Issue 1 2015-2016

The Eagle George Washington High School 600 32nd Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121 Issue I. October 14th, 2015

Website: gwhs.co Instagram: gwhsofficial Twitter: gwhs_official

Have The Police Gone

Too Far? 892 Americans have been killed by the police this year. The Eagle investigates Washington’s relationship - both good and bad - with the police on pages 7-10.

*Photos featured above are some of the people killed by police officers in the United States in 2015. Photos courtesy of The Guardian US Edition.

2 News

October 14th, 2015

The Eagle

New Schedule Brings Mayhem toWashington

BY MARIE BAKER

W

ashington’s new bell schedule did not receive the warmest welcome when it made its debut this year. While some teachers and students like the new schedule, others are infuriated and calling for action. Within the first month of the new school year, a committee was established to challenge and reform the new schedule.

The new schedule’s “split” block aspect seems to be causing the greatest unrest among first period teachers and students.

First period US History teacher Teresa Camajani explains, “Block scheduling gives trajectory to a lesson and gives people time to think, so I love it. I don’t love [this year’s] first period because all the things that I love about block schedule, those stretches of time, is totally destroyed. It’s not the same. My first period students don’t get the same coverage.”

Tom Tomczak, an ELL Department teacher, is extremely unhappy with the new schedule and demands changes to be made

by January, 2016.

“What’s a problem for me is that I have three sections of American Literature. They meet first, second and third periods. For first period, I have to divide my curriculum over five days rather than four and that causes a continuity problem. It throws off my rhythm.

Also, that means that first period meets for an extra ten minutes a week. There’s a basic issue of fairness, with first period teachers and students bearing a disproportionate burden on account of the changes to the schedule,” says Tomczak.

Many first period students share teachers’ concerns with the elimination of the block schedule. “Teachers can’t do long activities, so labs or tests are difficult to have and often need to be split up,” states a first period physics student in a survey about the schedule.

Another first period student claims, “I learn more in one 80 minute class than two 45 minute classes and it’s unfair because first period students are the only ones who have class five days a week without a block.”

Many students have also expressed dissatisfaction with the schedule’s consistent 7:30 AM start time: Sophomore Michelle Pham

says, “The one school day where I got to sleep was taken away.”

Despite the strong opposition, proponents of the new schedule highlight the positive effects of the change. For example, French teacher Erica Ainsbury says, “I see my first period students every day. [It is] very necessary for language learning.”

The consistent start time seems to be working in favor of second period teachers, as many of them report less students being tardy to class this year than last year.

“I especially like that second period starts at 8:21 AM,” math teacher Gael Beresford explains. “My students are not tardy. Last year, with an 8:00 AM start time for second period, many students were tardy and instructional time was lost.”

Students who prefer the new schedule appreciate the consistent start time and Wednesday’s 12:27 PM dismissal, but many are still disappointed by the 7:30 AM start on Thursday. Some even prefer the split first block over 80 minute class periods. One student says, “The schedule is consistent and we’ve adapted to it already.” Another student claims, “We don’t have to sit for 80 minutes in first period while being very tired.”

The schedule committee, composed of first period teachers who are affected by the schedule change and several non first period teachers, is currently meeting once every two weeks with principal Ericka Lovrin and assistant principal Erin Lynch to find a schedule that best fits everyone’s needs.

Despite the committee’s effort, major restrictions such as the school bus schedule and maintaining Washington’s seven period day have served as major roadblocks to the creation of a new schedule. Lovrin describes the task of coming up with a new schedule as a “great giant math equation that we have to figure out.”

When George Washington High School adopted the block schedule five years ago, Lovrin was able to negotiate with the transportation company, who picks up and drops off students who use school bus services, to cater to Washington’s inconsistent start and

end times. The problem was that the same buses that pick up and drop off Washington students at school then needed to turn around and pick up middle and elementary school students. The buses that dropped Washington students off at 8:00 AM on Thursdays were taken out of rotation, which cost the transportation company extra money.

Lovrin explains, “Last year, I was made aware that we had to change the schedule, so I worked with the district, who gave parameters for us to work with.” According to Lynch, the school buses need to

drop off students at Washington at 7:30 AM every morning and pick students up by 2:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and by 1:15 PM on Wednesday and Thursdays. As a solution to the transportation issue, Washington had to come up with a new schedule that would meet the bus company’s schedule as well as the average daily and annual minimum minutes required under California state law.

On top of the transportation restrictions, Washington’s seven period day makes it even more difficult for the committee to come up with a faultless new schedule. Other schools facing similar transportation issues, such as Galileo and Lincoln, solved their problem by switching to six period days which came

What’s New at Wash?

Cafeteria Gets a Makeover

BY ANNA BERNICK

As you may have noticed, our cafeteria or “dining hall” has had a bit of an upgrade this year. There is more of a cafe atmosphere with new furniture which includes couches, round tables, high tables, chairs by the windows, and the removal of some of the old tables.

at the cost of Visual and Performing Arts classes.

“If we went to a six period day, we would have to cut all of our VAPA and we don’t want to do that,” says Lovrin.

Choir teacher Anna Karney also voices the importance of maintaining a seven period day at Washington: “Having seven periods gives the students an opportunity to take more electives thereby providing the students with a ‘comprehensive’ curriculum. That is part of the identity of our school.”

At the end of last year, two options that satisfied both the transportation needs and comprehensive schedule came to the table: the current split block schedule, or a 7:45 AM second period start time on Thursdays. This year’s schedule was decided on by a majority vote of teachers.

As a result, there are ten less first period classes offered this year than last year, because many first period teachers, including Barbara Blinick, opted out of teaching it.

“I refused to do early schedule this year because I refused to have a different schedule for the same class,” Blinick explains.

“I would have had one Modern World class five times a week and another Modern World class four times a week with a block. I would have had to plan differently; it just would have been a different class.”

The committee continues to work toward finding an alternative schedule and the next step, according to Lovrin, is to compare the student data regarding second period attendance and grades for 2015-2016 and 2014-2015 to see if the new schedule has affected these metrics. “We are anticipating that a schedule change will take place next year unless we can develop a schedule that fits within the time constraints from this year’s schedule,” Lovrin explains. “Students will definitely be included in the process once we develop a schedule that can be looked at by both teachers and students.”

With all of the restrictions, many teachers are frustrated and feel there is no solution in sight. Math teacher Gina Campagna says: “The problem is there doesn’t seem to be a workable solution that makes students and the transportation department happy.”

Tree Murder

BY TOBIAS SUNSHINE

A murder has been committed over the summer. The two trees on the sides of the 32nd Ave and Anza entrance have been removed. While it may just be something you see everyday, some are asking why they were removed and replaced by two new smaller trees. According to our Assistant Principal Paul Fan, it is simply safety.

“The two old trees roots were overgrown and were going into the concrete; we had no choice but to replace

them...it is all for everyone’s safety so no one is hit by a falling tree and seriously injured,” says Fan. While some might be upset, it is not a huge issue.

The main purpose of school is to keep you safe, so this is a no-brainer. The trees are just landscape to boost the image of the school, so the issue of replacing them is likely not something that will anger someone. It will be nice to see the new trees grow to be as big as their predecessors.

October 14th, 2015

The Eagle

Features 3

Teacher of the Issue

Erica Ainsbury: C’est la vie!

BY MELODY YAN

T

he first thing you notice about French teacher Erica Ainsbury is her short, auburn hair with streaks of blue. The second would be her British accent, something that has remained with her even through the years of traveling from country to country.

Ainsbury was born in England and wanted to become a teacher ever since she was young. “I sat with my siblings in front of a blackboard and my mother said, ‘Copy down what I write.’ So I think at the age of seven I had already decided,” said Ainsbury.

As for why she chose to teach French, she says, “I love to teach; I love to share my knowledge. The biggest satisfaction about it is seeing my students improve and be able to do something they weren’t able to do before I came along. The language itself just makes sense to me. Even though it has exceptions, it’s kind of like, I like to follow the rules but there are some rules I like to break. So it kind of fits me very nicely.”

Ainsbury studied French in England at the University of Manchester and at the University of Durham, as well as a year in Paris. She moved to the States in 1982 and lived in Texas for 15 years where she owned a fitness company called Santé, which means ‘health’ in French.

“I don’t think people realize that I’m a fitness instructor and have been for 35 years.

It kind of shocks them. I used to lecture on nutrition and exercise. I used to have my own fitness company and go around and teach instructors how to be instructors,” Ainsbury says.

The company would hold workshops on weight-lifting, nutrition, how to make a step class, and choreography, to name a few. People would then receive credits for attending these workshops, which would help with their certification to become instructors. Santé was health and fitness basics for people to attend and learn to be better instructors, though some people of the public would attend as well. After 10 years the company decided to disband because Ainsbury planned to move from Texas to San Francisco, and keeping up the company would have been too difficult. Even so, Ainsbury is still passionate about health and fitness.

She began teaching at Washington 20 years ago and has been living in the city for just as long. It’s obvious Ainsbury loves what she does, and there is never a shortage of interesting things that happen in French class.

“I love every day. Something somebody says just tickles my funny bone. Students can be so funny, they really can,” explained Ainsbury.

She is not only proud of her students but also of the fact that she has managed to make a living out of something she enjoys, which isn’t something you see happen very often.

“I get the best students in French class. Always the nicest, the best. They are a delight and make my job,” she said.

Having lived in England, France, and America, there’s no doubt that she has noticed some differences between them.

“The people, I think, are a little more impatient than they are in America,” Ainsbury says about the French. “They praise celebrities for their brains rather than their athletic or natural gifts, like singers and personalities like that. They’re not impressed by that; they’re impressed by poets and philosophers and the people that do clever things with their brain. And they have great cooking skills; not that I’m into food that much, but I do enjoy a good French onion soup.”

Besides loving French culture, Ainsbury also likes to experiment with her hair. I’ve taken French for almost three years now and I’ve seen it go from auburn to pink to the current blue. The first time she started coloring her hair was when she was 14, and she had dyed it purple. Ever since then, Ainsbury has dyed her hair a multitude of colors--red, green, blue, pink, and even blonde. She loves the colors for all different reasons, and she usually dyes it based on her mood.

“I’m feeling the blue right now. I think I ought to do green; I haven’t done that in awhile,” Ainsbury comments.

When she’s not teaching French, Ainsbury looks after animals. “I used to be a foster mom and now I have six cats and a dog, and a lot of them come from my garden. I rescue feral cats and fix them and then feed them and sometimes I try to find them homes. I don’t foster anymore really because I haven’t got the space and time,” says Ainsbury. She started fostering animals eight years ago when she dropped her kids off at a friend’s house, and her daughter had rescued a kitten escaping from the next door neighbor’s yard. Ainsbury knew the neighbor and had called her up and said, “Ok, what do I do? I’m saving a kitten from your house.” The neighbor wasn’t home, and so Ainsbury waited until she got back. “Of course my kids are just like in love with this little ball of fur. And she [the neighbor] said, ‘Well, do you want to keep it?’ when she got there. I was tired and hungry, I just wanted to go home. So I said that we’d try it for the weekend,” Ainsbury elaborated. At that time, Ainsbury also had an old cat, and since she wasn’t well, she was afraid the kitten would mess with her. “I didn’t want a kitten that was gonna beat her up or do anything wrong, but she was perfect and she behaved like an absolute princess, so I said yes we can keep her. When I did that, she [the neighbor] said ‘Would you want to take her brothers and sisters?’ And I said ‘Whaaat?’”

In the end Ainsbury looked after four kittens, and she and her children did such a good job looking after them that the neighbor wanted them to keep fostering. Ainsbury agreed, but only to kittens because it was too painful to put down old animals.

She’s been fostering animals ever since then. “I’ve probably had 30 to 40 animals go through my care. And you have to say goodbye to them, and sometimes it’s hard. The ones that didn’t get adopted have just stayed with me, which is why I can’t really foster kittens anymore. I’m overwhelmed. I’ve got six cats. Two of them are old, three of them are special needs and the rest are around, but they aren’t going anywhere.”

Tilly was the cat that started the fostering, then came Squirt, Trixie, Buck, Charlie, and Pete, and she also has a dog named Milo. When I asked if she considered herself a cat lady, she said, “Definitely! ‘Crazy cat lady’ is who I am.”

Though Ainsbury doesn’t travel as much as she used to, she does think of herself as continually evolving. She’s found her place in San Francisco and has no plans to leave.

4 Features

The Eagle

October 14th, 2015

Student of the Issue Ansley Guillebeau: 2,338 Miles Away From Sweet Home Alabama

T

BY HANAKI SATO

he first few weeks of school, after lunch would end, I would walk towards my 5th period European Literature class and I would see this girl whom I have never seen before. And I remember thinking, this girl is either new or I have missed her face all three years I have been here. But, I thought it was unlikely, because, in a school where there is only a handful of Caucasian people, you can’t really miss them.

It’s interesting how you can distinguish between who has been going to Washington and who hasn’t. And as I expected, I was right. Senior Ansley Guillebeau was a new student who moved from Birmingham, Alabama to San Francisco about three months ago.

Guillebeau, with her slender figure and long brunette hair, walks into room 211. We move to the back corner of the classroom, her body slightly hunched sitting in the chair in front of me, and as her southern accent begins to echo so faintly that you can barely recognize it, we begin to talk.

Guillebeau’s parents divorced when she was in the first grade, but it hasn’t bothered her. She lives with her mother, who she is close to. She adds, “We’re a lot alike. We have the same political beliefs, we like to do the same activities. We like hiking and biking, outdoorsy stuff.”

Guillebeau’s dad is still in Alabama. “I don’t really have a lot in common with my dad; he’s pretty conservative. He likes to watch tv… he likes to party a lot; my dad and my brother are a lot alike, they’re both really southern. My brother’s a little bit of a redneck,” said Guillebeau.

For all you San Francisco kids reading this, to be a redneck, according to Guillebeau, “You like trucks, camo, hunting, fishing and you hate Obama. They drink more. They do dip, like chewing tobacco.”

Guillebeau has a 24 year old sister and a 21 year old brother.

“I’m pretty close with my sister. We get along really well, she’s really fun and she likes to party... She’s just always really happy.

My brother, he’s like the bad kid, but I feel like I relate to him more. He’s, I don’t want to like just trash talk him; I don’t have a lot of good things to say about him but I like him,” she explains.

While her sister was supportive of her and their mother’s move out of Alabama, her brother did not share the same eager and excitement.

Guillebeau states, “My sister was super supportive and encouraging. My brother felt like our family was falling apart with me, my mom, and my sister all spread out. He acted like he was supportive but he never acted like he was happy for me.

I think he’s happy for me now though. He’s glad I like it. My dad is happy for me because I’m happy but he was originally very hurt and upset.”

Wanting in-state tuition for the schools she plans to apply to, Guillebeau brought up to her mom that they should move to California.“ Well she chose San Francisco when I told her we should move to California so I could get in-state tuition she was all for that, she was ready to get out of Alabama, and so

she started looking up jobs and stuff and chose San Francisco.”

Guillebeau was more than happy about her mom’s decision.

“I really liked San Francisco when we visited and I sort of thought San Francisco was too expensive for us to actually live here, so it was kind of like a dream really,” she said. In contrast to Washington, Guillebeau describes her school back home in Birmingham as more challenging and strict. She explains, “It’s a really good school. It’s a little harder; the teachers don’t try to give you as much help, like they do here. It’s also really strict there, like the dress code and on tardiness and punishment for small stuff.”

When asked how she felt about the demographics of Washington and how it’s predominantly Asian, she says, “I looked it up before I came here, and it’s cool, I like it.” This came as a surprise to me because I and many of my Asian friends often rant about how it seems like there are ONLY Asian people at Washington, and how we’re sick of it. It was refreshing to hear someone appreciate the fact that the majority of students are Asian.

Guillebeau moving here from Alabama came to me as a big shock, not only because she comes from a very conservative state in the Bible Belt, but because she was moving to San Francisco, which is one of the most liberal cities you could live in. But what came to me as a bigger surprise was that she had a girlfriend. And it wasn’t that her having a girlfriend struck me by surprise, I mean I’m from San Francisco, but it was that Guillebeau comes from a place, where being with someone of the same sex is still frowned upon.

While San Francisco is pretty accepting when it comes to same sex relationships, according to Guillebeau, Alabama is a whole different story.

“Some people were homophobic but most of the people were okay with it. Like I wouldn’t immediately tell them and I would be like oh my friend and see how they feel before I tell them like I have a girlfriend. I’ve been called like a faggot, and I laughed at them a little...Oh I was in public speaking last year, and you come up with a speech every week about any topic and I heard some pretty weird topics while I was in that class because there were a lot of conservative people. I heard like what the confederate flag represents, why Andrew Jackson was the best general of all time, why Obama is awful, and the teacher would not let me do one on transgender rights or gay marriage even though it’s legal, because it’s too controversial.

And I was like really saying that Obama is the worst president ever is not controversial?”

In addition, when a Gay Straight Alliance visited her school in Birmingham, they were met with complete opposition. She explains, “There were people who like absolutely hated it. And they were like tearing down posters and teachers; like they were just vicious and they were very upset that that club was at the school.”

Guillebeau also recalls a time when she went to church with her father, “It was the first time I went to church with my dad and the whole service was about why the homosexuality

lifestyle is a sin. It was so uncomfortable; my dad felt more awkward than me though,” she says. On her relationship with her girlfriend, Guillebeau adds, “I’m not ashamed. I don’t see it as a bad thing.”

Despite coming from a place that’s so conservative, Guillebeau is quite liberal. Her open-mindedness stems largely from her mom and friends’ influences. “My mom’s from the north so she’s more open minded. She would always share her beliefs, and she watches the news a lot so she would keep me updated on stuff. I think it was [also] my friend group that I had too,” Guillebeau said.

One of Guillebeau’s biggest accomplishments was when she volunteered every Wednesday, back in Alabama, at a Boys and Girls Club. She would tutor elementary school kids from a much poorer area with schools that had very bad funding.

She adds, “They didn’t have good textbooks or paper or pencils sometimes. And so they were not at the level they should’ve been. There were 3rd graders that still had problems with adding so I felt like I was really helping them by improving their education.”

Guillebeau used to have a truck that she made look really redneck. She had American flags on it and redneck stickers and camo duct tape.“I probably pissed off a lot of rednecks at my school who knew I was doing it as a joke. I think I lowkey hurt my brothers feelings,” comments Guillebeau.

Guillebeau recalls this one time where a guy pulled up in a truck next to her, “There was a confederate flag on it and he waved at me and I was like ‘no I’m not’.”

Although Guillebeau enjoys all this city has to offer she does miss certain aspects of Alabama, she adds, “I like Alabama’s weather. They have lots of trees, I like that. I miss the trees. I like how homey it is in Alabama. I like southern food, the home-made cooking by my grandparents were the best.”

Guillebeau enjoys talking to new people, something that used to be hard for her. She adds about herself, “I’m really empathetic. I understand people’s problems and what they’re thinking. I’m pretty mellow and I’m open minded, I guess my friends would call me wise because I’m good at giving advice.”

As for her future, Guillebeau adds, “I think I want to be an environmental engineer. I really like math so I was thinking like math and the environment. I also want to live somewhere that has good nature places and have dogs,” she explains.

My last question for Guillebeau, of course, had to be, if she had been to In-N-Out yet, and to my disappointment, she has yet to go. Although she lost some points for that, by the end of this 50 minute conversation I had with her, I have nothing but respect for her. She not only opened up to someone new but is also allowing me to put what she said out there for the school, full of people she has yet to meet, to read. So if you see Ansley Guillebeau walking in the halls with her bright pink backpack, with a small black purse by her side, don’t hesitate to say “hi,” as she is one of the nicest, most welcoming, down to earth people I have met.

October 14th, 2015

College 5

The Eagle

Chatree’s College Tips Applying for college can be a messy, stressful process. With an overload of deadlines and requirements, it can be easy to forget important parts of what needs to be done for applications. Here are some tips and reminders from College Center counselor Chatree Touch to keep you on track!

1. Start early on your applications and essays.

2. Do not skip the brainstorm step when writing an essay. It is important to outline your ideas to have a clearer vision of how you want to tackle the prompt.

3. Visit your counselor or the College and Career Center to make sure you’re eligible to apply to colleges. Check in about your average GPA, standardized test scores, and college requirements. If you haven’t taken the SAT and/or ACT, head over to Mr. Touch! Fee waivers are available.

How to stay stress free during the college process

BY KATIE WHITMIRE

• Start ASAP! The sooner you start the less stress you will feel when deadlines come around. Also, you will avoid rushing your applications at the last minute.

• Pace yourself. Work on the applications that have closer deadlines and once you finish those move on to the next pool of applications.

• Take a break when you need it. If you feel like you are struggling and trudging through your essays or applications, take a walk, watch some funny YouTube videos, anything to clear your mind of a while and then start again.

• BREATHE! It will all be over soon :)

4. Have an updated transcript.

5. Make a list of colleges that interest you and why. Write down the pros and cons. This will help you narrow down your choices when it comes to actually choosing which college to attend.

6. Get feedback from multiple people on your essays.

7. Go to the after-school College Application Workshops in October and November to get application help and review.

8. Write down all of the requirements needed for college applications (such as test score reports, transcripts, recommendation letters, requests for financial aid, etc.) and their deadlines.

9. Be supportive of other students by encouraging them to apply, giving them feedback, and reminding them of deadlines.

10. Ask for help in a respectable and timely manner. Adults on campus are here to help, so ask for it!

Personal Statement Tips

BY KATIE WHITMIRE

• Think small! Don’t try and cram your whole life story into one essay. Find one or story or event that is espically meaningful to you.

• Write first and then edit.

Don’t try and make your essay perfect after writing only a few paragraphs.

• Don’t use cliches! They are unappealing and you are more creat vie than that!

• Show, don’t tell. Instead of just saying “I like soccer”, try and paint a picture for the reader of your essay.

• Try and make your essay entertaining. With readers reading thousands of dull essays, try to make your entertaining by using comedy or controvesy. Just make sure that if you make your essay controversal that it is not off putting.

Try and fine a good balance.

• Brand yourself. After your essay is a read, a reader should be able to summarize you in one to t wo sentences.

Senior Year Check List Decide on early action/early decision admissions

Apply for scholarships

Order senior portraits

Snap a crazy shot of you and your friends at the Fall Rally

Ask teachers for letter recommendations

November last time to take tests for UC schools

Turn in paper for counselor to write recommendation

Submit UC (Nov. 30th)/Common App (varies by school)

Figure out college application due dates

December last time to take SAT for most private schools

Write UC personal statements Sign up for the Alumni Assocation Write Common App personal statements Submit personal statements to College Center for feedback

Rejoice in the completion of college apps aka throw a party Create potential prom date list Book prom party bus in advance Have fun!

6 Opinion

People Can Be Transracial

BY BENJAMIN TOLEDO

“T

ransracial” is a buzzword that took the media by storm this past summer. A woman who identified as “black”, Rachel Dolezal, was ousted as an “imposter”: her parents said publicly that she was actually “white”. She was President of her local Washington State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter. On the Today Show, she said she “identified as black” and that she was “transracial.”

Wow, quite the nerve right? A “white” woman passing as “black”. But here’s the thing: she may be transracial, but not in the way you think.

Let’s start by untwisting this weird definition knot. I think the problem arises when we don’t have a solid grasp on what race and ethnicity are. Merriam-Webster defines race as “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits” and ethnicity as “people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin[s] or background[s].” Your race is what is given to you through your heritage, what your ancestors were, and what your bloodline is. Your culture, what customs you practice, and the nation you belong to help define your ethnicity. You could be racially Chinese but, at the same time, be both ethnically Chinese and American. It’s impossible for Rachel Dolezal to have changed her race to “black”, but she can identify as ethnically “black”; her ethnicity doesn’t have to be the same as her race. Being transracial does not mean that you are changing races.

Merriam-Webster defines transracial as “involving, encompassing, or extending across two or more races.” However, I think, in practice, this term is used differently. The term transracial was first used in academia to describe kids growing up in households that were different than their given race. A black child who was adopted and raised by white parents in a white neighborhood could identify as transracial. This child is racially “black” and ethnically “white”.

By my definition, this means that someone can be transracial by having a different race than

October 14th, 2015

The Eagle

ethnicity. And this is exactly what Dolezal did she considers herself ethnically “black”.

So let me ask you this, was what Dolezal did so wrong? She feels and identifies as “black”; honestly, that should be enough. People shouldn’t have even gotten angry. Many saw what she did as horrific, an ultimate insult to the “black” community. But on the other hand, couldn’t you have looked at the situation as the ultimate compliment? She liked the “black” culture so much that she chose to be a part of it.

Technically, according to the official definition of ethnicity, Dolezal can identify as “black”.

Dolezal is racially “white” and ethnically “black”.

And therefore, she is transracial.

Race is used to identify ourselves. It’s another parameter to describe “me,” and who “I” am.

We want to know where we came from, where our grandparents and their grandparents lived.

It gives you a sense of community and gives you a sense that you’re part of something bigger.

Through our race, we can trace our bloodline and know what type of people we came from.

But, at the same time, the type of person you are isn’t determined by what race you belong to or where your ancestors came from, it’s determined by how you live your life. Our race should have little to do with how we act and we behave. We should live based on who we really are, because who we really are has nothing to do with our race. The point that I’m trying to make is that race is a social construct. It means one thing to certain people, and something completely different to others. Its definition can change based on who’s talking.

So today, in 2015, don’t you think that “race” is a little outdated? All it’s really used for is to separate “us” from “them.” Whites from blacks.

Asians from Latinos. We can’t even agree completely on what race even means. When it comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter.

All that matters is the fact we’re all human. We all cry the same, laugh the same, eat the same, bleed the same. I may not be able to clearly say what “race” I am, or what others are, but I can say this: the only race that matters is the one we all are, the human race.

The Eagle

Editors-in-Chief: Nicole Bergelson, Carolyn Hanson Lee, Joyce Ma Magazine Editors-in-Chief: Jhoselene Alvarado, Marie Baker, Katie Whitmire Website Editors-in-Chief: Annie Lei, Jennifer Yip Page Editors/Designers: Jhoselene Alvarado, Marie Baker, Annie Lei, Hanaki Sato, Katie Whitmire, Melody Yan Photographer: Mandy Yu Graphic Designer: Allison Wu Staff Writers: Anna Bernick, Maximillian Bormann, Dulce FuentesLeyva, Joel Ho, Kevin Li, Andrew Liu, Bitota Mpolo, Christopher Ramos, Jesse Matthews, Samantha Sacks, David Scolari, Deavon Smith, Tobias Sunshine, Benjamin Toledo, Kevin Truong, Winnie Zhang, Carmen Zhen, Jerrick Zhu Advisor: David Cary

AP Score Pass Rates AP Subject

Statistics Psychology Chemistry English Language Biology Macroeconomics English Literature Microeconomics U.S. History Calculus AB Calculus BC Computer Science Chinese Spanish Japanese

GWHS Pass Rate

60% 72% 55% 42% 32% 73% 45% 56% 53% 70% 85% 59% 94% 100% 76%

National Pass Rate

57% 66% 51% 55% 64% 53% 56% 67% 51% 57% 80% 64% 92% 90% 78%

Over 290,000 students took AP exams last Spring. Here are the pass rates of George Washington High School students in comparision to the national pass rates.

Dance is More Than Just a Performance

BY CHRIS RAMOS

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hen people ask if I do a sport, I say, “Yes, I do dance.” The reactions have been very mixed.

While many agree with me, others say that it’s not a sport. It feels wrong and disrespectful when dance is brushed off as less than a sport. I’ve taken dance for all my years at George Washington High School, yet people still make a face when I say it’s my sport. Why shouldn’t dancing be recognized as a sport?

Dance class used to count as Physical Education credit until the San Francisco Unified School District decided against it four years ago. The decision was made because they wanted to make all 10th grade PE classes follow the same curriculum. Since few schools offered dance classes, many were unaffected by the decision, which makes the rule seem entirely unnecessary.

It’s normal for Washington students to have their PE requirement completed by the end of their sophomore year, but I wasn’t able to do so. I enrolled in the Academy of Media Arts and had to take a computer introduction class which made complications in my schedule. I still wanted to be in dance class but had to drop PE to take it. It didn’t really make sense to me that I had to take both dance and PE since dance had so much in common with PE. In my junior year, I made it into Wash-

ington’s Dance Company but I still could not fulfill my PE requirement. I even got a letter in the mail saying that I wasn’t on track to graduate because I hadn’t fulfilled all the requirements. Now, I am forced to take PE as a senior despite having basically taken it throughout high school.

It’s ridiculous to make us take another class requirements that can easily be filled by what we are already doing.

At Washington, dance does not count as a sport; it counts as Visual and Performing Arts. It should be both. According to dictionary.com, a sport is defined as “an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition,” and, last time I checked, dance fits the criteria. What a lot of people seem to think is that dance does not require as much physical exertion as other activities such as basketball or football. However, in my experience, dance takes the cake when it comes to a work out. Not only am I drenched in sweat after I leave the dance room, but my muscles are also sore the next day.

Dancing requires dedication and hard work, just like any other sport. When I’m in Washington’s dance room, I am sweating buckets. Everyone is sweating buckets! We put an immense amount of work to perfect our choreography. The rehearsals for the spring dance concert take up almost the

entire school year with both after school and weekend rehearsals. Many times, after the rehearsals, I have to soak in a bath to relieve my sore muscles. One of the things you might not know about dance company is that you have to audition to get into dance pieces.

You practice the choreography and show it to the choreographers hoping that they’ll choose you to be in their piece.

Can you see the similarities shared between dance and basketball for instance? For example, basketball players compete for starting positions, just like dancers who audition for a spot in a dance piece. Basketball players spend their whole days on the court practicing. Dancers are in their studios all afternoon practicing as well. Professional players have trainers who help them improve their skills. Dancers have dance coaches who help them perfect their movements. Both require constant work, dedication and a competitive

element. Dance fits the many criteria that define a sport, so why isn’t dance a sport?

To fulfill your Visual and Performing Arts requirement at Washington, you can take dance as an elective. Dancing is definitely an art form; it has emotion and passion. When people dance, not only are they exercising, but they are also telling a story. But is it wrong to say that sports like basketball or soccer aren’t arts in their own right? If you were to ask any basketball player, they would tell you about the passion they have for their sport.

“Ball is Life,” as many players put it. A sport seems to have such a wide definition and dance could definitely fit in there. So what is the line that separates dance from becoming a sport if it shares so many characteristics of one?

Excluding dance from the sports categorization is unfair to the people who dedicate their time to it. Dancers, in my opinion, deserve immense amounts of respect and admiration for the dedication and effort they put in everyday. It doesn’t make sense for the students at Washington to have to take PE when they are already taking a class that is equal, if not more physically demanding.

Many tenth graders at Washington who decide to take a higher level VAPA class, such as dance, are also forced to take full schedule.

Having dance count as PE credit could be the first step in having it recognized as a sport.

October 14th, 2015

Police Special 7

The Eagle

Police Misconduct & Racial Profiling An Introduction: Washington’s Relationship With the Police

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olice brutality, the use of any force exceeding what is reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose, and racial profiling have taken America by storm. In the first 24 days of 2015, police in the U.S. fatally shot 59 people, while police in England and Wales, combined, have only fatally shot 55 people in the past 24 years.

As of October 9th, 2015, 892 people have been killed by law enforcement officers in the United States this year alone.

Our own state, California, has had the most people killed; 153 lives were lost just this year. Those killed included people who were both armed and unarmed. As the British newspaper called The Guardian has disclosed, in comparison to whites, AfricanAmericans killed by police were twice as likely to be unarmed.

While the media has primarily featured police brutality and racial profiling towards African-Americans, we would like to point out that this epidemic impacts all races. For example, 415 of the 892 people killed this

year were white (77.7% of Americans are white). According to The Guardian, “nonwhite Americans make up less than 38% of the U.S. population, yet almost half of all people killed are minorities, and minorities make up almost 2/3 or people killed by police.”

Police brutality and racial profiling have become such prominent issues in our society that it has led The Eagle to consider how students at Washington High School are impacted. Although the vast majority of our students have not directly experienced police brutality, the issue of racial stereotyping by the police remains an issue that affects many of our students. The rise in awareness about police brutality has resulted in a tense relationship between students and the law enforcement, regardless of the student’s race. When surveyed, over 1/3 of our students responded that they do not trust the police.

When analyzing this issue, it is crucial to consider both sides of the argument. Many have been killed by the police force; how-

ever, the police are trained to shoot until the threat is no longer a threat. It’s also important to note that, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, “nearly all police killings are deemed by the departments or other authorities to be justifiable.” But, in many situations, the victim did not pose a threat.

Social activism in the digital age is changing the way police brutality is seen in the media. Unlike in the past when most incidents involving police officers were easily suppressed and forgotten, our technologically advanced generation uses social media as our weapons. And so it only makes sense that this issue has skyrocketed in recent years. Taking into consideration all of these staggering statistics and the recent widespread coverage and discovery of police brutality throughout the United States, The Eagle’s Editors-in-Chief have decided to dedicate their first issue of the 2015 school year to investigating the issue of society’s relationship with the police.

The Eagle’s purpose is not to put any certain group to shame - all perspectives

have been considered equally. In best efforts to reach out to the Washington community, The Eagle visited multiple periods of David Ko’s Ethnic Studies classes, passed out school-wide homeroom surveys, and gathered personal accounts from multiple people with strong opinions.

However, there still remain many students at Washington who are afraid or unwilling to speak up with confidence. To serve as a medium for the unheard voices, this issue of The Eagle features quotes from police officers, racially diverse student opinions, and personal accounts of a student whose parent is part of the police force.

Rather than promoting positive or negative impressions of police, our purpose is to educate readers, give students the opportunity to voice their opinions, and investigate this controversial topic.

-Nicole Bergelson, Carolyn Hanson Lee, & Joyce Ma Editors-in-Chief

Kai Konishi-Gray Dresses to Impress Protect His Life

BY CAROLYN HANSON LEE

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hen looking at senior Kai Konishi-Gray, the first, most prominent feature one may recognize is his sophisticated style. His daily look consists of nice button ups, diamond earrings, and evenly cut hair, with an enthusiastic smile on his face. He is known by many around school as a friendly and outgoing kid who loves to take professional photographs. He gets good grades, plays soccer, leads a club, and has never committed any crimes. In other words, he is your normal teenage boy.

However, Konishi-Gray’s life is more complex than one may think.

Konishi-Gray is half African American and half Japanese. And thus, the color of his skin, which gives him culture and identity, also creates guilt and fear in his everyday life involving the way he believes police officers perceive him. While other kids throw on anything they want in the morning when they get dressed for school, KonishiGray takes extra time to meticulously think about his outfits.

In his eyes, dressing appropriately and giving off the right first impression is extremely important. He avoids dressing “thuggish” so police officers do not incorrectly view him or get the wrong idea.

“If I don’t appear friendly enough to officers, then they would automatically perceive me as a criminal or a gang member,” Konishi-Gray explains. “Or that I’m causing trouble, or that I don’t belong in the neighborhood.”

“I’m scared of police and the abuse,” admits Konishi-Gray. “I’ve always had this viewpoint because I’ve always been of color. I’ve always been racially profiled. The first thing police officers see is my appearance and that’s how they judge me, and that’s why I like to treat my appearance as a judgement for others. I think appearance means a lot.”

Konishi-Gray lives in constant fear of being discriminated or abused by police officers. Although he has never done any-

thing wrong, he automatically feels guilty and remorseful when among officers. He understands that police are hired to protect and serve all citizens, including him, but still he feels victimized. Most importantly, he fears his fate becoming sealed in the same ways of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and so many other innocent young African American teens his age who have been undeservingly killed.

Simply walking down the street can be worrisome for Konishi-Gray, as he always considers the possibility that someone will misjudge and dogmatize him. No matter how much he excels in school, what sports he enjoys, or how great of a personality he has, he feels as if he will always be held to a double standard among men in blue uniforms.

“Even though I pay for the Muni, I always get so hesitant because I’m scared.

I’ve seen people get racially stereotyped. If I didn’t have [my ticket], would [officers] judge me because I’m black? Would they say ‘we see this all the time with your group of people’? I may be victimizing myself, but this is how I live,” says Konishi-Gray.

The senior admits that he knows plenty of great cops, but he also recognizes the idea that police have power and the ability to abuse it. As Konishi-Gray points out, there’s no one to police the police.

“Police think they can get away with anything,” says Konishi-Gray. “I’ve seen black police officers harass other black people and I’ve seen people of the same ethnic group harassing other people of the same ethnic group, because they can. They have power.”

“What can I do to defend myself ?”

Konishi-Gray asks. “I can’t do anything.

Even if I didn’t do anything wrong and [cops] illegally search me, what can I do?

What does my voice have?”

Konishi-Gray originally attended high school at Sacred Heart Cathedral but transferred to Washington for his senior year.

In his second month at his new school, he had already risen to a leadership role in the weekly Black Student Union club, where

African American culture is discussed.

He remains very up-to-date with current events and police controversies, especially the Ferguson event and Black Lives Matter movement. Konishi-Gray also follows an account on Twitter called AJPlus, which brings news to the connected generation, sharing human struggles and challenging the status quo.

While Konishi-Gray has a passion for activism, he also believes that the right actions are not being taken to create true change. Initially, the senior was shocked to hear about Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin’s incidents, but he admits that he has become desensitized, as opposing voices are becoming weaker and weaker. He sees that people are becoming tired of the “Black Lives Matter” movement because it’s an issue that has never been fully resolved.

Although voices have risen in opposition against the problem, he does not believe the actual issue of racism in America has been addressed. Konishi-Gray feels that the continuing police brutality and discriminations are causing big problems for minority groups.

“People [in America] grow up with this

idea that black people are all bad, even though they are not. But since [institutionalized racism] has always been here, [people] don’t really question it. It’s going to stay like this unless there’s some major change,” Konishi-Gray adds with a somber tone. “But people are afraid of change, and people are afraid of acceptance.”

A way to fix societal issues with police officers, according to Konishi-Gray, is to welcome different cultures to come into the more conservative parts of America.

As he explains, a police force is made up of the citizens that inhabit the particular area. And so a racially diverse community is more likely to have a more racially diverse police force. He predicts that by having more ethnic people in the less diverse areas, police induced racism will slowly diminish.

People would become more used to seeing diversity and perhaps also become more understanding.

As stated by The Counted, which was created by the Guardian, in July of 2015, more people were killed by police officers than the entire year of 2014. When first hearing about this in the news, KonishiGray was shocked by the fact that numbers have increased despite the uprising in police brutality awareness. It troubled him to learn that 94% of Ferguson’s police force is Caucasian despite 67% of people residing in Ferguson being African-American.

Konishi-Gray sees these imbalances and inequalities as big issues but also proposes multiple solutions.

“We need higher qualifications for officers,” Konishi-Gray resolves. “Too many people are automatically given a gun and a badge, without being checked properly.

There needs to be more diversity in police as well. Police officers need to find a way to maintain safety for communities without disregarding people’s happiness and targeting innocent minorities because they’re easier to target. [Officers] can’t assume certain groups of people are all good, or all bad, either. The police force has to find a middle ground.”

8 Police Special

The E

An Office

Student Responses

“My family was having a huge fight. They were yelling at each other then someone called the police. They came but they didn’t really do much. But one cop, he was very young. came and just talked to me and asked for my input. I felt better and safer. He told me that life will get better. At the end of the talk, he gave me his name and where he was sta“I tioned and to give him a call if I had any think police problems. Cops are here to protect “When I officers are good people. and help us who can not fight was 4, I was stuck on They are regular humans just for themselves.” the BART without my mom. The like everyone else and they make door had just abruptly closed on her as mistakes. But overall police make me she got near it. Like any normal child would, I feel safe because our society would be started crying. Three police officers brought me chaotic without them. People take poup to the BART station and phone-called everyone lice for granted. What would happen through the information I had given them. An hour if there was an intruder in your “[The or so later, they had found my mom. I’m am still house and you couldn’t police] saved very grateful to this day for the deed they did. call 911?” my boyfriend Although it’s a police officer’s requirement from committing to help out a citizen in need, it never “My suicide” hurts to say thank you.” dad once told me that he was pulled over by an officer(latino) for a DUI, but he passed all My the tests and was about to be cleared.Then, anfriend got arrested other officer(caucasian) came, he took one look at my because of her little sister. She put dad (tall Polynesian man) and told his partner to bring a necklace in her purse and when we tried him into the station. When the other officer asked why, he to leave, the beeper went off. The store called the said, ‘just do as I say.’ When my dad got there, they did all the police saying that she stole a $250 necklace. Whentests over again and he was fine. So they had to let him go, but ever she would tell them it wasn’t her fault, they pushed that officer kept trying to make up excuses on why my dad her on the car more and told her to shut up. Her sister told couldn’t leave.I just felt like this was very frustrating and them she did it and she was only 6. They didn’t listen to her not right. Just because someone may look a certain a took her to the police station and she was in the holding way, doesn’t automatically mean they’re guilty. cell for 3 days. Her mother was furious and yelled at the My dad was completely fine and the officer police and told them to let her go. Eventually, they did. decided he was a bad guy just based Her sister said she took it because she wanted her on his looks.” older sister to have since she was depressed and wanted her happy sister back.

“Police constantly harassed my dad when he was a teenager through his twenties. He moved to America from Ukraine when he was 13.”

Your Rights and Responsibilities When stopped by the police...

Your rights -You have the right to remain silent. Say so out loud if you wish to exercise that right.

-You may refuse consent to a search of your body, car, or home, though police may “pat down” your clothing if they suspect a weapon -You have the right to leave if not under arrest. Do ask if you are free to leave.

-You have the right to a lawyer if arrested.

-You have constitutional rights regardless of your immigration status. Don’t discuss your immigration status with anyone except your lawyer.

Your responsibilities -Stay calm -Do not interfere with police duties.

-Do not lie or give false documents -Do not resist arrest -Do not physically resist or threaten officers. Police misconduct cannot be challenged on the street. (sourced from the ACLU)

269 GWHS students were surveyed.

What is your op

I think it’s going to be very interesting for th to use. Say you respond to a crime and you ge face. Then you have video evidence which is h think the police should be able to review the

Is police brutality a real issue? How ha

I would have to say that I don’t see it. Maybe I’ is a big issue. I’m not saying I know of an

Has your life e

Yes. One guy I arrested had a knife and was would kidnap my family and kill them all. I

When is

In self defense of course. And in the defense o then it’ll be in defense for others. Or someon

What is your opin

My opinion is that all life matters and it seem Michael Jackson died, that was all they could news; MJ just remained on the news. I think matter. But I think they should go all lives matt

Eagle

Police Special 9

er’s Point of View

pinion on police wearing body cameras?

he public to see. My opinion is that it’ll be a really good tool for the police et out the car and as you get out of the car, some guy hits another guy in the hard to dispute when you’re in court. So I think it’ll be good for police. I also e video before they write their report because it’s not fair to the police force.

as the rise in concerns over police brutality impacted your life?

’m blessed to work in a really great city. But, if there is police brutality, then it ny, but if there is any, it’s bad. We can’t have police using excessive force.

A Perspective from a Student with Family in the Law Enforcement Influenced by his father’s job in law enforcement, senior Eric Partika shares his unique perspective on police brutality.

Q: How long has your dad been a police officer?

A: My dad has been a part of law enforcement for 18 years.

ever been threatened while on the job?

trying to stab someone and he was out of his mind. He was saying that he I took it as he was just a crazy guy and it was just his ranting and grieving.

s it justifiable to shoot someone?

of others. When you’re at a scene and there’s someone shooting at someone, ne is trying to run you over, shoot you, or stab you, then it’ll be in defense for yourself.

nion on the Black Lives Matter movement?

ms that too many things nowadays take over the news. For instance, when d talk about. There was a baby that got killed, and that didn’t even get on the k it’s gotten too big or out of hand, but it is good to be aware that black lives tter because all lives matter. I mean we’re in San Francisco, we’re in the melting pot of the world.

Q: Do you ever worry about your dad’s safety when he’s on the job?

A: I’ve been scared for my dad’s life ever since I learned what police officers do, and even more now that the attitudes toward police officers are so negative.

Q: What are some of the craziest situations he’s been in?

A: My father has dealt with an infinite list of intense situations such as saving a child because its mother was trying to strangle it, being threatened by a man who just finished stabbing his brother 37 times, finding a woman who survived shooting herself in the head and wandered in the woods for three days, men beating their wives to the point where you can’t recognize their faces, arresting active child rapists (dads raping their daughters, priests raping young boys, men abducting kids), and being fought by strangers just for doing his everyday job.

Q: How do you feel about the rise in awareness about police brutality? What’s your take on the whole situation--the call for body cameras, the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the question of if America’s police force is trained correctly, etcetera?

A: First of all, I don’t agree with the phrase “rise in awareness.” Police have been doing their jobs since the founding of our nation. The only difference now is that the media allows one person’s view or take on a situation to become thousands of other people’s opinions. And not only do the opinions of the few become the opinions of the majority, the way some of these videos are shown may leave out part or much of the situation.

It’s very easy to watch a video of a cop shooting someone and immediately come to the conclusion that the officer was in the wrong. We have entire systems to really determine who was at fault and whether or not the cop should have shot whoever they shot. There’s actually entire agencies that are responsible for making sure that police officers are doing their jobs correctly.

Even our court system has decided that the actions of police officers cannot be judge by that of a regular citizen but by what another officer with similar training and experiences would do in the same situation. I’m not saying that none of the recent issues involving police brutality are the officers’ fault, I’m saying that people tend to jump to conclusions without looking at the big picture.

One aspect of police training that people might not know about is that they are always trained to be one step ahead of whoever they’re dealing with. If someone is acting suspicious, the officer will command them to sit down and answer questions (legal), if that person gives verbal resistance and tells the cop to fuck off, the police officer will try to apprehend (not arrest) whoever they are dealing with so that they can figure out what’s going on (legal), if that person gives physical resistance to a police officer, then the officer will use enforced compliance whether it be pepper spray, batons, or tasers (legal), if that person then pulls out a weapon that can cause bodily harm to either the officer or anyone around, officers are trained to shoot them to prevent them from hurting anyone else. This aspect of training is essential to law enforcement. The police can’t do their job if they are losing fights and arguments; it’s their job to win on behalf of society. This is why people often see police as using what they perceive as “excessive force” when in actuality they’re just assuring their control on the situation because they aren’t entirely sure they can control everything with just their words or hands.

As for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, I support them. It would be ignorant to say that there aren’t racist cops. Cops are just people, and not all people are perfect or even decent. However it would be even more ignorant to say that all cops hate black people just because the actions of a small percentage of officers.

Q: How has your family reacted to the recent police brutality news all over TV/the web?

A: Whenever I see a video or read about a police brutality incident, I first try to see what really happened for myself, but I always ask my dad for his take on the issue. Officers are actually informed of these issues at work and bring a perspective based on their experiences dealing with similar situations. On some of them he sides with the officer, and on some of them he sides with the citizen. But even my dad recognizes and accepts that only the people directly involved in the situation really have all the details.

Q: Do you have friends who have negative perspectives of the police?

A: Yes a lot, my friend Raysean actively hates and speaks out against police officers practically everyday, but he still comes over to my house and respects my father. My dad knows how he feels too, but when they talk to each other it’s very easy for them to agree on things and get along. Maybe if more people actually talked to police officers they would see that they are just normal citizens. There shouldn’t be any conflict between citizens and police officers.

Q: Are there times when you disagree with your dad on law enforcement issues?

A: Yes there are, sometimes when he will actually side with the victim of a police brutality incident when I sided with the officer.

Q: Has your dad ever been in situations where he has had to fatally shoot someone?

A: My dad has been shot at before, but he personally has never had to shoot or kill someone.

10 Police Special

The Eagle

“Black Lives Matter” is Misunderstood

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BY BITOTA MPOLO

hen people say, “Not Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter,” it really pains me. This is not because I don’t believe that all lives matter, but because the “Black Lives Matter” movement was created to take a stand for all of those unarmed AfricanAmericans who lost their lives to police officers who often went uncharged.

“The Black Lives Matter” movement was created to take a stand for the 42-year-old man who lost his life saying “I can’t breathe” to a police officer that had him in a chokehold. It was made to stand up for the 18-yearold teen who was shot 12 times for stealing a cigarillo pack from a convenience store. It was founded to give a voice to the 12-year-old boy who was shot for playing with a toy gun at the park.

So when people say “All Lives Matter,” it saddens me.

We should be standing up for the lives of these unarmed black people who have had their lives stolen from them.

I feel the pain of the families who have had their loved ones killed by police officers. What many people fail to understand is that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is not trying to undermine the killings of other races by police, it is only trying to raise awareness for the vast amounts of unarmed African-Americans being killed by the police.

For the longest time, the media only showed white reporters being shot, white men committing suicide, or white pastors being murdered. This made me feel as though only the deaths of white people mattered in this society. However, in the past couple of years, the media has actually begun to show the deaths and mistreatments of people of color more. Americans are now more exposed to the reality of racism and police brutality and its presence in the United States.

Critics often say that the media is “over-saturating” the problem and that it is not as big as the media makes it appear to be, but it only seems that way because the

media didn’t report on these discriminations toward colored people at all until recently. Just because the issue has begun to arise in the media doesn’t mean the issue just started. Racism and police brutality have always been happening in the United States. The recent media reports just helped expose these under-acknowledged cruelties. Police brutality and racism are not being “exaggerated;” they are just finally getting heard.

Though we may not like to admit it, we have all stereotyped people of color before. I mean, even I sometimes catch myself doing it.

But, when I look at the pictures of those unarmed people of color killed by the police and think to myself, “I could never see them assaulting an officer,” I truly realize that people aren’t their stereotypes and that a certain race does not define who a person is.

I feel tears well up in my eyes as I look at pictures of these lost lives.

The Guardian discloses that, so far in 2015, 217 out of the 892 people killed by the police were African-American. AfricanAmericans made up 25.3% of the people killed by the police in America so far in 2015 and yet African-Americans only make up 13.2% of our population. Despite the fact that African-Americans make up a little more than 1/10 of America, they made up more than 1/4 of the police killings. Their deaths will mean nothing unless we do something to prevent losses like these in

the future. The whole point of the “Black Lives Matter” movement is to put a stop to these unjust murders and assaults towards people of color.

As a child, I had the mindset that racism was only an issue of the past in the United States, because I was rarely exposed to it. But, when I moved to San Francisco about 7 years ago, I became more aware of the discrimination towards people of my skin tone. I remember during the first week of 7th grade, when I was put into an advanced math class, the first thing someone said to me was, ”How did you even get into this class?! Did your dad threaten to beat up the counselor or something?” This was the first time I directly experienced racism and discrimination. But, it is even more common for a young black male to experience racial stereotyping and discrimination. My parents make sure that my brother presents himself well, for wearing a black hoodie can cost him his life. It has gotten to the point where I now fear for my brother’s life. As my mother explains, “Everyone is at risk, no matter if they did something wrong or didn’t.”

The Black community in America often feels this burden of having to watch their back even if they did not do anything wrong. “Black Lives Matter” is striving to make a change in America, to reach racial equality and subdue the racism present here. I only hope this change comes soon.

The Bay Needs More Body Cameras

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BY DEAVON SMITH

olice body cameras are an investment that will decrease police misconduct, police violence, and racial profiling. These body cameras will help provide an insight into the actions of on-duty officers whenever they’re on patrol. The epidemic in the past year alone of police cruelty has made the investment in this technology even more crucial. Many areas already use body cameras, including Oakland and Los Angeles, and hopefully they will be present nationwide soon.

Investing in these body cameras can increase police accountability and provide clear visual evidence from any crime scene. Last December, Obama proposed a three-year, $263 million investment that would increase police officers’ use of body cams, expand training for law enforcement agencies, and provide more resources for police department reform.

The proposal also included the Body Worn Camera Partnership Program, which would provide a 50 percent match to states/localities to purchase body worn cameras and store data.

Yes, we would be spending quite an amount of money on the cameras and maintenance; however, there will be more evidence of any incident that occurs while officers are on patrol. Officers wearing body cameras

could lead to a large decrease in police brutality and an increase in accountability. When body cameras were introduced in February 2012, Rialto - a small workingclass city located in California - pioneered the use of body cameras on police officers. The University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology conducted a study to show the effects of how body-worn cameras affect police interaction with the public. During the year long Rialto experiment, the use of force by officers had fallen by 60%, and the complaints against officers had dropped

October 14th, 2015

by 87% compared with the previous 12 months. Had officer Darren Wilson been wearing a body camera, the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri could have been ruled unjustified. Cameras can provide crucial evidence to courts.

The investment in body cameras is not only beneficial to the public but also to officers. The audio recording and high quality resolution of these cameras would provide better evidence to resolve court cases and trials more efficiently. People would be less likely to attack officers if they know they are being recorded and cannot get away with it.

The public as whole would feel a lot more secure knowing that their police interactions are being monitored and watched on a secure online server. Officers cannot alter the footage that is being recorded if things do get out of hand. Many claim that having these body cameras would be “invading the privacy of an officer” but there is no invasion of privacy if the camera is only active when the officer is on duty. Having an officer’s privacy invaded is not a bigger issue than injustice and misconduct.

I would personally feel better knowing that a police officer was wearing a body camera during an encounter with me. If anything were to spiral out of control with the officer I would feel my rights will be protected because of these cameras.

We need these cameras to protect justice for our people. The cameras will provide progress towards fully securing our human right to protection in this country that currently does not feel too safe.

October 14th, 2015

Caitlyn Jenner is a True Hero

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BY JENNIFER YIP

hen we hear the words “brave” or “heroic,” the kinds of images that first come to mind are of soldiers at war putting their lives on the line, young children battling fatal cancer, or firefighters saving houses from burning down. Very rarely do we recognize the courage that is in and around our everyday lives. A stage-fright freshman auditioning for the school play is brave. A working parent going back to college to get their degree is brave. A baby learning how to swim is brave. These situations are completely different, and it would be wrong to compare them or discredit one because it is not on as big of a scale as another. For that reason, Caitlyn Jenner is brave for opening up to the world about her true identity, and no one can take that away from her.

Jenner, formerly known as Bruce, debuted her gender transition on the July cover of Vanity Fair after decades of struggling with gender dysphoria. Because her private life was constantly under the scope of the media from winning gold in the 1976 Montreal Olympics decathalon and being on the hit reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, accepting who she was inside was a rocky journey. For months, tabloids exposed her mental breakdowns and attempts to smoothly transition into womanhood in a negative light. Despite the numerous degrading headlines and haters, “Caitlyn” prevailed.

The result was a surprising outpour of public support and praise of her courage.

As expected, not everyone was in love with the attention Jenner’s feat was receiving. When she won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s ESPYs, con-

Opinion 11

The Eagle

troversy spread on social media like a wildfire. An image comparing her to amputated army veteran Noah Galloway, the falsely rumored runner up for the award, was shared repeatedly. Opposers of Jenner’s new identity claimed that she did not deserve the award because her coming out was nothing compared to the actions of other “more worthy” candidates.

With all due respect to Galloway, it was disgusting to see people’s subtle (and many times unsubtle) transphobia through the way they supported the image’s message. While it is true that there are many inspirational role models in the world who do not get enough recognition, Jenner and the transgender community are worthy of the awareness being shed on them, especially because trans issues have only recently been brought to the spotlight of mainstream media.

Although Jenner’s situation may not be directly relatable to other transgender individuals because of her wealth and fame, she has good intentions in using her publicity to bring attention to their overwhelming physical and mental battles. “Trans people deserve something vital: They deserve your

respect. If you want to call me names, make jokes and doubt my intentions, go ahead because the reality is I can take it. But for thousands of kids out there coming to terms with the reality of who they are, they shouldn’t have to take it,” she highlighted in her ESPY acceptance speech. Jenner is a symbol of bravery for those who hide in fear of being bullied, harassed, or murdered for showing their true selves.

Jenner winning the Arthur Ashe Courage Award is a minor aspect of the greater triumph that has been made in the transgender rights movement. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an alarming 41% of trans adults commit suicide; Jenner’s story may inspire tens, hundreds, or thousands of transgender individuals struggling to find hope in their lives. Regardless of the various death threats, hate, and judgement, she stands tall in taking pride in who she is.

Bravery is not a competition of who can overcome the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It is not a trait that can be measured or compared because heroism wears countless faces. For everything Caitlyn Jenner stands for and defends, she defines bravery in her own way.

Letter to the Editor: Multiple Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

BY ANONYMOUS

“

The mission of the San Francisco Unified School District is to provide each student with an equal opportunity to succeed,” states the 2015 Student and Family SFUSD handbook; unfortunately, this is not the reality at Washington High School.

Each year in the spring, the same AP/honors course assignment process proceeds. Each student is allowed to choose 3 AP/ honors courses and an alternative. Then, the counselors decide on how to best divide the classes among the students who are interested. While many of us, in order to gain an edge on the college application battlefield, would like to take more than 3 AP/Honor courses, we are often denied the opportunity by counselors due to the widely known and followed “3 AP/honors rule.” However, this year, the process was skewed; a select few Washington students have been given more than the permitted number of AP and honors courses, leaving other students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college admissions.

About seven or eight years ago, Washington became the first school in the San Francisco Unified School District to have open enrollment for AP and honors courses to ensure that underrepresented students have the chance to take those courses.

This also allowed all students to take as many AP classes as they felt appropriate. According to principal Ericka Lovrin, letting students take however many AP courses they wanted led many students to feel overwhelmed with stress and to drop some of their AP/honors courses halfway through the year.

“We had students coming into the counseling office who were extremely stressed out. Some students were melting down.

They were saying ‘I want to commit suicide,’ ‘I don’t want to take this anymore,’ ‘I can’t do this,’ and they wanted out of their AP classes about January or February,” explained Lovrin.

In addition to stress, there were also a limited number of teachers in certain subjects who were qualified and who wanted to teach AP’s. In order to guarantee that all students have an equal opportunity to take AP’s and honors courses and to prevent students from being overstressed and/or dropping AP classes midway through the year, the 3 AP/honors limit was created.

Although it is not officially a rule, the 3 AP/honors restriction is widely exhibited throughout the SFUSD, with the exception of Lowell.

“Is there a rule in the district? No. But, we sparked that for the district to look at what is a good balance for students. Because if you have a student taking 6 AP classes and one student who wants to take 1 and they can’t get in because you got others taking 6, it’s not really equitable,” said Lovrin.

Despite the prominence and awareness of this policy, the 3 AP/honors restriction was broken this year, leaving many Washington students at a disadvantage. The chaos all began when, according to Lovrin, “mistake[s] [were] made in the counseling office”- that is, certain counselors allowed students to take more than the permitted number of AP/honors. When the problem was discovered, and the students were pulled out of their AP/honors courses, the students brought in their parents and the issue reached district level, leaving Lovrin with no choice but to give the students what they desired.

“There was a challenge by students and their parents that went to the district level, and so I was instructed to give them (the 4 AP/honors) to them,” Lovrin says.

This situation is inarguably unfair to other Washington students. In society, the norm is that those who follow the rules are rewarded and those who break the rules are punished. In this case, it is the complete opposite. While the students who abide by 3 AP policy are punished with lower class rankings and lower grade point averages, students who were given leverage are rewarded with higher class rankings and grade point averages, ultimately increasing their chances of getting into prominent colleges.

It’s understandable that they want to take more than 3 AP/ honors courses to get into a prestigious university, but many others do as well. We all want to succeed and to gain acceptance into a good college. We are constantly battling each other in the college application process by attempting to hold the most leadership roles, participating in the most extracurriculars, and

achieving the highest grades. As if the stress and pressure is not enough already, this inconsistency with the 3 AP/honors policy only increases the competition and tension between students.

One of the reasons why the 3 AP/honors limit policy was created in the first place was because one simply cannot definitively come to a conclusion on the difference in abilities between two students.There is no established set of qualifications that deems one student capable of taking 4 AP/Honors courses and another incapable. Yet, while there are students who were granted a combination of more than the limit of 3 AP/Honors classes, I was denied the same opportunity and was told that I “won’t be able to handle it” by my counselor when I requested 4 AP/Honors. It’s unfair how simply because my parents cannot take time off work to argue with the administration that I am left a disadvantage.

“In our world of being equitable, this is an inequitable situation… How can I look at two students and say you’ve got it and you don’t?,” adds Lovrin.

Although I, if given the chance, would be more than happy to take more than 3 AP/honors courses, I also understand the reasoning behind the policy. Students should only be able to take 3 AP/honors to ensure that students are not overly stressed and that other students have the opportunity to take AP/honors courses as well. However, if there is going to be such a policy, it should be held consistently for all students. Students should not be allowed to slip through the cracks nor should exceptions be made because parents and the district got involved. The fact that the policy was broken and remains broken - that is, the students are still taking more than the allowed 3 AP/honors courses only demonstrates the faultiness in the “equal opportunity to succeed” statement in the 2015 Student and Family SFUSD handbook. As shown through this issue, the equal opportunity the SFUSD claims to provide for students evidently has a limit.

A similar situation occurs with the issue of grading disparity, where students are left with an inequitable chance to achieve, for instance, an “A,” because they were assigned to the “easier” teacher. Similarly, because some counselors follow the 3 AP/ honors policy while some do not, the students are once again left with an inequitable chance for achievement depending on the counselor they are assigned. There will always be students who want to take more than the permitted number of AP/honors courses. But, problems and protests against the 3 AP/honors policy are less likely to arise if the counselors ALL adhere to the policy.

A student’s success is largely due to his/her own efforts; however, it is also true that a student’s ability to achieve can only go as far as the administration and the district permits. Equal opportunity for success is only possible with equal treatment from the administration and the district.

12 Opinion

The Eagle

October 14th, 2015

If You Give a Trump a White House...

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BY DAVID SCOLARI

aura Numeroff, author of the famous children’s book If You Give a Pig a Pancake, wrote a series of children’s books based on the idea that, “If you give a pig a pancake, he’s going to get all sticky.” Similarly, if Donald Trump, also known as the epitome of everything hated about America, becomes President of the United States, he is going to make a horribly sticky mess of this entire country.

What follows are a few examples of some of the havoc Trump would wreak if he were to become POTUS. If you give a Trump a White House, people’s daily lives are going to change drastically in America. Trump would offend huge factions of the public everyday with the ridiculous things he’d say. He’d alienate every non white person in America, but to him it would be fine because they’re all aliens anyway. With Trump in politics, politically correct wouldn’t mean the same thing anymore. Donald Trump would be our children’s role model. We’d be raising an entire generation of Trump followers ready to take on the world’s most feared foes: Planned Parenthood, feminists, and brown people.

If you give a Trump a White House, he is sure to be all over pop culture. You can forget about the Kylie Jenner challenge, the Donald Trump lips are going to be the new trend. Say goodbye to that Kim Kardashian game; Donald Trump’s game is headed to

the top of the charts. With his enormous net worth, he’d be able to buy his way into the entertainment industry.

He’d demand that JJ Abrams give him a part in Star Wars Episode VII. Sorry Ben Affleck, Donald Trump is going to be the next Batman. He’d give Meek Mill a soda deal just to even the playing field. He’d make Kanye mad and Gambino sad. Trump would surely be trending on Twitter. Forget about political agendas, Donald Trump would have just one question for Democrats, and it would be, “WHAT ARE THOSE?!?”

If you give a Trump a White House, the White House itself is sure to change drastically. He’d start every press conference with a Neil Young song. With the music playing, the press secretary would walk in, and she’d be the winner of the Miss USA Pageant. This

would be especially difficult for the press because her answer to all of their questions would be, “I think the real problem here is world hunger.”

Trump would monetize every square foot of the White House grounds. Hotels would pop up, malls would open, and the White House would become the biggest money making asset in America. Then, it’d go bankrupt. It would become utterly unrecognizable, and that’s not even mentioning the giant wall he would build between the White House lawn and the front door to keep the gardeners out.

If you give a Trump a White House, the comedy industry would be completely relandscaped by the plethora of ridiculous things he’d say everyday. Being a comedian would become one of the highest paying jobs in America, so much so that tiger moms would start pushing their kids into standup comedy.

There’d be so many

jokes to be told that John Stewart would have to come out of retirement and return to the Daily Show to tell them. Every late night program would feature some type of Donald Trump segment that would touch on what ridiculous things he had said that day, their level of ridiculousness, and how many people were offended by them.

Stephen Colbert wouldn’t even be funny anymore because there would be a real life politician even more outrageous than his character.

If you give a Trump a White House, Donald Trump would be President of the United States, and out of all the bad jokes in this article, that is by far the worst one. For as long as Trump has been an icon in this country, he has symbolized American arrogance and ignorance, and he has shown much of the same since he announced his candidacy. Throughout his campaign, he has preached winning -- winning the presidency, winning against China, winning at the cost of justice, and winning to “make America great again”. Trump talks of winning when what this country really needs is leading. The United States needs a president who respects what America is and what its people want. It needs a president who understands what makes America the best country in the world and has the ability to make it even better. Donald Trump wants to “make America great again”, but he doesn’t understand what is already great about it.

tural appropriation or transgender rights, it seems like the opinions of the youth today are a lot more forgiving and open than those of adults. We’re old enough to form decisions and opinions by ourselves, and we aren’t oblivious as to what goes on in the world.

In classes such as U.S History and American Democracy, we learn about the world and government through school. Yet while we’re learning about elections and the branches of government and even politics, we aren’t eligible to vote until we’re 18.

Knowing about our government and the way it functions is crucial, but there’s no point in sitting in a classroom for an hour a day learning about something that we have no real influence over until we’re 18.

There are many myths as to why 16 year olds aren’t ready to vote, the most common one being that we’re too young to be aware of our actions and the consequences that follow. That may be true for some, but the majority of teenagers aren’t the same. The actions of one teenager shouldn’t be ascribed to the rest of us. Your level of maturity shouldn’t be determined by how old you are. Though I understand that not all the decisions that we make would be considered rational, neither are the decisions of the people who are sup-

posedly mature, educated grown-ups.

If the voting age were to be lowered to 16, not only would it increase voter participation, but it would enable younger people to be more politically aware. Targeting the youth to vote early on would be beneficial as it would increase their civic and political involvement.

On the other hand, being able to vote at 18 is an inconvenient time. It’s a period of major transitions--graduating from high school and moving to college being one of them.

Though some may not choose the path of college, taking up a new job or internship would still be a hectic phase. I hardly think that voting would be the absolute first thing on a person’s mind at that period.

However, if teenagers were allowed to vote at 16, it would establish better voting habits.

There have been numerous studies that show that voting is habitual, and the earlier someone starts voting, the more likely they are to become a lifelong voter. In a 2000 paper that analyzed the American National Election Panel (ANEP) surveys from 1972-76 and 1992-96, it found that that a person who voted in the previous presidential election would be 33% to 36.4% more likely to vote in the next presidential election. In 2004 and 2006, young voters increased their election turnout. In the 2004 general election, there were 4.3 million more voters than in 2000. In

2006, there were 2 million more people who voted than in 2002. This shows that people voted habitually and were more likely to vote for the next election.

This isn’t the first time people have wanted to change the voting age. In 1991,14 year old Rebecca Tilsen stood before a Minnesota House subcommittee, saying, “If 16-year-olds are old enough to walk on the streets made unsafe by terrible drugs and crime policies, if 16-year-olds are old enough to live in poverty in the richest country in the world, and if 16year-olds are old enough to attend school districts that you under fund, then 16-year-olds are old enough to play a part in making them better.”

I find it quite frustrating to not be able to participate in creating change for this country. If you’re not an adult, then you’re living in a place where you generally have no say on how this country operates or what laws should or shouldn’t pass. Honestly, it’s sad to think that while you’re old enough to drive in a country where over 37,000 people die each year from car accidents, you aren’t old enough to help change the traffic laws to prevent those accidents from happening.

In order for there to be a true democracy, the voting age should be lowered to 16 so the youth of this country can actually use the knowledge they learn in school and engage in political issues in the world. Our interests may conflict with those of adults, but then again people are entitled to their own beliefs and opinions. The more diverse the voters are, the better it will be for our country. As Bono of U2 once put it, “This is a time for bold measures. This is the country, and you are the generation.” If we’re the future, why not let us help better the present?

Teens Just Wanna Have Fundamental Rights

BY MELODY YAN

W

hether discussing the horrors of Trump being elected President of the United States or hoping that Bernie Sanders will make our country great again, this young millennial generation that adults pin as “immature” is just the opposite. Age has often been associated with maturity, and it’s no secret that people think teenagers are immature kids that can’t be taken seriously. But they’re wrong.

There’s a cruel double standard that is put upon us teenagers -- we’re constantly being told that we’re too young to understand what goes on in the world, yet we’re expected to act and fulfill the responsibilities of being an adult.

In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 because 18 year olds were sent to fight in the Vietnam War, yet they weren’t even eligible to vote yet. Student activists had adopted the slogan “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote”, which quickly gained recognition.

The proposed amendment became the fastest ever to be passed in history, and it enabled millions of young Americans to have a voice in politics.

I strongly believe that the voting age should be lowered once again, but this time to 16. I think we’re at a point in time where millions of young people are beginning to become interested in changing this country, and it’s time for their voices to be heard.

Teenagers have never shied away from expressing their opinions. Social media has always been a platform for teens to speak their minds, and it has become increasingly important as controversial topics have risen.

Whether it be about black culture and cul-

The Eagle

October 14th, 2015

Lifestyles 13

Best Coffeeshops in SF School’s back in session, and you know what that means, homework! For many of us, doing homework probably isn’t our favorite activity. One way to make it a bit more enjoyable is to find a place that you feel comfortable and relaxed in to do it! Coffee shops are a great option. They’re great working environments because not only are you surrounded by people who are also working or studying but you can also grab a bite to eat while you’re working.

Ashley’s cafe (Inner Richmond) 4454 California St, San Francisco, CA 94118 Mon-Fri: 6:00 am - 8:00 pm, Sat-Sun: 7:00 am 8:00 pm

Ashley’s cafe is the perfect little corner coffee shop. It’s a classic artsy cafe with friendly staff and beautiful decor.

Their internet is pretty fast and, to top it all off, they have amazing sandwiches and fresh-baked goods, which makes it a great place to stop by and do some work during lunch hours.

Jane on Fillmore (Pacific Heights) 2123 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115 Mon-Sun: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Jane on Fillmore is a cool and quirky place and is an extremely popular spot. However, if you arrive early, it is the perfect place to study or simply to even people watch. Their food is absolutely to die for; they definitely have quality food and quality ingredients. Plus, a bonus point: their hip black and white zig zag table tops makes for the perfect Instagram-worthy photo.

Home (Sunset) 1222 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122 Closed Mondays, Tues-Fri: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sat-Sun: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Home has a great relaxed, and down-to-earth environment that’s perfect for studying. It’s very welcoming and their employees definitely go out of their way to “make you feel at home.” Plus, their menu offers a variety of novelty drinks and delicious toasts. The only downsides are that they tend to close early (at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends) and that it can be hard to find seats on weekends.

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Students attend nine (9) classes and take three (3) fulllength SAT tests.

Fall SAT Core begins September 26, 2015 at our Geary location to prepare for the November test.

Schedule: Saturdays & Sundays: 2pm-5pm *Students can choose to take the practice test at another time during the week. Please speak with an administrator for more information.

Fall ACT Core THE ACT Core course is designed to do one thing give students everything they need to excel on the ACT in an intensive class. ACT Core includes all of the elements of our other ACT prep classes - the foundation (verbal reasoning, writing, math, and science) of the TestMagic ACT prep class and the practice test + review of our ACT Propel class.

Students attend nine (9) classes and take three (3) fulllength SAT tests.

Fall ACT Core begins October 24, 2015 at our Irving location to prepare for the December test.

Schedule: Saturdays & Sundays: 2pm-5pm *Students can choose to take the practice test at another time during the week. Please speak with an administrator for more information.

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Geary 415.386.2700 6902 Geary Boulevard San Francisco, CA 94121

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October 14th, 2015

The Eagle

Female Athletes Outperforming Males in School

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BY DAVID SCOLARI

he life of a student athlete is a difficult one. Hours of school followed by hours of practice followed by hours of homework make for taxing days and sleepless nights. While juggling sports and school can be difficult for any student, it seems that at Washington High School, boys have a more difficult time juggling athletics and academics than girls do.

There are several cases that exemplify this phenomenon. Take last year’s baseball and softball teams for example. While the girls softball team achieved a 3.31 average GPA, the boys baseball team had an average GPA far below a 3.0. The same held true for last year’s soccer teams as well. The Girl’s soccer team achieved scholastic team honors with an average GPA of 3.16, while the boys failed to even reach a 3.0. Similar statistics can be seen across many different sports and have remained consistent for several years here at Wash.

Academic eligibility also indicates underachievement in male student athletes here at Wash. Year after year, one or two boys sports are crippled due to the loss of ineligible players, whereas this is generally not an issue for our female athletes.

It is clear from these trends that female student athletes are out-performing male student athletes in the classroom, and the school community is well aware of it. The club Athletes in Math Succeed (AIMS) was founded at Washington in attempts to help male student athletes succeed both on the field and in the classroom. The club’s founder and Washington math teacher, Ed Marquez, has a front row seat to the struggles of our school’s male student athletes.

With his experience in teaching and mentoring student athletes, Marquez has been able to see student athlete tendencies on and off the field.

“When I look at a girl’s basketball game,” Marquez begins, “the girls could be down by 20 points with 15 seconds left and still be playing with good fundamentals and all their heart.”

However, Marquez’s description of the same situation in a boy’s game is much different.

“There’s a difference in their body language. It’s not as fundamental, there’s more ego involved, and they seemed to be more discouraged,” says Marquez.

Marquez thinks that the dichotomy between the attitudes of male and female ath-

letes when faced with adversity is linked to their performance in the classroom, which, as a math teacher, he has been able to observe firsthand. An example he gave was from his Pre-Calculus Honors class. After administering the class’s first test of the year, several boys who had done poorly on the test came up to him asking to drop out of the honors class, whereas the girls who had done poorly on the test came to him asking what they could do to make up their poor grade. These polar opposite attitudes in the face of adversity are what Marquez believes to be the cause of our female athletes outperforming our male athletes in the classroom.

This idea begs a simple question: Why? Why is it that girls are more willing to persevere in the face of adversity than boys are?

A big part of that question is answered by the different messages our youth receive from society. Females are given less opportunities in the professional world, so young women are better conditioned to respond to adversity and fight uphill battles. Males, on the other hand, are given far more chances to succeed in the professional world. This makes them inherently complacent and less willing to persevere through

Sports 15

academic challenges. Society also puts more importance on male professional sports than female professional sports. With most male athletes being paid millions more than most female athletes and men’s games being televised more often than women’s games, young boys and girls are conditioned to think that male sports are more important than female sports. Because of this, boys are more likely than girls to value the sports they play more than their academics.

To be clear, the problem is not that our girls are outperforming our boys; the problem is that our boys are underachieving.

This is especially problematic when it comes to male student athletes. Student athletes are like the ambassadors of the school; it is through student athletes that this school presents itself to the public. Because of this, student athletes have the responsibility of representing the school well, which means being the best they can possibly be in all fields, not just the ones they play on. Student athletes, particularly males, need to take it upon themselves to aim higher academically. They need to become more serious about representing their school responsibly and realize that being successful student athletes requires both success in the classroom as well as success on the field.

“

Athlete of the Issue: Rei Dorwart

I was coming back to San Francisco from practice in San Jose one night around 10:45 but I realized I didn’t bring enough money for the BART ride home,” says senior Rei Dorwart, who plays midfield for the Under-18 Youth Academy team of the San Jose Earthquakes, a professional Major League Soccer (MLS) team. “So, I tried to sneak on but got caught. I decided to wait for the next train and then make a run for the platform, hop the barrier, and jump on the train. I heard a train come and ran, but when I got to the platform it turned out the train was going the opposite way. A station agent who had spotted me now kicked me out of the station. I had no other way to get home, so I waited until some people got off the trains and when they came out of the station I had to ask them for money so I could get home. Finally I managed to get enough and got on a train. It was midnight or later by the time I got home.”

Playing for a MLS club is challenging enough because of the competition and training that comes with being on a professional team. But it takes an even bigger toll on a high school student like Dorwart, especially because he lives and goes to school in San Francisco while the team trains in San Jose. Dorwart takes Bart or CalTrain all the way to San Jose and back Monday through Thursdays after school, and for games on Saturday and Sunday. This grueling schedule means he doesn’t get home until 11-11:30 pm every night, and doesn’t sleep until about 1am. “When I get

BY JESSE MATTHEWS

home I am too tired to do anything, so I cannot focus and put a lot of time into school work. By the time I finish my work it is very late, so I don’t get much sleep.”

For many high school kids, a sport is something they do for fun, something extra, but for senior Rei Dorwart this isn’t the case. For Dorwart, soccer is his passion, and a huge part of his life. “I grew up in the Mission with a lot of Latino kids. I was always the only non-Latino kid playing at the park, and I was able to keep up and have fun with these kids who have soccer in their blood,” says Dorwart. Mainly playing with older kids and adults, Dorwart was able to develop his skills and learn from everyone he played with. Although he has played soccer his whole life, it wasn’t until his freshman year at International High School that he realized what his potential might be. That year, Dorwart played on a West Coast regional team made up of the best players of his age group from Northern and Southern California and competed in a national tournament. He played so well that Earthquakes scouts noticed him and recruited him to their youth academy.

Once he made it into the Quakes’ academy, his soccer life took a big leap. Playing full time for the Quakes’ team means he isn’t allowed to play soccer for Wash, or any other team. The Quakes are fully-funded, which means that all gear, training, food, hotel, and transportation for Dorwart is paid for by the team. As part of the team, Dorwart participated in one of the most renowned

tournaments in the world, Generation Adidas Cup, a tournament including other professional youth academies who are sponsored by Adidas across the globe. In this tournament, he played against top youth teams from Europe such as Eintracht Frankfurt from Germany, Atletico Bilbao from Spain, the best youth team in Brazil called Palmeiras, and other teams from Qatar, Mexico, and within MLS. After three years at International High School, Dorwart decided to transfer to Washington for his senior year. Transferring gave him several advantages, including access to a good weight room, soccer fields to practice when he has spare time, and the block schedules, which allow him more

time after school to get to San Jose, and to do homework before practice instead of working late at night when he gets home.

With the amount of time it takes to do his homework, travel to San Jose for practices, and travel to play games, Dorwart has very little time to be with his friends and family. “When I get home at night most of my family is asleep, and by the time I leave the house in the morning most of them are gone”. Not seeing his family all the time takes its toll on Dorwart, but with the Quakes he has a second family. “I see my team mates more than my actual family, and you form a second family who are all brothers to me, and who have my back both on and off the field.”

All of the sacrifices he makes to play for the Quakes will be worth it, if Dorwart can fulfill his dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

Dorwart is very aware that there are many obstacles between where he is now and actually making it to a professional sports team. So, he keeps an open mind. “I definitely want to play in college,” he says. Right now, Dorwart is in contact with the soccer programs at UCLA, Cal, UCSB and Gonzaga. After college, he definitely wants to play professional soccer.

“But if all that doesn’t work out,” he says, “I will still take advantage of this opportunity I have right now and try to use it to become a trainer, staff, scout, coach, agent, or someone who works in the business end of soccer.”

Whether Dorwart becomes a professional soccer player or not, it’s clear that soccer will always be huge part of his life.

16 Sports The Eagle October 14th, 2015