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The YES competition is one of the many programs that AVID partners with to provide students a variety of career-oriented resources. This program, made possible by a partnership with Comerica Bank, teaches students entrepreneurial skills with speakers like Rutgers Business School professor and Executive Director of the YES program Ernest Rufn Jr. Teams of students then pitch an idea for an original product to a panel of judges, many of whom are real investors.
The MVLA winning team’s company is called NDEN (made by combining the team members’ frst names), featuring their product of dry shampoo and conditioner bars that do not require plastic packaging. Last year, the team won the local competition with a design that included liquid shampoo and conditioner, supplemented by ecofriendly packaging; however, they had redesigned their product for nationals and removed the packaging aspect altogether.
One of the greatest challenges the team faced was the research behind the design, and presenting that research in an easily comprehensible way for the judges, according to team Chief Executive Diana.
“We’re not really chemists, and the business we wanted to make was very based on the knowledge of chemistry,” Diana said. “[At the same time], it’s very important to understand that your audience is probably not going to care about [behontremonium methosulfate] or whatever else we add into the bars. Our goal was to do the complicated research and simplify it as much as possible.”
Despite the high-stakes environment of the competition with a national title at hand, Diana pointed out that the trip was quite relaxing and welcoming.
“It was very much like a vacation atmosphere,” Diana said. “We went to the beach a lot — our hotel was right in front of one.”
Now with a national title under her belt, Diana sees the competition as a refection of the work AVID does for its students.
“AVID has connected me to a lot of diferent pathways,” Diana said. “I think that the AVID teachers do an incredible job at bringing all the little opportunities that come up in diferent places for students … [and] at providing students with things that really help them build career interests.”
Next year, the national competition will take place in Saint Thomas
COURTESY DIANA SUVOROVA The team traveled to the St. Croix Island in an all-expenses-paid trip with a private jet. island. A winning group of fve LAHS AVID sophomores — Diana Flores, Hazel Castaneda-Lopez, Melissa Gabriel, Esperansa Kulyger and Angel Oregon — from the local MVLA competition this October are already planning to attend.
LAHS bomb threat: The receipts
ANIKA SIKKA News Editor
Following Los Altos High School’s October bomb threat, The Talon spoke with school and community representatives to provide holistic coverage of the event as well as its cost.
An unknown LAHS staf member received the anonymous threat through a phone call at 8:55 a.m. Within 90 seconds of the call, Principal Wynne Satterwhite was notifed of the threat, and the authorities were called. Teachers were then notifed to immediately evacuate students through an announcement on the loudspeaker. The fre alarm was not pulled in order to alert students and staf of the situation, — a strategic choice, according to Satterwhite.
“There’s no way to quickly pull the fre alarm,” Satterwhite said, explaining why the administration decided against pulling the fre alarm. “Since we’ve implemented new technology in the classrooms, the fre alarm is triggered automatically. You’d have to walk down to a different space in order to manually activate the alarm. Fire alarms increase people’s anxiety,” Satterwhite added. “We weren’t trying to do that at the moment.”
Within approximately 15 minutes, all students and teachers were evacuated to the feld, and teachers were made aware of the nature of the situation through word-of-mouth by the staf-student liaisons Seth Tasman and Julie Corzine.
Decisions such as moving students to the baseball feld and bringing out water and food for students were all due to staf and administration’s discretion; administration was trying to make choices that would beneft students the best, according to Satterwhite. The biggest concern was having students out in the heat, so students were moved to an area with more shade. Although the move also heightened COVID-19 transmission concerns due to the compact nature of the space, the school ofered extended COVID-19 testing every day for the next week. Students who needed additional assistance were brought into the portables, and met with counselors and teachers to address their needs.
While trying to maintain student comfort, LAHS provided students and staf with food from the school’s brunch and lunch supply for the day. Students were also given water from the school’s emergency resource bins. While ensuring student safety and wellbeing, school administrators worked in tandem with local and national law enforcement to develop a plan of action for searching the school for the threatened incendiary device and the subsequent student and teacher evacuation.
Given the severity of the threat, as well as the number of students potentially impacted, the Los Altos Police Department worked with the Mountain View and Sunnyvale police departments to provide adequate surveillance of the scene. Local frefghters from the community were also present on campus along with the Santa Clara County Sherif's Ofce, Stanford Department of Public Safety, U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division. These agencies are called in any bomb threat situation, according to Satterwhite.
These agencies along with Emergency Medical Services stayed on campus for approximately four hours, assisting local law enforcement and also providing six explosive detection canines to aid in the search for the bomb.
“We’re extremely grateful for the support we received from our community,” Satterwhite said. “It was amazing.”
Students were permitted to leave campus at around 10:55 a.m, and the authorities completed their search determining the threat wasn’t valid around 2:00 p.m.
Teachers were then allowed to leave campus, and were paid for a full day of instruction. About 10 teachers stayed overtime to help conclude procedures at school and were paid for their time, according to Associate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen.
“It’s hard to put a cost on the resources — both internal and external — that we used that day,” Mathiesen said. “There was an immense amount of support from our community, a cost would be hard to quantify, and there’s also an emotional cost with a lack of instructional time factored in.”
Fire alarms increase people’s anxiety. We weren’t trying to do that at the moment — Wynne Satterwhite
The student who called in the false bomb threat was identifed earlier in November, and was “cited on multiple charges of making criminal threats and for making a false bomb report,” according to a Los Altos Police Department press release.
In order to improve the evacuation process, the LAHS administration sent out a survey to students regarding their experience and is analyzing the results to develop a broader plan for future emergencies.
“My biggest concern at the time was student safety,” Satterwhite said. “If I had to push over the fences to get students out, I would’ve.”
ROHAN VASWANI On Friday, October 1, an anonymous bomb threat was called in to Los Altos High School. In order to ensure student safety, LAHS used many internal and external resources; the community also provided LAHS with resources to evaluate the threat.
Board agrees to discuss funding for reading specialist and implementation of an ELD program at LAHS
‘Burn calories, take the stairs’ sign causes controversy
NAOMI ICHIRIU Senior Writer The Mountain View–Los Altos School Board agreed to discuss the addition of a reading specialist at both Los Altos and Mountain View high schools at a board meeting on Monday, November 8. They also discussed implementation of an English Language Development (ELD) program at LAHS, per the request of the LAHS English department.
This request comes after analyzing both schools’ performance on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (Star) Renaissance test that freshmen are required to take during the first few weeks of school. The test measures reading comprehension and compares students’ reading skills relative to their grade level. This fall, 29 percent of freshmen at LAHS were found to be below grade level in terms of reading, a 4 percent increase from last fall. Over 140 freshmen have been identifed as needing “intervention,” and over 80 freshmen would benefit from a reading specialist, according to English Department Coordinator Margaret Bennett.
Bennett advocated for a reading specialist at both schools, citing that students have fundamental issues with reading comprehension — those that secondary school English teachers aren’t trained to supplement. Reading specialists would pull students out for their classes for one-onone training, and could be a resource for teachers to learn how to best support students who struggle with reading.
“This is a school-wide issue — it impacts a student’s ability to access material in all of their classes,” Bennett said. “As reading is used in essentially every class, students who struggle greatly with reading will naturally struggle with subjects other than English.”
Bennett also pushed for the creation of a formal English Language Development (ELD) program at LAHS, one that provides additional linguistic support to students as necessary, similar to the program at MVHS. LAHS used to have an ELD program, but the District decided to concentrate the services at one MVHS a number of years ago. Someone who qualifies for ELD services should be at MVHS; however, this is not always the case. “There are at least 65 students that would qualify for ELD services and we don’t have anything for them formally — and that’s problematic,” Bennett said. MVHS has 169 students who qualify while LAHS has 65, which is still a substantial number of students who would greatly benefit from the implementation of a formal ELD program.
The Board agreed to discuss the funding and details of having a reading specialist at each school; the topic will be discussed at future board meetings.
OLIVIA HEWANG The Mountain View–Los Altos School Board will discuss the integration of an English Language Development program at LAHS similar to the one at MVHS. Additionally, the English department at both LAHS and MVHS both supported the addition of a reading specialist. As reading is used in essentially every class, students who struggle greatly with reading will naturally struggle with subjects other than English. — Margaret Bennett
AUDREY ZHU Staf Writer
Content warning: mentions of eating disorders
Three signs that read “Burn Calories, not Electricity. Take the Stairs!” were posted by Los Altos High School’s construction company next to the stairs of the 600s building. The signs raised concerns from students who claim that they send a harmful message to those who feel insecure about their bodies.
The sign’s intended purpose, according to Associate Superintendent Business Services Mike Mathiesen, was to encourage students to avoid the elevator in order to save electricity. This is part of an overarching efort in helping the school “attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certifcation,” an accolade relating to energy efciency. Additionally, the sign’s intent was to “promote occupant health and well-being”, according to QKA, LAHS’s architect frm, which is why the calorie part was included in its message.
“[QKA] plans to remove the sign and either replace [it] with a better one or just simply not replace,” Mathiesen said.
Following the sign’s posting at the comment reads. “For starters, this beginning of the year, sophomore can be extremely triggering for Julia Pletcher started a petition to people already sufering with an take it down because of the harm- [eating disorder], let alone infuful message she believes the sign ence others to burn calories.” sends to young students who might “This should not be displayed in feel insecure about their bodies. a place of learning for children,” anIn her petition, she urged LAHS other comment says. to take down the sign Although the peti“to help create a better tion has 150 signa[school] environment focused more on mental health and well beAs someone with an eating tures, Julia has received some criticism about her involveing”. disorder and in ment with trying to
“[The petition] was recovery, I fnd take the sign down. a backup if they were hesitant about [taking the sign down], or this absolutely disgusting. “There were some people who were calling me a snowfake if they said, ‘We don’t — Instagram user and saying that I was want to do anything making a big deal out about it,’” Julia said. of things,” Julia said. “My friend and I started the peti- “It’s just kind of annoying because tion and then we had a good re- if it doesn’t afect you, that’s great, sponse from the school, so we were but it afects other people.” just hoping they’d take [the sign] A poll on Instagram shows that down.” students have mixed opinions
LAHS staf and administration about the efects of the sign — had no involvement in the design around half of the responses are or posting of the sign. LAHS ad- from students who claim that it is ministration is unable to remove sending a harmful message while the signs themselves since the the other half claim that the sign buildings are still under construc- is well-written with a positive intion, and full ownership rests with tended message. the construction company, accord- Julia asked Assistant Principal Suing to Assistant Principal Galen zanne Woolfolk about the sign’s reRosenburg. moval process a few days after creat-
“We are considering removing or ing the petition, and Woolfolk then replacing them once we ofcially asked construction to remove the take ownership of the new build- signs; she was under the impression ings,” Rosenberg said. that the signs had been removed.
Many other students expressed But the signs still remain posted. their concerns about the sign in the “I’ve asked that construction recomments of the petition. move them multiple times (and
“As someone with an eating dis- they had been),” Woolfolk said. order and in recovery, I fnd this “[I’m] not sure if there’s a remainder sign absolutely disgusting,” one out there.”
Administration requests fnal diploma names; seniors suggest revisions to name change process
NINA CROFTS NATALIE WEI Senior Writer
As Los Altos High School gears up for the graduation ceremony next June, the senior class has been invited to specify which name should be printed on their high school diploma. The form, administered by Registrar Elena Baquero, asks students to frst list their full name exactly as it appears on their birth certifcate, then email Baquero if their preferred name is diferent.
Student diplomas are typically printed with students’ full legal names. But unlike school transcripts and birth certifcates, diplomas are not legal documents, meaning that students may request another name they desire.
“A lot of us have names that were assigned to us at birth by our loving parents, and we may not necessarily love the name as much as our parents did,” Baquero said. “We have kids who are LGBTQ+ or trans who do not consider their given name the name that they identify with. We just want to be respectful of that.”
Baquero’s email asks that parents be carbon copied regarding diploma name-change correspondence if the student is a minor at the time of graduation. One primary concern Baquero shared was the possibility of outing a student during the ceremony.
“We do need to respect that the student is a minor,” Baquero said, “Ultimately, it’s the parent who will have the fnal say. I will say in my experience, I still haven’t had any students come in and have their parents say, ‘No, absolutely not’ to a name change request.”
Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club President senior Fenn Marsot disagreed with the requirement for parent notifcation since there is no obligation to use their birth name. They also mentioned that in their experience, most students requesting a name change have already come out or would come out with their diploma.
“There is a small percentage of students who are not accepted as trans,” Fenn said. “Within that percentage, most are people whose parents know that they go by a diferent name, but don’t approve — when graduation comes, and students have to notify them, their parents will actively work against them. If parents weren’t notifed, they wouldn’t be able to mess up the process and make the student feel uncomfortable.”
In addition to students who do not identify with their given or legal name, the option to request a diferent name on the diploma applies to students with a legal name in a diferent language or those who prefer nicknames.
“There have been a handful of requests,” Baquero said. “The majority are either students who go by a preferred name, whether it matches their given gender or not, or kids who prefer a nickname or their middle name.”
The name-change process predates the Mountain View–Los Altos District’s gender support plan, though Baquero acknowledges that there have likely been more instances following the plan’s implementation.
Fenn, however, feels that the gender support plan is not refected in the process: After submitting the form, they received an automated message stating there was a discrepancy between their answers and school records. This concerned Fenn, who had already followed the gender support plan to change their legal name to their preferred name in the school’s system.
“There’s clearly some sort of disconnect,” Fenn said. “I thought that because I’d already changed my name in the system, I really wouldn’t have to worry about changing my name on the diploma at all. I remember Ms. Woolfolk saying that this was the name that was going to be in the yearbook, in the graduation pamphlet and on my diploma.”
Instead of employing a uniform procedure for all graduating seniors, Fenn recommends taking a case-by-case approach to ensure that all students receive the appropriate accommodations.
“It would be better to assume that if someone is serious about changing their name on the diploma, they should be able to get a specifc reply or a meeting,” Fenn said. “I feel like that might be a better system: one that doesn’t just send an automated response telling them that the form doesn't match with their information.”
Students interested in having a diferent name on their diploma should contact Baquero at elena. baquero@mvla.net.
NAOMI ICHIRIU Seniors are able to request a change to the offcial name on their diploma; however, some seniors see faws with the process, and propose changes on how to make the experience a better one.
Revised dress code set to be out for student feedback
EMILIE ENSER Opinions Editor
The Mountain View–Los Altos School Board approved changes to the student dress code proposed by Los Altos High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) earlier this year, which will soon be released for school-wide student feedback. The changes were made in response to student concern over sexist rhetoric in the prior policy.
These adapted dress code policies are intended to be more lenient in terms of student attire, stating the following: 1. Students must wear clothing including both a shirt with pants or skirt, or the equivalent, and shoes. 2. Fabric covering all private parts must not be see-through. 3. Clothing must be suitable for all scheduled classroom activities including physical education and the safety requirements of science, culinary and engineering labs. 4. Specialized programs may require specifc attire, such as performing arts, or athletics uniforms or safety gear.
ASB initially brainstormed these dress code revisions and sent their proposal to Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Teri Faught. Following District approval, the dress code was then sent to the staf, who suggested their own changes. However, the District did not immediately approve the stafmade changes, and is now seeking student feedback on them prior to making any decisions, according to ASB President senior Aida Yezalaleul. After receiving student feedback, the dress code has to ultimately be approved by a panel of both Mountain View and Los Altos high school administrators. Faught’s initial goal was to have the dress code implemented no later than the beginning of October, but the feedback and revision process has contributed to a delay in this schedule. As of right now, the fnal dress code’s completion date is unknown.
After reviewing student feedback, the administration will make additional changes before getting a fnal vote of approval from MVLA Superintendent Dr. Nellie Meyer.
“Our vision for the dress code was written to be more equitable, inclusive and inspiring,” Faught said. “We removed certain parameters that were very specifc about what a student can and cannot wear — requirements like shorts having to be fngertips long, shirts having certain width requirements for the straps or how much midrif can be shown.”
The goal of the changes is to decrease the stereotyping and marginalization of students. Rules like the prohibition of wearing clothing with language of drugs, alcohol and gang associations will still be in place, according to Faught, although the dress code that ASB is sending out to students doesn’t have any guidelines on such clothing.
“What we don’t want is to create an environment where it is distracting for students to work in,” Faught said. “We feel that our [new] dress code policy is not going so far to the left that we are going to have major issues where people are getting distracted all the time about what people are or are not wearing. What we don’t want is to create an environment where it is distracting for students to work in. — Associate Superintendent Teri Faught
District releases results to survey regarding bell schedule changes
AUDREY ZHU Staf Writer
The Mountain View–Los Altos District released the results to a survey garnering feedback on the current bell schedule for input on potential minor changes to the bell schedule Wednesday, December 8.
The current bell schedule follows a ABCBC structure — an “A” day includes all seven 45-minute periods, while “B” and “C” days include block periods that are 85 minutes each, alternating odd and even periods. The changes in the new bell schedule for this school year prompted the district to create a ThoughtExchange survey; the survey had 214 participants and 120 comments.
“Part of the agreement when the bell schedule was built in 2019 was that during its frst year of implementation we would survey our students and staf to gather their feedback on this new schedule,” Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Teri Faught said.
Although there will be no changes made to the bell schedule for the 2021–22 school year, MVLA administrators will use the results to “determine IF and WHAT adjustments [to the bell schedule might be benefcial in the future.” In the survey, when students were asked how to “create a student-centered bell schedule that supports teacher collaboration and innovation,” the most popular comments were mainly focused on the The most popular comments length of the school days and the ACT period, which is a time were mainly when students are focused on the able to work on aslength of the signments and make school days and appointments with teachers. Students the ACT period. suggested making the school day shorter, and including optional ACT/tutorial periods at the end of the day or allowing students more freedom on where they could go for their ACT time. Many thoughts were also shared about the ABCBC structure itself. According to student input from the survey, many students wanted a change in the bell schedule on Tuesdays, which includes the
NATALIE WEI At last Tuesday’s Community Conversations event, panelists discussed the disproportionate impacts the pandemic has had on women’s mental health. four odd periods, to reduce stress from homework load on Monday evenings. However, these changes might impact instructional time and may cause scheduling problems. The results will be used by the district “to understand [MVLA] students and staf experience, needs, concerns, and benefts with the schedule,” according to Faught.
Women’s mental health discussed at Community Conversations event
VAISHU SIRKAY Copy Editor
The pandemic has caused disproportionately large mental health effects for women, according to panelists at last Tuesday’s event focusing on women’s mental health at a local level.
Part of a larger Gender Disparities in the Pandemic series, the webinar was co-hosted by the Los Altos Women’s Caucus and the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation and is part of the long-running Community Conversations program, which aims to provide opportunities to hear about local issues from experts.
During the event, Dr. Nirmaljit Dhami shared observations from her work at El Camino Health, including an increase in depression, substance abuse, vaping, reported domestic abuse and violence, PTSD and suicidal thoughts and attempts in patients. She also cited findings from a 2021 study which concluded that women made up about two-thirds of pandemic-related additional cases of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders globally. Both internal and external forces that push women to minimize their symptoms could be responsible for the increased prevalence of mental health issues.
“There are just too many expectations of women,” Dhami said. “Our culture wants us to be in this perfectionistic role,
to have it all together and take care of everything and do everything. I think the very significant generational pressures just make it really hard for women to, themselves, recognize their symptoms.” Riley Simonsen, a senior at Saint Francis and Community Health Awareness Council Teen Advisory Board member, pointed to similar dynamics at the high school level as students have been encouraged to return to pre-pandemic normalcy this year. “What they [counselors at St. Francis and CHAC] have told me and what I have been We need to en- seeing personally is courage teens that young women to not go back to the old norm, in particular have had increased pressure to return to the but focus on normal,” Riley said. whatever their “And a lot of this new norm might normal is the presbe. sure to be put to gether.” — Riley Simonsen While the Mountain View–Los Altos School District does not collect gender-specific data on mental health, Wellness Coordinator William Blair acknowledged the increasing rates of depression and anxiety and confirmed that depression and anxiety, which are more prevalent in women, are the most commonly presenting issues within MVLA. From Riley’s perspective, this has manifested in disproportionately large reactions to relatively small stressors, as well as body image issues. Riley explained how the developmental and weight changes students experienced during quarantine, in conjunction with unrealistic body standards reinforced by increased social media use, has led to discomfort for some students.
“Coming back to school and looking different, feeling different about themselves has been very stressful and anxiety-inducing for girls,” Riley said.
The panelists also discussed ways to provide mental health support and resources to women. At the high school level, Riley believes that readjusting what is expected of students post-quarantine socially, extracurricularly and academically could help alleviate some of their stress.
“We need to try to encourage teens to not go back to the old norm, but focus on whatever their new norm might be,” Riley said.
Some specific resources available to students within the district include the opportunity to speak to CHAC clinicians, and the district is currently working on forming an anxiety-based support group in partnership with CHAC, according to Blair.
Dr. Sandra Escobar, the clinical director at Ravenswood Family Health Services, emphasized the importance of telehealth appointments and creative solutions, like service providers assisting out-of-state patients in underserved communities, to increase access to mental health resources. She also advocated for self-care to be framed as a necessity, as opposed to a luxury, and Dhami pointed out the importance of non-stigmatizing conversations around mental health and trauma-informed care.
While Escobar acknowledges the difficult challenges facing the community, she believes that there are lessons to be learned from the pandemic that can help patients long after.
“I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t have hope,” Escobar said.
Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/category/opinions
Derive or die ... Or ask for help
ANIKA SIKKA News Editor
Last week, I thought I’d fnally found my true calling: derivatives. As I was tirelessly dx-ing and dy-ing, I came across a way to solve all hard calculus problems, a foolproof method by which everything would seemingly work out — I just took the derivative and prayed.
This sounded like a perfect strategy, and for a while, it was. Whenever I was confused, I simply took the derivative, and most of the time, it seemed to work out. I liked my little calculus secret. It was nice knowing that I had something to fall back on.
It also relieved some of my stress. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I tend to freak out. Like, a lot. So, when I approached problems that I didn’t know how to solve, my secret provided me with some comfort, as I knew I had a way out that historically worked in my favor.
I found that this strategy manifested itself into other aspects of my life. When I struggled with issues that would typically cause an infamous “freak out,” I tried to tell myself that everything would work out in the end. No matter how broken it seemed, I told myself that I’d be able to fx it all, because everything always works out.
But in trying to embody the essence of my new strategy, I adopted some questionable tendencies — ones that I chose to ignore at the time, but further contributed to the landslide of problems that I eventually had to deal with.
What should’ve given me less stress and made me a calmer individual actually caused more stress. When I struggled with those darned calculus problems, instead of asking for help or reaching out to my classmates, I kept to myself. I thought if I just looked at them hard enough they’d simply fgure themselves out.
On a larger scale, I simply didn’t ask for help. I’d already told everyone I could handle my workload, that I’d got everything fgured out, and I couldn’t possibly go back on my word.
It was about a week ago when I realized the fundamental faws with my newly discovered theory, but at that point, I was too far in to go back — I’d already closed myself of, and now had to reap the consequences of my words. Everything always works out, I thought. So, even though I felt like I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders, I still thought that I’d be able to fgure things out.
This was not the case. I was duped by my oh-so-brilliant derivative thoughts, which in fact didn’t end up helping me on the test and instead led me to write my teacher a dramatic apology on the last question, circling and labeling my tear that had fallen on the paper.
I don’t know how I expected to take down calculus or solve some of life’s most complex problems on my own. It was hard for me to admit I needed help, to reveal that under my facade of “okayness,” things were actually not okay. Everyone else seemed to be doing just fne, so it was almost embarrassing to reveal my vulnerability.
Don’t take my advice to just “derive and pray.” If there’s anything you could learn from my experience, take away that it’s okay to struggle, because everyone is struggling, it’s okay to make mistakes and ask for help, because that’s how you learn. And, I guess it’s okay to not be okay.
OLIVIA HEWANG
Online privacy is not a given: Security is safety
DIA HEMMATH Journalism One
Reading the terms of service for social media apps is often grueling, with many users choosing to skip the information and just click “accept.” But these confusingly dense guidelines are the key to understanding what may be done with the data you create on social media. Even if you consent to your data being used, it’s not a bad idea to know what you’re accepting when you hit “accept.”
Here’s the TL;DR: 1. If you give them access, social media apps such as Instagram would have access to all of your photos (including the ones on your phone and not just on the app), according to Business Insider. 2. Social media companies can share your photos (for free) with third parties like researchers, and you agree to this in the terms of service, as confrmed by TL;DR Legal. 3. These researchers generally follow social media ethics, but all they require is for researchers to be transparent. Social media ethics don’t require researchers to protect users’ privacy.
Should you be concerned about those third-party researchers having access to the data you create on social media? Maybe.
Because you create a whole lot of data on social media. When you talk to your friends and family when you’re apart, like a photo, take a BuzzFeed quiz or even scroll endlessly when you’re bored, you create data. With access to users’ content at just a click of a button, a social media app has become a researcher’s playground. All sorts of demographic information can be easily deduced through analyzing data alone. In turn, this data is used in research papers, and users are reduced to information, rather than people.
Most websites and apps have this kind of access to users’ data, and this is a reason why many people think their phones are listening to their conversations.
Your phone isn’t really recording or listening to you, but the truth might be scarier. Your phone doesn’t have to be actively listening to you, because it has plenty of other ways to know what you want to buy. By looking at your search history and comparing the items in it to past purchases, your device can determine what you could potentially need in the future. By sheer coincidence, you might have been talking about what your device later recommends for you, because the analysis is just that accurate. The same goes for social media. When you click that “like” button, you are declaring to the researcher that you either like the topic of a post, or the user who posted it, and you will continue to be fed similar content based on demonstrated interest.
Data like this can be damaging to one’s privacy. So how do we ensure the safety of users, especially the ones that are not at the age to consent for themselves? Technically, we can’t. Collecting data through social media is perfectly legal, given that we consented through the terms and conditions by signing up for the app.
Don’t be discouraged though. You can still watch out for yourself and make sure you’re staying safe and optimizing your privacy. Most critically, do not display your real age, address or any other personal information and make sure you are fully aware of all caveats and add-ons before giving out your data.
And that phrase, “social media ethics,” isn’t going to help you as much as it sounds like it might. It refers to how researchers can go about data collection. Consent is the main priority, as researchers are required to be transparent about what they will do with the data and what it means for the user. But because social media ethics do not look out for the privacy of the user, that’s on you. Keep in mind that even though you may consent to a researcher utilizing or publishing your data, you may not be ready to handle the privacy implications that come along with your name being in a study. This is especially important for those on social media who are under 16, the age at which you can consent to someone else using your data without the knowledge of a guardian.
So, what should you do with this information? You may choose to do nothing. But you might consider holding back the parts of your life from social media that compromise your privacy. And at minimum, you should know what hitting the “I agree” button entails.
Nina’s Notes
By Nina Crofts Taking advantage of the senior slump
Have you been spending hours daily avoiding the CommonApp, pushing back work to the very last minute and watching all sense of time management and balance slip away? You may be at risk of the chronic disease known as senioritis!
A colloquial term for the lack of motivation one often feels as a senior, senioritis typically starts to hit around this time of year as we wrap up applications and near our fnal joyous semester as high school students. And though it’s a humorous term, I’ve realized burnout and exhaustion is unique for seniors compared to that of any other grade level for one particularly anxiety-inducing reason: It encompasses not only exhaustion, but a constant worry about the life-changing decisions we’re making, making this burnout ever more taxing on our mental health.
Senioritis seems to have been exacerbated by the jolt from virtual to in-person learning. After taking my frst Advanced Placement classes during junior year at home, I got comfortable with the virtual format of these more challenging courses, making the transition to senior year particularly striking — I don’t think I’m alone in my apprehension to take AP tests in-person, never having done so before. With the added pressures of college applications, work, extracurriculars and the rest of my education hanging in the balance, there’s a huge diference from sophomore year, when I was last on campus.
From what I’ve seen, a lot of us seniors are in the same boat, and with the end of the semester approaching, it can feel like the year is simply happening too fast. For me, at least, senioritis isn’t just a drop in motivation; it’s a paralyzing fear that I’m not making the right decisions about the next few years of my life. It’s also left me second-guessing the goals I’ve been confdent about for years, because they suddenly feel so much more real.
The senior slump has, however, presented itself as a real opportunity to evaluate my own priorities and goals. In a way, I think of it as a “nesting” process, as we evolve from one phase of life to another, we come to prepare ourselves for new challenges. If that means budgeting your time to prepare for a college interview or drafting an admissions essay instead of poring over a textbook or fnishing a 10-point assignment, so be it.
So, as we wrap up this semester, I urge you (and myself) to not let yourself get wrapped up in worry. Fight the senior urge to slack of, but be mindful of the path that lies ahead as well. High school isn’t the be all, end all, and in a time of discovery and dread, do a bit of exploring.
EMILIE ENSER Opinions Editor
Time and time again I’ve heard that women are at an inherent disadvantage in the workplace and have to deal with higher social expectations than their male counterparts, because, well, society has always been sexist. Growing up in a progressive and diverse part of the Bay Area, I was also shown by my strong female role models that women are equally capable of having independence, becoming successful in their careers and providing for a family all at the same time. And I’ve always expected no less from my future self. Despite this positive upbringing and having experienced only a handful of instances of overt sexism frst-hand over my lifetime, I’ve realized that elements of my mentality as a woman have still held me back from achieving my true potential.
Sitting around the dining table last weekend, I had an extensive conversation about female empowerment in the workplace with my aunt, an executive director at Lenovo and an active participant in the company’s women’s leadership program led by linkage.ink. Talking with her and refecting on the diferences between my male friends’ and my temperament helped me come to a bit of a realization: Yes, women face undeniable external pressures and challenges in their daily lives, but how much of the female struggle is also in the way we think about ourselves and our needs?
What do I mean by this? I’ll say it bluntly — I think men are entitled. Hear me out, I don’t think entitlement is bad. In fact, to a certain extent, it is necessary for the kind of economic and social success many of us strive for. Generally speaking, as I’ve paid attention to the male and female dynamics in my own life and the world around me, I’ve noticed that the majority of women I know lack this entitlement to speak as freely as men do and defnitely do not have the expectation that others would cooperate with their needs.
In the school environment, for example, as someone who’s always been fairly confdent, it’s surprising to me that I still really don’t feel comfortable talking to my teachers. I was in shock when I saw one of my closest male friends ask our teacher for accommodations to turn in all his late-work at once. While I plan out my afternoons from hour to hour to try to fnish all my work on time, my friend chooses to simply not, and still fnd ways to make it work for him.
It wasn’t the concept of turning in late-work that baffled me — I turn in assignments late too — but it was the security with expecting the teacher to be understanding. I know, I know, duh, Emilie, teachers are there to help, but I know I’m not alone in being uncomfortable with having to ask for accommodations, simply because I don’t expect others will do so for me. While initially frustrating, I came to realize my friend was in the right, because in reality, this ability to simply ask for what would benefit him is only going to help him in life, and it’s taken a great deal of introspection to figure out that I should be able to do the same. The world really is for the takers.
After I told this story to my aunt and mom, they brought up the female subconscious selfdoubt they’ve observed in themselves and the women around them that adds an immense amount of difculty for women on top of external prejudices.
The idea of the seven internal hurdles women leaders face, from Linkage, was introduced by Women Leaders Managing Director Susan Brady and touches on this exact kind of self-doubt that I’d been pondering. It highlights the fact that women, by nature, have to go the extra mile to feel self-aware and confdent. While these two traits are ones I’ve always felt were my strongest, I’ve come to realize that next to the males around me, that confdence is incomparable. We are just as intelligent, strong and capable, yet being able to convey our thoughts and needs to others with the appropriate amount of confdence does not come as naturally.
This has been a concept truly difcult for me to process because any time I act assertively (which is quite frequently), I’m immediately overcome with insecurity in thinking others will think I’m annoying, too bossy or serious. Here’s my takeaway: Screw that. The kind of successful women I look up to have to be this way. And successful men already are this way.
There is no immediate change that can be made for all women to suddenly start thinking like men. Even saying that sounds silly, but I strongly encourage women to do some self-refection and think about the tendency to suppress our needs and make accommodations for others rather than ourselves. It isn’t necessarily out of fear or being a pushover, but we don’t even consider what we deserve from others.
To all women: Please, let’s stand up for ourselves. Not because others are always pushing you down, but because the way you stand for yourself is the way others will think to treat you. We will only ever get as much as we ask for, and too many of us don’t even realize just how much we can ask for.
NAOMI ICHIRIU
LAHS 2021 Homecoming parade: The kids are alright
ROBERT BARKER Guest Writer English Department
The basketball team’s jubilant, rhythmic jumping and hooting, the Green Team’s joyful shouting back at the teachers cheering from the curb, the prom court kids sitting atop the fancy convertibles, looking too young and too old for the moment at the same time, just as tradition promises. The Homecoming Parade. Back from the dead! Freed from the clutches of the Year of Doom and Zoom.
It signaled that even with COVID-19 and masks and never-ending construction and bomb threats and vaping and depression and remote learning and delayed learning, we are still here. And better. Because we will not take community for granted anymore. What is a parade? It’s not just a bunch of different clubs and sports teams walking down the road. It’s the entire spectrum of diverse interests, backgrounds, and talents inside each of those little communal units. It’s all of us together yelling something like Walt Whitman’s barbaric “yawp” from his poem, “Song of Myself.” It’s a made-up word that Whitman coined to capture the feeling of unafraid expression of self. Here’s a big middle finger for the pandemic. Yawp! Here’s us smiling and yelling into the doubt and fear that surrounds us. Yawp! Here’s where our home and community is, regardless of how fractured and tribal we may seem at times. Yawp! The high school Homecoming parade still represents an ideal worthy of our aspirations. American high schoolers have long been mocked, parodied, and John Hughesivied; more recently they have also been understandably traumatized by climate change, school shootings, political dysfunction, and the successful hijacking of their better instincts by social media monopolies. Despite all of that, the high school Homecoming parade remains one of a dwindling set of non-smartphone experiences that offer high schoolers in this country a shared point of connection that doesn’t involve Olivia Rodrigo* or the Kardashians. It is a rite of passage. And a rite requires ceremony, fanfare, and passion. All were on display on State Street in downtown Los Altos on a sun-splashed Friday afternoon, October 29. May the same spirit carry forward and vaccinate the next generations of Eagles from the feigned ironic indifference of the insecure teenage world in favor of risking that rarest of things in our culture these days: sincerity. It’s okay, Eagles. It’s okay, America. It’s okay to care. It’s not weakness. It’s strength. Any Los Altos High School teenager can tell you that. Onward.
*Admittedly, I fnd “Driver’s License” to be naively melodramatic but irresistibly charming.
Unlike traditional oven-baked pumpkin pie, senior Carly Watson takes pride in preparing her unique chiffon pie right on the stove. Her beloved family recipe has been passed down from her great-grandmother, who had figured out how to give the pie an unusually fluffy and airy texture. The pie’s unexpected gingersnap crust gives the dessert a punch of spice with every bite. She suggests topping the pie with extra gingerbread crumbs and generous servings of whipped cream for maximum enjoyment.
For her family, the recipe not only represents a special once-a-year dessert, but also the very essence of the holiday season: heart-warming memories of enjoying the Christmas spirit among family members. “I love caroling to our neighbors with my family,” Carly said. “I love the lights and music. I love the anticipation and the wonderful smells. I love cooking, baking and hanging out with my family.”
Gingersnap Crust Ingredients:
1 cup sugar ¾ cup butter or vegetable shortening ¼ cup molasses 1 egg 2 cups flour
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Cream the unmelted butter and sugar together, then add the egg and molasses. Mix well. 3. Sift together the dry ingredients and add the mixture to the wet ingredients. Combine until smooth. 4. Roll the dough into approximately 2-tbsp. balls. 5. Flatten the balls, then bake on an ungreased sheet for 15 minutes. Wait for the cookies to cool. 6. Crush the cookies, then mix them with the melted butter in a bowl until well-combined.
Press the mixture evenly into a springform pan. 7. Bake the crust for 5–8 minutes at 375 degrees, then remove the pan and let it cool. 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin ¼ cup hot water
¼ tsp. salt 2 tsps. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. cloves 1 tsp. ginger 6 tbsps. melted butter NATALIE WEI Senior Writer Graphic Artist
Pumpkin Filling Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree ½ cup milk 1/16 tsp. ginger ½ tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. cinnamon ¾ cup sugar ¼ tsp. orange zest
Instructions:
1. Mix together the pumpkin puree, milk, spices, ½ cup sugar and egg yolks. 2. Pour the mixture into a heavy pan or a double broiler on the stove top.
Heat on medium heat until thickened for about five minutes. 3. Add the gelatin to water in a separate bowl and let stand for 3–5 minutes to absorb. Add the gelatin to the pumpkin mixture once the gelatin has bloomed (absorbed water). 4. Stir the mixture and cool it in the refrigerator until the batter forms peaks. 5. Whip the egg whites and remaining sugar with orange zest, then fold into the pumpkin mixture. 6. Pour mixture in a gingersnap crust and chill until set.
Junior Alice Gerchanovsky recommends the cream puff recipe for its simplicity. Although the puffs only require a few steps and ingredients, they still yield a sophisticated, aesthetic and delicious result, she explained.
“[The recipe] is the best thing to bake,” Alice said. “It’s easy, but people are still impressed by it. I guess that’s the thing with pastries.” Her family immigrated from the Soviet Union, where celebrating Christmas is discouraged. Instead, they celebrate New Year’s among a tightly knit community of other Slavic immigrants. For Alice, New Year’s Eve is more than just a celebration: it marks her favorite night of the year and a treasured holiday tradition spent alongside lifelong friends.
Ingredients (Soup): 1 Amish chicken (skin-on) 6–7 medium carrots 2 large onions 1 bunch dill and parsley 3–4 parsley roots Peppercorns and Kosher salt to taste
Instructions: Ingredients (Matzah balls): 1 cup matzah meal 4 eggs 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/3 tsp. pepper 3 tbsps. melted shmaltz (chicken fat) or vegetable oil 1 tsp. minced fresh dill
1. Wash the chicken, place it in the stockpot and cover with cold water. Let it simmer until fat rises, then simmer for another 25 minutes. 2. Dump the broth into a colander. Place the veggies, herbs, chicken, and seasoning into the pot. Top the ingredients with cold water and simmer on medium-low for two hours. 3. Combine all the matzah ball ingredients in a large bowl and add minced dill. Chill for 20 minutes, then roll small balls. 4. Drop them into the simmering pot one by one.
Boil them for 25 minutes for dense matzah balls or 35 minutes for airy matzah ball. 5. Serve the matzah balls with soup.
Matzah ball soup is a familiar staple among Jewish families during Passover in the springtime, but the dish also delights junior Mallory Weisfeld and her family around Hanukkah as they kick off their holiday season.
Traditionally composed of chicken broth, matzah balls, root vegetables and a variety of herbs, matzah ball soup is not only time-honored and delicious, but versatile — ingredients such as the broth can be adjusted depending on any dietary restrictions. “Matzah ball soup symbolizes the coming together of family and joy that happens every holiday season,” Mallory said.
Ingredients:
1 cup water 6 tbsps. butter ½ cup milk ½ tsp. salt 1 cup flour 4 eggs
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 2. Mix the water, butter, milk and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter melts. 3. When the mixture starts boiling, mix in one cup of flour, then let cool. 4. Add 4 eggs to the mixture one at a time, making sure to mix well after each egg is added. 5. Pipe the batter onto a sheet into one-inch circles and bake for 20–25 minutes. Make sure the batter is fully cooked through so the puffs don’t collapse after cooling. 6. Pipe puffs with whipped cream, pastry cream or frosting.
Please send letters to the editor to talon.lahs@gmail.com
Say yes to the new dress code
No collarbones, no midrif, no hip bones: The Los Altos High School dress code is frustratingly outdated. In May, LAHS’s Associated Student Body began drafting a less intrusive dress code and submitted a proposal to the Mountain View–Los Altos School District this August, a step in the right direction to replace a policy that has been criticized as being discriminatory. After review from the Board and staf leadership team, the proposal is slated for student feedback in January. But it’s taken a crawling four months to get this far — on a project that Associate Superintendent Teri Faught said would be complete by October. This needs to be a District priority, now.
We hope to see ASB hold itself accountable and send out a Google form in early January for students to anonymously submit their feedback and also hold multiple lunchtime forums for students to directly converse with ASB students about what they believe the dress code should contain.
This is serious. Sure, not every student will be directly afected by the dress code changes, but there are some students for whom the current policy is hurtful. And we as a student body need to stand up for everyone’s needs.
Across the country, dress codes have been a source of controversy because of their reputations as discriminatory and hypocritical. And rightfully so. Girls are often reported for dress code violations more than boys, even when boys may violate the restrictions provided. There is a general attitude in dress codes that girls are responsible for creating a “distraction-free setting,” placing responsibility on them for boys’ learning. And generally, similar irrationalities in dress codes are used against people of color and minorities; for example, many dress codes ban hair wraps, which are commonly used by Black women and hijabi girls have been forced to break their religious beliefs.
It does not matter whether your clothing shows 2 or 4 inches of thigh or if people can see your collarbone. The only necessary aspects are safety and the basic coverage. Our previous dress code’s restrictions, which included things like skirts and shorts reaching the middle of the thigh, made no diference in our education. We can learn in crop tops and ski pants alike.
The core of a dress code should be to maintain an educational environment, and while many people have alleged that strict dress codes do that, limiting the clothing that students, usually girls, can wear to keep other students engaged isn’t fair. These dress code requirements are also inefective. What do they hope to achieve? It’s not anyone’s business what someone else is wearing and no one should be “getting distracted” by them anyway. If a student is distracted by a piece of clothing, that is their problem, and the person wearing said clothing should not be punished or shamed as a result.
And while some may say it creates a better environment, any restrictions that make students feel discriminated against or uncomfortable are not helping anyone learn. Ensuring that LAHS students feel safe in their community has to be a priority and ASB has to show they want it to be.
THUMBS UP to the Stanford Health Van
Lucille Packard Hospital’s Teen Health Van has been a new feature on campus this year and its health outreach is a great beneft to our campus. The van offers services like immunizations and medication but also confdential services like pregnancy testing and STD treatments. The presence of the health van is a testament to the efforts to improve student well-being.
THUMBS UP to the LAHS food drive
Over November and the frst week of December, Los Altos High School donated over $25,000 toward Second Harvest Food Bank, exceeding the goal by approximately $5,000. $25,000 means 50,000 meals will be donated to families in need. The Talon would like to specifcally shout out teachers Dayana Swank’s, Cathy Dao’s and Brent Smith’s second period classes for raising over $3,000 each.
Los Altos High School
201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA December 10, 2021 Volume XXXVII, Issue 3
Editor-In-Chief Cedric Chan Managing Editors Rachel Rudyak (Print) Kaavya Butaney (Web) Olivia Hewang (Media) News Editor Anika Sikka Opinions Editor Emilie Enser Features Editor Nathaniel Jofe Arts & Culture Editor Kaley Kwan Sports Editor Mira Sundar Copy Editors Allan Feldman, Vaishu Sirkay Senior Staf Allison Bricca, Nina Crofts, Naomi Ichiriu, Elyssa Kennedy, Rose Liu, Naomi Schulze, Rohan Vaswani, Natalie Wei Staf Audrey Zhu Adviser Michael Moul
POLICIES
Los Altos High School’s Compositional Journalism class is solely responsible for The Talon, which is published six times a year. The Talon also updates its website, www.lahstalon. org, with full-time coverage.
The Editorial Board sets the policies of The Talon and crafts its editorials and thumbs.
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Student-run Instagram account pumps brakes on poor parking etiquette
EMILIE ENSER Opinions Editor
From Teslas taking up two spaces to SUVs blocking half the road, parking at Los Altos High School remains a daily conundrum. As students, staf and visitors alike make the efort to fnd a place to park among limited spots, poor parking jobs have stood out as not only frustrating, but hazardous.
An anonymous LAHS student, infuriated by nonsensical parking making students’ lives more difcult, decided to make light of the situation by creating the Instagram account @lahs.bad.parking, where they post photos of these poor parking jobs.
“My very frst post was an image of two cars both parked over their lines, blocking in the only spot left in the parking lot,” the creator said. “I was getting frustrated because, as everyone knows, there just aren’t enough spots for students because of construction, and on top of that I was running late for class. That’s when my friend told me about Willow Glen High School’s bad parking account.”
Inspired by the idea, they created an LAHS account. Although originally coming from a place of frustration, the posts have been made in good fun and are intended to amuse, not harass. While calling out bad parking jobs, the account’s creator has been sure to not include any names and always block out license plates.
While the account is mainly for entertainment purposes, it has also encouraged students to be conscious of their parking tendencies. After all, being publicly called out tends to humble our below-average parkers, and may just be the best incentive to be mindful in the lot.
“After my car got posted on the account the frst time, I defnitely became more aware of my parking,” junior Kaitlyn Smiley said. “I remember the next time I parked in a hurry I was actually worried, thinking that I would end up on the account again. Turns out they posted a picture of my car from that day only like a week later.”
Although the account began with the creator taking her own pictures, she started accepting submissions soon after. Now,
other students, when witnessing a bad parking situation, often take the opportunity to snap a picture and send it to the Instagram account. Whether cars are parked at a diagonal angle or left on top of curbs, @lahs.bad.parking If ... people are aims to be comedic now a little and efectively calls more scared attention to both to park poorly, then I’m glad students and staf’s parking abilities — or lack thereof. because that “I started it because was exactly the I was annoyed at that point. moment, but also to encourage people to — Creator of park better,” the cre@lahs.bad.parking ator said. “So if it’s working, and people are now a little more scared to park poorly, then I’m glad because that was exactly the point.” Students whose parking mishaps have been posted agree that the account, while calling students out, is ultimately harmless. “I think it’s funny, and I think it’s good they cover the license plates,” Kaitlyn said. “So it’s really more about something to be laughed about instead of just hating on the person’s parking because it makes it more anonymous.”
ROSE LIU Parking across two spots and onto curbs are among the behaviors that @lahs.bad.parking hopes to discourage.
Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club: An engine for advocacy
ROSE LIU Business Manager
As senior Fenn Marsot sounds the chime in Room 303, another meeting of the Gender and Sexuality Awareness (GSA) club begins. Once everyone finishes their lunch and files into the classroom, the club sets its attention on the meeting board, dubbed by Co-President junior Bella Sullivan as the “Gay Agenda.”
With more than 40 members on its Discord server and about 20 members who regularly attend meetings, GSA has built an inclusive community for LGBTQ+ students at Los Altos High School.
“High school is an easy place for people to feel disconnected from everything, especially if they’re queer,” Fenn said. “So our first priority has always been to make [GSA] a space where people feel welcome.”
Every Thursday at the beginning of lunch, club members form a circle outside of the classroom and enjoy their lunches together. Through these hang-outs and community-building activities, members create a sense of community by sharing personal experiences with identity struggles and supporting each other.
“Through the club, you can know that there are other people going through what you’re going through and that you’re not
alone,” senior Mia Stoaks said. “You know that you’re not weird for how you feel or who you are, and people can help you get through it.” Through a support network of peers with similar experiences, members are able to learn from upperclassmen’s journeys of finding their identities. Having the guidance of upperclassmen has helped those still Having older struggling with queer people around me retheir identities become more confident in themselves. ally helped me “I’ve been part out. It’s really of the club since been the place freshman year,” sewhere I’ve met nior Thomas Malinovsky said. “And a lot of the back then, I had no people that I’m idea what most of friends with the LGBTQ+ letters now. stood for. So having older queer people — Thomas Malinovsky around me really helped me out. It’s really been the place where I’ve met a lot of the people that I’m friends with now, and it’s meant a lot to me.” One message Fenn tries to share with members is the importance of speaking up for themselves when others’ words or behaviors are uncomfortable for them, including combatting the normalization of calling things gay in a negative context. Fenn believes most student and staff are well-meaning, but remain unaware of the impact their words have on the queer community. While community building
ROSE LIU At a Thursday meeting of the GSA, two club members draft the weekly plan, dubbed “The Gay Agenda.” The club seeks to provide an inclusive community and spread awareness about issues affecting the LGBT community. has been the core purpose of the club, the members also want to spread awareness about gender and sexuality to help the students and staff understand the experiences of students identifying as LGBTQ+.
“I wanted [to implement] an educational program for the teachers,” Fenn said. “From my experiences, some teachers don’t completely know what kind of language to use or how to talk to someone who is trans. And it would be nice if we could have some resources and programs for those teachers who don’t know a lot about how gender identity and expression work.” On top of the educational program proposal, GSA is hoping to play an active role on campus by organizing activities that would promote LGBTQ+ rights and awareness. One of their projects includes reaching out to and inviting local drag queens to come into the club and share their experiences. As its members strive to develop a culture of inclusion, above all, the GSA is always welcoming to newcomers. Whether it’s engaging in advocacy or simply serving as a safe place for those who need one, it aims to cement its place as a fixture of LGBT life on campus.
Assistant principal Fabian Medina-Morales is the family you never knew you needed
ELLIE JI Journalism One
New to Los Altos High School this year, Assistant Principal Fabian Medina-Morales is all about family. The students at the school are his family, his old students at San Mateo High are his family and of course, the people he eats nearly every meal with at home at his dining table in Gilroy are his family.
That’s right, he still lives with his mom, his dad and his two sisters. And his mom still packs his lunch.
She cooks all his meals, actually. Over-easy eggs, pork chops, white toast and hash browns for breakfast. Medium-rare steak, a baked sweet potato and a salad for dinner. And an easily-microwavable bed of rice, vegetables and chicken for lunch — all prepared with love.
As delicious as it sounds, you’d think a person who leaves for work at 6:30 everyday would be able to pack a simple paper-bag lunch. But the real reason his mom still cooks his food isn’t that he can’t cook.
Morales still lives at home with his mom, saving money on housing and using it instead for his sisters’ tuition. To thank him for this sacrifce, his mom makes his food.
“My mom — being a really nice Mexican mom, right? — was like, ‘Well my son’s giving up his independence to help his sister, the least I could do is help him with making sure he has something to eat every day,’” he explained.
After breakfast, Morales uses the 45-minute commute from his Gilroy driveway to the high school parking lot to transition from his at-home son character to oncampus father fgure. He starts the drive with 20 minutes of news radio, usually NPR or a podcast. At home, when he’s watching TV, it’s MSNBC, Comedy Central and occasionally Fox News because it keeps him balanced “to hear what the other side says.”
Twenty minutes into the drive, and he puts on his pumped-up classic rock playlist, full of oldies but goodies like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. By the last few miles, he’s ready to pull onto campus and face his students with a smile.
Romeo Bienvenido Villanueva, a student at LAHS, is the Co-President of the Latino Student Union. Mr. Morales has taken interest in the club, lending his support as an advisor and by facilitating club elections.
“In general, whenever I see him around campus he always gives me a friendly wave and hello,” Romeo said. “I think he’s a great addition to the campus community.”
His undeniable charisma and compassion have left a mark on his colleagues, including fellow Assistant Principal Suzanne Woolfolk. They worked together for more than 13 years at San Mateo High School, and she knew he’d be a perfect ft at LAHS.
“I knew that he’s always going to have a line out the door of students that want to talk to him about life, or about classes,” she said. “In particular, AVID students, or students that need help. He almost [takes] a parent role in helping
toward college or toward just fnding a job.” Morales arrived at the school as an adI knew that he’s ministration newbie with multiple dealways going grees from local unito have a line versities. He was the out the door of frst in his family to go students that want to talk to to college. Now, as an educator and counselor, he aims to guide him about life. students into realiz— Assistant Principal ing their own goals. Suzanne Woolfolk “I try to be refective, and help students defne what success means to them, and then help them achieve it,” Morales said. “The only person who gets to decide what success means is the individual student.”
Morales relates this philosophy to his own background as a frst generation college student. He’s found that teacher support played an important role in giving him the resources and skills necessary to work self-sufciently. That support is the kind he wants to pass down to students who are still developing their own defnitions of success. “If I can be a person that can help a student through that and help them get to that level, then I’ve done my work,” Morales said.
ROHAN VASWANI Assistant Principal Fabian Medina-Morales sits at his offce desk. New to LAHS, Morales has brought his background in counseling to his new role as an administrator, earning the friendship of colleagues and students alike.
ACROSS: 1. IMPALES 6. 2022 WORLD CUP HOST 7. MASSACHUSETTS UC EQUIVALENT 8. SPRING BREAK MONTH 9. FLOWER OFTEN CHAINED? DOWN: 1. FRIEND GROUP 2. 2021 WINNERS OF THE STANLEY CUP AND SUPER BOWL 3. PIONEERING MAKERS OF “PONG” 4. FOUNDATION 5. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” IN TEXTING SLANG
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