Teachers reveal their tattoos.
Cross country team sprints into season.
The Oracle staffers model fall fashion trends.
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Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. Postage
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Henry M. Gunn High School
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Friday, October 11, 2013
Volume 51, Issue 2
780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Audey Shen
The Oracle examines state of Gunn students’ partying culture Mitch Donat
Managing Editor
Like it or not, the days of parent-planned playdates and home-for-dinner curfews are over for most Gunn students. Partying, involving the consumption of alcohol and/or use of other drugs, is something no high school can hope to avoid, even one with such a prestigious academic background. Even though the 21-year-old drinking age is strictly enforced, many Gunn kids continue to party just like they were of legal age. “A beer pong table, a thirty rack of beer, a couple of fifths, some knock-off Bacardi, and a little bit of weed,” senior Jason Darrell (name has been changed) said. “That’s all it takes to have a good time.” No matter the social pressures, it’s crucial to remember that being under the influence at an age under 21 is still illegal. Not only is consuming alcohol frowned upon by Gunn, but the police force also views shutting down parties as a huge priority. “You shouldn’t indulge in that type of behavior because the consequences are not worth the temporary fun,” Palo Alto Police Department School Resource Officer DuJuan Green said.
According to the 2011-2012 California Healthy Kids Survey, 24 percent of 11th graders in the past 30 days of the survey had at least one drink, and 13 percent had more than 5 drinks in a row. The survey also makes evident that a strong majority (79 percent) of ninth graders that year had never in their lifetime drank alcohol. However, students are not immune to the influence of partying. When they first find out about high school partying, it comes as more of a shock to some and less to others. “The most surprising thing to me was hearing that some of my friends, who always said they were 100 percent against it in the first place, are going out and partying,” senior Katie Owens (name has been changed) said. Owens, along with most of her friends, avoids partying in favor of more traditional get-togethers, such as movie nights and sports events. The common perception that all high school students are crazy partiers could not be further from the truth. “I never understood the appeal of parties,” Owens said. “I see it just as an excuse to go look cool, hook up with people and drink alcohol.” Owens says her friends and family have little to no influence on her decision to not party.
Other students knew what they were getting into from their middle school days. “I witnessed and knew of parties because of my older siblings and friends,” sophomore Jay Rock (name has been changed) said. “I was pretty prepared to go to parties from the start.” The first party experience for many students can be a sticky situation. “People can tell it’s your first time,” Rock said. “It’s just really awkward. They think you should leave. And you’re thinking to yourself, ‘should I even be here?’” But according to Darrell, once students go through the ranks, it isn’t difficult to find a party to have a good time at. “Sophomore and junior year it was pretty hard to find a place to go,” he said. “Now that I’m a senior, even if I don’t know the host it’s pretty hard for them to kick me out.” For most parties hosted by underclassmen, however, the same circumstances don’t apply. “Our class is divided between partiers and non-partiers,” sophomore Regina Curto (name has been changed) said. “It’s gotten better since freshmen year; that year, I don’t think anyone else partied besides me and a couple of friends.” In junior and senior year, however, things do begin to change. PARTY—p.3
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News
THEORACLE
City institutes shared bike program
NEWS BITES
Lawrence Chen
Students, teachers involved in yearly Camp Everytown event On Oct. 23, about 70 students and staff members will participate in Camp Everytown, an intensive four-day retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Teachers nominate students who they feel possess strong leadership potential and critical thinking skills to go to Camp Everytown. The camp aims to provide an open environment where students feel comfortable to share their stories and issues. “It gives us an opportunity to think about the world we want to create and how we, as individuals, have a part in that change,” Assistant Principal Trinity Klein said. Once at camp, students participate in activities designed to increase their understanding and respect for different ethnicities, races, cultures and religions. Dean of Students James Lubbe says that the students who are chosen are intended to be representative of Gunn. “We want to stay true to Gunn,” Lubbe said. “Because of that, we make sure that the demographic of students we take is balanced.” Klein hopes that the students who attend Camp Everytown will spread the messages they learn to other Gunn students. She believes that the experience will help Gunn continue to be a more welcoming and friendly environment. “We look for students who are leaders in their community—people who other kids look up to,” she said. “That way when they come back transformed, they are able to influence changes.” Pooja Belur
Journalism students to attend convention held in Sacramento Members of The Oracle will attend a two-day convention on Oct. 11 and 12 hosted by the Journalism Education Association of Northern California (JEANC) at the Sacramento Convention Center. The convention’s goal is to educate student publication staff members on the basics of journalism and encourage interest in more advanced applications of journalism. In an effort to meet these goals, JEANC offers a variety of activities for student journalists. According to The Oracle’s adviser, Kristy Blackburn, the JEANC conventions are offered once every other year. “[They] provide access to guest speakers, workshops in which new ideas are presented, newspaper critiques and write-offs,” she said. Last year, members of The Oracle represented their publication at a national convention in San Francisco hosted by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). Around four to six thousand students attend these national conventions, whereas regional conventions like the JEANC convention in Sacramento are smaller. In Sacramento, attendees will be granted the opportunity to listen to convention speakers covering a wide variety of topics from work experience at a newspaper company to the meaning of drone journalism. Media professionals and student panels will also be present. Rachel Lew
News Editor
Recently Palo Alto became one of the many cities in the Bay Area to pick up the Bay Area Bike Share program, which has already been implemented in a total of 200 cities worldwide. The Bike Share program allows commuters to rent bicycles from the five Bike Share kiosks now spread throughout Palo Alto. Currently the stations are located on Cowper St. near University Ave., on University Ave. near Emerson St., at the Palo Alto Caltrain station, at the California Ave. Caltrain station, and on Park Blvd. near Olive Ave. Among the five stations, Palo Alto currently has a total of 75 Bike Share bikes available for rent. Currently, bike memberships are priced at $9 for a 24-hour membership, $22 for a three-day membership, $88 for an annual membership, and $99 for an annual membership paid in 12-month installments. So far, the Bike Share program has racked up a total of 2,376 annual members and 4,793 casual members (24 hr. and three-day members) system-wide. However, Gunn Green Team co-president senior Mario Khosla believes that
this relatively new concept can be marketed better. “I think that the Bay Area bike sharing service is a great idea; however, it would be more effective if more people knew about or used it,” Khosla said. However, not everyone can rent a bike. According to the Bay Area Bike Share website, “[Bike Share] is available to everyone 18 years and older with a credit or debit card. The system is not just for tourists— Bike Share programs in cities all over the world are used by a wide range of people for an almost infinite variety of trips.” In addition to the age constraint, one must also be a member to use the Bike Share
program. “Members can check out a bicycle from a network of automated stations, ride to the station nearest their destination, and leave the bicycle safely locked for someone else to use,” the Bike Share website explains. In addition, the system currently allows riders a 30-minute riding period and the maximum overtime fee will be charged at $150. Thus, this system is designed to allow riders to take short, quick trips. Unfortunately, if one decides to or accidentally keeps a Bike Share bike for more than 24 hours, the member will be charged $1,200 to his/her card that is registered into the system.
Anthony Tran
Above: Bikes are stationed at California Avenue, one of many locations utilized by the Bay Area Bike Share program.
Special ed. program expands co-teaching classes Shawna Chen Reporter
Last issue, The Oracle delved into the Special Education protest that occurred outside of Gunn. This issue takes a look at the inclusion model that has been incorporated in general education classes for the last two years. According to Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Director of Special Ed. Services Holly Wade, part of inclusion rests with co-teaching, which involves a balance of Special Ed. students and regular lane students who attend class with two teachers in the room. “Two teachers in the classroom allow for more chances to get individualized attention, for learning to get broken down and teaching to be differentiated for different types of learners,” Wade said. “You can create smaller learning groups [and] benefit from both teachers’ experience and expertise in the areas where their strengths lie.” Social studies teacher Ariane Tuomy, who co-teaches with Special Ed. teacher Terry Jacobs, believes that her classes are at the same level of academic rigor as regular lane classes but take place in a more intimate setting where teachers can better understand the skill sets of individual students. “When students work independently, we are both able to answer questions,” Tuomy said. According to Tuomy, she and Jacobs plan ahead to accommodate students’ strengths in class. “We take a look at some of the things that might be difficult for the students,” she said. “We troubleshoot before there’s a problem.” Tuomy noted that working together with Jacobs encourages and models cooperation for the students. “It’s a learning environment we approach as a team,” she said. “It would be nice if that [were] translatable to all of the classes at Gunn.” Co-taught freshman Tatiana Sreenivasan appreciates how both teachers are able to contribute aid, especially in one-on-one interactions. “It’s easier to communicate,” she said. Co-taught freshman Emilia Boultbee also believes that more attention is provided with two teachers in the room. “It’s really [beneficial] in subjects that are harder for me,” Boultbee said. According to co-taught freshman Sam Lysaght, coteaching includes an exchange of diverse opinions. “When you have two [teachers], usually both of them talk about one topic so you can see their different views,” Lysaght said. Another valued advantage, according to co-taught sophomore Emma Wager, is the fact that substitute teachers are not necessary when one teacher is absent. “If one of the teachers is missing, you still have the other teacher to help you and you don’t get stuck with a sub,” she said.
According to co-taught freshman Mark Lassen, the division between Special Ed. and non-Special Ed. students is not highly noticeable in class. “It depends on the [Special Ed.] student,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s a little bit more obvious.” However, Boultbee said that often, it is the teachers’ behaviors that specify which students are in Special Ed. “It’s obvious when the teacher makes more of an effort,” she said. According to Boultbee, bullying between Special Ed. and non-Special Ed. students is not common. “I’ve never seen bullying because the student is Special Ed. or not,” she said. Nonetheless, co-taught freshman Zoe Tal notes that occasionally, peers may behave differently around Special Ed. students than they would otherwise but “I never perceive it as coming from a place of bullying,” she said. Along with expanding co-teaching, omitting disproportionality has been one of the district’s long-term objectives, Superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly said. Disproportionality, as defined by the California Department of Education, is the over-representation of students of one ethnicity in Special Ed. services in relation to their population on campus. “[We want to ensure that] while every student who has an identified disability receives the support they need, we try to make sure the percentage of kids from different ethnic groups is equal to the percentage we have in Special Ed.,” Skelly said. “Making sure [Special Ed.] students have higher levels of achievement is important to us, too.” Wade emphasizes that the focus of Special Ed. services is on college and career preparation. “We hope that our instruction [and] emotional, behavior and social supports will allow all of our students to prepare for the future,” she said. “We want to ensure [that] all our students from PAUSD have access to all the things they desire so they can [remain] a contributing member of the community they choose.” While the recent Office of Civil Rights’ (OCR) report stated that PAUSD had failed to protect a disabled student from disability-based harassment, Skelly said that the district recently changed board policies to reflect the best methods for resolving bullying conflicts. “We [want] to be more consistent in terms of what steps we take,” he said. “We report [bullying incidents], we investigate them, and training the staff on that has been part of the OCR agreement.” Regardless, Skelly continues to believe that PAUSD is a district full of opportunities with a satisfying education to offer its students, whether they are Special Ed. or not. “There are a whole variety of places where we’re supporting [students],” he said. “[Because] collectively, we’re all responsible for student learning.”
News THEORACLE 780 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 354-8238 www.gunnoracle.com
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Catalina Zhao Managing Editors Mitch Donat Lucy Oyer News Cooper Aspegren Nabeel Chollampat Lawrence Chen Forum Ben Atlas Leon Cheong Klaire Tan Features Rebecca Alger Chaewon Lee Danielle Yacobson Centerfold Rachel Lew Stephanie Zhang Sports Pooja Belur Alvin Wang Erica Watkins Entertainment Samantha Acker Misheel Enkhbat Noa Livneh Photo Audey Shen Graphics Jasmine Garnett
Staff
Friday, October 11, 2013
Party culture viewed differently by students, administrators
PARTY—p.1 The consequences of drinking alcohol and frequently Student-parent relationships can take some seri“There’s people who always show up to parties, who going to parties stretch beyond the courthouse. “Wheth- ous pressure when teens begin partying. “At first my sometimes show up to parties and who never show up er you know it or not, it damages your brain,” senior Mi- parents were pretty against it, and I got in trouble quite to parties,” Darrell said. “But my circle of friends goes well chael Torr (name has been changed) said. “It’s going to a few times,” Darrell said. “But being completely honest beyond people who just party. I’m good friends with a kill your brain cells; not to the point where you’re entirely with them is always the best plan.” Keeping parents in few people who don’t party at all.” slow, but to the point that homework the next day is not the dark about students’ partying, it seems, always leads Even still, partying appeals highly to certain students nearly as easy.” to increased problems and trust issues. “If you party a lot of all grades. “Socially, it’s really helped Additionally, fur- without telling your parents, it’s hard for you to call them me out,” Darrell said. “You ther consequences for help when you need it,” Darrell said. “Then you’re rehave to learn how to socialare possible on ally screwed.” ize at a party. If you can only school grounds, As for the actual consequences laid out by parents, socialize at school, and all you according to Dean grounding seems to be decreasing in efficiency in this talk about is school, you’re not of Students James age. “I don’t know how you can ground a kid these days going to get anywhere. In addiLubbe. “If a parent unless you have someone around the house 100 percent tion, drunk conversation is a lot approaches us and of the time,” Bert said. “So instead, I tried to let [my child] more fluid.” voices concerns over know that ‘Hey, I’m going to cut you some slack here, and Percent of Gunn juniors have Due to the dangerous and ilt heir I want you to enjoy yourself, but don’t cross the line—behad an alcoholic drink four or legal aspects of partying, it is only cause I will be held responsible.’” Bert tried to make this natural that many parents are cauas clear as possible in his son’s head in pursuit of a “moral more times in their lifetime tious and frown upon it. “I’ve seen compass” that would guide his son, who has since graduthe draconian security-camera ated, from letting things get out of control. The “compass” Percent of Gunn juniors have measures, where the parents will was effective enough so that his son’s parties never resultsmoked marijuana four or spy on their kids and then ground ed in serious accidents. more times in their lifetime them for what they do,” Gunn parIn addition to laying out a “moral compass,” some ent Kevin Bert (name has been parents believe it’s beneficial to share their own experichanged) said. ences with their kids. “A lot of people my age grew up Percent of Gunn juniors have On the other hand, some parents during a time when we drank and experimented with driven after drinking at one time have a lenient attitude towards their different drugs,” Gunn parent Cameron Jameson (name children’s partying. “I believe that givhas been changed) said. “As a parent, you’re in ing them the respect of their teenage that difficult situation of ‘don’t do independence is important,” Bert said. what I do, do what I say.’ The “However, it’s really important to let them best thing we can do for our know there are serious consequences kids is share our experiences that can shut them down so they don’t fall into the same traps from driving, schoolwork we did.” Jameson also hopes that parents Source: 2011-2012 California Healthy Kids Survey and more things.” never resort to letting their child drink And other, even more even under parental supervision because e r s on d n A P a i ge lenient approaches also exist. the parents think kids are going to drink alcohol “At one of the first parties I went to, the parents were stu- regardless. “They’re basically giving up at that point.” there serving alcohol to the kids,” Rock said. Green has dent’s path, or the people they hang out with, we can But with so many consequences and obvious mental witnessed parent-hosted teenage drinking parties before, offer their student programs such as Adolescent Sub- setbacks, some kids at Gunn continue partying. “I think and he says there can be huge consequences. “In that stance Abuse Treatment Program (ASAT), or increased it’s important for the administration to realize that a party incident, both parents were cited in criminal court, sev- counseling,” he said. “We also offer ASAT as part of con- setting is a good way to relieve stress,” Darrell said. “You eral juveniles were arrested for being publicly intoxicated, sequences.” Lubbe mentioned that the school only seeks don’t need to drink alcohol at a party to have a good time. several were taken to the hospital because they couldn’t to help the student, not hurt them. According to its bro- You always hear the administration and your parents telltake care of themselves, and several to juvenile hall be- chure, ASAT has provided “assessment and outpatient ing you that drinking is so bad, but if you don’t do it in cause their parents weren’t around to pick them up,” he treatment services for teens struggling with substance excess, it’s a great stress reliever. Obviously there’s sports said. abuse” since 1991. and other things, but even those can become a stress.”
2011-2012 Gunn Alcohol Use Numbers
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“It shed light on an often overlooked issue, namely transgender. The article was a good illuminator to those who are ignorant of these topics.” —Michael Xiong, 12
Photographers Stephanie Kim Anthony Tran
Reporters Elinor Aspegren, Lena Campbell, Shawna Chen, Ian Cramer, Aayush Dubey, Kush Dubey, Yuki KlotzBurwell, Esther Kozakevich, Emily Kvitko, Christine Lin, Alex Man, Naina Murthy, Arjun Sahdev, Henry Siu, Justin Wenig
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September 20, 2013 “I thought that the story on [transgender people] was really intersting and also really liked the dancing photo shoot on the back.” —Ravi Levens, 11 “I liked the articles in the center of the paper about crossdressing and how Noa dressed up as a boy for a week to test reactions.” —Jay Choi, 11
“I would like to see more articles about student activities.” —Isabelle Blanchard, 10
“I like the fact that students can relate so easily and we can see people we know writing and being in the Oracle.” —Maddy Sreenivasan, 11
“My favorite articles were on streaking. I found the arguments and positions of both parties to be very compelling. Ultimately I thought this issue was great.” —Anthony Keech, 12
“I really liked the sports and centerfold part. Both worked really well with the theme.” —Melissa Pao, 10
“I thought that the articles were well-done and were relevant to the normal ‘student’s’ life.” —Natalie Oda, 11
“I really enjoyed the whole idea behind the Instagrammed food pictures. I don’t particularly think that the content of the Instagram food article was all that intersting, but I found the whole idea of anyone being able to submit something of theirs was interesting.” —Isiah Katz, 10
“I liked this issue especially because there was a lot of variety with different layouts and stories.” —Noah Krigel, 11
“I would like to see more interesting teacher anecdotes. —Christina Wei, 12
“I liked the overall color scheme and Centerfold was really pretty and interesting. I also liked the personal stories like the story on Stephanie’s asking.” —Katrina Yang, 9
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School dedicates Timmy the Titan statue Bands prepare for jazz concert Stephanie Zhang
Centerfold Editor
Audey Shen
After 48 years, Timmy the Titan has finally retired his red suspenders and gruffy hairstyle for gold cuffs, a cape and an epic air. The recently finished Timmy the Titan sculpture is currently being displayed at the front entrance of the new Titan Gym. Designing and building the sevenfoot-tall bronze sculpture proved to be no small feat. The project started in 2011, when ceramics teacher Eric Bowman proposed to redefine the Titan mascot. Bowman sought out three art students—alumni Tony Yin, Charlie Yang and William Wang—to help him design the sculpture. Over two years, Bowman and the art students were able to construct a design that they hoped would both depict the strength of a Titan and inspire the student body. “Because we all put in so much effort to create a statue that represented power and agility, I hope students will be inspired when looking at our statue,” Yin said. “[I hope they will] be inspired to follow their passion, be strong and be hardworking.” The Titan sculpture started off as a 13-inch bronze maquette and was eventually enlarged into a seven-foottall styrofoam mold. “The styrofoam part of the build was definitely the hardest,” Yang explained. “A lot of small discrepancies in proportion that you wouldn’t notice on the smaller sculpture were blown up and much easier to see in the larger one.” From there, the mold was shipped to a bronze factory where professional artists made the mold, poured the parts and assembled the statue. “The project is something awesome and new that no other school is doing, and I hope that people recognize that,” Yang said. “It was a really cool opportunity to give back to Gunn and the sculpture department.” Overall, the reception from the student body regarding the new statue has been generally positive. “I can’t tell why, but the Titan strikes a sort of pride in me,” junior Anjali Herekar said. “It makes me feel like I attend a very powerful and zealous school.”
Kush Dubey Reporter
On Oct. 21, the annual Fall Jazz Concert will be hosted in Spangenberg Theater from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The concert will feature the Terman Middle School and Jane Lathrop Stanford (JLS) Middle School bands, along with Gunn’s symphonic band and jazz ensemble. According to jazz director Keith Hunter, many styles of music will be played during the concert, including traditional jazz, funk, Latin and commercial/ cartoon styles. Organizers hope the concert will not be specifically different, but will instead be an improvement upon those performed in previous years. “I’m new this year, so I’m trying to keep the event as a whole basically the same, while improving the quality of our music,” Hunter said. Senior Avner Kreps believes the assortment of pieces in the repertoire provides for the high entertainment value of the experience. “We will be performing jazz from all eras, ranging from bebop and fifty’s music, to categories from the modern era including funk, so the music will be fun,” he said. According to sophomore Ajay Raj, bebop can be defined as a fast-paced instrumental modeled after a blues progression, while funk integrates a slow bass with an overarching groovy tune. He
says the music the band will be performing was inspired by music group “Big Phat Band,” which utilizes similar cartoonish styles that will be integrated in the concert. The jazz ensemble met the members of the band and had a clinic. In addition, a few solos involving improvisation will be incorporated along with the individual pieces. To prepare for the concert, Hunter and his students practiced their music and organized the logistics of the event. Hunter’s responsibility was to collaborate w it h t he pa r t icipa nts, a long with the Terman and JLS band teachers. “For the planning, I coordinated the music schedule with the middle schools,” he said. “Together we choose music and specific pieces to feature.” For students, rehearsals were held after school, and Raj believes these practices were vital. “During preparation [students] became aware of what and how we are going to perform,” he said. “We would practice for a number of hours each week.” According to Kreps, the brass section of the band stand out. “This year we have more experience in the brass section because there are a lot of upperclassmen,” he said. Tickets will be sold at the door and can be bought online. Hunter recommends that parents and students go to have a new, fun experience with jazz music.
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THEORACLE
PRO In today’s progressive society, the “it’s my body, I can do what I want with it” mindset has permeated various aspects of people’s lifestyles. In the case of teenage girls, this philosophy has lowered the standards of acceptable dress. Unhindered by the conservative norms on dress that existed years ago, many girls now choose to wear revealing or slutty clothes. Condoning such dress leads to objectification of girls, unhealthy perspectives on sex appeal and “slut-shaming,” which is malicious criticism. When girls walk around in overly-sexual clothing, they communicate messages to the world that contribute to the objectification of their bodies. How a girl chooses to dress often reflects how she wants others to perceive her. So when a girl dresses in skimpy clothing, she suggests that she wants to have sex. A girl’s dress also shows others how much respect she has for herself. A girl walking around scantily clad suggests that she does not respect her own body enough to protect it from inappropriate stares. And when it appears that a girl does not respect her own body, it only makes sense that others will not respect it either. Overlooking slutty dress also results in girls forming unhealthy ideas about their sex appeal. Girls in immodest clothes invariably receive more attention from boys. The problem with this situation lies not in the sexual attention itself, but in the fact that girls may feel like their value as a female depends on this sort of attention. They will put more and more emphasis on their sex appeal, when instead they should be focusing on their brains, talents and other merits. At the end of the day, girls should not dress like “sluts” because by doing so, they only bring unnecessary gossip and slander on themselves. Teenagers are inherently judgemental; they will not hesitate to criticize those that seem to break the rules of what is “socially acceptable.” Dressing like a slut is one of the easiest and most noticeable ways to step out of the “socially acceptable” boundary. As such, when girls wear revealing clothing, they set themselves up as easy targets for malicious slander and gossip. The saddest part of this culture of “slut-shaming” is that it can so often be easily avoided by girls’ covering up their bodies. Many people contend that it is unfair for girls to have restrictions on how they can dress. But empty theories of justice and gender equality should not be cause to ignore the very real consequences of girls’ unrestrained clothing choices. There is no point in advocating the elimination of dress restrictions for females if doing so will only compound the pre-existing problems with loose dress standards. Similarly, it is illogical to suggest that both genders should be treated equally when it comes to dress when the problems that arise from girls dressing revealingly are intrinsically different than the problems that arise from boys doing the same. One way for our school to combat the negative effects of slutty dress would be for the administration to more strictly and equitably enforce the dress code. Currently, students walk around violating the dress code with little to no punishment. Girls are also often subjected to harsher enforcement, which only gives the well-intentioned dress code a negative connotation. If the school cracks down on the dress code equally and consistently, it will surely cultivate healthier attitudes towards women in its students. Putting on longer shorts or covering up midriffs and chests take little effort, while alleviating the aforementioned problems. Thus, girls should seriously consider the consequences of slutty dressing and cover up. —Lee, a senior, is a Features Editor.
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The Oracle debates
Appearance and dress must be within the limits of decency, cleanliness and appropriateness for school, and shall not interfere with teaching and learning. No back-less shirts shall be worn. Chest must be covered such that the neckline of shirts must not be lower than one inch below the top of the armpit. No belly button shall be exposed when a student is standing with his/her arms hanging at his/her sides. The buttocks shall be covered such that no part is visible when sitting, standing, or leaning over. Skirts must reach the middle of the thigh. Shorts must reach the middle of the thigh. Underwear must not be showing when sitting, standing, or leaning over.
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—Gunn Student Handbook
Zhu Dave
1930s-1940s
1950s-1960s
Because of the Great Depression, skirts became longer as a more traditional style of dresses was reintroduced. During the war, women were encouraged to dress simply, as materials for clothing were difficult to find.
Full skirts, narrow waists and rounded shoulders were very in during the early half. Youth then began to rebel against traditional styles in the ‘60s. Mini skirts, bell bottom jeans, midriff baring clothing and other new styles became very popular.
rum
Friday, October 11, 2013
appropriate dress
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Male staffer of The Oracle tests school dress code during homecoming week
Justin Wenig Early Homecoming week, I heard that several dress code violations had been issued to girls. Some people also commented that the dress code was being strictly enforced, and I wanted to see if this applied to guys as well. So, I dressed in minimal clothing from Wednesday through Friday. The dress code in the student handbook says several things. First off, backless shirts are not allowed. The chest must be covered below the point of one inch below the top of the armpit. It also bans bellybuttons, buttocks, underwear and upper thighs from being shown, for both boys and girls. On Wednesday, I dressed in hip-hop clothing. I sagged my pants enough so that my boxers were showing. The Thursday theme for juniors was Arabian Nights. I merely wore a vest that left my chest exposed and a saggy pair of pants. A teacher told me that my clothing was a bit inappropriate, but she did not go further than that. The rest of my teachers all found my costume amusing. I went all out on Friday when I cut up a shirt to the point where my entire back, stomach and chest were showing—I was practically wearing rags. However, even then, I didn’t receive even one dress code violation, nor was I ever asked to cover up. I even took a picture with an administrator who simply laughed at my attire. Throughout the entire week, the only objection I received was from one teacher who gently admonished me for wearing scandalous clothing. The problem is that if the school is going to discipline people for violating the dress code, they need to do it evenly between boys and girls. In the future, the school should do a better job handing out equal punishments along with actually informing students on what is acceptable within the nuances of the dress code. —Wenig, a junior, is a reporter.
“Slut,” “ho” and “whore” are three completely inappropriate, degrading and misogynistic hate words used to describe the way females act and dress. As much as they should be, these words aren’t seen as “off limits.” Instead, they are used with surprising regularity. It’s human nature to label and criticize people, but this does not make it right. We judge people for all sorts of petty things—their grades, the kind of car they drive, how new their phones are, etc. But first and foremost, we judge people, particularly girls, based on their appearances. With a single glance of a girl’s dress or shorts, we assume that we can determine her work ethic, mental well-being and even the number of people she’s slept with. It’s not the role of others to scrutinize the amount of clothing girls choose to wear. By doing so, we intrude upon a personal decision that need not be questioned. Just because a girl is wearing a supposedly promiscuous outfit doesn’t mean that it’s an accurate representation of who she is. Sure, Mark Twain said that the “clothes make the man,” but who ever said that he was right? Simply put, the way people dress is a personal choice that does not impact anybody else. It is up to the wearer to decide what kind of presentation she wishes to put forth, no matter what sort of display it may be. However, society, and high schools in particular, have put certain rules in place prohibiting what students can wear. For example, the Gunn dress code specifically states that “appearance and dress must be within the limits of decency, cleanliness and appropriateness for school, and shall not interfere with teaching and learning.” What constitutes as decent or appropriate? Who has the authority to decide whether the way a girl dresses is right or wrong? While the Palo Alto Unified School District (most likely) has the best of intentions, its restrictions deny students the right to take ownership of their bodies. When an administrator instructs a girl to cover up, he or she is taking away that right by saying that it’s wrong to look or dress a certain way. By telling a girl that she needs to change her clothes, the administrator is promoting the idea that her body is improper and tasteless. Although it’s not typically spelled out on paper, restrictions on what girls can wear are put in place to avoid “distracting” other students, specifically males. It’s not the 1800s anymore. Women have equal rights and should be able to wear what they want, when they want. If students are so immature and lacking in self-restraint that a pair of legs or a belly button are distracting enough to leave them unable to take a test or pay attention to a lecture, that’s a serious issue. However, it’s the juvenile student’s problem, not the owner of said legs and belly button. Students should not have an issue with the way their peers dress. If they don’t like somebody’s choice in clothing, they don’t have to look at them. It’s a cutand-dry issue that shouldn’t even require a debate. No matter the intention of their attire, it is up to the girls themselves to decide what kind of clothing they want to wear. When a girl gets dressed, she is aware of the message she is putting forth. The final, executive decision in the mirror is personal and hers alone, regardless of the motivation. As teenagers, we should be able to appreciate the right of self-expression no matter what the form. If we judge people, with either hateful words or mean looks for dressing a certain way, we’re oppressing the individual’s freedom to choose what he or she wants to wear. —Alger, a senior, is a Features Editor.
1970s-1980s
1990s-2000s
The androgynous hippie look was in full bloom. Bell bottom pants, tie-dye shirts, bandannas and sandals were all very fashionable. The ‘80s introduced the use of bright neon colors and provided more versatility in female clothing.
The hip hop and grunge styles were introduced. Preppy clothes, mini skirts and tight tank tops also became stylish. In the 2000s, the general style emphasized minalism and was a mashup of previous styles. —Compiled by Esther Kozakevich
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Features
THEORACLE
Teacher Tattoos Can you match the tattoo to the teacher? (ANSWERS AT THE BOTTOM) The Candidates
Rachel Congress Math
Emily Cruze English
Mark Gleason Visual Arts
Lynne Navarro Social Studies
1
Q: What is the significance of your tattoo? A: I had a good friend who had a tattoo, and I liked it and thought that it was a good idea (to get one). I have tattoos of a pansy and a sunflower because they’re my favorite flowers.
2
Q: How much did it hurt? A: When I got my first one, it was very painful, but bearable. The pain for both of them was bad, but not as bad as childbirth.
Q: What is the significance of your tattoo? A: I got my first tattoo, a yin-yang symbol, on my right shoulder, while I was very seriously into tai chi and martial arts. My second tat, on my left shoulder, I’ve had for four or five years. It’s a personal logocharacter-guy with crazy eyes and pointed teeth named Spooky. Q: How much did it hurt? A: It barely hurt at all, though I probably should be a responsible adult and warn against that. To me, it felt like getting tapped with a sharpened pencil.
3
Q: What is the significance of your tattoo? A: I like the artsy aspect of the symbol used to represent infinity in addition to the mathematical meaning behind it. I also love the allusion of the symbol to tattoos being permanent. Q: How much did it hurt? A: It hurt, and it’s forever, so please be careful and cautious about getting one. It is a big decision that should not be taken lightly.
Q: What is the significance of your tattoo? A: The design (of the tattoo) is a compass. No matter how dark life becomes, it reminds me I will always find my way. The process of getting the tattoo helped me deal with the pain I felt with the loss of my grandfather.
4
Q: How much did it hurt? A: If feels like exactly what it is—a dull scraping with a needle in your skin. Focusing on what that felt like helped me let go of some of the pain I felt when I lost my grandfather. It’s weird how pain can actually make you feel better.
Q&AArtist of the Month:
freshman Eleanor Lewis
TO: What are your favorite works of art? EL: My favorite art pieces are actually not the ones I spend the most time on. They’re the ones which just come from my imagination and the most creative ones because I just like the way they look. I like that it is my own work rather than just copying from someone else. TO: What is your goal as an artist? EL: My only goal as an artist is to improve and experiment. I don’t think there’s a limit on how good an artist can be, so I’ll always be working towards it, but it’s fun to see the progress I’ve made. TO: Do you take lessons or teach yourself? EL: I have taken lessons both at school and after school sometimes, but what I’ve found mostly is that they do not really help and they just teach me what I’ve already known, so mostly I just teach myself. TO: Do you have a certain style that distinguishes you from other artists? EL: I love to try new things and experiment a lot. I don’t have a set routine. I just go with what inspires me, and I always try new things and push myself. Audey Shen
TO: What is your ultimate goal in art? EL: I am amazed by the talent of some artists to create a photorealistic drawing, but that is not what I want to do. I think that it is important to learn how to draw realistically, but the art that I really love is weird and creative and different and something that really has not been done before. When I do that, I am really proud of myself. One of my favorite pieces is my compass because I did not have a clear idea of how it was going to turn out when I started and I did not have pictures to look at. I just went with what I had in my head and, it turned out to be one of the most interesting things I think that I have ever drawn.
TO: How much time do you spend drawing? EL: I draw all the time, in school and out of school, whenever I get the chance. Any of my teachers can tell you that most of my papers get turned in with doodles all along the edges, and my math notebook has more art than geometry. But for me, it isn’t really a distraction. It’s a way to focus and clear my mind. That is not always true of course. When I am doing a serious art project, I can spend hours drawing without looking up once. TO: What do you want your fans to feel when they see your work? EL: I want my art to make an impact on people, even if it’s just a handful of viewers. To get instant feedback [on Instagram] and to hear that I’ve inspired anyone is incredible, especially from people I’ve never met, including people halfway around the world.
TO: How did your passion for art begin? EL: I’ve loved drawing ever since I was a little kid. I got an Instagram and that motivated me to start improving and testing myself to try new things. TO: How much time do you spend drawing? EL: I draw all the time. Most of my papers get turned in with doodles all along the edges, and my math notebook has more art than geometry. But for me, it isn’t really a distraction. It’s a way to focus and clear my mind. That isn’t always true of course. When I’m doing a serious art project, I can spend hours drawing without looking up once. TO: What is your most popular drawing? EL: This was my first real colored pencil drawing that I did this summer. I used a reference picture of Danaerys from “Game of Thrones.” This is probably my most popular drawing.
Courtesy of Eleanor Lewis
—Compiled by Arjun Sahdev
Answers to teacher tattoos: 1- Navarro; 2- Congress; 3- Gleason; 4- Cruze
The Oracle: What makes art important to you? Eleanor Lewis: I definitely see art as a big part of my future. I’m not quite sure how it will fit in, but I draw all the time. It doesn’t matter whether I’m nervous or bored or anything, and it really helps keep me calm and relaxed. It’s a good thing to do in my free time.
Features
Friday, October 11, 2013
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GU NN O R I G I N S In September 1965, Gunn High School opens for tenth-grade Palo Alto High School and Cubberley High School students as well as ninth-grade Terman and Jane Lathrop Stanford students. Gunn chooses the Titan as the mascot.
TRACE TIMMY THE TITAN'S JOURNEY!
In 1992, the Gunn football team becomes the first to use Timmy the Titan: they change their helmet decal from a “G” to a menacing picture of Timmy. However, the change is shortlived; the “G” is back again by 1995.
In 2011, alumni William Wang, Charlie Yang and Tony Yun were asked to create a model of Timmy the Titan. The model, which portrays Timmy in his Grecian roots, was then made into a seven-foot bronze statue over the summer.
Timmy the Titan appears on television in a High School Sports Focus broadcast in 2003. The broadcast depicts Timmy as an average student, who one day decides to devote himself to energizing the school’s sports teams.
Unraveling the mysteries behind the school’s trademarks Who was Henry M. Gunn?
Dr. Henry Martin Gunn may not be widely considered a household name for families employing the services of the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), other than the fact that he serves as the namesake for one of the district’s two high schools. However, this educational administrator’s work led to a significant level of growth and expansion for the district. Upon becoming superintendent of PAUSD in 1950, he oversaw a period of growth that involved an increase in the number of students enrolled in Palo Alto schools from around 5,500 students to Henry M. Gunn around 14,000 students. Because of this significant growth in student population, Dr. Gunn was responsible for the addition of 17 schools in the district in a mere 11 years in office. Upon his retirement from the position of superintendent in 1961, he became a professor of Secondary School Administration at San Jose State University. In 1964, the third high school in the district (the first two being Palo Alto High School and the now non-existent Cubberley High School, respectively) opened for enrollment. In honor of Dr. Gunn’s work, the district decided to name it after him. Dr. Gunn, who also served as a professor at the University of Southern California and president of the Oregon College of Education, is the subject of a painting hung in the library nearby the librarian’s desk. While his facial features and the fact that he wore glasses is known through the existence of this painting, mysteries still remain regarding the man who the school was named after.
Who was Spangenberg?
Spangenberg Auditorium, home to most school plays and assemblies, is a big part of life at Gunn. However, not many people know who this building was named after and why. Dr. Karl Rudolph Spangenberg’s accomplishments in electrical engineering made him a renowned figure in his field. He served as the director of the Electronic Laboratory at Stanford from 1937 to 1958. During World War II, he worked at Harvard’s Radio Research Laboratory and received a Medal of Freedom for his analytical work on captured German electronics equipment. He wrote two major books and many articles on vacuums, and established the electronics curriculum for the Brazilian Air Academy in 1950. According to the 1965 Gunn yearbook, Dr. Spangenberg was a “founding father” of Gunn High School. He served as the Vice President of the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board from 1950 to 1952 and again from 1959 to 1964. His influence on Gunn can be seen in everything from the school’s academics, sports and architecture. After resigning from the board, Spangenberg continued to be invested in the development and completion of Gunn. On Sept. 15, 1964, he died of cancer, just one month after the opening of Gunn and the start of the school year. The school dedicated Spangenberg Auditorium to him on May 12, 1965. Spangenberg Theater
Why are all school publications named after Greek legends?
Not every single Gunn-related publication is named after some component of ancient Greek legend. However, some of the more prominent ones—the yearbook, the broadcast network, the political magazine, the science publication and the newspaper—derive their names from a number of different Greek legends. The name of the yearbook, “The Olympian,” comes from the names of the twelve gods who governed Mount Olympus. “Prometheus,” the campus science publication, takes its name from the Titan who, according to Greek legend, was responsible for giving humans the ability to make and use fire. He is famous for his punishment from Zeus, which came in the form of being chained to a rock where an eagle would fly down to eat his liver. The political magazine,“The Chariot,” is named after the transport that Helios, the god of the Sun, supposedly employed to orbit around the Earth. Of course, it would be more than a thousand years before the scientific community adopted a sun-centered model of the solar system. The name of this very newspaper, The Oracle, even originates from Greek mythology: an oracle in Ancient Greece acted as a soothsayer who derived the fortunes of others through a connection with the Gods. No one is exactly sure why the publications are all Greek-related and themed; the best possible explanation for this phenomenon lies in the adoption of the Titan as Gunn’s mascot. The Titans were the very instigators of Greek legend; they were the first gods and goddesses and started a war with the Olympians. Unfortunately, they lost that conflict and became imprisoned in the hellish pit of Tartarus. Perhaps for the best, Tartarus is still up for grabs as a possible name for another Gunn campus publication. Photos courtesy of The Oracle and “The Olympian.”
—Written by Cooper Aspegren and Elinor Aspegren
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Cente
These are a few of my fav
The Oracle takes a look at popular causes celebrated during the mo October is the time to walk for a cure Rachel Lew Centerfold Editor
Each year, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation hosts several threeday fundraising walks to commemorate its cause. This October, for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the walk will be held in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington, D.C. Social studies teacher Lynne Navarro is a regular three-day walk member and supporter of breast cancer awareness. “The first walk I did was in 2001,” Navarro says. “My mom had breast cancer when I was thirteen, so I’ve always known
a lot about [it].” Since then, Navarro has attended seven fundraising walks. The three-day walk will not be held in the Bay Area this year, but Navarro plans to attend the 2014 walk in San Francisco. According to Navarro, each participant has to raise a minimum amount of money during the walk-a-thon. Individual attendees try to collect $1,000 to $2,000, whereas fundraising teams of several people aim for $10,000 and above. “On the walks I’ve been on, we used to just make things and sell them—like jewelry, scarves or bags,” Navarro explains. The walk is 60 miles in total at 20 miles a day. “When I walked in San Francisco, usually the first day we would
start at the Cow Palace and then set up camp on Crissy field, which is this huge field near the Golden Gate,” Navarro said. “We had our tents in pink. We had showers in trucks, dining tents, and medical tents.” Each day, the walkers trek around the city in a loop and return to the camping grounds at night. “The community really comes out and cheers,” Navarro said with a smile. Overall, Navarro is glad that October commemorates breast cancer awareness. In terms of raising awareness outside of fundraising, she suggests that people stress the importance of “self-exams, mammograms, a low-fat diet, no alcohol or smoking—just basic things.”
M
Reporter reflects on favorite book for Book Month Emily Kvitko Reporter
I could have picked a timeless classic to celebrate National Book Month, but instead, I decided to nominate Tim Gunn’s “Fashion Bible,” which details the fascinating history of everything in your closet. National Book Month, as alive now as it was during its conception 63 years ago, is all about recognizing literary excellence. Gunn achieves exactly that in his odyssey through the history of fashion. “It’s rare that people think about what their clothes signify about their place in the world or their priorities,” he writes. “To me, dismissing fashion as silly or unimportant seems like a denial of history.” I couldn’t agree more with his opinion that “your clothes reflect how broad your life is … Get out there!”Moreover, in his book, Gunn doesn’t leave guys out of the picture: “There is nothing mutually exclusive about being manly and putting some thought into your appearance.” In the early 1940s, no one dreamed about being seen in public wearing a T-shirt, which is one of today’s central constituents of people’s clothing. Rebellious actors and celebrities acted (no pun intended) against society and transformed the seemingly basic piece. “The T-shirt has often been a symbol of raw sex
appeal and also of liberation for women,” Gunn writes. He jokes in the book, “I once had another fashion victim tell me, ‘This T-shirt cost twelve thousand dollars!’ What difference does that make? If that’s the message you want to send about yourself and your fashion sense, you should wear the price tag, or that should be the message on your T-shirt: ‘Hi. This T-shirt costs more than a semester of college.’ Or: ‘Hi. I have money to burn. Please help me get rid of all this wealth.’” It’s not often that we question the color of denim jeans that lurk in our closets. But according to Gunn, it turns out people today could be spotted walking around in gold jeans if the use of indigo dye in clothes hadn’t originated 80 years ago. Imagine that. Just a few decades ago, these versatile bottoms were looked at quite differently. “When I was a kid…jeans were even on my elementary school’s list of forbidden apparel and accessories,” Gunn writes about the pants. “It was like walking with two leg braces; I couldn’t bend my knees.” To celebrate the incredible fashion expert and author Gunn, my friends and I hosted “Project Runway” night. Food and drinks completed the experience as we watched him mentor the designers and save them from disaster on the show. As some of the weirdest and unexpected designs were born, he uttered a few of his famous lines from his book. In his “Fashion Bible,” Gunn sure made it work.
As amou me. B encou Gi ian fo vehem of veg howe cause a dur Th edly lunch rice, mush of my luctan had t closed Th
“I like all the colo leaves falling. It’s so p it makes the Gunn cam look really beautifu
Ethan Kau (9) Graphics and Photos by Dave Zhu and Audey Shen, Stephanie Kim and Anthony Tran
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erfold
Friday, October 11, 2013
vorite things...
onth of October and the ways that people can take part in them. Staff member revamps study habits for Work and Family Month Klaire Tan Forum Editor
What do we want? More sleep! What do we do? Procrastinate! As a procrastinator, I will readily admit that the average teenager’s work space is hardly a center of productivity. We’re constantly fighting the beckon of the great entity called the Internet, which taunts us with Imgur, 9Gag and Facebook. Our own rooms usually double as offices, and consequently become a mess of dirty clothes and school papers. Though I was fully aware of all of this, I cheerfully accepted the challenge to revamp my personal work process for a single week. Now, a week later, I’m here to share my findings, which you, my fellow procrastinator, just may find helpful. Keeping it short, here’s my first great realization: there is no way to stop procrastinating right off the bat, whether it’s in a single week or a single month. While this advice may sound unhelpful, trust me when I say to simply accept this fact. At the start of
each semester, every procrastinator starts off hopeful. We tell ourselves that we’ll change our ways, that there will be no more nights of desperate cramming, and that we will sleep more than five hours a night. Yet, by the third week, our hopes and dreams come crashing down as we become less willing to do each homework assignment or write each lab report. By the second month, we’re happy just to start our homework before dinner. I went into this challenge with my goals set sky high. For me, this challenge was an opportunity to quit my diddly-dawdling ways once and for all. I decided to finish all my homework by 6 p.m. each day. Each night, I would get eight hours of sleep. However, in just the first day, I quickly realized none of my expectations would be met. On Monday, I was far from done with my homework at 6 p.m. In fact, I didn’t even start until eight. If I was going to have a chance at completing this challenge, I would have to shift gears. Now, here comes my second great realization: taking baby steps is key. That night, I made a snap decision. Instead of aiming to totally revamp my work process, I decided to
simply work on a select few habits of mine. For one week, I would focus on keeping my room neat and my binders organized. This sounded like a ridiculous challenge, but I soon realized just how hard keeping a simple routine can be. For example, when Tuesday morning came, the urge to leave my blankets untouched as I slunk out of bed was overwhelming. The next morning was another struggle as well. After spending my entire life failing to make my bed when I woke up, switching habits was astonishingly difficult. How might this relate to your procrastination problems, you may ask? Well, over the week, I realized that something as simple as making your bed every day is a matter of discipline and habit, just like finishing your homework early. In order to eventually achieve a more productive work ethic overall, you have to first start by forcing yourself to build the small, healthy habits. A week later, I can hardly boast that I’ve suddenly become some super-student, but I can tell you that I have a much cleaner workspace. Maybe in a few months, I’ll be able to consistently finish my homework by nine every night. And if I can do it, who says you, my fellow procrastinator, can’t do it ?
Meat-lover tries new diet in observance of Vegetarian Awareness Month Matt Niksa Asst. Business Manager
s a person who really enjoys meat and who eats a large unts of it every day, eating vegetables resembles a chore to Because I’ve always been skinny, my mom and dad have uraged me to consume as much meat as I can to bulk up. iven this, when I brought up my goal to become a vegetaror five days to my parents, it didn’t surprise me that they mently opposed my proposition. They thought that a diet getables would cause a drastic loss in weight. In the end, ever, my parents allowed me to become a vegetarian bee they felt that going meat-free for five days was too short ration to cause substantial weight loss or stomach pangs. The first day of my fateful five-day journey was undoubtthe hardest. When I opened up my Thermos during htime, instead of finding my normal meal of steak and I found that my mom had prepared for me a special hroom and tofu stew. I took one look into the abyss y Thermos, glanced at everyone else’s lunch, and rently tried a spoonful. It was blander than anything I tasted in a long, long time. I took a couple more bites, d the Thermos, then left to buy two bags of cookies. Throughout the afternoon, my stomach growled as my
orful pretty, mpus ul.”
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body called for more food. I began to feel hungrier throughout the day—I just needed something filling to eat. As I biked home that day, I stopped by Driftwood Deli and Market. As I entered the store, I saw corned beef being sliced and Swiss cheese being melted. A couple of construction workers sat at a table, enjoying a late lunch. I looked longingly at the selection of steak and roast beef lining the deli counter, but I could only purchase a bag of Skittles and some Starbursts. As I left the shop, the temptation of the meats made me slow my gait, and I turned around one last time to look at the deli. I growled in frustration and biked the rest of the way home. If lunch was unsatisfying, dinner was unbearable. I started my vegetarian adventure on a Tuesday. But Tuesday night is not just any night in the Niksa household—it’s “steak night.” On Tuesdays, my family sits around a dinner table heaped with garlic bread, spinach and Italian-prepared flank steak. For my brothers and parents, the meal was meaty, steak-filled euphoria. I, however, had a bowl of vermicelli, bok-choy soup and some cold tofu waiting for me. As I ate, my brothers taunted me by chewing extra slowly on each bite and making noises of satisfaction every thirty seconds. I put on my best poker face and ate my dinner in silence. “Classy, guys, real classy,” I thought. “Let’s see you all try to be vegetarians.” For the next three days, my mom cooked special meat-free meals for me. I got hunger pangs ev-
ery night and could only fix this by accumulating a myriad of snacks at my disposal; I purchased multiple bags of cookies at the brunch line to keep myself full. Throughout my vegetarian experiment, what surprised me the most was the amount of respectful attention I got. When my friends found out about my new diet, they didn’t poke fun at my commitment. Even my parents eventually joined in on my experiment. On Saturday night, my family celebrated the completion of my meat-free week by going out to a Vietnamese Pho restaurant. As my order of tripe, steak, brisket and tendon noodle soup was set down in front of me, I reflected on the past week’s experiment. Overall, it had been a great experience, and one that I was glad to have tried once in my life. I realized that the hardest thing about being a vegetarian is withstanding the temptations that today’s society offers; every time you turn on the TV, you see ads for McDonald’s, Burger King, Foster Farms and other meat-filled establishments. I now respect vegetarians for staying committed to their own diets and for eating as healthily as they can. However, I have also come to the realization that I would never become vegetarian. It was just too extreme of a dietary lifestyle for me. I gladly picked up my chopsticks, speared a large chunk of steak, and ate it with gusto and satisfaction.
Faces in the Crowd What is your favorite part of October?
“I like when the leaves change color. In New England, it was awesome because you could watch the change of season in days.” Lindsay Maggioncalda (10)
“It’s the month before ‘No Shave November.’” Catherine Kim (11)
“October has a Chinese national holiday. I used to live in China and we would get seven days off.” Liang Xu (12) —Compiled by Lisa Hao
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THEORACLE
Living Life Abroad: The Mellows teaches in Turkey Shireen Ahsan Asst. Business Manager
Chemistry teacher Dr. Heather Mellows wanted to make a change in her career, so she decided to take a risk and dive into the unknown. For the last two years, Mellows lived in Istanbul, Turkey, teaching at Robert College, a private American high school. “I was interested in doing something new and I had friends who had taught abroad before, [so] I went to a company that helps facilitate matching teachers with schools that are looking for English language teachers,” Mellows said. At Robert College, Mellows taught college preparatory chemistry to some of Turkey’s most exceptional students. Teaching in Turkey allowed Mellows to immerse herself in the culture and observe activities that a tourist would not usually have the opportunity to experience, such as watching students participate in the morning announcements. At the beginning and end of every week, the students sang the national anthem as a part of their flag ceremony.“Every student stands, and they take that very, very seriously,” Mellows said. “I was impressed to see the level of solemnity. That time is a nice gathering for the school and a tradition to the nation.” The protests in Istanbul regarding Gezi Park started on May 28, 2013. Many working class citizens, along with college and high school students, joined to protest Tayyip Erdogan’s disconnect from the public, and eventually the police attacked the protesters. Robert College still had two weeks of school left , during which time Mellows took the opportunity to lecture on tear gas, a topic which fascinated the students and was relevant to the current events. “There was a translation issue: in Turkish, tear gas is biber gazi, which literally translates as pepper gas, and so there was confusion: was it pepper spray or tear gas, which are two very different things,” Mellows said. “I tried to clear some of that misconception.” She also discussed details of the chemical reaction and what remedy to use in case any of the students should be affected. Mellows worked with many other foreign English-speaking teachers who came from Australia, the United Kingdom and America. Living together allowed Mellows to make strong connections with colleagues that she plans to maintain. “[I loved] the camaraderie and the friendships,” Mellows said. “Half of the faculty lived on campus within walking distance, so there were opportunities for lots of informal gatherings.” In her spare time, Mellows explored the cultural and historical sights that Istanbul has to offer. “The history is so rich everywhere in Turkey, and there were so many levels of civilization,” Mellows
said. “Istanbul is strikingly European...the streets are cobbled, narrow and it’s very hilly.” Mellows’ traveling was not limited to Istanbul; she flew to Europe and the Middle East on her breaks. Mellows has taken many tokens from her experience in Turkey, including an outsider’s perspective of America. “The idea of what we think of ourselves and what others think of us isn’t the same, and that’s the first step to being a global citizen,” Mellows said. “I guess sometimes it’s easy to forget that.” As the students Mellows taught as freshmen and sophomores prepare to graduate from high school, she is tempted to go back to Istanbul and visit them for their graduation. “I would go back to teach in a minute,” Mellows said. “I don’t think I’d live there, though, because the world is such a big place and there are so many other places to see.”
Courtesy of Heather Mellows
Top: Mellows poses in front of the Blue Mosque. Bottom: Byzantine influences can be seen in the architecture.
World Facts You Never Knew In the Asian nation of Tajikistan, women with unibrows are considered beautiful.
In 1900, the average lifespan in the US was 47.
It was once illegal to slam your car door in Switzerland.
Twothirds of the world’s eggplants are grown in New Jersey.
200 million cows live in India.
In New Zealand, students are allowed to use textmessaging language on their exams.
‘Spain’ literally means “land of rabbits”. Tree hugging is forbidden in China.
The yo-yo was originally used as a weapon for hunting the in the Philippines.
The Chinese used fingerprints as a method of identification as far back as AD 700.
Source: www.did-you-knows.com
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Friday, October 11, 2013
International Experience Fi sh e r s tud ie s abr o a d i n Fr a nc e Regina Tran Asst. Business Manager
It is common knowledge that the best way for a person to improve in a specific language is to start at the origin and live in the place where that language is most prominent. Senior Laurel Fisher did just that, studying abroad in France from September 2012 to June 2013 through the program called Youth for Understanding. “I chose to study abroad in order to learn the language,” Fisher said. “I knew that I would never really become fluent in French just by taking classes. And, for sure, I am definitely fluent after ten months there. But I got more out of the experience than just the language.” The idea to study abroad originated from Fisher’s mother’s own experience in Germany during her junior year. “Laurel saw that I still have a great relationship with my host family more than 30 years later,” Megan Fisher said. “When I asked if she would like to have the same opportunity as I did, she jumped at the chance.” According to Fisher, it was difficult adjusting to a new environment so far from home. “I did get homesick,” Fisher said. “The hardest part for me was the first month. I still didn’t speak French very well and I couldn’t communicate easily with my host family or friends, which kind of isolated me. I thought about flying home every single day. It got better once I understood more French.” However, Fisher formed close relationships with her host family and her friends fairly quickly. “My family was incredibly nice, and I still contact them regularly,” Fisher said. “The friends I made were so sweet, and I miss them everyday. I didn’t realize how close we would become in such a short time.” Apart from the location, Fisher noted many differences between France and the US, such as food and education. In terms of meals, France won Fisher’s vote. According to Fisher, meals were much longer in France—at school, students had about an hour and a half to eat delicious, freshly prepared lunches. On special occasions, the meals were even longer, consisting of six courses and lasting for the entire day. However, in terms of education, Fisher feels that the U.S. trumps France. According to Fisher, school days were not only eight hours long, but the school system was very different—students stayed with the same group of students for each class and worked together in the same room. However, a detrimental difference that Fisher observed was that students barely played a role in their classes. “I really did not like the way they taught in France,” Fisher said. “The teachers would dictate and the students would write down word for word what they said. The teachers did not always explain everything clearly, which made it hard to understand and learn everything. Here at Gunn the curriculum is much more interactive, with group discussions, projects and
Courtesy of Laurel Fisher
Fisher flashes a smile for the camera in front of Chambord castle in France. interactive lectures.” Fisher was ambivalent about returning home after spending ten months in France. She felt happy to be back at home, but at the same time she missed France tremendously. Additionally, Fisher had to make many adjustments upon her return—not only to the different culture, but to the different school as well. However, she was able to recover from the culture shock fairly quickly. “My first day back was strange,” Fisher said. “I had to reintroduce myself to my own house and town. It was strange talking to people in English and paying in U.S. dollars. And the only thing I could talk about was my trip, which made me miss France so much. But after a week or so everything was back to normal.” According to Fisher, the decision to study abroad allowed her to learn something about herself that she did not realize before. “I learned that I am braver than I thought,” Fisher said. “Not many people are willing to travel alone across the world and live with strangers for a year.” Fisher’s parents also noted many changes in their daughter when she returned from France. “The obvious is that she now speaks fluent French,” Megan Fisher said. “She is more independent, self-motivated and confident. She is also open to trying new foods. I don’t think she would have eaten Carolyn Zhou escargot a year ago, but she loves it now.”
Lombatti experiences life as an American teen Kavya Padmanabhan Copy Editor
Courtesy of Alberto Lombatti
Top: Alberto Lombatti (right) and Antonio Puglisi (left) spend the winter break of 2012 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Bottom: Lombatti (right) and Puglisi (left) spend time during the summer break of 2006 together in Tuscany, Italy.
Exchange student senior Alberto Lombatti is a new addition to the Puglisi family. This year, Lombatti gets to experience life at an American high school, finding new opportunities everywhere. “I’m learning a new language, which will be beneficial for my career,” he said. “I also love to make good friends. It’s always a good thing to relate to people from different cultures. You always learn something.” Lombatti’s hometown is Parma, a city in northern Italy near Milan. According to Lombatti, it’s famous for the prosciutto and Parmesan cheese. It’s easy to find differences between the two countries. Lombatti says that in Italy, he eats every meal at home with his family and the school hours are different. School is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. In addition, there are differing views on what clothing is deemed respectable. According to Lombatti, students can’t go to school in flip flops in Italy. “You have to be respectful with the teachers, and wearing some kind of clothes means that you’re not respecting them,” he said. Senior Antonio Puglisi remarks on the benefits of having Lombatti around. “It is nice to show Alberto the experience of living here because school in Italy is really different,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to show him the typical American culture.” Antonio’s twin sister, senior Maria Puglisi, agrees. “He’s a cool kid and he’s very funny and he’s independent too,” she said. The Puglisi family has, indeed, been showing Lombatti the typical American culture. Since his arrival, he has visited San Francisco, Monterey and Berkeley. “I visited San Francisco, which is one of my favorite cities in the world,” he said. “I have visited it several times and each time, I love it more. I also went to a football game in Berkeley and then I met the football team. I went to Monterey, and I think it is a really nice place.” The Puglisi family has noted the fusion of cultures as
well. “In Italy, you don’t have a homecoming week, there’s not that much school spirit and the schools are much smaller,” Antonio said. “It’s cool to see the difference in school experience and spirit and the way classes are done and to study for. By being able to teach him, I’ve figured out a lot of the differences [in culture].” It’s only natural for Lombatti to miss certain aspects of his life in Italy. “I miss my friends the most,” he said. “I miss hanging out with them in my city, doing the homework in the park near our school and going to the club with them. They were my reference points, and being so distant from them is very difficult.” Lombatti also admits that he misses his sisters, Anna and Maria, with whom he used to spend most of his time after school. “I also miss the food,” he said. “The Italian food is something that everyone should try once in their life—the authentic Italian food, not the kind you can eat at Bucca di Beppo or other ‘Italian restaurants’ outside Italy. I have to say that my host family here cooks delicious Italian dishes, and I’m happy about it.” Because Lombatti is a family friend, adjusting to his host family was not very difficult for him. “[The transition] was really smooth,” Antonio said. “He pulls his weight around the house. He fits right ou in with the Zh n y rol family.” Ca
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Sports
THEORACLE
Sports
Fall sports stay strong, hopes high for post-season success
Audey Shen
Junior Ari Wayne attempts a shot into the goal.
Boys’ Water Polo With a great 5-0 record to start the season, boys’ water polo is ready to win California Coast Sectionals (CCS) this year. “We’ve been defending our pool and we’re undefeated at home,” coach Matt Johnson said. The team’s scoring ability has helped them tremendously so far. “We [have] a lot of offensive players; just a lot of naturally talented guys that can put the ball away,” Johnson said. The team also has great chemistry. “We mesh well together as a team; there is a true sense of unity that I have never felt from a team before,” junior Ari Wayne said. This team hopes to win CCS. “Considering we are 5-0, so far and have played our toughest competition, we believe we can do it,” Wayne said. Boys’ water polo will take on Los Altos High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 3:30 p.m. —Henry Siu
Stephanie Kim
Junior Laurie Perng hits the ball with a forehand.
Girls’ Tennis As the girls’ tennis team advances further into the season, they are focusing on one main goal: improvement. They are ranked in a higher league this year, meaning the opponents they are now playing are more competitive than before. However, the girls are more driven than ever. “There are more competitive players, so our goal here is to go out there and try our best each time, try to improve with every match that we play, and go out onto the courts with a positive attitude,” senior Stephanie Zhang said. The team’s coach, Jim Gorman, agrees with the girls’ goal. “We’re in a really tough league, we play really tough teams, so there is nothing to do but get better.” Gorman said. Girls’ tennis has their next game against Mountain View on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 3:15 p.m. at Cubberly. —Yuki Klotz-Burwell
Anthony Tran
Senior Caroline Anderson rises to pass the ball.
Girls’ Water Polo The leaves may be starting to fall, but the girls' water polo team stays on top. Currently undefeated, the Lady Titans hope to keep up their efficiency as a team until the end of the season—only a month away. Their domination this season leaves room for experimentation in the pool. "Since we have gone undefeated we try to get creative on offense," senior Lauren Johnson said. "We create new challenges for ourselves." The team won their first game against Palo Alto High School with a whopping 13 goals to one. Despite this success, the team refuses to let its guard down. "Being the league champions two years in a row puts a target on our backs," senior Caroline Anderson said. "Our team needs to go into every game ready to play." The team’s next game is at Los Altos High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6:45 p.m. —Lena Campbell
Anthony Tran
Junior Elise Griffin prepares to spike the ball.
Girls’ Volleyball Girls’ volleyball holds a 2-1 record and is ranked third in the Santa Clara Valley League (SCVAL) De Anza Division. They hold a 6-7 overall record. After a disheartening loss to Los Altos, coach Craig Bankowski believes that the team must step up their game to beat Los Gatos and the number-one-ranked Homestead team. "Our team needs to understand that they are a championship team," he said. The Lady Titans have had many accomplishments so far. They placed in both the Spikefest and Cupertino Classic tournaments in September. In league games, they defeated Mountain View and shut out Monta Vista two days later. On Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6:45 p.m. Gunn will head across town to face off against rival Palo Alto, who is ranked fourth. —Ian Cramer
Cross Country
Anthony Tran
Junior Sammy Passel continues his run and breaks out into a sprint toward the track during practice.
The cross country team has participated in three league meets and two invitational meets, Stevenson and Stanford. In all five, the varsity girls’ team placed within the top five. The first meet began three weeks into the season, which stirred some dispute from the coaches. According to cross country coach Patricia Plumer, many teams were not prepared. “A lot of coaches were concerned that most athletes ‘would be not be ready for Crystal Springs’ three weeks into the season,” Plumer said. “One athlete even fainted during a race.” Both boys’ and girls’ teams have been doing well according to Plumer. She has especially high hopes for the girls’ division.
Stephanie Kim
Senior Sandra Herchen puts her ball into the hole.
Girls’ Golf Girls’ golf had an incredible season thus far, remaining undefeated. However, senior Jayshree Sarathy believes there’s always room for improvement. “We’re definitely working on our short game because that’s where you actually score a lot and you insulate your scoring range,” she said. Last year, the girls’ golf team came in second in the CCS and played at the Northern California Regionals. “We finished second in CCS last year by just one point, and went to Norcals so [qualifying for CCS] is definitely a possibility this year,” Sarathy said. Currently, the girls’ golf team is leading in the league and has one more match to determine whether they will move on to CCS. Girls’ golf has their next game on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. —Misheel Enkhbat
Audey Shen
Senior Sean Lydster avoids handing over the ball.
Football The football team is doing its best to keep up with the El Camino division for this year. However, coach Shinichi Hirano has higher standards and believes that the team needs more experience. With a 1-4 record, the team is trying to keep up with the competition. According to Hirano, the team has to be be less afraid to get hurt. He also wants the team to act as a more cohesive group. “We talk about one big family conquering a mission,” Hirano said. “We rely on each other to conquer our goal.” Co-captain Sean Lydster thinks that the varsity team should make fewer errors in an actual game. “We have to limit our mistakes,” Lydster said. “If [the players] do what they’re supposed to do, the plan will be successful.” The team has their next game at Los Altos on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m. —Aayush Dubey
“There would have to be a very weird sequence of events for the girls to not appear at CCS," Plumer said. The boys’ team, however, has room for improvement." The boys team will have a tougher road to CCS; it will take some great racing and a little luck, but it is definitely doable," Plumer said. Senior Dillon Hu has also seen the improvement in the team overall. “We have a very deep girls’ team,” he said. “Our guys team is much better than last year and hopefully we can make [CCS] for guys.” The next cross country meet will be on Friday, Oct. 18, at Toro Regional Park in Monterey. —Alex Man
Sports
Friday, October 11, 2013
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Parents need to improve conduct during games Roy Shadmon Everyone who has played sports on a competitive team has experienced that one parent who always bad-mouths the referee or umpire. At first, I have to admit, it’s pretty funny, especially when you can tell that the parent is getting under the referee’s skin. However, there’s a point when that parent needs to take a step back. When that point is reached, the badmouthing becomes annoying and disrespectful, not just to the referee, but to the two competing teams. Ridiculing a referee is unjust, especially at younger-aged competitions when the referees are volunteers. There is, however, some leeway at competitions for athletes age ten and up: the referees are usually students who are paid a fair amount of money. I, for one, am a Palo Alto Little League baseball umpire. I umpire majors, which is the highest league, and get paid above minimum wage. I will admit that I have blown some calls during my five-yearcareer and have gotten many “c’mon, Blue” from the parents in the stands. But every time I hear it, I just want to turn around and eject the parent from the game. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re mediating. You know when you’ve made a mistake, and hearing parents say explicit words to you is the
last thing you want. Parents should understand that once a call is made, such as calling strike three on a kid, there’s no turning back. A call is final and once it is made, we’ve been trained to stand firm with our call. My personal favorite parent in the stands is the “parent coach.” On every team I’ve played on there’s the one parent who tells every player what to do. For example, “don’t drop your back shoulder” on a baseball swing or “give it more arc” on a basketball shot. Believe it or not, it’s not helpful. Once the game starts, there’s no time for
Freshman tennis star strives for top Christine Lin Reporter
Some people discover their passions at an early age, while others find their comfort zones later in life. For freshman Conrad Russell, tennis has always been the main event in his life—it runs in his blood. Born to two avid tennis players, Russell started the sport at the age of four, and since then has barreled his way to the top. From local tournaments to national championships, Russell has seen it all. His strong work ethic and unending determination have propelled him to fourth place in the entire nation, and serve him well as he aims to reach the number one spot in the U.S. Russell knows all too well the dedication and sacrifice necessary to get to where he is. “Tennis takes a lot of time and repetition; I train more than fifteen hours per week,” Russell said. Training, for the nationally- ranked player, requires two coaches,
Courtesy of Conrad Russell
Freshman Conrad Russell swings and hits a powerful forehand during practice.
endless drills and intense physical workouts. Such demanding routines requires Russell to sacrifice a large portion of free time, but, according to Russell, it also boosts him closer and closer to his goal of becoming the number one nationallyranked singles player. Russell said that although he does lose time with his friends and family, he is willing to make sacrifices to pursue his passion. “In tennis, you’re the only one on the court, so you have complete control of your own destiny— no excuses are allowed,” Russell said. Apart from dominating in various tournaments throughout 2013, including the United States Tennis Association Hard Court National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, Russell said his best memory is of his winning match in the Gold Ball Tournament, the most prestigious tournament in the nation. According to Russell, he and his partner, Ivan Thamma, overcame a match point favoring the opposing team to become the number one doubles team in the nation. “It was a huge accomplishment, and I just loved seeing all of our hard work paying off,” Russell said. Russell plans on continuing with tennis throughout the rest of his high school career and college, and is considering playing professionally. “Tennis is my passion, and I hope that I get the chance to continue pursuing this passion,” Russell said. For Russell, tennis is not only a passion and a sport, but also a learning mechanism. “Tennis has taught me so much. I have learned to never make excuses, because there is no one to blame in tennis but yourself,” Russell said. He attributes his philosophy on life to his experience in the sport and encourages aspiring athletes to persevere. “Hard work will pay off. If you practice hard, anything can be accomplished,” Russell said. “No excuses.”
players to fix their mechanics. One of my baseball coaches once told me after a game that I was dipping my shoulder. I asked him why he didn’t tell me during the game, and his response was that if he did, I would try to fix it and it would cause something else to go wrong. After the game, I could contemplate overnight about how I would fix them the next day at practice. Therefore, parents, while we players appreciate your support, please allow the coaches to do their jobs and the players to do theirs. Some parents might be wondering: if we can’t yell at the referee or coach the kids, what can we do? My answer is, you can simply support us. For example, saying, “go [insert name], you can do this” or “you’ll get it next time” when something goes wrong are both appropriate things to say. However, don’t feel like you’re being limited on things you can say; I encourage you to be creative and support us through the good and bad times. The one thing I’m asking of you is to not harass the referees, the opposing team’s players and to not coach us. As players, we’re grateful you support and cheer for us, and we appreciate that you come out for us rain or shine. We know that all you want is for us to succeed and win, but please have a filter. Respect the referees, respect the opposing team and respect the game.
Allison Paley
—Shadmon, a senior, is Tech Editor.
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Sports
THEORACLE
Popular hobbies should be recognized as official sports League Of Legends
Alvin Wang
A teenager pounding away at a computer keyboard for hours without end isn’t usually considered a sport. However, Riot Games intends to change this image. Its game, League of Legends, reaches 32 million people around the world. League of Legends is making its way to become recognized as a sport in the United States. In August, Riot Games announced a world championship tournament that would have a total prize pool of $2 million. The US government now considers the participants in the League of Legends Championship Finals pro-athletes. According to game developer Riot Games, professional League of Legends players can now receive the same visas for entering the United States as traditional pro-athletes.
League of Legends attracts a very diverse age group, ranging from under twelve years old to over thirty-five. The average age of players is 17.3, the age of a high schooler. Many students play this game at their leisure because they find it an entertaining game of teamwork. “The cool part about League of Legends is that it is a team game,” freshman Tone Lee said. “It’s a great way for me to come home and play with four other friends from anywhere across the world. I love meeting new friends through the game as well as bonding with old friends.” Players also agree that League of Legends is strategically simulating and therefore should be considered a sport. Just as time and effort are necessary to be successful at a physical sport, the same time and effort are needed to be successful at a mental sport. “The game is almost like a five versus five chess game,” senior Sammy Nio said. “In order to win, you need to outsmart your opponents, which requires a lot of strategy. It really emphasizes teamwork and coordination, much like physical sports.” — Wang, a senior, is a Sports Editor
Anton Oyung
Trick-Or-Treating
Erica Watkins
When you type “sport” into Google, the first definition that appears is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Trick-or-treating definitely falls under this description. We all know that trick-or-treating involves physical exertion. Walking (or running) from house to house, pushing and shoving through your opponents to get to the front of the door, and chewing and digesting every single piece of candy you receive are all forms of physical exertion trick-or-treating requires. The second part of the definition says that a sport has to require skill. While trick-or-treating, it is very important
to pick what kind of candy you want in a limited amount of time. Another skill is balancing the amount of candy you eat with the amount of candy you are saving for later. This can be a torturous task, considering every piece of candy you get is calling your name, asking to be eaten as soon as possible. This can be especially daunting as some of the candies in your trick or treat bag will inevitably unravel, forcing you to eat the candy or throw it out. The final part of trick-or-treating is having a competitive opponent. You want to make sure you pick an opponent who is close to your skill level. The best part of having an opponent is that nobody loses; since you are expending maximum effort in the quest for victory, you will end up with more candy. Trick-or-treating hits all of the benchmarks that the a sport requires. It is competitive, fun, and requires a lot of physical exertion. —Watkins, a junior, is a Sports Editor
Allison Paley
Entertainment
Fashion Flashback: 1983 to 2013
Take a quick look back on the various trends and fashions of 1983
Friday, October 11, 2013
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Confessions of a true teenage hipster
Anthony Keech
Boom Boxes Carrying a boom box over one’s shoulder around the street blasting Elvis is pretty hip—however, in comparison to new technology, boomboxes are far too big. People prefer smaller and lighter stereo systems with better sound quality such as Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable, which is why we rarely see hipsters carrying boomboxes around anymore.
Hacky Sacks Hacky sacks were originally designed to increase the flexibility of one’s knee, however, they soon transformed into one of the most popular pastimes of the 1980s. The main objective of the game was to keep the small beanbag from hitting the ground, using anything but your hands. Hacky sacks were extremely popular at school playgrounds and day care centers.
Cabbage Patch Kids Since the poverty level was at its highest in 18 years in 1983, Cabbage Patch Kids were an affordable way to keep children entertained. Families would wait in lines for hours and even days to get their hands on the latest doll. Almost every child at the time had a Cabbage Patch doll collection.
Oversized t-shirts The 1970s were known for their infamous bell-bottom jeans. This trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s, when people began wearing tighter fitting bottoms and loose, oversized shirts.
Flash forward to the various trends and fashions of 2013
Smartphones Smartphones provide users the capability to surf the web at any second, anywhere. Phone companies have succeeded in making smartphones more affordable than ever. According to Yahoo! Finance, over one billion people own a smartphone internationally.
Crop Tops Today, crop tops are the latest fashion trend. Whether they are worn with jeans, high-waisted shorts, or skater skirts, almost every girl probably owns at least one crop top. Originally, crop tops were only sold as solid T-shirts. Now you can find them in a variety of different prints, styles and cuts.
Candy Crush The highly addictive game challenges players to get three more candies of the same type in a row. The colorful background, fun concept and mind-boggling complexity have made Candy Crush the most popular game in the App store.
Social Media In 1983 when a person would see a crime being committed, they ran for help. Now, thanks to social media, instead of helping the person, people will most likely post a picture or tweet with the caption: “Oh. My. God. I just witnessed a robbery!” —Compiled by Anuva Ganapathi and Roy Shadmon Graphics by Ally Gong
Let me begin by saying that being a “hipster” isn’t all about listening to 50s music nobody else listens to, watching foreign movies nobody has even heard of or knowing about something “before it was cool.” It’s a lot more than that; it’s about not being a clone of the mannequins in Abercrombie, doing something that nobody would expect and trying things that people don’t usually try. One way that I stay true to the hipster life is with my clothing choices. The biggest problem with the “hipster clothing style” is that it has gotten to the point where there are stores dedicated to making people appear “hipster.” For example, we all know Urban Outfitters has amazingly attractive clothes and they are different than the rest. But when you buy that sweater with all the kitties on it or a really rad pair of socks with bacon strips on them, you and probably half of American teens are also buying that exact pair of bacon socks and that exact kitty sweater. So you really aren’t different anymore. What I tend to do is go to lesser-known thrift shops or even a Goodwill around the corner to find clothes that people aren’t wearing or don’t want, and I revitalize them with my own fashion. Another thing I want to talk about is the common misconception that all hipsters go around telling people that they listened to artists like Lorde, Lana Del Rey or Bastille before they were popular. You might have heard the infamous phrase: “I listened to them before they were cool.” In all honestly, it really depends on if you are even looking for new music to listen to. Yes, some people catch on to new artists before they become famous, but it doesn’t mean that you’re the only one who can truly like them. Share the good music! My biggest hipster confession is my addiction to the website Tumblr. I probably spend most of my time on there. I love it! I know that Tumblr is becoming increasingly mainstream and it’s becoming known to more people but I can’t find a way to stop checking my dashboard, making idiotic text posts and posting shameless selfies. Tumblr is just such a great way to express who you are, and all your inspirations and favorite things in life by putting it all on an easily accessible blog. My creative confession about being a hipster is my use of photography and drawing. Whether it’s using my dads old Canon AE-1 to shoot photos in black and white or shooting with a digital camera to get those crisper shots, I’m always taking photos. My favorite things to photograph are people, not food as most of you probably would have assumed. I have been getting many of my friends to model for me and I am always trying to get more people. One of the biggest struggles of wanting to photograph others is that I see someone I really want to photograph but since I don’t know a lot of them personally, I don’t want to just ask them to model for me. Lastly, as someone who is called an “artistic hipster,” I tend to look for guys or girls that are artistic in some way to go on dates with. I love to mesh my talents with others to create bigger and better things. Currently, I’m seeing a guy who’s really into music and has written two songs about what we talk about and how we connect. It inspires me to bring my emotions out in my drawings or photography. We have plans to go to a park sometime, and do some collaboration of my drawings while he writes lyrics; we just inspire each other to create some amazing stuff. —Keech, a senior, is a guest columnist.
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THEORACLE
Entertainment
Entertainment
Friday, October 11, 2013
19
FALL FAShION: Must haves for this season Senior Leon Cheong and junior Noa Livneh model different fashion trends for this coming season.
A lightweight but reliable jacket is great for chilly autumn weather. The classic polo-cashmere combination gives a mature, preppy look while keeping you warm.
The staple leather jacket is perfect for the fall.
Don’t forget to wear a scarf! It’s super cute and keeps you warm.
Black leggings are your best friend in the fall.
A pair of thin, black, slimfit jeans combines comfort and style.
Leather sneakers add to the theme and keep your feet from getting wet.
Neutralcolored boots paired with knee high socks make a great addition to your outfit.
What is your favorite fall fashion item?
“A beret because 1.) It keeps your head warm and 2.) It is quite fashionable.” —Sydney Wong, 9
“My ‘Not In Our Schools’ T-shirt and my saxophone because that’s what I wear to school.” —Ajay Raj, 10
Graphics by Paige Anderson and Allison Paley. Photos by Audey Shen.
“Monochromatic T-shirts because I think they’re warmer than anything else.” —Hugo Jenkins, 11
“Oversized earth-toned sweater because it gives off a comfortable autumn feel.” —Angie Wang, 12
—Compiled by Leon Cheong and Noa Livneh
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Entertainment
THEORACLE
The Oracle staffer unplugs for a week
Noa Livneh
Top Five Most Irrelevant Gadgets
Nymi
iPad Mini
The iPad mini is very popular, but there is no need for it. It does the exact same thing as an iPad and if you want a smaller device, get an iTouch or an iPhone.
Electric Razor
iPhone 5c
Electric Pet Dog
Nymi is a wristband that measures your heart rate to unlock devices. Although this is cool, it’s unnecessary and won’t work if your heart rate has changed in response to a different mood.
Electric razors were built for lazy people. Razors are dangerous, so it is unnecessary to increase the amount of danger by putting your body in technology’s hands. Why not just use a normal razor?
The iPhone 5c was created to be cheaper and less sensitive than the other iPhones. Getting an iPhone is a luxury and creating a cheaper version of a luxury item is counterproductive.
Childhood is full of playing with fun toys, but an electric stuffed animal is not a fun toy. The point of having a dogs is for love, affection and personality. An electric pet dog offers none of these things.
—Compiled by Erica Watkins Graphic by Jasmine Garnett
For the past three years, my life was centered around one thing: my iPhone. So it was an unimaginable task to turn my phone off and store it in a cabinet for a whole week. Just the thought of not being able to check my Snapchats sent a cold shiver down my spine. But I finally decided, for the sake of a good article, I would go for a whole week without my phone. Let there be a disclaimer that I did use Facebook during the week but I limited myself to only once after school. Now, let there be a disclaimer to the disclaimer stating that I only used Facebook for mainly educational purposes. In the beginning, a big struggle was trying to figure out how I was going to wake myself up or know what clothes to wear according to the weather. Trying to find an alarm clock in a house full of smart phones was a difficult task. I finally managed to find an old alarm clock that I had used in middle school (gorgeously decorated with Barbie stickers that were halfpeeled off) in the garage. After trying to figure out how it worked, I learned that I could only set one alarm on it, rather than the usual ten that are required to wake me up. As the morning came, I had to get out of my bed, walk all the way to the computer on the opposite side of the room, and Google “Palo Alto weather” like a caveman. I finally got to school and instead of listening to ad-less music from my phone, I ended up using the old-fashioned radio; so now it’s basically Hernando and Greg on 99.7 for life. I never realized how much I used my iPhone throughout the school day. Walking with my friends, I actually began to admire the scenery of Gunn rather than the scenery of Facebook Mobile. When I finished work early in a class, I read my English book AHEAD of time instead of playing Candy Crush. At first, I felt sort of naked without my phone on me 24/7, but it turned out to be a breath of fresh air to be able to walk the hallways with my hands free of devices. Since using my phone to coordinate was impossible, I had to physically find friends on campus to arrange specific times for the entire week otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see them. The hardest part was explaining to my mother, who—bless her heart, loves me very much and wants only the best for me—needs to know where I am one hundred percent of the time, that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with her over the phone. Same story for my dear father who was overwhelmed when I drove to Safeway without my phone and nearly had a stroke. The experience was a nice break from reality but the truth is that in today’s day and age, having a phone is essential to being connected to the rest of the world. I had no idea how dependent I was on my iPhone but sadly the reality is that there is no turning back. The minute you connect yourself to a smartphone of any kind, your life goes into that phone. There is absolutely nothing else in the world that contains more about my personal life than my iPhone. My calendar is in my phone, and what would I ever do without my precious Googlemaps or Whatsapp? The best thing to do is to accept the fact that our society is now completely dependent on cellular devices. The more we try to deny it, the more we get left behind. —Livneh, a junior, is an Entertainment Editor