The Oracle October 2016

Gunn junior participates in beauty pageants.

Girls’ water polo dominates at top of their league.

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

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PAUSD high school enrollment projected to rise over time Evalyn Li and Yael Livneh Reporters

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is currently experiencing a decline in enrollment in elementary schools and a temporary enrollment increase in middle

schools, which will carry over into high schools in a few years. Superintendent Max McGee will present his final recommendation on how to deal with these changes to the Palo Alto Board of Education on Oct. 18.

McGee and district staff list four recommendations that the board will vote on. The

CDC releases initial youth suicide report Samuel Tse News Editor

In July, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an Epi-Aid preliminary report on youth suicide in Santa Clara. This report revealed findings about the factors that contribute to mental health issues at schools around the Santa Clara County. A full report with more findings will be released later this year.

This initiative was created when the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) filed a request to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department for help from the CDC after a number of student suicides occurred in Palo Alto from 2009 to 2015.

Project Safety Net Executive Director Mary Gloner believes that the preliminary report is a step forward for the community. “One of the significant impacts of the report is raising awareness as well as why suicide is occurring and learning about the extent of it in our community,” Gloner said. “It provides an opportunity for us to look at the recommendation that says what gaps are there and what can we do as a community.”

According to the report, there was overlap between students that had considered suicide and students who reported mental stress, missed school in the past month, experienced bullying and victimization, used alcohol or drugs in their lifetime, engaged in binge drinking in the last month or self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual .

In addition, men were found to have a higher suicide rate than females, a finding Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann feels is important to improving the school’s wellness program. “The report talked about needing to provide more ongoing initial support for young men,” Herrmann said. “They’re more reluctant to share some of the early signs of emotional distress than girls, who it seems like they are more willing to ask for help than boys are. And so the challenge is how can we provide more support to more of our male students?”

Gloner found that statistic important as well. “That stood out and rather than making assumptions as to why that is the case, we need to explore further,” Gloner said. “This is also new information to the community. Some studies have shown that males are less likely to seek mental health support or discuss with adults. Social customs have taught women to be more open, while males are raised to be reserved in expressing vulnerability.”

Although Herrmann understands that the full report by the CDC will be more substantive, she feels that the preliminary report does contain important data.

“There are only five key findings right now and they’re really important, like the idea that a trusted adult is very important in a student’s life,” Herrmann said.

CDC—p.2

recommendations are an additional elementary school, an additional middle school, a new K-8 school or no new facilities. McGee says his first preference is to repurpose one of the existing facilities for secondary school students, not as a new school but as a place where students can participate in

innovative programming and have access to educational opportunities. He opposes the first potential path, which is an additional elementary school, because of current low elementary enrollment. Additionally, only two elementary schools, Ohlone ENROLLMENT—p. 2

EVICTION

NOTICE ABOVE: An East Palo Alto shopping center sits deserted, while other gentrified areas of the city make room for new big box stores and updated housing for technology company employees.

LEFT: Cars line a residential East Palo Alto street, often a sign of illegal housing, such as people renting out garages and extra rooms, or people living in their vehicles.

Max Wang

East Palo Alto housing evictions surge Kaya van der Horst Lifestyle Editor

A recent crackdown on illegal housing in East Palo Alto has forced the eviction of 40 families from their homes in recent months. Illegal housing is considered to be unsafe secondary dwelling units that violate California Health and Safety Codes.

According to East Palo Alto Mayor Donna Rutherford, the city sent out safety code enforcers to check if residences in East Palo Alto were up to date 12 to 16 months ago. If residences were found to be violating the state’s housing guidelines, code enforcers would then notify the residents and give them a certain amount of time to bring the residence up-to-code. “Landlords that received notices to bring units in compliance with the city’s safety code didn’t do it, which has caused tenants to lose their housing,” Rutherford said.

However, due to a staffing shortage, the enforcement of the safety code came

to a sudden halt. In an effort to mitigate this issue, East Palo Alto recently hired two additional code enforcers and the city was able to continue with safety inspections of properties in single-family neighborhoods. Therefore, residents who did not bring their dwellings up to code during the 12-16 month interim are now receiving eviction notices.

According to Rutherford, these families are given a 10 day notice by the city to vacate their premises, causing problems as they scramble to find a new place of residence. “It’s unfortunate that people will have to leave their home and not have a safe place to go,” Rutherford said. “The city is doing everything in its power to help and it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Although Rutherford perceives it as an unfortunate situation, she prioritizes the safety of the residents. “I feel bad about it, but on the other hand I would not like for anyone to end up losing a life because they’re living in an uninhabit-

able place,” Rutherford said.

Lack of safety To come to terms with the Bay Area’s high rent prices, East Palo Alto residents rent out their garages or rooms within their house, according to Rutherford.

The garages often lack proper ventilation, hot water or kitchens, making them hazardous and uninhabitable. “If you’re in a place that has bad airflow, you could be inhaling mold or fumes, which is detrimental to a person’s health,” Rutherford said.

Junior Jackie Gallegos, an East Palo Alto resident, has observed that several houses in the city are crowded with residents. Gallegos says as many as 10 to 12 people will sometimes occupy a twobedroom house. “If you drive by East Palo Alto, you’ll notice a lot of houses with many people living in them,” she said. “It’s noticeable because their garage looks different, there are more cars in the EVICTIONS—p.4

2

News

Monthly Highlights: Students explore Fall Club Fair “One of my favorite things about the club fair is that I get to see everyone come around and hear about what everyone is passionate about. There is such a sense of community with a variety of different interests, and it's great that there are so many options available.”

—Dana Zhao, 12

“I like how there’s a lot of space and freedom. I think there’s such a variety, which I really appreciate because you never know what you’re going to find.”

—Zoe Lo, 9

“I’m really looking forward to seeing other people discovering their interests, especially for the freshmen and new students out there!”

—Andrés Goldszmidt, 12

“I love getting everyone excited and advertising, and I love seeing people having a good time. For new students at Gunn, the club fair is such a good way to get people excited and initiated into something they might love to be a part of.”

—Henry Alper, 11

Photos and quotes compiled by Bridgette Gong

PAUSD class sizes to increase with enrollment bubble

ENROLLMENT and it seems that it varies on a person-to-person basis,” he said.

Herrmann says the original floor plan of the new building and Escondido, with sought after programs, have higher “Some students feel more comfortable in large classes where was first drafted in 2012 without the knowledge of the incomenrollment than the others. For the repurposing of existing they don’t have to worry about standing out too much when ing temporary enrollment increase or the large Wellness Cendistrict-owned properties, McGee says the district would con- sharing ideas, whereas some prefer smaller classes because ter that is part of the plan today. “We did some reconfiguring sider Cubberly or the current location of the district offices on they provide a closer sense of community.” of that knowing that we weren’t going to meet the emerging Churchill Road. He has championed innovation and says the McGee points out that the district’s capacity to accommo- needs of their students and their health if we didn’t have the district’s goal is to prepare students for careers that do not yet date the higher enrollment in the secondary schools depends space to do that,” she said. “In a way, I sacrificed a classroom exist. “Innovative programming is something we need and will on class size demands. “If the board, community and students to be able to give students the mental health support and the support whether enrollment declines or grows,” McGee said. really want to have significantly smaller class sizes, then we access, knowing to me that was worth it.”

Despite the current enrollment trends affecting elemen- will not have enough classrooms at the middle schools, or at With the possibility that class sizes may increase, McGee tary and middle schools, McGee believes that in a few years, Gunn, frankly,” McGee said. echos Ranjan’s sentiment in saying, after meeting with the the shift of students through the different levels of school Despite varying opinions on class size, however, Ranjan Student Executive Committee on Friday, Sept. 23, that he will yield middle school sizes that hit a “sweet spot” of 600 believes most students will not have a problem with larger understands class size itself is not a huge concern. McGee to 900 students. He therefore proposes to wait to build new classes. “I definitely feel that most students value the quality also hears that students recognize other issues such as conschools. “I agree in principle with the idea of exploring a of the teacher over the size of the class,” he said. sistency in grading and assignments that the district ought new middle school or new to address before class size.

K-8,” McGee said. “I don’t McGee says that he welthink the time is right for comes feedback from the a new school, given our community and has added a s s ts nt nt ) s n declining enrollment and feedback button on the bote e t e d d) ud ted u d ted) tom of his weekly Executive nts en ) t u financial situation.” t s e e s t d t c s t d s e u n 5 rojec Board member CaSummary, which is posted s t cted 5 rojec 50 proj stu de 7 2 2 u 3 , e 1 ( 0 oj , t 1 (p (p , 4 6 s mille Townsend said that on Schoology.

0 4 d r 9 4 ~ d ~ lle , 0 (p ~ lled 3, lled lle 28 4 with higher enrollment in Emberling added that o o r d 9 ~ lle o ro nr 3, lled en nr middle schools, the future the discussion of how to e o e en r ro en effect on high school class address changing enrollen sizes is important to conment trends is an ongoing sider. “I think there is a issue with many different sensitivity that we need to opinions. Emberling parkeep connections amongst ticipated in the elementary teachers and students in subcommittee meeting as the forefront,” Townsend a part of the larger Enrollsaid. “As schools get big2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 ment Management AdviJackie Lou sory Committee, in which ger, I think we have to be Statistics courtesy of PAUSD School Board there was a majority report very conscious that we need to keep these interacthat, on the basis of the distions and interrelationships easy.”

Board member Heidi Emberling said there have been ef- trict’s financial standing, recommended no new school but Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann acknowledges that these forts to address the imminent increase of high school class also a minority report outlining a new elementary school. relationships are beneficial and can be challenging to maintain sizes and current increase of middle schools class sizes. “We “Within the small committee we had, there was dissension when teachers have upwards of 150 students each year. Still, added $1.8 million in June to class size mitigation for second- and difference of opinion, and so I think is reflective of the she feels there are some misconceptions about class sizes. ary schools,” she said. larger community as well,” she said.

“All of the research that I’m familiar with shows that it’s very In regards to Gunn’s facilities, Townsend says the projecIn order to understand the causes of these enrollment very little impact at high school,” she said. “For most average tions indicate that high school facilities can handle growth, trends, Townsend partially attributes low enrollment in learners, by the time you get to high school, the class size has but she would like to understand the nuances of how the elementary schools to low birthrates in California and to be under 18 before it really shows a difference.” new building’s space will be used given it has a Wellness Santa Clara County. “We don’t know how long that’s Student Board Representative senior Ankit Ranjan says Center rather than more space for classrooms. “We’re going going to go, but there is a strong belief that elementary there is a spectrum of preferences among the student body to have to see what the adjustments are by having the Well- enrollment may continue to decline in Palo Alto, in Santa around class sizes. “I’ve talked with a lot of students about this, ness Center as opposed to classrooms,” she said.

Clara county, across the state of California,” she said.

Students enrolled in high school by year

CDC report sheds more light on youth suicide in Santa Clara County CDC

“We’re already doing so much of that with Sources of Strength, Changing the Narrative and all these things that help people to be open about their challenges and sharing and reaching out for help.”

The Epi-Aid Community Coordinating Committee has been tasked with deciphering and evaluating the findings from the report. “The primary role of the

committee is to be a mobilizing arm of our community, where we have leaders in our community to help review the preliminary report and to translate information so that it is meaningful to the respective constituents they represent,” Gloner said.

“To re-enforce activities that already are occurring in the community and addressing issues so when the final report is released, it empowers the public.”

With the full CDC report expected to be released in December, PAUSD is looking forward to how the report will affect their budget and staffing decisions for next year. “I feel ver y good that we already made a priority out of our Wellness Center so we already made student wellness and wellbeing a priority, but the timing of the next report will have the opportunity to inf luence

some of the decisions we make when we build our budget and do our hiring for the following year,” Herrmann said.

“If there is any dramatic information that is new to us or that shows that, ‘Wow, we rea l ly shou ld be spend ing more time, energy, money on this particular aspect,’ that would give us time to make those changes to help improve how we approach student well-being.”

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

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

Staff Business/Circulation Matthew Oh

Monday, October 10, 2016

College Fair showcases varied options for students Deiana Hristov

On Monday Oct. 10, mouth,” Leong said.

Gunn will host the 19th For students, college fairs offer a unique way to get information annual Palo Alto Col- about a college beyond websites and brochures and on a more personal lege Fair from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Representatives and alumni from over 120 basis. “College fairs are definitely valuable to students in the information independent California colleges as well as public and private out-of-state age—meeting with real actual people to learn about colleges is way more colleges will be there to give students information about college life and helpful than a website, and it actually gives you a perspective as to what the admissions process. that college is like,” junior Advait Arun said.

According to College and Career Coordinator Leighton Lang, college Over the years, certain differences have emerged in the college fair fairs started out as culture. “Earlier it would be mostly seniors a way for students and juniors, but now it’s getting a little bit to explore college younger,” Lang said. “We’re getting some choices. “The origitenth graders that start exploring these nal purpose of the schools a little bit earlier. Sometimes it can college fair was to be too early for some if they’re thinking ‘that give students the opis my school’ instead of going to the fair and portunity to get an looking at a broad umbrella of what the fair experience and see is about.” According to Lang, most seniors multiple colleges, esthat attend the fair already have a college in pecially for someone mind when they visit the fair. Ogawa agrees.

—junior Advait Arun who can’t really get “[Seniors] are going to go and try and see one out and travel,” Lang said. more time the college reps that they can, and Palo Alto College Fair Co-Chair Amy Ogawa says the event showcases make one more point of contact, and also to see if there are any other a variety of colleges such that students will be able to find possible fits for last-minute colleges that they hadn’t thought of that they still would be their higher education. “The invitations go to all of them on Naviance, interested in,” Ogawa said. and we also have a running list of all the attendees from previous years, According to Leong, going to a college fair at a younger age helps a so we invite all of the colleges that have come to the college fair before, student plan out their schedule for the rest of high school. “I think, for in addition to a list of targeted schools that we think are good fits for our sophomores, it’s beneficial because, as they start to map out their 2.5 student population,” Ogawa said. more years at Gunn and the courses they will take, knowing the colleges At the fair, the different colleges are lined up in a way that allows large, and the demographics and what majors those colleges are good for gives small, popular and lesser-known colleges to get them an idea,” she said. exposure. “We do try to set it up to make sure For Arun, going to a that those schools that are smaller are not sitting college fair as a junior in a corner by themselves,” Lang said. “We know gives him a head start there are some larger schools that tend to get a in the college search whole lot of traffic. Usually the schools are in process. “The biggest alphabetical order, so we will move the schools advantage of being a that tend to get a little more traffic like Stanford junior and going to or [University of Southern California] in an area the fair is time—I have just a little out of their order, so it’s between a a bit less than a year smaller school and another smaller school so it left before I start the will generate some overflow traffic.” application process, The Palo Alto College Fair is hosted every and doing research on — College and Career Coordinator Leighton Lang other year at Gunn and has become an annual as many colleges as tradition for the Palo Alto Unified School District. “It has grown quite possible before that never hurt,” Arun said. “Other advantages include a bit. The first year I got involved was 2012. We had about 120 colleges, getting good advice from their representatives on campus and learning and now we have 140 colleges,” Palo Alto College Fair Co-Chair Nelly about each college's opportunities way before I need to consider the colLeong said. lege in my application.”

In addition, the college fair has grown to include international schools.

Another change is that schools are bringing more than just school rep“This year, some international schools approached us wanting to be part resentatives to the fair. “A lot of the representatives are now alumni, which of the college fair, so we are attracting international schools as well—those can also be a good thing because some of those alumni representatives we didn’t go out and try to actually invite but it’s just through word of are interviewing when students want to interview for schools,” Lang said.

Forum Editor

“College fairs are definitely valuable to students in the information age—meeting with real actual people to learn about colleges is way more helpful than a website and it actually gives you a perspective as to what that college is like.”

“We’re getting some tenth graders that start exploring these schools a little bit earlier. Sometimes it can be too early for some if they’re thinking ‘that is my school’ instead of going to the fair and looking at a broad umbrella of what the fair is about.”

INBOX

Assistant Business/Circulation Jack Mallery Copy Editors Clara Kieschnick-Llamas Carolyn Kuimelis

The Oracle strongly encourages and prints signed Letters to the Editor and Comments. Comments are generally shorter responses, while Letters are longer pieces of writing.

Oracle/TBN Liaison Elizabeth Chung

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

Oracle/SEC Liaison Shannon Yang

Photographers Vibha Arun Samantha Carlos Max Wang

Tech Editors Akansha Gupta Amanda Lee Adviser Kristy Blackburn

Letters and Comments may be edited to meet space requirements and the writer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Letters to the Editor, Comments and ideas for coverage may be sent to oraclegunn@gmail.com or posted on our Facebook page. These letters need not be from current students.

I would like to see more articles specifically about sports at Gunn. For example, you could include sports schedules for the season. A lot of people don’t get to go to the games or don’t know a lot of sports at Gunn, so it would be nice to get a recap or article about what’s happening in Gunn sports.

—Olivia Aspegren, 10

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

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

3

September 9, 2016 The Oracle would like to correct a misprint in the September issue that was distributed last month. The front page headline and various parts of the article stated that the district has a $3.3 billion shortfall. In fact, the district has a $3.3 million shortfall.

We apologize for the error.

I really like how The Oracle is structured, and the subject discussed on each page is well organized. I also like a lot of the images you put up. They seem to go really well with the text.

I really liked this issue; some of the topics were very interesting such as the Wellness Center (I didn’t know about it), and about the cellphone pockets that the history teachers are applying to their classrooms.

—Christopher Ting, 11 I thought that the issue was thoughtprovoking and diverse. The content in every article relates to the students which makes it super interesting to read.

—Alyssa Illano, 12

—Rose Li, 12 I would like to see more personal stories or more pieces about Gunn-specific events.

I remember articles last year interviewing students’ opinions about food and fashion.

—Jenilee Chen, 11

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

4

News

Lack of safety causes housing crisis in East Palo Alto EVICTION

driveway and often more stuff is lying outside such as furniture.”

Gallegos has observed that some residents of East Palo Alto have retreated to their cars as a source of shelter, camping out in deserted parts of neighborhoods. “The street that intersects with my street has a couple of trailers and two RV vans,” Gallegos said. “They rotate their cars from street to street in places that don’t look abandoned.”

According to Judy Argumedo, head of the Voluntary Transfer Program, no families within the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) have indicated being affected by the evictions. “When students leave the Voluntary Transfer Program we ask them for what reasons they’re leaving,” she said. “Sometimes the reasons are because of a transfer to private schools or moving to a different city, but none have been because of the evictions so far.”

However, if a student were to become homeless they would still reserve their right to attend school within in the district. Homeless students would receive McKinney Vento status, which is a federal law that protects homeless children, according to Argumedo. “They don’t just get kicked out,” Argumedo said. “They’re allowed to stay until they get a permanent address.”

Causes of eviction One driving force behind the increase of eviction rates in the past seven years is the presence of major tech-companies in Silicon Valley such as Facebook and Google. Rutherford says the influx of high-tech money, along with employees wanting to live closer to work has played a large role in the problem. “East Palo Alto is about 57 percent renters and 43 percent property owners,” Rutherford said. “Those are the ones most affected by displacement because of Google and Facebook’s folks buying houses.” In order to combat the inflation of rent prices, the city has a Rent Stabilization Ordinanace to protect tenants from unreasonable rent increases.

According to Rutherford, re-development also contributed to the problem. It was originally supposed to be a solution, intended to increase the city’s tax base. Several apartments

were torn down and replaced with the Ravenswood Shopping Center, containing stores such as Ikea, Nordstrom Rack and other major chains. However, while it did bring in revenue, it was at the cost of many people having to move away.

“Gentrification moves people out that have been in a low-income community for a long time,” Rutherford said.

the lowest distribution of water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Hetch Hetchy, according to Rutherford. The huge water shortage has forced a halt on construction of multiple affordable housing units and commercial construction. Until East Palo Alto can negotiate with other cities for an increase in water supply, major projects remain on hold.

According to Rutherford, the City of East Palo Alto does not have an immediate resolution to help displaced families due to the impeding obstacle of water shortage.

“The only thing we can do is point them to the resources that are available,” Rutherford said. “Unfortunately, those resources are almost non-existent.”

Churches within the city such as the St. Francis Assisi Church have been assisting families in need by providing food banks and a number of assistance programs. While shelters are an option for adults, they are often full or do not accept children according to Rutherford.

Changing demographics Census numbers from 2010 show the city is 64.5 percent Hispanic or Latino, 16.7 percent African American and 7.5 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

These numbers prove to be more racially diverse than neighboring towns such as Palo Alto, which was 64.2 percent white and 27.1 percent Asian, according to the Elizabeth Zu same census.

“When there’s an influx of new businesses, new housing, it Gallegos also pointed out a change of demographics due to causes folks—especially if they’re not property owners—to the building of new homes. “There are more people of different have to relocate.” ethnicities, such as white or Asian coming to live there,” she While gentrification is an issue East Palo is strug- said. “The people who live behind me are white.” gling with right now, according to Rutherford, developEast Palo Alto’s rents remain relatively affordable in comment generates revenue essential to continue providing parison to other cities. The average rent for a one-bedroom services for citizens. “How do you keep people who apartment ranges from $1,200 to $1500, while a one-bedroom want to be in the city there, and yet encourage develop- in Palo Alto costs at least $2,800, according to data from the ment because you need to bring in revenue at the same June 2016 California Apartment List Rent Report. time?” Rutherford asked. “It’s a really tough situation.”

East Palo Alto's median household income of $51,916 is a stark contrast to neighboring Palo Alto’s $121,074, yet East Impacts of drought Palo Altans face increasing competition from affluent tech In addition to having the lowest median household employees purchasing homes while they themselves often live income within San Mateo County, East Palo Alto receives a paycheck away from missing rent, according to Rutherford.

Lack of campus feminine Voter Registration inspires products affects students teen involvement in politics

last week and what I have learned from the custodial staff is that we have had machines for a while,” Stevenson said.

Junior Elizabeth Miksztal runs to the She is unsure of when the dispensers were bathroom and slips a quarter into the installed and what prompted maintenance feminine product dispenser. She left her to stop stocking them. “Maintenance staff tampons at home and was not expecting has reached out to their district manager to her cycle to start and is thankful a tampon try and get information and I am reaching only costs 25 cents in the girl’s bathroom. out to Palo Alto High School to see what However, there must be some mistake; their practices are,” Stevenson said. when she turns the knob Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann nothing comes out. is unsure when exactly this probFor many years, the femlem began. She believes this is inine product dispensers in an issue worth addressing. “As the female bathrooms have a female administrator, it is imnot been stocked with pads portant to advocate for women’s or tampons, leaving female health and making sure students students unable to access have all the resources they need,” feminine products when Herrmann said. needed. While there is acOne issue is the cost of keepcess to products on campus ing pad and tampon dispensers in the nurse’s office through full on a regular basis. However, a nurse’s visit, they are not Herrmann believes that a full provided in the bathrooms. feminine product dispenser is Not only is there a lack of important. “Just how we keep products, but the dispensthe bathrooms stocked with ers, metal boxes that take toilet paper, tissues and soap, 25 cents to dispense a pad or we should be able to stock them tampon, will take students’ with other feminine care prodmoney without dispensing ucts,” Herrmann said.

Tiffany Ch a product. Miksztal has Herrmann notes that not haven experienced this situation first ing feminine products available in hand; she recalls two occasions in which bathrooms could have a negative effect on this has happened to her. “I lost 50 cents female students. “The female body is very over this,” Miksztal said. “I have had to leave unpredictable, especially as a teenager,” class, go to the bathroom and then over to Herrmann said. “Sometimes you are just the nurse, where you must sign in, causing unprepared for your cycle to start.” Like me to miss [about] 10 minutes of class.”

Miksztal, Herrmann believes that the Assistant Principal Miriam Stevenson nurse's office being the only place on camhas recently been made aware of this issue. pus equipped with pads and tampons for “Students raised this issue to my attention distribution can become an inconvenience.

Mikaela Wayne Centerfold Editor

cently turned 18 years old or would be 18 by Election Day in November. WiP Secretary junior Vidhu Navjeevan believes that this On Oct. 4 and 5, students held a voter event was especially important for these registration drive at Gunn. The Women newly age-qualified students to attend. “I in Politics (WiP) club and the Palo Alto think this election decides a lot for our chapter of the League of Women Voters country, so as long as we get as many of the registered students who will be 18 years or young people who are out there to register older to vote in the general election, which to vote, then it’s beneficial for our country,” will be held on November 8.

Navjeevan said.

Vice President of WiP senior Quinn McGannon agrees that it is important for McGannon said that in order to make ev- youth to be involved in the voting process. erything go smoothly during the event, the “As American citizens, I think it’s our job club had to undergo extensive planning. to vote even though a lot of people say it “First, we have to doesn’t matter get in contact with because of the organizations that president ia l would be willing election electo work with us,” toral system,” McGannon said.

McGannon “Like for the Votsaid. “But it’s er Registration, really importwe work with the ant, aside from League of Womthe presidenen Voters of Palo tia l election, Alto, [and] they for us to also Photo by Vibha Arun elect state repgive us a lot of inWiP and League of Women Voters members formation and let resentat ives help students register for the 2016 election. us know of opporwho represent tunities for us to volunteer." our values and beliefs.”

Voter registration officer for Palo Alto According to Taft, students who vote League of Women Voters Liza Taft was early in life will continue voting. Thus, involved in helping with the logistics of the she is supportive of the work WiP is event. She gathers volunteers from the Palo doing to increase youth voting in their Alto chapter and brings registration mate- community. “I think the sooner young rials, but she said that WiP’s work is what people get involved, the better we will got the students to come out to the event. all be,” Taft said. “I am impressed by the “WiP does a marvelous job of getting the enthusiasm and hard work that WiP does students there to register,” she said. to get people to vote. I hope they conThe students who registered at the tinue to do this in college and if they’re event were often young voters who re- really interested—to make it a career.”

Katie Zhang Reporter

Forum

Monday, October 10, 2016

5

Microaggressions, Safe Spaces cause Debate Safe spaces provide refuge from triggers Jack Mallery

It’s 2016, and many things that were allowed in previous years are no longer safe and okay to say to others. Gendered insults and racial slurs are not tolerated in our communities anymore. Sometimes people have experienced traumatizing events that they would rather forget and move on from. Safe spaces and trigger warnings provide a needed cushion that helps prevent bullying and improves lives, and they should be required in schools.

Safe spaces—or a place where people are able to be themselves and express their interests without fear of harassment or pressures of the outside world—have the ability to solve many problems in society today. One of these problems is bullying. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly one in every four students is bullied at some point during the school year.

In addition to receiving harm or hate at school, Pacer.org reports that 42 percent of students have been bullied online. Many universities have integrated safe spaces into their new student greetings. This implementation of safe spaces is a huge step in the right direction toward making students feel safe on their campus. A safe space does not have to be a specific location. It is more of an environment where people feel accepted and able to express themselves for who they are. These environments create a place for people to avoid harm. Hopefully, with the addition of these areas, student collaboration and wellness will improve. Hateful speech and slogans belong to an era that is long past, and it is time that this fact is recognized.

There may be times when students feel pressure or hate and don’t have anywhere to go. Safe spaces change this completely: they provide a place that is free of harm to students lives. Trigger warnings can also provide benefits to everyone. No one knows what specific events could trigger a traumatic memory or unwanted reaction in someone, so trigger warnings are essential in preventing this. However, at the start of this school year, the University of Chicago sent out a letter to all incoming students denouncing trigger warnings and safe spaces. The university stated that they will never cancel controversial speakers and they do not support the creation of safe spaces, which they feel shelter students from conflicting opinions. While this is a seemingly logical theory, it is untrue. The point of trigger warnings is not to ban free speech, but to serve as a preemptive measure to give an overview of the information to come. In addition to this, safe spaces do not provide a shelter for whenever a student runs into an obstacle. Their purpose is to create an environment in which people are free of harassment and other negative things, not clashing ideas.

The University of Chicago’s plan to eliminate safe spaces and trigger warnings is ungrounded, based on the preconceived notion that these measures restrain free speech.

Today, marginalizing others is completely unacceptable in our societies. Excluding people based on religion or physical characteristics should no longer be tolerated.

Taking the steps that are necessary to improve students’ lives is one of the most important things a school can do to protect the well-being of its pupils. Some people are opposed to safe spaces and trigger warning because they feel that we live in a community that is too sensitive, and these measures won’t prepare students for real life. Critics believe that the world isn’t an all-inclusive safe space. It is inevitable that some people misuse these tools, but we cannot take them away simply because a minority of people do not use them correctly.

It’s time that these critics wake up. The year is 2016, and demeaning environments and offensive language have no place in a society today. It is inevitable that hate will appear in some students’ lives, but the more resources they have to fight it, the better.

Protecting students and others should always be the number one concern of any school or organization.

At the end of the day, safe spaces may not save lives, and trigger warnings can’t possibly prevent everything.

However, these measures create a positive environment that encourages cooperation and acceptance. Students are not coddled. It is their choice to participate in or listen to trigger warnings, as it will be their choice of how to live their life after school. Years from now, people will look back on these years when acceptance and diversity was promoted, and they will wonder why it didn’t happen sooner.

—Mallery, a junior, is Assistant Business Manager.

Microaggressions can be taken too far Clara Kieschnick-Llamas

Asking someone where they’re from, which used to be a simple, commonly-asked question, is now considered offensive by many people.

Microaggressions—casual degradations of any socially marginalized group—have been blown out of proportion in the last few years. What used to be an innocent conversation starter has become a breach of boundaries. Of course, there are some microaggressions that are extremely offensive. “You’re not like other black people,” or “Can you see as much as white people, because of your eyes?” are examples of such remarks. These reinforce stereotypes, which are generalizations of groups of people.

It’s important to educate on the impact of words. Microaggressions, however, have now become small, everyday commentaries that some find unnecessarily offensive.

In 2015, the University of Georgia banned hoop skirts due to their connection to the Old South. Not a direct offensive or oppressive action, the wearing of a hoop skirt at the University of Georgia was considered a microaggression. An item of clothing should not be considered racist because it was worn in a racist time period. It is only a skirt—the person who wears it is not trying to induce any racist connotations. Wearing a shirt with the Confederate flag would be racist, not a hoop skirt.

In Seattle, city officials have determined that the word “brown bag” qualifies as racial discrimination. It was suggested that instead of “brown bag lunch,” the terms “sack lunch” or “lunch and learn” should be used. “Brown bag” is a phrase that has been around for a long time solely for the purpose of describing grocery bags, and is rarely, if ever, used in racist settings. Banning the phrase at Seattle City Hall is an overreaction to a non-existent issue.

Seattle City Hall has also replaced gendered words in official records with non-gender-specific synonyms. For example, “penmanship,” which includes the word “man,” is now “handwriting.” The use of gender-specific terms may have originated in a more patriarchal world, but by now they have shed any sexist nuances. Calling them offensive demonstrates just how out-of-hand microaggressions are getting.

Many believe that the white population fails to understand the victims of microaggressions due to white privilege. This may be true for some white people, but not all. It is a matter of putting oneself into another’s shoes and looking at it from a different perspective. The heart of the problem is in the intention. In many cases, people committing microaggressions do not intend to offend. We need to be able to recognize when perceived insults are too trivial to worry about.

There is real racism in the world today. There is real sexism and real classism. Violence, refusal to employ and exclusion from professional organizations are macroaggressions. White applicants to a job tend to get more callbacks than African-American applicants. Why has there been so much recent focus on microaggressions, when there are bigger issues at stake? Placing such an emphasis on microaggressions among the relatively privileged on college campuses overshadows more serious forms of aggression.

Of course, there are terrible consequences of the opposite extreme: having no censorship whatsoever of one’s words and completely ignoring their results.

There is a fairly large gray area of what is offensive and what is just victimizing oneself when there is no reason to be. However, our society has gone far, far past this gray area, and people are truly finding offense in meager, unimportant little matters.

—Kieschnick-Llamas, a junior, is a Copy Editor.

Graphics by Elizabeth Zu Photos by Max Wang

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OPENING UP THE DISCUSSION: Reproductive health should be destigmatized Cassie Bond Upon reaching teenage years, people become increasingly more interested in sex and relationships. This increase in curiosity brings the need for sex education, easy access to birth control and readily available menstruation products. The different aspects of reproductive health—birth control, feminine products and condoms—have all been spoken about in whispers. Although the Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention reveals that 47 percent of high school students are sexually active in the United States, the subject of reproductive health is still stigmatized. This is because of the negative connotations surrounding sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy out of wedlock. These stigmas discourage the idea of sexually active teens, but it cannot change the fact that people will still choose to participate in sexual activity. Reproductive health should not be stigmatized because of the importance of being educated enough to make good choices about one’s well-being.

The stigma behind sex can be traced back to religious beliefs when settlers first came to America in the 17th century. Protestant settlers viewed sex as less of a normal act than it is now, making it more stigmatized.

Along with religion, gender roles emphasize the secrecy in sex among women and acceptance of sex among men. Different ideas of gender play a harmful role in the expectations of sexual activity. These gender roles also contribute to the disregard for free tampons or pads and support for young mothers. With those factors in mind, society has placed a negative connotation on reproductive health.

Birth control also contributes to the stigma attributed to sex.

Birth control is not free in most states, but can be supported through public healthcare or insurance. Some people cannot afford the cost of certain types of birth control, or do not have easy access to it, making it more difficult to have safe sex.

Only recently, Maryland declared its birth control to be entirely free, although many states do not have the same advantage. Teens need easy access to birth control to have control over their choices and be free of judgment.

Currently, different kinds of contraception, such as male and fema le condoms, a re not offered in

most schools and workplaces. However, it is still a social norm to dismiss talk about condoms and sex. Along with the taboo surrounding condoms, feminine products are not present in the bathrooms at Gunn, despite the need for them by roughly half of Gunn’s population. Society’s norms encourage people to keep the topic of women’s menstruation at a minimum, while women are dealing with their periods on a monthly basis. Along with the issue of receiving easy forms of contraception and feminine products, the U.S. still has different approaches to sex education, such as ones that stress abstinence, that add to the stigma around contraception.

Although there are differing views of how to handle reproductive health issues, keeping the subject under wraps and thus stigmatizing the situation only increases unplanned pregnancies and misinformed students.

According to a study done at the University of Washington, teens who received a comprehensive sex education have a 60 percent less chance of getting pregnant than teens who are taught an abstinence-only education.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states in the U.S still do not require sex education in schools. With no law forcing schools to teach sex education, many teens are without the education they need to have safe sex. Students should get the opportunity to have all of their questions answered in a safe school environment. Withholding information on sex will only cause more interest in the subject than if it was discussed as how it is: a normal human function. Although some people fear the idea of teens having sex, it is better to be confident in one’s options and choices.

We must be open about reproductive health by providing easy access to birth control and increasing the acceptance of conversations about sex; however, having little access to contraception makes it more difficult to encourage the safe practice of sex.

Through discussions, lessons and open conversations, reproductive health can become less of a national problem, and more of an accepted subject. The more acceptable sex-related issues are, the easier it will be for people to prevent different sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies. As our campus continues to grow and implement different ideas, it is important to keep teens well-informed, and provide access to the contraception that they need, without judgment. Through these practices, the stigma behind reproductive health can be erased.

—Bond, a senior, is the Changing The Narrative Editor.

Faces in the Crowd

Should Gunn provide free condoms to students?

“Condoms should be offered in the nurse’s office. It’s more important to have safe sex be taught and make sure that all students are aware of it.”

"They’re [Gunn] not encouraging [students] to have sexual activities, but students will anyway, so might as well make them protected."

“Yes, because it’s important for students to have an accessible source of protection, but they should be given in an anonymous way.”

“I think it’s much better for people to have condoms when they need it than not have condoms when they need it.”

Lizzie Mumford (9)

Kathy Liu (10)

Advait Arun (11)

Ankit Rajan (12) —Complied by Shannon Yang

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Friday, October 10, 2016

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student reproductive health School should provide free condoms to students Carolyn Kuimelis School is a place for emotional as well as academic learning, and schools should take steps to open up the conversation about sexual health to ensure that their students are equipped with the knowledge and means to practice life-long skills such as safe sex. Having condoms available to students ensures that teenagers are making safe decisions. A condom availability program would open up the conversation about sexual health, eliminating the stigma associated with condoms.

Living Skills, a semester-long required course, includes one unit on sexual education. Students are taught the different forms of contraception and how to put on a condom, but contraception is not provided. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average age for teens to become sexually active is 17. Therefore, seniors may not find the information timely, as they may be sexually active already. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 59 percent of teenagers are sexually active.

Without access to condoms, teens are at risk for unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

According to the American Sexual Health Associa-

tion, half of all newly occurring STDs in 2000 occurred among youth ages 15 to 24. The best way to encourage students to make responsible decisions is to offer condoms for free and provide instruction on how to use them.

With condom-distribution programs comes the question of how easily accessible these condoms should be.

Although it is important to ensure that students know how to use condoms, some may feel discouraged from asking for protection if what follows is an interrogation process. A solution to this problem is to have condom kits available to students upon request, which would include condoms and a small pamphlet about safe sex and how to use a condom.

Providing condoms would open up the conversation about sexual health beyond the semester-long Living Skills course.

Having condoms available on campus would help create an environment where students feel comfortable talking about protection and sexual health.

One concern with distributing condoms at school is the fear that having easily accessible contraception will encourage more teenagers to have sex. However, a study of a New York school’s condom-availability program showed that condom usage among sexually active teens increased when the program was implemented, but there was no increase in sexual activity in general. Ultimately, condom-availability programs in schools can only be beneficial. Having condoms available to students does not explicitly encourage students to have sex, but rather encourages them to make safe choices that will benefit them in the long run.

—Kuimelis, a junior, is a Copy Editor.

Feminine products should be easily accessible on campus Akansha Gupta In the past few years, menstrual activism has become more prominent. NPR dubbed 2015 “The Year of the Period,” and New York City mandated free access to menstrual products in public schools, shelters and corrective facilities. 2016 hasn’t been too shabby either: Brown University students returned to school to find tampons and sanitary napkins available in academic bathrooms. Yet, the average American high school has a long way to go before students are assured free and easy access to tampons and pads in bathrooms.

In 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the “Let Girls Learn” initiative, which promotes the provision of tampons and pads as an issue of educational equality.

They’re not alone; the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have linked menstrual hygiene to human rights because women often miss school due to their period.

Women are misinformed, isolated and denied access to bathing and feminine products. Furthermore, at an estimated seven to 10 dollars per month, some girls may not be able to afford tampons.

Free the Tampons, a non-profit that campaigns to make feminine products accessible

in all restrooms, found that 48 percent of women only carry feminine products during their period and 86 percent have unexpectedly started their period in public without the supplies they need. In such cases, 34 percent went home immediately to get them. This is an even greater challenge for growing high school girls—their periods are often irregular due to hormonal changes.

Though places like New York City and Brown University have taken great strides in providing free menstrual supplies to their students, vocal critics still exist. Some people wonder why it’s necessary for feminine products to be available in bathrooms when they’re easily accessible at the nurse’s office.

However, they fail to recognize the inconvenience of having only one official source for menstrual products in schools.

Periods don’t always start in the nurse’s office, and high school girls are understandably embarrassed to approach an adult they don’t know well about something personal.

The obvious solution to this is to get rid of the stigma.

Yet wisecracks attributing mood swings and irritability in women to premenstrual syndrome have become a pop-culture staple. This mindset can be changed by embracing menstruation as a healthy, natural part of life.

Schools can make sure their students are healthy by ensuring that bathrooms are stocked with free tampons and sanitary napkins. This way, people who need feminine products can easily access them—no questions asked.

—Gupta, a senior, is a Tech Editor.

Photos by Richard Yu

8 Features Behind the scenes: custodians, food services share lives inside, outside of Gunn

Monday, October 10, 2016

Custodial supervisor: Luciano Hernandez

shares

past,

Paulo Frank Sports Editor Custodial Supervisor Luciano Hernandez has been working to better Gunn and its campus for several years, taking the helm of multiple important jobs. “I’ve been working here for 18 years,” Hernandez said.

“I make sure everything is coordinated with the office for every event, as well as making sure the school is clean inside and out.”

An important part of Hernandez’s job is making sure the school is stocked with enough supplies to run smoothly. This isn’t always easy though, because working in a school full of teenagers sometimes means Hernandez has to deal with the aftermath of practical jokes involving messes and broken school equipment. “Someone

Samantha Carlos

Students line up at the hot-food lunch line to buy their lunches while the campus supervisors and food ser vice staf f make sure the line moves ef f iciently.

Food services: Lisa Mahpour reflects on her time at Gunn Maya Rapoport Reporter Lisa Mahpour, a member of the kitchen staff, has worked at Gunn for nine years. She greatly enjoys her job in the cafeteria.

As part of the kitchen staff, Mahpour is in charge of making some of the main entrees. She has to learn new recipes when the menu changes. However, she welcomes the learning experience.

“Everyday is a challenge,” Mahpour said. “There is always something new.”

Mahpour also attended Gunn when she was a student. “Being back at the school is a real pleasure for me because it brings back a lot of good memories,” Mahpour said. Since she was a student, Gunn has changed a lot. There are many new buildings, and Gunn also added a new snack bar. Mahpour believes the change is beneficial, and she still remembers going into the cafeteria as a student to buy lunch with her friends.

Although she has been working as kitchen staff for a long time, Mahpour still enjoys every day at the cafeteria. “This is a job that really makes me wake up in the morning glad to be working; I really enjoy what I do,” she said. When she first got the job, Mahpour was very proud of working for the district. She loves being around her coworkers and cooking for the students.

When Mahpour is done helping cook in the kitchen, she likes to relax. In her free time, Mahpour also likes to sew and go out to eat at Italian restaurants. She also enjoys watching TV programs like the “Big Bang Theory.”

Ma x

plans

for

future

broke 40 soap dispensers across school,” Hernandez said. “I had to order five crates of soap dispensers.”

Other than work, Hernandez’s life is centered around his kids and sports. “I have two sons, one is 9 and the other is 22,” Hernandez said. “At home I like to watch UFC and Raiders football.” On the active side of things, Hernandez enjoys getting outdoors with his 9-yearold son. “We like to go hiking and swimming,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez has created a tight bond with the community. “I love this school, I really like to work here,” Hernandez said. “I like the students [and] the people.” He added that his 22-year-old son graduated from Gunn.

In terms of the future, Hernandez is happy to continue being part of the custodial staff at Gunn.

“Yeah, of course I’d like to continue here,” Hernandez said. “My plan is to see my 9-year-old son graduate from here.”

g Wan

Food service manager: Claire McCole shares life outside PAUSD Elizabeth Chung TBN-Oracle Liaison

Sa m ant h a Ca rlos

Food service manager Claire McCole has been working in food service for the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) for 13 years. “I started at the elementary schools and worked my way up,” McCole said. “The position for me to [work in] the Gunn kitchen became open last year, so I applied for it and here I am.”

McCole orders all of the food products to stay consistent with the school menus.

“Sometimes, they send us the right thing, sometimes we get substitutes,” McCole said. “My main objective is to feed kids. If they get fed, I think I have done my job.”

Her story of getting into the field is quite unusual, as McCole had not planned on getting into food service specifically. “I was a stay-at-home mom,” McCole said.

“One of the van drivers saw me dropping my kid off at school and we have known each other for many years. He came up to me and said, ‘What are you doing in the afternoon? Do you want a job?’ It worked really well because the elementary school is in the afternoon so I can still drop my kids off. It was perfect to get myself back into working after having kids.”

McCole has had various job experiences before getting involved in PAUSD. “I was a cosmetologist for 30 years before I had my kids,” McCole said. “I was a stayat-home mom for 12 years then started in the food service. My first job was at A&W. I worked part-time for florists. I worked in the mail room for big financial company. I

really like coming to work because I enjoy the people I’m working with.”

During her free time, McCole enjoys bowling. “I have been bowling since I was 6,” McCole said. “My mom was a bowler and I grew up in the nursery at Camino Bowl that used to be in Mountain View. So as I got older, I was bored so I tried bowling and became pretty good at it ‘for a girl’ as I was often told by the guys.”

McCole, who loves being outside, enjoys taking camping trips with her family. The last camping trip she took was with her family to Kampground of America in Cloberdale. “My grandson and I went for six days over spring break. We swam, rode bikes, went fishing for the first time and caught a fish.”

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Monday, October 10, 2016

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Students speak out about supporting Donald Trump Sohini Ashoke Reporter

Editors’ note: This article is meant to display the variety of political viewpoints at Gunn, not to expose those who may not agree with the majority.

Given that Palo Alto is known to be very liberal, most Gunn students probably support Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump; however, there are some Trump supporters on campus.

For junior Alex Turner, Trump’s straightforward approach toward global issues is refreshing. “Throughout the debate I saw Trump pointing out problems I noticed, and doing well,” he said. Although Turner is aware of the controversy surrounding Trump’s statements, Turner does not see why people are making a big deal out of them. “I don’t see him as racist,” he said. “I see him as bringing up problems we currently have that need to be addressed.”

Senior McKinley Kalar has faced hate because of his alliance with Trump. “I face a lot of prejudice for supporting Trump,” Kalar said. “I’ve gotten a lot of mean comments, even some from teachers; I have had people confront me, yell at me. It’s kind of sad to see how many people are close-minded and won’t talk to me about their views, and instead just shut people out.”

Like Turner, Kalar understands that many people think Trump’s statements are controversial, but believes that looking at the overall candidate is more important.

“No candidate is perfect, and you have to take everything with a grain of salt,” Kalar said. “Instead of trying

to scrutinize every little thing, you have to look at the candidate [Donald Trump] from the big picture.” Kalar also believes that Trump’s attitude during the presidential race will benefit the country. “I feel like a candidate

who is not afraid to say the things on his mind is good for the country at this point,” he said.

Junior Mitchell Mertz prefers to focus on the policies, not the person. “[Trump’s controversial statements] make it really hard to choose a side because I really don’t like Hillary’s policies,” Mertz said. “I also don’t like Donald Trump’s personality, but I like his policies which is what matters in the long run.”

Sophomore Sara Michaelian says that although Trump was not her first choice, she believes he will do

his best for the country. “Donald Trump symbolizes the true American spirit; he’s very patriotic and so am I,” she said. “Out of all the three previous candidates [Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump], he really wanted the best for America. His policies were very much into bringing back what the Founding Fathers wanted for our country.

He wants to bring back the American spirit. People these days don’t want to vote and are stomping and burning the American flag, and Donald Trump will bring back that American spirit.”

Mertz does not fully support Trump; however, he sees Trump as the better of two evils. “I support Donald Trump more by necessity than anything else,” Mertz said. “I don’t really like him as a presidential candidate, but I like him more than Hillary. I don’t really like what Hillary is doing involving health care and open borders and Syrian refugees.

There needs to be more regulations on those things, and Elizabeth Zu Donald Trump will do a good job on that.”

For a story on Hillary Clinton campaigners, visit The Oracle’s web site gunnoracle.com to read “Students help campaign for Hillary.”

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CENTE

Ho me c o mi n g homecoming serves as cherished tradition Amanda Lee Tech Editor Homecoming is one of many American traditions that are celebrated in high schools and colleges across the country. It is an event that brings together friends, classes, schools, families and communities, just to celebrate and honor their school. The name “Homecoming” reflects one of the key reasons for the event; it is the weekend when alumni “come home,” returning to their alma mater and reuniting with old friends. Homecoming is almost always centered around a big sporting event, typically a football game, but the game is only one of many festivities. Students compete in class competitions, vote for their homecoming king and queen and show their pride for their school.

The date of the very first homecoming is still disputed, with records of schools inviting alumni back to their alma maters going as far back as the 1870s, when Harvard and Yale each invited their respective alumni to their showdown game.

In 1911, the University of Missouri held the first official homecoming recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The university’s athletic director held events such as parades and pep rallies, welcoming alumni back to the university in preparation for Missouri’s big game against University of Kansas.

Gunn was founded in 1964, and the first homecoming at Gunn was in 1965. Since Gunn had only been founded the year before, there were no alumni. It was only the next year, after the Class of 1966 graduated, when alumni attended Gunn’s homecoming.

Like most homecomings around the country, one of the main activities at Gunn’s first homecoming was the selection of a king and queen, where students elected seniors they believed exemplified important traits of their school identity. Each class also built a float for the float competition, which the seniors won. Only later did class games and dress-up days come into play.

Now, these traditions are often modified to adapt to modern society. For example, last year, Student Executive Council (SEC) abolished the king and queen tradition to make the homecoming court more inclusive. Student Activities Director Lisa Hall says that SEC tries to keep traditions intact and only improve them. “We try to enhance traditions more than completely change them around…there always have been floats, there’s always some kind of a halftime show, we’ve had Homecoming Court for a really long time and there always were some kind of class competitions,” Hall said. “They might not be as intense as they are now, but [past classes] did do them before.”

Hall said that the current homecoming class games have been played for almost two decades. “Balloon Stomp was probably brought in as a relatively new game in the early 2000s,” she said. “We introduced Bucket Head maybe two or three years ago. Games that we have been doing for a really, really, really long time include Tug of War, Stuff-a-Bench and the Scavenger Hunt.”

Due to its rich history and importance to both students and alumni alike, Homecoming is one of the biggest events of the year at Gunn. “I think that people generally regard it as the best week of the year and really look forward to expressing their pride in their school and their class,” Hall said.

TO: What were the students’ attitudes toward Homecoming?

JW: People were pretty excited about it. It wasn’t anything crazy like at Gunn—Gunn goes nutso. People kind of just dragged what was out of their closet. Around half the school would dress up, and then because it was a smaller hometown, football games were a really big deal and Homecoming was a huge deal. You always had special cars that drove people out and it was really neat. I actually got to drive my own car since the theme was 1960s and I had a 1976 Volkswagen Beetle.

TO: What was your most memorable homecoming?

JW: Well, winning Homecoming Queen senior year was pretty amazing because I didn’t expect it at all. I got to ride out on my own car and my dad and I painted the whole car with a smile on it and flowers. Then I rode out with one of my best friends who was also up for king and then my dad escorted me, too, so it was just a really cool night. And then they announced it at halftime and I just couldn’t believe it. I remember people told me they voted for me because I was a nice person and that really meant a lot to me.

Graphics by Jeffrey Yao Photo by Richard Yu

—Compiled by Kaya van der Horst

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Th r owb a c k The Oracle: Where did you go to high school?

Jordan Wells: I went to Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California.

TO: How was your Homecoming celebrated?

JW: We did dress-up days. It wasn’t by class; the school had the same dress-up days and we had days such as a Pajama Day, and a Nerd Day was definitely one of them. So we celebrated that way, and we also had a homecoming dance.

There was a homecoming court revelation which happened Wednesday night and we actually had a band at that one which was pretty cool.

Q&A With English teacHer Jordan wells

Gunn homecoming Events evolve over the years Janet Shea Reporter Homecoming week is just around the corner, and the feelings of eagerness fill the air as students anticipate the annual Homecoming games.

Each year, changes are made to the games, and the ones we have today are much different from past years.

According to theater teacher Jim Shelby, there was an obstacle course around the theater or Student Activities Center about 15 to 20 years ago. It included activities such as tricycling while balancing a mattress at the same time. “People would line up all the way around the buildings, watching as they would barrel down all around,” Shelby said. “People would wipe out, sort of like a chariot race from ‘Ben Hur’ or something and blood was shed. I don’t think anybody died, and it was very thrilling and exciting and I’m glad parents didn’t see it.”

Shelby also recalls a pool game similar to today’s Stuff-a-Bench in the senior quad. “They would tie each other up in the pool and would go in there,” Shelby said. “It was some kind of hoop toss, and a bunch of people would dive in the pool. I think they stopped that because they didn’t want to lose any freshman under the crowds.”

Director of Student Activities Lisa Hall said that another past game and favorite of the students, Jamba Chug, involved chugging a Jamba Juice.

The game was controversial, because it was hard to judge as people would always spill their drinks. Eventually, the game was replaced in favor of another activity, Hall said.

Jar Wars was another past Homecoming activity, which served as a fundraiser for the Youth Community Service club, and each class brought in pennies to donate. However, it was removed because of the controversy that surrounded it. In 2014, juniors won Homecoming Week as a result of this game. “Jar Wars would impact the final results,” Hall said. “In the case of the year the seniors did not win Homecoming, they [had] won Airbands. [But] the juniors decided to get all the pennies they could find, and tightened it up even further. It was basically buying an election.”

In the past, Homecoming football games were introduced by the marching and pep bands who sat in the stands and played music. English teacher and Gunn graduate Justin Brown’s most prominent memory of Homecoming is playing trombone in the marching band. “[We] wore outfits, and [did] organized choreography during half-time [and] we would practice over a course of weeks leading up to the Homecoming game,” Brown said. “It is definitely a funny memory though, just doing marching band and practicing all this choreography.”

Airbands, a popular attraction at the Night Rally, used to be much different from the Airbands we know today. “It was more of what we would refer to as a lip sync,” Hall said. “My predecessor wanted to make it a bigger deal so they brought it into the gym, they brought in lights, [but] it was a bit smaller. The attendance in that time was about as small as one side of the bleachers. It took about three or four years before it got so popular that both sides of the gym were full and sold out. We had to sell tickets to ensure that we wouldn’t break the fire code. And now, what you see now is our most recent reincarnation.”

The games and traditions have changed over the many years, but the underlying spirit of Homecoming week has remained strong among the classes.

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Features

Q & Artist of thejuniorMonth: Lily Liu A

The Oracle: Why did you originally begin participating in beauty pageants?

Lily Liu: Because I’m pretty tall, a lot of people were like you should do pageants or you should do modeling and things like that.

I wasn’t really sure if that was for me at first, but I knew some friends who did it before, so that’s why I was like, maybe I should try it out.

TO: When did you start participating in beauty pageants?

LL: I actually started in 2015.

The first pageant I went to was called the Sing Tao Daily. They’re a newspaper company and they’re pretty big on pageants and things like those. I joined in June of 2015 and I was the Miss June Cover Girl. Later on, I joined the Miss World Fashion Beauty Pageant a nd I won second place [f irst runner-up] in the U.S. region. In the final worldwide region, I won Best Talent.

TO: How do you typically prepare and rehearse for pageants?

LL: It really depends on the organization for the pageant. For Sing Tao, their big event is in December, so you have to go to a lot of practice in the weeks before that. For the other competitions I went to, it really depends.

You have to go because it kind of reflects on your final show. For Sing Tao, we had to do a group dance so then if you don’t go to the practices, you can’t really do it.

TO: Do you have any memorable moments or interesting stories?

LL: In the U.S. region, I was really sick the week before it actually started, so it was really stressful.

But I just met a lot of friends.

TO: How do you compete at pageants?

LL: Technically, many of the pageants are the same, where it’s selfintroduction, walkway-runway kinds of things, and then Q&A in an evening gown, where they ask you a bunch of random questions and then you’re supposed to answer them within a minute or something like that. For big worldwide ones, they have a swimwear walk, too. There’s also talent [performances], but it’s always optional.

TO: Do you have any advice to potential new participants?

LL: I think the most challenging part about pageants is the Q&A. You have to prepare yourself for it, because sometimes they might ask political questions. Also, always be yourself. In one of my Q&A’s, I got a question asking what I thought about plastic surgery. And I forgot what I said word-to-word, but I remember saying how you should just be yourself because you’re beautiful and true.

TO: What’s your favorite thing about pageants?

LL: Well, you gain a lot of confidence through the experience. You also meet a lot of friends and get a lot of opportunities.

TO: What do you think you have gained from your experience with beauty pageants?

LL: Before, I would say that I was kind of shy. I didn’t really know how to talk to other people. But now, I can talk confidently and express myself in a way that would be different from before.

TO: Do you plan on participating in more beauty pageants in the future?

LL: I think the one I just attended was my last one. It gets kind of busy for school, especially at Gunn. I think since I already won a worldwide one and many pageants are regional or local, there aren’t a lot of other pageants I can do. There might be a possibility that I will compete in U.S. Miss Teen California, but that’ll probably be after my senior year. If I find a good organization, I might continue to participate in pageants in college.

—Compiled by Grace Ding

Courtesy of Lily Liu

Staff column: Senior Elizabeth Zu reflects on her art journey

Elizabeth Zu Graphics Editor Once in a while, I like to dig out my old sketchbooks from my childhood. As I laugh at my atrocious stick figures and marvel over how terrible I was, I feel amused, inspired and humbled. I look back at how far I’ve come and feel motivated to continue improving as an artist.

My journey began in elementary school, when I would often doodle in the margins of worksheets alongside my friends. We drew with our 2B pencils anything our imaginations could cook up. Yet as we grew older, my friends moved on from art. Nevertheless, I continued to draw throughout middle school, and it eventually evolved from a hobby into a passion.

My first exposure to painting was with watercolor. I learned how to mix paints to create colors and how to control the water—which is, in my opinion, the hardest part to master in watercolor painting. Around the same time, I began teaching myself digital art after my

parents gave me a Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet; I learned that the ability to Ctrl+Z your mistakes doesn’t make drawing any easier. As time passed, I continued to create artwork and improve in color theory, composition and anatomy. Meanwhile, I transitioned to thicker traditional mediums: oil and acrylic, which is my current favorite.

I draw inspiration for my pieces from my own life and from literature, film, travel and other artists.

Whenever I find something beautiful or compelling, I make sure to note it down as an idea for a piece.

Browsing through the work of artists that I look up to motivates me to continue to challenge myself. Sometimes, when I’m struggling with negative emotions, I create art as a cathartic release. No matter the purpose behind a piece, the magic of art is its ability to capture the abstract: a vivid emotion, a compelling message or the simple joy of something beautiful. That is what I love most about being an artist.

Though high school has filled my schedule, it’s also given me opportunities to use my art in ways outside of the studio. I joined The Oracle’s graphics team, Illustration and Comics Club and National Art Honor Society. I participated in the Not In Our Schools Chalk Art Challenge and helped paint a trailer for a nonprofit through Greenwaste. Currently, I’m illustrating a series

Vibha Arun

Bottom left: Panoramic painting of a man in a Nanjing taxi, acryllic on canvas. Top right: Portrait of the Greek goddess Hestia, watercolor and ink. Bottom Right: Self-portrait of Elizabeth Zu, acryllic on canvas.

of children’s books that are aimed at teaching financial literacy to disadvantaged youth. This year, I’m also participating in Inktober, which is an art challenge to complete an ink drawing every day of October.

Having a solo exhibition in the library was a wonderful way to look back at my work throughout high school. I could visualize my personal journey as an artist in the progression of paintings I created, much like f lipping through an old sketchbook.

—Zu, a senior, is a Graphics Editor.

Sports

Monday, October 10, 2016

13

CON

PRO

Is Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest justifiable?

Samuel Tse

Janet Wang

Unpatriotic. Unsportsmanlike. Disrespecting the country and the As the national anthem rang throughout Levi’s Stadium during flag. These are some of the phrases that have been used to describe a football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick over Packers, all of the players stood, except one. 49ers quarterback Colin the past month after his decision to kneel during the national anthem Kaepernick took a knee beside his team in protest of racial inequality before his football games. These words have attempted to hide the and police brutality, spurring national controversy. This demonstration overall message that Kaepernick is trying to send, which brings light to fails to tackle social inequality issues and is an ineffective approach to an important issue facing America about racism and discrimination. truly cultivate positive reform.

Kaepernick should be allowed to kneel during the anthem based Kaepernick’s protests do not foster progressive change. In an interonly on his First Amendment rights. The First Amendment states that view with the National Football League (NFL), Kaepernick stated that there should be no law prohibiting the free exercise of speech, press his demonstrations were attributed to a cause that is “bigger than footand assembly, giving Kaepernick every right to protest in his own way. ball.” He also expressed that he would not stand until he feels that the His protest neither hurts nor harms anyone else, though it certainly American flag and anthem represent what he feels it is supposed to has caught the attention of the nation. represent. Kaepernick’s protests, however, do not properly address the His protest also brings attention to many of the racial issues root problems of police brutality and social division. Racial stigma and that plague America today. Police shootings in recent months have police brutality have been prevalent issues in the history of the United led to a rise in movements and organizations such as Black Lives States; kneeling will not resolve this. In addition, Kaepernick’s use of his Matter as well as overall awareness of modern-day discrimination. platform to initiate conversation proves to be ineffective and unsuccessful.

Kaepernick has stated that he won’t stop kneeling until there is progress.

By asserting that he will not stand for the anthem until the violence stops, “I want these things to change,” he said in an interview Kaepernick fails to influence any palpable results. with USA Today. “I do know it will be a process, and The Kaepernick Effect also proves to be counterproductive in the fight it is not something that will change overnight. But against systemic racism. In fact, a September Reuters poll found that 60 I think there are some major changes that we can percent of Americans disagree with Kaepernick’s decision to protest and o f A f r ic a n make that are very reasonable.” Kaepernick is do71 percent thought that it was unpatriotic. However, 70 percent of those who Americans dising his best to push along the process of change disagree with Kaepernick’s stance identified as white, while only 40 percent who like Kaepernick’s by generating awareness about the brutality faced disagree identified as a racial minority. Although Kaepernick’s original intenanthem protest by minorities, and is succeeding. tion was to protest racial division, it is ironic that the reactions have increased In addition, the protest has had a far-reaching effect racial tension. “The Star Spangled Banner” allows unification in a historic ritual on players in the NFL, National Basketball Association that is not only symbolic, but embodies a radical nation in solidarity. Moreover, and even high school sport teams. Currently, 73 percent of in the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. stood for the national anthem before giving Sherry Chen the NFL is populated by minorities, 68 percent being African-American, achis infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. Even in a time where racial oppression was cording to a 2015 census of the league. Kaepernick’s protests have certainly resonated exacerbated more than ever, King recognized the nation as one open to reform and with many of them, as other players have begun participating in their own forms social change and channeled his views into a different outlet. In times of injustice, of protest by raising their fists or linking arms as a team during the national anthem. solidarity is essential for a nation to solve its problems together, and In a recent poll done by E-Poll Marketing Research, Kaepernick was voted as the most people should not protest against a symbolic song and divide disliked player in the NFL by 36 percent of all survey respondents. While it may seem the country further. like America is denouncing Kaepernick’s actions, a closer look at the statistics reveal a Although some may argue that Kaepernick’s choice to racial divide. African-Americans, who consisted of 15 percent of all respondents, had kneel is a fundamental American right to free speech and of Americans see a very positive opinion of Kaepernick with only two percent stating they disliked him. expression, it disrespects a greater group of people who put Kaepernick’s acMeanwhile, 37 percent of all Caucasian respondents said that they disliked Kaepernick. their lives on the line for its preservation and those who have tions as unpaAfrican-Americans are very much in support of Kaepernick, showing that his protests died doing so. According to Fox Sports, Shaquille O’Neal, a triotic are not in vain. While his actions may not have a direct effect on lawmaking, they have retired professional basketball player, criticized Kaepernick for raised plenty of awareness as shown in the poll, in which 40 percent of the respondents his actions and made references to some family members that knew who Kaepernick was versus two years ago when the poll was last conducted, in served in the military and law enforcement. Kaepernick’s actions not which only 24 percent of respondents knew who he was. only insult the flag, but also insult the people who fight in its defense.

Too much attention has been directed at the protesting athletes, rather than at the It is evident that Kaepernick’s protests prove to be feeble attempts at influencing change. actual issues that are causing these protests in the first place. America needs to improve His actions only augment the current social divide and fail to unite the nation in solving the damaged racial relations created by violence and hatred toward innocent people. Thus, them. By continuing to kneel for the national anthem, Kaepernick waits on the world to we must focus on Kaepernick’s message, not his method of protest. change without implementing any tangible reform himself.

2%

71%

—Tse, a senior, is a News Editor.

—Wang, a junior, is a Forum Editor.

Faces in the Crowd

Should Kaepernick stand for the national anthem?

“I think what Kaepernick did was good.

He’s bringing awareness to important issues, and I think he’s spreading a good message, At the same time, it’s a little controversial because he’s doing it in a way that’s going against American tradition. So I’m not sure if I really agree with what he did, but I do like what Kaepernick is trying to promote.”

“I think it’s really rude that Kaepernick didn’t stand up during the national anthem. I think that it’s kind of going against everything that Americans stand for, and he calls himself an American but doesn’t stand up. I just think that that’s not cool.”

Ezra Kohrman (9)

Brenda Cornelio (10)

“I believe he had every right to take a knee. Nobody can deny the racial atrocities the U.S.A. has a history of. As a person of color, Kaepernick’s sentiments [resonate with me] deeply. I have even taken a knee during my athletic contest and will continue to do so.”

Hudson Alexander (11)

“I think this is a matter of freedom of speech. Kaepernick can do whatever he wants and it’s a peaceful protest, so if people hate on it then whatever. It’s not like he’s hurting anybody. He’s standing up for what he believes in; there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s just making use of the national anthem in a different way.”

Tiffany Yang (12) —Compiled by Bridgette Gong

Sports 14 Athletes shine in competition Freshman Justin Chiao Freshman cross country runner Justin Chiao has had great success in his first high school season. Despite the difficult transition from middle school, Chiao has had no trouble competing against more intense competition. “I won the first freshman race and now I am on varsity,” Chiao said. “[I] race mostly juniors and seniors which is pretty tough, but I still tend to do well.”

Chiao is mentored not only by his coach, but also by his teammates. “The freshmen on the team are like the babies,” Chiao says.

“The older athletes take care of us to make the team better in the future.”

Chiao believes that his hard work and practice helps him succeed. “I think one of the reasons I do well is from running a lot,” he said. “This is my sixth year running.”

Chiao hopes to continue his success throughout the next three seasons. “I am hoping to make it to States—just competing there would be awesome.”

Sophomore Monica Crichton Sophomore middle blocker Monica Crichton has helped the volleyball team start strong this season, racking up 77 kills and a 48.1 kill percentage while attacking. She has added 25 aces and a team-leading 13 solo blocks, making contributions all around the court.

This season, the volleyball team has had 22 games and Crichton has led her team to a 5-1 league record.

Five years ago, her sister inspired her to play volleyball, and Crichton enjoyed it from the start. “My sister played volleyball before me, [so] I gave it a try and immediately loved it,” Crichton said.

Crichton enjoys being on the team, and is grateful for her teammates and her new coach this year. “It’s exciting, and I’m very happy to have a great team and coach to play with,” she said. During practices, she isn’t reluctant to try new things. “I love getting to try out different positions and build chemistry with my teammates,” Crichton said.

Junior Julia Pham After standing under the sun for hours, the tennis ball is finally hit out of bounds at match point, declaring one player the winner.

For junior Julia Pham, that is what the end of a typical match looks like.

Pham has been playing tennis since she was eight years old and is currently ranked number one on the girls’ tennis team and number 20 in NorCal for girls’ division. Pham started tennis at a young age because her mother wanted her to maintain her health. “I started playing because when I was that age, I was overweight and I had asthma,” she said.

“My mom wanted me to start a sport where I enjoyed it and I could become healthy, so I started tennis.”

Pham attributes much of her success to the school team. “The team is a great motivational factor,” she said. “Because when you’re on a team, you’re not just playing for yourself, but also for your teammates, your coach and you’re playing to represent your school.”

Senior Etienne Daadi Senior running back Etienne Daadi has led the Titans to two victories in the past month, accumulating 556 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in six games.

Daadi enters games feeling anxious, but directs his energies toward his goals once the game begins. “Before games I try to stay relaxed because I usually get really nervous,” Daadi said. “But after the first play it all goes away, and I can focus on the game. My goal is to get 100 yards every game and play my hardest.”

Daadi believes that his vision as player sets him apart. “I think my awareness is my greatest strength,” he said.

Daadi plays football because of his love for it and the bonds he makes with his teammates, and gets inspired by famous football plays. “I see highlights of professional football players, and when I see that, it inspires me to do better and try harder,” Daadi said.

Samantha Carlos

—Compiled by Sohini Ashoke, Emma Chiao, Mikaela Wayne and Katie Zhang

Girls’ water polo starts season strong with 10-2 record Shannon Yang Oracle/SEC Liaison

The girls’ water polo team has lofty goals for the season. Winning all games but one in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) to Mountain View according to Max Preps, they are 10-2 overall and 5-1 in league. This year, they would like to return to the league championship game. Having previously made it six years in a row, they did not make it last year, finishing third instead. “We want to make it back to that game,” coach Mark Hernandez said.

From there, he said, they hope to win that game, and make it to the top four or better in Central Coast Section (CCS).

The team is stronger this year compared to last year, having retained more seniors, so everyone is experienced in their positions. “The two previous years, so after the 2013 season, we lost seven seniors, and then in 2014 season, we lost eight seniors,” Hernandez said. “So we lost a lot of seniors over the last couple of years, and so last year, we had a whole new starting lineup. Everyone was in a new position, and this year we return our starters. And that matters a lot that we didn’t have to start over again. Because last year we didn’t have any se-

Max Wang

Junior Elizabeth Miksz tal tosses up the ball in a game against Palo Alto High School (Paly).

nior starters and so everyone came back and we have had more games under our belt.”

Sophomore Kara Jacobsen experienced the effect the loss of senior starters had on last year’s team. “The bench players had to all of a sudden start and be running the team as juniors and sophomores, so that was a big problem for the team,” she said.

The team has a 15-minute discussion and two hours of playing in the water every practice, according to Hernandez. However, the girls’ water polo team is not perfect.

“We need to communicate better thus far, and we need to have better spacing on the ofMax Wang fensive end,” Hernandez said.

Junior Zoe Banks blocks a shot in the first half of Gunn’s 11-0 victory over Paly.

In addition, Hernandez emphasizes the importance of staying in the moment. “When is one of the star players on girls’ water polo. “Peowe stay in the moment, we are very, very good,” he said. “And ple will come to watch Zoe Banks,” Hernandez said. then sometimes, we get ahead of ourselves, and look too far “She’s our junior goalie; she’s really outstanding.” ahead, or get stuck with what just happened, we struggle.”

Banks believes the team has great chemistry. “That allows Senior Sylvia Illouz, one of the team’s five seniors, be- us to do a lot in the pool, because of team bonding,” Banks lieves the team makes strong in-game adjustments. “Ba- said. “This season, we’re all very serious about it and focused sically we have learned to tailor our defense to whatever and bring our best to practice but also to games. I think the other team is doing,” she said. “It’s helped us a lot.” last year it was about adjusting to high school level because For I l lou z , a c h a l le n ge t h i s s e a s on i s s t ay- we had a lot of young players, but now we’ve adjusted so ing in shape. “Just pushing ourselves in practice so much; it’s really great to see us come to practice so focused.” that during the games, we can feel like we can play Jacobsen agrees, attesting to the close-knit coman entire game without being too tired,” she said. munity the team has built both on and off the field.

Illouz also agrees with Hernandez that another “Besides the fact that we’re really close, it’s basically the weakness is communication. “We kind of tend to stay same team as last year,” she said. “We all know each quiet on defense, where that’s actually the most important other really well and we care about each other a lot.” time to talk and communicate and be verbal,” she said.

Banks is looking forward to what the season will bring.

Ac c ord i n g to He r n a nd e z , Ju n ior Z o e B a n k s “I’m looking to seeing how far we go in CCS,” she said.

Sports

Monday, October 10, 2016

15

ATHLETESophomore OF THE MONTH: Sabrina Trockel, Dancer The Oracle: How long have you been dancing?

Sabrina Trockel: I’ve been dancing since I was eight, so for eight years. I currently dance at Menlo Park Academy of Dance.

TO: Why did you start dancing?

ST: I started because one of my best friends told me that dance is really fun and that she thought I would like it a lot, so I tried it.

TO: What types of dance do you do?

ST: I do ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz and pointe. I really like ballet and contemporary. I think they’re all difficult for different reasons, but for me, personally, ballet is probably the most difficult.

TO: What has been your favorite moment in your dancing career?

ST: I don’t know if I could pick one single moment, but I really like performing in general, so probably all of my performances. I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when you perform in front of an audience after all your hard work.

TO: What are you plans for your dancing future?

ST: I definitely want to continue dancing. It would be really cool to be a professional dancer. That would probably be my dream, but it’s really hard to make it in professional companies, so I’m not really sure. Dancing is a pretty short-lived career. School is also really important to me.

TO: How do you think you’ve grown as a dancer?

ST: I think I’ve grown a lot more confident when I’m dancing and just like anything you do, it gets easier. I feel like I’ve improved a lot and I’ve learned to express myself better. I’ve improved my tricks, flexibility and my strength. My technique has improved a lot since I’ve started dancing.

TO: What do you believe has been your biggest accomplishment in dance so far?

ST: I’ve danced with a professional company, The Menlo Ballet. I’ve performed at international competitions and done pretty well. My dance group last year got second place in the international competition and we got sent to New York to compete again. I think that that doesn’t measure as much how you’ve grown. Even if you do really well at competitions, it’s more important to compete with yourself every day, and that really helps you measure how much you’ve grown over the years.

TO: What do you love most about dancing?

ST: My favorite thing about dancing is the feeling you get after you work really hard and then realize that you’ve accomplished something you thought you would never be able to do.

TO: What are some challenges that you have faced?

ST: Trying to not get frustrated with myself is a challenge because usually when you learn new things, they don’t come out perfectly for a long time. You have to be patient and work on it day-by-day.

I’m not very patient, so that’s definitely been a challenge for me.

When I have to do something I have never done before, in that moment I think it’s impossible, and it looks really bad. But after working on it, it always improves.

TO: Is there any advice you have for other dancers or aspiring dancers?

ST: Even if something doesn’t come naturally to you or you don’t get it the first few times, don’t think that you won’t be able to do it. You can accomplish anything you want to accomplish; just work on it.

—Compiled by Prachi Kale

Samantha Carlos

F UN, SIMPLE Tips for F lexibility SWITCH UP MOTIONS

STRETCH IN HEAT Stretching your muscles under warm conditions promotes better blood flow and circulation to the area, allowing muscles to relax. Make sure to do some dynamic movements before beginning your stretches and stretch immediately after working out to utilize the generated heat. Additionally, wear warm layers such as long pants to quickly heat up your muscles.

For an overall state of flexibility, it is important to incorporate both positive and negative movements in your stretching. For example, if you’re stretching your back by practicing a backbend or bridge, make sure to roll out at the end. This increases your range of motion.

Hip Flexor Stretch DON’T OVERSTRETCH

Back Stretch

Although you may be impatient to get instant results, avoid stretching too fast. Always remember to warm up beforehand to avoid soft tissue scarring, which actually prevents motion and makes your muscles tighter the next day. Flexibility is a slow, gradual process that requires patience and repetit ion.

Hamstring Stretch Graphics by Sherry Chen

—Compiled by Kaya van der Horst

Lifestyle Banned Books Week

challenges censorship

Censorship has been a prominent part of history, affecting countries ranging from the United States to Italy to China. China’s emperor Qin Shi Huang was involved in one of the earliest records of banning literature shows, burning the works of Confucius in 221-210 B.C. In the United States, the banned books revolution was launched in 1982 by First Amendment activist Judith Krug after an increase in challenges to books in schools, libraries and bookstores. Since then, Banned Books Week was created to celebrate the freedom of literature in late September. The week celebrates not only the freedom to read, but also intellectual freedom. Banned Books Week is sponsored by literary organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA), American Booksellers Association and Project Censored.

While some books are banned, others are challenged. According to the ALA, a challenge is an attempt to censor material. Since 1982, over 11,300 books have been challenged. Over the years, some

common reasons for censoring books have included racial issues, sexual content, violence, religious affiliation and age-appropriateness.

For this reason, many popular and classic books have been banned in libraries and schools across the country. In 1999, the "Harry Potter" series by J. K. Rowling topped the ALA’s most challenged books list.

The public filed complaints about witchcraft, violence and anti-family themes in the series. Moreover, a high school staple, “The Catcher in the Rye” has also been challenged and made TIME magazine’s top ten censored books of all time. Though students read J. D. Salinger’s novel as a part of Gunn’s English curriculum, communities across the country have banned it due to violence and profanity.

Though the censorship of books is still prevalent, schools and libraries all over the country have taken Banned Books Week to acknowledge the freedom of literacy—a privilege that should be valued.

—Written by Janet Wang

Graphic by Sherry Chen

Staffers review banned books

Vibha Arun

Shortly after Nathaniel Hawthorne published "The Scarlet Letter" in 1850, religious authorities began to criticize this novel. The book has Hester Prynne, forced to don a letter A for adultery, cope as an outcast of Puritan society with her child.

Meanwhile, Prynne’s husband torments a well-regarded minister who is the father of that child. At the time of the books publication, some believed Prynne and the “womanizing preacher” are not remorseful enough and promote bad morals.

Banned for being sexually explicit, age-inappropriate and containing offensive language, John Green’s Printz Award-winning "Looking for Alaska" was the most challenged book of 2015.

A mere 221 pages long, "Looking for Alaska" is split into two parts: a before and an after.

Away from home for the first time, Miles Halter, nicknamed Pudge, joins his new friends in illicit drinking, cigarette-smoking and pranking, and falls in love with the mysterious Alaska Young.

They felt these characters should have been punished more. Later on, parents requested that school boards ban the book because they found the mention of adultery to be obscene.

Immoral people are often disregarded as worthless individuals, but this book teaches us to see the depth behind everybody. Experiencing another life increases our understanding of the world, even if that life is not virtuous. While the subject of adultery may cause unease, books are not obligated to protect readers from difficult realities. This book is more than a disruption of the norm through its unconventional storyline.

It provides profound learning lessons for society.

Francois Rabelais’ last words, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps," play a huge role, as Pudge, a relatable character, is an average kid, searching for a Great Perhaps.

"Looking for Alaska" is great for older readers. The heavy topics can be harder to understand for younger readers; I first read "Looking for Alaska" in eighth grade and I almost didn’t finish it because I thought it was boring. This book will resonate more with those who have lost a loved one because it discusses different ways to respond to grief: holding life at a standstill or searching for answers. It also motivates us to find our Great Perhaps; we may not get a second chance at life.

—Written by Joanna Huang

—Written by Ariel Pan Graphic by Cheryl Kao

17

Monday, October 10, 2016

Pleasure reading should not be forgotten

Anyi Cheng Pleasure reading is dying a slow, terrible death, and we are doing nothing to stop it.

The change is one that happened gradually—too slow for me to be aware that it was happening at all. It’s shocking how little I now actually read for pleasure, especially when I used to be a total bookworm.

When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of books. I ate meals with one hand clutching a fork and the other hand pinning down an open novel. Whether it was a Garfield comic collection or a Percy Jackson book, I was perfectly content. Now, however, I spend more time watching cooking shows on Netflix or scrolling through Instagram browsing memes.

When did this f limsy entertainment squash out good, honest literature? I might reblog Tumblr textposts about how much I love the smell of old paper or the cracking of a new book’s spine, or nestling in bed with a paperback on a rainy day, yet I can’t remember the last time I actually finished a book that wasn’t assigned in English class.

I might romanticize reading and lament its death, yet I am doing little to try and revive its presence in my life.

I’d like to blame schoolwork. It would be easy for me to say that I have too much homework or that I’m crunched by extracurriculars, and that these are what cause the problem that prevents me from properly enjoying a book. In high school, students are so swamped with other commitments that it can be hard to find time to read for fun. But I would be a hypocrite if this is all I said, because, despite all of my other activities, I still find time to idle away. The time I spend in front of the TV or on my phone isn’t necessary at all; in fact, it’s often squandered.

A more honest answer to the cause of pleasure reading’s death, I think, is that we have grown lazy. Reading requires all of the mind to be present. When we absorb the language, we choose to immerse ourselves in the world the author has created. Netflix and memes, on the other hand, are mindless. It’s easier for us to unlock our phone than to open up a book because we don’t like to expend the effort it takes to not just read, but to think carefully—to probe the syntax, to taste the words, to savor the implications—that's much harder. We choose the easy option, the fast entertainment, because they’re our cheap fix.

Like a two-dollar microwave chicken dinner over an expensive gourmet sit-down steak dinner, it's almost an addicting habit to put aside books and pick up the remote.

I’m not bashing on television or other forms of entertainment. Each have their merits, and strike me a fool and a liar if I ever claim to have never binge-watched a series or spent an entire weekend in bed on my phone.

That doesn’t mean we should forget about books, however. There is still time and chance to rescue our novels from the painful deaths they don’t deserve. Spend 15 minutes a day dedicated to nothing but reading—and who can tell if that 15 minutes won’t turn into an hour or two? I have strong cause for hope that reading can still be saved. After all, there is a reason the rise of video games and movie streaming hasn't yet squashed out books.

There is a rich and deep magic around books that tends to permeate and enrapture us, elsewise literature might have already died out centuries ago. All we have to do is let it in.

—Cheng, a senior, is a Forum Editor.

Lifestyle Halloween Celebrated around the globe

18

China: Teng Chieh, Ghost Festival

Ireland: Halloween’s Origin

Halloween is a major holiday in America, with nearly 65 percent of Americans decorating their homes for the holiday. In other places of the world, holidays like Halloween are just as prevalent. In China, people celebrate the Ghost Festival, Teng Chieh. Teng Cheih is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Buddhists from China claim that Teng Cheih originated from scriptures of Buddhism, but many of the ceremony’s traditions originate from Chinese folk religion and other local folk traditions. Teng Cheih is said to occur on the day when ghosts of hell roam the earth seeking food and entertainment. The ghosts are believed to be the ancestors of those who forgot to pay tribute to them after they died, or those who were never given a proper ritual send-off. They have long, thin necks because they haven’t been fed by their family.

Family members offer prayers, food, drinks and burn Hell bank notes, paper houses, cars and televisions to please the ghost. Lotus-shaped lanterns are lit and set afloat on rivers to guide the lost spirits of the forgotten ancestors back to hell. Additionally, during the evening, incense is burnt in front of doors, and some shops close to open the street to ghosts. In the middle of streets, there are altars of incense with fresh fruit displayed on it. Monks and priests hold ceremonies to relieve the pain of the spirits released from hell, as it is believed that ghosts are released when night comes. They also throw rice in the air to distribute it to ghosts.

During the festival, there are numerous taboos that are believed to bring bad luck or attract a spirit. For instance, people aren’t allowed to pick up money or wear red because it is believed to attract ghosts. People aren’t allowed to step on or kick the offerings.

If that were to happen, people must apologize out loud immediately because it disrespects ghosts. Additionally, people cannot take selfies, take a walk at night or be near walls.

All these actions are believed to attract ghosts and bring bad luck.

Although the Teng Cheih is not celebrated in America like Halloween, it is an important tradition in China. It is the passing of lost spirits and ancestors and represents the connections between the living and the dead, where spirits visit our world.

Modern Halloween in the United States, with jack-o-lanterns, costumes and trickor-treating would be unrecognizable to the culture that started the holiday 2,000 years ago. The tradition of Halloween began with the Celts, who lived in present-day Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France. Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, a time of year that marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The day was also associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary dividing the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of Oct. 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. During Samhain, the Celts would light bonfires and wear animal costumes to ward off ghosts. Many of these traditions still exist in modern Ireland.

During the American colonial era, Halloween was primarily celebrated in Chesapeake and southern colonies. Colonists celebrating Halloween would dance and sing, appreciate the new harvest, share ghost stories and tell each other’s fortunes. By the middle of the 19th century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.

In the late 1800s, there was an influx of Irish immigrants fleeing Ireland’s potato famine. It was during this period when Halloween became popular nationally. Derived from Irish traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house-tohouse asking for food or money. By the turn of the century, Halloween had become a secular, community based holiday.

However, the day became littered with cases of vandalism. To curb that deplorable behavior, people would offer treats to children in exchange for not being tricked, hence the phrase “trick or treat.” By the 1950s, t he hol id ay wa s directed towards the young and became the holiday we know today.

Mexico: Dia de los meurtos

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday in which families gather to pray and remember deceased loved ones. The festival is celebrated throughout Mexico, as well as other countries with large Hispanic populations such as Bolivia, Brazil and the United States.

The celebration runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Participants believe that on midnight of Oct. 31, the ghosts of deceased children are allowed to be with their families for the day. On Nov. 2, the spirits of adults will then come to enjoy the celebrations and festivities made for them.

In the three-day span, families participate in various activities to honor the dead, following a specific schedule. On the first two days, families create and decorate altars for dead relatives, often adorning them with photos, candles, flowers and skulls. Next to these altars, families place food offerings, such as tamales, mole, sugar skulls and pan de muerto, or bread of the dead. These shrines are set up to invite the souls of the dead, as it is believed that the dead visit their homes during this holiday. On the final day, families go to the cemetery and decorate the graves of their relatives. A popular embellishment is papel picado, tissue paper that is cut and designed.

The Spanish Club celebrates Día de los Muertos, and co-president Xavi Loinaz hopes to arrange cultural activities for club members. “We plan to do some arts and crafts activity like decoration of skulls,” Loinaz said.

The Mitchell Park Library has also engaged in the holiday, setting up an altar near the library’s entrance to commemorate famous individuals who have recently passed away, including Muhammad Ali, Robin Williams and David Bowie. It features photos and decorations such as paper and skulls.

—Compiled by Seungik Shin, Matt Oh and Tim Sun Graphic by Cheryl Kao

LIFESTYLE

Monday, October 10, 2016

19

Staffers review classic Halloween Movies Graphic by Cheryl Kao

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Halloweentown

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Cheryl Kao

Tiffany Chen

“Halloweentown,” the first of four similarly titled Disney Channel Original films, is a gift from the late 90s that keeps on giving. The film follows 13-year-old Marnie, her two younger siblings and her quirky grandmother Aggie, who mysteriously only visits on Halloween and is overly excited about celebrating the holiday. After eavesdropping on an argument on Halloween night, Marnie learns that she is a witch (think Sabrina but less fashionable). With her siblings, Marnie secretly follows Aggie through a portal to Halloweentown: a colorful place filled with generally friendly and strange magical creatures. Something dark is happening in Halloweentown, and Aggie and Marnie must save the town through a quest where Marnie will learn to hone her powers and generations will unite. Overall, Halloweentown gets four skulls for being an awesome blast from the past that still resonates with audiences. As a bonus, you can actually visit Halloweentown and meet the original Marnie in St. Helens, Oregon, where the movies were filmed at their “Spirit of Halloweentown” festival.

One can almost smell the fall and feel the Halloween spirit when watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” This beloved movie is a 1966 American primetime animated television special based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz. This friendly and wholesome Halloween special of “Peanuts” brings playful fun to every autumn season. Generations of trick-or-treaters have grown up on this Peanuts movie. No matter how often you see it, this movie never gets old, and it guarantees a smile on the viewer’s face. Each Halloween, you will still be happy to wait in the pumpkin patch with Linus, watch in suspense as Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown and laugh when Snoopy is on the other end of the apple when Lucy goes bobbing. This heartwarming “Peanuts” classic appeals to all ages. It promotes many favorite American Halloween traditions like trick-or-treating and apple bobbing, not to mention the infamous Great Pumpkin.

From pumpkin patches to trick-or-treating, Charlie Brown and friends take us on a Halloween adventure we will never forget, earning it five skulls.

Take a trip down memory lane and escape to a place where only Halloween exists. Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” follows the pumpkin king Jack Skellington and his adventure of taking over Christmas. Bored by the same Halloween routine, Jack accidentally stumbles upon Christmastown while wandering in the woods. The neon-bright decorations, luminous fairy lights and warm fireplaces are all very different from the world Jack came from—Halloweentown. Intrigued, Jack makes it his mission to take over the Christmas holiday by kidnapping Santa Claus and becoming the new jolly gift giver. Tim Burton amazes the audience with his imagination by combining two distinct holidays into one great masterpiece. Appropriate for viewers of all ages, the audience is in for an adventure, discovering thrills through Jack Skellington’s journey of dominating Christmas. Burton created a classic film as well as a soundtrack that the audience still adores today. The film gets five skulls because of its whimsical animation—neither scary nor too cute, perfect for those who dislike exorcist movies.

—Written by Jenna Marvet

—Written by Helen Nguyen

—Written by Stina Chang

Tiffany Chen

Short story: The Ominous Jigsaw

It was finally moving day. My mom had just purchased a house in Greenwich and it was finally time for us to move in. The house was definitely a downgrade from before. My dad had left us when I was little and it was just me and my mom to take care of my little brother and sister.

“Jake! Come over here and help me move these boxes,” my mom shouted.

I came over to help her unpack everything and after two hours, we had successfully unpacked everything.

“I bought a jigsaw puzzle at the store. It was 50 percent off. You can make it later and see what it says,” my mom said.

I looked over the white box. Spread across the cover in dark red was the word JIGSAW. I flipped it over and there was a tiny list of words in the corner written in red ink. “Zach. Sarah. Alicia. Chris.” Chris. That was the name of my little brother. I brushed it off and put the box on the dining table.

“Holly. Chris. Come downstairs!” I shouted. “We’re going to eat out tonight.”

We went out to get milkshakes and fries, and Holly and Chris were both very happy. When we got back, they went to their rooms and instantly fell asleep.

“Hey, Mom. I’m gonna be up late tonight. I have a lot of homework,” I said. My mom just nodded her head and went to bed.

Near midnight, I finally finished all my homework. I went to the kitchen to grab a snack and the puzzle box caught my eye. I opened it, hoping to figure out what exactly the picture would be.

I started with all the edge pieces. The border was completely black. As I solved more and more, a picture of a room began to formulate. It looked eerily like my kitchen. The puzzle got stranger as I continued to piece it together. I continued placing the parts together and I was looking at a picture of myself working on the puzzle. As I filled in the window, there was a strange, red face peering at me. My heart began racing. I slowly looked outside, and thankfully, there was no face there. I placed in all the other parts and realized that there was a hole. I looked around in the puzzle box, but I seemed to be missing a piece. I checked the floor to see if I had dropped anything. When I turned back to the puzzle, the face now had a smirk.

“HELP!” I heard from upstairs. I rushed to Chris’s room, slamming open the door only to find the bed completely empty.

“HELP!” I heard again, except this time it was from downstairs in the kitchen. I rushed to the table, and I looked to find the hole in the puzzle, but where there should have been a hole, a picture of Chris’s helpless face was there.

—Written by Tone Yao Lee and Sabrina Chen

Graphics by Cheryl Kao and Sherry Chen

20 Facebook pages capture spirit of Gunn community

Overheard at Gunn High School

The Gunnion

1 hr

Gunn students’ source for all things inaccurate, yet so true

Netflix usage through Studentwireless found to spike by 500% during extended FlexTime hours.

Inaugural fire drill praised for “bringing the community together” early on in the year. Surveys will go out soon to determine whether events like these “promote student-staff connectivity.”

Photography students begin “Gunn Real Beauty Campaign” with first publication, titled “Real Tests Have Curves” featuring pictures of lowscoring calculus and economics tests.

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A Facebook page dedicated to anonymous quotes heard around campus

“We’re going on our first date!”

“OH MY GOD! WHERE?” “The library! To study for math!”

“Every time I see him dab, my heart beats a little faster.”

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“If we’re both salty then we’re isotonic.”

“Are you texting in my class?”

“No, I’m snapchatting.”

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Humans of Gunn 1 hr

A Facebook page dedicated to documenting the diverse student body and admin at Gunn.

Gunn Crushes A safe space for anonymous love confessions

“Okay, my favourite joke. How many tickles does it take to tickle an octopus? Tentickles. TEN-TICKLES. Get it? Because it’s an octopus and it has tentacles. Yes.” -Troy Echem

#632: There is this one person I fell in love [with] and I really hope she likes me back. We talk but I don’t know if she likes me back but I hope. #335: [S]houtout to the guy in my history class that probably doesn’t know my name. #270: Roses are red... I’m feeling blue... because there is one less gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo...

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“I spent a couple years doing video production, and I thought it was really cool because I liked editing. But I got into photography because I’m a really sentimental person, and I like that you can take a second and keep it forever. I don’t know. It’s just something I enjoy doing and I don’t really have an explanation for it.”

-Alexandra Ting

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Graphics by Elizabeth Zu and Jeffrey Yao

Photos courtesy of Humans of Gunn, Overheard at Gunn High School, Gunn Crushes and The Gunnion