The Oracle October 2018

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

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THEORACLE Henry M. Gunn High School

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Monday, October 8, 2018 Volume 56, Issue 2

780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306

COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND LOCAL RESIDENT’S TESTIMONY AGAINST KAVANAUGH

The communit y gathers on Sept. 27 to support Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Ryan Li

News editor

Members of the community gathered three times in the last two weeks to show their support for Palo Alto resident Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who came forward and accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Palo Altans held a candlelight vigil at the Town and Country Village on Sept. 22, a protest at City Hall on Sept. 27 and a third demonstration at the intersection between Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real on Oct 4.

Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, testified on Thursday, Sept. 27 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were both teenagers.

Since then, another woman has come out to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Kavanaugh, an appellate judge who was nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court this July, denied the accusations in testimony. Since then, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched and completed an investigation into the allegations.

Vigil organizer Vicky Blaine Mattson says 900 people gathered in solidarity with Dr. Ford. “There were hundreds of people at the event, and it was really great to see so many men and women come out in support of Christine,” she said.

Junior Sylvana Domokos, who took part in the event, feels that it was powerful to see members of the community support Dr. Ford. “It was really quite incredible to see so many people supporting women and their stories,” she said. “There really was a big collection of so many different types of people of different ages. It was really just wonderful to see the support.”

According to Domokos, keeping those in power accountable is important in the current political environment. “I just really hope that the American people and government take into full account the people who are going to be governing us,” she said.

“While someone may be an extremely competent judge or lawyer, can we truly accept that they are competent without judging their character?”

Ford—p.2

Photo courtesy of Sophie Alexis

School board’s ‘two-meeting’ bylaw now under consideration Joshua Yang Forum editor

As the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) School Board elections approach, the future of a rule requiring all agenda items to be debated on for at least two meetings is uncertain. Currently, the board may choose to waive the rule with a two-thirds majority in regard to routine agenda items.

During recent meetings, however, the board has taken to waiving the two-meeting rule for more than just routine agenda items, according to School Board Representative senior Arjun Prabhakar. “In past years, [the board waived this rule] only once or twice per meeting, maybe even less—it would be really rare,” he said. “This year, they are waiving it on maybe at least three or four agenda items per meeting.”

In fact, an agenda from the Sept. 4 board meeting records the board recommending the waiving of the rule no fewer than six times on non-routine items.

Community and board opinion is divided concerning the future of the policy.

School Board Vice President Jennifer DiBrienza believes the two-meeting rule is essential to community participation.

“The intention [of the two-meeting rule] is to make sure that we allow for broad community input,” she said.

DiBrienza also pointed out how the two-meeting rule allows for greater community awareness of issues. “I know that

very often before I was on the board, I wouldn’t know an issue was coming before the board until they discussed it at the first meeting,” she said.

However, School Board President Ken Dauber believes the board should completely discard the rule in order to increase efficiency. “I would like us to move away from the two-meeting rule and instead talk about things more than once only when it’s productive to do that, rather than being required to,” he said. “I would like to change the two-meeting rule because I think it’s inefficient and unnecessary.”

Given the proximity of the school board elections, school board candidates have also weighed in on the issue. PAUSD school board candidate Kathy Jordan has been an advocate for preserving the rule, citing greater community engagement. “Giving the public an opportunity to participate and engage with a public entity is more important than waiving the two-meeting rule for efficiency,” she said. “The public has a right to be involved.”

Candidate Shounak Dharap follows Jordan’s philosophy regarding the policy. According to Dharap, the policy also benefits board members. “Between the first and the second meeting, that time gives board members the time to really dwell on an issue: to really grapple with all the perspectives, to get into the details and come up with a thoughtful solution,” he said. “Just thinking on your own is not enough to do that, because you need to have someone who’s going to challenge

your assumptions and bring a new perspective to the table.

If we were to decide on controversial issues the first meeting, board members would have no opportunity to actually really absorb and think on them.”

Candidate Stacey Ashlund expressed her support for the two-meeting rule as well. “The reason I continue supporting [the rule] is because it is in the best interests of the public to be informed, and also in the best interest of the board members to work collaboratively,” she said.

The two-meeting rule has long been part of the PAUSD policy; in fact, according to Dauber, a board member from the '90s could not remember when the rule was voted in.

The rule, which is a section of Board Bylaw 9323, was intended to give community members more time to participate in discussions. “The goal is to maximize the ability of members of the public to comment on the issue,” Prabhakar said. “If there are several meetings or several weeks that community members have to read through agendas [or] documents [and] make more educated comments on an issue, that would not only give the board more community feedback at meetings, but also make sure that opinions are well-informed and rooted in fact.”

There have been mixed opinions about the appropriate times to waive an agenda item as well. Prabhakar hopes the board will move towards waiving the two-meeting rule sparingly.

Rule—p.3

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News

Photos courtesy of Sophie Alexis

O n S e p t . 27, t h e d a y o f D r. C h ri s t i n e B l a s ey Fo rd ' s te s t i m o ny to Co n g r e s s , h e r l o c a l s u p p o r te r s g a t h e r a t C i t y H a l l i n a s h o w o f s o l i d a ri t y.

Kavanaugh allegations spark protests through Palo Alto Ford

Junior Christopher Liao says that people should take unfounded accusations with a grain of salt. “It’s great that people are fulfilling their civic duty by advocating for issues that they believe in,” he said. “However, we shouldn’t take these protests as a sign that one is guilty or innocent.”

Liao believes that cases like this one should not be decided by popular sentiment. “Otherwise, our nation will descend into mob rule,” he said.

Sophomore Paranjay Singh believes that there must be concrete proof before he can claim Kavanaugh is guilty.

"At first I was against Kavanaugh but I did more research and my stance is: he's innocent until proven guilty," he said.

Linda Henigin helped organize the Sept. 27 rally at City Hall, and says that this issue is especially close to the com-

munity. “Dr. Ford is one of the community members here, and I know friends of hers, even people who carpooled with her,” she said. “They all wanted to focus their energy and show their support for her, and I was happy to help make that happen.”

Henigin believes that while the discourse over sexual harassment has come a long way from where it was five years ago, there is still much progress to be made. “We’re not all the way there yet,” she said. “But I think the immediate tendency to look for reasons why a woman might be lying is not [like it] used to be.”

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), only 31 percent of rapes are ever reported to law enforcement, with an even smaller percentage of other forms of sexual assault being reported. Women who don't

report sexual assaults cite reasons such as fearing consequences, minimizing trauma and feeling helpless about the situation.

Henigin has also written a thank you card to Ford as part of a campaign started by Palo Alto resident Kristen Podulka. “When we heard last week that she was getting death threats and hate mail and trolls commenting, we started a hashtag, #ThankYouCardsForChristine,” she said. “We’re sending those cards to her address at Palo Alto University where she works.”

Senior Sanaa Zakariya, who also attended the vigil, says that the community has done a lot to show their support for Ford. “I’ve been to a lot of these demonstrations, and not just for sexual assault suvivors,” she said. “But over the past couple of years, it has been a very interesting atmosphere.”

Read full stories on the Zero Waste campaign, school board candidate debates and voter registration at gunnoracle.com

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

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Caroline Ro Managing Editors Megan Li Kristen Yee News Sohini Ashoke Ryan Li Tejpal Virdi Forum Jennifer Gao Liza Kolbasov Joshua Yang Features Julia Cheunkarndee Joy Huang Grace Tramack Centerfold Yael Livneh Chelsie Park Sports Eric Epstein Bridgette Gong Elisa Moraes-Liu Lifestyle Laurel Comiter Noa Rapoport Katie Zhang Online Stephanie Jackson Andrew Zhao Changing the Narrative Grace Williams Photo Editor Sofia Sierra-Garcia Graphics Editor Mina Kim

Staff Business/Circulation Ryan Manesh

Monday, October 8, 2018

District currently seeking to hire in-house lawyer Elisa Moraes-Liu Sports editor

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) School Board voted in favor of moving forward with the hiring of a General Counsel during the Sept. 25 board meeting. The board previously approved the General Counsel position in 2015, but did not move forward with the hiring process due to a disagreement about the function and role of an in-house lawyer. “There was some division on the board about what this person would do and how this job would be set up,” PAUSD board member Todd Collins said.

“The superintendent at the time, who was Dr. [Max] McGee, decided not to move forward with it and to continue using outside firms.”

Superintendent Don Austin revisited the topic of a General Counsel at the beginning of the school year. “When I arrived here I was made aware that there was still a desire to proceed with hiring the General Counsel, but our current board members wanted to affirm that decision since so much time had passed, so we brought the topic back for another discussion just to make sure we were all on the same page,” Austin said.

The General Counsel will advise the district on a daily basis, reducing the usage of outside attorneys and law firms. “Our General Counsel will be doing some legal work that we currently pay very expensive outside attorneys to do,” School Board President Ken Dauber said. “We will be able to oversee the spending that law firms are doing.”

The district will work closely with the lawyer to ensure compliance with state and national

Oracle/SEC Liaison Bridgette Gong Oracle/TBN Liaison Collin Jaeger Graphics Artists Nicole Lee Grace Liu Jocelyn Wang Photographers Melissa Ding Sophia Lu Tech Editors Natalie McCurdy Devon Lee

laws. “They will be able to give us daily advice on topics that come across our table each day,” Austin said. “They are going to work with agenda setting, including Brown Act compliance. They are going to work a lot with our Title IX and office of civil rights issues, including investigations and board policies.”

Even with the addition of a General Counsel, the district will continue to rely on outside law firms when dealing with certain cases. “If we have a case that involves, let’s say, a construction claim we are still going to use a specialist in the area of construction,” Austin said.

The General Counsel, however, will still help to regulate and organize the usage of these outside law firms. “We don’t have any lawyers on our staff that can help to manage the district’s external lawyers,” Dauber said. “We don’t have any way to exercise oversight on their decisions or to check their spending so we want to have more control over our external law firms because we think that will result in better services and lower costs.”

At the moment, the district does not have a concrete system in place for contacting external attorneys. “Right now we are doing it sporadically,” Austin said. “It’s all over the place and there’s not a system to who contacts attorneys.”

The district currently uses three primary outside law firms: Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo (AALRR), which specializes primarily on special-education matters; Lozano Smith (LS), which advises on open real property and personnel matters; and Dannis Woliver Kelley (DWK), which provides the bulk of legal services, including advice on curriculum, human resources, business and construction. Addition-

ally, the district brought on Cozen O’Connor in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 to assist with the sexual assault investigations, but did not renew the contract for 2018-2019, citing the end of the internal investigation that required the firm.

According to school board agendas, from 2017 to 2018, the legal budget increased to $1,949,081 from $997,055 in the previous school year. PAUSD attributed the increase in attorney costs to an increase in the number of special education cases, the resolution agreement with OCR and the Title IX investigations. In the same year, the legal budget increased by $435,000, due to an increase in $175,000 for AALRR, $125,000 to Cozen O’Connor and $135,000 to other investigators not listed by PAUSD. The legal budget for external firms is expected to decrease this year, lowering to $1,225,000.

The costs for hiring LS will decrease by $25,000, AALRR costs will decrease by $900,000 and DWK costs by $300,000.

Dauber views the appointment of the General Counsel as a beneficial decision. “It’s a very positive move for the district,” he said. “You have an organization that is like the school district that is very highly regulated and subject to a lot of laws including the state education laws. When we are spending 240 million a year on education, the idea that we have one internal attorney makes a lot of sense to me.”

Collins agrees with Dauber. “Most organizations of our size have a lawyer that works for their company,” he said. “We finally realized that it made of lot of sense given that we had a steady stream of a lot of legal activity and we spend between a million to a couple million a year on outside lawyers.”

Opinions differ on school board voting policy Rule “The board is waiving the rule for more and more of things that should have community input, so I think overall, it decreases the ability of community members to comment and get involved in issues, which is an example of the board moving in the wrong direction,” he said.

DiBrienza agreed, stating that the two-meeting rule should never be waived for controversial issues. “I can only speak for the current board,” she said. “But I think that universally, we agree that there isn’t [any issue] we anticipate that would be a hot button [issue] that we would try to push through by just one meeting.” Jordan calls for even more restrictions on waiving the two-meeting rule. “I prefer not to see them waiving the twomeeting rule at all,” she said. According to Jordan, the only time necessitat-

ing waiving the rule would be in cases of emergency. On the other hand, Dharap believes the board will see fit to act as needed. “[The rule is] waived at the board’s discretion, and I think that’s appropriate,” he said.

In Dharap’s opinion, only certain issues should be waived. “The twomeeting rule is implicated more so in discussions that have a real broad community interest,” he said. “We’re talking about school renaming, weighted GPA, general counsel even and ombudsmen. Things that are going to affect the community and that have a really big impact on them.”

Dharap’s support for the rule comes from the extra time allotted to mulling over issues; he summed up his thoughts with a quote from French philosopher Voltaire: “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”

INBOX

Assistant Business/Circulation Peter Oh Copy Editors Calvin Cai Madison Nguyen Nikki Suzani

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

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

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

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

The “Vape Culture” story from the last issue explains how vaping is a threat to high school students in Palo Alto. The article is clear on what the issue is, but does not provide any remedies.

—Jerry Wang, 11

I loved the breakfast page. I think this article is going to help more people get the nutrition they need before school. I definitely will try some of the recipes!

—Hanlong Fan, 12

Adviser Kristy Blackburn

—Sept. 7, 2018—

The Oracle is a pretty good student newspaper that covers student affairs, as well as providing insight on problems that some students may be unaware of on the campus. They have good editors and writers. One thing that I do not see enough of, however, is student access to the newspaper. Especially with the new, narrow passage that causes some people to take paths closer towards the outside of the school. I think that it gets messy with the handing out of newspapers. One solution could be the use of stations around campus that had Oracle newspapers in them, so that the students would be able to pick up a newspaper from one of these stations as they are walking to class at any time.

As usual, the previous issue was good and the layout looked nice. I think The Oracle would benefit from having more "breaking" news stories and quick reporting. More stories about student problems could possibly increase viewership.

— Grant Cheng, 10 I like how the issue addressed vaping, since, from my point of view, it’s considered a taboo subject. Also, the mini-debate section at the very end was well-written.

—Arjun Prabhakar, 12

—Mateo Xia, 10

The Oracle encourages all members of the community to register to vote and vote—midterm elections are on Nov. 6, 2018.

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Silicon Valley bubble creates harmful culture technology-driven town is the only place you can trickor-treat at the late Steve Jobs’ house on Halloween, run into Mark Zuckerberg at the local noodle house or sit behind Sheryl Sandberg at a Stanford gathering.

Another example of Silicon Valley’s high-achieving “bubble” is the fact that Palo Alto is known to have one Grace Williams of the most educated populations in the country. With Stanford’s 16,940 students, there is no shortage of intelIn 1939, Bill Hewlett and David Packard founded lectuals roaming University Avenue. According to the the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company in a small, one- World Population Review, 51.52 percent of all Palo Alto car garage located in Palo Alto. In the following years, adult residents have received a graduate degree (comthe surrounding Silicon Valley came to be regarded as pared to roughly 9 percent nationthe hub of technology. As time has passed, more and ally). This large number conmore techies have moved to Palo Alto to start their tributes to the fact that some The ultraown companies. Google and Facebook, two of of the brightest people live rich, ultrathe most visited websites on the internet, were in this high-achieving both founded in Palo Alto. Other companies atmosphere. Interacteducated and ultrafounded in Palo Alto have changed the ing with these highlyliberal “bubble” is not way we spend money, eat, drive and use educated individuals a true representation the internet. HP is not only a pioneer of can shape the values technology, but also a recognized symand openmindedness of of the majority of the bolic founder of Silicon Valley. The influx residents because there is population. of wealth and talent that this tech boom little exposure to diverse attracted has led to a cultural “bubble” unperspectives and lifestyles. like any other in the world.

Companies that were either The cultural “bubble” of Palo Alto is fastfounded or moved to the “bubble,” paced, high-achieving and expensive. Many of the including startups and venture capital companies created here have pioneered their specific firms, have added to the fact that Palo Alto is field and transformed the way we live our lives. Com- unlike any other suburban town in the world. Tesla’s panies such as Paypal, DoorDash and Waze were all electric cars are a common sight on the streets of Palo created to make everyday tasks Alto, and their headquarters are located only a mile easier. These companies, away from one of the best public schools in the United however, come at an exStates. These expensive cars add to the identity of Palo The views pense. With the need Alto as a leader of technology and wealth. for more employees to These positive attributes, however, can also have of those who create new products, a negative impact on the Silicon Valley. The ultranever leave this people are moving rich, ultra-educated and ultra-liberal “bubble” is area differ from to Palo Alto from all not a true representation of the majority of the that of those over the world. There population. Cityofpaloalto.org reports that as who do. is just one problem: there of Jan. 1, 2019, the minimum wage will increase is only so much housing from $13.50 an hour to $15.00 an hour. Palo Alto’s available. Due to the limited minimum wage is double the federal minimum wage amount of housing, the home of $7.25, according to the United States Department of value in Palo Alto is higher than Labor. This difference, and many others, are reasons almost every other city in the United States. Zillow. why it is imperative for residents of Palo Alto to expericom reports that the median home value in Palo Alto ence life in the rest of the United States. Palo Alto is a is $3,270,200. Being surrounded by affluent living can sheltered, isolated suburb that blind residents to widespread poverty in does not ref lect the rest of America; this limited exposure conthe United States, let alone tributes to a very specific lifestyle. the world. The views of those Palo Alto’s “bubble” is also who never leave the area full of high-achieving indiffer from that of those dividuals that are wellwho do. The intense k now n a c ro s s t he atmosphere perpetuworld. Los Angeles ated by the cultural has celebrities, and “bubble” of Palo Palo Alto has techAlto is the reason nology moguls. why resident s People such as need to leave Larr y Page, this area and Tim Cook, Maexperience the rissa Mayer and culture of other Mark Zuckerplaces. berg all reside in ­—Williams, Palo Alto. This a senior, is a Changing the Narrative Editor.

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Travels to Israel transform cultural views, perspectives

Noa Rapoport When I first moved to Silicon Valley from France in second grade, I didn’t fully comprehend that I was about to throw myself into such a competitive environment. The second I entered Silicon Valley, I was blown away by how different it was from my home. In France, kids were playing games, going to the pool and playing sports for fun after school. However, in Palo Alto, kids were attending math classes and already playing competitive sports.

As I got older the situation worsened, but I became so accustomed to it that it felt normal. Everything turned into a competition, whether it was about which math class I was taking, which volleyball team I was making, what grade I was getting on an English paper or even how many hours of sleep I was getting. I soon became numb to the classic, “I can’t believe I did so bad on this test! I got a B!” or the, “I got an A without even studying for this quiz!”

When I entered my sophomore year, many of my friends and peers began to take computer science (CS)-oriented classes. I started to feel unintelligent, and at times I would wonder whether I should be taking a CS class even though I wasn’t even the least bit interested in computer science.

A few months into the first semester of sophomore year, I realized I couldn’t take it anymore. I was stressed, unhappy and always felt inferior to my peers. I always felt that I was competing with others, and that they were always doing better than me. Even though none of my peers really seemed that much happier than me, I felt like they were all succeeding while I was drowning. I soon started to think of ways that I could change my life and make myself happier.

When my sister had been a sophomore, she had gone on a semester abroad to Israel and had loved it. The program was based in Jerusalem, and focused on learning about Israel and connecting to our Jewish heritage. They still did schoolwork, but a lot of the time was spent out in nature learning about the country and its history. At first I hadn’t considered going because I was scared of leaving my friends and getting a worse education, but the idea of leaving pulled at me, and before I knew it I was saying goodbye to Palo Alto for four months.

The moment I arrived in Israel, the culture shock hit me. Granted, I was in a country with a completely different language, but it wasn’t just that. When I started to get to know the people that were in my program, I was shocked at how different they were than many of the people I knew back at home. It felt so freeing to be able to talk with others about topics that interested me, rather than about classes, grades and colleges. I discovered that many people had different passions, and that for many it wasn’t all about getting into Stanford. In Palo Alto, I had known so many people who were doing extracurriculars just because of their college applications, but my friends in Israel were doing things they loved. The whole purpose of our trip was to do something we loved.

The four months in Israel were by far the best and some of the most important moments of my life. I discovered that life wasn’t all about getting into an Ivy League or being in the highest math lane like people at Gunn had led me to believe.

I wanted to do things that made me happy, and that made me grow as a person. When I returned home my mindset was completely changed. I signed up for classes that I wanted to take and that I was passionate about, and I dropped the extracurriculars that were making me stressed and unhappy.

I stopped doing things because others were doing them, and I started doing them for myself.

All in all, leaving the Silicon Valley is one of the best things you can do. It will open your eyes to the prevailing culture of the Silicon Valley, and will make you realize just how many more important things are in the world.

­—Rapoport, a senior, is a Lifestyle Editor.­

Forum

Monday, October 8, 2018

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Is autumn an overrated season?

Stephy Jackson

Devon Lee The idealistic depiction of fall is all too commonly found in the media, with constant mentions of leaves turning into fiery reds and oranges, cozy sweater weather and pumpkin spice lattes. In the eyes of many, autumn is the greatest season of them all. People cherish its cool weather, plethora of holidays and the aforementioned pumpkin-flavored desserts and drinks.

However, these things are all vastly overrated.

Fall’s cool weather is often portrayed as a wonderful experience when in reality it is overwhelmingly rainy and depressing. According to WebMD, many people suffer through Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a result of a lack of sunlight; symptoms include less energy and weight gain.

Furthermore, according to psychologist Robert J. Hedaya on Psychology Today, rain can increase muscle and joint pain—possibly due to a shift in atmospheric pressure. This illustrates the detrimental effects that fall weather can have. So, even if students enjoy wearing big warm sweaters in the freezing cold, the negative effects of fall can still be lingering.

One of the most hyped-up aspects of autumn is its “amazing” holidays, which often fall short of expectations. Take Halloween, for instance: everyone’s least favorite holiday. One of the huge problems with Halloween is the enormous price tag. To participate in this holiday, you have to dress up, which often means buying an expensive costume. According to a LendEDU poll, the average consumer will spend $169.81 on Halloween.

Clearly, this is a costly holiday and, for many students, it simply does not fit into their budget.

Lastly, as students, what is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of autumn? That’s right, it is the beginning of school. As summer comes to a close and fall begins to take shape, students are forced back into the grueling 180-day cycle of non-stop academics, sports, homework and standardized test prep.

In conclusion, if you are into depressing weather, overpriced activities and starting school, then fall is the season for you. If you appreciate comfortable weather and fun holidays then summer is much more to your taste.

The moment that the leaves begin to turn into sunset colors and the smell of freshly brewed pumpkin spice lattes waft through the air, students know that the fall season has arrived. With its crisp weather and seasonal holidays, autumn brings back that familiar feeling of cozy sweaters and comfort food. Although some have insisted that it is overrated, fall is by far one of the top four seasons of all time; with its timeless fashion paired with great weather and its wonderful holidays, autumn is not—and will never be—overrated.

When the brisk fall weather begins to bite through the threadbare T-shirts and shorts of summer, fall fashion brings back the classic looks marked by oversized knit sweaters, warm hoodies, jeans and steaming cups of hot chocolate. The iconic “sweater weather” matches perfectly with that nostalgic feeling of crisp wind and light grey skies under which temperatures strike the perfect balance between hot and cold.

Along with its clothing options and comfortable weather, autumn brings some of the greatest holidays of the year. Although not a conventional holiday, the best week of the year happens during the fall: Homecoming Week, where the whole school comes alive with passionate competition and outrageous displays of spirit. However, homecoming is not the only holiday in October to look forward to; the moment that the dancing-guy-with-a-pumpkin-head meme comes back on Instagram, it is time to get prepared for Halloween. What could be better than a combination of spooky movies, crazy costumes and a sugar-induced coma all on the same day?

But in the end, the ultimate event of the fall has to be Thanksgiving. On the Thursday before the holiday, every Gunn student saves room in their stomach for the overload of delicious food that is Turkey Feast. With all the turkey, phenomenal stuffing and piles upon piles of blueberry, pumpkin and apple pie, nothing can come close to this day when the entire school shares the love of good food and good friends. After all, the best part of fall is that warm cozy spirit that bonds family, friends and classmates alike in shared memories and good times.

—Lee, a sophomore, is a Tech Editor.

—Jackson, a senior, is an Online Editor.

Jocelyn Wang

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Humanities courses should limit eurocentric worldview Nikki Suzani Eurocentric. This four-syllable word encompasses a world of meaning and promotes values that are deeply inculcated into students’ minds due to the education they receive. In order for a course to be eurocentric, the course must be rooted in a European value system that seeks to exclude or diminish other values. Intentionally or unintentionally, the world history and many literature courses at Gunn boasting descriptions of international breadth are heavily focused on the European and Western world and often minimize the accomplishments and ideas of other cultures.

Ni nt h g rade World History, a required

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course, is one of the most blatant examples of this. According to the 2018-2019 Course Catalog, the course covers “important historical events in the world, from the Age of Enlightenment to the birth of the Cold War.” Notice that the course, based off of its name, attempts to cover all important events throughout the world, and gives no indication of its European base (as Advanced Placement European History, for example, would). However, the eurocentricity is already rooted within the course description itself. The two major events it mentions are the “Age of Enlightenment,” which was focused in Europe (specifically France), and the Cold War, a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.

In the Prentice Hall World History textbook used for the World History course, the third section about “Regional Civilizations” attempts to cover 1100 years of history, from the year 500 to the year 1650, of three East Asian countries in exactly two pages. Not only does this provide insufficient information about those three countries (Japan, Mongolia and China), it also glazes over important historical events that had lasting effects on civilizations. This skew is an issue because it reinforces the idea that what occurs in the Western world is more important than the Eastern world and should be more heavily focused on, ultimately diminishing the accomplishments of those in the Eastern world. In addition, the sections that attempt to cover the entirety of Asian history, African history and Latin American history do so in one chapter each. Considering that about 20 chapters cover different specific issues related to Europe, these chapters seem like a half-thought-out-idea and certainly don’t do enough to avoid any eurocentrism.

Aside from these few sections, the majority of the book relates specifically to the West. The contents make this very clear by moving from “Nationalism Triumphs in Europe” to “Growth of Democracy in the West” to “Crisis of Democracy in the West.” On top of solely covering the European parts of the world, the values within the history textbook also continue to reinforce eurocentrism by attempting to equate freedom with democracy. It touches on Rousseau, Hobbes and other European philosophers who all provided contrasting definitions of what freedoms should be allotted, but glances over what freedom itself means. For example, there are arguments to be made that freedom can persist in the Muslim world without necessarily having a democracy, and that religion can be important in balancing out freedom; the book never even points these arguments out. This imbalance illustrates their refusal to promote other perspectives, and gives readers an illusion of choice to decide for themselves what freedom is. Interestingly, 10th grade Contemporary World History also does this as teachers can cite whatever articles they want and tend to cite articles from the Western world written about Eastern countries.

Often cited, for example, is the New York Times, which typically subscribes to the more European definition of freedom. The textbook also attempts to gloss over the atrocities that occured as a result of European imperialism and, instead of talking about the atrocities the colonies had to face, presents imperialism as matter-of-fact: “they needed to fight over this specific area.” For instance, when talking about settlers taking North America from natives, the book has only one paragraph detailing how natives were dying due to disease, without mention that this disease came from American colonists. It also elaborates on the benefits Native Americans provided for the colonists, portraying them simply as tools to aid European settlement. There is no mention whatsoever of the “Trail of Tears,” ignoring the Native American genocide.

Some might argue that it is okay for history courses to be eurocentric, because we are in a Western civilization and that is the history that matters the most to us. However, hearing about the atrocities our civilizations have committed can help us ensure that they will not happen again. If no

one learns about how discrimination led to murder in the case of the Native Americans, there’s no reason for us to attempt to avoid discrimination later and not “repeat history’s mistakes.” Hearing ideals from other parts of the world can also help humanize other countries’ people and avoid the ideology that only Europeans are thinkers.

Others might argue that Contemporary World History is intended to diminish eurocentrism as it is explicitly based on other parts of the world, but it still contains values of eurocentrism. It is a semester-long course attempting to cover six other continents, and only spends three weeks, for example, on the entire continent of Africa.

Considering that about 20 chapters cover different specific issues related to Europe, these chapters are portrayed as of secondary importance to those focusing on Europe.

Another key subject area that lacks outside influence is English. Regardless of whether they advertise themselves as “world” courses, English courses should offer other viewpoints to show students different types of literature. Two advanced English courses, Literary Style and Contemporary Heritage, are both required courses for those in the advanced lane, but both lack in terms of other ideals. Four of the recommended books in these classes are “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare and “To Kill a Mockingbird”

by Harper Lee. Simply by looking at the authors of the texts it is already apparent that all of these authors are either British (in the case of Golding and Shakespeare) or American (Lee and Angelou). Some might argue that both Lee’s story and Angelou’s autobiography tackle a fundamental issue of racism that transcends all geographical boundaries, but this argument fails to take into account the concept of eurocentrism. While racism is a world issue, both of the stories focus on how America tackles racism and how to avoid that, rather than, for example, the racism present in Middle Eastern countries and how it differs. Although this is an important topic, novels from other cultures can also cover it. A greater effort needs to be made to find international literature that can educate students on issues such as racism from a less eurocentric standpoint. Others may argue that the addition of “The Kite Runner” by Khalid Hosseini and “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez as optional books in Contemporary Heritage that teachers may cover is enough to solve this problem. However, Gunn needs to mandate that teachers teach these books and continue to provide more options from other countries’ authors that are still excluded from this list (such as the entirety of East Asia) to fully combat its eurocentric culture.

In order to resolve this problem, Gunn has to take two steps. First, the school should find supplemental texts that cover important world events that the history books ignore, such as the Trail of Tears, the Persian empire and others.

These supplementals should be a mandatory part of the curriculum so that all students, regardless of their teacher or lane, have the ability to see unique perspectives from other parts of the world. Second, in English classes, Gunn should add more non-European, non-American authors with stories focused on other parts of the world such as the novel “The Clay Marble” by Minfong Ho about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Only when these steps are taken can we solve the prevalence of eurocentricity in our humanities courses.

—Suzani, a sophomore, is a Copy Editor.

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Features

Senior shares Bay Area restaurant reviews Katie Zhang

Lifestyle Editor

With almost 600 followers on Instagram and 417 mouth-watering food review posts, senior Amber Fu’s food review account (@ambersfoodreviews) is thriving as she visits food destinations that span from local taquerias to Taiwanese boba shops. “I started in July of 2017, so it’s been over a year now,” Fu said. “My favorite part about having this account is just being able to try a bunch of new places and different types of food.”

The account was inspired by the food reviews a celebrity posted on Instagram.

“I was on my Instagram Explore feed one day, and I saw a post about Lorde’s onion ring account,” she said. “I thought it was pretty funny, so I decided to start an account for tacos. But then a couple of my friends started following my account, and they said that I should expand it to a food account in general and not just tacos, so that’s basically how Amber’s Food Reviews started.”

Out of the many restaurants that Fu has reviewed in her daily posts, her favorites include Taverna, a Greek restaurant in downtown Palo Alto, Meadowlark Drive-Thru Dairy, a dairy store in Pleasanton and Tootsie’s at the Stanford Barn, a charming outside-seating restaurant with Italian pastries.

Even with the plethora of establishments that she has visited and rated, Fu still manages to find new places to review with her family. “My mom loves trying new foods, and since I was little, my mom, my brother and I would always go out to try new places around the Bay Area,” she said. “If we hear about somewhere new that seems interesting, we try to go, but most of the time, especially during the school year, when we are all a bit busier, I just review the places I go to eat.”

Although restaurants located in the Silicon Valley are convenient to visit, Fu tries to ensure that her locations are not limited to just the Bay Area. “When we travel out of the Bay Area though, I do some pretty in-depth research and plan out all our meals,” Fu said.

When rating dishes or drinks, Fu uses her own grading scale. Her process includes writing a detailed review on her experience overall, and then giving a score out of 100 at the end that is determined by the atmosphere, service, taste, price, uniqueness and presentation. “I’m not quite sure which place has the highest review, but I do know that a couple have over 90 [percent], which is extremely rare,” Fu said. “Taverna got a 92 percent, which could possibly be the highest.”

Through her account, Fu has gained exposure to new foods that she was hesitant to try in the past. “It’s actually quite interesting because there are some foods like asparagus and raw fish that I was never willing to try before,” she said.

“When I started the food account, though, I forced myself to eat those foods so that I could review them, and now I love sushi, poke and all that.”

Not only does her account allow Fu to taste many varieties of food, but it allows her to forge closer relationships. “At first, it was an account for me, but then a couple of my friends started following it and it became more than just an account for me,” she said.

Amber’s

Favorite Food Reviews Meadowlark Drive-Thru Dairy, Pleasanton Atmosphere: 4.4/5 Service: 4.3/5 Taste: 4.6/5 Price: 4.8/5 Uniqueness: 4.8/5 Presentation: 5/5 Overall, 27.6/30 or 93 percent

Sofia Sierra-Garcia

Taverna, Palo Alto Atmosphere: 4.7/5 Service: 5/5 Taste: 4.8/5 Price: 3.5/5 Uniqueness: 4.7/5 Presentation: 4.7/5 Overall, 27.6/30 or 92 percent

Maison Alyzee, Mountain View Atmosphere: 4.7/5 Service: 4.7/5 Taste: 4.9/5 Price: 3.4/5 Uniqueness: 4.4/5 Presentation: 4.8/5 Overall, 27/30 or 90 percent Courtesy of Amber Fu

Features

Monday, October 8, 2018

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Teachers bring life to classes through interactive lessons Phys i c s te ache r Bill D unbar : Themed lessons and sound effects The Oracle: How did you get the idea to do themed lectures?

Bill Dunbar: I had some topics in my physics classes that I dreaded teaching. For instance, consider simple harmonic motion. Every time I taught that topic in the physics class, my students looked super bored and it was really no fun. I decided to dress up my classroom one year and make a low-budget disco to talk about simple harmonic motion, and my students really liked it. So then I picked some other topics that were either hard to teach or otherwise not interesting to students and I tried to dress them up by doing low-budget themed lectures.

! nk o H

Ho nk !

TO: What is developing a themed lecture like?

BD: It takes me a really long time to develop each themed lecture. I usually work on it for a year before it happens. I try to think about it and how to fit a certain theme to a certain physics topic so that it seems like it is a natural fit. For the Physics of Country Music, I actually went to go see a Western show and watched people do roping tricks so I could get some ideas for that.

TO: Can you describe what a themed lecture looks like for somebody who has never had them?

BD: I try to make my classroom different from the ordinary classroom. So, I darken the windows and try to make it a darkened environment so it doesn’t seem like another day in class. I usually play music, and that helps to set the atmosphere. It makes it so that students have trouble hearing and seeing but somehow it seems to work out okay.

TO: When and why did you come up with the honking mechanism? How does it work?

BD: I have several different electronic noisemakers in my classroom. A long time ago, at a different school, I wired up a noisemaker in a room so I could have animal noises in one corner and voices in the other corner. When I came to Gunn, I put a couple of things in. I have a buzzer for wrong answers, chime for correct answers and a doorbell. Recently, I got so tired of cars honking outside the windows that, with my students, I installed horns on the side of the building so we could honk back when cars are honking.

—Compiled by Andrew Zhao

Math teacher Michael Bautista: Songwriting and math jingles The Oracle: When did you start making songs for your math classes?

Michael Bautista: One year when I taught Precalculus, I noticed that my students were having trouble remembering the unit circle. So, I wrote a song to help them memorize all the angles… and it worked! Since then, my Unit Circle Song has been used on YouTube by students all around the world.

TO: How do you write your songs?

MB: Writing a math jingle is like solving a puzzle. I have to experiment with lyrics, melodies and chord progressions to create a catchy song that supports the underlying idea. Once a song is written, a great deal of trial, error, revision and patience goes into the recording process.

TO: How do you know when your song is finished?

MB: My seven-year-old daughter is my best helper and source of inspiration. If she can sing a math song that I’ve written from memory, then I know I’ve created a catchy tune. Interestingly, she’s learned all of my calculus jingles.

TO: Why did you choose music as a method of helping your students?

MB: Music has a magical way of helping concepts stick in our memory, while also increasing energy and presence in the classroom.

TO: Do you write other kinds of music?

MB: In addition to writing math jingles, I love to write all types of music ranging from classical to heavy metal.

TO: How does music help your teaching and make your lessons more interesting?

MB: I think music adds elements of energy and fun to a lesson. Music also activates different parts of our brains and has an amazing power to stick in our minds. I still remember songs that I learned in high school Spanish class from over 20 years ago!

—Compiled by Sohini Ashoke

Photo illustration by Melissa Ding, Nicole Lee and Sophia Lu

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Cente

Back to nature: Titans escape everyday stresses Q A with backpacker Alain Saal-Dalma The Oracle: Why do you like to backpack?

Alain Saal-Dalma: It allows me to realize how much I use that I simply don’t need to. It is amazing to go from surviving solely on things that I can fit on my back to my normal life and realizing that there are so many superfluous things that make my life easier than it could be. It is also a completely unique way to interact with people at a deeper level, without distractions created by technology. I really believe that people show their true colors while backpacking.

TO: What motivates you?

ASD: There is a huge sense of achievement that I get when I complete a backpacking trip or summit a mountain, which is a great motivator. It is also motivating to have friends that ask you to go on a trip with them.

TO: How has backpacking shaped your life, mentality and wellness? Why? ASD: I have made many of my best friends and had my most exhilarating experiences while backpacking. I guess it hasn’t really shaped my life, but it has definitely been a great escape from my daily life.

TO: What is your favorite spot to backpack?

ASD: There is a trail in Colorado called the Ben Tyler Trail that is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

—Compiled by Jennifer Gao

Q A with Social studies teacher Chris Johnson The Oracle: How did you start practicing survival and wilderness skills?

Chris Johnson: I’ve done living history for two-and-a-half decades of different time periods, from colonial times through the 19th century. I’ve always had a fascination with how it is that people were able to live in conjunction with the wilderness and be able to survive in the wild. Mainly it’s me practicing these things in my backyard. A big one that I’ve had fun with is fire-starting. Not that I like to start fires, but I learned it early on and perfected it­­—I was able to start fire with flint and stone. Not only does it establish connectedness with nature, but also a connection with the people in the past.

TO: Why is it important for your children to use less technology?

CJ: Screens have only been a fixation for human beings since the last generation or so. But for every generation that came before, they had this close tie, this connectedness, to the outdoors. I think as people are losing this connection with the outside world, they are losing some of those basic skills that could help them like those basic human instincts of awareness. Nature is a big thing, and that means you are able to see how other creatures adapt and if there are any adaptation skills that people can learn and apply to their own.

TO: Do your camping skills serve as an escape from the business of life?

CJ: Absolutely. I find it to be calming. I feel my blood pressure go down when I’m out in nature. Its rejuvenating. It’s important to have something that you do with your hands and that you are using the other side of your brain, and to do things where you can see a physical product of what you can accomplish. It gives a sense of connectedness and calm and a sense of self which technology doesn’t do. It’s important for people to get out and breathe fresh air, listen to the wind and the birds, listen to the rushing water. It’s a very zen experience.

TO: What does connecting to nature really mean to you?

CJ: My mother-in-law is a co-head of a whole movement about creating a sense of place. I found that it grounds people and helps to promote the idea that human beings are a component of a much larger phenomenon. Nature can sometimes make people feel really insignificant: you can go to Yosemite and you see all those peaks and those things around you and think, “I’m just not that big of a thing.” It’s important for people to be able to step outside of themselves and just be a component.

TO: Any last thoughts?

CJ: Spend as much time outdoors as possible.

—Compiled by Joy Huang

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Monday, October 8, 2018

Spending time outside will increase happiness

Grace Tramack

According to a study by the National Trust, children in 2018 go outside half as much as their parents did as kids. The rise of technology has had a major impact on how people spend their free time, and an increase in homework in schools around the country has de-emphasized the importance of spending time outside. Outdoor time, however, should be something that all students make space in their schedules for. Reconnecting with our human roots is an important part of relieving stress, as is disconnecting for a while and learning new skills, and should be an integral part of students’ daily lives.

Going outside more often actually helps relieve stress, which is an especially great benefit for high school students. According to a study conducted at Brown University, students are spending three times the amount of time doing homework than what is recommended by the National Education Association and the National Parent-Teacher Association.

Homework alone is stressful, so finding time on weekdays to go for a walk or bike would be good for managing students’ mental health and stress levels.

Being outside also forces people to disconnect from technology and their social lives for a while.

This allows stresses in one’s personal life to be momentarily forgotten as well. According to Rochester University psychology professor Richard Ryan, breathing in fresh air helps energize the human body and is actually proven to increase happiness. Even if people can’t fit in a backpacking, camping or fishing trip into their week, going for a walk in the park is better than nothing, and still entails many benefits.

Finally, going back to one’s human roots and actively reconnecting not only decreases stress and raises happiness levels, but also allows people to learn new skills. There are plenty of new tricks to learn in nature that most kids nowadays are not taught in school or by their parents, such as starting a fire with natural materials, making a shelter, animal tracking and picking edible plants in the woods. Finding a passion in the wilderness not only makes going outside more enjoyable, but can also help people relax when they need to take a break.

Reconnecting with human roots is a crucial part of one’s life. It helps relieve stress, forces disconnection from technology for a while and allows people to learn new skills. Studies have shown over and over that there is nothing better for a person than fresh air and spending time with nature, and considering how stressed out the world seems to be in 2018, students should truly maximize that.

—Tramack, a senior, is a Features Editor.

Q A with Girl Scout Ava Liu The Oracle: When did you first join Girl Scouts? What made you want to join?

Ava Liu: I joined in 2009. I know a lot of my friends were joining at the time, and it just seemed like a fun way to make friends and participate in the community.

TO: Do you think that it’s important to spend time in nature and learn survival skills?

Why or why not?

AL: I think it’s important to everyone to spend time in the wilderness. It allows us to unplug from modern life and really just take a step back. It’s a great de-stresser and way to reconnect with the environment.

TO: What’s the most important survival skill and the hardest skill that you’ve learned?

AL: I believe the most important survival skill I’ve learned was probably how to build a fire, because it’s the skill I’ve used the most. With fire-building, you can create a signal and can ask for help whenever you need it. I think that the hardest skill to learn was probably how to identify the different plants and what is safe to eat, because everything looks the same. I never eat the plants, because you never know.

TO: Has your experience in nature affected your outlook on life or your wellness in general?

AL: Yes, definitely. I believe that it’s a great de-stresser and it really helps you gain perspective on what life really is. I think you forget about the little things when you’re so focused on school and activities and extracurriculars all the time.

—Compiled by Julia Cheunkarndee

Photo illustrations by Sofia Sierra-Garcia, Yael Livneh and Jocelyn Wang

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Features

Features

Monday, October 8, 2018

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photographers discover fresh perspectives through their craft senior ryden secor From a young age, senior Ryden Secor has been interested in photography because of his mother, but his passion only really took off when he enrolled in Photography. “My mom did a lot of photography when she was younger, and that’s probably why the photography class caught my eye,” Secor said.

He has now taken the class for multiple years, and has found a particular interest in making prints in darkrooms, which are rooms that are made completely dark to allow for the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and photographic paper.

“I like developing pictures in the darkroom because it’s relaxing and very rewarding when I make a good print,” he said.

One of the best photography-related moments in Secor’s life took place when he finally finished his first print in a darkroom. “It took me a while to figure out,” he said. “And when I finally got it, I was excited.”

Like almost all photographers, Secor often focuses on a few specific subjects when he’s out snapping pictures. “I tend to not take many pictures of people,” he said. “Instead, I like taking pictures of nature or street photography.”

Secor also has a personal preference when it comes to the medium that his photos are printed on. “I like taking film primarily because I think you can have more creative freedom with film as far as how you develop it and how you print the image,” he said. “I just enjoy finding interesting things to take pictures of and then when the pictures come out well, it’s very satisfying.”

After forming such a strong bond with the Photo class, Secor believes that anyone who is even slightly interested in the subject should try it out. “Photography is a lot of fun and I recommend the class to anyone [at Gunn],” he said.

—Written by Peter Oh

Photos courtesy of Ryden Secor

junior meredith yee

Photos courtesy of Meredith Yee

Junior Meredith Yee has been fervently snapping photos since she first had access to a camera. “I started pursuing photography probably in sixth grade when I got a phone with a camera and I just started to take pictures,” she said. “But I got my first [Digital Single-Lens Reflex] camera in eighth grade and that’s when I started to get more serious about it.”

When taking photos, Yee not only emphasizes the physical composition of the photo, but she also takes the angle of the shot into consideration. “You can take a really nicelooking thing and you can take a picture at the wrong angle and it can be really ugly,” she said.

“My strategy is to find the best angle for whatever I’m trying to photograph.”

Yee appreciates the precision and flexibility that photography offers, and she feels that it also grants her the ability to capture the world accurately. “People just trust photographs a lot more than they might trust sketch artists or something,” she said. “It’s also something that I can do anywhere with just one piece of material.”

Yee particularly enjoys photographing

buildings and other structures. Her favorite picture was taken when she was on vacation in Nevada. “It’s a wide-angle shot of this landscape in the middle of nowhere in a ghost town, and there’s a few cool buildings,” she said.

In order to find direction with her photography and refine her style, Yee plans to continue to share her photos with others. “I have [photography] social media pages already, so I’m trying to grow those,” she said. “Growing a bigger audience definitely will help me figure out where I’d want to go with photography, not only because I get more input from other people but also because you put out more stuff and get more practice. For the future, practice is key. I need to figure out what my style is and how it’s changing.”

As a photographer, Yee is motivated by the effect that her art has on viewers. “Some people take photos because they think [something’s] pretty or has a nice aesthetic, some people want to do more documentation through photography, but I want to figure out what kind of impact I can make and how best to do that,” she said.

—Written by Eric Epstein

junior marek hertzler Photography can serve as a window into another world or a snapshot of a perfect moment. For junior Marek Hertzler, who takes photographs as a hobby, his first introduction to photography came from his grandfather and great-uncle. “My grandpa was really into photography, and his brother actually was a photographer, so he’d collect old cameras,” he said.

Hertzler has been taking photos from a young age­—before getting a camera of his own. “I would just take my mom’s camera and pretty much take pictures [of] almost everything,” he said. “Some turned out to be nice, some didn’t, and I kept going from there.”

Now, his favorite things to photograph are landscapes and nature. “For me, [landscapes] are easier to capture than people,” he said.

Hertzler has greatly enjoyed capturing the natural wonders he’s had the opportunity to see while travelling around the world. “I’ve been very lucky, I get to travel a lot,” he said. “I’d have to say that one of my favorite scenes is the Patagonian Mountain range in Argentina where I spent a month.” Taking photos also gives him the opportunity to look back

on the places he’s been to.

Hertzler enjoys hiking as well, and he blends these two hobbies together by taking photos of the scenic places he hikes to. “I try to get angles and take pictures from a perspective that’s not always seen,” he said.

Hertzler’s advice for anyone new to photography is to keep trying and take lots of pictures, even if they don’t turn out as well as they hoped. He emphasized that there are two ways to learn how to take photos: “One is you really only take pictures of some one specific thing that you find really beautiful. [The other is to] just take hundreds of pictures, and hopefully one of them turns out well,” he said.

“I’d say that the second option, for a beginner, is probably a better idea, because it’s more likely to succeed. That’s still what I do.”

Photography provides Hertzler with an opportunity to see the world through a unique lens and share the places he visits with others. “My favorite thing about photography is being able to capture something really beautiful that you can’t see all the time in one picture,” he said.

—Written by Liza Kolbasov

Photos courtesy of Marek Hertzler Portrait photos by Melissa Ding and Sophia Lu

Sports Fall sports teams steadily

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hoping to

GIRLS GOLF After the first four matches of the season, the girls golf team holds a record of 2-2. “I think our wins were pretty solid,” senior Isha Mohan said. “We stuck with it throughout the matches. Some people were having rough days but they stuck through it, which helped the team.”

Head coach Christopher Redfield is pleased with the team’s work ethic. “I think the team is working hard and establishing that culture where the older players set the example for the newer ones,” he said.

Mohan believes that this year’s team has a special camaraderie. “I think that we’re especially close because we have a lot of upperclassmen so we can all teach and learn from each other,” she said.

Final match: Tuesday, Oct. 30 @ Labuan Seca Golf Course

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL The girls on the volleyball team are quickly improving with the help of their new coach. “The Gunn girls varsity volleyball team has experienced a total turnaround,” parent Erina DuBois said. “Coach Baiba has already made a salient impact on the team.”

On Sept. 20, the varsity volleyball team beat their fourth league opponent, Saratoga High School, with a score of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-6. In the three-set match, Titans posted 21 service aces, 33 kills and 48 digs.

“We have beaten everyone in the league except Cupertino,” junior Livia Bednarz said. Bednarz hopes this improvement continues throughout the year. “The team wants to hopefully move up a league and have a good time,” she said.

Final game: Thursday, Oct. 18 @ Santa Clara High School

GIRLS WATER POLO The girls water polo team is starting their season off well with a 4-1 record in the league and an overall record of 5-5, according to MaxPreps.

Head coach Mark Hernandez is keen on integrating a flexible strategy to help keep the team winning. “Our strategy is one of constant evolution,” he said. “We are trying to do different things: different plays, different formations, both offense and defense. We’re trying to give teams different looks every time so that they’ve got more difficulty in preparing for us.”

According to Hernandez, their main goal is to continue to win upcoming matches, especially against their rival team Palo Alto High School, and to continue to advance into the Central Coast Section (CCS).

“We would like to beat our rival school, Palo Alto,” he said. “We would like to make it to our conference final. Then, once we’re there, we’d like to win that. And after that we want to get as far as we can in CCS.”

Final game: Thursday, Oct. 18 @ Palo Alto High School

Graphics by Nicole Lee

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Sports

Monday, October 8, 2018

a dvan c e throu gh se a son finish strong BOYS WATER POLO The boys water polo team has historically been very strong, placing second in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Division 1 last year.

They have won in all their league tournaments for the past three years. However, the boys water polo team is struggling much more this year. The team is about halfway through their season and the record is at a below-average one win and five losses. Although the team seems to be struggling, they are prepared to make a comeback and finish strong. “Our team is doing much worse than previous years because we have lost four starters and many key players who graduated last year, so it would make sense for us to do more poorly this year,” junior Devan Singh said. “But the season is still only half done and with many of our losses being toss-ups, we have a high chance to come back towards the second half of the season.”

Photo courtesy of Jack Ye

Final game: Friday, October 19 @ Menlo-Atherton High School

GIRLS TENNIS The girls varsity tennis team is off to a victorious start this season with a record of 5-1 in league and 7-3 overall. Coach Jim Gorman spoke highly of his team’s performance so far this season, and predicts that the season will continue strongly. “The season has been going excellent. I have a very strong team. . . the two matches we lost were very close,” he said. Gorman expects that the varsity team will likely win their league and qualify into the Central Coast Section (CCS), with four players ranked highly in a league he says is extremely strong.

Co-captain Olivia Aspegren also believes that the team has a good shot at CCS due to the team’s great singles and doubles players. This year, Aspegren noticed a difference in the team, highlighting their team spirit. “We’ve got a really good sense of unity on the team,” Aspegren said.

Final match: Thursday, Oct. 25 @ Wilcox High School

CROSS COUNTRY

As of now, the cross country team has competed in one Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) meet in addition to one scrimmage at Gunn, an invitational at the Golden Gate Park and an invitational in Toro Park, Salinas.

Junior Justin Chiao won first place in the SCVAL meet at Lynbrook High School with a time of 10:31.4 on a 2.1-mile course. Junior Mansey Rishi placed tenth with a 13:04.8. Overall, varsity boys placed fifth and varsity girls placed fourth. “[Our] future goals are to continue to train smart, have fun, compete with courage and stay healthy,” coach Michael Granville said.

Granville hopes to bring both girls and boys teams to the CCS championship at Toro Park.

Final meet: Tuesday, Oct. 30 @ Gunn High School

Photo courtesy of Malcolm Slaney

FOOTBALL The football season started off rough this year, with two losses to Soquel High School and James Lick High School. However, the Titans made a comeback and beat Marina High School 46-26. Currently, the football team has one win and five losses. The Titans also had to forfeit a Sept. 7 game with Woodside High School due to a lack of available Gunn players. Despite these setbacks, the football team still has had some notable achievements, averaging 225.2 yards rushed and scoring 21 touchdowns this season. Senior team captain Solomone Paletua remains optimistic. “The season is going great,” he said. “We got good players blocking for us. Defensively, we’re getting better. Offense-wise, we’re doing a lot better running the ball.”

The football team has undergone changes since last year, including hiring a new coach at the start of the season. According to Paletua, new coach Jason Miller coaches players on an individual basis. “The new coach knows how to talk to players,” he said. “He switched up our offense. On the field, we run the ball more than we pass.”

Final game: Friday, Nov. 2 @ Santa Clara High School

Photos by Sofia Sierra-Garcia

—Written by Eric Epstein, Joy Huang, Ryan Li, Elisa Moraes-Liu, Chelsie Park, Ryan Manesh, and Natalie McCurdy

16

Sports

S e n i o r

DEREK HAN f inds outlet in

C O M P E T I T I V E WEIGHTLIFITING Calvin Cai

Copy Editor In April 2017, senior Derek Han found a new passion that changed his life: weightlifting. Since then, Han has worked hard to become stronger and surpass his goals. When he first started weightlifting, he wasn’t too serious about it and just wanted to see how it went. “[I started lifting] out of boredom,” Han said. “I didn’t really have any hobbies at the time, and I thought it would be a good thing to pick up. I had a good introduction because my dad is an avid weightlifter, or at least he was back in the day.”

After starting to lift, Han created an Instagram account to track his progress and let his friends and followers motivate him to keep working hard and stay consistent with his workouts. The account was started almost a year ago, and

has now reached over 250 followers.

“Honestly, the Instagram account is just for myself to hold myself accountable for achieving goals because if I don’t record myself, I just have. . . to keep myself accountable, but if I create an account where people follow it, I have more reason to pursue my goals,” he said.

For Han, weightlifting became more than just a hobby when he began competing. Han was extremely successful in the one competition he attended, where he set the state record for squats and tied the record for deadlifts. He will attend his second competition this November.

Han can now lift amounts that most people can only dream of lifting. “For bench, I benched 315 [pounds], squats should be around 480 [pounds]; last time [for deadlift] I pulled around 500 [pounds],” he said.

Keeping a consistent workout sched-

ule has been key to Han’s weightlifting journey, as it has allowed him to incorporate bulking up into his lifestyle.

“Lifting has become a habit," he said. “At the beginning I had to motivate myself more because it was less of a habit.” Lifting became easier for him as time went on. “Now that I’m in the groove of lifting, it’s easier to get myself to the gym,” he said.

In addition to a consistent workout schedule, maintaining a healthy diet also has a big effect on his weightlifting lifestyle. “Nowadays, I just make sure I’m getting adequate food for recovery and enough protein,” he said.

For newcomers to weightlifting, Han recommends maintaining physical health and sticking with a constant weightlifting regimen. “I would say eating and sleeping are the most important,” he said. “And just make sure you’re sticking to a good program.”

Sofia Sierra-Garcia

Sports

17

Monday, October 8, 2018

P.E. self-defense curriculum teaches valuable skills Tejpal Virdi

News Editor Every other year, physical education (P.E.) classes spend two-and-a-half weeks learning self-defense. Although the unit will not be taught during the current school year, it will be offered for the following year. The curriculum, which is a state standard, teaches students about personal safety and how to disengage from harmful situations.

According to P.E. Department Instructional Lead Donald Briggs, the unit starts with the fundamental tactics but still achieves significant depth. “There are some kids that have never punched anything before,” he said. “They could not punch for a minute.” By the end, however, students will have learned how to get out of a hold, the proper ways to fall and the safest procedures to use when handling firearms.

Although the length of the unit may seem short, P.E. teacher Braumon Creighton, who taught self-defense at JLS, believes it is enough time to hammer in the basics. “Usually hearing the messages once is enough to make people more aware of their environment, which is what keeps you safe,” he said.

Gunn currently takes a preventative approach to self-defense that applies to a wide range of circumstances in which students may find themselves. “It’s a P.E. class where you are doing [physical] activity, but there is a lot of situation learning too,” Creighton said. “I try to make it as real-world as I can.”

According to Creighton, one of the most important parts of physical safety is keeping yourself away from unwanted situations. “In general, it’s about escaping and getting away from trouble; it’s about recognizing danger,” he said. “You don’t have to take two years of judo to defend yourself.”

When in potentially dangerous situations, Creighton urges students to be confident—a feeling that can come with the lessons offered by the self-defense class. “When you do teach them and give them the opportunity, it builds confidence, which is the main thing that keeps you from getting

attacked,” he said. “Confident people don’t get attacked.”

These ideas may not have stuck with all students, however. Senior Michael Zheng does not recall the unit very well, and says he did not learn very much from it.

Zheng recommends the teachers to make the material more memorable and go more in-depth on the important aspects of self-defense. “I think [the class] should just work on giving the basic tactics, like getting out of a hold,” he said.

For the 2019-2020 school year, the P.E. department plans hold a meeting to discuss the revamping of the unit through the addition of more specific situations.

Defending against a hook punch: A hook punch comes from around and is aimed for the side of the head or the ribs (making a “hook” shape). It is a commonly used strike. To block a hook punch, step in, turn and block with the edge of your hands, then turn back towards them and strike the collarbone with the same part of your hands, pushing them back. This technique is very effective at weakening your attacker and making space to run or further defend yourself.

Four defense maneuvers to get you out of tight spots

preparing yourself: If you sense that a conflict is turning physical, it’s important to prepare yourself.

You should never try to urge the other person into initiating a fight with you, but if someone starts making aggressive moves toward you or threatening you, your immediate response should be to make yourself physically ready in case the situation gets worse. With whatever foot you’re comfortable with, step back and make a wide, diagonal stance with your hands up and palms facing the person. The stance you make with your feet is ideal for a fight and your hands are up and ready to block.

Having your palms facing the person signals that you are not trying not to compete with them. In the eyes of authority (such as police or school staff), facing your palms forward also shows that you were on the defensive and did not start the fight.

Getting out of a grab:

Defending from the ground: Not all fights happen when your feet are on the ground. Getting knocked or forced onto your back is one of the most uncomfortable situations you can get in. When someone tries to pin you down in that scenario, they will likely be more concerned about keeping you down or trying to subdue you than protecting themselves. In that case, their guard will be down and you can easily hit the throat, the most vulnerable place on the body, with your knuckles curled at the end of your hand. If they’re choking you, first hit down on their elbows with your forearms to bring their throat closer to you, then do the same. It only takes one move, but it will hinder them quickly and allow you to focus on pushing the aggressor off. To push them off, lift up one of your knees and hit their ribs with the palm of your hand on that side. As fast as you can, get out from under and create space.

If someone grabs you, take the arm that’s holding you with both your hands and move towards them as they pull you. If possible, kick a sensitive area like the gut or groin to weaken them. Turn their wrist inward with one hand while holding their elbow with your other hand and undo their grip. Grabbing tight with your hands, keep their elbow bent and turn their wrist up the other way until they give up or their wrist breaks. This will assert your control over the situation. This technique is effective at weakening the other person and making space to run or further defend yourself.

—Compiled by Collin Jaeger Photos by Sofia Sierra-Garcia

Lifestyle

18

Julia Cheunkarndee

I’m sure we’ve all seen them: viral YouTube videos racking up views and usually consisting of teenagers completing one dangerous stunt or another. From setting oneself on fire to car surfing on the highway, people have gone all out in order to keep up with the latest trends. While a few YouTube challenges have earned themselves a bad reputation, and advised some serious injuries (as lighting yourself on fire tends to do), there are challenges that have actually proven to be beneficial.

YouTube is wide-reaching; it serves an audience of over 1.8 billion users a month. With a viewership this large, information and the latest trends from the website can spread quickly throughout the globe. In some cases, this trend may be swallowing a Tide Pod as part of an online dare. In other situations, however, YouTube’s gigantic audience can give voice and support to good causes.

The most famous beneficial YouTube challenge is most likely the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which first began in 2014. The challenge itself consisted of dumping a bucket of ice water over someone’s head in order to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a motor neuron disease. Participants could then donate to research on the disease, and nominate other people to do the same.

Through the usage of social media platforms like YouTube, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a huge success.

The ALS Association was able to stretch its message worldwide and to people from all walks of life. Celebrities took up the challenge as well.

Bill Gates raised the bar by inventing his own ice-water dumping contraption. Videos flooded onto YouTube and other social media platforms.

Ultimately, over 115 million dollars were raised for the charity, 67 percent of which went into research; in 2016, two years after the challenge, research led to the discovery of a new gene linked with the disease.

The scale of the challenge’s success can be clearly seen through a simple comparison of the ALS organization’s donations in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, total donations for the entire year summed up to 2.5 million dollars. A single month in 2014, however, raked in over 100 million dollars worth of donations.

The difference was through outreach and the ubiquitousness of the challenge through social media.

While public perceival and portrayal of YouTube challenges may be negative, there are still some moments where the wide-reaching aspect of social media brings people together for acts of good. It can be as simple as challenging others to dump ice water over their heads.

—Cheunkarndee, a senior, is a Features Editor.

Staffer tries five YouTube challenges The Yoga Challenge:

NO

YES

Are viral YouTube challenges beneficial?

Yael Livneh

The Yoga Challenge takes two or more people and some f lexibility. To do this challenge, you have to recreate difficult yoga poses to the best of your abilities. This challenge is a fun activity to do with friends and family, and is very rewarding when you finally master a pose.

The Try Not to Laugh Challenge: The Try Not to Laugh Challenge is done with two people, who both drink water and look at each other while trying to keep the water in their mouth. This challenge is fun to do with friends— until you have water spat­ in your face.

The Cinnamon Challenge:

T he Ci n na mon Cha llenge is pretty simple: all you have to do is attempt to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon. It seemed easy, but as soon as I put the spoon in my mouth I couldn’t breathe.

The Mentos and Coke Challenge: T he Mentos i n C oke Challenge consists of putting five Mentos in your mouth and trying to chug Diet Coke directly after.

I couldn’t even take two sips before I had to spit the mentos out; it was really fizzy, but not nearly as bad as the Cinnamon Challenge.

It’s 10 p.m. on a Sunday night and you’re trying to do your math homework when you get stuck on a particularly difficult question. You crack open your Chromebook and click to Schoology to go over the class slides from the day before, trying to figure out what tools you can use to solve the problem. You scroll through slide after slide, but nothing looks like it’ll fit the bill; you open a new tab and type in “YouTube.” You press enter, and all at once, your screen explodes with bright colors and clickbait titles reading: “I almost died doing this challenge!,” “Eating 1,000 CRICKETS?” and “Try Not To Laugh Challenge - Dad Jokes Edition.” You’ve seen a million of these types of titles on social media, from retweeted epic fails on Twitter to shared videos on Facebook. These popular challenge videos litter the internet, and while usually harmless, they can have devastating effects and should be viewed with discretion.

YouTube challenges can reach vast audiences. While this can sometimes be beneficial, as with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014 to raise money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), it can also be detrimental. In 2015, consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G) released the nowinfamous Tide Pods: laundry detergent packs. Soon after their release, social media platforms like YouTube published joke articles and videos about consuming the colorful laundry pods. It soon became the popular subject of satirical videos on YouTube, the earliest trace of an emerging new challenge being a video posted by user TheAaronSwan669 in early 2018. The video, titled “TIDE POD CHALLENGE," involved him pretending to consume a laundry pod and ended with him saying "just kidding." Despite several attempts by P&G to deter people from eating the pods, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) reported that out of 37 reported cases of pod consumption amongst teenagers, half were intentional. The idea of consuming the toxic pods was spread on YouTube quite jokingly, yet still ended with over 12,000 calls to the AAPCC about laundry pod poisoning. YouTube challenges like these should be avoided, in this case, to protect younger platform users who may not know that the pods are poisonous.

YouTube challenges can be positive or negative. You can raise $115 million for medical research, as with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, or you can see nearly 10,500 children younger than the age of five being exposed to toxic detergents as with the Tide Pod Challenge. Challenges with no real goal, such as the Cinnamon Challenge which involves eating a tablespoon of pure ground cinnamon, should be avoided so as not to spread negative habits to younger, more impressionable children who may be browsing online platforms.

—Compiled by Natalie McCurdy Photos by Laurel Comiter Graphics by Mina Kim

—Livneh, a senior, is a Centerfold Editor.

Lifestyle

Monday, October 8, 2018

19

VolUNTOURISM: excursions ABROAD MAY BRING MORE HARM THAN HELP Stephy Jackson Every summer, spring or winter break, large numbers of volunteers travel around the globe for the sake of “making the world a better place.” The rapidly-growing volunteer industry makes around $173 billion a year because of the swarm of people flooding to volunteer organizations in order to find opportunities. However, volunteering abroad through those volunteer organizations, also known as “voluntourism,” is an ineffective method of helping the world due to the misallocation of volunteer donations, the short periods of work time and the harm it does to local industries.

In 2017, Thrive Global, a scientific media company, reported that international volunteer agencies charge an average of $1000 per month of volunteering per person. While some of that money is donated to the visited regions, agencies usually spend about three-fourths of it on employee salaries, advertising campaigns, transportation fees and meal costs. In the end, only around $250 per month is being funneled into helping those in need, and the volunteer industries are the ones that benefit from international pursuits rather than the communities who actually need the help. If students are looking for a way to make sure that their money is going into the right hands, then they should volunteer directly with the community by reaching out to locally-based organizations and conducting thorough research on the purpose of such companies.

Another problem with service trips is the length of volunteering time that they offer: the trips are one to two weeks on average, restricting the amount of help that a single person can

How to contribute to your local community Tutoring underprivileged students: Schools in East Palo Alto (EPA) have fewer resources and opportunities at their schools compared to Gunn. You can help out by tutoring K-8 students in subjects like math and English, or by teaching electives at several summer programs that the districts run. Through volunteering, you can understand how different our two neighborhoods are while helping students learn. Interested students should talk directly to the school district.

Volunteering at art centers: The more creatively-inclined could take a look at volunteering in the arts. The Palo Alto Arts Center is always looking for volunteers, with jobs that include helping plan events as a teen leader or serving as a counselor for summer art camps. Volunteers can get experience in the arts and meet like-minded teens while collecting additional service hours.

Helping out at blood drives: Many medical operations require donated blood, so volunteering at blood drives can both teach you about medicine and help save people’s lives. Tasks include monitoring and interacting with people after their donation and helping nurses label blood bags and test tubes. If you are interested, you can volunteer at the Stanford Blood Center: they accept applications from anybody over 16.

Creating a nonprofit: If you feel like none of the other opportunities pique your interest, you could contribute by creating your own nonprofit. While this entails lots of legal procedures, it is worth it if you are passionate about a subject that isn’t already being represented by nonprofits.

If well done, you could be both contributing to your passions and gaining important leadership experience.

—Compiled by Andrew Zhao

Graphics by Grace Liu

actually contribute. Long-term volunteer work with local communities can be significantly more helpful than short-term work with international agencies. According to a Huffington Post article, “monetary or resource support, or long-term engagement with skilled individuals, is often more helpful than a short-term volunteer whose skills translate poorly in context.”

One of the most important reasons behind why voluntourism harms more than helps is that it negatively affects local communities. The main purpose of volunteering abroad is to help “people in need, worthwhile causes and the community,” according to Helpguide. However, this purpose can be lost when it comes to voluntourism. By going to foreign countries to help build houses, schools or orphanages, volunteers are also putting local construction workers out of work. Additionally, when volunteers donate their clothes or shoes, their goods are usually sold at a cheaper price than local vendors, which means that consumers will stop buying from their clothing shops. Consequently, the incomes of the vendors decrease, potentially raising unemployment rates in that region. This type of volunteering greatly damages the local economic structure and creates a new economy in developing countries that is dependent on volunteer services.

Rather than spending thousands of dollars to fly themselves to countries around the world, prospective volunteers should donate that money directly to communities if they truly wish to help.

Finally, volunteer trips do very little to fix the actual, systemic problems that developing societies face. If there are thousands of abandoned children in Mexico, then the root of the problem might be the minimal sexual education that citizens receive at school. If elephants Grace Liu are being hunted in Thailand, that might be because the Thai government is not allocating enough resources to crack down on the black-market ivory trade. Fortunate people and organizations simplify extremely complex issues in order to make themselves feel as if they are helping—they merely put a bandaid over an open wound and call it a day.

—Jackson, a senior, is an Online Editor.

20

Lifestyle

Obsessesions over celebrities foster unhealthy standards

Grace Tramack Everyone knows a fangirl or fanboy of a major celebrity—in past years, they have come to call themselves “Swifties” or “Beliebers,” creating social media pages to post pictures of and obsess over various celebrities. These actions were taken to celebrate and idolize their favorite stars and recognize them for being a great singer, actor or person in general. This behavior, however, can quickly become unhealthy. It is one thing to respect or love a certain celebrity, but people definitely should not be obsessed over them. This obsession creates unrealistic expectations of the perfect person, leads to lower selfesteem and assumes that celebrities are flawless people.

People, especially teenagers, should not get into the habit of obsessing over celebrities because it could lead to lower self-esteem. Social media is full of pictures and videos depicting people’s so-called “perfect” lives, and celebrities’ feeds are no different. With only a few exceptions, celebrities post only what they want their fan bases to see. Chances are, a part of a young person’s obsession with their favorite celebrity is due to the celebrity's outward appearance. However, if celebrities are only posting professional, edited pictures, teens will develop the misconception that this is what they should look like naturally as well. This creates lower self-esteem in younger people at a time when their self-esteem is likely at the lowest point. Therefore, obsessing over celebrities’ looks is detrimental to the wellbeing of fans.

Additionally, many people believe that their favorite celebrity is perfect, and can do no wrong. Famous people are human too, however, and have the same types of flaws that normal people have. That being said, it is totally normal to like a celebrity despite, or maybe even because of, their imperfections. Their flaws remind people that it’s

okay to make mistakes and not always be perfect. However, most fans don’t obsess over celebrities because they display relatable qualities—they obsess over them with the notion that they are the example of a perfect person.

Of course, there are exceptions to the common celebrity posts which only depict a perfect lifestyle. For example, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez are two celebrities who have shared their hardships and celebrated their imperfections as aspects of themselves that they are still improving upon. This is not the behavior of most famous people, and it can be difficult for teens to distinguish reality from what is presented to them. As the saying goes, “nobody’s perfect,” and that includes celebrities.

Posts of celebrities’ perfect appearances and lives can lead to lower self-esteem as well as an unrealistic expectation of the perfect person throughout their fan bases. While teens are completely justified in looking up to famous people, they should not be obsessing over them—and they should definitely think realistically before idealizing their favorite stars' platform.

—Tramack, a senior, is a Features Editor.

Which celebrity's fan base should you join?

What quality does your BFF admire most about you?

Kindness

Loyalty What do you like to do on the weekend?

Bake your favorite desserts

What is your favorite movie?

Go bowling with your friends

“Harry Potter”

“The Notebook”

What is your go-to snack?

Driftwood

What is your favorite app?

Snapchat

Instagram

Teaspoon

You are going to a deserted island and can only bring one thing.

Phone

Best friend

Snapchat:

Best friend:

JUSTIN BIEBER—You have a bright and

ED SHEERAN—You are extremely kind

Instagram:

Phone:

TAYLOR SWIFT—You love to keep up to

DRAKE—You can make anyone laugh.

bubbly personality and your friends can always come to you with their secrets. You are always up-to-date on the most popular clothing trends and your Snapchat stories are hilarious. You are the life of the party.

date with your besties. Dancing and singing are your favorite past times. You always like to know the newest gossip amongst your friends and love silly cat videos.

and 100 percent in-touch with your emotions. You love a good tear-jerker rom-com on the weekend. Everyone goes to you for song recommendations because you have the best taste in music.

You are laid-back and roll with the punches.

One day, you will have a Driftwood sandwich named after you and you have the most lit dance moves.

—Compiled by Grace Williams