The Union - Milpitas High School - February 2012

UNION THE

FEBRUARY 2012 Volume XXIV Issue IV

EDITORIAL

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OPINIONS

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F E AT U R E S

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VA L E N T I N E ’ S D E D I C AT I O N S

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SPREAD

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

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MHSTHEUNION.NET For the latest updates and more stories

LIFEST YLE

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SPORTS

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STUDENT VOICE OF MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL

N EWS IN BR IEF FAFSA The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is due March 2. All seniors who plan to attend college next year qualify for an application.

February Break There is no school from Feb. 20 through Feb. 24. Have a good break, MHS! Cultural Heritage Week There will be noontime performances by a variety of Clubs and Organizations (CLOGs) as well as a food sale the week of March 5 to 9 to promote cultural awareness and diversity.

$38,000 lost from ASB account, audit finds

BY BENJAMIN GARDNER

Milpitas Police arrested Former Student Bank Worker Mae Gardina at her home for suspected embezzlement on Jan.. 25, according to a Milpitas Police Department press release. The district informed the Milpitas Police Department that a large sum of money was missing from a safe at MHS in September of 2011, leading to the police investigation, the press release stated.

The district found that $38,000 was missing from the general ASB fund, Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said. After discovering the money was missing, the district did not investigate any individual staff

members, but checked for errors in recordkeeping, Matsuoka said.

“We took our time to make sure it was not an accounting error or bank deposit error,” Matsuoka said.

“When we decided the money was still missing, we turned the case over to the Milpitas Police.”

The money GARDINA did not go missing because the accounting system was insufficient, Principal Kenneth Schlaff said. In fact, the system in place was able to identify there was an issue, according to Schlaff.

“It is not something that stems from a system that is not an appropriate one to gather and register money,” Schlaff said. “It’s about an individual’s behavior. Because the system was adequate, it was able to self-monitor and to find that out in short order.”

In order to reduce the possibility of money going missing again, the bank deposits will be made more quickly, Matsuoka said. Previously, money had been stored in the ASB office for a short period of time before being transferred to the bank, according to Matsuoka.

“The actual deposits were taking too long to go from the ASB office to the actual bank, and that needs

Pennies for Patients The school has raised $899.75 as of Feb. 10. Certain teachers will dress up Feb. 16 and 17 if enough money is raised in their boxes as of Feb. 15.

BY ZOE MCCRACKEN AND TIFFANY LAW

Library Photo Contest Students who take photos of themselves reading during February Break and submit them to the MHS library are eligible to win prizes in a variety of categories.

Micro-, macroAP Economics to be offered

BY YING LUO

SEE ECONOMICS ON PAGE 2

SEE ASB ON PAGE 2

Security guard performance under review

STAR Video Contest The theme this year is “What does it take to be a STAR?” Videos must be submitted by Apr. 3. Cash prizes will be given to the creators of the winning videos.

Advanced Placement Micro-and Macroeconomics are to be offered for the following 2012-2013 school year, according to Assistant Principal Brian McGarry. The class will especially be beneficial for students who are looking into prospective careers in business, finance, or international relations, McGarry said.

History Teacher Tricia Robinson will be teaching the yearlong course, but the periods have yet to be determined, McGarry said. The AP class will be offered to only prospective seniors on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to McGarry.

“AP Economics has all the benefits of other AP classes,” Robinson said.

“Students have the chance to earn college credit in both Micro-and Macroeconomics. College credits are a great addition to a high school transcript. Students can practice college-level academic skills, which makes freshman year [of college] less stressful.”

Despite both being branches of economics, the Micro-and Macroeconomics classes do have their differences. In simplistic terms, Micro deals with individual choices and Macro with governmental and international choices, according to Robinson.

“Microeconomics tends to focus on consumer and producer choices and government legislation and regulation,” Robinson said. “Macroeconomics focuses on income, prices, employment, banking, and international issues.”

Students will focus on one branch of Economics one semester and

to go faster,” Matsuoka said. “We’re trying to speed things up so that money does not sit in the ASB office for very long. It gets counted, processed, accounted for, and placed in a real bank.”

Now, whenever a deposit is made at the bank, there is a receipt kept with the deposit slip to confirm that cash was deposited, Activities Director Joanna Butcher said. The money is no longer transferred from the ASB office to the bank by a MHS employee, Butcher said.

“The district will come to pick up the cash, and they come by every day now,” according to Butcher.

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Sophomore Jonathan Ngo communicates his points to the judge of the round as his opponents plan their response. Ngo and his partner, Sophomore Miranda Le, went 2-2 in the Jan. 28 and 29 Speech and Debate competition at MHS and Thomas Russell Middle School. About 30 schools participated in the tournament.

MHS hosts second forensics tournament; attracts surrounding schools to compete

BY MARISA LOUIE

Speech and Debate teams from surrounding schools came together at MHS and Thomas Russell Middle School for a forensics competition on Jan. 28 and 29. This was the second tournament held at these two campuses so far this year.

The Coast Forensic League, which is in charge of organizing speech and debate tournaments in Northern California, chose to use the MHS and Russell campuses because of the schools’ large capacities, according to Speech and Debate Team Advisor Charles Schletzbaum. The combined campuses of MHS and Russell usually host only one tournament a year, Schletzbaum said. “[MHS] is one of the only schools that the entire league can fit at,” Schletzbaum said. “It’s a victim of its own success. There are more debaters than can fit at any one school.”

Approximately 30 different schools, including Harker, Bellarmine College Preparatory, and Leland High School, sent teams to the tournament, according to Schletzbaum.

43 students from the MHS Speech and Debate team competed in the events as well, Schletzbaum said.

“We’re currently 8% over capacity,” Schletzbaum said. “Each school has to lose 8% of their teams that they send in order to fit on the campuses. We’re outgrowing the school grounds.”

This past tournament was Freshman Sahil Hansalia’s first time debating for MHS. Hansalia felt that holding the tournament on the MHS campus gave him a slight advantage.

“MHS doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s better than debating at other schools,” Hansalia said. “I was able to go to my friend’s house in the middle of the tournament to print out some papers for the debate.”

Hansalia’s score for the Public Forum debate was 2-2, which he considers a success since he had never debated in a tournament before.

After losing his first round, Hansalia began to better understand how the tournament worked and got better from there, according to Hansalia.

“Now I really want to go [to tournaments] as much as I can,” Hansalia said. “It’s sort of a thrill from debating. That’s the best way to describe it.”

Sophomore Sumukh Shekar also competed in the Public Forum de-

bates. The fact that the tournament was held at MHS gave the MHS teams another chance win, according to Shekar.

“Last time we had a tournament at our school, nobody from MHS got a medal,” Shekar said. “It’s kind of like when a sports team loses a home game. Now we get a second chance.”

Sophomores Jonathan Ngo and Miranda Le competed in the Public Forum debates, winning two rounds and losing the other two. The team did not perform the best that they could have, according to Ngo. “When you’re at your own school, it affects you because you have more pressure to do well,” Ngo said.

“It was a tough competition. There were a lot of teams.”

Sophomore Forrest Tran competed in the Parliamentary debates with his partner Sophomore Ahsan Zahid. Tran and Zahid fared better than expected in the Varsity level, earning a score of 3-1, Tran said.

“MHS is one of the biggest tournaments,” Tran said. “There is a larger variety of students here compared to other tournaments. But all tournaments are the same. It just matters who your opponent is.”

Security guards’ performance is being monitored at MHS, Principal Kenneth Schlaff said. The reason for this action is Universal Protection Services’s failure to meet the school’s initial expectations, Schlaff said.

The original group of security guards placed at MHS at the beginning of the year did not meet the needs of the school, according to Schlaff. A new set of security guards from Universal were interviewed and then replaced the previous ones.

“The original group was no good,” Schlaff said. “There were three people who were complete mismatches,” Schlaff said.

Universal also did not meet their original pitch, Schlaff said. They claimed that they were not only experienced with technology but were also familiar with high schools.

SEE SECURITY ON PAGE 23

Giordano sues City Council for public records

BY LAURA COSGROVE

Councilwoman Debbie Giordano’s suit against City Hall regarding the disclosure of security camera footage and key card entries was ruled in Giordano’s favor on Friday, Feb. 10, despite the city’s $4,900 defense.

The decision has set a statewide GIORDANO precedent for disclosure of public records, Giordano said.

In her suit, Giordano accused the City Council of violating the Brown Act, which ensures governmental transparency, by withholding the tapes from the security cameras and records of the key card entries in City Hall. Giordano also contended that Mayor Jose Esteves held meetings with other counSEE GIORDANO ON PAGE 23

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THE UNION NEWS FEBRUARY 2012

MHS plans to replace textbooks with e-readers ASB: Audit finds discrepancies

BY DYLAN LIBRANDE

FROM PAGE ONE

Traditional textbooks will be gradually phased out and replaced with e-readers, according to Principal Kenneth Schlaff. Though no specific plans have been discussed, Schlaff said a small-scale pilot program will likely be implemented next year.

Superintendent Cary Matsuoka says that he hopes the district will be using digital textbooks within three years. After the high school tests its pilot, Matsuoka said, the district would begin replacing the textbooks. He also said he had concerns about the current prices of the devices.

“It will be a gradual transition,” Matsuoka said. “Things are changing so fast, but I think tablets have to get cheaper for this to work in schools. If you start talking about equipping 3,000 students, that’s a whole new math problem, and we’re not ready to go full scale.”

Schlaff said his ultimate goal is for every student at MHS to have an e-reader, and that so far responses have been positive. Some advantages of e-readers Schlaff listed are their cheaper costs, ease at keeping up-to-date, and portability.

“It’s all in one place,” Schlaff said.

“You’re not carrying six textbooks, and you have the convenience of just having to take out one device.”

Biology Teacher Darra Cacao said that she is in favor of the transition

“Nobody from [MHS] is actually going to the bank anymore.”

Initial reports by the Milpitas Post stated that money that had been collected for the Senior Ball was missing, according to Butcher.

However, the missing money will not have an effect on the class of 2012’s Senior Ball, Butcher said.

“Right now, according to the audit they have the money missing from the class of 2011,” Butcher said. “Because the words, ‘Senior Ball’ were listed in the Milpitas Post, some seniors here freaked out that it was their senior ball, but they don’t need to worry.”

The money has not been recovered, but all of it will not be lost because the district has liability insurance, according to Matsuoka.

He said he was surprised that the missing money was actually covered under the district’s insurance.

“We have liability insurance that actually covers us for the majority of the funds,” Matsuoka said. “We have to pay a deductible, but I think we are going to recover about $30,000 through insurance. The district has umbrella liability coverage.”

It was possible for such a large sum of money to be stolen because a great deal of cash flows through the ASB office, Matsuoka said. The ASB office is one of the larger cash operations in the district because most of the district’s finances are

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Senior Daven Lagman reads a book off his Amazon Kindle. MUSD plans to have every student equipped with similar deviced in upcoming years.

to e-readers in theory, but that there are many practical problems that will have to be dealt with. She said she was concerned about both the technological and the safety aspects.

“I worry about the technology part; if the devices start to break down, there aren’t enough IT people in the district for maintenance,” Cacao said. “Also, Evergreen High School tried a similar program, where every student was given a laptop, and its students were getting jumped and their devices

Integrated science in development

BY LUIS DESCANZO

The Science Department is currently developing an Integrated Science course that is slated to begin next year. Chemistry Teacher Letta Meyer said that the department’s goal is to accommodate students who are not proficient enough to complete the freshman Biology course.

The year-long course will include one unit each in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Science. Students will explore basic topics during each nine-week unit, Meyer said.

“It’s really focused on making students like science,” she said, “especially those would’ve been uninter-

move on to study the other in the second semester, McGarry said.

But since Microeconomics impacts Macroeconomics and vice versa, there are many overlaps between the two studies, McGarry added.

Because the course is yearlong with both Micro-and Macroeconomics, students must prepare for two AP exams in May, Robinson stated. Students must also take American Government separately if they wish to take this course, Robinson continued.

“Students will take two AP exams in one day but in different sessions,” McGarry said. Either the Micro-or Macroeconomics test will be in the morning, while the other test will be taken in the afternoon, according to McGarry.

School administrators have been looking to expand the school's AP curriculum with additional courses to encourage more students to sign up for rigorous classes, McGarry said. The new course is expected to not only challenge students who are interested in the business field, but also to provide them with insight that they can hopefully apply later on in life, McGarry continued.

EYE ON CAMPUS

ested in the subject had they been forced into Biology. It’s a preview of all the other science classes.”

Freshmen who received an A or B in their 8th grade science class will be placed in the existing Biology course, according to Chemistry Teacher Todd Seals. Those who received a C can opt out of Integrated Science, depending on their language proficiency.

“The school assumes that everyone’s prepared and on track for college,” Seals said. “But some kids aren’t ready for Biology.”

The course is being developed by the entire department, Seals said.

“It’s assumed that any one of us will be able to teach this course.”

ECONOMICS: Yearlong course; students face two AP tests FROM PAGE ONE

taken. I don’t want the same thing to happen here.”

MHS would pay for the devices with money that would otherwise be used to replace outdated textbooks, Schlaff said. He added that buying a class set of e-readers costs less than adopting a new textbook.

“Normally, the cost for one kid is around 5 textbooks, maybe $400,” Schlaff said. “For one Amazon Kindle, it would only cost $55. They would be given out every year for the students to use, but not for them to keep.”

done electronically, according to Matsuoka.

“An ASB office in a high school typically handles around $1.5 to $2 million,” Matsuoka said. “The ASB office handles quite a bit of cash, so there are opportunities for embezzlement.”

The district has an audit performed to make sure there is no fraud, Matsuoka said. Because the district had discovered that money was missing, the auditors were informed of the situation, Matsuoka said.

“We have an audit done of the district’s finances, a $73 million operation, and the ASB office is part of that audit,” Matsuoka explained.

“We brought it to the attention of the auditors, so they would include it in their report.”

After the Milpitas Police Department conducted its investigation, the case was turned over to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, according to the police report. The District Attorney’s office issued an arrest warrant for grand theft, the police report stated.

“This is now a legal, criminal matter between the district attorney and the former employee,” Matsuoka said. “If there is any crime committed that is not under the jurisdiction of the school district, such as a student fight or drug possession we are involved, but we turn the matter over to law enforcement.”

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Sophomores Michael Barrow and Andrew Kim play musical chairs on the stage in front of the green during lunch on Feb. 3 as part of a noontme activity. The event was held to promote school unity.

“The number-one issue for voters today is the economy, and you should have studied it in-depth to really have an informed opinion,” McGarry stated. “These are relevant topics that impact everyone in our society.”

The entire process of adding an AP course to the school curriculum takes roughly one year, according to McGarry. Even though the idea

“The number-one issue for voters today is the economy.” ����� ������� of the class was proposed in the fall of 2011, it first had to be approved by both the school board and Collegeboard, McGarry added.

“The school has been considering an AP Economics class for a few years,” Robinson said. “[McGarry] decided it was time to make it happen.”

In addition to AP Economics, school administrators are looking to upgrade MHS’s current accounting class, McGarry added. They are looking to add more UC and CSU approved courses, McGarry said.

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Junior Tiffany Kyu performs a fan dance as part of Chinese Club’s nighttime Lunar Show. Following negative comments about the Day Show, the performers changed their acts to be more traditional.

THE UNION NEWS FEBRUARY 2012

Points system tracks CLOGs’ attendance and participation

BY LUIS DESCANZO

A����� T���//THE UNION

Senior Sydnie Turner leads the band Kenny Kumar in George Michael’s “Careless Whisper.” The charity dinner attracted around 220 guests.

Key Club hosts charity event; plans to make dinner annual

BY ARTHUR TRAN

Milpitas Key Club hosted a charity dinner at the Milpitas Community Center on Friday, Jan. 20.

The money raised from the charity dinner is going to Key Club’s international project, Pediatric Trauma Prevention, according to Key Club President Vanessa Yeh. The charity dinner was titled “To Infinity & Beyond” and was the first one ever hosted by Milpitas Key Club, according Yeh. Approximately $2,000 was raised from this event, Yeh said.

“We had around 220 people,” Yeh said. “I thought it was good for a first time.”

Lasagna, chow mein, and fried rice were served at the dinner, according to Yeh. Second helpings were offered, and apple pie was served for dessert, Yeh said. Along with the dinner was a show with dancers, singers, and a band, according to Yeh. “We’re planning to make this an annual event,” Yeh said. “A lot of people have been asking when the next event is.”

The performances went very well, according to Junior Giang Ha, who attended the show. Some of the acts were exciting to watch and the food was good, according to Ha. “I felt that the show was interesting,” Ha said. “A lot of the acts were entertaining and captivating. However, I thought there would be more food served.”

To Sophomore Nhi Tran, the

show was a fun experience. All of the performers seemed well-rehearsed, according to Tran.

“I thought [the dinner] was pretty good,” Tran said. “Everyone seemed professional.”

Milpitas Key Club received help from Key Club Advisor Denise Cosgrove and Piedmont Hills High School, according to Yeh. Cosgrove secured the venue for the charity dinner, helped collect ticket money at the door, and coordinated with the staff of the community center.

“But [the officers] did most of the

“We had around 220 people.

It was good for a first time.” ������� ��� work,” Cosgrove said. “They worked incredibly hard on the event.”

Key clubs from American High, Washington, Mission San Jose, Irvington, and Leigh High School attended this event. They were invited by Milpitas, according to Yeh. “It created a sense of closeness.”

Yeh said. “Milpitas is usually isolated for other clubs.

The outcome of the event was favorable, Cosgrove said. The seven hours that were spent by Key Club at the community center while preparing for the charity dinner seemed to fly by, according to Cosgrove.

“I was pleased by the outcome of the event,” Cosgrove said. “I was very impressed with Key Club.

Chartered clubs and organizations (CLOGs) can now monitor their attendance record to CLOG meetings. The CLOG Committee of the Associated Student Body (ASB) recently unveiled a system of recording participation at school activities and tracking attendance at important meetings.

CLOG Commissioner Erin Yu announced the new points system in a Jan. 12 e-mail to CLOG officers. In the e-mail, Yu encouraged CLOGs to earn as many points as possible by attending CLOG Council meetings and participating in CLOG activities, such as food sales.

“By sending a representative to Congress and CLOG Council, a club earns five points,” Yu said, “but if nobody from a club signs-in, ten points will be deducted from the club.”

Yu added that the motivation behind the points system was partly for the convenience of the CLOG

Committee. The points system allows the CLOG Committee to immediately identify clubs which are in danger of being held under probation..

“Before, clubs who were skipping meetings or never turning in minutes were warned and then put in probation during Congress.” Now, she said, it is easier for clubs to see in advance if they are on track to being under probation.

CLOG Representative Forrest Tran, of the American Red Cross Club, expressed his reservations about the points system. While he lauded the effort of the Leadership class, he said that the idea needs refinement.

“It feels silly,” Tran said. “A lot of CLOGs don’t listen to the CLOG Committee, and to many of them, tracking attendance adds too much bureaucracy.”

CLOGs have no incentive to score highly on the points system, he said.

The threat of probation will not change the habits of many CLOGs.

Matsuoka prepares for future

BY LAURA COSGROVE

Superintendent Cary Matsuoka proposed a “picture for the future” of classroom learning to MHS staff on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Matsuoka aims to have the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) function at 90% of current costs by making the education process more efficient, he said.

Contrary to some immediate reactions, the plan does not include layoffs, Matsuoka said. The 10% cut may be accomplished by not replacing teachers who retire or leave the district and with different classroom configurations, he said.

“I’m thinking that a class with a size of 60 can be embedded in the schedule, with a teacher supervising as the students do work on the computers,” Matsuoka said. “Technology can be used as a classroom.”

An idea included in this plan is “flipping the classroom,” a teaching system that reverses the role of homework and classroom learning.

Teachers who use the “flipping” model record their instruction for the students to watch at home and practice the concept in class, Mat-

suoka said.

“It’s a big picture vision,” Matsuoka said. “By flipping the classroom, students can perfect it in the classroom with the teacher there to problem-solve with the students.”

However, the idea remains planted in the future because of technological problems. The largest issue is that not all MUSD students would have access to the online lectures at home, Matsuoka said.

“There are big problems: not every kid has Internet access,” Matsuoka said. “The numbers are probably around 25 to 30 percent of those who don’t.”

The MHS staff was the first faculty group to hear this idea. Teachers, students, and staff should take the idea as a plan, Matsuoka said.

“This is an invitation to move into the twenty-first century. We’re still teaching with the twentieth century model, ”Matsuoka said. “It’s such an assembly-line model.”

As the idea is taking shape, Matsuoka said he would like to hear input from students.

“In the future, I would like to do a formal group conversation, Matsuoka said.

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U PCOMING CLU B ACTI V ITIE S American Red Cross’s Youth Coordinator Denise Lu will come to MHS on Feb. 15 to speak about safety procedures. CPR lessons will also be offered to students who are interested in becoming certi�ed in CPR. Lessons will last up to two to three hours daily for several days, and students will be able to practice their skills on dummies.

DECA will be competing at the State District Conference at Irvine from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26. Members will participate in a variety of events that test their knowledge of business and critical thinking. During their time off, participants will be able to visit Disneyland.

Interact’s Area 6 is hosting a bene�t show at Mount Pleasant High School on March 3. All pro�ts will go to its international project, Free the Youth.

The Milpitas chapter is also hosting a Recycling Wars on campus lasting until the end of March. Participants who collect the most recyclables will win an ice cream party.

Key Club will be selling American Apparel jackets for $31 until Feb. 24. Club members can also attend the District Convention on April 13 to April 15 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, where Key Club members from California, Nevada, and Hawaii come together for workshops, expos, executive board elections, and a dance.

Science Olympiad will be competing in a Bay Area-wide competition on Feb. 18 at Foothill High School.

Teams that place fourth or higher will advance to the Northern California competition at Visalia on April 14.

SisterCities has a tentative plan for an exchange trip in late June to Huizhou, China. 16 to 20 students will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Chinese culture for about two weeks.

Team HBV is volunteering at the Hep B: Free Santa Clara County Campaign Kick-off Dinner on March 9. 600+ physicians and community leaders are expected to attend.

Lunar Show becomes ‘more traditional’ following ‘negative chatter’

BY LEANNA LEUNG

The annual Lunar Show, hosted

by Chinese Club, was held to promote Asian culture. The day show, featuring seven presentations, was held throughout all six periods on Jan. 19, and the night show included all 17 acts on Jan. 21 in the MHS theater, according to Chinese Club Co-President Catherine Zhou.

The show is held around this time of the year in accordance with the Chinese New Year, which was on Jan. 23 this year. The Lunar Show has been held every year for over a decade, Zhou said.

This year’s show sold out, garnering an audience of more than 200 people, according to Zhou. The Lunar Show featured a variety of acts spanning from traditional Chinese acrobatics to modern renditions of popular Korean pop dances.

“We had dancing, singing, martial arts, a light show, as well as lion dancers,” Chinese Club Representative and Master of Ceremonies Andy Lien said. “The lion dancers were there to symbolically drive away bad spirits.”

Organizations outside of Chinese Club were invited to perform as well. Other clubs that participated

in the show were the Hip-Hop Club, C4, and the Korean Student Union, according to Zhou. “We also had competitive Chinese acrobats from a cultural center perform as well,” Zhou said.

In contrast to shows from years prior, the 2012 Lunar Show featured a glowstick act. Also, the C4 performance was split into two teams—choreography and demonstration—according to Zhou.

An Emperor and Empress were also incorporated to add more traditional aspects to the show. “We had an emperor and his empress as characters to explain more about the origins and meanings of acts,” Zhou said.

Following the day showing of the Lunar Show, several people posted their opinions of the show on Facebook. “There was negative chatter on Facebook, mostly by students and some by teachers,” Lien said.

“Some students and teachers were out of line when discussing about the show. The comments were hurtful to the cast and cabinet.”

Particular comments prompted the Chinese Club cabinet to seek out Principal Kenneth Schlaff. “It was the last straw,” Lien said. “We just wanted a simple apology.”

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Accompanied by various other Lunar show performers, MC Bryan Nguyen breaks into dance to the tune of “Apologize” by One Republic during the MHS Lunar show. An audience of over 200 people attended the show.

The Chinese Club received apologies, and the issue has since been resolved. Performers altered their acts to accommodate suggestions.

“Six hours before the [night] show,

[the performers] changed their acts to be more traditional,” Lien said. “C4 originally had a simple cops-and-robbers theme, but they changed it to an ancient martial arts

storyline. I’m really proud that the whole cast all worked together to change their entire act for the show, despite the negativity.”

THE UNION EDITORIAL FEBRUARY 2012

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PATRONS

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

Social media a potentially valuable asset, as long as boundaries are not overstepped We, The Union, believe that teachers and students should remember to maintain proper boundaries when using social networking sites.

Social media has the potential to be a positive force in the classroom. However, students and teachers should ensure that inappropriate, overpersonal exchanges do not occur.

In light of recent events involving social networking at MHS, both teachers and students should remain careful about thoughts that they make public on the Internet outside of school. Teachers should be aware of how the comments that they make, especially comments towards students, will be interpreted. They should think about how their opinions can damage at least their reputation and at most their employment status.

The main concern with these websites is that they present too much personal information when privacy safeguards are not set up. Both students and teachers should limit what they share with each other, in the event that inappropriate personal information is shared. With social networking becoming more common and personal information being shared more often, the boundary line between appropriate and inappropriate content is being blurred and may be unwittingly crossed.

Furthermore, the improper use of social media can create an unprofessional atmosphere at school.

Teacher-student relationships outside of the classroom can lead to favoritism or discrimination by teachers. Similarly, students may end up forming premature opinions about their teachers based on what they see online. It must be noted, however, that it is acceptable to meet with a teacher outside of class, as long as the conversation does not extend

too far beyond the context of education. Just as an employer must remain respectful to his employees by agreeing to keep their relationship strictly professional, students and teachers must exhibit the same behavior outside of school in order to maintain a proper learning environment.

However, social networking can still be beneficial to the education of students. It provides a convenient form of communication between students and teachers. Students can at any time contact their teachers and ask for help on homework, projects and other various assignments.

Yet the question remains that if either the student or the teacher were to post explicit or questionable content on their personal social media site, should the student or teacher be held accountable for such an act? The content posted would technically be done so on one’s personal time, outside the jurisdiction of the school. Therefore, should the original poster be held accountable for the material and reprimanded for the post while at school? It is a difficult issue, and one that could even result in a lawsuit. To prevent conflicts such as these, a separation between contact at and outside of school are necessary for teachers and students to uphold professional relationships.

Again, we are not advocating total isolation from teachers outside of school. Social networking and other forms of electronic contact such as E-mail can still be a valuable communication channel between the two parties. However, teachers and students should always be cautious about what information is shared to prevent potential privacy issues or classroom issues that may arise from social networking.

T

he Union is a student-run publication that is partially funded by local businesses and private citizens. The patrons listed below have demonstrated their generosity by extending both moral and �nancial support to our newspaper for the 2011-2012 school year. The Union staff would like to thank them for their patronage and encourage others to contribute. If you are interested in becoming a patron ($25 donation), please contact our Business Manager.

Allied Waste Services of Santa Clara County Neal P. Swann, D.D.S. Custom Drywall inc.

Denny and Marianne Wersgerber Commonwealth Central Credit Union David Schymeinsky O.D. (Milpitas Family Eyecare) Mike & Nancy Mendizabal The Librande Family Mary Kay De Guzman Thriving Life Care of Milpitas Dixon Laundry Alan L. Grimm, D.D.S. Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza Jerry H. Glass, D.D.S. Over 30 years in Milpitas.

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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 re�ect those of the school, students, administration, or Milpitas Uni�ed School District.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

Academic changes will improve learning; offers students more educational options We, The Union, would like to commend the administration for all the changes it has made in recent years to improve the academic climate at MHS. The level to which the school has responded to students’ requests makes the changes all the more gratifying. In particular, there are three specific changes that will aid students in maximizing their learning capabilities: adding more Advanced Placement (AP) classes, instituting a weighted GPA ranking system, and moving finals to before Winter Break.

There are currently 13 AP classes offered at MHS, one more than last year with the addition of AP Psychology. However, there are plans to continue to enlarge the spectrum of classes by adding AP Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, bumping the total number up to 15. Growing the curriculum to include more advanced classes is a boon to students who want to expand their academic understanding; AP courses are a unique experience for some because it exposes them to a subject for the first time. Taking a variety of AP classes helps students gauge their interest in a subject and can influence what major they select in college. For students who already have some idea of what they will do in college, AP classes can establish a firm foundation in a subject.

Not only has the administration expanded the available AP classes, it has provided an additional incentive for taking them. Students will soon receive a boost to their GPA for taking Honors and AP classes. Earning an A in those classes would give a student five points instead of the normal four, or a

one point boost for grades C or higher. This incentive encourages students who are deciding between a regular and Honors class to take the harder class, which should challenge them and help them learn more. Aside from driving students to take more difficult courses MHS, weighted grades would motivate students to spend their summers taking college courses.

With such a lucrative reward, the administration should be cautious about how it implements the policy. Competition among students could lead students to take on too heavy of a workload, producing unnecessary stress. To avoid this situation, administration should continue to monitor how many AP classes students take and decide with students and parents what is manageable on a case by case basis.

On a larger scale, the administration is modifying the schedule next year to include first semester finals before the start of winter break. Doing so would allow students to enjoy their winter break without the burden of completing schoolwork. The shift in the schedule would require school to begin two weeks earlier. However, the change would ultimately benefit the students by allowing them to mentally unwind before beginning a new semester.

It should also help students retain the information they learned during first semester, increasing their grades on all their finals.

With all the progress that has been made, it is important for the administration to continue responding to students’ needs. Further expansion of AP classes would be a welcome addition.

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Journalism Advisor

L ETTER S TO TH E EDITOR Bullying by teachers unacceptable A teacher is one that teaches, especially one whose occupation it is to instruct. But there is more to a teacher than teaching. Students look up to their teacher for inspiration and encouragement; however, some have failed to provide either of those. In this school there are teachers that do not encourage the students to excel, but try to make the student’s life miserable with their constant bullying and bad teaching methods. I understand that teachers are humans, but when they have to make really obscene comments towards students they should keep it to themselves. Thank you to the teachers that have been encouraging students and giving them a good time at school, it’s you guys that matter.

Senior Brandon Phan Rallies should unify school The Battle of the Sexes rally was a horrifying disappointment. The

audience expressed these same regards by being unenthusiastic. Many people were not into the whole idea of showing their dominance over the other gender. The teams’ dances were sending the message that boys have “swag” and girls are “sexy”. This stereotypical behavior is not subject matter that should be displayed in school events. If they approve of this idea, what will they have next, race wars? I’m not saying that a simple school event is going to cause fights, but rallies should be about MHS uniting and having fun.

Team members became hostile towards their own genders when the audience did not participate in the games. One girl member screamed angrily at another when she did not “throw the ball right”. These tests of “who is better” were only tested in physical strength, and that alone doesn’t determine a better gender.

In the end, results scream unfair superiority to which group wins.

Senior Kelly Torbet

THE UNION OP-ED FEBRUARY 2012

Unmotivated teaching harmful to learning The responsibility of a teacher is the curriculum and student knowlto provide high-quality education to edge of the subject. It is useless to whatever extent that he is capable. provide worksheet after worksheet, If I asked a typical student on this and then plan a test at the end of campus about the characteristics the chapter. Such teachers don’t of great teacher, one characteristic provide a connection between what that student would probably list is students read in their textbooks the ability to teach effectively. This with what is in their brains; in my can be accomplished in a variety opinion, they should not teach, reof ways. For example, gardless of whether or some teachers make not they have a teaching their lessons humorous credential. For such a and amusing, cementing passive class, I might as them in the students’ well self-study rather minds. Other teachers than spend time in rigorously drill their lesclass doing worksheets. sons in with a multitude Teachers who waste of tests, activities, and time are detrimental to lectures. Whatever the a student’s core motivamethod of teaching, one tion to work hard and principle is clear: teachers become successful.

BRIAN who put their spirit into I hold contempt for KHAU helping students explore the type of teacher who the depths of knowledge provides worksheets are the best teachers. and mere activities in lieu of what In my opinion, it doesn’t matter they should be teaching and for othif teachers are cruel or nice; it only er teachers who merely waste their matters whether or not they can time with activities unrelated to the provide the essential link between subject they teach or those who only

sit at their computers. To me, even the inept teacher who struggles his hardest to teach his students is a thousand times better than one who is useless or unmotivated.

When any student goes to school, he expects to receive the best education to prepare him for the real world; it’s an expectation that forms the basis of the education system: teachers teach, and students absorb. All students are encouraged to try their hardest in school; logically, should teachers not try their hardest to teach also?

I don’t think it’s a hard expectation to live up to, nor do I believe it is unattainable. Being a teacher has responsibilities attached with it, as with any other job. A teacher’s central goal is to educate America’s young generation; a teacher who fails at this goal merely hurts us students.

So stop with trying to teach with only worksheets. Whether you’re a teacher or a student, I hope you can realize that I’m making a valid point.

Profanity an improper mode of communication, frequent use in conversation degrades speaker Ah, those infamous four-letter original meanings and intentions. words that have found a home in What was originally meant to be the vocabularies of an increasing a noun is now sometimes used as number of teenagers. We all hear a verb, and oftentimes vice versa. them each day, seemingly all over Words that were once deemed accampus, with the exception of per- ceptable in society due to their aphaps in the classroom. They used to plicable and non-derogatory meanbe reserved for when we dropped ings have now been transformed our sophomore English into terms that serve the textbooks on our feet sole purpose of spreador when we forgot our ing negativity. Why anylocker combinations, one would blissfully bask but now they have bein the ability to use these come an integral part of words at will baffles me. certain people’s speech.

When one chooses I have heard them used to incorporate profannot only when people are ity into his everyday angry or upset, but also language, he is degradwhen people are talking ing himself. Each time casually to their friends he unnecessarily utters MARISA while wandering around those magic words, he LOUIE at break or lunchtime. is telling the world that I am not referring to the his knowledge of the people who let a couple of English language is so words slip every now and then. I un- limited, that he has to resort to amderstand that every once in a while, biguous slang in order to express his it becomes necessary to express thoughts. strong feelings with equally strong Perhaps he thinks that swearing words. The people I am referring to makes him look cool in front of his are those who manage to somehow friends, but in reality, he is hurting work multiple obscenities into each himself in the long run. In the reof their sentences. cent Republican debates, when the Profane language has been tossed candidates were angry at each other, around by people so frequently that did they start rattling off profanity many of the words have lost their to one another? No, they acted like

civilized, professional people and refrained from incorporating expletives into their responses.

People who exhibit little to no self-discipline with the language that they use are not helping themselves in any way. You simply cannot go through life dropping profanity into every other sentence that comes out of your mouth and expect other people to take you seriously. In the coming years, when the time comes to apply for a job, you have to realize that your wellexercised arsenal of profanity will not give you an advantage over the other job applicants. The world outside of high school is a competitive place that rewards the best of the best, so do yourself a favor and shed those habits that are detrimental to your image.

On another note, is this the image that we as high school students want to show people? If somebody were to walk through a crowd of teenagers, would they be barraged with a symphony of expletives and foul language? While the words may not be directed at passerby or even at any individual in general, they nevertheless make the speaker seem immature and offensive. We are better than the words that often come out of our mouths.

SSR time typically squandered by students During school, students are expected to make a productive and educational use of their time. They take six classes in which they learn about a different subject in each.

In addition, each student spends approximately 20 minutes for SSR every day before fifth period. SSR stands for Silent Sustained Reading time; obviously, students are also supposed to sit and read quietly after lunch.

However, over the years in which SSR has been enforced, the purpose of this time has been questioned by many people, including teachers. In some classes, students have ceased to read, if they actually had read at all in the first place. Instead, some teachers let students use SSR as their free time. As a result, kids catch up on homework, nap, eat, etc. On the other hand, other teachers have used those 20 minutes productively, such as reading aloud from a book to their class or doing educational activities.

I’m sure that whoever created SSR had good intentions in mind.

Nevertheless, due to what I have

seen over the past four years, I re- will become successful people who ally do have to question these 20 lead happy lives. If SSR provides no minutes. Based on the various ways benefit, why waste our time? classes spend SSR, I’m sure that if it If SSR is to remain, it should be was eliminated entirely from our changed. However, I see little to no schedule, school could function alternatives. SSR’s original purpose more or less in the same manner. was to have students read silently.

Take Wednesdays, for Even if this is more example. There’s not strictly enforced, I can much difference witheasily imagine students out SSR. Thus, I see no falling asleep while prereason why it should not tending to read books be removed. Sure, class that they would just time would probably be probably pick from the longer because of certain classroom bookshelf. requirements, but at least However, I confess we could be using those there is one upside to extra 20 minutes to do SSR. After lunch, SSR something productive provides individuals ANNA and useful towards our a period of rest before TRI educational lives. The starting the class. But time could be divided even so, SSR has proved among the six class periods. to be useless; the school should With a loosely enforced SSR, stu- definitely find better alternatives dents might as well still be outside quickly or eliminate it altogether. eating lunch, socializing with oth- The routine of school is already ers, and/or doing their homework horrible enough; there is no need at the lunch tables. We, as students, to throw in SSR. Give us education, go to school in order to gain knowl- give us productivity, but do not edge in the hopes that one day we waste our time.

5

QUESTION OF THE MONTH: HOW DO YOU PLAN TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY? WESLEY LUU, Junior

JOSHUA RICHARDS ,

Sophomore

KIMBERLY DUONG, Freshman

SHERILYN THACH, Junior

JUSTIN

ALMOGELA,

Senior

GINGER ROY, Teacher

ANDREW LUU, Freshman

Spend a day with my girlfriend: dinner, movies, and frolicking in the sand on the beach.

Probably just watch a movie with my girlfriend.

I am going to be very alone on Valentine’s Day: stay home, computer, and watch scary movies.

I was gonna sing my boyfriend a song, draw him something, and buy him chocolates.

I might go visit my girlfriend at another school and catch a movie.

Yeah.

I have class at San Jose State, and then I’m cooking a special dinner for my family. So not really anything.

I will proceed with school normally and be alone.

Rally reinforces stereotypes; emphasizes gender contrasts In a world where women continue short exposing dresses and stuffed to struggle to be treated equally to their chests. Girls dressed in baggy men, our school decides to hold a clothes, wore baseball caps, and sexist themed rally known as Battle attempted to wear facial hair. Is of the Sexes. The student body is that really how students dress on forced to attend and is then divided a regular basis? I think not. What into competing factions: boys and right does the school have to tell girls. They then particigirls that they should like pate in several physical Hello Kitty, wear pink, challenges to determine and be girly? What right the more dominant does the school have to gender. tell boys that they should On the day of the rally, wear blue, like cars, and students are encouraged play sports? to dress in a specific Males who were color representing their dressed as females were gender: pink for girls and met with a variety of blue for boys. However, taunts by their peers. the school does not take Many of these male cross TIFFANY into account the fact that dressers were called gay, LAW some students may have queer, “homo”, and had difficulties identifying to deal with their peers themselves as any given gender. who questioned their masculinity.

Sure, students can wear white if Females, on the other hand, were they are gender “neutral” but as hardly met with uproar when they soon as students walk into the gym, wore male clothing. The Battle of they are forced to sit on the side the Sexes theme only exacerbates matching their gender. There is no existing gender conflicts and propaneutral side. Without question, this gates homophobia while neglecting would not be acceptable if the rally to address these issues in a profeswas instead called Battle of the Rac- sional and mature manner. es and students were then forced to In this day and age, the school split up into groups matching their should be using this opportunity particular ethnicities. Then why as a lesson to encourage acceptance does the school think it is accept- rather than highlight the differences able to do this with gender? between genders and using them as One of the spirit days included a basis to attack one another. Next opposite gender day where stu- year, the school should consider a dents dressed in clothing made different theme for the rally. Hopefor the opposite gender. This rein- fully one that will encourage a sense forced antiquated gender roles. I of unity and togetherness that the noticed that boys tended to wear school should strive to stand for.

THE UNION OP-ED FEBRUARY 2012

6

PRO

School spirit unites students; provides break from pressure I am not a spirited person. I don’t that is when we are at our best and go to Trojan Olympics, I rarely most spirited. dress up for the Spirit Weeks, and There is also the slight contenI couldn’t care less about which tion over the “secret practices” classes have collected the most for Trojan Olympics. But really, pennies (or whatever strange if people are so spirited that they measure of school spirit is cur- want to win, who are we to discourrently being held). But even I have age them? Having better acts and to recognize how important a role better dances benefits not only the school spirit plays at MHS. School performers and the audience, but it spirit provides a break from the leads to a more exciting competistress of academics, unifies the tion which is good for everyone. student body, and has But really, one quesno negative effects on tion remains: what is the school. bad about school spirit?

School is hard. As stuThere’s nothing wrong dents, almost all of our with getting fired up. days are occupied with High school is the best being in class, studying, time in our life to go craor extracurriculars; it zy with loyalty, and ASB seems we never have events, sports games, and any free time any more. rallies all allow students Tests and quizzes and to break free from the homework and projects mold of traditional acaDYLAN all pile on until students demic days. And even if LIBRANDE are virtually devoured some people take school by stress and until sleep spirit far beyond the exbecomes little more than a distant, tremes, what’s the real harm? At dissolved memory. In this haze the worst, it only lasts for a week, of homework, one beacon shines and even then it’s always good to brightly: Spirit Week. The fellow have leaders to inspire others to travelers of the hard journey are, be even more spirited. I know that for one week, allowed to throw off many students, such as myself, are their scholarly shackles, dress up in not very spirited; having someone silly clothes, and have fun. who brings up the other students School spirit is also quintes- and takes up the slack that they are sential as a unifier of the student letting go leads to overall higher body. Sure, the competitions may spirit levels. turn the classes against each other, That brings me to my final point; but everyone is always brought to- that school spirit should be a part of gether at the end. A bit of friendly every student’s education. Loyalty, competition only increases school and the joy that comes with uniting spirit; after all, what better enemy together to beat a common foe are than an old friend? When all the both great parts of high school. Stuschool comes together to win a dents like me who are not spirited Homecoming game, to Pack the should change their ways: school House, or to have a sweet dance, spirit is amazing. GO TROJANS!!!

CON

Excess of enthusiasm harmful; should be taken in moderation Your first impression of this con by consuming outrageous amounts piece is probably along the lines of time? of “how can someone be against While you may not want me to school spirit?” And yes, I know, with go on, I will by hammering more the reaction I am likely to receive I examples down your throat. One may as well be writing an article such example is rallies. I fail to see supporting the kicking of innocent how they contribute to academics. puppies. However I ask that you Perhaps my mind is not complex keep an open mind and hopefully enough to understand the enigma this introduction has accomplished that is the rally, yet I highly doubt such, because despite it. My highly advanced this piece’s rant-like namind asserts that while ture it does eventually rallies have the potential reach a point. to be a fun time for the Spirit is like a fatty student masses, they end potato chip, it should be up being a mandatory taken in moderation. Yes, event that also put school spirit is good in uniting a spirit ahead of academschool, but some MHS ics. This is because ralstudents take it to a point lies force students and unhealthily beyond that. teachers to take valuable I am not referring to the teaching and or learning ZOE quantity of participants; time and use it to watch MCCRACKEN the more the merrier. people jump around What I am referring to is looking like idiots. A the unhealthy passion that certain perfect compromise would be to people have. When spirit is treated make rallies an optional event duras the most important matter in this ing a time such as lunch like other insignificant universe, something schools; this would give students has obviously gone wrong. the opportunity to enjoy the fun Trojan Olympics and its “secret” that is the rally while not having practices are the quintessential time taken out of class. Instead of example of school spirit taken to learning about String Theory and unhealthy extremes. Before being Antiorbital bonding I get to watch angry about me revealing a secret MC’s who do not understand the that everyone knew about, hear function of a microphone. me out. These practices typically To congratulate those who were occur most weekdays the month patient enough to read to the end before the event, and are essen- of my writing, I will finally unveil tially mandatory. The hours often the point. Spirit is great and I love it, run late, and often end after dark but it is should come after academleaving no time to study. This is not ics, not before it. Lastly, if I have hurt cool, brother. Since when did school anyone’s feelings, I am sincerely spirit activities go before academics sorry. I love you all.

Internet censorship infringes free speech, ineffective towards stopping online piracy The Internet is a powerful tool.

It connects billions of people throughout the world together.

The Internet facilitates the spread of ideas, information, multimedia and more, which makes it arguably the most important invention of the past few decades.

In fear of its capabilities, institutions all over the world have turned to regulating the flow of cyber information and eavesdropping on its Internet users. Governments such as China and North Korea use Internet censors to eliminate voices that oppose their regimes.

However, the massive range of content found on the web is not as heavily regulated in the United States. Still, bills pop up from time to time in Congress, designed to impose new sanctions on what one can and cannot do online in order to restrict Internet use. Recently, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America pitched bills in congress to enact new laws that provide corporations the power to strangle the basic foundation of the Internet.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) were introduced in 2011 with heavy backing

by Hollywood lobbyists. These bills were created with good intentions:

cutting off foreign websites that already been devised to circumvent infringe on American copyrighted the “domain name system blocking” content and stymieing rampant technique that the acts would use to piracy. But the broad block websites, allowing language in the bills piracy to continue. would give corporations SOPA and PIPA’s the power to shut down controversy sparked the entire websites without biggest Internet protest due process, just on ever, with websites such suspicion of copyright as Wikipedia blacking infringement. itself out in protest. The It would mean the end bills were eventually of user-generated conshelved, but the danger tent as we know it, since looms. If there is a lesson SOPA and PIPA would we can all learn from the TERRY make web owners liable protest is that we do have TSAI for whatever comment a voice in the political or content users post. process and together we That includes our beloved social can defend our First Amendment sites such as Facebook, YouTube, rights.

Tumblr and Reddit. How can people Established corporations such post original content, remixes and as the MPAA and the RIAA need parodies without facing the threat to innovate and replace their outof copyright suspicion? dated business models to generate Another problem with these revenue, not try to legislate and censorship bills is that they stymie censor the Internet in an attempt innovation, especially for Internet to sell more movies. In an interview startups. We may never see the next for the University of Cambridge, Facebook or the next YouTube or founder and CEO of Valve Software any cool, new social site take off Gabe Newell said that “piracy is albecause investors would be too most always a service problem and worried to invest in something that not a pricing problem.” could be taken down so easily.

“Our goal is to create greater Furthermore, the censorship bills service value than pirates,” Newell themselves are ineffective at their said, “and this has been successful original purpose—stopping piracy. enough for us that piracy is basically Numerous countermeasures have a non-issue for our company.”

Students wear clothing inapt for weather Common sense it seems is not so wear their pajamas to funerals, so common when it comes to dress- why are students wearing so little ing appropriately for the weather. clothes when it is raining? One Oftentimes, around campus, I see theory is that they want to look good students wearing shorts, tank tops, despite the freezing temperature. I and just a T-shirt in the suppose those who follow middle of winter juxtathis line of thinking live by posed to other students the mantra beauty is pain. who are wearing layers But by whose beauty and layers of jackets. But standards are these stuthe oddest thing these dents, especially female students say when they students, living by? Their are so underdressed is own or what society has that they’re cold. Has dictated to be beauty? school not taught them I think a large part of anything about readwhat they consider to be ing the temperature? their own standards is KEWA Then again, it might be what society has taught JIANG because they’re out of them. In our world of school so often due to instant connection to illnesses that they might millions of websites and have missed that unit in their sci- pictures, we are constantly bomence class. barded with images of the "ideal Dressing suitably for the weather body" and a mirage of products that is just like wearing the right cloth- can help us achieve this type of body. ing to an event. People don’t usually But often times the problem lies not

in the consumers’ natural appearance, rather in the picture that is being sold as the ideal. For example, on the website of the hugely successful and popular clothing store H&M, shoppers can digitally place articles of clothing on models. This is supposedly so people can get a better idea of how the clothes might look on themselves, yet the image is not of a real woman. Instead, the body of the model is an amalgamation of various parts of different models. Also, with the prolific use of Photoshop to alter the images of models, consumers don’t know where the real person ends and the artificial Barbie doll begins.

Why do students not dress appropriately for the weather? It may be as simple as because they don’t want to. Then again if they ever do want to actually not feel cold when it’s raining, they can always check the weather report before hand. I believe there’s an app for that.

Required class participation impractical There are always those classes where participation makes up some part of your grade. How do you get those points? It really depends on what the teacher wants.

Some teachers give out points for answering questions in class, while others give out points for those who complete a time consuming task for them.

Class participation is ridiculously high in many classes, making up huge percentages in students’ grades. A grade is supposed to judge a student’s performance in a class in terms of mastery of the topics of a subject. Does participation really matter at all if a student shows that they understand all concepts?

The answer to the question is no.

Participation is a measurement of how willing one is to raise their hand and answer a question, or how much one is willing to take some time to help out the teacher. It does little to aid a student in the learning process and can be completely eliminated from being a part of students’ grades. Tests and homework are enough to judge how much a student knows, so why add useless

points into the mix? that way. One would think that What’s even more frustrating is this is a fair method of distributing that you’re essentially competing points through the class, but take with the rest of your class for par- a moment to think about it. If you ticipation. By the time the semester are absent for one day of class, and is over, the people who raised their your name is cycled through that hands will have all the participa- day, you just lost a majority of your tion while everyone else participation points suffer from the drops for that grading period. in their grades due to Also, there are always no participation points. people who will get the Also, if you miss a day chance to answer more of school, you are essenquestions than you; this tially even more behind method of giving out on participation. points is clearly flawed.

If you are someone who Teachers may have pretty much collects all good intentions and bethe participation points lieve that participation by the end of the semespoints are the perfect ARTHUR ter, just remember: you incentive to get students TRAN are destroying everyone to pay attention in class. else’s grades. This is just a This is not the case at all. friendly reminder. You may think to People can easily collect their points yourself that participation is great for the day at the beginning of class because it is saving your grade, but and then not pay attention for the it is saving your grade at the expense rest of the class time. Why should of your class. teachers even bother anymore with However, there are also classes grading students on this anymore? where the teacher cycles through Participation is so ineffective and the class using flashcards or the obsolete, that classes would be betseating chart and asks questions ter off with it.

THE UNION OP-ED FEBRUARY 2012

7

Serving for personal recognition hypocritical By its namesake, community school students would barely invest service should be what it sounds: any of their time volunteering. giving back to the community. But It’s ironic that while “community is that really what it is in today’s so- service” is generally thought of as ciety? When high school students selflessly giving back to the comare asked why they do volunteer munity, it has somehow evolved work, chances are they’ll reply with into yet another competition and at least one of the three quest for self-achieveanswers: 1) it looks good ment and prestige. on college applications; Once you realize the 2) it provides opportunihypocrisy behind this, ties for awards; or 3) it is a it seems ridiculous how requirement to graduate community service has high school. become another means The point of commufor self-gain, which is nity service is to teach what most students view people to give as well as it as today. to take. We intake certain Increasingly fewer values, beliefs, and life students feel the satisYING lessons, and ideally we faction that comes with LUO should repay our comknowing that they have munity by lending a hand contributed to their in whatever way we can. However, community. Instead, they busy this reasoning has become almost themselves with mindless labor the antithesis of why high school and office work that may or may students do community service. not directly benefit the community; I’m confident enough to state that they’re essentially robots who get if people weren’t publicly recog- the work done but lack what truly nized for their services, the hours matters, compassion. they devote to community service While I admit that I don’t always would significantly decrease. High do community service for the sole

purpose of giving back, I do believe that we need to find the right balance between self-interest and honest altruism. I don’t expect everyone to suddenly sprout halos and become saints, for lack of a better word, but I would like to be able to instill a sense of gratitude and appreciation for one’s community.

A possible solution to this concern is to emphasize not the amount of hours students do but rather what they have done within those hours instead. For example, the determining factors for many servicerelated awards ought to be altered so that students are recognized for hownot how many hoursthey have contributed to the community.

Students could be required to write short narratives of what they have done as volunteers and how they were affected by these experiences.

In the end, the number of hours students manage to amass shouldn’t even matter if they don’t have any sense of commitment to their communities. It’s especially important to ingrain the mindset of helping others simply out of goodwill into adolescents.

Gender discrimination present in society Throughout our educational careers, we learn about how women fought long and hard to gain equal rights. Constantly, students learn about well-known women who made great contributions to society.

These women benefited the community tremendously, in ways that changed society’s view of women, as generations went on. To my dismay, in today’s society, women are still being degraded. During the 21st century, women are still not being treated as equal individuals when compared to men, since they are not given the same salaries. I believe that this situation is absurd and should have been resolved a long time ago.

According to the National Organization for Women, in 2007, women’s median annual paychecks reflected only 78 cents for every $1.00 earned by men. In my opinion, twentytwo cents is a huge difference and furthermore makes women seem inferior to men. There is absolutely no reason why women should be paid less than men. Statistics show that men and women, who have the same degree and work experience, still have an unequal pay. Women work just as hard as men, and thus should not be treated differently due to their gender.

The statistics between the pay of between men and women would men and women in today’s genera- have died out, and both men and tion heavily shows that discrimina- women would be treated equally. At tion is still occurring. Specifically, this rate, I do not know if men and the unequal pay for women of color women will ever be treated equally, is even wider. In comparison to the let alone be paid the same wages. dollar men earn, African American Due to the gender-related stereowomen only earn 69 cents and La- types men and women often convey, tinas only earn 59 cents.

I believe men and women From our history classes, may never achieve equalwe have learned how ity. Women often hold America has, over the the stereotype of being last century, overcome weak and reliant on men, racism tremendously. while men are seen as However, racism is still strong and independent. occurring, even if it is I believe that these stemerely a ten cents gap reotypes still exist and in earned income. When will continue to persist coupled with sexism, the for men and women beinequity is even worse. cause even today, many RAMANDEEP According to the Naindividuals refer back to TUMBER tional Organization for them. Men and women, Women, in 1963, fullthemselves, need to time working women were paid 59 overcome these stereotypes and cents on average for every dollar just be who they are. Women need paid to men. This means it took 44 to continue to fight for their rights, years for the wage gap to close just whether they are for social reasons 19 cents, equating to a rate of less or economic reasons. than half a penny a year. UnfortuI hope in the near future, women nately, this gap has slowed down can walk on equal ground with over the last six years, with women men. Yet, until then, women should gaining a mere two cents since work alongside fellow feminists to 2001. In my opinion, insufficient achieve equality by spreading the progress has been made. By now, I word about this gender inflicting would have thought discrimination issue.

Saturday school consumes valuable time; proves unable to discipline tardy students Saturday school sucking was a ter 8 am, they will be dismissed and given, but the sheer magnitude of a parent will be called.” What really suck was mind-numbing. I am not happened: I’m still asleep at home butthurt because I got a Saturday and nothing has happened. school; I earned it by being tardy.

8:05 to 8:15 am – What is supposed But I figured there had to happen: “The teacher to be some educational, will have students write disciplinary, or deterring a statement stating their value to Saturday school. reason for attending SatNope, Saturday school urday School and what was an utter and comthey can do to change plete waste of money, their behavior.” What time, and sleep. really happened: I arWhen I received my rived at the theater and Saturday school asgot in the end of the line signment from an Asto get my classroom associate Principal, I got signment.

Y-DAN a paper detailing the 8:15 to 8:30 am – What BUI “Time Schedule and is supposed to happen: Procedure for Saturday “Students share their School.” What it should have said statements.” What really happened: was “NOTHING”. Here is how my we went to the classroom. Saturday four hours at Saturday school went School started 18 minutes late. The down. teacher gave us instructions which 7:45 to 8:00 am – What is sup- were, as I paraphrase, “do whatever posed to happen: “Students check you want without talking and don’t in. Students must show the teacher let me see you with your phone their materials. If students arrive af- out.”

8:30 to 9:50 am – What is supposed to happen: “Students read and summarize what is being read in their book and share out loud.”

At this point you probably get the idea. I tried to do my work, I honestly did. High school students simply are not programmed to do anything productive during Saturday mornings. At some point, there was a moment of horrible realization that I was not going to get anything done there. The rest of my day at Saturday school consisted of a repeated cycle of staring at walls/ceiling/clock/kid next to me, scratching myself, nose cleaning, hoping girl near me would get caught texting, etc.

For all students who are at risk of getting a Saturday school, relax. It only sucks if you brought a bunch of work to do and need to get it done, like I did. Saturday school is A-OK! At worst, you do nothing for four hours. At best, you sleep or get all your weekend’s homework done Saturday morning instead of Monday morning.

TOP TEN: PICK-UP LINES TO TRY ON VALENTINE’S DAY

10.

Did you just fart? Because you blew me away.

9.

Do you believe in love at �rst sight, or should I walk by again?

8.

Are you a parking ticket?

Because you have �ne written all over you.

7.

How come I know all the digits of pi, but I don’t know the seven digits of your number?

6.

I wish I were your derivative, so I could lie tangent to your curves.

5.

If you were a Pokémon, I’d choose you.

4.

Do you have a bandage? Because I scraped my knee when I fell for you.

3.

If you were a booger, I’d pick you �rst.

2.

You must be tired because you’ve been running through my dreams all night.

1.

If I were sin� x and you were cos� x, together we would be one.

Facebook slurs unacceptable; homosexuality not an insult It’s discouraging that despite liv- to homosexuality and are usually ing in the twenty-first century, in a along the lines of “I like d***s,” if nation that honors freedom above the account holder is male, or “I’m all, homosexual individuals are gay.” The user whose account was struggling for equal marital rights. “hacked” returns to discover a Consequently, and in light of the slew of comments on a status they recent overturn of a California don’t recall posting. The comments state ban on same-sex marriage, would include jokes about the it’s a very appropriate time to help user’s supposed sexual orientation. progress toward a socially egalitar- What is so funny about being gay? ian society.

Although it’s clear that nearly Beginning with fixing all of these statuses certain misuses of words. are not ill-intentioned; Too often, words sug“hackers” merely intend gesting homosexuality to elicit laughter from are inappropriately used mutual friends, these in daily conversation. remarks inadvertently “Gay” is not synonymous offend those who read with “stupid,” “lame,” the status. or any other derogatory There is not a single remark.

Homosexual comedic aspect about individuals are not in any individuals who prefer way inferior to heteromembers of the same LEANNA sexuals. gender. Being homoLEUNG On that same note, sexual, bisexual, or othFacebook statuses proerwise, is no reason to be vide a platform for people to express ridiculed. their opinions, vent their daily frusTherefore, transition homosexutrations, or share interesting news. ally-related words related out of Consequently, Facebook users your vast and expansive dictionary should be more mindful when they of insults. And next time you find post seemingly humorous statuses. that your friend has forgotten to Particular statuses targeting gay in- log out of their Facebook account, dividuals are a subject of concern. be more creative, and less offensive.

These statuses occur when Try, “I haven’t bathed in 12 days.

Facebook users decide that they Almost a new personal record!” or must pay a visit to their dear old “Time to pick out the lint from befriend, the restroom. When the tween my toes.” Unless one of your user has temporarily abandoned Facebook friends is an extremely his computer, his friends scramble unhygienic troll dwelling beneath a on and post status updates on their bridge, no one will be offended by a friend’s behalf. These posts refer status update of that sort.

8

THE UNION FEATURES FEBRUARY 2012

Latino students participate in Horizontes

BY CINDY WU

There is a significant number of Latino students at MHS, and many of them have received help from a special group on campus called Horizontes. Horizontes is a teacher-run group, established in the 2006-2007 school year, dedicated to assisting the Latino Student Body in closing the achievement gap, according to the program description on School Loop.

The teacher advisors of this group reach out to the Latino students in a number of different ways. A student is automatically part of Horizontes if he or she marked "Latino" on his or her emergency card and can then choose to participate in the programs provided, according to Teacher Advisor Teresita Romero.

Every year, the teachers hold an assembly to orient the freshmen, meet with the sophomores to discuss A-G requirements, and to remind the juniors to sign up for the PSAT and SAT, Romero said.

"It’s kind of serving as guidance counselors," Romero said. "I think it's really helping [the students] academically."

Other activities hosted by Horizontes include Horizontes Más (a monthly student potluck), Noche Latina (an end-of-the-year awards ceremony in which the graduating seniors are celebrated), and occasional field trips throughout the year to college campuses.

Horizontes has been quite successful in reaching out to the Latino community on campus, according to Horizontes Student Representative

Jasmine Lamas. "Horizontes has opened my eyes to other colleges.

They encourage you to do good in school." She specifically mentioned the fieldtrip to Stanford University for Raza Day, a conference for Latino students with Latino speakers, complete with workshops on how to be successful.

This year, the teachers have started a new tutoring program called Academia Horizontes to offer direct academic support to the Horizontes students, according to Teacher Advisor Monica Rivero. "Every year we try something,” Rivero said. “This is the first time we’re doing a study hall kind of format."

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Hamilton graduates early to ‘get on with life’

BY MARISA LOUIE

For most high school students, the end of the fall semester finals marks the halfway point in the school year.

However, for Senior Nicole Hamilton, high school officially ended once the last bell rang at 12:20 p.m.

Hamilton graduated from high school one semester earlier than the rest of her class. She was inspired to do so by a former MHS student who took the same path last year.

“All I had to do was take one class over the summerEnglishat Mission College and pass all of my classes this year,” Hamilton said. She also took both American Government and Economics last semester in order to meet graduation requirements.

However, there are a few drawbacks that come with graduating early, according to Hamilton. She will no longer see her friends every day, and it will be difficult for her to continue her club duties. Hamilton is a leader in the Christian Club, and due to her absence, she will either be replaced or have to go out of her way to attend the meetings.

“It’s harder to be involved with school activities when you aren’t here,” Hamilton said. “Your friends are still here, but you’ll be going somewhere else.”

Though she will not attend MHS as a regular student, Hamilton will still be allowed to participate in all school events she chooses to. Also, she will still have the opportunity to walk across the stage for graduation

in June.

Since she will not attend high school classes after the fall semester, Hamilton will have free time in her schedule to find a job while taking community college classes. She plans to take courses that will steer her towards a career in business or finance. Upon graduating early, Hamilton hopes to get a head start in obtaining her associate degree in Business from Mission College .

“With graduating early, I get to start college early and get on with my life,” Hamilton said. “I already had the credits that I needed to graduate, so I figured that there was no point in coming [to high school] for another semester if I didn’t have to.”

C������� �� B����� G�������

Senior Briana Gardener tutors a local child in the subjects of math and science. She spent her junior year working with a nonpro�t program.

Senior reflects on year of service

BY HANNA TRAN

Senior Briana Gardener participated in a religious service during her junior year, she said. The service revolved around motivational ideas of community change and youth empowerment, she explained.

Her year of service under the Bahá’í faith involved commuting between Milpitas and San Mateo, she said. She worked with other adolescents during their year of service to discuss morality, world changes, and the power of expression with community members. The group focused on sharing its ideas with ‘Junior Youth,’ or children between the ages of 11 and 14, she added.

“We went to San Mateo and knocked on a lot of doors,” Gardener said. “We talked to them about community morals – how easy it is to change the world at the grassroots.”

Gardener worked with the other Bahá’í adolescents in Junior Youth groups and held children’s classes.

These group leaders later decided

to start a nonprofit program called Olinga Learning, teaching the local children Spanish and tutoring them in science and math, Gardener said. “[We had] more focused ideas in social and economic development,” Gardener said. “We had ideas of tutoring and helping kids out.”

Because of her religious work, Gardener took her junior year courses online. Gardener spent much time doing schoolwork in coffee shops, and often stayed with friends when she was in San Mateo.

“There were a lot of late nights,” Gardener recalled. “[I would stay] a few months in Milpitas and a few months there. ” One of Gardener’s favorite moments was working with the Junior Youth on community projects, she said. She felt proud when the Junior Youth were able to continue their projects on their own.

“They’re really smart,” Gardener explained. “When the Junior Youth had self confidence, you could see it in their eyes.”

THE UNION FEATURES FEBRUARY 2012

9

Senior pranks have varied, memorable past

BY REBECCA HUBENY

Conspiring with your fellow classmates, trying to outsmart the administration, and devising legend-worthy ideas are all major aspects of the infamous Senior Prank tradition.

When asked about the most memorable senior prank, History Teacher Paul Harrison said, “Somebody took some car, sawed it in half, and [soldered] it back together around the tree.” He continued, “It probably cost money to remove it, but it was creative, and they didn’t destroy the tree.”

Oddly enough, there were also a few pranks involving real estate.

One of these entrepreneurial pranks took place around the year 1982, according to Biology Teacher Darra Cacao.

“The senior class of that time stole the big ‘For Sale’ signs that they use at businesses, and they put [one] up on [each of the] roofs of the school," Cacao said.

Students have also tried to advertise the school in the newspaper, according to Science Teacher Kimberly Lind. The advertisement included "like x number of acres at some ridiculously low price. The secretaries weren't happy," Lind said. "Investors were calling."

Other pranks involved confusion among the student body itself. At the beginning of each semester, fliers are posted around campus to help direct students where to pick up their schedules. About eight years ago, someone put up "pirated" fliers, according to Harrison.

"They jumbled [the list of classrooms]," he said. "Everybody was

going to the wrong place."

Sadly, most of the senior pranks have not "really been all that funny.

I think they've been harmful and childish and kind of destructive," English Teacher Kaila Schwartz said. “You see our already overworked custodians trying to make up for it."

Pranks can also be extremely expensive. "Once [students] put a car in the pool," Cacao said. "All the oils and the transmission fluids get into the system, so they have to drain everything and repair it."

An acceptable senior prank would be "creative and nondestructive," according to Harrison. "But most of the time, they have kids who are disorganized,” he said. “They end up doing some kind of lame thing which causes property damage, and that's never good."

T���� T���//THE UNION

Senior Eric Napolitano feeds his pet pig a daily snack. Napolitano and his family raise livestock on their farm, located in the Milpitas hills.

Student raises farm animals; nurtures them ‘just as a hobby’

BY THANH TRAN

T������ L��//THE UNION

Senior Karen Lin and Juniors Rory Pang and May Lee (right to left) practice playing their marimba. The three were selected to have the opportunity to perform in the All-State Honor Band held in Fresno on February 19.

Students selected for All-State Honor Band

BY DYLAN LIBRANDE

Five MHS students have qualified for California’s All-State Honor Band, a yearly gathering of some of the best high school musicians. Juniors Rory Pang, May Lee, and Vanessa Yeh, and Seniors Calvin Yan and Karen Lin all qualified, and will be traveling to Fresno, California the weekend of Feb. 16-19 to meet up with other members, rehearse their pieces, and perform.

“You take the best high school musicians from all over California,” Lin said, “and for a few days, get together to form a band. It’s great, because you get to work with so many good musicians.”

Band Director Christopher Kaldy and the five students will ar-

rive in Fresno Thursday morning and immediately begin their tight schedule. The students have a live audition, Kaldy said, composed of scales, sight reading, and the same predetermined solo piece they originally used to audition for the band. The students are then placed in one of three bands according to their skill level.

“The best are placed in the top band, the next best are placed in the middle band, and the rest are put in the bottom band,” Kaldy said. “But you can’t really say that there is a ‘bad’ band at the all-state level. Everyone there, no matter what band they’re put in, is phenomenal.”

After a weekend of rehearsing their difficult songs, the bands will perform a concert that anyone can

attend. “It’s a neat thing,” Kaldy said. “You get the best students from the best school all together in one band. They also bring in top-of-theline conductors from universities and colleges, so it’s a really different experience for the students.”

The five members are, very excited for the show. Both Lin and Lee feel that the best part of the whole experience is “being able to play with a really good band.” Yan is also excited to be meeting people from different schools, and said he is “going to enjoy playing very loud.”

Kaldy said that the opportunity is great for the students. “It’s humbling, yet very rewarding. The best students here need to be challenged, and this is an opportunity for them to push themselves even further.”

Sophomore one of youngest Cisco-certified

BY LORDESA FOK

At 16 years old, Sophomore Ahsan Zahid is one of the youngest Ciscocertified people in the world. Being Cisco-certified means that Zahid has gained official recognition from Cisco stating that he knows how to work Cisco computer equipment.

Companies can now hire Zahid to work on specialized Cisco routers and other equipment.

“If I put that I’m Cisco-certified on my resume, it’d be a one-up and help me get a job,” Zahid said. “There are four levels of certification. I was first certified at 13 years old, and I got my second-level certification at 14 years old, about a month after the first one. I’ve started, and I’ve got a

long ways to go.”

Zahid has been working with computers since he was seven years old, during a visit to Pakistan, when his uncle began teaching him. Zahid took his first networking class in Pakistan at ten years old.

“It’s the only class I’ve ever taken,” Zahid admitted modestly. “The rest of my knowledge was self-taught.”

Not only is Zahid highly skilled in terms of Cisco equipment, but he has also dabbled in many other areas. He is interested in robotics, physics, math, speech and debate, flash game development, Linux software, and Android applications development. He programs software himself and even makes small mobile devices from scratch.

But for all of those skills, Zahid said, “I’m mainly into software development, computer networking and engineering.”

Where does such a talented young man see himself in the future? “I’d like to eventually do charity work, perhaps build a school somewhere, because education is really the best thing you can sell,” Zahid said fervently. “I also want to become an imagineer at Disney.” An imagineer is someone who creates rides and does everything involving virtual reality, according to Zahid.

“I look at everything as art,” Zahid said. “You can be creative within being systematic because in programming, all of the different parts come together.”

Imagine that, instead of waking up early in the morning to finish the homework that you forgot to do, you have to feed the chickens and clean out the dung. Senior Eric Napolitano has lived his whole life raising farm animals, he said.

Napolitano’s family raises cows, horses, chickens, and even a pig, according to Napolitano. His family has been raising animals for many generations. “[We have] free-range chickens that walk around instead of being caged,” Napolitano said. “We use them for the eggs. We usually don’t butcher them.”

The cows are used mainly for their meat or sold for money, the horses are kept for horseback riding, and the pig is kept only as a pet, he said.

“The cows are my favorite,” Napolitano said. “I like to eat them.”

Napolitano plans to raise animals when he is older, he said. It will not be his main occupation, only a hobby on the side, Napolitano said.

“We just clean out the pen, feed [the animals] daily, make sure they

have water,” Napolitano said. “I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

Napolitano feeds the chickens twice a day, waking up at 6:00 a.m. to feed them. In one day, the chickens altogether yield about two dozen eggs, according to Napolitano.

“Some eggs are bigger, thicker, or a different color,” Napolitano said.

“They do taste different than storebought eggs, better.”

Napolitano’s family has 25 chickens in total, according to Napolitano. He has a variety of chickens such as Rhode Island Reds and Turkens, he said.

“We just give [the eggs] away to family, friends,” Napolitano said.

“We don’t usually sell them.”

Napolitano’s family has a farm in the hills where they raise the animals, he said. The hills make it much easier for his family to raise animals with the open space, according to Napolitano. “[We need] special food for baby chicks,” Napolitano said. “It does not cost a lot [raising chickens].”

Napolitano’s least favorite part is waking up to the sound of chickens everyday, he said.

Algebra contests aid students

BY PRISCILLA PARK

School just ended and you can either go home and study for your math test or hang out with your friends after school. So which do you choose? Luckily, all students taking Algebra 1 have the opportunity to do both during the monthly Algebra 1 math competitions. Students interested in participating form groups with their friends to compete against other groups in a relay to be the first to solve a series of questions, according to Math Teacher Annie Nguyen.

The competition allows students to practice math outside of class and to build teamwork. It gives students more time to process concepts and improves math skills, Nguyen said.

Participants are required to show work on their own paper, and a problem is not completed until everyone in the group has solved the problem, according to Nguyen.

“Students learn to work together by talking within their groups to help them understand how to solve the given problem,” Nguyen said. “I hope [the competition] helps students do better in class and do well on the CST.” Students can participate for an end prize of candy and a free homework pass. During each competition, the winning group also receives one point for their cumulative score. At the end of the year, the group with the most points wins various prizes such as movie tickets or Great Jump tickets, Nguyen said.

“I give out homework passes to encourage students to participate

in the competitions,” Nguyen said.

“The most challenging part is participation since a lot of students are enthusiastic about it, but there are time conflicts with sports and other after school activities.”

Freshman Naejana Carredo actively participates in the monthly competitions. Carredo initially started participating in the competitions in order to receive a homework pass, but also has fun competing, she said.

“I usually forget things easily, so [the competition] helps me refresh my memory,” Carredo said. “The funnest part is being able to solve hard questions and winning.”

Freshman Manuel Gamboa first started participating to receive extra credit. Though he dislikes losing, the competition itself is still fun to participate in, Gamboa said.

“It’s fun, it gets you focused, and you’ll have a bit of laughs,” Gamboa said. “Talking to my friends to help me solve problems helps me understand a question that I didn’t understand before.”

Freshman Sergio Franco started participating in the competition because his grade was low and he wanted to raise it. Participating in the competition is fun and it helps him understand concepts better, Franco said. “[The competition] gives me oneon-one talk with the teacher that I usually don’t get in class,” Franco said.

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THE UNION VALENTINE’S DEDICATIONS FEBRUARY 2012

10

‘I know you love me, I know you care’ DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in the following messages are not the views and opinions held by The Union, unless otherwise stated.

To: Brian Lam YOU OWE ME SKITTLES! Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!

From: Kelly Toy To: The Union For working hard on Valentine dedications, you guys deserve one too.

From: Joshua Lin To: All My Friends!

Happy Valentine’s Day Guys! Enjoy your last year here! :D <3 From: Kelly Toy To: Sweetea Amazing huh? 4 1/2 years and counting still. I hope I didn’t make life too hard for you. Last year to write this one here. I <3 U From: Who else?

To: Kili For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings that then I scorn to change my state with kings. <(. ___ .) you marry me?

From: Tea To: LeAnn Woo WHY YOU NO HOOK UP WITH ARTHUR????? /trollface From: paydoughBearrrr (; To: Mikayla Mims I love you Mikayla Kakes =) !

From: KIRK To: Helen Nguyen Do you have a bandaid? I just fell falling for you! ‘Cause my heart is always beat-buh-beating for you!

From: Andylicious To: Jason Dutra Jason. Ahh its Jason! Silky smooth hair <-- Jason has this.

Oh my god. I’m in love w/ Jason.

No LOL jk.

From: Anon To: C4 You guys made my year amazing.

Love you guys. C4 Jiayou!

From: Your President To: Laura Cosgrove Accept the Sadie’s nomination!

Love you forever bebeh. Let’s get married sometime. Keep your pimp hand strong. K, hugs and kisses 4lyfe...

From: Laura Cosgrove To: Michelle Nghiem Dear Bubzy, I hope you have the most wonderful Valentines Day. I know I will as long as we’re together. I love you.

From: Luong Truong

To: Lordesa Fok I am unable to express my feelings for you in twenty-five words.

So I won’t.

From: Edward Liang

To: Itzel Martinez Love you so much best friend! No man’s love could ever compare to that of mine. Have a great day!

From: Al Tran

To: Claudia Chau Love you lots! Miss you!

From: Caryn, Stephanie, and Cathy

To: My heavenly blessed beauty Ann Mekis I had dreams of us holding hands miles from here, breaking free of this world, loving truly, the span of a moment, pure love unleashed.

From: Justin Beachler

To: Shirley Nguyen They say God knows everything about you. What you were going to look like. What your name was before you were born. But not even...God himself knows how much you mean to me Shirley.

From: Gary Correa To: Cj Velasco Till forever and a day Bubbs.

From: Gummybear To: Tony Shiu I was eating Frosted Flakes in the bathroom and it made me think of you! They’re great!!!

From: Duc Hoang To: All Bros Article 151 All bros must be excited when bacon is the topic.

From: The Bro Code To: Sherlock H. Stop this Sherlock. Just stop it.

Where are you?

From: John H. Watson To: Mon cherie If you were ever mauled by a bear, I hope they stay away from you face because I think you’re cute.

From: A cactus To: Chinese Club I love you all! <3 I look foward to seeing you guys every Thursday or whenever you have to hang out with me. Don’t judge.

From: Empress To: Stephanie Hong I really like your heels :D Do you wear those so you can match your lips with my lips perfectly?

From: Vince Ly To: Han Vo I love you. You’re awesome.

From: Han Vo To: Tina Chung Tina, say yes! You can’t say goodbye baby to me just yet.

Let me take you to prom! TINA & ARTHUR 5EVAA! <3 <3 <3 From: Arthur Tran To: Hay Mar Aung ‘Hay! What’z up?!’ LOL Happy Valentines Day!! C: From: Carry Potter To: Sherlock Holmes It’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s have dinner.

From: Irene A.

To: Tina Chung SAY YES TO ARTHUR TRAN, TINA! <3 ;D From: Cassie Zhou

To: Gunnibunny No matter where we go and what happens. Know that I love you and will be here for you when you need me.

From: Your Panda

To: TRIO PLUS Guys! It has been four years! I’m really glad we stayed together.

No matter what, we always have each other. Love you guys <3 From: The Strict One

To: Sherilyn Thach ALOHA! Wo ai ni, Dork <3 Make me a sandwich muahaha =D From: Derp =P

To: Daniel N. Bradly You have the face of an angel and a great personality to match.

Wherever you go and whatever you do, I wish you the best.

From: Anonymous To: Alanna Tran ALAAAANA! You know you deserve this little message, you crazy BOWZA~ Um. Yeah, I hope you see this! BEST FRIEND FOREVER AND EVER! :D From: Itzelie To: Tiffany Pham Gone for a minute, My heart screams in pain. Gone for sixty, My soul fades away. I need you every day. This isn’t Christine btw.

From: Anonymous To: Ms. Nguyen Roses are Red, Violets are blue, With you as our teacher math we took. Now we shall stalk you on facebook. <3 From: Your 5th Period Class To: Julia Dinh I love the sweet smell of your hair and the way it runs down your back. I also love the way you say my name.

From: Christian Pantoja

To: The Cool Kids Happy Valentines day guys! I love you. Special thanks to Vilan Le for being awesome. <3 <3 <3 From: Stephanie To: Jarnin Fang <3 <3 <3 I love you Jarnin. Fang. I wish you happiness forever. Happy Valentine’s day, my love <3.

EMPIRE. Clannad for life :) From: SaltyLime<3 To: Loser #8 Hehe! It’s been a year since we reconnected. I’m really glad that I have you. Love you :) And always remember, YELLOWCAR! From: Princess Aya To: Mr. Colburn We are squirrels. Do you love us yet?

From: Your English 1A Kool K1d$ To: Edmond Yu (Fain) I love you, hubby! Your spending Valtines with me, got that? <3 Wifey From: Vicky Thai (Cain) To: Danning Wang Even you’re not John Watson, you’ll still have your Sherlock Holmes. Happy birthday!

From: Doctor Who

To: Key Club Cabinet I love you guys so much! Thanks for all the hard work you guys do. You keep me sane. :) Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! <3 From: Vanessa Yeh To: Eunice Magat Does this count as my one year anniversary present to you?

From: Cheap Boyfriend To: YH Keep being absolutely amazing and you can capture the world!

You have my heart, soul, and all my support. Good luck at worlds!

Aoi cho From: FAN OF TEAM JAPAN To: Alexis Zamora I’m going to write you a really dorky and awkward dedication.

Uh............................Awkwaard.

Ok, that’s all. Happy Valentines.

From: Your dork.

To: Michael Sheng & Katherine Vuong You’re the awesomest TAs ever!

Yay! Happy Valentines Day ;) From: 4th Period AP Chem To: Biebs HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY. Here’s your stupid Valentine’s day dedication you asked me to do for you.

You’re special <3 HAVE A NICE DAY! <3 From: Narwhal and Squishy. :D To: Nhi Tran Thanks for being a wonderful friend, Nhi! We love you and don’t want you to die. Never forget it!

We won’t let you.

From: Annie Tram and Rachel Alvelais To: Nick Kaldy Hello, love! Happy Valentines Day! Happy one year and 14 days! =) I love you more than Harry Potter and Star Wars, That’s a lot.

From: Jubilee Hardwick To: Gunilla, Ei, Alina, Cheryl, All my Friends Thanks for being important to me! I wish I could make you all something but i can’t, so Happy Valentines Day! <3 From: Megan To: All bros Article 152 In the event of a bro being crowded by women, he’ll make the effort to call other bros, so that they may win.

From: The Bro Code To: Senh Tang Hi Loser! Thanks for being such a great boyfriend. I love you babe and happy Valentines Day! From: Your Loser Jacqueline T.! (= To: The Cool Kids Happy Valentine’s Day! You guys are amazing and awesome, especially our founder: Stephanie Dao. Love you guys! <3 <3 From: Vilan To: Susan Wang Hi Susan! You’re my role model :) I hope one day I can be like you.

From: Vivi Nguyen To: Ramon Lorenzo Cortez Gabriel Hi Derp! ^ _ ^ I just wanted to say thank you for being an amazing boyfriend. You owe me a sandwich! PS: I love you. <3 From: Your girlfriend, Sherilyn Thach. :) To: Sherly Holmes It’s story time, all fairy tales need a good villain.

From: J. Moriarty To: Helen Nguyen I love you more than music! =) From: Andy Lien To: Samantha Pitts It is time to release your hidden desires for me. Reveal your feelings and we shall ride on a unicorn to the promised lands!

From: Kelly Torbet

To: teachers who enlightened me Please forgive my misbehaviors over these years on this wonderful day. Thank you very much, and I love you all!

From: Danning Wang To: Cindy Wu Everytime I see you my eyes widen and a smile appears and when you speak that’s all I hear. your hugs started as a pat on my back, but now I can feel that they’re more than that. Time will keep ticking, and we will grow old, but your hand in mine will never get cold. As this Poem ends you should know I wish time would freeze for you and me so we can be together for eternity.

From: Duc Hoang To: Edward Liang We heard that you’ve been watching us...we’ve been watching you too. You’re pretty cute, so at our next concert, you’ll get front-row seats! <3 From: SNSD *wink* To: Calvin Duong I miss you meng From: Dis One Meng To: T Cubed + J I miss seeing you guys all the time! Until next year? Goodbye baby goodbye! BTW, you all look like owls. I hate feeling nostalgic. <3 From: T To: Andylicious #1 You know you’re my favorite senior. FUU! Thanks for always buying me tea :C Cactus. Don’t do anything stupid. Rage.

From: Fanqurl (loljk) To: JAY MAI Soulmates4lyfe! You are my other half & I’m glad that I got to spend so many major events with you. ISA! Lunar show! Relay! <3 From: To find me Q To: Danielle Briggs I’ve like you ever since the first day of school. Sorry for confessing this way. I’m such a coward.

From: not A person From 6th Period To: Chinese Club Cabinet NI ZHE ME MEI! You all are the most amazing people I’ve ever met. I just love you guys so much...

From: Vanessa Yeh To: Kelly Lai Hey, Hyukie’s fangirl! Happy Valentines Day! Wish You A Sweet Dream of Eunhyuk tonight! LOL From: Carry Potter To: Sherlock H. I apologize, Sherly. Watson doesn’t know.

From: Mycroft H. To: King, Sibling, Fellow Prince, Uncle *pokes all* MUAHAHAHA!!! This summer, we need to accomplish EVERYTHING that we had planned to do in the past THREE SUMMERS! Can we handle it?

From: Prince/Sibling/Niece To: Yvonne Pham Hi, I think you’re cute and you have the cutest laugh ever.

From: A guy a couple seats away To: Gary Le Around this time of the year, I can’t help but thank of you and how our close friendship withered away completely. I have no regrets about last year though.

Thank you for the memories of our friendship and I hope you have a great day!

From: you should know!

To: Kathryn Chow I miss how we used to hang out and talk so much last year. Hopefully we can be like that again.

Anyways, I wish you a happy Valentine’s day<3 P.S. I think you have a beautiful smile =) From: Gary To: Dear Forever Alone Remember, all hope is not lost!

Valentine’s Day is also Single Awareness Day! Plus the chocolate is half off the day after.

From: A Fellow 9gagger To: Julianato {swag} Thanks for being a swagtastic best friend! Youre a great person and Im glad of having the privelige of knowing you! Love ya broski <3 From: This beastie girl

To: Calvin Yan I love to squeeze your stomach, but you’re losing so much weight. You’ll never escape me.

NP. Tyrant is the best.

From: Almond Milk Tea To: Martin Yao No pun intended.

From: A dude To: Daniel Nguyen You are such a pretty boy Daniel ;).

From: I know where you live To: Annie Hsu I can’t afford to buy you any cats, but I can buy you a one dollar valentine dedication. I love you.

From: Anthony To: Tina I would like to be in ‘‘the union’’ with you.

From: Edward To: Ricardo Aguilar Thank you for making me the happiest girl ever!! I am glad to have you in my life.

From: Cinthia Robles To: Paul Jacob Jose HY. I LOVE YOU! YOU’RE THE BEST. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE HOW I FEEL FOR YOU. KAY BYE MY LOVE. From: ‘Hawaii Girl’ To: Ben Gardner We love Ben. Benny. Ben. Ben Benregard. Beniford. Benny.

Benjamin. Ben Bing Bang. Binky Dinky. Benjy. Whitey. Pretty.

Bensquerade Ball. Benball.

From: Your two star-crossed lovers To: My darling wife Gosh it’s been over four years together! In case you’re getting bored of this relationship, I’ll just say... pianists do it with ten fingers.

From: 2percent To: Jacky Lu Just in case you didn’t write a dedication to yourself! We’re so proud of your prowess!

From: Annie Tram and Rachel Alvelais To: All the couples out there I’m happy for you. When together, you make friends happy with your happiness. You’re lucky you have someone want to make you happy. Good Luck!

From: Kairi Kit Lyn To: Raisin You won’t see me drinking burritos ever again. Don’t be too serious. We shall remain friends for a long time. I’ll make sure of it!

From: Cutie the Tangerine To: Mom & Dad We want a new brother. If you get a daughter, keep trying for a son! :D <3 From: Your triplets and adopted daughter <3 To: Bon Qui Qui It would take more than an arrow to the knee to keep from adventuring with you because, baby, you’re more addicting than skooma.

From: Lydia To: Vanessa Hudgens (Mercado) look at your punny face, You look stupid playing w/ balloons.

Your dumb (: Anyways this is for your special self. I love your ugly hair (: From: Mimi To: My Nads I’m sorry I haven’t been treating you right, I’ve been so busy.

From: The Hond To: yumchildprawnz Quuurl, your father must be a baker cuz your buns are fine. <3 From: Bok Choy To: Terry Tsai You da sexy Jesus From: Kelly Torbet To: 11.064855524 You are amazing. I really, really like you, and I always will. Naturally, having a log of you and me is important. Happy Valnetine’s Day! From: 10.5139322413 To: Chen Hao Liao Let me whip out my psaltery and play you a quick melody.

From: Amy Yam

To: Humanity A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.

From: Stendhal To: Carry Wu Happy Valentine, my bf...

From: Hay Mar Aung To: Cindy Although it seems I care not, I’m just a frantic mess when I am near you. But don’t worry, I like you and always shall.

From: January To: Karen Lin Just wanted to say I like you From: The Dishonest To: The Kyute Princess You’re the epitome of perfection.

I’m blessed to be near your presence daily. I dream to kiss your holy feet. ; _ ; You lock of hair is my most prized possession, ohoho. I’ll see you later... from outside your window. *WINK From: Your most loyal follower *^* To: Arlynn Navales I think that you’re cot(c)/csc(c), if you were cos^2 and I were sin^2 we’d be one. I love you!

From: CJ Velasco To: Wifey! ‘‘If you don’t believe in yourself, believe us, who believes in you.’’

We’re a part of that 2 percent :) Happy Valentine’s Day! <3 From: Hubby!

To: Andy Jan Ly Dear Andy, the fact that a man like you won my heart....will shame me for the rest of my life.

From: Trolin To: Tina Chung TINA! SAY YES AND GIVE ARTHUR A KISS KISS KISS TOO! :) From: Vanessa Yeh To: Cathy Frey Your beautiful half-whiteness makes my psaltry flaccid.

From: Your Number One Fan, Frey To: Rever Sparrow I win again.

From: Underestimated Boy To: All bros Article 153 Suit up!

From: The Bro Code To: Mrs. Roth <3 You inspire me! Your stories are hilarious, entertaining, and enrapturing. I love being in your class, because I learn something every day.

From: Rachel To: Danning Wang HAPPY BIRTHDAY! BIG GAL! And where is your valentine? LOL From: Carry Potter To: Tina Chung Tina, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to prom?

From: Arthur Tran To: Luis Descanzo and Brian Khau Our amazing CSF presidents and mentors! Thanks for guiding us along the way! Don’t leave Cesium Fluoride =) From: <3 alexandcindy To: Julie Mary Joseph You are a H B. I’m just kidding From: You know who To: Everyone Don’t worry, Bad days come and go. Just remember that someone cares for you. Happy Valentine’s Day! From: Wendy Huynh To: Gulag Man Roses are red/ violets are blue/ You’re a poop. No longer will I do homework for you.

From: Bok Choy To: Hao Hoang Hua Even though people may not think you’re perfect, in my eyes you are. Happy Valentine’s Day. Em yeu anh =) From: Cannot find a name To: Q-tip and superhybrid I do not appreciate you two lurking around every corner I turn.

STUPID FRESHMAN (Princess) From: The Historian To: Eric Tao Happy Valentines. Buy better boots.

From: Nathan Han

THE UNION VALENTINE’S DEDICATIONS FEBRUARY 2012

11

‘You got my heartbeat running away’ To: Audris Nguyen Hey beautiful, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Let’s catch dinner? Yeah? Okay.

From: Marvin Basco To: David Tran, who is in DBA I always thought that you are cute.

Sometimes I wish I could talk to you.

From: Anonymous To: All the lovely people in my life You guys know who you are. Love you all for being great friends to me. =D From: Kewa

To: Cindy, Alex, Vanha, Keziah We are the coolest physics group ever!

May our facebook messages live on forever! Physics is phun! Harhar.

From: Cindy, Vanha, Keziah, <3 Alex To: Ms. Nguyen 25 words is not enough for the most beautiful girl in the world. Our love for you is almost as great as your drawing ability.

From: Tiffany and Christine, 20 pages below

To: LeAnn ~~~ You’re right. Tapioca is much better than pudding. I would do anything for you! you’re so much nicer than All Dough and Arthur. Yah. K PEACE. Pie sucks. v^ _ ^v From: Rachel To: the union All ya’ll like a flock of salesmen with wings, like them there seagulls tryna get yer lunch at the beach.

From: Kelly Torbet

To: Michelle Cheah Michelle has a big booty. It sticks up like a mountain when she does push-ups.

Work it girl!

From: The Merry Sailor (BT)

To: Tina Chung If you say yes and accompany me to prom, I will do your math homework for a week.

From: Arthur Tran

To: S I know you’ll never see this, much like I know you’ll never know how much I love you. But now it’s time to move on.

From: R

To: Johnny I want your Quach. Let us go run through a field of flowers. If you know what I mean. Twenty, one, two, three, four, five.

From: Henry, Tin, & Bananas

To: MHS Hey Its me Ben again. On theSDVlogs on Youtube I do things like putting bananas on my head and saying no like a shining pudding cup.

From: Ben ‘Shining Pudding’ Gardner

To: Thao Chau BAO Nomnom. Hi tablemate in three classes. It’s been fun joking around about sour gummy worms, -laugh- and all that good stuff. Thanks for the laughter.

From: Turtle in Denial

To: Annie Tram Let’s get chocolate water first place!

You’re very tan, fit, and Annie! thanks for listening to my constant ramblings, Annie-mai. You play piano beautifully.

From: Elbow

To: My Prince the Merman <3 I’m so glad I sang that song to you <3 Sorry for being so difficult sometimes (x You’re the best! Happy Valentine’s Day! :D From: Your Princess Sunshine :)

To: T<3na TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA TINA Hi x)!!!

From: William

To: Acetate / Prince Tang / Julius Caesar Whatever name you choose to go by, you’ll always be my bestfriend, boyfriend, and husband. Four years and counting towards forever, I love you.

From: Cyanide / Princess (Tang) since 011608

To: Mekis, Antropologist Are you from Tenessee? Because your the only Ten I see.

From: Justin Beachler

To: Irene Vo Hihi! Mac and I say hello and wo ai ni.

From: Zoo

To: Warrior Stephanie Do you want to play Dragon Hunter 2?

You can be the hunter and I’ll be the dragon.

From: Dragon Vince

To: R.P.G. Cherishing every moment I had with you. Always... Happy Valentines Day! From: Your Beloved Pony To: Timothy Joey Wan Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart. Instead of generic gifts and sugary treats, I’m writing you a note to tell you how much I love you. Meow!

From: Margaret Minh Nguyen To: Vilan Le I think you’re a really sweet girl, your smile brightens my day.

From: anonymous To: Tiffany Law Unlike that guy, I would never treat you like that. I have been waiting so long for an opportunity to open up, but for now I like to admire you from afar.

From: Guy you know To: MHS Ben is back and shining brighter than pudding. On theSDvlogs on Youtube I influence bullys to be better people by allowing them to punch me.

From: Ben ‘Shining Pudding’ Gardner To: Snorlax N. Why did the little boy drop his ice cream? BECAUSE HE GOT HIT BY A BUS. meow From: Snorlax T.

To: Tiffany Kyu I’m glad we got closer this year and we beasted on what we planned for 6 months! TTT + J! I’ll creep with you till the end!

From: your soulmate To: MHS Color Guard This season has been wild. Thank you all for being so amazing this year. It’s been great being one of your captains this year. We’ve eaten yogurt together, gone to the park, and have gone to IHOP mamy times. <3 We’ll jump over fences and retrieve stolen wallets for each other, we endured the (deceased) halt of terror and doom of flagwork.

We pulled through when our work was changed to even harder work week after week. Despite the drama, we’ve stuck together as a family. Once again, thank you all for making this season amazing. Happy Valentines Day! I LOVE YOU! From: Jubilee To: Alicia and Alanna You two are the greatest friends I could ever ask for. If it wasn’t for you two, everything would be the same. Happy Valentines Day! From: B. Simon To: Stephanie If I was your dad, I would be in jail <3 From: Vince

To: Faith Hilliard Happy Valentine’s day to the most Asian white girl out there! From the whitest Asian guy ever From: Tuan Nguyen

To: Trisha Te I TOTOROARRY cherish every lovely moment we’re together. My love is so quixotic that it can hardly be expressed in words. I love you, Trisha.

From: your mysterious lover

To: MHS Go laugh at Ben Gardner at thesdvlogs on Youtube. Skip all the boring stuff and laugh at Ben. Huzzah From: Ben Gardner

To: LeAnn!!

You are so awesomeszszz Trololololol.

I will make you green waffles! ^ _ ^ <3 YAAAY! You’re super Awsome! 234 216 541 933 233 111 From: John Le

To: Zoey Mc cracken Please don’t take this as a joke, I really mean this with the bottom of my heart.

You’re beautiful smile, and it makes me smile.

From: That one guy in your 6th period To: Dearest Cindy Wu You are the sweetest and most loving girl I’ve ever met. And I will help you with physics, madam!

From: <3 William Quan To: Bryan Sui & Rent Bimon my favorite couple... of insane weirdos, good luck! But always be good to each other. You’re welcome. Lots of love From: (ex) Section Leader To: Hello Hanna Look right, now back to this paper, now back to your right, now back to this paper. Sadly I’m not with you, but if I stopped what I was doing and traveled 365 miles north, I could be. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in Wonderland with the man you could have a romantic evening with. What’s in your hand, back at this paper. I have it, it’s a snowman with two tickets to Disneyland. Look again, the tickets are now a romantic dinner for two. Anything is possible when we meet. I’m on a unicorn.

From: Waldo

To: Amy Tran <3 Fifth period has been incredibly fun with you, discussing WGM, dramas and byuntae’s (hehe). I’m glad I got to know you better this year.

From: Sweet Potato Couple Lover To: Dear Daven-Anthony (Babe) We’ve been together for over a year and I just want to say Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you. Let’s keep this relationship going okay?

From: Love, Tim Kim (Ah Gah) To: Dearest William Quan You are the sweetest and most loving boy I’ve ever met. HA!! Now help me with physics! (I’m liking this dedication) From: <3 Cindy Wu To: Andrew Le Thanks for soothing me when I cry and for listening to my rants. I’ll always be there, when you need someone to talk to.

From: Milk Tea Lover To: Lordesa Fok I am fortunate to have been friends with you for so many years. I love your optimistic attitude, warm smile, pleasant humour, and your honesty.

From: Norahs

To: King Roy William Your Highness, it’s been nice getting to know you. You’re different and more interesting than I imagined and our aim converstions about nothing are amusing.

From: Alias Addict To: Bok Choy You are so beautiful that I want to be reincarnated as your child so I can live in your uterus for approximately nine months.

From: Buizel To: Golden Kiwi Hi, buddy! *nudge nudge* The craziness of all that has happened these past 4 years has gone by so fast... I will always love you!

From: Pineapple Red Bean Paste Bun To: Stephanie Hong I’m willing to wait until you notice that I like you, because I really do.

From: Josh Lin To: Care Bear Cheers to the future of more snarky remarks, annoyances, and pokes. Alright, you can go hide in your den and play with her and your pet sloth now.

From: Blob To: Khoa Nguyen, Chen Hao Liao, Brian I like Khoa. I like Chen. I like Brian.

Happy Valentine’s Day. From: Anonymous To: Mr. Harrison I love watching you move. It’s like music. Even if you can’t remember my name, it’s alright. I’m devoted to yours. Love, From: Michael To: Jessmin Villanueva Im sorry. I messed up big time I dont want to lose you. So happy valentines day From: Anon.

To: Sharon, Thao Chau, Roy, Andrew, Anna Thanks for making Anatomy such an amusing period! Happy Valentine’s Day! You guys are amazing. <3 From: Amy

To: My lovely Duc Whilst eating frosted flakes on the toilet, You suddenly thought of how we met. You saw me across the meadow, As my skin gleamed brown-yellow. I saw you too, And ran to you. The day we met, I’ll never forget. As you ate, You screamed out, ‘They’re great!!!’

But don’t feel too lonely, Or I’ll jump in and give you and Uncle Tony.

From: Tony

To: Circle Scarf and Tangled Never Have we had presidents as Stupendous as you two! Pepper Lunch ftw! We never want you guys to leave us! D; From: Stressed Out and Poised

To: Irina Adao We have known each other for awhile, and now I am infatuated by you. Can we be more than friends?.

From: Josh Lin

To: Uhkili O Che scigura d’essere senza coglioni!

From: Bromehara

To: Girls Varsity Soccer Team I love all 21 of you more than I will ever love a man on Valentine’s day.

This season has been super fun!

Thank you.

From: Natalie DeRosa To: ETERNITY (and Elliot Wang~) ETERNITY, you guys are the best dongsaengs in the world. Oh, and by the way, Elliot, I still like you (: From: Rincess To: Princess of Geldahar Jia you! Have fun in your senior year and love college; I know the world will welcome you with open arms.

From: Zordd To: Arthur Tran Don’t forget to tell Tina, ‘ni zhen de mei...MEI!’ OHOHOHO! From: Cassie Zhou To: Estevan Martin Rodriguez Hi mahal ko! Its our senior year this year and I just want to thank you for being my best friend and my love.

From: Tu amor To: My Nannerpuss, my Bollykeks, my Resolution Miracles do happen. I know from our change meeting to our enduring bond. I’ve been blessed by no greater miracle than you. Despite what you think, what you or others say none will convinve me you weren’t meant for me. You show me what it means to love and be loved. I was alone and I owe you so much. One more miracle though, for me: Stay. Would you do that, just for me?

From: Your High Functioning Sociopath To: Player Stephanie Excuse me, could you hold my ball, while I get my huge racket out of my bag? If we don’t score, we can make love.

From: Team Captain Vince To: Cactus There will always be a special place in my heart for you. Thank you for everything.

From: Cactus To: Dearest Karen Lin! Thanks for being an awesome daughter and cousin. Love you lots. Keep your eyes peeled for crazy preying men trying to snatch your heart!

From: momma PANG To: Helen Nguyen 25 words isn’t enough to write out how much I love you, so I’ll use three: I LOVE YOU! From: Andy Lien To: ______________ I am writing this because the Union threatened me to buy it. Help I am trapped in their lair. Call the cops befoFrom: Kelly Torbet

To: April Son Oh April you’re like a flower, as gentle and sweet that no one will overpower. Your smile, your smile, I would run a mile. With eyes so bright, you are my shining light, that brightens my night. With personality as kind, dear, and great, no person can ever rate. The golden beauty of your kind heart.Though my poem is corny, I am dearly sorry. Though I hope thee love this valentine poem.

From: Anonymous Secret Admirer

To: Michelle Cheah Hi Michelle, you are the coolest and nicest oompa loompa I know. You’ll know what I mean. Now you go work that mountain!

From: Baeyang

To: Anna Vu Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines and Anna Vu, you’re a force of nature!

Bam! With much love and empathy, Ven. hcum os rof sknahT. From: Ven

To: Ying Luo Y U NO LOVE ME?! Crey. You are not as fly as I thought. So not bomb-diggity, dawg. I forgive you for your mistake though.

From: EVERYONE KNOWS WHO

To: Clefairy There was once a man named Ghorbash/the iron hand in Skyrim/My beloved Laquisha/fell in love with him/ She asked for his hand/but he rejected on a whim/for he had a wife/who loved him for him/There was once a man named Ghorbash/the iron hand in Skyrim/My beloved laquisha/please give up on him/For I do not have a heart of tin/like him. Desu <3 From: Bok Choy

To: Vincent Page Happy Valentine’s Day! Wow, this is our 4th valentine’s day together.

Time sure went be quickly. Well I love you!

From: Amy Tran

To: AeJ, Rin, Tae You guys have been my best friends for the longest time. Saranghae! I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day! Yeongwon Go Go! From: Hannie

To: Tibbers Why have you become pedobear, Tibbers? But I like your fats. I wubWUBwub you!

From: Annie

To: Peter Phan You’re AMAZING <3 <3 Stay amazing and talk to me more :D From: Your FAVORITE Junior <3

To: LeAnn I miss you, friend. You’re a pretty cool person. I wish I went to Milpitas High.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Arthur! With love, From: Chris To: the forever alone Don’t worry, we are together alone.

From: anonymous To: Jessa hamburguesas You are...so dumb and lame in rugball (: I’m so sexy. Your butt stinks. I love you fishball. Your telling me to say ‘I love you, you freakin ugly poop’ LAME. From: Ashley (; To: Tri Hoang Thanks for talking to me instead of playing league :) Best secret lover, ever! Happy Valentine’s Day! Trees and leaves! <3 From: Vanessa Yeh To: Daniel Nguyen I Love You <333 From: Marvin Basco To: Union Despite being buildings apart, may the Union and Saga prosper under strong friendship and rivalry. The entire Yearbook crew says: WE LOVE YOU! From: The Saga To: Heart We’ve had our differences and we don’t always see eye-to-eye, but I think we’re starting to get along pretty well now.

From: Brain To: Sharon Ho Thank you for giving me the most wonderful gift there is—your friendship! It’s been an amazing six years… now let’s make it last forever! <3 From: Asedrol with love To: My Sweet Coffee Cake *pulls ear lobe* From: ;) To: Snowman Roses are red, violets are blue, I am sure glad I had met you.

From: Pikachu To: The Interact Officers and Board We’re like one of those families with 18 kids. It’s not a bad thing; that just means more love to go around :) From: LeAnn To: Joshua Lin, Bella Chen, Gordon Luu Josh, you are the first violin to my quartet. Bella, you are the 2nd violin to my...quartet. You both have been great friends ever since I’ve met you. I admire you both for being such amazing musicians. Gordon, you are an amazing cellist and you bring us all together.

Thanks for completing our quartet.

Now you all, let’s impress that judge at solo ensembles. And not get marked down for sowing our ‘beautiful arms.’

From: Jubilee To: Karen Lin Bunnies are adorable and so are you! ^_^ From: Benjamin Gardner To: Varsity Girls’ Soccer Ha, made you read the paper. You guys smell (like roses!) I’ll miss you uglies.

From: Laura Cosgrove To: Stephanie Hong If I was a watermelon, would you swallow or spit my seed?

From: Vince Ly To: Judy Huynh Happy Valentines Babe! Love yous! <3 From: Kaz Hirouji To: Key Chung We think you’re hot. You duh so sexy.

From: All the Junior guys To: Alicia Nguyen What you told me was really surprising.

I really like you. Let’s go out.

From: Josh Lin To: Yearbook We’re in--if you buy us chocolate.

From: The Union

THE UNION SPREA

12

INTERVIEW

Alumnus discusses marijuana Johnson Nguyen is a 2011 MHS Alumnus who uses medical marijuana.

When did you get your medical marijuana card?

On June 12 of last year.

How old were you?

I was 18.

Why did you get the prescription?

I got it for sleep apnea.

How long have you had sleep apnea?

Pretty much since high school started.

Did you talk to a doctor about it?

A physician gave me a recommendation. Physicians were provided at the evaluation center I went to; you can bring your own paperwork from your normal medical clinic and get your evaluation.

Did you ever use marijuana before you got your card?

Light use, for about a month before I got my card, for legality reasons.

Do you support the use of legalization of marijuana?

I support the legalization and regulation of it. I think it de�nitely should be regulated as a medicine.

Do you think that some people with cards use it for recreation?

Yeah, because under all the reasons there are people who just want to use it — for those people the reasons aren’t just recreation though, it also could be stress and illness.

Do you know any other people with a card?

Yes, a few friends, and actually some growers, people who have a license to grow.

Why do they have cards?

They use it for illness, like back problems from accidents. One of my friends got in an accident and fractured his ankle, so he uses it for that.

Do you recommend medical marijuana for those with injuries?

Depending on what kinds of pains they have, and if they’re comfortable with smoking marijuana. If they’re really, really in pain, and it helps them, they should be allowed to use it.

CAMPUS VIEWPOINTS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA?

SHARON HO, Senior

LORI MARCELO, Junior

RITCHIE LE, Sophomore

GRAHAM CROSS, Junior

TOMMY DANG, Freshman

MHS and California

T

he 2010 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), taken at MHS between 2009 and 2010, reveals that almost one in five freshmen and one in four juniors have used marijuana.

However, MHS has fewer users of marijuana, based on a CHKS report that combines data from a majority of California public high schools.

The tables, shown right, compare drug and alcohol usage between MHS and California students.

Nationwide

A

fter years of decline, marijuana usage in high school students in America is on the rise, according to an article published by the San Francisco Chronicle. However, usage of other types of drugs such as alcohol, cigarettes, and cocaine has dropped, according to the studies cited by the news report.

Every year since 1975, researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor have conducted the

I don’t know that much about marijuana, but I think we should legalize it so we can regulate it better. I agree with using medical marijuana, just not for recreational uses.

It’s good for the patients, not for carefree people.

Percent of MHS students who used drugs and alcohol one or m

BY LUIS DESCANZO AND TIFFANY LAW

40%

Percent use

BY LAURA COSGROVE

Marijuana use at MHS l debates over medical us

Senior

TOBY ANDERSON

Teacher

I think there are some people that need it, but it can be abused easily.

We don’t think it’s useful. We don’t feel comfortable that it should be available. We don’t think it’s productive, because people might take advantage of it. (Alina Jantunen (11) and Lauren Bond (10) also contributed.)

Cocaine

Meth

LSD

9th grade

18%

33%

6%

3%

2%

4%

11th grade

26%

49%

9%

5%

5%

5%

Percent of California students who used drugs and alcohol one Marijuana

Alcohol

Ecstasy

Cocaine

Meth

LSD

9th grade

26%

46%

9%

5%

5%

6%

11th grade

39%

62%

13%

8%

5%

7%

+8%, +13%

+13%, +13%

+3%, +4%

+2%, +3%

+3%, 0%

+2% +2%

Compared to MHS (9th, 11th)

"Monitoring the Future" survey which tracks drug use among teenagers. The survey examines various types of drug consumption such as alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit drugs.

The survey showed that 25.0 percent of high school seniors nationwide reported having smoked marijuana at least once in the previous year. This is an increase from

the previous year’s survey which shows only 24.5 percent of seniors smoking marijuana in the last year.

2011 is the fourth straight year in which marijuana use increased.

Daily marijuana use is at a 30-year high among high school seniors, the survey said.

In contrast, alcohol use declined once again, continuing a trend that

firs cor am sen T cre cei Ac na ing ma

• •

The number of sophomores who smoked marijuana at least once in their lifetime was at an all-time high in 1997.

30%

20%

1996

2001

2

National and State Public Policy on Marijuana

Starting in the early 20th century, Federal and state governments made the possession and distribution of marijuana illegal. Ho decided to decriminalize marijuana possession. The Federal government continues to uphold strict marijuana enforcement laws,

1970 Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a drug with a “high potential for abuse.”

VIVIANA SANTILLAN,

Ecstasy

The number of seniors who smoked marijuana at least once in their lifetime was at an all-time high in 1999.

1991

I think if it’s effective, it should be used.

Alcohol

10%

Marijuana should be legalized and cigarettes should be illegal. I think it’s good, it helps people.

Make medical marijuana legal, period. People need it. It’s good by me. People can smoke medical marijuana if they want, just don’t be fake. That pisses me off.

Marijuana

1930

1972 The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse recommends decriminalizing marijuana; President Nixon rejects the recommendation, stating that “[Legalizing marijuana] would simply encourage more and more of our young people to start down the long, dismal road that leads to hard drugs and eventually self-destruction.”

1970

1937 The Marijuana Tax Act imposes registration and reporting requirements and a tax on the growers, sellers, and buyers of marijuana.

1980

1972 The passage of California’s Proposition 19 would have legalized marijuana throughout the state but is rejected by voters.

S�����: P��C��.���

1990

1986 President Reagan approves the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, raising the penalties of marijuana possession and dealing.

1973 The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is founded.

1991 San Francisco r Proposition P. The ball recommends that the and the California Me restore hemp medical list of available medic

2003 Califor 420 establis and a volunt for quali�ed

1996 California’s Proposition 215, or Compassionate Use Act, legalizes marijuana for medical use.

AD FEBRUARY 2012

13

lower than state; se surge in 2011

BY THE NUMBERS

more times, 2009 to 2010

D

Inhalants

Heroin

Other

%

13%

4%

8%

%

10%

4%

9%

or more times, 2008 to 2010

D

Inhalants

Heroin

Other

%

15%

4%

11%

%

14%

4%

13%

%, %

+2%, +4%

0%, 0%

+3%, +4%

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st started in the late 1990s. Acrding to the survey, alcohol use mong high school sophomores and niors is at an all-time low.

The survey suggests that the inease is caused partly by lower perived risks in smoking marijuana. ccording to the survey’s data, teens ationwide are increasingly becomg skeptical of the dangers posed by arijuana.

11%

Percentage of MHS juniors who smoked marijuana in a 30-day period in 2010

6%

Percentage of MHS juniors who smoked marijuana on school property in a 30-day period in 2010

12%

Percentage of MHS freshmen who have been drunk on alcohol or high on drugs on school property, as of 2010

57%

Milpitas considers allowing marijuana use

BY LAURA COSGROVE

The Milpitas Transportation and Land Use Subcommittee is drawing up a proposal that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Milpitas, Subcommittee Member and Councilwoman Athena Polanski said. The proposal is planned to be finished and posted on the Milpitas City Council agenda in April, Polanski said.

Polanski, along with Subcommittee Head and Councilman Armando Gomez, supports allowing dispensaries in Milpitas because of the revenue potential and, mainly, the convenience it would provide to residents with a medical marijuana subscription, Polanski said.

“We are in favor,” Polanski said.

“We’re not looking at it so much as a big revenue source, like San Jose and other cities. We’re asking: will this benefit our residents so that they will be able to access what they have a prescription for?”

Gomez proposed the issue in the subcommittee because of his experience with it as Senior Policy Adviser of Budget and Finance in San Jose, a city with a large number of dispensaries it is struggling to regulate, according to Polanski.

Milpitas, however, will go about the process differently; for example, the number of dispensaries will be controlled and based on the population

of the city, Polanski said.

“We’re learning from [San Jose’s] mistakes,” Polanski said. Some are saying that we shouldn’t allow more than two. They will also be 1,000 feet away from any school; we want to make sure it’s safe.”

Six years ago, the last time that the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries came up in the Milpitas City Council, the Council, including Mayor Jose Esteves, voted to ban dispensaries in Milpitas. Esteves said that if medical marijuana dispensaries were to be allowed in Milpitas, they would have to be fully regulated.

“They would be far away from schools and young people, on the extremities of the city, and a regulated number,” Esteves said. “When it was brought up in Council last time, I voted no. But you have to think of what’s best for the city now.”

Polanski was the only councilmember to vote against the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries six years ago. Ideologically, Polanski supports the responsible use of medical marijuana, she said.

“I believed then, and believe now, that medical marijuana for those that are in need and prescribed it by a doctor should be legal. They shouldn’t have to go to a seedy place to get their medicine,” Polanski said.

“I felt we should have done it many years ago.”

The subcommittee has received legal information, consult from the Milpitas Chief of Police Dennis Graham, and perspectives from those who use medical marijuana as well as a woman who opposes the proposal, Polanski said. The testimonies and information from medical marijuana users “opened [Polanski’s] eyes,” she said.

“A mother came to speak to us at our last meeting; her daughter, who was in her late twenties, was diagnosed with a very severe brain cancer, and all the prescribed clinical drugs weren’t helping with the effects from the chemo. The mom got medical marijuana in a powder, put it in lemonade, and her daughter started feeling better immediately,” Polanski said. “When you hear stories like that, it makes you wonder what the feds are thinking.”

Some of those who came out in support of the proposal were not from Milpitas, according to Esteves, who said there has to be a tangible need among Milpitas residents before he could support it. Esteves said that he supports legal use of medical marijuana, but also recognized that there are some who use it illicitly.

“For legal and legitimate uses, sure. But everyone who wants it says they need it,” Esteves said. “It would help if more people, especially young people, sent us your opinions.”

Percentage of MHS freshmen who believe that there is a great risk in the frequent use of marijuana

33%

Percentage of MHS freshmen who say that obtaining marijuana is “very easy”

12% The number of sophomores and seniors who smoked marijuana at least once in the last 30 days is currently at an alltime high.

• •

2006

2011

Percentage of MHS freshmen and juniors who believe that 50% of their peers have used marijuana

32%

Percentage of MHS freshmen who say they have been offered drugs on school property S�����: C��������� H������ K��� S����� (CHKS)

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owever, the last four decades have brought numerous reforms and some states have s, producing contentious legal battles with states like California.

residents approve lot initiative State of California edical Association l preparations to the cines in the state.

2005 With the passage of Measure Z in Oakland, marijuana becomes a low enforcement priority for city police.

2000

rnia State Senate Bill shes possession limits tary identi�cation system patients.

2010 California’s Proposition 19 would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana statewide but is rejected by voters.

2010 2008 Then-California Attorney General Jerry Brown issues nonbinding guidelines for medical marijuana. The guidelines encourage state and local police departments to follow state laws regarding marijuana possession.

2005 In Gonzalez v. Raich, the Ninth District Court of Appeals declares the Controlled Substances Act unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court reverses the ruling, stating that Federal law takes precedence over state law; individuals who are caught in possession of marijuana may be prosecuted

by Federal authorities. In response, the State of California brie�y suspends distribution of ID cards to patients but resumes ten days later.

L��� D�������//THE UNION

Medical marijuana card holders wait for their prescriptions to be �lled at San Jose 420, a medical marijuana dispensary. To receive a card, applicants must demonstrate that they suffer from speci�c medical conditions.

San Jose faces issues regulating marijuana

BY LAURA COSGROVE

In light of the burgeoning proposal of medical marijuana dispensaries in Milpitas, it may be helpful for city officials to look to our closest big-city neighbor for an example.

But they may find more of what to avoid rather than what to imitate in San Jose—the city is currently struggling to pass a law that meets public support regulating and legalizing more than 100 dispensaries in the city.

In September, San Jose City Council passed an ordinance that legalized the dispensaries operating in San Jose, which were illegal under the San Jose Municipal Code.

In part as an effort to make it easier to keep track of the collectives not paying the imposed tax, the Council also added a package of zoning regulations that included limiting the number of pot clubs to 10, according to San Jose Public Information Officer Michelle McGurk.

Public reaction soon complicated matters.

“After the Council made the decision, groups in the medical marijuana industry got together to pass a referendum on the law,” McGurk said. “They gathered enough signatures to qualify the referendum for the ballot.”

Since then, city officials have been working on a compromise with the dispensaries. The path of action recommended by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, to be finalized Feb. 14, is to rescind the ordinance for a year as the California Supreme Court reviews four cases that deal with medical marijuana dispensaries, according to McGurk.

“The mayor is recommending that we rescind the municipal code provisions in Title 6 and establish enforcement priorities against medical marijuana dispensaries,” McGurk said. “Because if we rescind Title 6, we go back to months ago where, under the zoning code, all dispensaries are illegal.”

Hypothetically, the city staff could close every pot club in San Jose down, but the city does not have the manpower to do so. That’s why enforcement priorities will be set under this course of action, McGurk said.

“As an example, we might have some [collectives] in San Jose that are too close to schools under state law, and that might be a priority,” McGurk said. “We might say those that haven’t paid the medical marijuana tax are a priority, or those that are causing nuisances for the neighborhood.”

If the ordinance is rescinded, the

recommendation also included that the staff do quarterly reports on tax compliance, McGurk said. The tax rate on medical marijuana will not be increased, though the ordinance had included a raise on the gross receipts tax from 7 to 10 percent, according to McGurk.

A question that rises from San Jose’s issue is how, when illegal, such a widespread population of dispensaries came to flourish. It was simple, McGurk said.

“They went to a landlord, bought a lease, and opened for business,” McGurk said. “The landlord was happy to take their checks, I guess.”

As a city official, McGurk said she did not feel comfortable advising Milpitas on its future decision to allow or continue to disallow medical marijuana dispensaries. However, general guidelines may apply, McGurk said.

“I do think that it’s important to have good regulations if you decide to go down this road,” McGurk said.

“Each city is unique and each has its own considerations.”

i

On the Web

Go to www.mhstheunion.net for an extended version of this article and additional images

14

THE UNION FEATURES FEBRUARY 2012

Students skate nationally; avidly practice to compete

BY LORDESA FOK

Students Susan and Veronica Wang have more in common than just their last name. Junior Susan Wang and Sophomore Veronica Wang both participate in artistic roller skating, competing on a national level.

Although artistic ice skating and artistic roller skating have many similarities, Susan Wang says that the two do have differences. “When I did ice skating, I worked mostly on jumps and spins and technical elements,” Susan Wang explains.

“In roller skating, I think we have more of a range of events. There’s dancing, freestyle, original dance, and figures. I know, originally, roller skating was invented so that in the summer, when all of the ice was melted, ice skaters could still practice. Now that we have indoor ice skating, there’s no need for that.

Plus the skates are pretty different to use.” While ice skating involves blades, roller skating simply involves wheels.

Susan Wang began ice skating at the age of seven, applying her artistic skills to roller skating sessions at the local Cal Skate as well, she said. A private Milpitas coach noticed her at Cal Skate and asked her to become his student, forming the beginning of Susan Wang’s competitive roller skating journey.

Veronica Wang, on the other hand, was inspired by her neighbor to begin roller skating at six years old. “It was really fun because I used to roller skate on my driveway,” said Veronica Wang, smiling at the memory.

As the two friends bat at each other’s hands playfully, they reflect on the beginning of their friendship. Susan Wang and Veronica Wang met four years ago when they began training under the same roller skating coach. “We switch coaches sometimes, but we always do it together,” Susan Wang said. In fact, according to Susan Wang, her favorite aspect of skating is the fact that she got to become really close friends with the people that she skates with and with her coach.

Susan Wang first began competing nationally at 11 years old, after placing within the top three at her regional competition. According to Susan Wang, her next tournament is Regionals, which takes place at the end of June. Veronica Wang has also competed nationally, but her next competition is at the Invitationals on May 28, which she says are just practice for Regionals.

Although the sport seems to be pure, effortless grace and beauty, Susan Wang says that, in reality, artistic roller skating involves large amounts of hard work. “I think too many people downplay artistic skating in general as a girl’s sport,” Susan Wang said. “They don’t think that it requires work and is vigorous. For dance, we actually have to really build up endurance, and we’d [often] skate non-stop for half an hour. Everybody would be red, out of breath, sweaty, and half-dead.

Even so, during actual competition, we have to look pretty and be smiling even though we’re about to fall over.”

When asked about her long-term goals for the sport, Veronica Wang

�������� �� S���� W���

Junior Susan Wang strikes a pose at the Southwest Paci�c Regionals event held in Fresno. Wang has been competing nationally for the past �ve years and is preparing for a Regionals competition to be held in June.

shrugged her shoulders. She confessed, “[Artistic roller skating is] a dying sport, so I don’t know.” She added, “It’s not generating enough money, so it’s not popular anymore, although it was very popular in the 1980s.”

Susan Wang, on the other hand, hopes to someday bring Cal Skate back to Milpitas so that Milpitians can once again enjoy roller skating a little bit closer to home. She plans to find an empty lot and then find a rink as well as an owner who is willing to run the building.

Veronica Wang also enthusiastically endorses artistic roller skating in her own way, saying, “[Artistic roller skating] is a good social and recreational sport.” She continued, “You can hang out with people, and it’s for all seasons.”

�������� �� V������� W���

Sophomore Veronica Wang balances herself as she warms up for a roller skating competition. Wang is currently preparing for Invitationals.

Habitat for Humanity active; builds playhouse and homes

BY LILLIAN KAO

G���� L�//THE UNION

With graceful movemments, Junior Maxwell Bennett practices his gymnastics routine on the pommel horse.

The pommel horse is one of Bennett’s strongest events, along with the �oor exercise and the high bar.

Bennett balances gymnastics with schoolwork

BY NATHAN NG

Most students come home from school to take a brief respite before beginning their assigned homework. For Junior Maxwell Bennett, however, that is not the case. Rather than living a normal lifestyle centered on school, Bennett spends most of his time practicing gymnastics at the Demarays Gymnastics Academy.

Bennett started gymnastics when he was 4 years old and began competing when he was 6, he said. He has been in every regional competition since then, Bennett added.

“A friend of my family’s was first to suggest me into [gymnastics], and then I just like doing it ever since,” he said. “My inspiration is my father, who used to be a great athlete himself in high school.”

Gymnastics takes up three hours per day for five days a week, taking a significant amount of time out of his days, he added. Gymnastics is divided into six events: the floor exercise, the pommel horse, the rings, the vault, the parallel bars, and the high bar. Of those events, Bennett said he feels that he does well in all of them, but better in some events than others.

“I would say I am most built for the pommel horse because that event gives you an advantage if you have long arms, like me, and a long body,” Bennett said. “My strengths include the floor exercise, the pommel horse, and the high bar.”

Although he has participated in every regional competition, Bennett also participated in a national competition in Ohio back in 2009, he added. For now, he has been

competing only in local competitions for practice, sometimes going to places like Hawaii, San Diego, Arizona, and Las Vegas to compete, according to Bennett.

“A long term goal I am working on is to make it back to the national championships,” Bennett said. “I made it back in 2009, but haven’t made it since due to the chains of high school. I do occasionally end up missing practices due to too much homework or to study for a final or big test.”

Gymnastics sometimes proves to have its own difficulties, according to Bennett. It is a sport that was originally designed to train athletes of all sports.

i

On the Web

Go to www.mhstheunion.net for an extended version of this article

The Habitat for Humanity club will begin its Cupertino housebuilding project in April, according to Habitat for Humanity Club President Eric Tao. The project, which will take approximately a year to finish, will provide houses for families based on need, Tao said.

The project will give Habitat for Humanity members the opportunity to help build four two-story houses on land donated by the city of Cupertino, Tao said. The Cupertino house-building project is the main focus of the club, which was chartered in December, according to Tao. "I have worked with Habitat for Humanity before, and I thought it would be a good idea to work with the organization again," Tao said.

"We just want to help out our affiliated by building projects, fundraising, and whatever else we can do."

The club also offers other community service opportunities aside from the Cupertino project. Club members have had the opportunity to participate in events such as Life-Size Monopoly and Veteran’s Day Parade.

The most recent event the club has participated in is Project Play-

house, which took place on campus the Friday before winter break. This is the first time Project Playhouse has been done with a high school club, Tao said.

"We built the Playhouse for community service and to raise awareness in the community," Tao said.

"We’re planning to raffle it off by selling tickets and giving the money to our affiliated."

Junior Ana Peccin said she participated in Project Playhouse, which took approximately four hours to complete. The Playhouse materials were set up, assembled, built, and painted by the cafeteria, according to Peccin.

When asked if she plans to participate in the house-building project in April, Peccin said she would definitely take part in the event and looks forward to helping out in April.

"The projects they do affect us on a realistic basis," Peccin said. "I look forward to just helping whoever needs the houses and help make that happen."

Tao encourages people who are interested in the house building project to participate. "If you want to build houses in April, let us know!" Tao said. "We need as many people as possible to help us out."

THE UNION ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 2012

15

Frozen yogurt a cool treat

BY CATHERINE FREY

Milpitians can now enjoy frozen yogurt during the cool winter and through the sweltering summer by themselves or with their friends at one of the several frozen yogurt shops in Milpitas. Frozen yogurt is a delicious and reduced fat alternative to ice cream, so it’s no wonder that the popularity of this frozen dairy treat has risen; the mystery is, why now?

Frozen yogurt dates all the way back to the 1970s, but the first frozen yogurt shop to gain popularity in Milpitas, Frozo’s, did not open until 2008. The store had a variety

Z�� M��������//THE UNION

Small Time Cooks offers twelve different varieties of tacos and burritos. The top two tacos are carne asada tacos and the bottom two are lamb curry. These tacos cost $2, but some other varieties cost only $1.50.

Small Time Cooks offers fashionable cuisine

BY ZOE MCCRACKEN

SMALL TIME COOKS CUISINE: Korean Fusion WHERE: 600 Barber Lane HOURS: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays; weekend hours vary MUST HAVES: Lamb tikka, carne asada PRICES: Tacos $1.50 to $2; Burritos $7.50 to $8 RATING (out of �ve stars):



Recommended

Want to be fashionable while eating a delicious meal? Small Time Cooks, a food truck parked at 600 Barber Lane, makes that possible.

Why fashionable? It’s not that these tacos are wearable, but rather that they exceed the food truck trend; the tacos and burritos at Small Time Cooks not only offer the convenience of increasingly popular food trucks DINING but also deliver great REVIEW taste. While the food here is similar to those of other food trucks such as MoGo BBQ, Small Time Cooks offers a unique twist the others lack.

All of their tacos, which are priced at $1.50 to $2, and burritos, priced at $7.50 to $8, come in not only the typical Korean-Mexican combination, but also in an Indian fusion.

What also sets apart this new food truck is not only the quality of

‰

the ingredients, which I can with a full stomach verify, but the dedication of those who run Small Time Cooks. They put effort in not only their cooking, but in pleasing their customers by spending their time familiarizing you with the menu.

The main drawback of this scrumptious vehicle is the opening hours, which are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. This makes it inconvenient for students to pick up a bite after school. Luckily for interested students, the taco truck is open on weekends; though its location varies, its position at the time can be seen on its Twitter, according to Small Time Cooks.

Whether it is for a small taco or a filling burrito, stop by this truck for an experience you will never regret.

of toppings, several flavors for patrons to choose from, and stamp cards to lure costumers into returning for more frozen yogurt.

Although Frozo’s closed in 2011, there are several other stores to fill in in the frozen yogurt niche. Other frozen yogurt shops in Milpitas include Blush, Yogurtland, Yo-Pho, and Orange Tree.

There are six frozen yogurt shops in 13.6-square-mile Milpitas, which gives a total of over two yogurt shops per square mile. So, Milpitians, yogurt is in abundance! Go forth and conquer the array of frozen yogurt flavors available to tickle your taste buds.

Zahir’s suits fancy night out; ‘appetizing’ but ‘expensive’

BY KEWA JIANG

ZAHIR’S BISTRO CUISINE: Italian-American WHERE: 579 South Main St. HOURS: Mon.-Sat.; 5:30–10a.m., 11:30–2:30am MUST HAVES: Chicken Marsala and fettuccine jambalaya PRICES: $16-$20+ RATING (out of �ve stars):



Recommended for a formal occassion

The Italian-American restaurant Zahir’s recently reopened on South Main Street. In general, the food was appetizing, but the entrees were over-seasoned and the pear salad I ordered was not particularly exciting. The pears were sweet, but I felt that the greens were underdressed

with the vinaigrette.

I ordered a fettuccine jambalaya: pasta paired with red bell pepper, Andouille sausage, shrimps, grilled chicken and onions. The sauce was tasty; there was a hint of spiciness from the sausage and various herbs.

The Andouille sausage in particular stood out from the rest of the ingredients due to its DINING bold taste.

REVIEW However, the food was very expensive.

Each entrée cost at least $16, with many exceeding $20, and the appetizers were around $10. For a casual family meal, I wouldn’t particularly recommend this restaurant due to the price tag and the upscale atmosphere. I think Zahir’s is better suited for formal events, such as business meetings, or to impress relatives when they visit.

‰

THE UNION ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 2012

16

Highly anticipated games slated for release this year

BY BENJAMIN GARDNER

Conforming to a trend of releasing sequels, video game companies released The Elder Scrolls V, Modern Warfare 3, and Battlefield 3 in 2011. With several release dates already announced for this year, it seems the most hyped PC games will fit the trend as well. Headlining 2012’s most anticipated PC games are a trio of role-playing games: Diablo III, Mass Effect 3, and Guild Wars 2.

Diablo III is set to be released in early 2012, according to developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment. The game will feature a third-person view, emphasizing melee, ranged, or spell-oriented combat. Set in the fantasy world of Sanctuary, players must navigate labyrinthine dungeons, overcoming a multitude of creatures in search of loot to upgrade one’s character.

The class system received a major overhaul with changes to name and appearance, but the mechanics of the classes remain largely the same.

These classes comprise elements of the previous characters. Overall, the game has retained a lot of the features that made the series so successful, but Diablo III is still highly anticipated because of the detailed and enveloping storyline of the series.

Guild Wars 2 is set to be released later in the year, sometime after April, according to a posted letter from ArenaNet. This massively multiplayer online role-playing game distinguishes itself from other popular games in the genre because it is free to play (there is no monthly subscription fee) and features predominately instanced environments that present a separate

world for individual players. Unlike its predecessor, which required team-based play for questing, Guild Wars 2 will feature more independent character classes.

The game will let players play a variety of races that appeared in Guild Wars across eight different classes, including three new ones: guardian, engineer, and thief. Guild Wars 2 will focus on the synergy between classes, allowing players to create powerful skill combinations, according to guildwars2.com. The game will also emphasize a storyline that adapts to player’s decisions, a relatively novel premise for multiplayer role-playing games.

However successful Guild Wars 2 may be in creating a responsive storyline, the Mass Effect series, created by developer Bioware, has already established a reputation for dynamic plots based on players’ decisions. The only game out of these three with a definite release date, Mass Effect 3 will appear on shelves on March 6. The game will follow the adventures of Commander Sheppard as he attempts to save the galaxy against an invading race, the Reapers. Players will have the option of importing their decisions from previous games to shape the initial circumstances of the game.

There will be no major changes to the game’s combat system—a thirdperson shooter that emphasizes cover and tactical decisions. However, game developers have said the combat will provide players more options beyond sitting behind cover and shooting at stationary enemies.

The game will also provide more of a challenge with improved artificial intelligence. The last game in the trilogy, Mass Effect 3 promises an epic conclusion to a unique series.

L��� D�������//THE UNION

Junior Cindy Wu expresses her admiration of Korean culture in her substantial collection of K-pop posters, featuring Lee Min Ho, SHINee, and Big Bang. The K-pop fan base is growing increasingly larger in MHS.

Korean music growing in popularity at MHS

BY ARTHUR TRAN

Korean pop music, often abbreviated as K-pop, is a genre of music that has become increasingly popular here at MHS. Students on campus listen to and enjoy the latest songs from Korea; some even know all the lyrics to a song! K-pop shares many characteristics with mainstream American pop music, such as being appealing to general music listeners, having beats made for dancing, and being fairly repetitive. What is even more interesting is that a song by K-pop girl band Girl’s Generation, “Run Devil Run,”

was originally sung by American artist Ke$ha. However, there is usually a noticeable difference between the two types of music, besides the language. The melody of K-pop songs is generally more upbeat and bubbly compared to American pop.

Another interesting aspect of K-pop is the music videos. Music videos for K-pop songs usually contain many flashy visual effects and complex choreography. Every music video also has some sort of story line which is acted out in scenes, but not explained explicitly. This means that the meaning behind a music video is up to the interpretation of

the viewer.

Popular songs from 2011 include “Be My Baby” by girl band Wonder Girls, “The Boys” by Girl’s Generation, “I Am the Best” by girl band 2NE1, and “Goodbye Baby” by girl band Miss A. However, these are just a few songs out of a list of several hundred. Notable K-pop songs include “Tonight” by boy band Big Bang, “Step” by girl band Kara, and “Troublemaker,” by artists Hyuna and Hyunseung.

K-pop is quickly being introduced to more and more people. If you are new to all of this, go see if any of the dramas or songs interest you!

New Disney short charming, but not worth ticket in itself

ALBUM REVIEWS

BY CINDY WU

You probably remember Disney’s newest princess, Rapunzel, from the well-received movie Tangled, loosely based on the fairy tale "Rapunzel." Well, for those who SHORT have not had enough of FILM the humor and charm, REVIEW Disney has released a new five to six minute short film, Tangled Ever After, before the showing of Beauty and the Beast in 3D on January 13, 2012.

The scene is set on the day of the royal wedding of Rapunzel (voiced

by Mandy Moore) and Eugene (voiced by Zachary Levi). As seen in the preview, Pascal, who was Rapunzel’s only companion in the tower and now the flower chameleon, and Maximus, Eugene’s horse and ring bearer, loses the wedding rings while the couple is at the altar.

This epilogue follows Pascal and Maximus on a comical adventure through the town as the lovable duo chases after the rings and unintentionally leaves behind a chaotic mess along the way.

This short film is definitely a

∑ SOMETHING

by Chairlift

THE LION’S ROAR

by First Aid Kit

LINEAGE

by Shigeto

BY LUIS DESCANZO

BY LAURA COSGROVE

BY TERRY TSAI

Chairlift is back from a four-year hiatus. In their sophomore album, Something, band members Caroline Polachek and Patrick Wimberly take their cues from the sounds of 1980s synthpop. Polachek’s impressive vocal skill is the strength of the album and Wimberly’s beats are a �tting complement.

In “Sidewalk Safari,” Polachek perfectly captures the perspective and derangement of a sinister, vengeful killer.

The track’s roughness, both in lyrics and sound, clearly sets it apart from the band’s more radio-friendly tracks, such as “Bruises” in 2008.

While a 1980s in�uence runs through the entire album, the tracks “Take It Out on Me” and “Guilty As Charged” bring out the best of synthpop. Wimberly’s cool, laid-back beats and Polacheck’s sharp lyrics make the track seem like it was reincarnated straight from the 80s.

The album’s less memorable tracks suffer from a lack of creativity.

In tracks like “Cool as a Fire,” “Frigid Spring,” and “Turning,” Polacheck succeeds in creating a gloomy tone with her “woohs” and “aahs.” But ultimately, these tracks seem out of place and almost too conservative in an album that attempts to take a fresh spin on 80s music.

Johanna and Klara Söderberg of First Aid Kit are teenage Swedish sisters who have expanded their instrumentals while maintaining their lovely, emotional vocals in their sweetly Americana-in�uenced sophomore album. Their voices interlock beautifully, rising, falling, and twanging together in the kind of folk singing that’s utterly enchanting and completely listenable.

Produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, it’s not too surprising that its rich composition is an improvement from their debut album, but it’s likely that the album would charm even without him. The sisters showed promise, and have clearly matured as artists.

“Emmylou,” the second single on the album, is an uplifting, lyrically rich song about courtship that is an example of the impact American ‘60s country culture seems to have had on the Söderberg sisters. Their chorus innocently pleads, "I'll be your Emmylou, and I'll be your June / If you'll be my Gram and my Johnny, too."

Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons would have likely been grati�ed to hear their names sung with such charm and their music give so much in�uence to these very talented Swedish girls. I’m looking forward to hearing more from the duo, and highly recommend The Lion’s Roar.

Zach Shigeto Saginaw delivers a set of intricate, dreamy, and rich beatstrumentals with the release of his sophomore album Lineage.

Lineage is a mosaic of musical genres, �aunting shades of electronica, jazz, hip-hop, dance, ambience, and oriental. The minimalism and restraint exhibited in this album understate this spacey yet subdued synthesis of sounds.

Although this album is labeled as electronic, many of the instruments and samples are organic, �owing in a smooth manner that sometimes feels like an ensemble and a keyboardist are playing along with an electronic track, eerily on beat.

Glitchy blips kick off “Soaring,” a song that sends listeners �ying off to the skies, before letting the pounding drums, and harp arpeggios �esh out the rest. “Field Trip” captures the jubilance and wonder of adolescence. In “Ann Arbor,” a hip-hop groove backs the looping piano keys, while �ashes of chimes and voices accentuate the evanescent melody.

Saginaw carefully chose his samples, which were melted together and stirred with his mixing stick. Lineage presents itself elegantly, casting a mood of introspection in a dreamy soundscape.

pleasant follow-up, with just as much humor and brilliance as the original film. However, the clip is mainly focused on the wild mission of recovering the rings and not so much on the main couple’s "happily ever after."

Tangled Ever After is not really worth the money if you are only interested in watching the short, since the plot is basically the couple getting married with a comical addition. If you can wait, the short will be airing in Spring 2012 on Disney Channel.

However, I do recommend rewatching Beauty and the Beast on the big screen, even if you own it on DVD, since Disney Princess classics never get old. This original and touching story of a brave young heroine and an unloved beast is one that has been remembered for many generations.

Beauty and the Beast in 3D is a rewarding experience, not necessarily because of its 3D effects, since it isn’t much more different to the movie that premiered two decades ago, but because it’s another chance to once again experience one of the greatest animated films of all time in theaters.

THE UNION ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 2012

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Classic films remade in 3D

BY DYLAN LIBRANDE

Following the trend first set by Disney’s rerelease of The Lion King in 3D, many beloved film titles are getting a second release years after they first thrilled audiences. But this time, the audience can experience their favorite classics through a new lens. Wait, make that two lenses.

After Disney’s roaring success last September, a number of movies have been slated for rerelease with new 3D effects. Companies hope to lure in fans of the originals, then scrape a few extra million dollars off them with the higher ticket prices for 3D showings. If you think it’s despicable, remember that maximizing profit by exploiting memories of naive, heartfelt children is practically Hollywood’s motto.

Besides The Lion King, Disney released Beauty and the Beast in 3D on January 13, and plans to spread out the release of some other favorites, such as Finding Nemo in September of 2012, Monsters Inc. in Jan. of 2013, and The Little Mermaid in Sept. of 2013.

Other studios also have plans to send heavy-hitters back to the big screen: Top Gun and the original Ghostbusters are both supposedly in the works, and James Cameron’s tragic magnum opus Titanic will sink into theaters this April. Finally, George Lucas and LucasArts released Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (arguably the strongest movie in the entire saga, thanks to a certain Gungan who is popular among fans) on February 10, and likely plans to remake and remaster the entire saga yet again.

All titles here will be released in both traditional 2D and digitallyenhanced 3D.

Besides the second theatrical releases, many movies are also going out in 3D to home theaters in ultimate special-edition packages.

These multi-disk monstrosities can sell for up to $100 and are yet another way for companies suck out every last dollar you make.

But perhaps this trend is actually beneficial to more than just the companies. When you look past the exorbitant price, the degradation of overall video quality, the darker screen, the uncomfortable glasses, and the alarming trend that Hollywood only seems to be making sequels and re-releasing movies instead of coming up with new intellectual properties, you can see that the movies they are sending back to the theaters are actually quite good.

People would not be going back to watch these movies if they were not some of their favorites, and really, what is a few extra dollars compared to the chance to relive your childhood? Many MHS students went and saw The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast (and maybe even The Phantom Menace?) because they are legitimately good films. Compared to many of the big-budget, emotionally-starved 3D movies that are being shoved onto theatergoers right now, these beautiful and heart-wrenching masterpieces are things that people actually want to see. These classics are classics for a reason.

We may realize, as we watch Tom Cruise blow stuff up or Leonardo DiCaprio share a doomed kiss in three splendid dimensions, that the past is where Hollywood should have been headed this entire time.

I mean, they even released a movie called World War II in 3D. How awesome is that?

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Character Yoshimori Sumimora in Japanese Manga “Kekkaishi” grins impishly as he jumps from roof to roof.

While Yoshimori and the other characters are expressed in creative artwork, they are bland and unoriginal.

Japanese manga shines, albeit with pitfalls

BY THAOCHAU PHAN

Action, romance, adventure, and comedy. These elements await readers when they enter the mystical world of “Kekkaishi.”

A manga written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe, “Kekkaishi” MANGA follows the lives of two REVIEW young demon-hunters, or “Kekkaishi,” named Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura. Using a unique ability called Kekkai, Yoshimori and Tokine must protect the sacred land of Karasumori from power-hungry demons.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest flaws of the manga is the characters themselves. First off, the characters Yoshimori and Tokine are not particularly interesting to read about,

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but this does not mean that they are completely boring either. They are simply so generic that they do not offer readers anything they have not seen before. Yoshimori plays the cliché fight-first-talk-later types while Tokine is reduced to playing the damsel in distress whose sole function is to stand and look pretty.

The only character in the entire manga that may actually possess some depth is Yoshimori’s elder brother, Masamori. His comedic yet mysterious and manipulative nature definitely keeps readers guessing about his real motives and actions.

However, readers will have a hard time believing the supposed romance between Yoshimori and Tokine. The manga never allows the relationship between Tokine and Yoshimori to grow or develop.

It fills the story with mindless battle scenes and action instead of delving into their romance.

Yet, the manga truly shines when it comes to the art and action. The artwork perfectly captures the mood and pacing of the fight scenes, making them appear seamless and eye-catching. Though the facial expressions can be improved, the art design of each character and background is creative and original nonetheless.

The same praises, sadly, cannot be said about the manga’s ending. The illogical, anticlimactic ending leaves readers bitter and disappointed.

Nevertheless, the manga still offers an appealing story line and some very intriguing plot twists. It is a must read for all manga and anime lovers.

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THE UNION LIFESTYLE FEBRUARY 2012

Facebook groups used as educational tools; students assist each other on school subjects Students and teachers are now taking advantage of Facebook for educational purposes.

BY CINDY WU

Thanks to the increasing convenience and availability of the Internet, students have found a more efficient means of communicating with classmates through Facebook educational groups. Facebook educational groups provide a community for students to convey and exchange ideas. Hundreds of students are part of these groups, which are created either by students or teachers and range from mathematics to science to English to history.

For the majority of the students, the groups are helpful and act as online study groups. Junior Joshua Lin, a member of the Honors Precalculus group said the group was especially helpful after his math teacher took a leave of absence.

“It’s especially good because [our teacher] is gone,” Lin said. “We post videos [that] have step-by-step solutions to homework problems.”

Sophomore Jamie Lam joined one of two AP World History groups. She said the group is used by students to help each other study for tests.

“Some of our classmates post links to online flashcards with key vocabulary words and definitions,” Lam said. “When we had to write our DBQ essays, we would hold discussions on the Facebook group and help each other get ideas to write the essay. We don't post the answers to our homework, but rather help each other with the questions that are more difficult.”

Although the groups are often used educationally, sometimes students take to this forum to vent their frustration. Junior Casey Lee, who is part of the AP Biology group, said the group “mostly complain[s] about the work.”

In addition, Lee, though not currently enrolled in Honors Chemistry, was also added to the group to help the students in the classes. He notes that “at times they’re productive; other times they are off-topic.”

Though most of the teachers are not involved in these educational groups, there are a few who have

“You don’t have to be physically next to each other to get help from other classmates.” ����� ������ created Facebook groups for their class. These teachers use them as the primary means of relaying academic assistance and information to the students outside of class.

Math Teacher Michael Bautista created a group for his AP Calculus class. He uses the group daily, posting Youtube videos to help explain assignments, tips on how to solve difficult homework problems, and instructions and reminders for testing days.

Bautista enjoys using Facebook groups because he can monitor the group and assist students without being “Facebook friends” with them. Bautista also commented on the responsiveness of students online.

“Kids are always on Facebook,” Bautista said. “I get comments or re-

sponses from students in less than a minute after I post something.”

History Teacher Danilo Escobar also created an AP World History Facebook group. “There’s a better response on Facebook,” Escobar said. “It’s far better than SchoolLoop in doing what I want.”

Many other teachers are aware of this trend. Most encourage it as a way for students to work together outside of class when the teacher is unavailable, as long as the discussions are appropriate and the students are productive.

“It has a ton of advantages,” Physics Teacher Bruce Fowler said. “You don’t have to be physically next to each other to get help from other classmates.”

Chemistry Teacher Todd Seals encourages these online groups.

“It’s a good way for students who are not there to obtain information we covered in class to understand different concepts with input from different students,” he said.

Some teachers are also slightly concerned with the groups providing a greater potential for cheating and plagiarism, since it is easier to spread information online. However, most agree that this is not a huge problem because cheating is always going to be an issue.

“I understand the potential for cheating,” Math Teacher Annie Nguyen said. “However, cheating is there regardless, online or not.”

Chemistry Teacher Roberto Alvelais recommended simply getting direct help from him. “Your best bet is to send me an email or come to tutorial,” Alvelais said. “I reply to emails even late at night. Friends may not be best source of info.”

Truffles simple and sweet

BY ZOE MCCRACKEN

Valentine’s Day is that time of the year filled with romantic dinners, large teddy bears, and empty wallets. Do you want to be that guy who spends his life savings for a relationship that will probably be over by next month? No, of course not. Such expenses are reserved for at least two-month relationships. That’s why it’s much better to make our own economical Valentine’s Day gift. In this case, it’s homemade Oreo chocolate truffles.

These cheap and easy goodies are great because they avoid the awkward “our short-lived relationship is worth this horribly ugly paper heart embezzled with gaudy stickers.” Instead, tell your loved one, “I love you so much I slaved over a stove to make you delicious

chocolates.” Here is the best part though, these Oreo truffles require little work! No oven or stove required, all you need are: - Oreos (1 package) - 8 oz. cream cheese - 16 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate - Mixing bowls - Spoons With these supplies on hand, you can make dozens and dozens of delicious balls of wonder. The only downfall of this recipe is that your love will become fat from these addictive truffles. Also, they will likely expedite the inevitable end of your relationship when you two lovers fight over the last one.

All downfalls set aside, these chocolates are a delicious and cheap way to declare your love. So go forth and bake!

After setting aside nine Oreos, smash the remaining cookies. This can be done with a zip lock bag and a rolling pin, but any means will do. After, mix these Oreos with the cream cheese to create a uniform mixture. Roll these into balls approximately one inch in diameter and set them aside.

Heat up the sixteen ounces of chocolate so that it becomes a liquid and dippable substance. This step can be done with a microwave or a double boiler, which is a bowl over a pot of boiling water. The latter of the two is much less likely to burn the chocolate, but either will do. Dip the balls into the chocolate with a spoon or toothpick.

Crush the nine Oreos that were set aside earlier. Sprinkle or roll the truf�es before the chocolate completely cools. Once all truf�es have their outsides covered with oreo crumbs, cool the truf�es in a freezer or refrigerator. After they have hardened, give and enjoy!

THE UNION LIFESTYLE FEBRUARY 2012

19

Colored contacts offer an eye-catching look

BY THAOCHAU PHAN

With their vibrant colors and bold patterns, colored contact lenses are the perfect fashion accessories for today’s teenage trendsetters. For Senior Sherry Leung, who has been modeling colored contacts on her personal blog, they add a bright, quirky touch to her everyday look and style.

Leung started her modeling career this year after a contract with Thankyouparadise.com offered her free contacts in return for publicizing the products on her Tumblr. Followers wishing to buy colored contacts can read Leung’s reviews anf order them on Thankyouparadise.com by entering a simple coupon code, Leung said. “[Modeling] is fun,” Leung said.

“It’s nice to have [colored lensess].”

Yet what makes colored contacts truly appealing is the multitude of colors, patterns, and shades that they come in. From the Piercing Circle lenses to the Tearful Circle Color lenses, there is a pair of colored contacts out there for everybody. You can change your eye color to flame red or ice blue; you can also complement your eyes with snowflake, heart, or star patterns . Though she possesses multiple pairs of colored contacts herself, Leung stated that her favorite is definitely the Max Pure Grey lenses.

“Colored lenses will give you a dolly look,” Leung said. “They make your eyes bigger.”

Though they can cost around $12 to $30, nothing should deter you from buying a stylish pair.

FASHION SPOTLIGHT ANDREW KIM Sophomore

1

1. Hat Heats Snapback $35

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2. Glasses Ralph Lauren Polo $20

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3. Hoodied Flannel PacSun $55 4. Jacket Foreign Exchange $80

4 L��� D�������//THE UNION

5. Belt Hot Topic $20

Senior Sherry Leung, who models colored contact lenses, show offs a grey circle lens in her right eye.

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Valentine’s Day celebrated across the globe

BY REBECCA HUBENY

One of Saint Valentine’s legends depicts a man incarcerated for helping persecuted Christians, according to Holidays and Customs

by Helene Henderson. While in jail, this man, Valentine, fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and on the morning of his execution, left her a farewell message. He signed it, “From your Valentine.”

And from that morbid beginning, countries around the world developed their own customs for February 14. In the United Kingdom, girls attempted to predict the future on the eve of Valentine’s Day, according to The Folklore of World Holidays by Robert Griffin and Ann Shurgin. A girl would pin leaves to her pillow

and eat a hard-boiled egg filled with salt in place of yolk. That night thegirl would supposedly dream of her husband-to-be.

The Japanese celebrate a version of Valentine’s Day that would overjoy American men. Women are appointed as gift buyers, according to The Folklore of World Holidays.

Women give men chocolate, but the meaning behind the candy is much less romantic. Office ladies give their bosses “obligation chocolates.”

Still, a Japanese man is not completely off the hook. White-o Day, started by Japanese candy makers, is held a month later on March 14.

During this holiday, the men give women gifts and chocolate. The unfortunate men are expected to spend at least twice the amount of

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6. Pants PacSun $40 7. Shoes Vans $40

money the women did.

Cupid has not been excluded from these changing traditions. Long ago, he was portrayed as a handsome young man. He carried a bow and a quiver of arrows, each of which was sharpened on a grindstone with blood. However, in order to make the holiday more appropriate for women and children, merchants promoted Cupid’s image as a helpless infant, according to Holiday Symbols and Customs.

Which image of Cupid do you prefer: the handsome man or the pudgy baby? While pondering this philosophical question, also consider avoiding the signing of any note with “from your Valentine.”

The original Valentine was executed promptly after.

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Fashion Inspiration: “Your style tells others a lot about who you are as an individual.

What inspires my fashion is to just be youself, wear what makes you feel right, and forget what everyone else has to say about it.

KENNEDY KENNEY Junior 1. Scarf H&M $10

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2. Earrings Juicy Couture $60

1 3 4 5

3. Hooded Jean Vest Forever 21 $30 4. Sweater Papaya $20 5. Bracelet Juicy Couture $60

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6. Jeans Gift 7. Boot Juicy Couture $60

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Fashion Inspiration: “I’m inspired by the maternal side of my family. They are always so unique in their fashion and don’t think twice of what anyone thinks.”

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THE UNION SPORTS FEBRUARY 2012

Athletic donations needed; cutting sports a possibility

BY Y-DAN BUI

Since the spring sports season began a year ago, the $100 athletic transportation fee has become an athletic donation, according to Athletic Director Jeffrey Lamb. The fees had to be abolished because of a lawsuit that made charging fees in California high schools illegal, Lamb said.

Most of the sports have been able to get enough donations in for transportation, but there have been issues, Lamb said. Both girls’ and boys’ basketball were cited by Lamb as being the particular teams that were lacking in transportation money. “[The situation] has gotten progressively worse,” Lamb said. “Last spring was pretty good; fall was bad, winter was worse.”

To make up for the difference in money, individual teams have to pick up their own costs, whether it be by holding fund-raisers or buying their own equipment, Lamb said.

When buses have been unavailable, parents have been asked to drive students to and from the games, according to Lamb. If parents are

unable to do that, the team would have to forfeit, Lamb said.

“I’m very disappointed in the fact that in this economy, parents don’t understand that it costs us money to put on the program and we don’t have the money,” Lamb said. “We really need it and we don’t have it.

The compliance rate for transportations fees used to be between around 80 to 90 percent, Lamb said. Now with the athletic donations, some sports have been very good while others have been lacking. Lamb foresees spring sports to be a larger issue because most of the teams leave during school, Lamb said.

“We completely understand that some people can’t afford [the donation]”, Lamb said. “We also know a lot of people can afford it but choose not to do it.”

The school district’s message on this issue has been to “do what you need to do” to find transportation, Lamb said. The worst case scenario, would be cutting some sports, Lamb said.

“As of right now, I wouldn’t say we are doing well,” Lamb said. “But I would say we are skating by.”

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Junior Laurence Hou prepares to pin his Monte Vista opponent on Feb. 2 at the home wrestling meet. The Varsity Wrestling Team suffered their third loss of the season to Monte Vista by a score of 25-48.

Wrestling members hope to place at CCS

BY THANH TRAN

On Feb. 9, the MHS Varsity Wrestling Team defeated Harker High School, according to Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Kent Mitchell.

The Varsity Wrestling Team has a league record of 3-3, according to Mitchell.

At the SCVAL Varsity League Finals, Mitchell hopes that at least six of his players will make it to CCS, Mitchell said. Junior Tatiana Almogela and Junior Katie Blackburn have already qualified for the CIF State Championships, according to Mitchell.

“The kids who have stayed on the team have been working hard to step up to the plate,” Mitchell said.

“We have a lot of first-year wrestlers that are having to go varsity

because hardly any athletes came out this year.”

The strengths of the team are that the team has many athletic players, Mitchell said. His goal for the season is to have every player wrestle his or her best.

“It is really hard work, the practices,” Mitchell said. “We eliminated, kicked people off that would miss practice, if they started to miss a lot.”

Blackburn is on the wrestling team for her first year, she said. She did not join the previous years because she was unsure about joining, according to Blackburn. “[I am] good at defense; weakness is attacking,” Blackburn said. “[I hope] to finish strong. I think I did good for my first year.”

Almogela is happy with her

performance this season, she said.

Her record is 14-3, according to Almogela.

“Strengths now are my takedowns,” Almogela said. “Goal is to at least maybe top ten at state.”

Senior Michael Nguyen feels he did well during his season, he said.

His record is 10-1, according to Nguyen.

“When I was a freshman, I used to have fear,” Nguyen said. “When the years progressed came bloodthirsty feelings.”

Nguyen has been working on everything he has learned, he said.

Nguyen’s goal is to make CCS for his fourth time, he said.

“Wrestling is a love-hate relationship,” Nguyen said. “You love it for the competition. You hate it for the conditioning, making weight.”

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MHS cheerleaders perform during the Battle of the Sexes Rally on Feb. 10. A US district judge ruled in 2010 that cheerleading is not a sport.

Cheerleading not a sport; requires competitiveness

BY CATHERINE FREY

In 2010, U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled that cheerleading is not a sport under Title IX, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics. Under Title IX, a sport must have coaches, practices, competitions during a defined season, and a governing organization .

Title IX states that the activity must have competition as its primary goal, not merely the support of other athletic teams. Cheerleading lacks only the competition aspect of a sport, but that could change in coming years as more cheerleaders begin to join cheerleading competitions. A study done by the National Federation of State High School Associations found that the number of cheerleaders participating in competitions increased from 2008 to 2009 by over 200,000.

Cheerleaders are not participating in competition this year, but they may in upcoming years, Cheer Captain Macey Williams said.

MHS’s cheer squad falls into the majority of non-competitive high school cheer squads across the U.S. The purpose of cheerleading is

to show school spirit and to get the crowd involved into what’s going on in school, Williams said.

“I believe [cheerleaders] put a lot of time and effort into [cheerleading], just as much as people who play sports do, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” Williams said. A study conducted by Hermann Engels of Wayne State University proved similarly.

The study included rigorous testing of competitive cheerleaders and sideline cheerleaders. Competitive cheerleaders consider cheerleading a serious sport and compete regularly in competitions, whereas sideline cheerleaders are the traditional cheer squads who only cheer for their school’s sporting events.

Furthering the argument that cheerleading should be considered a sport is the fact that cheerleading is second only to football in the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research’s annual high school report for 2010.

Cheerleading has accounted for over 65.1% of catastrophic sports injuries among high school females over the past 25 years, according to the report released by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research.

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Sophomore Belen Acosta �ghts for the soccer ball with a Santa Clara player during the Feb. 8 matchup at MHS. The team will not make CCS this year, according to Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach Michael Tomlin.

Varsity Girls’ Soccer ‘broke down as a team’

BY ANDREW VAN

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team’s current record stands at 8-7 with three ties. Despite their promising pre-season, making CCS this year is out of the question, according to Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach Michael Tomlin.

In their recent home game on Feb. 8, the team lost to Santa Clara 1-3, with Junior Haley Garvey scoring the only goal. The players clearly did not play as a team, resulting in their loss, Tomlin stated.

The players “did not play as a single unit,” Tomlin said. “Some played their all, and some did not.”

Senior Natalie DeRosa said that the team could have played more intensely during their match against Santa Clara. Nevertheless, she said that she has been an aggressive player throughout the season.

“We could have applied more pressure to the other team,” DeRosa said. “I have become more confident when I play and come out more intensely since the beginning of the season,” she later when asked how she has progressed.

The team’s star player, Senior Madeline Gray, says that the team has not done well this season. The team likes to play as individuals instead of as a team, she added.

“We have good players, but we don’t work well together,” Gray stated. “We have some players on the team that play together, and we have some that don’t.”

For the team to improve, the freshmen on the team need to become more experienced as varsity athletes, Tomlin said.

“We have seven freshmen in our team this year, Tomlin said. “These seven freshmen need to know what

it’s like to be varsity athletes.”

Gray also stated that the team ‘‘broke down as a team’’ after their pre-season. The team was not able to find their passes and make scoring opportunities, she said. “[Some of the girls] kick the ball whenever they feel like it. We sometimes don’t focus during practice and we don’t pass the feet well,” Gray said. “We’re a nice group of girls, but if we don’t play as a team, we’re not very good.”

DeRosa said that although it hasn’t been a good season, it’s been fun. She said that she would miss the girls the most.

“I’m going to miss spending time and practicing with them,” DeRosa said. “Everyone gets along like a family; we’re like sisters who do our best and support each other.

This whole season has been a great memory,” she added.

THE UNION SPORTS FEBRUARY 2012

21

Varsity Boys’ Soccer ‘not on the same page’; upper division increases competition level

BY BENJAMIN GARDNER

Varsity Boys’ Soccer struggled to win games this year, which shows in their 0-7-3 record, according to Goalkeeper Piyush Kumar. Despite having talented players, injuries and grades prevented some key players from participating, Kumar said.

MHS lost to Gunn High School by a score of 0-1 on Wednesday, Feb. 8, Team Captain Daniel Shak said.

Gunn caught MHS off-guard with a goal within the first 15 minutes of the game, Shak said.

“Our team played well together and moved the ball around well,” Shak said. “After the first few minutes, everyone actually held together, but we still couldn’t score.”

A major challenge for the team

this year was the increase in competition level after they moved up to the De Anza division, Kumar said. Many players graduated last year, leaving the team with a young roster, according to Kumar.

“We got bumped up to De Anza this year and we had a young team going in,” Kumar said. “We lost about 10 players from last year. We knew going in that we had a decent starting lineup, but if anything happened like injuries we didn’t have much depth to fill in the spots.”

Players contributed to the team’s struggles by playing with techniques they had been using in their club teams , according to Team Captain Daniel Nguyen. This self-centered mind set of the club players did little for the team, Nguyen said.

“All of us are not on the same page when we play,” Nguyen said. “That’s the hard thing about high school: we only play with each other for a few months, and we’re all used to the styles from our club teams.”

Taking the season more seriously and working harder in practice could have helped the team this year, Kumar said. Looking forward, however, the majority of the team will be back for next season, and they will be facing much easier competition, Kumar said “This year is a learning curve; next year we’ll get dropped to El Camino,” Kumar said. “We’re losing about five seniors from this year, but the defense and midfield is set.

They should win El Camino and make CCS next year.”

HALL OF FAME

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Senior Chen-Hao Liao prepares to hit the shuttlecock during lunch on Feb. 7 in the gym. The �ve-week tournament concludes on March 1.

Katie Blackburn Junior Varsity Wrestling

CCS Girls 126 lbs, 4th place State Qualifier C���� T���//THE UNION

Despite high risks, severe sports injuries low

BY NATHAN NG

Despite an athlete’s prevalence in his or her sport, the risk of getting injured during practices and competitions remains a constant reminder of the dangers of high school sports.

In 3.55 million athlete exposures, there were 1378 severe injuries reported. Football had the highest at 0.69 severe injuries per 1000 athletic exposures, followed by wrestling (0.52), girls’ basketball (0.34), and girls’ soccer (0.33), according to The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

In the journal article, the most common areas of injury were the main joints: knees (29.0%), ankles (12.3%), and shoulders (10.9%). In addition, the article discovered that the most common injuries were fractures (36.0%), complete ligament sprains (15.3%), and incomplete ligament sprains (14.3%).

Not surprisingly, football’s unusually high rate of severe injuries

stems from the tackles and blocks that are characteristic of the sport.

However, proper technique in tackling, such as tackling without the head, has been proven to significantly lower the risk of injury.

In the realm of wrestling, most of the injuries include strains, sprains, and bruises, noticeably less severe than those from football. Facilitating such high rates of injury is the common practice of maintaining a targeted weight through improper and excessive diets. To reduce the rate of injury in wrestlers, coaches focus on encouraging players to lose at most 1.5 percent of their body weight each week.

For high school baseball and softball, players who were most prone to injury were pitchers, reported ABC News. A major factor in the injury rates among baseball and softball pitchers is the frequency of their pitching. Softball requires pitchers to throw underhand, unlike baseball’s overhand pitching.

ABC News also mentioned that the

difference in throwing mechanics has allowed softball players to pitch multiple games in a day; however, in baseball, pitchers are recommended to take days off after pitching to allow the body to recover.

The most common sites of injury in soccer were the knee (38.9%), ankle (16.0%), and head (11.2%), according to The American Journal of Sports Medicine. A majority of the soccer injuries occurred during soccer activities such as ball handling (15.4%), general play (15.0%), defending (13.6%), and chasing after a loose ball (12.6%). To avoid injury, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends proper warm ups before playing.

Despite the dangers of many high school sports, the risk of severe injuries remains scarce. With the implementation of safe procedures such as correct technique and joint-strengthening exercises, athletes will be able to thrive in their sport without the burden of being injured.

Intramural badminton starts; 24 players compete for t-shirt

BY THANH TRAN

The intramural badminton tournament began on Jan. 24, Committee Head Cindy Ta said.

The purpose of the tournament is to give students an opportunity to play badminton during lunch, according to Ta. Students who signed up for the tournament will play in a roundrobin format with a partner and are guaranteed at least three games before elimination, according to Ta. The tournament is five weeks long, with the finals scheduled to take place on March 1, Ta said.

“Twenty-four people were signed up,” Ta said. “[There is an] Intramurals Champion T-shirt.”

Senior Eric Chang is participating in the tournament for the first time, he said. He is dissatisfied with the amount of time given to play the rounds, Chang said.

“There’s not enough competition, and rotation system is a bit slow,” Chang said. “[I joined] to win the prize, to win the T-shirt.”

Sophomore Timothy Hsu is playing in the tournament for the second time, Hsu said. He made the finals of his pool last year, according to Hsu.

FEATURED ATHLETE What position do you play?

Mid-�eld How long have you been playing soccer? How did you get started?

I’ve been playing since I was �ve.

My neighbor asked me to join her team, and that’s when I started playing soccer.

Varsity Boys’ Basketball hits ‘plateau’; team surprised by two losses in a row

BY BRIAN KHAU

Although the Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team has suffered recent tough losses to the Mountain View Spartans and the Gunn Titans, the Trojans continue what they know how to do best: play their game.

MHS boys’ basketball team ranks sixth out of seven schools in the De Anza League as of Feb. 9.

The Trojans’ home game versus Mountain View on Feb. 3 was very close, with the Spartans inching out the Trojans by a mere point.

The Trojans’ resilient performance against Mountain View, who is currently second in the De Anza league, resulted in a final score of 71-72, according to Basketball Coach Clarence Wrencher.

“It was what we call a ‘barnburner’ back East. Something so intense that it feels like a barn is burning next to you,” Wrencher said. “That was one the best basketball games, with four overtimes, multiple lead changes, and big shots by both teams.”

In contrast, the away game versus Gunn was a disappointing loss, with the Trojans losing by eight points, 44-52. Senior Gary “Buddy” Ames, a small forward, said the loss was unexpected.

“The problem was that we underestimated them,” Ames said. “They were at the bottom of the league, so we took them lightly.”

Gunn High School was ranked at the bottom of the De Anza League at the time of the game, according

to Ames. Ames said that the Trojans were unprepared to lose, despite having many chances to win.

“Many of our basketball games this season were really close,’’ Ames said. “The games we lost were by single-digit margins.”

The basketball team did move up a league this year, which could explain the inconsistency this year as compared to previous years, Ames said.

When asked if Wrencher had any advice he would give to his basketball players, it’s to “keep playing with heart; you’ll never go wrong.”

As of the time of publication, scores from Milpitas High’s home game versus Cupertino on Friday, Feb. 10, were too late for print.

“[I joined] because I wanted to see if I could improve compared to last year,” Hsu said. “[I hope to make] the finals of my pool again because everyone has been improving, and it will be harder.”

Sophomore Nikki Ngo joined because she wanted more practice before the badminton season began, she said. The tournament has room for improvement, according to Ngo. “I think if people knew you had a second chance, it would be more of a tournament,” Ngo said. “If the announcements put more information out there for people to know, it could be better.”

Senior Kevin Tu won the tournament last year with Peter Yam, Tu said. This year he is partnered with Senior Chen-Hao Liao, according to Tu. “We’re going to lose next week most likely because of [Sophomore] Roberto [Zeng],” Tu said. “He was in nationals.”

Sophomore Vincent Wang is a returning participant from last year, according to Wang. He made it to finals last year, Wang said. “[I hope to] get past Peter and Eric,” Wang said. “Probably [can] not.”

Did you play with any teams outside of school?

I used to, in a club team called the Bay Area Cyberrays.

How do you train for soccer?

I go to practice everyday; off season, I run and play soccer with my friends.

G���� L�//THE UNION

Julie Joseph Senior Varsity Soccer

What is your favorite color?

Teal.

Who is your favorite soccer player and soccer team? Why? Messi because he is really good.

Real Madrid because they’re a really talented team.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to hang out with my friends.

Do you have any advice for other soccer players?

Work hard; go to practice everyday.

22

THE UNION ADVERTISEMENT FEBRUARY 2012

THE UNION NEWS FEBRUARY 2012

23

RDAs dissolved, Milpitas loses $39 million

BY REBECCA HUBENY AND THAOCHAU PHAN

L��� D�������//THE UNION

A security guard supervises students after school. Principal Kenneth Schlaff met with the guards to discuss their behavior and procedure.

SECURITY: ‘Not interactive’ FROM PAGE ONE

“That was not the case,” Schlaff said. “They were security guards instead of supervisors and security guards. It’s hard to have somebody that’s supposed to be security yet seem to be afraid of approaching the people they’re attempting to interact with and secure and make safe,” Schlaff said.

Students and teachers alike are also not satisfied with the security team’s performance at MHS. History Teacher Paul Harrison said he believes that the security guards need to be less passive and more proactive.

“I was over by the gym and the portables when a fight was about to break out,” Harrison said. “There were no security guards in the area.

Instead, there were two out in the faculty parking lot.

“They need better training on proximity and location,” Harrison said. “Our old security guards, Scott and Arlene, were always very proactive and good at preventing problems before they occurred.

They had a much better sense of the school and the culture.”

Senior Kathy Pham also says she thinks the security team is too passive. They tend to base who they approach on appearances, Pham said. “[The security guards] are not interactive and are willing to accept any excuse,” Pham said. “Also they

stereotype students and only go up to those who look suspicious.”

Since then, a meeting with the supervisor has taken place, according to Schlaff. Schlaff established what he expected from the security team and outlined courses of action that need to be taken place.

“We bulleted areas that could be growth areas for their performance. The security guards listened and took it in,” Schlaff said.

“The next move would be to have

“They need better training on proximity and location.” ���� �������� a field supervisor to meet with the security guards on a regular basis and observe what they’re doing on certain times,” Schlaff said.

According to Schlaff, the security team’s trouble areas need to be improved. These include their ability to act only as guards and not as supervisors.

“I’m expecting that there be a certain level of visibility and contact with students. I expect that to increase or come to my expectations and those of administrators’,” Schlaff said.

Though there is room for improvement, Schlaff says that the security guards are presently functional. Their performance is an

All Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) in California have been fully dissolved by the state as of Feb. 1, as stated by City Manager Tom Williams during a city council meeting on Feb. 7. Terminating the RDAs transferred millions of dollars in the Milpitas revenue to the state government.

The California Supreme Court upheld the state’s decision to eliminate the RDAs in the California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos court case, despite objections from local governments. However, this has resulted in a total loss of $39 million dollars in funding for the city, according to Williams.

“We strongly disagree [with the dissolution of the RDAs] because the city and many cities are strongly dependent on the RDAs, and the city of Milpitas has progressed tremendously because of the RDA,” Mayor Jose Esteves said. “We budgeted on

the assumption that we have RDA, so now with it gone, we need to find money to fill up the gap.”

During the meeting, Williams also announced his proposal for the 2012-2013 fiscal budget to counteract the effects of the RDA termination. The proposal included an initial $2.92 million cut from the General Fund and a $4.08 million reduction from the city budget, according to Williams. Certain programs such as Character Counts, Tidal Waves, Rainbow Theatre, and Fourth of July will potentially face reductions, Williams said.

“For the meantime, all those programs and funds and items funded

by RDA that we think are an important city service, we have to be more creative and find some funding to support them for now,” Esteves said.

“At this time, although we are trying our best to increase our revenue, we can only do so much.”

Despite the reduction in the city budget, certain services, designated as core services, will not be directly

affected by the loss of RDA, Milpitas Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant said.

The core services include those of public safety, city management, city finances, and human resources.

“What I look to do with the recommendations of my command team is take a look at areas in the organization where we may be able to stain reductions without the impacts being felt in the community,” Sturdivant said. “We do anticipate the possibility of some program or process reductions due to the elimination of RDA.” One program under consideration to be eliminated is the MHS explorer program, according to Sturdivant. The program provides students with limited the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the roles of firefighters and paramedics.

“That’s a program that we’re proud of and that we want to sustain, but would look to possibly reduce,” Sturdivant said. “We may be able to just stand down for a limited

GIORDANO: Tapes, key cards subject of suit FROM PAGE ONE

that were not made public and misused City Hall for personal purposes, including holding a wedding.

“Firstly, [the tapes and key card entries] are public records. When you ask for public records at city hall, you don’t even have to have a reason why,” Giordano said. “The City Attorney [Michael Ogaz] changed the ruling; where they used to be public and disclosable, it is now not disclosable. If you go to the city of San Jose next door, you can get their records. Why should our city be any different from other cities in Santa Clara County?”

The basis for the city’s defense is that Giordano’s requests will compromise the security of city officials, Esteves said. The defense contends that releasing the videos and key card entries is a public safety risk, which is why Ogaz made the records not disclosable, Esteves said. “[The key card records and the security tapes are] security information because if people know our whereabouts, we could easily be prey,” Esteves said. “As far as I am concerned, and as the majority of the city council is concerned, the

security of the public employees and the officials of the city are paramount and should not be compromised.”

Giordano’s case draws heavily on the fact that surrounding cities all disclose the information she is seeking, and that the records were disclosed up until Ogaz’s change, she said. That the city is vigorously defending the case can be seen as suspicious, Giordano said.

“Where I was able to get the records, the card keys and the videos, two months later I wasn’t able to get the information. So something just didn’t match up,” Giordano said. “I’ve had people tell me, well, they must have something to hide, if they’re spending so much money to defend it.”

Most councilmembers, including Esteves, believe that the purpose of the lawsuit is political, Esteves said.

He added that the lawsuit seems to be a campaign device for Giordano and a waste of time.

“Most believe the lawsuit is not really about access to public records or transparency in government,” Esteves said. “It’s a misuse of [Giordano’s] access to records purely for political purpose of conducting,

maybe later on, a mere campaign against an opponent.”

“As government officials we should be better than that,” Esteves added. “I want to focus on what I can do for the city, not looking at all these things, but on the benefit that I can give to people,” he said.

Giordano, however, denied the lawsuit is politically motivated. Her primary motive is to ensure transparency in government, she said.

“I don’t know how it’s going to fare out for me politically, and I really don’t care, that’s not my issue,” Giordano said. “People are saying that I’m doing this because I want to run against Jose [Esteves] for mayor again, and I have not even declared that. “ In response to the charges that he held a wedding in City Hall, Esteves denied that a ceremony or party ever occurred. If a wedding had been held at City Hall, the cost to the city would only be the charge to rent the facility: about $300, according to Esteves. “[The wedding group] was just here late Sunday evening. And of course they took pictures; they like City Hall; they like to have pictures with the mayor,” Esteves said.

Annual Crab Feed raises money to support art and music departments

BY PRISCILLA PARK

The 8th Annual Crab Feed was held on Feb. 3 at the India Community Center, according to Milpitas Community Education Endowment President Robert Jung. The goal of the crab feed is to raise funds to support MUSD, Jung said.

This year, a majority of the fundraised money was donated to the arts and music departments, according to Jung. The event included dinner, entertainment by MHS’s jazz band and glee club choir, and silent and live auctions, Jung said.

"This year, with the help of the high school, ceramics and photography class donated pieces to sell at the auction," Jung said. The pieces "show the community some of the things students are able to accomplish [through the arts programs]."

The most challenging part of the even was trying to keep the costs down and to get enough support and help to host the event, Jung said.

"The cost of rent of the facility almost tripled from last year, [which was] one of the largest impacts," Jung said. However, "we sold more [tickets] this year than last [and]

sold out at 350."

Senior Vicky Tu attended the crab feed as one of the few student guests. Tu decided to attend the crab feed because proceeds directly support the district’s education and the arts, which she is an advocate of, she said. " It was nice to see the community coming together in order to support education and school programs," Tu said. "It was really fun to just attend the crab feed, [but] it was a little awkward that a lot of my peers were running around while I was sitting there being served."

Tu enjoyed the event and would definitely attend again if the opportunity arose, she said. Tu hopes more students decide to buy tickets to the feed in the following years, though it was also pleasant to see many of them volunteer for the event, she expressed.

"Even though the crab feed is geared to adults, students should still be involved in it because supporting education isn’t just an adult effort, it takes everyone," Tu said. "Thank you to the volunteers because a lot of what happened was due to volunteers and their efforts."

L��� D�������//THE UNION

Seniors Yvonne Pham and Aric Le serve guests while volunteering at the 8th Annual Crab Feed. The event sold out at 350 tickets, and a majority of the funds raised were donated to the art and music departments.

Junior Tri Hoang signed up with Key Club to volunteer at the crab feed. As a volunteer, Hoang served crab to the guests and sold many

keys, one of which opened a treasure chest valued at over $1000 worth of various items, he said.

“Volunteering was tiring because

there were so many people I had to serve,” Hoang said. “ But it’s worth it because the proceeds are used for a good cause to raise money for our

24

THE UNION NEWS FEBRUARY 2012

GO Bond enjoys ‘community support’; plans for facility repairs underway

BY LAURA COSGROVE

Repairs and improvements on school facilities will commence district-wide if a general obligation (GO) bond passes in June, according to Superintendent Cary Matsuoka. The GO bond will generate approximately $95 million in funds devoted to capital improvements.

Consultants were hired to gauge public support for the GO bond and found that the community was generally in favor of it, Matsuoka said.

Each Milpitas homeowner will pay $50 per $100,000 of assessed property valuation as determined by the Santa Clara County Assessors Office if the bond passes, according to Matsuoka.

“The goal is to repair, modernize, and upgrade our school facilities,” Matsuoka said. “There is community support for a GO bond and [the consultants] are cautiously optimistic that one could pass.”

Definite allocations of funds have not been made, and assessments of needed repairs are still being made, Matsuoka said. However, he promised district-wide Wi-Fi by next August.

“Yes, we can work on technology.

We are going to get Wi-Fi into all our schools by the opening of school next year,” Matsuoka said. “I’ll get every campus done but the high school will be a pretty high priority.

We’ll finally get Wi-Fi.” Each MUSD school will benefit from the bond’s passage, Matsuoka said. But since some schools, such as MHS, are in more need of repairs than others, the money will not be spent completely equally, he added.

“I am collecting all the architec-

tural studies and assessments from each school. I will say that since Milpitas High has 30 percent of the student body of the district. ” Matsuoka said. “I’m not going to say that we are going to spend 30 percent of $95 million on MHS, but this campus has a lot of needs.”

Principal Kenneth Schlaff provided a list of campus changes he would like to see enacted if the bond passes to BFGC-IBI Group Architects Dean Tatsuno and Jay Newman, employed by MUSD, in a conference of Jan. 16, according to Schlaff. Among the changes he proposed was the return of space from teachers’ lounges and workrooms to classrooms.

“We are going to get Wi-Fi into all our schools by the opening of school next year.” ���� �������� “With a checklist, I met with the architects and gave specifics on what I perceived were the problems,” Schlaff said. “The teachers’ lounges and work areas are these huge areas that are not for students, and huge internal spaces that separate teachers from collaborating across disciplines. It’s ill-designed—that’s my feeling about it.”

The restructuring will supply more classroom space, but not enough to fill the needs of the expanding student body as a second high school would, Schlaff said. But because of the economic condition, a second high school is not in the immediate horizon as it is too costly, Schlaff said.

“Part of [the restructuring] is providing more space. We are going to build taking into account a projection of enrollment in 3.5 years,” Schlaff said. “A second high school is not being discussed right know—it had been discussed, but with the recession, it’s currently off the table.”

A faculty conference with the architects also occurred on Jan. 13.

Some teachers and staff expressed perspectives on what should change, Schlaff said. The faculty mentioned the HVAC system needing an upgrade and reinforced Schlaff’s perspective on the underutilized space in the teacher lounges.

“Staff members also met with the architects separately, without me there,” Schlaff said. “A lot of things were consistent. I spoke in more bigger picture terms, while they covered the details.”

In an effort by Matsuoka to include student input in the facility changes, he asked for a group to be compiled that will meet to accomplish this, according to Senior Vicky Tu. Tu, who will head and organize the meeting, said she hopes to compose a group of 15 diverse students who are passionate about the changes. The conference, called the Facility Advisory Meeting, will confer on Feb. 16, Tu said.

“We are aiming to get students representing different aspects of the program, and people with strong opinions about the changes. I hope the people who go to the meeting don’t focus on policies, because that’s not what is being asked,” Tu said. “If anyone is interested, they can come to J-17 and leave their name.”

C�������� F���//THE UNION

Seniors Joey Ly, Danny Dang, and Raymond Lau model their dresses.

The three were participating in Spirit Week’s “opposite gender” day.

MHS expresses spirit ‘safely’; students dress up, ‘have fun’

BY CATHERINE FREY

The 2012 winter rally and “Battle of the Sexes” themed spirit week took place Feb. 6 to Feb. 10, according to the MHS associated student body website. Fliers advertising the themes of each day of the week were passed out prior to the events in order to inform students of the themes.

The themes listed on the flier include pajama day, sports day, tacky/ ugly sweater day, opposite gender day, and blue, pink, and white day.

In addition to passing out fliers, the ASB class also filmed a short video which is posted on the ASB website.

The video provides examples of the various ways to dress up for the themed days, Student Activities Director Joanna Butcher said. The video features the tune of classic Disney movie, Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” as various ASB students model potential fashion choices for the themes.

The purpose of spirit week and themes is to have “fun, build community, and to try and get a few people in a safe way to participate in school,” Butcher said. “It’s a very,

very, safe way to participate where [students] can still seem cool, but that not that they’re going to get ridiculed by their friends,” Butcher said.

Despite the name of the week being ‘Spirit Week’, it is difficult to define and measure school spirit, Butcher said. “Defining interest in school activities is easier because you can base that on data,” Butcher said.

The students collected data for this year’s Spirit Week by counting the amount of students that dressed up in each 5th period, Butcher said.

“Last year [ASB] handed out candy to girls and boys who dressed up,” so there is no previous data to compare to this year’s, Butcher said.

The final tallies for the amount of students that dressed up for spirit week shows the class of 2012 showed most spirit overall. On Pajama day 122 seniors dressed up, on Sports day, 215 seniors dressed up, on tacky or ugly sweater day, 90 seniors dressed up, and on opposite gender day, 114 seniors dressed up.

The seniors only came in second place on sports day, when 216 juniors dressed up.

District spends ‘defensively’; budget plan creates surplus

BY BRIAN KHAU

T������ L��//THE UNION

Senior Daryl Puri�cacion heaves a tire as part of the tire race during the Battle of the Sexes Rally. Other events included a cross-dressing race, a lemon-eating contest, and a search for whif�e balls in the crowd.

Battle of the Sexes Rally ‘competitive’

BY LORDESA FOK

The second annual Battle of the Sexes Rally was held on Feb. 10 during fourth period. The rally, which was created to promote school spirit, bring the student body together and recognize students and athletes for their achievements, took place in the large gym, according to Student Activities Director Joanna Butcher.

Girls won the first rally, while boys won the second rally, Butcher said. Activities included Tahitian dancing, scavenger hunts, several different types of races, and dances performed by the girls team and the boys team. Additionally, boys and girls were seated on different sides of the room.

“This year’s rally used a survivor-

style theme,” Butcher said. “This year, we wanted more activities, more competitions between males and females and more crowdparticipation games. There are more similarities than differences between last year’s rally and this year’s rally; they’re just hoping to improve and make the rally go more smoothly.”

A live feed of the events was available for students to watch for the first time during this year’s rally.

With the live feed, more students could see what was going on during the games, Butcher explained.

It also served to increase audience interest because students enjoy seeing themselves projected on screen, she added.

Despite these new additions, some students were still unhappy

with the rally. Senior Kelly Torbet said she disliked the segregated seating.

“People might as well be seated by race,” Torbet said. “I’ve also heard it’s rigged. It’s not appropriate to have one group do much worse on purpose because it looks bad. It should be an honest-to-God competition.”

Senior Helen Nguyen stated that people did not seem to be as interested in the rally this year. It seemed as if the games were stolen from P.E. classes, Nguyen said.

Junior Aaron Linn said he was puzzled by the idea of a battle of the sexes rally. “The rally promotes sexism and stereotypes,” Linn said.

“Working together and uniting is more important.”

As of the 2011-2012 school year, Milpitas Unified School District’s budget had a $2.6 million surplus.

The surplus resulted from a conservative district budget plan; the $3 million was originally allocated for possible California trigger cuts, according to Superintendent Cary Matsuoka.

The district planned for a budget shortfall and spent less than was expected, Matsuoka said. The $2.6 million in expected state trigger cuts turned out to be only $130,000, Matsuoka said, but the extra money will not be spent.

“We’ll show on June 30 that we have $2.47 million more than we planned for.” ���� �������� “I’m going to leave it in the general fund, so we’ll show on June 30 that we have $2.47 million more than we planned for,” Matsuoka said. “I have to leave that in the bank because next year’s trigger cut is $3.7 million. We’re in this environment where we have to plan defensively for all the bad things that can happen. We were conservative with spending, and we have to plan defensively against the trigger cuts.”

The district should be able to move through the next couple of years without layoffs or any major

changes, according to Principal Kenneth Schlaff. Schlaff also said the district is looking at stability, and purposefully did not spend a lot of money.

“Considering everything, MHS has fared very well, even in the realm of economic adversity,” Schlaff said. “It was also good that the parcel tax added a lot of money.

The proposed General Obligation bond should provide money needed for technology and buildings.”

Overall, Matsuoka said, MUSD has fared better in these harsh economic times than other districts.

Matsuoka said the district has been able to maintain the instructional program well, but that he has some qualms about the district’s spending.

“I think the district has been too restrictive on technology. This district has not invested in the technology infrastructure that it should have been over the last five to seven years,” Matsuoka said. “You could say we don’t have money but we’re so far behind on technology infrastructure. The fact that we don’t have wireless is not good. We have classroom computers that take ten minutes to boot up.”

According to Matsuoka, some districts have spent a large proportion of their reserves, so they are more at risk for layoffs, furlough days, program cuts in future years.

Thanks to careful and conservative budget management, MUSD does not face these problems.