The Union - Milpitas High School - December 2021

CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT NEEDS IMPROVEMENTS (3)

HOMECOMING ROYALTY SPOTLIGHT (4)

ORIGINS OF MUSD SCHOOL NAMES (6-7)

ARCANE REVIEW (8)

BOYS BASKETBALL 5-0 (10)

THE

DECEMBER 2021 VOLUME XXXIII ISSUE III

UNI N

MHSTHEUNION.COM FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

STUDENT VOICE OF MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL

MUSD votes not to authorize Athletic Booster Club operations

By Vania Castro

Brian Dinh | THE UNION

A driver of a Black SUV flashed a gun at a student at the crosswalk leading to the X-Building on Nov. 17.

Student threatened with gun near X-Building

By Archanaa Ramakrishnan

An MHS student was threatened by a driver brandishing a gun near Escuela Parkway on Nov. 17, Director of the San Jose City College (SJCC) Milpitas Extension Michael Mooney reported in an interview. The driver, while reported to the Milpitas Police Department, has not been caught since the incident, Mooney said.

The student was running late on the way to class at the extension building, when a driver in a Black SUV, according to the student’s recollection, yelled and waved a weapon at him while he was passing the crosswalk to get to the school, Middle College Principal Karisa Scott said in an interview.

The student reached their classroom and spoke to science Teacher Kathleen Downum to report

the incident, Downum recalled in an interview. She reported the student’s incident to her supervisors, Michael Mooney and Karisa Scott, she furthered.

“They followed me out so that I could get a description of the vehicle, and then, I sent him back to class,” Mooney said. “And so I went outside and locked the gate.”

Karisa Scott, who handled the student while Mooney took safety precautions, notified the Milpitas Police Department and spoke to Officer John Mouk to issue a lookout for the described vehicle, Scott explained.

“So I went and got the student and asked him to describe exactly what happened and took some notes about that,” Scott said.

“Then, I just asked them if they felt that they could concentrate in class or if they wanted to take some time to process this further, and they said they’d like to go to

class. I asked them if they felt comfortable walking back across the street as well or if they’d like an escort, and they said they felt comfortable returning back across the street. So then I dismissed him and called the Milpitas Police Department.”

The student’s sibling, who was in class in the main campus, received a text message from the student explaining what had happened, social studies teacher Michael Cummins said.

“A student said that they had gotten a disturbing text from their sibling,” Cummins said.

“So when she wanted to text her brother back to see if they were okay, I called security because I wanted to make sure that this campus knew that something allegedly happened.”

The student’s sibling was then SEE PAGE 11

Angelina Barnes | THE UNION

The pie charts display data from a survey ran by The Union concerning opinions on the Pledge of Allegiance.

Poll: 72.8% of students say Pledge unimportant

By Angelina Barnes

California law requires all public high schools to conduct daily patriotic exercises, and the Pledge of Allegiance meets this requirement. While the Pledge of Allegiance is recited at many schools, public schools cannot compel students to recite or stand for the Pledge. At MHS, the national anthem is played before school, and the Pledge of Allegiance is recited during daily announcements at the beginning of second period.

To gain insight into opinions on the Pledge, The Union sent out three separate surveys to collect opinions from the following groups: students, teachers, and

parents. These informal surveys, which are not scientific, garnered responses from 363 students, 113 teachers, and 140 parents.

In response to the question “Is the Pledge of Allegiance important to you?,” 27.2% of students and 40.7% of teachers responded “Yes.” However, 82% of parent respondents indicated that the Pledge of Allegiance is important to them.

32.2% of students reported that they usually participate in the Pledge during morning announcements while 47.8% of teachers said they participate.

25.4% of students responded that their teachers require them to participate in the Pledge, either

by standing, reciting, or both; 25.7% of teachers said that they require their students to engage in the Pledge during the announcements. Of the parents who responded to our survey, 77.2% indicated that they believe their child should be required to participate in the Pledge.

When asked, “Do you think that the Pledge of Allegiance should be part of the announcements?”, 37.7% of students and 40.7% of teachers responded that it should be. Comparatively, 82% of parents believe the pledge should be included in the morning announcements.

SEE PAGE 11

The MUSD Board of Education voted not to authorize the MHS Athletic Booster Club (ABC) for on-campus operations on Oct. 26 due to the lack of a regular system of checks and balances as well as old bylaws, according to MUSD Superintendent Cheryl Jordan.

The ABC is a non-profit that raises funds to support MHS athletes and sports teams through membership drives, concession stands, and more, according to the 2019-2020 MHS Student/ Parent Handbook.

“Given the current condition that the board set for its approval on campus operation of the high school athletic booster club, the staff recommends that the board not approve its [ABC] operation on campus,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Wendy Zhang said at the Oct. 26 board meeting.

When the board acted on their recommendation, Jordan sent a letter to ABC President Ferdie Centeno informing him that the board would not approve of the ABC’s operations until they present revised bylaws, Jordan said in an interview.

“I also made suggestions and let them know that Principal Rojas or Assistant Principal Mach would be working with them to establish expectations for that,” Jordan said.

When the superintendent asked him what stance he took regarding ABC’s bylaws, Principal Francis Rojas said that ABC activities should be paused until they finish their bylaws and that the school board agreed, Rojas said in an email.

“I don’t recall exactly how old they [bylaws] are,” Jordan said.

“But they are not specific enough to address … how the deposits would be made and how receipts would be kept.”

Moreover, ABC members loosely interpreted the bylaws, and they had no comprehensive list of amendments for any conflicts that might arise, Assistant Principal Jonathan Mach said in an interview.

“There were a few board meetings where the board received public comments by members of the ABC,” Jordan said, explaining how the ABC’s issues first reached the board. “The different people who approached the board had asked the board to help them solve a problem.”

The board then brought the issue to the superintendent, and Mach interviewed several members of the ABC about their different processes, Rojas said in an interview.

“I was appointed by the board and the superintendent to oversee the entire inquiry of what was going on for this event,” Mach said. “I was supposed to compile all the facts.”

The inquiry report stated that the ABC’s election process for new board members needed to be clearly defined.

“There are some areas that were not very clear about who can vote and who can’t,” Jordan said.

In addition to the report, Mach said that MHS Bank Technician Jim Hollenback also conducted an audit into the ABC’s statements and numbers.

“Mr. Hollenback’s role was just to look at the finances because he’s the bank clerk,” Mach said.

“He got a hold of their statements, and he just wanted to make sure… that all the numbers were accounted for.”

The ABC’s system of checks and balances was lacking because they bought materials on a needto-need basis, Mach said. When a member has to buy materials, they get reimbursed, but they first have to put in a request and then get approval, Mach added.

“They’d just buy [materials] and then they forget,” Mach said.

Furthermore, one area of concern was an alleged theft of concessions in January, according to the inquiry report.

“There was no finding; that was just an allegation,” Jordan said.

To give context, Mach said that the ABC donated drinks to volunteers who helped reorganize book rooms, and Assistant Principal Jennifer Hutchison sent a letter thanking the ABC. However, the ABC did not realize that the drinks were donated until a member questioned the missing inventory, Mach added in a follow-up email.

“There was contention on paperwork and trails,” Mach said.

“It was all found out during the investigation that, within themselves, they were not clear. There was a lot of miscommunication.”

Mach recommended that before September, the ABC should vote on new bylaws specifically relating to purchases and sales of concessions, he said in an email he sent to Centeno in June.

“I believe the new bylaws need to be more specific about processes for financial transactions, approvals, checks and balances, elections, scholarship process,” Rojas said, also in an email to Centeno.

If the bylaws did not meet the district approval deadline in September, Rojas would recommend a provisional approval for the ABC, as long as they had a plan, a timeline, and were making progress, he said in the email.

“It was reported to me by staff present at their [ABC] meeting, after we had sent my suggestions, that ABC leaders publicly went against our recommendations by saying that our recommendation went against their current bylaws,” Rojas said in a follow-up email.

Currently, the ABC is prohibited from fundraising on campus; however, the school allowed concessions during football senior night, Rojas said. A volunteer, Joseph Weinstein, was in charge of the sales, and a few ABC members volunteered as individuals, Rojas SEE PAGE 11

2

THE UNION

PRO College admissions accurately gauge students With the majority of students it values other aspects such as graduating high school enterextracurricular activities, esing college (hovering at roughly says, income, and hard work over 60%), it is a common post-highnumbers. W hile college may school route for students. Colseem like an expensive option for lege applications may seem like some, opportunities for scholara never-ending struggle of writships and grants have been plening essays, finding means to pay tiful in recent years. Education tuition, and most importantly, has been designated one of the getting that dreaded decision. highest priorities for financial It may seem like a torture methsupport, so finding a chance to od that adults use to sift out pay for college is right around the the cream of the crop from the corner. All it takes is a keen eye weeds, but there is a method to and effort. this process.

A lthough crazy stories of American admissions s t u d e nt s starting officers use a holisnon-profits and creattic approach that has ing robots as teenagevolved over the years, ers may be a recurring looking at everything topic on college accepfrom test scores to intance stories, it is all terviews. On the other for a reason. There is a hand, countries such bottom line to college as India, Australia, acceptances: colleges and China use college accept people that they entrance exams which believe are fit for their dictate students’ near schools. They read apFARDIN future all with just one plications with the inHAQUE score. In those countent that students can tries, students’ greatbring something to est dream is to have a college their school and, in return, give entrance system as intricate as students the tools to thrive in the ours. Using this comprehensive real world. Getting rejected from approach has made college adcollege is not a sign that colleges missions more equitable. A typare cruel and students are incaical college application includes pable; it just means that a stuseveral parts that can accurately dent’s traits may be better suited assess the capabilities of a stufor another school. And this sysdent, including essays, grades, tem works. and letters of recommendation.

College is a gateway for human W hen Stanford, Princeton, innovation today. Without colHarvard, and a handful of other lege, literacy rates would not be elite institutions used to release where they are and the workforce freshman admissions statistics, behind creating innovations may students were accepted by these require more time with less qualschools with GPAs as low as 2.0, ified employees in the industry. which made it clear that grades Keeping motivation towards this are not everything. The beauty gateway is necessary for steadily of the college application is that progressing society.

CON College admissions cause student exploitation Admissions acceptance rates ceive around $7,668,150 from have gone down significantly in applications alone, not to menthe last 25 years, while college tion the millions they receive costs have increased by 171% from the 16% accepted. However, (U.S. News). In 1995, Harvard’s money is not the sole motivator. freshman acceptance rate was The capitalist scarcity heuris11.8%, which dropped to a devastic—the idea that the harder it is tating 4.9% in 2021. to acquire an item, the more valWhat are the results of these ue that item has—leads to the behighly selective admissions? In lief that the lower a university’s top schools, perfect grades and acceptance rate, the better it is. test scores aren’t enough. UncerThis causes universities to bring tainties in the college admissions their acceptance rate lower and process create a breedlower, even when they ing ground for predatohave the resources to ry college consultants, create extra seats. a sector valued at $1.9 Many high school billion in 2019. Edustudents build their cation consulting has whole identity and high become a money-makschool career on getting ing scheme, wringing into the “right” college. money out of anxious While the intention of students and parents holistic college appliwho are convinced that cations is to gain an inprestig ious colleges sight into the non-nuVYOMI are the key to success. merical aspect of a SETH College consulta nts student’s life, they’ve charge an average of become a frenzied com$200 an hour, and packages can petition of who can achieve the cost from $850 to $1.5 million most impressive extracurricu(The New York Times). This adlars and awards. This bastardvantage shuts off most so-called ization of hobbies undermines opportunities for disadvantaged the meaning and importance of students who cannot afford to these activities and contributes have their application tailored. to students lacking intrinsic moColleges also exploit students tivation: the personal incentive to make their admissions rates and passion to do things for their even lower, excessively proown satisfaction. moting to students who have no W hile top universities may chance of getting in. Anyone who have good education programs, has made the mistake of signing they no longer function as learnup for the College Board Student ing tools but instead as status Search receives hundreds of mail symbols, where only the elite packets and emails from college may enter. Students may feel as admissions trying to lure them if they have no choice but to play in to apply. The average college as pawns in this hierarchy, but admission application fee costs change begins with staying true $75. Multiplied by 102,242, the to their values. Dethrone the sovnumber of freshmen applicants ereignty college admissions have to UCLA in 2017, they would reon your life and identity.

OPINIONS

DECEMBER 2021

AP exams prey on unassuming, eager students Earlier this year, millions of Students also should understudents across the country pur- stand the need for AP exams chased Advanced Placement (AP) and courses by looking at the exams for $100, indulging Col- provider: College Board. Many lege Board’s business once again. students see the College Board And the age-old question rose as an organization that holds once again: are AP exams even every resource necessary for a worth it? As students, we are told college-bound student to gradover and over that AP exams are a uate high school and enter the way to reward students for their university system. But that is hard work and save simply not the case. them money for college College Board claims by giving college credit. to be a non-profit orWell, AP exams are not ganization, but conworth $100 per test, sidering their $1.1 biland here’s why. lion revenue from the First, I’ll tackle the A P program, SATs, a rg ument that A P PSATs, and more, this courses help save monnon-profit status is duey for college. Students bious. Instead, the Colare increasingly not lege Board seems to be receiving college creda big business feeding ARCHANAA it for their AP scores, RAMAKRISHNAN off students’ dreams because requirements of college admission. vary among colleges.

As the Americans for For example, the UniEducational Testing versity of California has ceased Reform says, “When a non-profit accepting AP Literature scores company is earning those profits, unless they are a five on the AP something is wrong.” Students scale, meaning most students are feeding into this business, will still have to take an English ignorant of its true worth, due to course in college. This standard encouragement from their peers does not solely apply to AP En- and school. The College Board glish. In other AP courses, even a should be questioned about its full score of 5 will not earn cred- worth in a student’s education, it at the UCs, and the student is not blindly followed. merely allowed to avoid an introAnd what about the idea that ductory course. Therefore, the AP exam scores accurately reworth of taking AP exams and f lect the knowledge one has courses is declining. learned over the year in a course?

Should one test determine a student’s worth for that year? The fact that so many students’ lives revolve around a five on the AP scale shows how much the educational system has failed high school students. A single test should not be able to hold such significant power over determining a student’s knowledge for an entire year, and only with growing student awareness will the system change.

Luckily, there are better alternatives to AP courses and exams that will not emotionally or educationally burden students. If a student wants a grade boost on their transcript, they can take honors-level classes, which do not feed into the AP exam program. Another good way to earn college credit is to take classes at a community college during one’s high-school career and earn enough credits to avoid paying for classes in college. Finally, whether it be through certification programs like Coursera or volunteer organizations, there are always other ways to gain knowledge and expertise in a certain field. A student should not be bound to a big business like the College Board, for it is their right to save for college and learn about subjects without the educational and emotional burden of stress that can come along with doing so.

Toxic positivity is emotionally invalidating These days, it is almost imposyou feel distressed.” sible to go on any social media Toxic positivity can lead people platform and not see a to judge themselves for surplus of motivationfeeling pain or sadness, al quotes and phrases causing them to feel such as “it’s going to be ashamed of themselves okay,” “everything hapfor experiencing tranpens for a reason,” or sient and unavoidable my personal favorite, emotions. A person who “it could be worse.” We is often invalidated may all know that having an struggle to accept, manoptimistic view of life is age, and comprehend beneficial to one’s mentheir feelings. Furtal health; however, life thermore, people who is not always positive. expect their feelings ANANNYA BHUSKAT Toxic positivity is the to be rejected are less concept that individulikely to demonstrate als should have a pospsychological flexibiliitive mentality no matter how ty, which is the ability to accept dreadful or tough their circumpainful ideas and emotions while stances are. It’s a style of life resisting defense mechanisms. based on “only good vibes.”

The capacity to live with our While there are advantages emotions is critical, and nothing to practicing positive thinking, is solved by ignoring unsavory toxic positivity can be severefeelings. In reality, suppressing ly invalidating as it rejects unemotions can make them return pleasant feelings in favor of a more frequently with more incheerful, often falsely optimistensity. tic, facade. According to CaroToxic positivity may manilyn Karoll, a psychotherapist in fest itself in a variety of ways. It Baltimore, Maryland, “The presmight be a family member who sure to appear ‘OK’ invalidates criticizes you for voicing your the range of emotions we all exfrustration rather than listening, perience. It can give the impresor a friend advising you to “look sion that you are defective when on the bright side.” It could be a

meme instructing you to forget about your problems. It could also be your own thoughts warning you not to linger on negative emotions like sadness, anxiety, or loneliness.

Toxic positivity has thrived as a result of social media, which we use to show us at our best. It’s important to recognize that being optimistic isn’t the same as toxic positivity. “It’s reasonable to feel the way you do after such a tragic occurrence,” is an example of affirming language. Toxic positivity sounds more like, “Stop looking at the bad side of things and instead think of the good.” Such words, at their best, come off as banal platitudes that let you off the hook. At their worst, these comments wind up condemning people who are struggling with really tough situations.

Allow yourself to experience your emotions. They are genuine and can assist you in recognizing aspects of a situation that can be improved. Rather than shoving bad emotions to the side, allow them room and address them as needed. Accepting and understanding the importance of our feelings can lead to great learning through life’s ups and downs.

Daylight savings time does no saving for us After finally getting adjusted to waking up for school, there’s another bump in the road to get over: daylight savings. While getting up at 7 a.m. to learn has a solid purpose, daylight savings is pointless. It’s simply unnecessary jet lag.

Circadian rhythm, also known as the body’s internal clock, gets its hands skewed due to daylight savings, leading to negative side effects. This shift could be detrimental in many ways; for those in school, it can lead to an impaired learning ability.

For those who drive, it has been found that fatal car accidents went up by 6% the week after daylight savings in 2020, according to a study done at University of Colorado at Boulder.

In the spring, our time is pushed forward an hour. This

change means that there is more that the Monday after the switch daylight in the evenings, which to daylight savings, stock market decreases the accident rate, and returns are below-average— and saves energy used by artificial this isn’t just in one region, the light. However, all of these optipattern could be found all around mistic reasons for daythe world. light savings time only The mental effects take place for half of the of daylight savings are year. detrimental as well.

Not to mention, dayW hichever way the light savings is untime shifts, it causes a reasonably expensive; negative mood disturit costs the U.S. over bance, causing season$430 million a year, acal depression. cording to a study by

Daylight savChmura Economics & ings was originally Analytics. The effect part of the war effort, PRIYA on the stock market is introduced by GermaTHOREN disadvantageous. A few ny in 1916. In Germany years ago, Mark Kamsand Austria, the hands tra of York University, Maurice of the clock were pushed ahead Levi of the University of British one hour. The reasoning behind Columbia, and Lisa Kramer of the University of Toronto found CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

EDITORIAL

DECEMBER 2021 FROM PAGE 2

this was to save fuel for the war (World War I) by reducing the use of artificial lighting. Daylight savings dissipated after the war, but it was brought back and adopted by most of Europe when the next World War occurred. So

why continue this now unnecessary process, and why hasn’t the state of California done anything to change this unorderly system?

Well, in 2018, Proposition 7 was actually voted into place by 62%, containing the ability to change the daylight savings time period.

Though it was passed, it was nev-

er truly implemented due to the Legislature not furthering it.

Unfortunately, it seems that for now, daylight savings time will continue to be a hindrance.

Hopefully with more work, we can abolish it and not worry about our sleep schedules getting mixed up twice a year.

Do we need Netflix Christmas movies? instead, they fall into the trap of It’s Christmas. Apart from recycling unoriginal movies just presents and decorating a tree, for the sake of profit. a well-spent tradition is watchNot only that, it sends the ing heartwarming Christmas wrong message to viewers, esmovies to gain the holiday spirpecially women. Why is it that it. These classic movies brought Netflix Christmas movie producback memories of spending time ers are so obsessed with women with my family. However, these falling in love with someone for traditions are quickly vanishing the holidays in fear of as a flurry of new movliving an unsatisfactoies enter Netf lix. The ry life by themselves? overdone, clichéd movNetf lix perpetuates ies are overwhelming to the idea that people the point of cheapening cannot feel satisfied Holiday films and stripwith love from their ping the tradition of its friends and family, worth. and the only way to enE ver y Christmas joy the season is with mo v ie d i s t r i but e d a significant other. through the Netf lix Netflix preys on single platform lacks essenARCHANAA people for the holiday tial originality and flavor. Every movie in the RAMAKRISHNAN season, aiming at their desires to be loved by past few years seems someone, by creating to follow the pattern of a bubble of escapism. By feeding an unsatisfied person yearning people this flimsily-constructed for a significant other during the film and showing the audience holidays. Examples include “The exactly what they want, viewKnight Before Christmas” or ers become ungrateful for the “The Princess Switch,” both coother forms of love in their life. incidentally played by Vannessa This negates morals and gratuity Hudgens, Netflix’s go-to festive learned from past holiday clasmovie actress. It seems that Netsics. flix hardly understands the purWith all these cheaply-done pose of holiday movies, which is movies, Netflix is leeching onto to entertain and emphasize the these low-budget films to fund importance of loved ones, and

higher quality projects. Netflix producers know that their audience is always on the hunt for the perfect holiday movie, and if they slap the word “Christmas” to a title, it will bring in more views and thus more money to fund better projects in the future. However, they perpetuate ideas that make people unhappy during the holiday season.

Perhaps one reason for these poor quality, unoriginal films is to distract the audience from the hectic world around them and shelter their minds for an hour or two. But, mixed with the false ideologies placed in viewers’ heads and the cheapening quality of their films, is it worth it or even healthy to distract the audience? Films should awaken an audience to their reality and inspire them to make a difference in themselves and the life around them. The true purpose of holiday films is to show how important loved ones are to each other and that giving back to others is the true holiday spirit. While Netflix may have forgotten this vital importance, viewers in the holiday season should not, for Pa Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life” sums this moral necessity: “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.”

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

MHS should nurture healthy campus environment From bluetooth spea kers blaring profane language about “cuffing hoes” to volleyballs and footballs crashing into windows and students just trying to get to class, the MHS campus seems more like a playground than a high school lately. Of course, students should have the freedom to express and enjoy themselves, but not at the expense of the safety and wellbeing of others. Ultimately, MHS staff and security should do more to put an end to the disruptive and potentially dangerous behavior on campus.

Largely due to students with personal speakers, the campus has become a cacophony of noise and obscenities. Even though MHS has attempted to ban bluetooth speakers for students, there has not been any actual progress in terms of preventing these nuisances from continuing. According to the MHS 201920 Handbook, the only handbook available on the school’s website, “The use of bluetooth speakers, boomboxes, and other portable sound systems are prohibited

before, during, and after school.”

Should we allow students to blast such loud and annoying songs that only serve to disrupt students’ breaks? Also, anyone who spends time on campus knows that much of the music played often has sexist and demeaning lyrics as well as profanity and racial slurs, including the n-word. Do we really need to hear “you gone suck my d*ck, or I’ll kill you” at eight in the morning? Yes, these are actually lyrics heard on our campus. Is this really the culture we want on display when visitors, such as parents and district employees, visit our school? At the very least, MHS should enforce its own rules.

Another annoyance that contributes to the chaos on campus is the presence of footballs and volleyballs whizzing by as students and teachers walk on campus before, after, and during school hours. Many people have reported being hit by either the players or balls while trying to walk to their classes or eat lunch.

Furthermore, there have been

incidents of balls striking and getting stuck on top of buildings, which causes disruptions during class time. Having to hear loud thuds during class or getting smacked in the back with a volleyball are both preventable situations that no student should have to deal with on top of the ordinary stresses that come with school. Everyone should have the right to a peaceful lunch without having to worry about students calling “Heads!” in order to warn of a ball flying straight at your skull.

To restore campus to a more peaceful and inviting place, MHS should be more stringent in enforcing security on campus and preventing these issues from occurring. With the support of the administration, security guards should be allowed to confiscate speakers. Staff on duty should help monitor areas and ball games should be relegated to the green. Ultimately, all students and staff should help to make our campus a friendly, safe place e that we can take pride in.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Student remarks on COVID-19 impact on club participation COVID created a unique situation where students were taken out of their normal classroom setting and in front of a dim school-issued Chromebook screen. This sudden environment change, along with the fact that students couldn’t safely interact with their peers without Zoom, created rifts in our school atmosphere. As clogs moved online, it was difficult to maintain a friendly, excited atmosphere as attendance and participation steadily declined. Particularly

for clubs like Speech and Debate, learning new debate formats and competing in online competitions required a seasoned work ethic that many new members were not prepared for. Over time, the motivation to form bonds with officers and members lessened, along with the number of cameras that stayed on. When we returned back to school this year, organizing events and hosting in-person meetings proved to be a struggle—mostly due to COVID mask guidelines, maintaining social distancing, and the fact that many of the new officers have never been on campus before.

With seniors ready to graduate and hand off their club responsibilities to current juniors, who only experienced one real semester of high school themselves, it appears there is a lot of work ahead of us. Though we have many clubs on campus, many of them lack the attendance to allow them to host events to make them stand out. It seems COVID not only stole our abilities to see the bottom half of our classmates’ faces but also our abilities to run clogs.

Natalie Chen Class of 2023

THE UNION

U NION The

S T U D E N T V O I C E O F M I L P I TA S H I G H

The Union is published by the Journalism class of Milpitas High School.

The views in The Union are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the school, students, administration, or Milpitas Unified School District.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Yearly subscriptions to The Union are available for $25. Contact the Business Manager for more information.

3

ADVERTISEMENTS

Those who would like to advertise in The Union can contact the Ad Manager at mhstheunion2022@ gmail.com. Ads are available in full page, half page, quarter page, and business card sizes. Inserts are also accepted. Upon request, The Union staff will customize and design your advertisement.

C O N TAC T U S 1285 Escuela Pkwy, Room E-9 Milpitas, CA 95035 Email: mhstheunion2022@gmail.com

S TA F F Brian Dinh • Editor -in -Chief Sharon Talaia • News Editor Ryan Teoh • News Editor Muskaan Mahajan • Op-Ed Editor Riya Vyas • Asst. Op-Ed Editor Archanaa Ramakrishnan • Features Editor Tiffany Lieu • Asst. Features Editor Matthew Nguyen • Sports Editor Arsh Ali • Asst. Sports Editor Mia Liu • Lifestyle Editor Angelina Barnes • Asst. Lifestyle Editor Vyomi Seth • Entertainment Editor Vania Castro • Spread Editor Anannya Bhuskat • Asst. Spread Editor Fardin Haque • Copy Editor Tolay-Jha Flowers • Asst. Copy Editor Sarvesh Shanmugam • Web Editor David Rendon • Photo Editor Thea Seeberger • Asst. Photo Editor Priya Thoren • Business Manager Stephen Huang • Ad Manager

Sanjit Roy

Journalism Advisor

H AVE A N OPINION? HAVE A GRIPE WITH THE SCHOOL? WANT TO PRAISE THE SCHOOL? WANT YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD? WANT TO REPRESENT THE STUDENTS? THE UNION PUBLISHES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SUBMIT ALL LETTERS TO E9 OR GO TO TINYURL.COM/THEUNIONLETTERS TO SUBMIT LETTERS ONLINE THROUGH A GOOGLE FORM DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR NAME AND GRADE

FOR MORE STORIES, VISIT US AT MHSTHEUNION.COM

4

FEATURES

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2021

CBI program provides real-world applications

By Thea Seeberger

Courtesy of Catherine Fung and Harshul Satija

Catherine Fung (left) and Harshul Satija (right) won homecoming queen and king respectively this year.

Homecoming royalty share their stories

By Ryan Teoh

What does it take to become Homecoming Royalty? Catherine Fung and Harshul Satija, this year’s homecoming queen and king respectively, shared their motivations and the paths they took to becoming homecoming royalty.

There were eight nominees for homecoming royalty this year, and the two seniors clinched the victory after a long voting process, which required both teacher recommendations as well as student votes.

“I actually wanted to prove to myself and others that I can actually be Homecoming King. Many people thought that it was impossible for me,” Satija said.

He said that he had the potential to win because he got lots of support from peers of all ages, from freshmen to seniors. In fact, during the interview, a few students came over to express their support for Satija, saying that he deserved the nomination.

According to Catherine Fung, her decision to run was just for fun.

“It was actually a very spontaneous decision that my friend Karina Wong (another nominee) and I brought up as a joke, and then we were both like, ‘But what if we actually did it?’” Fung said.

“And so we decided, let’s just go for it.”

Fung said she believes that her involvement in many different

clubs and organizations, such as Science Olympiad and Asian American Association, connected her to the Milpitas High School community and helped her secure the title.

“I think from there, I was able to make an impact on others through my leadership, and since a lot of other people who were in the clubs that I helped facilitate or I participated in knew me, it probably made it easier for them to choose who to vote for,” Fung said.

Campaigning was a big part of winning, and he attributes his win to Sydney Hoang, his campaign manager, and friends in Stocks Club, who he is very thankful for, Satija said.

“I first put a story up on Instagram,” Satija said. “I asked a bunch of people to help promote me, and then Sydney to design flyers for me, and we went from there.”

Like Satija, Fung said she also put out flyers and posted on social media, which she had her friends repost.

The homecoming royalty talked about their experiences after becoming queen and king.

“I don’t think it’s gained me anything, but I feel like more people know my name now,” Fung said. “Sometimes when I’m hanging out with friends around school and I meet someone new, they would be like, ‘Oh, hey, didn’t you win homecoming queen?’ and I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah,’ because

I’m kind of surprised that they remember.”

She chose not to show off her status by not wearing her sash or crown at the dance, and focusing instead on having fun with her friends, Fung said.

“I would say for one, it has increased my popularity.Everyone knows who I am when I’m walking around campus,” Satija said.

“People are like, ‘Hey, homecoming king.’ They treat me with a bunch of respect. And then they asked me for some favors to help and reached out to me as homecoming king.”

The two had a few words of advice to give to prospective students looking to run for homecoming court in the future.

“Go for it and don’t take it too seriously,” Fung said. “I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of putting myself out there and running, but it turned out to be a really positive experience. I was able to learn that high school isn’t all about suffering.”

Fung also said that Lynn Nguyen, a previous Science Olympiad captain who was crowned homecoming queen last year inspired her to run. She hopes that her own crowning will inspire other girls in STEM to run.

“Try and gather as much support as you can, as that’s the thing that’s going to help you win,” Satjia said. “Don’t ever underestimate yourself and always have the confidence that you’re going to win.”

God First: Christian club cultivates faith

By Brian Dinh

The God First Club is a student-run club that focuses on promoting and discussing the Christian faith among youth, president and junior Joseph Mui said in an interview. The organization formed last fall during the pandemic, but lost the majority of its members in the transition to in-person meetings, Mui said.

The God First Club is hosting a series of lectures called, “Who is Jesus?” which involve interpretations of Bible verses exploring Jesus’ nature, Mui said. The club has ten members signed up, but only three members consistently attend meetings, Mui said.

“We start with a worship song,” Mui said. “We play it out loud, but the members are more introverted, so they don’t want to sing it out loud. We just play the music and set the mood for getting into the Bible. Then, we read a passage together and get into partners and discuss some questions about it. Then, we end with prayer.”

Mui grew up in a Christian family and does not follow a specific denomination of Christianity, but he goes to a Baptist church, he said. He was not completely committed to Christianity until his

middle school graduation, Mui said.

“I went with my middle school to a Biblical retreat and camp down in Hume Lake,” Mui said.

“There were just a lot of special events with music, worship songs, prayer, and group discussion, which drove me toward who I am today.”

Officer Kara Pang, a junior, joined the club in late September of 2021 because she thought it was important to have a Christian community for herself, Pang said. Pang grew in a Christian family, and started to understand what being a Christian meant in middle school, Pang added.

“I think a lot of the things I do is because of my religion. It’s being kind to people.” Pang said. “I also spend a lot of my time dedicating myself to go to church, or sometimes I help volunteer. I’m a small group leader for kindergarteners and second graders. But I think the biggest thing is the way I act around people. I try to project what I think Christians should be like, so people can get a good idea.”

The club currently follows the lesson plans provided by The National School Project, an organization that supports students

trying to spread Christianity, Pang said. The “Who Is Jesus?” lecture series is part of The National School Project curriculum, she said. The National School Project has been helpful, but also has been a source of divide in the club, she added.

“An advisor from The National School Project sent an email to the club’s officer just introducing himself,” Pang said. “He said he was a certain kind of Christian, and then a Catholic officer’s parents weren’t happy, since the advisor’s branch was different from Catholicism. As a result, the officer was forced to resign.”

The club is trying to move beyond the pre-planned slides made by the National School Project at every meeting, and make the slides more personalized and relatable for high school students, Pang said. The club is also trying to make religion more accessible to new members, regardless of their previous religious affiliations or experience, Pang said.

“Rather than just reading Bible verses and answering the questions, I want to focus on the community and vision we have,” Pang said. “I want to focus on getting more people and having a more comfortable environment.

The Community Based Instruction Program (CBI) gives real-world experiences to students with special needs. These classes focus on incorporating traditional academics with daily living skills.

Garry DeGuzman, one of the CBI teachers, has taught the course since 2012, and has worked at Milpitas High School for three years.

“What we do in the CBI program, it’s kind of like one of those in-between kind of stages where we’re looking at the traditional academics, if you will, but we’re also looking at transition skills,” DeGuzman said in an interview.

“So math might include something like working with money.

Depending on the level of student, it could be recognizing different coins and bills, knowing that they have value, and being able to use that money to make a purchase on their own.”

In the course, daily living skills are taught to allow the students to become as independent or self-sufficient as possible. Some include vocational skills, cooking, hygiene, and social skills. Not only are the students taught these skills, but they get an opportunity to go out and apply them.

“Going back to the whole community based instruction, a part of that community is going off campus,” DeGuzman said. “And so we take these skills that we work on in the classroom, and try to have the students generalize them, so that they can apply it to real life settings. And so it’s like the actual practice of what they’re learning in the classroom.”

When off campus, the students get to apply their learning by going out to stores and purchasing items, applying traffic safety laws, taking public transportation, and interacting with people or workers out in the community, DeGuzman said. Additionally, the classes go out to different job sites for the students to see what the jobs are like, DeGuzman added. From there, the students can learn about job requirements, allowing them to learn about what type of careers are available and which ones they like, DeGuzman said.

“Each student is an individual with their own needs,’’ DeGuzman said. “And so within special

ed, we have these individual education programs; that’s something unique, and so we use that to take into account the special needs of individual students. We can not approach it from not just within our special ed, but all the different special ed programs within the school as well.”

Within the program, bonds are made with each student in order to amplify their learning and teach them effectively, DeGuzman said. Various approaches are taught, because some students prefer hands-on learning or modeling, while others learn better through verbal expression, DeGuzman said. DeGuzman said that he himself is constantly learning while teaching this course, as there are always new situations that come up, allowing him to find new ways and approaches to teaching his students.

“What we try to do is give them as close to the general education experience as possible. Whatever that least restrictive environment is, we try to get them basically as close as we can to the gen ed experience,” DeGuzman said. “That being said, that might be kind of difficult for some students. So what we do is we give them different modifications or accommodations to help with that.”

Some students in the program take various classes on campus throughout the day such as art, theater, dance, or PE, allowing them the opportunity to interact with the rest of the school population and get a further sense of a traditional high school experience, DeGuzman said. These interactions are in addition to participating in school events and activities such as spirit week and dances, DeGuzman added.

“I like when the students have that lightbulb kind of moment when they get something, where I can see them being excited about it and actually making use of the things that we teach them,” DeGuzman said. “It’s just kind of that satisfaction though, that we’ve kind of helped them to be able to help themselves.”

With many negative stigmas surrounding special education classes, DeGuzman said he hopes people can be patient and understanding of the needs of these students.

Operation Smile looks to make positive impact

By Priya Thoren

Say hello to Operation Smile Milpitas! Operation Smile is an international nonprofit organization that provides surgery to children with cleft lips in developing nations. A cleft lip is a condition in which the upper lip has a split or opening, which occurs when a baby is developing and their facial structures do not completely close.

Club president and senior Aayushi Shah has been continuing the original founders’ work after they established the club at the MHS campus last year, she said in an interview.

“The overall goal of the club is to fundraise and donate to the charity itself,” Shah said.

There are currently thirty-five members in Operation Smile at MHS, she said. Outside of regular club meetings, Operation Smile organizes and partakes in numerous activities to help children with a cleft lip.

“We hold fundraisers and we use the walkathon app—that’s one of our current fundraisers,”

Shah said. “We also make cards for the kids and ship them over.”

The treasurer of the club, senior Ronit Joshi, is enjoying his experience so far with the club.

Joshi’s favorite activity that the club has participated in is Hearts for Smiles. Operation Smile donated cards for the kids at the charity office; the children who received them were undergoing surgeries provided by the Operation Smile organization, he said.

Shah described the walkathon as her favorite and most accessible activity the club has done. The Charity Miles app helps Operation Smile add to their donations in an easy way, she said. “[The virtual walkathon] is very easy to do. You just have to download an app, and it automatically donates money to the cause,” Shah said.

“As a whole, Operation Smile Milpitas has helped so many kids, even in our own community, get better and feel better about themselves,” Shah said. “The kids seem to have lifted spirits after getting the cards. Hopefully this has helped give them easier lives.”

DECEMBER 2021

FEATURES

THE UNION

5

Hope for the Unhoused assists homeless, others

By Mia Liu

Courtesy of MHS Theatre

The full cast along with leads Tristan Tumacder (front left) and Vyoma Bhanap (front right). “The Acts of Life” followed a family through several generations as they found love, started families, and lost loved ones.

Theatre gives laughs in ‘The Acts of Life’

By Anannya Bhuskat

The MHS Theatre Department, under the direction of theater teacher Kaila Schwartz, performed its first post-COVID, live production, called “The Acts of Life’’ by Jonathon Rand from Nov. 18th to 20th. This comedy, consisting of a total of five scenes, follows the story of a family through four different generations. Each scene represents a different scene of life, from young adulthood to old age, and displays the ever-changing course of life.

The first scene starts off with two characters, Ava and Adam, played by senior Vyoma Bhanap and senior Tristan Tumacder respectively, whose characters are both desperate to get in a relationship. As they eventually meet through an online dating app, they fall in love and their journey through the rest of their life begins. The rest of the play showcases their stages of life, including wedding plans, marriage, childbirth, and more. Then, the focus of the narrative shifts to their children, demonstrating more of a generational story and highlighting the different aspects of their lives. The children are seen growing up through the metaphor of a game show: every question is another year added to their ages. The last scene shows the sped-up life of the second-generation couple as they run the marathon and deal with the different situations and expe-

riences life throws at them.

“It’s definitely a comedy. Every scene is trying to be as funny as possible, and then it has romantic elements, and it has dramatic elements,” sophomore Parth Gupta said, who played various roles in the play.

“I think it’s a really cool play because it’s about the little things in life and how those little things are just beautiful when you step back and just take a look at them,” sophomore Tanisha Varma, who played multiple characters in the play, said in an interview. “My favorite part about the play was how each of us had to play a lot of different characters. That made it super versatile in the sense we got to display different parts about ourselves.”

Acting, especially in plays with multiple characters, requires a deeper understanding of the persona and characteristics you are portraying, Gupta said. He stated how being able to portray different characters and traits was an amazing aspect of his acting experience.

Because theatre requires a live audience, many cast members expressed their disappointment in regards to an online year of theatre. “COVID-19 and virtual shows were definitely quite different from the standard theatre experience, and we had to overcome many, many challenges in the process,” Bhanap said. Such challenges included using green screen technology and lack of a

set, props, and design, she said.

“We did have to use performance masks, which was kind of a nuisance, but anything is better [than a virtual performance],” Gupta said. In a live performance, since the audience was able to respond to sweet, funny, and romantic moments in the play, it enhanced the play, allowing actors to deliver a more astounding performance, he added.

Theatre is not only about acting, but feeling comfortable in your own skin, and developing lifelong skills and abilities that are beneficial both on and off the stage, Schwartz said.

“The MHS theater classes are really a place where people can cultivate their own creativity and work on their self-esteem, and get comfortable working in a low-pressure environment,” Schwartz said. “One of my favorite things is watching someone who is incredibly shy at the beginning of the year become really outgoing towards the end of the year. So that could be you someday.”

In terms of advice, Shwartz said that theatre can change many perspectives and characteristics of people. “It’s more about confidence-building and creativity, nurturing and self-expression,” Schwartz said. “My goal is really not to create a bunch of actors.

My goal is to help people become more creative thinkers and feel more comfortable in their own skin.”

Milpitas Food Pantry nourishes those in need

By Mia Liu

MHS’s annual Jack Emery event spans from November to December. But all the cans have to go to one place: the Milpitas Food Pantry, a non-profit organization of 60 years that provides food and other necessities for those who need it, according to its executive director Karen Kolander.

Jack Emery donations get sorted, organized, and distributed to clients, with the remainder going to other agencies, Kolander said in an interview. “[The clients are] low-income people from Milpitas, but we’ll serve anybody at least one time,” Kolander said. “People can come from wherever in the Bay Area. If they say they need food, we will help them out.”

The disabled, homeless, and senior citizens are some of the thousands of clients that have benefited from the Milpitas Food Pantry, according to Kolander. “[The food] comes from private donations,” Kolander said. “We work with Trader Joe’s, Target stores, Grocery Outlet, different churches, corporate food drives.

Lots of schools work with us.”

When it comes to school donations, all schools in Milpitas are part of the Jack Emery drive, Kolander said. A lot of nursery schools and montessoris also work with them, Kolander added.

“We are so happy to be working with the students for this Jack Emery,” Kolander said. “It is by far our biggest fundraiser of the year.”

The Milpitas Food Pantry also distributes items other than food, such as household necessities and even dog food, Kolander added.

“If it gets donated, we do distribute it… things like diapers, cleaning supplies, hygiene stuff,” Kolander said.

The pantry is trying to expand its range of cultural foods, according to Kolander.

“We’ve really gone out of our way to look for more diverse stuff,” Kolander said. “​​We’re really trying to be very multicultural in what we offer. There’s a lot of… allergies, and dairy allergies, more vegetarians. We’re trying to take all of that into consideration.”

Other organizations also work with the Milpitas Food Pantry in the form of partnerships, according to Kolander. One of these

organizations is Hope for the Unhoused.

“There’s about… seven or eight different places that we work with, where we give them extra abundance that we have,” Kolander said.

The Milpitas Food Pantry also has a garden where they grow produce such as tomatoes, peppers, and lemons, according to Kolander. Even children will assist in harvesting the produce, and the service acts as a fun learning activity for everyone, Kolander added.

“It just makes me happy when kids get involved in health and nutrition and… gardening and wanting to eat healthier,” Kolander said.

Along with the generosity of the donating community, Kolander also talked about the people who come to the pantry in need of food and services.

“There’s very few people that just come in once, and you know, we try to really welcome them and make them not feel any kind of stigma for coming to a food pantry,” Kolander said. “People have enough to worry about. I don’t want them to have to worry about food.”

Hope for the Unhoused is a charitable organization working to provide food, hygiene products, phones, clothes, showers, and other amenities to those in need, Hope for the Unhoused board member Yolie Garcia said in an interview.

“There [were] a few of us a year ago, [in] June, that were concerned about the homeless in Milpitas. And so we started asking around,” Garcia said. “Last December we put in papers to become a nonprofit and we became legit March of this year.”

They have served three veterans, one of whom had attended Milpitas High School, Garcia said.

“It took us five months, but he got his own apartment,” Garcia said. “So he’s one of our success stories. He couldn’t believe that somebody was helping him. You know, it’s just heartbreaking out there.”

The organization encourages people with drug or alcohol problems or mental illnesses to get help, Garcia said. They even refer people to a team in order to provide those in need with an evaluation, she added.

“We’ve had a couple of people that have had heart attacks, and we’ve helped them with hotels to recover, and then they’re back in the streets,” Garcia said. “One guy, he actually grew up in Milpitas. He was a double amputee, he’s in a wheelchair, and so we helped him… get into the hospital, we helped him get into assisted living,” Garcia added.

While Garcia was growing up, she always helped people who were struggling or who needed some assistance, Garcia said.

“All they need is a couple of things to help them get out, to better themselves or… [to get] housing or to get a job,” Garcia said.

On Sundays, the organization gets about 18 to 25 people who come in need of food and other services. Some have been in Milpitas for a long time, some were raised in Milpitas, and some come from other places such as San Jose, Garcia said.

“We don’t want to be just giving out food forever,” Garcia said.

“Our goal is housing.”

Hope for the Unhoused is also trying to advocate for safe parking areas since many of the homeless currently live in their vehicles, Garcia said.

“There’s anywhere from 70 to

80 people in Milpitas right now that are either living in their car, or they’re out in the street,” Garcia said.

A service called Dignity on Wheels provides non-profit organizations, including Hope for the Unhoused, free toilets, showers, and laundry services to the less fortunate, Garcia said.

About five people are on the board for Hope for the Unhoused, according to Garcia. The organization has volunteers who drive and deliver to the camps, and help pack food, Garcia said.

“The services right now [that] we offer are Monday and Friday hot meals, every other Saturday hot meals. Sundays we were down there with the showers and we provided hygiene bags and clothes and the charging station, and underwear and socks,” Garcia said.

Garcia sends out medical referrals, and medics will come out and treat the homeless. These medics will make appointments and even send people to hospitals.

They become their primary medical people, Garcia said.

“We work with abode, [which] is a county agency,” Garcia said.

“They go out into the camps too, and they’re trying to basically contact every homeless person in Milpitas and assess them, they assess them to get them into housing, and to get them into the housing queue.”

Everyone who is homeless must have two forms of identification in order to get any benefits, according to Garcia.

“We work as a team… we go to the camps, we talk to the people, we make appointments, we’ll take them to [the] DMV,” Garcia said. “We get them their ID, and then we get them replacement social security cards or EBT food stamp cards.”

The community the organization has built with the people they help is greatly valued, Garcia said.

“We’ve known these people for over a year now, so they’re our friends,” Garcia said. “Even people that we meet on the street for the first time, it’s always important that they’re not anonymous, that they’re not invisible.”

Garcia also explained that the people who come are very grateful for the help that they receive.

“Sometimes some people are kind of grumpy, but for the most part, they’re very appreciative of the staff,” Garcia said. “Everybody has a story of why and where they are.”

Courtesy of “Hope for the unhoused”

Volunteers for Hope for the Unhoused give out food and supplies.

6

SPREAD

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2021

John Sinnott’s legacy in Milpitas community

By Sharon Talaia

Located on Yellowstone Avenue, John Sinnott Elementary is one of the most highly ranked schools in Milpitas. However, many students may be unfamiliar with the person the school is named after. A landowner who helped cultivate the area that would become Milpitas back in the mid-1800s, Sinnott was an influential figure in Santa Clara Valley’s history.

An Irish immigrant and orphan, Sinnott originally immigrated to Canada in the 1920s, according to Joseph Ehardt, treasurer of the Milpitas Historical Society, said in a Zoom interview. Sinnott later immigrated to California with the help of the Murphy family, who were some of the founders of the city of Sunnyvale he met back in Ireland, Ehardt said. A devout Catholic, Sinnott would later help spread Catholicism in Milpitas.

“There was no Catholic church in Milpitas,” Ehardt said. “And he was one of the people that actually helped create the Catholic church that was originally located on Main Street. Now, it’s had fires and been re-built, and it’s currently over on Abel [street] … And so, he was responsible

for raising money to actually build that church. The first mass that was conducted for that church was before it had a building, and it was actually on his farm and in his house.”

A part of Sinnott’s former land is where the Great Mall is today, Ehardt said. To this day, Sinnott still has at least one living descendant residing in California. Overall, Sinnott’s legacy is still felt in both Milpitas and the Santa Clara County community as a whole.

1876 Map of Milpitas with Pomeroy’s, Sinnott’s, and Curtner’s lands encircled.

Thomas Russell: well-travelled farmer immortalized in middle school name

By Riya Vyas

It’s right across from us, and many of us went there for middle school, but how much do we really know about the history of Thomas Russell Middle School? Unless you’ve gotten bored enough to start researching the school’s or the city’s history, chances are, not much.

Thomas Russell was born in Ireland in 1834 and made a career in whaling when he came of age, treasurer of the Milpitas Historical Society Joseph Ehardt said in a Zoom interview.

Through whaling, Russell was able to visit places all around the world, including Hong Kong and Hawaii. Russell married Margaret Mullen in 1868, and had three daughters. He lived in Canada and Boston before settling down in Milpitas in the 1870s. He bought a farm to the east

of where Thomas Russell Middle School (TRMS) is located today, and he owned Percheron horses, Ehardt said.

Russell valued education, teaching his children to play the piano, hiring an art teacher to teach his children to paint, and encouraging them to go to college.

Despite living in Milpitas for over 20 years, Russell actually did not appear to have a huge impact on the community, so it is likely the only reason the middle school is named after him is because it was built on his property.

“There’s really not a lot about him,” Ehardt said.

Indeed, the most interesting piece of information that still survives about Russell is that he was involved in an altercation with his neighbor over a drainage canal and ended up having to go to court, Ehart said.

William Burnett, pioneer-rancher

By Matthew Nguyen

William Burnett Elementary School, serving approximately 600 students, is one of ten elementary schools in Milpitas, according to the school’s website. The elementary school first opened in 1963 and was named after a Milpitas pioneer-rancher named William, “Billy,” Burnett, according to the website Burnett, best known for his responsibility, integrity, and work ethic, was born in 1884 in Missouri, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website. At only 11 years old, Billy spent two years in a covered wagon traveling across the country with his parents, two sisters, and grandmother until he arrived here in California, the web site stated.

“Billy had an uncle who came to California during the Gold Rush who perished in Angels Camp, California,” Joseph Ehardt, the treasurer of Milpitas Historical Society, said in a Zoom interview. “In 1859, Billy’s father, Isham Burnett, took his family to migrate from Missouri to California.

The family actually traveled across Angels Camp, the place where Billy’s uncle died, and that is also where Billy’s father died.”

During their journey to Santa Clara County, Burnett, who was only 13 years old, lost his father to an unknown disease, Ehardt said. After losing both his uncle and

father, Burnett was forced to become the man of the family at a young age, Ehardt added.

“In 1867, William, who was 19 years old, and his mother bought 170 acres of farm and hill land,” Ehardt said. “This land is basically three blocks away from the William Burnett Elementary School.”

Burnett actually bought the 170 acres of farmland for $2,500 from Marshall Pomeroy, another historical figure that a Milpitas elementary school was named after, according to the Milpitas Historical Society.

On his property, Burnett spent the majority of his time raising cattle, according to the Milpitas Historical Society. After several years of ranching, Burnett eventually sold part of his land in 1894 and sold the rest of it a few years later, also according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

“In 1900, Billy and his mother left their farm and began living in San Jose,” Ehardt said. “In 1920, Billy and his mother [were] reported to have moved to Palo Alto and remained there until Billy’s death in 1931.”

Burnett was a very popular, well-known, and respected person for his kindness and honesty, Ehardt said.

Burnett remained a bachelor, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

Marshall Pomeroy: from growing prunes to becoming deputy sheriff

By Vania Castro

Located within walking distance of MHS is Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School.

It takes its name from Marshall Pomeroy, (1835-1921) who came to California in 1858 from Somers, Connecticut, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

During the Civil War, Pomeroy was a member of the Alviso Rifles group but was never called to serve in battle, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website. “[Marshall Pomeroy] was a farmer here,” Joseph Ehardt, Treasurer of the Milpitas Historical Society, said in a Zoom interview. “He actually had a piece of property… he sold his property here in Milpitas and moved to San Jose, where he was a deputy sheriff for four years, but he became bored, and his sons convinced him to buy land.”

This piece of land was on San Francisco Road (now El Camino Real) in Mountain View, Ehardt added. “[Pomeroy] started the Pomeroy Orchard Company,” Ehardt said. “He bought 208 acres over in the city of Santa Clara,

and he grew prunes and apricots.”

In May 1867, Pomeroy married Ella French, the daughter of the proprietor of French’s Hotel, Ehardt wrote in an email. Today, a feed and a pet supply store on South Main Street occupies the land where the hotel once stood.

Pomeroy and French had a total of five children together: four sons and one daughter.

Pomeroy’s sons Irwin and Clarence ran the orchard company while his other two sons, Warren and Clovis, operated Pomeroy Bros., a clothing store in San Jose, from 1900 to 1927, according to a 1972 San Jose news article.

“Pomeroy [Elementary] school looks like it’s probably on Pomeroy farm land,” Ehardt said.

Pomeroy and French purchased a house on 429 North Third Street in San Jose where they lived until French’s death in 1917, and Pomery’s in 1921, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

DECEMBER 2021

SPREAD

Pearl Zanker: four decades of teaching, 27 years of contributions to schools

THE UNION

7

The First Milpitas Grammar School

By Fardin Haque

Built in the 1970’s, Pearl Zanker Elementary is one of the oldest elementary schools in Milpitas. Based on the Milpitas Historical Society’s website, it was named after Pearl Zanker who was a teacher in Milpitas and taught for over 40 years. A pioneer of the Zanker family, William Zanker, first arrived in California in 1855 and owned a farmhouse in Alviso near Highway 237, as found on the Milpitas Historical Society’s website. William eventually married Catherine Watters and had eight children, one of who was the father of Pearl Zanker, found on the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

Pearl Zanker grew up in this area. She became valedictorian of her high school class at Berryessa High School, according to the Milpitas Historical Society website.

“She trained to become a teacher, and initially in 1922 she was actually teaching in Santa Clara County Schools,” Joseph Ehardt, treasurer of the Milpitas Historical Society said. “But then she was assigned in 1926 to teach in the Milpitas Grammar

School … now in the current library. Then in the decade of the 1940s she was the principal of the Milpitas school.”

With Zanker Elementary school standing as a distinguished school and having another wing added in 2000, it has its beginnings tied to excellent teaching. They named the schools in honor of Pearl Zanker’s contribution to schools in Milpitas for about 27 years, Ehardt said.

Curtner family: From soldiers to abolitionists

By David Rendon

Curtner Elementary was home to many students of MHS in their younger days.

But how did it get its name? Curtner Elementary was not named after a single person, but rather a family. Henry Curtner was a landowner who owned 7,000 acres of land spanning from Warm Springs to Jacklin Road, according to the Milpitas Historical Society’s website.

According to the Mariposa Research website, Henry Curtner (1831 - 1916) was the son of Jacob Curtner, a soldier who fought under General Andrew Jackson in the battle of Horseshoe Bend; a battle that killed at least 800 Native Americans of the Upper Creek tribe, specifically the Red Sticks, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The Encyclopedia of Alabama also states that one of the reasons the battle was fought was because the Upper Creek were resisting expansion into their land. Henry Curtner was known for his support of education, and his funding of the Irvington Seminary, the Mariposa Research website stated. His wife, Lucy Latham Curtner was more notable than her husband. She founded Curtner Seminary, a finishing school for men and women to prepare them to enter society. She was a member of the abolitionist movement and was a personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln.

The history behind the elementary schools and Milpitas in general is a long story that intertwines and often causes

ANANNYA BHUSKAT | THE UNION

notable figures to meet. The Curtner family eventually joined with the Weller family with the birth of William Weller Curtner, grandson of both Henry Curtner and Joseph Weller, according to the Milpitas Historical Society.

Mabel Mattos, dedicated historian, apricot jam-maker, loving mother

By Tiffany Lieu

1890 Map of Milpitas with Curtner’s, Burnett’s, Russell’s, and Sinnott’s lands encircled.

On May 9, 2017, the Milpitas Board of Education voted unanimously to name the newest elementary school after Mabel Mattos, a local historian. Though Mabel Mattos was born in Madera, she moved to Milpitas early in her life. According to Milpitas Historical Society Treasurer Joseph Ehardt, Mattos had been a Milpitas resident for approximately 70 years until she passed away in 2013.

Mattos was highly involved in the Milpitas community and was a part of numerous organizations. According to the Milpitas Historical Society website, she was a founding member of the Green Thumb Garden Club, and one of the earliest members of the Milpitas Historical Society itself in the 1980s.

Within the Society, she held a variety of roles, including vice president and hospitality director. She had a collection of Milpitas memorabilia and offered to store documents and records in her home. She even encouraged author Robert Burrill to write an edition of “Images of America” about Milpitas, Ehardt said. But perhaps her most significant contribution was her own memory.

“She could retell the living history from her own knowledge,” Ehardt said.

Mabel Mattos’ long life in Milpitas allowed her to contribute a wealth of information to the Milpitas Historical Society.

Throughout her lifetime, she was able to see Milpitas evolve firsthand.

“She had seen Milpitas go from rolling hills with orchards, two-lane roads, very little traffic, to a city that grew with the times,” James Mattos, Mabel Mattos’ son,

said during the Milpitas Board of Education meeting. “Mom lived a long life and never left the city that she loved. Her heart was always dedicated to keeping Milpitas a great place to live.”

The idea to name the elementary school after Mabel Mattos was brought forth by the Milpitas Advisory Committee. The committee sought people who had made significant contributions to Milpitas and, according to Milpitas School Board minutes, particularly wanted to include women.

Besides her involvement in her community, Mattos was also known for her apricot jam and pies, Ehardt said. A video titled “Putting up Cots with Mabel Mattos” remains publicly available on YouTube as a testament to her culinary skills.

“She was a delightful person; she really was,” Ehardt said. “It was nice that the school was named for her.”

8

THE UNION

ENTERTAINMENT

DECEMBER 2021

Adele does not go easy on album ‘30’ ings of love and confusion to him.

In this song, she also includes snippets of her talking about how stressed and lonely she felt, and

By Vania Castro you can hear her breath hitching as she tries to stifle her tears. It is After six long years, Adele re- outstandingly bold of her to insert turns to the music scene with these recordings, as not everyone her powerful, 12-track album is courageous enough to let peo“30,” which covers the details ple in on the lows of their lives.

Adele also tells her story in the and aftermath of her divorce, according to The New York Times. single ‘Easy On Me.’ After years of not hearing new music Adele also said in an interfrom Adele, this song is what view with Vogue magazine gives listeners a preview that the album is her attempt of the album, and it defito explain the divorce to her MUSIC nitely does not disappoint. son Angelo. Each track on the Her powerful vocals are album mirrors the ups and REVIEW underpinned by equaldowns Adele faced during her season of hurt, with emotions ly impactful notes on the piaranging from sad and reflective no as she sings about how she to confident and empowered. She tried to make her marriage also features songs about mov- work out despite being young.

Adele also showcases her iming on from her failed marriage.

Adele reveals some of her vul- pressive vocal range in ‘To Be nerabilities in ‘My Little Love,”’a Loved,’ a song about how love was soulful song with strong bass a sacrifice she tried to make. A parts and vocal runs. Adele sings simple piano chord progression in her lower register, and in be- backs her vocals and complements tween some lines, she inserts her runs and high notes well.

‘Can I Get It’ and ‘Oh My God’ recordings of her conversations with her son, explaining her feel- have a different vibe from the RATING: 5 out of 5

¯

other emotional songs, either talking about confidence, moving on, or both. ‘Woman Like Me’ is also unique in the way it’s calm and yet it contains Adele’s complaints about her partner.

‘Can I Get It’ and ‘Woman Like Me’ both add variety to the album’s sound, replacing the usual piano instrumentals with a unique guitar strumming pattern and soft, gentle plucking. Her voice is whole and easily distinguishable whether she sings high or low, and she consistently delivers strong vocals either way.

Aside from the brilliant vocals, this album also spotlights poetic and hard-hitting lyrics such as the line, “Why am I seeking approval from people I don’t even know?” from the song ‘I Drink Wine’ and “I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart” from ‘Strangers by Nature.’

Overall, the album is a package of Adele’s emotionally heavy story told through meaningful lyrics and heartfelt vocals. I gained newfound respect for Adele as a person and artist for her skill in telling her story in the form of music.

RATING KEY NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS ELF How the grinch stole christmas Home Alone The Polar Express

COURTESY OF DISNEY

Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) holds a gift commemorating the fact that she is the only member of the Madrigal family without magic powers.

‘Encanto’ enchants audiences time in the movie when I was unable to predict what comes next.

Disney’s spin on the story basically only consists of silly comeBy Sharon Talaia dic breaks during certain tense or serious scenes. Also, the story A day before Thanksgiving, never directly addresses why MiDisney released their latest film, rabel was powerless in the first “Encanto.” The movie was fitting- place and leaves a lot of speculaly marketed as having an empha- tion with such an important plot sis on the importance of family device. Although some people bonds. Taking place in Colombia, may enjoy coming up with their the movie sets the stage for a mag- own conclusions, I feel the story could have been paced better ically gifted family, the Madto incorporate more explanarigals, who all have their own tion or even a resolution reunique powers—excluding garding Mirabel’s situation. the protagonist, Mirabel.

MOVIE My favorite part of “EncanThe story starts with Mirabel introducing her famREVIEW to” was how Mirabel interacts with the rest of her family through a song. Disney ily as the only one not given a jumps right into what many of their movies are known for: power. One of the movie’s themes colorful dances and catchy tunes. pertains to a person’s worth beHowever, none of the songs felt ing linked to how well they can like filler, and all of them per- fit family expectations, and the tained to the story or helped film does a good job showing Miflesh out characters. The anima- rabel’s struggle with self-worth. tion and music were very smooth Watching Mirabel’s reaction to and appealing, with the polished her grandmother emphasizing work expected from a big studio the importance and duty of all like Disney. The movie also in- Madrigals to use their powers to corporates attire and cultural el- serve their community was movements from Colombia. Mirabel ing, especially since the animators wears a flowing traditional dress did a very good job capturing the for the duration of the film, and hurt and dejection on Mirabel’s the food shown in the movie, like face knowing that she automatiarepas (cornmeal cakes), are ac- cally fails her family’s standards. tual Colombian dishes. This cul- Mirabel being portrayed as both tural accuracy was tasteful and trying to be supportive of her fammade a story featuring magical ily while still feeling left out and powers and prophetic visions a inferior was realistic and genuine. little more connected to reality. Mirabel’s jealousy and desire for My first impression of the mov- recognition were excellently charie is that it is certain that Dis- acterized in the film and made me ney hit the mark once more in very sympathetic to her plight.

Overall, I found “Encanto” the visuals and audio categories.

The plot follows a relatively cli- to be a worthwhile addition to ché pattern where the family’s Disney’s star-studded movie source of power is at risk, and the collection. Clichés are not necpowerless member of the family essarily bad—especially when is the one who is meant to save they are done well. “Encanto” it. Despite its predictability, it is took a shot at a well-known plostill entertaining and executed tline and delivered it at a satiswell, but I would have liked it if factory level. Despite the overDisney had done more with such used story, Disney has worked a commonly used story idea. Case its magic, yet again, in its latest, in point, there was not a single visually stunning production.

RATING: 4 out of 5

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Main character Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) peers over at an opponent as she prepares to drunkenly fight in a bar.

Netflix’s ‘Arcane’: Must-watch for all; even for non-‘League of Legends’ fans ite LoL champions, drifts away from the main storyline, yet manages to intertwine by the end of the series for an epic “aha!” moBy Stephen Huang ment. The unstereotypical main villain and ruler of Zaun, Silco, is “Arcane” is a new original Net- complex and one you can resonate flix hit series made by Riot Games. with. His goal of taking over PilBased on the video game, “League tover is justified from all the pain of Legends,” (LoL) the action-dra- and suffering the sparkle city has ma-fantasy show immerses both dumped into Zaun. Yet, he manlong-time fans and newcomers ages to maintain the evilness of into intricate storylines with antagonists. Political dilemmas, such as the exploitative powstunning cinematography. er of wealth, are explored, Set in the universe of Ruas well as themes of sibling neterra, the technologicalrivalry, grief, and loyalty. ly advanced city of Piltover oppresses its underbelly, TV-SERIES Despite the excess number characters to keep track the crime-filled Zaun. The REVIEW of of, Riot manages to bring story of “Arcane” mainly foleach one to life through lows the conflict of two sismoments mixed ters, Powder (later named Jinx) emotional and Vi, as a chain of unfortunate with immersive worldbuilding.

After six years of planning, events rips their relationship apart. In Piltover, the creation Riot Games partnered with Netof magical technology, Hextech, flix to deliver the TV-14 rated promises new beginnings to the show on Nov. 6th in an untradicity of progress, while in Zaun, tional way: a total of three acts “shimmer” finds its way into released throughout a period of the drug market and transforms three weeks. Each act consisted people into monsters. Tensions of three episodes. Critics of Arbetween the two cities brew as cane: say the show is the first to one tries to assert technologi- bring an end to the “video game cal dominance over the other. curse,” which has plagued the Strung together by relation- video-games-adapted film indusships, a vast cast of supporting try for decades. IMDb gives the characters, including your favor- show a 9.3/10, which is on par with RATING: 5 out of 5



shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad,” while Rotten Tomatoes gives the show a whopping 100%. Two aspects of the show stood out the most: the animation and the music.

Typically, a show will start off with good animations, but deteriorate throughout the season, but “Arcane” proves otherwise.

The show manages to not only maintain its quality, but has shockingly improved visuals each episode. A mixture of 2D hand painted backgrounds and 3D CGI stays aesthetically pleasing and unique. Color schemes are used to set the mood for each scene, mesmerizing viewers and making every frame a work of art.

The “Arcane” album has a total of 11 original songs made by a variety of artists from genres ranging from rap to jazz. When a song is played, “Arcane” transforms into a spine-chilling anime music video of emotional moments or epic action montages. The main theme song is called “Enemy,”

by Imagine Dragons, and focuses on Jinx’s struggle with identity.

Riot Games and Netflix did an amazing job bringing the world of League of Legends to life. Hopefully they will not jinx season two of “Arcane,” premiering some time in 2023.



DECEMBER 2021

LIFESTYLE

THE UNION

9

Ways to destress, stay calm for finals

By Anannya Bhuskat

As the end of the semester rolls around, high school students often feel the burden and pressure of their final exams and projects weighing down on them.

Millions of students all across the country are tasked with regurgitating a whole semester’s worth of knowledge and information in just a few hours, for each class. Teachers are also tasked with creating a comprehensive, yet feasible exam that aptly assesses every student’s knowledge about the subjects.

Increasingly high rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers combined with the pressure of doing well academically and pursuing higher education leads to detrimental effects on the physical and emotional well-being of students. However, such effects can be alleviated if students can find a way to destress and prepare themselves effectively.

Start Writing Things Down ~ Keeping track of all your deadlines and assignments can be difficult, especially with multiple classes. However, writing things down in an organized (even digital) planner can help keep you on

track. Create different categories and sort your work in terms of deadlines, subjects, and assignment type. Cross out a task once you have completed it. Sometimes, visualizing what you have to do for the day or week is a great way to stay on top of your responsibilities and keep you motivated.

Productivity Tricks ~ Working for long hours on a task can reach a point of cognitive boredom, which takes a toll on focus and concentration. The Pomodoro technique, advertised to help you achieve more in less time, has been a popular method among students to help them manage their time more wisely. It uses a timer to break work intervals (traditionally 25 minutes in length) separated by short (five minutes) breaks, allowing students to help refresh themselves after a work period and start working again with more motivation.

Create a study group ~ Talk with trusted friends about working together to study for upcoming tests. Creating a virtual or in-person study group is an efficient way to prepare yourself for exams in an interactive and comfortable environment. Try

quizzing each other, working together to clarify concepts, and keeping each other motivated.

Take breaks ~ Take time for yourself! Doing something calming or comforting is a great way to escape stress. Give yourself a mental break to help improve productivity. Read a book, exercise a bit, or help out around the house.

This will leave you with a feeling of relaxation and will refresh your mind, keeping you motivated for the rest of your studying.

Ask for help! ~ Many times, students are afraid to ask teachers or parents for help. If you do not understand what to do or what you are studying, ask someone!

Take advantage of the office hours that teachers provide. Teachers are there to help you succeed!

With all this said, remember to be kind to yourself. Finals are stressful for everyone and work tends to easily pile up. Do something nice for yourself during the week. This could be a form of self-care, time spent with family or friends, or simply catching up on sleep. Allow yourself time to breathe and decompress. Try your best and you’ll succeed.

Riya Vyas | THE UNION

A Christmas cottage with intricate details and humanoid figurines shown at Chirstmas in the Park.

Christmas in the Park offers winter warmth

By Riya Vyas

The view in the windshield zooms past charming residential areas lined with yellowing trees, dilapidated concrete buildings, clean white government centers, and shiny new glass skyscrapers, until the sunlight reflecting off of a thousand Christmas tree ornaments catches your attention.

Downtowns are often an excellent place to get whiplash from looking at vastly different structures, and Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose is no exception.

Originating in the 1950s from Christmas Nativity scenes built by a man named Don Lima, Christmas in the Park is a staple of the Bay Area holiday season, attracting over 700,000 visitors each year.

Located in Plaza de César Chávez, the park features hundreds of Christmas trees, several food and drink vendors, holiday-themed animated exhibits, carnival rides, an ice-skating rink, and, of course, a gigantic Christmas tree in the middle of it all.

The Christmas trees are decorated by various individuals and public and private institutions, such as MHS’s Black Student Union and the Girl Scouts. Other trees were made by Silicon Valley Pride, an animation/illustration club of San Jose State University (declaring “Horse Girl Pride” and “Rice Cooker Supremacy”), Top-

Golf, T-Mobile, and many more.

Some notable trees include one dressed as the Evil Queen from Snow White, one about food allergies, and one dressed in traditional Mexican folklórico clothing. The changes between trees advertising private companies and trees displaying Gen-z humor are both amusing and jarring at the same time. When most attendees of the park are five-year-olds in fleece jackets, one wonders who the target audience of these trees is.

Staying true to the Christmas theme, the park features not one, but two separate hot chocolate vendors: Snowman Hot Chocolate and Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate. Other stores include Wandering Waffle, which sold me a very disappointing, doughy waffle for $5; “Blinky’s Tavern” (Blinky referencing the park’s reindeer mascot); and the Yosemite Sign Carving Company.

However, the displays that held my attention the longest were the animated exhibits, which ranged from warm and fuzzy animals to off-putting humanoid dolls. One exhibit features a house decorated in traditional Christmas fashion, with three red stockings hanging from a fireplace and a Christmas tree. One bear (presumably “Mama Bear”) stands in an apron in front of the sink, while another bear (likely “Papa Bear”) fishes in overalls from a red chair. The

details, it must be noted, are immaculate: a red wagon filled with firewood, a fish on the wall, a box with “honey” written on it, and a makeshift pond with a bridge. The whole scene makes you feel like you should be clutching a warm drink in mitten-covered hands and reading a book in front of a fireplace while fresh snow paints the pine trees outside—the essence of a wintry, holiday spirit.

Then, there’s another exhibit with young girls in overalls and full faces of makeup who clutch various stuffed animals and staring directly into your soul. Creative and skillful? Yes, but also incredibly creepy.

The carnival rides charge $4 per ride or $15 for unlimited rides.

These rides include a mini Ferris wheel, spinning teacups, a train, a small carousel, spinning bears, and more. Needless to say, high schoolers are hardly the target audience here, but the prices aren’t too bad if you have young kids who are scared of heights and want a gentle introduction to amusement parks.

Overall, if you’re looking for a bit of relaxation over winter break or searching for holiday spirit checking it out, you might want to check it out. But if you’re reluctant to pay $6 for public parking due to overcrowded streets, consider opting out and going to Great America or watching “Home Alone” instead.

Thea Seeberger | THE UNION

Homemade hot cocoa bomb before and after placed into hot milk.

Hot cocoa bombs are blowing up

By Thea Seeberger

When scrolling through social media, coming across those timelapsed “quick and easy” recipe videos is inevitable, especially during the holiday months when festive treats gain popularity. One winter treat I’ve seen a lot of are hot chocolate bombs. First gaining popularity in 2020 after blowing up on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, these desserts are put into hot milk where they “explode,” releasing the ingredients to make hot chocolate.

These balls of chocolate are a simple idea, but have become very complex and are now being sold by small businesses and even mass produced to be sold in stores. As recipes continue to circulate, I decided to give it a try by following a recipe by @sugarologie101 on TikTok, where she makes peppermint-white-chocolate hot chocolate bombs. The recipe called for white chocolate, hot chocolate powder, marshmallows, and peppermint candies.

For the majority of the tutorials I have seen, in order to achieve the spherical shape, the melted chocolate was placed into half-circle silicone molds to harden. These aren’t the easiest to find, so I improvised by using cupcake liners.

After pouring in the melted white chocolate, I swirled it around to cover all edges of the liners, and let it firm up before repeating to make the shells more sturdy.

Afterwards, I transferred them to the fridge to harden for about 5 minutes. Then came the trickiest part of the recipe: taking them out the liners. I was able to get a few good ones, but others were fragile and broke. Nonetheless, I was able to get enough successful attempts to fill them up with the hot chocolate powder, mini marshmallows, and crushed peppermint candies, then weld them shut with more melted chocolate. Then I finished them off with a drizzle of chocolate and crushed peppermint.

Just like the viral videos, it is quite satisfying to watch the chocolate melt and see all the ingredients float up to the top. The drink itself is, well, hot chocolate.

However, the layer of chocolate that makes up the shell gives it a richer taste, and the peppermint from this particular recipe really complimented the chocolate. It is a very sweet drink, so if you have a sweet tooth it might be to your liking.

Overall, I think these treats are more for the experience. They’re a fun twist on a classic drink, but ultimately not much different than throwing all the ingredients in a cup and giving it a good stir. If you’re looking for a fun homemade gift to give someone, or maybe a way to liven up a holiday gathering, I would definitely recommend giving this a try. Plus, they are extremely customizable, so it may be fun to test the waters and create your own flavor combinations.

Cool Christmas food around world

By Muskaan Mahajan

From eating roasted rabbit to cold fish, every country has its own way of celebrating Christmas through food. Here are some interesting culinary traditions from five countries around the world.

Lithuania: Christmas Eve dinner is known as Kūčios, a dairyfree, meatless dinner. The meal includes 12 dishes that represent the 12 apostles of Christ. Poppy seed milk (Lithuanian eggnog) is part of the tradition as well. Another popular Christmas tradition is Kūčiukai, a small cookie-like dough made of plain flour, water, and poppy seeds.

France: The French’s Christmas dinner is very elaborate. The main dish tends to be a meat dish, such as capon, turkey, guinea fowl, or pheasant, which is roasted and stuffed with chestnuts. They also enjoy seafood like oysters, prawns, mussels, and lobster. For dessert, they eat Bûche de Noël, the French version of a Yule Log. The rich cake is decorated with meringue “mushrooms” and other items to make it look like a forest.

Greece: Many religious Greeks

tend to fast before the Christmas feast. Some traditional dishes in this feast include Avgolemono (a chicken and rice soup with an egg and lemon base), Yiaprakia (brined pork-stuffed cabbage rolls), and baklava (a phyllo dough stuffed with a cinnamon-spiced nut filling). Another popular dessert is Melomakarona, a cookie made with cinnamon, cloves, syrup, and sprinkled with nuts. On Christmas Eve, Greeks tend to eat Christopsomo, a sweet bread filled with raisins, nuts, cardamom, and cloves, and is decorated with a cross.

Greenland: Because of its location, popular meats in Greenland include whale and reindeer meat.

Some popular dishes are Mattak, strips of whale blubber encased in whale skin, and Kiviak, a dish made of meat, fat, blood, herbs, and berries that are wrapped in sealskin and frozen.

While we may differ in holidays and practices, one common bond between us is food.

Regardless of how you celebrate Christmas, if at all, have a joyful holiday season.

10

THE UNION

SPORTS

DECEMBER 2021

Courtesy of Stan Szeto

Lecours gets advice from baseball coach Zach Canez during a game.

Courtesy of Frank Richard Barrera

The varsity boys basketball team strategizes during a home game against Overfelt High School on Nov. 27.

Boys basketball overcomes struggles, starts 5-0

By Stephen Huang

As fall sports come to an end, winter sports arise. With the start of a new season, the boys varsity basketball team is ready to compete against rival schools and face off against new pandemic problems.

Starting off the season strong, the MHS Boys Varsity Basketball Team are currently undefeated with a record of 5-0. According to Varsity Basketball Coach Clarence Wrencher, although the offense is a bit rusty, the lockdown defense is key to the team’s current success.

“We play really great defense,” Wrencher said in an interview.

“Everybody is too fast… too much of a hurry. But after five or six games, people start to slow down a bit on offense, and that’s what we’re starting to hit.”

Not everything has been on the money for the boys though.

Multiple season-ending injuries have forced many good players to watch and support their team on the sideline, Wrencher said.

According to Wrencher, the team compensated by bringing two players from the Junior Varsity team, Frank Richard Barrera and James Nguyen, up to Varsity.

“We have a lot of guys who can step in and play; our players have a lot of depth,” Wrencher said.

“That’s the advantage of having a big school like this. Our seniors, who all got experience from last year, have all been healthy [with

the exception of Manny Tamarit].”

One of these injured players, junior Landon Nguyen, continues to remain positive about the situation. Despite being diagnosed with a fractured knee after two years of aching and painkillers, Nguyen said he is glad for the team’s strong beginning.

“I think I can definitely be on the court helping the team right now,” Nguyen said. “But we certainly have a lot of potential, and if we persist, we can continue blowing out the competition.”

When the pandemic began, many opportunities were taken away from people. Athletes were especially affected by the stay-athome restrictions. Trapped indoors, not only were they not able to hone their skills, but time was ticking for their chances of being recruited to play college level sports. Basketball scouts find potential athletes for their schools by attending NCAA certified events, such as Amateur Athletic Union and Elite Youth Basketball League tournaments.

“COVID has had a very negative impact on my basketball career,” Varsity starting point guard Luke Dillon said in an interview. “For athletes who plan on playing past high school, like my teammates and I, it has not been ideal. We are all very thankful to have a season this year, and we hope it won’t be canceled.”

Preparation is very important when it comes to basketball.

When COVID hit last year, the team was unprepared due to the many setbacks by Santa Clara County officials. Without proper conditioning and a normal preseason, the team went 2-12. This year, however, after extensive summer morning workouts and tournaments, as well as a 4-week long, 3-days per week conditioning program, the team was back on track.

New rules and regulations of COVID health and safety requires all players, referees, and coaches to keep their masks on during the Central Coast Section (CCS) basketball games, according to the California Interscholastic Federation. However, these regulations are difficult to enforce efficiently.

After running up and down the court multiple times, the masks drop to cover chins instead of staying on mouths. This issue is due to the high exertion rates of males, making proper breathing laborious to the already wearied players.

“It is the only adjustment that has affected us,” Wrencher said.

“Staying masked is difficult, but necessary, especially since there isn’t a hundred percent vaccination rate for all the players that are competing.”

Other schools and counties have resorted to weekly COVID testing, according to Santa Clara County’s Executive Office. However, this testing is a long and expensive process that is inconsistent with the pacing of the sport.

Star athlete Norwood tackles college recruitment

By Muskaan Mahajan

Senior John Norwood is the captain of the MHS varsity football team, and has been playing the sport since sixth grade, Norwood said in an interview. Before joining the high school team, he played for the Milpitas Knights, Norwood said. His family has supported his football career by providing him with resources and tools that will help him become successful, Norwood added.

“I actually flew out to Texas this past summer to go train with some NFL trainers, and I tried to block some players that are in the league now,” Norwood said. “I had a contact with this coach out there, and he told me that he runs this training here [for NFL guys] in Texas during the NFL off-season. And so I sent him my film and I was like, ‘Would you accept me to come train with you guys just so I can get some of that next level training?’ and they [accepted] me.”

Currently, Norwood plays the

defensive end and tight end positions; in the past, he played the wide receiver, running back, and quarterback positions, he said.

Throughout his playing career he has had major injuries, such as a broken hand, concussions, and a strained back, Norwood added.

“With Coach King there really is no off-season, because once the season ends we have about a week or two and then we’re back at practice,” Norwood said. “During the season, practices are from four to seven, and in the off-season, normally about the same length, but we’ll have weights which will make it a little longer, so about three to four hours.”

Norwood has received an offer to play at Bethany College, and is in the process of talking with the University of Hawai’i, New Mexico, and UC Davis, he said. He recently visited UC Davis where he received information about the school and was offered tickets to watch a football game, he added.

“I knew that I wanted to play at the next level pretty early on,

maybe sophomore or junior year, and junior year football season was short. It was only five games because of COVID, and we didn’t get that much opportunity to play, and I didn’t get much opportunity to showcase what I can do,” Norwood said. “So senior year I... got to work hard. And so I did, and I got some pretty good films. And I just edited it together to make it in one place for coaches to see.

And I’ve posted it on every single coach email I can find, and just sent it out to a bunch of different coaches and hope that they reply.”

Outside of football, Norwood is interested in investing in stocks, he said. The main reason he became interested in stocks is because it allows him to make money without the time obligation of a real job, he added.

Norwood’s advice for other college-bound athletes is to “[keep] sending out your film. That’s what I’m doing,” he said. “Keep the grades up because that’s an important thing as well that coaches don’t neglect.”

Lecours to play baseball at University of Hawai’i at Hilo

By Matthew Nguyen

Senior Xavier Lecours is the captain of the MHS baseball team and has received several offers and interests from college baseball programs across the nation, including Menlo College, Point Loma Nazarene University, and California State University East Bay. In early November, Lecours verbally committed to the University of Hawaii Hilo, where he will be playing Division II baseball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Lecours has played baseball for his entire life, first picking up a glove and bat at the age of three, he said in an interview. Lecours’s parents, who were both collegiate athletes, introduced him to athletics, he added. His mother played softball in college while his father played football, Lecours said.

“One of my baseball coaches, Coach Zach, has been one of the biggest influences to my interest in the sport of baseball,” Lecours said. “I have known him since the sixth grade, and he actually received an offer to play Division 1 baseball at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He ended up not going, but the offer from UCLA shows that he truly has what it takes to be a good baseball player and coach. He was always a good mentor, and I always wanted to just be like him and receive an offer from a top college baseball program.”

Lecours’s passion for baseball stems from his love for working hard to get better at his craft, he said. Like many successful athletes, Lecours enjoys the journey, not just the destination, he added.

“I just enjoy the grind it takes every day,” Lecours said. “Baseball

is not one of those sports where you can go without playing it and suddenly play it again and expect to be good. It does not work like that. Baseball requires you to be consistent all the time. That is why I like it so much.”

According to Lecours, he is not confined to one position on the baseball field. Lecours’s success on the baseball field and in the college recruiting process has been a result of his versatility. With a batting average of around 0.300, a top throwing speed of 90 miles per hour, and a top exit velocity of 94 miles per hour, Lecours’s all-around skill set allows him to be anywhere his team needs him to be and play anything his team needs him to play. For those unfamiliar with baseball statistics, according to Major League Baseball (MLB), the MLB’s average batting average is 0.244, the average throwing speed is 92.3 miles per hour, and the average exit velocity is around 87 miles per hour.

“My skills and versatility are a result of all the hard work I put in,” Lecours said. “Outside of school, I play for a competitive travel baseball team based in San Jose called Trosky. We play in major baseball tournaments across the country and also practice in a training facility in San Jose where I do hitting, batting, workouts, and speed training. In total, I am training for baseball about two hours a day and six days a week.”

Lecours has also been the recipient of multiple athletic awards, including MHS’s Freshman Athlete of the Year Award for the 2018-19 school year, he said. However, he is most proud of his team awards, like winning the baseball league championship in his freshman year, Lecours added.

Priya Thoren | THE UNION

DECEMBER 2021

NEWS

THE UNION

11

Angelina Barnes | THE UNION

Students, parents, teachers give thoughts on Pledge FROM PAGE 1

U.S. History teacher Brian Knitter said he encourages students to participate in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Knitter expressed his appreciation for the Pledge by describing it as a chance to connect with America as a country. “I want to connect students to America [in] what I hope is a positive way,” he said.

English teacher Brian McGarry also believes reciting the Pledge is important. It is a way for people to pay respects to various groups that America is home to, McGarry said. “My dad was in the military, [and] for a lot of people, that flag represents something where they’ve made a commitment to literally put their lives on the line,” he said. According to McGarry, the flag is a symbol that represents the ideals of America.

“It’s about pursuing everything that [the flag] represents, not necessarily the people, or the leadership, or all their decisions.”

On Nov. 23, 2021, Milpitas res-

Courtesy of Milpitas High School Cheerleaders

ident and parent Bill Chuan appeared at the MUSD board meeting and mentioned The Union’s survey, along with his thoughts on the Pledge of Allegiance. “As an American, the Pledge of Allegiance is extremely important, and is a way to show pride and respect for the American flag and our country,” he said. “Many have died and sacrificed their lives for the American flag. Standing and reciting for the Pledge of Allegiance is a way to honor and to show respect to our country and those that gave their lives. I’m glad to hear today in our schools, here in Milpitas, that we have our children stand and recite it.

It teaches them patriotism and respect for this country they live in.”

Sophomore Atreyu Hardwick also believes that the Pledge is important enough to include as part of the school routine. “I think it’s good to show national [pride] and people’s passion about America,”

he said.

On the other hand, sophomore Angel Coleman said that the Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t properly represent present-day America. “For example, not everyone has freedom and justice,” Coleman said. The Pledge shouldn’t necessarily be included in the morning announcements because it is not something that a majority of students believe in, she added.

Junior Kaden Nguyen said he also believes that the Pledge doesn’t contain ideals that many students are willing to pledge their allegiance to. “[Many citizens] blindly pledge their allegiance to [a] country that commits so many atrocities worldwide,” Nguyen said. He also said that the national anthem itself meets the criteria regarding a daily patriotic exercise. “I think the national anthem [already] inspires a healthy amount of patriotism.”

New protocols allow in-door eating for rainy lunches

By Riya Vyas

Students are now allowed to eat lunch inside classrooms if it is raining, MHS Principal Francis Rojas said in an interview. The new protocols were outlined in an email Rojas sent out to staff on Oct. 24 in anticipation of rainy weather, Rojas said.

Room capacity should be limited to 50%, and masks must be worn at all times when not eating or drinking, Rojas said in the email. Students should be spread out, and students should clean up after themselves, Rojas said.

“Students should not be eating indoors—nor teachers in groups— unless they are all vaccinated,” Rojas said. “It was only if it was actively raining that we would [allow indoor eating]. We would get in the PA [public address] or send an email like ‘It’s a rainy day today; we’ll do indoor lunch.’”

The gym, theater, cafeteria, and library, in addition to classrooms volunteered by teachers, would be used for indoor lunches, Rojas said. The protocols could change if more students report their vaccination status on Aeries, he said.

“There’s no way to enforce

[student vaccination reporting].

If we know that we have a very high percentage of vaccinated students, there’s less risk,” Rojas said. “Compared to other schools just based on what we’ve been hearing and some of the preliminary data, we have a very high vaccination rate.”

In the case of a rainy lunch, the administration would be monitoring students in the library, librarian Joy Kim said in an interview.

“I have people in my family that have immunocompromised medical conditions that did not make me feel comfortable with students eating in the library,” Kim said. “I do understand you need a place to be warm and a place to be able to eat. But the tricky part is we are still in a pandemic and safety is the priority over comfort.”

Currently, Kim has to ensure that students keep their masks on and are socially distanced, Kim said. She also must ensure that the library is kept under the capacity of sixty people, she said.

About 95% of the time, students are good about following protocols, she said.

“We don’t have windows, which is another problem,” Kim said. “I have gone ahead and purchased … four air purifiers in here. So we have one in my office, we have one in the conference room, and we have two out in the main area.”

There have not been formal discussions about the possibility of indoor lunches in the library, Kim said.

“We haven’t had to do [indoor lunches] because I put up the rule; it was supported by the district …

We just didn’t want everyone to get wet, but it never rained during lunch since then,” Rojas said. “I wanted to do it because once you do it … we’re done taking that step and then we’ll see how it goes.”

The implications of these new protocols on lunch club meetings and other activities that used to include indoor eating have not yet been discussed, Rojas said. However, he is planning to bring it up to his team, he added.

“Right now, I would highly advise against [indoor lunch club meetings], just because I don’t think we have the protocols for it,” Rojas said. “But the answer might be just like, ‘No, please don’t.’”

Athletic Booster Club halted due to by-laws FROM PAGE 1

added.

“I organized food distribution,” Weinstein said in a Zoom interview. “I assembled a team of people to help, and a few were in ABC.” ABC members participated in the sales due to their knowledge in handling concessions, and Weinstein informed Jordan, Rojas, and MUSD Board President Chris Norwood that he contacted ABC members, Weinstein said.

“All funds were deposited with the MHS athletic fund,” Weinstein said.

Additionally, Weinstein used

his own money for the food distribution, but the school later reimbursed him, he said.

“Everything was done with transparency,” Weinstein said, in regards to concessions. “The ABC received no benefit in concessions that night.”

Weinstein and former MHS Athletic Director Jeff Lamb also co-led the ABC Bylaws Project, holding meetings open to anyone willing to help revise ABC bylaws, Weinstein said in an email, which Rojas sent to MHS students, teachers, and parents.

“The reason we’re taking time is because we wanted community

input,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein sent the first draft of the bylaws to a representative group of people to check for any areas that might need clarification or improvement, and to a select group to ensure that the issues dividing the ABC have been addressed, he added in an email.

“We received comments back and are following up with meetings and conversations in hopes that we can create a second draft as there are a number of suggestions, and not all of them agree,” Weinstein said in the email.

The ABC said they were not available for an interview.

Members and coaches of MHS cheer pose for a photo. Coaches Stacey Ryan and Taylor Sanchez resigned after the the fall season concluded.

Cheerleading team undergoes changes after coaches resign

By Tiffany Lieu Anannya Bhuskat

Cheerleading coaches Stacey Ryan and Taylor Sanchez resigned from their coaching roles during the fall season for reasons not initiated by the school, Principal Francis Rojas said in an interview. Rojas confirmed that both Ryan and Sanchez still remain in their roles as a secretary and a special education paraprofessional, respectively. Since the coaches continued for most of the fall season, they will still receive their stipends for the season at the end of the semester, Rojas added.

There will be some changes to the team this season, Athletics Director Joanna Butcher said in an interview. For the winter season, Butcher and special education teacher Kathleen Willinsky, who previously has coached cheer at MHS, have taken over coaching the team, Butcher said.

“Due to the size of the squad, there’s going to be a blue squad and a gold squad,” Butcher said.

“They’re going to be cheering at both boys and girls home basketball games, and then, we’ll discuss whether or not they can make it to the senior wrestling and senior soccer games.”

Each squad will alternate cheering at either a boys or girls basketball game, Butcher said.

The change was also implemented, in part, to alleviate the time commitment for cheerleaders, she added.

“They’re still a team and the squads may actually perform together at halftime,” Butcher said.

“Otherwise it’s a huge time com-

mitment to ask them to be at two home basketball games a week because their weeknights go from seven to nine.”

The cheerleading team will also strive to increase spirit at basketball games this season by possibly bringing back half-time trivia games as well as other fun, interactive events, Butcher said.

“Our goal is fan interaction and crowd involvement, and making the atmosphere of the basketball games fun to be in. We want to see if we can increase the attendance and the fun of being at games,” Butcher said.

In order to allow the cheerleaders to practice stunts, a contractor will also be hired to do official training, Butcher said. As for beyond the winter season, there are no plans for a spring season, she said. Coaches work on a season-by-season basis, and open positions are offered in-house since it is a part of the teaching contract, Butcher said. Then, the positions are offered to non-certificated personnel, Butcher said.

There will be an opening for new cheerleading coaches once the winter season ends, she added.

“There’s going to be a listing for a cheer coach the following year for both the sideline cheer coach and whether there’ll be a competitive cheer coach,” Butcher said.

“The team is really positive. I think they’re kind of looking forward to some of the things that they’ve been working on. They’re responding really well to everything going on. I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun.”

Former cheerleading coaches Stacey Ryan and Taylor Sanchez declined to be interviewed.

Gun flashed at extension FROM PAGE 1

taken by a security officer to the office to meet their sibling and sort the matter, Cummins said.

Scott, when asked about the protocol of allowing students to leave the extension building after the incident occured, said, “What happened was this student was late to class that day, so classes were already in session. They were going across the street, and they were in a hurry. And so that’s what their testimony was, is that the person was upset with them for going across the street. So they went to class after we spoke and their class was the full hour.

Then, they were allowed to go back to MHS because every security measure had already been cleared.”

Scott explained how the SJCC Extension building has effective safety protocols since it is down the road from the MHS campus by the parking lot. She said that with safety guards outside to help moderate the campus and the

encouragement for students to make sure they are on time, the extension building is secure for students to participate in their classes there, Scott explained.

On top of that, since the building is an extension of the SJCC campus, the building has safety stations, which if pressed, the college police will immediately report to the school, Scott further described.

“I’m glad that we have a full time staff of security,” Cummins said. “I think we’ve only had that for six years. Like they used to be hourly people. We had no idea who was going to show up each day. And that this has radically changed the feeling of safety on campus.”

While the incident occured on the way to the extension building, the event is being treated as an isolated occurrence, with the incident and the description of the vehicle reported to the Milpitas Police Department, Mooney said.

12

ADVERTISMENT

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 2

From the District Office & Board of Education

DECEMBER 2021

NEW YEAR'S WISHES TO OUR MUSD COMMUNITY The reason for the season is love.

Blessings of hope come from within you, around you and above.

Happy Holidays to all of the MHS Family!

Board President Chris Norwood

My wish for each of you and your loved ones in the New Year: Be Present. Embrace Curiousity. Live Fully. Care Deeply.

Happy New Year MHS Trojans!

Superintendent Cheryl Jordan

In the year of the Tiger, may you all be physically, socially and emotionally strong, just like a Tiger.

Assistant Superintendent Wendy Zhang

Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and safe holiday!

Board Vice President Kelly Yip-Chuan

Please take care of you so you can take care of those you love!

Wishing you and yours the most glorious new year!

Assistant Superintendent Jonathon Brunson

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and great health.

Wishing each and every one of you a renewed journey of connections and prosperity in 2022

Board Clerk Hon Lien

Board Member Minh Ngo

Wishing you a year filled with love, laughter, and blue skies ahead!

Executive Director Priti Johari

Hello Milpitas, 2021 was a very difficult year for many of us, but we can make 2022 better when good people help good people. Let's work together to keep everyone safe.

Board Member Michael Tsai

May the New Year be filled with renewed hope, new opportunities & adventures and new ways to spread kindness, acceptance and inclusion of one and all!

Executive Director Mary Jude Doerpinghaus