Carlmont Highlander May 2015

the

HIGHLANDER Graduating Seniors: reflecting on four years and what’s next pg 4&5

Media and mental illness: the romanticization of depression pg 18

Fun with emojis: new emojis and classic favorites pg 14&15

May 2015 Vol VI Issue VIII

www.scotscoop.com @scotscoopnews

Beyond the buzz

Exploring some of the most underrated local eateries

KIMIKO OKUMURA

Alisa Takahashi Staff Writer Hype and buzz rule much of the local food scene, but for every overrated restaurant with lines out the door, there’s an overlooked eatery quietly turning out top-quality food.

While TPumps and Cream are havens for the mainstream teenager, there are many other under the radar alternatives that might tickle your tastebuds even more. What distinguishes a restaurant from the rest of them? The food of course- but what about the location, the service,

the ambiance of the restaurant, or the seating.

We’ve taken all of these factors into consideration as we’ve chosen some select spots that stand out from the rest.

These spots might be relatively new or are a closely-kept local’s secret. Without further ado, we unearth new, unknown, or underappreciated options for your next food journey.

Try these places for yourself and see if you agree with what we have to say about them.

Continued on pg 8

where we went

Where: Downtown Palo Alto

Where: Downtown Palo Alto

Where: Downtown Palo Alto

What we tried: The best-selling Umami Burger, which, includes grilled shitake mushrooms, parmesan cheese, carmelized onions, and roasted tomatoes, all umami toppings aimed at enhancing the flavor of the beef ground in-house.

What we tried: A great summer time coffee: the New Orleans Iced Coffee. After being roasted for 12 hours with chicory and sweetened with organic can sugar and mixed with whole milk its the perfect cold, caffeinated, summer drink.

What we tried: Two ice cream staples came together to give us mint and cookies. The mint is the traditional mint chip ice cream but with the large chunks of cookies found in the good ole’ favorie of cookies and cream.

The verdict: Burger lovers need to try this classic burger

The verdict: Recommended for the experienced coffee lover

The verdict: For anyone who wants to enjoy good ice cream

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May 2015

On the highway back: the classic road trip returns How the road trip of the ‘50s is making a new comeback as a summer trend Kiera Pendleton-White Staff Writer

It’s almost summer again.

Time for the warm weather, summer playlists, and the open road ahead.

While some people travel by air or train, a classic travel method is often overlooked: cars.

Traveling by car is definitely not advisable for traveling out of North America. But for trips within the continent, road trips can be a great alternative to air travel.

“Flying is easy when you care more about the destination. However, road trips are nicer when you care about the journey. I liked having the road trip as part of my vacation better than I liked the flying. I got to spend time with my family and see the beauty of the American countryside,” said junior Sofia DeJesus.

Road trips take people on a journey that can lead them to see odd things that are not normally seen. Some examples are the largest ball of twine in Missouri, the gum wall

“

in Washington, the largest chair in Alabama, and Dollywood Amusement Park in Tennessee.

“While we were near the old North Church in Boston, there was a garden with a shrine-like area and a barbed wire fence that had dog tags from service people hanging off of it to commemorate them,” said junior Blair Finlayson.

Road trips also have an air of spontaneity since it is far easier to turn down an unplanned road on a whim than to land a plane in the middle of nowhere.

Some of the most popular road trip routes run through southern states such as Alabama, Georgia, and Texas, and through the northern states like New York, Illinois, and Michigan. For people living on the west coast, the route from Seattle to Los Angeles is also frequented.

“I think that when road trips are long and you get to go through a bunch of states; it’s lots of fun,” said DeJesus.

According to the website Roadtrippers.com, the top four destinations travelled to by “roadtrippers” are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle.

The whole road trip was amazing. I got to see so much and experience a lot of things I never would have seen if I had flown, and I’d definitely take another road trip.

Blair Finlayson Junior

A major road that inspires road trips is the historical Route 66. The road, which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The 2,500 mile highway has since been closed, but some of the old structures still remain like historical artifacts. The highway even inspired the popular rhythm and blues standard, “Route 66.”

Road trips can be a fun way to relive the glorious memories of fighting with siblings in the back of the family minivan and to make memories with friends.

“On a road trip to New York, we were going through Delaware when it started to basically flood from the sky because it was raining so hard. So everyone had to drive really slowly because we couldn’t see more than five feet in front of us. Then to add to it, there was also thunder and lightening,” said Finlayson.

Having more people come on a road trip means that there are more people to split costs with. This might be very helpful Working out everyday and earning that summer body But froyo... because road trips can be quite expensive with the ever-fluctuating prices of gasoline and hotel rooms. However, compared to the cost of airfare, road trips cost just about Super adventurous vacation with your Binge watching all 6 seasons of the same as a plane ticket when trips are of best friends, like backpacking in Europe “Gossip Girl”... again longer durations or with more people.

An entire traveling subculture exists for road trips. There are blogs dedicated to all things that concern road trips such as the Every waking moment spent Road trip to Grandma’s in your siblingwebsite Roadtrippers.com. They have arsplashing in the beach’s waves cramped, ointment-smelling minivan ticles on the perfect road trip music, the finest snacks to bring, the best roads to take, or the inventions that make road trips A perfect tint of gold will You got a superpower: shapeshifting. You turn more comfortable. One example of such an wash over you instantly into a sunburned dalmation in a matter of invention is the inflatable mattress that is made to fill in the space between seats to seconds give the user a flat surface to sleep on.

“The whole road trip was amazing. I got to see so much and experience a lot of things I never would have seen if I had flown, and I’d definitely take another road trip,” said Finlayson.

Summer Expectation vs Reality

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AVERY ADAMS

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Redefining summer: textbooks or television?

S

U M M E

R CONNIE YI

Tori Shanefelter Staff Writer Sun kissed beaches, warm summer sand, late nights at a beach bonfire, binge watching Netflix till 2 in the morning, sleeping in ‘til 1 in the afternoon, and spending time with friends for most of the day. These are what many people associate with summer.

However, there are a few students who consider summer as an opportunity to get ahead for the next academic school year.

With summer break approaching in a few weeks, students must decide on how to spend their summer.

Carlmont College Counselor and University of California (UC), Davis Admissions Reader Connie Dominguez said, “Students should definitely be utilizing any opportunity they can to demonstrate their intellectual curiosity.

But that doesn’t mean you have to spend tons of money on a summer camp or residential program because there’s so many ways and forms for students to demonstrate that they’re making the most of their summers.”

Educational Counseling Firm Ivywise’s Principal College Administration Counselor, Rachel Head, recently published the article “How to Make the Most of Your Summer” on ivywise.com. She advised high schoolers to focus on having a well-balanced summer- making time to relax, but also incorporating academics and activities like a job or volunteering in order to stand out to colleges.

Sophomore Alexa Bayangos said, “Summer is a good time to try academic programs because they can help you decide what you’re actually interested in.”

For her summer plans, Bayangos has decided to attend the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) summer program at UC San Diego for earthquake engineering, in hopes of narrowing down her future career interests.

Bayangos said, “It was a pretty competitive application process, but I definitely think it was worth it because I wanted to try something new and see if civil engineering is something I’m actually interested in doing in the future.”

However, taking summer classes isn’t the only option for students trying to get ahead. Students can also participate in summer internships or pursue jobs.

Sophomore Ashley Wen will be working as an intern at Quizlet’s headquarters in San Francisco to expand their social media presence among teenagers. Quizlet is an online learning tool that allows its users to generate flashcard sets as a studying method.

“Doing an internship over the summer is a good way to get out of the house and get experience in something you’re interested in. That’s why I decided to pursue an internship at Quizlet, not because I want to stand out more on college [applications], but because business is something I’m interested in and I think this internship is going to prepare

“

Taking classes over the summer is a good way to spend your break, but it’s also important to allot time for yourself to take a break and relax.

But if you want to spend the whole summer relaxing, you’re still going to benefit. Ultimately, how you decide to spend your summer is your choice.

Christina Galisatus Senior

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me for the future,” said Wen. Although some students take advantage of their summer to pursue their interests, the two-month vacation can also serve as a break from school as students transition into their next academic year.

Wen said, “If anything, you should be enjoying your summer, so if you are doing something, do something that you’re going to enjoy and have fun with.”

Choosing to have a relaxing summer does have its benefits, such as expanding students’ views of the world by traveling and visiting new places.

Students traveling abroad may also seek extracurricular opportunities while on vacation. Visiting other countries gives students a chance to observe, first-hand, the customs of another culture and connect with people in a new way.

Every summer the Peninsula Youth Orchestra (PYO) organizes a summer tour to different countries, during which members perform at various revenues. This year, senior Christina Galisatus, a five-year PYO french horn player, will be attending PYO’s tour of the South of France and Spain.

“I think going to another country is a great opportunity to experience the cultural differences. It’s nice because you realize that despite the cultural differences, there are still some similarities; we’re playing the same music and people are appreciating it in different countries as they do here,” said Galisatus.

Summer is a time to create memories regardless of whether it’s through vacationing or taking classes.

Galisatus said, “Taking classes over the summer is a good way to spend your break, but it’s also important to allot time for yourself to take a break and relax. But if you want to spend the whole summer relaxing, you’re still going to benefit. Ultimately, how you decide to spend your summer is your choice.

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May 2015

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Besides the books...

Gianna Schuster Staff Writer

Several years from now, I won’t remember which countries traded silk with each other over thousands of years ago.

In a decade, I probably won’t be able to pinpoint every part of the human cell.

And regardless of how much time has passed, I will never remember calculus formulas off the top of my head.

The books I’ve read, the projects I’ve done, the tests I’ve failed and aced -they’ve all been great for my academic growth.

But they did not teach me about the things that I’ll be thinking about down

the road. They didn’t help shape me into the person that I am today.

I learned other things in high school that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and they weren’t taught to me. I learned them myself, by simply spending the past four years as a teenager in high school.

My first day of freshman year was typical -- I was overwhelmed by all the new faces, I found myself lost between each passing period, and it took me about 10 tries to open my locker.

I knew absolutely nothing, except that I needed to get good grades to get out of here. And that was my problem.

Growing up, I despised

school. My mind always felt limited inside the classroom. I felt like I couldn’t use my creativity. I couldn’t stand how everyone was always being pushed to think the same way.

And it didn’t help that I struggled in almost every subject. Things we learned in class never clicked for me the way they did for many of my fellow classmates.

School was just plain hard for me, and my grades were a direct reflection of that.

Once high school started, I thought the next four years were going to be about getting good grades so I could get into college.

That was all anyone ever talked about. My guidance counselor even asked me where I wanted to go to col-

lege after the first few minutes of introducing herself.

Sure. Ask a 14-year-old kid where they want to go to college and expect a wellthought-out answer. That’s hilarious.

I had not the slightest clue what I wanted to be or what sparked my interest in school. All I knew was that I had to step up my game if I ever wanted to make something of myself.

Discouraging myself when I felt lost in class wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Even if I still felt confused and behind with what we were learning, I knew I had to make a bigger effort to get through it.

So I did.

And it wasn’t until my sophomore year when I

actually stopped to think about the type of student I had become.

It was the first time in my life where I was genuinely proud of the student I had become.

Looking back as a senior, I have come to the realization that good grades weren’t just my ticket into college - this whole time, they were me proving to myself that I am capable of hard work and perseverance. They were me proving to myself that I’m not a quitter -- I’m a hard worker.

Today, I’m not attending a top-notch university and I’m still not an academic genius. But honestly, I don’t care. Those were never goals of mine.

I never wanted to look

CAMPUS

May 2015

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The Highlander

“ tha I can t f t b r be hea eshm elieve an way rd I e Wr bac s as s choin year,” did itte k e g t c n h a o t i i be. he n n n w ors nb ho now hall- ops gs. A y S t a f h A taff Sonia o l l ey the s our use ook thems ong w cus th Wr i d to tha elve ith at iter Paolo the r dip senio t t d s h , e y e v obl m sen won lomas rs rec ivio ost and s stude el- d , t se e ’ o e n t u i f m ove “I’v s to. resh ypi ve of be eth ts b pende c e r m j a i i a u f l n c i e l e dge ties nce, g b clas pass com elin ly n me ecom s g t i p a n h “ l r g i i e m You increa and r tion or e a shm a ngs ntal a n P , l ” . ore can se to espo lot plis The hysic Alg ent an, “I said of , o ” nsi g e h a s l s y s r ess aid ’t be n . ow our thin enio loo men ense l Ed bra c e u k C r a m r t v k “ com of acc uca- thing iewp as yo Tara tain y ore p, you astro. ive an gro ing in I’ve ha o s C at u wn d o y r o p h i “ e d e d a n A m o u art g i e s don , an how s w of t velop ts on row u l- you have ponsi n’t on s you lan, gh sc a lot d e h ly h “ o b to b wha t are Par he p too a lo p h rse one en lf i o lear ilities gain can’t I’ve le ool,” f failu t ad as lowin t of g roces , and t t of n n , s t tha when ecome they a res ai a s r erio ke n ma to a way to su but hat t st wal who have also. g on rowin s.” tho ed th d Cal u n s ’ a p s s s p . g ” p l y e kin oi e. se y, “ o at an o Alt g a they by These ’s ide g up thin Freshm und u nev rt ove nt in g and thing you h a i e b b c s s o x e e r w e s r per erc e ugh oss allief en to hi cen g was an y lass r cha thin tting there’s too e hig ch ha ience s are s grow the m full o high n g w g s tro, t,” said a lot m ar ev hs f ch ha pp s, sc tha orked no at is As ed.” t abo “All w senio ore in ery“A chool en d most ped y prep urity a ange hool h to can up r u et a arin mo s, pa as an high ’t b of wit ut w e real Cole no- me th lot h years. ring a unt gai gt rt o ll th end scho e as a h Cas l r w n y t s h o s f h “ hic ol ano ems eni ugh e ex for e m Al l lacr frie hap han thou c o h o c l t e n ou le rs pe o lv ost thro her ally osse, a ds, o ging ght what’s ma out hi pened of u ugh cha es for built cted, rienc r sen mes a d g w n r e w o n h t i e n d t h s u h mo o fo e r s on ors, less and the play t n at is orth me scho o an prote have high ge. re e c r o i n m c u e b d a n o s n b t ’ or a ‘adu s on wa g s l roke lation e has ma een cho Gh t,” sa y en reali l be seni ed s o e nyt u k lt,’ sh n e e i i a am l g e s ed e lik anyth reie d sen rgy ze s n p or y nvir n suc rad a s rned , and ips A hin t uat eni a thr s se g like e part ing on m o have . “Pet ior D and g hell ab repar ear I onme h e. or re w the e n o a “ h rea is m ugh h niors that.” ying there , and such ty th on- s oing out to tion feel, h t, are I kno dy at into ing I’ve a bi for aid as w t tan are igh ore b s p r o s g e r m t a Ca to hat lea og ak th of a sch he eff th th m u foc ool t ress Eve ings t ch mo rned ect s It’s f llan. e rea , and at ba ad of any g that us o he l c o ee airl ryt yea wo us t k on us, ood ther wo re i that h y a n a re r h rld, dul res s in ing ch rry ab mpor- hallw seni unc ” d at ha all th and thing e s t h I e s uri ve a wo ay, or cr omm dev . Not o igh s anges out.” ng lrea good think rke o o y w n r elo i c a n n hic d t t h h y p, b ly do hool s the ends d up gett g in to ing h a ese ha p in e ut the s men prog- ment dram over g ov the p ositiv llows four ppene s e a. ali d th er ar m leve tali in l of ty d g an ty, of This e wee ly sai e for attitud e to k years, dG kd bei e “se e a ev w inhai hat nd ep a of h elops indep ng ea nior” Th m l i p e s a r igh over end sy g clas e m e. hea een o sch a d,” ool the fou t als - how ses te th an . a d r ye o C eve arlm r, ch th Eng ars l e valu ont whe bas ish n a t h i b sha e le l lea cs; p ea lett e a s re th ssons ving e er g m t rad udent ones ost e. bey that ond a

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w h a t I re a l l y l e a r n e d back at my high school experience and remember myself as someone who gave up because she didn’t care about amounting to her fullest potential. My goal was to look back and be proud of myself.

And I can do that now.

School hasn’t gotten any easier, but the way I handle it turned it into a better place for me.

I didn’t just learn about myself, though. I learned about others as well.

High school exposed me to many different types of people -- fake people, sincere people, judgemental people, accepting people, people with pure intentions, and people who can be flat out heartless.

Four years surrounded

by the same students taught me that people are not always who they seem to be.

True friends aren’t just the people who you spend the most time with, who your Instagram is covered with, who you hang out with after school every day, or who your peers associate you with.

True friends are the people that care about you in every situation, want to reach a resolution when a conflict arises, and mean it when they say they have your back.

They don’t care about your flaws or your differences.

As for my experience with teachers, I feel it’s safe to say we’ve all had our share of teachers who

teach with every ounce of their heart, and teachers who clearly don’t like what they’re doing for a living.

I couldn’t be more thankful to have dealt with both types. I’ve learned how important it is to chase the things in life that make you burn with passion.

I’ve had teachers who hate their job and teachers who love it. It always shows.

There’s no hiding it. And to this day, the ones who love their job never cease to amaze me with their genuine happiness and passion.

I’ve come to realize that life is not all about how much you know -- a lot of it has to do with what you feel strongly about. Passion has a funny way of triumphing logic -- if your heart’s not in

something, then you won’t get the best out of it.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother with things you’re unfamiliar with. Seize every opportunity with an open mind, because only good things can come from that.

If you encounter failure, at least you did so from trying rather than from giving up. If you make something count, then there’s no room for regrets.

Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

You could save someone’s life or you could end global warming, but some people will still find some-

thing wrong with the way you went about it.

Society always has a way of telling everyone how to live their lives. But no one has to listen to that. The only person that can define yourself is you, because how you see yourself is what’s important.

Four years ago, I was practically engulfed by my freshman backpack. Now, I am on the verge of uncovering a new chapter of my life.

I wouldn’t be able to do that without the knowledge I have gained over the course of my time here.

High school was weird.

But I wouldn’t go back and change a thing, because let’s be real -- normal doesn’t exist. And if it did -- well, that just wouldn’t be any fun.

you

ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH BORO

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CAMPUS

May 2015

Pet peeves are more than just an annoyance Karen Gao Staff Writer

*Tap.* *Tap.* *Tap.* The incessant droning of a pencil’s tip being brought down repetitively on the surface of desk rings through the silence of the classroom.

Some of the students find that this sound does not bother them at all, but to others, it cannot be ignored and completely shatters their focus.

According to WebMD, Misophonia, or Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome, is the brain’s sensitivity to selective noises, and is normally caused by triggers. It is a reaction caused by the brain responding negatively to certain sounds, or even motions.

Due to being a recent discovery, Misophonia is often confused with other disorders or not believed to exist because of the lack of research and experimentation done with it.

Sophomore Alyssa Feigelson said, “I feel very vindictive when people don’t believe that Misophonia is a thing and shrug it off as someone being too sensitive. It is more than just a pet peeve.”

There are people who agree that Misophonia is a real and serious matter that many people suffer through. It can trigger symptoms such as rage, panic or disgust and cause people to respond with aggression.

Feigelson said, “What people don’t understand, is that when someone has Misophonia, it’s a serious matter. There’s a difference between peeves and triggers. Triggers can literally make someone’s body react negatively, like causing their stress levels to suddenly spike or lash out in anger.”

While in a classroom, triggering actions

ANYA MEREDITH

Biting one’s nails in a stessful situation can be a common pet peeve. can have a negative impact on many students, such as making their stress or anxiety worse.

Freshmen Ana Bazgan said, “When I’m taking a test, I feel uncomfortable when people do those obnoxious things. Especially when people shake their legs on your desk and cause vibrations. My focus is broken and I feel more stressed because of it.”

What one person may view as a minor annoyance can be a serious and upsetting trigger for another.

Feigelson said, “I can’t stand when people hum. I feel bothered and annoyed, and sometimes angry. Instead of focusing on my work, my attention is directed to the humming that someone else is doing.”

In modern society, many situations result in disturbances that can have an impact on people and make life harder for them.

Feigelson said, “Even the little noises bother me when they interrupt my focus

and break my concentration. I get very annoyed and I just can’t work in that kind of setting.”

To many, these sounds are perceived as more than slight distractions.

Feigelson said, “When I’m trying to concentrate, I’m really bothered by those repetitive noises people make. I can’t focus at all because the repetitive sound is blaring in my head like a siren. Once it’s in my mind, it’s hard to ignore.”

Regardless of the situation or location, certain actions and noises takes a large toll on those afflicted with misophobia. It is not limited to just a classroom environment, but follows the individual wherever they go.

Bazgan said, “Even outside of school, these distracting sounds bother me when I want peace and quiet. When I want to be alone and I get interrupted, it gets on my nerves.”

However these highly impacting sounds are not the only annoyances that cause distress or frustration.

It is just as common for specific visuals to evoke a negative response for some individuals, regardless of whether or not it is classified as Misophonia.

Sophomore Sonia Mahajan said, “Boys who spread their legs wide open when sitting in their desk really bother me. I feel uncomfortable and I become distracted when I am trying to focus in class or during a test.”

Actions such as feet propped onto tables, chewing gum, or even the sight of someone tapping impatiently can be a trigger.

Junior Katharine Elliott said, “Chewing really bothers me because I can hear everything that's going on in their mouth. It’s disgusting, and it really happens when I’m in class or trying to study quietly. When the only noise in the room is someone chewing, I can’t ignore the sound.”

Many people do not realize that refusing a request to stop making noise often makes the other person feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Bazgan said, “Unfortunately, there are often those people who try to get on your nerves by continuing. I try to be polite and ask them to stop.”

Just complying with another person's request to stop an unnecessary action can make a huge difference.

Feigelson said, “People refusing to stop, even when asked nicely, is more of a pride issue. But they don’t have to make the noise and it would help prevent others from being distracted. I feel that people should be more aware of others around them and imagine how uncomfortable others feel because of the noise. That is how people can get along better in today’s society.”

Competition removed from classes, but not from individuals Lila Schulman Staff Writer

Over the last several months, a rumor that Carlmont High School may take away AP grade bumps has come to a conclusion; this rumor is, in fact, not true.

School districts are always trying out new ideas to improve students’ environment in school. Discussions were made about advanced classes that offer grade bumps, as well as the decile ranking system.

Carlmont has decided to do away with decile ranking. Decile ranking positions students by their weighted cumulative GPA and compares them to their class.

Instructional Vice Principal Ralph Crame said, “We are getting rid of decile ranking; We won’t be ranking students and sending [their ranking] to colleges anymore.”

Decile ranking would make it appear that students, no matter how good their GPA, aren’t as academically strong compared to other students at Carlmont. If high GPAs are common, colleges could see this as if the school is not providing enough rigor.

College counselor Connie Dominguez, said, “I think it is a good idea to get rid of it, because we encourage students to take courses that are the right academic level for them and they are passionate about. Moreover, as a UC Davis Freshman Application Admission reader, I go through the same training as UC Berkeley and UCLA, and we believe that students are more than just a GPA and test score.”

Gamaley believes that his high school experience was dependant on getting a good GPA; however, Gamaley had disap-

pointing results.

“If you don’t get a perfect score, then you’re not worth anything to a college, which is ironic when you’re told to challenge yourself [by taking advanced classes] by everyone in school,” said Senior Lev Gamaley.

Dominguez said, “Gone are the days where colleges were focused on wellrounded students (where students took [advanced] classes in all subject areas).

Now we consider well-lopsided students; students who challenge themselves in courses they are passionate about and who take advantage of opportunities outside of Carlmont that support their passion.”

In ‘How to Survive the College Admissions Madness,’ Frank Bruni wrote, “But for too many parents and their children, acceptance by an elite institution isn’t just another challenge, just another goal. A yes or no from Amherst or the University of Virginia or the University of Chicago is seen as the conclusive measure of a young person’s worth, an incontestable harbinger of the accomplishments or disappointments to come.”

Not just at Carlmont, but in life, one should try to do things because he or she is interested in the topic and wants to learn more; not just for the score.

“I think colleges have to play a role in convincing students that it’s just as valuable to take practical classes that teach them skills. Colleges should let them know the end game is to ultimately be a self-satisfied person,” said ASB teacher Jim Kelly.

Presure is put on students by adults and by themselves to preform. School is meant to be a place where one learns to be a wellrounded individual, not just a student.

Kelly said, “I think the overall goal of educators, including parents, should be to develop the whole child, not just develop students who are good at studying and

taking tests; we should be developing students who are intellectually curious, physically active, spiritually whole, and socially healthy people.”

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Page 7

The Highlander

Administrators step into their new roles Kat Savin Staff Writer

After Carlmont’s current principal, Lisa Gleaton, stepped down from her role, the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) quickly began the search for a new principal.

While students anxiously waited for their new principal to be announced, SUHSD interviewed multiple applicants over the course of several weeks.

A familiar face was announced for the new principal position, Ralph Crame, Carlmont’s current instructional Vice Principal.

“Being here eight years, I have come to love the people at Carlmont. The staff is amazing and the students surprise me everyday with the projects they do, the work that they produce, the articles they have written,” said Crame. “I love to see what they do on a regular basis to create a positive environment.”

Although Crame has already mastered the administration role, his new position requires more collaboration outside of Carlmont.

“There’s more responsibility working with the school district,” said Crame. “There are a lot of evening meetings and every month there’s a principal meeting with all the principals. We talk about district policies, making sure we are all on the same page and that everyone is getting an equal education.”

Crame doesn’t plan on changing the way Carlmont looks or the way it operates, but does plan on making college credits more accessible for students.

“One area I want to focus on is how to get more students college credit in articulation with community colleges,” said Crame. “I think we have a very strong AP and Honors program and we want to continue to refine it, like for example how we changed the physics program this year into one course and one AP test.”

Crame wants to make AP courses more accessible to students and college credits easier to achieve.

“Other areas to improve would be to just get the articulation, for instance Digital Arts 1 and 2,” said Crame. “The goal is to get credit for community college by just taking this course without having to take an AP test. Those are the type of opportunities I want to increase for our students.”

Because Crame will be leaving his seat empty as instructional vice principal, Carlmont’s current Administrative Vice Principal for ninth and eleventh graders, Jennifer Cho, will be taking his place.

The transition from Administrative Vice Principal to Instructional Vice Principal comes with new responsibilities and new areas Cho will be able to improve for the school.

“The new responsibilities are really directed toward curriculum and instruction,” said Cho. “Like how teachers are teaching, what teachers are teaching, and how our students learn.”

An administrative vice principal typically handles the behavior of the students while instructional vice principal manages the work of the teachers.

“Administrative vice principal is a messy job, it’s wild and fun

ANYA MEREDITH

Instructional Vice Principal Ralph Crame prepares to transition to principal next fall. and it’s all about student behavior and student services. Now it will be a shift, I assume, working closer with the adults on campus, because right now I work closely with the students,” said Cho. Although administrative vice principal will be a big change for Cho, she is excited to learn a new job and work closer with the staff at Carlmont.

“I always like to try to learn new things and that’s something that’s exciting to me,” said Cho. “I like that sort of stimulation to enjoy coming to work and that’s one of the nice things about learning a new role, because it includes the excitement of learning something new and finding new ways to improve Carlmont.”

Cho plans on stepping up Carlmont’s staff and improving the

classroom atmosphere for students.

“As far as curriculum and instruction, I think we have an amazing teaching staff that has loads of experience and a lot of ideas,” said Cho. “We have that really solid foundation. Next year, we need to take it to the next level and continue to grow professionally. We are going to continue to look for new and relevant ways to connect technology with the classroom and focus on collaboration.”

Crame also plans on stepping up Carlmont this year, “I’m looking forward to bringing Carlmont to the next level and continuing to thrive. I’m also looking forward to working with an administration team which has a good core and collaborating with Cho and

Steunenberg (Grant Steunenberg, administrative vice principal for 10th and 12th graders).”

With a passionate, brand new, yet familiar pair of administration taking lead for the 2015 to 2016 school year, Carlmont’s student body should continue to see improvements in their courses and teachers.

“I think that your high school education is what you make of it and I hope that students will consider what they want out of high school and if they are not getting what they want, then figure out how they can make that happen by either talking with adults or finding areas of improvement by reaching out and partnering with staff members on campus to make it a valuable experience for themselves,” said Cho.

Where does ASB spend students’ money?

Karissa Tom Editor

$100 for a parking pass $90 for a prom ticket $30 for the senior picnic So, where does all the money go?

With all of the expenses for end of the year events and upcoming college endeavors, seniors wonder where their money is going. I asked Jim Kelly, ASB supervisor,

about ASB's budget.

How does ASB get funded?

Kelly said, "The money is made by ourselves: the students, the parents, the Carlmont community."

Revenue comes from a few different sources: the student store, PAL stickers for sports, basketball quads and home games, the homecoming dance and winter formal, and parking passes.

Kelly said, "Prom basically pays for itself,

What does ASB do with their money?

45.39% think the money goes to dances

21.71% think the money goes to school spirit

18.8% think the money is spent on other things

14.1% think the money is spent on sports teams

Carlmont students told us how they think ASB spends their money ANYA MEREDITH

year after year. Whatever we make for this year's prom goes to next year's prom."

How much money does ASB deal with?

“It changes every year but right now we earn $92,000 and we spend $92,000. Generally, we’re always pretty even but there are some years where we spend more than we make or we make more than we spend," said Kelly. "But in the 18 years that I’ve been here, there’s certainly not a whole lot of profit that’s been built up. We make a really strong effort to spend the money on the students.”

How does ASB spend the money?

ASB is registered as a nonprofit organization with the state of California and that means by law the money has to be spent on the students and the community. The money budgeted must be the same expenses as the revenue. The district office audits ASB to make sure that they aren't making profits.

“About 65 percent of it is spent on sports.

There’s mandatory expenses for sports that ASB spends like all of the league officiating," Kelly said.

ASB also pays for home practice games, team tournaments, and extra teams like freshman basketball.

"ASB supported lacrosse starting up and now it completely supports lacrosse. We also give a large amount of money to all the sports programs for their equipment needs," Kelly said.

Along with sports, ASB works to support

the performing arts.

“Drumline is a big one that was started and [ASB] continues to support with their instruments," Kelly said "All the decorations that you see at dances and some of the professional decorations at assemblies are spent by ASB.” How do the class officers spend their money? “[The class officer money] is like prom, any money that the classes earn, they spend on themselves with usually things like homecoming expenses, school spirit items, things like that," said Kelly " A lot of the school spirit wear that we have actually loses money. We never mark the price up on the sweatshirts and things like that in order to earn money. We just basically sell it for what we bought it for and if we don’t sell those items then we end up losing money. But the classes will do some fundraising to offset those costs so we can have those school spirit items that people will be proud to wear and use.”

Anything else to add?

Kelly said, “I think that as the adviser, it’s important for me to let the students know that we’re going to spend the money to benefit the students the best that we know how. Anybody ever have any questions, it’s an open book. I’d be happy to share any information about the ASB funding and budget, anything like that. It’s no secret and if you really ever want to come and ask me, come and ask me.”

Page 8

The Highlander

FEATURES

Beyond the buzz

May 2015

Continued from page 1

Reviews done by Ashley Kawakami, Kimiko Okumura, and Alisa Takahashi

Umami Burger brings a twist to the quick-service burger. The umami flavor is the “fifth taste” a savory or “meaty” flavor.

CEO and founder, Adam Fleischman, saw the absence of umami in American food and sought to bring it to the US.

The Umami Burger Ashley: I would go back. I’m into the whole crispy cheese thing. Also the medium rare burger was fab but it wasn’t super hot all the way through. And this was a both hands necessary kind of burger.

Kimiko: The burger is really good but messy. The meat is cooked nicely but the fries had too much of the truffle sauce on some of the fries and too little on others. Overall the fries were nice and thin and crispy.

Alisa: I definitely have the minority opinion saying this, but Umami Burger just doesn’t hold up against similar burgers in its price range. It wasn’t the most horrible burger but it definitely wasn’t the best. The idea of umami was a good idea, but it should have stayed an idea.

James Freeman, a coffee lunatic, vowed: “I will only sell coffee less than 48 hours out of the roaster to my customers, so they may enjoy coffee at its peak of flavor. I will only use the finest, most delicious and responsibly sourced beans.”

New Orleans Iced Coffee

Ashley: I feel like this would be good with extra sugar. The more I drink the more I like it, but at the same time it’s really bitter but I’m a little addicted. I’m in love with the outdoor courtyard, it’s a peaceful litle haven in the middle of downtown.

Kimiko: This is so bitter it kind of hurts. I wish this was sweeter. But the inside of the cafe and the courtyard are an Instagram lover’s dream.

It has a great aesthetic, and I want to sit outside with and look at the clouds with my friends.

Alisa: A cute location with a lot of character. The New Orleans Coffee was just an Average Joe, literally. It was quality iced coffee, but not my favorite. It was a little too bitter for my taste, but it was decent. Also, the ice cube to drink ratio was not on point.

Scoops Microcreamery is an ice cream shop specializing in liquid nitrogen-made ice cream. Dave and Cindy Somasunderams use a rapid freezing process to create Scoop’s smooth texture. The “micro” refers to the small batches of 32 scoops of ice cream made daily.

Mint and Cookies

Ashley: I love this so much that it’s unhealthy. This is perfect and sweet and creamy and everything good ice cream should be. This is one of those things where I would eat this until I was fat but not care because I love it.

Kimiko: It smells so good. It’s smells amazing like fresh baking cookies. This ice cream just makes me happy. It’s nice and sweet and creamy. I’m stuck between wanting to devour it and wanting to slowly savor it becuase this is so great.

Alisa: A gem in a crowded environment. Definitely a must-try for ice cream enthusiasts. I loved the creamy texture and the unique option for flavors.

KIMIKO OKUMURA

FEATURES

May 2015

Page 9

The Highlander

Many students feel cheating pressure Naomi Asrir Staff Writer

“I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.”

On test day, English teacher Erik Migdail displays Sophocles’s words as a final effort to discourage dishonest behavior.

Each semester, both Migdail’s and Martin Turkis’s AP Composition students bring their two-month memorization marathons to a close in one 50-minute period.

With one of the largest assignments of the year and their grades on the line, students feel immense pressure to reproduce the assigned paragraphs near-perfectly.

Faced with such anxiety, many juniors resort to cheating methods to guarantee their letter A grades.

According to a Highlander poll, 80.2% of current or previous AP Composition students personally know someone who has cheated on the memorization assignments, and 35.5% of the students who responded cheated on the assignments themselves.

This semester, Migdail and Turkis enforced rules that made cheating very difficult, but not impossible. Walk in, drop off your backpack, write on the paper given to you. No electronics. No notebooks.

Before the fourth period bell rang, Migdail’s afternoon students were aware of the situation. Some were pleased, others horrified. Those students who had waited until the night before to copy the material were forced to choose between failing the assignment, playing sick, or finding another cheating method.

“At lunch, one student drove to Office Depot and bought a ream of yellow paper identical to the teacher’s in order to previously write the paragraphs, and another walked into class with writings on their leg,” said junior Kenzie Mullin. “A lot of the people I know who cheated attempted to memorize the assignment but struggled and gave in after taking weeks to memorize a couple paragraphs.”

“More than ten people in my period alone cheated,” said junior Sam Pipkin.

“Students recorded themselves previously reciting the excerpt and played it back through headphones in class. Others kept the speech in their pockets and copied under the desk.”

The behavior is not surprising.

“Of course these assignments encourage cheating,” said junior Alison Luna. “Students in my class are under a lot of pressure from other courses and AP tests. Most students don’t begin studying until the last second. The assignment is weighted even

ASHLEY KAWAKAMI

Some students resorted to cheating on the AP Composition memorization quiz to save their grades. greater because Turkis only grades based on tests and not on homework, adding to the stress levels of students."

Junior Kevin Shu said, “I think people cheat because the stakes are high and their grades are at risk. I know for a fact that myself and many of my friends thought the week of the memorization test was the hardest week of junior year. A majority of my AP classes decided to put finals and big projects due the same week. We were simply overwhelmed by all of it.”

Apart from the work load of other classes, some students do not feel encouraged to study the material because they feel the purpose of the assignment is unclear.

"I don’t believe the assignment prepares us for anything… Even my friends from other schools, my other teachers, and my parents believed it was completely useless and did not understand the assignment," said Mullin.

Pipkin said, “I did not feel motivated to memorize three pages of text because that is not something I will ever have to do in my future career.”

Others understand the purpose but do not believe it is relevant for all students.

"I think that Turkis assigns these excerpts because he wants us to internalize, into our own writing, the way the authors use language," said Luna. "I don’t think it’s as necessary for some students as it is for others. It would be more beneficial for those students that do not read anything outside of class. For the ones that do, it's a

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bit pointless."

While the memorization may seem tedious to students, it carries significance.

“There are three primary intentions of these assignments,” said Migdail. “The first is to provide a larger rhetorical frame, the second is to increase a student’s amount of cultural capital, and the third is to improve memory.”

Despite the purposes of the memorization, students should know that cheating is never the right answer. “[Cheating students] degrade themselves, they experience moral and spiritual decay, and if they're caught, they suffer additional, less important institutional consequences,” said Turkis.

Students consider whether it is possible to achieve the assignment’s goals through memorizing shorter excerpts.

“I think Migdail and Turkis should assign less paragraphs. No matter how much time you allot [to the assignment], memorizing three full pages of text is absolutely ridiculous. I act, and no monologue is 18 paragraphs because it is too much,” said Luna.

“I would rather have a shorter excerpt in a shorter amount of time,” said Mullin. “It’s difficult because we are given a large memorization assignment on top of our regular readings and homework.”

Some students appreciate the assignment despite the preparation it demands.

“Migdail and Turkis could cut down on the length of the memorization, but in

my opinion, I actually prefer these assignments,” Shu said. “Not having something due every day is a good way to help ease the stress. Since these are lengthy assignments, they require great time management skills.”

Now that the assignment is over, students look back and reflect on the utility of memorizing the excerpt.

“I memorized the paragraphs for the test, and now that the test is over they are gone from my memory. Once I memorized the excerpt, I was not understanding its meaning, but rather reproducing words onto the paper. They carried no weight,” said Pipkin. “Understanding something is different from memorizing it.”

Others have been able to apply the material outside of the test.

“I have been able to incorporate the selections by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Wiesel into some of my own essay writing,” said Luna.

This application of the assigned excerpt into other aspects of a student’s life is the ultimate goal.

“Both ‘Letters From a Birmingham Jail’ and ‘Perils of Indifference’ are important cultural touchstones that are wide-ranging and provide detail,” said Migdail. “Students have more information to bring into their writing so that they may reference ideas outside of their own experiences.”

Although some students outperformed others on the assignment, they all shared the common responsibility of managing their time in order to learn the material.

Page 10

The Highlander

FEATURES

May 2015

Plunging into the drought: water sanctions affect Californians Kian Karamdashti Staff Writer

“If you all haven’t noticed, California is bone-dry! It looks like the trailer for the new Mad Max movie up in there!”

Although this joke by President Barack Obama’s “anger translator” was met with lots of laughs at the 2015 White House correspondents dinner, the subject of this joke is becoming more and more serious everyday.

In January 2015, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a “state of emergency” regarding the drought that is being labeled as one of the most severe droughts ever recorded. This declaration called for state officials to take all necessary actions in order to prepare for looming water shortages.

“The drought has been publicized so well that I’m pretty sure everyone in California knows what is going on,” said senior Neeshae Wain. “I know one day soon it will probably affect me and I’ve tried to do little things to help, like take shorter showers.

I’m just not sure how much of what I do actually helps.”

For many people, the drought is a problem that had not seemed affect them, until now.

On April 2, Brown imposed water restrictions on Californians for the first time ever, aiming to decrease each city’s water usage by 25 percent.

These demands include restrictions on hoses, how often one can water their lawn,

CONNIE YI

Hands grasp for what’s left of the water supply. Water sanctions may take their toll on Californians. and outdoor irrigation. Failure to comply with these restrictions could lead to hefty fines passed down from the government.

“We’re in a new era,” Brown said. “The idea of your nice little green grass getting lots of water every day, that’s going to be a thing of the past.”

However, these sanctions do not apply to the agricultural industry, who, according to CNN, take up 80 percent of California’s total water usage.

“It seems a bit useless to me,” said junior Matt Veronda. “They are the big users of this state’s water supply, and the fact that

they are not required to change anything while others do is ridiculous.”

Nase Oceanography research scientist William Patzert holds the same views as Veronda.

“Nobody has addressed the agricultural issue. They’re trying to get through this drought without going head to head with the farmers that have senior water rights.

Continuing to do what we have been doing in agriculture is not going to work for much longer.”

One possible reason why the California agricultural problem is not being ad-

dressed is the fact that agriculture is a huge source of revenue. California agriculture brings in $37.5 billion a year, more than any other state in the country. California also produces more than 400 different crops, which, again, is more than any other state in the country, according to ABC. The drought-stricken state is a center of agriculture for the country and restrictions would hurt revenue, and cut thousands of jobs along the way (17,000 farmers have already lost their job according to the Wall Street Journal).

Another issue lies in that the farmers claim they have already given up too much.

“Agriculture is already getting substantial cutbacks, regarding water cost and availability,” said director of the Center for Watershed Sciences Jay Lund. “You don’t meter groundwater use, so you can’t regulate it. It’s not enforceable, and it’s not a good idea. You do have to cut agriculture in a drought, but we need to be more thoughtful and compassionate about it. You are messing with people’s livelihoods.”

Although the problem of our diminishing reservoirs continues to loom, with a concrete solution yet to be provided and tensions only rising, some people, such as Pacific Institute water program director Heather Cooley hold a clear view of what first needs to be done.

“Urban vs. agriculture. Fish vs. farm.

People tend to first look at others,” said Cooley. “But, the fact is we need to pull together first.”

Subconscious attractions: the preferences you don’t know you have Aria Frangos Editor

Are you thinking what you think you’re thinking?

Maybe not.

Subconscious preferences are a reality in the complex system of the human mind and behavior. The senses process so much information at any given moment that there is no way for humans to consciously and effectively analyze all of it at once.

Given that subconscious sense data and processing of such data exists, it makes sense that people may not realize how every little thing affects them.

One case of this is the possibility that when a man thinks he’s approving of a woman’s rear end, he might actually be looking at her spine curvature. In a 2015 study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, scientists showed that 300 men shown images of female silhouettes with different spine curvatures overall preferred an angle of 45.5 degrees.

“Men may be directing their attention to the butt and obtaining information about women’s spines, even if they are unaware that that is what their minds are doing,” said study leader Dr. David Lewis in an interview with the Daily Mail. “Alternatively, men may have preferences for both lumbar curvature and buttock size. Future research is needed to better understand the latter.”

The images included silhouettes with buttocks influenced by three different characteristics: extra fat mass, extra muscle mass, and spine curvature altered by what is known as vertebral wedging. Overall, the tested men preferred the silhouettes with buttocks influenced by spine curvature.

One possible explanation for this is that in ancient times, women with this type of vertebral wedging were more able to remain mobile during pregnancy without injuring themselves. According to the study, the spine curvature relieves a pressure on the

female’s hips that would have otherwise increased by 800 percent and rendered her largely immobile.

The trait allows females with this angle of spine to be more independent, mobile, and safe while pregnant, which are desirable characteristics for a potential mate to gauge.

Male sexual attraction to this trait may have developed due to the higher probability of a woman with such qualities to bear and raise offspring to carry on the male’s DNA. This may partially explain why modern men still remain so attracted to this particular trait in women.

“It probably plays a part in it, but isn’t the whole reason. People’s image of what looks nice is also just influenced by what society defines as attractive,” said junior Amira Shamieh. “Deep in the subconscious, it would make sense to be informed by evolutionary reasoning, and on the forefront the attraction is mainly due to societal influences.”

Another possible factor of triggering a subconscious liking for another individual is the effect of pheromones. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a pheromone is “a chemical substance that is usually produced by an animal and serves especially as a stimulus to other individuals of the same species for one or more behavioral responses.”

“It makes sense that men are attracted to certain scents, but certain things like perfumes that claim to have attractive pheromones don’t make sense,” said junior Laura Bajurin. “That’s totally artificial, and by definition pheromones are very personalized.”

Many people are familiar with the idea of pheromones, although the specifics about them are both widely misconceived by the public and unknown to scientists.

In a study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, neurobiologist Noam Sobel and his colleagues had women watch a sad movie clip and collected their tears. These tears were given to men to smell as unidentified liquid, and the men’s sexual arousal and testosterone levels fell in response.

From this evidence, the scientists concluded that the scent of the tears telegraphed to the men that the woman who had cried was not in the mood to be romanced, even though the men didn’t even realize what they were smelling.

“It seems to me that pheromones are

very real,” said junior Natalie Cambron. “I definitely think that scent in particular can telegraph subconscious messages between people, and there are numerous studies that appear to support that.”

Animals varying from boars to moths are known by scientists to utilize powerful pheromones in initiating sexual interactions. Scientists have been searching for decades to find a human sex pheromone, but thus far none has been found.

“We’ve just started to understand that there is communication below the level of consciousness,” says Bettina Pause, a psychologist at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf who has been studying pheromones and human social olfaction for 15 years. “My guess is that a lot of our communication is influenced by chemosignals.”

May 2015

FEATURES

Page 11

The Highlander

SOURCE: 12,000 DREAMS INTERPRETED BY GUSTAVUS HINDMAN MILLER

Unavoidable, startling, mysterious: dreams deserve attention Sophie Haddad Editor

Groggy and sore, still adjusting to the light filtering in through the window, you slowly regain consciousness. You feel your arms first, then your legs. You strain to lift your head to check the clock. Eventually, pertinent memories regarding waking hours flood back, drowning dreams without apology.

Although many of us allow ourselves to forget our dreams in favor of real memories, there is something to be said about the relevance of dreams.

We all need sleep for its rejuvenating properties, so it is not as though we can stop sleeping. And, because we dream every time we sleep, we cannot stop dreaming.

Do we consider the less imperative properties of sleep, however? The evolutionary benefit of sleep is evident, but what of the spiritual benefit of dreams? What scientific reason can one give for why we dream?

The original formal inquiry into the significance of dreams was conducted by Sigmund Freud, a prominent psychologist and the father of psychoanalysis, in 1900. Freud speculated that there may be a “latent content” in a dream beyond the “manifest content.”

Manifest content refers to the actual events illustrated in the dream, while latent content

refers to possible symbolic significance.

Sleep is cyclical. We have about one dream period every 90 minutes. As the night progresses, dream periods get longer.

It has been proven that everyone dreams every night, though most people do not recall the contents of their dreams.

“I usually don’t remember my dreams until I just have that click of deja vu usually years later,” said senior Gabriel Lorvan.

Professor Mark Blagrove of Swansea University presented one theory relating to the ephemeral quality of dreams: “One possibility is that our brain neuro-chemicals during sleep are very different from during wake time and so they don’t allow us to consolidate memory.”

Luckily, there are veritable tactics one can employ to better recall his or her dreams. According to The Lucidity Institute, steps include: getting plenty of sleep, keeping a dream journal, and telling yourself as you fall asleep that you want to remember your dreams.

Once a person is able to consistently remember dreams, he or she may be capable of having a lucid dream or one in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming.

The power of lucid dreams is that the sleeper can, to a certain extent, manipulate the dream.

For junior Shayla Lusk, lucid dreams occur nightly.

“It’s not a once-in-a-while thing. Every single night I know I’m dreaming,” said Lusk.

Although Lusk consistently is aware she is in a dream state, she is not to the point where she can manipulate her dreams.

When one has gotten to the point when he can successfully recall dreams, interpretation is possible. Most of the time, interpretation is intuitive -- eyeglasses represent a unique perspective, clocks represent time, water represents cleansing. Other possible meanings, though, are more out-of-thebox. The only trouble is knowing whether or not they are accurate.

Some psychics devote their lives to the practice of dream interpretation. The only infallible test, though, is to continue life and see if the prediction is fulfilled.

“

I would wake up disturbed, thinking my dream was real.

I would have to take a second to reassure myself that it didn’t happen.

Maya Paulo Sophomore

What goes on behind closed lids is more a matter of interest today than it has ever been.

Although, there is an undesirable side of dream recollection -- lingering effects from unpleasant dreams. Some dreams can be overwhelmingly disconcerting and cause the dreamer to wish he or she could forget it. It may stick with him and disrupt his ordinary waking mood and thoughts.

“I would wake up disturbed, thinking my dream was real. I would have to take a second to reassure myself that it didn’t happen and that everything was okay,” said sophomore Maya Paulo.

“The image sticks with you.”

The overlap of dreams and reality is startling. They play off each other like cat and mouse, teasing and taking memories and warping them.

“A couple nights ago, I read a really disturbing passage, and then I had a disturbing dream. I connected that. That was probably why I had the dream,” said Paulo.

Few dispute the fact that dreams have some sort of tie to everyday life. Whether they are full-blown prophecies or simply amalgamations of random memories, dreams fold into the fabric of life. Therefore, it should be no wake-up call that dreams are more than a waste of time.

SPORTS

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The Highlander

May 2015

Boys varsity soccer coach passes the baton Bijan Khalili Staff Writer

After seven years, Carlmont boys varsity soccer coach Jodi Beloff has retired from high school coaching.

“I was pretty shocked when I heard the news. I never thought she would have resigned,” said junior John Bran, a player on the past varsity team.

Through her seven seasons at Carlmont, a lot has been accomplished. Boys varsity has made it to CCS six out of the seven seasons, won the PAL league in the 2012-2013 season, and coach of the year in that season as well.

She has always had a passion for coaching the game which she will continue to do.

“I found that I had too much on my plate to give 100 percent effort, and the team deserves better than that. I am currently coaching four club soccer teams. I will never quit coaching. It is in my blood. It is my passion,” said Beloff.

Beloff has many memorable moments from coaching at Carlmont that she will never forget.

“Some really good moments were when I was coaching my son and he beat the the goal-scoring record for Carlmont, when we won PAL and went to the CCS semifinals, when we beat Alisal- two-time CCS Champions- to get to the semifinals, or when I won coach of the year,” said Beloff.

With Beloff ’s departure, junior varsity coach Will Stambaugh, who has been with her throughout the years, has taken the place as varsity head coach.

“It will be different. It’s time we build on what she

more seniors on the team. We were a brought to the young team and not a lot of the guys side and continue had played at the varsity level before,” achieving more,” said Nathan Rosenthal, one of the said Stambaugh. three seniors on the team.

Stambaugh is Next season, the Scots have high willing to start a hopes. new a chapter of They will have relatively the same being the head roster, but are now more experienced coach and calling and know how to play with one anthe shots. other.

“I was ecstatic “I think we will be a lot better next and moreover, eayear because we have the same team ger: eager to beMINH-HAN VU but we will be more experienced and gin working with more talented. It doesn’t happen often the side and the Varsity boys soccer coach Jodi Beloff retires that a varsity team has the same team young men that after seven seasons with the Carlmont team. two years in a row, which will benefit will endeavor with us,” said Jang. me.”

The team is already looking forward to next season and The 2014-2015 season ended for the Scots with a record of 7-9-1. The streak of making the CCS semifinals two making some changes.

“We need to work and play up to a new level to realize years in a row ended after Carlmont was eliminated in the the potential of the team. I’m currently scheduling some first round this year.

“We didn’t do that well this year, which I wasn’t really preseason fixtures,” said Stambaugh.

It’s a beginning of a new chapter for the boys varsity surprised by because we were young and inexperienced,” soccer team. With relatively the same team, the off-season said varsity soccer player and junior Brent Jang.

The boys varsity soccer team included only three se- preparation will be dedicated to working together as one niors. This roster made for a young team who lacked ex- unit and less of learning new defensive and offensive stratperience at the varsity level, making the season a learning egies.

Stambaugh is already making optimistic predictions, experience.

“I definitely think it would have been better if we had “We will be champions! Can we be perfect?”

What’s the difference between having a male or female coach anyway?

MINH-HAN VU

“

“

Tennis Coach

Coaching style and personality make a bigger difference than a coach’s gender.

Jim Kelly

“

Swim Coach

“

Amina Doar Halsey

There’s always differences between coaches, but there’s no way to say if it’s because of gender or not.

Tina Smith

“

MINH-HAN VU

Girls Varsity Soccer

Shared experiences that often come with gender can make coaching the same gender easier, but that doesn’t mean a coach can’t do well with either.

“

MINH-HAN VU

Females can’t compete: the coaching gender gap Mia Hogan Staff Writer

Ranging from high school sports to the Olympics, male athletic coaches dominate the industry.

Athletes on multiple levels have been coached by both genders. However, as the sport becomes more competitive, there is a drastic decline in female coaches.

There are over 8,000 sports in the world and 28 of them appear in the Olympics.

Swimming, soccer, and basketball are a few of the sports that involve athletes of both genders, yet male coaches dominate the professional industry.

According to the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE), 3225 accredited coaches attended the 2012 London Olympics Games. Out of those coaches, 89 percent were male and only 11 percent were female.

Senior Hiba Dahbour said, “Females are less assertive and have a harder time taking charge of a big group or team,. Males are straightforward and don’t sugarcoat anything, increasing the team’s effectiveness.”

This may be one reason why female coaches are rare at highly competitive levels. However, male coaches continue to dominate the profession even on lower levels.

In recreational sports, like American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), there tend to be gender roles defined among the team.

“It was very common to see fathers as the team coach and their wives as the team mom. At soccer games, the father would be coaching and his spouse would be at his side with snacks for the team,” said junior Melody Shanahan.

Carlmont offers 15 extracurricular sports at various levels. In general, males coach higher levels of the sport for both male and female sports.

Volleyball and softball, sports only offered for female students, are coached by almost all males. For both sports, each program is made up of a majority of male coaches and include only one female assistant.

“Personally, I like having a female coach better because I can relate more to them.

Guys have never played the sport I am playing,” said softball player and senior Kirra Loucks.

On the contrary, both boys and girls soccer at Carlmont have a female varsity head coach and a male junior varsity coach.

Sophomore soccer player Jack McLean said, “The only difference going from JV to varsity was the level of soccer I was play-

ing. I felt that gender of the coach was irrelevant. Soccer is still soccer.”

According to USA Today, Bernadette Mattox was the first female coach hired for men’s division one (D1) basketball in history. Even after Mattox coached with University of Kentucky’s Rick Pitino in 1990, only two females followed her example and reached a coaching position in men’s D1 basketball.

Although males have crossed over into coaching female sports, very few females entered the men’s game. Many thought that Pitino bringing a female into coaching male sports would open the doors to many more female coaches. However, nothing really changed.

Pitino gained lots of attention after hiring Mattox, and her success furthered his name in the athletic world. Despite Mattox’s accomplishments for Kentucky and females in the coaching industry, Pitino never received another call or application from a female coach applying for a position.

In 1972, Title IX was passed, prohibiting the discrimination based on sex in schools that receive funding, including funding for sports. The law was federally mandated, affecting the women’s coaching industry nationwide.

Professors Emerita R. Vivian Acosta and Linda Jean Carpenter of Brooklyn College have found a drastic decline in female coaches since Title IX was passed. In 1972, more than 90 percent of collegiate female sport teams were coached by females, but this number decreased to about 42 percent by 2012.

In the decade following the passage of Title IX, many schools merged male and female athletic departments. Males typically took the athletic director position, causing females to be demoted or lose their positions.

Since the 1970s, there has been a drop in female coaches, which can be the result of multiple factors.

Despite the decline of female coaches, most Carlmont students do not judge the quality of a coach based on gender. According to the May Highlander Polls, 57 percent of the 147 respondents answered that they do not have a preference on their coach’s gender. Student preference for male or female coaches was evenly split at 21.5 percent each.

“Females make equally as impressive athletic accomplishments as men and are treated equally, and sometimes they just discriminate themselves in the coaching industry,” said junior Alex Singer.

SPORTS

May 2015

Page 13

The Highlander

Balancing self-interest to play for the team Connie Yi Staff Writer

There is no “I” in “team,” but what if you’re playing for yourself?

The biggest difference between team and individual sports may be from the athlete’s motivation.

In solo activities such as swimming and tennis, the athlete is responsible for the training and strategy required to ensure his or her own success, whereas in a group sport like basketball and volleyball, team members must work together toward victory.

“The individual aspect definitely causes tension among teammates. Although we are always rooting for our teammates to do well, we never want them to do better than ourselves,” said senior varsity swimmer Mariah Tao. Some athletes think differently.

“Everyone is not playing to be better than the other people on our team, because we’re really all just trying to be the best that we individually can be to be better against other schools,” said freshman tennis player Kevin Xiang.

Each individual athlete has their own goal they try to accomplish even if they are one with the team.

“Humans are born with greed and in need of success,” said junior badminton player Matt Hong.

When a certain task does not become successful, laying the blame for it is one of the first sources of relief. Not all people blame others for their failures, but according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the possibility that the thought of blame would cross a person’s mind is 89 percent.

“In singles, you can’t rely on other people to get you that point- it’s all you. I think ten-

nis is often overlooked because it’s not a traditional ‘team sport,’” said sophomore tennis player Sydney Pon. The dictionary definition of “team” is a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport; come together as a team to achieve a common goal.

According to Psychology Today, the dictionary definition of “team” and society’s interpretation of team can, can vary from sport to sport.

“The individual aspect of the sport can sometimes create tension because there is pressure that if you MINH-HAN VU peresonally fail, you The 2015 junior class Powderpuff team worked both as individuals and as a coherent could cost your whole team the game,” said team to play competitively in the annual Carlmont Powderpuff games. sophomore basketball player Spencer Enon a team. The first one is the player who “At the beginning of the season, we riquez depends on the other teammates to win as played selfishly and didn’t have what it Although there could be tension that a “team”, while the other player is the one took to win. But later in the season, we is built upon the teammates, having the whom all other athletes depend on. began to create relationships and chemback-up support helps some athletes unite The pressure of being the player that the istry within our team and we were in the as a team. team depends upon can be satisfying but right position to win,” said Enriquez.

“I think we do a good job of knowalso daunting. Paying up to those expectaIf individual athletes can overcome ing that we win and lose as a team even tions can be a difficult task. the tensions between the other players though we have that individual aspect.

“I sometimes feel pressure because I’m on the team, they’ll be able to combine Even though we are individuals, we are all not just racing for myself, I’m racing for my their talents and increase their chances there because we want to play tennis and team especially in relays. I almost always go to succeed. have fun, so we bond over that aspect of faster in relays because I don’t want to let “I’m sure in other teams there is more the game,” said Pon. my team down,” said Tao. tension between played but on our team Team sports can vary on the type of perTeam bonding is a source athletes in there is a sense of respect for everyone’s son an athlete has trained with. some sports use to help them feel more like rank and position,” said Xiang.

There are two different type of athletes a team and help with further games.

It’s a long way to the top if you want to go pro Andrew Cross Staff Writer

A kid grows up in the backyard playing catch or shooting hoops, dreaming of an opportunity. They dream of an opportunity to hit a homerun, to make a game winning shot, to win a championship.

Even though the pros make it look easy, it’s a lot harder than it looks to play at the highest of levels.

“The reason why it is so hard to make it into professional sports is everybody is good. You are going up against the best every single day and nothing is guaranteed,” said junior baseball player Tyler Brandenburg.

Brandenburg is right. According to you go pro baseball’s website, a high school baseball player has one percent chance of making professional baseball and that is including the minor leagues.

There are 30 professional baseball organizations in the MLB. In each organization, there are six teams, including the big league team. With only a certain amount of spots available on each team, there are only about 4,500 spots in the big leagues.

That may seem like a lot, but they have to take into account that there are players coming from all over the world.

“Now that big league teams are scouting in other countries, it makes it that much harder to make it onto a profes-

sional baseball roster,” said senior Aaron Albaum.

The funny thing is, you have a better chance of making pro baseball than playing college baseball. According to NCCA’s website, high school baseball players have a 6.9 percent chance of playing college baseball. 8.6 percent of the college players end up getting drafted.

“A lot of players that are drafted out of high school decide to go college instead because their signing bonus wasn’t as big as they wanted it to be. Then they stay in college for three years hoping that they can go in a higher round and get a bigger bonus,” said Brandenburg.

Baseball is not the only sport that is difficult to become become a professional.The story is the same for golf.

“It’s really hard to become a pro golfer because there only 120 players allowed on the PGA Tour and that’s including players from other countries,” said junior golfer Finigan Tilly.

Even if they become a pro golfer, it’s very hard to remain on the tour. Unless they are getting paid like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, the average career lasts only about four years.

“You only have a certain time to prove that you can play consistently well on the tour. New golfers are always coming in, so you have to make the best of your opportunities,” said Tilly.

The same can be said for football. According to NCAA’s

website, only 1.6 percent of college players are drafted by the NFL; and similar to golf, they have a limited amount of opportunities to prove yourself.

“It’s hard to play in the NFL. Not only does it take a toll on your body, but you also get a limited number of opportunities to try to prove that you belong,” said junior running back Jake Kumamoto.

According to the NFL Player’s Association, an average career for an NFL player is only 3.3 years. If they make the opening day roster their rookie year, the average is six years.

NFL teams are only allowed to have 53 players on their active rosters, but only 46 can suit up for the game. With that being said, there are only 1,696 roster spots available.

“The odds are against you. You have to have a little luck to make it on an NFL roster,” said Kumamoto.

Along with these types of sports, others like basketball and soccer have a low percentage of making it to a professional league.

These numbers show that becoming a pro athlete is by no means a simple task. With that being said, what can athletes do to improve their chances of achieving their dream?

“I know that people have heard this said to them a million times, but just practicing can really help you improve your game and allow you to keep playing to higher and higher levels,” said Kumamoto.

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Page 14

The Highlander

May 2015

lost in text-lation Emojis appear differently on operating systems other than Apple’s iOS.

Dancer:

Microsoft (Windows)

Google (Android 5)

Twitter (Twemoji)

Alien monster:

Apple (iOS & OS X)

Apple added 4 updated objects

Google (Android 5)

Text terminology Microsoft (Windows)

Twitter (Twemoji)

info desk person:

Apple (iOS & OS X)

Microsoft (Windows)

Google (Android 5)

Twitter (Twemoji)

haircut:

Apple (iOS & OS X)

Microsoft (Windows)

Google (Android 5)

Emoticon. :) ;) :D B) the word combines emtion and icon and it was first created in 1982 kaomoji. a popular japanese style of emoji that is a combination of kao (face) and moji (character)

Ivy N Staff

When texting and instant messaging were burgeoning pieces of technology, emojis were limited and simple icons meant to express emotions and lighten up informal conversations.

Now, as technology has advanced, racially and sexually diverse emojis are more available.

However, when you start playing the representation game, you’re always bound to leave someone out.

Sophomore Ashley Wen said, “Apple added more diversity to include millions of people, but they left out millions more who don’t get emojis to represent them.”

These concerns are matched by others who would like to see representation for disabled people, overweight people, single parent families, and more.

Prior to the update, there were 800 emojis that included two different camels, a smiling turd, and every phase of the moon. The only two resembling people of color were a guy who looked vaguely Asian and another in a turban.

There was a white boy, girl, man, woman, elderly man, elderly woman, blond boy, blonde girl, and even one that looks like Princess Peach. But when it came to faces outside of yellow smileys, there was a staggering lack of minority representation.

After calls for new emojis and even a “Do Something” petition that received almost 5,000 signatures, Apple has finally taken a step towards inclusion with the iOS 8.3 update.

The new additions include emojis with five skin tones plus the default yellow tone and emojis representing families with two mothers or two fathers.

However, not everyone approves of the new emojis. According to a poll conducted by Carlmont Journalism, 29 percent of 147 respon-

w

emoji. although it originally meant pictograph, it literally means picture (e) and character (moji)

From emoticons to emojis: th

Twitter (Twemoji)

1982

Scott Fahlman is the first documented person to use an emoticon.

em

d g n i r b s i oj

Ne

Apple (iOS & OS X)

2000s

1986

Users from Japan popularize kaomoji.

1999

Shigetaka Kurita creates the first emoji.

Custom emojis become available in networks such as MySpace.

2009

Google adds emojis to Gmail.

MOJI

Page 15

2014 TheMonth Highlander

May 2015

Guess the emoji Carlmont students pose as their favorite emojis.

Guess which ones they are!

Sophie fox, senior

diversity to p

Nguyen Writer

ho

dents said that they are not satisfied with the change. In addition, 40 percent of the respondents said that they do not care about the update.

“To be honest, I don’t really use the people ones as much, so the change didn’t really affect me, but I do think it’s a step in the right direction. Of course there’s more than just white people,” said AS English teacher Kristen Fewins.

It is a step, but the emojis have not reached full inclusion, and that may not even be possible because of how diverse humans are.

Slack is an alternative communication tool that allows users to make custom emojis—a foolproof way to have representation and inclusion for everyone.

Another alternative argument is that Apple should just make all of the little anthropomorphized characters yellow, like they originally were. They would represent no one.

The original emoticons—those primitive, simplistic smiley faces that we used to drop into our AOL Instant Messenger chats—weren’t meant to represent people. They represented emotions.

Yellow was the de facto color. For example, Legos were specifically designed with yellow skin for the purpose of eliminating racial bias.

Lego’s customer service said, “We chose yellow to avoid assigning a specific ethnicity in sets that don’t include any specific characters. With this neutral color, fans can assign their own individual roles to Lego minifigures.”

Overall, most people agree that Apple’s new emojis are a step towards including more people, but they also acknowledge that it’s nearly impossible to ever include everyone. In their minds, something is better than nothing, namely exclusively white emojis.

ne

Apple added 198 new flags in the iOS 8.3 update

s

Catherine schulze, senior

World emoji day is July 17 Amber governale, senior

the HTML color code for the generic yellow emoji is #FBD043

Thomas Chin, junior

Apple added 283 new diverse people

4.

KARISSA TOM

2013

2011

Emojis debut internationally in Apple iOS 5.

3.

The emoji is adopted into Unicode, a computing standard.

2.

2010

Answers: 1.

he evolution of typing emotions DoSomething. org started a petition for more diversity in emojis.

2015 2013

Emoji is added to the Oxford dictionary.

Apple adds more diverse emojis in iOS 8.3.

KARISSA TOM

Page 16

The Highlander

LIFESTYLE

May 2015

The problem with romanticizing mental illness Anya Meredith Staff Writer

“If I killed myself tonight, the stars would still appear, the sun would still come out, the earth would still rotate, the seasons still change...so why not?” (@lovellydisaster) “Mirror, Mirror, if I cut my wrist, will I feel like I exist?” (@uslonelyone) “I may have an ill mind, but I am happier the skinnier I become. That’s simple fact.” (@kitespine) Quotations like these from Tumblr and Twitter seem to romanticize depression, self harm, and eating disorders.

Social media platforms such as Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Vine have become thresholds for normalized and romanticized self harm and depression pictures, gifs, and videos.

Tumblr blogs will give a warning in their biography, if needed, saying, “Warning: Photos may be considered triggering.”

The feelings that are “triggered” by the content on these platforms are depression, eating disorders, and self-harm.

According to the Stanford School of Medicine, over 9 million American adults suffer from clinical depression each year.

Social media is not the only way people can see depression romanticized in their everyday lives.

Celebrities can also give the impression that death and depression are beautiful.

Pop artist Lana del Rey gave the impression that she found death desirable.

The reporter who interviewed her, Tim Jonze, asked if she saw early death as glamorous.

“I wish I was dead already,” said del Rey. Depression, eating disorders, and selfharm can all have very serious consequences both mentally, and physically.

Children, adolescent, and parent therapist Laura Hamilton shared the conse-

quences of media on those susceptible to eating disorders.

“Unfortunately the body types that teens are subjected to try and look like are those body types that are usually below a healthy body composition (healthy weight range, healthy BMI),” said Hamilton.

These pictures, gifs, or videos can have a lasting impact on teens on what they think of themselves.

“These false body types have teens believing if they could lose weight and look like those fashioned on the cover of magazines or runways then their lives will be happy,” said Hamilton.

The online organization Danah described the effects of media can have on depression and how it is shared. “...This includes those that promote cutting or self-injury and disordered eating patterns, such as anorexia and bulimia.

Problematic self-harm content includes videos of self-harm techniques, triggering images meant to encourage viewers to engage in self-harm, websites dedicated to promoting self harm lifestyles, and chatrooms where people share self-harm techniques, encourage each other to self-harm, and validate ongoing participation,” said Danah.

Sophomore Jill Patrucco has noticed the impact media has on her emotions.

“Media has a good and bad affect on me.

It helps me to socialize with my friends, but it also can make you feel alone and like no one is there for you,” said Patrucco.

The prevalence of sadness and self-harm on media can be harmful to some.

“What I see through media, and the knowledge I acquire through media affects my emotions,” said junior Siena Rigatuso.

Danah also said, “Although people participated in self-harm behaviors before the Internet, the Internet has made it easier for those engaged in self harm to document

MINH-HAN VU

The romanticism of mental illness in media causes some to falsely believe that like makeup, depression will be able to enhance their beauty. and share self-harm techniques, build communities around self-harm practices, and promote self-harm lifestyles.”

In today’s society, sadness can be seen as beautiful.

“In social media where many romanticize depression (regardless if they are truly clinically depressed) is now thought of as “beautiful sadness”. Here individuals can embellish what they are feeling, or post photos of self-harm or other expressions of deep sadness and others can comment on. Many teens use social media to perhaps better understand their feelings and are met with these blogs where the message can be strikingly dangerous,” said Hamilton.

However, media can also give support systems to those dealing with issues.

Tumblr’s support team has a note that shows if you look up a tag like ‘depression’ that says, “ Everything okay? If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, self harm, or suicidal

thoughts, please visit our Counseling & Prevention Resources page for a list of services that may be able to help.”

Shelley Bustamante, Coordinator of S.O.S. and Crisis Counselor gives advice to students dealing with depression, self harm, or an eating disorder.

“If anyone is dealing with depression, self harm, or an eating disorder, I recommend that they speak to a counselor or teacher.

High school is hard enough as it is, you don’t have to make it harder being alone with your pain,” said Shelley Bustamonte.

“I would strongly recommend speaking up and out. Holding negative feeling in without having a safe place to express how one is feeling is dangerous. Don’t hide.. get treatment, see a therapist,” said Hamilton.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1 (800) 273-8255

Music alters the perception of self-worth Holly Chen Staff Writer

Wu said, “I feel like plastic surgery is not the only way to obtain things like a big butt. Fitness is an easier and better route to this type of beauty. It is more healthy to go to the gym and work out, then spend money on unnecessary When people are having a bad day, many relax by put- procedures.” ting on their headphones, turning up the music, and tunSome girls feel that they should not conform to music’s ing out the ongoing stress. idea of beauty, but instead ignore the pressures from artists Music plays a big role on the human mind. and musicians.

Research done by Taylor and Ford, two psychologists, Junior Alexis Morrow said, “Pop music is pretty degradprove that music changes people’s moods, and can make ing. I don’t like rap music that much, because it discrimipeople happier. nates against women, by telling them to be a certain way.”

But these are not the only effects of music.

The music industry’s portrayal of women has lead to Today’s popular music not only garners billions of dol- conflicting views. On one hand, female singers are allowed lars of revenue with each to express themselves freely, song, but also change percepyet on the other hand, sotions of “self worth.” ciety has created certain Since the 90’s, rap music Often times when a woman expresses labels and judgements on has viewed having a large these actions. her sexuality through music, she is rear end as an asset.

Sophomore Sydney With songs like “Anacon- condemned for being a ‘slut’ or ‘whore.’ Pon said, “I feel as though da” by Nicki Minaj, “Booty” women in music, mainly People seem to think her behavior

by Iggy Azelea featuring Jenpop and rap, are often is an invitation for sexual advancesnifer Lopez, and “All About oversexualized in the lyrthat Bass” by Meghan Trainics. I think that women’s which it is not. or; having a big butt is not sexuality should be freely Sydney Pon only considered aattractive, expressed, but when wombut necessary. en are treated like objects, Sophomore Junior Danyi Wu said, “I that’s where a line needs to have noticed that having a sexy body and look is very im- be drawn. Often times when a woman expresses her sexuportant. The popular look is to have curves- having a small ality through music, she is condemned for being a ‘slut’ or waist and bigger butt.” ‘whore.’ People seem to think her behavior is an invitation And many young woman agree. for sexual advances- which it is not. However, rap lyrics ofButt implants are up 98 percent amongst women in their ten portray women as objects and put a woman’s freedom 20 to 30’s since 2014, according to the American Society of of sexuality into a negative light.”

Plastic Surgeons.

Rap music distinguishes actions between genders, and To many, using plastic surgery to modify one’s body is set different standards for men and women. not always the best way to achieve beauty.

Freshman Erica Chen said, “Rap music forces certain

“

ideals on men too. Often times, male singers and artists are sexualized. For example, on most album covers, males are shirtless, making them sex symbols and icons. Also, in most lyrics, men must always have a ‘tough’ exterior and exude confidence at all times. For example in ‘Uptown Funk’ by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, these men showed confidence and this attracted the female dancers in the video. These artists tell young men that they have to be confident and cocky to appeal to girls.”

Most rap and hip hop music creates certain images for both men and women to uphold, but it is not limited to just that. The behavior of men and women are set into certain standards.

Pon said, “I’ve noticed that it may add to stereotype men as more dominant than women. The lyrics may view women as submissive. For example, these types of music encourage men to sleep around and have sex with women as something to brag about. Often times, these artists suggest that women are something to be conquered.”

But rap music not only affects the portrayal of both men and women, but other social aspects, such as speech or actions of teens.

Morrow said, “High school students listen to mainstream music, and it affects the way they think. Pop music and the lifestyle if shows is a form of entertainment. Nobody lives like the ones shown in some music videos. But, some people do not understand the concept of that, and will try to incorporate these lifestyles into the way they talk or dress.”

In modern society, fashion is ever evolving, and an important social aspect. With hip hop music taking a toll on popular culture, it has also begun to dictate how people dress.

Sophomore Emelia Bejram said, “Some women dress more provocative to try to fit in with the image that the artists and music are trying to create.”

LIFESTYLE Yik Yak stirring up controversy

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May 2015

The Highlander

that their roommate will see it so they will stop a certain behavior.”

Sometimes, Yaks can get out of hand and can be offensive toward a certain group of people or a specific person.

Sex, gossip, rants about school work, and college life.

Junior Kelly Liu said, “At the most recent DECA conThese are the common topics posted on Yik Yak, a plat- ference, a lot of attendees were posting on Yik Yak. There form to see “what everyone is saying around you,” accord- were a lot of funny yaks that a lot of DECA members reing to its website. lated to, but there were also a lot of racist yaks directed Yik Yak is an anonymous social media app that allows towards Indians; I remember one that said, ‘This was a nice people to view and post Yaks around a 1.5 mile radius. Us- trip to India.’ I also saw a yak that was about a member of ers can upvote or downvote a Yak or comment. our club with her name in the yak that was also quite ofSenior Kristen Wehara said, “[The anonymity feature] fensive. It was entertaining to see the relatable yaks about makes Yik Yak more interesting because people don’t filter DECA and the conference, but some people went too far themselves and also people on the yaks and they got ofshare embarrassing stories so fensive.” it makes it funnier.”

In addition, some of the The downvote feature of I don’t think people should use their yaks also can be in response Yik Yak is used as a way for to something conanonymity to express their hatred the company to filter out introversial going on towards something; whether it be a appropriate tweets. If a yak around campus or a gets five downvotes from stuperson, race, etc., as it achieves no big event nation or dents of that campus, the yak worldwide. real end, as they don’t know what is automatically deleted.

According to Many students see Yik Yak effect their words could have on other an article on TCU as a way for them to express 360, after the people.” their feelings about their riots in BaltiKristen Wehara school and their peers. more, which Sabrina Leung, a freshSenior were reactions man at Wellesley College and to the death of Carlmont alumni said, “People use it as a forum to rant Freddie Gray, who died from a spinal injury or complain about things, like their work or how stressed after being arrested by the police, Texas Christhey are. Or, people use it ask a way to ask some strange tian University’s Yik Yak feed was filled with racquestions or seek guidance, perhaps they feel sad or de- ist comments. pressed, but they want to remain anonymous.”

One of the posts said, “Blacks inherently have Leung added that the posts on her college’s Yik Yak can less income …. Therefore, they are less educated sometimes get offensive. and more prone to violence. These are proven ecoLeung said, “I’ve definitely seen some micro aggressive nomic theories.” posts about roommates. I’ve had friends who have posted Sites and apps with anonymous features before have some mean things about their roommates as a way to ex- caused controversy among teenagers. With the prespress their discontent in an anonymous way and in hopes ence of these apps and websites, there has been inci-

dents with cyberbullying.

One website that has grown popular within the last couple years, Ask.fm was found to be one of the most likely sites for cyberbullying, according to a survey done by EU Kids Online.

Like Yik Yak, Ask.fm is also an anonymous site; ask. fm allows people to ask users questions anonymously and with their username.

With apps and sites like Yik Yak and Ask.fm, there is a tendency for people to voice their opinions without the consideration of other’s feelings.

Senior Chris Moon said, “They’re too afraid of the social repercussions of saying it personally so they find it easier to express their opinion anonymously to avoid backlash.”

Even though the anonymity feature can be entertaining, people should be aware of the consequences of their actions and think twice before posting something on a public site.

Wehara said, “Calling someone out specifically isn’t okay; if you really have a problem with someone, venting it out over social media, anonymous or not, is only going to aggravate your situation. Also, I don’t think people should use their anonymity to express their hatred towards something; whether it be a person, race, etc., as it achieves no real end, as they don’t know what effect their words could have on other people.”

Arianna Bayangos Staff Writer

“

ASHLEY KAWAKAMI

Using Yik Yak as a live feed of college campus Marco Sevilla Staff Writer

Who wants to party tonight?

I’m so not ready for this exam.

Smoke sesh at my dorm!

For a prospective student, college life is more than just the education, the books, and the professors. The popular college phone app, Yik Yak, allows college students to speak their minds and connect with other students in the same community without revealing their identities. Some Carlmont seniors have utilized this application to get an idea of the reality of student life at their dream colleges, but some are questioning whether it is a legitimate source to base their opinions on.

Senior Brittany Zelnik said, “Through Yik Yak, I’ve been looking at my college Sonoma State and people are depicted as really nice over there. But most of the Yaks I see being posted on their page is mostly about complaints over homework or the cafeteria being closed.”

Because of the anonymity, many people find that they can post about anything, even about illegal acts, sexual encounters, and sometimes unfavorable opinions. However, the app is only used by a handful of the students within that population, which may mean there are discrepancies within the depiction of student life at that college.

Carlmont alumni and college student, Laila Rafi, said, “I would urge everyone to absolutely not take their prospective schools’ Yaks as a reason for attending or not attend-

ing. I suppose to an extent it depicts student life, but most body after the murder of student Grace Mann. This has of the time it’s just people trying to be witty to get upvotes, brought up concerns about the use of Yik Yak on that camand in those cases it wouldn’t really be an indicator of stu- pus after Grace Mann had received death threats over the dent life.” app because of her feminist opinions, although it is unclear Generally, a user is only allowed to look at the Yaks that whether her murder was connected to those threats. are within 1.5 miles of his or her area, but the new “Peek” Rafi said, “I do know someone who transferred to a lofeature allows people to explore campuses beyond their lo- cal school because her school of choice consisted of people cation, which some have used to preview their prospective whose opinions she strongly disagreed with, and an incolleges. ability to find people she Senior Amber Governale got along with. She said that said, “I do like to have an inthose opinions were blasted sight into what some of the I think the power of being anonymous through Yik Yak, so if that students are thinking at the were the case, a student may can show the true colors of anyone, colleges I’m looking at, for to take that into coneven students. I think it is important want example whether in general sideration.” for future college students to know they’re more liberal or conMany campuses across servative, but I don’t think the what people are really thinking at the the nation have expressed app is an accurate depiction of their concern with the app what happens at that school, place they’re going to spend the next and have even blocked it because if you’re an active stufrom their campus in order four years at. dent doing things, then you to stop anonymous users Kira Roman wouldn’t be typing on a phone from posting Yaks with conSenior application all day.” cerns of bullying and camZelnik said, “I think it’s bad pus reputation. to base your opinions of a college solely on that app beSenior Kira Roman said, “I think the power of being cause the whole community isn’t active on that one forum, anonymous can show the true colors of anyone, even stuso not everyone’s opinions or thoughts are represented.” dents. I think it is important for future college students to At the University of Mary Washington in Fredericks- know what people are really thinking at the place they’re burg, Virginia, there has been an uproar from the student going to spend the next four years at.

“

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The Highlander

LIFESTYLE

May 2015

The stigma around adoption Alyssa Fagel Editor

When you think of uncomfortable conversations, the first two categories to come to your mind are likely politics and money.

But adoption is not far behind.

It’s no secret: adults and kids alike avoid these awkward conversations, and that’s why discussions on adoption aren’t very popular in today’s society.

The popular stereotype that is bound to adoption is the idea that children are adopted because their biological parents didn’t want them, and therefore adopted kids feel embarrassed to talk about it.

In a recent poll conducted by the Carlmont journalism program, of 147 polled students, nearly 30 percent admitted to the fact that they feel hesitant to discuss adoption around an acquaintance who was adopted.

But if one were to burst this uncomfortable bubble and talk to someone who was adopted, they would be quick to realize that this is usually far from reality.

Junior Lily Lindmeier, who was adopted from China, said, “I’ve known my whole life that I was adopted so I don’t think it’s awkward to talk about.”

And, in general, babies are not put up for adoption because they are unwanted, but rather because their birth parents know that their child will have a better life with a young couple in desperate hopes to start a family.

Often, that 16-year-old girl, who contemplated suicide because she was too scared to tell her family and friends that she was knocked-up, realizes right away that she is too young or inexperienced to provide the proper care for a newborn. So instead, that girl turns to the popularizing societal practice known as adoption, and gives her bouncing baby to a nice family

PYPER HAYDEN

Junior Pyper Hayden with her parents, Tracy and Robert, and adopted brother, Josh, as they pose for a family photo while on vacation in 2007. who is ready to appreciate that child.

Carlmont art teacher Julia Schulman, who has adopted two daughters from China, said, “It was my only option if I wanted to have a family, which I really did. I adopted from China, because I trusted the adoption program, and it was the most efficient and well-known international program at the time.”

And Schulman hasn’t looked back since.

Blood-related or not, family is family. This is a lesson Schulman’s father learned quickly after the adoption.

Schulman said, “I do think that my father’s life, or more accurately, his outlook on certain things in life, was changed when I adopted. He always believed that he wouldn’t be able to love a child or grandchild who wasn’t ‘his own,’ or blood related, and his mind was changed pretty much the minute he met Lila, my oldest. He discovered that family does not have to be bio-

logical to be ‘real.’”

This is an outlook shared by many other relatives of adopted children.

Junior Pyper Hayden, whose family adopted her younger brother Josh, said, “Josh knows he is a real part of our family. My mom really wanted more than one kid, but it just wasn’t happening. Adopting him was a great alternative.”

Just because children don’t share the same genes as their adoptive parents doesn’t mean they won’t turn out like them.

The way a child develops is greatly influenced by the people who are consistently in their lives.

Schulman pointed out, “As it is, I think [them] being adopted has kept my mind more open to just see how they develop naturally with no genetic expectations. Interestingly, both girls ended up being good at art and not as naturally great at math, like me!”

But all this isn’t to say that adoption doesn’t come with its own, unique challenges.

Hayden, for example, explained that Josh’s adoption can at times be an excuse: “We don’t really hide anything from Josh, but sometimes he tries to use it when he gets angry, like ‘you’re not my real sister,’ or ‘you’re not my real parents.’”

Schulman said, “I think if they were my bio kids, we would probably not attract as much attention as we do when we are in public. People would not try to make weird assumptions about us and be so curious and nosy.”

Schulman is not the only person to suffer from these societal judgements. This past August, a caucasian man was accused of suspicious activity for photographing his two teenage daughters, both adopted from China, while on vacation to the Jersey Shore.

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Jeff Gates, the subject of this story, wrote, “I had to consider my daughters’ feelings as well as my own. My 17-year-old, usually the stoic one, told me she almost cried when she understood what he was asking.”

But if adoptive parents and their children can overcome these obstacles, then the rest of society should be able to, as well.

Instead of jumping to conclusions about adoptive families, we should first understand the societal benefits brought on by adoption.

Not all women can give birth, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be mothers. Adoption changes the lives of millions of Americans every year, and is a practice that deserves the utmost respect.

Like Sadia Rebecca Rodriguez once said, “Whether your children are yours through biology or adoption, they are yours through love.”

Adoption in the media: twisted from the truth Lila Schulman Staff Writer

You turn on the radio and hear the song “I Wanna Be A Billionaire,” by Travie McCoy with Bruno Mars; it’s kind of catchy so you start singing along, “...I’d probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt / And adopt a bunch of babies that ain’t never had sh**…”

You may not even be aware how the last part of the song is an example of how the media twists the truth of adoption, as well as denigrates adopters by giving the whole experience a negative vibe.

Movies such as “Despicable Me” and “Annie” are good examples of the media’s twisted versions of adoption.

In “Despicable Me,” three girls live in Miss Hattie’s Home for Girls orphanage, and are treated harshly by the owner, Miss Hattie.

“You’re never going to get adopted, Edith, you know that, don’t you?” said Miss Hattie to one of the girls.

In the remake of the movie “Annie,” foster children sing while cleaning: “...No one cares for you a bit, / when you’re a foster kid, / it’s the hard knock life…”

All these movies’ plots follow the same script: a sad orphan struggles, but manages to have a happily-ever-ending by getting adopted by a perfect, but quirky, family.

“I think media makes adoption seem worse than it actually is, because they make it seem like the parents didn’t want the kid, but most of the time I know, the parents can’t take care of the child and that’s why they put them up for adoption,” said sophomore Ashley Herero, an adoptee.

Many movies exploit orphans, foster children, and adoptees by making adoption seem lighter or harsher than it really is. Some portray adoption as something to fear, or use it as a horror theme.

Made in the 1990s, “Problem Child” is a movie about a couple who were unable to have children, so they adopt a

LILY LINDMEIER

Junior Lily Lindmeier being held by her adoptive mother, Mary, on a park bench in 2001.

boy. However, this boy starts to ruin their lives, living up to the title of problem child.

Likewise, the movie “Orphan,” discusses an orphan who is adopted by a couple, and she slowly reveals herself to be a monster, intent on destroying their lives.

“They just give everything surrounding adoption a negative quality. I think the media does this because it doesn’t know much about adoption. Adoption horror stories are more interesting than the common success stories people are living,” said Ava Greenwell, an eighth grader from Lincoln Middle School, and also an adoptee from China.

“The media makes adopted children seem so different than everyone else. They portray adoption in a distorted

way, as long as it sells. They don’t mix up facts or create stereotypes to be hurtful, but tend to think they can’t relate to those who aren’t raised by their birth parents,” said Simone Leibowitz, a junior from Montgomery High School, and an adoptee from China.

Adoptees can feel uncomfortable or protective about the topic, because it is often presented by the media from an outsider’s perspective, as opposed to someone knowledgeable of the subject.

“It’s all over the media, but I think they shouldn’t try to make it always seem heroic or make the kids seem sad and bullied all the time. I was in a foster home and it was okay.

No one was really bullying anyone. They just don’t know from our perspective, so they kinda make all of adoption seem bad and it makes me mad,” said Herrero.

The media can turn a significant and personal matter into a plot line that takes away the seriousness and sincerity of it and exaggerates the truth of adoption.

“I don’t feel that I’m significantly affected by the media’s distortion of adoption, but when I do see it on TV or in the movies, I feel defensive. If I find something offensive, I do get annoyed, but even my friend, for example, always talks about wanting to adopt ‘Asian babies.’ I’ve tried explaining that adoption isn’t like buying something from the store, but she doesn’t quite understand. Some have a feeling of pity for us, or feel superior to us,” said Leibowitz.

Media’s distortion of adoption can really hit home to those who are adopted, or are part of a family built through adoption.

“I just wish people knew that adoption wasn’t as bad as it seems; I love my family, and I never really knew my birth mom, so I’m fine with the way I live now,” said Herrero.

Unlike what the media portrays, adoptive families are as normal as everyone else’s, with the same problems, challenges and successes.

To me, adoption doesn’t change my idea of family,” said sophomore Chesirae Barbano, herself an adoptee.

LIFESTYLE When is the right time to let go?

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May 2015

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Adriana Ramirez Staff Writer

It’s Brownie’s last visit to the vet.

The waiting. The impatience.

Then you receive the news.

Tears run down your face as you hold your dog close, one last time, and whisper, “Goodbye, best friend.”

Clinical and Research Veterinarian Hector Perez said, “Putting down a pet, or correctly referred as Euthanasia, is the process of ending a beings life under conditions where it does not suffer. The election of this process is a very difficult decision to make.”

According to Help Guide, dogs have evolved to become adapted to humans through our behavior and emotions.

For animal lovers, it isn’t easy saying goodbye to a beloved friend, or for some, a family member.

American Academy sophomore Agnes Reyes said, “In general, I don’t like animals, I love them. They have a unique way into becoming part of the family… I love playing and being surrounded by them because they don’t make me feel alone.”

According to WebMD, there is no right or wrong answer to proceed with euthanasia. It is the pet owner’s decision, but they suggest the owner should talk to an expert first.

“My basic advice is to consider the quality of life of the pet and to take in account the condition the pet is suffering from,” said Perez.

Some people realize their pets can’t go on even before going to a veterinarian.

“I pretty much knew, for both pets I had to put down, that it was their time. I didn’t want them to have to die on their own in pain. I would rather have it short and sweet,” said art teacher Julia Schulman.

Moriah Meskin, who hasn’t owned a pet, understands this decision is not easy to make.

“Usually you have to put them down after a few years, after being so close with them. I can understand that it is really hard for people because you have built a connection that you suddenly have to let go,” said Meskin.

Reyes, who is emotionally attached to her pets, has had the hardest time saying goodbye, but in the end she accepts that it would benefit the animal.

“Normally, I would be against putting down pets for no real reason. I find it cruel and wrong; but if the animal is very sick or very old and suffering, I think you should end the suffering,” said Reyes.

Schulman believes that an animal does not deserve a bad quality of life, no matter how much it hurts to let go.

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ASHLEY KAWAKAMI

Animal lovers often treat their fallen pets similar to the way they treat the death of family.

“That is what you have to do for a pet you love,” said Schulman. “You have to put your heart away and think of only what’s best for them. When you have a pet, you have to think, not for yourself, but for the animal.”

Perez suggests that fighting for the life of a pet is better, depending on the owner’s ability and willingness to do so.

“When an owner calls and says that they want to bring in a pet for euthanasia we always ask for the reason. If the pet is healthy and can live a quality life with medications, we reject performing euthanasia,” said Perez.

However, it comes down to the owner’s decision on what to do with their pet. When they are more of a family pet, Reyes consults them first.

She said, “The family is the one that, in the end, makes all of the decisions regarding what will happen to the animal. It is never a good thing to put an animal down. It hurts the family a lot, especially since you can’t replace that hole that is left, even if you get another pet.”

To people like Schulman, pets have a big impact in their lives after owning them for a long time.

“The first pet I had to put down was my cat, which I had for 17 years. She represented my youth in a way because I had her from the age of 22. When I put her down, it was almost as if I was putting to sleep part of my life that didn’t exist anymore,” she said.

Reyes has 13 animals, who have either been rescued or found in the streets. You can say she is an animal lover.

She had to put down a dog she loved, who was a victim of epilepsy.

“She used to convulse at night and start whimpering.

She lost sight and could barely remember who my family was. She remembered me and I think that she knew what was happening and was saying goodbye. [That morning] she was already in the vet. I gave her a kiss and a few days later, my family returned with her ashes,” said Reyes.

In the end, it all depends on how severe the pet’s illness is and the family’s decision to go through with Euthanasia.

Perez said, “All life is important and precious. All beings deserve a chance to live and be treated with respect. That includes our pets.”

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LIFESTYLE

May 2015

Fighting: the last resort, but the first instinct

ANYA MEREDITH

Two female students use violence to solve their problems, instead of trying to talk things out.

Ethan Wong Staff Writer A shaking American soldier slowly takes aim at his target. A shot rings out. Yet another man’s life is taken.

War is a living hell, a terrible event where too many lives are lost. Using violence to match violence leads to human destruction and unnecessary killing.

English teacher Robert Colvig said, “Differences. Differences in perspective are why people fight.”

Dr. Steve Taylor’s “The Psychology of War,” suggests that it is “natural for human groups to wage war because we’re made up of selfish genes which demand to be replicated.”

Sophomore Emily Wong said, “People fight wars for personal gain. Most wars are fought over gaining territory and maintaining or increasing national prestige, and others were fought over religion and other various reasons.”

Looking back throughout the history of the world and its wars and conflicts, it seems as if human beings just cannot live in peace with each other.

However, war is not the only type of human conflict, nor is it the most common.

In everyday life, people get into conflict over the smallest of things. A short exchange of insulting words can lead to a fistfight; a dirty look could turn into a heated argument.

Sophomore Jonathan Li said, “I believe that our society has evolved where everything we need is easily at our disposal, so when even the slightest occurrence diverges from what we want, we get angered by it and that leads to unnecessary conflict.”

A study done by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) in 2006 showed that 36 percent of stu-

dents in grades 9 through 12 reported that they had been in a physical fight in the past 12 months.

“Greed, competitiveness, ego, ambition, envy, jealousy, anger, fear; all these negative emotions contribute to the explanation of why people fight,” said Wong.

One might claim that men are more prone to fighting than women due to higher levels of testosterone, however in the NCES study, 28 percent of female students reported that they have also been in a physical fight.

So what should people do to prevent unnecessary conflict?

Colvig said, “Empathy is needed to prevent conflict.

You need to know people are different, and be okay with it. You have to look for the good in people, and just assume that they are having a bad day, give them the benefit of the doubt and just be okay with it.”

According to Leadership Freak, conflict resolution is the answer. Conflict resolution is the process of trying to find a solution to a conflict. Ideally conflict resolution is collaborative problem-solving, a cooperative talking-together process that leads to choosing a plan of action that both of you can feel good about.

“I believe one should take the time to humble oneself and naturally become more passive. One should always empathize with one another. Eventually, becoming more passive will spread through society, deterring it from further unnecessary conflict,” said Li. “I think instituting the process of conflict resolution into people’s daily lives will ensure their realization that this process prevails over fighting.”

However, there is not one right way to solve conflicts.

Carlmont’s Crisis Counselor Shelley Bustamante said,

ANYA MEREDITH

“The most effective way I’ve seen to solve conflicts is through conflict mediation. At Carlmont, we have a whole process where we place the disputants in environments where they can calmly discuss their conflict and try to come to a resolution. At the end, we have them sign a contract that the disputants will drop the matter and just stop fighting about whatever it is.”

Emotions are another reason why people get into conflict. In this respect, many of our emotions are linked to a physical response.

According the Mental Health Foundation, anger gets the mind and body ready for action. It sharpens the senses and increases the production of adrenalin, a hormone produced at times of stress.

Bustamante said, “When things aren’t going as smooth, some students don’t really know how to react properly.

Sometimes conflict and anger come from things outside of school, and then it’s brought to school. Anger has to come out somehow, and that makes anybody a target.”

In addition to conflict with others, self-conflict is also a major problem found in our modern society.

Self-conflict is hard to deal with, but one way of relieving pressure and stress is to speak with those you trust and care about.

“The negative messages that you receive from others chip away over time at your image of yourself. Eventually, you start to become your own worst enemy. It’s important to resolve these things by talking to others: parents, friends, teachers, or therapists. Reach out to someone you trust, and don’t stay silent about it,” said Bustamante.

Our society has to recognize the causes of conflict and try to resolve them, otherwise we will always be fighting.

LIFESTYLE

May 2015

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The Highlander

Body languange can say more than words Victor Li Staff Writer

In this world, what people say can be very important to what they try to convey, but do we get the complete message?

According to the History Channel, research has shown that only 7 percent of what we communicate is delivered verbally.

The rest of the 93 percent is shown through signs and signals of body language, which constitutes a variety of nonverbal communication including gestures, posture, eye movement, and use of space.

One can often tell what people are really thinking through their body language, which is useful because body language is shown in every aspect of life.

“Its the common language that all humans speak,” said junior Guchino Cinque.

For example, in the setting of a classroom, a teacher can use his or her own body language to better communicate with students during a lesson.

According to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, correctly using gestures during a presentation can help your audience remember twice as much.

While lecturing, a teacher can tell which students are confident and eager to participate from those who are not simply through their body language.

“I can tell if an audience is engaged if they’re exchanging eye contact, not on their phone, or not sleeping,” said history teacher Jayson Waller.

“I remember in English class we learned that active listening is beneficial for both the speaker and yourself as the audience,”

said sophomore Thomas Morey.

This is true for any situation, including college and job i nt e r v i e w s which many Carlmont students will need to go through.

According to Amy Cuddy, a social psychiatrist who presented on Ted Talk, interviewers choosing between two equally capable applicants are much more likely to employ the applicant who shows more confidence and positive body language.

This proves that our nonverbals govern how others think and feel about us. But do they also govern how we think and feel about ourselves?

Whether it’s attending a college interview, a job interview, or for the participation grade in class, feeling confident and optimistic would definitely allow you to make a good impression on others.

“I’m preparing for a college interview that’s coming up by practicing what I’d say, but also the way I’d say it. My private counselor said that admission officers always hold nonverbal expressions more highly than verbal ones,” said Cinque.

ANYA MEREDITH

Looking confident is still very different from actually being confident, but recent studies have shown that even though our minds can change our body language, changing our body language could also change how we actually feel.

In an experiment conducted by Cuddy and her team of psychiatrists, people were asked to adopt either high-power poses or low-power poses for two minutes.

High-power poses convey dominance and confidence, and is about taking up space and looking bigger. Low-power poses are shown when we feel uncomfortable or threatened, and include hunching over and closing up.

Results have shown that people who posed in a dominant position had a 20 percent increase in testosterone levels, but those who stood in low-power poses had a

15 percent increase in cortisol levels.

While there are definitely differences in behavior between people with higher confidence and others, this research has shown that there are also physiological differences as well.

According to WebMD, people who have higher testosterone levels are likely to be more confident than others.

Cortisol on the other hand, is a stress hormone, meaning that it is produced in stressful situations to help the body remain stable.

Though, having high amounts of cortisol may also cause a decrease in confidence and even depression.

Whether in the setting of a classroom or not, understanding body language is a vital part of our communication, and can be a useful tool for any situation.

Positive ways to control irritation Finding a stress reliever Hana Wong Staff Writer

It’s Monday morning, and we all have to go to school. We all go through the same old routine, get up, get ready, and leave the house.

While on our way to school negative thoughts are already running through our head, thoughts like, “Why am I even going to school?” or “People are so annoying.” All these factors pop into our mind, and you are immediately annoyed.

This is irritation.

The day goes on and every little detail bothers us.

According to Calm Clinic, irritability can be caused by anxiety towards a certain topic or situation.

“I get the most irritated when I talk to someone and their logic doesn’t add up with reality of the topic,” said sophomore Armon Mahdavi.

It’s a normal trait to get angry about certain subjects, and it’s even more normal that certain implications bother you more than others.

We’re all born differently with our own set of opinions. So if your friends or family don’t agree with your thoughts on a topic, remember that having different opinions are normal.

According to Psychology Today, in a person’s mind there is such thing called a “Trigger Event.” This is when anger is triggered by a direct event that the person getting irritated is experi-

encing.

“I don’t think that the majority of my friends get annoyed about the same things I do because everybody values different characteristics than I do.

People that are unable to look at a situation from multiple perspecANYA MEREDITH tives irritate me the most,” said A student tries to relax after an irritatsenior Alan Yan. ing day at school.

Irritability is also because if you bottle it all up, the caused by stress and the lack of sleep or rest. When problem just grows,” said sophoa person’s body is tired both phys- more Victoria Miranda.

Letting out how you feel is exically and mentally, all of their tremely important. It’s not recpersonality traits are heightened. ommended to give your opinion Including a person’s temper. harshly to the person that has According to WebMD, lack of caused you to get angry, but talksleep can mess with our intering to a friend or family member pretation of certain events which could relieve the tension. conflicts with our ability to make According to Experience Life, judgments. concealing your emotions for a Along with growing anger due long period of time will mark to a certain event or irritation negative emotions on your mental from a personality trait, it all also and physical health. depends on how one handles the “Personally I know I can get situation after finding the cause. ticked off about unimportant It can be hard to tone a person stuff, and throughout the years down after being in the heat of I’ve learned that about myself. So the moment.

I just try to be more self-aware “I usually try to think of someand monitor myself,” said senior thing that will make the situation Zach Govani. better or how the situation will Irritation is a powerful, negahelp me become a better person. tive feeling that can be hard to When I get mad, I try to vent out control at times, but can be kept to my friends and let it all out in check with some self control.

Stuart Vickery Staff Writer

The school year can be stressful.

Students at Carlmont often have to balance their heavy workloads along with the pressure of sports, extracurricular activities, and responsibilities to family.

“Having to juggle all of my advanced classes and extracurricular activities, like choir, is a major source of stress for me,” said sophomore Blake Dubois.

Stress is the natural reaction of the body when it is faced with a challenging situation.

According to The American Institute for Stress (AIS), prolonged stress can often lead to health issues, such as heart attacks and a weakened immune system.

As well as having a negative impact on the body, a lot of stress can make it hard for students to do their best work in school.

“I have seen students who are stressed skip school. They do not get enough sleep, they get overwhelmed, and they feel like they can’t do anything. They do less work because they are not as functional [when they are stressed],” said Felix Guzman, the AP chemistry teacher at Carlmont.

Many students have had to find ways to manage their stress in order to remain healthy.

“One of the ways that I deal with stress is by trying to cut out distracting things in my life, as well as limit the amount of time I

spend with friends,” said DuBois.

Dubois also does his best to get as much sleep as he can while still getting his work done.

Getting enough sleep is one way to combat stress. According to the American Psychological institute, getting enough sleep helps you to think more quickly and to better accomplish tasks.

By getting enough sleep you can stay efficient and avoid work piling up to levels that are too stressful to manage.

Getting daily exercise can also help to lessen the effects of stress.

According to the AIS, exercise relaxes muscles, and causes the release of endorphins that cause you to feel good.

Sports and exercise can also help to temporarily take your mind off of your stress.

“Exercise helps to relieve my stress. It lets me think about something that isn’t academic.

Exercise let’s me take my mind off of whatever is stressing me out,” said sophomore Adrienne Chin.

Despite the negative effects of long term stress on the body and mind, stress can be motivational.

According to Health Guidance, a little bit of stress can help people work harder for longer amounts of time.

“When there is an important event coming up, like a test, stress helps me stay focused on my top priorities. Stress keeps me alert, which allows me to finish my work on time,” said senior Nick Hsu.

LIFESTYLE

Page 22

The Highlander

May 2015

Summer: sunshine, beaches, and Netflix Justine Phipps Staff Writer

It’s almost here. After almost 180 days of hard work and testing, you can finally think to yourself: what do I have planned for summer vacation?

Are you going to Cabo San Lucas, traveling to Europe, or spending every endless second on a beach?

Okay, snap back into reality. Are you lying on your couch and watching Netflix, working from 8 to 5 every weekday, working on college essays, or traveling around with your sports team?

“With the promise of summer comes great expectations: sunshine, freedom, relaxation, and endless days without class to make tons of memories,” said Seventeen magazine writer Kristin Harris in an article about summer break expectations versus reality. “Let’s face it: the extravagant activities and action-packed schedule don’t always go as planned.”

Many teenagers expect a great deal more from their summer vacation than they actually end up getting.

According to a recent poll of 68 Carlmont students conducted by the Carlmont

Journalism Department, 63 percent say they have higher expectations for their summer vacation than what they end up doing.

“I feel like high school students definitely expect more out of their summer vacation until they realize they need money to do everything they want to do,” said freshman Mailey McLemore.

Many families take the summer to reunite with family members from different places around the world.

“This summer, I am going to Hawaii and having a family reunion. I am also going to a workshop to help me with college applications as well. Other than that, I am basically working the entire time at a camp or volunteering. And I will definitely spend a lot of time with my friends,” said junior Alexa Zaino. “I think all of us see it as a break from the stress of school, and it is, but I think we have high expectations for summer vacation.”

In High School Musical 2, the crew of teenagers spend their summer working as waiters, cooks, and towel boys, all while singing songs that make the work more fun. Although making daily work into a musical may come off as a joke, the plot gives off a realistic version of summer vaca-

Many students plan on staying local, but tion -- work.

“I am working most of the summer, going a few places here and there throughand [also] trying to take an online class at out the two and a half months. Forty-three percent of students said they were planning CSM,” said junior Ahna Kay. Working is a popular summer activity on staying local but wanted to travel to lofor high school students to help save up for cal places over the summer.

Along with attending college, cars, and spendfamily vacations or working money throughout ing every day, many stuthe year. The poll results This summer, I am dents participate in sumshowed that 27 percent of mer sports to pass the time students plan on working going to Hawaii this summer. and having a family by.“I plan on playing travel “[Students have higher expectations of what sum- reunion. In addition, softball this summer,” said McLemore. mer will be like] because I am going to a McLemore said that almany students use their workshop to help though they aren’t travelsummer vacation to do ing out of the country, her what they couldn’t do durme with college softball team still gets to go ing the school year. [Teenapplications. to different places around agers] often spend most of California and tourna[their summer] at a job, Alexa Zaino ments in other states. even though it’s supposed Junior In the end, many teento be time to relax and do what you want to do, not what you think agers expect a great deal more from their summer vacation than they actually end up you should be doing,” said Kay. “Generally, I think a lot of kids are all getting.

“I think all of us see [summer] as a break excited for summer vacation because they see it as a time to go do cool activities and from the stress of school, and it definitely travel, and I think in reality all most people is, but I think we all have high expectations for summer vacation,” said Zaino. do is sit at home,” said Zaino.

“

Students slack off when they need to buckle down

can be very concerning for students because the end of the year can make or break a student’s grade, and they really need to be focused to bump their grade up those few A Carlmont student sits in his or her percentages. room looking out the window at the beauOver spring break many students got a tiful day. They feel the urge to go outside true taste for what summer was going to be and hang out with their friends instead of like. This makes the transition from spring studying inside for finals break back to school much and AP tests. more difficult than it could This is how some Carlpossibly be if spring break mont students seem to When we finally got to had been earlier. feel at the end of each spring break, I felt as Many other schools such year. Right as the weather as Palo Alto High School, becomes enjoyable and though I could not go Saint Francis High School, school gets harder, stu- back to school. I felt and Menlo Atherton have dents tend to want to slack break in the very belike I was at summer. spring off. ginning of April, whereas Junior Mitchell Netto Carlmont had their spring Matt DeGraff said, “By then end of the break at the very end of the Junior year it is really hard to fomonth. cus on school especially when the weather Netto said, “Not only was coming back gets really nice. This was even harder this from break more difficult than it should year because of spring break being so late, have been, the time between winter break I felt as if I could have been on summer and spring break felt like an eternity.” break.”

Many Carlmont students like him strugFor some students the closer and closer gled to keep focused on school and everysummer seems to be, more and more they thing it entails by the time that spring break start to lose their motivation in class. This rolled around. Instead of there being a clear

Colley Loum Staff Writer

“

midway break between winter and summer break, this past year there was a much longer time period of school from the winter to spring break, than from spring to summer break.

A study about school on study.com says, “Working too hard for too long can cause you to loose focus or stop producing good work.”

Netto and other Carlmont students were feeling burned out by the time they had reached spring break.

Sophomore Kara Sun felt that the time between spring break and summer is not enough, and puts students in a panic to finish the year.

Sun says, “It’s really hard to come right back from spring break and jump right into finals and AP testing. It is really hard on students to have to start reviewing material that they learned over the whole year immediately after their break ends.”

An earlier spring break enables students to get back into the groove of school, and provides them with more time to prepare for their finals and AP testing. Furthermore, fostering a comfortable relaxed environment where students don’t feel swamped with studying when they return

from break.

Junior Matt DeGraff feels that having a very late spring break hurts students drive to finish out the year. “Having spring break so much later this year definitely degrades students attitudes toward school. There was a very long stretch of time from when we got back from winter break to spring break, and many students lost enthusiasm during that long stretch of time.”

As time continues to pass, school seemingly gets harder and harder for many Carlmont students. Having such a late spring break made some students feel as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

DeGraff said, “When we finally got to spring break, I felt as though I could not go back to school. I felt like I was at summer.”

This year’s later spring break made some students such as Degraff, feel as if they were done with school not on a break.

As the year nears a close the weather becomes very nice and it can be very hard to have the discipline to sit down and study.

This compounded with a later spring break, where students get a sample of summer weather creates a deadly recipe for slipping grades, which is one of many students largest fears at the end of the year.

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RELIGION

May 2015

Page 23

The Highlander

Misinterpreting others’ religious views Why clearing up common misconceptions is so vital for today’s society Miranda Irwin Staff Writer

With media more recently taking a stand against the mocking of race, gender and body type, how is it that they still mock and insult individuals and their religious preferences?

Misconceptions of different religions and their beliefs, much like the religions themselves, have developed over the years. Religions such as Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witness and more have had their common beliefs skewed thanks to the influence of social media.

With so many different religions being practiced by family members, friends, neighbors and people on the street that we have never seen before, it is important to be aware of basic teachings and beliefs of some of the more commonly practiced religions.

“I think it is important that religion be relevant in society because it gives people hope and ways in which they can choose to live their lives,” said senior Julia Semmler.

Whether or not we as individuals practice a specific religion, being aware and culturally sensitive towards our peers and their beliefs would be a good thing of have a basic knowledge of.

Religion is an essential part to our individual identities, our societies and our moralities. There are many religions that have similar beliefs and teachings, and there are some that are more unique. However, it does not matter what we DOMINIC GIALDINI believe, as long as what we believe is positively benefiting Preconceived notions of others’ faiths are often not very representative of the truth.

Similarly labeled like Mormons are Jehovah’s Witnesses miss about religion is that not everyone in one specific reeach of us individually. and Seventh-day Adventists. These religions all have mis- ligion is the same or can be judged the same way for their “Going to church every Sunday is a big part of me and sionaries from their organizations that go out and attempt beliefs or actions. Actions speak louder than words, and all how I was raised. I think it is very important to thank God to teach and offer their knowledge and faith in their reli- individuals have the power to act how they desire, despite for all that He has given me in my life,” said Semmler. gion to other individuals that may be seeking guidance or their religious preferences.

Over time society as a whole has learned to become to those who are curious.

“A huge belief we have is that everyone has their ability more tolerant and accepting of individuals and their reA common misconception about Jehovah’s Witnesses is to choose and that is inherently a God given right. So we ligious practices. However, there are always some people that they worship Jesus.

The (Mormons) have a health who are not as accepting and choose to believe whatever truth is, Jehovah’s Witnesscode that we believe God negative things they hear about religions from friends or es believe that Jesus is the revealed to a prophet, that family that may have a bias, or from inaccurate media covSon of God, but not part is essentially another com[C]ommon misconceptions that come erage. of a Trinity.

The Trinity is mandment. We don’t drink A few misconceptions of religions are that Atheists are up include the belief that Islam does what many religions believe alcohol, tea (herbal teas are anti-religion or anti-God, Muslims reject Jesus altogether, not respect rights for women, hates to be the three distinct entiokay), coffee, smoke tobacand Mormons are polygamists and are all brainwashed. ties (Father, Son and Holy co or use illegal substances,” Some people think that Buddhists believe that Buddha is democracy, is at war with the West Spirit) of a single God. said Meredith.

God, all Christians are against gay rights and that Jehovah’s and any of its ideologies, does not “As a created being, he Muslims, similar to Morwitnesses worship Jesus.

(Jesus) is not part of a Trinmons’ beliefs that certain value education but ignorance, etc.

One of the more popular sources of ridicule of the Mority …

Jesus lived in heaven teachings and writings mon religion, otherwise known as the Church of Jesus before coming to earth, were revealed by prophets, Naser Abdelrahman Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), is the “Book of Morand after his sacrificial believe that the Quran was mon” musical. The musical has songs that mock the reliSenior death and resurrection, he revealed by a prophet.

The gion, its missionaries and some of its basic teachings. returned to heaven, ” says the official Jehovah’s Witnesses Quran is the Islamic religion’s sacred book, much like the The musical and some of its songs make fun of one of the website.

Bible is to Christians.

Church’s initial founders, Joseph Smith. Throughout the To justify their claim, the website referred to the Biblical However, Islam is very separate from Christianity. Musmusical, individuals have come to believe that Mormons text John 14:28, which quotes Jesus saying, “The Father is lims do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. worship Joseph Smith. Ironically, the attention brought to greater than I am. ” They simply believe he was a prophet during his time. this misconception has earned the LDS church more atJehovah’s Witnesses, like other more common religions The Jewish faith also believes that Jesus was a prophet, tention and opportunity to clear up discrepancies that the today, recognize that not everything written in the Bible not the Son of God. musical has illuminated. should be taken literally.

This is an aspect of religion that Judaism is another religion that seems to confuse people “We believe that like in the time of the Bible, God calls many non religious individuals tend to fall back on when and their understandings.

Many believe that everyone who a prophet to lead and guide his church today. We heed the attempting to argue that a certain belief or teaching is is Jewish practices Judaism in the same way. However, this counsel of the prophet but we do not worship him,” said wrong. is not true: there are four main denominations of Judaism Carlmont alumni and recently returned Mormon missionOn a very polar end of the spectrum is Atheism.

Athethat people practice and they are known as Reform, Conary Karenna Meredith. ism is not a religion and it is not a denial or misbelief of servative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist.

Each of these Mormons are often labeled polygamists. a god or gods.

Atheism is forms of Judaism believe the same basic teachings, but they Polygamy is no longer the belief that there are no choose to practice their beliefs in different ways. practiced by Mormons deities.

There are similarities and differences among all relias it once was back in the While Atheism is not a gions, and with so many different beliefs it is understandI think it is important that religion 1800s when the prophet religion, it should still be able that media sources and other individuals are not alat the time, Joseph Smith, be relevant in society because it gives noted that the beliefs of ways accurate in their claims or interpretations. received revelation that people hope and ways in which they Atheists are often miscon“You believe in Santa Claus, I believe in the Great Pumpmen should have multiple strued to great extents. kin …

It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re wives. can choose to live their lives.

Another religion that sincere, ” said Linus, a character from the famous Peanuts “Any group that practicJulia Semmler has been stereotyped cartoon. es polygamy at this current Senior thanks to the media is IsNot every individual in a specific religion thinks or act time is not associated with lam. the same way. Some individuals even choose to only bethe Mormon church. As “The number one misconception about Islam that I lieve or practice specific parts of their religion. This is why missionaries we would tell people that we simply believe hear at least once a day if not more, is the belief that Islam judging someone based on their religion is not likely to be it was something God asked of his people at the time,” said teaches violence, vicious behavior, terrorism, intolerance an accurate representation of the individual.

Meredith. and “Jihad. ” Other common misconceptions that come Religion is something that is an important aspect in Former President of the Church Gordon B. Hinckley up include the belief that Islam does not respect rights for many people’s lives, but not everyone’s. Whether or not insaid, “If any of our members are found to be practicing women, hates democracy, is at war with the West and any dividuals practice a certain religion, what matters is that plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most seriof its ideologies, does not value education but ignorance, people embrace their beliefs and use practice them in a ous penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so etc., ” said sophomore Naser Abdelrahman. way that positively benefits their self, their morals and othinvolved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in vioOne important aspect that most individuals often disers around them. lation of the law of this Church.”

“

“

MISCELLANEOUS

Page 24

The Highlander

May 2015

Cancer infects clams across the East Coast Lara Ostroff Staff Writer

Imagine sitting at home, enjoying a fresh and steaming bowl of your favorite clam chowder.

As usual, you’re surfing the web because it’s the end of the school year and homework is definitely not a priority.

And that is when you come across it: the article about a deadly and contagious form of leukemia spreading through hundreds of miles of ocean water, with the sole purpose of infecting soft-shell clams all over the east coast.

Should you put down that bowl of clam chowder for the sake of your health?

“I have heard of airborne diseases and viruses before, but waterborne diseases don’t seem to be brought up frequently. It definitely scares me that cancerous cells can thrive and travel through the ocean and go on to infect other organisms along the east coast,” said senior Savannah Grech.

While some say that consuming these clams poses no health risk to humans, scientists and authorities have yet to make an official statement on the human consequences to this finding.

According to a very recent study published in Cell, an online publication, “Contagious cancer cell transmission may be widespread in the marine environment.”

In other words, the cancerous tumor cells are being passed from one soft-shell clam to the next.

Clams do not have blood, but instead have hemolymph, which is a fluid parallel to blood, and circulates in the inte-

rior of the arthropod’s body while simultaneously remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues.

The infected clams suffer from an overgrowth of abnormally shaped immune cells, which then circulate throughout their hemolymph, killing the clams in a matter of weeks or months.

Before identifying this new form of contagious cancer, there were only a few known forms of transmissible cancer in the animal kingdom, such as the devil facial tumor disease that infects Australia’s Tasmanian devil’s, and the canine transmissible venereal tumor that is sexually transmitted in dogs.

“I have never heard of leukemia or any cancers being contagious until now, and that absolutely terrifies me,” said senior Morgan Manter. “At this time, there is not an existing cure for a lot of cancers, and it is still not known whether or not we can contract this leukemia, or spread it more.”

Transmissible cancers in humans are rare. However there was once a case where a surgeon contracted pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma, a rare cancer that begins from transformed cells of mesenchymal origin, from a patient when he injured his hand during an operation.

A research team led by Professor Stephen Goff of Columbia University discovered a sequence of DNA that is found at tremendously high levels in cancerous clam cells, which they later named “Steamer”.

While normal clam cells contain two to five copies of Steamer, leukemic clam shells can carry 150 copies.

According to Cell, “We show that the genotypes of neoplastic cells do not match those of the host animal. Instead,

KEN HAMMOND/GEF FLIMLIN’S HANDS

neoplastic cells from dispersed locations all have nearly identical genotypes that differ from those of the host.”

This means the leukemia that is responsible for killing all these clams is traceable to a singular incidence of disease that originated in a single clam somewhere, and has been spreading ever since.

“I believe that more research needs to be done in order to fully comprehend and understand what caused the mutations in the cancerous clam’s genotypes and mitochondrial DNA,” said Manter.

According to The Scientist, an online news source, “Stephen Goff and his colleagues compared leukemic and healthy hemocytes, finding that clam cancer cells isolated from various locations along the East Coast shared mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and other genetic features, indicating a common origin.”

Robots are now to filling a new role in society Taran Sun

Staff Writer

Eliminating human error is one thing, eliminating the human aspect of care and compassion is another.

Around the world, the elderly and disabled are now being comforted by new and improved care robots such as Paro, and robot babysitters can now be found in an increasing number of countries across the world.

Paro is a robot that is part of a new wave of inventions that are meant to be “socially assistive.” Paro is basically a small, furry, seal-type robot, which is designed to purr and provide comfort.

Junior Jake Kumamoto said, “I think that the fact that robots have begun to help people in society is a really great thing. A person with a robotic pet like that wouldn’t have to worry about things like cleaning up after it the way that dog owners do.”

In some ways such an invention can be seen as an advancement, but in others a setback. Where an old person would have turned to their real, living pet for comfort in the past, they now have things like Paro to take their place.

Sophomore Julia Kelly said, "I think it's a bad thing to replace real humans and pets for robots because having human contact is really important. The person who takes care of you is like a support system that you can always

talk to and count on to be there for you. Plus being able to share your feelings or desires with someone who can actually have feelings reassures you that they understand and will do the best they can to take care of you.”

This trend extends into other areas of modern society as well, including the emergence of new robotic babysitters and robotic nurses .

Japanese robot “Pepper” is “programmed to recognize users’ emotions based on voice recognition and facial analysis and respond in kind to make users happy,” according to The Daily Dot. To replace a human is to replace the human tendency to err. Programed robots are being developed that will respond identically to similar medical situations, increasing efficiency. Once the issue of high cost is resolved, various jobs in medical facilities could potentially be replaced.

According to Dr. Pete Diamandis, quoted in The Guardian, “The software and robots are already here – or well on their way – but this unmet demand will remain until the tech is not only more effective but cheaper than the equivalent doctor.”

However, scientists have not yet been able to replicate human ingenuity. No robot can mimic the compassion portrayed by a real human being, and respond to every varying need of their patients.

Junior Madison Wolf said, "I don't feel like it's possible to ever replace an actual beating heart with a machine; you

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don't get the same amount of care out of a robot that you would from something with feelings. A robot can't hold you when you're crying, or they can, but it won't be the same as a real person or pet. Honestly I feel that the more we let electronics and robots do things for us the more we give up the personal feel for each other. We start to lose that human connection."

There is a distinction, however between programmed caretakers and programmed appendages. For the disabled and elderly, robotic arms or electronic wheelchairs are invaluable assets for practical daily use.

Junior Lauren Sullivan said, “I have a family friend who was born without a leg, and without his robotic leg he wouldn't be able to live a fun and active life like he does.”

Even with the undeniable benefits of assistive technology the issue of safety, however small, should not be disregarded.

Sullivan said, “I think that robots that help the disabled and elderly are a great benefit in today's society, however, there are many risks that are taken while in the use of robots such as technical difficulties that result in injury and death. My step-mom's grandma died from a malfunction of an electric bed in a hospital.”

For better or for worse, the roles of robots and programmed electronics are expanding throughout the medical world as well as that of caretaking.

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May 2015

The Highlander

Editor in Chief Ashley Kawakami

Business Manager Kristen Friis Online Shira Stein

Copy Editor Jessica Adair Art Director Veronika Dvorakova

Editors Avery Adams Michael Bastaki Sarah Boro Alyssa Fagel Aria Frangos Dominic Gialdini Sophie Haddad Kimiko Okumura Kelly Song Megan Tao Karissa Tom Zoe Wildman

Art and Graphics Naomi Asirir Minh-Han Vu Adrianna Ramirez Lila Schulman Faculty Advisor Justin Raisner

Page 25

The Highlander

Staff Writers

Ayesha Abbasi Arianna Bayangos Brooke Buckley Angelina Castillo Holly Chen Andrew Cross Evan Davies Becca Fradkin Karen Gao Becca Garner

Ravina Gujral Danielle Hamer Mia Hogan Miranda Irwin Kian Karamdashti Bijan Khalili Victor Li Colley Loum Elena Mateus Anya Meredith

Jocelyn Moran Mateen Nozzari Lara Ostroff Sonia Paulo Kiera Pendleton Justine Phipps Kat Savin Sarah Schisla Gianna Schuster Marco Sevilla

Victoria Shanefelter Taran Sun Alisa Takahashi Lauren Tierney Stuart Vickery Ethan Wong Hana Wong Connie Yi Hannah Young

The mission of The Highlander is to accurately and honestly cover community and school events. As a student run open forum newspaper, we strive to incorporate multiple views and represent the diverse community at Carlmont.

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Page 26

The Highlander

Domi-Nation

OPINION

May 2015

Dominic Gialdini Editor

“Blessed is he that can laugh at himself, he will never cease to be amused.”- Anonymous

Tying up the loose ends

Near the center of campus, at the bustling intersection of C hall and the staircase, there stands a column, one that is ill placed and impedes on the flow of traffic.

When I was a sophomore, I resolved to write about this column, and writing about it I am (and sounding like Yoda I am).

Now, if I were a good journalist (aside from avoiding the topic altogether because it is kind of dumb) I would look at Carlmont’s structural expansion blueprints and report on why said column is located in such a place that people must struggle to pass through the narrow gap created as a result of the obstruction.

But I am not a good journalist; I am a good columnist.

So instead I will create a metaphorical spiel for your personal pleasure. You’re welcome.

A column about a column. Why not? After all, it is a serious issue.

Every time I squeeze myself through the gap of walkway, I become instantly resentful of the mob of humans at waddling by. In fact, I find it rather intolerable. Especially since people feel the need to congregate in that particular location, walk at negative two miles per hour and socialize with friends in the middle of the halls so as to make everyone else’s lives all the more daunting.

Yes, I hate that column. And yet Carlmont would not be the same without it.

Please forgive me for the unforgivable cliche I am about to describe, but life is full of columns. Life is full of barriers and blockers of ways. Life is a Carlmont hallway.

That’s not to say that all aspects of the column are unfortunate.

I admire that column. It’s out of place and burdensome, but for some reason people take little notice of it. And believe it or not, it doesn’t care.

There’s something honorable about being so out of place that nobody notices. The irony of it makes the world all the more beautiful, the logic behind it all the more convoluted and the existence all the more intriguing. Being able to take notice of something so seemingly insignificant is a gift that few people take advantage of.

There are many columns at Carlmont, but there is one more that I am particularly fond of; it’s the one you are currently reading.

I’ve had the privilege of being able to write whatever was on my mind for the past two years. From heartache to triumph to anything in between (like saying in the April issue that after months of indecisiveness, I have decided to go to Fordham University -- which I, ironically enough, changed my mind on about two weeks later), I have confided in and addressed the Carlmont populace.

One little column gave me the chance to tell you all how I really feel. I have to say, most of them were rants about all the issues at school. Perhaps I made it sound as though Carlmont has long been the bane of my existence, but it is quite the contrary; all my complaints and mockeries were not said scornfully, but with a sense of hope.

Carlmont has so many wonderful qualities that I admire (but chose not to write about because it is more useful to focus on the issues in order to create further improvement, and quite frankly, because a little controversy always makes for a juicier story).

I shall miss staying up until 2 a.m. and typing these snippets of my consciousness while drinking a nice hot cup of orange spice tea. As the last column to be erected under my authorship reaches its base, I really have nothing further to do but to cram in some last minute advice.

Enjoy high school. The people that you believe are airheads say that they are some of the most wonderful years of life, but they are right.

Also, don’t be afraid to be that column standing in the oddest of places. Conformity is lame.

As you read the second to last sentence that will ever be made by me in the name of the Carlmont Highlander, I would like to thank you if you were a fan of me and my writing, and if you were not, I would like to question why you read so far that you got to this point.

Goodbye to my Carlmont column.

Appreciate the right to vote Jocelyn Moran Staff Writer

By not voting, the historical struggle loses value and purpose.

In 1972, the pain and suffering African Americans went through to get their voting rights was fresh in young adults minds, but over the years, it has become evident that the young generations are beginning to feel indifferent towards voting.

According to “The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement,” only 38 percent of the 18 to 24 year old population voted in the 2012 elections compared to 55 percent in 1972, illustrating how America’s youngest voters have shifted towards less engagement in the political aspects of the world over time.

It seems like the younger generations need to be reminded of the battle that African Americans, women, and the youth had to put up in order to get their voting rights.

So here it is.

In the late 1960’s, when the United States was in a costly war in Vietnam, young voting rights activists held marches and demonstrations to protest the injustice of drafting men without having the right to vote. In 1969, approximately 60 resolutions were introduced in Congress to lower the minimum age for voting, but none were successful. After years of protests, injustice, and arguing, the 26th amendment was signed into law by president Nixon.

This is just a glimpse at the barriers that young activists had to knock down in order to get the voting rights they deserve. That right is now handed to us, and taking advantage of that is the way we can repay and thank them.

In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention was held in New York, serving as a root for woman suffrage. For the next 50 years, women protested and educated the public of the reasons and need for women’s rights. They insisted on a Constitutional Amendment that would give them the right to vote. They were refused to be listened to and turned down until the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920.

Whether you’re a female or not, one must also think about the inequality women went through by being denied their right to vote. The right to vote wasn’t just handed to them. It took women activists and reformers nearly 100 years to gain that right. Nearly 100 years of struggles, dedication, strength, effort, and perseverance. It takes people

almost no effort to get up from the couch, get to a poll, and cast their vote.

The hardships that African Americans faced and overcame to get their voting rights can not be shrunk into a few words. It requires extensive thought and thousands and thousands of words, but even those words may not even be able to portray the strength that was required in order to overcome those struggles.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a piece of legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It gives scenarios like the ones described value and reason.

However, voter turnout, especially in the ages between 18-24, give those scenarios a lack of purpose.

For example, Ferguson’s population is primarily African American. However, according to MSNBC, Ferguson’s voter turnout is an insult because it is as low as 12 percent.

African Americans fought for voting rights for future generations, and a 12 percent voter turnout is disheartening.

It questions their consciousness and understanding of the subject.

No one is asking anyone to go through the battles and difficulties that young adults, women, and African Americans went through to obtain their voting rights.

However, they went through this for the future generations, and having a low voter turnout is not the way to repay them.

As a young adult, we have a unique perspective as we are experiencing, and being exposed to new things every day.

This perspective and these experiences make up this important part of our life, and they differentiate us from older people. We have a different way of looking at life, and that is significant when trying to change our community for the better, and when trying to resolve issues in the world.

We have the opportunity to make a difference by voting without having to protest or attempt to pass impossible literacy tests.

We have a right that was denied to many people. So why not take advantage of that?

In doing so, not only do we have the opportunity to have a say in political and social issues, but we have the chance to thank the ones who suffered and risked their lives to give themselves and future generations the right to vote.

We can never repay what they did, but we can demonstrate our gratitude and appreciation through voting.

We can give their historical struggle for voting rights purpose and reason.

VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

OPINION

May 2015

Page 27

The Highlander

Make your own sandwich Mike’s Corner Veronika Dvorakova Art Director

Certain aspects of popular culture degrade women by asserting that women hold little value as human beings beyond cooking for men.

An example of this would be the common saying: “Shut up woman and make me a sandwich.”

It is no woman’s job to satisfy a man’s sandwich needs unless she works at Subway. Many cultures have long standing traditions of women preparing meals for men.

Today, these traditions are abused by individuals who create punch lines that liken women to breathing Easy Bake Ovens. This cruel form of woman-bashing normalizes offensive patriarchal values. Gender roles related to cooking were a reality in the past and I refuse to let them haunt me in the future.

Once upon a time many years ago, I perched my little seven-year-old self on a stepping stool and marveled at the silky cake batter that my grandmother was stirring in her kitchen. She looked down at me and said, “Veronika, you have to learn how to cook or else no man will ever marry you and you will live a miserable life.” It took me a few years to realize the absurdity of her comment.

Today, I am still bombarded with similar ideas by malevolent (or ignorant) sexists. It makes me want to go back in time to my grandma’s kitchen, snatch her bowl of cake batter, and dump it out on the head of every individual who ever made a woman feel inferior by telling her that she belongs in a kitchen.

Pleasing men by preparing their meals is not at the top of my ‘to do’ list, in fact it is located somewhere between scratching my nails on a chalk board and intentionally giving myself a paper cut. Attracting a mate by spending long hours in the kitchen is not a universal recipe for female

happiness.

Women’s self worth can be derived from accomplishments that stretch beyond stereotypical gender roles. The degrading comments that have surfaced as punch lines on memes in recent years restrict both women and men because when cooking is a “woman’s” job, some women grow resentful of a task that some men could enjoy.

The idea that women belong in the kitchen is severely out dated. According to npr.org, 80 percent of top chefs are men. No matter what gender you identify with, if you love cooking then you should go for it.

If you hate cooking, you don’t have to do it. So long as you never command anyone to prepare your food, you and I can coexist on this planet.

Step 1: Choose some delicious bread If the bread is gross, the sandwich will be gross. I believe that bread is the most important part of the sandwich.

When making a sandwich, you need two slices of bread.

Step 2: Experiment with some spreads The possibilities span from classics like mustard and mayonnaise to exciting things like pesto or garlic sauce.

Step 3: Cheese and Meat Cheese and meat are often considered the most important part of the sandwich. If you’re a vegan, a few substitutions are bean patties, hard boiled eggs, and vegan lunch meat imitations (they exist!)

Step 4: Vegetables Lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, spinach, and avocados all make appearances on my sandwiches. Put them on top of the meat and cheese in an organized manner.

Step 5: Close your masterpiece Place the slice of bread that is not occupied by all of the meat/cheese/vegetables on top of the one that is. Smile knowing that you just did that all by your self.

Reprinted from Scot Scoop

Let’s make college affordable Jessica Adair Copy Editor

One million dollars.

In an average lifetime an American with a four-year degree accumulates $1 million more than an American with a high school education, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But imagine a room full of 100 students. Fifty-seven of them would not be able to afford that four-year degree without trying to get scholarships, grants, and take out loans, according to Forbes.com.

The value of a college education is apparent, yet it is almost impossible for some families to afford.

This is the flaw in our college education system, and that is why drastic changes need to be made to the overall cost of college.

Our society favors a college education, this is not news to anyone. It’s common sense: employers look for applicants with the most experience in their field.

An owner of a tech company isn’t going to hire a high school graduate whose only job has been flipping burgers, he or she is going to hire applicants who have spent time contributing to their field and getting their degrees.

Brian Tracy, self-made millionaire and CEO of Brian Tracy International, said, “The smartest business decision you can make is to hire qualified people.”

This is how it works. A high school graduate makes an average of $34,700 a year. A four-year college graduate makes $57,300 a year, according to the Census Bureau.

The less education you have, the easier it is to replace you with somebody else. The more education you have, the more people want to hire you and the more money you make. Simple, right?

All you have to do is get the highest level of education you can get, but here lies the problem. Consider this scenario: The total annual cost to attend San Jose State University is $23,568. Jack and Jim, who both have the same GPA and test scores, apply to San Jose State and are accepted.

The only difference is: Jack grew up in Marin, the city with the highest per capita income in California, and Jim grew up in East Los Angeles, the city with the lowest per capita income in California.

Jack’s family makes $400,000 a year and Jim’s family makes $45,000 a year.

Jack is able to go, no questions asked and no loans taken out. Jim, on the other hand, has more to think about.

This situation is like asking a monkey and an elephant to climb to the top of tree, and the top of the tree is the highest level of education they can get.

They both need to get to the same destination, but one is not even able to get off the ground simply because of the circumstances they were born with.

An individual who grows up in a low-income family is going to be put at an unfair disadvantage when it comes to college because of its cost.

The average in-state tuition for a public university is about $10,000, according to College Board, but when you add up fees, room and board, food, books, and other expenses, it gets to be a heavy weight.

Scholarships are always a great way for exceptional students to earn money and lessen the cost. No matter how small, any amount of money given helps, but most of the time it still doesn’t cover all the costs.

Loans can also be taken out. But that causes students to leave college with a weight of debt on their back that they have to pay off for many years.

According to a study done by One Wisconsin Institute, the average length of student loan debt for a bachelor’s degree is 19.7 years.

Society is not going to change what it values. It will always value a college education, so we need to start making it easier to get to that first step into success.

This past January, President Obama proposed a plan for free community college. Under this plan, the federal government will cover 75 percent of the cost of community college and the state will be required to cover the rest.

The student must have a 2.5 GPA or higher and progressing towards a degree or transferring to a four-year university.

I think that this proposal could potentially be the solution to this problem.

It takes the burden off of students who work hard and deserve to go to college, but cannot afford to do so. It also just gives those students something to strive for and lets them know that putting in all that effort is worth it. Our society values a college education, so why is it so hard to receive one?

Those who deserve it should be able afford it, so we all need to start working on a plan that gets the elephant to the top of the tree.

Michael Bastaki Editor

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”- John Wooden

College admission advice

Look at all those seniors in their fresh, clean, and crisp college shirts.

They walk around like they scarcely have a care in the world; cancelling AP tests at whim and skipping class to go to the beach whenever they feel like it.

They’ve made it. They’re done.

Their college selection process (which was a nightmare, trust me) has been completed. They’ve found their college, and they’re already making plans for how they’re going to live their lives for the next four years.

But for you freshman, sophomores, and juniors, you haven’t yet gone through the hellish experience of searching, applying, and then waiting for colleges.

You haven’t felt the nervousness gnawing at your stomach as you open that email titled “Your college decision is here!” or experienced the pangs of misery that accompanies rejection.

For many of you, a college rejection will be the first time someone has told you no.

It’ll be the first time in your life that someone has explicitly stated to you in a nice, concise, and pleasant letter that you are absolutely not smart enough, talented enough, or interesting enough.

And that’s okay.

In fact, I’d argue that if you don’t get rejected (and I mean flat-out rejected, wait-list doesn’t count) by at least one school, then you did something wrong.

Your college search should push your limits academically and intellectually.

Start with the college essays.

Don’t approach these essays as, “What can I say to make myself sound really smart so this college will accept me?” because then you will end up sounding like the kid who’s trying to sound really smart in a vain attempt to impress the college readers.

If I were you, I’d approach the essays as a way to glimpse into your own soul.

Start by thinking about the person you are now, and what that person needs to change in order to become a better human being.

For me, it was the fact that I used to use stereotypes based on appearance to form pre-conceived notions about others.

Sound terrible, right?

But this is the key fact I’m getting at; that in writing these essays you really need to look at your own core values, beliefs, and ideas in order to see what makes you who you are.

And, such as in my case, don’t be afraid to look for things that need to change and then state what you’re going to do to change it.

If I could go back, I’d write the exact same essay again.

Why? Because it was honest. It was true to who I am as a person. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I was just answering the prompt in the most thoughtful, introspective, and factual manner I could.

Also, make sure that every school you apply to is your number one.

You should desperately want to be accepted to every college you apply to, even if one school is UC Berkeley and the other is Redlands (yes, that’s actually a college).

Don’t have a dream school. Have dream schools. In fact, every college you apply to should be a dream school. And please don’t play the rankings game.

Don’t go to a school, “Just because it’s higher-ranked by U.S. News than the other school I got accepted to.”

U.S. News knows nothing about who you are as a person. They won’t know that you love this special program at this one school, that the school is located in your ideal location, or that every time you visit the campus you have a hard time leaving.

The only thing that matters, and I mean the ONLY thing, is that you pick the school which best fits your needs, desires, and personality.

---And lastly, with this being my last column, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to read some (or all, there’s a scary thought) of my pieces. I’m glad that I got to share some of my ideas with you, and I wish you all the luck with your future endeavors. Oh, and go Bears!

Carlmont’s year in words and pictures

From the devastating loss of the Homecoming football game to an eventful Halloween, from impressive social action messages spread across campus to heated controversy over “The Dress,” each month of the past year has brought new opportunities and experiences to the Carlmont student body-- both on and off campus.

By Danielle Hamer

2014

August

KIMIKO OKIMURA

Freshman Orientation: As the newbies at Carlmont, freshmen came to school a day early, and got acquainted with the campus as well as each other during the ASBdirected event. After playing games on the football field and meeting their teachers, these new Scots were ready to attack their first year.

January

Winter Formal: The Fox Theatre, was transformed into a winter wonderland complete with fake snow and twinkling lights, and over 800 dressed-up students in attendance. While the dance is usually regarded as a dance primarily serving underclassmen, students of all ages enjoyed the decorations, snacks, and dancing.

September

February

October

March

Carlmont Cup: Jazz band members took the title as Carlmont Cup champions after beating several other sports teams, academic groups, and performing arts clubs. The wacky competitions were held in the quad area for all to see at lunch, and later at the homecoming assembly. Their success AVERY ADAMS came after weeks of intensified team spirit, a strong social media presence (crafty videos galore!) and unique strategies.

Homecoming, Halloween, and a Giants win: Though the varsity football team suffered defeat at the Homecoming game against Capuchino High School, spirits were lifted at ASB’s “Glow” themed dance, which brought neon-dressed students of all MINH-HAN VU ages to the dance floor.

On the usually-spooky 31st, though there was opportunity to dress up and get free candy at school, a large percentage of students joined the huge gathering of Giants fans on the rainy day in San Francisco to celebrate the Bay Area championship winners.

November

Food Drive: ASB continued the November tradition in pushing students to turn in non-perishable food items, which were later donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank, a charity organization that feeds around 250,000 hungry mouths each month.

Wrapped up during the week of Thanksgiving, the drive was sure to make a difference during some families’ holiday season.

2015

Rap Battle: Students were enthusiastic about the new lunchtime competition, which was created by the sophomore class officers and was made up of two brackets, each with six rounds.

Competitors had to provide ASB with clean instrumental ERIN ALONSO music and a 16-line, appropriate rap. The rules became hazy as controversies over certain lyrics were debated by the student body as well as ASB. Erin Alonso took the title as Carlmont’s first rap battle champion.

Student basketball: As March Madness raged on and students perfected their brackets, Carlmont held their own “Mini Madness” tournament, a friendly competition in which freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors played in teams with their respective grades against each other. StuSCOTSCOOP NEWS dents, regardless of their basketball skills, had fun bonding with their grades and getting a fun source of exercise.

April

Spring Break: The late break was out-of-sync with the spring breaks of several other school districts in the area, but it was a week off of final-year stress nonetheless. Some seniors were challenged by the later-than-usual vacation time, as college decision day, May 1 was fast approaching, and the free week typically involves far-away college visits in time to decide

SCOTSCOOP NEWS

December

Santa neglected to come: Plot twist: Santa did not come to town (or the quad, like usual). While holiday spirits were very much alive, the much-needed rain (and only rain of the year) prevented the Christmas-in-the-quad from happening this year.

ALYSSA ESPIRITU

BROOKE BUCKLEY

VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

May

Prom: Held at the California Academy of Sciences, this year’s magical prom night included much more than simply dancing. Prom attendees roamed through the exhibits and aquarium, and enjoyed crepes and ice cream sandwiches. There were opportunities to sing karaoke, observe different types of animals, and, of course, get jiggy on the dance floor as well.

SOHA SAID