perfect Homecoming date is a hella short guy who is also on the cheer team.”

“My idea of a perfect Homecoming date is a cute football player. He needs to be at least 5’ 5” and should be older than me.”

Olivia Ray (9)

Sara Uz (12)

“I’d want to go to Homecoming with one of those girls who when you see them, you know that they’re the one.”

Jason Bacon (11)

“My perfect Homecoming date would have a good smile and pretty eyes.”

Matt Brooks (10) –Compiled by Alice Yu

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Cente

The Oracle

Homecoming celebrates school

Homecoming is a tradition across the United States in both high schools and colleges where there are events to promote school unity and spirit.

The University of Missouri, the University of Illinois and Baylor University each claim that they began the Homecoming tradition. Currently, the National Collegiate Athletics Association recognizes the University of Missouri as the founder of this tradition. A sports coach planned the first Homecoming event in 1911 to welcome back alumni and to celebrate the school’s

new facilities. At the University of Illinois, two seniors planned an experimental event in 1910 to promote school spirit which turned out to be a school wide celebration. In 1909, Baylor University hosted “Good Will Week,” which consisted of a football game, parades, a formal dance and class reunions for alumni. Yet, their tradition did not continue after that year and only started up again in 1915.

The celebrations have since become popular all over the United States For Gunn, Homecoming began

when the school fi “Homecoming wa high schools had be Student Activities said. “It made sens opened, they would to welcome back a During halftim game, the candidate Queen were annou Queen wasn’t crow into the Homecomi was no Homecomi Court candidates

“Back in my day...”

Since Gunn’s first Homecoming in 1965, logistical changes have occurred, but according to AP English teacher Tim Farrell and AP Art History teacher Wayne Hoy, Gunn’s school spirit has always been abundant. “People always dressed up during Homecoming, and when I went to the football game, the stands were always packed,” Farrell said.

“It was good reconnecting with everyone.”

Homecoming week used to include different lunch games, one of which was especially memorable for Hoy. “They used to have a tricycle race around the Spangenberg Auditorium, “ Hoy said. “It looked silly because there were these big kids riding on these little tricycles. There was also some kind of competition between the classes with a tug of war across the pool, the losers would of course fall into the pool—they don’t do that anymore obviously.”

When it comes to the night rally, it was not always held indoors. “We got permission to have the night rallies outdoors with a bonfire on the Stanford campus,” Hoy said. “It was always a lot of fun.” Because

How to: Turkey Trot

Top Left: Alumna races around the Spangenberg Auditorium. Top Right: Alumni get ready to boogie down on the dance floor. Bottom: The junior float alludes to “Lord of the Flies.”

Turkey trotting started in 1909 and it was one of the first dances that allowed couples to dance close together.

Yearbook photos courtesy of The Olympian.

Dance step photos by Henry Liu and Melissa Sun

airbands competitions were not introduced to the night rally until 1996, the rally was a tailgating bonfire where the Gunn community would come together and celebrate before the big game.

The Homecoming game, now on Friday nights, used to be earlier in the day. “I was sorry to see the Homecoming game at night because it used to be in the afternoons, and it was easier for students and teachers alike to attend,” Farrell said.

The Homecoming dance left a lasting impression on Farrell. “I chaperoned a number of dances during my younger years, but I haven’t for a long time.” Farrell said. “At the last one, [a parent chaperone] handed me some cotton to put in my ears to soften the din. One of the chaperones coined the term dog minutes to describe the last hour or so of a dance-chaperone assignment—when each minute seems to last for seven. As for dancing, well, they did the disco in the 70s but mainly the students did whatever was popular, as I’m sure they do now.”

–Tiffany Hu and Annie Shuey

1) Spread your feet far apart and hope sideways on alternate legs.

2) After hopping four times, raise the ball of your foot and then drop on your heel.

3) Kick your feet fast like a scissor.

4) Stop abruptly and begin again.

–Divya Shiv

erfold

Monday, October 12, 2009

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l spirit, welcomes back alumni

first opened in 1965. was something that een doing for years,” Director Lisa Hall se that when Gunn ld [have] something alumni.” me at the football es for Homecoming unced. However, the wned until part way ing dance, and there ing King. After the were announced,

each class revealed its float. The senior class of 1965 won the float competition with the theme of “Skin the Bears.”

The sophomores came in second with their theme “Smokey the Bear” and the juniors lost with a The Lord of the Flies themed float emblazoned with “Kill the Bear, Spill his Blood.”

In 1966, the first Homecoming dance featured a live band, the St. James Faders.

In 1967, Gunn had its first bonfire as part of Homecoming week. Early in the week, each of the classes had a

“wood drive” where people collected wood that was used in the bonfire. The bonfire then took place on Thursday night. Also that year, the school began to have dress up days. Airbands were not incorporated into Homecoming week until 1996. However, changes from the past have left some grateful.

“Homecoming seems really different when Gunn first opened,” freshman Max Woo said. “I’m glad that homecoming has changed [to what it is now] since then.”

–Yilin Liang Courtesy of Will Escher

“Kids these days...”

One would probably think Homecoming a decade ago consisted of dresses and waltz-like dance moves. Think again; past Homecomings capture the exact same mood as recent Homecomings. “I have to admit I was not the most school spirited student… but [Homecoming] was a very memorable moment,” English teacher Justin Brown said.

Brown attended Gunn from 1992 to 1995 and experienced a relatively similar Homecoming week as the current one.

The dance-style featured in past Homecomings was similar to the current popular form of dance. “Freaking was extremely popular at the dance even though it was not allowed,” Brown said. The 1990s dances had teachers shining flashlights in students’ face sand making them dance at least a foot apart from each other. However, there was no fortyfive degree freaking rule. “The teachers were not as strict,” Brown said.

One difference between these two Homecomings is the variation in songs. “They played awkward dance songs such as Green Day, Offspring, Prince, AC/DC and other

rock songs,” Brown said. “Once in a while a slow song came up and it would be easier to dance to.”

Before the dance, the tradition of boys asking girls to homecoming with a bit of flair still took place. One boy had a teacher write “Will you go to Homecoming with me?” on an overhead in social studies class. Another boy took off his shirt and wrote Homecoming on his body. Brown, on the other hand, asked in a casual conversation simply without roses or chocolates.

Right before the dance, Brown and his date took many pictures at his date’s house. Then, they went to their mutual friend’s house and took more goofy pictures while eating cookies and other deserts. According to Brown, the gym was packed with people having a great time. After the dance, Brown and his friends went to Lyons, a 24/7 diner, to hangout.

After 14 years, Homecoming has not changed much besides the addition of breathalyzers. It still features a large amount of spirit, happy dates and the famous dance.

–Alice Yu

How to: Jerk (The Reject) 1) Begin by finding an open space and placing your left foot in front of you.

2) Hop forward with your right foot, and in the process, lift your left foot and move it back.

3) Put your left foot down and lift your right foot.

Top Right: Two alumni dance it out. Top Left: Will Escher bodyslams his opponent during a sumo Homecoming game. Bottom: Class of 2008 shows of their dance moves at the night rall y.

4) Hop forward with your left foot, and in the process, lift your right foot and move it back.

The idea behind the Reject is the reversal of the 1980 move “Running Man”

–Joseph Lin

–Graphics by Kimberly Han, Andrew Lee and Nathan Toung

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Features

The Oracle

Students create original Homecoming dresses

Senior Britt Jensen, juniors Shany Albalak and Reade Levinson show off their designing talent Jesse Klein Reporter

Maybe that dress at Nordstrom is too expensive or doesn’t fit that well.

Senior Britt Jensen, and juniors Shany Albalak and Reade Levinson decided to eliminate these problems by getting creative and making their own Homecoming dresses.

Albalak’s dress was made completely from scratch. “I just came up with the idea in my head,” Albalak said. “I sketched for a couple days before I started sewing.” Albalak, who is involved with the Drama Department, was taught by former Gunn student and costume designer Sonya Raymakers.

Albalak started in the costume department for Gunn productions last year and is now head of the department. Her job involves altering, designing and making the costumes for plays. Albalak has made everything from fancy dresses to casual summer wear. She has also made a Homecoming dress for her twin sister, junior Mor Albalak.

Making her Homecoming dress has become a tradition for Jensen. “I’ve done it for the past three years, so I just decided to do it again,” Jensen said. “I’ll also see something in a store that’s almost perfect and I know that if I can make it, it will fit really well.”

Jensen even made her own prom dress last year.

Jensen did not originally intend for her dress to be semiformal. “It started out as a summer dress and I changed it into my Homecoming dress,” Jensen said. According to Jensen the dress is inspired by the 1940s and has a conservative back.

The television show “Project Run-

way” helps her come up with ideas.

Jensen was taught to sew by her mom in fifth grade. Jensen’s first stab at sewing involved making a skirt for colonial day in fifth grade, and ever since then she has tried to make clothing three times a year.

Creating a Homecoming dress may seem like a daunting task to many but for Levinson it was just a creative way to spend time. “I like to sew and I think making a dress is more fun than shopping for one,” Levinson said.

Levinson is updating a dress that English teacher Jessie Hawkins gave to her. “I kind of liked the fabric but the style was ‘old lady-ish,’ so I’m folding it under to make it a bubble skirt,” Levinson said.

Levinson taught herself to sew.

“The first thing I made was a skirt in seventh grade,” she said. “Looking back on it, it was pretty ugly but I still wore it to Thanksgiving.” Levinson said. She uses sewing as a way to unwind each night. “I work on it from 10 to 11,” Levinson said. “I do it then because I don’t want to go to bed right away.”

Levinson is also making a dress for her friend junior Danielle Tene.

“She asked me to do it for her so I agreed to make it,” she said. Levinson measured and started on Tene’s dress after finishing her own and expects to work 10 hours on it. According to Levinson,it will be a one-shouldered, high waist and light purple dress with a bow on the back.

Albalak, Jensen and Levinson don’t have to worry about anyone else having the same dress as them. They will be sporting a dress of their own creation. The next winner of “Project Runway” might just be one of these talented girls.

Top: Junior Shany Albalak poses in her creation.

Top right: Senior Britt Jensen shows off her hand-made Homecoming dress. Right: Junior Reade Levinson presents her original Homecoming design that she created for a friend.

Club day brings new ideas Divya Shiv Reporter

On Sept. 30, students flocked to the quad during lunch to see the diverse selection of clubs available. While many of these clubs have been around for a long time, some just started this year. New clubs range from Mission of Hope to Juggling Club, each with a different purpose to help every student find a club that they are interested in.

Many of the new clubs this year deal with the theme of helping the community such as ACE (Aiding Children’s Education), Creosote Foundation and Saving the Children. “We are fortunate in that we live in a place that values community service and volunteering,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall wrote in an e-mail. “These types of clubs help can help students learn more about how they can give back to their community as well as how they can have an effect on issues in the world.”

Each club uses different methods. “The Mission of Hope Club shares the same goals as other clubs, but we focus on helping impoverished children in Southeast Asia who need education, shelter and basic survival,” sophomore Mission of Hope President Megan Zhang said.

However, clubs that hope to fundraise for their organizations will have to re-think their purpose and goals this year. Clubs are no longer allowed to fundraise for non-profit organizations because Gunn is a nonprofit

organization itself. Any funds raised by a nonprofit are not allowed to be sent to other nonprofit organizations. However, clubs are finding ways to continue.

“Clubs can send checks to organizations physically to help them,” sophomore Club Commissioner Madison Sabbag said. “They just can’t deal with the money directly. But sending clothes or food is legal, so there are a lot of ways to work around this if clubs strategize well.”

There are also clubs that do not fundraise for a cause, such as National History Day Club, which was created for the purpose of getting students to compete in the National History Day competition on a topic of their choice. “It’s a competition that’s educational yet fun,” junior President of National History Day Club Mor Albalak wrote in an e-mail. “People who enjoy or want to learn more about history and have fun making projects should join this club.”

Other new clubs created to educate students include Computing club, Photo/ Photoshop club and Future Physicians of America.

This year clubs were divided into two separate sections. One section was in the quad and the other section was in the Fish Bowl. Some said that the placement of the clubs helped students find clubs easily.

“People could go up and talk to the clubs instead of just look at them,” Sabbag said.

“It was definitely more spacious and organized this year.”

Features

Monday, October 12, 2009

15

More than just a cyclist

Palo Alto resident inspires others through biking and overcoming past hardships

his two coast-to-coast rides. there’s a lot of inner thinking going His first ride across the country on.” He also noted that the trips was in 1979. “I kind of was run- give a feeling of achievement. “It’s Martin Krieg, known by many ning away from home, and needed a triumphant feeling looking at a in Palo Alto as the “bicycle man,” a change in scenery,” Krieg said. map and knowing that by the end has a passion for biking that has led The second trip in 1986 was to of the day you’ll be 150 or so miles him on two transfundraise for from where you started,” he said. continental bikthe National “Everyday is going to be a success.” ing trips and anHead Injury Krieg is going through depriva“[Biking] gives me other one planned Foundation. tion training to toughen up for the freedom. It’s like a for 2010 to be a “I promised next ride. “I’m not giving myself a church for me. I can torchbea rer of myself that if lot of creature comforts,” he said. t he movem ent I ever got nor- “I spent the winter in the garage feel the wind blowfor the National mal and could last year to toughen up for the ride ing in my hair and Bicycle Greenwalk again I and to keep me keen. It keeps me way (NBG).He would do the going, it keeps me burning on why I can enjoy feeling overcame a sevgreatest thing I’m doing this.” He will be the first like a kid again.” en-week coma, I could do.” to cross the country on an Eagle pa ra lysis a nd Krieg also HiWheeler, which is the only one —Martin Krieg clinical death. attempted a of its kind in active use in the world.

He has HiWheel bicycles, which is third cross-country ride starting in He rides around 20 to 30 miles an old-fashioned bike with either a San Francisco during the summer a day, on one of his ten bikes. Passlarge front wheel and a small back of 2009, but ended the trip early due erbys’ response are usually one of wheel or vice versa. “It’s fun and to the weather. He’s preparing for surprise or friendliness, accordgreat exercise,” Krieg said. “I can another trip in June 2010 to promote ing to Krieg. “People often take pretty much go any distance.” the NBG, a network of bicycle roads a picture of me, sometimes their Krieg has been car-free since and trails that will interconnect the jaws drop, or they smile and wave 1989. “If I’m in a car, I’m [trapped] country and major cities, of which and say hi.” Junior Kathrina Oñate by glass and windows and I don’t Krieg is a founding director. “[It] has seen him from time to time. see the world,” he said. “[Biking] is my number “Palo Alto’s a bigives me freedom. It’s like a church one thing in cycle town and you “I promised myelf for me. I can feel the wind blowing l i fe,” K r ieg see bikes everyin my hair and I can enjoy feeling s a i d . “ I ’ v e where,” she said, that if I ever got like a kid again.” He has always dedicated my “but he’s really normal and could loved biking from training wheels whole life to cool because evwalk again I would in his childhood to his current Hi- this cause. [I ery time he passes Wheeler. Krieg received his first want to] inI think of all the do the greatest quality bike, a new Schwinn Var- spire people to old bl a ck- a n d thing I could.” sity, in fourth grade after asking his come together white pictures of mother if she would buy it for him if to think out—Martin Krieg old bikes from the he got straight A’s. “I became a very s i d e o f t h e 1880’s.” He is also good student after that,” Krieg said. box.” the caretaker of Later on Krieg was involved in Spanish teacher Carole Stroud the Busycle, a contraption powered car crash and was debilitated by also usually bikes to school. She by fifteen pedaling people conparalysis and diagnosed with clini- has spotted Krieg four times and structed from the hodgepodge from cal death. After a seven-week coma, supports the use of bicycles as a the junkyard by M.I.T. engineers. he woke up and began the gradual way of getting around. “I think that The community rides it about once process of rehabilitation. “I learned sel f-propel led transportation is a week. “It’s a total outrage,” he how to walk again, then talk again, great.” Stroud has also been on said. “It makes everyone crack up then go to the bathroom and tie a 500-mile long bike ride from the and smile.” The Busycle is going shoes. I stuttered, I trembled,” he Missouri to the Mississippi Rivers. home to Boston with Krieg in June. said. “I’m still waking up from the Overall, Krieg thought that the According to Krieg, his transcoma, as the world gets less fuzzy.” trips were opportunity for medita- continental bike rides show people His book, “Awake Again”, tells tion. “[You] learn to be your own more than just a man biking on a his journey from his head injury best friend,” he said. “You start HiWheel. “They are to show people through the hardship of recovery to going out and figuring out thoughts, that there are no limits,” Krieg said.

Nicola Park

Copy Editor

Photos courtesy of Martin Krieg

Top Left: Martin Krieg rides with the Busycle to promote the National Bicycle Greenway (NBG) , an organization that he is a founder of. Top right: Krieg poses in fron of a mural on his HiWheel bicycle. Top middle: Krieg poses by a sign on one of his expeditions. Above: Krieg gets on his bicycle in preparation for his transcontinental ride in June.

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Features

The Oracle

English teacher Ellen Feigenbaum and dogs Charlie, Doby and Louie English teacher Ellen Feigenbaum describes her German Shepherd Charlie, Cairn Terrier Doby and Toy Poodle Louie as “the three most neurotic dogs known to humankind.”

Feigenbaum got Doby as a holiday present for her children. “We got him because we wanted a dog like Toto from the Wizard of Oz,” Feigenbaum said. “It’s funny because he seems to

love strangers more than his own family. He used to run away a lot, and we’d always be chasing after him.”

Louie, on the other hand, was found on Craig’s List. Unlike Doby, he has stranger anxiety. “He barks at strangers, but he’s a perfect saint with the family,” she said. Feigenbaum’s other dog, Charlie, has a phobia of “going around doors, gates and the

dog door.” “He always has to back up before he goes through one,” she said.

“Charlie always gets on everyone’s nerves. He gets into your personal space, and Doby is always growling at him.” But according to Feigenbaum, he wouldn’t hurt a flea. “He’s the biggest of the three, but the other ones usually bully him,” she said. “But I still love them despite their neuroses.”

Biology teacher Katherine Moser and dog Kona Even though science teacher Katherine Moser’s kids are in college, her black Labrador Retriever, Kona, still remains at home. Moser was looking for a big dog that was good with kids, and found Kona.

“We got her when she was six months old, and we’ve had her for 11 years.”

On a typical day, Kona spends her

time ruling the house. “She thinks she’s another child,” Moser said. “It’s ridiculous. She acts like a person.”

Though destined to be a hunting dog, Kona is now a family pet. “She’s a hunting dog reject because she has bad knees,” Moser said. “She’s had multiple ACL tears, the same type athletes get

except she doesn’t have the income to pay for surgery.”

Despite this, Kona has graduated from Intermediate Dog School. “She knows how to sit, stay, heel, speak, and do other stupid pet tricks,” Moser said.

“She’s very easy to train and has a good temperament.”

Math teacher Peter Herreshoff and dog Ginger Math teacher Peter Herreshoff has a Cocker Spaniel named Ginger, who he has owned for 14 years. “I got her when we were living in Mexico, so you can say that she’s a Mexican dog,” he said.

Ginger was a gift from his wife’s student at a university. According to

Herreshoff, he and his wife believed that Ginger would teach his son responsibility as well as be a good companion and addition to the family.

“Ginger’s a cute dog,” Herreshoff said. “She’s nice, gentle and pretty clever.

She has a very pleasant personality.”

Unlike the stereotypical dog, Ginger is not into playing or fetching, according to Herreshoff. Instead, he takes her out for outdoor excursions, often on weekends or after school hours.

“She’s easy to live with and isn’t noisy,” Herreshoff said.

Performing Arts teacher Todd Summers and cats Zachardy, Nadia, Linus and Lucy Performing Arts Instructional Supervisor Todd Summers is a selfproclaimed animal lover and has four cats.

He adopted Zach, the oldest, from the Humane Society and met Nadia as a newborn kitten from a friend’s cat’s litter. He adopted Lucy and Linus, who

were abandoned and in poor condition.

“They’re independent,” Summers said. “Each has its own personality and quirks. I travel a lot, so I don’t have to worry about them missing me or starving when I’m gone.” He claims each cat has its own personality. Zach is very territorial and Nadia can’t bear

anyone but her owner and hides in the basement when there are guests.

Summers’ only regret about cats is their over-cuddliness, despite the daily aloofness. “When they sleep, they all sleep on the bed,” he said. “So they’re all over you. It’s not just one cat, which would be cute, but it’s four.”

English teacher Tim Farrell and dog Tess It was love at first sight for English teacher Tim Farrell and his Golden Labrador Retriever-Shar-Pei mix, Tess.

“She was whimpering at me with these big brown eyes,” Farrell said. “The lady told me her name was Tess, and [my class was] reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles at the time. I immediately agreed to take her. She just won my heart over.”

Around the house, Tess acts and looks like royalty. “She looks like a Golden Lab that a safe fell on,” Farrell said. “She’s a bit squat. When I take her out on walks, people used to ask me why I was walking a pig.”

Tess’s attitude has also lent her the nickname “Queenie.” “She gets what she wants,” Farrell said. “She was spoiled

when we first got her; the old owner had let her do anything.”

Though Farrell has tried to strip Tess of her “my way or the highway” attitude, his attempts have remained fruitless.

“We tried to make her an outside dog, but she knocked a hole in the fence,” he said. “Then we let her come inside the house. Now she sleeps on the bed.”

Spanish teacher Carol Stroud and cats Miss Mu, Tucker and Mackie Spanish teacher Carol Stroud finds excellent company in her three cats. Miss Mu is a three-legged calico whom she found through a homeless cat organization along with another cat named Shu. Unfortunately, the “MuShu” sisters had to part when Shu died from a disease.

Fearing that Miss Mu would be lonely, Stroud adopted Tucker and Mackie. Mu Photos courtesy of their respective owners

only hissed at the four-week old kittens and moved to the garage where she lived for two months.

Stroud is grateful for her cats’ independence. “They’re the only type of pet that have lives of their own,” she said. All her cats work as pest control by finding rats and mice. “It’s good for the neighborhood,” Stroud said. “The only downside

is when you wake up and on your way to the bathroom, you step on rat pieces.

If you’re unlucky, you hear a crunch and that’s the skull.”

However, having lived on a farm when she was little, she doesn’t mind their leftovers and says she really loves her pets.

“They’re heater cats,” Stroud said. “When they lie and purr on you, it’s very warm.”

—Compiled by Regina Ahn, Nicola Park and Linda Yu

Graphic by Kimberly Han

Entertainment

Monday, October 12, 2009

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1: Junior Jonathan Nguyen serenades sophomore Julie Li on the quad.

2: Senior Fumi Kobayashi surprises junior Lydia Huang with balloons and flowers.

3. Junior Yuki Nishimura gazes at her favorite flowers that junior Boshiaw Hsu gave her.

4. Junior Matthew Wen

smiles as he prepares to ask junior Yang Yang to homecoming.

5. Sophomore Kela Metzger breaks tradition by asking sophomore Cameron McElfresh to Homecoming.

6. Juniors Helen Sol and John Farhat smile for the camera.

7. Seniors Grace Hamilton and Henry Fan are all smiles as she hugs him after she accepts his bouquet of flowers.

8. Sophomore Vincent Yang makes elaborate preparations with the help of his friends as he anticipates the arrival of freshman Julia Sun.

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8 Photos by Victor Kwok and Melissa Sun

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Entertainment

The Oracle

Kickstart your costume Or not? Check out these creative alternative Halloween activities May Wu Hannah Schwartz Thick air hangs over flaming jack-o’-lanterns as children pull on elaborate and sinister -looking costumes. Halloween has arrived and with it comes its most practiced tradition: dressing up. Stuck on what to wear? Well this is your year to get moving and do something cool. Dress up! For school or at night, take this opportunity to go all out with a new, exotic and amazing costume.

Need a kick-start for some fresh Halloween dress-up action? Luckily, you’re in the right place. In fact, this year could be the best costume ever. First tip for a new look: Halloween is the best night to try a wig. Ever wonder how you’d look as a blonde?

Here’s your chance—pick a hair color and put it on with your new outfit.

A good place to pick up a cheap, one night wig is the local Diddams on Hamilton. Decked out for Halloween, this party store has any costume items you will need.

Another way to add flair is to experiment with makeup. Girls and guys, grab a brush and swipe some black eyeliner on to make some dirty smudges, battle scars or creepy dark eyes. You’d be surprised what some black powder can do. Guys, don’t be shy with the liner. For some extra eye excitement, try special effect contacts that are even available in devil and blood red for Halloween. The distressed clothing look is easily achieved by grabbing an old shirt and ripping it up a little. If you want to get creative you can burn the edges or smear on some charcoal. To branch out from the stereotypical look, check out an old thrift store with some cool cheap stuff you’d never normally wear. Pair together some weird colorful old clothes, put on some glasses and head on out. The ideas are limitless, so make this Halloween a good one.

Costume-wise, try something simple and spice it up. Add some color and flare with weird clothing and accessories you wouldn’t normally pair together.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be short and skimpy to be noticed.

Put your individual taste into it.

Going out without a costume on the renowned horror day of the year is unacceptable, so use these ideas to spark your imagination. You may be too old for the candy, but costume parties you’ll never grow out of.

Have fun!

-Schwartz, a junior, is a Copy Editor.

Reporter

Most Halloween-goers spend their special night trick-or-treating for candy, but this once in a year event doesn’t have to be spent knocking on strangers’ doors asking for treats.

As kids grow up, some begin to think that trick-or-treating is too childish. Although getting free candy is definitely worth knocking on random doors, now, as teenagers, throwing a Halloween party seems a lot more exciting then running through the chilly wind for tiny bars of potential cavities.

Some parties thrown are large and include people from all social circles while some Halloween parties may just be a small get-together with a few close friends. These parties are great because they can be kept indoors and open up millions of opportunities to meet new people. Also, any one party can include tons of mini-activities like bobbing for apples, a horror movie or dare fests.

Another great Halloween activity is visiting a special Halloween place.

The Winchester Mystery House, has a special 65-minute night tour for the bravest to travel through the endless hallways with only a flashlight. Operating hours for the special flashlight tour are from 6:30 p.m. to 12:27 a.m.

Courtesy of http://www.sacramentoscoop.com and cost $45 per The imposing Winchester Mystery House sits in a lot near Valley Fair person.

Another enter- Mall. Workers are known for scaring guests during flashlight tours. tainment spot, Six Flags, runs its bring out the best of Halloween many games. rides backwards every Halloween with classic decorations and the There are thousands of difto give the night an extra-spooky many rides. They’re simply a ferent ways Halloween can be feel with the same price of $45 cheaper version of an amusement celebrated. But no matter whether per person. Both attractions are park. A close by destination is the it’s cozying up to watch a horror good places to go with friends or Witches’ Delight Carnival in Santa movie, wildly partying it out or a special someone.

Rita Elementary School at Los enjoying a walk through a haunted Caramelized popcorn, haunted Altos which runs from 3 p.m. to mansions, the best Halloween simhouses and wild laughter can be 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 and includes a ply lets you have fun. found at any carnival. Carnivals cake walk, a costume contest and

Nathan Toung

Celebrate Halloween at these local spots Jesse Klein Reporter

El Carmelo: Get your scare on with

a variety of homemade haunted houses.

They’re free and decked out with coffins and dry ice that are sure to give you a scare .

Alta Mesa Cemetery: A good spot for

a Halloween dare, the cemetery is always more creepy at midnight on Halloween.

But, of course, remember to be respectful.

Fairmeadow Elementary School:

Stanford College: Halloween on a

college campus is one big block party, so go join in. But go in a group to keep safe.

Peter Coutts: Get tons of candy fast. The close knit condos are perfect for assembly-like efficiency.

Downtown Palo Alto: See

if you can spot former NFL Quarterback Steve Young or former Apple CEO Steve Jobs who give out candy themselves.

Get scared by the Gunn Robotics team’s motorized haunted house. Every year the team improves on their spookily scientific creation.

Midtown: Visit a house on

Stanford Faculty Ghetto: Everyone knows that classic jack-o-lantern face, but Stanford graphic arts students make their own incredible creations. It’s hard to believe they are pumpkins. Marvel at the unbelievable designs on display at the art professor’s house while getting candy.

Barron Park: Get the classic

Maddox with crazy decorations and homemade inventions all over the lawn. Sometimes the owner even gives rides.

candies like Snickers, Hersheys and Reeses. Don’t forget to pick up a toothbrush from the local dentist.

Halloween Haunt: If you think regular amusement parks are fun, then this is going to blow your mind. Great America puts on scary shows, the best haunted houses, crazy mazes and your favorite rides. Fri., Sat. and Oct. 25th, 7 p.m. to midnight.

top ten

horror movies to watch on Halloween 10. Scary Movie 3 9. It 8. The Ring 7. Psycho 6. The Blair Witch Project 5. The Silence of the Lambs 4. Final Destination 3. Saw 2. Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1. Halloween –Compiled by May Wu and Eugenah Chou

19 Staffer puts new twist on pumpkin pie recipe Entertainment

Monday, October 12, 2009

Pumpkin Vanilla Ice Cream Pie Crust • 1 1/2 cups crushed cinnamon-sugar graham crackers • 4 tablespoons melted butter

This recipe was easy and fun to make because it required few ingredients and only basic cooking skills. The vanilla ice cream gave a usually boring pumpkin pie a quirky taste that easily satisfies a sweet tooth. Both kids and adults will find the pie simple to make. This pumpkin ice-cream pie was a cool way to celebrate the upcoming festive holiday and the colorful jack-o’-lantern face gave it the perfect Halloween spirit.

2

­—Compiled by Elaine Liu

1

Filling • 1 quart vanilla ice cream • 1/3 cup sugar • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/2 teaspoon ginger • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg • 1 cup canned pumpkin • Assorted dried fruit

3

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9-inch pie plate, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Crumble the mixture with your fingers or with any other utensil until the butter is evenly distributed. Then press the mixture around the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake for five minutes and cool completely.

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2. Meanwhile, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Scoop it into a large mixing bowl. Break apart the ice cream with a spoon, then add the sugar, spices and pumpkins.

3. Mash until the pumpkin and spices are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream.

4. Spoon (or pour) the pumpkin ice cream batter into the cooled crust. Cover with plastic wrap.

Freeze for several hours or overnight. Before serving, decorate the pie with an assortment of dried fruit to create a colorful jack-o’-lantern face.

I cut figs, dried papaya and dates into triangles for the eyes and nose and into squares for the teeth.

Let the pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing. Serves eight.

Courtesy of Elaine Liu

Pictures 1-4 show the different stages our staff member took to make the pumpkin vanilla ice

Parks change for Halloween Rides, mazes and workers thrill visitors Sophia Jiang Centerfold Editor

Halloween has been around for ages, yet traditions have changed from children trick or treating and just watching scary movies at home to one of Halloween’s newest and greatest attractions, haunted theme parks.

Great America offers what is called an “inyour-face scare experience.”

Check out two amusement parks that become haunted for the season: Great America’s Halloween Haunt and the Knott’s Berry Farm Haunt.

Great America’s Halloween Haunt is jam-packed with haunted mazes, scare zones, live stage shows and thrill rides.

However, the event is rated PG-13 and although there is no age limit to enter, the park highly recommends that children under 13 do not enter. The event takes place every Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. until midnight between Oct. 3 and 31 and Sunday, Oct. 25. There is one restriction: guests are not allowed to wear Halloween costumes, including masks or face paint.

Full price admission is $39.99.

According to past attendees, workers may jump out at visitors or even grab them on the shoulder to personally scare them.

They offer a total of fourteen different

experiences with six haunted mazes, four scare zones, three live stage shows and one themed attraction, including the park’s normal rides all during the night. Some popular rides and mazes are “Ed Alonzo’s Psycho Circus,” “Toy Factory” and “Corn Stalkers.”

Normal season tickets are not valid for the Haunt and people must purchase a different Halloween Haunt admission ticket for entrance.

The “friendly, beautiful” Knott’s Berry Farm completely transforms into Knott’s Scary Farm. Like a scene straight out from “Saw,” Lighting, fog and music will be playing throughout the park.

The first Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Farm started in 1973 and has grown to become a well-known tradition. Workers dress up in elaborate costumes in order to give the park the Halloween effect. The park is filled with different mazes, haunted houses and games. Guests may take pictures with the different monsters that stand around for the full ultimate scare factor.

For more information visit ultimatehaunt.com or call (866)752-2444. For more information about Great America’s Halloween Haunt mentioned above, visit www. haunt.cagreatamerica.com or call (408) 988-1776.

Palo Alto Rowing Club, the original Palo Alto crew program, has produced many athletes who have received scholarships to some of the best colleges in the USA. We have both Head Season (Sept/Nov) and Sprint Season (Nov/ May). No experience? No problem! It’s not too late to join. We accept novice boys and girls from grade 9 through 12.

Come on…be the best athlete and scholar you can be and add crew to your college application. Visit our website at www. paloaltorowingclub.com or contact our Program Director, Lynn Gardner at 415-990-0604.

20

Entertainment

The Oracle

Lunch hour goes off campus The Oracle scopes out local eateries, finding cheap, easy and fun snacks and meals

Chipotle

Pearl Tea and Coffee

2400 Charleston Rd Mountain View, CA 94043 (650) 969-6528

506 Showers Drive Mountain View, CA 94040 (650) 917-8988 This little-known café is speedy, affordable and offers quality food. The café was relatively full, but there was no line. All the food and drinks arrived Jasmine Milk Tea ($2.75) promptly, though be careful: “ice” drinks Black Milk Tea ($2.75) take longer to prepare, so only order one Steamed BBQ pork buns ($1.50 each) if you have plenty of time to spare. The pork buns are fairly large and extremely Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino filling and the pearl to tea ratio in the and make a right. Turn left on Showers Drive drinks is just right. and make a left into San Antonio Shopping Center. It is at the corner of California Street and Showers Drive.

With so many businesses in the Charleston area, many people eat at Chipotle, so prepare for long lines. Luckily, the workers are extremely efficient and friendly. If you like to play it safe, order on the phone and then you can go straight to the front of the line. Everything at Chipotle is made in front of your eyes. The burritos are big though, so if you don’t have a large appetite, split one with a friend.

Ordered:

Photos by Henry Liu and Alan Phan

Ordered:

Steak burrito ($6.10) Chicken burrito ($5.85)

Peet’s Coffee and Tea

Jack in the Box 200 El Camino Real Mountain View, CA 94040 (650) 964-4266

4598 El Camino Real Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 469-0035

Ordered:

Small Pumpkin Spice latte ($3.70) Small Caramel latte ($3.20) Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino and turn right. Peet’s is located on the right on the corner of El Camino and San Antonio.

Need some coffee to keep you up through those end of the day classes? Look no further than Peet’s. They have a variety of coffees, teas and pastries. It was a breezy drive over, but parking was a challenge.

There was a long line for ordering, but we didn’t have to wait long before our drinks arrived. The drinks smelled as good as they tasted. The Pumpkin Spice latte is unique to the season so look out for these specialty drinks.

Route: Go down Arastradero and straight across El Camino and the train tracks as it turns into Charleston. Turn left on to Independence Avenue into the Charleston center.

Chipotle is the first restaurant on your right as you turn in.

Ordered:

Taco Nachos ($2) Grilled Chicken Pita snack ($2) Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino.

Turn left on El Camino and you find Jack in the Box located on your right just past Ventura Avenue.

A lot of students tend to go down El Camino for lunch, so the drive was relatively slow. We did a drive-through which was a lot faster than if we had gone inside to order.

Many of the items are extremely unhealthy, but the Grilled Chicken Pita we ordered was both filling and relatively nutritious.

—Compiled by Tiffany Hu and Annie Shuey

The Oracle would like to thank the generous contributions of our supporters for the 2009-2010 school year.

Patrons Sean Lee Rebecca Kah The Perez Family Linda Neugass

Supporters The Blanchard Family The Grossman Family

Sports

Monday, October 12, 2009

21

Teams “unlike” Twitter Annie Shuey

Photos by Henry Liu and Jonathan Yong

Top: Sophomore Kenny Pun uses his strength and flexibility to defy gravity. Bottom Left: Sophomore Vincent Yang finishes his trick with a back flip. Bottom Middle: Sophomore Jack Kwan leaps over the hood of a car. Bottom Right: Sophomore Derek Lai perfects his spiderman-like trick on the side of a building.

Annie Tran Reporter

Parkour, a rising underground sport, has come to Gunn. Defined as the art of moving, parkour consists of a series of flips and tricks while running in a straight line and avoiding obstacles.

“Fearlessness and physical strength are both big factors in being in parkour,” sophomore Chrystal Chern said. “However, these skills can also be acquired through parkour if you try hard.”

Gunn’s parkour group, named RUSoft, was formed in early 2008 but did not become official until this summer.

Sophomores Michael Chow and Jack Kwan started by just “messing around,” but this year they decided to take it to a whole new level. “We were always trying to outdo each other and doing crazy stuff together,” sophomore Vincent Yang said. “We started bringing in more people and did some moves.

That’s how it basically started.” Some of their stunts and tricks are featured on Facebook or Youtube.

The group is made of many skilled students who each have their own talents, according to Yang. “We all have different strengths and weaknesses,” Chern said. According to Chern, having a background in sports can help ease the transition into parkour. Chern is a nationally ranked gymnast and many of the other members in the group have some sort of experience in sports, such as badminton, ice-skating and tennis.

According to Kwan, parkour is more than just flashy flips—it helps keep the body and mind healthy. Parkour movements exercise the whole body and build muscle all over the body and the core.

Not only does it keep a person fit, it can strengthen a person’s mental abilities, too. “[Parkour] has helped me gain a lot more confidence compared to before and has definitely made me feel less fearful,” freshman Leo Yamauchi said. “Practices are usually one or two hours [every day] after school, and even if I’m super tired or had a bad day, parkour helps me release stress and lets me focus.”

This underground sport isn’t easy to do, and many of the moves require a lot of bravery. “Some of the members of RUSoft are really hard core when it comes to parkour and show no fear, but I sometimes get too scared to try to repeat [their moves],” Yamauchi said.

Most members agree that fear is the only obstacle standing between them and a successful flip. “I think my biggest weakness is when I’m discouraged from not being able to get a skill right away,” Chern said. However, fear is also one of the main incentives behind this group.

“Our biggest motivation from since we began, up until now is still fear,” Kwan said. “You just want to get better every single second and be able to overcome that fear.” The whole group puts in much dedication and time into parkour to improve.

According to Yang, the members are here to prove their worth and show that

they aren’t just some flexible kids. “I do parkour and because it feels great to succeed in something after trying your best to achieve it,” he said. “Besides, not many people can do these [stunts] and it looks super amazing. People kind of respect you when you can do stuff like that.” According to Yang, one of the hardest and most dangerous moves to do is a back flip, especially from a structure that is over five or six feet high. “Back flips are one of the few things that I can’t do in parkour,” he added. “I sometimes don’t know what’s going to happen and it feels like I’m going to break my neck or something while flipping.”

RUSoft is a very dedicated group that gives much support and encouragement to each member. “All of them are my friends and it’s just like hanging out and having fun when we do parkour,” Chern said. According to Yang, doing flips and stunts together and succeeding at them also encourages everyone in the group. “Without each other, I believe this group would not be half as amazing as it is now.”

RUSoft has welcomed some freshmen and proceeded to teach them some tricks. The group is made of mostly underclassmen, but the sophomore members still have over two or three years of experience to share. “The sophomore members of RUSoft are super encouraging and they actually give me some points on the stunts too,” Yamauchi said. “This group and parkour itself has helped me travel fast like Superman.”

Professional athletes provide us with entertainment on the field, and Internet communications now allow athletes to entertain us off the field as well. With the explosion of Twitter, thousands of people get updates on what’s on their favorite athletes’ minds. Due to Twitter’s simple format, athletes can instantaneously reach followers across the globe, which is also what gives head coaches and league executives headaches.

The National Basketball League fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $25,000 for criticizing referees in a Twitter update (“how do they not call a [technical foul] on JR Smith for coming off the bench to taunt our player on the ground”). Milwaukee Bulls forward Charlie Villanueva and Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal have been reprimanded by their respective teams for posting on Twitter during halftime at games.

The National Football League (NFL) has dealt with its share of Twitter problems. The Minnesota Vikings fined tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for Twittering “Zzzzzz zzzz zzzz zzz (in meetings) lol… introducing the staff.”

The San Diego Chargers also fined cornerback Antonio Cromartie $2,000 for posting “Man, we have 2 have the most nasty food of any team.

Damn can we upgrade 4 str8 years the same that’s y we can’t [win] the SB we need.”

The Miami Dolphins have effectively banned all use of Twitter in the franchise, while the Green Bay Packers have threatened to impose heavy fines for Twittering during or about team meetings. The NFL has already banned personal electronics from the sidelines during games, and now players are not allowed to post on Twitter from 90 minutes before the game begins until all post-game interviews are completed.

While these precautions may keep some negative information off the Internet, those setting the rules fail to realize all that Twitter does offer. Fans can relate to athletes better than ever simply by reading posts less than 140 characters.

Browsing the Twitter world, fans become acquainted with the non-athletic aspects of athletes’ lives. We see the adventurous Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (“About to take off on this Lil plane. On the way to the safari”).

We also see the philanthropic Dwight Howard (“Photos from basketball without borders in south africa”), the popular Dwight Howard (“Jus finished a photoshoot now headed to a film commercial. Yuuuaaa”), the domestically challenged Dwight Howard (I’m at this place where u gotta cook ya own food. Oh lord. Yall pray ion burn nuttin down”) and the simply jubilant Dwight Howard (“Yuuuuuaaaaa”).

We also learn about the driving woes of Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (“just took the test for my Cali drivers license… barely passed… watch out if you’re on the same road as me. kidding… but seriously”), the stealthy Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (“I feel like running on the field and snatching the ball before the snap and dolphin leap”) and the euphoric Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens (“WTH?!!! R u tweeple watching this game?? This is unbetweevable!!

Boise jus scored on a ’68 ydr’!!”).

If someone wants to say something, there is going to be an outlet ready for them to do so.

I don’t see how posting on Twitter is different from traditional blogging. The athletes want to be heard—let them speak.

—Shuey, a junior, is a Sports Editor.

22

Sports

The Oracle

Teams push through mid-season 1

2

3

Photo courtesy of Cassandra Geiger

5

Henry Liu

6

Henry Liu

4

Melissa Sun

1. Senior Alex Doundakov defends against a Monta Vista High

School opponent by blocking a potential goal.

2. The cross country team poses for a victory shot at the Whitney Young Invitational in Chicago.

3. Sophomore middle blocker Allison Doerpinghaus spikes the ball into the opponent’s court.

4. Freshman Lauren Lesyna scans the waters for an open teammate.

5. Senior running back Maceo Parks eludes his Lynbrook defenders and charges into the endzone for one of his two touchdowns.

6. Varsity three singles sophomore Mari Haraguchi sets herself up to rip a crosscourt forehand.

Melissa Sun

Cross Country:

The cross country team has had two meets so far, including the Stevenson Invitational in Pebble Beach. The Titans have had victories in both varsity boys’ and girls’ teams giving them a strong start to the season.

According to head coach Ernie Lee, many key runners had personal successes. At the Alumni meet, junior Erin Robinson won the varsity girls’ race and six members placed in the top 10, including senior Lisa Fawcett and junior Emma Dohner. The varsity boys were equally victorious with seniors Paul Summers and Robert Chen finishing in second and third place respectively.

Smashing the previous school record, Summers ran the second fastest time ever recorded on Gunn’s home cross country course and Robinson clocked the tenth fastest time. With strong individual improvement and team domination, Lee believes that the cross country team will continue to grow as the season progresses.

Football:

The Titan football team opened up league play with a 41-7 victory over visiting Lynbrook High School. Senior running back Maceo Parks ran for 86 yards on eight carries and contributed two touchdowns. “Just winning for the home crowd was good,” he said.

Senior running back Jon Godoy, junior running back Josh Jackson and sophomore running back Casey Jackon ran for a combined 151 yards on 15 carries. Both Jacksons chipped in one touchdown each.

Parks also noted the strength of the defense, which stifled Lynbrook. Senior defensive end Jasper Dean sacked the quarterback twice in the first quarter and junior linebacker Elias Baker had an interception. Senior linebacker Henry Ayala blocked a Lynbrook punt, which senior wide receiver Jon Zeglin recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

With the victory, the Titans stand at 1-0 league, 3-1 overall after a 41-6 victory in the home opener against Lincoln (SF) High School, and a 25-20 victory over Hillsdale High School on Sept. 26 and a loss to powerhouse Leigh High School 10-20 on Sept. 11.

According to Parks, the squad is on a roll. “We don’t plan on losing any more games,” he said. “Our goal was to win league, and we’re on the right track.”

The Titans take on visiting Monta Vista in the annual Homecoming game on Oct. 16.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Girls’ Tennis

With an almost perfect overall record, the girls’ tennis team has entered the new season with a score of 5-1. They began their league games with Paly with a succession of victories until their most recent game against Milpitas, which they lost in a close game of 3-4.

According to junior Roxanne Rahnama, Milpitas has always been Gunn’s biggest rival because they have strong singles players. The Titans lost all four of the single games but won the three doubles. Currently, the girls’ tennis team is second in their league with only Milpitas ahead of them.

Despite their rough competition with Milpitas, Rahnama believes that the Titans have a sure shot in the SCVALs. Their current goal is to place first in their league in order to move up from the El Camino division to their former De Anza division.

Henry Liu

Boys’ Water Polo:

The water polo team is off and running with a 4-1 league, 9-3 overall start and is coming off a 10-5 victory at rival Palo Alto High School (Paly). According to senior goalie Spencer Jones, a main preseason goal of the team was to beat Paly. Senior Alex Berenfeld led the Titans with six goals. Juniors Ben Hendricks and Kevin Zhang and seniors Kevin Oyama and Richard Yuan chipped in one goal each. “[The victory] shows that we can contend with anyone in our league,” Hendricks said.

According to Jones, their team chemistry sets them apart from other teams. As opposed to the play being built around few standout players, Jones noted that “everyone has a unique role to play in the pool.” Jones also said that “no team we have played yet has been better conditioned than us.”

Despite losing to league powerhouse Los Altos High School 6-13, Jones is still optimistic about the squad clinching the league title. “The only league game we have lost is against Los Altos, and I’m confident we can beat them next time we play them,” he said.

The Titans will compete against Los Altos for the second half of the season in the next home meet on Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m.

Girls’ Volleyball:

Since the beginning of the new season, the volleyball team has played in a total of 17 matches and three tournaments and have a current record of 12-14, including the Central California Classic tournament and the Saint Francis tournament. The team began its league games on Sept. 22 with a 0-5 loss against Paly.

The Titans had a strong start in the Central California Classic and placed 6-1 overall, tying for third place. According to head coach Kevin Hwang, the players learned to maintain composure to play consistently. Senior Teresa Skelly led the team at the tournament with over 15 kills, with multiple assists from junior Audrey Waschura and sophomore Julia Maggioncalda.

Although the volleyball team finished 0-5 at the Saint Francis tournament, the Titans played strongly with Skelly averaging three blocks per match and sophomore Julia Li averaging almost eight digs per match. Hwang believes the team will be facing stiff competition in the SCVAL league and are preparing for their next games.

Girls’ Water Polo

After starting off the season with a 3-3 league, 6-4 overall record, the girls’ water polo team’s preseason goals are coming along well so far, according to junior Emily Watkins. “We have a new coach, and we wanted to be more unified, make [Central Coast Section postseason playoffs] and win more games,” she said. “We also wanted to have more teamwork and more productive practices.”

This year’s squad is lead by sisters sophomore Elizabeth Anderson and senior Jenny Anderson, but according to Watkins, the entire team shares strong camaraderie. “We’re all really determined and we work well together,” she said. “Water polo is a team sport, and if you don’t play as a team you don’t go too far. Teamwork is definitely one of our strengths.” ­—Compiled by Elaine Liu and Annie Shuey

Sports

Monday, October 12, 2009

23

Face off: “How is your team doing this season?”

Josh Jackson (11) —Football

Emma Dohner (11) —Cross Country “Both guys’ and girls’ teams won the first three meets, with some great times on the girls’ side from Erin Robinson, Lisa Fawcett and Kieran Gallagher. The guys’ varsity team this year of Paul Summers, Robert Chen and Alex Johann is all seniors except for [junior] Rory Runser and is also ranked high in CCS section.”

“The varsity football team is giving Gunn what it has been missing: wins and working harder than we ever had before.

We’re going to go in and play our gam e against Paly; we’re ready for every game we play.”

Nicole Hemenway (12) ­— Volleyball “We have a very inexperienced team, but we’ve been growing rapidly and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people in the second round of league play.”

Emily Watkins (11) — Water Polo “With a new coach our team is much more of a family, and we play well together. We beat Mountain View and Homestead, by a lot.”

Q&A with Chris Horpel

Athletics Director

The Oracle: What are your plans for the sports program?

Chris Horpel: We’ve a l ready st a r ted by upgrading a lot of our coaching staff.

We have new coaches Chris Horpel for water polo and football. We’re also Athletics adding one sport this Director year, which are the va r sit y a nd ju n ior varsity boys lacrosse.

Everybody’s off to a very solid start.

TO: How have budget cuts affected sports?

CH: This year it’s heaven, comparatively. We have a nice new pool. We have a turf football field. Our softball and baseball diamonds are almost done, and our soccer and lacrosse natural grass field is finally finished. Even the small grass field between the pool and the baseball diamond is another space where people can practice. Construction isn’t going to affect us until the end of this school year, which is hopefully when the plans for a second gym will be approved. Then that whole cycle will start again which will be a two-year process.

TO: How has sportsmanship changed over the years?

CH: I think sportsmanship has changed because we see so much more sports. In the old days there were only three chan-

nels and you were lucky if you caught the game. Nowadays there are around five to 10 channels on professional sports. There’s a different philosophy, and along with it comes arrogance and showmanship. Unfortunately, professional sports are known for having bad sportsmanship and when kids see that they subconsciously want to emulate it.

It’s becoming a bigger issue since it’s becoming more prevalent.

TO: How is sportsmanship at Gunn?

CH: I think good sportsmanship is about not getting carried away. It’s difficult to see bad attitudes in professional sports and have it unacceptable here at Gunn. I tell everyone that the opposing athletes are just like ours— we both play the same sport and have a lot in common. But for athletes who go overboard, they get first a warning, then they’re removed and then they are not allowed to come back.

TO: Have you had cases of bad sportsmanship at Gunn?

CH: There’s not too much bad sportsmanship at Gunn. A couple people on the football team have been reprimanded, but Gunn is pretty mild compared to other schools. However, there are always more problem for sports such as basketball where athletes can see and hear everything and also when Gunn is playing against Paly.

–Compiled by Divya Shiv

Kevin Oyama (12) — Water Polo “Compared to last year, we’ve been doing a lot better.

We’re finally breaking even, basically. We’ve only lost one league game.”

Allana Booth (11) — Girls’ Tennis “We’ve won all our league matches so far, and we’re also doing pretty well with nonleague matches. Everyone on the team is supportive, and we’re gaining confidence so this should be a good year for us.”

—Compiled by Annie Shuey and May Wu

24

Sports

The Oracle

Octopush Allowing hockey to be played in new ways, Octopush is a sport that was created by Alan Blake for divers in England.

Essentially underwater hockey, Octopush is played at the bottom of a swimming pool and the object of the game is to score the most points into the opposing team’s goal.

The layout of the game includes two goals three meters apart, a puck similar to a hockey puck surrounded by plastic and six players on each team during play. Players wear diving masks, swimfins, snorkels, a glove, and use a stick no more than 350 mm long. Blocking the puck’s path and physical contact with other players is illegal.

Spectators must enter the pool with their own set of fins, snorkel and mask to view the underwater game. Octopush has reached great popularity in many countries and holds two World Championships per year in varying locations which over 40 teams attend.

Bog Snorkeling Established in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, Bog Snorkeling takes place in a 60-yard trench cut through a peat bog, a wetland filled with dead plant material and mud, which is then filled with water. Competitors race for the fastest time in completing two consecutive lengths of the bog.

Very few rules accompany Bog Snorkeling, but wearing snorkles and flippers is strongly enforced. The most important rule of Bog Snorkeling is that conventional swimming styles are not allowed. Participants must swim the whole race with only their flippers and not their arms.

Competitions are primarily held in Wales, where the World Bog Snorkeling Championships have taken place ever year on the August Bank Holiday since 1985. The sport also benefits people in need, donating its proce eds to local charities that suppor t causes such as cystic fibrosis.

Chessboxing The origin of chessboxing is a mystery.

Though it has been featured in movies and books throughout the past several decades, the basis of the rules were written in the graphic novel Froid Equateur. The idea behind chessboxing is that chessboxers are pushed to their mental and physical limits by switching between boxing and playing chess. In chessboxing, members engage in 11 successive rounds. They begin by playing chess for 4 minutes, and then switch to boxing for two minutes. They continuously switch off, engaging in six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing. After several rounds, its becomes more and more difficult to make proper, strategic moves within chess. The fighters are only able to win in four ways: knockout, checkmate, by points given in boxing or if the opponent uses all twelve minutes on their chess clock. The newly formed World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO) continues to host chessboxing matches. Through this new sport, the fighters aim to completely incorporate WCBO’s motto, “Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board.”

Cheese Rolling On top of Cooper Hill in Gloucester, England, a crowd gathers for the famous Cheese Rolling Competition every last Monday in May. The Master of Ceremonies counts off the race, and a guest roller rolls the cheese down the hill. The thrill seekers begin tumbling head first down Cooper’s Hill, hoping to catch the ever-coveted Double Gloucester cheese. However, the cheese rolls too fast down the steep hill for anybody to catch, making the competition simply a race to the bottom of the hill. Runners prepare for a rough tumble down the hill, flipping and spinning all the way to the bottom.

Once only open to the nearby locals, this event now attracts people from all over the world.

The participants who attempt to overcome the hill are the most daring, fit and insane adrenaline junkies. However, some runners are unable to complete the challenge. Within this last year, there were 11 serious injuries, including two spinal injuries and a dislocated shoulder.

—Compiled by Joseph Lin and Elaine Liu Graphic by Nathan Toung