The Talon | Issue 3 | November 15, 2016

Los Altos High School, Los Altos, CA ■ November 15, 2016 ■ Volume XXXII, Issue 3

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MOUNTAIN VIEW SUPPORTS RV PARK Mountain View City Council allocates $196,000 to provide hygiene services and outreach workers for local RV owners.

News, 4

Post-election thoughts

Read junior Javin Pombra’s opinion on last week’s election results and how our nation must now move forward. Opinions, 6

An in-depth look at affirmative action Check out these different perspectives to learn more on how to increase diversity in the college application process.

Opinions, 7

Minorities under Trump

Senior Sana Khader sheds light on the experience of being a minority in the face of Donald Trump’s unlikely rise to power.

Features, 9

A primer on Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan Check out The Talon’s podcast on Bob Dylan and his Nobel Prize win at lahstalon.org/bobdylan2016. Arts & Culture, 14

ANDREW YOUNG

School introduces Positive Psychology’ elective English teacher Susana Herrera prepares to launch a course on student mindfulness.

ANISHA DESAI ADRIENNE MITCHEL Senior Writer Staff Writer

Over the past few months, the momentum of mindfulness practices has taken over Los Altos, manifesting in English class “mindful minutes” and in P.E. classes. Soon there won’t just be brief mindful moments in English and P.E., but an entire class dedicated to exploring

the science of what makes people happy. Los Altos recently approved a new elective called Positive Psychology for next school year that aims to teach students the psychology behind mindfulness and happiness.

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that empower individuals and communities to flourish. It teaches four main objectives: having resilience, creating relationships with others, finding joy in work and helping others live a

Broken Box’s fall premiere

fulfilling life. Since freshmen already have a mindfulness unit in their P.E. classes, the full-year elective will be available for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

“Psychology originally focused on what’s wrong with humans and how to fix all these problems and psychoses, and positive psychology looks at what’s right with humans and what makes us happy,” English and Film Analysis teacher Susana Herrera said.

Herrera, who has implemented mindfulness practices in her classes and takes lessons on teaching mindfulness, will teach the new course. She hopes the class will provide an opportunity for students to take a step back from their lives, analyze their experiences and learn skills that will enable them to thrive.

“Psych”

continues on page 4

Sports P18

The beauty in discomfort Three writers take a look at piece of art that they now love but initially found extreme discomfort in. Arts & Culture, 16

New boys basketball head coach Trevor Naas joins varsity boys basketball coaching staff as head coach. Sports, 19 In reference to our article regarding AP Physics 1 in Issue 1, The Talon shares an apology and a clarification.

News, 4

UPCOMING EVENTS November 17

KATIE KLEIN

Senior Adam Niebylski practices a scene with a fellow Broken Box member during a rehearsal for the play “Robin Hood and His Merry Men.”

HALEY ECKER AVERY LUKE

Parent Coffee Chat

Staff Writers

November 18 & 19

Most play scripts don’t ask their actors to miss their cues. But Broken Box’s first production of the year, which premieres on November 17, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m, requires them to do just that. “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” is a comedic take on the traditional tale of Robin Hood that follows a fictitious high school theater department’s rendition of Robin Hood. Hilarity ensues as the show endures several planned technical interruptions.

Director Nancy Moran chose this comedy as a way to start the year off with a laugh and introduce their newest members to the world of Broken Box. “It’s funny, it’s lighthearted, and

Broken Box Performance November 24

Thanksgiving November 27

Parade of Lights December 2

Holiday Jazz Concert December 7

Hour of Code December 9

Holiday Fair

News Editorial Opinions

2 5 6

Features 9, 12 In-Depth 10 Arts & Culture 14 Sports 18

it’s a good way for the new members of Broken Box to gel and connect with the veteran members,” Moran said. “I find comedy has a way of doing that. It just kind of brings everyone together.”

Broken Box performs three plays throughout the year and tries to make their first performance a family friendly comedy, such as “Robin Hood and His Merry Men.” “It’s slapstick with silly jokes,” Moran said. “There are moments where they break out of character and talk to the audience so it’s fun.”

Not all of the actors are given large roles, however, so this often presents a unique type of challenge for some actors.

“Robin”

continues on page 17

HUNGER

IN THE LAND OF PLENTY In-Depth P10 The Talon traces our food drive donations through Second Harvest and beyond, and examines what it’s like to be hungry in the Silicon Valley.

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The Talon November 15, 2016

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

School board sets direction for future MADDIE CHU SANA KHADER JAVIN POMBRA DANNY VESURAI Staff Writers

Through the 2016-2017 Action Plan, the MVLA School Board decided which issues it would prioritize as most important for the upcoming school year. They chose to focus on expanding the AVID Exploration program, increasing graduation requirement rigor and curriculum alignment and developing facilities.

AVID Exploration program From going on field trips to Adobe’s headquarters to touring El Camino Hospital, AVID sections this year have received plenty of exposure to the workplace, and the school board looks to further develop the AVID Four-Year Exploration program over the year. By hiring more AVID staff and expanding opportunities for junior and senior students, the school board aims to further expose AVID students to possible career options.

“Seeing someone who’s like you ten or twenty years from now helps you understand that the path to understand how to be successful isn’t always easy,” Superintendent Jeff Harding said. “When we look at the opportunity gap between high socioeconomic students and low socioeconomic students, one of the biggest gaps is exposure to a professional environment.”

While the program currently only offers field trips to different companies in Silicon Valley, Harding hopes to allow 11th grade students experience a short-term internship opportunity in a selected career field. In 12th grade, they aim for students to become more involved in long-term internships

over the course of a couple weeks or during summer break. “[In the future], 11th and 12th graders will have internship-type opportunities,” AVID teacher Keren Dawson-Bowman said. “In 11th grade, they will do more of a shorter-term internship experience, and then senior year, hopefully get to do a long-term internship experience.”

The school board has continuously provided funding for the AVID department to further develop the Exploration program.

This year the school board hired more AVID staff and created more AVID sections to reduce the amount of work for parent volunteers and teachers and reduce class sizes.

“This will have to be a board discussion that will involve our students and teachers,” Harding said. “But the possibility of requiring a third year of math or third year of science will be part of that discussion.”

Curriculum alignment

The school board, as part of a years-long process, has continuously looked to align various classes both in and out of the district. This year, the school board prioritizes two different types of alignment: alignment with middle school districts and alignment within the district.

In a process called vertical alignment, MVLA teachers look to standardize final exams in eighthgrade courses in feeder districts like LASD and Mountain View Whisman with final exams of the Graduation rigor For years, Los Altos baseline same classes at the high school graduation requirements based level. By creating similar structure on the California Education Code and rigor in courses from sixth have remained constant: two years to ninth grade, the school board of math, two years of science, four hopes freshmen will be more preyears of English. However, that stan- pared for the rigor of courses ofdard may see drastic changes in the fered in the MVLA district.

“Teachers and staff are worknear future. The school board plans ing with the feeder to raise the rigor of districts to [vertigraduation to increase cally align] courses,” students’ preparedschool board memness for college and The minimum ber Debbie Torok beyond. In the com- bar doesn’t said. “So if you grading months, they will prepare stuuate from Blach in begin discussions with Algebra 1 and come student trustees and dents for the to the high school teachers on creating world that they and take Geometry, challenging gradua- will enter... We you're just as tion requirements. are going to set then well-prepared as “The minimum bar a student who [is] doesn’t prepare stu- that bar higher. coming from Gra— Superintendent dents for the world Jeff Harding ham or Crittenden.” that they will enter In addition, the when they leave high school,” Harding said. “We are go- school board aims for horizontal ing to set the bar higher for the stu- alignment, or making the difficulty dent that comes into high school of classes constant between teachintentionally trying to do the least ers to create equitable experiences.

“The big picture is that a student they can do to graduate.” who takes a course should have the One possible revision may require students to complete three same [experience] as in the [idenyears of math and three years tical] course taught by a different of science. For instance, instead teacher,” Harding said. “The gradof taking Algebra 1 to meet the ed materials should be the same, graduation requirement, students the homework load should be the could now also have to take Alge- same and the learning objectives should be the same.” bra 2 to graduate.

COURTESY KEREN DAWSON-BOWMAN

AVID students take a tour of the Adobe’s headquarters as part of the Four-Year Exploration program set up last year. Among other goals, expansion of the Exploration program is one of the MVLA School Board’s priorities this school year.

ANNE SCHILL

Looking to the future, the MVLA School Board is currently in the process of constructing a facilities master plan that will detail how facilities will be utilized for the next 10 to 15 years. The school board created the last master plan in 1995, and they now seek to modernize facilities and accomodate student growth. tion for the master plan by assessWith the last facilities assess- ing buildings that are out-of-shape ment conducted over 20 years ago, and how to reform them. the MVLA School Board hired arPortables for student chitecture firm Quattrochi Kwok Architects (QKA) to analyze the growth state of district facilities. At a Though the district’s facilities school board meeting on October are in great shape, they do not 10, QKA reported that most of the suit the growing student populadistrict’s buildings are in excellent tion. According to Mathiesen, a shape, with minor issues such as demographic analysis predicted adding directional signage and re- an increased population of 350 placing worn roofs. students in the district within the “All of the MVLA school sites are next six years, and next year Los in really good shape,” QKA architect Altos will have 70 more students Debra McGuire said. “We do a lot of than it can accommodate. school districts, and some of them The district is looking at the haven't been able to get the kind of possibility of ordering three pormaintenance they need, and that is table classrooms to be ready by so not true [in this district].” the start of the next school year The school board will shape their as a short-term fix, and the maslonger-range facilities master plan ter plan will determine possible around the assessment, which long-term solutions. aimed to identify speAlthough the cific parts of buildings school board hasn’t that weren’t functionmade a decision yet, ing correctly and bring In the long-term, they are considering them to attention. At we want a [famany possibilities for the earliest, the mas- cilities] investlong-term solutions ter plan will be com- ment that we to growing student pleted by the end of Because can sustain and enrollment. the school year. there is little space for Toward the end is as inexpennew classrooms, any of the first semester, sive as possible. new buildings would teachers and architects be two-story struc— MVLA School Board will begin to discuss tures, which could President Phil Faillace educational specificaalso be created by tions, which stipulate adding second stories how to design facilities to match to existing wings. educational programs. These speci“If we’re going to build classfications drive how facilities will be rooms, do you build up and build reformed, and can only come after a two-story structure that takes up a facilities assessment has detailed less of a footprint on the ground?” what’s deficient.

Mathiesen said. “Given that space “Architects will come and meet is so limited, much of the conwith [staff] to see how they want struction would be two-story.” to use their buildings, then [the The school board will discuss architects] will design buildings to the topic further, and they have meet those needs,” Associate Su- not decided on a single solution. perintendent Mike Mathiesen said.

“In the long-term, we want an “Educational specifications drive investment that we can sustain how we’re going to touch [deficient [and] is as inexpensive as posbuildings] and whether we’ll leave sible,” MVLA School Board Presithem the same or renovate them.” dent Phil Faillace said. “We want The combination of the facili- buildings that are nice, safe, and ties assessment and the education promote student and teacher specifications will lay the founda- health and education.”

Facilities’ conditions

The Talon November 15, 2016

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Homework-free weekend spurs student concern MADISON WOO PRIYA DIXIT Staff Writers

For most students, Homecoming weekend provided a reprieve from school work. AR 6154, the homework policy implemented this year, designated the weekend to be homework-free, and for the most part, teachers complied with the stipulations. However, multiple students and other teachers approached Principal Wynne Satterwhite about teachers who they believed had violated the policy.

While most teachers are confirmed to have followed the letter of the policy, some students had misinterpreted whether the due dates of assignments violated the policy. Issues also arose when students claimed some teachers violated the intent of the law, even if they adhered to the specific text of the law.

“Did the teachers violate the letter of the law?” Satterwhite said. “I don’t believe so, but do I believe the spirit may have been bruised a bit?

Yes. A conversation we need to have as a staff is to talk about the intent and how we can interpret this.”

Last year, administration, teachers and students collaborated to devise AR 6154, which limits the amount and frequency of homework teachers are permitted to assign. The guidelines prohibit homework from being assigned for designated homework-free weekends, including Homecoming and Thanksgiving weekend.

Most teachers at Los Altos have followed AR 6154, but some students claim teachers found loopholes circumventing the regulation’s intent

of securing a homework-free weekend for students without technically violating the policy. Most reports concerning violations may be attributed to miscommunication or misinterpretation of deadlines among students and teachers.

In one case, a teacher violated the code after assigning homework on Thursday, a block day, and setting the due date for Monday. Students believed the teacher did not preserve the integrity of the policy because the assignment could only have been turned in on Monday in class, as it was not online. The teacher declined to comment.

“The teacher gave us some time in class to work, but it was nowhere near enough time to finish the assignment,” an anonymous student from the class said. “In a way it could be Thursday night home-

work, but realistically, it will end up being weekend homework.”

For another class, an anonymous student said the teacher had assigned problems in class on Friday and set the due date to the following Tuesday. Student complaints originated from the fact that more homework would also be assigned on Monday, and the teacher recommended that students finish the work over the weekend if they did not complete it in class. The majority of the students were unable to finish the work during class time, thus making it weekend homework. While the letter of the homework policy was preserved, some believe the spirit was violated. The teacher declined to comment.

“I think [the teacher] assigned [the problems] as practice because we were asking questions about the

[concepts] in class,” the student said. “If we didn’t do the assignment [over the] weekend we would have to do it later. It became homework rather than classwork.”

However, some reports of teachers violating the policy came from misunderstandings concerning the due date of the assignment. In one class, a teacher assigned homework on the Homecoming block day before the homework-free weekend and set the due date for Monday night the following week. Some students held uncertainty over whether the assignment’s due date was valid in regards to the homework policy.

“We got some notes that were due on Monday night, but the amount of homework was a little less than normal nights,” an anonymous student from this class said. “People did ask [the teacher] why we had

ASHLEY CAI

homework, but [the teacher] said that we could handle it.”

The teacher in question justified the work given to his students because it was due on Monday night rather than Monday in class.

“The assignment I gave did not necessitate weekend homework,” the teacher said. “It was due Monday at midnight, online, and posted Thursday, right after school. What I assigned wasn’t a huge amount of work, so I figured it was reasonable to do after school.”

Other members of the class agree with the teacher’s justification because the assignment was due Monday night, and students did not have to do the assignment over the weekend.

“None of my teachers assigned homework over the homecoming weekend,” the student said. “[This teacher] assigned [work] that was technically due Monday night, so some students may have done it over the weekend.”

In light of these misinterpretations of the spirit of the law, administration and staff wish to avoid discrepancies in the future by offering a homework survey for students, parents and faculty members to take in early second semester. The relevant modifications will be made to address and avoid any confusion that arose this year.

“We are [making] a homework survey which will ask students was this homework-free weekend really helpful or did this just push things off to the next week?” Satterwhite said. “We’ll also ask whether teachers are living up to the 30 to 45 minute, four days a week homework change, especially in college-level AP and honors classes.”

Los Altos residents urge change in flight paths BIGSUR (BSR) to SERFR on March 5, 2015. BSR was a flight path over Staff Writers Los Altos Hills, but SERFR makes planes fly over Los Altos more often The room shakes as everyone and thus increases overall airplane stands up for the Pledge of Alle- noise for Los Altos residents. giance. Papers rustle as the pledge The letter the Council drafted finishes, and murmurings break strongly supported moving the out among the room about one flight path from SERFR to DAVYJ, of the most anticipated items to a flight path that’s considered an come before Los Altos City Coun- updated version of BSR. cil: airplane noise. So many resiThe residents’ complaints dents are anxious to stemmed from the express their grievFAA updating their ances that some must navigation technolwait outside to speak [My wife and ogy from radar to a because of fire safety GPS-based technolregulations, and over I] used to be ogy called NextGen, 50 have filled out pub- able to sit out along with alterlic comment forms. ing the flight paths in the backyard At the City Council and listen to and lowering planes’ meeting on Tuesday, flight altitude. the songbirds...

October 25, residents Because of the overwhelmingly sup- [but now] flights increased noise, ported having the started coming residents not only council send a letter over and ratsuffered from distracto Congress member tling the chantions but also the loss Anna Eshoo’s Select of property value on Committee on South deliers. their homes.

Bay Arrivals, a com“[My wife and I] used — a resident at a Los Altos City Council mittee designed to to be able to sit out in meeting on October 25 tackle the issue of the backyard and lisairplane noise in the ten to the songbirds,” Bay Area. On November 17, the a resident said at the City Council committee will finalize a list of meeting. “Flights started coming recommendations to Congress over and rattling the chandeliers. members Anna Eshoo, Jackie I’m not an expert on flight paths, but Speier and Sam Farr, who will in I know when I bought my house it turn collaborate with the Federal wasn’t under a flyway, and I could’ve Aviation Administration (FAA) bought a house for a lot less money on the recommendations. under a flyway.”

One of the reasons the ConOf the recommendations the gress members created the Select Select Committee will propose, Committee was because the FAA the flight path remains one of the changed their original flight path of more contentious issues. Alter-

JAVIN POMBRA DANNY VESURAI

nate on the Select Committee and Los Altos City Councilmember Jean Mordo believes that changing the path to DAVYJ would be in the best interest of Los Altos residents because it would move noise levels back to where they were for thirty years, even if this isn’t an ideal win-win scenario. “[DAVYJ] may not be the best solution for everybody, but it is the best in the sense that it will bring [the noise] back to where it was,” Mordo said. “Planes will [still] fly at the same altitude or higher than before, and it'll be as quiet or better than before.

[DAVYJ] is the best we can do and we can improve from there.”

On the other hand, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, the chair of the Select Committee, believes a short-term “50-50” compromise would equally split noise levels between cities, would be optimal for all towns affected by the issue. The “50-50” compromise is essentially the midway between DAVYJ and SERFR. “Folks currently under the track understandably want to send it somewhere else,” Simitian said.

“Folks under the alternate track understandably don’t want it back, so I’ve suggested [to the committee] that the FAA do everything they can to reduce noise along the flight path, but to the extent that there is any residual noise it should be shared among the two flight paths for the immediate future.”

The final decision on flight paths from the Select Committee remains to be seen, and Committee members also plan to recommend other

actions that they hope will help lessen the effects of airplane noise. “[The recommendations we’re making include] flying higher, flying where there are fewer people, avoiding noisy aircraft maneuvers when possible and retrofitting existing aircraft to reduce noise where possible,” Simitian said.

After the Asiana crash in 2013 at SFO, the FAA updated Class B safety regulations which designates the airspace above an airport that descending planes can fly in. Because of the safety regulations, planes must use extra

horizontal thrust to modify their descent path, creating an excess amount of noise.

“When planes thrust horizontally, it’s very noisy,” Mordo said.

“If they glide, you can’t hear them.”

In the Select Committee, there’s a consensus that the FAA should fix the Class B airspace by expanding the airspace that’s considered safe, which would mean planes can glide through without creating much noise. If accepted, the FAA believes they can finish changes by next summer, or by the January of 2018 at the latest.

COURTESY JEAN MORDO, EDITED BY ANNE SCHILL

The map illustrates flight paths DAVYJ and SERFR. Current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations require planes to fly on SERFR, and Los Altos residents have expressed concerns over increased noise and decreased real estate prices.

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The Talon November 15, 2016

Mountain View takes action to support RV park and laundry for the homeless.

In a survey of RV owners before Staff Writers the motion passed, 43 percent of people polled identified Mountain Al, a Mountain View resident View as the location of their last who wanted to keep his last name permanent home, and the majoranonymous, left his home in Dal- ity reported economic factors and las, Texas, six or seven months rent as reasons for losing their ago to take care of his mother houses. The survey also estimated after his brother died. Unable to there are about 10 children among renew his security guard license these homeless individuals. in California to secure a job in These makeshift RV parks have the new area, Al couldn’t make sparked some controversy in the enough money to rent an apart- area, and recent complaints have ment in Mountain View. He cur- been filed about the height of rently lives in an RV the RVs and the efthat he purchased fect they have on the here while he waits look and safety of the to turn 62, when he After my mom neighborhood. predicts he will have broke her hip...

Some parking reenough financial I had nowhere strictions have been security via social to go. Money implemented by the security benefits to city, but inconsisleave the city and its ran out, and tently. Various driveit’s an arm and high cost of living. ways around Show“After my mom broke leg just to live ers Drive have been her hip... I had nowhere around here. marked “No parking,” to go,” Al said. “Money while others have — Mountain View ran out, and it’s an not. Along Crisanto resident Al arm and leg just to live Ave, thin metal strips around here.” sit suspended along To help residents like Al, Moun- lampposts where restrictivetain View City Council passed parking signs had been put up a motion in October to allocate and then taken down. $196,000 to the RV park, addressThe City Council passed the moing the estimated 126 households tion six-to-one, councilmember living in RVs on the city’s streets, John Inks being the only dissenter. most of them around Rengstorff He argues that making it easier for Park. The motion involved a list individuals to live in RVs is not a of measures designed to improve long-term solution to the problem. the quality of life for individuals “[The city] restricts these driveand proposed steps such as fund- ways and not the others, and says ing ongoing research into the 'Let’s spend some money to get problem, hiring case and outreach the showers and the laundry,' and workers and providing personal in the meantime, the RVs are still hygiene services such as showers there, so the surrounding neigh-

BRIAN HUEBNER JACLYN SAIK

Psych CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “It seems like the focus in our world today, especially in the Bay Area, is if you work hard, then you’ll be successful because you’ll go to a great college, and… you’ll be happy someday,” Herrera said. “Happiness is not somewhere over the rainbow. It has to start here.”

A large portion of the curriculum examines how different elements

of life such as stress, relationships, culture and wealth affect students’ personal happiness. Many activities that Herrera plans to incorporate in the classroom come from Gunn High School’s Positive Psychology teacher Ronin Habib, who gave a lecture on positive psychology to the staff at the district in the beginning of this school year. After hearing about Habib’s class, Herrera and Satterwhite collaborated on creating a Positive Psychology class for Los Altos students.

“Hopefully it’ll be a class that people really want to take because they’re interested in themselves,” Herrera said. “I mean, aren’t we all?”

ANDREW YOUNG

Film Analysis and English teacher Susana Herrera gestures to a mindfulness poster in her classroom. Next year, she will launch a new Positive Psychology elective that focuses on mindfulness and finding mindsets geared for happiness.

bors are no more satisfied,” Inks said. “So that became the reason for me to say no, we shouldn't just throw money at it.”

Mountain View’s lenient laws regarding sleeping in cars overnight — in relation to nearby areas — makes it a relatively attractive place to camp out. Inks said that the police department and park rangers have taken a hands-off approach to enforcing the rules, and as a result, some individuals have been able to call the streets

of Mountain View home for years.

The motion also included possibly contracting “Dignity on Wheels” services one half-day per week. Dignity on Wheels is a program created by the non-profit WeHOPE and provides showers and laundry services to the homeless around the Bay Area. According to another RV dweller, this isn’t exactly what the RV owners need.

“What people really need is water,” a RV owner who requested anonymity said.

The RV owner and her husband drive weekly to a site in Redwood City to dump their gray water — dishwater, shower water, etc. — and black water — sewage — and refill the tank that feeds to the shower, toilet and sink in the back of their RV. Other individuals on the street hire United Site Services, a portable restroom and sanitation service, to come to Mountain View and replenish their water.

According to her, however, it’s an expensive service.

FRANCESCA FALLOW

A RV idles on Crisanto Avenue, which is home to a majority of the 126 RVs around Rengstorff Park. Mountain View City Council recently allocated $196,000 to improving quality of life for RV owners.

The class will explore and an- backwards too because we’re swer questions about how people teaching academics without choose to carry themselves as a re- teaching how to be a human besult of societal expectations. In the ing. Are we teaching how to have class, students will discover them- self-compassion and compasselves through a variety of projects sion for others?” using different forms of expresHerrera hopes to make kids sion. Departing from the tradi- question some of their fundational class activities like textbook mental thinking processes and reading and structured writing, mindsets. She would like them the elective will include activities to look at their life from a ‘posilike walking in an tive psychology’ unusual manner to perspective so they music to let go of incan find their true hibitions and creating In school we identity and sepaspecial handshakes may have it rate what they think to build connections backwards... will make them hapwith peers. Instead because we’re py from what actuof essay writing, stually will. teaching acadents will express “I wanted to match themselves through demics without people up with who teaching how creative art mediums. they really are rath“If we were to to be a human er than that perdance like nobody's son they’ve created being. watching, what themselves to be to — Film Analysis would we do?” Herplease people,” Herand English teacher rera said. “And if rera said. “Hopefully Susana Herrera we weren’t so judgit’ll feel joyful to acmental of ourselves, tually spend time how would we behave in a situ- contemplating, ‘Hm, how do I ation? We’re having more of like use my strengths?’... I hope it’ll a visual essay, [such as a painting feel like a breath of fresh air to or a sculpture], in terms of our walk into the class.” projects and more activities that Overall, Herrera aims to teach [help us explore and] go beyond people the skills to understand just conversation in terms of their behavior as the first step to community building.” achieving happiness.

Positive Psychology uses the “The biggest challenge would findings from studies done on be for someone who signed up happiness to support the idea that thinking, ‘This is going to make those who attach their happiness me happy,’” Herrera said. “It’s not to their achievements do not find the fix to make someone happy, happiness. Rather, those who live but I think people will be excitwith continual happiness and find ed to see ‘Oh, this is what I do! joy in everyday life report higher This is the behavior that I exhibit levels of happiness. when this stress happens,’ and to “It’s actually saying that in be able to embrace it and make a America we have it all back- new decision about themselves in wards,” Herrera said. “Then ac- their life that’s going to positively tually in school we may have it impact them.”

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR There have recently been concerns surrounding a graphic and accompanying news article about AP Physics I that was published in Issue 1 of The Talon.

While the information presented in the graphic was correct, The Talon acknowledges that 4 the article and caption did not provide sufficient context.

We would like to clarify that the statistics shown in the graphic do not mean that the AP Physics I classes at Los Altos are taught or designed any worse than the classes at Mountain View.

There are other factors to be taken into account — the demographics of the AP Physics I students at each school are different because the class offerings are different, so to directly compare the two and draw conclusions solely from the graphic would lead to misinterpretations.

The Talon understands the errors that were made, and we apologize for them.

The Talon November 15, 2016

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Election 2016: the aftermath After Donald J. Trump’s unprecedented and potentially disastrous victory on November 8, voting and staying involved at all levels becomes essential for Californians.

201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, CA November 15, 2016 Volume XXXII, Issue 3

Editor-In-Chief Emily Aoki Managing Editors Hanna Khosravi (Print) Jessica King (Print) Spencer Dembner (Web) News Editor Alex Wong Opinions Editor Akhil Jakatdar Features Editor Tinomuda Tugwete In-Depth Editor Miranda Li Arts & Culture Editor Avi Varghese Sports Editor Julia Santos Media Editor Andrew Young Copy/Content Editors Teddy Chmyz, Savita Govind Business Managers Cameron Avery, Dominick Lanni Senior Writers Anisha Desai, Rachel Lu, Booker Martin, Michael Sieffert

O

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS USER GAGE SKIDMORE

n January 20, Barack mistakes. Electing him to the highest Obama will leave office. office in the land was an enormous, His successor for the catastrophic, unprecedented error. next four years, the man who will This result is especially frustrating for become the 45th President of the Californians, who justifiably feel that United States, is Donald J. Trump. their vote doesn’t count in presidential After making his money in real es- elections. This election was decided in tate and his name on reality TV, states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania Donald Trump as a presidential and Michigan. Reliably Democratic, contender was hard to believe, and California could hardly have changed Secretary Hillary Clinton’s victory the outcome. Since delegates in the seemed assured. But thanks to un- Electoral College are winner-take-all expected turnout by state, neither canfrom white voters, didate bothered to seTrump seems to riously campaign here. have done the un- Electing [Donald If the election had thinkable. been decided by a naTrump] to the highR e g a r d l e s s est office in the land tional popular vote, of how he won, which is fairer, simTrump’s victory was an enormous, pler and avoids givposes a massive catastrophic, unprecing swing-state votthreat to minori- edented error. ers significantly more ties and world seimportance than curity. Working those in California or with a Republican-controlled Con- Texas, Clinton would have won the gress, Trump threatens to reverse prog- presidency. Unfortunately it wasn’t, ress on issues ranging from healthcare and she didn’t. to the environment, spark a new wave But regardless of who decided the of mass deportations and tarnish U.S. presidential election, Californians standing with allies in every part of the had a lot to vote on. This year, votworld. His Supreme Court picks could ers in California legalized marijuana, reverse progressive decisions on issues kept the death penalty, taxed cigarettes like abortion and marriage equality. and elected the first Indian-American Trump’s personal conduct — he ad- United States senator in history. At the mitted on tape to groping women and local level, numerous ballot measures faces at least 11 sexual assault allega- ruled on issues from rent control to tions — is bad news for both the presi- school funding. If you think you have dency and America’s chances of com- nothing to vote on, think again. bating sexual assault. With his erratic Especially in the era of Trump, evtemperament, business ties to Russia ery Californian’s participation in our and political inexperience, Trump state’s democracy is critical. Already stands to make a number of costly a leader on environmental issues,

California’s emissions rules will be for everyone, you have an obligation to even more critical if Trump calls off get involved.

Environmental Protection Agency It’s also worth remembering that action on climate change. And if the not all politics happens in the ballot Affordable Care Act is repealed, Cal- box — protests, petitions and moveifornia could follow ments can be Massachusetts in esjust as importablishing a state systant. Even now tem similar to the na- It’s also worth rethat the federal tional exchange that government has membering that not currently exists. fallen into the Regardless of what all politics happens wrong hands, the Trump does, Califor- in the ballot box — next four years nia’s state measures protests, petitions and can still be an ophave the potential to movements can be just portunity to orspur progress across ganize at every the country. Legalizing as important. Even now level and build marijuana with Propo- that the federal governsupport for the sition 64 makes Califor- ment has fallen into issues that matnia a national leader in the wrong hands, the ter to everyone. reforming drug policy.

As the nation next four years can still prepares If legalization succeeds for at in the most populated be an opportunity to least four years state in the union, other organize at every level under President states may watch the re- and build support for Trump as well as a sults and follow suit.

Republican-conthe issues that matter And when voters trolled House and don’t show up, the re- to everyone.

Supreme Court, sults can be disastrous. it’s easy to feel In 2008, low turnout allowed gay disempowered. Thanks to the choicmarriage opponents to pass Propo- es of voters in other parts of the counsition 8 53 to 47 percent, delaying try, California is stuck with the conmarriage equality for five years and sequences of electing a man woefully tarnishing the state’s reputation for unprepared for the office. But that only respecting LGBTQ+ individuals. It’s makes engagement more important. a sobering reminder of the need to So vote. Protest. Petition. Orgaget involved. nize. Whether it’s through decidEven in the races that get the least at- ing local races, pushing for progrestention — city councils, school boards sive state policies or joining national and bond measures — a lot is at stake. movements to demand change, it’s If you care which classes get funding or always vital to be involved in the prowhether the city you live in is affordable cess. Especially today.

Staff Writers Ross Avery, Maddie Chu, Priya Dixit, Haley Ecker, Nathan Godderis, Brian Huebner, Sana Khader, Yalda Khodadad, Emma Kwan, Avery Luke, Alex Luna, Emily Meza-Perez, Adrienne Mitchel, Javin Pombra, Jaclyn Saik, Yolanda Spura, Emma Van Geuns, Danny Vesurai, Madison Woo, Justin Yu Photographers Emily Aronovitz, Francesca Fallow, Katie Klein, Natalie Munguia, Kunal Pandit, Thara Salim, Kimia Shahidi, Yolanda Spura Graphic Artists Ashley Cai, Carissa Lee, Anne Schill Videographers Arjin Unlu, Bobak Afshari, Britt deVisser, Danny Nguyen 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 Cameron Avery, Teddy Chmyz, Spencer Dembner, Sana Khader, Hanna Khosravi, Michael Sieffert and Andrew Young.

ADVERTISE & SUBSCRIBE Send advertisement and subscription inquiries to Cameron Avery and Dominick Lanni at business@lahstalon.org.

Talon Supporters Honorary Pulitzers

THUMBS UP to Mrs. Satterwhite’s post-election PA announcement Thumbs up to Principal Wynne Satterwhite for taking to the PA on Wednesday, November 9 following a contentious election night and unexpected Donald J. Trump triumph. We were glad to hear Mrs. Satterwhite’s emphasis on the importance of unity in this time of political discord in our nation. Now more than ever, we must be reminded that we are stronger together, and no matter how we may feel about last week’s results, we must move forward. Furthermore, we appreciate the support offered to students who felt overwhelmed by what was a historically surprising presidential election.

Kazuo Aoki, Aloma Avery, Perry Dembner, Vaishali and Sanjay Dixit, Kendall Goto, Fred and Flora Khosravi, Andi Lou, Chung and Janice Park, The Sullivan Family

Silver Supporters Wendy Aoki, Zhuang Qi Dai, Derek Hua, Shawn Hui, Vicente Luna, The Martin Family, Jasmeen Pombra

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The Talon November 15, 2016

Read more opinions articles at lahstalon.org/category/opinions

Los Altos should abandon the AP program ALEX WONG News Editor

The MVLA school district has been a devout follower of the AP system since its inception. In 1971, the district offered four AP courses. Today, the district offers 31 of the 35 courses created by College Board. AP enrollment is on the uptick, in alignment with the MVLA School Board’s efforts, and last year, 83 percent of the 3177 AP exams taken at MVLA achieved at least a passing score.

School board discussions focus on increasing AP access to all demographics and getting rid of any subthree scores, and the focus on AP has been a driving factor in many of the administration’s actions. High AP enrollment and achievement plays a key role in determining different public school rankings, specifically Newsweek’s yearly public school rankings, in which AP enrollment makes up 17.5 percent of the weighting scheme.

Yet while the district champions AP achievement as the pinnacle of academic success, there’s increasing dialogue centered around freshman college readiness, and specifically, the lack thereof. AP enrollment has been increasing nationwide, yet recent 12th grade assessments done by the National Assessment of Educational Progress show decreases in both reading and math preparedness.

Pushing away from decades-worth of AP-centric focus isn’t easy, but for schools with the resources like MVLA, it’s necessary. The AP curriculum forces teachers to teach to the test, and they limit teachers’ ability to create meaningful content in favor of compressed schedules short on time and fueled by a single assessment. When asking how high schools should best prepare students for college and beyond, the AP program fails to meet the necessary criteria.

Abolishing APs wouldn’t mean rid- the restraints of the AP. The end result ding the school of rigorous courses, brought a pivot toward project-based but rather replacing them with an- learning models: the curriculum for other set of the same subjects now ti- US History Honors became comtled as Honors courses. These courses pletely project-based, and Physics C would be of similar difficulty, teach- turned into an Engineering & Tech ing the same subject, but without the Honors class that contained similar AP label. concepts but applied them to an enIn 2011, Crystal Springs Uplands gineering background.

School in Hillsborough decided to But these hands-on approaches to take this route when several teachers education simply can’t happen with approached administration to ask if the AP test looming overhead. The they could deviate from prescribed exam forces teachers to finish course AP curriculum. Over the course of the material before AP test dates in early 2010-2011 school year, the teachers led May, emphasizing detailed memowhat Assistant Head of School Chris- rization. Moreover, teachers lose a ty Dillon called a precious two-week grassroots movechunk of time for ment to rethink the teaching, and even The AP curriculum AP program. more for curricula Over the course forces teachers to that spend large of the year, the teach to the test, portions of the team of academic spring semester and they limit teachdepartment heads solely reviewing for convened by Dillon ers’ ability to create the AP. found that, yes, the meaningful content in Without the AP, AP course system favor of compressed Dillon noted that restrained teachers the rigor of classes schedules short on from performing did not drop. Stuat their best to pre- time and fueled by a dents faced equal, pare students for single assessment. if not greater, chalthe future. lenges in Honors “All courses… courses, whose should reflect the mission of your diminished focus on content and school, and prepare this generation memorization also increased focus of students for college and beyond,” on students’ analytical skills.

Dillon said. “Does the AP program The shift in attention is the next achieve one or both of these goals? In step in modernizing education, and the end, we decided that it does not. it’s what new assessments like the We realized that in the hands of our SBAC and new SAT try to prioritize. talented teachers with deep knowl- With all course subject material availedge and passion for their discipline, able readily online, students need we could do much much better.” to learn to synthesize and analyze The following year, all AP courses unfamiliar information, and teachat Crystal Springs were replaced ers ought to abandon the lectern for with Honors/Advanced Topics (AT) more discussions and projects. courses with the same teachers and Evidence shows that project-based subjects, although students could still learning improves students’ abilities register for AP tests of their choice. to answer open-ended questions. In a Over the summer, teachers at Crys- study conducted by professors Fengtal Springs began to think about de- tian He and Jiqin Lian at the Third signing their optimal class without Military Medical University, students

ANNE SCHILL

who were taught biochemistry on a lecture-based learning program scored an average of 60.75 percent on their short-essay examination, while students taught under the projectbased learning program scored a much higher 80.5 percent. Furthermore, studies have shown that project-based learning increases student engagement and motivation.

While courses will still cover content, teachers will also have the opportunity to dive deeper into chosen topics without worrying about having to cover an expansive content base. Evidence suggests that going for depth over breadth of information provides more benefits for students. A study of 8,310 students conducted by associate professor Tai at the University of Virginia found that mastering a particular topic in a subject impacted students twice as much as covering every major topic in that subject.

In terms of college-readiness, Dillon reported many students complained that Crystal Spring’s previous AP program didn’t prepare them for their college courses. The main issue, coming from the students, was that they didn’t know how to apply the content they were learning to college classrooms’ focus on real world applications.

“The teacher discovered he wasn't teaching students to think like scientists because we taught sort of the canned labs and terms that kids memorized,” Dillon said. “These kids head off to college, and the college professors are talking about real world problems that scientists are trying to solve. Kids came back and said we weren’t giving them the preparation for that.”

Today, Crystal Springs holds the 21st spot on Niche’s “2016 Best Private High Schools in America,” a significant increase from its 78th spot in 2012. Worries over college acceptance rates and college credit never precipitated into reality; college admission officers recognized Honors courses for their challenging coursework just as much as any AP tests, and students still took their favored AP tests.

Abandoning the AP system requires faith in the commitment of our teachers and the support of the community, but it can be done. If the district establishes a rigorous set of criteria that enforces critical thinking and creativity in the classroom, the implementation of a new Honors-only course system would provide the necessary skills for college and beyond.

Post-election thoughts: America, we messed up And to those third-party voters and those who decided on protest ballots: shame on you. The phrase “every vote matters” should ring loud now, especially considering that many of the states that deAmerica, we messed up.

On Tuesday, we picked a man cided the election were won by who has labeled millions as “rap- narrow margins.

Voting for Clinton instead ists and criminals,” a man who has joked about disabilities and a of Johnson or Stein or writing man accused of sexual assault over in Sanders could have stopped Trump’s America the most qualified from becoming recandidate in conality. But for 2016, temporary Ameriit’s too late. can history. Even if We were so close The prospects of Hillary Clinton isn’t to making histhe wall we joked your idea of the perabout a year ago, fect candidate, this tory, yet instead the ban of an entire election negatively we stayed in the religious practice, defined our country. past, allowing the and the rollback By voting for bigotry we worked of the rights of Donald Trump to so hard to leave women, of LGBTQ become president, people and of imwe affirm racism, behind to seep migrants all loom sexism, xenopho- back into a modern in our future. With bia, homophobia election. a Republican-held and bigotry. We Congress and the send a message that can’t be clearer to those Trump has conservative judges that Trump will appoint, checks against his targeted: we don’t care.

JAVIN POMBRA Staff Writer

policies are little to none.

Particularly sad, we were so close to electing the first female president, right after the first African-American commanderin-chief. We were so close to making history, yet instead we stayed in the past, allowing the bigotry we worked so hard to leave behind to seep back into a modern election.

There’s no questioning the fact that we have elected someone who will stomp on the progress of the last eight years. More than that, the stock market’s crash on Election Day was the first of many, as Trump’s uncertain domestic and foreign policy will now be at the forefront of our government. Yes, we made a mistake, but the single silver lining here is that we learn from our mistakes. We now know that anything is possible — Trump is possible — and sitting idly by doesn’t work. So, as we watch Trump break America apart, let’s make sure we bring in someone to put the pieces back together.

INTERESTED IN GUEST-WRITING FOR TALON?

CARISSA LEEE

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

The Talon November 15, 2016

A

s high school students, we often find ourselves pondering the future, regardless of our plans. What colleges will we apply to? Which ones will we be accepted into? How do we stack up against every other applicant in America?

The role of affirmative action in the college application process is extremely influential and can be both beneficial or disadvantageous to us as applicants. It is important to be informed on how certain factors affect our desirability as students and the legitimacy of colleges’ acceptance criteria.

Economic consideration needed for diversity ly, during the application process, applicants’ race is a factor colStaff Writer leges bear in mind while deciding I’m only a sophomore, but the whom to accept. idea has been on my mind since In America, race should not my sister, currently a freshman in be considered as something that college, started thinking about it would give one a higher chance her junior year. The stressful pro- of getting into college, because it cess for her gave me an uncom- does not affect one’s odds in the fortably real idea of how much way that socioeconomic backpressure college applications put ground does. This background, on high school students trying however, should be taken into to present their good account, because a qualities to admisstudent’s social and sion officers. Howeconomic standing ever, it could be said [Socioeconommajorly affects one’s that there is more ic] background, qualifications. to present to these however, should For example, many officers than grades high schools in lowerbe taken into and standardized income neighbortesting scores. If one account, behoods do not offer AP puts aside race and cause a stucourses, while others gender, one factor dent’s social offer a variety. This that should be con- and economic leads to discrepancies sidered by colleges in compared GPAs, should be socioeco- standing majormeaning that when ly affects one’s nomic background. compared, students According to the qualifications. may not weigh up.

Oxford dictionary, Admissions officers affirmative action is should note an appli“favoring those who tend to suffer cant’s high school courses and other from discrimination; positive dis- factors out of their control, such as crimination.” It is often employed the quality of education as a whole. by colleges who are looking to acCertain colleges do make it a cept a more diverse population priority to acknowledge this while into their school, by focusing looking over applications. Stantheir recruitment and acceptance ford, for example, offers tuition efforts on high schools with a scholarships, covering and limitmore diverse population. Similar- ing fees for students whose par-

YALDA KHODADAD

ents make under certain amounts each year. A scholarship based on economic background not only is more understandable usage of affirmative action, but is also more fair, as it is an important aspect of a student’s ability to enter college.

This topic has been heavily debated over recent years. California’s Proposition 209, which, according to Ballotpedia, “prohibit[s] from discriminating on the basis of race, sex or ethnicity,” has been argued against by many schools who feel that they accept too many people of one racial group, and would like to use affirmative action as a means to diversify them. On a broader scale, Initiative 200, which was passed in 1998, prevents employers, admissions officers and contractors from discrimination, based on race, sex or ethnicity.

The concept of affirmative action was obviously developed in order to give a fair chance to people who might not get equal opportunities to other members of society, but it still has a long way to go.

“Positive discrimination” toward members of a certain racial group, or towardspeople of a specific gender, is not the best way to address the problems within the process of college admissions. In order to improve affirmative action, admissions officers should be sure to make it exclusive to applicants’ socioeconomic background to put everyone on a fair playing ground.

ASHLEY CAI

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A process that needs rewriting ADRIENNE MITCHEL Staff Writer

I’m what pop culture likes to call a Whasian, a person who is technically half-white and half-Asian.

Throughout my life I’ve been fortunate to never experience discrimination because of my blend of races, but only recently have I discovered a form of racial discrimination that doesn’t stem from classmates, but from a group of intellectual adults that constitute the college admissions board.

Although college does not translate to a perfect life, there is a high amount of stress among students to attend “top-tier” colleges, and students are willing to go to great lengths to manipulate the application to ensure acceptance.

I was told that in a battlefield of intellectual Asians fighting for the same top colleges, I could apply as “white” and be protected by a shield that covers my Asian side.

Because of race-based affirmative action, there is a heavy pressure exerted on the question of race on college applications. I see this pressure weighing on my brother, a senior currently applying to colleges, because of his multi-racial status.

These recent weeks have made me realize that in two years I will have to apply and determine the answer to a question that may plant or uproot a tree that can branch off to many opportunities. I’m faced with a stark choice between a selection of little bubbles spaced less than an inch apart; a choice that may determine my entire future.

This quandary I face is not unique to me whatsoever. Countless multi-racial students are concealing the Asian aspect of their identity on college applications. Although the proportion of Asian-Americans that meet college admission standards to the total amount of Asian-Americans is exceedingly high, in order to have an equal chance of admission, they must have test scores higher than applicants from other racial backgrounds.

This happens because AsianAmericans are not evaluated as individuals, but are evaluated in comparison to the thousands of other high-achieving Asians.

Affirmative action has been a controversial topic in the United States for decades. Ward Connerly, an anti-affirmative action activist of African, Native American and European descent, believes that affirmative action is a new form of racism. In 1996, he fought for Proposition 209 — a proposition that banned gender and race based affirmative action in California’s public institutions. With over five million votes, Proposition 209 passed. Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona and Oklahoma have also banned af-

firmative action in their public institutions.

America is built on the idea of a meritocracy — the concept that success should be based off of ability. However, when admissions offices look at race, it destroys this fundamental idea. Instead of being accepted for what good qualities applicants have inside themselves, applicants are being turned down because of a born characteristic that they have no control over.

Multi-racial students have undermined and rendered racebased affirmative action useless, as these students have the power to determine what race they put up to the college admissions board and what race to cover in shadow.

Because of this common gamble that many prospective collegestudents face, race-based affirmative action no longer truly helps disadvantaged minorities.

Then why continue to require race on college applications? The Supreme Court ruling Hopwood vs. Texas in 1996 decreed that favoring races because of historical discrimination cannot be a factor in admission decisions, but looking at race to achieve diversity can be a factor. Many maintain that affirmative action ensures diversity on campus, which exposes students to a range of cultures and the unique ideas that come along with those cultures.

But simply having people of different races doesn’t automatically translate into differences of opinions. People who have ancestry from a common continent don’t necessarily have the same opinions or even the same folk culture.

Take me, for example. You could say I come from both Asian and European descent, but that doesn’t mean half of my opinions are like an Asian person’s and half of my opinions are like a white person’s. Because I’m a sixth generation American, I don’t know anything about my heritage, and I’ve never even set foot on the entire continent of Asia. My thoughts, my biases and my prejudices all come from America, not from Asia nor Europe.

Colleges looking to create diversity through race alone is not the smartest choice, as there are many loopholes that come with it. Forcing people to categorize themselves as a particular race only reinforces stereotypes, even though people from a certain ethnic background don’t necessarily have that cultural upbringing.

Colleges should stop looking for diversity through race, as race doesn’t necessarily correlate to culture. Instead, diversity should be maintained by selecting individuals with different and unique interests. Having a variety of personal interests and not just a variety of races on campus ensures that racebased affirmative action’s original intent of diversity is accomplished.

GRAPHICS BY ANNE SCHILL

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The Talon November 15, 2016

Hello! Hola! Привет!

“Gig” Economy drives new working relationships SAVITA GOVIND

Copy/Content Editor

By Michael Sieffert Hello! Hola! Привет!

It is estimated that roughly half of the world’s population is comfortable in at least two languages, while in the United States the percentage of bilinguals hovers between 15 and 20 percent. I won’t begin to go into how we got into this situation, but I have to say, “Come on guys!” There is literally no downside to speaking multiple languages, and I dare say that some of us even enjoy it. Speaking multiple languages is a key that can open new doors, be a major asset in applications for jobs and schools and even just be a fun hobby.

The first step to learning a new language is obviously to choose a language. This is one of the most exciting parts of the process. Everyone picks their language to learn for slightly different reasons. It may seem like there are endless options on which to learn, but here are a few tips.

-Pick a culture that intrigues you. Maybe you have been reading only German literature for years. If so, Guten Tag! -Pick the language your parents grew up speaking.

Many of our parents speak a language other than English.

Learning their native language may be a nice way to connect with them more.

-In the end, the best tip I can give is to pick the language you are most likely to stick with. Take your time and do lots of research.

There are many interesting languages out there, and at least a few that will suit you nicely. Learning a language is a process that takes years, so your choice should better be a good one!

Once you have your language, there are several different paths you can take.

The first thing I can suggest is to see if there are any free online courses. One good resource that I have used in the past is Duolingo, which is an app and a website. It teaches the base of many languages and can be a great starting point.

There are also a couple of other good starting points.

You could try buying elementary textbooks on Amazon or at a bookstore. These books can be a good introduction to a language and can give you a good sense of basic grammar.

You could also try taking a class at a local community college. I have recently started taking courses at De Anza, and I have found it a very educational and positive experience.

Whatever your method, the first stage is often the most exciting one. Good luck on this long and rewarding journey!

From Uber drivers to Doordash waiters, many people have moved away from the traditional eight-hour work day to have more personalized schedules with f lexible hours and salaries.

More than 9 million Americans have shifted to alternate work arrangements from 2005 to 2015, pushing this now-called “gig” economy to become what it is today.

While the rise of companies like Uber and Doordash has been very convenient for their consumers by eliminating the need for expensive taxis and having multiple restaurants at users’ disposal, some workers do not feel the same convenience because of their job classification.

Last April, Uber settled a $100 million lawsuit against drivers who believed they should be categorized as “employees” rather than “independent contractors” as independent contractors are not entitled to benefits stipulated under U.S. labor laws such as Social Security and Medicare.

Despite some workers’ arguments, those who work for companies like Uber should continue to be classified as independent contractors as the value of autonomy and f lexibility is appealing to a majority of workers.

In a press release, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick claimed 90 percent of drivers chose to work for Uber because they valued the

freedom of being independent contractors. According to Kalanick, the company’s growth is partly attributed to the allure of “being your own boss,” Uber now has more than 400,000 drivers in the U.S. alone.

In a survey conducted by Fortune 500, 84 percent of independent contractors preferred to work for themselves. This type of alternative employment, which allows workers to decide their hours and essentially determine their salary, is favorable to workers because it enlarges the area of choice of work experience.

While the lack of benefits and volatility of income can worry workers, more than 80 percent still favor their status as independent workers as seen through Harvard professor Lawrence Katz’s research. The “flexibility of working for themselves” ultimately outweighs other considerations. “[Workers] value their indepen-

dence — the freedom to push a place is constantly changing and button rather than punch a clock,” the paradigm shift from an emKalanick said. ployer-employee relationship to In response to a more open-ended the Uber lawsuit, relationship is inKalanick also cited evitable. We have Uber drivers who Those who work to be able to adapt argued against the for companies to these circumchange of indepen- like Uber should stances. dent contractors to Ultimately, peoemployees as they continue to be ple are drawn to “value their freedom classified as indethe self-determinas independent con- pendent contracing aspect of betractors too much.” ing an independent tors as the value Yes, some workcontractor, and of autonomy and ers do see drawthe opportunity backs to the flexibility is apfor choice is what situation as inde- pealing to a mamakes companies pendent contrac- jority of workers. like Uber so aptors may tend to pealing as workers have lower hourly are able to choose salaries compared to employees the perfect fit for their employwho do the same work. For many ment needs. The traditional companies who use the system of working world is changing, and independent contractors, it can keeping up with those changes feel like workers are exploited. means adjusting to fit newlyBut at the same time, the work- defined working relationships.

ANNE SCHILL

Bring on the construction paper JACLYN SAIK Staff Writer

I took a field trip to Anno Domini, a privately owned art gallery in downtown San Jose that prides itself on featuring self-made artists. The current exhibit, called “The Art of Zines,” features a temporary library of international zines, and they were amazing. I didn’t know what a zine when I walked in, but the gallery owner made sure to clear it up. It seems like the term “zine,” which started catching on back in the 1930s, can actually be used pretty liberally to describe any self-made, self-published, usually self-cir- cake and feminism. There was a culated and non-profit creation, zine about losing a father, and also including websites, blogs and one about losing a hamster. Some papers. But the zines stacked were filled entirely with photoalong the walls of the little art graphs, some were collaged with photocopied magazine gallery (which everycut-outs and scribbled one should go visit, by paint strokes, some were the way) were all bookcarefully hand-drawn. lets. Folded and bound I think “Chatty Boys” featured by their creators, these everyone the lewd comments of tiny books ranged from should the author’s various rothree pages to twenty, mantic partners coupled from the size of a pic- make a against drawings of their ture book to the size zine. hands, and “Dicks in of a quarter, and most History” had a picture of were printed on normal a cartoon Hitler, with an extreme copy paper.

But it was the content of these caricature of his butt-chin (for lack little creations that really captured of a better word) on the cover. No me. There was a zine about little matter what the topic was in this ghost girls running through a for- unbelievably varied collection, est, one about the dangers of plas- each zine was so saturated with the tic bottles, and one about patty author’s touch it felt like flipping

CARISSA LEE

through the inside of their brain.

The most important thing about these zines is the intended audience. Some seem to be created for anyone, some for a specific group, some really just for the artist themselves, but regardless, the zines are always aware they are meant to be read. The artist wants the reader to hold the little book in their hands, flip through the pages and carry it around in their pocket as a tangible piece of their mind.

That’s why I think you should make a zine. I think everyone should make a zine. Our generation is already surrounded by so many different versions of digital personal expression: Instagram, Tumblr, VSCO, and while I agree that they constantly inspire and push the creative com-

munity forward, they also can be restricting. Rarely in our efforts to create an “aesthetic” or “feel” that represents ourselves do we take to paper and glue and actually make something with our hands. I think there is a value to creating something personal and specific to your chosen audience, and wasn’t made by choosing a premade template, reblogging reblogged photos, and filling up all the “enter text here”s.

Zines are old. Vintage, if that makes it seem more attractive, but I’d like to argue timeless. They were always a crucial idea-sharing instrument of various counterculture movements throughout our nation’s history, and right now, I think we should make more. Grab that construction paper, folks.

The Talon November 15, 2016

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Read more features articles at lahstalon.org/category/features/

NYU Abu Dhabi: Shaping Future World Leaders lieve in the school’s mission. In 2016, Abu Dhabi offered admisSenior Writer sion spots to 402 out of 11,000 Staff Writer applicants, with 323 students acSituated in the United Arab cepting their offers.

In terms of financial aid, Abu Emirates on Saadiyat Island, NYU Abu Dhabi is in the midst Dhabi is able to completely fund of a burgeoning cosmopolitan many of their students’ educacity as its curriculum and pro- tion as they are financed by the grams emphasize the idea of a Emirate of Abu Dhabi government. Out of their 1,050 students, globalized culture.

Students who value being around 300 students are fully fiaround others who share their nanced, including costs of travelpassion for becoming global lead- ing abroad for semesters in other ers should consider NYU Abu universities around the globe.

Dhabi because of its carefully se- Abu Dhabi offers both merit lected student body. The immer- scholarships and need-based sive experience of Abu Dhabi best grants to prospective applicants. suits students with aspirations to In order to make the application process completely expand their influfair, admissions are ence worldwide. “need-blind,” meanThe university’s ing that applicants student body cur- Abu Dhabi is rently encompasses the global, melt- are admitted without prior knowledge to 1,050 students of ing pot of kids whether they would 110 different nation- that NYU seeks like financial aid or alities.

Students out and brings not. speak 116 differAbu Dhabi offers ent languages, and in from all over both undergraduate many are bilingual. the world. and graduate majors Ninety-two percent — Counseling in the liberal arts and of students at the Department Coordinator Ryan Carter science areas. Overuniversity speak two all, 22 majors are oflanguages, and 42 fered along with 27 disciplinary percent speak three languages.

Because of a selective applica- concentrations, or courses that are tion process, only 4 percent of outside of a student’s major. As applicants are admitted. As part well as general courses, Abu Dhabi of their admissions process, the also requires students to produce university does not accept stu- a “Capstone Project,” which takes dents solely from their applica- place over their senior year and tion. The initial applicant pool allows them to produce either reis narrowed down, and the re- search or a creative work based on sulting applicants are then flown their area of study.

Counseling Department Coorto the Abu Dhabi campus for a “candidate weekend” where ad- dinator Ryan Carter had the opmissions officers take note of portunity to visit the NYU Abu how the applicants interact with Dhabi campus and witness the others. Acceptance offers are ex- unique atmosphere firsthand.

“They are most interested in tended to students that truly be-

ANISHA DESAI EMMA KWAN

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

NYU Abu Dhabi encourages students to strive to improve the world through global leadership. The university invites students from all over the world for a unique experience among peers of different cultures and embrace diversity. having the right kind of student that fits their mission [when considering applicants],” Carter said.

“They are not hurting for money at that school… It’s a really delicate balance. You can’t throw kids from all over the world into a school and not have problems unless those students are really open to being in a setting where their beliefs and assumptions are challenged every single day.”

Because of Abu Dhabi’s emphasis on creating a global hub, classes at the college tend to be extremely diverse, with students from all over the world.

“Abu Dhabi is this global, melting pot of kids that NYU seeks out and brings in from all over the world,” Carter said. “[At] NYU Abu Dhabi… only one other student [is] the same nationality as you in the entire class. [The experience]

gets you out of your United States centric views on the world because you’re constantly hearing from people from other places.”

One of the key features of the college is that it requires students to travel for two semesters to other colleges, including theoriginal New York campus and NYU Shanghai.

“One of the unique things about studying at NYU Abu Dhabi is that they require you to take coursework outside of Abu Dhabi… but as part of that, you can select to spend up to two semesters in New York or Shanghai or in [another] approved academic environment,” Carter said.

For many students, media portrayal of the Middle East affects their perceptions of the stability and safety in the region. Carter was initially unsure about how Abu Dhabi’s location affected its

safety, but he found the area to be much more globalized and urban than many people assume, as well as more stable and safe than media portrayal.

“There’s a lot of… [misinformed] conceptions that people have about the Middle East… and especially [in Abu Dhabi],” Carter said.

“One of the things that was really cool about going there was [that] it helped dispel some of my misconceptions about the region.”

NYU Abu Dhabi is still growing, with the goal of consistently enrolling 2,200 undergraduate students from their current 1,000.

While the university remains relatively unknown today, its unique global emphasis and diversity allows for graduates to be able to lead on the global stage and adapt to various customs of countries around the world.

Trump’s America stretches empathy to its limits SANA KHADER Staff Writer

I’m in shock.This isn’t the America I believed in growing up as a Muslim woman of color. My dad’s immigration story from India was one of triumph. He taught me about an America that let him work hard and move up the social ladder, an America where it didn’t matter what you believed in or if your skin was brown. Because if it did matter, then how could he have ended up here?

My America has always been one that takes in people who are looking for something better.

My America is a refuge from war zones and dictatorships. But now, it seems that our humanitarian values, everything I thought this country was about, are about to be tossed out the window. Trump has talked of retracting policies that allow undocumented immigrants to stay in this country. He has promised to repeal policies created under the Obama administration, policies that have kept undocumented families together and given hardworking people

the chance that they deserve.

He’s talked of severely limiting the number of refugees entering the country, of building a wall to keep Mexicans from crossing the border, of temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country. It seems that he wants to keep everyone he feels is a potential threat, out.

Most everyone I know is shocked that Trump’s words may become actions. But not everyone knows how it feels to have your entire community labeled as a “threat.” The shock coming from mostly white individuals whose families have lived in this country for generations is based on empathy. It’s based on worry about what could happen to others. They feel for their undocumented friends, their Muslim neighbors. But their empathy has limits, because they have never felt what it’s like to be on the other side.

The reactions of people of minority groups that Trump has attacked over the past few months are different. The result of this election will have tangible, real impacts on them. Trump’s xenophobic, homophobic, seeminglyeverything-phobic ideas are not jokes to laugh at anymore, but

real possibilities that keep me and many others up at night. I’m questioning whether or not I can visit India and be sure that I’ll be allowed to re-enter the United States. I’m glad that I never made the decision to wear the hijab,

because if I had, what would my situation be right now?

My point is not to say that white citizens don’t have the right to react to this election, or that their reactions are invalid. My point is that part of empathy is recognizing that ADVERTISEMENT

it has limits, that walking in someone’s shoes for a mile is not the same as being in their skin for a lifetime, and that a white person can never fully understand the full effect that Donald Trump’s plans have on people of color.

The Talon November 15, 2016

Deprivation in the Silicon Valley: Pa

ALEX WONG, NEWS EDITOR | AKHIL JAKATDAR, OPINIONS EDITOR | TINO TUGWETE, FEATURES EDITOR | PRIYA DIXIT, STAFF WRITER | SANA KHADER, STAFF WRITER | EMILY MEZA-PEREZ, STAFF WRITER | JAVIN POMBRA, STAFF WRITER | DANNY V

Intro

The upcoming holiday season, for many, is about spending quality time with family members and embracing the generous atmosphere of giving for others. In light of this annual boom of generosity as well as ASB’s food drive which started November 14, the issue of hunger in the Bay Area is more pressing than ever. Even for many here, in one of the richest counties in the world, putting food on the table is a constant struggle.

In Santa Clara County, over 44 percent of children and over 12 percent of seniors are affected by hunger annually. Although the county is considered very wealthy on a national standard, one in every four children live below the poverty line. In 2009 alone, over 183.1 mil-

lion meals in Santa Clara County went “missing:” neither the households themselves nor the food assistance programs could provide these meals for families.

Although these numbers seem bleak, there has been much improvement in solving the issue of hunger, with a boost in food program assistance topping 23 percent in growth and the Hunger Index citing a decrease in the number of missing meals by over

4 percent since 2008.

Progress has been made, but there is still much to be done — hunger in the Bay Area is still a very real threat to the lives of thousands of low-income families. The multifaceted issue of hunger begets a diverse range of solutions of which awareness is the first step.

n er 14 o i t u b i r b t s i Novem ally. d m o r o f n thosting a food dgarinviezations individu o i t a n o nated. ASB is be made to or d m o r F money are do ations can also

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Hunger at home

Hunger is too often summarized in a deluge of statistics, but it has very tangible, personal impacts on the lives of those it affects. For a number of students at Los Altos, hunger has forced hastened responsibility and maturity as students not only have to handle the stresses of school and being teenagers, but also worry about where their next meal comes from.

Senior Maria Ortega has had to deal with both these challenges.

Because Maria’s parents have had to work long hours to afford the living cost of Silicon Valley, Maria and her siblings have grown up quicker than others might have to and assumed adult responsibilities very early in their lives.

Four years ago, Maria’s dad lost his job and her stepmother was injured and unable to work. Having enough food in the house became a concern for her family, and they looked to the community and government resources for support.

“We were living off the Woman, Infant, and Children [program] and food stamps, and we’d have to go to our church and they’d give us food,” Maria said. “That felt really shitty, all the time.”

Maria’s circumstances have warranted a heightened respect for her parents and the sacrifices they have made in order to support her and her siblings.

“Our parents would eat less and we would eat more, which felt really bad, because you knew they were hungry and tired but they just didn’t want you to see that,” Maria said.

Though her situation has School solutions improved since then, MaWith ASB’s upcoming Thanksria still needs to support her giving food drive, students are family. She works 40 hours a reminded of the issue of hunger week at In-N-Out, the equivalent at Los Altos. For many students, of five days of full-time employ- hunger is a constant reality, affectment per week, with more long ing almost every aspect of their hours of schoolwork. lives throughout the year.

“I started working during the “There are certain students who summer,” Maria said. “I haven’t really don’t have money to be able been asking my dad for money, to buy breakfast,” English teacher because I don’t want him to feel Jonathan Kwan said. “Some stuthe pressure to buy new things, dents are on free and [price]-remake me happy or make sure I duced lunch... [and] some people have things I need.” don’t eat because they don’t like Maria isn’t the only one who has the food in the cafeteria. So, it’s to take on greater responsibility: kind of a multitude [of issues].”

Maria’s entire family has to bear Hunger manifests itself in a variheavy burdens to get through ety of ways, leaving many students tough times. with a partial or overgeneralized “[In families like ours,] both view of the multifaceted situation. parents have to work 12 hours a “The closer you are to the issue, day and [we] are still not able to the more real understanding you make ends meet,” Maria said. “The have of the issue,” Kwan said. “Yes, older sibling could be 12 and have it’s good to help people who are to pick up and take care of all of hungry by going through your cab[the other children], learn to cook, inets and giving it to an organizaclean — basically learning every- tion. But unless you’ve volunteered thing a mother would have to do.” at a soup kitchen, unless you’ve Senior Jennifer Vieyra faces a personally interacted with somesimilar situation: after her father body who is hungry, [you] do not passed away last year, she imme- really understand the emotional diately started working. Jennifer feeling that that elicits, which can currently works 13 hours every oftentimes lead to misperceptions.” weekend to help lessen the finanThe school does offer a free or cial burden her family faces. Dur- price-reduced lunch program for ing the school week, Jennifer pri- students who qualify under certain oritizes her schoolwork and other federal guidelines based on family responsibiliincome and ties. Jennifer the number of has adapted people in the similarly to household.

Maria, assumFor students Our parents would ing the role like senior eat less and we of a financial Yesenia Gutiwould eat more, provider for errez, this which felt really bad, her family. program probecause you knew Both Maria vides tangible and Jennifer benefits. they were hungry have strug“It defiand tired and they gled with nitely helps just didn’t want you having a sta[that] stuto see that. ble food supdents know ply in their that, ‘Okay, — senior Maria Ortega homes, and I’ll have lunch though there if my parents are resources cannot afford available, it often isn’t enough. it. I can go to the cafeteria and get Now that the girls are over 17 years a meal,” Yesenia said. “The money of age, they are no longer eligible [adds up] if you buy lunch every for some of the government aid single day… I think the fact that they received in the past. they have this program definitely In spite of her family’s difficult helps students that are from lowsituation, Maria is able to main- income families, because there are tain an optimistic outlook. so many stresses and financial situ“[We have] enough money for ations, and the fact that we have the food that we need, enough this program helps out.” food to survive,” Maria said.

The problem remains, however, But mere survival isn’t enough: that many students in need are not our community needs to come aware of available resources, and together to assist families like students who are qualified and Maria and Jennifer’s so that all registered on the free and priceresidents of this area can benefit reduced lunch program may still from Silicon Valley’s prosper- choose not to make use of it. ity. While we look to statistical “Sometimes kids are not taking analyses of hunger in order to advantage of the resources or just quantitatively assess the issue, are used to not eating,” counselor it is important to remember that Jacob Larin said. “I do think there there are real people behind is a serious issue with hunger on these numbers, and the organi- our campus. And that’s a cause of zations who work to combat this concern for me for overall health issue will positively influence the [and stress] on our campus.” lives of countless families.

Students may feel reluctant to

The Talon November 15, 2016

have been critical in alleviating hunger. In 2012, government food stamps under the CalFresh and Women, Infants and Children programs provided almost VESURAI, STAFF WRITER | JUSTIN YU, STAFF WRITER 65 percent, or 100 million, of all free meals in Santa Clara. Second Harvest provided 18 percent of publicize their struggles, which be- the meals, and student meal ascomes a problem when they refuse to sistance programs provided anask for help even when it is available. other 14 percent.

In the Bay Area, Second Har“A lot of people don’t talk about [free and reduced lunch] because vest food goes to over 330 food they feel kind of ashamed, especial- assistance organizations to ly in this area where everyone is so distribute food in local comaffluent,” junior Rashin Sayed said. munities. In Mountain View, “It’s kind of like, ‘Do I really want to programs like the Community Services Agency (CSA) and embarrass myself like that?’”

To help the school allocate its re- Hope’s Corner provide a masources more effectively, counselor jority of these supplies. These Ariel Rojas suggests that students refer programs can fulfill many residents’ food needs, but lack those in need to the administration. of awareness “ S o m e t i m e s, about them students don’t say poses a major anything because problem; many they feel like, ‘My This is everybody’s people don’t friend wouldn’t problem. More know where to want me to,’” go when they than anything, it’s Rojas said. “But need help or if you see your about creating a resources. friend in trouble, community where “There’s alyou need to try we can all help ways going to to figure out how each other out. be those people to do something who fall through without hurting — counselor Ariel Rojas the cracks and them or without don’t hear about making them us,” Executive embarrassed. We Director of CSA want people to help us and to have a [community] Tom Myers said. “There are kids at your school who are in need of where people can belong.”

It is imperative that those who service, and their families need need food are aware of and are extra food. We want to be sure to not ashamed to utilize school re- tell them we can help them.”

To combat the lack of awaresources. As a school community, it is important that we acknowl- ness, CSA tries to reach people edge the issues that the school through media and outreach faces. While the school likely programs. On a typical day, CSA does not want to perpetuate stig- distributes food to around 400 mas surrounding hunger, student people from all demographawareness of the issue through ics. Staff and volunteers lay out discussion and interaction is a most of the food, and clients swipe cards in lieu of payment necessary first step.

“This is everybody’s problem,” and identification.

“People have cards with barRojas said. “More than anything, it’s about creating a community where codes and once they swipe them, we can tell [what their needs are], we can all help each other out.” like if they need food for one person or for a family,” Myers said. “If Community efforts a family has kids, they might need When the recession hit in 2008, more protein, or if the client is a the difference between the num- senior, they might have diaber of needed meals and meals that could be provided by food assistance programs increased from 94 million to 148 million.

Since then, the gap has only widened. Even though the amount of meals provided by food assistance more than doubled, Santa Clara County still suffered a 176 million meal deficit in 2013. Students make up a significant portion of this meal deficiency; one-third of children in Santa Clara County struggle with food insecurity. As housing prices and living costs increase, hunger in the Silicon Valley continues to outpace local services’ ability to provide for those in need.

As a result, food assistance organizations and welfare programs

art One

betes, so we’ll [adjust] what food they get.”

For Volunteer Coordinator LaDrea Clark, volunteering is an essential part of keeping CSA running because it means the organization doesn’t have to spend more money paying staff when that money could go to aiding the community.

“If we don’t have volunteers, we have to hire more people, and we’re a non-profit so we don’t have much money to hire people,” Clark said.

“If we’re paying more people, that’s less money for people in the community, so it helps us a lot to have volunteers come and spend their time helping us.”

Clark has worked at CSA for 12 years, and he believes that volunteering is a gratifying experience because it allows people to give back to the community.

“The reason volunteers keep coming back is because they feel like they’ve done something, helped somebody or given somebody a smile,” Clark said. “Being able to help somebody is very rewarding.”

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Resources Free or pricereduced lunch at LAHS

• Forms in administration office on Ms. Hoerni’s desk • Students can recommend families to counselors for school assistance • Includes bus forms and other financial aid

Hope’s Corner

• Food distribution in Mountain View every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

• Go to www.hopes-corner.org for more information

Community Services Agency (CSA)

• Food distribution in Mountain View every weekday; see daily hours at csacares.org/food-nutrition-center • Donations and volunteers welcome

For a more comprehensive list of resources, please visit lahstalon.org/foodresources.

Getting involved To donate, ASB is holding a food drive in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank from Nov. 14 to Dec. 2; monetary and canned food donations are welcome. In addition, both the organizations above accept donations and volunteers.

The topic of hunger is the first in a two-part series on deprivation in the Silicon Valley. Next issue, The Talon will be covering the issue of homelessness.

PHOTOS BY EMILY ARONOVITZ AND DANNY VESURAI

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The Talon November 15, 2016

The Balancing Act of Art and STEM

DOMINICK LANNI Business Manager

EMMA VAN GEUNS Staff Writer

ANNE SCHILL Graphic Artist

I

n the tight knit community of the Silicon Valley, billion dollar companies like Google and Apple reign, forging the STEM industry as we see it in our modern world, pushing us toward a revolutionary future. There are few careers outside of the STEM umbrella that schools and families around the Bay Area support with the same fervor. Those who show interest in the arts are told that they will be committing economic suicide.

Maybe visit New York for its developed art community or fly down south to LA’s infamous film hub, but Los Altos is the breeding ground for technology. This ideology is reflected through the school system, which features a wide range of science and math classes at various levels of difficulty and for a variety of interests, as well as numerous STEM related extracurriculars. The same scholarly attention is not allocated to artists in this community. How does this bias affect their livelihood, as well as that of artistic students that want to push against the STEM norm?

Teacher Perspective

fun, but I need to pick something or artistic students in the Sili- that’s an actual field that my parents con Valley, it is rare to find an [will] be happy about,” Moran said. adult who actively pursues a career Like many before her, she took on a in the arts except through art teach- STEM major out of a feeling of necesers in their schools. These art sity, studying occupational therapy teachers are responsible at San Jose State. But in the back of for promoting their her mind, her love for theatre nagged field and proving and begged for attention. the equal value of “I thought I loved the sciences,” their career in a Moran said. “But it was nothing like largely biased the draw of the collaboration of puteducational sys- ting on a production. Bringing sometem. But in areas thing to life and sharing the human like these, it can experience with an audience of hunbe hard to feel dreds… [is] just what I’m drawn to.” their job is viewed She transferred to San Diego State as equally valuable to major in theater and minor in as that of their English.

Since techy coworkthen, Moran says ers. Furthermore, she hasn’t regretcommunicating If we want to ted her decision to students that keep this art to leave STEM bethere is a world hind once. outside this culture alive, “I can see where bubble can be [we’ve] got to it could [have difficult. been] a challenge, find ways to A c t i n g incorporate but I don’t regret teacher it,” Moran said. “I STEM. Nancy would hope that — acting teacher Moran, none of the young Nancy Moran a Bay adults who pursue A r e a it regret it.” resident for deSimilarly, art teacher Christine An cades, has seen has a strong affinity toward the arts firsthand the that has driven her in a pursuit of her climb of STEM passions. Throughout high school, in our society there was never any other option in and the result- An’s mind but to do something reing discredit lated to the arts. of the arts.

“I may be a different case because When she I always knew that I would be doa t t e n d e d ing something relating to art, so it Santa Te- wasn’t really a huge debate with me,” resa High An said. “I can express pretty much School in anything [with drawing]. It could be San Jose, something I could never ever express she dis- through words to other people, but I covered a could do it through visual form. For passion for me that’s very satisfying.” theatre. But These two women both ended up similarly to at Los Altos for the same reason: to Silicon Val- cultivate the passion they share with ley students future generations of students that today, she will one day control the importance of felt that she arts in our society. But what they have could never come to find is that for many teenagpursue a ca- ers, pursuing an arts career has been reer which written off as a childhood dream. tradition“I think [there is] a stigma, because ally does there’s always this sense of ‘What are not earn you going to do here?’ especially in as much the Silicon Valley,” Moran said. “Ten as a career years ago, there were a lot more [stumore close- dents] going straight into UCLA’s ly related film school and NYU’s theatre proto STEM duction courses. Now it’s more they might. dabble in it in college or they may mi“When it nor in it, but they’re backing themcame time selves up with something that’s a scito go to col- ence or a math... If we want to keep lege, it was this art culture alive, [we’ve] got to like, okay, find ways to incorporate STEM.” [theatre’s] As teachers in a new era, Moran and An recognize that STEM is an essential part of our future. They encourage students who feel that they cannot pick one or the other to cater the possibility that, perhaps, they do not need to exist independently

F

from one another.

STEM and the arts have grown to be increasingly more intertwined, like design tying closely to marketing and business, or theatre experience leading to careers as communication officials for tech companies. The term STEAM has started circulating, adding an A for arts to the infamous acronym. And well-known colleges — such as Rochester Institute of Technology and MIT — have started adapting their majors to include both branches.

“More and more schools are coming up with these programs where you do both art and business, or art and technology,” An said. “And it is getting popular, so it’s just a matter of looking for schools that have them. I would say don’t shy away from it just because of this quote unquote social stigma that all art majors are going to be starving artists because things are changing quickly… so don’t be afraid to go into a field that you like.”

ent areas. Product design, for example, would suit people who are both creative and analytical.”

Unfazed by the unsuccessful and unwealthy stereotype around people who major in the arts, Jenny is confident that if she has a passion and love for the arts, she can find success in it.

“There’s the common misconception that creative [and] performing arts don’t lead to profitable jobs, Jenny said. “[They are] ‘starving artists’ if you will. But I think that if you love art, and have a more artistic mind, you should go for it.”

Now that it is college season for seniors, Jenny plans on applying to multiple art schools and colleges with developed art programs to launch her career.

Similarly to Jenny, Jackie is not put off by the stigma surrounding artists and has been pursuing her singing career since she was a child.

As a member of Mainstreet Singers, Student Perspective singing has become her life; spending hours practicing at school and s a direct consequence of ris- at her home studio. She also uses ing STEM importance in the her passion for singing to forge a Bay Area, the popularity of careers connection with her Latin Amerirelating to arts has can heritage. been declining. Recent “I’ve done Latino studies have shown Student Union perthat the percentages There really formances and have of students earning isn’t one right been a part of Bella degrees in arts fields Voce for a while now,” way to create are lower than they’ve Jackie said. “It’s one of been in previous years. art. [It] can be the best feelings doBut in spite of the applied in many ing something that dwindling popularity different areas. you love while also beof arts, there are still Product design, ing connected to your select students that family and culture.” want to go pursue the for example, Maintaining a strong arts. Seniors Jenny would suit connection with her Huang and Jackie Lo- people who are culture isn’t the only pez may have grown up both creative reason why Jackie has in the STEM oriented pursued a career in and analytical.

Silicon Valley, but have music. She uses her — senior Jenny Huang chosen to diverge from music as an outlet to the common path and deal with past experipursue their preferred subsect of the ences. One of the biggest moments art industry. in her singing career was when she A skilled illustrator and painter performed an original song at the in a variety of styles, Jenny is a fine talent show. artist to her core. She is currently “Last year at the talent show I sang enrolled in AP Studio Art, but art my original song ‘Over Now,’” Jackie has been extremely important in said. “It was amazing to see everyher life since her youth. one really into the song because of “Art has been a part of me my how emotional it is and how much whole life,” Jenny said. “It’s moti- time I put into it.” vated me to work hard for what I Jackie also doesn’t see the need love, and it’s helped me realize the to separate STEM and the arts from importance of individuality. I draw each other and likes to take a techevery single day, and it’s helped me nical approach to making music. create good habits, [translating] She likes to produce her own instruinto my day-to-day life.” mentals and edit her own songs.

Despite her passion for art, she “I like to combine both STEM also appreciates STEM and how and music so I can get a song that it can help contribute to her art. has both creative music but also In fact, she doesn’t think some- technically sound,” Jackie said “I’ve one has to choose between the made songs that are completely inarts or STEM, but can combine strumental and took hours upon the two fields. hours to edit. If I didn’t have a good “There really isn’t one right understanding of technology and way to create art,” Jenny said. how to use it, I wouldn’t be as good “[It] can be applied in many dif- of an artist.” ferent ways and in many differ-

A

The Talon November 15, 2016

The Real World is Scary

Acapella club offers environment for all singers MADISON WOO Staff Writer

By Jaclyn Saik

How to navigate social media during this shaky time.

These are shaky times. I’m not going to go into election results analysis or personal political views or ideologies right now, but I can tell just by walking through campus the morning of November 9 that an odd fog of mixed emotions and realized opinions has settled upon Los Altos.

According to CNN, over 115 million people discussed the election on Facebook, and more than 75 million electionrelated tweets were sent during election day. And in order to navigate this massive influx of opinions, we need to understand the proper ways to use social media to our greatest advantage. Good thing I made an extremely serious list of Do’s and Don’ts for post-election social media use.

-DON’T shy away from overusing a joke. Posting a picture of the Canadian immigration website is not just hilarious: now you can match everyone else in your feed!

-DON’T be afraid to use the “anger” reaction to step up your liking game on Facebook. Together, America, we can bring about social change by filling the world with tiny pissed-off faces.

-DO take the moral high ground and use clever nicknames for Trump. Like CheetoJesus. Classic.

-DO get into a heated fight argument on Instagram, preferably with someone you won’t see in class tomorrow. Make sure to immediately call out their lack of evidence, fixate your argument on their typos and if you have time, insult some part of their profile regardless of its relevance. Get your friends involved in the action too.

-DO continue to popularize the hashtag #calexit on Twitter.

It’s exciting to be part of a state threatening succession like a teenager threatening to run away from home. It’s the just right amount of harsh.

-DO make sure to plaster your feelings all over every social media account you own, even if you are followed by mostly the same people on each one. Sometimes, I don’t fully understand the depth of so-and-so’s disappointment in America until I’ve seen their Snapchat story, Facebook status and private Instagram.

But I will admit, in the midst of all the crying selfies, ironic geofilter usage, hyperactive newsfeeds and overall noise across the internet, I am grateful that at least we have the freedom to contribute to it. We still have our voices, no matter how obnoxious. #trendypoliticalmovement.

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In recent years, the style of acapella or singing without instrumental accompaniment has reached new heights and become increasingly popular. The entertainment industry has helped audiences become more aware of the re-emerging genre of music, with the movie “Pitch Perfect” and the acapella group “Pentatonix” furthering the popularity of this unorthodox instrumentation. Students at Los Altos have been experimenting with acapella starting this year as they make it their own in room 405.

The club was started by sophomore Shawn Rose Ridgeway who was inspired to create an acapella club based on her passion for music. Shawn currently plays the flute and participated in her school choir in elementary, middle and briefly in high school.

“I’ve always wanted to start an acapella club,” Shawn said. “I know the teacher sponsor Ms. Aguirre was in an acapella club in college so we came together to make the club a reality.”

Running such a high-maintenance club requires a huge amount of effort. Sophomores Sarah Bodmer, Brooke Bettinger and Camille Thrall all help run the club with Shawn. All four students were chosen to be officers in the club based on their shared enthusiasm for music.

“Shawn was making the club, and

she asked me if I would help her run it with her, so I said I would definitely help because I thought it would be very exciting,” Camille said. “I love to sing and play instruments so I think my experience helps. I’m part of concert choir, Chorale and Bella Voce here on school campus.”

Club advisor and English teacher Bianca Aguirre also has past experience with singing. Her singing career first started in the school choir in fourth grade which led her to join an acapella club at both Stanford and Oxford University.

“The students knew I had a past experience in singing and so they came to me with the club idea,” Aguirre said. “I think that it’s just a great space for them to hang out and to sing altogether. Singing is a great de-stressor and the club doesn’t have a lot of extra time commitment so it’s fairly relaxed.”

The acapella club meets on Wednesday at lunch in room 405 and is open to all students who are interested in music or want to try the rising style of acapella. The club is centered around having an interest in singing or acapella with an emphasis on how skill is not a factor in whether or not you can join.

“You don’t have to be good at singing to join,” Sarah said. “You just have to have a passion for it. The whole point of coming to the club is to learn.”

The club consists of about twelve members and is aimed at those who enjoy singing for fun to create a more relaxed option for students

YOLANDA SPURA

Members of the Acapella Club sing “Royals,” by Lorde. The Acapella Club was started by sophomore Shawn Rose Ridgeway this year to create a free space for singers of all levels to explore their abilities. who do not take choir.

“It was recommended by Shawn that I actually join because I like to listen to music,” club member Nicole Nguyen said “I have always enjoyed singing and I especially like how we can sing all of lunch. The club is really fun and a good de-stressor.”

The environment of the club can be described as “cozy” with an emphasis on making the club a safe, no judgement zone. To achieve a more relaxed singing group, the students are split into different singing groups depending on their vocal range and what they are most comfortable with.

“Before we sing, we divide up into altos and sopranos, “ Brooke said.

“It’s kind of confusing because a lot of the kids make their best guess but we just start there. We also have a beat boxer which is really cool.”

The group is currently working on a mashup between “Just a Dream” by Nelly and “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars from the movie “Pitch Perfect.” The goal is to perform their songs at the diversity assembly or possibly the school’s talent show.

“Our club is more of just for fun instead of an actual class,” Shawn said. “We hope to continue the club next year because we’re actually getting good. I really would like perform in competitions in the future.”

Jordan Rosenberg: from actress to playwright was a literary agent who also writes some children’s books,” Jordan said. “The book’s very Since the age of eight, theater close to my heart because there’s has played a significant role in a character named Jordan and the life of senior Jordan Rosen- characters named after all my berg. After focusing on acting friends… I also really like the for eight years, Jordan began message about being yourself to explore her interest in play- and not trying to act according writing when she got the idea to to social norms.”

In order to actually write the write a play using her previous play, Jordan obtained the rights experiences as an actor.

“I thought a lot about my per- to adapt the book and then talksonal experiences performing… ed to the director of PYT to see and I wanted to pull together if it was possible for her to write what has led to some of my best a play for the program.

“The executive director of PYT experiences in Stories on Stage wasn’t sure if she’d (SOS) and put them let me [write a play] into one show so since they’ve never that the next generhad a student write ation of SOS-ers can I wanted to pull a script before, and have those experi- together what they weren’t confiences too,” Jordan has led to some dent this was somesaid. of my best thing they would alRecently, she low,” Jordan said. “I adapted the book experiances worked with her on “Royal Princess in Stories and Academy” by Laura Stage (SOS) and writing a few sample scenes to show her Joy Rennert and beput them into my style and my vicame the first stusion for the show… dent to have a play one show and in March or shown at Penin— senior Joran Rosenberg April I got the ofsula Youth Theater ficial okay. I wrote (PYT). The play was the rest of the script shown at PYT on Friday, November 4 and Satur- mostly over summer.”

Because the book is narrated day, November 5.

Jordan’s idea to write a play in first person from a character initially developed last De- named Emma, a large obstacle cember when she chose “Royal Jordan faced while playwriting Princess Academy” as the book was distributing the dialogue to adapt. Choosing this partic- evenly among the actors.

“One problem I faced was that ular book to adapt made sense because she knows the author since Emma narrates the book, personally; the characters in 90 percent of the lines were Emthe book are based off of Jordan ma’s at the beginning,” Jordan and her friends when they were said. “The other actors would say a few things here and there younger.

“When I was little I had this and that wasn’t working, so I group of friends and close fam- went through and figured out ily friends, and one of the moms which lines could be other peo-

DANNY VESURAI Staff Writer

MICHAEL SIEFFERT

Senior Jordan Rosenberg (top row, second from the left) poses with the cast of “Royal Princess Academy” after its last showing at the on Saturday, November 5. Jordan adapted the play from the book with the same title by Laura Joy Rennert. ple’s and what Emma could react to rather than just narrating to make [the show] a better experience for the actors in the show.”

While there may have been obstacles, Jordan found the process worthwhile because it allowed her to give back to the community that had already given her so much. A major motivator for Jordan throughout the playwriting process was her desire to use her experience as an actor to create a show that would be interesting for both the audience and the actors. She sees playwriting as something not just for the audience but also for each actor.

“People might not realize that I was really focusing on writing [the play] for the actors,” Jordan said. “Making sure every actor, no matter their character, had

an engaging experience was really important to me. I thought of a few different ways [actors could develop] their characters because that’s what has made theater a really great experience for me, and I wanted other people to have that too.”

Although Jordan doesn’t consider playwriting as a professional interest, she’s realized that she might be more interested in playwriting projects in the future.

“Playwriting was a way to expand on my theater passion in [PYT], and I had so much fun with this project that I can see myself trying my hand at a few more shows in the future or developing this interest into something different down the road,” Jordan said.

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The Talon November 15, 2016

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

How technology hurts horror MADDIE CHU YOLANDA SPURA Staff Writers

The earliest movies were grainy, black and white and under a minute long. As film became less of a novelty and evolved into a full-scale industry, movies began to incorporate the usage of more advanced technologies such as rotating cameras, special effects, animation, color and sound. Horror as a genre began with short black and white movies that introduced supernatural elements but were not ultimately intended to be scary. However, as the genre progressed, an increasing attempt was made to unsettle audiences with the help of new technologies. The increased use of technology to create special effects has spurred the evolution of the horror genre into the jump scare and gore-ridden movies we see today.

The early 1900s saw the production of some of the most famous horror movies to this date, including “Dracula,” “Nosferatu,” “Frankenstein” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” These movies, many of them silent and in black and white, are still considered iconic today despite their lack of modern technology.

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is an example of a movie during this time period that worked within the limitations of early technology to create an effective horror movie. Produced in the 1920s, the movie featured the story of a German doctor who uses a somnambulist to commit a series of murders. The film, while not scary by modern standards, communicates a complicated plot through the use of

practical effects such as handpainted as computer-generated imagsets and costume make-up. Still, ery and post-production editdue to the movie’s inability to utilize ing, filmmakers are able to make sound and realistic scenery, it fails virtually any scenario to come to assert a strong emotional pull on to life. The availability of such viewers’ emotions. technology seems to have had a Since “Dr. Caligari,” larger budgets large impact on the horror genre, and the development of special ef- as many recent movies seem to fects, along with improved camera have become less plot-driven technology and editing software in and more about generating visthe 1980s and 1990s, ceral reactions. As have allowed movies to the potential to raise use technology to ena movie’s scare factor hance their storylines. has increased, so has When we use Jonathan Demme’s special effects the industry’s fixa1991 film “The Silence tion with using spefor their own of the Lambs” effeccial effects to create tively uses special ef- sake, we lose the ultimate horror fects to strengthen focus on the experience. its plot without over- storytelling that “Ouija: The Origin whelming the audiof Evil,” came into themakes for great aters this October. The ence. The character-dependent and films. movie, heavily hyped plot-driven movie feaand marketed before tures a young detective on the hunt its release, was part of a series of for an elusive serial killer. The movie movies that feature the Ouija board, follows young FBI student Clarice which is said to be able to summon Starling, who must use her fragile spirits. The first half of the movie relationship with brilliant psycho- progressed slowly, building a plotline path Dr. Hannibal Lecter in order revolving around a single mother to obtain information to find an elu- and her two daughters, one of whom sive serial killer. Special effects are becomes possessed and evolves into utilized, but they seem to add to the a medium for the spirit’s demonic plot and enhance the movie rather antics. However, the plot quickly than serve to simply scare the audi- devolved in the second half of the ence. “Silence of the Lambs” seems movie, as producers piled on special more like a psychological thriller effect after special effect in an effort and less like the typical horror mov- to raise its “scare factor.” The exploiies that are marketed today, which tation of CGI effects and jump scares, often feature supernatural elements while exciting, produced a sense of and are riddled with jump scares dissatisfaction among viewers who and gory images. were left to ponder an ending that Through more recent develop- lacked an adequate resolution. ments in film technology such The evolution of horror mov-

ies produced an onslaught of smoother and more well-constructed executions, technological effects proving to be a major proponent in the success of the genre.

The early generations of horror depended upon practical effects to develop an original and atmospherically tense movie, in which cheesy effects are often seen as laughable but lovable. Despite the undeniable charm of practical effects, recent technological advancements have descended upon the masses, garnering a well-received response to impressive animation in the digital age.

When used purposefully and in conjunction with practical effects, special effects can create the ultimate horror experience. However, the ability to use powerful, advanced technology prompts filmmakers to maximize its benefits, resulting in an exciting, but overdone and ineffective film.

Despite the multifaceted ad-

vancement of the horror genre, one thing has remained a constant in the overall success of the industry — fear. Across multiple generations and subtypes of horror, the distinction between a good and bad movie involves its ability to create fear, a factor that has been continuously developed in acquiring the right methodology of this critical element. Technological advancements have led to entirely new and unconventional realms of horror, bringing a shift towards special effects as a supplement to practical effects.

With any luck, the horror industry will find ways to draw in increasing viewership and carry on older generations’ legacy of practical effects and complex plot development. In the digital age, advanced t e c h nology is welcomed and necANNE SCHILL essary for growth — but, the overuse and exploitation of such capabilities presents a precarious balancing act one must engage in for success.

“You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame You may be living in another country under another name But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are You’re gonna have to serve somebody” On October 13, 2016, legendary American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his work as an acclaimed lyricist, poet, and pioneer in songwriting.

Follow the link to listen to our podcast on Bob Dylan’s esteemed career as a musician, writer and artist, and to learn where to begin listening to his vast discography.

Go to

lahstalon.org/bobdylan2016 or use this QR code

A R T S & C U LT U R E

The Talon November 15, 2016

The arts scene at Red Rock Within Red Rock’s warm ruby walls, productivity and coffee are accompanied by music and burbling chitchat. Perched humbly on a bustling corner of Castro Street in downtown Mountain View, Red Rock Cafe is a gateway to far more than freshly brewed coffee. The cafe fosters creativity and expression with its Open Mic Nights every Monday evening, and provides a home for many more special events. Ascend the staircase to the second floor, and you will likely witness inspiring performers, be they slam poets or members of a rock band. The air in Red Rock is filled with the delicious scent of coffee and the motivating energy of each individual in this creative community.

Quiet Supporters Red Rock Coffee is locally famous as a confluence of art, food and music, but the details of its management are less well known: the coffee shop is owned by The Highway Community, a religious organization founded in 2000 with churches in Mountain View, Palo Alto and San Jose.

Though it is primarily a religious

ON THE MIC

15

MIRANDA LI

In-Depth Editor

BOOKER MARTIN Senior Writer

JAVIN POMBRA Staff Writer

KATIE KLEIN Photographer

organization, Highway Community does not intend for Red Rock to be an extension of its church service.

“It’s all technically one organization, but the books are kept completely separate. It’s not like people come and buy coffee and that [money] goes into the church,” Director of Operations and Community Development David Haley said. “Red Rock has its own board of directors…

They’re really the ones that steer the direction for Red Rock. Outside of trying to utilize the space as a gift to the community and a place for people to gather, that’s the end of the formality between Highway and Red Rock.”

Kevin Marks, Creative Art Director of Highway Community, says that Red Rock is not the first of its kind, but it differs in intent from other church-owned public spaces. “[Buying a cafe] wasn’t a new idea, per se, but when most churches [do so] it’s attached to their worship.

We wanted a real cafe that was for the community, in the community.

That’s how the idea came about,” Marks said. “We looked for about a

year at different spaces [all while] we were right above Red Rock [in our office]. It came up for sale, and to us it was God saying something: the place right beneath us was for sale.”

Highway and Red Rock were indeed destined a fruitful pairing — Highway Community’s ownership has imbued Red Rock with a thriving art culture, through visual art as well as a weekly open mic night.

“One of our strengths has always been music and art,” Marks said. “[We felt] that could be something where we could have a footprint and serve the community without evangelizing, and a cafe where there was music and art and good food and conversation — we thought that would be really interesting.”

Community’s goals as an organization, but rather to give back to the community.

“Open Mic night is ultimately meant to be selfless,” Creative Director of Mountain View Branch and Booking Agent of Red Rock Nikolaus Bartunek said. “Everything needs to be structured around the perspective of, ‘If I were here as a guest, how would I want to be treated and what would I want my experience to be?’...

[We aim] to serve the local music community and give people who want to start a nice springboard.”

And Highway Community has served the community well — bassist Noah Laniakea sees Open Mic as a source of inspiration as well as a platform for their art.

This motivation Red Rock proOpen Mic vides is not as genre-restrictive as it might seem — for Laniakea, The Open Mic night developed though fellow bassists are few and shortly after the Highway Com- far between, Open Mic is a learnmunity purchased Red Rock in ing opportunity nonetheless.

“There's a ton of things I need 2005, when a previous, more nomadic establishment found a per- work on for the bass, and listening manent home at the cafe. Open to other people is the best way to do Mic aims not to further Highway that,” Laniakea said. “The best way to get better at music is to be near good music.” need work on for the bass, and listening to Even Open Mic

“There’s a ton of things I other people is the best way to do that. The best way to get better at music is to be near good music.”

Noah Laniakea With an instrument as tall as he is, Noah Laniakea has assumed the distinctive role of resident bass player at Red Rock Open Mics. While Laniakea only started coming to Red Rock recently, he has been playing the bass since elementary school, majoring in music and forming a band along the way.

Throughout his musical career, Laniakea looks to defy expectations associated with his instrument. “[The bass] is relatively unique and most people who play the it do relatively typical bass-kind of things,” Laniakea said. “But for me, I try to do things that work for the bass, but also push it forward. I try to show the bass is an instrument capable of a lot more than what people think it can do.”

With each of his songs, Laniakea explore themes ranging from death to love, all with dark tones. Still, even with less bright notes, Laniakea still hopes to connect to his audience with his work.

“My songs tend to be more reflective and dark rather than poppy and bright because poppy and bright generally doesn't work well on bass,” Laniakea said. “It's [about] familiarity but a sense of otherness and how those two things can coexist at the same time even though they shouldn't.”

One song of his, “Naranja” or “Orange” in Spanish, is played regularly at Open Mics. The song is one of Laniakea’s favorites and through playing it, he hopes to convey a very specific message.

One song of his, “Naranja” or “Orange” in Spanish, is played regularly at Open Mics. The song is one of Laniakea’s favorites and through playing it, he hopes to convey a very specific message.

“When I was living in Fresno, we had a neighbor who was this really nice old lady and about once a week there was an orange tree out front and she would get oranges [for us],” Laniakea said. “She was up there in age, and one day, she passed away in her sleep and it was sad because even though we didn't talk to her a ton, her gesture was so significant while being relatively miniscule. So I wrote a song that's about death and about how how it happens, and things can keep going, but we should try to acknowledge the good things that go on in our lives while they're there, even when [those] things are seemingly insignificant.”

— Noah Laniakea

Host and singer Jake Wichman was motivated by the event to begin creating more music. Through performing on Monday nights, Wichman became more comfortable and confident in his art.

“It was from taking over as host and being involved in the Open Mic community that really made me want to step out more as an artist,” Wichman said. “It wasn’t until after I’d taken over the Open Mic that I started doing shows and recording and making a lot of my own music.”

Beyond inspiration alone, artists come to Open Mic to hone their respective crafts and to do what they love, whether that be playing the bass or expressing themselves through song. In serving the community, Red Rock has created a community of its own, one which cherishes collaboration and creativity above all else.

“For me personally, some of the people I’ve connected with at Open Mic have become my family,” Wichman said. “[The Open Mic community is] not competitive: we’re not here to try to be the best or prove we’re better than anyone, we’re here to support each other and enjoy other’s art and be able to have a safe place to display it.”

ON THE MIC

Israel Sanchez Israel Sanchez’s first memories involve singing, creating songs in his head and playing with a toy xylophone. Raised in East San Jose since he was two years old, Sanchez always felt drawn to music and as he grew older, he gravitated toward the guitar. Sanchez takes inspiration from the city’s bustling skate culture, an important part of his childhood.

“My approach is unorthodox,” Sanchez said.

“Being self taught plays a major role. I search blindly across my fretboard for sounds as I have no formal training. I never know what key I am in or scales so I accidentally discover new sounds.”

Sanchez pushes himself to perform frequently — he has completed around a hundred shows this year alone.

“Performing is a sacred thing for me,” Sanchez said. “It allows me to express myself in ways that I can't in everyday life. It's a window into myself and how I interpret life. I also feel it's a gigantic release for energy that could otherwise consume you in negative ways.”

Sanchez never begins performing with a rigid plan in mind. Often times, he improvises by making use of a loop pedal to record bass lines or rhythms he drums on the side of his guitar, then freestyling.

“I don't consciously decide the direction,” Sanchez said. “My music upon listening back usually sounds on the dark side as far as melody and content. It’s a bridge [that] helps me transmute feelings into a positive listening experience.

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C

Smith’s voice as “moist,” one said he was unsettled by the movement of the music. In all of Smith’s songs, his voice HANNA KHOSRAVI is a bare decibel higher than Print Managing Editor the tune itself. It makes for a first heard “Between dreamy, smoky lullabye, as his the Bars” by one of my vocals and instrumentation favorite musicians, Elliott blend into a strangely coheSmith, my sophomore year of sive progression. Can a song twisted pieces of art. high school, and I was quick- be mellifluous and discordant But that’s exactly what I ly startled by my introduc- at the same time? I guess it love about it all - it’s tainted tion into a rich underworld can. Elliott Smith’s songs are. and lovely all in the same, And as “Between and there’s a certain magic to of music I hadn’t the Bars” seeped being disoriented by someheard much of bethe stream of thing so raw and so real. fore. I would say There’s a certain into my consciousness There’s a certain magic to Elliott Smith is a after relentless knowing you will never fully poet first and a magic to being hours of listen- understand a piece of poetry, singer second, but disoriented by ing to it on a loop, but that no matter what, you that would mean something as I grew more and can be entranced by its mediscounting the raw and as real more at ease with lodic sorcery every time. fact that his melodies - often tinged as “Between the the song and with Smith’s intentions CARSON MCCULLERS’S with the screech- Bars.” as a musician. I ing symphonics “THE HEART IS A understood what of a harmonica seem to the listener like they he was trying to make me LONELY HUNTER have a touch, a feel and a feel, and was astonished smell aside from just a sound that he had achieved it so JESSICA KING Print Managing Editor precisely. I was suddenly at or noise.

“Between the Bars” crawled his mercy. arson McCullers’s “The In my downtime, I often down beneath my skin and Heart is a Lonely Huntmade me feel like a mass of look at Smith’s lyrics, withemotion had leapt up from out the accompanying music, er” certainly isn’t the happisome indiscernible loca- and read them as if they were est of books.

The story centers around tion and lodged itself in my published as poems. I try my throat. The soft, slow purr of best to evoke that same spiri- multiple characters in a small town in the his voice lent itself to a cer- tual sentimentality 1930s, each with tain incandescence in the that Smith is able their own set of music and in the lyric. Like to foster in any of Humanity is out-of-reach goals. some sort of elixir, “Between his writing, whethMick, a teen girl the Bars” rendered me hazy er it be in “Between never comfortliving in a ten- his words, potent in their the Bars” or his able; it is a ant house, longs rhyme and in their implica- slew of other mas- vexing climb to to play music detion, made me feel sick to my terwork morsels. reach one rung spite her family’s Thirteen years stomach. And even a lover of difficult financial music like me had never felt after his harrow- after the other. situation. Dr. Cosuch a visceral, physical reac- ing suicide, Smith is an even fiercer legend than peland, an African-American tion to a song before.

I played the music for a few he was at the height of his doctor who defied society, friends who I thought would musical career, for the cross- wishes for his race to join topotentially be able to under- section between ghoulish gether and fight against the stand the abstract aching I was and beautiful is an area not oppression they face. As the feeling. One friend described many have the talent to em- book progresses, a sense of brace with such aptitude. rising tension is cultivated as To this day, his music can these characters edge closer make me fuzzy or woozy - and closer to their goals.

Ultimately, as the story arc his hushed intonation can make my blood curdle with seems to be reaching its peak confusion and emo- and the climax event seems tion, and his verse imminent, the arc cuts off. can make me wonder The book climbs the hill, just what Smith could chronicling the lives of these have been thinking or various characters as they feeling when he cre- climb their respective hills, ated his shamelessly and plateaus. It feels like the

ELLIOTT SMITH’S “BETWEEN THE BARS” life of the characters continues beyond the final words, as if McCullers decided to simply conclude her narration of their lives up to that point as they proceed on.

However, the lack of an ending is intentional. The book seems to question the typical story arc, with its classic rising tension, climax, and resolution. Of course, in real life, this story arc does not exist; it’s meant to illustrate fiction, however realistic it may be. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is fictional, but the most realistic it can get. Life is a constant climb to reach your ultimate goals, and reaching one doesn’t mean everything is over. Humanity is never comfortable; it is a vexing climb to reach one rung after the other.

McCullers struggled through a tense, anxious life, undergoing her own sideways pursuit of music, dealing with depression, and facing a tumultuous marriage that ended in her husband’s suicide. There’s no doubt that McCullers had little optimism concerning the purpose of life, and it ref lects in her writing. The practicallylinear story arc, the abrupt ending McCullers mimicked real life in her book, portraying it as a never-ending grind until we all reach our abrupt finish. It’s a troubled message embodied by an uneasy book, but the restlessness lends itself to a direct insight into McCullers’ mind and life itself.

I

solace, and I am not able to allow myself to reach that point in my own music. Curtis was able to make an alROSS AVERY bum like Closer because he Staff Writer was able to reach into the am searching for in- most atrophied parts of his spiration through mu- soul and hold it out for the sic because I am in need world to see. I can’t do that. of something to hold on to Or, more accurately, I won’t. while I write lyrics and pluck When I play music, I can’t at a guitar. My search has lead ever imagine myself stooping me to Joy Division’s Closer, this low, allowing so many known amongst many as a dark thoughts to f loat to the surface and reside there. work of despondent genius.

I listen to Closer several I don a pair of headphones and make my way through more times. Somehow, there is something that a few tracks. The keeps drawing me stark blackness of back in, even as the music is overI hold on to my whelming.

Ran- No matter the doubts. The lyrdom noise: heavy circumstances, ics, once alien to machinery and me, have adopted searing winds. these emotions a human quality.

The razor-sharp which I have so Instead of feeling guitars and tight vainly been tryappalled, I’m saddrums cut noisily ing to cast away dened. Why have through the ambithings changed? ence. Ian Curtis, are unavoidable.

There must be the band’s vocal- We must reach some moment of ist, who died be- out to them, realization, some fore the album’s touch them with answer to the release, delivers our thoughts, question of why I sermons of abhave allowed myject despair and sing about them self to become loneliness. When in our words and more intimately he groans, “I’m in our songs and attached to the ashamed of the in our art. once-discredited person I am,” work. It arrives there’s a sense of uninhibited truth. What I without much thought, behear, what is communicated cause it’s been there the through these lines, isn’t for whole time. No matter the show. The last song comes to circumstances, these emoan end, and I’m deeply un- tions which I have so vainly been trying to cast away are settled.

But as I look back on what unavoidable. They are a truth I have just experienced, I am in life; they should not be left compelled to dismiss the al- untouched. We must reach bum, mark it off as a curios- out to them, touch them with ity, but nothing more. From our thoughts, sing about the outside, I can appreciate them in our words and in its construction, its ability to our songs and in our art. And capture such a rare and ugly Closer, with its upsetting, sense. But I can’t go any fur- beautiful refrains, opened ther. The music is not able to my eyes. I am inspired, no bond with my own thoughts longer afraid to pull back the as other works have. To be curtain. able to create art of this nature would require an enormous betrayal of one’s inner

JOY DIVISION’S “CLOSER”

16 The Talon November 15, 2016

A R T S & C U LT U R E

e art that th n he w es tim e th t ou ab lk ta s er rit Talon w ht notes. rig e th tly ac ex ts hi ng ro w el fe us es mak

A R T S & C U LT U R E

Emma’s Dilemma

iot,” which focused on exposing the corruption of the U.S. government through hard punk rock. The album Recently, Bob Dylan, one of the told the story of “Jesus of Suburbia,” most influential names in music, an anti-hero teen experiencing the won the Nobel Prize in Literature struggles of the lower-middle class.

N.W.A and Green Day became for his achievements in literature, songwriting and storytelling. two of the most popular bands of Dylan’s music was powerful not their time. Their lyrics were relevant simply because many enjoyed his to current events, making them unique style, but because he rallied controversial and risky. And for many people, they bepeople behind a greatcame the soundtrack er cause, uniting them to growing skepticism in rebellion against the about politics.

Vietnam War. Political Political music Today, political mupassions like Dylan’s appeals not sic is still prevalent, eshave always been a only to those pecially in the hip hop part of music, acting industry, where many as a voice for political harmed by artists have written opinion and a force societal issues, music that speaks out of change. In mod- but also to byagainst racism, police ern American history, standers whose brutality, poverty, and music is often used as other social injustices. a form of protest for interest in the It may seem like an social justice and gov- music leads to odd combination, but ernment wrongdoings. sympathy for a when rap meets poMusic like this ap- struggle. litical messages, fans peals not only to those of the genre love it. harmed by the problem, but also to bystanders who are Hip hop music is known to have compelled by the ideas that the art- clever lyrics and show emotions, which fits well with expressing soist preaches to its audience.

Since slaves in the south were cial views. When the listener hears humming spirituals that called for the artist preaching the struggles of freedom, different kinds of music injustice, they feel a rush and mohave questioned authority, chal- tivation to join the movement of lenged the government and driven struggle. Hip hop is a popular genre powerful messages across the Amer- among the African-American community, and since many of the poican public throughout history.

In the eighties, rap group N.W.A litical songs address struggles that made songs against police brutal- African-Americans are facing, they ity and described living life in poor relate to the struggles of injustice American ghettos. N.W.A’s music that the artist preaches about. Even mixed fast, catchy, bass-driven beats if the listener is not affected by with bold lyrics that described the these social issues, the song makes struggles of the African-American a powerful statement through the community. The raps are sung with emotion shown from the singer, the confidence and passion, giving them exciting rush of the beat and the a power that transcends the lyrics. thought-provoking lyrics. These Their music became appealing to col- factors all work to submerge the ored minorities who could relate to listener into a story told from the perspective of those facing injusthe struggles described in the lyrics.

Later, at the height of the Iraq tice, helping the listener empathize war, Green Day made “American Id- with those struggling.

Staff Writer

#Sciertan I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Yeah, it’s been like this for a while, but I didn’t really have a reason for concern until I attended Tech Day at Google a couple weeks ago — the event was filled with extremely smart, motivated and forward thinking students, and a lot of them were younger than me.

That’s when this concern about my uncertain future came up.

I always feel uncomfortable when someone asks me what I want to major in during college. Maybe it’s because I’m not really sure, or because I find most subjects to be the same rating on a scale of one to interesting.

Most of the time, I laugh and tell them I’m unsure and don’t feel any pressure to make a decision any time soon. Unfortunately for me, that cop out doesn’t work for the majority of the well-meaning people who ask. Nine times out of ten, they follow up the initial question with another dreaded one: “Well, in that case, what is your favorite class at school?”

“I like all of them,” is my usual response. Look, I’m not going to put all my eggs in one basket because I am definitely going to drop that basket at some point in the next two or so years.

In contrast to my indecision, most of the people at Tech Day seemed completely at ease with what they wanted to do with their life. One student asked what they could do during high school to improve their chances of getting a job at Google — okay, calm down, you’re still in high school. Others pronounced their love for statistics or law or medicine, and I left the event feeling like an underperformer.

Here I was, two years away from high school graduation, and I still had no idea what I wanted to major in. It took a debrief with my mom of all people (coincidentally, she has a degree in computer science) to figure out that I wasn’t broken or behind everyone else or foolish to have not decided a career path. We came to the conclusion that putting too much weight in the future rather than the here and now is not going to help anyone.

And that brings me to today.

I have a sense of peace about the whole situation, considering I was close to freaking out a couple of weeks ago. Important life choices like these take time, and luckily, time might be the only thing I have on my side.

I am never one to turn anything in early anyways.

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The power of political music NATHAN GODDERIS

By Emma Kwan

The Talon November 15, 2016

Broken Box

CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE “With small roles you have to kind of make it interesting for yourself because you don’t necessarily have as many lines or many opportunities to be in the spotlight,” junior Beatriz Valente said. “I think it’s really fun… to see how people make small parts

their own and make it super funny and interesting, especially with comedy.”

Since “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” is more of a family friendly comedy, the actors are able to overdramatize. This play features unconventional characters that are far more extreme than the actors who portray them.

“You can be over the top and it works,” senior Amy Meyerson said. “If you want to add a ton of energy, in other plays people might call it over-acting but in this play it works and it just makes it funnier.”

But it raises new challenges for

KATIE KLEIN

Senior Ryan Fisse and junior Roxie Couch rehearse the last scene of “Robin Hood and His Merry Men.” The play, which premieres on November

Artists that speak out for political ideas through their music are “protest artists.” Some big protest artists in the hip hop industry are rappers Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. Last year, Kendrick Lamar released his album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” Two of the songs on the album won Grammys and he narrowly missed the award of “Best Album.” The album’s main focus was attacking white supremacy, police brutality, social injustice, gang violence and mental health. Each lyric contained some sort of political message, and the social relevance of the songs is what made the album so popular. It acted as an outlet to express the struggles that many people feel today, making it relatable to many. To people who cannot relate to the problems he preaches, they still hear Lamar’s powerful lyrics and become captivated by the ideas.

The most popular song in the album, “Alright,” sent a message that, despite police brutality and physical and emotional violence faced by struggling minorities, everyone is going to be “alright.” It became known to be more deep-rooted than just a song. In the song, Kendrick doesn’t stutter, whisper or mumble like other hip hop artists, he yells the

lyrics with confidence. He addresses challenges faced by his community, praising the way they rise up during moments of struggle. In the pre chorus, Kendrick says “When you know, we been hurt, we been down before, n****/When my pride was low, lookin’ at the world like ‘where do we go, n****?’” When Kendrick did one of his first big performances of the song at the BET awards, he performed it on a vandalized cop car. Black Lives Matter adopted “Alright” as a mantra of solidarity and resilience.

“I’d go in certain parts of the world, and they were singing it in the streets.” Lamar told the New York Times.

Political messages have always been a part of modern music, and music evolves based on current events. Music can evoke more than just joy, excitement, sadness or serenity. It can reflect our mood in a way that allows us to connect to the struggles of others. Political music has the power to change opinions and drive emotions across minorities, it is influential in exposing people to lives and struggles of those living lives of struggle. And for others, it helps them keep their head up through it all.

WIKIMEDIA USER BATISTE SAFONT

Kendrick Lamar performs at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in Benicàssim, Spain. In the last few years, Lamar has emerged as the new face of political hip-hop, using his platform to discuss societal issues.

the actors as well.

“You can’t identify with your character at all,” junior Jake Jakimsen. “You really mold into a different person… When it comes to discovering some connection with your character it’s almost impossible because they’re all so over the top.”

Broken Box also requires the effort of their tech team — consisting of a costume designer, sound designer and stage manager/light designer — to make sure that the production functions properly.

One member of the tech team, senior and sound designer Max Raschke, searches for sound cues as the cast reads through the script. While “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” has a more simplistic set of sound cues than previous plays, Max still has a lot of tasks to complete by opening night.

“You have to know when to have intermission songs, music to play in between scenes,” Max said. “This play has a lot of sound cues… It’s kind of like I get to act in the play.”

Backstage, junior and costume designer Allison Wang works with the actors to design costumes that would fit and best portray their characters. Many costumes are reused over the years, but because of the specific theme for “Robin Hood and His Merry Men,” Allison has gath-

ered, purchased and created more specific pieces for actors.

“We’re trying to do more of a renaissance-y theme and we don’t have much of that so there’s been a lot of ordering and figuring out what kinds of things people need,” Allison said. “We have a variety of different eras and themes that we have to go by but we didn’t have a lot of renaissance stuff so we had to adjust for that.”

Though the process of putting together each production is arduous, the members of Broken Box appreciate being able to share their passion for entertainment with the entire Los Altos community.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to have something at school where you can express yourself and do something you love,” Beatriz said. “I know I love acting and all the actors here genuinely enjoy what they do. We get to put out several plays during the year and see people enjoy our work and that’s just an awesome experience.”

As soon as the curtain closes on the night of the final performance of “Robin Hood and His Merry Men”, Broken Box is set to begin preparation for their next play. Tickets for “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” can be purchased from any Broken Box member in the finance office for $5 or at the door for $8.

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The Talon November 15, 2016

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

Athleisure: sports-based fashion

Rachel Lu, Senior Writer | Emma van Guens, Staff Writer | Carissa Lee, Graphic Artist | Anne Schill, Graphic Artist

T

he ball is thrown down the court. The defensive team sprints back to stop the fastbreak. In the whir of bodies grabbing for the ball, all the audience can see is a flash of black Nike Elite socks and a thick blue Lululemon headband. Accessories such as these were specifically designed for athletes, yet they are no longer confined to the field or the gym. People choose to wear athletic clothing even if they don’t necessarily play that sport. This new trend is known as athleisure, which is essentially defined as clothing that can be worn for both exercise and everyday activities. In recent years, this style has taken America by storm, and the popularity and success of companies like Lululemon, Adidas, Nike and North Face have skyrocketed. For many people, athleisure is seen as a current fashion trend to conform to, while others embrace it as lifestyle that goes far beyond a fad.

A

Student athletes

t Los Altos, many students can be seen around campus in uniform, proudly promoting the sport they play with logo’d T-shirts and branded shorts.

They aren’t wearing their athletic clothing because it is trendy, but rather because of convenience.

“I always try and wear things to school that can be easily transitioned to stuff I wear to practice, you know comfortable stuff that has multiple uses,” varsity volleyball player Kristin Albright said.

For students like Kristin, sports play a big role in their lives, and their clothing ref lects that lifestyle.

This subsect of athleisure is more functional and relates much more largely to an actual athlete’s behavior.

Sports have influenced who they are today, and that can be seen through their choice of attire. “[Sports] have shaped me so that I’m not a super feminine person,” junior Elodie Rebesque said. “I’m really athletic, so I don’t dress in skirts all the time or dresses. I’m more like of a yoga pants and hair up in a ponytail kind of person than caring about what I look like.”

But athleisure is not limited to people who play sports. Many follow the trend rather than actually engage in athletics.

Athleisure in the everyday environment

A

couple years ago, a typical gym workout outfit would consist of ratty shorts and a T-shirt from a seventh grade summer camp. But with the increased glamour of athleticism in society, appropriate clothing has grown to reflect that.

Active wear often includes tight nylon and polyester pieces, with mesh or bright colors to accent a fit look. These details were originally meant to give athletes maximum movement and comfort, but the purpose of leggings and basketball shorts has transitioned from efficiency to a trendy style. Active wear is a new facet of the fashion industry that offers a welcoming change from traditional fashion trends which often put beauty above comfort, and instead incorporates both.

“I think it’s comfortable clothing, and I think that everybody should be able to enjoy that,” Kristin said.

High-end brands like Lululemon and Adidas pander to mainstream culture, taking advantage of the current trend. In many athletic brands, professional athletes and Olympic gold-medal champions are the faces of their company, attracting even more of a following.

Ultimately, what sets athleisure apart from other trends is its high comfort level, a quality people today are looking for.

“I feel like being fit right now is also [currently] trendy,” junior Jasmine Shen said. “Being comfortable in your skin, [being] comfortable in general and wearing clothing that makes you feel relaxed is in right now.”

There are also more affordable options, such as Old Navy’s active line or the sub brand Champion at Target, which are part of what makes athleisure so accessible to everyone.

Besides being currently popular in today’s society, athleisure’s convenience and accessibility is what can make the trend sustainable as a relevant fashion style in the future.

“I think that “athletic[ism]” is going to be a lasting thing for sure, but the styles of it might change over the years,” sophomore Tenaya Veitch said.

However, some, like Elodie, feel that wearing the clothing of an individual sport but not actually playing that sport is a misuse of activity specific gear.

“Oh, like wannabes, what are you doing?” Elodie said. “I’m not offended by it, but it’s kind of when some person who doesn’t watch sports at all wears a sport jersey. You don’t follow that [team] you’re just doing it to be trendy.”

B

Bandwagoning

andwagoners are people who have started following a team or trend only once they have become

popular. Many bandwagoners support sports teams whether they are local or not when they do well, but withdraw their support once the team is struggling. Professional sports team items are a large part of the athleisure trend, despite the different stylistic look. People rock Warriors shirts and Giants snapbacks during their better seasons, whether they follow that team regularly or not, and so bandwagoning has made its way into mainstream culture.

Some avid sports fans don’t necessarily mind “fake fans,” as they bring attention to the team in a positive way. For junior Everett Pustell, who has been following the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team for eight years, it doesn’t matter how long a fan has been following a team, or if they’re wearing team merchandise without having attended many games.

“I’m fine with bandwa go n e r s,” Everett said.

“I personally hopped on the Warriors bandwagon two seasons ago and even though I didn’t buy any merchandise I still supported them just because they were killing it. I don’t mind it. I mean [with the Earthquakes] I’m happy that they got out for a game and even if they had never gone to a game I wouldn’t mind.

I mean freedom of expression so go for it. In the end it’s just more money for the club, so there isn’t a downside.”

Wearing a professional sport team’s clothing is an expression and statement in itself, each person drawing a different meaning from

it. Some wear team merchandise because it is important for them to show their support while others wear the gear because of the increasing popularity of the team and their presence in fashion trends.

There has been a noticeable uptake in bandwagoners who hop from successful team to successful team, enabled through social media platforms to show their support and wear the current popular gear.

It is inevitable that there would be backlash from hardcore followers who have stood beside the team before their rise to popularity.

“I believe loyalty is an important aspect of one’s personality,” sophomore Mahika Gupta said. “Bandwagoners show that they can’t be loyal and will just leave when a better offer comes along.”

To these fans, wearing sports team gear but not truly following the team is vexing and looked down upon.

“I personally dislike [bandwagoning] very much,” junior Anjali Nand said. “It’s great to represent the Bay, b u t what is the point if that’s not really something you’re passionate about? Bandwagoners to me are fake fans. They’re also followers. It’s like being friends with someone in the future just because they have money. But where were you when your friend didn’t have all that money and [when they were going] through all the tough times? So I highly dislike them.”

Yet despite the backlash, bandwagoning, a branch of athleisure, has grown into a separately popular trend. most trends amass a large following only to disappear, but sporting sportswear is a style likely to stay.

The Talon November 15, 2016

#9, what’s on your mind?

19

Despite injuries, Emily Pye is still kicking been a whole life journey.”

Making her way to the top did not come without any sacrifices.

An athlete’s career can be crip- Like any athlete striving to bepled by a single twist of an ankle, come the best, Emily consistenttaking them out of their game ly dedicates many hours a week both mentally and physically. Se- to the sport in order to surpass nior Emily Pye, however, has expe- the other players.

“I play soccer five to six times a rienced her own share of injuries, but that has not stopped her from week, and my practices are about dominating on the soccer field. In one and a half hours, four times a her last season of high school soc- week,” Emily said. “I also have two cer, Emily will leave Los Altos as hour games on the weekend. You a four-year varsity athlete and a have to love the sport and put in the grind.” two-year team In all sports, captain as both any injury has a junior and Injuries are just an inthe potential senior.

Her to become a d e t e r m i n e d the-moment thing. It may major setback mindset, fan- take weeks to recover and can even tastic skill but soccer is always end the careers and ability to there in the long run. One of the very best overcome her athletes. Eminjuries caught injury won’t stop me from ily severely University of playing soccer for the bruised her San Francis- rest of my life. ribs and nearly co’s attention, — senior Emily Pye ruptured her where she has spleen after a now committed to attend in the fall of 2017 to collision with a goalie in the summer of her junior year. play Division 1 soccer.

“It was psychologically hard to Emily began her soccer career at 5 years old after her father en- go in for the tackles after I bruised couraged her to take on the sport my ribs but I eventually got over it,” Emily said. “You would have to at a young age.

“I think I started playing on teams break both of my legs to stop me when I was four,” Emily said. “I have from playing soccer.”

Prior to that, Emily faced other a British father so it was kind of ingrained in me to play sports. It’s injuries such as twisting her me-

MADISON WOO Staff Writer

By Julia Santos

Winter is [here] The water polo season, along with the rest of the fall sports, are over. Sad, I know, but for the first time this year, I can finally go home after school instead of running out of math class and racing to the pool deck where I’d be for over two hours. I can walk out of seventh period while talking to friends, attempt to leave the student parking lot unharmed, without harming anyone else, and drive my sister home.

Just the other day, my friend, a cross country runner preparing for CCS, invited me to accompany her on a seven-mile run in Los Altos Hills. Without processing that we’d be running for around an hour through intense inclines of the hills, I said, “Why not?” I didn’t have water polo in the afternoon and winter club practice wouldn’t resume until the end of the month — that’s three weeks. Three weeks. I had three weeks to kill until I was back in the water and I needed to somehow stay in shape until then. But I didn’t end up running. Instead, I ran away to my best friend’s house, consumed two slices of chocolate cake and learned how to play a new card game called “gin.”

I remember when the season was winding down and the winter sports seasons were on their way. I constantly dreaded the day we’d play our last game and stop having practices — I’d have to accept that I’d never play another high school game with our current seniors, and all I would have left was a single season of high school water polo next year.

However, in a way, the offseason is a blessing, even if staying in shape is impossible.

At this point, there’s nothing I can do but watch all the hard work I put into getting where I am now slowly slip away with every slice of cake I eat or hour I spend playing cards. And unlike the plethora of basketball courts and soccer fields all around us, I can’t just jump into a pool and practice my shooting, because 1. Water polo goals can only be found at high school or college pools.

2. It’s winter.

But I’ve decided that right now, it’s time for a detox and to chill for a minute or two because let’s be real here, I’m not going out on runs or planning to hit the weight room.

I’m not changing my diet or religiously starting every morning with a protein shake in hand as I walk out the door. For now, I’m eating all the chocolate cake I can and sleeping as much as I can. I’ve accepted a water-polo-free life, for the next three weeks, so catch you on the flipside!

KATIE KLEIN

Senior Emily Pye stands on the soccer field with a ball in hand, wearing her University of San Francisco gear. Next year, she plans to play Division 1 soccer for the Dons. dial collateral ligament during her sophomore soccer season. She endured six weeks of physical therapy but only came back stronger.

“Injuries are just an in-the-moment thing,” Emily said. “It may take weeks to recover but soccer is always there in the long run. One injury won’t stop me from playing soccer for the rest of my life.”

Emily’s mental strength is evident when it comes to soccer, but her knowledge of the sport further leads to her success as a player.

“My physical presence helps me play, like my size and speed, but I would say I am a very technical player and know the game very well,” Emily said. “It’s important to have the skill but if

you’re not smart about it and don’t know the game, you can be picked apart.”

Emily wants to continue her education in California which is why she chose the University of San Francisco after looking at other colleges on both the west and east coast. She looks to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing science and will continue to play Division 1 soccer at the school.

“I would rather stay in California, and I realized that family is really important to me,” Emily said “I visited the campus which I really love, and it’s a great nursing school. It kind of just checked off everything I was looking for.”

Boys basketball bounces back with new coach JUSTIN YU Staff Writer

The freshmen and sophomores from the remarkable CCS victory two years ago are now the core of the varsity boys basketball team as seasoned juniors and seniors. It is that time of year again, with head coach Trevor Naas bringing new energy to the team and the Eagles looking to fly high. Drawing from his years of coaching experience, the new coach hopes to guide the team forward.

Naas played basketball all four years in high school, and his positive experience with the program prompted him to become a coach himself. Over the years, he has coached the frosh-soph team at Branham High School in San Jose and the frosh-soph and varsity teams at Saratoga High School.

Now, coming to Los Altos, Naas is excited for the year ahead.

“For me, moving schools, everything is new this year,” Naas said.

“I’m working with a new administration, new staff [and] new players. I’m looking at this as a great learning opportunity and a way to grow as a coach and to have an opportunity to work with different student athletes, so it will definitely be a year of growth for me that [I will] look forward to.

Naas’ philosophy for coaching has always centered around creating a positive experience for the players. He believes that the values he instills in the team will have a lasting impression on players on and off the court in the future.

“One of our new coach’s big things is having fun during practice, having high energy all the time, having a loud gym,” team captain senior Adam Rosenbaum said. “And I think that’s huge for team chemistry rather than practice being like another class where it’s all about do this, do this, do this, don’t do this.”

In addition to Naas’ focus on positivity, he also hopes to develop team chemistry and establish a system of accountability that can provide constructive criticism while maintaining a sense of respect among players.

“This summer, I got a chance to start working with these guys in summer league and summer practices, and as a team we came up with four [core values]: respect, responsibility, resilience and unity,” Naas said. “I’m looking for players that have a good team attitude.

I’m looking for guys who grasp the team concept and who do what’s right for the team rather than themselves. And I think when you

PHOTOS BY KIMIA SHAHIDI

Above: Naas helps junior Jake Shab with finishing shots at a practice.

Naas has been coaching basketball for 12 years and joins the Los Altos varsity basketball coaching staff this season. Below: Naas pretends to be a defender during tryouts. get a roster for a bunch of those types of guys that are willing to work hard for each other, those are the types of teams that I’ve had the most success with.”

During offseason practice in the summer, the team watched films of their games in the past season.

Instead of focusing on the court itself, Naas told the boys to keep an eye out for their body language toward teammates and referees in negative situations such as turnovers or fouls.

“Guys are [sometimes] really getting on each other on kind of a negative way, and [that] kind of culture is toxic,” Adam said. “So it’s really cool to see an emphasis and to see literal video of us reacting to plays and how that affects things. And one of Coach Naas’ big things is that it’s not what you did. If you miss a layup, you were not trying to miss a layup. It’s a mistake, but it’s really more about how you respond to that play and carry on to the next one.”

Overall, Naas’ positive energy seems to resonate with most of the players. With this season’s roster of almost entirely vet-

eran juniors and seniors, junior Matt Eberle sees the new coach’s emphasis on team chemistry as something that will bring the team to the next level.

“I think we can do really well in Leagues this year,” Matt said.

“I think we have a great roster, a lot of experience, and that’s an upside. I think we have six or seven seniors and a lot of juniors that played last year… We have a big emphasis on team chemistry, high fives and picking each other when we’re down [and] hustling.

It’s just all the little things [that we’re focusing on].”

By combining the value of individual growth with the larger scope of success as a team, Naas claims that the team will be able to reach its full potential collectively.

“I’m really excited to work with these guys,” Naas said. “I think that there’s some really promising talent on this team, so my main goal is to see that come together and to have them really grasp the team concept and play together on the court. And if we can do that, I think we have a chance at a very successful season.”

The Talon November 15, 2016

Taking a knee for social justice Haley Ecker, Staff Writer | Emily Meza-Perez, Staff Writer | Kunal Pandit, Photographer, Michael Sieffert, Photographer

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rom television screens across America to the Facebook posts on laptop screens and now to our very own high school football team, athlete protests have had lasting impacts across the country. For the majority of the season, several players on the Los Altos varsity football team have been protesting during the national anthem at the start of each game.

The Talon spoke to several members of the team on how they felt about the protests and why they chose to kneel during the national anthem.

Senior Tonga Keti: Tackle, Defensive Tackle “I see a lot of people, especially Latinos and black people, getting disrespected and discriminated against, and as a person of color, [kneeling is] a way for me to help my community protest. It’s not right that equal rights don’t exist in this country anymore for colored people. I don’t know why people don’t understand that colored people are everywhere. We’re human beings. It doesn’t matter if we’re different colors because we’re all human beings who live on the same planet. We’re all trying to be better people, better human beings, but it takes time to do that. We’ll never be perfect. I hope we inf luence other people and that more athletes and more celebrities keep doing this so people know what’s going on in the world.”

Junior Ryan Bolanos: Defensive End, Guard “I always have my teammates’ back in whatever they do. If they’re going to take their knee and expose themselves to something a lot of people don’t see as patriotic, I don’t want them to go through that alone. You see people in the NFL do it and they’re grown adults, but if [people] see kids or teenagers do it, it’ll make them think more. I was scared to do it because I was wondering what people were going to think. I looked up when I was doing it and people were kind of looking and staring at us. It’s more than just being embarrassed to do it — it has an actual purpose behind it so it was important that we did it. Everyone has always stood for the national anthem, but when people see stuff like this, it really draws their attention.”

Senior Ahmad Washington: Wide Receiver, Running Back “I just wanted to make a stand. I like what they’re doing, how Kaepernick is taking a knee during the national anthem. It’s really powerful. I wanted to show my support and be able to do it. I think football means a lot to our school and doing it is really putting light to the situation; people are actually seeing that it’s a big deal. Seeing… kids that are just doing sports for fun showing support is really big. I really hope that it shows other athletes that you can definitely support the [Black Lives Matter] movement and do things to help the movement, not necessarily that you have to kneel, but just be able to show support in other ways you can.”

Senior Markell Reed: Tackle, Defensive Tackle “We started doing this protest since the second or third game of the season. It’s a good time to do it now because of what’s happening in our society today with all of the the shootings that are going on, especially with blacks and cops. The whole police brutality movement has been going on for too long now and it’s just leading to too much violence. This most definitely relates to Kaepernick’s protest 100 percent. We protest during a football game because we feel like it would stand out a lot more [because] so many people come to the games.”