The Talon | Issue 5 | February 11, 2014

Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA ■ February 11, 2014 ■ Volume XXIX, Issue 5

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lahstalon.org

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Undocumented MVHS alum District shows new film in hometown contract

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas explores effects of undocumented immigration

MEET THE LAHS FACILITIES CREW Get the inside, detailed look into the life stories of the LAHS factilities staff.

In-Depth, 10 - 11

Haiti Solidarity Club Prepares for Trip to Sister School The club has been raising money for their upcoming February service trip to SODUDEP in Haiti.

News, 3

School Should Consider Introducing Additional Block Days into Schedule Read a writer’s opinions as to why expanding block schedules at LAHS would be beneficial to students.

Opinions, 8

Sophomore Establishes Successful Chocolatier Business Christina Pao has expanded her childhood interest in chocolate-making, creating her business, Vivace Sweets.

Features, 9

“And The Oscar Goes To...”

With Oscar Night just around the corner, read a review on which motion pictures and actors will take home the highest honors.

Entertainment, 17

CARLY COHEN

Jose Antonio Vargas presents his film, “DOCUMENTED,” to a crowd in Mountain View, his hometown. Since Vargas came out as an undocumented immigrant, he has been advocating for immigration reform.

CARLY COHEN CASSIDY CRAFORD In-Depth Editor Senior Writer

For the past year, MVLA alumnus and journalist Jose Antonio Vargas compiled footage for a documentary focused on the process and aftermath of his coming out as an undocumented immigrant. His documentary, titled “DOCUMENTED,” was presented in his hometown, Mountain View, on January 27.

“DOCUMENTED” exposed new insights on Vargas that had not previously been publicized, such as his relationship with his mother. Many of Vargas’ decisions along with the political and social reper-

cussions that he experienced were himself as a journalist, eventualso exposed in the film, which he ally earning the June 2011 Sidproduced and directed on his own. ney Award for his Time Maga“My goal from the zine article about very beginning was to undocumented imshow what a broken My goal migration. Vargas immigration system from the very also won a Pulitzer does,” Vargas said in Prize for his work beginning the documentary. in 2008 as part of As a child, Vargas was to show the Washington immigrated from the what a broken Post team that covPhilippines to Moun- immigration ered the Virginia tain View, California Tech shootings. system does. to live with his grandOver the years, Var— Jose Antonio Vargas parents. When Vargas gas has continued was 16, he discovered to raise awareness his undocumented status when and bring change to the topic he went to register for a driver’s of undocumented immigration license at the local DMV. Since and reform. then, Vargas has made a name for SEE ‘VARGAS’ ON PAGE 2

talks begin ALICE DAI SOFIA GUO Staff Writers

On Thursday, January 16, the District Teachers’ Association (DTA), California School Employees’ Association (CSEA) and the MVLA School District began their annual contract negotiations.

Every year negotiations begin with the district sunshining, or publicly announcing, negotiation topics for each of the unions.

The DTA and the CSEA negotiate with the district separately and on different topics. Because negotiations are currently underway, all parties have agreed to not disclose any information resulting from these negotiations until all discussions are settled.

However, negotiating topics are sunshined. The DTA negotiation topics that will be discussed this year involve wages, compensation and benefits. Wages, compensation and benefits are, by law, negotiated every year.

In addition to these two articles, each party is allowed to open one additional article from the contract to negotiate as well. The district has decided to open Article 3, which pertains to discussions about the teacher work year and increasing time for professional development activity for teachers. The DTA has opened Article 14, and they will be discussing the facilitation of regular consultations between the district and the union on topics related to enhancing the communication between these two parties.

“The goal in these negotiations would be to meet the interests on all topics the best we can,” DTA negotiation team member Todd Wangsness said. “Ideally, we want to represent the interests of as many DTA members as possible.”

SEE ‘DTA’ ON PAGE 3

A Look At The Politics of Sochi 2014 The upcoming winter Olympics in Russia has been accompanied by controversial debates about subjects including terrorism and LGBT rights. Sports, 19

Since 1968, Cassara Brothers Clothiers has dressed noteworthy clients CARLY COHEN

UPCOMING EVENTS Feb. 11 @ 7 p.m.

Strictly Strings Concert Feb. 14 @ 11 a.m.

Freshman Poetry Slam Feb. 15 – 23

Winter Recess Feb. 27 @ 7 p.m.

Poetry Slam

Mar. 1 @ 8 a.m.

Sprint for Sports Mar. 7

LAHS Blood Drive Mar. 14

End of Third Quarter Mar. 14 @ 8 p.m.

School Dance News Editorial Opinions

2 5 6

Features 9, 12 In-Depth 10–11 Entertainment 14 Sports 18

A

In-Depth Editor

shton Kutcher, Joe DiMaggio, Kwame Harris—we all know the names, but who makes their suits?

Cassara Brothers Clothiers, located on San Antonio Road, has catered to several famous figures, including those listed above in addition to many other high-class businessmen and athletes. They’ve even added royalty to their clientele, having suited Prince Walid of Saudi Arabia.

“Our last thing that we did was we outfitted Ashton Kutcher for the Steve Jobs movie,” Mario Cassara,

Jr. said. “One of our customers from way back when used to buy clothes from us, and his son is now in the movie business. He remembered the Cassara name and gave me a call and said, ‘Would you like to make some suits for a movie?’ Next thing you know, we’re fitting Ashton Kutcher.”

Many athletes also make common appearances in the shop. In particular, much of the 49ers football team comes to Cassara Brothers for custom made suits.

“I am a 49ers fan. Most of the 49ers players come for free because

PHOTOS BY IAN MACKEY

Left: Originally from Italy, Mario Cassara, Sr. has been making suits for 46 years. Above: The Los Altos location of Cassara Brothers Clothiers. they are superstars, but Kwame Harris paid for his suits,” Mario Cassara, Sr. said. “A lot of them used to sign my [49ers] jacket, and I would give [them] free suits.”

However, it isn’t just the famous

clientele that makes Cassara Brothers noteworthy. It’s also known to be a family business with a father and son duo in charge, Mario Cassara, Sr. and Jr. SEE ‘CASSARA’ ON PAGE 13

The Talon February 11, 2014

Get daily LAHS updates and read the news archives at lahstalon.org/news

White to retire, Mathiesen to take CBO reins When White retires, he will pass on his summer projects to his sucAfter serving 11 years as Associ- cessor, Mike Mathiesen. These inate Superintendent of Business Ser- clude the renovations of the athvices and Technology for the MVLA letic fields, the expansion of snack district, Joe White announced his bars, and the addition of more storretirement at the January 28 board age facilities and bathrooms. meeting, effective at the end of the “We have had growing number of 2013-2014 school year. Mike Mathie- students and sports, so it is to help sen, who is currently an assistant with that side of our growing popuprincipal at Mountain View High lation,” White said.

School, will be White’s replacement.

In terms of the transition from “I’m old,” White said. “I’m 66. I’ve White to Mathiesen, White anticibeen in the district for 11 years and it’s pates that there will be a lot commy time. I’ve got a lot of munication to iron things planned to do.” out plans for the next One of the top activifew years. ties on his list is taking I’m looking “We’re going to be a “Diners, Drive-ins forward to having a lot of converand Dives” tour of the working with sations on how I look United States to visit all the schools into the future for keepthe places that the host ing the district finanof the show, Guy Fieri, in the district... cially healthy,” White has featured. On the I’m excited said. “It’s nice to have roadtrip, White also about having an idea on what was plans to see his family. done in the past and be [an] impact on “We’re going to drive to improve on that. the district-wide able around in a car,” White And that’ll take time.” said. “I’ve got relatives level.

Mathiesen will also all over, so we’re going be learning as he — Chief Business Officer Appointee to see some of those settles into his new Mike Mathiesen people, stay in hotels position. and take a tour of mon“I’ll be attending a uments and hall of fames…[and] see couple of statewide workshops relatthe New York skyline and go walk ed to business office [and] business the Freedom Trail in Boston.” officials,” Mathisen said. “I am sure White’s goals for retirement in- there will be a lot of joint meetings clude pursuing hobbies such as golf [for me] to be brought up to speed in and gardening. terms of the practices and what we “I plan on refining my golf game do at this district here.” and working on my garden, which Yet Mathiesen also has a set of creI have been postponing for the past dentials to aid him in his transition. five years,” White said.

He taught economics at Mountain Though White looks forward to View High School for seven years his newfound freedom, he cred- before becoming an assistant prinits the supportive administrative cipal six years ago. In the past year, district staff for creating good the district nominated Mathiesen memories of his years as Associate to participate in the Chief of BusiSuperintendent. ness Official Mentor Program, “The administrative staff here which identifies and trains poten...has been an absolutely fabu- tial business officers. In addition to lous group to work with over the this training, Mathiesen was also years,” White said. “They’ve made on the District Technology Comit enjoyable for me to come to mittee and as a result possesses a work everyday.” nuanced understanding of how

KATHERINE YEN Staff Writer

COURTESY MVLA

Associate Superintendent of Business Services and Technology Joe White (left) is set to retire on June 27.

MVHS Assistant Principal Mike Mathiesen (right) will be taking over the role for the next school year. to use and integrate technology within educational settings. “[The Chief of Business Official Mentor Program] has been a huge kind of background in terms of training and educational topics,” Mathiesen said. “I did it because I grew more and more interested in the role of the Business Officer...I said, ‘Hey, here’s an opportunity to advance my own skills and expertise, and to put myself in a position where when...

Mr. White retired, I would be in consideration for the place.’”

With a background in both business and technology, White believes that Mathiesen has all the advantages for a smooth transition.

“So he has a knowledge base in those two areas,” White said. “Now that [Mathiesen is taking] over technology on July 1, his expertise on being able to work with staff and administrators on the various electronic devices infrastructure at MVHS will [make it] very easy for him to continue that on and improve it in the future.”

Looking back, White considers the construction of the new classrooms and the 2003-2004 renovation of the athletic fields to be his two biggest achievements over the course of his career. Looking forward, he hopes for the district office to maintain its financial stability.

“The main thing to be done in this office is continue to keep the district financially sound so that we will always have sufficient money to be able to enhance the instruction for students that will be coming in the future,” White said. “That’s our most important mission.”

For Mathiesen, his new position marks a new beginning, one which he anticipates eagerly for its opportunity to make an impact on a district-wide scale.

“I’m looking forward to working with all the schools in the district,” Mathiesen said. “Since I’m an administrator I get to work primarily just with Mountain View staff and students, limited cross-district. So I’m excited about having the impact on

Writers Week returns to LAHS Vargas CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE

ARIEL MACHELL

Copy/Content Editor

The school is hosting its 29th annual Writers Week on March 4-7, which will bring with it a number of writers, among which is Robin Sloan, the author of “Mr. Penumbra’s 24Hour Bookstore.”

Sloan will be the featured author this year, participating in the “Community Read” on March 5 at 7 p.m. in the Eagle Theater. Sloan’s book follows young Clay Jannon, a graphic designer left jobless by the Great Recession. Desperate for work, Clay finds employment with Mr. Penumbra at his 24-Hour Bookstore. He soon realizes that the store is much more than it seems.

Many of the writers who will visit the school during this time, including Sloan, have just published their first novel, featuring genres ranging from horror to fantasy. Students will have the opportunity to hear about their stories, their writing processes, what it’s like to publish a novel and much more.

Writers Week brings in a variety of speakers, and not all are novel-

PARMIS TAIDY

Robin Sloan, the author of “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” will be the featured writer at Writers Week this year. ists. Poets, journalists, songwriters, screenwriters, even comic writers have been known to appear throughout the week.

The school’s relationship with Kepler’s Books, along with the work of the volunteers on the Writers Week Committee, is mainly accountable for the success of this annual school event. The program also cooperates with both the Stegner and Knight

Fellowships at Stanford University.

Their presence at Writers Week emphasises the many paths that writing can take you down.

Through the Writers Week program the Writers Week Committee hopes that students will be inspired to read more, write more and realize all the opportunities that exist through writing and what it can do for them.

Vargas’ efforts towards education and activism immigration reform did not stop after his initial exposé in the New York Times. Before the New York Times published his own revealing “coming out as undocumented” piece, Vargas gathered a film team to start filming what became the basis for his “DOCUMENTED” documentary. As the documentary exposes Vargas to the world, it also exposed the plight of the other 11 million undocumented immigrants within the United States. By coming clean about his immigration status, Vargas uses the media attention from his New York Times piece to help raise awareness for the injustices of the immigration system.

“DOCUMENTED” specifically presents viewers with an inside take on what it means to be an

the district-wide level.”

Mathiesen also looks forward to the challenges that come with being in the leadership position.

“When I went from teacher to Assistant Principal, I missed the classroom but I enjoyed the challenge of being involved in leadership and decision making on a schoolwide level,” Mathiesen said. “I see this as very similar. I’m moving from the school site to the district office, and being able to have a kind of larger impact for the good of students and the good of staff.”

Echoing White, Mathiesen maintains that his main mission is to keep the district in good financial shape.

“The biggest goal [for us is to] maintain the strong financial position we’ve been in so that we can provide the best position for students, classroom programs, athletic programs, co-curricular stuff and performing arts” Mathiesen said. “When a district is solid financially, that…[affects] the support of the students and their education.” immigration reformist and the challenges undocumented immigrants face daily. The film highlights the current legislative holes within the system, showcasing how America lacks a solid “option forward” for the 11 million undocumented immigrants that live in the U.S. As Vargas continues to show the film across the nation, he has high hopes to bring even more change to the immigration reform movement by spreading the word and convincing even those that seem initially skeptical toward the idea to believe in it.

In the end, the showing in Mountain View was completely sold out. All proceeds from the screening went directly to benefit the MVLA Scholars Program, a scholarship program that supports MVLA high school students and helps them achieve a college education. Vargas was one of the first recipients of the scholarship program.

To read updates about immigration reform, visit lahstalon.org/news

The Talon February 11, 2014

Haiti Solidarity raises funds for SOPUDEP MAYA VARGHESE Staff Writer

The Haiti Solidarity Club, which has scheduled its annual trip to SOPUDEP to coincide with February’s Winter Recess, hopes to use its time in Haiti this year to improve the quality of the educational facilities.

In preparation for the trip, the club has worked hard to raise the necessary improvement funds.

On Sunday, January 16, the Haiti Solidarity Club held its annual silent auction in the First and Main Sports Lounge in downtown Los Altos. During the first part of the auction, the club effectively auctioned the necessities it needed. By posting the descriptions of various needs around the lounge, donators could shop for solar panels or “new doors,” allowing for individuals to make specific donations to one particular project within SOPUDEP. Those who attended the auction could choose a need and pledge a certain amount of money in a tax deductible donation. After the necessities auction, the Haiti Solidarity Club raised additional funds by selling

Haitian artwork and items donated by local businesses. Through the auction, the club raised $15,000.

Alongside its traditional silent auction and box drive, Haiti Solidarity has also worked to raise funds by continuing to work on its organic farm. Using the land it has received to grow organic vegetables to sell to Los Altos residents, Haiti Solidarity has taken an unorthodox approach to raising funds.

The students themselves have grown the vegetables, putting in hours of time each week to make the farm a success. Though not all members help with the farm on a regular basis, most members have helped out on the endeavor at least once. Club Advisor Seth Donnelly organizes groups of students out to the farm to work on Thursdays and weekends.

While the club has just started to sell its broccoli, cauliflower, onions, kale and beets, sales to parents and teachers have already started bringing in approximately $100 a week. As of the press deadline, February 5, Haiti has consistently

CASSIDY CRAFORD

DTA CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE Under wages (Article 4), the DTA will request an increase in total compensation for teachers. This includes increases in district contributions to medical benefits, salary increases and State Teacher Retirement System (STRS), or pension, increases.

Employee benefits (Article 6) will address potential changes in health care coverage required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was put in effect on March 23, 2010. The ACA, often referred to as Obamacare, aims to increase the percentage of Americans who have health care by providing cheaper health care coverage.

Benefits are very important in both the interests of the DTA and district and are discussed yearly due to the high cost of health care, medicare, pension and other benefits. Because of these high costs, both parties want to slow the rising costs of these benefits. In addition, with the implementation of the ACA, the district must comply with its requirements in order to avoid penalties, taxes, and fees.

“Health care is a moving target, because it is very complicated,” Wangsness said. “We will do our best to have in place the structure for our benefits plan to adhere to requirements of the ACA.” Negotiations relating to Article 3, the district opener, aim to in-

crease time for professional development for teachers. This means the district is interested in increasing the teacher work year, which is currently 186 days for most DTA members. Of the 186 teacher work days, six of those days are teacher in-service days. Professional development can be anything from teachers attending seminars and conferences to participating in department meetings to listening to talks with hired-in speakers.

“The district opener basically outlines the district’s interests to create more time for teachers to meet and collaborate,” Wangsness said. “Both the DTA and district have interests on this topic, and we try to blend interests and compromise to satisfy each side.”

Article 14 is the DTA opener this year. For this negotiation issue, the DTA interests are to enhance and improve education quality by identifying topics that are important to teachers and management, developing a systematic procedure for teachers to input educational strategies and policies, and to incorporate teacher contributions to educational policy decisions. The district interests also covers similar topics as those of the DTA. According to DTA President Michelle Bissonnette and Wangsness, no specific event prompted the DTA to open this article.

“The opener is simply a desire to put our shared decision-making relationship with the district into the contract so that the culture and

COURTESY SETH DONNELLY

Above: Students help work on the Haiti farm after school, selling organic vegetables to raise funds for sister school SOPUDEP. Left: Students on the 2013 trip helped contribute to the construction of SOPUDEP. earned $100 a week from vegetable sales for the past six weeks. Because not all the plants in the garden are fully grown yet, the club looks forward to even better sales once all plants reach full maturity. “[The farm has] been so successful,” first semester Co-President Emily Small said. “We have [much more] demand than we have produce for…It’s been amazing.”

When asked about how the land was acquired, Haiti Solidarity Advisor Seth Donnelly accredited his friend Cornelia Fletcher, a volunteer who donated the land for the farm. “[Fletcher is] a farmer, so [she] trained the students and taught us to operate the farm,” Donnelly said. “With her guidance and support we have a little urban farm running now.”

The club has recently been acknowledged for making an impact, not only by the students and teachers at SOPUDEP and by LAHS, but also by “The New York Times”.

Nicholas Kristoff, a Pulitzer Prize-

winning journalist wrote an article about the effects of foreign aid in Haiti in the opinions article “Can Foreign Aid Help This Girl?” It discussed SOPUDEP and Los Altos High School’s Haiti Solidarity club’s efforts to help the SOPUDEP. In the article, Kristoff describes how a lot of foreign aid sent to Haiti gets lost due to corruption.

Kristoff calls Haiti Solidarity’s work with our sister school “an exemplary marriage of local leadership and foreign donors.”

Members of the club will visit SOPUDEP in February. The students and chaperones will be paying their own way as usual so that all the money they have raised over the past few months can go directly toward giving aid and making improvements to the school campus and its resources. They will be bringing aid with them in the form of medical supplies, athletic equipment and clothing.

Another goal is to visit activists, women’s rights groups and

NOY ANISMAN

expectation of that relationship transcends the specific tenure of any officer, superintendent or board member,” Bissonnette said.

The CSEA negotiation topics that will be discussed this year involve wages as well as health and welfare (medical benefits), which are negotiated every year. Similar to the DTA negotiations, CSEA wages negotiations also involve total staff compensations. Health and welfare nego-

tiations are also similar to the DTA negotiations and will be primarily about complying with the requirements of the ACA. More specifically, the district must provide health care packages that are considered affordable for employees, according to the rules of the ACA. “The main piece that is of concern [regarding health and welfare] to both the association [CSEA] and the district right now is when [the ACA]

orphanages in Haiti to learn about their work. “[The visits are] my favorite,” first semester Co-President Kimberlyn Tilley said. “We get to really understand what it means to bring about change and exactly the type of people that do so.”

Club members will continue building SOPUDEP’s new campus, which will have 17 classrooms, a library, a computer lab, a full set of solar panels and a water system when it is finished. While the club is not sure which parts of the school will need the most work when they arrive in February, club members will help with the buildings which are currently under construction.

“We’ve reached a point where we’re more than halfway done with the new school complex,” Donnelly said. “We’re hoping that students and staff will give generously [in the box drive] because we’re really trying to make a big push to complete the project.” goes into effect, there are potential penalties if [the district offers] a benefit plan that is not affordable by the employees,” District Chief Negotiator Steve Hope said. “We are trying to avoid the penalty.”

The district opener (Article 9) clarifies when the district and the CSEA can negotiate working hours.

Over the summer, the district negotiates with the CSEA to determine employee work shifts. As it currently stands the CSEA must petition for a change in the work shift over the rest of the year. “[The district opener is] a desire to clarify when the work schedules of employees can be changed,” Hope said. “There was some disagreement...where employees’ work hours were changed [during the school year], and [the CSEA filed a grievance saying, ‘No, you can’t do that.’”

Under the CSEA opener, the association is interested in the topic of compensation in the event that a CSEA member is subject to quarantine order and unable to report for work. This means that when a member is required to take time off work after having possibly developed a contagious sickness, he or she will still remain on a paid status. While the DTA contract contains an article about teacher quarantine and compensation (Article 8), the CSEA contract does not. The main interest for the CSEA is to create a parallel article in their contract that addresses quarantine and compensation.

CSEA and DTA Negotiations are scheduled to conclude by May.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Three major world news events at a glance ALEX BARREIRA AMELIA BAUM JAMES SUN

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT

Staff Writers

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

The Syrian Civil War has been raging for nearly four years amid international controversy and political turmoil.

The conflict began as a part of the Arab Spring with protests for economic and social liberties in 2011, which were met with a violent crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad. Protestors responded violently with the emergence of the Free Syrian Army as the primary opposition group by July 2011.

The conflict destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure and economy. Unemployment and inflation skyrocketed. Syria’s medical system was nearly demolished, with less than half of state-run hospitals still in operation. The United Nations (UN) announced the death toll in September as nearing 100,000, with more than 6 million displaced.

The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on Syria, but the UN has repeatedly rejected multilateral action because of vetoes by permanent security council members Russia and China.

In June 2013 President Obama decided to arm the Syrian rebels. The decision was met with mixed reactions in the U.S., with many worried

THE RISE OF BITCOIN

In the past few years, Bitcoin has emerged as a potential alternative to online credit. Bitcoins offer a number of advantages to consumers over traditional credit transactions: absence of third party or international restrictions and greater anonymity. Bitcoin has attracted attention and controversy since its 2009 release.

Unlike most currencies, Bitcoins are not managed by a central agency such as a bank, but instead distributed through a peer network similar to the operation of

VOA NEWS

that arming the rebels would entangle the U.S. in a “proxy war.”

Soon after the decision, the White House announced that it had conclusive evidence that Assad was using chemical weapons on rebels.

The report included details of gas attacks by regime forces in as many as 11 Syrian cities on August 21. U.S. estimates put the death toll of at nearly 1,500, with thousands more affected.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reached a deal with the Syrian regime in September 2013, which includes mandatory destruction of Syria’s nuclear weapons stockpile and operations, and the full coop-

eration of the government during the disarmament process.

Officials announced on October 31 that Syria’s declared equipment for producing, mixing and filling chemical weapons had been destroyed. The process of relinquishing existing weapons has been slower. It is unclear whether the cause of the delay has been to due to intentional lack of cooperation by the Assad regime or the logistical complications of operating in a warzone. Regardless, the UN maintains that “complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment” must be completed by the first half of 2014.

As of press time, the latest at-

tempt to reach a peaceful agreement was scheduled to resume February 10, in Geneva, Switzerland.

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says that so far there has been little progress on even the most basic issues, such as ending the violence, sharing political power or allowing humanitarian aid to get to besieged communities.

However, many officials cite the mere occurrence of the talks as measured progress towards stabilizing the region.

In response to the current lack of compromise, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the UN would “continue to explore every avenue for progress.”

BitTorrent and Skype. Bitcoins can be bought or sold in exchange for traditional currencies, or created through a complex process known as mining. When Bitcoin first began, coin creation was within the range of any modest computer.

Mining has become increasingly difficult, however, as the number of bitcoins in circulation approaches 21 million—the finite number allowed by the program.

Massive speculation and hoarding, as well as the decentralized structure of the currency, has led to volatile prices. In 2013 alone,

the price of a bitcoin rocketed from a few pennies to $1000. Bitcoin’s relative anonymity and lack of borders has earned it a reputation as a preferred method of purchasing illegal substances. Additionally the complexity of operating a Bitcoin account (and generating a profit through mining) currently limits the currency’s accessibility to the tech savvy.

Though bitcoin wallets are protected by encryptions in the Bitcoin system, theft is not uncommon.

All transactions are irreversible; stolen and lost bitcoins cannot

be replaced. This past November, a London IT worker accidentally threw out a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC, then the equivalent of $7.5 million.

The software is open source, allowing anyone to create their own compatible Bitcoin derivative, and thousands exist, such as the justlitigated CoinYe West, which made recent headlines as a currency inspired by musician Kanye West.

Whether Bitcoin becomes an enduring digital institution or simply another Internet fad is yet to be determined.

For the past several years, the lack of a heavy rain has taken its toll on the California water supply. Without any sign of heavy rain coming up, nearly 17 communities serving up to 40,000 people are in danger of running out of water within the next three months.

Because of the urgent lack of water, Governor Brown has already turned off the spigot of water for farmers in California.

These farmers will have to rely on self-imported water rather than the previously state-owned water supplies.

If these conditions do not improve, the governor will have to impose water restrictions onto areas, with water being shipped in by truck to areas that lack water. Already, many companies have been advised to reduce their water usage by 20 percent.

“We are on a track for having the worst drought in 500 years,” UC Berkeley Professor Lynn Ingram said in a “The New York Times” interview.

As a consequence of the drought, fishing and camping have been outlawed in many different parts of California to preserve the endangered salmon and prevent forest fires.

Also, from the lack of rain, the pollution levels in the Los Angeles Valley and the San Joaquin Valleys have been increasing at alarmingly high rates.

The brown clouds of smog are becoming more evident in the dry arid weather.

Some cities such as Sacramento and Alburquerque have already begun rationing their water supply to preserve as much water as possible.

With water supplies dwindling quickly, California must come up with a solution to this huge issue.

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District considers renaming large gym JAMES MERRILL Staff Writer

In its January 28 meeting, the school board saw an initial presentation for a plan to pay tribute to the school’s first athletic director, Dushan “Dude” Angius, by renaming the school’s gym after him and creating a scholarship under his name.

The plan came from a group of Los Altos Rotary Club members who had graduated from LAHS in the 70’s.

While the board has yet to vote on a formal proposal, the board seems inclined toward approving the proposition. The formal proposal is set to be voted on at the board meeting on February 10.

“It did seem that there was board consensus to move forward, so we requested that the group work with Dr. Groves and Mrs. Satterwhite to formalize a proposal for our next Board meeting,” board president Joe Mitchner said in an email.

Angius is arguably one of the most important figures in the school’s history; he was Athletic Director when the school opened in 1955, and as a basketball coach he led two “lightweight basketball teams” to league championships before the school even had a senior class. He then went on to bring in varsity basketball co-championships in 1960 and 1962. In 1964,

BRANDON HONG

The school is considering renaming the large gym to honor former Los Altos High School principal and athletic director Dushan “Dude” Angius. under Angius’ guidance, the school won every varsity championship.

Angius was involved in far more than just athletics: he held the positions of counselor and student activities director before becoming the school’s principal in 1966. He remained principal until 1976, when he became a superintendent of the Lassen Union High School District.

There is little at the school to show the massive impact Angius had. The school changed its sports teams from “the Knights” to “the Eagles” after Angius’ tenure, and thus had to take down the many trophies and

awards that were earned by Los Altos sports teams during his illustrious career, which Angius described as the “the most satisfying and happiest time of [his] life.”

“There’s nothing at the high school to show I was ever there,” Angius said, while reminiscing with former students about his tenure at Los Altos.

The designers of the plan hope to change that, though concrete details have not been discussed yet such as what the the gym would actually be called, or what the scholarship amount might be.

Please send letters to the editor to lahstalon.eic@gmail.com Los Altos High School

City’s ruling on food trucks commendable Ordinance regulates mobile food vendors, but doesn’t include ban near schools.

Near the beginning of the school year, a group of neighbors who live near the school, as well as the school district, petitioned the Los Altos City Council to ban mobile food vendors, notably the Taco Truck, from parking near schools. Their logic was fundamentally flawed.

Nonetheless, the city council moved forward and recently prepared to vote on an ordinance which called for a ban on trucks within 300 feet of schools. In the end, the council agreed that the issues with banning mobile food vendors near schools were significant and instead chose to pass an ordinance regulating such businesses in other ways. The council was right in its decision.

The council considered the neighbors’ appeals, but ultimately found them insufficient to warrant banning the truck near schools.

In suggesting the ordinance, the neighbors claimed that the Taco Truck creates a hub for students to congregate in large numbers and disrupt the calm environment of the street. The council acknowledged that this could be an issue, but recognized that banning the truck would not solve the problem.

Some students will continue to behave badly, regardless of the truck’s presence. The council claimed

201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA February 11, 2014 Volume XXIX, Issue 5 Editor-In-Chief Zoe Morgan Managing Editors Rebecca DeShetler (Print) Jared Eng (Print) Dhruv Madhok (Web) News Editor Tony Sun Opinions Editor Shiktij Dave Features Editor Casey Pao In-Depth Editor Carly Cohen Entertainment Editor Zach Cohen Sports Editor David Wu Media Editor Parmis Taidy Copy/Content Editors Maya Acharya, Steven Cui, Ariel Machell, Yuki Zaninovich Business Managers Perla Luna, Sitara Sriram Social Media Editor Emily Sims

Students gather to buy lunch at the food truck at the back of the school. After hearing from neighbors and administrators who supported banning food truck near schools, the council ultimately chose to regulate them, but did not include a ban around schools. that if students are engaging in irresponsible behavior, neighbors should either contact administrators or the police.

When the council addressed the district’s arguments, it saw the folly in the district’s claim that banning the truck will help combat obesity.

As council members pointed out, if the Taco Truck were removed, students would simply walk downtown or to other restaurants. Banning the Taco Truck would not stop students from finding potentially unhealthy food.

The council also acknowledged other inherent issues with banning mobile food vendors near schools, most notably that banning trucks from being within 300 feet of

schools would only push the same issues out further into the neighborhood. Currently, students gather on the sidewalk near the school.

If the truck were forced to go 300 feet away, students would be standing on neighbors’ lawns as opposed to school grounds.

The council finally pointed out that the trucks are tax paying businesses who deserve to be treated fairly. It is fundamentally unfair to try to take away their livelihood because a few neighbors are disturbed.

Instead, the council chose to address the actual, solvable issues with food trucks. For instance, they required that food trucks provide trash bins and pick up all waste left near their vehicles. They also tried

to minimize the safety concerns that some neighbors brought up.

Trucks can no longer park near driveways, eliminating a potential safety hazard.

It was wise for the council to rule with the unspoken majority of students that benefit from the truck.

With any issue, the ones who yell the loudest are the most impassioned and have the most clout. In mediating any dispute, it is essential to consider not just the dominant and audible voices, but also the reality of the situation. The council’s decision to reject the proposed ordinance while reasonably addressing the neighbor’s complaints was a commendable choice and a positive outcome of an important debate.

THUMBS UP to the school

Students need to clean up after themselves Dear Editor, I’d like to introduce a colleague: Felipe Chavez. You may know him. He and his colleagues are the guys who makes this campus look good: cleaning up messes, pruning, sweeping, setting up for special events, fixing broken things. Whistles most of the time he is working. Seems to really like his job.

And he really likes kids. Sometimes I wonder why. He spends most of fifth period picking up lunch trash. Certain spots are always trashy (Do you eat on the Eagle Theater steps, for example, or near the pizza cart?).

The worst spot? Easy: the parking lot. I generally come to school well ahead of students when there are no cars to camouflage the trash. I see the refuse left from the prior day’s lunch—McDonald’s bags, cup of soup cups, soda cups, napkins, wrappers, spilled hot chocolate, pizza boxes. It’s really gross. Many times a week, Felipe has to run the Zamboni trash picker-upper. Now, if I ruled the world, Felipe could actually do his assigned job during the day; I if I found even one wrapper in the parking lot after school, the parking

lot would be closed to students the following day. Easy. Park on the street a half mile away and get here half an hour earlier to find a spot. Students are really lucky that I don’t have that kind of power.

But this is not just one of those old fashioned parent-type ideas that shows how outof-touch we are with kids’ lives. It is really about Felipe. Leaving trash around for him to pick up is just disrespectful. It is saying “I do not think your job is valuable. Picking up my trash is a fine way for you to spend your time.” Do we as a student body really believe that? Don’t think so. We just aren’t thinking.

Next time you just can’t make it to the trash can, or see trash hanging around that some other bozo left, think about that. Same goes for TP on the floor in the bathroom. If you drop it, pick it up. Leave no trace. Just like the National Parks. Zero trash tolerance.

And let Felipe know with your actions that we are not a bunch of spoiled children who feel that cleaning up is beneath us. Yes, we are better than that. Look around campus next week to see what kind of people we really are.

Lorraine Wagner Teacher’s Aid The Talon welcomes letters to the editor. E-mail letters to lahstalon.eic@gmail.com, drop them off in room 409 or the box in the attendance office.

In the case of spelling or grammatical errors, obscenities, libel or personal attacks, a letter may be edited or not run. Letters must be signed, but a name may be withheld upon request. Letters may be published online, in print or both.

for hosting the American Math Competition (AMC)

THUMBS DOWN to the student body for not taking taking the AMC

Senior Writers Robert Chin, Alex Cortinas, Cassidy Craford, Chase Eller, Sam Lisbonne, Joey Malgesini, John Naumovski, Jordan Stout Staff Writers Noy Anisman, Alex Barreira, Amelia Baum, Alice Dai, Salim Damerdji, Sofia Guo, Perla Luna, James Merrill, Danny Rosenbaum, Johnny Scher, Riley Soward, Sitara Sriram, James Sun, William Jow, Maya Varghese, Katherine Yen, Kevin Yen Photographers Brandon Hong, Ian Mackey Graphic Artists Noy Anisman, Michael Zhu Webmasters Yuki Zaninovich, Michael Zhu 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 Cassidy Craford, Rebecca DeShetler, Sam Lisbonne, Dhruv Madhok, Jordan Stout and Tony Sun.

ADVERTISE & SUBSCRIBE Send advertisement and subscription inquiries to Perla Luna and Sitara Sriram at business.lahstalon@gmail.com.

Talon Supporters Honorary Pulitzers By offering the AMC annually, math students of all levels are exposed to challenging math problems.

The school’s commitment to proctoring the AMC sparks additional interest in math, helping students get more involved with STEM fields. However, more students should take advantage of this mathematics opportunity.

THUMBS UP to the Social Studies Department for hosting History Week

Ken and Debbie Munro, Emily Goto, David and Hadas Niv Anisman, The Acharyas, Holly and Andy Cohen, Quyen Ngoc Nyguen and Chuyen Huu Do, Haiyan Gao, Mary E. MacLellan, Rongchun Sun, Afsaneh Golestany, Dan Shen, Su-Jane Hsieh, Yongmei Zhou, Susan and Ken Sims, Dusanka Rosenbaum, Steve and Thea Merrill, Lisa Gordon and Sean Mackey, Michael Zaninovich

Silver Supporters The school’s second annual History Week helped prompt discussions about the current status of civil rights within the United States. History Week coordinators DeeDee Pearce and Mike Messner did an excellent job curating speakers to discuss a variety of prominent social issues, from feminism to deaf rights to prison reform.

The Falos, Kris Moore, Elliott and Linda Dan, Corinne Arrouye, Kristian Family, Bruce Cohen, Srinivasan and Subadhra Sriram, Lewen Stempler, Randall Stempler, Maria Lippert, Qin Chen Shirley and Allan Soloman, The McDonalds

The Talon February 11, 2014

Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/opinions

Sam I Am

Bitcoins hold lasting power as digital currency KEVIN YEN Staff Writer

By Sam Lisbonne

Relax Seniors: It’s Not All About You Seniors, congratulations.

After years of testing—both standardized and traditional— plus four years of classwork, innumerable late study sessions and the slow descent into hell that is the college application process, you are done. We can all embrace stress-free school and the revolutionary concept of free time—on weekdays!

However, seniors, keep one thing in mind. We must think oif more than just ourselves.

Just as we celebrate the culmination of four years of dedication by parading through hallways, acting indifferent in as many differents situations is reasonable and relaxing shoulders previously tensed expecting the next pop quiz, juniors are embarking on the path to standardized testing glory, sophomores are grinding through their classes and freshman are (probably) still a little confused. While it’s understandably difficult—perhaps even unreasonable—to maintain a detached yet overhead perspective of high school at this point, it’s our duty as elders (relative to other students) in the school community to maintain at the very least a facade of interest. Which leads to my last point.

Seniors, I call on you to attempt something which usually appears only as triumphs in teacher dreams—learning by choice.

If it’s not already apparent, the “senior project,” that amorphous assignment we all dread, is actually one of the best opportunities in high school. For the first time, true freedom—both in topic choice and project development—accompanies our academic endeavors, and to waste such promise in the name of intellectual revolt is a grave mistake. We have the wisdom of four years of high school experience, but here, the advantages of detailed quote analysis or applications of mathematical formulas is nullified. This is fresh ground, new territory and an exploration not to be regarded as typical monotony. Use second semester to try that last activity that never fit amidst school commitments.

The golden chance to discover something incredible manifests itself in the senior project, and for that reason I hope it becomes your semester highlight.

Except dodgeball. As seniors, with four years of high school experience to draw on, we know the unforgetable nature of dodgeball.

When the value of a single bitcoin rose to a record $1124, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan appeared on Bloomberg television and stated that bitcoins were “a bubble.”

“It has to have intrinsic value,” he argued. “You have to really stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is.”

Greenspan meant that because bitcoins did not have a traditional backing of gold or silver, its current valuation was merely hype and its real value was nothing. He was partially right.Two weeks later, the price of a bitcoin fell more than 50 percent overnight from $1200 to $572.

What Greenspan did not anticipate at the time was a currency that fought back. A month after the crash, bitcoins surged back to $800. Along the way, it acquired two online retail backers, Overstock and Tigerdirect. While Greenspan realized the short term forecast, he failed to recognize the potential that bitcoins possess as a long term currency.

As a digital currency, bitcoins are distributed by a solid circulation system. The longevity of bitcoin use depends on security and popularity, both of which boast an upward trend.

One of the main issues that plagues Bitcoins is theft. An often highlighted example is the June 2011 Mt. Gox data theft incident.

Mt. Gox, which is the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, experienced a severe security breach that saw

the price of a single bitcoin plunge from $15 to $0.01 within an hour.

Following the incident, bitcoin users began to wonder whether their own bitcoins were safe if even Mt. Gox could be compromised.

Mt. Gox, however, quickly resolved the problem and subsequently strengthened security measures. The company reported that the overall compromise was caused by the breaching of an auditor’s computer that had access to

struggle, but grow stronger. Like the U.S. dollar, bitcoins rely on large exchanges such as Mt. Gox to handle crises and maintain its value after such incidents.

One major indication of how much value bitcoins possess lies in the share of businesses that accept bitcoins as a form of payment. Currently, the largest businesses that accept bitcoins are online retailers.

These retailers take into account the advantages of using bitcoins, includ-

Mt. Gox’s database, meaning that Mt. Gox was not hacked into. Mt. Gox’s security breach was caused by a human error rather than a computing error.

The fact that Mt. Gox, a powerhouse of the bitcoin world, has not been penetrated by cyber attacks is evidence that the bitcoin currency can not only survive a

ing a lower processing fee as well as access into a wider market of consumers. Bitcoin owners have seen the purchasing power of bitcoins rise dramatically since their inception in 2009, owing to a recent surge of merchants accepting bitcoins. Currently, there are more than 35,000 businesses worldwide that accept bitcoins and that number is increasing.

Bitcoin processing company Coinbase, which partners with at least 20,000 of those 35,000 merchants, adds new merchants at a rate of 1,000 per week. Such a rate demonstrates that there is growing interest in the use of bitcoins, and it makes sense.

When Overstock.com Executive Vice Chairman Johnathan Johnson was asked what the incentive was to accept bitcoins, he replied, “We are merchants, and we are willing to accept any practical form of exchange that allows [Overstock.com] to sell goods in exchange for value.”

If Overstock.com and Tigerdirect.com are both willing to exchange their goods for bitcoins, what reason could there be for others not to follow? A valid argument could be bitcoins’ stability. If so, retailers have to remind themselves that they control the stability, and therefore the value of bitcoins. As more stores accept bitcoins, bitcoins’ backing will increase and the currency will become more stable. Therefore, it is logical that after the first wave of newcomers begin to accept bitcoins, more will follow. After all, retailers would lose a slice of the market otherwise. We can view Overstock and Tigerdirect’s step as the ice breaker. Once the path is cleared more will follow, and likely in greater numbers.

From Mt. Gox, bitcoin owners see security. From Overstock and Tigerdirect, they see stability. However, for those who worry about bitcoins’ volatility, it is best to give it time. Most large businesses in the world started out small, unsteady and unsure of the future. They could offer nothing more than promise and yet, they rose from the ground because people began to believe that they could be something big.

Common Core standards an improvement, but exam may not be PERLA LUNA

Business Manager

Since the announcement of the new Common Core Standards, Californian education has been in a state of change. The uncertainty surrounding the Common Core exam as well as the new initiative to align to the standards has left people wondering if the Common Core State Standards Initiative will actually prove to be beneficial or if this is a case of good intentions gone wrong.

The first thing students must realize is that when teachers refer to “Common Core” they are speaking of two separate issues: the Common Core standards and the actual exam on which the standards will be tested on.

The standards themselves are the first attempt to have nationwide standards. They aim to evaluate students not on their ability to memorize rote details but rather on their grasp of skills surrounding the content. For all

department teachers this is an improvement over the old standards that demanded them to cover a broad range of topics in a short of amount of time.

“I think the standards are fantastic,” English Department Coordinator Keren Robertson said.

“What they do is they kind of get at the heart of what the content area is really about. The English standards, for example, were pages and pages that there was no way we could get them all done. And they were so descriptive like ‘you must teach the postural form of poem.’

[They were] these incredibly obscure standards that were just silly.

Whereas the new standards are much more skill-based than content-based in all subjects.”

The added bonus of the new Common Core standards is an unprecedented effort to work together across departments. What this will hopefully mean for students is a shift from busy-work type teaching to critical thinking and more hands-on experiences.

“If the common core assessment is assessing as it was designed to, I believe it will [raise the standard of teaching],” Math Department

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Coordinator Betty Yamasaki said.

“Implementing the Common Core is not an easy task and takes a lot of time to carefully design and assess the effectiveness of the lessons and assessments created.

However, we are fortunate that there are opportunities for professional development which has been popularly supported by the administration and district office.”

While many teachers are praisingthe improved standards, the same cannot be said for the exam the new Common Core standards will be tested with. The exam will be entirely computer based, a change that comes with its own new set of problems.

“Moving to a complete technology based system is great in theory but you know how limited we are in terms of access to computer labs on our campus,” Robertson said.

The way students are being assessed is problematic as well.

Though a full version of the exam has yet to be released to teachers, the sample questions teachers have been shown have teachers worried that they aren’t assessing students in a meaningful way. Like with the push for technology, the

logistics of actually improving the exam is not entirely feasible.

“They really should be having an essay portion but to score the essay, to hire enough people to read those essays would be dramatic,” Robertson said. “So there will be some writing stuff but it’s either going to be computer scored or it’s going to be scored by basically minimum wage paid people who don’t really know what they’re doing. It’s just not a very good assessment.”

Whether California will become another state that does poorly on the new exam or not remains to be seen. However, students and teachers alike can take comfort in knowing California will be better prepared than the states that have already taken the exam.

“I think the problem in some of the states that have been early proctors of the testing is that the teachers haven’t adjusted their curriculum yet so basically they’re being tested on something that isn’t a reality in the school yet,” Robertson said. “But that’s not going to happen in California. They’re going to have a slow roll out.”

If you would like to write about your stance on an issue that’s affecting students at our school, email Opinions Editor Shiktij Dave at opinions.lahstalon@gmail.com with a summary of your idea.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Students must vocalize class interests Benefits of specialized classes should be shared between both LAHS and MVHS SOFIA GUO Staff Writer

It happens, and for a good reason: schools in the same district offer slightly different courses, simply because each high school serves a different demographic. Different students need different classes to nurture their talents and aspirations, and most of the time, each high school offers enough courses to satisfy the needs of most students.

However, sometimes differences in course offerings limit students to courses that do not reflect their interests, especially in core subjects.

Students should have access to the courses they need, even if these courses are only offered elsewhere in the district. The district should try to align course offerings as much as possible to keep up with the constantly changing student demographic and needs at each school.

Numerous course discrepancies exist in all core subjects as well as visual, performing and practical arts. Currently, popular courses like Japanese I through AP and World History AP (WHAP) are only offered at MVHS, while the equivalent Latin I through AP and Art History AP are only offered at LAHS. WHAP has been offered at MVHS for a long time, while Japa-

nese has been offered for only a number of years.

“World History AP is the class that most students enroll in over Modern European History AP (MEHAP),” MVHS history department coordinator Tim Farrell said during a school board meeting on January 28. “The popularity of WHAP over MEHAP has been overwhelming and very consistent for the past few years.”

WHAP gives MVHS sophomores an option for a less European-centric history course that focuses on a broader range of time periods and events. Students who want to learn about general history at an AP level will be able to do so and get the same credit as MEHAP gives.

“I enjoy WHAP quite a lot,” MVHS sophomore Anthony Chau said. “It’s interesting to see this giant world and cultures reveal in our minds as we read about it.”

Japanese has also been overwhelmingly popular at MVHS, which added a new AP level in 2013 along with anticipation of two classes for each of Levels I-III next year. Japanese offers an opportunity to discover a culture and language unique from Chinese and classic European languages: Spanish, French and Latin.

“I would definitely recommend that the LAHS students to have the opportunity to take Japanese too,” MVHS sophomore Rinka Murakami said, as she is currently taking Japanese AP. “Although I’m fluent, it ac-

NOY ANISMAN

tually isn’t [easy] because you learn not only the language itself, but its cultures and about their society.”

LAHS students are missing out on these beneficial courses, while MVHS students are missing out on Latin and Art History AP, courses that are only offered at LAHS. The underlying reason for this discrepancy is that students at both schools feel like they don’t have the power to change the courses offered at their own school. In actuality, students and parents drive the process to add certain courses to a school’s agenda.

“There is currently no clearly defined process for requesting courses to be offered,” MVLA District Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf said. “The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for determining the district’s curriculum. Course offerings [as pertaining to electives] rely heavily on community interest

and students and parents. For example, the new Chinese program came about when parents expressed a strong interest in having this course.

After bringing it to the administration and the board of trustees, now [three to four years later] Mandarin Chinese is part of the World Language offerings at both high schools.”

Sarraf also explained that to add another language would require an existing language to be reduced or taken away due to funding and space reasons. In the case of core classes like WHAP, the ability of the history department to make space for another course at the school would be a crucial deciding factor. If there are no teachers with the credentials to teach World History AP and no teachers display any interest in doing so, then the likelihood of adding a WHAP course is slim, even with student demand.

Ideally, if the district had the resources and space, both schools would offer all of the courses so that all students have the opportunity to take the classes they desire.

Although logistics and funding make it difficult to offer such beneficial courses at both schools, there is a way to work around this problem.

Some students have already taken the initiative to do so themselves, by enrolling in classes at both LAHS and MVHS, despite the inconvenience of travel and scheduling. LAHS Senior Trini Inouye has been taking classes at MVHS and LAHS for her entire high school career.

“The reason I go to MVHS is for Japanese and Engineering,” Trini said. “Taking Japanese has helped me with my heritage. I’m 100 percent Japanese, fourth generation, so I wanted to get back in touch with that side [of myself]. I was also introduced to Engineering, which is now what I have decided what my major is going to be.”

The district discourages such interchanging between schools, as it is very difficult for administrators and counselors to organize schedules and make sure credits are transferred.

“Having two high schools to choose courses from is very lucky [for me],” Trini said. “It’s just the logistics are a mess....[The challenges of going to both schools] has really been excruciating.”

If students begin to inform each other about the unique opportunities offered by each school and express their interest to the district, the benefit these courses offer might finally be available to all students at both high schools, not just one.

World Studies course should extend past European focus MAYA VARGHESE Staff Writer

Unlike Mountain View High School, LAHS does not offer World History AP in its course curriculum. This might not be an issue if the school did have a course which taught the main points of the AP course material, which focuses on Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. However, no Los Altos class studies these regions in depth.

The only course that comes close is World Studies, which only tangentially addresses these topics.

Part of the reason for this is that the World Studies course originally started out as a Western Civilization course. The course is dominated by European topics and topics of other continents rarely appear.

Some might argue that European history is the most important for us to study, as it led to the central ideals of our government. While it is true we should study these topics in depth, it is important to remember that students should learn history not only to understand our country’s past, but to be prepared for its future.

The U.S. is formed of many different immigrant groups, and is also involved in the world on a global scale.

If our tax money and military are going to affect the lives of those in other countries, it is our responsibility as American taxpayers to be educated about the history and traditions of the places in question, so we are not making uninformed decisions.

“Clearly the world is getting smaller and more co-dependent for many

PARMIS TAIDY

reasons,” history department coordinator DeeDee Pearce said. “It is in our nation’s best interest to prepare students for this “new” interconnected world [and] as educators we sit in the driver’s seat for making this change happen. Unfortunately change in academia comes slowly.”

In the past, part of the problem was the STAR testing curriculum. In conjunction to the classes already at the school, the material on the STAR test requires the school to teach content which is mainly Eurocentric.

The school used to offer a larger variety of history courses including Latin American history, but the specificity of the STAR test’s learning

objectives forced teachers to tailor their classes to fit the required information. There might have been more flexibility within the curriculums for non-European content to be added.

The new Common Core standards, however, focus more on skills than on particular content.

“We used to have a lot more elective courses in social studies,” history teacher Stephanie Downey said.

“But… those were mostly eliminated.

And so I think there’s an opportunity now, with the Common Core coming in, to open up our curriculum for some of these other courses.”

If World Studies were to be changed, the topics currently cov-

ered should be retained, but covered in less depth to make room for more units on non-European cultures.

“I think our community would be supportive of a global focus for World Studies,” Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg said. “You can deal meaningfully with other major cultures which would present a broader picture of world history.”

If students were interested in covering European topics in depth, they would have the option of taking AP European History the next year.

However, a main obstacle in implementing a new history course is the work involved for the teacher who proposes the new course.

“You have to write a course plan and develop a curriculum...without extra pay,” Downey said. “You have to pitch it to your department chair, then pitch it to admin and get their [approval]. Then you have to get course approval through UC system.”

Overall, it’s an extensive process for a teacher to take on. For many teachers, this might be worth it if they could be assured that they would be repaid with avid interest in their new course. Unfortunately, course approval does not mean course interest; a teacher could spend two or three years developing a course only to have almost no one enroll.

“If there really was funding and student and teacher interest in adding a class like Latin American Studies or Asian Studies, it [would be] nice to be able to offer that,” Rosenberg said.

“But there’s limits, so sometimes it’s better to focus on improving what you’re already doing.”

Ultimately, it is up to students to indicate interest in expanding World Studies to cover Asia, Africa, Latin America or Oceania before effort is put into changing or adding courses.

History teacher Todd Wangsness was able to introduce the Art History AP class after it was shown that there was student interest.

The school’s history curriculum can be expanded to include more information on global topics. In an age where the world is becoming more globalized, it is imperative that students know about the histories of countries in other continents. However, these classes will not be formulated unless students themselves show that they are interested in having these classes available to them.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Discussing a block schedule implementation is crucial WILLIAM JOW Staff Writer

In 2000, the school’s administration established our current hybrid block schedule after finding that a compromise between a full block and a normal seven period schedule would be most beneficial for all parties involved in the decision. Their intention was to please both the students who considered block scheduling superior as well as the teachers who preferred to meet with students on a daily basis.

“When we made the change about 12 years ago, that was a little ahead of the curve in terms of changing schedule...[and] the reason we ended up with the combination schedule is that people felt like that was the best compromise,” Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg said. “Typically, world language and math teachers feel that meeting everyday is more important because the review and daily practice of new content is really valuable. English, science, art and performance teachers tend to like longer block

periods just because of the curriculum and learning experience.”

Although the topic hasn’t been revisited seriously since, changes in student culture over the past decade merit opening up a discussion about re-evaluating academic scheduling. Many students are taking various AP and honors classes as well as a compendium of extracurricular activities and sports.

“I feel like the schedule that was put back then might not necessarily be aligned with the way the school culture is now with academics,” senior Alex Kuo said. “What I’ve noticed in my time at [the school] is that the academic climate has become progressively more competitive for each new grade level that enters. The seniors before us were pretty competitive, our year is more competitive, the juniors are even more so.”

In the cyclical pattern of standard school weeks, block days on Wednesday and Thursday serve as a reprieve from facing every single class the next day. Because school becomes a more demanding routine as the year progresses, it is in our best interest to follow the lead of other local high schools

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such as St. Francis High School, subjects each night so we change Palo Alto High School (PALY) and gears less often.”

Homestead High School and adA block-oriented schedule not just the school’s bell schedule to only allows students to budget include at least two more block homework time evenly across all days, on Tuesday and Friday, such of their classes but also makes it that the schedule would have one easier for students to be mentally “normal” day and four block days. prepared for their classes, which “We have a block schedule and require different approaches.

I love it,” St. Francis senior Tej “With the traditional system, Sachania said. “In terms of be- we ask kids to change gears for ing able to get work done for each about 5, 6, 7 or 8 times a day, class at home and focus more dur- and then do it again that eveing school days because you have ning with homework,” PALY Asfewer classes, it helps so much.” sistant Principal Victoria Kim Under our current schedule, said. “We also expect students students may occasionally be to show mastery in the skills in fatigued from a feeling of be- the 5, 6, 7 or 8 different subjects ing overwhelmed. This occurs they are learning each day. With especially when block schedulstudents have a ing, kids only full load of classes have to switch on three of the five I think that there’s gears three to school days. four times a day, upsides at least “With three days intuitively ...It’s obviand each class with all my classperiod allows es [over a school ously more logistitime for the stuweek], it can be cally complicated to dent brain to fokind of irritating,” make work, in terms cus on the subjunior Henry Kwock of lab setups and ject at hand.” said. “The periods With fewer just keeping track are shorter which mental transimeans you some- of life. But it’s worth tions throughout times can gain less talking about. the day, students out of being in class are also given a — Assistant Principal but the homework better opportuniGalen Rosenberg assignments don’t ty to concentrate reflect that and are during the lonthe same regardless of whether ger periods. Having a heightened it’s a block day or a normal day.” focus allows students to increase Homework is meant to be productivity in the classroom. done at home, but often times, “You can accomplish more in the more is achieved during teacher time given, since it is longer. If you designated work times because have a test, you can fully finish it bestudents know that there is cause periods are 90 minutes long nothing else to do but focus and [whereas] a 1-7 [period day] is only work. At home, when students 50 minutes long.” PALY sophomore are forced to face five to six pe- Chris Crews-Holloway said. riods’ worth of homework, they Some teachers also believe that tend to work to finish, not to accommodating for changes in learn. With block schedules in scheduling would not have a seplace, students will be able to go vere impact on changing curricuhome and focus on a select few lum as one might think. It would subjects without the pressure of only require slight adjustments seven periods’ worth of home- to ensure that the amount taught work bogging them down. is proportional to the amount “Honestly, quite often we have of time required for students to more time allocated for home- learn the material in the current work at the end of classes be- scheduling framework. cause of how long they can be,” “I would prefer block schedule Tej said. “It allows you to get every day [for a] couple of reaconcerns addressed by teachers sons. One, for you, it’s only three [then and there]. And, even past subjects a day instead of six,” that we have a focus on only a few math teacher Carol Evans said.

“For me, it doesn’t matter. I can do two sections of a chapter in one day instead of one section of a chapter a day.”

The benefits of block schedules aren’t restricted to the diminished strain on students’ spirit. According to a study done by the Doctoral Candidate University of Massachusetts/Lowell, a state mandated assessment on the performance of Massachusetts 10th graders found that the average high school passing test rates increased by 15 percent from 74 percent to 89 percent in just two years, from 1999-2001, after changing the school schedule from a seven period day to block schedule. Nine years later in the spring of 2008, students who took the test yielded passing rates of 100 percent.

However, some departments claim that their subject is mastered better through frequent exposure. In the case of foreign language, block scheduling could potentially hinder education by disrupting the immersion one might experience in a daily class.

“Mastery of a language requires daily practice,” Latin teacher Krista Greksouk said. “If you want to learn to play guitar or be good at basketball, you have to practice everyday. A little bit everyday is really important.”

Under our current schedule, any student that is taking a language receives four periods of class every week. An expanded block schedule, however, reduces that number to three periods a week. For some of St. Francis’ students, the exposure doesn’t feel marginalized though.

“I don’t necessarily see that my exposure to a language is limited with consistent block scheduling,” Tej said. “In fact, I feel like our 85-minute periods can be made more conducive to learning more of a language.”

Keeping both sides in mind, it is important to note that modifications need to be made.

“I think that there’s upsides, at least intuitively, to the idea of have classes in the morning or the afternoon,” Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg said. “It’s obviously more logistically complicated to make work, in terms of lab setups and just keeping track of life. But it’s worth talking about.”

The Talon February 11, 2014

Read more features articles at lahstalon.org/features

Sophomore chocolatier starts up business KATHERINE YEN Staff Writer

The word “chocolate” often evokes images of gold foil bars and shiny truffles; it occasionally elicits drooling. But for sophomore Christina Pao, the word “chocolate” means a lot more than just eating.

That’s because Christina is a selfmade chocolatier with a zeal for creating chocolates. At 16 years, Christina has already established her own business, Vivace Sweets, selling PHOTOS COURTESY CHRISTINA PAO a variety of homemade confections, Sophomore Christina Pao (right) began Vivace Sweets, selling most notably truffles. homemade chocolates and other items. Originally a general interest, “The business is doing very well her passion for chocolate making developed two years ago. right now,” Christina said. “I’m so grateful for everybody that has been to friends and family.

Hershey’s, Dove, Ghirardelli and supporting me this entire time. I’m “Things are best when shared,” Godiva. In contrast, Christina emdefinitely getting people old and Christina said. “That’s when I re- phasizes the distinction that her new; it’s very successful and reward- alized I love making chocolates... chocolates are made with “lots of ing right now, so I’m really happy.”

When I sat down and asked my- love” and quality.

Nine months ago, Vivace Sweets self, ‘Why do I like making choco“I use all organic [materials], all started out selling only truffles. lates?,’ it’s not that I [was] making natural ingredients,” Christina said.

About six months in, the business tons and tons of money...it’s be- “I want to make sure that when expanded its selection to encom- cause I liked giving people things people take a splurge every once in a pass a wide array of homemade that they would enjoy.” while, it is of high quality.” sweets that now include not only At the time, Christina had no idea Every weekend, Christina wakes chocolates, but also caramel, choco- of the enterprise she would later up early in the morning and works late dipped pretzels, establish. All she late into the night making chocochocolate - dipped knew was that lates to meet customer orders. On marshmallows and she loved to make a given weekend, she makes anyWhen I sat down caramel popcorn. Yet chocolates. where from 75 to 200 truffles, with despite the variety of and asked myself, “I never thought each individual truffle taking beconfections offered, ‘Why do I like making it would become tween 7 to 10 minutes. chocolates remain the chocolates?,’ it’s not like this, especially Sometimes, if Christina’s homefocus of the business. two years ago,” work, water polo practices or classithat I [was] mak“Really, it’s still at Christina said. “If cal guitar playing becomes too deheart a chocolate busi- ing tons and tons of you had told me manding, she enlists the help of her ness,” Christina said. money...it’s because that two years ago, mother and younger sister in dipping “But if people want I liked giving people that would have marshmallows and pretzels. Howsomething different, things that they been just crazy.” ever, chocolate-making is always rethen I’ll make someBut as more served for Christina. would enjoy. thing different.” people began ex“They always leave me with the — Sophomore Christina Pao Vivace Sweets pressing an in- chocolates because the skill for makoriginated from terest in buying ing them comes from experience,” Christina’s childhood interest in Christina’s chocolates, Christina Christina said. “And because chocchocolate making. When she was realized that her practice of gener- olate-making is my passion, so they in preschool, a family friend in- osity was slowly transforming into don’t want to tamper with that.” troduced the basics of chocolate- a business.

Though the entire process is timemaking to Christina’s mother, “So we got out boxes from Smart consuming and leaves less time for who then continued the hobby & Final and I’d tie them up with rib- her other hobbies, Christina loves with Christina. bon,” Christina said. “[The business] what she does and considers her “We were learning together,” really started to take off from there… dedication to her business as “abChristina said. “It was almost our way And people said, “Can you make or- solutely worth it.” She continues to of bonding. If I had to bring some- der forms?” And so I started putting maintain the highest standards for thing to a party, she [would] teach [a form] online. It’s been amazing her truffles, one of which includes me how to dip strawberries properly the amount of support I’ve received freshness through small batches. or mold chocolates.” from all my chocolate.”

“I only make things in small batchHowever, Christina’s passion for Three months ago, with the help of es [because] I feel like things taste chocolate making did not fully devel- her father, Christina set up an online better in small batches,” Christina op until about two years ago, when order form through Facebook. It is said. “I don’t know what it is about Christina and her mother pulled up now found on the Facebook page of small batches, but I don’t agree with old ganache recipes and decided to Vivace Sweets. massive manufacturing...[because] try them out.

Although Vivace Sweets may be a that’s when I feel like you lose a lot “We got chocolate molds, and business for profit, at its core, it re- of the authenticity of what you origiwe just started going from there,” tains the fundamental principle of nally started with.”

Christina said. “We realized we sharing happiness through chocoAnd authenticity is exactly what were having a lot of fun, and lates. Bolstering this principle is Christina strives to uphold. She people really enjoyed [our] choco- Christina’s view of chocolate as a uni- manages to adhere to this prinlate...From there, I took off from versally appreciated confection. ciple by not only handcrafting her my own desire to get better.”

“Everyone can agree that we all love chocolates but also following her Christina began creating differ- sugar, we all love chocolate [and] we instincts instead of recipes, chalent kinds of truffles, incorporating all love sweets,” Christina said. “It is lenging the fundamental manufacvarious elements such as caramel something that makes me happy and turing convention of uniformity in and nuts into her confections. She it makes other people happy as well.” all aspects of production. initially brought these chocolates Today, chocolates are mass “I never write down things or meato house parties or gave them away produced by companies such as sure them,” Christina said. “When I

Happy as a Clam

Midnight Snack

make a chocolate, I always go based especially given her age. off of experience and what seems “I love getting the awe factor that right. A lot of the time, it turns out a 16 year-old is interested in makbetter that way than when you try to ing chocolates,” Christina said. “You manufacture [chocolate].” don’t see many chocolatiers in genEvery now and then, Christina “re- eral...[But] I am just so happy that I tires” truffles to prevent flavors from have been able to find my interests stagnating and to create space for now. A lot of people find that weird.” new chocolates in her selection pamDespite the unconventionality of phlets, but the retirement is not nec- Christina’s entrepreneurship, her essarily permanent as customer sat- business is thriving. Employing adisfaction is always the main priority. vertising tactics such as handing out “If someone wants a new flavor, free samples to friends and people at they will get it,” Christina said. “Or if her father’s office, Christina depends they want me to adapt an [old] flavor on happy customers to spread word for them, then I absolutely will.” of her business.

Flavors are also one of Vivace “The more people I give the chocoSweet’s trademark characteristics. lates to, the more people that know,” Christina doesn’t Christina said. “It’s alstray into fruitways a few loyal people flavored fillings or in the beginning that I any other flavors Everyone can agree really want to thank for that she feels do that we all love all their support.” not represent her.

In the next six sugar, we all love Instead, she sticks months, Christina to classics like chocolate [and] we hopes to expand Vipeanuts, sea salt, all love sweets... It vace Sweets by getmalt nougat, pret- is something that ting a cottage license, zels, caramel and makes me happy which will allow her ganache, trying to sell her confections to include home- and it makes other in the downtown Los made elements people happy.

Altos store, Present, as whenever she can. well as at the Farmers’ — Sophomore Christina Pao “[The ingrediMarket. To obtain this ents] are more license, Christina will natural and rooted from within have to take a safe food handling [me],” Christina said. “I don’t have an course, pass a kitchen inspection interest in cherry nougat and choco- and properly label her sweets. late with walnuts. I’m not about that In addition to her future plans, and I don’t feel that it would come Christina is also considering offerout as well anyway.” ing classes in the summer to teach Another one of Christina’s fa- people how to make truffles. vorite aspects about starting her “Most people can make boxed business is seeing people’s surprise brownies or bake cupcakes or cookin her dedication to her passion. ies, but I feel that lots of people don’t Christina recognizes that her inter- know the art of making chocolate,” est is considered a little unusual, Christina said. “It’s like the saying, ‘Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, but teach a man how to fish, and he can eat for life.’ It’s the same thing with chocolates—if I can teach people how to make chocolates, [then] it is even better.”

Though Vivace Sweets and its accompanying plans are demaPPnding, Christina has no complaints, having extended her philosophy about making chocolates—“You Feelin’ Giants just need to go with what feels Good right” —to life.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Tony Ventura

Felipe Chavez

Jose Hernandez

Martin Acosta can be considered a veteran among the custodial staff. His long tenure has seen him fill a number of roles, and he has filled each one with a smile.

“I love doing a bit of everything, which is probably my favorite part of the job,” Acosta said. “Being able to be involved in different tasks, being able to interact with students, it’s all a wonderful experience.”

When asked about his favorite story at the high school, Acosta laughed and said that his “go-to” story involved students late one night.

“One night when they had just finished building the 700 building, we heard some commotion upstairs on the roof of the 700 building,” Acosta said. “There was no railings or safety guardrails installed up there, and so we went upstairs to see what it was. As it turned out, there were a bunch of kids up there with scooters and skateboards on the roof.

However, when we got there and called for them to come down, they panicked and actually ran from us, [jumping] from on top of the roof down to the overhangs on the side [near the back of the] band room. It was amazing. I was surprised that nobody got hurt that night and that they [were] actually able to get away.”

When he is not busy chasing down students, Acosta is occupied with running after his own four children, aged 9 to 18. Members of his extended family include his four dogs: a rottweiler, chow chow mix, a chihuahua and a poodle.

Despite his hectic family life, Acosta still finds time to work out and goes on jogs before coming to work each morning. Though he doesn’t play any sports recerationally, he enjoys keeping up with professional soccer teams.

“I follow the Mexican soccer teams… sometimes the MLS,” Acosta said. “I also like to watch any other sports…but I don’t have much time to. But when I do, I go for it.”

Despite his busy schedule, Acosta can be seen each day with a smile on his face.

Tony Ventura

Mike Woodsworth

Adriana Bonilla

Tony Ventura has been part of the work force since age 12, when he began his career as a paperboy in San Jose, his hometown. He then worked as a grocery box-stacker and ladder assembler before getting a job at Levi Strauss right out of college, where he soon rose in the rankings. “[At Levi Strauss] I was the lead in shipping and receiving,” Ventura said. “I handled prepping all the merchandise and putting them into boxes. It was basically an all-day job, we started at about six in the morning and had to have everything boxed and ready to go when the first truck arrived at seven.”

After 12 years, Ventura wanted to try something new, so he applied to be a custodian for the MVLA District. He was hired as a custodian for Mountain View High School before being promoted to the lead custodian for Los Altos High School two years later.

Throughout Ventura’s time at the school, he has seen the school go through many changes.

“At the time when I came, the library wasn’t there, the cafeteria was where the library is, the quad used to be where the cafeteria is now and the quad used to have steps,” Ventura said. “Every time it rained hard, people would get boats, put ducks and swim in the quad. [Also] the 100 and 200 wing used to go all the way across to the end of the 300 wing.”

But while the school itself has gone through a lot of changes, Ventura says one thing has stayed constant: the incredible staff and kids.

“I’ve always liked the staff, the crew [and] the kids here at Los Altos,” Ventura said.

“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve never had any problems with the kids, they’ve been a

NOY ANISMAN, STAFF WRITER | ALICE DAI, STAFF WRITER | DANIEL RO RILEY SOWARD, STAFF WRITER | TONY SUN, NEWS EDITOR | DAVI PHOTOS BY BRANDON HONG AND IAN MACKEY

Every day from early morning until 11 p.m., the custodial and maintenance cleaning and tidying LAHS into the beautiful school students and staff are many students are unfamiliar with the men and women who work toget great, all of them have unique stories to tell. This spread features 4 of the lahstalon.org for the stories of other custodians on campus.

Tony Ventura

21 years

lead custodian

Martin Acosta

15 years

custodian

Adriana Bonilla

5 years

custodian

Felipe Chavez

custodian

Jose Hernandez

custodian

Joey Fuentes

custodian

Gerardo Ortega groundskeeper

TIME AT LOS ALTOS HIGH SCHOOL

Martin Acosta

MEET THE FAC OF LOS ALTOS

19 years 17 years 7 months 9 years

Nacho Ortega

17 years

groundskeeper

Angel Sabangan custodian

6 years

Mike Woodsworth

facilities coordinator

joy to work with.”

Outside of being a custodian, Ventura is interested in a variety of subjects. He stays informed on current issues in the world by listening to news stations on his radio while he works, by reading publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Blaze and The Drudge Report and by watching the world news when he’s up late at night. Ventura uses this information to fuel one of his passions: debating. Whether the topic is politics or religion, Ventura loves a good debate.

Additionally, much of Ventura’s research pays off—literally—in his strategic investments in the stock market, something he’s always enjoyed doing.

“I started investing when I was a senior in high school,” Ventura said. “I heard that if you want to make money in the long run, you have to be patient...[and] buy a stock...while my brother and his friends were using money to go party and buy things, I saved everything and started buying stocks and bonds.”

After almost 50 years of investing, Ventura has acquired roughly half a million dollars worth of stock. When he retires, he plans to finally sell his stock and use the money to support his retirement and allow him to focus on other passions of his, like astronomy.

“When I retire I want to focus on astronomy,” Tony said. “I love looking at space pictures and solar systems and all the beautiful galaxies...it’s just amazing what you see out there. You see black but once you put the telescope out there are millions of stars out there...all this astronomy stuff is dumbfounding.”

SEE STORIES ON THE REST OF THE CREW AT LAHSTALON.ORG

The Talon February 11, 2014

CILITIES CREW HIGH SCHOOL

OSENBAUM, STAFF WRITER ID WU, SPORTS EDITOR

e staff on campus is busy so accustomed to. While ther to make this school 10 workers’ stories. Visit

29 years

Angel Sabangan

he has to leave for work.

“It’s how I was raised. When I had three kids of my own, my dad retired after the first Prior to his job as a custodian, Angel Saban- one was born,” Sabangan said. “It’s what my gan was the manager of a Palo Alto data pro- family does, we like to take care of our own.” cessing company, Varian Associates.

Between a three-year-old, two twins and a “I did all kinds of stuff [at Varian Associ- one-month-old baby, there is never a dull moates]...almost every type of job in data pro- ment. Sabangan loves every second of it. cessing: I helped with coupons, was a com“They’re fun...if my grandkids puter operator, started up a were there when I first retired distribution clerk, managed [from Varian Associates], I honthe data center and did a little I was going to estly probably would not have bit of programming,” Saban- retire last come back to work at all,” Sagan said. bangan said.

February, and Sabangan worked at the Sabangan is planning to redata processing company for then I was going tire from his work at the school 35 years before the company to retire this comsoon—something he has atsplit into three smaller com- ing month again, tempted to do twice before. panies and laid off most of its “I was going to retire last Febbut then I think employees. He was one of the ruary, and then I was going to last ones to get laid off. After ‘ah let me do it retire this coming month again, his long run in data processing, one more time, but then I think, ‘ah let me do he decided to retire at the age of maybe next year.’ it one more time, maybe next 52. But for a hard worker like year,’” Sabangan said.

Sabangan, retiring wasn’t easy.

When he does retire, Saban“After two years of doing nothing, I was get- gan wants to spend most of his time looking ting bored so I said ‘maybe I’ll go back and just after his grandkids. He also hopes he’ll find a do a little work,’” Sabangan said. bit of time to continue his travels around the So he took on a four-hour-a-day custodian globe. In the past, Sabangan has traveled to job at the MVLA district office. The follow- Rome, Siena, Spain, Switzerland, London and ing year, Sabangan accepted a full-time po- the Philippines; after he retires he has his sights sition as a custodian at the school, where set on visiting China or Australia. he’s been since.

For the time being, however, Sabangan plans When Sabangan isn’t working, he dedicates to simply continue enjoying his job at the a lot of time to his family–his wife, three kids school. (ages 27, 31 and 36) and four grandkids.

“I enjoy being around with everybody here, “Family is very important to me,” Sabangan especially the school kids,” Sabangan said. “I said. “I’m a very family-oriented person.” notice all these kids go through the things we Sabangan’s job doesn’t start until 2:30 went through when I was little, and it’s beautip.m. so he spends every morning looking ful, being around with all the stuff and students after his grandkids, allowing his children at the same time and being able to contribute, to focus on their own jobs. Sabangan’s wife to clean the rooms, it’s nice...and I love being looks after the kids in the afternoon when around kids.”

Felipe Chavez If you are ever at school early in the morning and hear whistling throughout campus, you are most likely listening to Felipe Chavez. Originally from Atenguillo, Mexico, a small town between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, Chavez lived with his mom, dad, four sisters and six brothers.

“I had a wonderful life because my town is small, so you could go anywhere you wanted,” Chavez said. “It’s just land there, you see cows, horses, chickens, all that stuff…I was very poor, but I got everything. I had the basic things: clothes, food, and I had fun. I liked it.”

Though he loved his life in Atenguillo, Chavez decided to move to the Bay Area because it would provide him with more opportunities than he had at home.

“I was poor…And when you start to grow up, you start to look for more things, like you start to look for girls,” Chavez said. “You want to take the girl to the dances, to the movies, but you don’t have money to invite her. I said, wait a minute, what am I doing, what am I going to do? I said, okay, I’ll go to the U.S.” He moved to the Bay Area in 1976 and joined one of his older brothers in Sunnyvale, where he met his wife five years later. Chavez and his wife have four children together, who all attended Mount Pleasant High School in San Jose. His oldest children, twin boys, age 32, served in the military; one served in the U.S. Marines and the other in the U.S. Air Force, both for four years.

His third son, age 28, lives in the Bay Area and has worked at Stanford University for the past six years. His youngest child, a daughter, age 18, is in her final year of high school.

As for his profession, Chavez was first offered

a custodian position in the MVLA District when he was at the school doing a paint job. He had been working for himself for several years, and though he enjoyed painting, the work was full of “ups and downs.”

“I never thought I’d do this kind of job, but one day I was working and…the guy who was in charge of [custodian positions]…convinced me, and now I’m here,” Chavez said.

When he started as a custodian for the MVLA district in 1995, he worked for both Los Altos High School and Mountain View High School and ultimately decided that LAHS was his favorite location of the two.

“It feels so good to work here,” Chavez said.

“I like it. You walk and work, and you feel free.”

As a member of the school’s custodial team for nearly two decades, Chavez has witnessed many changes in the school, especially in the overall atmosphere of the students.

“I see the students, they’re [happier], they’re always talking,” Chavez said. “I see the parents when they come to the meetings, and when they ask me questions, they’re always smiling….

Everybody’s more happy.”

Chavez has stayed in this job for so long for a simple reason: he loves his job.

“I love it,” Chavez said. “All the administrators are so nice to me and so I stay. And also the kids, you know, I know most of the kids, not by their names, but I know them by their faces…

I’d like to stay here as long as I can because I love my job.”

Just as Chavez loves his job at the school, he hopes to encourage students to find a job that makes them happy.

“I would tell students to prepare for the future,” Chavez said. “Study, go to school, do as much as you can for whatever career you want.”

Angel Sabangan

Joey Fuentes

Gerardo Ortega

Nacho Ortega

Martin Acosta

The Talon February 11, 2014

On pointe: Senior pursues ballet in NY CASSIDY CRAFORD Senior Writer

Senior Emily McKinney’s daily routine isn’t that of most high school students. She rides the bus and subway to classes in the morning, lives in a dormitory run by nuns (which she admits is like “The Sound of Music”) and occasionally makes the 10 minute walk to Times Square.

Although she hasn’t officially graduated from LAHS, having not taken her Civics final, Emily has finished all of her courses and left school a semester early.

Now living nearly 3000 miles away from Los Altos, she has

moved to New York to pursue professional ballet.

“Dancing professionally is my dream,” Emily said. “It’s what I have been working towards since, well, forever. When this opportunity was given to me, I wasn’t sure how to react because I didn’t want to give up on my high school education, but I didn’t want to throw away dancing in New York City.”

After completing a summer dance program in Boston, Emily auditioned at Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKA) which is an academy that her mom suggested she audition for. Emily was eventually offered

a spot at the academy, located in New York City. By completing courses online, and working with the administration, she was able to graduate a semester early and follow the passion she has had for dancing since she took her first tap class at age five.

The opportunity to dance for GKA was a result of encouragement from her former directors and her parents’ support.

“My family is very excited and happy for me because it’s not just me who does all the work,” Emily said. “They have driven me to dance for 12 years, have come to all my shows, bought me dance

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL ZHU

shoes, stayed up late when I had long rehearsals, fixed my costumes, moved props...they deserve so much credit.”

Emily moved to New York City at the beginning of January to begin at GKA. In New York, Emily’s average day begins at 6:30 a.m. and involves anywhere between four and eight hours of ballet dance classes: core, technique, pointe, character and stretching (which she said is exceptionally brutal), partnering, variations, music and acting. In a week, she dances between 25 and 28 hours.

“My schedule is pretty demanding, but this is why I came all the way to New York,” Emily said, “I wanted more hours, more teachers and more physically demanding training. Instead of school, I just dance all day.”

One of the key elements of her experience at GKA, Emily said, is the ballet community and company she is surrounded by.

“I am lucky to be training with other girls who are hungry for the same dream that I want to achieve,” Emily said. “Everyone is very focused and there is a lot of competition in the classrooms. It allows all of us to push ourselves to be the best that we can be.”

Emily lives with other ballerinas in a dormitory run by a Catholic charity in the city’s theater district and said that she is getting used to a more independent life in the Big Apple.

“Well, I’ve already gotten lost,

badly, about three times,” Emily said. “I dropped my butter knives down the drain, got stuck at the airport, got locked out of my room. Then power decided to just quit in my room, and the cross fell off the wall, that was kind of scary.”

Although Emily is still getting accustomed to her new surroundings, she said that the opportunity to dance in New York is something she has always dreamed of.

“New York has always been in the back of my mind,” Emily said.

“I thought it would be a reality towards the end of my dancing years. Now that this has happened to me so soon, it has allowed me to mentally feel that I have a place somewhere in the industry, but there are no guarantees.”

But, despite her early success, Emily said that there are inevitable drawbacks to dancing at such an intense level.

In New York, home is far away.

Long hours make for a sore body, and often all she can do after dance is eat, shower, call her family and sleep. She hopes to attend college later on but balancing it with dance will be a challenge.

But for Emily, each difficulty pales in comparison to the passion she holds for dance.

“I don’t regret missing a ‘normal’ childhood because I was able to experience so many other projects,” Emily said. “If you’re doing something you love, it’s never work.”

Students win award at SJSU environmental film festival RILEY SOWARD Staff Writer

Last semester a group of five students from science teacher Shannon Wernette’s second period Earth Science class received an award for the video they submitted to the San Jose State University (SJSU) Green Ninja Film Festival.

The festival was centered around videos starring the fictional character, the Green Ninja, who promotes environmental awareness.

The team of five students—freshmen Jackie Roberts and Julian Carbajal, junior Daniela Chavez Preciado and seniors Jendri Quezada and Moises Flores—were awarded “Best Call to Action.”

Background

Over the summer, Wernette attended a workshop at SJSU where she and other teachers learned about the idea of using the “Green Ninja” character to teach students about the importance of being green.

“I thought since the kids are us-

ing more iPads and doing more with technology and YouTube, [making Green Ninja videos] would be a good exercise for them to educate the community about climate change,” Wernette said.

Wernette’s students split into groups, all assigned their own video projects. After the videos were created, Wernette contacted Almond Elementary School and set up a block period when her students could visit and teach a sixth grade class about the importance of the environment.

“I wanted to add another component to it,” Wernette said. “If they’re actually making a video to educate the community, why not go out into the community to find people to educate?”

The Process

The group who won the award was led by Daniela, who filmed and edited the video. Moises directed the video and played the antagonist, Jackie played the “Green Ninja,” Jendri played the main charac-

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ter, “Average Joe” and Julian helped with the overall process.

From the beginning, Daniela and her team took the project seriously, knowing that this was their chance to make a difference in the community.

“I’ve kind of always wanted to... help the environment and I realized that this was my chance to do something,” Daniela said. “It became serious after that. Many [of my] classmates were being goofy and making silly projects but I really wanted to do something serious.”

Wernette submitted all of her groups’ videos and was contacted by the judges from the competition two weeks later.

“The people who are in charge of the competition contacted Wernette back and said if we made edits to our video, we could be entered in the [final] competition,” Moises said.

The group reviewed its video and then made necessary changes.

“We re-filmed some parts of the video that were underexposed,” Daniela said. “We originally filmed during the nighttime so we went back and filmed and I re-edited it into a better video. Then it got submitted into the final contest.”

Winning the Award

After resubmitting the video, the students were notified of their win through Wernette who announced to the class that one of the groups had won an award.

The team was invited to the SJSU campus for the viewing party where the award winners would be announced. Unfortunately, a last minute car issue prevented all the team except for Daniela from attending.

“There was a ceremony at San Jose [State] University and I went

PHOTOS BY PARMIS TAIDY

Jackie Roberts, Julian Carbajal, Daniela Chavez Preciado, Jendri Quezada and Moises Flores from science teacher Shannon Wernette’s Earth Science class entered SJSU’s Green Ninja Film Festival. Their video was awarded the “Best Call to Action” award. with Ms. Wernette and my parents–unfortunately everyone else was going in Moises’ car and it broke down on the way there,” Daniela said.

After all the videos played, the panel of judges announced that Daniela’s group had won the award for “Best Call to Action.”

“They called me up and I went in front of the whole group of people and I didn’t know what to say in front of so many people…[but] I gave a speech about

winning the award and thanked Ms. Wernette and my peers who couldn’t make it,” Daniela said.

Overall, Wernette’s efforts to integrate curriculum, technology and community involvement were a success.

“It really opened my eyes and made me realize I can do something to help,” Daniela said. “[The final product] made me really proud... What’s important [to me] is helping the Earth and making a difference.”

The Talon February 11, 2014

Junior soars to new heights lessons at the Palo Alto Airport.

Once lessons were scheduled, Junior Dylan Zorn is taking his li- Dylan and his instructor went on cense test this month. Unlike most 16 introductory flights. year-olds, he won’t be taking his in a Once he learned the basics of flycar. Instead, he’ll be in a plane, ready ing, he next step was obtaining a to test for his flying license. student pilot’s certificate from the Having always had a great sense Federal Aviation Administration of adventure, Dylan has been flying (FAA). Without this certificate, stuplanes since he was 10. dent pilots are only able to fly if they “As long as I can remember, I’ve al- are with an instructor; flying solo is ways been sort of fascinated by [fly- not an option. After obtaining this, ing],” Dylan said.

Dylan and his instructor started on Dylan’s first experience fly- training that would lead to him being was over Lake Michigan. His ing able to fly alone. neighbor had offered him the op“I started really getting down portunity to accompany him on a and doing the lessons probably in flight in one of his seven planes August [of 2013], that’s when the and Dylan couldn’t refuse. training really began,” Dylan said.

“I wasn’t even going to ask to fly “I was trying to fly every week or [them] but [he] just went over the ra- so, occasionally twice a week, but dio [and said], ‘Okay, Dylan, take the things come up, so [the training] stick,’” Dylan said. “He presented me took me about three months.” with the opportunity After he had and of course, I took it.” covered numerAlthough it was not ous maneuvers, a typical first flight, it It was the most including those was still a positive ex- exciting thing I used in case perience. Dylan was had ever done. of emergency, hooked.

Dylan’s instructor “It was the most I just wanted to said that he was exciting thing I had keep doing it, keep ready to fly solo. ever done,” Dylan pushing it.

“My instructor said. “I just wanted did not tell me — Junior Dylan Zorn to keep doing it, what day [my solo keep pushing it.” flight] was going He then began researching flying to be,” Dylan said. “That day we were instructors in order to pursue his just supposed to practice some landpassion for aviation. ings, [but after I did two with him, he Yet his search for instructors was said] ‘Okay, you’re going to solo.’” narrowed tremendously because Despite the fact that Dylan was of the type of plane he flies. Dylan nervous and shaky at the beginning flies tailwheel planes, planes with of his flight, he managed to do four one wheel in the back and two in take offs and landings successfully. the front, versus normal tricycle “The nerves really built as soon as planes which have two wheels in my instructor got out of the plane,” the back and one in the front.

Dylan said. “My legs were shaking...I “[I chose to fly tailwheel because] was kind of swerving. It’s hard to exit’s harder to fly. You have to use a lot plain but the second I was in the air, I more rudder, on takeoff and landing, was immediately more comfortable. and...turning as well,” Dylan said. The plane wants to be there... as soon “People can transition from tailwheel as it’s in the air, you know [the plane to tricycle gear, but you can’t go from is] a lot more stable.” tricycle gear to tailwheel.”

Dylan is now more comfortable Eventually, Dylan found an flying alone. In the beginning of Janinstructor he liked who taught uary, he flew to Chico alone, a three

This Side of Lunadise

SITARA SRIRAM Business Manager

By Perla Luna

You’re Too Good To Go Just Anywhere!

COURTESY DYLAN ZORN

Junior Dylan Zorn has been flying planes since he was 10, working his way toward his first solo flight late last year. He is now preparing to take his flying license test this month. to four hour flight roundtrip. He is currently in the process of planning a flight to Columbia, California, a town across the Central Valley.

After achieving this solo flight milestone, Dylan is now preparing to obtain his flying license, which he hopes to do this month after passing a rigorous test administered by the FAA. Once he obtains his license, he will be able to take other passengers with him. “[The test] has a 60 question multiple choice written test and an oral test where an FAA examiner will come in and verbally quiz you on anything they want for about two hours,” Dylan said. “Then they will take you actually flying...If you pass all that, you can get your license.”

For Dylan, going through that difficult process is worth it simply because of all the rewards flying provides, particularly the sense of fulfillment that comes along with it.

“I think it’s having this ability and knowing you can do something that a lot of people can’t do [that makes it so rewarding],” Dylan said.

Yet it’s not to say his interest isn’t particularly challenging. It has heavy monetary costs and it takes up time from other activities; in Dylan’s case, school and sports. Perhaps one of the

most difficult aspects of flying is trying not to let the confidence it instills in individuals turn into ego.

“If you’re not confident, you’re not going to [succeed],” Dylan said. “[But] you have to keep the ego in check...There’s a fine line between ego and confidence.”

Dylan hopes to continue tackling both the challenges and joys that flying brings in the future by joining the United States Air Force. He had started researching different career options for pilots after his first flight.

“I like discipline...[so I] find the military appealing,” Dylan said. “[The Air Force] also has the fastest planes you can really fly, unless you want to be an astronaut. [I also want] to serve. I feel like I owe the country something.”

For Dylan, this interest in flying planes has been the driving force behind much of his future because of the enjoyment he receives from it.

He said that it provides a feeling different from any other activity he has participated in.

“If you have the opportunity to, even if it’s just one flight, take it,” Dylan said. “It’s the definition of true freedom for me. You can do anything you want up there.”

Cassara CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “In 1968, my father and his brothers came from Sicily, Italy,” Cassara, Jr. said. “They came to the United States. They originated in Sicily and travelled to New York, and from New York to California.

In 1968, they opened up Cassara Clothiers in Sunnyvale. From there, they opened up a couple other stores. This was the second location, here in Los Altos.”

Originally working with his four brothers, but later separating and running the business on his own and eventually with his son, Mario Sr. has seen this men’s clothing shop through many different stages. This next chapter in the Cassara Brothers company comes in the form of Cassara, Jr. To carry on the Cassara Brothers business, Cassara, Jr. has been working for his father on the weekends since high school.

He later permanently joined the family business and now runs the company.

The majority of clients come from word of mouth, including many of the Cassara Brothers’ celebrity clients, such as Joe

Dimaggio and Ashton Kutcher.

The Cassara Brothers name has found a strong place in the Los Altos community.

“I’ve been doing this for 46 years.

It’s been interesting meeting the new customers and becoming friends with them.” Cassara, Sr. said.

The wide range of clientele allows Cassara Brothers to make a large assortment of suits, tuxedos and other men’s clothing.

Any ready-made suit can cost from $250 to $1,000 while a custom-made suit can cost from $3,500 up. The most expensive suit they have ever made was priced at $7,000. But it’s not to say that all their suits rack up such a big price tag, as Cassara Brothers does various kinds of rentals and more casual attire such as dress shirts and ties as well.

The Cassara Brothers Clothiers does not stop here. Cassara, Jr. has hopes to someday expand the business while his father looks to

PHOTOS BY IAN MACKEY

find ways to spend his time after he fully retires. He said that he sees many young adults struggling to find a job even after being educated in a higher-level academic setting, and that he wants to help them find a way to earn a living.

“That’s my dream after I retire from this business: to teach [school] dropout kids the business,

to teach them sewing and teach them a trade,” Cassara, Sr. said.

Having been taught the trade by someone else, Cassara, Sr. was able to develop his own business in Sicily and achieve success. He hopes to be able to pass on his skills in a similar manner.

Cassara, Jr. looks to the future and more as he raises three of his own sons. Who knows: maybe a third Cassara generation will continue this family business.

Mario Cassara, Sr. founded Cassara Brothers Clothiers, which creates both pre-made and custom-made suits. With his family’s help, he has developed his business into a well-known brand with famous clientele.

I regret checking the box that said, yes, it was okay for College Board to release my email to colleges. Why? Well, let me explain.

Just recently, the PSAT scores were revealed and the juniors were forced to brace themselves against a seemingly endless string of college emails. They all exclaim that “You Rock” and that “You’re Too Good to Go Just Anywhere!” while promising that their college isn’t just anywhere. The emails are all the same; uniform letters with the exact same “appealing qualities” and help guides for college you never actually hear of.

The first email proclaiming that I was the best was pretty exciting, I won’t lie. However, it gets significantly less exciting when it seems like I’m getting at least five emails every day from colleges I’ve never heard of and colleges in places I would never willingly choose to live in. I may only have an idea of what I want in a college, but it definitely does not include living in Minnesota.

Or anywhere that can be described as the South, home of unrelenting heat.

While I must admit that a couple of the colleges have piqued my interest, most of them are just colleges faking excitement because I happen to meet their PSAT score range. They’re basing their whole perception of me on a number and that makes it seem like they’re definitely jumping the gun.

My score may have been just luck. I might be a horrible person. But do they care?

No. No they don’t.

But I guess what bothers me the most about the college emails is that they’re a reminder I’m close to having to know where I want to go.

I mean, we talk about college. We talk about college a lot actually (especially if you are in AVID like me) but that doesn’t entirely prepare you for the reality of it. We’re going to have to stop talking about it and actually do it, which is just crazy. Not to mention terrifying because I like where I am. I like the people around me and except for the occasional bad days, I like this school. It’s hard to let go of something that’s good.

As college junk snail mail is added to the email spam, my level of terror is rapidly raising. My parents can actually see the mail now and that means having serious conversations about where I want to go and how far away I want to go and if I can afford to go. And I have that awful check box on the PSAT to thank for all these lovely conversations.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Catch reviews of new movies, music and more, plus read the entertainment archives at lahstalon.org/entertainment

BEYONCÉ’S

“It’s world, and we’re just living in it.”

— ANDERSON COOPER

NAT CH VILLA / FLICKR

ALEX BARREIRA Senior Writer

In 2009, Kanye West crashed the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Music Video and infamously declared, “Hold on, Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”

The video in question, for Beyoncé’s hit, “Single Ladies,” was a simple one, without special effects, abstract messages, even color; just Beyoncé and two backup dancers in nearly identical leotards, dancing to the tune of “if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.” Yet even with such a minimal setup, Kanye acknowlBeyoncé’s edged the power and ascendance to presence Beyoncé brings to the stage. While Kanye the top of the music world has shouldn’t have interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance been as much a speech, the video was acproduct of her cessible, bold, elegant and, even before Kanye’s natural talent somewhat questionable as her singular iconic. power and work endorsement, All of these words have ethic. been used to describe the music and persona of Beyoncé, whose ascendance to the top of the music world has been as much a product of her natural talent as her singular power and work ethic.

From a young age Beyoncé showed raw ability. As a seven-year-old in Fredericksberg, Texas, she was outsinging teenagers a decade older in local competitions. Her parents recognized her talent and enrolled her in a Houston music academy, and by age eight she had joined Girl’s Tyme, an all girls hip-hop dance group. A relentless performer, pushed by her father as well as her developing desire to conquer the stage, Girl’s Tyme

tore through the local talent show circuit, eventually catching the eye of a scout for TV’s most popular talent show, “Star Search.”

It was Beyoncé’s first exposure to the national stage but not a triumphant one. Girl’s Tyme would go on to lose the competition, Beyoncé believing they had chosen the wrong song, and should have sang instead of rapped. Girl’s Tyme spent the next few difficult years in search of a record deal, suffering numerous lineup changes and grueling summer boot camps run by Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles, who also managed the group. They caught their big break in 1996, when the remnants of Girl’s Tyme signed with Columbia records as Destiny’s Child and skyrocketed to international fame. Their selftitled debut two years later was certified platinum after selling an impressive one million copies.

Though they became one of the most successful groups of the early 2000s and one of the best-selling trios of all-time, increasing friction between members of the group and the intense and inconsistent managing style of Mathew Knowles led to the group’s official disbandment in 2006, allowing Beyoncé’s solo career to go into full swing, beginning her meteoric rise towards being a multimedia celebrity and superstar. Her 2003 debut “Dangerously in Love” showcased both sides of her musical influences, with upbeat R&B singles featuring future-husband Jay-Z and duet ballads with Luther Vandross. 2006’s “B-day” further established her R&B sound in singles “Upgrade-U” and “Deja Vu,” which both incorporate energetic brass ensembles and hip-hop rhythms, along with the slower tempo smash hit “Ir-

replaceable.” Although “My Name Is…Sasha Fierce” and “4” would not match the sales of her debut, Beyoncé continued to explore themes of love, loss and female empowerment in slightly different directions while capitalizing on her beautiful voice and celebrity image.

Meanwhile, she cultivated her celebrity image with supporting roles in “The Pink Panther,” “Austin Powers: Gold Member” and as a Diana Ross-based character in “Dream Girls,” developing her status as a multimedia presence and landing her dozens of magazine covers.

Her high-profile engagement to rap mogul Jay-Z further elevated her status, the couple becoming the highest-earning ever in the music industry. Yet despite her virtually unparalleled success, Beyoncé continues to innovate as a musician and performer. Her past year has been especially busy, with a headlining performance at President Obama’s inauguration, the Super Bowl halftime show and an autobiographical documentary on HBO for which she was the executive producer, narrator, writer and co-director. Most recently she debuted her latest album, “Beyoncé,” in late December, with no prior promotion or leak whatsoever. Such a feat, especially in today’s age of music piracy, is a virtual miracle and was viewed by many critics as a definitive statement of her power and influence in the music industry.

Beyoncé’s latest record cements her status as one of the most talented and versatile artists in popular music. As one might expect from what seems intended as her summative work, “Beyoncé” showcases’ the singer’s wide range of vocal and performing abilities, at times expressing herself as a seductive diva or desperate lover. She even raps, improving on her “Star Search” days with hard flows and trap influences in “Flawless” and “Partition.”

Lyrically, she draws from her own experiences with committed relationships and motherhood, detailing the universal insecurities even those at Beyoncé’s level face. The album takes on a noticeably darker tone, but “Beyoncé” is meant as a celebration as well. “Blue” recounts the birth of her child, Blue Ivy Carter, whose featured cries on the track made her the youngest ever topcharting artist. Beyoncé also spends much of the album expressing the freedom and thrill of sexuality, found even in the monogamy of marriage, in graphic and often explicit detail.

And of course, “Beyoncé” is a celebration of Beyoncé, told through

spoken word samples from her life and rise to fame. “Flawless” opens with Girl’s Tyme’s introduction on “Star Search,” while snippets from TED talks on feminism, interviews Beyoncé is and, controversially, news one of the about the Challenger shuttle explosion, are scat- greatest artists tered throughout. “Beyon- of our time. cé,” a self-described “visual album,” also comes with a DVD featuring a music video for each track.

Many of these, though not thematically ambitious, are beautifully made, glossy and fun to watch.

The album’s production is luxurious and smooth, handled by an A-list production team featuring Pharrell “Big Hat” Williams, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Timbaland. On “Blow,” Beyoncé channels her inner Janet Jackson in an irresistible atmosphere of lush synthesizers, breaking midway through to an even catchier chorus of squirming guitar lines and popping beats.

A cummulative expression of her past, present, future and self, “Beyoncé,” is a larger-than-life encapsulation of all that many have come to love about the iconic R&B superstar, and an impressive showing by an artist who, by most standards, has little room to improve on such a fantastic career. It seems that despite Kanye’s antics, he had a point: Beyoncé is one of the greatest artists of our time.

S PAKHRIN / FLICKR

The Talon February 11, 2014

Sherlock returns from hiatus ARIEL MACHELL

Copy/Content Editor

“Sherlock” ★★★★☆

Warning: Spoilers

It’s a wonder that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories and characters have managed to survive this long. There have been so many adaptations that it seems impossible to deliver a unique twist to the story, although some have pulled it off. “Elementary,” featuring a female Watson, for one, or “House,” which also showcases a reworking of Sherlock Holmes as a doctor with deductive diagnoses.

BBC One’s “Sherlock,” however, has garnered the most intrigue and excitement recently. Set in contemporary London, “Sherlock” is updated to modern times without seeming overdone, incorporating today’s use of hightech smartphones, computers and intel. Each season is made up of three 90-minute episodes. Until recently, the show had been on a long hiatus.

However, the game is (back) on.

“Sherlock” has just returned for its third season after a twoyear break, a period in which fans were left anxious (and a little bit hysterical) after the season two cliffhanger that saw Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) throws himself off the roof of Bart’s hospital. Faithful John Watson (Martin Freeman) was not the only one left dumbstruck at the end of the

season, but the audience, at least, had the reassuring knowledge that Sherlock had survived the plunge. Somehow. For, of course, there couldn’t be a third season without him. The question we were all left wondering, then, was how did he possibly survive?

The answer is presented to us (seemingly) right away in the first five minutes of the season premiere, “The Empty Hearse,” which aired on Sunday, January 19. The episode launches into an actionpacked explanation, featuring Sherlock strapped to a bungee cord and crashing through a window, only to passionately embrace Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), who helped him disguise a corpse as Sherlock. The whole thing is so unbelievable and fast-paced, with so many different motifs flying by that the viewer is left wondering whether they just imagined the whole thing or yes, it actually happened.

As it turns out, it didn’t.

Co-creators and writers, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) get the episode off to an electrifying start by appealing to the “Sherlock” fanbase. The twoyear wait gave fans a long time to come up with different theories for how Sherlock faked his death and the episode seems to pay tribute to this. The window-crashing, bungee-cord jumping, Mollykissing Sherlock, as it happens, is just one of the many theories that guilt-driven Anderson (Jonathan Aris) comes up with. The episode goes on to feature two other theories of Sherlock’s survival. It’s

One of Sherlock Holmes’ many quirks is his need to deliberate upon puzzles while playing the fiddle. Season three of “Sherlock” is now available to watch online.

By Alex Barreira

Spotlight: DJ Shadow’s “Endtroducing...”

PHOTOS FROM PBS

Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) pensively ponders one of his cases. Season three of “Sherlock” is now available to watch online. somewhat unclear which theory is the true one, if any.

The episode, overall, is well done and worth the wait; the poignant reunion between Sherlock and our dear Watson is among the most gratifying scenes in the episode. A perfect combination of drama and dark humor, the pair’s reunion is both funny and heart-wrenching. Freeman shows off his acting prowess as his character fights between utter relief at seeing his friend alive and hideous fury at being left in the dark for two years. Cumberbatch, in turn, matches him with comic relief (with a horribly entertaining French accent) that morphs into genuine remorse. The duo’s relationship is put to the ultimate test in this episode as John gets in a few blows (as well as a little bit of strangling), and Sherlock must come to terms with his new role in John’s life, as Mary, John’s fiance (Amanda Abbington), has taken his place at John’s side.

“The Empty Hearse,” in comparison to past episodes, is light on the crime-chasing and mystery-solving, focusing more on Sherlock’s return and his reunion with John. Season one and two of “Sherlock” focus more on the cases that Sherlock solves, but season three is focusing more on plot and character development than on mystery. Indeed, Sherlock seems to be struggling with the emotional detachment that he was so infamous for in the earlier episodes. Moffat and Gatiss attribute this change in the series

to their intentions for “Sherlock” to be less of a detective show, but rather a show about a detective.

The season’s second episode, “The Sign of Three,” which aired Sunday, January 26, takes this development further as Sherlock attends John’s wedding as his best man. There are a few sentimental moments throughout (that contribute to some serious character insight) but the episode ultimately remains exciting and attentiongrabbing as Sherlock solves two crimes while delivering a somewhat sinuous best man’s speech that swtichsd drastically between being heart-felt and outright painful to watch.

The first two episodes, overall, seem to be geared towards Sherlock and John’s relationship more than anything (and how Mary fits into all of this), and are part of the lead up to episode three, “His Last Vow,” which aired Sunday, February 2.

“His Last Vow” proves to be one of the most clever and adrenaline-pumping episodes yet. With twists and turns at every corner, some truly shocking revelations take the duo on an emotional rollercoaster, accentuated by an unorthodox, yet chillingly frightening villain, Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen). In typical Gatiss and Moffat fashion, the season was concluded with yet another mystifying cliffhanger.

“The game is never over,” as Sherlock tells John and fans everywhere as they begin hunkering down for another year-long wait.

La Costeña changes location, not taste CHASE ELLER JOEY MALGESINI Senior Writers

La Costeña

Mexican 235 East Middlefield Rd. Mountain View, CA

★★★★☆ La Costeña is back. After closing down to allow space for a housing project, the popular burrito shop has reopened in a new location at 235 East Middlefield Road. The favored restaurant has some new changes, but still serves the same great burritos.

The most notable of these changes is that the new La Costeña is now a sit down restaurant.

Before, the shop was connected to a market and lacked an indoor seating area. The new restaurant has booths and tables, adding to

IAN MACKEY

La Costeña has recently moved to a new location to make space for a new housing development. The new location has invited modifications to the ordering style, but the taste is still the same. the eating experience and improving the ambiance of the restaurant.

Another big change is the new ordering system. At the old loca-

Beats by Barreira

tion, ordering worked like an assembly line. The customer would follow the burrito through its creation and tell the chefs what ingredients he or she desired,

much like Chipotle. After the burrito was complete, the customer would head to the front of the market to pay for it. At the new location, the ordering and payment happens all at once.

While this does make things a bit more convenient, it also allows for more errors in crafting the burrito.

Overall, the food still has the same authentic taste. The menu still has the same popular items such as the chicken mole and the carne asada. The burritos are generously packed with ingredients and come in three different sizes.

The prices remained consistent and the menu has not changed with the advent of the new location. All in all, the new La Costeña restaurant provides the same great taste as the old restaurant while also improving the overall environment and experience.

Rumor has it that when Josh Davis, also known as DJ Shadow, would come across his debut album, “Endtroducing…,” in record stores, he’d pick up all the copies and move them from the “Electronic” section to “Hip-Hop” to make a point. “Endtroducing…,” the 1997 hip-hop classic, could be called electronic because it lacks live instrumentation and is made almost entirely from samples. But like the Australian DJs the Avalanches (whose sampleheavy music paid homage to the Beach Boys), DJ Shadow used sampling to invigorate the classics of his time and create hiphop at its most distilled form.

Hip-hop’s image was built on narratives of hardship, the struggle of the inner-city underdog against a broken establishment.

Sometimes boisterous, but always with an edge of bleakness, hip-hop relied on fast-spitting verses and afro-funk rhythms to convey the harshness of such a life. “Endtroducing…” as a tribute is less gritty, but appropriately heavy and nocturnal. The second track, “Building Steam with a Grain of Salt,” captures the momentum of ambition against all odds with a slow-building piano sample, set to the inspirational spoken-word sample applicable to any aspiring artist: “And I would like to able to continue/To let what is inside of me/Which comes from all the music that I hear/For that to come out/And, it’s not really me that’s coming/ The music’s coming through me.” The steady drum-loops that structure the rest of the record emphasize this sense of determination.

DJ Shadow follows in hiphop’s history of musical appreciation with a diverse assortment of samples, which he gathered from his collection vinyl records rumored to be over 60,000. Despite its lack of lyrics, DJ Shadow crafts a compelling emotional narrative through elements of jazz, rock and the occasional spoken word sample. Particularly gripping is “Midnight in a Perfect World,” heavy with ghostly reverb and deep drum cuts. After a lonely saxophone quiets the atmosphere and fades, Shadow record-scratches to turn a DJ call, “Now approaching midnight” into a bassline. Held agonizingly over the space of two verses, it escalates to the final exhalation of “MIDNIGHT!” over the anxious ticking of a stopwatch, and silence.

“Endtroducing…” started a microboom in instrumental hiphop toward the end of the ‘90s and early 2000s. Yet regardless of its impact then, DJ Shadow’s debut remains a classic that transcends period or genre by its singular power and energy. The work of a true artist on top of his game, “Endtroducing…” is timeless.

The Talon February 11, 2014

New technology to look out for MAYA ACHARYA STEVEN CUI

Copy/Content Editors

Google Glass

Google X, Google’s tech advancement facility, has been developing a hands-free computer system, Google Glass. Built on an Android operating system (OS), Glass is a pair of glasses with a small computer on the right lens meant to augment reality. While a few developers have already had the opportunity to purchase Glass, it is not yet available for consumers. Google has stated that it plans to release Glass for consumers later this year. This same statement was made in 2013, however, and it is unknown whether this will actually happen.

Some developers have been able to purchase Glass through Google’s

1

Explorers program. Applicants who are accepted to the program are able to purchase an “Explorer version” of the Glass for $1,500, although Google has reported that the consumer version of Glass will cost less than this.

When the Talon received an Explorer Glass for testing, we found the device fairly easy to use. Wearing Glass is quite comfortable—it feels just like wearing a pair of normal glasses. The computer screen is off to the top right corner of one’s view, making it both non-obtrusive and easily accessible. The touch pad on the right side of the frame is used to wake the OS from “sleep.”

The pad is not very sensitive, which can make it difficult to navigate at first, but this does not detract from the Glass’s overall performance.

Once Glass is activated via the

touch pad, the user can control the system via voice commands and head movements or just by scrolling on the touch pad. The voice recognition is quick and effective.

Through voice commands, users can ask the Glass OS to do things such as send either text messages or emails, look something up or take pictures and videos. The media recorded using the Glass is immediately backed up to the user’s Google Plus account, if they have one.

Developers in the Explorer program have been using Glass for creating programs to help firefighters, tools for athletes, creative projects and more. There are also apps for navigating day to day life, such as cooking apps that display recipes and translation apps that can translate voice and text in real time.

JWRODGER / WIKIPEDIA

Raspberry Pi computers are compact, portable computers that can be connected to various monitors and keyboards. Pi computers are available to the general public.

2

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a cheap, accessible computer that fits in a pocket.

About the size of a credit card, Raspberry Pi single-board computers can be purchased for as little as $25 and can run a number of open source OS’s, including Raspbian, a Linux OS made specifically for the Pi. Released in 2012, the Raspberry Pi was created by a group based in University of Cambridge with the goal of making computers available to more young students who might want to pursue computer science. The Raspberry Pi comes equipped with onboard memory and ports for USB, keyboard,

IAN MACKEY

Google Glass is currently in a development pilot program. The Talon got to test a beta version of Glass and experiment with some of its features. The release date for Google Glass has not yet been set.

mouse and monitor connection.

Model A and Model B of the Raspberry Pi come with 256 MB and 512 MB of onboard memory, respectively.

While Raspberry Pi started as an accessible computing project, it has benefits beyond its price range. Due to its size, inventors and hobbyists find the Pi easy to implement in their projects. The Raspberry Pi has been used to make everything from automatic cat feeders to live online weather stations.

While the Raspberry Pi is not going to replace standard computer hardware and operating systems, it is a viable option for personal computing and a great tool for electronics projects.

To read a extended version of this article including an in-depth look into D-Wave quantum computers, Amazon Air Drop and Steam OS, visit lahstalon.org/entertainment.

Battle of the music streaming services SITARA SRIRAM Staff Writer

From the introduction of the iPod in 2001, to the rise of computers as the primary means to distribute and store music, the music industry has undergone a tremendous revolution in the past decade. As a result, music streaming services have also been growing in popularity.

Music streaming services allow individuals to listen to catalogues of millions of songs on demand, accessible through laptops, tablets and mobile phones. Purchasing music for downlands can get pricey, and streaming services provide a cheaper, if not free, alternative.

With the advent of numerous new streaming services recently, there are now many viable options for avid music listeners.

Spotify

Spotify’s interface is based around playlists, its main draw.

Users can search for either an artist, album or particular track. Then, users can bookmark songs or even entire albums by dragging them into custom “playlists” that can be listened to at one’s own convenience.

Individuals can follow their friends or other users, and “follow” playlists that they find interesting. These followed playlists will then show up in their own collection of playlists.

In addition to audio ads that are Spotify are gone the minute they stop present on Spotify’s free tier, many using Spotify. This is problematic for of Spotify’s profits also come from a users who may want to switch to othfeature called Spotify Premium. For er streaming services, or simply stop $9.99 a month, users can play any using streaming services; all of their song they want content will be on demand, lost. anywhere, while Despite the completely by“ow n e r s h i p” passing audio argument, Spoads that exist in tify continues the regular verto remain a sion. They can popular service. also download Recently, they music and listen even lifted all offline. time restrictions One of the for users in the biggest arguUnited States. ments against Prior to this, usSpotify is the fact ers were limited that users don’t to 10 hours a really “own” month of free their music. The music after a interface of the trial

PARMIS TAIDY 6-month service gives Beats Music running on iOS. Beats period. Some the impression is available for $9.99 per month. restrictions also that users own applied to how hundreds, even many times a thousands of songs and dozens of single song could be played. Previplaylists, when in reality, these users ously, only premium members could own and control absolutely nothing. play songs on demand on either tabFor example, if for some reason a lets or on mobile. Now, any song can Spotify user decides to stop using be played instantly on the tablet, and Spotify, they will not be able to ex- in shuffle mode on mobile. port any of their songs. There is no “playlist export” function, and all Beats Music the songs that one has amassed on Beats Music is targeted toward

streaming music on the smartphone.

It launched on Tuesday, January 21, for iOS, Android and Windows phones.

Beats’ main method for trying to differentiate itself from other streaming services is through presenting itself as “the music service built by artists for artists.” Beats, unlike Spotify, contains playlists specifically curated by professionals, making it both familiar and inviting to established and prospective artists looking for inspiration or just a good beat.

The app was co-founded by Dr. Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine, and spearheaded by the company Beats Electronics. The company has hired Scott Plagenhoef, the former editorin-chief of PitchFork, a Chicagobased publication devoted to music commentary and criticism, to head a team of music experts. These music experts are responsible for creating “human curated” playlists that users have the option of listening to. The idea is that having so many artists involved in the production and development of the app will create a more “artist-friendly” reputation for the company.

The interface of the app also differs slightly from services like Spotify. As users open the app, they will be asked to pick their favorite genres and bands. After users have made their selections, the app will

pop up with its home screen, a selection of bands, albums and playlists custom tailored to what one has selected. Once at the home screen, users can choose from a selection of over 20 million songs, which Beats claims is supposedly identical to the number of tracks Spotify users have access to, although Beats does not claim to have an identical track list, meaning Spotify may have songs unavailable on Beats and vice-versa.

What sets the app apart from other streaming services currently on the market is the “Sentence” feature.

In the “Sentence,” users fill in their feelings, location and even certain scenarios in order to get access to a track that fits their current mood.

The result is a “sentence,” that could read something like “I’m at home and feel like traveling back in time with my best friend to ‘80s rock.”

Based on this sentence, the app will find songs that they feel fit one’s current mood and specific scenario.

A major pitfall to the app is that unlike all of its other competitors, it offers no free streaming method. It is only available for $9.99 a month, or for a $15 family subscription for up to five people who have AT&T. To read a extended version of this article, visit lahstalon.org/entertainment.

The Talon February 11, 2014

Every year, the movie industry comes together to celebrate the achievments of its best, from the best scores to the best foreign films to best actor and actress, and the supremely coveted best picture. March 2, 2014 is the 86th Annual Academy Awards.

Here are some of The Talon’s predictions for who will take home the trophies.

WRITTEN BY REBECCA DESHETLER Managing Editor JARED ENG Managing Editor CASEY PAO Features Editor SHIKTIJ DAVE Opinions Editor PERLA LUNA Staff Writer

BEST PICTURE “12 Years a Slave” “American Hustle” or “Gravity” “Her”

Steve McQueen’s film “12 Years a Slave” is the likely winner of the Academy Award for FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES best picChiwetel Ejiofor sits at the head of the table in the movie ture. Based “12 Years a Slave,” which is poised to win the Academy on the true story of Award for best picture.

Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery, the haunting film has received praise for its powerful acting and unflinching look at slavery. Solomon’s desperate desire for freedom and his struggle to maintain dignity in the face of cruelty will captivate generations of moviegoers.

However, David O. Russell’s ‘70s crime flick “American Hustle” and FOCUS ENTERTAINMENT Alfonso Cuarón’s space thriller Matthew McConaughey, as Ron Woodruff, sits on a car in the “Gravity” are making best movie “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” McConaughey has a chance at the picture a close threeAcademy Award for best actor. way race. All three films have established themselves as Oscar frontrunners.

Both “American HusMatthew McConaughey — “Dallas Buyer’s Club” tle” and “Gravity” racked Leonardo DiCaprio — “The Wolf of Wall Street” SONY PICTURES CLASSICS up 10 Oscar nominaChiwetel Ejiofor — “12 Years a Slave” Cate Blanchet, as Jasmine French, gazes out a window as her tions, with “12 Years financial and social life unravels in “Blue Jasmine.” Blanchet a Slave” nominated is in line to win best actress in a movie. atthew McConaughey’s nature of the film itself, it’s unfor nine awards. Earportrayal of Ron Wood- likely that DiCaprio will win over lier this year, “Gravity” roof in “Dallas Buyer’s Club” will Ejiofor or McConaughey, though also swept the Critwin him the Oscar for Best Actor. he does, of course, have a chance. ics’ Choice Awards, McConaughey’s powerful acting Chiwetel Ejiofor, the heart and setting an all-time in the film was far more memo- soul of the movie “12 Years a Slave,” Cate Blanchet — “Blue Jasmine” record with seven rable than the the actual plot of stakes his rightful claim on the title Meryl Streep — “August: Osage County” wins. “American the movie. Despite the success of “Best Actor” for this year’s AcadAmy Adams — “American Hustle” Hustle” won the and popularity that has followed emy Awards. Ejiofor plays a free major Screen Achim throughout his long career, African-American who’s kidnapped tors Guild (SAG) this is McConaughey’s first Acad- and sold back into slavery. It is Ejioaward: outstandate Blanchett’s perfor- out for her striking portrait of emy Award Nomination. Like Di- for’s eyes and body language that ing performance by mance as a rich Manhattan a strong-willed, dysfunctional Caprio, he took home a Golden much of the emotional impact of a cast in a motion socialite whose life crumbles matriarch in “August: Osage Globe for his performance in “Dal- the film stems from. He trades spopicture, as well around her in “Blue Jasmine” County,” a role that won her a las Buyers Club” earlier this year. ken word for expression, the depth as the Golden has been lauded for its ex- Golden Globe earlier this year.

McConaughey’s character is im- and intensity of which should bring Globe for best ceptional acting. Blanchett’s Yet Amy Adams’ role as mensely complicated, and as such, him home an Oscar. While Ejiofor comedy or character, Jasmine French, hits a cunning faux-aristocratic he seemed like a totally different has won a number of “Best Actor” musical film. rock bottom as her swindling partner-in-crime in “Ameriperson from one scene to the next. awards in the past, including a LauThe Golden husband is arrested and her fi- can Hustle” is the most stunWoodroof is whatever he needs to rence Olivier Award, BritGlobe for nances disappear. Her brilliant ning of the year. Adams’ move be to make each scene advance the ish Independent Award, best drama portrayal of this fallen woman to darker roles has been flawstory, and McConaughey delivered Independent Spirit went to “12 Years grounds the movie in a sense less, coming through vividly a performance to be remembered.

Award and Gotham Indea Slave,” which has received near-universal of self-delusion and cynicism. in her portrayal of a woman pendent Film Award, he Leonardo DiCaprio’s perforcritical acclaim since its release.

After winning a SAG award desperate for a taste of the mance as wealthy stockbroker has not yet acquired one Yet while these three films battle it out for and the Golden Globe for Best good life. Her character, SydJordan Belfort in the comedy of such high acclaim. His the most prestigious film award of the year, Spike Actress in a Drama, Blanchett ney Prosser, joins a dishonest “The Wolf of Wall Street” was performance of incredJonze’s movie “Her,” is perhaps a more fitting has come into the Oscars businessman to deal in forged ible subtlety and emotion your typical DiCaprio perforwinner. Set in the near future in Los Angeles, the season as the top contend- art and fake loans, entangling mance-excellent, but not Oscar- may leave you speechless story follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoeer for the award for best herself in passionate, greedy worthy. DiCaprio was previously and in complete awe. By nix), a withdrawn man who writes heartfelt letters leading actress. How- relationships. Adams brings a nominated for this award in 2005 all accounts, Ejiofor defor other people for a living. Devastated after his ever, Meryl Streep, touch of despair to an otherserves an Oscar for his with “The Aviator” and in 2007 marriage ends, he turns to an intelligent operating a three-time Os- wise juicy, bold film, a perforwith “Blood Diamond.” This year portrayal of Northup. system named Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) to car winner, can- mance more than worthy of has already seen him bring home fill the void in his life. Ultimately, he falls in love not be counted Best Actress. a Golden Globe Award for his role with her, a surprisingly convincing romance that in “The Wolf of Wall Street” but both legitimizes and questions our culture’s techthat in no way affirms that he will nological attachments. With a vulnerable performance by Phoenix, likewise bring home an Oscar for “Her” is a commentary on the modern human relationships expertly To read more Oscar predictions, visit the same performance. Due to crafted for our generation. While “12 Years a Slave” is also deeply deservlahstalon.org/entertainment the salacious and often vulgar ing of this Oscar, “Her” is the most culturally relevant film of this year.

BEST ACTOR

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BEST ACTRESS

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The Talon February 11, 2014

Get daily updates on Eagle athletics and read the sports archives at lahstalon.org/sports

Why there needs to be a Hockey World Cup JORDAN STOUT Senior Writer

Every four years, the best of the best in the National Hockey League (NHL) face a dilemma: Support their country in the Winter Olympics and risk an injury that could sideline them for the final stages of the NHL season, or be safe and not participate. It is inherently unfair to have NHL players make such a choice. Currently the NHL and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) are in negotiations to establish an international schedule for competition that will work around the NHL season.

Every athlete wants to participate on the Olympic stage, but when it affects the professional season, as it does in hockey, an alternative is necessary. One idea bouncing around the hockey world is to have an international hockey World Cup that works around the rigors of the NHL season. In fact, The NHL has already announced that it will not commit to any Olympics past Sochi and that the NHL and NHLPA are in favor of negotiations to make a uniform international calendar.

The notion of a Hockey World Cup is very simple. Rather than the NHL pledge its support to the Olympics every four years, it would instead encourage its players to partake in a new Hockey World Cup. This would not disrupt the f low of the NHL season and decrease the likelihood of sustaining injuries during the tournament affecting the NHL season. This would allow players to represent their country while still maintaining their health for the following professional sea-

ELLIOT / FLICKR

The San Jose Sharks play against the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks, along with many other NHL teams, will benefit from the long break that the Olympics bring to the NHL season and likely perform better after the Games’. son. The NHL is the pinnacle of any hockey player’s career and to risk their professional careers in an amateur tournament is not fair to the players.

A less recognized advantage of holding a Hockey World Cup would be the guarantee that hockey would be brought to places where it is truly valued. To put this simply, the 2018 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Py-

eongchang South Korea: South Korea is not a particularly hockey savvy country, nor is Turin, Italy (2006) nor Nagano, Japan (1998).

Another aspect of this issue is the owners of the individual NHL teams. Currently, NHL teams have to sign over their most valuable assets, their players, to the national team for them to participate in the Olympics. In a purely economic sense, this is wildly

inefficient for the owners of the teams, considering that it is very possible that a player will be injured in any given game due to the physicality of hockey.

Beyond just affecting the owners of teams and the top players, the Olympics forces the entire league to shut down for almost three weeks. Such a break can do a variety of things to teams, especially those in the playoff

hunt or on the verge of losing a spot. No other professional sport has as long of a break in the middle of the season and it often has noticeable effects on teams’ performances. The break effectively rids a team of any momentum from a winning or losing streak, creating a different atmosphere in the league when play recommences.

This year’s Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are both subpar teams that don’t have many players competing in the Olympics. It’s very possible that both of these teams will perform above their current standard for the first few weeks after the Olympic break because more of their players will be well rested.

Another example is the San Jose Sharks, who, on account of having several players participate in the Olympics, can benefit from a long break due to both injuries to star players and a recent struggle in scoring. A break will not only allow these teams to regroup and rest up for the second half of their seasons, but it also has the potential to greatly affect the sport’s atmosphere when the NHL season resumes.

Overall, the Olympics, though an honor to participate in, are not right for the NHL due to the demands on players, coaches and the league. The alternative, a Hockey World Cup, would fix this issue by working with the NHL and the players to ensure a time for international competition that would not adversely affect anyone.

Wrestling in contention for League and CCS despite small size, injuries MAYA ACHARYA ALEX BARREIRA

Copy/Content Editor Staff Writer

With important competitions looming, the wrestling team has been intent on its preparations, despite several setbacks. The wrestling team will be attending League Championships this week, while the girls on the team also attended CCS over the past weekend.

Small team size has been a recurring problem for the Eagles thus far, with Los Altos having to forfeit points at multiple competitions on account of not having enough wrestlers.

“As far as the team goes we’re 3-1 as far as leagues, but we had to forfeit the last four matches because we don’t have anyone in the heavyweight classes,” head coach Randy Jimenez said. “The big boys didn’t come out this year. We would have been undefeated but we’ve had to forfeit the last four weight classes (six points per match).”

Few wrestlers hasn’t been the team’s only dilemma. Several athletes were injured in a recent tournament.

“We’ve had some injuries. I had… two [wrestlers] get injured this weekend, one with a dislocated elbow, one with a broken hand, both of those are season-ending injuries,” Jimenez said. “[Junior Mirella Acev-

edo] had a real good shot at making Girls States, I think, in my head, you know she was going to go to Girls CCS this upcoming weekend.”

Both Mirella and the other injury from the tournament, a freshman, will be have the opportunity to wrestle with the school in future years.

Still, their injuries represent a blow to the team.

This year, the team included three girls. However, after Mirella’s injury and the wrestler’s broken hand, as of press, seniors Zoe Morgan and Annalasa Cantu were the only wrestlers who attended CCS for girls wrestling this weekend.

“My girls are very tough, and I’m proud of every girl that comes out,” Jimenez said. “At the end of the season they don’t even refer to themselves as a female wrestler, they refer to themselves as an Eagle wrestler, and that’s alI we want them to do and know that confidence. The guys don’t treat them any different than another wrestler. I think it breeds a more cohesive team. The [other teams] don’t look at them like “that’s a female wrestler”; they look at them like that’s a wrestler.”

This cohesiveness has been at the core of the team’s recent wins at tournaments. Injury and size aside, wrestling has poised itself for potential success in CCS. And with CCS approaching fast, the coaches

COURTESY ELLIE VAN HOUTTE / LOS ALTOS TOWN CRIER

Co-captain junior Brian Wang grapples with an opponent in Los Altos’ home matchup against Santa Clara.

Few wrestlers and multiple injuries have not kept the team out of contention in its division this season, with Los Altos currently holding a 3-1 league record. have been transitioning practice ing, harder conditioning, further ex- you want your team to be time from more instructional to pand their lungs, their stamina.” peaking at because next week more drilling.

Looking forward, a mix of this is CCS and then league finals “Basically if they don’t have it now cohesiveness and conditioning will and then states,” Jimenez said. they’re not going to get it by next help the team as they compete in the “The next two weeks is where week,” Jimenez said. “It’s just more final stretch of the season. you really want your team to be repetitive stuff now, more condition“League finals is really where peaking, at full tilt.”

The Talon February 11, 2014

SOCHI XXII Winter Olympics

LEFT TO RIGHT: ICEBERG SKATING PALACE, RUSSIAN SOLDIERS, VLADIMIR PUTIN, BARACK OBAMA, BILLIE JEAN KING, CAITLIN CAHOW AND BRIAN BOITANO. PHOTOS FROM: WIKIMEDIA, BENSON KUA/FLICKR AND ATOS/FLICKR

T

he XXII Winter Olympic Games held in Sochi, Russia officially kicked off on Friday, February 7, with the Games’ Opening Ceremony. But beyond being the biggest stage for winter athletes, Sochi has had a stranglehold on media coverage for an entirely different set of reasons, which have ranged from fear of terrorist attacks to accusations of corruption to anti-gay legislation. Here’s The Talon’s breakdown of the biggest of the controversies surrounding Sochi.

AMELIA BAUM, STAFF WRITER | ROBERT CHIN, SENIOR WRITER | STEVEN CUI, COPY/CONTENT EDITOR SAM LISBONNE, SENIOR WRITER | JAMES MERRILL, STAFF WRITER | JOHN NAUMOVSKI, SENIOR WRITER

Protests against anti-LGBT legislation in Russia, Obama’s “boycott” Perhaps one of the most contentious social issues surrounding this year’s Winter Olympics is Russia’s recently publicized laws on homosexuality. On June 30, 2013, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.”

While not directly outlawing homosexual acts, which are legal in the country, the new law restricts pro-LGBT speech and demonstrations. It diminishes the amount of publicity LGBT activists can have and criminalizes any “propaganda of homosexualism among minors.” Russia does not recognize same-sex marriage, and according to the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion, a majority of Russian residents support the new law banning “gay propaganda.”

The passage of the new law has incited international anger and frustration, prompting 27 Nobel Peace prize winners to collaborate on an “Open letter to President Putin” urging a repeal of the law.

A wide spectrum of renowned

figures ranging from Lady Gaga to President Barack Obama, have also criticized the legislation.

Protests in England and the United States called for their respective countries to boycott the Olympics, which were rejected by both English Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama.

President Obama, along with the First Lady and Vice President, has, however, decided to forgo attending the Games in favor of sending a hand-picked delegation to represent himself and the nation, making it the first time since 2000 that a top White House member will not be attending the Games. The importance of President Obama’s action rests in the delegation he chose to represent himself and his nation, which consists of several openly gay athletes. This delegation includes tennis legend Billie Jean King, hockey player Caitlin Cahow and Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano, who came out publicly after being named a part of the delegation.

These athletes clearly contrast Putin’s controversial, anti-LGBT laws.

While this decision officially received justification as a hallmark of

FLICKR / STEVE RHODES

People in San Francisco protest Russian president Vladimir Putin’s anti-LGBT legislation.

American diversity, it’s clear that it is intended to compete with current Russian policy. Furthermore, Putin responded by emphasizing Russian law banning “gay propaganda.”

Obama’s delegation may not openly violate those rules, but the provocation certainly exists.

Generally, Olympic athletes and spectators are expected to follow the hosting countries’ laws and regulations. At the same time, the Games cannot be conducted in a way that violates the Olympic Charter. Principle 6 of the charter states that “Any form of discrimi-

nation with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”

Despite international concern, Putin maintains that discrimination will not be a problem at the Games.

Pro-LGBT rights demonstrations will be allowed in designated areas.

“The Olympic Games will be held in full compliance with the Olympic Charter, without any discrimination on any basis. Russia will be rooting for its own athletes of course, but we wish success to all the athletes,” Putin said in an article published by “The World Post.” He has assured U.S. officials and journalists that pro-LGBT protests at the Games would not be criminalized, so long as it did not qualify as “propaganda”.

Though publicly against the law, Jean King hopes that the best can be made out of a bad situation for LGBT athletes.

“For me, personally, if I were still young enough to be going to the Olympics to perform, this would give me such high incentive,” King said to ABC News. “I’d be crazed. I’d be like, ‘Let’s go.’”

Sochi’s “Ring of Steel”: Behind Russia’s “airtight” Olympic security

Questions regarding security at the Sochi Games have also been at the center of Sochi’s controversies.

Due to the geopolitical climate of the region, these concerns are by no means unfounded. Geographically, Sochi, Russia’s largest resort city, lies only 515 miles from Chechnya and 670 miles from Dagestan.

These two regions of the Northern Caucasus have had historically hostile relations with Russia, and are undeniably the most terror-prone regions in the nation.

These residents of the Northern Caucasus differ both ethnically and culturally from Russians, most notably in their practice of Islam, which is the predominant religion of the area. Thus, Russians and Northern Caucasians have engaged in frequent conflicts over the centuries, from Sheikh Mansour’s attempt to rally Chechens against Russian encroachment in 1785 to the RussoChechen wars of the 1990s.

Ethnic relations were even more strained during the Soviet years when in 1944, “Joseph Stalin accused all Chechens of being Nazi collaborators and exiled almost half a million of them to Siberia and the Kazakh steppe, thousands of miles from their homes,” writes Simon Shuster of Time Magazine. Over 100,000

MICHAEL ZHU

Chechens died as a result.

And when Chechens declared their independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly formed Russian Federation waged two wars against Chechen rebels, wreaking widespread destruction across the region. However, due to the region’s vital role as an overland oil pipeline route from Azerbaijan, Russians have been unwilling to allow the region to secede.

Since, the region has remained volatile, with Islamic terror brigades operating with relative freedom. Attacks have been carried out by militants and lone wolves, and are generally directed at soft targets like mosques or transport centers.

The target of the Volgograd bus station bombings in December of 2013 that killed 34 was one such attack. These attacks are thought to be prompted by calls for action

by Doku Umarov, the leader of the Caucasus Emirate militant group.

Umarov also released a video in July of 2013 condemning the Sochi Olympics.

“They plan to hold the Olympics on the bones of our ancestors, on the bones of many, many dead Muslims buried on our land by the Black Sea,” Umarov said in the video. “We as Mujahideen are required not to allow that, using any methods that Allah allows us.”

But perhaps an example of

Chechen or Dagestani terror that hits closest to home for most Americans was the Boston Marathon bombings. The two perpetrators, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were Chechen and the older of the two, Tamerlan, received training and underwent further radicalization in Dagestan.

Needless to say, this surge in terrorist activity has not gone unnoticed by Russian authorities, as security has become a prominent focus in Sochi.

As a result, a staggering amount of security measures have been taken.

According to the Associated Press, a force of around 100,000 police and army troops have been deployed in Sochi. By comparison, Sochi will see around 213,000 spectators enter its venues and around 6,000 at ­hletes compete in the Games’ events.

More high-tech measures have also been taken according to ABC News, including the use of drones, reconnaissance robots and a computer system known as “SORM,” that can monitor all communications made by Sochi residents, visitors and competitors. Although concerns have been raised that such measures represent a breach of privacy, the Russian government has nonetheless continued to tap into information in electronic devices in an effort to prevent any Chechen Islamist militant attacks.

JULY 4, 2007 Sochi defeats bids from Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea to become the host of the XXII (22nd) Winter Olympic Games, the first Winter Olympic Games hosted by Russia (the Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow).

JUNE 29, 2013 Russian president Vladimir Putin signs into law a bill banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors” that “equates the social value of traditional and nontraditional sexual relations,” which has since drawn international criticism from political leaders, celebrities and athletes.

OCT 21, 2013 A suicide bomber detonates explosives on a bus in the city of Volgograd, killing six and injuring more than 30. The bomber was from Dagestan, a city in the Northern Caucasus region, and part of the Islamist insurgency simmering in the area.

DEC 17, 2013 President Barack Obama adds two openly gay sports stars—tennis legend Billie Jean King and hockey player Caitlin Cahow—to the American delegation to be sent to the Winter Olympics, a statement in response to Russia’s passing of a law criminalizing “homosexual propaganda”. 1988 Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano, who was also named a part of the American delegation, chose to come out publicly two days after being chosen.

DEC 29-30, 2013 Two back-to-back suicide bombing incidents over the course of two days take place in Volgograd—one on a bus and the other on a trolley—killing 34 people in total. The bombers were recently identified as members of the Buynaksk terrorist group: Asker Samedov and Suleiman Magomedov.

FEB 7-23, 2014 XXII Olympic Winter Games.

To read more about the Winter Olympics at Sochi, visit lahstalon.org/sports

The Talon February 11, 2014

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Boys basketball dominates in league Leading the Eagles onto the court is coach Bob McFarlane.

Invigorated by recent league “Coach McFarlane has been wins and motivated by the preaching to us since the beginlooming end of the season and ning of the season about selfCCS, boys basketball lessness and puthas blazed through ting the team before the first half of its yourself,” Justin said. league games. The Every practice, “This is our system Eagles are undefeat- every game, we and if we play with ed in league, with are full throttle. this mindset on oftheir 6-0 record fense and defense, We seize every comprised of several no team can beat us.” big wins, including moment we Adherence to this ones over last year’s have and lay our coaching philosophy league champion, hearts out on has translated into Palo Alto, and ri- the floor. unblemished league val Mountain View. success. In a big — Junior Justin Cabute With just a handful win against former of league games left league champions in the season, CCS looms.

Palo Alto, Los Altos, after a close “Recently, we have been play- three quarters, put 24 in the ing very well and as a well-oiled net to the Vikings’ 13 in the last unit,” junior Justin Cabute said. quarter to secure a 68-60 win.

Playing as a “well-oiled unit” The Eagles’ strong back-half has catapulted Los Altos into made another appearance in first in league, with its nearest their dominating 53-38 perforcompetitors holding relatively mance against rival Mountain unimpressive 4-3 records.

View, in which Los Altos went on

JAMES SUN Staff Writer

Los Altos’ Leading Scorers The Eagles’ top three scorers’ average PPG (points per game)

COURTESY LAHS YEARBOOK

Joey Malgesini 6’3”

18.0

Steven Garverick 6’4” Daniel Rosenbaum 6’4”

15.3 11.8

DATA ACCURATE AS OF 2/4

Boys basketball lines up to high-five junior Justin Cabute in a pre-game ritual before the team’s game against Palo Alto. The Eagles would go on to defeat the Vikings 68-60. an 11-1 run in the third quarter in league: several close losses in the lessons that have prepared us and maintained a double-digit pre-season. In one of their ear- for league.” lead for the rest of the game. lier games against Bellarmine The Eagles haven’t let their The Eagles’ performance in a in the Monta Vista tournament success get to them, however. later game against Los Gatos High championship games, the Eagles They remain steadfast in taking School started out slow, but an in- lost by a single point. Although league games one at a time. spiring speech by McFarlane at the Eagles had beaten Bellarm“Just because we are undefeathalftime jolted the Eagles back into ine before, the loss only served ed it doesn’t mean we can take focus, who, after significantly ramp- to reinforce their determination. any breaks from being focused ing up their offense, outscored the “The loss only made us hungri- every single day in practice,” JusWildcats by 18 points in the second er and strengthened our drive to tin said. “Every practice, every half to secure a 45-37 win. work harder and harder in prac- game, we are full throttle, we Also contributing to Los Al- tice,” Justin said. “Because of our seize every moment we have and tos’ determination to succeed pre-season we have learned all lay our hearts out on the floor.”

Girls basketball on track for CCS success DANIEL ROSENBAUM Staff Writer

The girls basketball team is reaping the fruits of its labor.

Coming off a strong 8-3 preseason run, the Lady Eagles have continued their hot streak by starting off league 7-0 and extending their win streak to 13 games, one of the program’s longest win streaks in decades. Los Altos hasn’t lost a game since December 10 of last year.

What’s behind this success? One aspect of the team’s game is a roaring back-half—Los Altos has outscored each of its last 13 opponents in the second half of the game.

“In league, we’ve seemed to develop a pattern of coming back from being behind,” sophomore Katie Munro said. “We never stopped fighting and our competitive spirits allowed us to turn the game around.”

League success has also largely been contingent on intense pre-season conditioning and momentum from the team’s pre-season run. Los Altos beat King’s Academy in the King’s Academy tournament, a “definite high point,” according to junior Rebecca Andrews. Learning to play with one another and how

to handle many different types of opponents ultimately culminated in a beneficial pre-season.

“I think our pre-season was a great time for us to work out some kinks and also gave us the opportunity to see many different types of teams,” co-captain senior Meghan McDermott said. “Against the lesser teams, I think we could have played a little tougher, but we definitely rose to the occasion against our tougher opponents.”

However, as good as the team is playing, players have cited several areas of improvement. Though Los Altos has come back strong in the back-halves of games, its first two quarters have been lacking.

“The biggest thing we need to work on is coming out hard in the first half,” sophomore Meg Enthoven said. “Each game we’ve had to battle back in the second half after being down by a lot, and it would be great to see our team come out strong right as the game begins.”

Playing more cohesively instead of relying solely on one or two players has been another area of focus.

One player that the team has been reliant on is Meghan, who has been the only player to average double-digit points this season (13.3) and carried Los Altos to a 45-

33 victory over Cupertino by contributing 13 points and sealed the team’s win with two free throws in a tough game against Santa Clara.

“Meghan has been playing absolutely amazing[ly],” Rebecca said. “She has been the only person consistently putting points on the board and she has really helped lead us to victory. I really can’t overestimate the impact she has made on the team.”

After Meghan in shooting are Katie and Meg, averaging 8.1 and 7.5 points per game, respectively.

Leading the team in defense is co-captain senior Kelly Hamamoto, who has led the team in steals, averaging 4.4 per game.

With this mix of strong offensive and defensive players, along with the ability to deliver a blistering second half, the team looks to take league and beyond.

“I think we have a really good shot at winning league again this year,” Meghan said. “There isn’t one team dominating league this year, so the title is up for grabs. If we continue to play up to our potential, I think we can beat any team. We have to play our game as a team though in order to beat some of these tougher opponents.”

BRANDON HONG

Co-captain senior Kelly Hamamoto drives in Los Altos’ game against Cupertino. The team defeated the Pioneers 45-33.