The Oracle December 2022

attempts to

serve minority groups

Chris Lee News Editor

On March 14, 1986, after more than 10 years of litigation, the Tinsley v. State of California settlement created the United States’ first inter-district desegregation initiative: the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program (VTP). Although the VTP continues to serve as a prominent symbol of the case, Tinsley’s ultimate goal was to bridge the divide between the Ravenswood City School District (RCSD) in East Palo Alto and surrounding school districts, ensuring that all students would be able to receive a quality education.

Thirty-six years later, divides continue to persist, particularly in regards to schools’ resources and funding. While equity advocates may have won the legal battle through the Tinsley settlement, its application remains far more complex.

In the late 1960s, Palo Alto and East Palo parents joined to form the Midpeninsula Task Force for Integrated Education, due to concerns regarding the racial disparity between RCSD and neighboring school districts. Tinsley

two other lawyers to present their case in court, selecting Margaret Tinsley—an African American East Palo Alto mother—as the main plaintiff.

The VTP originally allowed for up to 206 minority kindergarten through second grade RCSD students to attend schools within eight surrounding school districts’ boundaries—including Palo Alto Unified, Menlo Park City and San Carlos. If more students applied to transfer than spots available, a lottery system would be used to determine who could participate in the Tinsley program. Once their racial minority population reaches 60%, districts are no longer required to reserve the court-mandated spaces for the VTP: As of 2022, the Redwood City School District and Belmont-Redwood Shores School District have met the population threshold, resulting in the current 135 annual transfer spots.

Furthermore, the court order also allows students attending school in the eight participating districts who are not minorities to transfer into RCSD. This option, however, elicits significantly fewer participants: from 1986–2006, only two non-minority students transferred into East Palo Alto. In contrast, 2,508 students transferred out of RCSD during the same time period.

schools—including Gunn—at the end of the 2021–2022 school year.

Students at sites no longer served by the district’s buses can opt to attend a school that does have bus service or find their own form of transportation. Junior Stephanie Castillo Baltazar noted the adverse impact of the arrangement on both her and other Tinsley program families. “A lot of students that live in East Palo Alto have parents who work two jobs or have more than one kid,” she said. “The change was super stressful because we had to figure out how I was going to get to school and back home. My mom drives me now, but she’s emotionally drained and has less time to get dinner ready.”

According to Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Student Affairs Yolanda Conaway, two main factors drove the decision to cut routes: a lack of bus drivers and excessively long bus rides. “We are one of the most resourced districts in the area and yet we couldn’t find bus drivers,” she said. “This was also an equity issue, since we were essentially saying, ‘If you’re [a VTP student,] you have to get up at 5:00 in the morning and don’t get to sleep.’ It ultimately came down to the fact that getting kids to school was more important than having [their] first choice school available.”

Tinsley program parent Alma Navarrete expressed frustration with the district’s lack of communication regarding the substantial decision. “There were a lot of changes in the program like the termination of bus routes,” she said in a conversation translated from Spanish by her daughter. “While I appreciate the district helping us out and allowing my daughter to have a better education, it seems like they’re cutting off valuable resources and not eliciting feedback from parents and students.”

Beyond transportation, VTP students, such as freshman Elizabeth Perez, have noticed social impacts stemming from her longer commute to Gunn. “I wanted to go to some of the football games, but wasn’t able to because it’s too far away and my mom can’t give me a ride,” she said. Castillo Baltazar echoed Perez’s thoughts and offered deeper insights. “Living farther away changes everything,” she said. “A lot of people in Palo Alto view East Palo Alto as ‘ghetto,’ but most of us can’t afford to move to Palo Alto. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t necessarily belong at Gunn because I wouldn’t be going here without the Tinsley program.”

Data and Professional Development Teacher on Special Assignment Tara Firenzi points to the challenge of increasing student body diversity while avoiding feelings of isolation. “I would love to see more students from underrepresented backgrounds on campus,” she said. “That being said, [the students from East Palo Alto] are still a

hard to go with the flow”: Read about period experiences on campus.

Monthly highlights: Harvest Feast

—Mary Yu, 9

Community expresses frustrations, concerns with Tinsley VTP

very small population of students when compared with the majority groups at Gunn, and it can be easy for them to feel a profound sense of isolation.”

Firenzi, a former Social Emotional Learning and Functionality (SELF) coordinator, began an attempt to ameliorate this issue in 2018. Alongside Assistant Principal Courtney Carlomagno, she worked to create a SELF cohort solely consisting of students in College Pathways, a program that aims to close the resource gap for underrepresented and first-generation college students. “The students had a stronger connection to each other and to their mentor,” she said. “They were able to talk about their feelings of being discriminated against and not feeling connected to the wider school community in an environment where they felt safe.”

World Languages Instructional Lead Daissy Tabares volunteered to mentor for the cohort—she noted the students’ unique perspectives on certain SELF lessons, such as ones on racial disparities and redlining, in which they may have personally experienced the consequences.

“A lot of kids opened up more than they would have if they were in another class with other students,” she said. “I would often hear something along the lines of ‘[Things are unfair for us,] but how are we going to fix it?’ They didn’t believe that things could be better.”

students feel much safer and more connected. Ultimately, you need to have specialized opportunities for students to feel safe, and you need to do a better job of creating a school culture where everyone feels welcome.”

Student Supports

Although the PAUSD website states that one of the goals of the VTP is to improve educational achievement of Ravenswood students, some are concerned with their teachers’ approaches in meeting the aim of “achievement.” “Teachers will ask if I need help, but it doesn’t seem like they actually mean it,” Perez said. “They ask for the sake of asking and don’t truly want to do anything.” For Castillo Baltazar, her experience was less about teacher apathy, but rather teachers failing to properly advocate for and believe in their students. “I feel like we get cushioned compared to everybody else,” she said. “In middle school, other students got a blank set of notes, but my friend [who is also from East Palo Alto] and I received filled-in ones. I was in sixth grade and definitely could have done the blank notes on my own.”

Castillo Baltazar also noted a less-subtle ordeal with a teacher that made her feel uncomfortable. “[During] my freshman year, I remember one of my teachers saying that I was having trouble in his class because I was Latina, and that I would need to put in more effort to pass,” she said.

feasibility and reasonableness of said plan,” the Tinsley settlement states. “The consultant shall consider the creation of one to three model schools designed and located to attract both minority and non-minority students.”

Unfortunately, a model school was never built in East Palo Alto, leaving the district with no dedicated high school. Currently, students in RCSD attend MenloAtherton High School, located in Sequoia Union High School District, to finish their secondary education.

While not all Tinsley students participate in College Pathways, many face similar challenges to those who do. Perez acknowledges the merits of the experimental group, but also believes minorities should not be treated as a monolith. “Every opinion is different and a lot of people want to be around the people that they most relate with,” she said. “Personally, I don’t like feeling different from the rest. I’d be okay with [being in a similar cohort,] but it wouldn’t be my first choice.”

Likewise, Firenzi recognizes the importance of striking a delicate balance between the sides of this dynamic. “It’s really hard because you don’t want to tell students that they should only be with others that look like them,” she said. “At the same time, that can also make minority

Granted, these experiences are not unique to students in the VTP. “These are much larger systemic issues that we’re looking at,” Firenzi said. “We need to be focusing on all the factors, including how accessible and safe we make a student’s social and academic environment across the board.” Conaway shared similar thoughts. “We should do our best to make sure families and students from East Palo Alto feel welcome here,” she said. “But from an equity leader’s perspective, there’s just a lot more work we need to do in general to make people of color and people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds feel like they are welcome in a place that is predominantly wealthy. We have work to do, but that’s our nation’s work, not just Palo Alto’s.”

Future Outlook

While a major component of the Tinsley settlement order was the creation of the VTP, two additional parts, the Models Schools Study and Ravenswood Improvement Program, are often overlooked. “The consultant shall estimate the high, average and low enrollments expected in model schools, develop a plan for a model school(s) and explore the problems, costs, advantages, disadvantages,

Firenzi believes the unrealized part of the settlement is a crucial aspect of achieving education equity through the VTP. “We shouldn’t need to have students take a bus and be dislocated from their communities,” she said. “They should be able to go to a good school with lots of resources in their neighborhood. Without a secondary school in the Ravenswood community that serves the needs of East Palo Alto, you get stuck with some non-ideal options.”

Conaway reiterated Firenzi’s thoughts while considering realistic benchmarks for the near future. “I do agree that we need to think about a better solution because every community deserves a high-quality school,” she said. “There are some rockstar teachers in East Palo Alto that just need more pay and more opportunities to do what is right for students. I don’t know if that’s going to happen soon, but I do know that in the meantime, the 600 to 700 kids that we have in the Tinsley program deserve our best.”

Although the VTP is far from perfect, those in the program—such as junior Andy Vega—appreciate its ability to provide opportunities for underrepresented groups. “Being able to help students go to better schools for multiple years is [in itself] a success,” he said.

In a survey sent out to VTP parents in Fall 2019 and published in the 2021 PAUSD Western Association of Schools and Colleges report, one parent voiced similar thoughts. “As a mother of a child in special education, one can see the difference in the amount of support that my son receives,” she said. “My children are exposed to a diversity of cultures and this allows them to learn new languages and traditions. [Overall,] the academic level is much better.”

—Quotes compiled by Michael Zhang

The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) prepares plates of food for students and staff.

Vegetarian participants pick up their plates of food at the distribution tents around the quad.

Parent volunteers work with Student Executive Council (SEC) members help to set up the Harvest Feast lunch event.

Students socialize and enjoy their Thanksgiving meals together on the quad during the Harvest Feast’s extended lunch period.

By The Numbers:

After picking up their main plates, students line up to receive slices of pie.

“I enjoyed the food but there was a lot of trash left afterward. I think we could find a better system next year.”

“It was a fun vibe, and there were a lot of volunteers that helped out and that was super nice of them. Overall, it didn’t disappoint.”

—Samarth Pusegaonkar, 12

Michael Zhang

Michael Zhang

Daniel Pan Daniel Pan

Daniel Pan

Source: Gunn PTSA

“There are some rockstar teachers in East Palo Alto that just need more pay and more opportunities to do what is right for students.”

Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Student Affairs Yolanda Conaway

“We need to be focusing on all the factors, including how accessible and safe we make a student’s social and academic environment across the board.”

Data and Professional Development Teacher on Special Assignment Tara Firenzi

780 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306

(650) 354-8238 www.gunnoracle.com

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Piloted Advanced Placement African American Studies course fosters interdisciplinary thinking

Kaitlyn Chen Online Editor

This school year, College Board is pilot ing their newest Advanced Placement (AP) course, AP African American Studies, at 60 high schools across the country. Although College Board has not named the 60 schools or released a course syllabus, educators in the pilot program describe the course as an inter disciplinary study of African American his tory, politics, art and culture. The course will cover over 400 years of Africans’ and their de scendants’ contributions to the United States (U.S.), starting in 1513 from when the first known African, Juan Garrido, came to North America and going onward. Students in the program this year will take a pilot AP exam but will not receive scores or college credit, as the goal is to expand the course to 200 high schools during the 2023–2024 school year and make it available to all high schools the fol lowing school year.

The new course, dedi cated entirely to the study of African Ameri cans, comes at a time of ongoing nationwide de bate surrounding how race should be taught in classrooms. While some states such as California are seeking to expand discussions about race by implementing a new eth nic studies requirement, 36 states have introduced legislative efforts to restrict education on race, gender and American history as of Aug. 2022, according to the nonprofit organization Po ets, Essayists and Novelists (PEN) America. Diversity Commissioner junior Chania ReneCorail believes discussion about race is neces sary, given recent controversies over its role in education. “Race has been impacting people for centuries now,” she said. “A lot of people have been negatively impacted by it and the concepts we associate with race—to just ig nore it now would be much more harmful than talking about it. As someone who is from a mi nority group and has had trouble finding rep resentation in history classes in the past, it’s extremely important to be able to know about your past and know about why people treat your community the way they do.”

on the backs of African Americans,” he said. “If we look at the experiences [African Ameri cans] have gone through, the reality they face today and the perspectives of those that hold power, we can clearly see that they’re not in alignment. If you’re going to have a more equi table, just society, we need to understand what their hopes, dreams and grievances are.”

Kinyanjui also hopes the course will in crease respect for all minority groups, not just for African Americans. “The more we know, the more caring and empathetic we become about those around us,” he said. “Most of the time, discrimination and other kinds of mis treatment are based on fear, and most of this fear comes from people not having enough in formation.”

“There’s no point in learning about history if we don’t see how it’s directly affecting what we see today in the world. Not only will this make us more socially aware, but it would also help eliminate the issues we see on campus.”

Black Culture Club President junior Angelina Rosh

Black Culture Club President junior An gelina Rosh hopes that the course will focus more on current issues, rather than historical perspectives. “Though we need to start learn ing more about African American history, spe cifically at our school, it’s not [only] about recog nizing African American history or the struggles, but [also] recognizing how we interact with the community today,” she said. “I would really like there to be a constant focus on relevant issues and how this history has affected us now. There’s no point in learning about history if we don’t see how it’s directly af fecting what we see in the world today. Not only will this make us more socially aware, but it would also help eliminate the issues we see on campus.”

Social studies teacher Arthur Kinyanjui also believes it is important to know about Af rican American history and supports the new course. “Most of the western civilization, start ing with the Industrial Revolution, was based

However, due to concerns regarding en rollment, there is no current plan to offer AP African American Studies at Gunn. Rather, Social Studies Instructional Lead Jeff Patrick encourages students who are interested in Af rican American history to enroll in AP Human Geography or Ethnic Studies classes instead. “If students are interested in the topic, our AP Human Geography class provides some of the same analytical skills,” he said. “[Also,] our current Ethnic Studies class, which we’re run ning for the first time this year, would love to see more students in it. [AP Human Geogra phy] is designed to be a more interdisciplinary class than a U.S. History or economics course, which seems to be the direction that higher education is moving toward in terms of pro viding students with a wide range of skills in which to tackle big problems.”

INBOX

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

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“I liked the coverage about homecoming because it included coverage of the games and student opinions.”

—Samuel Chen, 9

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

50.8% of students were familiar with Toni Morrison, an author best known for her novel “Beloved.”

81% of students were familiar with Langston Hughes, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

12.3% of students were familiar with Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist best known for examining Black folklore.

Source: Survey sent out to Gunn students with 256 responses.

54.2% of students were familiar with Thurgood Marshall, a former Supreme Court Justice.

How familiar are gunn students with famous African American Figures?

Gunn must improve efforts to bolster

and discuss non-academic topics. Though SELF provides a space for students to feel comfortable sharing their identity and learning about different communities, experiences differ from cohort to cohort. Moreover, the repetitiveness and structure of the lessons can at times halt natural conversations students want to have.

Syed News Editor

Over the past two months, The Oracle has examined its diversity in different ways, looking at not only the events it covers, but the various groups being represented. The paper has implemented diversity audits analyzing breakdowns of sources’ grade levels, gender identities and ethnicities. When looking at race, The Oracle compares its breakdown to that of the entire student body. Just as The Oracle is taking steps to improve representation of minority groups, so too should Gunn as a whole. As seen through changes in the demographics of the school, along with the addition of positions such as diversity commissioner and other cultural events, Gunn’s diversity has increased throughout the years. Similarly, there have already been efforts to support diverse groups on campus. However, many minorities remain underrepresented, and there are still areas of improvement with regards to equity and representation. These improvements should be made through developments in district- and schoolwide programs, student committees, clubs and the Student Executive Committee (SEC). It is important to bolster inclusion on campus to increase accessibility for more students of differing backgrounds.

Gunn’s campus diversity is mainly a reflection of the diversity within Palo Alto, which is limited due to the high costs of living.

Gunn’s school profile for the 2022-2023 school year reported total enrollment to be 46.2% South and East Asian, 28.6% White, 10.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% two or more races, 1.3% African American, 0.7% Filipino, 0.4% Pacific Islander and 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native.

By one metric, a diverse campus is one that includes people from numerous different backgrounds and creates an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their identities. One of the intentions of the Social Emotional Literacy and Functionality (SELF) program when it was first founded in 2017 was to have cohorts composed of students from different backgrounds meet

Having discussions about race, gender and socioeconomic status is important for increasing diversity on campus, and they should also be happening outside of a biweekly class. The texts used within history classes also lack diversity, mainly due to portrayals of history from white leaders' perspectives. Similar issues are present in some of the books students read in the English curriculum: They lack diverse protagonists and authors, sticking to narratives centered around cisgender white men.

Learning about history through multiple perspectives as well as reading from a variety of authors is essential to better represent the school population and move toward greater inclusion. Diverse representation throughout curricula increases students’ self-worth, as shown in a report published in Contemporary Issues in Education Research, which found that teaching the history and achievements of diverse cultural groups has a positive effect on students of those groups, increasing resilience and self-esteem.

It is also necessary to address the lack of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in the composition of advanced and college prep classes. One cause of this less diverse makeup is how some courses have different lanes. Laning affects diversity in courses. In a survey conducted by The Oracle with 256 responses, many

students noted a lack of diversity in higher-level courses. 56.5% of students surveyed said that Gunn’s higher level (honors or Advanced Placement) courses lack diversity.

Some efforts have been made thus far to address this issue, though these can be adapted and expanded upon. Throughout the years, efforts have been made by SEC to create an environment where all students of different ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities feel

celebrated. In 2007, the Diversity Commissioner position was created to incorporate diversity within school events. The establishment of this position helps bolster diversity on campus through various cultural events. Because a lack of representation for minorities can cause students to feel isolated, holding these cultural holidays at school reduces feelings of isolation and encourages all students to learn about and share these experiences. Along with events for Día de los Muertos and Pride Week helping to promote inclusion of different ethnicities and gender identities, the diversity commissioners and other students are working to include an event for the celebration of neurodiversity.

Hosting events for students of all backgrounds and identities connects back to the idea of having Gunn be a place where students feel celebrated. While SEC does host some cultural events, further funding and publicity of clubs will help them host celebrations of their own, representing more students’ cultures and identities.

Clubs—such as Black Culture Club, Latinos Unidos Club, Best Buddies Club and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club—provide spaces for students to feel heard. While having these spaces is beneficial, increased support and funding can bolster efforts to create change, expand, host events or participate in other efforts to increase diversity.

Another way that SEC and the district can work to find ways to increase equity is through the Site Council meeting at the end of the year called Data Night. At this meeting, open to all students, staff and parents, the Site Council analyzes data sets from student surveys. Examining data of specific subgroups—such as testing data, enrollment in honors classes, differences in resources in the English Learner program or historically underrepresented ethnicities—offers the chance to address inequalities and systemic barriers.

Gunn’s Student Equity Committee, which was formed in 2020, aims to improve representation in curricula and address other racial inequities within the campus and district. This committee provides a way for students to participate in increasing diversity at Gunn by diversifying school wide cultural events, reviewing the English and social studies curriculum and designing an Ethnic Studies course. The committee also reaches out to middle schools and designs equity trainings for students and staff. Establishing and publicizing student-run committees plays a major role in advancing efforts for inclusion.

Faces in the crowd: What has your experience as a minority at Gunn been like?

“As a non-binary person at Gunn, I feel very supported in this community. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of programs, clubs and committees dedicated to making this campus more inclusive such as the GSA [club], the [Student] Equity Committee and the Mental Health Awareness lunch activity."

—Tove Kaleba (9)

“As a half-Black, half-Asian student at Gunn, sometimes I feel excluded because I don’t look like the people surrounding me. I’m not fully Asian or fully Black, so I don’t completely resemble people from either of those groups. Not only that, but there are also very few other Black students at Gunn.”

—Nia Porter (10)

“As a Native American at Gunn, I’ve had experiences where some teachers and students are ignorant when it comes to what it means to be Indigenous. At the same time, I enjoy the supportive and curious atmosphere that occurs when students learn about the Indigenous experience.”

—Max Shaw (11)

“As a Mexican-American at Gunn, I’ve mostly experienced acceptance throughout my time [here]. But, I wish I could’ve seen more diversity and events surrounding ethnic holidays.”

Having discussions about race, gender and socioeconomic status is important for increasing diversity on campus, and they should also be happening outside of a biweekly class.

While SEC does host some cultural events, further funding and publicity of clubs will help them host celebrations of their own, representing more students' cultures and identities.

Natalie Lam

—Allison Salto-Uriostegui

Safina

equity, representation of minority groups

Having panels composed of these groups ensures that their needs are met and their voices are heard.

While publicizing and joining these committees is vital, as individuals, students can foster an inclusive and diverse environment. While many view this as simply not engaging in acts of discrimination, it is important to look at others’ actions and the issues people of different ethnicities, socioeconomic status, genders and other identities face. It is important to move past complacency

and take action to consciously and intentionally disrupt discrimination. Having these discussions and staying educated in other ways is important in addressing our biases and misconceptions. Racism and other forms of discrimination are taught: It’s a result of people being socialized to accept certain beliefs. Having honest conversations with people who have differing experiences is essential to creating a safe learning environment.

According to founder of initiative RaceWorks Dr. Lori A. Watson, a speaker at the equity training on Nov. 9, involvement in increasing diversity and equity on campus starts with the principles of participation. Committing to the cause even with when challenges are presented along the way is key to fighting racism and bigotry, as is

telling one’s truth as communication and listening to everyone’s stories. Don’t dodge discomfort. Point out racism and bigotry even in difficult situations with friends and family. Avoid relying on rapid resolution because this will hide issues, rather than fix them, and the foundation of the issue must be addressed.

Though Gunn is making efforts to support minority groups on campus, there are improvements to be made in diversity through supporting minority groups and bolstering representation of these groups on campus. Through taking initiative as individuals and creating and supporting programs, committees, clubs and groups working towards celebrating diversity and achieving equity, more groups of students should be given the opportunity to have their concerns addressed and voices uplifted.

Visit our website, gunnoracle.com, to take a look at the results of The Oracle’s October diversity audit, which includes breakdowns of our sources by grade level, gender and ethnicity.

dodge discomfort. Point out racism and bigotry even in difficult situations with friends and family. Avoid relying on rapid resolution because this will hide issues, rather than fix them, and the foundation of the issue must be addressed.

Natalie Lam

Media should stop romanticizing serial killers

of serial killers’ mental disorders in media feeds into the stigma about people who struggle with their mental health. Given the misconceptions and beliefs that have become associated with mental illness, these popular shows or movies feel like a step backward for those who want to fight the stigma around the subject.

Maddie Cheung Reporter

In September, Netflix released the biographical crime series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Since then, it has become the second most watched English-language show on the platform, topped only by season 4 of “Stranger Things.” True crime has become the most watched documentary genre in the United States, according to Parrot Analytics, experiencing a 60% increase in consumption from 2020 to 2021. The rise in popularity of true crime, especially in regards to serial killers, is in large part a product of recent media portrayals. True crime entertainment brings up ethical dilemmas and should stop glorifying the murderers they depict, which only trivializes their harmful actions.

According to psychology teacher Warren Collier, human beings are drawn to criminals due to certain morbid curiosity. Extreme characters fascinate people because although they cannot comprehend killers, they feel the need to understand what makes them tick. Perhaps the driving factor is an innate need to survive—humans feel the urge to understand the behaviors of serial killers in order to better avoid them. Another reason for society’s interest in serial killers may be the thrill-seeking aspects of human psychology that seek to obtain adrenaline caused by fear, but from a healthy distance.

Collier also explains the idea of transference in relation to the serial killer craze, in which strong feelings on a certain topic can be redirected onto a person. In literature and cinema, the trope of heroes versus villains is ever present. In our actual lives, however, serial killers break real laws that cause real harm. As a result, they seem to be storybook villains brought to life, eliciting a greater emotional reaction. And according to Collier, people are drawn to criminals because they give people a good target to measure irregularity. Because humans have always appreciated stories of good and evil and prefer to have clear-cut, black-and-white boundaries, it’s easy for them to see serial killers as the most depraved and wicked that a human can get.

True crime adaptations, which play on this interest, take advantage of traumatized victims and their families. While those affected may choose not to watch, it’s still difficult to ignore the subjection of their trauma to commentary and evaluation online. Family members of Dahmer’s victims have questioned Netflix’s motives in creating the show without seeking explicit permission, especially in the portrayal of Dahmer’s trial. Eric Perry, whose cousin Errol Lindsey was one of the victims characterized in the series, commented on Twitter that Netflix failed to inform the families of victims when producing the show. “It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what?” Perry tweeted. “How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”

Exploiting these tragic events simply for the purpose of making a profit is bad enough as it is, but that’s not where the damage ends. Although “Monster”’s director Ryan Murphy may not have intended for viewers of the show to sympathize with Dahmer, the usage of flashbacks highlighting his traumatic past leads viewers to feel a sense of empathy.

True crime often inspires TV shows such as “Monster” or “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” another one of Netflix’s original films, which center on prolific serial killers who have committed heinous acts such as murder, kidnapping or rape. When viewers feel empathy, they fail to realize that it is not solely directed toward the fictionalized characters shown on screen, but also the real-life killers they represent.

With the topic of serial killers, it’s difficult to avoid its relationship with mental illness. For example, according to forensic psychologist Dr. Stephen M. Raffle, Dahmer was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and suffered from brief psychotic episodes. The portrayal

A recurring issue with the depiction of serial killers within the true crime genre is the casting of conventionally attractive actors or those with large fanbases. The castings of Evan Peters or Ross Lynch as Dahmer and Zac Efron as Ted Bundy make the actions of their characters more palatable on screen and give them a sense of appeal. These castings bias viewers toward idealizing the portrayed killers. Indeed, serial killers are known for their charisma, a weapon of psychological manipulation used to lure victims in. But in films, these actors portray it as almost romantic, a trait that only adds to the charm of the leading figure on screen.

Choosing well-established actors for film projects is a logical train of thought, as enough star power draws a willing audience. Sure, for actors who have grown accustomed to a career of playing the protagonist or the heartthrob, perhaps a role playing a killer is an exciting challenge. But casting these actors perpetuates the idea that serial killers deserve to be glorified on-screen, and puts more of an emphasis on their sex appeal over the threat they pose to society.

On social media platforms Twitter and TikTok, users have further expressed that the new Netflix series has led them to feel pity for Dahmer and believe that those around him failed to prevent his development as a psychopath. The appeal of serial killers has even risen to the point where they’ve gained a dedicated fanbase of accounts devoted to obsessing over a person— often a celebrity, but in this case, a psychopath.

On TikTok, individuals have taken to creating romantic edits of serial killers set to trending music. Some edits even try to depict a relationship between serial killers and their victims in a positive light. Comments under these videos have proclaimed to root for their happy ending. Social media has only exacerbated the impacts of true crime, allowing people to form unhealthy attachments to individuals who are clearly dangerous. These idealizations enable behavior that minimizes victims as just an aspect of a tragic story, rather than actual people.

This romanticization of and obsession with serial killers isn’t anything new. Criminals behind bars have historically attracted admirers and received fan mail, and some more notorious killers such as Richard Ramirez or the Menendez brothers have even married some of these fans, despite serving life sentences. However, this behavior is more dangerous now due to the widespread nature of modern media.

Besides the moral issues inherent in the true crime genre, people must also consider the negative repercussions that they face while consuming this content. With more information about serial killers available on the internet, there’s no way to filter out the disturbing imagery or graphic details for younger users. Being exposed to a high volume of such horrendous content is also often taxing, leading to a decline in emotional health. Consumers of true crime should be careful to view it in measured doses and take breaks from content that may be too heavy.

However, the effects of true crime have had some positive results. It has led to the renewed interest in fields such as forensic psychology, and media coverage has inspired some to turn their fascination from their own TVs to actual cases in the field. Watching true crime entertainment or listening to podcasts on the topic can sometimes bring catharsis, allowing people to confront their fears from the safety of their own homes.

Human psychology makes people naturally inclined to find serial killers fascinating. True crime media often exploit this curiosity for profit, causing detrimental consequences on real-life victims and their families. While interest in notorious murderers and their crimes may not be entirely unwarranted, it is imperative for media and viewers alike to refrain from romanticizing or sensationalizing serial killers. Otherwise, they run the risk of trivializing killers’ actions and glorifying the harm they inflicted upon innocent people.

Natalie Lam

Social media has only exacerbated the impacts of true crime, allowing people to form unhealthy attachments to individuals who are clearly dangerous.

Source: TikTok

Staff double down, balance interests with teaching

Mark

Gleason

Aside from teaching graphic design and art history, art teacher Mark Gleason also creates oil paintings. Gleason’s passion for fine arts has existed since his youth. When he was younger, he would participate in kids’ art shows. Now, his art is featured in exhibitions around the world, ranging from locations such as Los Ange les to Murcia, Spain. “My first serious art exhibit was in college and [my art exhibits] have continued on,” he said. “[My career has] been getting bigger as I go. I’ve been very lucky with that.”

Gleason starts the painting process with an eval uation of his motivations and an inquiry into differ ent themes that can be portrayed. These subjects are what he continues to explore in the process—which he believes is more valuable compared to the result. “I try to tap into very different perspectives,” he said. “The images I’m making will speak to others, and [while] some do, some might fail. It’s very much about growing and seeing things.”

Through his art, Gleason hopes to leave a last ing impact on viewers. Gleason promotes his art work on his Instagram account, @markgleason, and his website, markgleason.org. “[When] the work gets seen, I am acknowledged for what I’m doing,” he said. “It gives you kind of an afterlife.”

A challenge to Gleason’s artistic pursuit is finding quality time for it. “Sometimes you need a solid block of hours to work in solitude and not have other thoughts,” he said. “I wish I had more hours in the day to work on it.”

In the classroom, he reconciles painting and teaching other forms of art. “My paintings can take place when the bell rings and I go home, and I walk into the classroom with a lot of energy and knowledge,” Gleason said. “It’s nice to do some thing close to [my passion], but a little different so that my instinct is fresh.”

Four years ago, when social studies teacher Chris Johnson learned that the announcer position for Gunn’s football games was open, he decided to volunteer, combining his passion for the sport with his experience in voice work. “I’ve gone through voiceover training, and I was a football coach about 20 years ago, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” he said.

To prepare for each game, Johnson requests an updated roster from the visiting team’s coach ahead of time. He contacts Gunn’s coach before the game to ask for a script if there are special announcements. Finally, he organizes the information into a document so he can read it more easily when announcing. “There are a lot of other places where you can find the rosters, like MaxPreps, but they’re not always correct, so I just go straight to the source,” Johnson said. “I want to make sure that all of their players get the credit that is due to them.”

Of all the games Johnson announces throughout

the football season, he especially appreciates Senior Night. Reading out a short description of each senior player allows him to connect with a more personal side of them. “When I get little biographical blurbs on players who are graduating, I learn just a bit more about them as individuals and what their playing time at Gunn has meant to them,” he said.

Johnson appreciates that his announcing job allows him to spend time with players’ parents as well as social studies teacher David Bisbee, who operates the scoreboard next to him in the announcer’s booth. “[Bisbee] would probably say the same thing because he’s always there doing the scoreboard and the clock,” he said.

“For the last four seasons, we’ve enjoyed our Friday evenings together in the fall working the football games.”

—Written by Bryan Xiao

Sports medicine teacher Stacey Kofman balances responsibilities at Gunn, Stanford University, Palo Alto High School (Paly) and Go 4 Ellis. A passion for teaching and helping athletes connects all of Kofman’s jobs.

Her career began at Paly as the athletic trainer in 1993. Later, she began teaching sports medicine in 2000 and Physical Education (P.E.) in 2004. “I enjoy the combination of being a teacher and an athletic trainer because I get to see the kids in a different light,” Kofman said. “[Stu dents] see me in a different way in the classroom [in comparison to the training room]. Teacher Ms. Kofman in class, Dr. Kofman in the training room.”

After a shoulder injury limited her movement, Kofman still advanced her career while juggling var ious jobs. “It didn’t stop me from getting my master’s [degree],” she said. “It didn’t stop me from getting a doc torate or working at the college level. I just kept pushing.”

Chris Johnson

Living Skills and Early Childhood Development teacher Jeanette Tucker is also employed as an adjunct professor—someone who is hired part time on a contractual basis. She began working at De Anza College in 2021 and San Jose City College in 2022, teaching social psychology and general psychology respectively.

She explains that she started working three jobs for financial reasons. “I had two kids, and we had decided with our first kid that my husband would stay home, so I’m the only income,” she said. “We cannot afford to exist without more income.”

Despite working full time at Gunn, Tucker has been able to balance all of her jobs while teaching at the three schools. “[The] jobs are online jobs,” she said. “One of the classes is asynchronous, so I just create content and put it online. The other class is synchronous, but it’s through Zoom. It is [also] not during the Gunn [school] day.”

While teaching at different levels and institutions,

Tucker has also gained new insights into the differences between K–12 and college education. “In K–12, there’s a lot more red tape, and a lot more of what you can and can’t do since you’re dealing with minors,” she said. “[In college,] we can talk about [topics] that are highly sensitive and difficult, because presumably everybody is an adult.”

Working as an adjunct professor has allowed Tucker to teach psychology, her background. “It’s a subject I would love to teach, but in high school, you have to have a social studies credential, which I do not have,” she said.

Conversations with students are the most rewarding part of her job. “They have been very enlightening and I have learned quite a bit from my students,” she said.

—Written by Sophia Hwangbo

Kofman teaches zero, second, third and fourth period P.E. as well as sports medicine classes at Paly, and sixth period sports medicine at Gunn. Out side of school, Kofman works as an athletic trainer for the rugby team at Stanford University and with different sports at Go 4 Ellis. Kofman appreciates the proximity of her jobs to each other, distance and job wise—a reason she took on the role of athletic trainer for Stanford’s rugby teams in the first place. “I wanted to be back in the training room,” Kofman said. “This gives me that ability to be back working with athletes.”

Kofman loves the work she does and finds that it is appreciated. “The kids are great,” she said. “They appreciate the fact that they have a full-time mentor coming to give them care. And the coaches are great because they appreciate the quality of care that we’re giving their athletes.”

—Written by Fiona Xiong

—Written by Diya Bose-Malakar

Stacey Kofman

Jeanette Tucker

Photo courtesy of Mark Gleason

Diya Bose-Malakar

Photo courtesy of Chris Johnson

Chinyoung Shao

Gleason begins a new painting in his studio.

Johnson announces from the booth at a home football game.

Kofman teaches shoulder taping techniques.

Tucker teaches both of her community college classes virtually.

Stressing about stress: Strategies render widespread stressors more manageable

Freshman Catherine Liu

Students—especially those in high school—know that academic work can be overwhelming, difficult to under stand and downright stressful. Fresh man Catherine Liu is no different, jug gling multiple extracurricular activities with schoolwork.

Liu’s stress comes mainly from homework, studying and afterschool dance classes, along with pressure from her parents to get good grades. In terms of schoolwork, Liu finds that bi ology gives her the most stress because logic-based thinking is not her suite. “Any other class is easier to figure out than biology,” she said.

Despite her stress from schoolwork, Liu has found ways to cope with the challenges thereof. “If I finish one thing, I take a break, and if I finish another thing, I take another break,” she said. “Otherwise I lose my mind.”

Liu finds dance to be a source of pressure be cause of its vigor and in herent competitiveness.

“Ballet teachers push you to your limits— sometimes even beyond your lim its—and you end

up feeling like [you] don’t want to do this,” she said. “[Ballet teachers] don’t show it, but they compare you to other [dancers].”

However, identifying the elements that create stress and managing them can be an effective way to reduce it. She also emphasizes the importance of hav ing structure when getting tasks done.

Liu uses a planner or calendar to plan commitments out. “I try to break down homework into pieces,” she said. “I get the main ideas and work [from] there. I leave the harder topics for the end.” Being a freshman, Liu doesn’t think the stress will go away any time soon. She plans on continuing to find ways to work around difficult subjects that cause stress. “The next three years, I’ll be taking more advanced courses, so stress will continue to increase, [but] I’ll probably hire tutors to help me [learn the material] and relieve stress,”

Sophomore Connor Engstrom

Managing many different classes and extracurricular activities can be stressful, especially when deadlines overlap. With multiple activities and classes, sophomore Connor Engstrom acknowledges that juggling all of them can be difficult to manage.

For Engstrom, stress comes from a variety of sources. “The factors that cause stress are schoolwork, extracur ricular activities and pressure from my parents and peers to succeed in these pursuits,” he said.

In an ideal world, the easiest solu tion to reduce stress would be to mini mize the amount of work or stop ac tivities that require excessive work. In order to complete an overwhelm ing amount of work in a cer tain timeframe, Engstrom has to sacrifice other priori ties. “The stress affects me by detracting from my time to sleep and making me on edge a lot of the time,” he said.

As a sophomore, Eng strom still considers the academic work load to be man ageable. “Being a sophomore is

Junior Rohan Kancherla

Junior year is notorious for elevated stress levels—a challenge that junior Rohan Kancherla faces. Kancherla, however, views stress as a driving force. “Stress can be really motivating, [because] it makes you feel an urgency and need to try,” he said.

Stress can often stem from societal pressures, especially in an environment that prioritizes a rigorous, academic lifestyle. Kancherla attributes some of his stress to external pressures, but also recognizes that a lot of his stress is caused by his own ambition to succeed. “There’s a lot of pressure from peers and parents,” he said. “You don’t want to disappoint them, so you put that pressure on yourself.”

Despite its possible det rimental effects, Kancherla still believes in the importance of stress in life. “These things are stressors for a reason,” he said. “There are a lot of con sequences to not doing well academically.”

Although Kancherla has to bal ance time spent playing water polo and do

ing schoolwork, he always prioritizes a punctual sleeping schedule. “I take a little bit of rest [after water polo prac tices], and then work as much as I can and get as much done as possible,” he said. “However, I also [try to] make sure I sleep on time so I’m not going overboard. I can find time in the morn ing or during school to catch up if I need to.”

Maintaining a balance between work and well-being is Kancherla’s secret to prevent becoming overwhelmed. Sometimes, it can also be helpful to just have something to look forward to. “I just need to [tell myself] that I’ll be able to spend time with other people over the weekend,” he said.

Kancherla realizes that stress ing about stress is only bound to make things worse. “You just have to realize that [the pressure] is not going to go away,” he said. “You [need to] find time to relax in between. [I tend to get] very stressed out and take things too seriously [until I reach] the point where I realize I can’t really change anything.”

definitely more stressful than being a freshman,” he said. “I have no doubt that junior and senior year are going to be more stressful.”

Engstrom says that his main way to alleviate the stress caused by school work is to try and stay in the moment. He adopts the mindset of dealing with each day’s challenges as they come. “I cope with stress by powering through as much as I can and just taking it one day at a time,” he said.

Among the actions that students can take to reduce the amount of stress in their lives, Engstrom thinks that changing his attitude will help. “I can take more time for myself and, frankly, try less hard to do everything perfect ly,” he said. “Perfection is unat tainable, and as the saying goes, it is the enemy of the good. Per haps I need to ease up on the gas just a little.”

Senior Arezoo Ghasemzadeh

Senior Arezoo Ghasemzadeh wakes up at 6 a.m. two school days a week to attend her 6:30 a.m. weightlifting class—just one of her outlets in dealing with stress. “The pressure of earning good grades, getting into a good college and meeting my parents’ expectations contributes to my stress,” she said.

One common phrase that Ghase mzadeh tells herself when she is stressed is that “everything will work out in the long run.” “As long as you put in the effort, work hard and try to cope with the stress, everything will be fine,” she said.

Often, the stress that Ghasemzadeh feels at school is carried home and can affect the way she acts around her par ents. When she finds herself becoming frustrated, she is able to de-stress by com municating with them instead. “With my par ents, I try talking it out with them to see how we can all go through this stressful time together,” she said.

Experiencing the most stress her senior year, she believes that

The Oracle’s tips for coping with stress

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• Find an organization method that works for you. This can look like making a list of clear steps to reach your goals or to-dos that you need to complete in a day.

• Follow the 80–20 rule or Pareto principle: Prioritize the 20% of tasks that make 80% of the impact.

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she has found more ways to handle stress as the years have progressed.

“Over the years I have been getting more stressed, but I’ve been getting better at learning to cope with it at the same time,” Ghasemzadeh said.

One activity she found this year to help her feel relaxed is listening to music, specifically Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music. “I usually listen to pop and happy music when I’m not stressed out, but when I’m stressed out, I listen to more mellow and relaxing music,” she said.

To the people who are stressed right now, Ghasemzadeh wants them to know that stress is a universal thing.

“If you’re stressed out right now, know that you’re not going through this alone,” she said. “There are a lot of people that are going through something similar, whether you are a freshman, sophomore, ju nior or senior. Stay safe and happy, and do the things you enjoy.”

—Written by Charlotte Qian

—Written by Charlotte Qian

—Written by Diya Bose-Malakar

—Written by Madison Yue

Irene Tsen

Photo courtesy of Connor Engstrom

Naomi Wang

Madison Yue

Chinyoung Shao

—Compiled by Irene Tsen

It’s difficult to go with the flow: Periods pose problems to menstruators, cramp their style

When freshman Khloe Hisatomi got up from her chair to sharpen a pencil in sixth grade, she realized she was sitting in a pool of blood. “I was so confused, because I forgot periods existed for a quick minute,” she said. “It was literally everywhere.”

Worried about revealing the blood on the chair, she stayed frozen in the seat after the class ended until her teacher asked her why she hadn’t left. “I told him, ‘I think I just got my period,’” Hisatomi said. “[Then], they called my grandma to come pick me up. It was so traumatizing and awkward.”

Most menstruating students have, at some point, been in a situation similar to Hisatomi’s. When sophomore Nyx White attended a national taekwondo tournament in Las Vegas, for example, they constantly feared bleeding through their white uniform. The nature of the techniques executed only exacerbated the issue. “I was doing a sidekick that went vertical, which was nerve-wracking,” White said.

A sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous, threw up in the bushes beside the football field track while running laps in Physical Education (P.E.) class during her period. Eventually, she went to the nurse’s office to lie down. “I was just cramping a lot, and then I was feeling really dizzy,” she said.

These incidents comprise some of many experiences in a wide spectrum of physical and emotional discomfort for menstruating students. Most agree that they are inconvenienced to some degree by their periods. “I experience a lot of cramps and a lot of pain, and it’s really hard to do normal activities,” Hisatomi said.

According to a survey conducted by The Oracle, with 256 responses from Gunn students, the top five symptoms menstruating students at Gunn experience are cramps, mood swings, fatigue, bloating and food cravings. A freshman who wished to remain anonymous, sophomore Yuna Suh and Hisatomi all said that cramping—a common symptom before and during periods—feels much like being punched in the stomach. “It’s brutal,” the anonymous freshman said. “I feel constantly nauseous.”

The pain can be exacerbated when students participate in sports. “Sometimes when you’re doing different activities, it hurts more than if you’re just sitting on your couch,” the anonymous sophomore said.

Menstruation also comes with emotional baggage. White found that their mental health issues become more pronounced than usual when they are on their period. “I got pretty lucky that I don’t really get any cramps,” they said. “I do struggle with some mental health issues like depression, and I do note that they can get a lot worse when I’m on my period.”

Hisatomi reported feeling more emotionally drained and affected by rudeness than usual, a sentiment Suh echoed. “I get tired, kind of sensitive and annoyed really easily,” she said.

For nonbinary students, periods can also serve as an unwanted reminder of the discrepancy between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. The anonymous freshman, who identifies as nonbinary, finds that periods can worsen gender dysphoria. “[Periods are] painful, and they might suck for both [cisgender and nonbinary students], but there is an extra piece that’s different [for nonbinary students],” they said. “It reminds you that your physical body parts don’t align with the way you feel.”

Yet experiences also differ between nonbinary students. White (who also identifies as nonbinary) doesn’t experience gender dysphoria, though they are less comfortable with discussing periods because of their gender identity. “It’s definitely different from being a transgender man, because it doesn’t necessarily give me dysphoria,” they said. “I’d just rather not have it.”

Having to worry about periods at school adds another concern if students are already worried about classes. When students have a fixed quota of bathroom breaks throughout a year or don’t want to miss content in a

fast-paced class, they must make decisions about what to prioritize: learning or comfort. “In chemistry, I know we have a certain number of bathroom breaks,” the anonymous sophomore said. “You have to [take care of your period] before that class or after that class, and it’s just not convenient.”

Students’ comfort level with asking to be excused to take care of their period can depend on the gender of their teacher. Many students feel more comfortable relating their requests to female teachers. For White, it’s difficult to talk to any teachers in the first place because of their gender identity. “I don’t think I would be comfortable having [a conversation] because I am nonbinary, and I don’t really talk about that stuff a lot, especially because I try to be more agender or masculine presenting,” they said.

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is taking steps to support menstruating students, such as providing free pads and tampons in bathrooms in accordance with California Education Code 35292.6, passed on Oct. 8, 2022. Still, there remain ways the school can further support menstruating students. The anonymous sophomore observed that only some bathrooms, such as the P-Building upstairs bathroom, are consistently stocked. According to Hisatomi, Gunn can provide menstrual products of various absorption capacities to support students with different bleeding patterns, or even provide a framework for students who have period-related accidents.

Titans for Justice club officers juniors Anika Thapar and Caitlin Ginn, who are working on an Advanced Authentic Research project aligning health education in PAUSD with the California Healthy Youth Act 2016’s framework, noted that there is also room for broader and more consistent conversations about periods to continue destigmatizing them. “It has to be a progressive conversation rather than a one-time thing,” Thapar said. “What PAUSD does is talk about [periods] once and then kind of push [the topic] aside, but it needs to be more consistent.”

Ginn believes advocates for health education to be taught earlier for all students. “The best way to combat that is [through people] being taught [at a younger age] and making it so that these are conversations that people feel comfortable having,” she said.

White also emphasizes the importance of addressing common misconceptions about periods, highlighting that non-menstruating students are often unfamiliar with the cyclical nature of menstruation. “When you’re not on your period, there’s still a whole cycle of hormones,” they said. “So if you’re not currently bleeding, there are still emotions being affected.”

Similarly, some might mischaracterize periods as controllable occurrences, rather than unregulated, daysor week-long ordeals. “It’s not like pee, and you can’t hold it in,” White said. “A lot of the time [when] you have to go to the bathroom and deal with [your period], you might get told, ‘Wait a minute, can you go after we finish talking?’ and it’s more like, ‘I can’t just hold it in.’”

Students have developed ways they can cope with the effects of periods, ranging from taking painkillers and staying hydrated to using heating pads and wearing period underwear. At the end of the day, though, senior Morgan Mantovani encourages those menstruating to be forgiving to themselves. “Being gentle on yourself [is important],” she said. “Take time for yourself. It’s a completely valid thing. Just do whatever you need to to get through it, because it could be really tough sometimes.”

47.9%

Source: Survey sent out to Gunn students with 256 responses

On a scale of 1–5, emotionally and physically, how painful are

Source: Survey sent out to Gunn students with 256 responses

“Advil.

—Anonymous Freshman,

—Nyx White, 10

Gunn’s advice on preserving mental health during periods

“It’s [about] knowing your body and yourself: practicing self-care [with] nutrition, hydration [and] setting healthy boundaries.”

—Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator Michelle Ramos

Advil. Advil. I took an Advil this morning. I’m still dying, but I took an Advil.”

9

“Do things that make you happy. Especially [for those who feel] depressed, doing things that make you happy definitely improves your life overall.”

—Written by Amann Mahajan and Irene Tsen

of students surveyed would use the feminine products in Gunn bathrooms

your periods?

Aarushi Kumar

Romanticizing holidays creates

Twinkling Christmas lights, snow-capped landscapes, crackling fireplaces and the whistle of a Christmas carol through the air—a classic holiday film opening. Packed with joy and nostalgia, the holidays are believed to be full of family traditions, romantic confessions and friendship. Media and pop culture depictions of the holidays often create perfect pictures of domestic bliss around the holiday season. However, the romantic portrayals all too often represented in popular culture do not represent reality, and often create unrealistic expecations about what the holidays actually entail.

and joy in celebrating the holiday season.

These various forms of media depict a version of the holidays that cause people to form high expectations for their own holiday season.

Expectations of a grand holiday dinner feast are shown in the extravagant meal in the famous Disney film “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” Family and friends from all over town come with presents and gifts to celebrate the holiday together. People clink their glasses, savor the food and have a merry time. The fragrant Christmas tree is adorned with beautiful ornaments, candy canes, fairy lights and a glistening gold star at the peak. Along with the grand depiction of holiday festivities in media, are also portrayals of characters falling in intense, romantic love. This is featured in major film franchises such as the “Harry Potter” film series and the romantic comedy “Holidate.” In the movie “Holidate,” a man and woman agree to be each other’s holiday date to avoid remarks on marriage from family, but ultimately end up falling in love.

Throughout the Harry Potter films, Harry and his friends form bonds of friendship as they spend time or keep in contact with each other over the holidays. Ron Weasley’s feelings for Hermione Granger are officially confirmed during the Yule Ball, a holiday celebration at Hogwarts, in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

Of course, one cannot forget the music. The winter playlist that many people compile yearly is often full of Christmas Carols such as “Jingle Bell Rock” by Joseph Beal and John Boothe, “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey and “Deck the Halls” by John Ceiriog Hughes. With lyrics such as “deck the halls with boughs of holly,” to “dancin’ and prancin’ in Jingle Bell Square,” all of these songs depict an atmosphere of love, beauty

Popular culture often dictates that finding true happiness can be as simple as huddling around warm fireplaces, decorating Christmas trees and sipping seasonal drinks topped with whipped cream. In reality, however, holidays can often be a time of stress, loneliness, schoolwork and extracurriculars.

Finals are always scheduled the week before winter break. This year, finals week falls during Hanukkah and ends merely three days before Christmas. For students, the high-pressure academic environment in the middle of the holiday season makes it difficult to truly get into the holiday spirit. The stakes are especially high for seniors, who likely must turn in their college applications less than a week after January 1. Students also feel pressure to receive good scores on finals in order to maintain or achieve their desired semester grade. With academic stress at its peak, expectations for how the holidays should unfold only add to the pressure. Nonetheless, holiday movies and commercials depict people in a state of unblemished joy, oblivious to the stresses and pressures of everyday student life. The pressure to enjoy the holidays, ironically, makes them even less enjoyable.

A realistic holiday season for many students will likely look like this: After recovering from finals, they will stay at home, scroll through their phone and binge-watch a season or two of their favorite TV show. If they themselves are not traveling out of town, they may miss their friends who are. Students might spend more time bonding with their parents, pets and siblings. Equally likely, they will spend the entire break holed up in their room on their devices, surfing through social media to see what others

are doing over the break. Seniors will anxiously try to get their college applications in order while juniors will worry about the upcoming Advanced Placement (AP) tests in the spring. Freshmen and sophomores may feel nervous about their first semester final grades, hoping for a better second semester, but lacking motivation to prepare. Of course, everyone will still feel bouts of the holiday spirit—when lighting the menorah, exchanging Christmas presents or having a small family holiday dinner, for example—but much of the time in between time-honored holiday traditions will feel, for the most part, boring. As winter break comes to an end, students may return to feeling unproductive and unaccomplished, as well as anxious about the upcoming semester. The holidays, in the end, will have passed just as any other two week vacation.

Staffers pleasantly

Students should avoid criticizing themselves for not living up to their high standards of unreasonable happiness around the holidays, nor should they assume that none of their peers feel the same way. Although constant joy may be an unachievable expectation for the holidays, true love—the everyday kind, not the all-encompassing Disney-movie variety—and genuine human connection are not. Spending time with friends and family and having moments of true social bonding can be much more fulfilling, not to mention realistic, than singing Christmas carols, decking the halls or any other cliché holiday tradition.

Instead of idealizing the so-called season of joy and good tidings, students should mitigate their expectations by seeing the holiday season as it truly is: a time of selflove, compassion and giving. The holidays are a time for you to take a break, enjoy yourself and spend time doing the things you love. As the quintessential holiday movie “The Grinch” once said: “To kindness and love, the things we need most.”

–Written by Michelle Koo and Carly Liao

creates unrealistic expectations

Staffers share ways to productively and pleasantly spend the holidays by yourself

New hobby Movies

Long breaks from school are great opportunities to focus your energies on pursuits that you’re too busy for during the semester. How could you possibly learn how to knit when you have a long essay question or a vocab go-around to prepare for? Thus, this winter break, take time to learn a new hobby, whether it be needle-felting, knitting, learning a new instrument or even a new language.

There’s a lot of resources available to get started on the hobby of choice. Michael’s has a variety of crafts supplies and endless videos on the internet offer tutorials on any and every activity. If you already have a basic level of knowledge in a certain pastime, you can continue to develop expertise in it and emerge from winter break as a master at doll customization. Who knows? The world is your oyster.

Many hobbies offer a great way to rest your eyes from screens. You might find yourself binging season after season of television over the course of the break, and while you certainly have the right to do so, your poor retinas might be screaming for a temporary hiatus from the blue light. Maybe you decide that over break, you want to begin journaling. This is a great way to express creativity and keep yourself stimulated, while also being very cathartic and meditative, and it doesn’t involve any screens.

Self-care

Winter break is an ideal time to focus on yourself and take a break from the demands of school and outside activities. Taking “me-time” can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s reading a book by the fireplace, relishing safety from the frosty winter weather (a low of 52 degrees). For others, it could be jumping up and down in the rain while listening to a new favorite song. What’s really important, however, is making sure you have a moment to recharge your school battery.

If you’re unsure of how to spend time prioritizing yourself, think about a time you were stressed. A time when it felt like the world would collapse if you didn’t finish that assignment, or get that one grade on that one test. What would’ve been comforting to do at that time? It could be as simple as taking a walk around the block, but looking back and recognizing your needs are the key to self-care. So take that hot shower on a Tuesday morning. Make that green smoothie. Write letter to yourself. Try out a skincare routine. Take time this holiday break to reconstruct a healthy mindset and be proud. Embrace being alone this December and take time to grow and stop at everything life has to offer.

If all else fails, Netflix and Hulu are always there to transport you to worlds of fantasy and adventure. Maybe that adventure is competitive chess, maybe it’s the ballroom scene of the 1980’s or maybe it’s a post apocalyptic nightmare. Whatever you choose, don’t fall victim to the too-good-to-be-true pirating websites that will viciously infect your device with many a virus.

One great show to binge over the break is 2019’s “Sex Education.” It’s three seasons long, the perfect length for a two-week break, and is filled with humor, romance and self-discovery. The characters are multi-faceted and wonderfully developed, and their relationships even more so.

If Asa Butterfield and Ncuti Gatwa bickering with each other isn’t your thing, another option is “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.” It’s a whirlwind of an anime series with ridiculous characters—each season getting weirder than the last. If you end up being emotionally invested in Jojo’s multigenerational fight with vampires, Aztecs and the police, perhaps you’ll continue watching into second semester. Maybe you’ll even turn your attention towards the source material—the “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” manga by Hirohiko Araki. However, “Jojo’s” is definitely intended for a very specific audience (read: a crazy one).

Care packages

Sometimes, spending time alone can make you feel isolated from friends and family. It can feel like no one is reaching out to you either because they forgot to, or they simply don’t want to. However, when experiencing these thoughts, it’s important to recognize that you’ve been given too much time to question things you already know are true. So instead of waiting for that text from someone else, try taking matters into your own hands and be the first to reach out in a way they won’t forget.

Next time you’re feeling lonely, make someone you love a care package. Think about a friend and the things they’ve done to raise your spirits or help you out this semester and piece together a special package. It can include a letter, flowers, food, books—the sky is the limit. The key is to make it personal to who you’re giving it to and remind them that you’re thinking of them.

After giving such a meaningful gift to someone, not only have you established a line of connection to keep loneliness at bay, but you’ve also done a kind thing for a friend which will not be soon forgotten. It’s about the little things, so use the holiday season to think about what you can do for others.

Volunteer Bake

One of the most fulfilling yet still enjoyable activities to do by yourself during the holidays (and frankly all year) is to volunteer. Volunteering is such an amazing way to give back to the community and to those in need, especially during the holidays.

You can go sign up to volunteer through a formal organization such as the Community Service Agency in Palo Alto or Martha’s Kitchen in San Jose. Or you can do something by yourself.

Start a food or clothing drive and send out messages to your friends, family, or community then donate the proceedings to an organization. You can also try to bump up your spring cleaning, and clean out some of your belongings, clothes or unused items to start a yard sale. You can then donate the money you got from the sale to the charity of your choice. Not only are you helping others, but you also get the benefit of having a cleaner and less cluttered home right before the new year. Volunteering is incredibly helpful and impactful to the community around you even if it doesn’t seem or feel like it. While the holidays are a time to rest from school and destress, I’d highly recommend taking some time and helping those around you.

Baking is a sure way to distract yourself and, at the same time, eat plenty of baked goods during the holiday. Baking can be very therapeutic, especially when done alone. It is a great way to disconnect from the electronics while still having fun.

Instead of spending your days locked up in your room, get your hands dirty, and try baking something you wouldn’t normally bake.

Baking is a way to enjoy your own company in a way that is not stigmatized. There are plenty of things you can bake—even if you aren’t the most skillful baker. Things such as cookies and brownies are pretty easy to bake, and can be decorated holiday themed. The holidays are a perfect time to start owning baking skills as pastries, and all sorts of goods are enjoyed during the cold weather.

Not only will you be able to bake them, but (and for most) the best part is you’ll be able to enjoy them after. Instead of going to the stores to buy already packaged and processed pastries, you can make your own with just a little bit of hard but enjoyable work.

Baking can also be adapted to anyone. You can bake a fancy tart like you can bake a batch of cookies. It’s not about the time it takes, but the process and delicious reward at the end.

–Written by Becca Wu

–Written by Becca Wu

–Written by Vivian Studdert

–Written by Vivian Studdert

–Written by Hila Livneh

–Written by Lise Desveaux Graphics by Irene Hong and Elise Hu

Traditional recipes celebrate heritage, bring families together

For sophomore Dennis Tierney, köfte isn’t just a dish, but also a memory. Köfte is a traditional Turkish dish that Tierney and his family have been making since as long as he can remember. Tierney was first introduced to the dish [by his grandmother] when he was five years old. He has enjoyed köfte ever since, and made countless memories cooking it with his family. “A really big part of it is the nostalgia,” he said. “It reminds me of Turkey whenever I eat it.”

traditional recipes. Köfte is typically made with fatty meat, such as pork, but the Tierneys substitute it with 96% lean beef. “It is more protein rich and healthy,” Tierney said. “It’s much more delicious.”

A handful of parsley is added into the beef, giving it color and texture—and a tang of acidity. “Some people add in lemons, but we prefer parsley,” Tierney said. After the beef, egg is added into the mix, helping the parsley and beef blend together. Then, chopped onion is added, further contributing to the dish’s flavor. “Remember to chop the onion up before [mixing it],” Tierney said. “We forgot to do that once, and the köfte didn’t turn out pretty.”

Being a staple meat dish for Turkish people, köfte is widely cherished by Turkish communities. However, köfte actually does not originate from Turkey, but instead in Persia, or present-day Iran. “Köfte’ comes from the Iranian word “kufta,” which means “to grind,” and is closely related with the way köfte is made. Tierney stresses the importance of knowing the cultural background of the foods one eats. “In order to truly enjoy a dish, you need to know that [history] first,”he said.

Köfte is ground meat mixed with bread crumbs, minced onion and a variety of spices, shaped into little spheres and cooked. “Köfte is not like spaghetti and meatballs,” Tierney said. “The ingredients are not the same, and [köfte] is a main dish.” Contrary to how meatballs are side dishes served along with spaghetti, köfte is meant to be enjoyed alone.

The Tierneys add their own modifications to the recipe to better suit their tastes and wholeheartedly agree that their additions set it apart from other

After that, two tablespoons of salt are sprinkled into the mixture. “Now, [many] people do this, but we add a teaspoon of pepper, red pepper and peppercorns,” Tierney said. The last ingredient to finish the köfte is bread crumbs. “We add enough so there is a [crisp] outside,” he said.

These ingredients are mixed by hand, and the köfte is cooked in an unorthodox way: by grill. The grill is turned on to high heat, and the köfte is placed onto the grill for 10 minutes on each side. “We also grill the edges of the köfte, to make it crispier,” Tierney said. Finally, the balls are removed from the grill and sprinkled with lemon juice or lime zest.

Tierney always looks forward to when he gets home from school and is able to enjoy a plate of fresh köfte with the company of his family. He treasures moments like these because they won’t last forever. “It sounds cliché, but the reason köfte tastes so good is because my family eats it with me,” he said.

Junior Alexa Nanevicz

For as long as she can remember, junior Alexa Nanevicz has celebrated Polish heritage during the holidays, making traditional Polish dishes with her family. Every Christmas Eve, the Nanevicz family works together to prepare a meal to share. “Usually my parents will organize it and have my brother [and I] make the individual pieces of the food,” Nanevicz said. “My favorite things to make are the pierogies, because it’s fun to make them in different sizes and play with the dough.”

After her great-grandfather on her father’s side immigrated to California from Poland, the Naneviczs have kept traditional recipes alive by celebrating and cooking together during the holidays as well as passing them down through generations. “The tradition is at least as old as I can remember, but I’m sure it’s older than me,” Nanevicz said. “I’ve never been [to Poland], [but] my brother and I have an idea of what it is like there.”

Her family’s Christmas Eve meal consists of several different traditional Polish foods. Though pierogies (dough encasing various fillings, similar to dumplings) are Nanevicz’s favorite to make, she also helps make sczleisicki (similar to a pierogi but with cheese inside) and Gołąbki (meat and onions wrapped in a shell of boiled cabbage).

The Nanevicz family typically takes a “divide and conquer” strategy with the grand meal. Nanevicz’s family will make a couple of dishes, as will her uncle’s family and her grandparents. Nanevicz’s preparation of her portion of the food with her brother and parents is one of the big highlights of the tradition. “Even though we make the same dishes every year, it always ends up looking a little different,” she said.

All the recipes, which Nanevicz’s mother manages, are passed down from her grandfather. “Everything has a lot of history to it,” Nanevicz said. “And it tastes really good.”

After each party prepares their food, the whole family meets at Nanevicz’s house to enjoy the meal. She recognizes how fortunate she is to be able

to rejoice with her relatives over a special meal. “It’s really nice that my grandma and cousins live in the area,” Nanevicz said. “I’m happy that they’re close enough for everyone to get together— we’re definitely lucky that everyone can come to celebrate.”

Aside from the food, the Naneviczs celebrate other important traditions on Christmas Eve. For one, they always set an extra place at the table when eating the food they prepared. “It’s kind of made for if we lived in a rural town and someone passed through, needing a meal or a place to stay,” she said.

Though Palo Alto is far from a rural farm town, the Naneviczs continue the inclusive gesture. “One year, my neighbor happened to come over when we were eating and she sat at the extra spot we set,” she said. “I mean, it was kind of funny—she had no idea what was going on, but my whole family thought it was so great that the spot finally got some use.”

As always, Nanevicz is looking forward to creating and enjoying her meal on Christmas Eve this year. “For our family, making these dishes is really about remembering our Polish heritage and honoring that,” Nanevicz said. “It’s not really a huge part of my life most of the time, so it’s nice to have a day where we can all think about it together.”

—Written by Kelvin Xu

—Written by Vivian Studdert

Graphics by Aarushi Kumar and Ruhani Suresh

Junior Alexa Nanevicz

Sophomore Dennis Tierney

Photo by Kelvin Xu

Photo by Sophia Hwangbo

Qatar hosts unconventional winter 2022 FIFA world cup

Students Celebrate the World cup during school time

If soccer is the international equivalent of American football, then the World Cup would be the equivalent of the Super Bowl. In many countries, the World Cup is an institution and the most watched and followed sport globally. For Gunn students, it is a way to follow their favorite players and cheer on their country’s team. Junior Raffi Barbier has waited a long time for the World Cup and the opportunity to support France—his home country— one more time. “I’m for sure going to watch the French games and possibly wear the French jersey,” he said.

Like Barbier, many students who follow the World Cup are from other countries, and have watched the World Cup with their families. Gunn has a diverse student body, leading to many students supporting different teams and players. Since the World Cup has historically taken place in summer, it is a way to connect and bond over a shared interest over the break. This year the World Cup is being held in winter because in Qatar, summer temperatures can be scorching, making it potentially harmful for both players and spectators. Freshman Matteo Carbone usually watches the World Cup every four years with his cousins in Italy. This year, however, Carbone will not be taking the trip to Italy. “Since this one is during the winter, we’re not going over to Italy,”

he said. “Instead, I think we will Skype or FaceTime.” While those with international families might have a hard time watching games together, others have turned to alternate viewing options, such as sophomore Mateas Fitzwilliam. “I’m going to watch the matches with some friends,” he said.

As many star athletes announce this year’s cup as their last time playing, the World Cup is a bittersweet event for fans. Iconic players such as Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are representing their country for the last time in this tournament. For Carbone, these players have played since he started watching soccer, making it hard to see them play for the last time. His love for these players also plays in his hope of who the winning team will be. “When I was younger, I really liked Messi, so I will always have just a little part of me that wants Argentina to win, and to have [Messi] win a World Cup,” Carbone said. He is not alone in this sentiment, as sophomore Gracie Missett also wants to see Messi and his team triumphant. “It would be memorable as it would be his first and last,” she said. However, she also points out the importance of new talent participating in the tournament. “We’re going to be able to [see] who the new people are, who are going to replace the old players [in the future],” Missett said.

Controversy behind Qatar hosting

While the World Cup has historically brought people together, this year, it has been met with backlash. This year’s competition is held in Qatar, making it the first World Cup held in the Middle East. Qatar was chosen in 2010 after outbidding the U.S., Japan, Australia and South Korea. At that time, they planned on building seven new stadiums, more than 100 hotels, a metro and new roads.

Since Qatar is a small country, it lacks a significant workforce. As such, they had to find workers from outside the country. With the lack of time and the amount of infrastructure to be built, Qatar turned to illegal hiring practices. An estimated 300,000 workers from the Philippines, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and other countries have been brought to Qatar to build the World Cup facilities. The International Labor Organization found that in 2021 alone, 50 foreign laborers in Qatar died of work-related reasons, and more than 500 others were seriously injured.

There were a high number of worker injuries due to a severe lack of building site security measures and medical care provided to workers working 12 hours everyday, according to security guards on the site. Barbier brings up the point that these conditions violate multiple human rights. “A lot of people say to keep politics out of sports, but in this case, it’s not about politics; it’s about human rights,” Barbier said.

Human rights have also been brought up when discussing other controversies regarding Qatar. Qatar has laws that treat being LGBTQ as a crime. According to Human Rights

Watch, the punishment for being part of that community is prison time, as well as verbal and physical abuse from security officers.

Women’s rights are also an issue that is long standing. Qatar holds a guardianship system in which women are tied to their male guardian. They need their guardian’s approval for life decisions such as marriage, studying abroad and reproductive healthcare.

Barbier’s thoughts are reciprocated by a big part of the soccer fanbase. Fans, national team organizations and players have called for a boycott of the event, but this movement has not caught global attention. Many are also calling for the international soccer governing body, FIFA, to take action and change the World Cup’s location. “That’s a decision that they should have made 10 years ago,” Barbier said.

Carbone disagrees with FIFA’s decision to host the World Cup in Qatar this year. “Sports are a powerful thing that create a lot of money,” he said. “That [money] should go into the right hands, not the wrong ones.”

Current USA standings

• U.S. tied England 0-0 to advance

• U.S. beat Iran 1-0 to advance

• U.S. vs. Netherlands Saturday, Dec.3, at 7 a.m. (win will advance them to quarterfinals)

Courtesy of Raffi Barbier

Courtesy of Gracie Missett

Courtesy of Matteo Carbone

—Written by Lise Desveaux

Left: Freshmen Matteo Carbone wears his soccer jersey. Middle: Sophomore Gracie Missett holds the USA jersey. Right: Junior Raffi Barbier sports his French jersey.

Student athletes take to the ice

Figure skating

Sophomore Keiss Chan and senior Jenni Yang stand with their figure skating team on a stage with a Jumbotron in the middle, surrounded by parents and friends in the audience. What follows is the moment that stands out the most to Chan: Her team has just finished its performance on ice and is waiting for its scores to be announced.

Generally, the announcement is a cause for celebration. “My team usually gets a decent place—we’ve gone to a lot of previous international competitions in the past,” Chan said. “So we look up, they announce our score and we’re all celebrating because we got a good score.”

Yang and Chan are both part of the San Francisco Ice Theatre’s 24-member junior team, which they joined in seventh and ninth grade respectively for a total of 10 years of skating each. Chan described their shared sport as “ballet on ice.”

As part of the San Francisco Ice Theater’s junior team, Yang and Chan have accumulated noteworthy achievements. Their team has qualified for the National Theatre on Ice Competition each year, winning third place in 2022. They have also qualified for international competitions held every other year by being one of three top teams in the U.S.. They will attend the next international Nations’ Cup in Boston this year.

Along with team competitions, Yang competes individually. According to Yang, the difference between individual and team figure skating extends beyond separate competitions, with more opportunities for individual skaters to compete. “Individual skating is more technical, so there are more jumps and more spins that you have to do in a program,” she said. “But for team skating, we just have to keep formations and keep in sync.”

Yang and Chan practice year round—usually individually before school on weekdays and with their team on weekends—but compete only in the winter.

Chan trains with private instructors to work on her jumps, spins and individual program. In team practices, they warm up with their team before splitting up into different groups to run through general exercises. “I go [to practice] before school most of the time, and I skate for two or three hours on the weekends,” Yang said.

Programs are developed with music that frames the overall concept chosen first, according to Yang. Yang and Chan’s coaches then choreograph the program, weaving in jumps, spins and edges (Chan described these as the skating in between jumps and spins). According to Chan, the team practices and performs two programs throughout the entire season: a three-minute

short program called the “choreographic exercise” and a five to six minute long program called the “free skate.”

For instance, the San Francisco Ice Theatre’s free skate program last year involved a puppet theme, complete with hair, makeup and costumes. “There was a puppet leader and a rogue puppet, and they took over the group of everyone else, who were normal puppets [in the performance],” Chan said.

A key challenge with choreographing programs is accounting for the difference in skill levels between all 24 skaters. “It’s hard to find 24 skaters who can all do this jump and this spin,” Chan said. “So sometimes the coaches will have everyone doing one specific element, but if that can’t happen, they might have half of the skaters do an element in the center while the other skaters do something else on the outside.”

When it comes to actually performing, hiding fatigue can be a challenge, according to Yang. “Most of it is just being elegant when you’re actually really tired,” she said.

What Yang enjoys the most about figure skating is also what she finds the most challenging: jumps. Yang is currently working on a triple Salchow (three rotations in the air), a far cry from her first successful axel jump in eighth grade—a moment that stands out to Yang in her skating career—after a series of falls and under-rotations. “An axel is a jump where I rotate oneand-a-half times in the air,” she said. “I’d been working on that jump for almost a year, and it felt really good to finally land it.”

On the other hand, Chan loves the community aspect of team figure skating. “It’s not just about the competition, although that’s a large part and that’s fun too,” Chan said. “You get to make friends, and sometimes we have team-bonding [activities], which are really fun.”

Despite living in California, where Yang explained that figure skating is not particularly popular, ice rinks are air conditioned and open all year, and she faces few other skating-specific challenges. “[Nothing else] besides getting cold and having your toes freeze off,” Yang joked.

Hockey

Ice hockey player junior Shree Sandilya’s team went almost undefeated last season, making it to the semi-finals in the California Amateur Hockey Association state finals. His record includes a slew of other achievements, from being featured in an NBC segment on Nov. 6 to winning the 18U division of OneHockey Tournament as a 16U team in Las Vegas last year. “It was a big tournament,” Sandilya said. “We had some players who were injured, some players who were suspended and a lot of adversity, but we still won.”

Sandilya credits his achievements to hard work and dedication: He spends 14 to 15 hours on ice hockey each week— comprising of practice, off-ice workouts and travel time to tournaments—and has been playing hockey since he was six and a half years old. Sandilya practices nearly year round. “Summer is usually the off-season, but there’s always something going on,” he said. “There’s spring hockey, and there are summer clinics. There’s usually never a break longer than three weeks.”

Practices usually start with a workout and move into passing and skill work drills in the rink for warm-up. “Then we’ll get into more specific stuff based on what we need to work on,” he said. “Sometimes [that means] special teams, which is the case when one

team has one more player than another when [a player is out] serving a penalty. At the end [of practice], we’ll simulate a live game.”

Because there is no hockey team at Gunn, Sandilya plays for the Palo Alto High School team as well as the Golden State Elite Hockey club team. Between his club team and Monday-night tournaments in San Jose for his school team, he participates in 30 to 40 games a season, traveling as far as Michigan and Minnesota to play.

It’s not just Sandilya’s love of competing and the health benefits from playing hockey that keep him invested—he appreciates the community he’s built through the sport. “Most of my teammates, I’ve known for four or five years,” he said. “I’m really close to them, and they’re like my brothers.”

According to Sandilya, living in California does not hinder playing ice hockey because the facilities his teams use are well maintained. The hockey culture, however, is different from that of the East Coast. “Last year, we played in a tournament that was predominantly East Coast teams,” Sandilya said. “We weren’t used to that style of play, which is a lot more physical with a lot more hitting, but that’s just how hockey

changes from area to area.”

Photo illustration by Ruhani Suresh and Jenni Yang Senior Jenni Yang skates in the Spring Jubilee competition.

Written by Irene Tsen

Photo illustration by Keiss Chan and Irene Hong Sophomore Keiss Chan completes a spiral in the rink.

Junior Shree Sandilya passes the puck to his teammate during a hockey game.

Photo illustration by Shree Sandilya and Ruhani Suresh

Written by Irene Tsen

Michelle Koo

“It’s not just about the competition. You get to make friends, and sometimes we have team-bonding [ac tivities], which are really fun.”

—Figure skater sophomore Keiss Chan

Staff sports: Becca tackles wrestling

into the warm-up, while the team trains for hours every day. I was surrounded by sweat-sheened faces and Coach Creighton informing us we hadn’t even gotten to wrestling yet. “This is just the warm-up,” he said.

Lifestyle Editor

In September, Forum Editor senior Carly Liao joined the tennis team for a week and documented her experience—she tracked her progress, recorded each practice and reflected on her short-lived tennis career in an article entry that was published in The Oracle’s September issue. Now, it’s my turn.

Sports that are held during the winter season include wrestling, basketball and soccer. I promised myself that once I finished completing my required Physical Education credits, I would never participate in any sport involving a ball again—I’ve been scorned too many times, hit in the face by too many flying objects. Wrestling it is, I decided.

I reached out to wrestling coach Braumon Creighton, who immediately responded to my proposal with an enthusiastic go-ahead. There was no backing out at that point. The date was set: On Monday, Nov. 7, my “Karate Kid” training montage would begin.

About 20 minutes into my first ever wrestling practice, my vision was almost entirely impaired, and I was searching the wrestling room for the nearest trash can to throw up in. As it turns out, sports are hard. Being a dancer, I figured I had the balance, core strength and pain tolerance necessary to get through at least one full practice. I lasted less than a half hour

Being a loud and proud quitter, I walked—really, it was more of a zigzag due to dizziness—across the mat to get my backpack under the guise of taking photos for the paper. I snapped a few very blurry shots of the team that shall never be published, mustered an incredibly shaky handshake with Coach Creighton, left the gym and promptly threw up in the trash can outside the girls locker room. I didn’t even make it to the bathroom. (Apologies to the Gunn custodians.)

Naturally, I went back for more.

Still reeling from my bout of sickness, I was apprehensive about making a return. What if I didn’t even make it to the trash can this time? However, any worries of that possibility dissipated when I arrived to practice and saw that Coach Creighton was not present—a light practice was great news for my stomach! We began with laps around the mat with certain variations—jogging along three sides and sprinting along the fourth, for example. Next, we moved on to other exercises across the mat, such as forward rolls and low singles, a kneesliding maneuver. I was already having a much better time than I did my first practice—until we moved onto partner drills. Some very nice members of the team offered to teach me the correct stances and movements, and also how to fall (which I did a lot). They were undoubtedly going as easy on me as possible, but I was still sweating and taking moments to catch my breath. Some friends on the team offered to demonstrate some more advanced holds and lifts and promptly picked me up by the knees, after which I fell on my head and

In all honesty, I did not want to attend a third practice—everything hurt, including muscles I didn’t know existed, and I felt like I was one more fall from just not getting back up off the mat. However,

there was something comical about the idea of being able to say that I attended a week of wrestling practice (a grave understatement considering three practices is half of what legitimate team members attend per week), so I was willing to tough it out for one more day despite every part of my body saying no.

On the third day we started, similar to day two, with drills across the mat. Already sweating and embarrassed at my inability to perform them correctly, it’s safe to say that when the assistant coaches announced that we would be learning basic holds and grapples, I was terrified. It was less about the actual physical aspect and more about the fact that I was scared to be bad at it. Many members of the team helped me out with placing my feet in the correct position, centering my weight for maximum stability and not falling flat on my face. They never once made me feel bad about doing something wrong—they offered pointers and suggestions for the sole sake of helping me get better, sometimes at the expense of their own practice time. Then, I got dropped some more, and decided that was enough for the day.

All in all, the experience was definitely out of my comfort zone, but the team—both the wrestlers and the coaches—were patient and guiding. I watched as teammates helped each other develop stronger stances, move around more efficiently and learn to get up quickly, teaching each other tips and tricks to become better at the sport. But at the end of the day, they said that wrestling isn’t about being big and strong, or being nimble and quick right out of the gate—it’s about being committed, working hard and persevering even when it’s difficult.

Finally, to the apprehensive wrestlers who are scared to join next year thanks to this story: If I could handle one total hour of practice, you will be just fine. What’s so wonderful about the wrestling team is that there’s room for everyone, from beginners to seasoned wrestlers as long as they are willing to put in the work. My takeaways from wrestling were learning how to fall and get back up as well as how to continue trying even though I knew I wasn’t good at it. These are lessons that don’t just apply to the wrestling mat, but to every adversity we face in life—and I am so grateful for the experience.

Becca’s Wrestling Highlights

“She did pretty well for the time she was there. She kept up with everybody and stayed strong. I think if she really worked at it, she could make it. I was looking forward to seeing her beat up a freshman.”

Faces in the Crowd: What did you think of Becca’s wrestling?

“Throwing up after practice is normal—I did too. I had some expired peanut butter before practice. But I was impressed by [her] ability to stick with it for two days.”

“I give her a six out of 10. She didn’t make it past warm-ups, but it was a good effort. It was also funny how unusually excited Coach was—he wanted to impress The Oracle.”

“Honestly, [she] wasn’t bad. If she wants to wrestle this year, she has to be in the room, train hard and have grit. It’s also not every day you see a girl come into the wrestling room with a full face of makeup.”

—Compiled by Becca Wu

1. Coach Creighton telling me my “swishers” were “fantastic.”

2. My friends on the team offering to partner up with me so that I wouldn’t feel bad, even though it would be better for them to practice with someone on the same level as they are.

3. Being held upside down. A lot.

— Aurora Woodley (9)

—Mihlaan Selvaretnam (11)

—Beanie Jose (12)

—Myles Stoltz (11)

Owen Koehler

Becca Wu

Lifestyle

Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is worth a listen

Some songs could easily fit on other albums. “Vigi lante Shit” would fare just as well on Swift’s sixth stu dio album “Reputation.” Others, like “Midnight Rain,” are quintessential “Midnights.” After the vividly con structed fictional worlds of “Folklore” and “Evermore,” Swift’s writing has returned to autobiographical, par ticularly with tracks “Anti-Hero” and “Mastermind.”

Forum Editor

When Taylor Swift first announced the release of her 10th studio album “Midnights” at the MTV Video Music Awards, I, like many other fans, had no idea what to ex pect. Her last two original studio albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” channeled a soft, indie atmosphere, while her recently re-recorded albums “Fearless (Taylor’s Ver sion)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” marked a return to her country roots. With all this skipping from genre to genre, “Midnights” was much of a wild card to predict. As it turns out, “Midnights” is both an amalgama tion of her previous albums and something completely unique. In the album, Swift transports listeners to a hazy cocktail lounge filled with heavy bass and sweet yearning.

Her lyricism is as clever and evocative as ever: “Spi der-boy, king of thieves / Weave your little webs of opacity” from “Karma” is one such gem of a line.

Swift’s new album is not without its disappoint ments. “Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey),” for one, is a gross misnomer, as the track features exceed ingly minimal Lana Del Rey. Nonetheless, “Midnights” is filled with polished tracks that adequately meet, if not quite exceed, Swift’s fans’ high expectations.

Even as Swift constantly shifts styles and genres, “Mid nights” shows us that one thing remains consistent: Swift never fails to surprise and deliver with adaptability and brilliance. Although not her most thematically cohesive or lyrically accomplished album, “Midnights” is a solid B+ lis ten that provides bothW catchy tunes and emotional depth.

Who are the artists hitting the road with Taylor?

Beabadobee

British indie-rock singer and song writer Beatrice Kristi Laus—known by her stage name, Beabadoobee—has so far released two acclaimed studio al bums: 2020’s “Fake it Flowers” and 2022’s “Beatopia.” Born in the Philip pines, Laus moved to London at the age of three and quickly became involved in music. She took inspiration from origi nal Pinoy music as well as indie-rock art ists Alex G and Florist. She spent seven years playing the violin, before teaching herself to play guitar at 17. Laus released her first song “Coffee” in September of 2017 on YouTube, catching the attention of Dirty Hit Records, who signed her to the label in April 2018. Beabadoobee found further success later in 2020 when the release of “Fake it Flowers” helped her become Billboard’s top new rock art ist of the year. She will be touring with Taylor Swift in Ne vada, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

Daughter of famous director J.J. Abrams, American singer and song writer Gracie Abrams recently broke into pop music in 2020 with the release of her debut Extended Play (EP), “Mi nor.” Born in 1999, Abrams discovered her passion for music at age eight when learning how to play the drums. Rather than pursuing a career in music imme diately after graduating high school, Abrams began a short-lived college ca reer at Barnard. At the end of her first year, Abrams took a break from school to focus on music, which was when she amassed over six million listeners on Spotify. Abrams has cultivated a unique sound that is more moody than tradi tional pop music. Abrams will be open ing for Swift in Florida, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Colo rado, Washington and California, in cluding the shows in Santa Clara.

HAIM is an American rock band consisting of sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim who started out mostly playing at local venues. In February of 2012, they released their EP “Forever,” and upon positive reviews from critics, the band was subsequently signed to Polydor Records. The group released their first studio album “Days Are Gone” in 2013, which reached number one in the U.K. They then released their second studio album, “Something to Tell You,” in 2017 and its third, “Women in Music Pt. III,” in 2020. The 2020 album was nominated for two Grammys: Album of the Year and Best Rock performance. The band has previously collaborated with Taylor Swift on the song “No Body, No Crime,” a track from Swift’s album “Evermore.” For the Eras Tour, HAIM will open for Swift at her Seattle, Santa Clara and Los Angeles shows.

Christian Owens—better known by his stage name, OWENN—previously toured with Swift as a backup dancer on her “Reputation World Tour” in 2018, and has also worked with prominent artists Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. In 2019, he starred alongside Swift in the music video for “Lover,” the title track of her seventh studio album.

In 2021, Owens began making his own music and signed to Republic Records with the help and encouragement of Swift. He then released his first single, “Baby Girl,” which currently has upwards of 500 thousand streams on Spotify. He draws inspiration from artists such as David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and Usher, making music that is a mix of R&B (rhythm and blues) and pop. Owens will be opening for Swift at her Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Los Angeles shows.

Staffer recommends local holiday drinks to try

Philz Coffee is famously known for their strange drink names like Philtered Soul or Dancing Water, but their classic and simply named chai latte will never fail to create a sense of coziness. This spiced and sweet drink is a great way to get in the holiday spirit, and has a stronger chai flavor than other lattes. Since Philz chai has caffeine, it’s the perfect energy boost while studying for upcoming tests and finals. Also, if you feel embarrassed ordering a hot chocolate while all your friends are getting coffee, getting a chai latte will make you sound incredibly sophisticated while still enjoying a good drink.

Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha

Courtesy of International Talent Booking

Courtesy of Columba Records

Courtesy of Interscope Records

Courtesy of Richard Dowker

Courtesy of Taylor Swift

—Compiled by Hila Livneh

—Compiled by Katie LaWer

Photos courtesy of Dance Wu

Carly Liao

Body image comments over holidays affect well-being

Unwanted comments about one’s weight or appearance are certainly not limited to the holidays, but inevitably become more common as rarely-seen relatives all meet up for family reunions during winter break. Even if these statements don’t mean to put someone on the spot, they can enormously affect the way one feels about themselves for the rest of their holidays and perhaps far beyond.

AP Psychology teacher Warren Collier believes these comments can spike in both frequency and effect during the holiday season. “During the holidays we see lots of people that we haven’t seen in a long time—people who care about us and people we care about—so their opinions of us matter to us,” he said. “[These] couple of months, people are being very cognizant of how they’re looking and dressing, making it a time of year when people are especially sensitive to those kinds of comments.”

Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator Michelle Ramos also believes that such comments can be damaging. “Regardless of where a person is with their body image, [degrading comments] can bring about guilt or shame, and can definitely tap into insecurities that were already

“[They] can contribute to negative self-perception and negative self talk.”

Despite the negativity commonly associated with it, gaining weight during the holiday season is a perfectly natural phenomenon. Living Skills teacher Jeanette Tucker compares it to evolutionary adaptation. “There are different articles you can read about what we do in the winter as people,” she said. “There’s less daylight and it’s cold, so we tend to want to eat and sleep. And we’re somewhat like a bear, where we’re hibernating to some extent,” Tucker said. “It’s a cyclic, normal thing to do.”

Often, when someone feels bad about themselves, they project that feeling onto others. While some of the comments definitely can’t be justified, it’s helpful to keep in mind that other people are also struggling. “[Recognize] that sometimes those comments have less to do with them, and more about the person saying it,” Ramos said.

Comments about appearance can also come from a place of love and concern, regardless of how insensitive they can come off as. “In American culture, especially in young people, those are comments that are seen as

criticisms and that they’re not received into a certain norm,” Collier said. “Whereas from a lot of the older generations, it’s a way to express care because they’re like ‘Oh, I care about you and I care about whether you’re eating enough,’—there’s a big cultural clash that can happen there, with the intention that certain older people have with those comments versus how it’s received.”

Although these comments can be challenging to sit with, there are methods to healthily do so. “Just taking a minute and stopping [to realize] it’s probably not so much a personal attack on me, even though it feels that way, [can help],” Ramos said. “If that doesn’t work, it’s important just to mentally prepare. If you know you’re going to have to be in certain situations, emotionally preparing yourself for what might come and maybe having a script to deflect those comments and have something positive to say back like ‘Oh, I’m doing great.’”

In the past, Collier has had experience with such comments and he finds himself able to cope with them effectively. “I remind myself of where they are coming from,” he said. “They are doing this out of a place of showing love and concern rather than trying

—Written by Victor Dang

of students received unwanted comments from a family member about their weight.

Source: Survey sent out to Gunn students with 256 responses

Aeron Man

The Oracle recommends binge-worthy titles for break

‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo

“Les Misérables,” a French novel written by Victor Hugo in 1862, is a perfect read for winter break. When it was published, the novel instantly became a smashing success. To this day, it is still considered a chef d’oeuvre, or a masterpiece in English.

In the novel, Hugo explores the idea of social injustice during the French Revolution while delicately interweaving themes of love, solicitude and patriotism. The story follows the protagonist Jean Valjean, a victim of class inequality in 19th century Parisian society, who was incarcerated for 19 years for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread. After his long awaited

release, he is chased by an implacable police officer— Javert—who vows to bring Valjean back to prison no matter the price.

Over the course of the story, Valjean attempts to ameliorate his own well-being: a tortuous task with many obstacles. The 1862 translation by Charles E. Wilbour is a favorite of many readers, as it is an amusing blend of flavor and accuracy. Additionally, other mediums to digest this content exist, such as the 1980 musical or the 2012 movie. “Les Misérables” the musical was a smash hit on Broadway, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’

Many consider winter as a time for thought and reflection. “Cyberpunk Edgerunners” is a Netflix series that provides differing perspectives on what we see as beneficial and virtuous today: capitalism and the pursuit of power. Animated by Studio Trigger, this series has an incredibly wide color palette and clean animations. This dystopian future explores the theme of true capitalism—corporatocracy—and the devastating effects it has on society.

“Cyberpunk Edgerunners” follows the story of an ambitious protagonist David Martinez. Martinez experiences inequality from beginning of the show:

all of his peers are cybernetically enhanced with superlative cyberware provided by their wealthy families. These advancements make them faster, stronger and smarter than the non-augmented human. However, after a tragedy rocks his life, Martinez joins the Edgerunners, a gang of inner-city fighters who steal from the major corporations. These events start his unquenchable desire for more strength and power, leading his gang to face off against the biggest megacorporations in the world. The series brings something for everyone—comedy, romance and fastpaced, seamlessly animated action.

‘Arcane: League of Legends’

Animated by Fortiche, a French studio (co-producer of the Nickelodeon-Netflix show, “Rabbids Invasion”), the series “Arcane” alluringly blends two and threedimensional visuals, effectively making every scene a bewitching blossom of artistic craftsmanship.

“Arcane” begins by following two characters—Violet (Vi) and Powder—as they bring unrest to the ashen underground city of Zaun following an attempted heist in the posh and debonair city of Piltover. After the first episode, the show introduces countless other intricate characters whose storylines are intertwined with Vi’s

and Powder’s, all leading to a grand finale where an ultimatum between Zaun and Piltover changes both of the cities forever.

The show was originally based off of the viral video game, “League of Legends,” which brought attention to the release of the series. The first season of the show, released in November 2021, set a long-kept record for being Netflix’s highest rated show within a week of its premiere. In addition to breaking Netflix records, the show also ranked first on Netflix charts in 52 countries, peaking at second in the United States.

‘The Queen’s Gambit’

“The Queen’s Gambit” is a TV show about the game of chess and the life of orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon. The series is based off of the 1983 fictional novel by Walter Tevis. It tells the story of Beth Harmon combating emotional distress and dependence on drugs, while conquering a male-dominated industry.

After being hooked on drugs during her time at her orphanage, the drug Harmon consumes gives her the ability to envision chess plays in her head, which she believes is an incredible advantage. Because of it, Harmon goes from learning chess in the basement of her orphanage to the chess world championships in

Moscow. Traveling with the mother of her adopted family, Harmon also has to tackle issues involving interacting with people and making friends, which proves especially hard for a woman in a sport full of men. Harmon is constantly mocked by her competitors.

The story mainly features Harmon’s struggle with the doubt of her ability off the drug. Winter is the perfect time to start up a new hobby, and this series is a perfect gateway into the world of chess. In fact, the release of this series in 2020 led to a meteoric rise in popularity of chess in the industry.

Tis’ the season: wrapping atypical presents

Courtesy of Penguin Publishers

Courtesy of Netflix

Courtesy of Netflix

—Compiled by Paul Garofalo

Courtesy of Netflix

Holiday Crossword

Circular arrangement of flowers and leaves typically hung on a door

Nine-branched candelabra lit after each day of Hanukkah

Dasher, Dancer, ___ , Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph

Green, angry, cat-faced creature who once stole Christmas

Eight-day Jewish celebration that is also known as the Festival of Lights

People often make candy houses of this material during the holidays

You get a gift for each day of the ____ calendar; the time that begins with the four Sundays before Christmas

Sweet and creamy beverage often drunk during the holidays

One of Santa’s little helpers; hit 2003 movie starring Will Ferrell

African-American celebration based on African harvest festival traditions; lasts from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1

Kind of evergreen often used for Christmas trees

Think tinsel, a glass ball, or a tree-topping star

Frosty friend that only lasts for a day

Empty socks waiting to be filled with gifts

Jewish holiday top; “I made it out of clay”

Potato pancake eaten during Hanukkah

Simple, Delicious Holiday Recipes To Try

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

• 14 oz. condensed milk

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Ideal for a special occasion, magic cookie bars are a perfect way to kickstart the winter and holiday season. Sweet and simple, magic cookie bars consist of a buttery graham cracker crust, topped with condensed milk and a variety of toppings. Magic cookie bars are easy to make and have a rich, sweet, chocolatey taste, balanced with hints of coconut and nuts. Add sweet baking chips, flaked coconuts, chopped nuts or—for some holiday flair—M&M’s. What makes the recipe truly unique is its versatility, as it allows for virtually any topping combination. Yielding 12 three-by-four inch bars, magic cookie bars will deliver a truly magical experience this holiday season.

• 1/3 cup flaked coconut

• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

• Optional: M&M’s

less complex than other French pastries, but there are still a few tricky steps. This 24-madeleine recipe makes for a perfect holiday snack. Preparation and baking time take at least an hour, with kitchen equipment including madeleine baking pans (substitute with a cupcake tray) and an electric mixer. Top the madeleines with powdered sugar (and sprinkles for extra festivity) and enjoy this classic French pastry with a cup of coffee.

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional: powdered sugar, lemon zest, sprinkles or chocolate ganache

—Compiled by Kenneth Soh

Michelle Koo

Jenny Lee

consumers must weigh artists’ content Against harmful views

You see them everywhere: social media influencers, book authors, movie directors and celebrities. We look up to them, but should not always place them on a high pedestal. There are countless examples of celebrities and artists across nearly all platforms and genres who use their influence and fame to support or share their hateful beliefs. One of the biggest examples today is Ye (who changed his name from Kanye West) sharing anti-Semitic views across various media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and live interviews on television. Ye is considered one of the world’s most popular artists, and according to Spotify, he racks over 50 million listeners monthly, with his top song, “Bound 2,” having over 500 million listens. At the same time, however, it is important to state that just because someone listens to an artist, it does not mean that said person shares that artist’s political or discriminatory ideas. This understanding demonstrates the difference between what it means to be a fan of someone’s work and the person themselves. While deciding how to respond to artists is a personal choice, fans must do their due diligence in thoroughly researching the artist’s views before deciding to continue or withdraw their support.

The example with Ye is hardly a first occurrence of a popular celebrity expressing problematic views. Back in July 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling posted transphobic tweets which disrespected and ignored the lived identities of transgender women. Like Ye’s music, Rowling’s books share a special place in the hearts of many. Rowling’s comments hurt thousands of people and are especially harmful because Harry Potter is popular among kids. J.K. Rowling is able to use her fame to potentially spread anti-trans views to young, impressionable minds who look up to her as their favorite author and do not know better. In the wake of Rowling’s transphobic comments, many transgender Harry Potter fans had to question if being a fan of the series was worth supporting the author. Many feel that they can no longer support the series given Rowling’s comments about transgender women. Fans of Ye’s and Rowling’s work alike must evaluate whether the artist’s actions are too extreme to continue supporting. The decision to stop consuming content is made by each individual person.

Some fans might argue that it is better to always separate the art from the artist in any case, because oftentimes the art does not reflect the artist’s views, and we should appreciate art for what it is. Yes, sometimes it is important to appreciate masterpieces when they occur and not judge them entirely on who was behind that work, but that does not excuse fans from ignoring what their favorite artist stands for or does with their fame. Take Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is not a name many students will recognize, but in the Art of Visual Storytelling class, students read his world renowned manga, “Rurouni Kenshin.” Students read “Rurouni Kenshin” because it is considered a classic in the shounen manga world, with several video game, anime and live action movies adaptation. However, Watsuki faced controversy when he was discovered in 2017 to be in possession of child pornography, which Watsuki purchased with the revenue he received from his successful series. His fine was also paid off with that money. Many fans were devastated by this news because, while indirectly, fans contributed a small percentage to his actions with every copy of “Rurouni Kenshin” purchased or anime episode watched. Unfortunately though, many of those who choose to read “Kenshin” are not aware of the author’s crimes. For fans who decide to continue to support their favorite artists, the appreciation for the artist’s work means they are responsible for researching more about the people behind the art they consume. Otherwise, students run the risk of harming groups targeted by these creators through their ignorance.

If a cereal company were to be discovered practicing illegal business practices, it is easy for people to simply switch over to a different brand of cereal in order to not support that business. So why shouldn’t it be similar for fans of public figures like Ye, Watsuki and Rowling to stop consuming their work? Unlike cereal, art is unique and there are few substitutes for people who are huge fans of Ye’s music or Harry Potter. For this reason, many are hesitant to immediately drop their favorite artist. It is all right for students to continue to support their favorite artist’s works, as long as they are aware of the kind of people they are praising and looking up to. In most cases, one of the best ways for people to learn is to research more. Find out the facts and figures, then make the final call whether to decide to support something or not. This will give people a clearer understanding of what they are supporting.

While choosing to boycott an artist is a personal choice, everyone is obligated to research the harm in the creator’s views in order to weigh them against their own values. It should also be established that being a fan of an artist does not automatically equate

ye controversy calls for greater solidarity

Honigstein Reporter

As a Jew, an anti-Semitic celebrity rampage is far from new to me. With every passing year, a new name is added to the long list of public figures who I am forced to avoid due to their threats against my people. For the last decade or so, the likes of Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, Hollywood actor Mel Gibson and rapper Ice Cube, have unfortunately secured their names on this register. Never before, however, has a public figure’s actions shocked me so personally as Ye’s. The way I see it, the public has disappointingly failed to consider the hurtful impact of Ye’s words when making its decision whether or not to boycott his work.

I deeply admired Ye’s music for years. His tracks dominated my playlists, and I often quoted him as my favorite musical artist. Don’t get me wrong: I had always been wary of listening to his character outside of his music because of his erratic behavior and frequent media controversies. But never did I consider that Ye’s harmful views would ever grow to include anti-Semitism.

What started out as pixels on a screen became truly tangible when the phrase “but he made Graduation” began circulating around me. This expression caught fire instantly in the wake of Ye’s punishments, and has since been jokingly spread as a way to justify Ye’s actions by virtue the quality of one of his most critically acclaimed albums, “Graduation.” In essence, the people spreading this are saying that the punishments for Ye’s anti-Semitism aren’t fair because his music is really good.

Hearing this specific phrase from my friends, both Jewish and non-Jewish, was an unpleasant experience in the least. By social convention, I laughed, pretending it was just “dark humor,” even though I knew deep down, my friends were spreading more tolerance for Ye’s hate speech. Even if my friends did not know the gravity of their words—and I’m sure some of them did not— it was uncomfortable for me nonetheless. In fact, this issue—people being unaware of the effects of their words—is perhaps what is most aggravating about this whole experience. While I clearly acknowledged Ye’s anti-Semitism, I couldn’t correct the people around me. I couldn’t say anything back to my friends, because in my friend group when someone takes offense to a joke, they are ridiculed. I know that my social circle is not the only one that would react this way.

People’s lack of respect for my decision to boycott Ye has been frustrating. In the car with friends, I’ve asked for Ye’s songs to be skipped, to which my friends have usually responded something along the lines of “who cares?” I’m sure this experience is not exclusive to just myself.

What they may not understand is that for a non-Jewish person, it’s fundamentally easier to say “I’m supporting the art, not the artist.” For non-Jews, the acknowledgment of Ye’s flawed ideals but continued support of his music comes with absolutely no strings attached, no implications for the tolerance of their religion.

The societal discussion around the controversy was equally frustrating. Let’s get this clear: The main point of this whole spectacle is that Ye’s words hurt people. I didn’t care about how much money he was losing, or that he was becoming a victim of “cancel culture.” What did matter, and does matter, is that California neo-Nazis flew banners on highway crossings just days after his statements, reading “Kanye was right about the Jews.” When I saw that picture, I realized that Ye’s statements were being actively listened to. That was a scary reality to face. So while I am glad to see certain non-Jews stand up against Ye, I also recognize one fundamental difference between me and them: They are boycotting Ye out of their personal choice, whereas I am boycotting him out of concern for my safety to practice the Jewish religion in this country.

At the end of the day, I will respect the decisions of people who decide to continue listening to Ye’s music. My one request for students is to acknowledge the fact that Ye’s tweets are more than just words. I hope that even those who choose to continue consuming his art respect the decision of those who morally cannot. Most importantly, I hope that either camp, regardless of its decision, is more mindful before spreading so-called “dark humor.” People can tolerate the art. Just please don’t tolerate the hate.

Lita Sone Reporter

Dan

Irene Hong