Front Cover Design: Prescott Foland Inside Cover Design: Maria Ikonomou
WELCOME, THIS IS AN OPEN FORUM FOR STUDENT EXPRESSION. THIS IS A PLACE WHERE THE BEST OF STUDENT ART AND CREATIVTY CAN BE DISPLAYED TO THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE MARK. MAKE YOURS.
The MArk Staff Executive Editor Rachel Fox Managing Editor Haley McCabe Art Editor Sofia Gutierrez-Dewar Layout Editors Nicky Hug Blair Johnson Stephanie Sabatini Anna Luke Resident Artist Maria Ikonomou Staff Anna Argente Sasha Bobrowicz Gaby Busque Max Goldenstein Russell Gurman Nicky Hug Caitlin Kenney Jeff LaPlante Bridget Magaña Suzie McMurtry Jason Mouchawar Laurin Noguchi Lindsey Sepulveda Lauren Smith Roger Upton Ryan Wentz Alyssa Westfield Philip Witham Photo Editors Prescott Foland Emily Johnson Keara Haldeman Photo Contributors Sasha Bobrowicz JP Nash Naomi Pacalin Brooke Delly Mao Mei Sonkin Financial Officer Helen Burke
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Nightlife facebook cows relations lax bros fun stuff a glance at the opportunities offered by menlo park
i n t e r v i e w w i t h f a c e b o o k ’s d e v e l o p e r o f r e l a t i o n s
why thinking like a vegetarian could be important
how student-teacher relationships have evolved and where they are today
a glimpse into the lifestyle of a lax bro
fun things to do in a variety of locations, helpful for avoiding boredom
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PAINTINGS SoямБa Gutierrez-Dewar
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PHOTOGRAPHY Prescott Foland
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knitting knitting eyeeyeware ware
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Imagine yourself walking down Santa Cruz Avenue on a Saturday night. You hear the music blasting through the streets and you see flashing “disco” lights. Your initial thoughts are, “Whoa, there must be some sort of dance club up the street!” So, you proceed to casually walk down the sidewalk underneath the dimly lit lamps. You glance at the stores as you pass by, noticing that a majority of them are either rug stores, women’s clothing boutiques, or other stores that seem to be stuck in a time warp. But the main problem you notice on the street is that not a single shop is open – besides maybe Left Bank, Cafe Borrone, Amici’s, or Walgreen’s. Oh, and as you turn the corner, you realize that what you thought was a club is actually a policeman pulling over a car full of young hooligans blasting music. Everyone seems to accept that Menlo Park does not, and will not have nightlife. Why? The city of Menlo Park has potential, especially in the summer time when there are street fairs and live music. Yet as soon as the season changes into such a “harsh” winter, the streets become bleak, filled with nothing but the occasional jogger or dog walker. From my perspective, although curfew for a minor is not until eleven o’clock p.m, downtown Menlo Park turns into a ghost town after nine o’clock P.M. This prevents young people from having a late night dinner or snack and requires them to go to their last resort - either a fast food restaurant, the Dutch Goose (not that it isn’t good), or back to their homes to hang out with their parents (no thanks). Menlo Park needs zest. Let’s put away those tumbleweeds and let downtown be lively and dynamic, especially at night.
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http://strangerchat.com
Wanna Cyber? by Prescott Foland
NBC’s Dateline “To Catch A Predator” has brought to our attention the idea that there are people online with the sole intent to harass and take advantage of those who are younger or less emotionally secure than they are. The episodes usually play out the same: an older man comes to a house expecting to meet an underage girl or boy that he met online, only to be surprised by Chris Hansen and his film crew, who informs him that the police are outside and ready to arrest the predator. When it comes to issues like this, the setup is an example of the extreme side of the spectrum. Students face a less severe, but much more common type of cyber sexual harassment. With the rise of sites dedicated to anonymity, like 4chan, an image board allowing people to post and comment on photos, and Chatroulette, where you can video chat with strangers, a breeding ground had been created for people to harass others with little to no consequence. With around 85% of people admitting to using sites like Chatroulette at least once, the chance that young people will stumble upon those who wish to do them physical or emotional harm has exponentially increased. Of the students surveyed, 59% said that somebody requested for them to do something classified as inappropriate, and 44% of students said that they had been either verbally or sexually harassed while using these services. It is not just anonymous instant messaging services where people are harassed. 95% of students said that they had received a Facebook friend request from a stranger, and 76% said that that person attempted to reach out and communicate with them. We can’t assume that all of the harassment online is coming from the older men, as commonly represented on “To Catch a Predator.” In our anonymous survey, 21% of people admitted to verbally or sexually harassing people while using services like ChatRoulette or SkypeMe. The problem of cyber sexual harassment, even when it doesn’t come to fruition with Chris Hansen sitting in your living room, is a very serious one, and is one that is often overlooked by traditional disciplinary officials.
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59%
of Menlo-Atherton students surveyed have had someone ask them to do something
inappropriate online.
44%
of surveyed students say they have been
verbally or sexually harassed while using sites like Omegle and Chatroulette.
21% of surveyed admitted to
verbally or sexually harassing someone else .
by Jeff LaPlante
Radio
KCEA radio station 89.1 records its content on M-A campus and has for many years. Though the transmitter facility is located in the Heather Highlands of San Carlos, the main recording area is located in B-11. When I first walked into the M-A radio station, it was like stepping into the movie Pirate Radio. Over a thousand music records filled the walls in the narrow hallways leading up to three main recording stations. Each of these three rooms has a special recording purpose. The station plays Big Band music, records local high school sports games, and much more. Even though the station is on campus, the main directors of this station seem to have trouble getting high school students to work for them. “We really like having M-A students working on the station,”
quotes sports director John Mylod, “and we’ve had students working for us in the past, but unfortunately no M-A students are working for us this year.” John urges anyone who is interested to join this radio station; whether it be an interest in talking about sports, playing Big Band music, or maybe even cleaning the shelves every once in a while. The radio station was first bought by the Sequoia Union High school district in 1979 to play Big Band music and to also serve as a disaster information center to the local area. Sports here air on Wednesday nights in the PAC at 8:00 PM. Anyone interested in the radio should tune into 89.1 and check out their website at www.kcea.org.
13Luke ART Anna
Facebook Headquarters Lives in Palo Alto, California Studied at Harvard University
Born in Febuary 2004
From Cambridge, Massachussetts Fun Facts
See All
Name Tag Ball Everyone who visits Facebook places their nametag on this ball after the end of their visit. To see which celebrities have placed their nametag on this ball, track it on its own Face-
Facebook Headquarters Jeff Bowen is getting interviewed by Gaby Busque and Bridget Magaña from The MArk! The MArk, Bridget Magaña, Gaby Busque and 12 others like this.
The MArk What department do you work for? 4 people like this.
Jeff Bowen I work for the developer relations team. Basically, I deal with third party developers who build apps. I meet with companies about possible integration with Facebook. Part of my job also includes writing for the Facebook Developer Blog and doing “How to” segments. I deal with a lot of bugs as well. This job includes finding, filing, and fixing these bugs to prevent “bad things” from Facebook.
The MArk What does a typical day at Facebook look like for you? 5 people like this. Jeff Bowen Well, the first thing I do in the morning is check my email; it just keeps coming! I look through bugs, meet with companies, and do interviews. The MArk What do you look for in an interview?
Jeff Bowen In an interview, we generally look for people who have the technical skills and are able to reproduce and fix bugs, but also down to earth at the same time. People who are excited and have a good energy always stand out because attitude is extremely important.
The MArk Do you know Mark Zuckerberg personally? Ryan Wentz, Michael Ogrey and 7 others like this. Jeff Bowen Yes, we see each other a lot in the building. We also played Risk together at one point with a group of people. It was interesting to see that he came up with a script for rolling the die because of the times when this took too long. Overall, heʼs a great guy and started the company for the right reasons.
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Crane Decoration The company who owned the S. California Avenue building before Facebook left behind a crane. Not knowing what to do with it, Facebook decided to use it as decoration. Mark Zuckerbergʼs Dog Mark Zuckerbergʼs dogʼs name is Beast. Sheʼs a tiny, fluffy white Puli, a type of Hungarian sheepdog. Facebook Staff: What They Do For Fun After doing their work, the Facebook Staff can legitimately do whatever they want. The building has game rooms for people to play video games, ping pong, and basketball. On Fridays, they rearrange the cafeteria and do Q&A with Zuck, followed by Happy Hour at 5 oʼclock.
The MArk How has Facebook changed the most since you have been here?
Facebook Headquarters Moving to Menlo Park in June! 597 comments
Anna Argente and 17 others like this. Jeff Bowen As a company, the biggest Facebook change must be size. When I joined the company two years ago, we were located in eight buildings in Downtown Palo Alto, but quickly outgrew this. In the summer of 2009, we moved to our current building at 1601 California Avenue. We now have The MArk 2000-2500 employees, with new faces every day. We are trying now to grow so that we can keep moving fast and getting things done. We do a “weekly push” where everything that we have been working on for the week is released. What we do in a week is close to what most companies do in 6 months because of our size. However, because the Facebook user base is growing, there is necessary growth in the company as well.
“Social is better” - Mark Zuckerberg. 908 people
Watching the Social Network as a staff. 1175 people
Photo Albums
See All
The MArk How did you start working at Facebook?
Jeff Bowen I hunted for jobs in Nashville after college in summer of 2008, but was unlucky at gist. So, I began making a list of companies I would enjoy working for. Of course, Facebook was on this list and I got an interview fairly quickly. I flew out to California and got the job!
The MArk What is your favorite part about working at Facebook? 11 people like this. Jeff Bowen I am excited about the mission of the company. We are trying to make the world more open and connected, and itʼs working! The vision Mark has is great – its exciting that we are a company thatʼs doing good for the world by making it a more social place. The MArk Yeah, it seems like as Facebook grows, more and more people depend on it. Jeff Bowen Whatʼs good about Facebook being so popular is that you can ask your friends for recommendations on certain things and for advice instead of searching what you are looking for on Google and reading anonymous reviews on a product. For example, it would be much more meaningful for one to see their friendsʼ top 10 movie choices instead of the top 10 movies on Fandango.
The MArk Are there any new Facebook changes that are pending to happen? Anna Argente and 17 others like this. Jeff Bowen Unfortunately, we cannot reveal The MArk, Jeff Bowen, Facebook Headquarters any information like that. The newest things to surface, however, include the new Jeff Bowen Fun Fact: Facebook message post and pressing ʻenterʼ to post chat was developed overnight! comments. These features make messagThe MArk Someone came up with the idea ing more lightweight and easy.Something one day and then stayed up all that has been spreading is also a comments night to create it during a hackplugin for other websites, which TechCrunch a-thon. uses. With this, anonymous comments have been practically disappearing. The fact that one must now log in to their Facebook account, showing their identity and picture, in order to post a comment provides a platform for constructive comments instead of mean or rude comments.
PHOTOGRAPHY Creative Commons and Gaby Busque
Facebook and The MArk are now friends.
The MArk, Jeff Bo...
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THOSE FLIES
AND
ME
We were driven out of the Library by flies A hopeless and vain battle, as we were clearly outnumbered Despite this we fought our war of attrition Exhibiting both bravery and superstition They landed, we slapped, overturning books Sly, crafty flies hiding in cozy nooks While we hurt each other in the process Until we were slapping flies that weren’t there In some mad dance of neurotic psychosis We never knew what they wanted or why they came We neither saw their faces nor knew their names And yet we struck with vicious force Without a semblance of remorse Perhaps if I could see Those flies come face to face with me Perhaps I could a peacemaker be Those flies and me POETRY Gavin Rea
ARTWORK Suzie McMurtry 16
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STORY Suzie McMurtry
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WATER WASTE
he M-A community should be fully aware of the wasteful nature of plastic bottles, yet some people still refuse to reuse. The solution costs only $10 a piece: reusable water bottles. The United States has some of the highest quality tap water in the world, especially in the Bay Area. Tap Water Quality reports from Sustain Lane, a “People-Powered Sustainability Guide,” show that San Francisco ranks 4th best in tap water quality of U.S. cities. Fresh, tasty, and practically free water should be enough to steer us away from bottled water. Many companies ship their water from Germany or the Swiss Alps or even just man-made reservoirs, so is that why we like it? Well, it shouldn’t be. According to www. onlineeducation.net , it takes three gallons of water and enough oil for one million cars just to ship one gallon of special filtered water overseas. Also take into account that when you drink bottled water, 40% of it is just filtered city water. In 2007, Coca-Cola’s
Dasani and Pepsi’s Aquafina brands admitted that their products are in fact, just “purified” tap water from, of all places, Los Angeles. Yeah. What’s worse is that bottled water companies are monitored less for the dangerous bacterium E. coli and are not required to provide their source or produce quality reports of their water, whereas municipal water plants are. Water is the most abundant resource on earth. Bottled water costs 2,000 times as much as tap water per gallon. So if you pay your water bill, then you’ve got cheap and delicious water right at home. This goes for M-A too. Menlo-Atherton’s bottled water vending machines could be replaced by high quality drinking fountains. Then again, it’s the convenience that we pay for, isn’t it? Even so, if you can afford to buy a couple of plastic bottles of water a week, then you can afford to buy a reusable one.
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ART AND DESIGN Philip Witham & SoďŹ a Gutierrez-Dewar
What It Feels Like To Be a Certified Nerd by Rebecca Strehlow I am officially a self-certified nerd. It wasn’t always that way, though. I mean, I’ve always had an unnatural passion for Thomas Jefferson and commas, and I have used my limited physics knowledge to calculate the forces on an object for fun. But it took me a while before I realized how nerdy I really was – and how it just wasn’t a normal teenage activity to draw a phospholipid and name it His Rotundity, John Atoms. I know that nerds aren’t exactly regarded highly by the teenage species, but I am nevertheless proud of my nerdiness; without it, I’d taste as bland and dry as a textbook without any words (or, for some of us, one without any pictures). As a nerd – a certified nerd – I love to indulge in American history. And while not everyone takes pleasure in studying the Constitutional Convention for eight consecutive years, I think that learning history is like playing a song on a musical instrument: the outcome of the piece may be predictable, but the musician is nevertheless swept into the emotion of each individual note. Sometimes, though, my strong emotional connection with American history can get to a point when I forget that I live in the present rather than the past. Perhaps the most embarrassing of all my nerdy convictions is that I refuse to live in any former Confederate state. Okay, okay, I know I shouldn’t hold any grudges against something that existed before my time, but I can’t help but feel that living in the South would somehow be a betrayal to the northern states (whose position, I’ll have you know, I’ve been siding with since 1789). But I’m getting better, I really am. I’m trying, for example, to consider a college in Missouri despite the fact that I associate it with the Missouri Compromise and, thus, an image of the dillusional Henry Clay playing a discordant rendition of Chopin’s First Ballade with his toes. And I have forgiven Virginia for its past Confederate affiliation because it was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson. (I would, though, rather live in Boston, where the very air is so rich with history that I could eat it for dessert.) Equally as intriguing as the Founding Fathers is the simple comma. I am a self-proclaimed grammar nut – and though this can be enjoyable (as when I find myself laughing at checkout counters that read “10 Items or Less”), it is often quite frustrating (like when I can’t do a math word problem if it has a comma error). Sometimes, I wonder if my obsession with commas is really a specialized form of OCD. And when I don’t fix a comma error in a textbook because I can’t bring myself to mark on its beautiful page, I feel like I’m forcing myself to befriend a mosquito as it sucks my blood. Fortunately, despite what you might think, I have many friends who support my nerdiness and, even better, who are certified nerds themselves. I must say, we nerds are a classy bunch: we have discussions ranging from the connotations of “humble” versus “modest” to profound character and plot analyses of the Little Mermaid to debates over the ethics of cracking one’s knuckles to all-encompassing speculations about humanity itself. With interests ranging from math to English to ecology to theatre, we pass the time having what we proudly call our “intellectual discussions” and gain broader perspectives of the world around us. We nerds are like platypuses: we have reason to strut though our watery Australian home simply because we are so different. So, you see, being a nerd is not all bad – in fact, it’s not bad at all. I mean, I definitely have to live with a few quirks (which sometimes illicit strange glances in my direction), but I still think that the nerdy way of life is the way to go. We nerds might seem like outcasts, but we can’t help but feel a sense of pride in what some might erroneously deem an irrational passion for intellect. More than that, though, we feel a certain connection because of our pursuit of a common goal: to grow up, sit under a tree, and be as wise as the Buddha himself.
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ART Caitlin Kenney
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Lots
Most people feel that they do not have the willpower or self-control to be a vegetarian, even if they wanted to be one. It really isn’t easy. Imagine: no altoids or gummy bears or marshmallows (they have gelatin in them – a substance derived from the collagen in animal skin and bones). However, many people are vegetarian– more than one might expect, although vegetarian is something of a broad category. I was surprised to discover that World English Dictionary describes a vegetarian as “a person who advocates or practices vegetarianism.” I think that vegetarianism is a good thing…I also eat meat; but, by definition, my promoting vegetarianism makes me a vegetarian. I do not actually consider myself a vegetarian; I just thought it interesting that the word is so loosely defined. I think that most hard-core, animal-loving vegetable-consumers would vehemently deny the fact that I am vegetarian, which is understandable considering the time and effort such vegetarians have put in to make sure they do not eat anything that was once part of a living animal. Take Addie Brian, a senior at M-A. She has been an unwavering vegetarian since she was in 5th grade,
and an animal lover the 10 years before that (she was 11 in 5th grade). She eats tofu sausages and burgers all the time and says that there is little taste difference between artificial and actual meat. Alexis Keller, also a senior at M-A, has been a vegetarian for six and a half years. She says, “I can’t stomach eating animals,” and admits that being vegetarian is “not hard for her at all.” She also eats tofu occationally. Likewise, senior Ian Macartney “feel[s] bad about eating animals” and says he remembers “going on 280 and seeing the cows made [him] sad” because he knew that they were going to be killed. Ian has also been a vegetarian for 6 years. So there are the vegetarians who dislike meat because they feel bad about eating once living creatures. That type hardly constitutes the entirety of the vegetarian population. Senior Rachel Jewell was a vegetarian throughout her entire junior year. She decided to become a vegetarian because “it’s healthier”; however she also recalls seeing a video of sheep being slaughtered, which saddened and disgusted her. Her older sister Sara Jewell, a graduate of M-A who now attends Northwestern, managed to remain a vegetarian for about 8 months before she ate meat again. We are not saying that everyone should attempt to become vegetarian, we’re simply asking that you make conscientious decisions concerning whatever it is you choose to ingest. If you haven’t seen Food Inc., watch it. If you like to pretend that chicken nuggets grow on trees and refuse to acknowledge the inhumane practices of most meat packaging industries, at least make a vague attempt to save your own arteries. See how long you can go without eating meat– you might surprise yourself.
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by Caitlin Kenney and Brooke Delly
of people have seen Food Inc. I’ve seen it. I was shocked and inspired by it, I pledged to eat only organic food for all eternity, went to a farmer’s market or two, and promptly proceeded to forget all about it. Honestly, it takes too much effort, right? We can’t all be bothered to make sure everything we eat was morally produced, look up every brand and restaurant online before we consume its produce, etc. What difference will it make anyway? Those are a few examples of the lame excuses that run through my mind occasionally. Lots of people are aware of the vast array of problems present in the food industry. Lots of people think that these problems are rather upsetting. Lots of people aren’t doing anything about it. Then again, quite a few people are.
ZoĂŤ Winkworth Chalk Pastel 8 x 12
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Did You Know
?
Although Menlo Park might not be known for much, it is home to the original Round Table Pizza. It is located on El Camino Real, less than five minutes from M-A. Founded in 1959, the Round Table Pizza franchise has 24 grown to include 500 restaurants total.
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Released in 2010, Hipstamatic is an iPhone/ iPod touch application that allows users to create retro style images through its use of a square crop and heavy ďŹ lters. Unlike its namesake analog camera, which sold around 200 units, the Hipstamatic application for the iPhone/iPod touch has sold over 1.4 million copies as of November 2010.
PHOTOGRAPHY Emily Johnson Keara Haldeman Leah Worthington Prescott Foland
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The Ink Bottle Everyone’s life is like a book The size of the font and the number of pages Are different for every person But they all end when the writer is out of ink
POETRY Andrew Aufdemberge
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books i really liked that you should like too.
} } }
by Rachel Fox
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Díaz
MIT creative writing professor Junot Díaz’s novel explains the life of a fat nerdy kid struggling to define himself– Domincan, American, both, or neither. The book focuses on his life growing up in America and the Dominican Republic, his familial identity, and of course, trying to get laid. I enjoyed the cultural aspects of the book, from Spanish slang to nerdy pop-culture refrences. I warn you that it can be pretty sad and definitely violent, but then again, some of the best books are. Also a plus: the book can be found in Spanish.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Anne Fadiman
Okay, so you hate non-fiction. I get it. I hated it too, but after reading this, I decided not to hate it so much. Fadiman depicts the frustrating interactions between American doctors and a Hmong (a Chinese and Laotian cultural group) child with epilepsy. With the child’s sickness comes a culture clash that leaves a whirlwind of confusion and misunderstanding. This book is a tad on the medical-heavy side, but experiencing the frustration from both conflicting sides of the story also brings a strong emotional component to the book. Overall, it is a really fascinating portrayal of Americans, how we interact with the healthcare system, and our view of outsiders and their culture.
Juliet, Naked Nick Hornby
Juliet, Naked is a lighter read that’s endearing and clever. It revolves around a relationship between a music-obsessed boyfriend and his girlfriend, their struggles, and the possibility that possibly he should pay more attention to her than stalking the recluse of a music artist he loves. Also, part of it takes place in Britain, so it has some funny British words. Weirdos.
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Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism Otto Kernberg M.D.
Man, sometimes, you just wonder. 29
ARTWORK Maria Ikonomou
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SAFE SEX SURVEY Come by E-26 at lunch on Friday, April 8th and drop off this survey. We appreciate your support.
Please answer completely and truthfully. All responses will be kept anonymous. All responses will be used exclusively by the MArk staff. Circle all that apply. Are you sexually active? Yes No When did you become sexually active? _________ Do you/have you ever used a form of contraception? Yes No If so, where do you get it? - M-A Nurse’s Office - Planned Parenthood - Sequoia Teen Wellness Center - Doctor’s Office - Commercial Source (Walgreens, 7-11, etc.) - Other: ___________________________________________________ What form of contraception have you ever/do you use? - Plan B (Morning After Pill) - Birth Control Pill -
Condoms/Diaphram
- Other: ___________________________________________________ Have you ever been pregnant? Yes No Have you ever had an abortion? Yes No If not, did you want to? Yes No If you wanted to have an abortion but were unable to, for what reason was it not possible? __________________________________________________________________ If you feel comfortable corresponding on this topic, please leave your email and/or phone number below. We will not release any of your information without your consent. Email: ____________________________________________________________ Phone number: _____________________________________________________ 31
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from the
by Alyssa Westfield
ot do n ur u o “Y yo with did, k l a t u If yo ear. ould w that rie.” e be e en s Roi
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g rayin t e b e is aglia c a f “My - Senig me!”
“Al l say I wan - K was W ted to an .T.F e !”
“Onc e this p again we h oo a tree g r man wit ve h ro groin wing out o a .” - St f his rub
“Well, if you spel l France E-N-G-L-A-N-D, then it’s wrong.” - Perry
nds u o s e h to m c i ally h e r W a ! s w a “Esche eone who h ura t n e V m like so d sneeze.” se half-as
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“Ot su got ka’s w b a rogu ack hel ck, we la e.” Ots work uka
“W h wit en yo h - Ro a pre u’re p ise gna regn nt w ant n om .. an. ..”
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Secret Menus
by Anna Luke
Here are some Secret Menu favorites: You're next in line for the cash register at In-N-Out, looking around, you see people anxiously waiting on the plastic benches for their meal. The smell wafting in from the kitchen is teasing your nose as you notice the white hats with the tiny red palm tree borders bobbing up and down. It’s your turn now, you step up to the register and order a Double-Double with fries Animal style and a Neapolitan milkshake. Ordering something not on the menu gives you a feeling that you are a part of an elite secret society. This feeling makes the burger you ordered taste five times better. Food items such as Animal Fries and Neapolitan milkshakes are more common "Secret Menu" choices. Items like these are ordered just as often as regular menu items. But there are other secret menus from popular restaurants that many people do not know about. Places such as Starbucks, Jamba Juice and McDonald’s have come up with their own concoctions . Secret Menu items are most often created by employees of a restaurant chain, then set in place either by the head of the chain or by word of mouth. Because of this system, employees don’t always know the recipes of the secret menu items. When ordering from a secret menu it is recommended to bring a print out of the secret item and its recipe or as a web page on a phone. Most of the secret menu’s items of any restaurant can be found online.
In N’ Out
Animal Style Fries/ Burger – Cheese+ spread+grilled onions+ pickles piled high on top of fries. Neapolitan Shake – Chocolate+ vanilla+ strawberry ice cream blended together into one shake. Protein Style –low carb alternative. Any burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun Veggie Burger / Wish Burger –burger no meat or cheese, but lots of grilled onions lettuce+ sauce+ double tomatoes.
McDonald’s
Pie McFlurry - If you purchase a pie you can have it blended into your McFlurry Land, Sea, and Air Burger - beef patty+ chicken patty+ fillet-o-fish patty+ bun. Big McChicken - huge sandwich in which the chicken patties replace the bun. McLeprichaun - shake is only available in March. The shamrock shake+ chocolate shake= mint chocolate shake.
Jamba Juice
White Gummie bear- peach juice + soymilk + lime, raspberry, orange, and pineapple sherberts + one scoop of mango Pink Starburst- lemonade + soymilk + raspberry sherbert + frozen yogurt + sorbet + fresh strawberries Sour Patch Kid- lemonade + lime, pineapple, raspberry, and orange sherbert; fresh blueberries Fruity Pebbles- soymilk + orange, raspberry, pineapple, and lime sherbert PB & J Sandwich- soymilk + frozen yogurt + strawberries + blueberries
Starbucks
Cake Batter Frap - a vanilla frappucino, ask for both the vanilla bean and almond flavorings. Crunchberry Frap - strawberrys and cream frappucino with hazelnut flavoring. London Fog - vanilla flavoring+ Earl Gray Tea+ steamed milk. Red Tux Mocha/Bleeding Penguin - mix of white chocolate and milk chocolate mocha with raspberry flavoring. Zebra Mocha- mix of the white chocolate and milk chocolate mochas. Chocolate Cream Frapuccino - frapuccino made with chocolate syrup and chocolate frapuccino base. Courtesy of: http://www.couponsherpa.com/ask-coupon-sherpa/secret-restaurant-menus-revealed/ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/184142/jamba_juice_combinations_from_the_secret. html?cat=51
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PROMENADE P
rom. This is a word that inspires both excitement and anxiety. Juniors and Seniors spend the months leading up to prom worrying about who they will ask, whether they will get asked, what they will wear, how they will get there, etc. This apprehension is caused by a desire to make prom night unforgettable. Asking someone to prom has become the marriage proposal of high school. Kids spend hundreds of their (or their parents’) hardearned dollars on tickets, tuxedoes, dresses, limos, and so on. The question is; why has prom become such a stressful event? What exactly is prom? Short for promenade, this high school event has been around since the dawn of time. It’s a dance, a social gathering, a respite from a stressful senior year, a celebration before spring break, and an emotional event that reduces many a man into tears. Essentially, prom means something different to everyone. Some count down the days, while others stubbornly avoid attending something so “mainstream”. However, no matter your opinion on prom, there is no denying that it has the potential to turn what could be an exciting night into a bundle of stress. On the surface, prom is just a party, but with a closer look it turns out that prom has the potential to be one of the most stressful nights in high school. The amount of preparation that goes into this one night rivals wedding planning. Juniors and Seniors have to determine how they will get there, what they will wear, and make appointments to get their makeup and hair done. However, most upperclassmen agree that the aspect of prom that causes the most anxiety is the other sex. It sounds like a cheesy problem from an after-school special, but dates to prom are the number one cause of stress in juniors and seniors. Going with a date causes different problems for guys and girls. For guys, one facet of bringing a date is the actual proposal. Prom proposals have become, in essence, a competition to see who can ask their date in the most creative and romantic way. There are the classics: signs, posters, writing “Prom?” on their car, but these all pale in comparison to the more creative proposals. One senior
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this year bought a toy horse covered himself in aluminum and asked the girl as her “knight in shining armor”. Another called out the name of the girl in the middle of the green, and then ripped off his shirt revealing another shirt asking her to prom. Then, of course, there are the more romantic (albeit slightly cheesy at times) proposals. A senior this year took the girl out to dinner and had the waiter write “Prom?” in chocolate sauce on her dessert. Another poured Hershey’s Kisses on the girl and said, “now that I’ve kissed you from head to toe, will you go to prom with me?” Other classics are using ring boxes, candles, or even fortune cookies to propose. However, the ultimate cause of stress for guys is the fear of rejection. Every guy (whether they admit it or not) is scared of putting himself out there with some creative proposal and then hearing the girl say “no”. And girls have just as much, if not more, stress than the guys. While they don’t always have to ask someone, there is always the fear of not getting asked. Not only that but there is the fear of being asked by someone that they have never talked to before, causing either an awkward rejection or an awkward prom date. Girls have the added stress of clothes, makeup, and hair. Guys can essentially throw on a suit or a tuxedo and look passable but girls feel the need to pick out just the right dress and have their makeup done perfectly. Makeup and hair appointments have to be made and dresses have to be bought. Without a doubt, prom is a stressful night for either gender. So then the question becomes, if prom is so stressful, why go? All this work for four hours of dancing. What makes it worth it? The real answer is simply because it is fun. It’s a party. It is a celebration at the end of the year. That is why Juniors and Seniors brave the downpour of stress that comes along with prom. Guys think of creative ways to ask girls, girls buy dresses, and everyone is stressed. But at the same time, everyone ends up having fun. In the end, most people agree that prom is something they will remember for the rest of their lives, and isn’t that what it is about?
Nicky Hug
PHOTOGRAPHY Laurin Noguchi
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Coexisting at M-A Idris Rasheed, a practicing Sunni Muslim, believes that M-A is generally an accepting place to be Muslim, although “it’s harder for some teachers to understand that you have to miss school days for certain Muslim holidays, or you can’t pay attention in class, because you have not eaten or drunk for eight hours.” Rasheed, a junior, believes having a strong spiritual connection, one’s obedience to the Qur’an, and following the Five Pillars, have led him to be a better person.
Radhika Khatod was raised as a Hindu by her parents, continuing a long family line of Hindu culture and religion. Khatod, a sophomore, likes the idea of different gods representing different aspects of life. She also likes all the holidays and enjoys getting together with family and friends to celebrate them. Khatod appreciates how everyone can practice it how they wish and it’s not a fixed religion. Khatod says that M-A is “a very accepting place In today’s world, hundreds of religions are practiced, to be a Hindu, Muslim, Jew, from tribal groups in rural Africa to geeks at a Greek or Christian.”
god convention in southeastern West Virginia. M-A is the microcosm for the world, as students practice a wide variety of religions such as Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Overall, M-A students are respectful and accepting despite the myriad of religions and the differing values and opinions among the students.
When asked whether she believes there are any religious barriers at M-A, Samantha Bloom, a sophomore, responded, “I really don’t think so because M-A is a public school and therefore religion is not a big issue.” Judaism appeals to Bloom because it stresses family, charity, and education, all of which are very important to her in her own life. However, Bloom, describes herself as more “culturally Jewish than religiously Jewish.”
Kathryn Carruthers, a sophomore and a Presbyterian, believes that “religion, as a whole, is a really great way to dedicate yourself to something bigger than you and bigger than your problems, it’s a major stress reliever for me and it’s helped me define who I am and who I want to be.” Carruthers says that M-A is most definitely a welcoming school to be a Christian, though some of M-A’s teachings may conflict with the beliefs of very strict Christians.
As Carruthers stated, religions can be an escape from the harsh, high school reality. They tie students together and establish individuality. Whether one is Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, or Atheist, it is their life and it is their identity. 36
by Ryan Wentz
PHOTOGRAPHY JP 37Nash
Gym. TaN. Lax. You’ve seen ‘em in the halls. You’ve seen them at the gym. But now, through hours of scientific research, we have the stereotypical lax bro:
Neck (Head width) Right hand: cured more lonely nights than a GameBoy color
by Max Goldenstein
Backwards trucker hat: It has all the perks of a hat, just none of the perks of a hat
Ego God
College Shirt: I don’t care what people say, Campus PD has made Chico State better
Those basket ball shorts you have had since you were 6
“The Stick”: the second most important stick for a Lax Bro 27 pack: who needs washboards? Exposed underpants: Belts are for pussies (cats(not cats))
Uneccessary bowlegged-ness
Sperry’s (those are dope) *DISCLAIMER: THIS IS IN NO WAY RELATED TO THE M-A LACROSSE TEAM, JUST LAX BROS! -thanks
38 PHOTOGRAPHY Max Goldenstein
and Creative Commons
Natty Light - its like water....... but it sucks. (ALCOHOL IS BAD)
LIGHT
Ignorance is bliss... P-A SYSTEM
#$(&$*#@&$(*#
P-A SYSTEM
What did they say? I dunno...
M-A ...I bet it’s nothing important
CARTOON Max Goldenstein
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PHOTOGRAPHY Nick Henze by Russell Gurman
We Out to Wingstop!
W
ingstop. A place where delicious wings are inhaled by people of all ages. From teens to senior citizens Wingstop is a popular place if you are craving something mouth-watering. With nine different flavors and three different dips, Wingstop is the place to be. The sweet and sugary fries add to the delicious gusto of any seasonings. Senior Nic Brody recalls a time when he and a handful of his friends realized they had gained Wingstop fame. “One time when we were at Wingstop, a guy, probably age 25 or so, at the table behind us said, ‘We out to Wingstop’ (even though he was already at Wingstop).” Brody and his friends had coined the phrase and were shocked to hear it said by someone outside of their group. One would say senior David Oser is just a fan of Wingstop. Others would say that he is addicted to the wings. Addicted or not, Oser wrote a college essay about eating Wingstop wings. An excerpt from 40
the essay says: “The smell of BBQ sauce was filling the air. The sweet scent of sugar on the fries was one I noticed as soon as I inserted a fry into my mouth. When I picked up a wing, sauce dripped off it like a leaking faucet.” Oser goes to Wingstop so often that a few of the cashiers recognize him and do not ask him to show to his ID when using his credit card. What is the first thing you do after being sick for a long time and unable to eat? I am sure your answer is not “Go to Wingstop.” Well, this is exactly what senior Rob Davis did. After being sick for over a month and only eating yogurt and apple sauce, Davis went with some buddies to Wingstop and scarfed down 35 wings in just 40 minutes. The nearest Wingstop is an aviationthemed restaurant located off Industrial road in San Carlos. Not only is Wingstop a great place to eat wings, it is a place to hang out, goof-off, and enjoy great times with your friends.
“
IM
“
P
Solving the Pencil Case.....
by Helen Burke
SKO OLIS FUN
Pencils can be lost, broken, and abandoned. They can be thrown in class at the back of someone’s head, or perfectly perched behind your ear. But pencils long for a home. Pencil cases, or sometimes a lack of pencil cases, show peoples’ personalities. Does the wild child of the classroom have an equally wild pencil case? Julio Lima, a freshman, who does not have a pencil case, blames it on not having a sufficient amount of pencils to put in a pencil case. Using a pencil case to hold pencils is normal. Using a taco or shoe? Not so much. When asked why she has a taco shaped pencil case, Suzie McMurtry said, “..... because school sucks.” Another popular pencil case is the Zipit case that zips all the way around the pouch. Janessa Gil, a sophomore at M-A, has a pencil case made out of recycled Kool-Aid pouches, just because “it’s fun”.
“
“
It’s recycled!
ED
Jannessa Gil, Sophomore
IM
R O B
”“
“
I don’t have a pencil case..I hardly ever have a pencil that isn’t broken anyway.... Julio Lima, Freshman
”
It’s name is Paco........ the Taco Pencil case... Suzie McMurtry, Sophomore
”
”
It’s like kicking butt in school... Get it? Because it’s a shoe. Helen Burke, Sophomore
1. b his pink pencil 2. D case. 3. c Did u s teal my 4. a pencil c ase? Nic Brody and
No...
PHOTOGRAPHY Lauren Smith, Brooke Delly, Mao Mei and Helen Burke
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42 PHOTOGRAPHY Charlotte McMillan
PH
OT OG
RA
PH
YS
uzi
eM
cM
urtu
ry
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Relay For Life
N
by Brooke Delly
o one ever wants to hear the words, “You have cancer”. Last year, I came home from school and my parents told me they wanted to talk to me. So I sat down because I knew that what they were about to tell me was serious, but nothing could prepare me for what I was about to hear. “Brooke, your aunt has breast cancer.” I wasn’t really sure if they had said anything else after that, because at that moment, a rush of questions flooded my head, causing my stomach to turn, and my eyes to water. I thought the world was going to end. My aunt was my role model. I wanted to be just like her one day, and hearing these words made me sick. I started blaming God, and asking why He would do this to her. She’d never done anything to deserve what she was about to face. Every day, for what seemed like months, I would ask my parents multiple times if they’d heard anything about how she was doing. I asked them so often that it was starting to get annoying, especially since nothing had changed since the last time I’d asked them. So once I stopped asking, I heard the news I was waiting for. My mom told me my aunt would be okay…after she had the tumor and her breast removed. This news was shocking to me. I wasn’t quite sure how to take it. Don’t get me wrong. I was glad that she was going to be okay, but I feared that something
Celebrate
would go wrong in her surgery. I kept repeating to myself, “My aunt, my hero, is going to be okay.” A few weeks after her surgery, I got an email from her saying that she was going to be involved in an American Cancer Society event called, Relay For Life. Relay For Life is a 24 hour event where your community gets together to help raise money and fundraise for cancer awareness. I knew from that moment on that I was going to do anything and everything I could to help with the fight against cancer, because everyday thousands of people die from this terrible disease. Ever since the day my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, I have been helping the world fight back against the disease. Being involved with Relay For Life is truly the best experience of my life. Last year, I joined Relay For Life and helped raise over $57,000. At R e l a y , you have your own team and you take turns walking around a beautiful track for 24 hours to show that cancer never sleeps. When you aren’t walking around the track, you can stay at your tent, fundraise for your team, or participate in the fun entertainment that the event puts on. This year, not only do I get the privilege of being a team captain, but I am also on the committee for the entire event. I am in charge of all of the entertainment, so believe me when I say that this year will be one to remember.
Remember
Fight Back
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So what are you waiting for?! Sign up and help us fight back against cancer. If you are interested in Relay For Life and the fight back against cancer, go to
w w w. r e l a y f o r l i f e . o r g / m e n l o p a r k c a .
PHOTOGRAPHY Sasha Bobrowicz
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Clockwise from top left: Aserรถe rubra- Hawaii, Unknown- Hawaii, Unknown-Fort Bragg, CA PHOTOGRAPHY Elizabeth Sommer 47
Fun Things To Do... alone
or ed
k
durin g
at laser quest Yell “Marshall!” periodically and then run away, so they can’t find you. Find the guy who takes laser quest way too seriously for a 45 year old and follow him around shooting him until he breaks down and starts crying because he has nothing better to do on a Wednesday in mid-July… Pretend you’re in a real war (Yell things like “Medic!”, “Get to the chopper!”, “Tell my family I love them…”, “Grenade!”) RUN, CLIMB, AND JUMP. Try for twenty minutes to make your name something suggestive until the marshall finally caves and lets you be “Blackhawk.”
Journ a
lism
In an elevator With other
people Stage a fight. Play ninja. Pretend to break up. Confess to your dear friend that you may or may not have a special drug resistant strain of Syphillis that can only be transmitted through brief contact with multiple sea horses. Pretend it’s solitary confinement and you’re trying to “Shawshank” your way out of there. Press the button and wait quietly in the corner without disturbing anyone because elevators are awkward.
WHEN SPORTS GET CANCELLED
Call your parents and ask them to come pick you up because you’re a Freshman and don’t have your license yet so you can’t go have fun with your friends like all the upperclassmen do. Doesn’t it suck to be a Freshman? 48
ice
in a dark corner
wh en
by Roger Upton
yo u’r eb
a re gb in pr gs r in du
a on
sw cut u o ny whe
ay sd e tu
ract im p
Take a road trip to Southern California where you will experiment with things you never thought you would experiment with... Ever.
Go home and log onto Facebook chat. Your friends who said they weren’t doing anything but they just checked in at In-N-Out with each other... Awkward.
PRANKED by Anna Argente
What do dirty diapers found on your desk, wire cords wrapped around your car’s tires, armadillos disappearing over night, and e-mails circulating about creepy diseases have in common? Well, one may assume that these are the works of Menlo-Atherton’s secret society of rebels that wreak havoc on campus because they have nothing to channel their pessimistic energy towards. However, if you ask any student that personally knows the inventors of these pranks, you will receive a laugh in return, accompanied by something like, “Oh yeah, they’re really cool!!” On the other side, if you ask a certain man named ‘A. Van Stone’, these little pranks are just the works of ‘Ernesto Pendegrass’, “the older brother you never wanted.” Would anyone like to guess who these aliases belong to? Hint: Not students. Both agree that one must never leave a paper trail. For anyone who doesn’t know, these pranks came from people around school every day of your high school careers, people who must seem immature. But in reality, these antics are all for fun, and are kept safe for a reason. Pranksters, I commend you...
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