Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA ■ October 28, 2014 ■ Volume XXX, Issue 2
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BUDGET
LASD
Measure N addresses LASD class sizes
lahstalon.org
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
JOHNNY SCHER ALEXANDRA MILKEY Business Manager Staff Writer
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL LOOKING TO REPEAT SUCCESS Hot off its previous successes, girls volleyball is planning on taking this season by storm. Sports, 20
Aphex Twin Electronica producer Richard D. James makes his first release since 2001. Aphex manages to mix all the greatest parts of electronica into one album. Entertainment, 14
NOAH TSAO
Seniors Brian Randall and Kathy Le work on a car in the school’s garage during a class taught by Greg Ely (right). The district is discussing whether the Automotive Technology class offered at the school will be continued next year.
Auto Shop may not be offered in the 2015-16 year
Carry That Weight Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz’s “Carry That Weight” campaign reflects the greater sexual assault policy reform revolution taking place on campuses throughout tha nation. Check out a Talon writer’s thoughts on the importance of this revolution. Opinions, 7
LAHS Graduate Returns An alum of the school cites a Los Altos physics teacher as his inspiration to pursue a career in teaching. Read about his experience at Los Altos from the other side of the teacher’s desk. Features, 9
Alta Vista
The district’s alternative school has expanded its program, adding an entering freshman class and expanding the school day. News, 3
Cross Country
The cross country remains successful despite problems with injuries and illness. Sports, 20
UPCOMING EVENTS October 27 - 31
STEM Week
October 28 @ 7 p.m.
STEM Keynote Speaker November 11
Veterans Day November 12 @ 7 p.m
FAFSA Night
November 17 @ 6:30 p.m.
Fall Sports Awards
November 20 - 22 @ 7 p.m.
Broken Box Show
November 22 @ 9 a.m.
Marching Band/Color Guard Fall Finale News Editorial Opinions
2 5 6
Features 9, 12 In-Depth 10–11 Entertainment 14 Sports 18
District cites low enrollment and loss of funding
S
HANNAH CRAFORD, JOSH KIRSHENBAUM
ince the beginning of the school year, the Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) administration and the school administration have been discussing whether or not the Automotive Technology (Auto Shop) class will return next year. The debate centers around the rising costs, loss of state funding and low enrollment in the Auto Shop classes. Students in the program emphasize that the class is another type of science class, with stu-
I
Staff Writers
dents learning and practicing technology and critical thinking in a more hands-on setting. According to junior Aaron Nehan, this is something that outsiders to the program don’t always understand. “[Outsiders are] asking about engineering and mechanical and science, which is right in front of them,” Nehan said. “They basically think we’re putting nuts and bolts together, but we’re actually engineering things to do and work with [automobiles].”
There are many advocates for Auto Shop. Principal Wynne Satterwhite has supported vocational classes since she came to the school. “Classes like Auto Shop, culinary, computer programming classes... are different ways of learning, and I think that not all students learn out of books,” Satterwhite said. “A lot of students learn with their hands, so I like the idea of vocational courses. I think they’re really powerful.”
“Auto” continues on page 2
On the November 4 ballot, voters in the Los Altos School District (LASD) will be able to vote for or against Measure N. If the measure receives 55 percent or more of the vote, it will pass and give LASD the power to spend up to $150 million to expand and upgrade their elementary and middle school facilities. Proponents state that the measure is needed to relieve overcrowding due to an influx of students into the district. Opponents argue that the measure does not have a set plan for what the money will be used for and does not give voters a say in the money’s usage. One factor of the influx of students is the high property values that have risen in part (API) scores of public schools in Los Altos, both in LASD and in the Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) School District . Measure N was created from both this increased enrollment and from a modernization effort which seeks to add to and renovate existing school sites while making them more energy efficient. Phase One of the measure, which called for the modernization of all district buildings, was completed between 2000 and 2008. Though the district has completed Phase One of the effort, Phase Two requires more money and a new bond to be passed. They hope this new bond will be Measure N.
“Ballot” continues on page 3
The YouTube Underbelly
n the 11 years since its creation, YouTube has developed significantly as a platform. It has added new features, created new communities and essentially changed the way the world shares videos. Unfortunately, some of YouTube’s content-creators have been lagging in maturing with the growing website. But, with active involvement of their fan-bases, creators can certainly follow suit with the platform. With propositions like “we don’t support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity,” built into its community guidelines, one may think that YouTube is a stimulating exchange of ideas. However, popular YouTubers have a tendency to smudge the rather ambiguous lines surrounding the community policy;
Flip to pages 16-17 to get an deeper look into YouTube
YouTube uncovered. ◄◄
most of them get away with it, too. For example, Shane Dawson, who has over six million subscribers on YouTube released a video entitled “13 & Pregnant,” in which Dawson published videos in which he appeared painted in black face, a historically defamatory tool against black people and made tasteless jokes about incidents involving racially charged police brutality (i.e., shooting of Trayvon Martin). In late September, Sam Pepper, a Brit-
Libros sin » fronteras
ish YouTuber famous for his “pranks,” released a video in which he hid a fake hand under his jacket and asked unsuspecting women on the street for directions. When they weren’t looking, he reached from under his jacket and pinched their behinds. Because of what appears to be lax regulation on YouTube’s part, famous YouTubers get to keep hateful videos online. According to YouTube’s statistics page, over 100 hours of video content is up-
An inside look into a new club on campus that creates an
international reading community.
»
PHOTOS COURTESY FLICKR USERS BRUNO GMUENDER, YOUPLUS DALLAS, GAGE SKIDMORE, CARRIELU, CGP GREY
loaded to YouTube every minute; YouTube’s surveillance team simply can’t keep vigil on every pixel that crosses into cyberspace.
“Underbelly” continues on page 16
Features, Page 9
The Talon October 28, 2014
Get daily LAHS updates and read the news archives at lahstalon.org/news
College Board updates AP European History exam EMILY TERADA Staff Writer
In May 2016, sophomores at Los Altos High School will take a new version of the AP European History (EHAP) exam that will focus on the skill of synthesizing and analyzing material. The new exam will have more short answer questions, a different focus and revised multiple choice questions. The changes are designed to push students away from memorizing information and more toward applying critical thinking skills. In addition, the revised curriculum reflects what the Common Core standards are ultimately striving to accomplish. “There’s been a shift in the exam away from politics and the history of politics toward the emphasis [on] more of the social stories,” history teacher Stephanie Downey said. “[It’s about] stories of people who were not the top echelons of the society...that’s a reflection on a larger shift within how history is being researched and told within the late 20th and early 21st century.” The test will move away from surface level questions to ones that require connections to be made
between different sources. Furthermore, the multiple choice section has been changed. In the updated multiple choice section, test takers will encounter more visuals, such as maps or images. The questions will then ask students to apply their knowledge to the given topic. By providing visuals for test-takers, the new exam will require analysis of different historical events and mediums of information in order to develop a more complex understanding of history. “For instance, [the exam will] give
you a quote from a historian talking about Marxism and then you have to use your understanding of Marxism to answer questions about the French Revolution and other topics,” history teacher Todd Wangsness said. “The synthesis piece is being able to take what you know about Marxism and Marxist theory and Marxist interpretation of history [and apply it to a] question about the French Revolution from the viewpoint of a Marxist historian.” Additionally, the test has been revised to allow students to learn
VANESSA MARK
about historical events through stories to better reflect the way historians are researching now. Downey believes that, with this change, students will learn valuable skills that can be applied to life beyond the classroom. “What is more relevant are the skills that are enduring because that can be rooted in these skills of reading and analyzing and that’s applied across so many different non-menial jobs that it’s really a barrier to entry if you don’t have those skills,” Downey said.
Downey and Wangsness both hope that with a stronger focus on historical reasoning skills, students will develop a better understanding of the material. “I would hope that one of the outcomes of these changes [is] that you can’t do the panic cram at the last second,” Wangsness said. “You can’t just panic cram because you have to be able to read and interpret a passage about Marxism and the historiography of Marxism. That’s understanding and interpreting history and then applying it to different knowledge.” College Board’s decision to change aspects of the exam is part of a broader movement toward stimulating students to apply their knowledge to different historical thinking skills. “That [model] does represent this longer arc and this longer shift where I think for years College Board has wanted to move away from rote memorization to these more critical thinking [models],” Downey said. “It’s a larger shift that is happening within education because we’ve shifted from an age where you have to know something to an age where you have to be able to look something up and then interpret it.”
Auto CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE Assistant Principal Suzanne Woolfolk agrees that the program provides lifelong skills for students that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to explore. “You can’t really learn those skills anywhere else,” Woolfolk said. “Kids rarely are going to take a class in college even if it’s offered, so if they don’t learn [these skills] in their auto shop in high school, I don’t know how else they are going to know how to take care of themselves and their cars.” However, MVLA administrators cite waning enrollment numbers and budget cuts as reasons that the program is no longer as practical as before. “Back in 2010, there were four sections of Auto Shop at Los Altos, with a total of 64 students enrolled,” Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf said. “A year later, Los Altos offered three sections with only 46 students enrolled. Last year, the number of sections [was] reduced to two sections which served a total of 41 students. The continual decline in demand is what caused the reduction in the number of sections.” According to Sarraf, the new state guidelines do not include funding for vocational classes like Auto shop. These guidelines are part of broader cuts in state funding, which amounts to around over $500,000 lost in general funding. In addition to Auto shop, the administration is looking at the feasibility of other vocational programs that are
Left: Junior Aaron Nehan sits in a class car named “Blue” while seniors Kenny Schriner (left) and Chris Poulsen (right) look on behind. Right: Students decide how to move “Blue.” Below: Seniors Phillip Alemeda and Edwin Osorio work together on the rim of a wheel. Auto Shop might not be available next year due to loss of state funding and low enrollment.
currently offered at the school. “There could well be other programs [that might be cut],” Sarraf said. “The changes [in course offerings] will be based on student demand for courses that offer the best preparation for employment in the 21st century.” She believes that upgrading the Auto Shop to a modern standard would be very expensive, costing anywhere between $800,000 and $1 million. Sarraf was also concerned with the rel-
evance of Auto Shop in the context of modern technology and applicability to the current job market. “It really is an issue of trying to figure out which CTE programs are the most helpful to students,” Sarraf said. “To sustain a program that does not prepare students for jobs in the industry is not a viable option. To outfit the Auto Shop with state-of-theart equipment that is consistent with industry standards would be prohibitively expensive.”
Satterwhite’s main concern with sustaining Auto Shop is keeping up with the auto industry’s rapidly changing technology. “The thing that I see with Auto Shop is we can teach how do wheels turn and why does a crank shaft work and what is a kingpin and all those types of terms, but quite frankly, cars today don’t have kingpins and drive trains are a thing of the past and what’s the difference between front wheel drive and rear wheel drive,” Satterwhite
PHOTOS BY NOAH TSAO
said. “Now we have all wheel drive, and at some point even those are going to go away.” Discussion between the school and the MVLA administration about continuing vocational courses at the school began in mid-October and will extend until December, when a final decision will be made about which courses will be offered next year. The school will work with district administrators to gather data about each course and the demand for them based on student course requests. They will then propose a recommended course list for next school year to the school board, which will make the final decision. As of The Talon’s press deadline, Sarraf has not received any public feedback about the decision to offer Auto Shop next year. She states that the decision will depend on a number of factors. “Like all classes, the decision to offer Auto Shop will be made based on student demand and what is affordable,” Sarraf said. “The MVLA school board is the ultimate determiner of our curriculum. The board, however, will take a close look at staff recommendations that are based on changes in enrollment patterns and the cost associated with maintaining a program.”
The Talon October 28, 2014
Candidates compete for LASD Board positions ANNIE GAFFNEY Staff Writer
The Los Altos School District (LASD) Board of Trustees Elections will be held on November 4. Five candidates will run for three open seats to run the K-8 district Below, The Talon introduces each candidate.
Martha McClatchie
Martha McClatchie is the treasurer and financial secretary of the Oak Avenue School PTA and treasurer of the Bullis Purissima Elementary School Foundation. Her platform centers around “financial prudence,” particularly if Measure N is passed. She does not believe $150 million would provide sufficient funding for two new sites and would prioritize a school for the district to accommodate the incominggrowth from neighborhoods north of El Camino. McClatchie believes in the possibility of renovating the existing nine sites and is hesitant about the district purchasing more property.
Vladmir Ivanovic
Vladimir Ivanovic, the chairman of the Citizens’ Advisory Council for Finance, publicizes his focus on facilities, community and finance. Aiming to maintain LASD’s “small neighborhood school” model, Ivanovic supports a district expansion to accommodate neighborhoods north of El Camino. Ivanovic wants to collaborate with local governments on facilities planning to maintain the community aspect of the district. Ivanovic is also an LASD parent and has served on Gardner Bullis’ Site Council and Technology Committee.
Tamara Logan
Tamara Logan, currently the president of the LASD Board of Trustees, participated in the negotiation between the school district and the charter school to outline a long-term agreement to end facilities litigation. Over her last term, she worked to create programs that teach STEM in a creative way and provide guidance to teachers and staff. If re-elected, Logan seeks to offer a forward-looking program that incorporates creative expres-
LEFT TO RIGHT: COURTESY MARTHA MCCLATCHIE, VLADMIR IVANOVIC, KRISTINE BARDMAN, SANGEETH PERURI, JOHN SWAN
From left to right: Martha McClatchie, Vladmir Ivanovic, Tamara Logan, Sangeeth Peruri and John Swan are the five candidates running for the LASD school board. All five candidates support aspects of Measure N.
sion through music, art and play. If Measure N is passed, Logan has expressed that she would prioritize a campus for Bullis Charter School, as the current arrangement limits the f lexibility of the district. Sangeeth Peruri, an LASD parent, has experience in the investment industry and working with low income districts in California to improve their educational outcomes. Peruri is an Executive VP of the PTA, a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Finance and the head of the Program Committee of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Redwood City and East Palo Alto. If Measure N is passed, Peruri believes that it would provide sufficient funding for the construction of two new sites if the district is efficient with its spending.
John Swan
John Swan is a Covington and Bullis Charter School parent and has served on the LASD Superintendent’s Enrollment Growth Task Force. Swan’s platform focuses on developing “experiential learning” within the district. He aims for the schools to reach out in joint venture to private companies and to expose the children of LASD schools to foreign language much earlier. Swan does not believe the existing schools can support the upcoming capacity and supports the passage of Measure N.
CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE
Measure N
WHAT WHEN WHO WHY
A $150 million bond Voting on November 4 55% of the vote required to pass 1,129 more students enrolled in the LASD since 2004
AMANDA MELL
between the two parties. “The agreement requires BCS and LASD to work together to help pass Measure N to secure a long-term facility for BCS,” a statement on the “Yes on Measure N” website says. Though the district does contend that finding a permanent site for BCS is a top priority, the measure does not confirm or deny those suspicions and treats BCS the same as the other nine LASD schools. If the measure is passed, the LASD school board will appoint an oversight committee to ensure that the board’s planned actions with the money follow the lines for it outlined in the measure. Though the oversight committee will be appointed by the board, by California law, members of the committee have to represent certain groups of people, such as senior citizens and owners of businesses within district lines. The expected influx into LASD that is fueling Measure N will also impact the MVLA district and its high schools: Los Altos, Mountain
Lengthened Bell Schedule at AVHS (Monday, Tuesday, Friday)
Sangeeth Peruri
Ballot Supporters of the measure argue that it will help keep local schools small. The number of students in LASD schools has grown by 1,129 since 2004, creating levels of enrollment that have not been surpassed since the 1970s. “[The bottom line is] it’s going to create more spaces for students to learn,” LASD Superintendent Jeff Baier said. Advocates also contend that a higher number of students will dampen LASD’s image as a district renowned for having small schools. Elena Shea, a supporter of Measure N, is the president of the Huttlinger Alliance for Education, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization which promotes public schools in Los Altos. “Schools are a big reason that many families move to Los Altos, so it is important to keep our schools strong by supporting Measure N,” Shea said. Opposition to the measure, represented by the “No on Measure N” website, argues that it will raise taxes unnecessarily and that the money could be used for anything. “Voters should demand a detailed plan for how the funds will be used, what and where facilities will be built and how facilities will be used,” the oppositional statement on the “No on Measure N” website says. “This bond contains no plan for how its $150 million will relieve overcrowding.” There is speculation that the money will be used to build a permanent site for Bullis Charter School (BCS), a school with which LASD recently signed a five-year provision that creates an agreement about facilities
Alta Vista institutes changes
View and Alta Vista. MVLA expects 150 more students per class for the next few years. Though MVLA Superintendent Barry Groves believes that the new students will come from all over the district and feed into the three schools equally, the district has already built 12 new classrooms at Los Altos High and Mountain View High and has passed a bond to create space for the increased number of students. Overall, Groves does not think a larger number of students will have a profound impact on MVLA schools, in part because of the new classrooms the district has constructed at both high schools. “I don’t think [a larger number of students will affect schools] very much,” Groves said. “As a percentage of the total number of students, it is not very high.” To read more about The Talon’s stance on Measure N, flip to the editorial on page 5.
ZACH COHEN
OLIVIA JERRAM ERIC KOPPS Staff Writers
At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, major changes went into effect at Alta Vista High School (AVHS), the alternative high school in the Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) school district for students who benefit from a smaller, more personal learning environment. These changes included the addition of a full class of 20 freshmen students, as well as an elongated bell schedule to provide students at AVHS with an experience more similar to that of the nearby traditional high schools Los Altos High School (LAHS) and Mountain View High School (MVHS). “AVHS has been recognized several times as a top alternative high school in California,” MVLA Superintendent Barry Groves said. “[Recently], the staff [at AVHS] has been looking at how they can build on their successes with even more students.” Groves’ explanation for the MVLA school board’s decision to take on the new freshmen class consists mainly of the school’s desire to provide an alternate transition into high school for struggling freshmen. “We, as a district, saw that many students were not successful in a large 1900 student comprehensive high school,” Groves said. “Many of our ninth grade students needed a smaller, caring, more handson environment to be successful. We now work with those students [at AVHS], and the early results are that it has been a success.” In addition, the bell schedule at AVHS was lengthened for a total of one hour and 50 minutes to mimic the environment of a traditional
high school and facilitate a smoother transition when AVHS freshmen transfer to either LAHS or MVHS. “[The elongated schedule] aligns with the rest of the schools and this means that the students are getting more education than they would have before because there’s a [longer] time frame,” AVHS construction teacher Greg Ely said. “It’s a little hard for them to adjust when they were getting out at 1:30 p.m. [at AVHS] and now all of a sudden they have to do 8:10 a.m. to 2:30 or 3:30 p.m.” Furthermore, the longer schedule allows students to complete their credits more quickly. “Now that there’s a longer schedule students can take more classes and build up those [credits] faster,” Ely said. Even if you simply had a hard time getting school work done, [AVHS] gives you a second chance to fix stuff that you didn’t do [at LAHS or MVHS].” Ely believes that the alternate high school experience increases AVHS students’ potential to graduate from a traditional high school and receive their diploma from either LAHS or MVHS. “[Everybody] thinks [AVHS] is the bad school, where all the bad kids go—[this is] not necessarily [true],” Ely said. “There’s a bunch of kids who are just shy, or just don’t get along with other people, or it’s overwhelming [for them at LAHS or MVHS]. There could be problems at home [or] somewhere else. Some of the kids are in foster care. They just don’t work well or they get distracted at a comprehensive high school, so they need a smaller environment. [AVHS] is a smaller environment, where it’s tighter, it’s a little bit more controlled. [AVHS] gives more kids an opportunity to try to get their diploma.”
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The Talon October 28, 2014
World, State News: Hong Kong Protests, California Drought
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PHOTOS BY FLICKR USER PASU AU YEUNG
Hong Kong Protests
California Drought
COLE HANSON
DAVID LISBONNE
Staff Writer
Since September 22 this year, thousands of Hong Kong citizens have crowded their streets in protest over their inability to nominate and elect their own chief executive for the election in 2017. The chief executive in Hong Kong holds a sizeable amount of power, presiding over the government, directing elements of foreign policy and conducting judicial and legislative affairs. The movement began in Hong Kong when a crowd of students camped outside a government building. Within days, it erupted into a full scale protest that has since drawn hundreds of thousands of people to rally in the name of democracy. Immediately, the conflict became a global focus, bringing to light the imbalance of power between Hong Kong citizens and their government. In 1990, the creation of the Basic Law by the British and Chinese governments outlined that Hong Kong was meant to be a special administrative state within China. The Basic Law also declared that choosing a chief executive was intended to be decided through
through popular vote. The law also created a committee that elects and nominates all officers. According to the Associated Press, the recent demonstrations have exposed the lack of democracy within the state because China and the allegedly corrupt committee currently have control over which politicians are chosen as candidates for elections. The New York Times reports that while voters will be allowed to choose between up to three candidates, the candidates will have to be approved by a Beijing-controlled nominating committee. The protesters occupying the financial districts of Hong Kong argue that they have been denied the ability to vote and nominate their own candidates. According to ABC News, the protesters are demanding that Leung Chin Yeung, the current chief officer who has ignored the movement, resign and facilitate full democracy. Ever since the police started using tear gas during the peak of the contest in late September, the protesters have used umbrellas and facemasks as defense, thus sparking the nickname “the Umbrella Revolution.” As a symbol of the struggle, the
Staff Writer
protesters donned yellow bandanas and posted photos and hashtagged phrases that have become synonymous with the protest. The Chinese government has responded indirectly to the protests by censoring media on the mainland, removing posts with words like “Umbrella Revolution” and “yellow bandana” on Instagram, Facebook and Weibo (China’s version of Twitter). The main group behind the protest is Occupy Central, which is led by a reverend and two Hong Kong university professors; the organization has been planning the civil movement for two years. In a recent article by CNN, Leung has said China will remain resilient in its position against the protesters. Aside from the actions of local police, reports from The New York Times and Reuters predict that Chinese and Hong Kong officials will simply wait for the protest to die down. With recent videos surfacing of police brutality towards protesters and Leung’s resilient response, news sources widely speculate that the situation will only continue to escalate in the coming weeks.
Top: Thousands of Hong Kong protesters have crowded the streets since September 22. Left: A protester protects his mouth from tear gas. Right: Protesters flee from police, who began using tear gas in late September. Bottom left: The revolution has been nicknamed the “Umbrella Revolution” due to the protesters’ use of umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas.
For the past two years, California has faced record drought conditions throughout the state. The impact has been most dramatic in Southern and Central California, parts of which do not have any running water. According to the California Department of Water Resources, 2013 was the driest year on record for much of the state. The drought has continued into 2014 and on January 17, Governor Brown declared a drought state of emergency. Los Altos has not been immune from the effects. As of October 1, Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (SCVWD) ten reservoirs stood at just 35 percent of their capacity. As a result of the drought, an increasing number of homeowners are letting their lawns go brown instead of watering them. Because lawns are the largest user of water both commercial and personal, the SCVWD implemented a new campaign called “Brown Is The New Green,” urging residents to refrain from watering lawns as heavily. The drought has also impacted local wildlife. The Los Altos Town Crier has reported an increase in wildlife encounters, specifically attacks on pets; lack of water in the hills has caused coyotes and mountain lions to travel farther into the community than in the past and to come into frequent contact with people. Thanks to the drought, elections for seats on the SCVWD are becoming more competi-
tive and in turn, more expensive. A report published by Palo Alto Online on October 11 showed that candidate Gary Kremen has amassed $280,000 for his campaign. On June 24 the Los Altos city council approved a resolution to encourage water conservation measures throughout the city. These measures include watering plants only at specific times during the day and altering landscaping to include drought tolerant plants. Although it is not necessarily clear if the increase is enough to replenish deplted reservoirs, rain levels this year have been promising. The Santa Clara Valley has received 114 percent of its seasonal average to date. Furthermore, the National Weather Service states that there is a 66 percent chance of El Niño weather, which ordinarily brings higher than average rainfall in California. Data predicts that heavy rains will fall between November and January.
TOP: FLICKR USER NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, BOTTOM: FLICKR USER DOCENT JOYCE
Top: The Uvas reservoir in Morgan Hill sits dry where water levels have fallen short. Right: A satellite image of the state shows a wildfire caused by the drought. Bottom: A man walks on the lake bed of Laguana Lake in early September which has gone dry because of the drought.
The Talon October 28, 2014
Please send letters to the editor to talon.lahs@gmail.com
Measure A Measure A
AA
2002
LASD proposes Measure A, a LASD proposes Measure A, a tax increase meant to benefit tax increase meant to benefit schools. schools.
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you »» Why A Deeper
Its history, its purpose and its potential for change
Measure N
SOURCES: “TIMELINE: LOS ALTOS SCHOOL DISTRICT VS. BULLIS CHARTER SCHOOL” LOS ALTOS TOWN CRIER, LASD DEMOGRAPHICS PAGE
N
Its history, its purpose and its potential for change
On Tuesday, November 4, Los Altos residents will vote on Measure N, a bond that would give $150 million to the Los Altos School District (LASD) to improve and expand its facilities. While the district has not yet decided exactly how to spend the funds from the proposed bond, the measure would provide many solutions to the district’s problem of increased enrollment across all LASD schools. Residents should vote in favor of Measure N, as it is an apt solution to overcrowding and its potential for positive change is promising. Some proponents of the measure suggest that renovating an existing school’s campus to fit more students would be the most efficient way to solve the problem, while others propose buying new property and building a
completely new facility. One of the district’s top priorities is to acquire a unique location for Bullis Charter School (BCS), a change that would resolve facility-based tension between the district and BCS. Such a change would also improve the education of district students, as BCS is currently split between Egan Junior High School and Blach Intermediate School campuses. Due to limited open land within the district and the sensitivity of real estate prices, potential sites for a new school have not been publicly announced. However, the district has been considering possible locations. With no set allocation of the money, voters have reason to be hesitant before granting the LASD School Board $150 million worth of trust. Voters may see the lack of detail
BCS charter renewed
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Why? In 2000, California voters passed Copy/Content Editors Proposition 39, a bill that claimed that school districts had to ensure William Jow, James Sun, that local charter schools recieved commensurate funding to those of Varghese, Kevin Yen Maya their public school counterparts. In several lawsuits, BCS claimed that Business Managers the LASD was not supporting the
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Its history, its purpose and its potential for change SOURCES: “TIMELINE: LOS ALTOS SCHOOL DISTRICT VS. BULLIS CHARTER SCHOOL” LOS ALTOS TOWN CRIER, LASD DEMOGRAPHICS PAGE
in the wording of Measure N, but they must realize the substantial amount of planning that the district has organized in the months leading up to the vote. Though plans are not yet definite, pending on the passage of the bond, the focus on preparation and establishment of numerous planning committees dedicated to the success of Measure N should give voters the confidence necessary to vote in favor of Measure N. Much of the planning is currently conducted by the Facilities Master Planning Committee (FMPC), which consists of volunteer Los Altos, Mountain View and Los Altos Hills community members, LASD district staff and parents, teachers and administration from LASD district schools and BCS. The board of trustees has made it clear that the FMPC does not have district board members, as the FMPC is designed to be an apolitical planning committee.
Currently, the FMPC is discussing ideal qualities to have in a potential new school site, as well as considering what actions should be taken if Measure N does not pass, in which case the district would have to address the issue of overcrowding without extra funding. Other subcommittees, formed over the past months to address more specific issues pertaining to the increased enrollment, also report to the LASD Board of Trustees, who will make final decisions on actions regarding Measure N. As a decision on Measure N approaches, it is crucial for voters to be aware of the magnitude of planning done by the board thus far. Through its dedication to planning for Measure N, the LASD board has proven that it deserves the trust of the Los Altos community in protecting the high quality education that is so integral to Los Altos.
Correction: On September 30, an article was published marking junior Julia Khan as junior class president. The current junior class president is junior Jenny Chin. The Talon sincerely regrets this error.
THUMBS UP to the school for providing free college resources for students The tutorial center host free Essay Days nearly every Tuesday throughout first semester for students who need help editing their essays or brainstorming ideas. Tutorial center coordinator Quyen Nguyen reaches out to professional writers, teachers and admissions readers in the local community to assist students. Working with these volunteers can help relieve stress and improve students’ applications to colleges they hope to attend. Additionally, the college and career center hosts college visits for juniors and seniors from dozens of schools that provide information and allow students to ask questions in order to determine whether a school is right to them. The representatives are often the same people who will be reading student’s applications, so the visits are a great opportunity to find out what schools are looking for in a candidate. Both of these resources offer students unique opportunities to become better prepared for the application process.
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Johnny Scher, Leonardo Wai
Senior Writers Robert Chin, Perla Luna, Sitara Sriram
Staff Writers Anneliese Gallagher, Spencer How willDembner, Annie Gaffney, Teddy Measure N Chmyz, be Hannah Craford, Josh implemented? Kirshenbaum, Eric Kopps, David Lisbonne, Olivia Jerram, Jessica LASD hasClaire already King, Bai, Eric Thiem, prioritized its Hanna Khosravi, Emily Terada, following steps in the Elaine Lee, Cole Hanson, Emily case that Measure N Aoki,The Alexandra Milkey is passed.
should vote YES on Measure N 3. 3.
A
N
Media Editor Noy Anisman
BCS opens its first-ever seventh grade class and makes plans to continue growth
Measure N is designed by LASD to meet BCS’s needs and satisfy parents in the district.
Editor-In-Chief Carly Cohen Managing Editors Maya Acharya(Print) 2 Zach Cohen (Print) In the past 10 years David Wu (Web)enrollment in local s
Tensions rise Features Editor between parents in Katherine Yen public schools and Before parents in charter In-Depth Editor Amelia Baum schools as the charter school vies for more Entertainment Editor land at the expense Alice Dai of public schools.
2008
Measure N proposed
201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA October 28, 2014 Volume XXX, Issue 2
Sports Editor Daniel Rosenbaum
More Morefacilities facilitiesmay maybe be created as aaresult funding, the decides of toofthe created asLASD result the reopen the Purrisima campus increased funding ofofMeaincreased funding Measure sureNNororexisting existingfacilities facilities may be expanded. may be expanded. BCS Expands
2008
Los Altos High School
News Editor has increased by 25% Sofia Guo
Bullis accepts a proposal to be located on the Egan Junior High School campus.
1. 1.
LASD LASDhas hasalready already prioritized prioritizeditsits following followingsteps stepsininthe the case casethat thatMeasure MeasureNN isispassed. passed.The The district districthas hasdivided divided priorities prioritiesinto intotwo two categories: categories:immediimmediate atepriorities prioritiesand and long-term long-termpriorities. priorities.
SOURCES: “TIMELINE: LOS ALTOS SCHOOL DISTRICT VS. BULLIS CHARTER SCHOOL” LOS ALTOS TOWN CRIER, LASD DEMOGRAPHICS PAGE
students
BCS 2012
How Howwill will Measure MeasureNNbe be implemented? implemented?
Look into should vote Measure YES on N
2004
4061 new students students
Bottom increasing number BCS Expands again Bottomline: line:same same increasing number ofofstudents, more adequate facilities LASD allows BCS to expand students, more adequate facilities from Egan campus to Blach totoaccomodate them BCS accommodate BCS them campus in a dual-campus setup
BCS BCS BCS 2012 BCS BCS BCS
Measure N proposed Measure N proposed Measure N is designed by LASD N isneeds designed LASD toMeasure meet BCS’s andby satisfy to meet needs and satisfy parents inBCS’s the district. parents in the district.
BCS opens
After AfterNN
Before BeforeNN
the school took a major hit following unilateral education funding cuts. However, the measure failed, leaving the district with a continued lack of funds.
Bullis Purrisima Elementary (BPE) closes.
2003 4061 new
BCS shall BCS be... shall be...
funding, the LASD decides to funding, LASD decides to reopen thethe Purrisima campus reopen the Purissima campus
BCS opens its first-ever seventh BCS opens its first-ever seventh grade class and makes plans to grade class and makes plans to continue growth continue growth
to raise money for the Bullis Elemtary school
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InInthe thepast past10 10years, years, enrollment enrollmentininlocal localschools schools BCS has hasincreased increasedby by25% 25%
BCS Expands again BCS Expands again LASD allows BCS to expand LASD allows BCS to from Egan campus to expand Blach from Egan to Blach campus in a campus dual-campus setup campus in a dual-campus setup
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2002
BCS shall be...
Tensions Tensionsrise rise between betweenparents parentsinin public publicschools schoolsand and parents parentsinincharter charter schools schoolsasasthe thecharter charter school schoolvies viesfor formore more land at the expense land at the expense ofofpublic publicschools. schools.
BCS Expands BCS Expands
BCS BCS BCS BCS
1
2
Gardner Bullis Reopened Gardner Bullis Reopened
BPE BPE
A
Wh
What is Measure A? The LASD proposed
LASD proposes Measure A, a tax increase meant to benefit schools.
What Whathappens happensififMeasure Measure NNisisimplemented? BPE closes implemented?
BCS chartered BCS chartered
BCS opens BCS opens
BCS BCS
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Measure A
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Step 1: find a district has divided accomodate g priorities into two Photographers number of stu categories: immediIan Mackey, ate priorities andBrandon Hong, Allegra Maeso, Noah Tsao, Elvis long-term priorities. Li, Menson Li, Gina Kermode Graphic Artists Amanda Mell, Vanessa Mark Videographers Bonaventure Duprat, Carl Faust, Brandon Hong, Ian Mackey, Riley Moulds Adviser Michael Moul
POLICIES Los Altos High School’s Compositional Journalism class is solely responsible for The Talon, which is published eight 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. Its members are Maya Acharya, Noy Anisman, Zach Cohen, Spencer Dembner and Perla Luna.
ADVERTISE & SUBSCRIBE Send advertisement and subscription inquiries to Johnny Scher and Leonardo Wai at talon.lahs@gmail.com.
Talon Supporters Honorary Pulitzers Kamal and Sharmila Acharya, Hadas and David Anisman, Henry Dai and Dan Shen, Chuyen Do and Quyen Nguyen, Anne Marie Gallagher, Lisa Gordon, Su-Jane Hsieh, Jerry Scher and Susan Stark, Lillian Terada, The Varghese Family, Talon Volume 26 editors, Tracy Weatherby, Wendy Yang, Yongmei Zhou
Silver Supporters Sam and Ann Baum, Bruce Cohen, Amy and John Gaffney, Bob and Janis Harrison, Samrand Hesami, Rick and Corrie Jow, Jade Kandel, Hanna Khosravi, Vivian Mao, The McColl Family, Angie and Steve McDonald
The Talon October 28, 2014
Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/opinions
Why we should care about North Korea ELAINE LEE Staff Writer
North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), sounds like an ironic joke to many. But instead of generating negative or lighthearted comments about North Korea’s communist dictatorship, we need to take the situation seriously and look at the real facts. It is necessary for us to educate ourselves about North Korea because of its threatening nuclear weapons, its alliance with China (who is also the United States’ biggest economic partner) and its potential governmental collapse. North Korea’s historical background should be our first focus. The isolationist country was founded by Kim Il Sung and the state is officially ruled by the Kim family under a totalitarian dictatorship and communist principles. According to the lecture “Understanding North Korea” by Rutgers Professor Suzy Kim, North Korea is called “Chosun” by its own citizens. Chosun is the name of the last Korean dynasty before Japan invaded the then-united Korea in 1910 and began the harsh period of colonization until the end of World War II. Even though many citizens of firstworld democratic nations are quick to look at North Korea’s actions with contempt and disrespect, we need to first acknowledge that North Korea was founded on a noble principle that is easily applicable to the modern democracies of the world. So why should we care about North Korea? What importance can a small, communist, isolationist and resource-poor nation have to a giant superpower like the United States?
First, and most famously, North Korea possesses nuclear weapons. Given the country’s limited financial budget and its history of inconsistent promises, there is some reason to why people would doubt the actual strength and number of these weapons. However, there is reason to give the situation greater attention and caution. Philip Yun, a former diplomat who worked in the State Department under Bill Clinton to manage US policy toward North Korea, asserted at the 2014 Hana-Stanford Conference on Korea that “North Korea will eventually have nuclear tipped long-range missile.” These missiles can reach longer distances and could reach and harm the United States. This nuclear possession is even more dangerous given the history between the two Koreas, whose capitals
are only 120 miles apart. North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 and almost succeeded. A second strike is realistically a plausible outcome in the future. The United States is bound to South Korea by treaty to defend its sovereignty against communist North Korean provocation. A second Korean War would not only upset financial budgets, but also military affairs and political parties. Many people don’t acknowledge the fact that North Korea has quite a bit of leverage over the international community in negotiations. In addition, there are two factors that force the United States to use caution when dealing with the DPRK: North Korea’s alliance with China, and the disaster that would result from a potential collapse of the Kim regime.
liance is not one where the bigger country uses the smaller one as a puppet. Though we expect the DPRK to be grateful for China’s protection, the North Korean government realizes that China’s aid is more a form of Chinese self-interest than a gesture of compassion. There is also the possible fall of the Kim regime, which is possible based on Kim Jong Un’s faltering health, his strained alliance with the Chinese government and his stubborn continuance of communism in a modernizing world. If this were to happen, there would be chaos not only for North Koreans without a government, but also the neighboring countries of South Korea and China whose economies would be disrupted by the inflow of refugees. The fact remains that no one really knows what’s going inside of North Korea. Sometimes, like in the failed nuclear test of April 2012, it seems like a laughingstock. But other times, like VANESSA MARK during the 2010 sinking of the ship China, the United States’ biggest eco- ROKS Cheonan, it terrifies us. These nomic partner, has a very precarious re- constant surprises only tell us that lationship with the rest of we shouldn’t measure the world and has manNorth Korea’s capabiliaged to balance a profitties by its idiosyncrasies Rather than able business relationbecause we never know ship with many of world’s viewing the what to expect. most powerful countries. nation as a As Yun warned, Many of these are demo- failed commu“They’re not crazy. Don’t cratic and have a heavy nist state, we waste time trying to influence on North Koknow the unknowable.” rea’s role in international must instead Rather than viewing the relations. China has his- realize that nation as a failed comtorically blocked harsh with its nuclear munist state, we must international sanctions weapons, North instead realize that with on North Korea, but at its nuclear weapons, Korea requires the same time it is the North Korea requires United States’ biggest international international attention. attention. banker. Because when these facWhat makes this tors escalate as time goes problem more comon, we will be the genplicated is that the China-DPRK al- eration that must deal with this issue.
Intro to Engineering provides worthwhile experience
ests rather than how it will look on their transcript. “Hopefully you take this class WILLIAM JOW Copy/Content Editor because it’s something that you’re interested in,” Intro to Engineering Design teacher Teresa Dunlap said. “That’s what electives are Students in high school commonly supposed to be—you’re not supcarry a predefined courseload, con- posed to take them because you sisting of core subject and perhaps a think, ‘Well, it helps my GPA.’ So, if people dismiss it few well-known elecbecause of that, then tives. In a lot of cases, I don’t want to force these schedules are people to be in here, not defined by what The new Intro but I do think it’s nice the students want to to Engineerif they’re open-minddo, but rather what ed enough to see what the students think col- ing class and this has to offer.” leges want them to do. the projected While some stuWhile this approach upcoming addents will dismiss the may seem appealing for ditional Project new engineering prostudents hoping for a Lead the Way gram at this school as straightforward path to either irrelevant to the a prestigious college, it courses offer a focus of their planned is important to remem- fresh and intermajor or as a class that ber the advantages of esting alternalacks any academic some lesser-known tive pathway advantage, the course opportunities. These provides much more opportunities have the for those interthan simply an intropotential to become in- ested. duction to engineervaluable to the students who are willing to venture out to take ing design. A major component of them. The Intro to Engineering class engineering is problem solving, an is an example of a class that students asset that will be valuable to people should take based on their own inter- regardless of whether or not they
pursue a career in engineering. “The emphasis of the course is on problem-solving, brainstorming, collaboration and project-based kinds of things,” Dunlap said. “So not only do you learn basic, foundational engineering stuff like 3-D modeling, visualization skills and technical drawing, but also things that are good life skills.” Although the focus of the class is on engineering design, even students who are not partial toward STEM
subjects can benefit from the course because the design process that it teaches fosters thinking skills that are applicable to many other disciplines. “We don’t always know what we’re going to use of the knowledge that we learn, so to me the philosophy is learn as much as you can, learn things that you want to learn and see where it takes you,” Dunlap said. “You don’t always know where your life is going to head and what oppor-
NOAH TSAO
Students of the Intro to Engineering class give a presentation on a famous invention. The Intro to Engineering class offers beneficial experience for those who are interested in a career in engineering.
INTERESTED IN GUEST-WRITING FOR TALON?
tunities you’re going to have, but the more you learn and the more connections you can make to the bigger picture of things and the richer your educational experience is going to be in general.” Another benefit that students should consider taking advantage of is the fact that these specialized courses are being offered at the high school level. The Intro to Engineering Design course is part of a larger program called Project Lead the Way that will encompass more than this introductory course. In the next few years, the school hopes to experiment with additional courses that focus on computer integrated manufacturing, digital electronics, aerospace and civil or architectural engineering so students can get exposure to specific engineering fields before choosing a college major. Many students may find it difficult to fit in an extra elective amongst a full course load. However, it is also important to consider classes that genuinely pique their interest when choosing classes. The new Intro to Engineering class and the projected upcoming additional Project Lead the Way courses offer a fresh and interesting alternative pathway for those interested.
If you would like to write about your stance on an issue that’s affecting students at our school, email Opinions Editor Steven Cui at opinions.lahstalon@gmail.com with a summary of your idea.
The Talon October 28, 2014
Just Maya Thoughts
Fight against sexual assault continues. Join it. HANNA KHOSRAVI Staff Writer
By Maya Varghese
Girls’ Education is a Necessity “A girl is not supposed to be a slave,” girls’ rights activist Malala Yousafzai said on Friday, October 10, the day she became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize. “A girl should have an identity, she should be recognized, she should have equal rights as a boy.” Yousafzai is one of many people working to bring to light the issues affecting some of the world’s most neglected people: the girls of third-world countries. Recent successes in the campaign for girls’ education include Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard’s recent announcement of the launch of a new campaign with the Brookings Institute. Called the Collective Harnessing Ambition & Resources for Girls Education (CHARGE), it will spend $600 million to help girls in SubSaharan Africa and Southwest Asia attend secondary school. The education gap is obviously a huge women’s rights issue, but it is more than that. When she announced the new campaign to the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton said that “We know when girls have access to quality education in both primary and secondary schools, cycles of poverty are broken, economies grow, glass ceilings crack and potential is unleashed.” It’s important to remember that the Taliban was less afraid of bombs than a girl with books and a voice. It’s also worth noting that many of the regions of the world currently dealing with terrorism and violence are among those which traditionally have low levels of women’s education. While the United States is using drones and airstrikes to try to defeat terrorism in the short term, the long term is worth thinking about as well. Terrorist groups grow out of the anger and hate of regular people, and we can’t snuff out anger and hate with bombs. Instead, functioning democracies need to be built, and education and equality are a huge part of this. Clinton, Gillard and Yousafzai are thinking longterm. Emphasis on girls’ education will not pay off in the next few years, but it will farther into the future. The new initiative to increase the number of girls attending secondary school will allow women to take on roles beyond service and labor. Education is a powerful tool to end poverty, war and terrorism. As Yousafzai put it in an interview with the New York Times, “Instead of soldiers, send books. Instead of sending weapons, send pens.”
At the beginning of her sophomore year of college, Emma Sulkowicz, a visual arts major at Columbia University, was raped in her dorm room on her own bed. She was deprived of a fair trial in Columbia’s courtroom, as the rapist’s testimony won over the jury, who decided to grant him innocence, even though two other female students came forward with the fact that he had assaulted them as well. In her time at Columbia University, Sulkowicz has become one of the 23 students to have had mishandled sexual assault cases on the campus and has lit a spark that many have dubbed as “the revolution against sexual assault.” Sulkowicz’s journey is paving the way for people to speak out against their past pains, and her courage will translate into heroism for other girls and boys all across America who know or have experienced this tragic crime. In a form of protest against the
school that she feels abused her rights, Sulkowicz has decided to carry the mattress that she was assaulted on throughout the entirety of the campus as a way to “Carry That Weight” (an alternative name for the project), until her rapist is expelled. A tremendous outburst of national attention has fallen upon Sulkowicz since the start of her movement. Numerous gender equality organizations, sexual assault prevention campaigns and artistic societies have championed her “mattress performance,” as activists all around the United States are singing her praises and fighting alongside her by vocalizing validation for her groundbreaking campaign. With Emma’s crusade, rape in the Ivy League is being viewed as a brutal issue that must be addressed, and people should provide their attention to this matter in order to ensure that cases like these do not happen again. “I had to watch my rapist give his testimony on a television in another room. It’s that feeling where your stomach drops,” Sulkowicz wrote in her Time Magazine essay, “My Rapist Is Still On Campus.” “Not only was he
AMANDA MELL
lying, but he was also making up these assault is also a male responsibility. entire fantasy stories...They were so It is a brilliant way to incorporate the graphic and disgusting. He had every male voice into this everlasting issue, detail made up.” because there are two sides to every Sulkowicz’s parents told the Colum- story. Until now, this has mostly been bia Spectator that Jean-Paul Nungesser, a woman’s campaign, but without a who they have identified as her rapist, man’s support, everything the women is still on campus as a student. When do could result in insignificance. Sulkowicz decided to come clean about The issue is global, as the problem the harrowing experience, she took can be seen all around the world, while the case to the NYPD, but was quickly women are beginning to rise up against rebuffed and told that making this a oppression to express their stances on criminal issue would rethe matter of women’s sult in an investigation rights. Just this year, fathat would last much mous stars like Angelina The winds of longer than a campus Jolieattended a rapesumcontrolled one. There- change are mit in London, entitled fore, she is constrained here, and with “End Sexual Violence in to dependence upon the inadvertent Conflict.” The effort to ruling of the university. combat this horrendous activists like “Columbia will rebreach of human rights main indelibly in the Sulkowicz bring- is valiant and incredibly public mind as the uni- ing them to the momentous, and the fact versity where good men world stage, that important figures and women did noth- this could mark all around the world are ing,” Sulkowicz’s parshedding light on the isan important ents, Sandra Leong and sue is an important step chapter in hisKerry J. Sulkowicz said. in our future. It also begs Their opinion is that tory. the question that as we this is a pinnacle of rape fight this atrocious crime culture in the United across the globe, why can States, and being that strong young we not start doing it on our very own women all around the world see univer- university campuses, where America’s sity life in their near future, Sulkowicz’s brightest are sent to be molded into campaign is nothing short of legendary. well-educated adults, not to be plagued The freedom and all of the praise by fear and suppression? raining upon Sulkowicz will mean The winds of change are here, and nothing if no reforms are made to with inadvertent activists like Sulkowprevent cases like this from ever oc- icz bringing them to the world stage, curring again. As we speak, Vice Presi- this could mark an important chapter dent Joe Biden is piloting a campaign in history. Citizens across the United to put an end to sexual assault. If you States, be them students or any other go to a movie theater any time soon, member of the our country’s populaor even went to one over the summer, tion, must take their stance against you might have seen a chilling PSA ad- rape culture. While it will take bravvertisement starring famous male ac- ery and indelible grit, by making her tors like Daniel Craig and Steve Carell, voice heard, Emma Sulkowicz might and ended by powerful testimonies just be developing a path for others to from Biden and President Barack muster the boldness in their hearts to Obama regarding how ending sexual protect peoples’ rights.
Fast-track Ebola vaccines risky, necessary KEVIN YEN
Copy/Content Editor
As with most controversies, the international response to Ebola has been to raise more questions than intervening nations can answer—chiefly, how can it be stopped? According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), there have been 9000 people reported to be stricken with Ebola with at least 4,500 dead. The United States is at the forefront of combatting Ebola, with most of its progress made in sending equipment to hard struck nations—Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone—in the form of medical kits and personnel. More importantly, the US is funding the development of experimental vaccines and drugs—many with few human trials—with the hope of protecting more people from dying. Though many may argue that these measures are disturbing, the United States must be allowed to continue administering Ebola treatments, even those that lack human testing. Furthermore, it is crucial that they be prioritized to health care workers for the stability of day-to-day Ebola responses. One factor that the United States has been desperately trying to beat is time; the CDC estimates that by January 20, 2015, reported and unreported cases could reach 1.4 million
VANESSA MARK
in Liberia and Sierra Leone alone if no progress is made in stopping Ebola. Due to time constraints, the US has fast-tracked vaccine and drug development programs to the point of allowing these medicines with inadequate human clinical trials to be approved for human use. Unfortunately, this is a necessary action. For now, a shortage of vaccines is hampering efforts to contain Ebola. Even though 10,000 doses of vaccine could be ready by November, the issue of safety and who should receive protection has not yet been resolved. As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) set up an expert panel in August to address the controversial nature of these issues. In late July, when two Americans contracted Ebola in West Africa, they were injected with doses of the experimental drug, Zmapp, that was designed to combat Ebola. Shortly after, the media raised questions about whether it was ethical for hospitals to distribute these drugs knowing they have not yet undergone human trials. If patients are informed and willing to receive the drugs, then the answer is yes. Although Zmapp’s effectiveness is unclear, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone need Zmapp and other fast tracked treatments because they offer what conventional treatments don’t have: the potential to make a significant impact. At this point, even if treatments don’t work, researchers can learn and build off of their errors. Having trials on actual Ebola patients to either validate or invalidate a drug like Zmapp is at the minimum, speeding up the pro-
cess of creating the right treatment. Either way, taking action is one step closer to eradicating Ebola in countries where their situation is dire. “Ten percent of healthcare workers are dying,” University of Maryland, Baltimore professor Myron Levine said at an emergency WHO meeting in early September. “In these countries that have very broken healthcare services, when you have doctors and nurses not coming to facilities that are underserved to begin with, it’s a disaster. It’s a public health crisis.” Health care workers receive much more exposure to Ebola because of the close-proximity nature of their work. If these people are not immediately protected from Ebola, many of them will die and countless more will likely refuse to continue working. Because health care workers are the backbone of the current effort to stop Ebola, it is essential that they be vaccinated first. With the largest Ebola outbreak in history on its hands, poor preparations and dwindling time, the United States and WHO are focusing on producing working vaccines and drugs all while balancing the delicate issue of how they should be distributed. The task ahead is enormous, but if patients are willing to volunteer for human trials, more treatments can be evaluated and hopefully approved. In the end, health care workers will be able to more prepared to deliver vaccines and drugs. There is massive potential here to stop any more damage from being done. Like any problem, the world can only start from the ground up.
The Talon October 28, 2014
Native American Mascot debate requires more research JOSH KIRSHENBAUM Staff Writer
For decades, there has been a push in sports to remove mascots and names that are deemed offensive, especially those that are based off of Native American people, history and customs. This debate has reached a new level with the argument over the Washington Redskins and whether the name is demeaning or an honor to Native Americans. In past years, there has been a discussion as to whether we should ban all such names. Looking at the issue, it is clear that there is no single answer. Despite what some people may want, we shouldn’t just ban all names having to do with Native Americans. While a number of names certainly are derogatory, others are not, and some are even used with the consent of tribes. In my opinion, there is a scale where different names and mascots each have a place. Because there are different levels of offensiveness, people need to do their research in order to make an informed opinion. To be clear, there are names that should not be allowed for obvious reasons. Using slurs as mascots should not even be a question. That includes the Washington Redskins (along with numerous high schools that share the mascot) and other high schools who are the Squaws (Bellmont High School, IN) or the Halfbreeds (Aniak High School, AK). Basically, any name whose dictionary definition involves the words “usually offensive” or “often offensive” should be out. Aside from names, there should also be rules against obviously offensive mascots
and logos, like the Atlanta Braves’ Chief Noc-A-Homa and Princess Win-A-Lotta, which were dropped in 1983 at the team’s discretion. Some teams are also eliciting anger over offensive practices, namely the Tomahawk Chop and the war chant, done by numerous teams, including the Braves, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Florida State Seminoles. Next on the scale are teams that aren’t necessarily derogatory, like Chiefs or Raiders. Oftentimes, these mascots were applied to teams with Native Americans in mind, but don’t have as negative a connotation. They are more on the level with what I would call occupational mascots, like the Old Dominion University Monarchs, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen or the New Orleans Saints, which few, if any, think of as offensive. As they aren’t offensive there shouldn’t be a push to get rid of them. The next rung down involves
teams who have connections to Na- er after the 86th Infantry Division tive Americans despite their appear- from World War I, which was known as the Black Hawk Diance, or vice-versa. The vision. two best examples for Least offensive of all these are the NBA’s mascots are the ones Golden State Warriors Due to the that are approved by and the NHL’s Chicago complexity of Native Americans. For Blackhawks. When the the issue, it is instance, Florida State Warriors formed in imperative that University is the SemiPhiladelphia in 1946, noles, named after the their logo and mascot people see both Seminole tribe. The were a very stereotypi- sides of the isschool had had the apcal Native American. sue and underOnce they came to the stand that while proval of the Florida Seminole Tribe for west coast though, they they might decades, and in 2005, changed their mascot they got official perto be more respectful. consider names mission from the OklaThey’re still the War- offensive, the homa branch of the riors, but few people intent to offend (which split off in think that their name isn’t necessarily tribe the Trail of Tears in the is racist. On the other early 1800s) to keep the hand, many people see there. name. The tribe also the Blackhawks name and logo and think it is. However, the gave their support to the school’s team is not named after the legend- main mascots, Chief Osceola and his ary leader of the Sauk tribe, but rath- horse Renegade, despite the fact that This team name is racist? We should probably change it!
This team name is not racist. It’s tradition and I don’t want to change it!
When team names use offensive slurs
• TEAM NAME OBVIOUSLY A RACIST SLUR • REFUSAL TO CHANGE • LACK OF EMPATHY FOR MINORITY GROUPS
• TEAM NAME MAY NOT BE AN OBVIOUS SLUR • ACCEPTANCE OF CHANGE • EMPATHY FOR MINITORITY GROUPS ZACH COHEN
the two are historically inaccurate; most Seminole warriors didn’t ride horses. Other tribes have also backed the teams and schools who bear their name. The University of Utah has permission from the Ute tribe to be the Utes. In 2003 the Saginaw Chippewa tribe in Michigan gave Central Michigan consent to be the Chippewas. The tribe has also given a local high school its official permission to be the Warriors. “Our position is that if it’s not derogatory and it’s being used appropriately, with an opportunity to share or cross-share our culture, then it’s fine,” public relations director of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe Frank Cloutier said in an interview in 2013 with ESPN’s Paul Lukas. One other point of contention is whether non-Native Americans should have a say in the matter. Some argue that only Native Americans, as the offended party, should decide what is offensive and what isn’t. However, Cloutier disagrees. “We all live in this wonderful globe together,” Cloutier said. “If there’s a negative impact on any one group, that impacts all of us as a whole. I think everyone, collectively, can have a voice in this.” Due to the complexity of the issue, it is imperative that people see both sides of the issue and understand that while they might consider names offensive, the intent to offend isn’t necessarily there. On the other side, while a team might have great traditions and connections to their name, people need to see that it might be offensive to others, and be willing to hear their side of the argument. In order to develop a balanced opinion on the issue, people must take the time to become more informed.
Skills Night offers advantage for school CARLY COHEN Editor-In-Chief
On Thursday, October 16, the school held its first ever “Skills Night.” Put on by the interdisciplinary Skills and environmental science teams, the night was dedicated to a hosted dinner, information sessions on the classes available at
the school and an AVID and college preparation presentation. The intent of the evening was to reach out to the families of students in their assisted classes in response to the limited attendance at Back to School Night due to work and family obligations. As the school looks to increase community involvement and close the achievement gap on campus, nights such as Skills Night must continue. With over 100 people in attendance at this first event, it is evi-
BRANDON HONG
Above: Instructional Aide Anne Battle interacts with students during Skills Night. Below Left: Counselor Jacob Larin talks with parents at Skills Night in order to help them understand the expectations for their students. Below Right: Teachers deliver a presentation on what parents can do to support their children.
dent that an interest exists to form connections between teachers and families. The night was set up to introduce parents to the clear expectations they have of their students. Between forming specific strategies to help students in and out of the classroom and overall strong support systems, it is events like this that unify the community on campus. “We recognize that we are a team with our students’ families, and that together, we can help narrow the achievement gap and really support our students,” English and skills teacher Elizabeth Tompkins, a primary organizer of the event, said. “Our hope is that this event will inspire more frequent communication between parents and our team of teachers throughout the school year. It’s a powerful thing when parents and teachers come together to encourage and support the students.” Not only can nights such as Skills Night assist parents in understanding the expectations their children face in their classes, but they allow for teachers to better understand their students’ backgrounds. “It is always wonderful to see students and their families outside the classroom,” chemistry and environmental science teacher Trina Lee said. “It allows us to have a more accurate picture of who the students are, where they are coming from and how we can best support them.” This connection allows for teachers to develop ideas that can be implemented in the classroom to motivate each student. As the school contin-
ues to look to push past the existing achievement gap, individual connections and goals are vital for success. This one Skills Night alone brought together teachers from not only the Skills classes, but also environmental science classes, parents, administration and assisting students. With many of the most
academically influential people in a student’s life gathering to understand one another, the gap can only continue to close. Looking to the future, nights such as Skills Night are crucial for the continued progress of our community involvement and student achievement.
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The Talon October 28, 2014
Read more features articles at lahstalon.org/features
Club connects students across the world ALEXANDRA MILKEY Staff Writer
Talk to any bibliophile and they might tell you that books are more than just paper and ink; they’re a way to share human truths and form connections with others. For Libros Sin Fronteras, a new international book club at Los Altos, this couldn’t be more true. “We are able to come together [with the students from Mexico] because of the reading,” senior Jhosseline Guardado said. The idea of librarian Gordon Jack, Libros Sin Fronteras— Spanish for “Books Without Borders”—aims to connect students at Los Altos, many of them native Spanish speakers, with students at Escuela Preparatoria 19, a school in Guadalajara, Mexico, all through the vehicle of books. “As you talk about books…you’ll learn more about the different ideas that people have,” senior Victor Macias said. “You learn… different points, different angles.” Libros Sin Fronteras first connected with Escuela Preparatoria 19 through Spanish-community liaison Maria Hoerni, who has family and connections in Mexico. Through counselor Ariel Rojas, the club also hopes to expand
Talk to any bibliophile and they might tell you that books are more than just paper and ink; they’re a way to share human truths and form connections with others. For Libros Sin Fronteras, a new international book club at Los Altos, this couldn’t be more true.
“We are able to come together [with the students from Mexico] because of the reading,” senior Jhosseline Guardado said. The idea of librarian Gordon Jack, Libros Sin Fronteras—Spanish for “Books Without Borders”—aims to connect students at Los Altos, many of them native Spanish speakers,
COURTESY LIBRARY STAFF
Members of Libros Sin Fronteras smile as they talk to students from a school in Mexico about the book “El Tunel.” Libros Sin Fronteras is a new book club on campus that connects students from different countries through books. to a school in Nicaragua. Jack was inspired to start an international book club by an experience he had working in Argentina in 2010 with students from Freestyle Academy. On that trip, they communicated with local students through self-portraits
they had drawn. Language wasn’t a common base; instead, they tried to find out how much of it was possible to understand about a person through the images they chose. Jack wanted to emulate that cross-cultural connection with Libros Sin Fronteras but in a
different way. “Often, when you’re…talking about literature, you bring up issues related to your life, and the world that you live in and how that compares and contrasts with the book,” Jack said. The first book the club is reading is “El Tunel” by Ernesto Sabato, which is a classic existential novel taught in much of the Spanish-speaking world. It’s not quite what Jack had in mind when he first envisioned the project; the novels he was expecting were more contemporary, like “The Fault in Our Stars” than classics like “The Great Gatsby.” But ultimately, he wants the choice of book to be the students’ and not his own. “I really want the students to be motivated to read and talk… [and] that will happen more if they’re picking books they really love, not books that they’re supposed to love,” Jack said. Many students are also excited by the prospect of talking with kids in other countries. “I’m looking forward to meeting new students that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to know,” Jhosseline said. “I also want to see how our perspectives on the same book are the same or very
different because we live in different countries.” Though such a sharp geographical divide may foster different ideas, book discussion has already bridged some of the differences between students. “The book is held as a key item for uniting…the community, basically,” Victor said. “It’s not just a way for us to understand one simple topic or one simple product or one simple theme.” Libros Sin Fronteras has started to accomplish what Jack set out for it to do: connecting students with one another and showing them how similar they are, no matter the geographical and cultural barriers. “The more we talk to [the students from Guadalajara], the more we realize how much we have in common,” senior Rita Villanueva said. “[We can] remember our families from there and appreciate their culture.” As well as understanding each other, Jack has one more goal for the club: for students to find understanding in their worlds and each other’s. “The goal here is to understand not only each other better, but also the worlds that we live in,” Jack said.
Five years later, graduate returns to teach physics SITARA SRIRAM
come naturally.” The difficulty Hine encounThe year is 2009. Seventeen- tered in physics in the beginning year-old Stephen Hine is sitting did not detract from its appeal. in a classroom, watching his Instead, it intensified his interest teacher scribble complex calcu- in the class and the subject. Much lus proofs and physics equations of his initial interest was due to onto the whiteboard. Little does the teaching style of his physics he realize that in a few years, he’ll teacher, Randall. “It’s not a normal teaching be back in the same room. But this time, he’ll be the one in front style,” Hine said. “He’s very much himself when he teaches. He’ll of the whiteboard. Hine’s interest in physics was say weird things and make you first sparked in room 705 under laugh, but then he immediately the instruction of physics teacher ties that into the equations and Adam Randall. Hine said he loved into the concepts. [He] never physics at Los Altos so much that goes off topic ever. He teaches he decided to return this year as a you in a way that keeps you engaged. Even if you new physics teacher. might not necessarHe teaches both AP ily be following along Physics 1 and AP “Randall was with the problem, Physics 2. you’re paying attenHine’s first expe- definitely a tion to him. That’s the rience with physics major influfirst step, right?” was during his ju- ence. I wanted Hine enjoyed Rannior year when he to be like him. I dall’s class so much that signed up to take Honors Physics, a wanted to teach the next year, he signed up to take another class class that was of- physics and be taught by Randall— fered at the time that awesome.” Physics C. Randall with Randall. De— Physics teacher believes this is when spite his initial inStephen Hine Hine’s interest in physterest in the subics really blossomed to ject matter, physics the next level. didn’t come easily to him. “By Physics C, Hine was crazy,” “It was not easy from the beginning, not at all,” Hine said. “I Randall said. “He started to write remember my very first test in out solutions that were sort of arHonors Physics [the equivalent of tistic and [even worthy of being] AP Physics 2 today] was the worst published in the Library of Contest that I had ever taken in high gress. He got really involved in the school. I got around a 70 percent. labs [and] he was really precise in I freaked out, I didn’t even know the way he set up his experiments. that this could happen. [Phys- He was always helping other stuics is] a different way of thinking dents and [was] just thrilled about about science and math in general, [the idea of] being an engineer or and the fact that you have to com- a physicist or something like that.” When the college application bine concepts with the equations makes it very difficult. So it did not process began later that year, Senior Writer
Hine decided he wanted to pursue physics and went on to major in the science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Hine also decided to go into teaching and received a Master of Education degree from Santa Barbara. His desire to teach had started at the high school level. “I was always helping my classmates and having those mini-teaching moments when you’re trying to help your classmates through a problem,” Hine said. “And in particular, Randall was definitely a major inf luence. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to teach physics and be that awesome.” Many of his high school teachers also thought at the time that he CARL FAUST would make an excellent teacher. New teacher Stephen Hine (left) was once taught by physics teacher “Mr. Hine always took a really Adam Randall (right). Randall inspired Hine so much that Hine scholarly approach to learning,” ultimately decided to become a physics teacher as well. math teacher Judy Strauss said. “For him, it was more important realize he was that interested in ing things that we are going to be to understand the concepts than teaching,” Randall said. “It wasn’t doing in the 2nd semester now,” anything else. He was always good until his name showed up on the Randall said. “He’s buying equipat really listening to people. He list of possible candidates [that ment, we are doing labs together I realized]. As soon and he’s planning how the year is was very patient, and as I saw his name I going to lay out. It’s really neat. it seemed like he had thought, ‘He’s a totally He’s totally committed.” a desire to teach. And competent scientist, As a new teacher, Hine hopes to the other thing is that “There are so he knows our system, continue to develop his teaching he had a real interest many things he’s highly educated, skills and give back to the school and love in his sub- about Hine that he’s creative [and] community he grew up in by helpject area. There are scream, ‘Great he’s young.’ He brings ing clubs with their community so many things about a lot to our depart- service goals. Hine that scream, teacher.’” ment. And then of “This year, my goal is definite‘Great teacher.’” — Math teacher Judy Strauss course his enthusi- ly solidifying my methods and Despite his interasm is super high... figuring out how exactly it is I est in teaching, Hine I mean this guy was teach,” Hine said. “I’ve also got did not expect to a couple clubs that I am advicome back and teach at Los Al- perfect for us.” So far, Randall has been im- sor for—Spikeball club, Ultimate tos. Mr. Randall was also pleasantly surprised by Hine’s deci- pressed by the level of dedication Frisbee club and Physics club, and commitment Hine brings to [and] I’d really like to focus on sion to come back. them. I want to get kids involved “I could tell he had general en- the classroom everyday. “He’s already [started] research- in what they’re interested in.” thusiasm and interest but I didn’t
The Talon October 28, 2014
A Call To Service
Annie Gaffney, Staff Writer | David Lisbonne, Staff Writer | Emily Aoki, Staff Writer |Eric Thiem, Staff Writer | Hannah Craford, Staff Writer | Olivia Jerram, Staff Writer |Perla Luna, Senior Writer
For some it is an aspiration, for some it is an expectation and for others it
is an everyday reality. It may not always be visible, but for many members of the Los Altos High school community, the military is a major part of life. The Talon interviewed several students and teachers about their experiences with the military and its effects on their lives. Though these select experiences may not be representative of the entire school community, they provide a glimpse into a wide range of military experiences.
So You Want to Join the Military?
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f you were to walk into a kindergarten class and ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” chances are you’d get a lot of firefighters, astronauts, veterinarians and ballerinas. Most kids in this area wouldn’t say, “I want to be in the military.” However, to seniors Brendan Krepchin, Michael Mylen, Dylan Zorn and JJ Cruz, that was the only answer that made sense. Brendan and Michael centered their military interest on the Marine Corps, while Dylan, a licensed pilot, has been interested in joining the Air Force since the age of four. JJ plans to join the army after he graduates. “Combining two things I feel the need to do—flying and [protecting people]… came out as [joining] the Air Force,” Dylan said. Despite the diversity of their goals, all four seniors said their interest in joining the military stemmed from their families’ involvement and their friends’ influence. “I had two grandfathers in the military,” Brendan said. “I have many friends who have served in the US Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.” Dylan also had two grandfathers in the military who both fought in Vietnam and remembers hearing war stories about their days in Vietnam. For Michael, it was his father, and for JJ, his cousin that encouraged him to look into joining. “Before [my cousin] went to the army he was more physical [but] after [he] came back home, he was more disciplined, ” JJ said. In addition to familial influence, each of the students harbors his own personal reason for wanting to join. Brendan holds a unique view of his role as a U.S. citizen. “I believe freedom isn’t free… You have to pay that back, whether that means serving or sitting behind a desk,” Brendan said. “My
Military Impacts Abroad and at Home
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ong distance relationships are never easy, whether that means living far from your family or leaving your boyfriend for college six hours away. However, when a loved one is deployed to another part of the world, the idea of long distance relationships gets taken to another level. For many, the deployment of a loved one in the armed forces not only causes them to deal with physical distance but also emotional stress. Sophomore Gino Vega moves every three years due to his father’s duties in the choice [is] going out and defending an iron Coast Guard, hindering his opportunities to constitution with iron.” make long-lasting friendships For Michael and Dylan, the and stay in contact with his exevents of 9/11 caused them to tended family. However, his falook into joining the military. ther’s service has also brought I believe freedom “When 9/11 happened, the isn’t free… You have unity to his immediate family. greatest country in the world “Those are the only connecwas vulnerable, and that kind of to pay that back, tions you can make—to your made me wish I could do some- whether that means mom, or your dad, or your sibserving or sitting thing about that.” Michael said. lings. Because you can’t see your Conversely, JJ is driven by behind a desk uncle. You can’t see your cousins,” his own history and future Gino said. “[My family] never had — senior Brendan Krepchin goals. He discovered the fights because we were the only military as a potential way to people we had.” achieve his dream of enterAccording to Time Magaing law enforcement. zine, 47 percent of all army personnel “[When] I was in eighth grade and I have children, with similar statistics for wasn’t heading down the right path, I the Navy and Air Force. Deployment can talked to some police officers who helped cause the strengthening of some relationme get out of that bad lifestyle,” JJ said. ships and the weakening of others even for “Ever since then, I’ve wanted to do law those who remain at home. With her faenforcement… and the military has [the] ther’s deployment, senior Emily Webb saw discipline and training that I can use as a the improvement of her relationship with stepping stone to get there.” her brother. However, her father’s deployThat’s not to say there aren’t deterrents ment also distanced her relationship with when it comes to joining the military. Deher father. spite this, Brendan remains unfazed. “With my dad gone it definitely brought “You do sacrifice a lot to be in the mili[my brother and me] closer,” Emily said. “[My tary,” Brendan said. “You sacrifice a life of Dad] definitely missed out on my younger freedom and you also sacrifice your rights, brother and me growing up. It definitely had but at the same time you’re giving those a big effect on me in knowing that I had to go rights and safety to people who don’t nechome and not have a dad when all the other essarily have that.” kids did.” However, for some, the sacrifices outSenior Micheal Alexander’s mother’s miliweigh the benefits and military life simply tary career did not bring distance between isn’t for them. An anonymous student who them, but rather offered Micheal a new perpreviously planned to join the military says spective on his mother’s lifestyle. she now has some reservations. Her con“It was interesting to see her have to be recern about the effects of deployment and ally formal with everyone and lay down the military service on her potential family is law [at work],” Micheal said. “When I saw the primary factor. her, she was warm and loving like a mom. It To people such as this anonymous stuwas interesting to see that transition.” dent, joining the military just isn’t the right The challenges of feeling close to those who path for them to take. Yet to others, joinare deployed often stems from the difficulty ing the military is the only future they can of keeping in touch. For those with deployed imagine. Either way, making the decision is family members, keeping in touch is made huge and ultimately a personal choice. challenging by limited access to phones and
The Talon October 28, 2014
The Military Option
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However, not everyone believes that military recruitment should be encouraged among high school students. Recruitment, especially on public school campuses, continues to be controversial. Many parents and students do is to come up and ask us, ‘This do not like members of the miliis where I want to go with my catary trying to persuade students reer, how can the army help me get to join in a school setting, and there?’” Joshi said. the presence of military recruitThough traditional combat ers can be especially upsetting to positions such as the infantry or those who have been negatively the “boots on the ground,” are a affected or know those who have part of the military, a wide range been negatively affected by the of other jobs are required. They actions of the U.S. military. need doctors, lawyers, logistiIn addition to the negative efcians, transport, engineers and fects experienced by students computer scientists, among many and families, other professions. schools hosting Despite the large military recruitvariety of profesers have had issions, a uniting qual- I would say, stop sues in the past. ity in the military looking at the army The controversy is the emphasis on stems mainly trust and teamwork. as a backup plan and Though Joshi and start looking at it as a from teachers, who argue that Staff Sergeant Victor stepping stone to get students should Boichan are looking to where you want to not be subjectfor these qualities ed to persuasive in recruits, they say be. — Staff Sergeant Ratish Joshi techniques by that they do not acthe recruiters. tively try to dissuade Instead, they anyone from joining argue that students willing to the military, even those who don’t enlist in the military should apseem to be a good fit. In their exproach it on their own time, outperience they say the preliminary side of school, to ensure that it training, Basic Training, teaches is the student’s personal choice. new recruits what is needed for However, others argue that milithe military service through both tary recruitment should be readphysical and mental training. ily available to students so that Recruiters try to emphasize the they can learn about the options possible opportunities available by the military offers for educaenlisting. Students looking for a way tion, especially of those students to pay for college can take advantage might not otherwise be able to of the G.I. Bill, which pays full inattend college. state tuition to a public university. For students, deciding to join “All these kids expect to go to the military is a big decision. college, get a degree, finish their Talking to recruiters and dodegree and get a good job,” Boiing additional research can help chan said. “But the reality is, how students in making this decision many college students finish with about their futures. a degree each year? Thousands and thousands. And how many actually get a job?” The recruiters feel that the opporTo read a extended tunities offered by the military are version of this article, visit often overlooked by students. lahstalon.org/in-depth “I would say, stop looking at the army as a backup plan and start looking at it as a stepping stone to get to where you want to be,” Joshi said.
hough traditional combat positions may come to mind when one thinks about the military, there are actually a variety of options available for interested students to explore. Depending on what choices students make, internet connection. Sophomore they can enlist after high school Daniel Rappoport’s family experior college and have the option to enced this obstacle with his brothbecome officers, work full-time, er’s leave for the Marines. join the reserves, be the boots on “He’s online on Facebook like the ground, be doctors or fulfill a once a month whenever he gets invariety of other roles. ternet, but it’s very rare. He someRecruiters visit many school times sends emails but it takes a campuses to make themselves while,” Daniel said. accessible to students, but interThis limited contact was particuested students usually contact relarly stressful when his brother first cruiters themselves. left for bootcamp, known to be par“We are here to simply tell them, ticularly challenging for recruits. ‘This is the army and this is what “My mom was always worrying the army has to offer,’” said Staff and waiting for the letters,” Daniel Sergeant Ratish said. Joshi, an army reEnglish teacher Arantxa cruiter who visits Arriada regularly kept many schools in in touch with her then- Everyday I just the Bay Area, inboyfriend, now husband kind of had that cluding Los Altos Eli Brown during his High School. 13 month deployment little fear, [but] Meeting with a through email and instant if I heard from recruiter is also messaging. “The whole him I would feel an opportunity time he was deployed we better. for students to only talked on the phone — English teacher ask questions three times because he Arantxa Arriada about the milijust didn’t really have actary to find out cess to phones at all,” Arif the option is for them, as most riada said. recruiters have previously had Since Arriada and Brown had different positions in the military. been long distance even before According to Joshi, students usuhis deployment, the challenge ally ask about guns, Iraq, Afghanstemmed not from the limited istan and whether the recruitcontact, but from the fears that ers have killed people in action. come with war. However, he feels that these are “I was used to not seeing him the wrong questions to ask. everyday,” Arriada said. “The dif“What I would like for them to ference was just kind of always that worry. I mean everyday you just kind of had that little fear, [but] if I heard from him I would feel better.” Military life does not necessarily entail separation by deploymentStandard Process for Basic Military Enlistment -for some, it brings life on a military base. Students who lived at Moffett Field, a currently inactive military base in Mountain View, exStudents meet with Take a test that Undergo a Select a military career, perienced daily life in a manner not a military recruiter determines potential physical exam which may range from much different from their peers. military positions infantry to computer science “Since I was young, it was just go to school, come back, go through all the procedures and tell [the guards] why you’re here and get into base Processes for Becoming a Military Officer and then chill,” senior Micheal Alexander said. Being raised by members of the armed forces also has an impact on Path 1 Students attend Senior Military Commit to serve for some Academy, usually in return for a number of years students’ desire to enlist. commitment to serve “I’m really interested in pharmaceuticals and I thought ‘what would Path 2 Students earn a degree from a Enroll in Reserve Officer Training that be like if I worked in the Air traditional four-year college Corps (ROTC), recieving training Force as a pharmacist?’” Micheal during college said. “I think it’s important to have a job that actually makes a difference Path 3 Students earn a degree from a Attend Officer Candidate School in the world and [my parents] both traditional four-year college or Officer Training, severalserved and made a difference to our without any military financial aid month courses after college country, so I feel like I should too.”
The Processes of Joining the Military
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Take the military oath
Enter service, which may be postponed until the completion of high school
3 Commit to serve for a set time period, which depends on the student and program Commit to serve for a set time period, which depends on the student and program GRAPHIC BY NOY ANISMAN INFORMATION FROM GOARMY.COM
BACKGROUND IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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The Talon October 28, 2014
100 Voice Challenge halfway to goal LEONARDO WAI PERLA LUNA Business Manager Senior Writer
In an effort to increase the choral spirit at LAHS, Choral Music Director Mark Shaull has undertaken the task of rounding up 100 male vocalists for Varsity Men’s Glee and 100 female vocalists for Bella Voce, one of the school’s all-girl choral groups. After struggling with membership in both clubs, the 100 Voices Challenge was implemented to act as an outreach
program for more advanced choral groups on campus such as the Main Street Singers. Coming from a long background of working with choral groups, Shaull understands that experience in vocalization is not required for being in a choir. “I’ve been singing since my childhood; I started singing in choir as a sophomore in high school,” Shaull said. “Everyone carries this wonderful instrument of voice with them…some people just don’t know how to use it… I will be more than happy
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Members of Varsity Men’s Glee sing during one of their lunch practices. The 100 Voice Challenge is a year-long campaign to increase participation in the school’s choral department.
to teach any student who walks through my doors with enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.” While many students may be hesitant to sign up for a singing club without any previous experience or because of a self-proclaimed “bad” voice, Shaull and the members of Varsity Men’s Glee and Bella Voce stress that this should not deter students from signing up. “The problem with singing is that so many people are unwilling to try because it isn’t his or her thing,” senior Eddie Barnes said. “Singing is not a thing like joining a sports team because you don’t have to have experience doing it. Singing is something that even without experience, you are very welcome to do...You can be as eager as you want to come in and do it.” Shaull believes that students who take on singing will learn to appreciate its beauty. “From singing, students learn to appreciate what makes good music and what variables are needed in the expression of music,” Shaull said. “They have fun doing it, they like to get to that next step, they like to progress
AMANDA MELL
[and] t h e y realize that where they’re at is great and where they can be with extra effort and knowledge and skill is even greater.” To spread the news about the challenge, Shaull is relying on word of mouth spread by choral members. Even before the 100 Voices Challenge began, it had been something of a tradition for members to campaign for the choral groups. “It’s kind of like your duty to bring in new club members,” Eddie said. “The second you’re in the choral department, your job is to immediately bring in your friends...Personally, for me, I never thought I would be a singer, but I was dragged in by friends to this very easy-toattend activity at lunch. That’s how I got involved.” Thus far, club membership is at record numbers. The 100 Voice Challenge is already halfway to its goal for both Varsity Men’s Glee and Bella Voce. Among all the choral groups at
LAHS— which include Varsity Men’s Glee and Bella Voce, as well as Concert Choir, Quartet Squared, Girls 21 and Mainstreet—Shaull estimates that he is currently instructing a total of about 350 students. Should his 100 Voice Challenge for Varsity Men’s Glee and Bella Voce prove successful, Shaull has promised to reward both clubs with a much-anticipated trip down to southern California to collaborate with other local high schools that Shaull has connections to. The choral groups will take part in a festival second semester and attend music workshops taught by college professors. Club meetings take place during lunch in room 801 located across from the Eagle Theater. Varsity Men’s Glee meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Bella Voce meets Thursdays.
Teen Librarian promotes involvement at Los Altos Public Library SOFIA GUO News Editor
With blue cropped hair and trendy glasses, Sarah Neeri hardly fits your typical image of a librarian. Neither does she want to. As the Los Altos Public Library (LAPL) Teen Librarian, Neeri works with zeal to increase teen participation. A native of eastern Washington, Neeri grew up with a love for reading. However, she did not discover her passion for librarianism until later. “I don’t think I really decided on becoming a librarian until I was in college at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington,” Neeri said. “I worked at the library for the three years I was there—I spent one year studying abroad— but whenever I was at school, I worked at the library at least 20 hours a week. That was just something I enjoyed doing.” Neeri spent her year abroad in Kyoto, Japan, where she developed an interest for Japanese manga. “I really got into Japanese comics when I lived there,” Neeri said. “l lived with a host family that was also really into comics and video games...When I moved back to America, manga was just starting to get popular.” This experience led to a yearlong job back in Spokane, Washington, where Neeri worked at a comic
book shop. Immediately after, Neeri headed to Indiana University and two years later, graduated with a Master of Library Science degree. She applied and got the job as Teen Librarian at LAPL in 2005. “I wanted to be on the west coast, and I didn’t actually know anything about this area when I moved here, so it was very exciting,” Neeri said. “I feel really lucky [to have landed the job here.] This is a community that really supports the library... which is nice because I don’t think that’s the case in all communities.” Her career at the LAPL has spanned a total of nine years and during that time, Neeri has helped build the Teen program up to its current popularity. She continues to manage the LAPL’s large collection of teen books, comics and video games, the latter of which has spawned into weekly gaming sessions at the LAPL Teen room. “The Wii is in the teen room once a week, but we just started [playing with] the PS3 as well,” Neeri said. “Some people bring in laptops, some bring in their own [Nintendo] DS’s and play Smash Bros. on them... Mostly Egan and Los Altos High School students come, although we have some kids come from Mountain View High School, but they come less often because I think it is harder for them to get here.” So far, the game days, which are
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GINA KERMODE
Teen librarian Sarah Neeri strikes a pose in the teen room of the Los Altos Public Library (LAPL). Neeri works with LAHS librarian Gordon Jack to spread awareness of the LAPL as a resource for teenagers. from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, have attracted only a small group of students. Neeri is pushing for a large attendance so that more teens can enjoy the games. “Sometimes we have two or three people, and sometimes we have 15,” Neeri said. “It’s generally boys, but I’d like to see more girls come. Once we had an all-girls Mario Kart match and it was amazing...When the girls do come, the boys are very welcoming.” Neeri’s role at the LAPL eventually led to a collaboration three years ago with the school’s librarian Gordon Jack to bridge the LAPL teen community and the students at the school. Nicknamed the “lunchtime librarian,” Neeri comes to the school at the beginning of each month and spends one lunch period promoting the LAPL in the library lobby. “The lunchtime librarian program was thanks to Mr. Jack,” Neeri said. “Coming to schools depends on administration and teachers’ help getting [me] there, and Mr. Jack has been really great about partnering with me and [allowing me to] come to the school.
I’m just trying to get the message good—people got really into it and out, ‘Don’t forget about the public they spent 10 minutes thinking library.’ I want people to feel like about it.” we’re approachable and you can Neeri also works with Jack to hold come here and use us as a resource.” LAPL card drives at the school, As the lunchtime librarian, which she hopes to expand to auNeeri sets up a table stacked tomatic LAPL cards for all students with books to give away, color- at the school. ful information leaf lets and a “We get people to sign up for liposter with a “quesbrary cards for those tion of the month.” who don’t have them Neeri starts conver[at the school],” “I want people sations with interNeeri said. “Even if ested students and to feel like the you don’t live in Los prompts them to LAPL is apAltos, it’s free to have answer the question proachable and a student card. We’re for a chance to win a trying to get it so evyou can come $10 Amazon gift card eryone will get cards here and use us automatically, like and some candy. “I started doing as a resource.” how it is being done the question of the at the Mountain — Teen Librarian month as a way to get View Library.” Sarah Neeri people to start talkNeeri is in the ing to me, and that’s LAPL Monday, Tuesbecome a thing now,” Neeri said. day, Thursday, Wednesday eve“I’ll ask a different question every nings and alternating Fridays and month, and I’ll type up students’ Saturdays. answers and bring them in the “I really love it [here at Los next month. Some of the past Altos],” Neeri said. “I love recquestions of the month have been, ommending books to people. ‘How would you fail to survive the That’s one of the most imporHunger Games?’ That was really tant things I do here.”
The Talon October 28, 2014
This Side of Lunadise
Rick’s Cafe enriches community
“We renovated a lot of things because after seven years, everything Downtown Los Altos is full of wears [out],” waitress Cintia Loaiza quaint shops and well-loved res- said. “It feels like the golden days of taurants, but some people have not Rick’s Cafe are coming back because had the chance to explore the town’s we were saying, ‘Yeah, we need a lot depths. Rick’s Cafe, one of Los Altos’ of upgrades and we were just waitmost popular attractions, has es- ing on those [renovations].’ It’s been tablished itself as a family-friendly really good.” Rick’s prides itself on maintaincomfort food haven. Those who are unaware of Rick’s should pay a ing a cozy environment and attentive customer service. visit to this homestyle In fact, the majority of breakfast and lunch Rick’s customers are diner—the food is just “regulars.” As a result, a small fraction of what “The kids like to identify with waiters and customers it has to offer. often form close relaFounded in 2007 by the whole group tionships that deepen Richard Lee and Joe of waiters... over the years. Lobo, Rick’s derives and that just “The customers its name from Lee’s either identify with nickname. The couple makes them originally invested in feel welcomed... our waiters or some groups, of waiters” raw coffee beans and like this is their Loaiza said. “We get started Rick’s as a small second home.” families in here so the coffee shop. With the — Assisstant manager kids get attached to a help of current manDaniel Kim certain person, so it’s ager Sylvia Komrosky, really nice. You see dedicated employees and loyal customers, the couple them kind of growing up as they eventually expanded their business come here...I feel like the kids like to identify with the whole group of to a full diner. After almost a decade of running waiters...and that just makes them the cafe, the owners decided in Au- feel welcomed, like they can come gust this year to sell the business. back, like this is their second home.” Customers filter New owner Jane Kim and her son, in and out, and Daniel, are now busy smoothing new faces pop up the transition period and looking every day. Howfor ways to improve Rick’s.
CLAIRE BAI Staff Writer
By Perla Luna
Change Left Unfinished One of the worst parts of watching the events at Ferguson unfold is knowing how little people care. Sure, everyone here is aware of what’s happening. Everyone knows it’s “important.” But I don’t think we understand the “whys” of the situation or fully recognize that what’s happening in Missouri affects us all. When we talk about racism, we think about it as some historic, vaguely distant idea that we know is still happening but can not see. And because we don’t see it, it becomes a non-issue in our mind. Of course we’re not racist, so no one else we know can be either. This sort of mindset is what allows institutionalized discrimination to thrive and inaction to persist when the discrimination in question isn’t at the scale of Ferguson. However, to turn a blind eye to the situation, to write it off as a one-time scenario, is to willfully invalidate the very real experiences of so many people in this country. What’s truly insulting is the idea that because you aren’t a minority you don’t have to care about racism, as if it’s some chore you’d rather not bother with. Recently someone implied just this when they complained about having to read “The Invisible Man” because they “[aren’t] black, so why should [they] care?” Yes, as with most things, it’s hard to relate unless you experience the situations but the truth of the matter is that you don’t have to be a minority to be able to empathize. Real empathy too, not just the kind where you agree with a shrug that the crimes of the past were horrible but “that doesn’t happen now.” Being a socially responsible member of society isn’t just about recognizing that something is wrong in the abstract. We have to care and empathize because that is the first true step toward change. We can preach against racism until we’re blue in the face but action is only transient until people care to listen. Otherwise the actions that are taken by a select, albeit passionate, few don’t mean anything in the end if the mindset that caused the problems isn’t adjusted. I want to make it clear that empathy doesn’t have to be some forced action. It can be something as simple as reading the news and taking a moment to reflect on the situation. It can also be something as courageous as admitting you were wrong to devalue the experiences of others, like Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson recently did by apologizing. However you choose to display your empathy, remember that even this first step is monumental. Just take the initiative and the world will follow. Empathy, after all, is contagious.
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ever, Rick’s hospitable ambience does not change. Sometimes, the staff at Rick’s hype up the spirit with surprising and fun events. “We used to dress up,” Loaiza said. “One month we did a Renaissance theme. Everybody was hyped up... We picked the fluffiest dresses, so the whole entire day, we were bumping in our costumes. It was so funny.” Aside from the familial atmosphere, Rick’s is best known for its coffee beans. The cafe takes the raw beans and roasts them with their own coffee roasting machine, a giant apparatus located at the front of the cafe. This is considered unusual as most restaurants simply buy preground coffee. As a result, Rick’s coffee is an original blend, carefully roasted in-house. “We buy organic beans from Guatemala, Sumatra, India and Brazil,” Daniel said. “We try to mix [them] together to create this unique taste...A lot of people like the homeroasted beans, rather than having them pre-roasted—it just makes the coffee more authentic. The taste is much more balanced.” Besides coffee, the breakfast and lunch menu offers over 150 choices including wheat-germ pancakes, egg scrambles and chuck burgers. On top of that, customers can customize dishes to satisfy their appetites. “Here, we give the customers what
GINA KERMODE
A French toast dish from Rick’s Cafe is arranged artfully. Rick’s Cafe has been serving the Los Altos community for seven years. they want—it’s not especially a stick-to-the-menu type of thing,” Loaiza said. “So if you’re craving something wild or crazy—anything—that’s what I feel like our signature is. We’ll try to give you what you want.” With a rich history and dedicated service, Daniel anticipates that Rick’s will remain a part of the Los Altos community for years to come. Looking forward, he hopes to expand Rick’s to other locations as well. “If we have enough profit, then we’ll start expanding to other locations and probably make a franchise,” Daniel said. “That’s our really long-term.... goal. It’s just something to aspire to.”
VANESSA MARK
Sophomore pursues and excels in multiple passions EMILY TERADA Staff Writer
One passion requires hard work. Three requires a special level of dedication applied by few. For sophomore Andrew Lee, that same dedication has allowed him to pursue his three passions—violin, taekwondo and math—and to excel in every single one. Andrew has been playing violin for nine years and takes lessons through the Pre-College Division of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, which represents a community of musicians and friends to him. “In terms of violin playing, it’s taught me how to be a better orchestra player as opposed to a solo player [because] in an orchestra you have to learn together,” Andrew said. “A lot of the values we learn in orchestra are applicable
in real life, not just in the music world. [Some of the things] I have learned [are that] hard work and dedication translate into success.” Currently, Andrew plays in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, which is comprised of more than 100 of the Bay Area’s best classical musicians. In addition to the violin, Andrew has also been participating in taekwondo for ten years. Currently, he holds a second degree black belt in taekwondo and practices poomsae, a form of taekwondo that focuses on fixed routines rather than sparring. Recently, Andrew has been competing in the synchronized pair division for poomsae with his older sister, senior Elaine Lee. The pair participated in the 2014 U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships, a highly prestigious event,
COURTESY LESLIE IRWIN
COURTESY CARL SOLDER
Above, sophomore Andrew Lee competes at the USA National Taekwondo Championships. Below left, Andrew plays his violin during a performance for the program Music at Menlo. Andrew is heavily involved in violin, taekwondo and math competitions. and placed seventh in their division. Later on in the year, Andrew and Elaine went to state championships and ended up winning gold for the pairs division. The success did not come without its share of sweat and struggle. “I still remember spending countless minutes in front of the f loor-to-ceiling mirror at our studio, repeating movements over and over until they matched,” Andrew said. “I [was] privileged to be able to work with someone so close to me. Through our experiences, we have become much closer.” The mental endurance required for taekwondo has helped Andrew excel in other activities as well, such as math. For the past two years, Andrew has qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, a prestigious math competition.
“[Math competitions] are a fun and challenging way to apply math in areas that we normally don’t learn about in school,” Andrew said. “I like...the problem solving aspect, where you are given a problem and there’s no straightforward way to solve it. You have to resort to ingenuity and it allows you to be creative.” Andrew believes that pursuing his three passions has allowed him to develop valuable life skills such as cooperation, discipline and creativity. In spite of all that he has learned, Andrew remains humble about his achievements. “Even when I achieve my goals, I am reminded that there is always more room for improvement,” Andrew said. “Seeing how far I’ve come allows me to set... goals for next time so that I can constantly challenge myself. My achievements motivate me to work harder.”
The Talon October 28, 2014
Catch reviews of new movies, music and more, plus read the entertainment archives at lahstalon.org/entertainment
SYRO SPENCER DEMBNER Staff Writer
“Syro,” Aphex Twin Electronica
Sept. 19, 2014
★★★★☆ Since bursting onto the electronica scene more than 20 years ago, producer Richard D. James has built arguably the most diverse catalog of any electronic artist, with work in genres including ambient, jungle, industrial, acid house and drone. His latest album, “Syro,” was released on September 19. It pulls from all these styles creatively for a wellcrafted and fundamentally satisfying album, if not the sort of bombshell release that his fans have come to expect. James has released music by over a dozen pseudonyms, reinforcing his iconoclastic and eccentric persona within the music world. However, his most celebrated album was released under ‘Aphex Twin,’ a moniker with no studio releases since his 2001 album “Drukqs.” He has a tendency to mythologize himself, using his own face as a prominent element of many of his album covers and cultivating a mystique surrounding his personal life and work. James’ label has used guerilla marketing tactics to promote the album, including flying a blimp over London and creating elaborate chalk paintings of his artist logo. Considering the long wait
and unconventional promotion, it’s no surprise that the release of “Syro” has garnered so much attention, even from mainstream outlets such as NPR and The New York Times that have overlooked James’ work in the past. James’ work generally falls into two categories. His early work in particular consists of spare, open-ended ambient compositions; this is the style on display in his celebrated “Selected Ambient Works” albums. His work since the second half of the 1990s has been in a more aggressive style characterized by breakbeats and dense percussion. “Syro” combines all of these styles with excellent results. The excesses of some of James’ albums have been trimmed down and the result is an overall more cohesive work that incorporates extreme diversity of style without anything seeming out of place. Similar to previous releases, the track titles in “Syro” are unpronounceable combinations of nonsense words and random numbers. While it’s amusing to see reviewers highlighting the musical differences between “fz pseudotimestretch+e+3 [138.85]” and “syro u473t8+e [141.98][piezoluminescence mix],” Aphex’s message is clear: focus on the work as a whole, not its parts. That said, specific tracks deserve to be highlighted. “XMAS_ EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix]” is 10 minutes long and moves effortlessly from a dark ambient style
Aphex Twins’ latest album release, “Syro,” showcases producer Richard D. James’ masterful interpretation of electronica music.
APHEX TWIN
to a more aggressive techno finish. “180db_[130]” contains more danceable beats than the rest of the album, while retaining its offkilter rhythms and slightly unsettling atmosphere. The album’s strongest cut is arguably “s950tx16wasr10 [163.97][earth portal mix];” it constructs a sonic landscape from vocal samples, drum machine and spare electronic percussion and synthesizer. Aphex Twin has developed a reputation for innovating a new style with every album. In that respect “Syro” is lacking, since it synthesizes and consolidates
past sounds rather than boldly venturing where none have gone before. However, it skillfully consolidates his previous styles with a mature sound that had been lacking from many earlier efforts; considering the media attention “Syro” has received, it is sure to gain James many new admirers. After years of semi-retirement from the music world, “Syro” shows that Richard D. James is back in a big way. His fans, mainstream electronica and the public at large would do well to take notice.
Trance music provides unique niche in EDM ROBERT CHIN Senior Writer
The term “electronic dance music” or “EDM,” carries many negative connotations: it’s loud, blaring music that has no melody and is oftentimes repetitive. Despite the negative images that are commonly associated with the electronic dance music scene, this music genre is far more diverse and has a different target audience than what many would think. Electronic dance music has been popular in Europe since the 1970s, especially in the United Kingdom and Germany. In bothcountries, the following of EDM music is quite large, and London, Moscow, Berlin and Ibiza have particularly large nightlife EDM scenes. There are a few sub-genres of EDM that are worth noting. One particularly melodious theme of electronic dance music is trance music. Trance music is a type of dance music that has a significantly higher amount of beats per minute (BPM) than other genres. One other distinguishing factor of
trance is its highly synthesized this music theme, with artists and melodic nature, the latter such as Tiesto and Armin Van of which provides a relaxing or Buuren bringing more atteneuphoric feel to the listener. tion to it. Trance music is difTrance started off as a generic ferentiated from other forms of and unrefined style of music, popular electronic music, such along with house music. It used as House, by having a lengthy to be what many people today breakdown in tune and drawn think about EDM in out buildups. A general: generic and breakdown is the low-effort music stripping down meant to appease Specific themes of a multilayered the general masses. such as trance track made up of It was highly assoinstrumoving into main- multiple ciated with the rave ments and other scene, which be- stream music synthesized procame notorious for would most likely grams. Often, psychedelic drug deplete their drumbeats, other use. These negative unique structure instruments and connotations still vocals are sepastain the image of and styles. rated out during trance music to this the breakdown, day, even though creating a calmmany prominent DJs have ing and tranquil effect before stressed that drugs and trance the big buildup to the climax of music should not be associated the track. These lengthy periwith each other. ods of tranquility make trance Trance is fairly popular in music much more relaxing than many European countries, but other types of electronic music. it is not considered mainstream The high BPM of trance music, because it caters to a large but which typically ranges from 120 decidedly selective audience. beats per minute to 160 beats The Netherlands has been large- per minute, is what makes many ly responsible for popularizing trance tracks significantly lon-
ger than those of most other themes of music. Nowadays, trance music has evolved quite a bit since its more mainstream reception in the past decades. The target audience has narrowed, and trance isn’t often played in the most popular and well-known dances and clubs. The genre has diversified as much as EDM has diversified, and most of what trance used to be could now be classified as house or other forms of EDM. One has to take effort to appreciate the individual instruments and the melody of a modern trance track. Indeed, it seems to have progressed into something far from generic rave music back in the 80’s and 90’s. There are quite a few places in the U.S. where the electronic dance music scene is large. Most of these places are cosmopolitan cities such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Most of the music that plays in these large and popular conventions is what is seen by most outsiders as generic “boomboom music.” However, most electronic dance music has nev-
er been mainstream in the U.S., and it seems as though it won’t be in the near future. Many of the lesser known and appreciated themes have their own unique structures and styles. Moving these types of music into the mainstream tastes and onto mainstream audiences would take away their individualistic qualities. Specific themes such as trance moving into mainstream music would most likely deplete their unique structures and styles. If trance music gains a very large following, more people will come into the industry. A wider range of artists making trance music would force trance out of of its very specific structure. Artists would inevitably appeal to a greater and more diverse audience by implementing their own interpretations to the genre. Once this happens, trance music will lose its narrow definition, style and niche as it becomes more diversified. Overall, it is better for music such as trance to stay “underground” in the U.S. in order to keep its authenticity and maintain its redeeming qualities.
20 Years at the Market KATHERINE YEN Features Editor
...
A
lthough the farmers market in downtown Los Altos has ended its summer run, lovers of fresh produce rejoice, for there is another farmers market open year-round: the Mountain View (MV) Farmers market. Located in the parking lot of the Caltrain station in Mountain View, the Mountain View Farmers market is open every Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. With a rich background history (it celebrated its 20th anniversary on Sunday, October 19) and a strong customer base (it welcomes about 6,000 visitors every week), the MV Farmers market is comprised of about 160 local vendors selling goods ranging from goat cheese and graham crackers to blackberries and squash. Many of these vendors are second or third generation farmers who love the family business and are simply continuing a time-honored tradition of quality and customer interaction. Below, The Talon looks into some of the most diverse vendors that the MV Farmers market offers. Rodin Farms (Almonds) When she was 14 years old, Marie Rodin’s grandfather immigrated from Yugoslavia to start a new life in America. Once here, he met Marie’s grandmother and together, they started Rodin Farms. In its early days, the ranch produced wine grapes and canning peaches, but then discarded wine grapes in favor of almonds. Now in its third generation of the family, Rodin Farms offers an impressive variety of almond butter, raw almonds, smoked almonds and dried peaches, all of which are locally grown and packaged. For Marie Rodin, selling at farmers markets is the most rewarding part of the business. “You start going to farmers markets and if you miss a market, you can’t take it,” Marie said. “[The atmosphere] is kind of addicting.”
The Talon October 28, 2014
Xiong Produce (Asian vegetables) Originally from Laos in southeastern Asia, Qu Vang Yang and his wife Mai Xiong Yang identified a niche market for Asian produce when they came to America. Their sons, Lewis and Albert Yang, work alongside them growing, harvesting and selling vegetables such as okra, Japanese eggplants, bitter melon and yams. Xiong Produce has been selling produce at the market for about 15 years and takes pride in tailoring what they grow to meet customer’s needs. “[I love] interacting with the customers,” Lewis said. “They appreciate [us coming here]. That’s probably the best part, because we have to get up really early in the morning [to get here in time]. That can be a drag sometimes, but the customers are really good people. They make the day a lot better for us as we sell our produce.”
Far West Fungi (Mushrooms) Far West Fungi, a Garrone family business with about 30 years of history, boasts the distinction of being the only vendor in the whole market to sell fungi, which are also organic to boot. With cardboard boxes of fungi ranging in color and shape, Far West Fungi offers specialty mushrooms such as lion’s mane (which look like small heads of cauliflower) and shiitake (a mushroom prized for its flavor and health benefits). “We grow just about all the mushrooms we can,” said Loren Garrone, who has helped his parents out with the business since childhood. “We grow about 15 strains of fungi. For example, the maitake, one of the leading medicinal mushrooms, [is] extremely difficult to grow. Whereas something like tree oysters, you can grow them on newspapers or coffee grounds. [Mushrooms] are just like people. Some are a little more tricky than others.”
Suncoast Organic Farm and Bakery (Bread) Suncoast Organic Farm and Bakery is as down-to-earth as it gets when it comes to bread, with all of its grain stone-milled in a 100 year-old barn and baked in a wood-fire oven. Though founder Lisa Jensen and her husband David have only been in the trade for three years, they’ve established a thriving business on their ranch (where customers can drop by on Saturdays and pick up a loaf of freshly baked bread), at the MV farmers market and at Bertuccio’s Market in Hollister. The Suncoast bakery stall offers homemade granola, graham crackers, croissants and 15 varieties of artisan bread, including olive oil, spelt, 100 percent rye, cranberry walnut, cinnamon swirl and jalapeno cheddar. “I always loved farming,” Lisa said. “I grew up cutting apricots every summer...It’s a slower way of life and you appreciate all the farming and where your food is coming from...That’s what I’m teaching my son, so hopefully he’ll want to take over the ranch after I pass...It’s kind of a family tradition.”
PHOTOS BY CARL FAUST
Super Smash Bros. is a smashing success STEVEN CUI
Opinions Editor
Super Smash Bros.
Action (Everyone aged 10+) Oct. 3 2014 Nintendo Nintendo 3DS
★★★★☆ If you talk to anyone who owned or currently owns a Nintendo 64, a GameCube or a Wii, chances are they’ve played a Super Smash Bros. game. Since 1999, when the first Super Smash Bros. was released on Nintendo 64, the popular fighting game has garnered a large following of smashers of all ages and skill levels. The most recent rendition, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, is unique in that it maintains the integrity and core of the Super Smash Bros. experience on a hand-held device, despite having a few problems with its platform. Overall, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is exactly what many smashers are looking for—one of their favorite console games in hand-held form. With its massive roster of characters, each with different styles of play, it’s a game that never ceases to offer new challenges to players. In addition, the transition to the 3DS does not force players to sacrifice gameplay quality—it runs at a smooth 60 fps most of the time. The heart of the Super Smash Bros.
series is contained within its free-for-all brawl mode, in which players attempt to knock others off the stage in order to win. Without a doubt, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS delivers on this aspect. All the features players loved before are still there including items, final smashes and a variety of different characters to play and stages to play them on. Nintendo has added a whole group of new characters to the lineup as well as revamped a hefty amount of old ones in this game, giving players new moves to learn and use. However, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS provides more than just new characters. Solo play has been expanded with the addition of a new game mode called Smash Run. In it, players traverse a
map in the span of five minutes to find power-ups to improve their characters, eventually using these power-ups to fight in a normal-style brawl. While the concept of Smash Run is interesting, it seems to be a niche game mode that will won’t necessarily appeal to all players. However, it deserves some credit in that it is a new game mode that offers some variety from the core group brawls that the game is focused on. In addition to Smash Run, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS offers another new feature—the ability to customize your fighter with custom moves and equipment found throughout the game. Players can now adjust three stats on their fighters (attack, speed and defense) and can even swap their
normal special moves for custom ones with different effects, such as more range on a recovery move in exchange for less damage. These customizations offer more variety and options for players to choose from, thus increasing the already broad range of the game. Unfortunately, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS does come with some flaws. Like many 3DS games that have come before it, it has proven unable to effectively utilize features tailored for the 3DS. The first problem that one encounters in the game is that the controls are difficult to manage. Nintendo’s choice to only allow players to use the circle pad to move noticeably dampens the experience, as movement with the circle pad often feels sluggish and laggy. Play-
BRANDON HONG
The latest installment of the hit Super Smash Bros. franchise is its first ever handheld version, tailored for the 3DS. Although there are minor flaws with the game, it still delivers a great gaming experience.
ers who are looking to be able to precisely control their characters through the 3DS’s controls will be disappointed. In addition, Nintendo was also unable to make the 3D feature aesthetically pleasing, a common flaw of Nintendo 3DS games. Beyond controls, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS hits a rough patch when it comes to the multiplayer modes that the game offers. The local wireless games are of fairly good quality with little lag or stuttering—when the connection is fine. However, games have a tendency to lag out, especially when players attempt to play in the global wireless mode. In a fighting game like Super Smash Bros., timing and precise control of your character are necessary for an enjoyable experience. Thus, the constant lag and unreliability of the multiplayer hinder what could be an great experience for players. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS manages to leave a great impression that carries the Super Smash Bros. legacy onto a hand-held device. Nintendo is also coming out with a version of the game for the Wii U for those who would like to continue playing on a console platform on November 21, 2014. Making a hand-held version of the game is a feat in itself, as Nintendo has managed to successfully transfer the core of Super Smash Bros. games straight into your pocket, albeit with a few minor flaws.
The Talon October 28, 2014
The Talon
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YouTube Uncovered
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WRITTEN BY: ZACH COHEN, PRINT MANAGING EDITOR | SITARA SRIRAM, SENIOR WRITER | ANNELIESE GALLAGHER, CHRIS DADOK, COLE HANSON, JESSICA KING, JOHNNY SCHER, STAFF WRITERS | GRAPHICS BY: VANESSA MARK, GRAPHIC ARTIST |
On Valentine’s Day in 2005, three ex-Paypal employees met in a garage to create the world’s largest video sharing platform. YouTube, a popular website which allows users to upload, view and share videos, was first created by Steven Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. Starting from scratch, YouTube quickly revolutionized the way videos were shared across the internet. After its initial debut in 2005, YouTube grew tremendously after just a few months on the internet. With 65,000 videos uploaded per month in the summer of 2006, YouTube was the fastest growing website on the web. After its booming success and steady growth in 2006, YouTube caught the eye of Google, which foresaw what YouTube could eventually become. Google took the opportunity to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion, sending YouTube skyrocketing further into the spotlight. Since then, Google has renovated the way we think about
YouTube. It not only became a way for teenagers to upload funny videos, but also a powerful marketing tool that huge corporations were eager to take advantage of. Companies such as GoPro and Red Bull have used YouTube as an advertising platform to expand their businesses and revenues. Google had the money and the influence to bring broadcasting companies from around the world to air their shows of YouTube. This allowed YouTube to reach out to all audiences and ages, ultimately increasing its revenue. Companies around the world have started to capitalize on YouTube’s ability to reach such a large audience. As time passes, YouTube has begun to spread all over the world; the website has more than one billion users around the globe. The YouTube that we see today is the product of Silicon Valley technology and ingenuity. With Google as a driving force behind it, it seems that YouTube will continue to grow. YouTube has continued to make headlines since 2005 and has continually been improving their website’s design and user friendliness.
WIKIMEDIA GAGA SKIDMORE
Finn (left) and Jack (right) Harries from their channel Jacksgap recently posted a video titled “You” about the importance of YouTube.
Underbelly CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE In most cases, content that clearly violates YouTube’s terms of service is not taken down unless an uproar calls for action. In the case of Dawson, the video wasn’t even taken down by YouTube—Dawson took down the videos only after social activist YouTuber Chescaleigh brought attention to their racist undertones. Pepper’s prank video was taken down only after a series of YouTubers signed an open letter condemning him for acts of blatant sexual assault. Even in cases when someone
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TOP COMMENTS
Kathryn Mueller, ‘14
“I started doing nail art in middle school... I knew I wanted to do the designs I saw on myself, so I went on YouTube and discovered a few channels that were really helpful in showing me what to do. They had different tips, techniques and tools that I could use that made learning nail art a lot easier... The YouTube videos acted as a guideline at the beginning until I got good enough to do nail art on my own, and I started to be able to look at a photo and create it on myself without a tutorial.” Reply
IAN MACKEY
Brad Guesman, ‘16 “YouTube, as an artist, is a game changer. All of a sudden you can get all of your content out to people so they can access it everywhere. It’s both a blessing for this reason but also a burden as you have to compete with a lot of different things for viewership.”
COURTESY BRAD GUESMAN
Reply
Scott Sun, ‘17 “YouTube helps me and distracts me in many ways. I watch a variety of YouTube videos from replays of games to tutorials on chemistry/math problems. Even though this sounds stupid, watching game videos and people play better than me wants me to play better and lets me see that some things aren’t impossible. Also, for the tutorials, watching them makes me realize that things are a lot easier once you take the effort to do them.” Reply
NOAH TSAO
“YouTube is a democracy, laughing in the face of media’s monopoly.” Jack Harries recently uploaded a poem titled “You” in which he uses statements like the one above to prove a point about YouTube and the effect it has on society. Harries is a successful YouTuber who runs YouTube channel JacksGap that has over three million subscribers. In the past few years, YouTube has become an extremely popular video sharing social media site, its appeal stemming from its ability to relate to the everyday person. It’s the latest forum for expression, it has created jobs in ways no one thought possible and it is a way for the masses to appeal to the masses. YouTube is a democracy and this is why it matters. YouTube has revolutionized the way we view media, starting with a very simple concept: the kind of media that succeeds on YouTube and the kind of media that is successful on TV is fun-
tries to bring attention to po- their impact is even more daunttentially harmful ing. Before removmaterial, die-hard al, Dawson’s video fans of YouTubers had garnered over f lock to protect the Consumers should nine million views. content- creators. Pepper’s display be active in reIn the case of Chof sexual assault escaleigh report- porting harmful racked up one miling Dawson’s “13 content. Viewlion views in under & Pregnant,” Daw- ers should push a day. son’s fans assimi- creators to make According to lated and deplored YouTube’s informaChescaleigh for us- media that can tion page, “Youing reverse racism be enjoyed by all Tube provides a to get a video she viewers. The only forum for people didn’t like removed, way for YouTube to to connect, inform generally bombardand inspire others grow is to cleanse ing her YouTube across the globe videos with hate- the platform of its and acts as a disful and slur-filled caustic parts. tribution platform comments. for original content The videos themcreators and adverselves are offensive enough; tisers large and small.” YouTube
damentally different. YouTube provides an outlet for ordinary people to appeal to a diverse range of viewers and thus, has created a market for a whole new kind of media. Take Charlie the Unicorn, for instance. Charlie the Unicorn is a flash animated short film that follows the life of a unicorn named Charlie and two other unicorns who bring him on an adventure to the mythical land of “Candy Mountain.” This video went viral, amassing over 50 million views and led to the release of three sequel videos: Charlie the Unicorn 2, 3 and 4. The reason videos like “Charlie the Unicorn” are so successful is due directly to the nature of YouTube. YouTube is full of strange content. Content like the “Charlie the Unicorn” video would never air on TV because it simply wouldn’t get ratings. An ordinary person can upload a video on YouTube, and it can be watched by thousands of other ordinary people.
This has led to the creation of a whole new group of people who call themselves “YouTubers.” “YouTubers” make videos about a wide range of things, but often they are merely talking about their own lives and their viewpoints on specific issues through the form of video blogs, or “vlogs.” YouTube can become anything you want it to be and is breaking the television industry’s monopoly on video entertainment. It provides a voice for the new generation in a time when youth all around the world are fighting to have their voice heard. As Harries says, “The reason why the website once grew all those years ago is in the name of the website and it won’t go away.. it’s you.” YouTube is yet another example of the power of the individual, and with the continued support of its viewers, it will continue to grow and revolutionize entertainment in the years to come.
is built on the exchange of ideas Rather than protecting contentcreators simply beand tasteful hucause of some inmor, not potentially tangible allegiance, violence-inciting, viewers should intentionally hate- YouTube is built on push creators to filled and down- the exchange of make media that right disgusting can be enjoyed by exhibitions crafted ideas and tasteful all viewers. Pepper to get a shock re- humor, not poand Dawson are exsponse. YouTube is tentially violenceamples of the good meant to inform, inciting, intentionmay come not to sensationalally hate-filled and that from viewers beize. It’s not okay ing active in their to use hate speech downright disgustviewership, but in real life, so it ing exhibitions significantly more shouldn’t be al- crafted to get a disturbing content lowed just because shock response. still f loats around the internet proon the video sharvides a more proing platform. The tected form of comonly way for YouTube and its munication. Consumers should be active members to grow is to cleanse in reporting harmful content. the platform of its caustic parts.
The Talon October 28, 2014
STATISTICS 100 hours of video uploaded every minute
1,000,000,000 unique visits each month
Reaches the 18-34 age demographic more than cable television
STATISTICS FROM YOUTUBE.COM
SUBSCRIPTIONS Check out these channels...
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Focus: Science Channel: SciShow # of Subscribers: 2,087,394 SciShow is an educational science channel on YouTube thriving off its slogan, “Make curiousity contagious.” The show is hosted by Hank Green, brother of “The Fault in Our Stars” author John Green. SciShow covers a wide variety of science topics such as “The Science of Lying” and “The Teenage Brain Explained” and journeys to answer life’s everyday questions through scientific explanations. The channel is regularly updated with fun science videos, and for those who are curious about the everyday application of science, SciShow offers a daily dose of scientific awareness. Also watch: 1. Vsauce 2. Minutephysics 3. Numberphile
FLICKR USER ZENNIE ABRAHAM
Focus: Gaming Channel: PewDiePie # of Subscribers: 31,601,838 One of the most subscribed channels on YouTube, PewDiePie is a gaming channel created by Swedish video gamer Felix “PewDiePie” Arvid Ulf Kjellberg. PewDiePie reviews primarily horror and action video games like “Infamous: Second Son” or “Dead Rising 3” but also sporadically uploads vlogging videos. He films both the gameplay and his reactions while playing and edits the footage to make a dual screen video. PewDiePie’s opinions on games are useful for viewers who value his opinion before purchasing games. Channels like his garner more attention for the video gaming industry and spark excitement and discussion around upcoming games. Also watch: 1. stampylonghead 2. TheDiamondMinecart 3. Vanoss Gaming
DISNEY | ABC TELEVISION GROUP’S PHOTOSTREAM
Focus: Music Channel: Kurt Hugo Schneider # of Subscribers: 4,543,285 Kurt Hugo Schneider is a wellknown YouTube video editor, musician and singer songwriter who produces unique musical cover videos to songs and original music videos. Hugo Schneider’s most popular video, a cover of “Just A Dream” by Nelly, has amassed over 86 million hits since its 2010 release and features a duet with Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie. The production quality and creativity of Hugo Schneider’s videos have gained widespread appeal, and many of his most popular works include unique editing and sound mixing, creating an entirely new experience to already viral songs. Also watch: 1. Tiffany Alvord 2. gootmusic 3. Tyler Ward Music
Meet Michelle Phan, the beauty guru of Youtube. With seven million followers, she is the fourth most popular woman on Youtube. All her videos, from “Beauty Basics: Brows” to “How to Build SelfConfidence,” help her followers and fans bond with Phan on humorous or emotional levels. She truly feels like a friend, just one that is sitting behind a screen and a site. But how did Phan achieve the success we see today? As Phan shares in her video, “Draw My Life,” her interest in art began in elementary school; it was one of her only comforts. At school or at home, Phan would draw Disney princesses and superheroes, whose influence and confidence she aspired to reflect. And as Phan grew, she began to explore other forms of art. The one that really stuck with her was makeup and the sense of confidence and empowerment that she found came along with it. “Little by little, [my mom] allowed me to wear a little bit of [makeup],” Phan said in her video “Draw My Life.” “It was a pretty big deal for me. I loved makeup so much because to me, it was drawing. It was on my own face.” Phan eventually went to college at Ringling College of Art and De-
sign, where she got her first laptop. With the computer, she filmed her first beauty tutorial and posted it to YouTube. She wanted to share the confidence lent to her by makeup with other women and since she had few connections, YouTube was the most efficient place to do so. The video quickly gained 40 thousand views and she was shocked and amazed at the positive comments she received from women all around the world. She had achieved the impossible: turned herself around and shown others how they could be confident themselves. “I just wanted to show every girl out there how beautiful she was and how makeup can be their own superhero costume,” Phan said. “Batman, Superman, Spiderman without their costumes, they’re still powerful, but it’s their costumes that tells the world that they’re superheroes.” It was evident that Phan was spreading her message successfully as her channel began to gain followers. YouTube became her prime focus; it was her creative outlet. In 2007, Phan posted the video, “Barbie Transformation Video,” which got a whopping 56 million views, the most she has ever gotten out of all her videos. Media was rapidly taking notice of her quick rise to YouTube fame.
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SEVENTEEN.COM
Michelle Phan is a popular beauty YouTuber. She recently launched her own makeup line called “Em.”
Over the summer, YouTube became embroiled in an ugly dispute with independent record labels. The labels allege that they were offered unfair payment contracts for a YouTube sucmusic streaming service YouTube ceeded in signing is planning to all major labels, launch. The seror over 90% of the vice, reportedly music market, to called YouTube the service, but in- Music Key, would compete with esdependent labels protested that they tablished players such as Spotify, were being forced Rdio, Google Play to take far worse and Beats Music by letting paid royalty deals than users stream mutheir larger comsic ad-free and petitors. download it for offline listening. If successful, Music Key could be a lucrative source of revenue and would allow YouTube to create an image as a legitimate music platform.
In 2010, she hit 1 million subscribers. “Seeing the comments [from] so many women and girls from all walks of life around the world pouring in [with] all these questions, I realized ‘wow, I’m becoming [like] a big sister to these girls and I think that was really the moment when I was taken aback,” Phan said at the Streamy Awards. However, it wasn’t enough to simply share tips and tricks. The creation of the For All Women Network (FAWN) on YouTube in 2012, allowed Phan to introduce her fans and followers to a bigger community, support growing makeup artists and still manage to keep her original channel updated. Inspired by her followers interest, Phan co-founded ipsy.com, a beauty social networking and sampling site that, working along with Phan’s YouTube channel, has strengthened the beauty community and the idea that makeup is an expression of confidence. “Makeup IS art—the only difference is it’s on a moving canvas that constantly changes throughout the day,” Phan explains on her website. “It’s an extension of our self-expression and a powerful tool that shapes how we see ourselves.” YouTube has been the center of Phan’s campaign for self-esteem and self-expression. In order to reach out to even more people and further educate her current fans, Phan has written a book titled Makeup by Michelle Phan, which was released on October 21. The book is centralized on beauty, success and confidence tips, which make up the core idea of Phan’s channel. YouTube helped Phan enhance her love of art by allowing her to share it with others, and fortified her success by providing her with a source of inspiration and support. “Even when times were tough, my childlike spirit never died,” Phan said in “Draw My Life.” “I found that very thing that takes me to a happy place. It was art. And to others, it could be music, writing, video games—whatever it is, finding that special thing will help move you forward.” Phan found her happy place both in art and in inspiring others with her art through her YouTube channel.
Implementing the service, however, turned out to be more complicated than expected. YouTube succeeded in signing all major labels, or over 90% of the music market, to the service, but independent labels protested that they were being forced to take far worse royalty deals than their larger competitors. The independent artists involved include big names such as Adele, Radiohead and the Arctic Monkeys. YouTube, in turn, threatened in June to remove the independent artists’ music from YouTube entirely. The independent labels have decried this as commercial intimidation, even filing complaints with the European Commission to avoid a takedown and to suspend the deals YouTube has already signed. Facing widespread pressure, and hesitant to remove some of its most popular artists, YouTube has indefinitely delayed the takedown. As of October 20, no videos have been removed.
The Talon October 28, 2014
Get daily updates on Eagle athletics and read the sports archives at lahstalon.org/sports
Virtual gamers to professional athletes CLAIRE BAI ERIC THIEM Staff Writers
When we think of professional athletes, flashing muscles and sweaty skin usually fill our vision. Cristiano Ronaldo runs swiftly across the field. Serena Williams screams after a victory. But in today’s world, there is an addition: a twenty year old couch potato eats chips off of his belly and sips Mountain Dew as he clicks around on the computer screen. This is the stereotypical professional athlete of the virtual world: the gamer. As gaming is often seen either as a hobby or as having no benefit, many people would disagree that such a career should be acknowledged as professional. Yet, professional gamers of League of Legends, one of the most popular competitive video games, are allowed to live in the United States on a sport visa, just as many other athletes do. Watched by millions of eyes as they battle it out on a virtual field, professional gamers are often featured on online live streaming. These eSports, or electronic sports, are on par with other sports in many aspects, most notably in popularity. While games such as CounterStrike and Starcraft II are certainly popular, they struggle to attract the same numbers as Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) behemoths League of Legends and Dota 2. The immense viewership of these games sometimes even surpasses that of traditional sports such as baseball and basketball. Last year, the League of Legends Season 3 World Championship garnered 32 million viewers, an amount that transcends the 14.9 million viewers of the MLB World Series and the 15.7 million viewers of the NCAA Final Four, according to SuperData Research.
These figures prove that new games have found their ways onto the computer screens of millions. However, mainstream media has only just begun to recognize the prospective revenue that eSports could bring in. The average professional League of Legends game gets about 300,000 viewers, so numbers are still too low to maintain a permanent eSports channel. But if large tournaments like the World Championship were to be broadcasted on live television, the total views could be in the millions. This would also help spread the word about the new trend, increasing the numbers of spectators and the potential profit margin for advertisers. Many people believe that video gamers will remain a minority group. However, in reality, gamers are not the lonely pariahs that are generally depicted by the media. Groups of gamers are present in high schools around the world. At school, the League of Legends club has 81 members listed, outnumbering the total number of players on the junior varsity and varsity football teams. Similar to any team sport, the members of the League of Legends club can form strong bonds over their shared interest in the game. As more and more new players flock to games like League of Legends and Dota 2, video gaming will slowly become more accepted into society, and the social
stigmas surrounding it will dissipate. Although differences still exist, eSports and traditional sports are becoming more similar than not. Soon enough, if anyone ever mocks you for playing video games, you can proudly say that you are practicing to become a professional athlete. One day, you might be making thousands of dollars off of an activity millions do for fun.
TOP: FLICKR USER DOTA 2 THE INTERNATIONAL BOTTOM: FLICKR USER JAKOB WELLS
Top: Team Newbee celebrates their victory at the Dota 2 International tournament. Above: Milions of views pack into the stadium of the international tournament.
The Premier League satisfies soccer fans’ needs PERLA LUNA
A Sports Fan’s Dream
Senior Writer
If you suffer from post-World Cup depression, or you miss commentators screaming the word goal, or you want to watch real “football” or you simply feel like getting a little more fanatical than you currently are, look no further than the English Premier League, one of the best professional soccer leagues in the world.
How The Game Works:
There are 20 clubs (teams) in the English Premier League (EPL), with seventeen returning and three from the second tier of English soccer. The season lasts from August to May, with each club playing each other twice, once away and once at home, in what is known as a double round robin. Match days are mostly on weekends. A team is awarded 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The team with the most points at the end of the season becomes the league champion and the three teams with the least amount of points are regulated to the Football League Championship (the league below the EPL). In return, the top three teams from the Championship are brought back into the EPL for the following season.
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Above: Sunderland and Arsenal shaking hands before a Premier League match. Arsenal is a fan favorite and a top contender each year.
The Level of Competition:
Due to the proximity of the clubs (keep in mind England is smaller than California), the rivalries are more historic and intense than those of other sports. A classic example of this is between the most successful clubs in EPL history, Manchester United and Liverpool. The rivalry has historical insult chants and has extended to the players themselves. An egg incident involving Sir Alex Ferguson, the then manager of Manchester United, produced a ban on Liverpool fans near the away team entrance on matchdays. Regulation rules force the bottom three teams out of the league. The risk of being one of those unlucky clubs is more than enough drama and heartbreak for fans to take in one lifetime, let alone a season.
The Players:
As the most watched and internationally diverse soccer league in the world, it’s no wonder that the EPL can boast having a wide variety of game styles and some of the best players in the world. Soccer stars like Robin Van Persie, Diego Costa, Angel Di Maria, David Silva, and Alexis Sanchez are considered the best for their fearless attitude and their ability to create soccer magic (and goals) out of static plays. The goalies too, like David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois, are not sitting ducks either. With a knack for amazing saves and a serene demeanor when their teams are struggling, they are truly the backbone of the team.
Undoubtedly with any sport, there are flaws in the system. Fans will complain about every season, but the Premier League bypasses some of the more common ones. Because matchdays are on weekends (and typically in the mornings), they won’t interfere with other sporting commitments like the NFL. Perhaps best of all, you know how long you’ll be watching for. Say goodbye to needless commercial breaks. With the EPL (and any football match for that matter), you’ll get two 45 minute halves, a 15 minute half time and maybe a few minutes of overtime. Also, unlike other sports, all teams participate equally with a total of 38 matches per club. If your team isn’t doing well, you won’t have to sit the rest of the season out like in the NFL when playoffs start. On top of that, the season is longer, so post-season withdrawals are shorter and easier to manage, especially if you decide to keep up with friendlies and international club leagues.
Easy Access:
Just because the EPL is across the pond, it doesn’t mean it’ll be difficult for American fans to keep up to date. NBC has exclusive access to all the
Premier League games to watch live on TV, phones, tablets or computers. The season might have already started, but it’s not too late to catch up.
The Community:
Whether you’re looking for a club with a strong fan community, trophy winners, big spenders or underdogs, you’ll find a club to root for. Each club has its own traditions and rivalries, which history fans can immerse themselves in. The overall soccer culture is so strong that even the club managers are given nicknames like Chelsea coach Jose “The Special One” Mourinho. Even beyond the EPL community, the soccer community at large is a force to be reckoned with. As a sport played by almost every country, it has the power to unite people through the common language of the graceful movement of a player kicking the ball.
The Gateway
The most important reason you should watch the Premier League is because it is a gateway into “the beautiful game.” Before you know it, you’ll be watching the European FIFA confederation games, adding leagues like Spain’s La Liga to your list and, of course, you’ll be prepared for when the next World Cup comes around in 2018.
The Talon October 28, 2014
Bay Area Sports Round-Up
Fantasy football offers players competition and fun SPENCER DEMBNER Staff Writer
By Josh Kirshenbaum
Sharks Start Season Looking To Win Sooner Rather Than Later On April 22 this year, the San Jose Sharks were in a good place. They led their first round playoff matchup against rival Los Angeles 3-0. On April 30, their optimism was crushed when they were booted out of the playoffs and into the history books as just the fourth team in NHL history to lose a series after being up 3-0. This feeling of crushed optimism was not exactly new for Sharks fans. San Jose has gone to the playoffs nine consecutive seasons, but they have yet to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Last year’s playoff debacle seemed to hurt the most. The sheer repetition combined with the historic loss to a rival amplified fans’ demands for change. Many wanted to see important offseason changes, with new talent being brought in. Many of those fans were largely disappointed when the main moves that General Manager Doug Wilson made were to release star defenseman Dan Boyle, forward Marty Havlat and commentator Drew Remenda. Despite the lack of big offseason deals, the Sharks do bring a solid team to the 2014 season. The core of the team is still made up of veteran forwards Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton along with returning stars, forwards Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture and defenseman Marc Edouard-Vlasic. Brent Burns, who played forward last year, moves back to his natural defenseman position. Youngster Tomas Hertl, who burst onto the scene before missing much of the year with a knee injury has returned. The Sharks’ largest conflict is in goal. Returning starter Antti Niemi has been plagued by concerns last year about his performance in big games and backup Alex Stalock played well enough that many believed he should be starting this year. Coach Todd Mclellan gave Niemi the starter’s job, but made it clear that Stalock would appear in plenty of games. “As the season opens they’ll both have the opportunity to establish themselves, and if somebody gets hot, we’ll run that hot goaltender for a little while,” Mclellan said in an interview for the San Jose Mercury News. As of press deadline, the Sharks have gotten off to a pretty strong start. After four games, they are 4-2-1, including a 4-0 drubbing of the Kings on opening night. The new season has brought new optimism, and so far, the Sharks have delivered. Primed for another great season and a run in the playoffs, San Jose hopes that this will be the year that they finally get over the hump that is Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Fall is an exciting time for football at Los Altos as junior varsity and varsity teams gear up for their seasons alongside the NFL. However, for many students, the real action is on their computer screens. Since the pre-internet age, football fans have been turning to fantasy football as another way to be involved, creating teams composed of real players that depend on their performance to succeed. These fictional teams face off in weekly matchups where the performance of each team’s players in the past week determines who will come away with a win. Players’ performances are judged based on specific criteria, such as the number of touchdowns for a
quarterback, the distance covered by a running back or yards thrown for passes caught by a receiver. Because teams draw from all over the NFL, fantasy football can strain fans’ loyalties to one particular team over another. “[Playing fantasy] makes you want your [team’s] players to do better,” sophomore Albin Mollerstedt said. “Instead of rooting for a team, now you’re rooting for specific players, because they’re on your fantasy team.” Los Altos is home to a number of fantasy leagues, each of which has about 10 teams. Sophomore Jay Uppuluri is the manager of one such league, a result of winning the previous season. “[Fantasy football is popular] because people like to combine the fun of the NFL with fun with
his or her own friends and make it competitive,” Jay said. The JV Football team also has its own league this year, managed by receiver sophomore Ryan Young. Having attended Saint Francis for freshman year, Ryan sees the league as a way to meet new people. “There are a few kids on the team that I didn’t know coming into school that I know now through fantasy football,” Ryan said. The moment of truth for fantasy teams is the Monday night game, which is the last chance for players’ performance to affect the outcome. “If you have a [fantasy player] who’s playing Monday night and it’s a close game, that can change the score for that week,” Ryan said. “One time I was down by five [points] with a minute left in the
monday night game. I had the running back [on my fantasy team], and the running back scored a touchdown and I won by one.” Being involved in real and fantasy football, Ryan finds that both influence his view of each other. “Playing football, you think ‘How many points should I have gotten if I was a fantasy player?’” Ryan said. “[On the other hand,] if there’s a [fantasy] receiver you can think...‘maybe’s he’s not projected to score that many points, but I think he’s going to score more points than that because of my [football] knowledge.’” Whether as part of a passion for football or simply as a hobby, fantasy football shows that the community, competition and fun of playing sports can be very real even if the teams may not be.
To get updates on all sports at the school, go to:
lahstalon.org/sports
NOAH TSAO, IAN MACKEY
Left, freshman Nadia Ghaffari returns the ball, she is one of two undefeated players on the team in league. Above, senior Matt Schonher makes the catch.
Football culture: from the NFL to high school EMILY AOKI HANNA KHOSRAVI Staff Writers
According to USA Today, there have been 83 domestic violence arrests in the NFL just in this past year. Forty-eight percent of the league’s crime rate is domestic violence related crimes, while in the United States as a whole, domestic violence only accounts for 21 percent of the nation’s offenses. Despite this, these trends have not been seen at Los Altos and or the football team. On February 15 this year, TMZ leaked a video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious in an elevator. This act terminated his contract, tarnished his reputation and established a firestorm of controversy surrounding the NFL’s domestic violence policy. This culture of violence, interspersed with
athleticism and the glamour of celebrity culture, has caused many people to question the values of the NFL and brought many to consider whether this toxicity in football culture will leak into the average high school. The astronomically high pay and socialite-like stature that football players hold when they become celebrated members of the game are argued to be part of the reasoning for the drastic rates of violence. When the players are treated with this level of prestige, it is difficult for them not to think that they can get away with whatever they want without losing their status or their positions on their teams. “I think that when it’s a celebrity, it’s treated differently,” school psychologist Chad Ablang said. “I think that there is some power of a cover... When you have a reputation, it comes with privileges.”
IAN MACKEY
Junior Chad Dowdell runs with the ball in the team’s game versus Mountain View. The unique football culture at the school seperates itself from the violence associated with the NFL.
At Los Altos, players are not overpraised or rigorously accommodated as they are in the professional leagues, but they are in every sense highly valued members of our high school dynamic. However, while a football player’s treatment as a revered or regular individual is an important contributing factor to their potentially violent antics, it may not be the only one. “NFL players suffer repeated blows to the head every Sunday,” Forbes contributor Dan Diamond said. “A star player like Rice will get tackled hundreds of times every year. And there is evidence to suggest that all those hits to the brain may increase the propensity to commit domestic violence.” Many think that the physicality endorsed on the field can be mentally difficult to turn off when the players go home to their families. Ablang, however, disagrees. “I think that if that was the case, then a majority or all of the football players would be abusers or they would be violent,” Ablang said. “I think it can be a lot of different factors like anger management issues... it could be that there is a cycle in the family where they see violence at home...or they just see violence in the community.” In practically every high school film ever directed, the football players are represented as the bludgeoning rulers of the campus, the “royalty” that everyone looks up to with admiration and longing. With this idea being ingrained into the minds of our youth, how can they be expected to carry themselves in a level-headed
manner, especially when their role models in the NFL are constantly being deemed above the law? While this is an issue that plagues players on our national stage, at Los Altos, we are lucky enough not to experience this imbalance in our society. “I believe that [NFL] football players who are treated as royalty end up becoming ‘bigger than the game itself’ as they say, because they assume that they have control of certain situations,” sophomore running back Max Higareda said. Here, our football players, like all other aspects of our school, contribute to the central atmosphere. Ablang believes that the entire community of players, most importantly those that are high school students, cannot be judged by the criminalistic actions of a handful of players. Senior lineman Phillip Almeda takes a stance by saying that the violence is not prevalent among the school and that humility is a valuable characteristic. “[At Los Altos,] we’re treated like any other sports player,” Phillip said. “We’re just [people] that play the sport that we love… I’m not going to be a big jerk around campus, start pushing people around and all that... you have to be humble and know how to act.” Ablang, in consideration with the fact that the school has championed plenty of successful students and a rigorous learning environment, finds our football team to be in perfect accordance with Los Altos’ values. “I actually think our football team are all really respectful,” Ablang said. “And I think they are very ‘Los Altos.’”
The Talon October 28, 2014
Mid-Season Updates AMELIA BAUM, ANNELIESE GALLAGHER, ELAINE LEE In-Depth Editor, Staff Writers
ELVIS LI, NOAH TSAO, IAN MACKEY, COURTESY OF DAVESGAZE
Left, senior Joyce Christiansen-Salameh serves the ball. Top middle, senior captain Bryan Kim takes a shot. Bottom middle, senior captain Nicole Atkins gets past an opposing defender in their match against Saratoga. Right, junior Ben Zaeske makes a pass in their meet at Golden Gate Park.
Girls Volleyball
Field Hockey
After placing second in CCS and NorThe girls varsity field hockey team conCals during the 2013 season, girls varsity tinues to fight through another rocky seavolleyball looks to repeat last year’s sucson, going up against some tough teams in cesses. Currently 9-0 in the De Anza secthe SCVAL. tion of SCVAL, the volleyball team is conDespite a rigorous preseason aimed at prefident that they can take the league title. paring them for tough competition, the team “Winning league is our top priority has lost six of the seven games they have right now,” senior Samantha Dadok said. played in league. Monta Vista, Saratoga, Los “After that placing high in CCS and movGatos and Cupertino proved to be too much ing on to NorCal finals again, and mayfor the lady eagles, but they were able to sebe even getting to state finals this year cure a tie against Homestead on October 8. would be amazing.” “We are a strong team that should be winThe team knows from experience that ning games, but there is a lack of determinaaccomplishing these goals will be no easy tion and confidence that restrains us,” senior task. In order to match the success of last captain Nicole Atkins said. year’s team, they are depending on a highPlayers are discouraged by the team’s disenergy environment at all their games, appointing record, especially in light of all created by both their own team traditions their hard work. Though the varsity roster and the support of the Blue Crew. encompasses a lot of experienced and talentLike any other team, voled players, the team is having leyball has faced challenges. difficulty making it all line up. Though their record might “The first half of the season not reflect it, the team has They are dehasn’t really been on our side,” overcome several injuries in pending on a senior captain Emily Webb said. addition to the absence of last “We have been playing well, but high-energy year’s seniors. it is the little things like not be“Besides being extremely tal- environment... ing able to finish the play and ented, the seniors last year were created by both poor reffing that is making the really dynamic and outgoing their own team season hard.” and made us cheer for every traditions and Despite the rough start, the point, making both the entire team is more motivated than team and the crowd watching us the support of ever to turn the season around. super pumped,” Samantha said. the Blue Crew. Now that they have faced nearly “This season we’re lacking a bit every team in the league, the in that area.” team knows what they need to In the absence of the graduated sechange in order to do well in the second half niors, many younger volleyball players of the season. have stepped up to lead the team. Play“Many of us have become frustrated with ers such as senior Joyce Christiansen-Salconstant defeat, but we plan to come out ameh and juniors Meghan Wilhelm and much stronger and more intense as we enter Sarah Tritschler have helped fill the gaps the second half of the season,” Nicole said. in leadership. After a rough first half, the team is head“They’re all very consistent in their reing into the season confident, but with an spective positions, and solid playing is awareness of the tough competition they the key to winning,” junior Addie Feldare to face. For the seniors who are three and man said. “All around, they’re just great four year veterans of the team, these last four team players.” games are their last chance to display all their The volleyball team hopes that their hard work. As the juniors and underclassteam excitement and energy will propel men prepare to fill their shoes, the future of them forth toward a league championship Los Altos field hockey looks promising. and make them a top contender for the “We are getting better, using every game CCS title. to better ourselves,” senior Kathy Hamilton “We’re off to an amazing start this seasaid. “At some point I think it is all just goson,” Samantha said. “One that we will ing to click and we are going to have a really hopefully be able to maintain.” great season.”
Cross Country
This season, the cross country team has faced illnesses and other teams on their road to reach CCS. Their goal this season is to place high in league standings in order to make it to state championships. “The team has had a pretty successful season so far and we have had some very impressive individual results even though we’ve been hit with a lot of unfortunate injuries this season,” junior Andreas Godderis said. Even with a surprising heatwave and a flu bug spreading, the cross country team has continued to maintain good times in their races, placing high against some of the best teams in the area. “We only took fifth place but we were competing against the top cross country teams in the state,” junior Kevin Anawalt said. These impressive performances can be attributed to the large amount of work the students put in during practice. Cross country head coach Pam Harris keeps runners in shape and prepares them for any and all types of courses. “Each day we do different things: Monday we did hill repeats, because the course we are going to on Saturday is full of hills,” Harris said. “We do speed workouts on the track to increase our speed and then we go out for long runs get our stamina up.” To become the best will not be easy, however. The team still has many hurdles to jump over in order for them to succeed. “Our biggest challenge is competing for the top CCS spots,” junior Lauren Jacob said. “There are about five teams including us that all really close in Division II, so we have been working hard to stay in the mix with these teams.” The cross country runners are working hard in practice and at meets in order to achieve their dream of becoming the best in California, and hopefully Los Altos High will get a great season out of them. “We still have a long way to go before [CIF] State Finals and I can only see the team getting better,” Andreas said. “CCS finals is being held on a difficult course this year, but I think with the right preparation we should be able achieve the same levels of success as we have the past few seasons.”
NOY ANISMAN