Noam Shemtov's Journalism by Noam Shemtov

NOAM SHEMTOV

NOAM SHEMTOV RÉSUMÉ & CREDENTIALS + Home: [650]324-8405 + Cell: [650]704-9994 + nmshemtov@gmail.com +

OBJECTIVE

To tell the stories that matter: the stories of those who cannot tell their own. To engage in my community and to amplify voices unheard.

SKILLS

• Ad sales and design, copy editing, copy writing, translation, photography, videography • Adobe CS5.5 and CS5.6: InDesign, Premiere, Illustrator, Photoshop • Proficient in Dreamweaver, basic HTML coding • Fluent in Hebrew, English, Spanish and proficient in Brazilian Portuguese

EDUCATION

Palo Alto High Shool, class of 2014

AWARDS • 1st Place for “Mind the Gap: The Achievement Gap in the Palo Alto School District” (Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards 2012) • Certificate of recognition and appreciation for “The State of Rape” infographic (California Legislature 2013) • Critical Mention for “Across the Lines: The Double Lives of Palo Alto’s Illegal Students” (Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards 2013) • 2nd Place opinion for “Intolerant Tolerance” (NCFPW High School Journalism Competition 2013) • Critical Mention for “Across the Lines: The Double Lives of Palo Alto’s Illegal Students” (NCFPW High School Journalism Competition 2013) • Critical Mention for “Caught in the Crossfire: Gun Violence in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto” (NCFPW High School Journalism Competition 2013) • Critical Mention for “The Naked Truth: San Francisco Nudists Stripped of their Rights” (NCFPW High School Journalism Competition 2013) • Critical Mention for timed features writing (JEANC Sacramento 2013)

SCHOOL JOURNALISM

Verde Magazine, Editor-in-chief | 2013-present • Led classes daily, oversaw design of the magazine, discussed and assigned stories to the staff, edited all sections of the magazine for content and design, mediated in-staff disputes Verde Magazine, Copy editor | 2012-2013 • Copy edited the entire magazine, worked together with the editors-in-chief to coordinate the printing process, wrote at least two stories per issue, as well as one news story Verde Magazine, Staff writer | 2010-2013

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Israel Hayom Daily Newspaper, Editorial Intern | June 2013 - August 2013 • Copy edited and wrote stories for the newspaper with the largest readership in Israel • Managed the English edition’s social media and helped create a Youtube channel for the paper’s editorial show • Digitized the newspaper’s stylebook

PROFESSIONAL WORK

NOAM SHEMTOV

JOURNALISM PORTFOLIO 1 COVER LETTER 2-11 DESIGN SAMPLES 11-27 WRITING SAMPLES 27-28 ISRAEL HAYOM INTERNSHIP

IT ISN’T DEAD — YET

Israel’s Channel 2 studio, NEVE ILAN | June, 2013

hey’d all but written it off. The print junkies and their typesetter cronies spilled into the street, megaphones in hand, to protest their sorry end. Some of us gave in to their caterwauling, pitching our twelve extra bucks to token print subsciptions or sending our kids to the newsstands. But all that was just an afterthought. The muchfetishized new-page smell had long left our noses, and storytelling as we knew her sank, defeated, into her grave. The horsemen had ridden, the fat lady had sung and, on Dec. 31, 2012, Newsweek announced its defeat with a suicide note aptly entitled #LASTPRINTISSUE. Early this year,

Jeffrey Bezos bought a chagrined Washington Post. Print journalism isn’t dying; it’s six feet under. But while we were laying flowers, journalism was plotting its return. Like some sadistic virus, it proliferated under our noses. Brimming with schadenfreude and laughing the laugh of a man undead, it grew. Until it was ready to make its comeback, to kick out the manhole cover and thrust forth its many heads. So it did. We’d just begun to wipe our tears for the #endofprint when journalism burst in. And our screens and airwaves nearly gave under the pressure. We live in an incredibly dynamic time for journalism, in which anyone

can tell a story — no stylebook, no degree. Of course, there are downsides to being a no-cut sport. Some kids will join just to horse around and some kids will suck, simple as that. But, gifted or not, today’s journalists are here with no delusions of nobility. They continue to tell and retell stories in new and fascinating ways, and readers continue to devour them. The voices are getting louder; the street is filling up. The desire to tell stories isn’t going anywhere. The vehicle is changing, sure, but journalism remains as strong and as necessary as it ever was. Now is the time to jump in, to get our hands dirty. It isn’t dead — yet.

∆ DESIGN ∆ ∆ DESIGN ∆

∆ DESIGN ∆ 2

and visit us!

201 1st St Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 941-0143

SAN FRANCISCO NUDISTS STRIPPED OF THEIR RIGHTS

410 California Ave Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 323-0409 Best socks in town, coziest slippers around

Text and Photography by NOAM SHEMTOV

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Text and art by NOAM SHEMTOV

FRENCH WOMAN WALKS HER son down San Francisco’s Castro Street, where the technicolor whiplash of flags in the sun fills the street with resounding cracks. One of the woman’s delicate hands protectively grasps her son’s while the other grapples with a taut leash, at the end of which her dust-bunny of a terrier struggles for freedom. A van scoots past them, leaving behind a cloud of hashish-stained air and exhaust that streams from the beaten-up tailpipe like the hair of some hippie. In front of Harvey’s Bar, a drag queen films a music video backed by two women dressed in clothing that seems to make a strong case for third-wave feminism to the few straight men on the road. “Excuse me, misters.” The mother approaches a pair of balding men walking up the street hand in hand. “Do you know where there is a good place to eat here?” “You could check out Market and Castro, there are some nice little places up there,” one of the men says. Leaning in closer, his partner brandishes a heavily ringed hand and adds in a grave tone, “If you don’t mind seeing a few asses and

“

We often talk about journalism as democratic. Not because we write at an eighth-grade level, or because it lines our litters indiscriminately, but because it listens to all sides, tells all stories. Reporting on public nudity in San Francisco’s District 8, where I live part-time with my mother, illuminated for me the reporter’s role in all that. The reporter collects the voices of the polyphony as they float quiet in the street and amplifies them. The voices and experiences I encountered among the Castro’s nudists shed new light not only on a political issue, but also on a complex image of my own home. The Castro was changing. It faced a normalization — some might say acceptance — of the sexual radicalism from which it was born. Public nudity wasn’t “supposed” to be a gay issue at all. But bound up in the question of “tolerating” public nudity were issues that affected all of gay America, and myself in turn. Would we need to trade our culture, a culture at least somewhat predicated on sexual deviance, for acceptance?

JUST PART OF THE CROWD: At Jane Warner plaza, little attention is paid to San Francisco nudist Lloyd Fishback. cocks, that is. There’re some perverts up there who like to walk around without their clothes on.” The man’s more cautious attitude with regards to public nudity has permeated San Francisco’s Castro District, the historical nucleus of radical sexual culture in the city; whose liberality defines so much of our identity as residents of the Bay Area. District 8 (which includes the Castro) Supervisor Scott Wiener passed a ban on Nov. 20 on public nudity that prohibits displays of “genitals, anal-area and perineum” on San Francisco’s streets and parks, the stages on which free-lovers and gay protesters played out the unrestricted scenes of sexual liberation. The ban applies only to those above the age of five, and violation is punishable by a potential $500 fine, although violators will not be arrested as sexual offenders. Licensed street fairs and parades are exempted from the ban, which has seen unanimous support from the district’s neighborhood services committee. In an article that appeared in Slate magazine on Nov. 27, William Saletan states that the public nudity movement is an affront to the gay community and that it has falsely adopted the gay movement’s rhetoric in its campaign for “freedom of sexual expression

in all its forms.” An article by Joshua Sabatini that appeared in the SF Examiner on Nov. 5 quotes Wiener saying, in reponse to allegations that the ban is anti-gay, that homosexual men make up the “dominant demographic” of the ban’s supporters. The same article quotes Supervisor David Campos saying that he is “still trying to understand why [anti-public nudity] legislation was a priority.” Wiener’s ban, Sabatini says, has become representative of San Francisco’s rising conservatism and “has prompted soul-searching questions about San Francisco’s identity, such as whether tolerating nudity on public streets is intrinsically tied to what makes The City a destination for visitors and a leader on social causes.” These are the soul-searching questions that nude activist Gypsy Taub attempted to answer by tearing off her dress during a Nov. 5 city hall discussion on public nudity, spurring San Francisco lawyer Christina DiEdoardo to sue the nudity ban in a class action case on behalf of four of its protesters. The ban asks the core of the gay and sexual liberation movements, a center of radical dissent and the United States’ most renownedly liberal city to reconsider its definition of lewd behavior, not to punish the innocent. At the

same time, it asks lewd exhibitionists to accept the responsibility of tolerance and and challenges a definition of free expression that is so tied up with what it means to be San Franciscan. “[The ban] is an interesting experiment in acceptance,” says Richard, a San Francisco nudist who refrained from sharing his last name. “The line between ‘nude’ and ‘lewd’ is pretty ambiguous,” Richard says. He notes a disagreement in the legislation’s premise and its enforcement, saying somewhat sardonically that “It’s interesting to me that nudity is going to be reserved for the Folsom Street Fair and Gay Pride Parade [both overtly sexual events].” The French woman and her son sit down for breakfast at a bar overlooking Jane Warner Plaza. Unwrapping burnished silverware from linen swans, they don’t give a second look to the practically nude, wiry figure who looms at the hill’s crest like a mirage. As he reaches the plaza, a sequined butterfly on his loincloth winks in the light. “I think that the nudity on Castro is something that tourists really appreciate,” says Lloyd Fishback, a prominent nudist in the San Franciscan community, the butterfly over his crotch threaten-

∆ THE NAKED TRUTH ∆

PUBLIC NUDITY IN SAN FRANCISCO’S DISTRICT 8

LLOYD FISHBACK enjoys the sun at San Francisco’s Jane Warner Plaza, chatting with a friend from the Castro community.

“HOMOBILE”: A hanging bike wheel adorned with running rainbow flags, ornaments shaped like cosmic ellipses and pairs of Ken dolls in stiff, plastic embraces serves as street art in the downtown of the Castro District. ing to take flight on a passing breeze. “It’s iconic.” Averting eye contact and in a self-conscious tone, Fishback concedes that locals of the Castro may not agree with his lifestyle on account of some “bad apples” whose lewd exhibitionism has ruined public nudity in the eyes of many. Cars pass and a group of winos hoot in ecstasy as they beat on a goatskin drum and pass a cockatoo over to Fishback’s sunburned shoulder. Nobody glances up from their breakfasts or newspapers. “Nudity to me isn’t about showing myself off,” Fishback says, kneading the day’s warmth into a long scar that sits uncomfortably on his abdomen like a botched caesarean. “It’s not an exhibition show. To me, it’s about freedom of expression. I’m just out here enjoying the sun.” At a nearby table Richard writes in scrawling letters on the fading pages of his notebook. Growing up, he says he “was taught to be ashamed of [my] body, the expression of our most basic selves.” He vigorously taps his hand with a thick fountain pen as he recounts a childhood of repression. At San Francisco’s nude beaches, he learned to accept his body and himself. A blue-eyed, diffident child beat up for his long hair and pushed in the gym shower, Richard’s celebration of self through nudity means more to him than the free air tossing itself against his ruddy skin. To Richard, outlawing public nudity would

be an oppressive action against the expression of his most essential being. His metronomic thrashing continues. “We’ve laid a guilt and criminality upon ourselves that we should let go of,” Richard says. He delivers his philosophy without pretension. “I just want to sit here looking boring and writing in my book. Sex has no place in this.” Crossing the plaza, a woman with brightly dyed red hair warns her less experienced friends of the weirdos around who are “just here to expose themselves.” A man makes a joke about some street art to his partner. “It’s a homobile!” He points to a hanging bike wheel adorned with running rainbow flags, ornaments shaped like cosmic ellipses and pairs of Ken dolls in stiff, plastic embraces. “Doesn’t this violate the ban? There’s a naked one!” Richard’s nakedness sparks much discourse between passersby, but being the subject of controversy does little to shame him for his unassuming celebration of self. Only once has a reaction to Richard’s nudity awakened old humiliation. His pen-tapping crescendos, Morse code for distress, while he tells the story. “It was this young woman in a full burka,” Richard says, pointing his slate-disc eyes at the concrete. “She looked at me with such fear. She shielded her children from the sight of me with incredible urgency and shame. I felt sorry for her, even a little guilty

for awakening that kind of trauma.” Offering a wide smile and a Diet Coke, Daniel Bergerac, a perpetually grinning gay man in his early middle age, momentarily excuses himself from the terrace behind the dogwash that he owns with two other men. “I’ve really evolved on this issue,” Bergerac begins, gentle voice underscored by the crack tzzzz of the opening coke can. “It used to be a few guys, two or three times a week, sitting out in the sun. Nothing more.” Nudity in the Castro, like Bergerac, has undergone some change in recent years. “Since that time, we’ve had exhibitionists show up in genital adornments,” Bergerac says. “Constantly adjusting themselves, oiled bodies …they’ve ruined it for the nudists.” He mimics the shape of the area around Jane Warner plaza with powerful arms. “There are three elementary schools and one public library within three blocks of Jane Warner Plaza,” Bergerac says. “I think it should be a parent’s choice when they want to expose their child, if at all, to that kind of overt sexuality.” Bergerac mentions twice that he is convinced there is something for persons of every sexuality in the “tremendously accepting” Castro District, but conversations with his customers and others in the community have revealed nudist exhibitionism as an unsavory form of expression. “It is making the majority of people very uncomfortable,” Bergerac says. “It doesn’t add anything positive to the district’s atmosphere. There’s a lot of humanity that passes through the Castro on bus lines and metro lines, they don’t necessarily want to see a bunch of naked guys just... hanging out.” Bergerac chuckles, faint lines in his face creasing with pleasure at his innuendo. At noon in the center of the plaza, a circle of older gay men listen intently to a comrade’s tales of sexual escapade and declarations of social equality one night, conversing with a robust nude man at a bar down the road. “And I go back to the bar, and my friends all say, ‘Are you crazy? Why were you talking to that pervert?’” he says, cataractridden eyes full of incredulity. Around the table, a wide-set woman who joined in the middle of the story begins to absently weave bottle caps into jewelry. “This is San Francisco for Christ’s sake!” He eyes each of them carefully with the emphatic mannerism of a dissident. “This is San Francisco! There are no perverts here. I’m a pervert, he’s a pervert. We’re people, goddamnit!” So his story ends, his pummelling of the table ushering only apathy from his listeners. The wide-set woman tends to her bottle caps, which have been jarred off its edge in a series of clacks. The rest seem rather unaffected by his account, continuing to salute passing acquaintances and to stretch and curse arthritic ligaments. Across the road, the rainbow flag above the gaping subway station snaps against itself like a thrashing rainbow beast, a fighting testament to the obstinate liberalism of San Francisco. v

FRENCH WOMAN WALKS HER on Nov. 20 by one vote that prohibits “genitals, anal-area and perineum” from the streets and parks of San Francisco’s historically ultra-liberal district, which includes the Castro. The ban applies only to those above the age of five, and violation of it is punishable by a potential $500 fine. It will apply to neither street fairs nor parades, and has been unanimously supported by the district’s neighborhood services committee. The reaction from the radical community has been to question the necessity of legislation restricting public nudity. In the same article by Joshua Sabitini that appeared in the SF Examiner, Wiener is quoted saying that gay men make up the “dominant demographic” of the ban’s supporters. In the same article, Supervisor David Campos is quoted saying that he is “still trying to understand why [anti-nudity] legislation was a priority.” Slate Writer William Saetan feels that the nudist ban is the product of gay conservatism. “The rise of same-sex households isn’t making society queer. It’s making gay people bourgeois,” the article cites. Saetan goes on to support the ban, stating that the public nudity movement was an affront to the gay community and falsely adopted their rhetoric in its campaign for freedom of sexual expression. “[The ban] is an interesting experiment in acceptance,” says Richard, a San Francisco nudist who refrains from sharing his last name. “[The ban] is an interesting experiment in acceptance,” says Richard, a San Francisco nudist who refrained from sharing his last name. “The line between ‘nude’ and ‘lewd’ is pretty ambiguous,” Richard says. He notes a disagreement in the legislation’s premise and its enforcement, saying somewhat sardonically that “it’s interesting to me that nudity is going to be reserved for the Folsom Street Fair and Gay Pride [both famously prurient events].” The French woman and her son sit down for breakfast at a bar overlooking Jane Warner Plaza. Unwrapping burnished silverware from linen swans, they don’t give a second look to the practically nude, wiry figure who looms at the hill’s crest. A sequined butterfly on his loincloth winks in the light as he reaches the plaza, a mirage and its violet star in the afternoon sun. “I think that the nudity on Castro is something that tourists really appreciate, it’s iconic,” says Lloyd Fishback, a prominent nudist in the San Franciscan community, the butterfly covering his genitals threatening to take flight on a passing breeze. Averting eye contact and in a self-conscious tone, Fishback concedes that locals of the Castro may not agree with his lifestyle on account of some “bad apples” whose

∆ ACROSS THE LINES ∆

THE DOUBLE LIVES OF PALO ALTO’S ILLEGAL STUDENTS COVER

Across the Lines STUDENTS FROM NEARBY DISTRICTS ILLEGALLY ATTEND PAUSD SCHOOLS BY REGISTERING UNDER ILLEGITIMATE ADDRESSES

Text by JAMIE ALLENDORF and NOAM SHEMTOV Photo Illustrations by NOAM SHEMTOV

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cost the district upwards of $12,000 a year per-student according to residency officer Roberto Antonio River. Carolyn and others in her situation are at the center of a phenomenon that exposes Palo Alto Unified School District as the victim of its own success. Defining the Issue The district actively pursues nonresident students through a search carried out over two randomly chosen grade levels each year by the district’s residency officer, who was hired as part of a 2007 crackdown on out-of-district students. This crackdown came about after the number of students dismissed from the district on the basis of residency violations nearly doubled between 2006 and 2007. This increase coincided with the enactment of a supplementary parcel tax that meant district families would be paying more than ever before for schools according to a 2007 article in Palo Alto Online. By the district’s estimation, around 30

such students have been dismissed from the school district annually since the 20062007 academic year, effectively saving the district an approximated $360,000. To these students, however, PAUSD’s stringent residence policy means the threat of having to leave friends and education behind. “It [is] really hard,” says Kate, whose parents have sent her to Palo Alto schools since elementary school under the borrowed address of a relative. “Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be here.” Kate’s parents’ decision to illegally enroll her in Palo Alto schools has dictated the shape of her social life and drawn a very clear line between her sense of “house” and of “home.” Kate remembers waking up at 5 a.m. every day for school, each morning receiving her mother’s reprimand to keep the secret of her residency between her parents and the relative under whose address they are registered. “Ever since elementary school my

mom constantly told me, ‘Don’t forget: est friends. The betrayal of one friend has don’t tell anyone you don’t live in Palo stayed with Kate ever since. “I didn’t want to keep lying,” Kate Alto,’” Kate says. “My mom said she could go to jail to get me to keep the secret.” says. “One of my friends knew that I didn’t Kate’s attendance of PAUSD schools live [in Palo Alto] and she told me that we has caused some tension between her and couldn’t be friends anymore because I had her family. lied to her. It was just so strange to me.” “I want to Kate’s family be more indeaccepts the pressure pendent, which of secrecy as a sacrifice made for a highis hard because “Ever since elementary er quality education, I have to rely school my mom told a sacrifice that, for on my parents me ‘Don’t forget: don’t better or for worse, for transportatell anyone you don’t has defined Kate’s tion, keeping my live in Palo Alto.” sense of belonging home life a secret.” Kate says. — Kate, non-resident student to a community that “I notice that I sometimes pushes her to her limits. am straying away “I think I’ve from my family members, but I feel like I owe them a lot.” gotten a better education,” Kate says, fidgHiding her domestic life from her eting nervously with the keychains on her friends also took its toll on Kate, who bag. “The school work here is so hard that broke her promise to her mother in mid- sometimes I feel like I just can’t deal with it. dle school and told her secret to her clos- Sometimes I think it would have been bet-

ter if I had just gone to school in [my city of residence].” Even so, Palo Alto was the place where Kate’s childhood unfolded. It was where she learned to read, made her first and closest friends, the place where she illegally grew up. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to leave,” Kate says. One day, she came close to finding out. “We almost got caught once... they sent someone [to the house] when I was in elementary school,” Kate says. Although nothing came of the investigation, to Kate, it represents the very tangible threat of being evicted from the setting of her childhood. To the man who knocked on her door demanding proof of her residency, however, Kate’s near-expulsion was just one of around 100 contacts by the district every year. Combating the Problem River receives an accusation of illegitimate residency approximately once every

”

This article was my closest brush with “community journalism.” In it, students who had falsified their addresses to attend Palo Alto public schools reflected on their experiences of anonymity and silence. It was writing their stories that I realized some of narrative journalism’s weaknesses. It requires a certain amount of the writer’s presence that I found inappropriate. These were students who tried to exist anonymously in our space. I hoped the story would rename their fear of being caught — of being apprehended and seen as the other — as one pervasive to the human experience. After all, who of us has not once held down his head hoping to escape such recognition?

“I’ll find information on Google, on LinkedIn, on Facebook,” River says. “Not only do parents have their Facebooks, students have their Facebooks. I can identify through pictures off of Facebook. I can get parents’ employment information off of LinkedIn.”

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Out-of-district students attend school hoping that the truth about their residency is never found.

day. These tips most often come in the families he investigates. The way River sees form of bounced-back mail from an illegit it, he’s not punishing the criminal, but the -imate address, a tip from an online source crime. “We investigate parents and not stuor over a phone call via an anonymous residents,” River says. “What affects me is that dency hotline [(650) 329-3700 ext. 7385]. River, like the families of the students it [the population involved in residency he investigates, took the job of residency violation] is not poor, it’s not rich, it’s evofficer with the interests of his family at erybody. [Residency violations] cross all heart and in mind. the different socioeconomic levels. I have “I took the job for health benefits,” to retain a level of professional objectivsays River, sitting ity. I cannot create results, I can only in his district ofuncover facts.” fice chair. “I have a young family. River begins “We investigate parIt was interesting investigations of ents and not students” suspected violato work with the school district, and —Roberto Antonio River, tors with a check residency it’s been very rePAUSD residency officer on warding.” documentation, To River, the background and reward in his job is serving the interests of address legitimacy. He proceeds with his young families like his own, the PAUSD search using the physical paperwork of the residents. family in question and through several gov“[Disenrolling non-resident students] ernment databases to which PAUSD subdoes a very good service to the school dis- scribes. When these first steps give way to trict and its taxpayers,” River says. more serious suspicion, River takes further Even though he finds it difficult, River action. says he has to distance himself from any “At [the] high school level, it’s almost sympathy he feels for the students and impossible to be able to pick a student out

of a crowd [so]... we implement one of two different field contacts,” River says. These contacts include a “residency check,” in which an official identifies himself with a photo ID and PAUSD business card, asking to see a visual of the student as proof of their residency. Investigations are unannounced in order to preserve their candidness. The other field contact involves a significantly more thorough observation. “At times, we observe a student from an address to school, from school to an address,” River says. “This is basically watching the house, see[ing] who’s coming and going and mak[ing] observations.” River only implements the “observation” approach in his toughest cases. “I think PAUSD’s methods are extremely invasive,” Carolyn says. “By following a student home, they are crossing a boundary that separates the student’s public and private lives.” Despite this view, Carolyn does believe it is well within the district’s rights to investigate suspected students using less extreme methods and remove them from the district. River’s observations aren’t limited to the field.

House or Home For students like Kate, the district’s stance on residency is much more than public policy. To her and other out-of-district students like Jessica, it represents the idea of equal opportunity, opportunity that they believe should be made universally attainable. “A good education should be available to everyone,” Jessica says. Not everybody shares her opinion — especially in PAUSD. Unlike its neighbors, PAUSD is a basic-aid district, which means that it gets a vast majority of its funding not from the state, but through local property tax revenue and grants from parent-run organizations like Partners in Education and the Parent Teacher Association. Growing numbers of enrolled students have brought the issue of residency violation into the arena of serious district

concerns. The more students enrolled in district schools, the more likely it becomes that the quality of education will decrease, causing Palo Alto taxpayers to pay close attention to residency violations as a method of quality control, ensuring the highest return per tax dollar. “Our schools are overcrowded as it is and we really don’t have the capacity for students who live outside the district,” says Diana Walsh, a concerned parent and former member of PiE. “Our classrooms are packed to the gill and overflowing.” Jessica’s parents, however, were not thinking about education in terms of interdistrict tax return when they lied for her to attend PAUSD. “My parents just wanted me to have a good education and the same opportunities as kids here,” Jessica says. “They’ve sacrificed a lot to get me those opportunities.” Many Palo Altans feel that Jessica’s parents’ concern is not a legitimate one. “The kids [who attend PAUSD illegally] are in a really tough place because their parents have convinced them that this is the best place for them when, in fact, they can get a good education in many places,”

Walsh says. The district focuses on the quality of its children’s education, which is being funded out-of-pocket. The families of Kate, Jessica and Carolyn see no rationale for why they shouldn’t reap the same benefits and opportunities for their children. The issue of district residency has extended beyond the bounds of economic dogma, and not just for out-of-district families. Some parents say that it not only detracts from legal residents’ educations, but also from the moral education of the student perpetrators as well. “I’m horrified to think that parents teach their kids that it’s okay to steal to get ahead,” Walsh says. “To me, that’s appalling.” For Kate, the issue is not political. It goes beyond questions of “stealing” taxpayers’ money and the morality of vigilante socialism in a capitalist system where the taxpayer’s dollar is everything. To Kate, her address is just a collection of meaningless numbers and letters that allows her to remain within the boundaries of the place she calls home. “I just sleep in San Jose and come back,” Kate says. “Palo Alto is my home.” v

WRONG SIDE OF THE FENCE Students across district lines face a conflict regarding the quality of their education.

∆ LEFT, RIGHT & IN BETWEEN ∆

COVER

LEFT, RIGHT AND

IN BETWEEN

HOW PATRIOTISM OPERATES IN AMERICA’S POLITICAL PARTIES Text by NOAM SHEMTOV and OLIVIA KOYAMA Art by CHARU SRIIVASTAVA and OLIVIA KOYAMA

nation empowered by providence to bring EVENTY NINE democracy, liberty and Christian redempYEAR-OLD HARtion to the world,” says Linker. RIET PALMER, A Linker cites this religious elitism as LOCAL VOLUNthe feature of American patriotism that TEER FOR THE sets us apart from other countries,’ “It is OBAMA CAMPAIGN PASSthis persistent theological self-confidence ES OUT POLITICAL PARAthat distinguishes American patriotism PHERNALIA TO THOSE from expressions of communal feeling in WHO PASS BY HER DESK. any other modern nation,” says Linker. She appears rejuvenated by every new Palo Alto High School senior and arrival at a local Democratic convenoutspoken Republican Jake Kerman distion where she volunteers. Harriet is the agrees with Linkers claims that patriotism physical embodiment of a patriotism that is rooted in religious America’s altruistic is both new and old, seated behind the intentions, instead claiming that Capitalist sticker-covered, surrounded by bouquets individualism is our country’s backbone. of balloons in the archetypal red, white “[I believe a patriot is] Someone that and blue and peering out at her America does not live at the expense of others and from behind her wire-rimmed glasses. increases his own, and his community’s “I’ve always been in politics,” Palmer prosperity,” Slipper says. The claim evokes says, as if she ran a similar reception desk Romney’s recent “47 percent” remarks in at the arrival of the Mayflower and has his trickle-down watched politics evolve “This is the greatest attitude towards ever since. She hands American patriocountry in the world” out nametags as she professes her love for — Harriet Palmer, 79 tism. Palmer and Slipper stand for her country. the two types of “This is the greatpatriotism that drive the ever-uglier politiest country in the world,” Palmer says, cal campaigns in our country and constant “My passport when I was growing up was speculations that each election will be the an important thing for me. I’m fortunate because I’m here but that also gives me re- one that defines America for our generation. sponsibility. That’s what patriotism means “I would say that mainly Democratic to me, owning up to our responsibility as ideals are what I believe in. It’s important a country.” [for patriotism] to have a belief,” Palmer The true meaning of patriotism says, reaching across her table and gesturhas long been the center of a veheing at flyers printed with Obama slogans. ment debate. Maybe this need to identify Palmer’s sparsely ringed hand passes over ourselves based on love for our country last election’s dictum, “Yes we can,” as if is the reason that we defend the objects subconsciously affirming the statement that symbolize America so desperately, that her patriotism and ideology cannot be draping flags and thematic balloons over split, and that our country’s greatness lies reception tables, flagpoles and infomercials. Maybe this need to qualify patriotism in that eternal promise. Lisa Altieri, Palmer’s colleague and is why Palmer punctuates her definition the regional field organizer of the Obama of it from beneath her colored balloons Campaign, agrees with Palmer’s partisan with the claim that “Romney doesn’t take on patriotism. recognize his universal responsibility, our “Right now we’re at a crossroads,” universal responsibility” as a country who Altieri says. “Either people will understand has considered itself a universal paradigm since independence. Damon Linker, in his what’s going on or they will believe what they [the Republican party] are saying and article, “Calvin and American Exceptionwe’ll lose everything.” Altieri interposes alism,” traces this overconfidence as the her rejection of a legitimate right-wing seed of American patriotism. patriotism with a bite into her sandwich, “[There was a] profound impact of Calvinist assumptions on the formation of leaning back against the Mexican weave American patriotism--and in particular the pattern of the couch where she sits. “The idea that you can have a partisan country’s sense of itself as an exceptional

Contrary to their competitors, the left campaigns in terms of the promise that America can improve on itself (Obama’s former “Yes we can” immediately comes to mind). “What makes America great is not its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better,” President Barack Obama said in a 2008 speech in aptly-named Independence, Missouri. Obama qualifies American exceptionalism by relating it to humanity, not the individual, connoting that as a country, America has much to realize and the potential to do so. “Patriotism for me is a belief in true democracy,” Altieri says. “People all over the world really want what we have here in terms of opportunity for equality.” According to Christopher Morriss’s Time Magazine article, “The New Patriotism,” the left designates social characteristics to the equality that Altieri talks about. The left campaigns for an America where all races, creeds and sexual orientations will be afforded the same privileges and fiscal opportunities, using Romney’s lack of Obama’s rags-to-riches appeal to downplay his understanding of the common American. Peter Rockhold, Paly graduate class of 2012, and one of few Paly students who take on the responsibility of patriotism by planning to join the Navy defines patriotism as independent of party division. His views are his alone, and do not necessarily mirror those of the US Navy. “What really defines America [and our national identity] is our documents: the Declaration, the Constitution, these are true American ideas and values,” Rockhold says. According to Rakove, true

attitude is very much part of our political culture and we’ve internalized that,” says Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize-winning Stanford professor of history. This is a split that is becoming more and more pronounced as we are bombarded on Facebook by the posts of our pseudo-pundit peers and on television interviews by their lobbying adult counterparts. The student population has taken it upon themselves to declare their political orientation over social media platforms in dispute over which patriotism is more correct, who’s love for America greater. “I think there’s an asymmetry--Republicans who, generally speaking, represent old-stock Americans and Democrats who have become the much more multiracial party, much more the party of immigrants,” Rakove says. This asymmetry has existed since Anglo-American times, when Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian ideologies gave birth to the party-specific strands of patriotism that we see in politics today. Even apart from the most dramatic right-wing factions like the Tea Party, the Republican Party in general defines patriotism in terms of America’s beginnings. According to Rakove, “their platform has been advertised in Hamiltonian vernacular, condemning all traces of “socialism” and the left as “more interested in national norms than American interests”. “He [Obama] takes his political inspiration from the socialist Democrats in Europe,” says Romney in Fox’s GOP debate on Sept 22. “I believe in free enterprise, and capitalism. I believe government is too big,” Romney says. “Securing the blessings of liberty is the only dream I can identify in the collective sense... ‘liberty’ meaning the freedom to pursue those dreams,” says Slipper, refirming Rakove’s claims about right-wing patriotism. “The way symbols [of patriotism] operate between the parties is what is significant,” Rakove says on the true meaning of partisanship in American patriotism. Contrary to their competitors. the left campaigns in terms of the American promise (Obama’s former “Yes we can” immediately comes to mind). “What makes America great is not its perfection,” says President Barack Obama in a 2008 speech in aptly-named Independence, Missouri, “but the belief that it can

Writing about such an abstract topic as patriotism taught me the importance of a definitive local angle. Though I was not unhappy with the resulting story, I felt it failed to localize a national ideal effectively. In a sense, this story let me fall out of love with the theoretical and focus on reporting the events and issues of the tangible world.

A PORTRAIT OF SM AMERICAN PATRIOTI

DEDICATED PATRIOT Harriet Palmer, 79, takes a short break in her shift at Obama’s Menlo Park office, where a convention was held to watch Obama’s speech. American patriotism is rooted in something much deeper than the party division that he calls “a false dichotomy” in American politics. “The American Patriot is loyal to the Constitution of the United States of America,” Rockhold says. “For a long time, sailors of the US Navy have been taught the constitutional paradigm. Politics is where the lines blur between patriotism, greed and jingoism.” These politics dictate the different operations of symbolism between the parties; these politics that inspire us to defend our ideology so aggressively by flag-waving and chest thumping. Kerman

agrees with Rockhold and Rakove, claiming that partisanship is nullified by patriots’ common loyalties to the great American documents, and that patriotism is pride in the principles that make up America, and what we stand for as a nation. According to Kerman, it is our Constitutional ideals that define true American patriotism at its core, that dictates the goals we are fighting over on televised debates, during Occupy protests and in virtually every expression of love for our country. Perhaps it is this universally applicable strain of patriotism that inspires Palmer to recognize the American community in saying, “No man is an island, we’re [as Americans] all part of a whole,” Palmer says as she reclines away from her desk and peers up at the balloon bouquets with new meaning. Perhaps it is this patriotism that we adorn with our flags and Fourth of July napkins. According to Rakove, “The fact that we continue to argue about our ideals; what kind of equality we favor, what kind of social norms are we comfortable with, is what defines American citizenship, a virtue so bound up with who we are as people.” v

∆ BROOKLYN MEATS THE BAY AREA ∆ KOSHER DELI REVIEW

CULTURE

BROOKLYN MEATS THE BAY AREA

THE ROAST SHOP has aesthetic potential, but it thus far misses the makings of a community hangout.

ROAST SHOP’S SANDWICHES A SUCCESS, AMBIENCE A SCHLEMAZEL Text by NOAM SHEMTOV Photography by CHARU SRIVISTAVA

UCKED BENEATH a green awning just in front of Palo Alto City Hall, the Roast Shop is a dimly lit building whose near-emptiness you could imagine filling with extending lines of sandwich-lovers, enjoying the smoky flavors and textures of the Roast Shops house-prepared meats. Owned by two partners in the Jewish comunity, the Roast Shop is exactly what its name would suggest: a meat lover’s smoky haven, dressed up as a sparse dining hall with jars of cured cauliflower and with long mahogany benches that stretch to the back of the dining area. The casual eatery debuted in late 2012, opening a new option for the area’s kosher community. According to restaurant entrepreneur Frank Klein, who assisted the partners in opening the Roast Shop, the project

was met with great success in catering. A “grand opening” is expected at the beginning of April, after the end of the Jewish holiday of Passover. In most respects, the Roast Shop can be considered the lesser-known Jewish twin of Frank Klein’s Asian Box in that it aspires to be a casual, takeout-friendly spot with a low-concept menu. In the case of the Roast Shop, the menu superimposes new-California cuisine and the carved tradition of Brooklyn-style cured meats double-wrapped in brown deli paper. The aesthetic theme burns with sarcasm in places — the cow heads on the wall are paper and a poster that calls itself the Lucky Eight Rules adds a bit of abrasive humor to the experience with the admonition that “dancing is prohibited by law.” While the menu is somewhat varied,

you get the sense that the owners are more dedicated to kosher tradition than the Californian “health” palette. The bill of fare is a paradise of smoky, cured, lean meats in weighty rye-bread sandwiches, leafy flavorful salads (the chicken is a favorite), pickled sides and aiolis that pack a hefty punch. With crusty quinoa, roasted peppers and onion rings instead of eggplants, and avocado aioli on a rye bun ($11.75), the vegetarian sub’s toothsome flavor rolls together well. Though not flat-out fantastic, the dish colors a bit outside the menu’s conservative, strictly deli-style-meat lines. Also on the menu are the more traditional deli sandwiches, including a corned beef sub whose subtle and ashy seasoning has won it some well-deserved popularity. Variously cooked and cured meats dominate the rest of the Roast Shop’s selection. The wonderfully plump chicken sub is an espe-

cially delicious option. Your sub comes with sauerkraut, which, besides adding some peppery hue to the meal, slides down with ease. On offer with the subs and Reubens is a Cel-Rey soda, a rare and deli-appropriate addition. Despite the half-baked effort at an ambience of a casual community kickback, the Roast Shop is true to its kosher roots. All the same, for a kosher food restaurant, the Roast Shop is the new take that we have been waiting for behind our thick, patriarchal beards and puts an unexpected spin on the triteness of New York-style kosher meats while executing classics to a tee. So, though it may not fill with scores of laughing friends, and despite Yelp complaints of servers with Moses-beards and no hairnets, the Roast Shop receives three out of five stars for its creative plays on banal Brooklyn Jewish cuisine. V

ROASTED VEGGIE SALAD is a flavorful departure from the Roast Shop’s mostly meat menu.

PRETTY IN PICKLE Jars of tomatoes and other decor line the bench inside the Roast House, making for a pleasant atmosphere.

∆ MIND THE GAP ∆

PAUSD’s ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP

[ COVER ]

Verde takes a closer look at the achievement gap Text by HENRY TUCHER and NOAM SHEMTOV Art by HALEY FARMER and CHARU SRIVASTAVA

PALY STUDENTS ARE HARD AT WORK Students in their French 3H class focus diligently on their studies.

ifty-five percent – that is the gap between Palo Alto High School’s black and white students in terms of proficiency on the math portion of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). This statistic, however, is not representative of the achievement gap; it’s just a statistic. What’s the problem? The achievement gap is the difference in academic performance between white and minority students, particularly black and hispanic students. Although Paly consistently ranks highly in overall performance, on average, its minority students are not performing at this same standard of excellence. Paly’s SARC (School Accountability Report Card) shows that in 2011, only 15 percent of the black students who graduated had completed the A-G courses required for

UC and CSU admission. In addition, although 98 percent of white students and 99 percent of asian students had completed Algebra I by the end of their freshman year, of their black and hispanic counterparts, only 55 and 74 percent respectively had completed that level of Math. The achievement gap is a problem in schools across the state, but PAUSD has a severe case of academic disparity. The district ranks 147th in California in regards to the proficiency of PAUSD’s hispanic and black students in Algebra II. On the other hand, PAUSD’s asian and white students are ranked third in the state for their proficiency in Algebra II. Many students and teachers intent on “closing the gap” are trying to make a difference. One of such students is Paly Senior, Tremaine Kirkman, who is involved in the district discussions about the achievement gap. “[The achievement gap] is a really serious problem, and while I think we are pointed

in the right direction on the school level, there is more we could be doing as a district,” Kirkman says. Title 1 and No Child Left Behind Ten years ago, President Bush sat down at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed an act that supports standardsbased education reform. The No Child Left Behind Act has led to increased federal funding of education by $12 billion within the first five years of its passing, but the act has not had entirely positive results. Because of the act, there is a considerable danger that the PAUSD district will lose federal funding. How could Paly, ranked 83rd in the nation in the US News and World Report and known for sending students to top-tier universities and national math and science competitions, be in danger of losing federal funding? The answer is this: the provisions of the No

“We have the will power to fix this problem, but it takes a lot of time and effort.” — SEAN spokesperson TREMAINE KIRKMAN Winston says. Barron Park elementary provides a program that allows students the organizational and other support they need in the formative years of their early education. Paly librarian Rachel Kellerman describes the program as “a wonderful opportunity that will no doubt have a positive impact. She is not the only optimist. Winston, too predicts that support at earlier grade levels will yield positive results with time. Wilmot’s district statistics have displayed some growth in proficiency among Black students, around 11% since 2009, in the English Language Arts section of the CAHSEE. Hispanic students’ success rates, however, have fallen from previous years and mathematic proficiency has seen a decrease across the board. Even with support at earlier junctions in students’ educations, Wilmot predicts that current goals will be difficult to reach. Focus on Success In order to meet the goal of 100% proficiency among its students, Paly aims to help its struggling students more directly. Focus on Success, a class period where students do their homework or receive tutoring, is intended to be that direct help. “It’s all about providing students with the support they need, the resources and capacity for self-advocacy that will help them achieve at the same level. I think that Focus on Success is a great way to achieve that,” Kellerman says, claiming to have observed Focus on Success as a catalyst for positive change over the years.

A-G Requirements With the intention of mending the bifurcation of our student’s education, the school system proposed a controversial change in graduation requirements, to mirror those of eligibility to California’s state universities. These changes were contested by Paly’s math department with a strongly opposed letter, calling the changes “well-intended” but predicting “devastating consequences.” Others, though have reacted favorably to these pending changes, “There is a lot more we could be doing on the district

level” Kirkman says on the issue. “Right now, though they are considering aligning A-G requirements, and we (student representatives) are strong supporters of this alignment.” Kirkman says, and adds that students are more likely to succeed if more is expected of them and that on the school-level there is enough support in place to make these changes. Paly principal Phil Winston agrees. “I wish it was that easy, it is complicated. Yes I believe we are doing good work in this area [supporting kids to achieve the A-G standard]. Motivation is the most difficult area to tackle”, Winston says, who is optimistic about the school’s ability to meet the A-G standards should they be implemented. A report by the district shows that an average of 89% of white and asian students are currently meeting A-G standards. This number is mirrored by a mere 15% of black A-G graduates. An Early Start According to Kirkman, the Achievement Gap is not just a transitional issue. “The main thing we could do is look at elementary levels and early education and focus on putting support in for students” Kirkman says in regards to the district’s shortcomings in addressing the gap. Winson agrees, and claims that the district has been making efforts to provide support in the earlier grades. “In the educational system there are red lights or warning signals. The district has made a massive effort to provide support and interventions to struggling students at the earlier grade levels” april 2012

verde magazine

[ COVER ]

Math teacher, says. “Everyone – parents, students, and teachers – needs to get involved to make a significant change”.

PALY’S PROFICIENCY Percent of students considered proficient in CAHSEE Math, by race. The triangular point show the district’s goal for school-wide preformance.

CLOSING THE GAP Focus on Success students get a head-start on homework.

Child Left Behind Act required that counties set forth goals by which 100% of their students would be proficient in a statewide standardized test. If this goal is not met, then it is possible that the district will lose federal funding. “If, by 2020, not all students have reached 100% proficiency in the California Star Test, then Paly will be regarded as a ‘failing school,’ which is most respects it isn’t,” Wilmot says. Even though private investments make up a large part of Paly’s budget, these donations are not enough to keep the school running if it were to lose federal support. “The act puts a lot of pressure on teachers to account for what they’re doing,” Maria Rao, a Focus on Success and

Math and Focus on Success teachers Kathy Bowers and Rao also express enthusiasm and hope for the cause. “It’s all about getting the students to buy into it; a lot of them come into the class having been shown time and time again that they are failures” Bowers says. “Once we can get them to see results they often times take their education into their own hands”. Rao agrees, and claims that motivation to succeed comes after students are shown their ability to do so. “I think it’s all about showing struggling students that they have the resources they need to achieve, so that they can seize the opportunity for themselves,” Rao says. “They all want to be performing at the same level as their peers”. For these teachers, teaching Focus on Success has been gratifying because it has shown them that failing students are often truly interested in succeeding. Kirkman agrees, though tentatively, “improvement of study skills is important, and it definitely helps with that, but the district on a whole needs to make steps in the same direction”, Kirkman says. Winston claims that the Focus classes have a visible influence on students’ performances. “Relationships have a major impact on a student’s education and performance,” he says. Despite the Focus on Success program’s success, the achievement gap hasn’t been eradicated. PAUSD superintendent Focus on Success may not be the key to achieving 100% proficiency on the California Star Test, but Kellerman, Bowers, Rao and Winston will all vow for its positive effect on the performance of minority and struggling students. Looking Forward With programs like Focus on Success and teachers and students passionate about making a difference to close the achievement gap, Paly may, indeed, meet its goal. The Focus On Success program is evidence that with the right support, students from all backgrounds can perform in school. “There is a lot of work to do, but we have the resources and will power to close this gap. The district is in our corner, but it takes a lot of time and effort to solve such a big problem” Kirkman. v

“

Deconstructing the low academic achievement of Palo Alto’s socioeconomically disadvantaged students, I came into contact with a demographic of my school that always seems to slip beneath the radar. That realization — that reporting and writing was about people, not ideas — sparked my interest in journalism.

verde magazine

∆ RACIAL AND ECONOMIC MINORITY ACHIEVMENT ∆

”

∆ REFRAINING FROM NORMALCY ∆ FIVE OUTLANDISH GENRES

CULTURE

efraining from

ormalcy FIVE WEIRD MUSIC GENRES EXPLAINED Text by NOAM SHEMTOV Art by NOAM SHEMTOV, JAMIE ALLENDORF and HANAKO GALLAGHER

HE INTERNET’S EXPLOSION IN THE 90s BROUGHT US A HOST OF NEW MEDIA THROUGH WHICH TO UNIFY, AND WITH THE WORLD CLOSE AT OUR FINGERTIPS WE DELVED INTO THE ENDLESS PERMUTATIONS OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WERE SUDDENLY AVAILABLE TO US. It is through this that such eclectic musical genres as “Goregrind,” and “TechnoTrot” have been popularized; it is no longer the music that unifies us but our ability to unify that creates the music. Here are some of the strangest brainchildren of this movement that will not be found on your average Spotify sidebar or Pandora radio. CHRISTIAN DEATH METAL Context: An eclectic mix of Jesus and paradox, Christian Death Metal stepped onto the scene on the verge of the 1970s, a time that no doubt smelled of the pungent breath of its hippie-turnedChristian forefathers. A movement of born-again Christians in the late 60s decided to turn away from their musical roots as sacrilegious noisemakers and move in a holier direction. Attempting to stray away from the occult Satanic symbols of such bands as Mötley Crüe and Black Sabbath, newly converted hippies and self nominated “Jesus People” put down their crack pipes and picked

up their rosaries for a bout of good, not-so-clean fun! You’ll Like This If: You wear black every day except Easter, and every year before Christmas you ask Santa for nothing but an Uglydoll, a Bible from Hot Topic and revenge on the unholy. Favorite Bands: Jerusalem and Barnabas for the unforgiving guitar, which carries a much more forgiving message. Suggestion for a Jewish spin-off: Guns and Moses. TUVAN THROAT SINGING Context: We set the scene in Southern Siberia, where the Tuvan people fill mountain caverns with their guttural chanting melodies. Apart from the chronological inconsistency, an untrained ear might rationally mistake Tuvan singing for the love child of Kermit and Cher. Don’t feel simple, American readers, even an intellectual as erudite as myself can’t quite grasp the

pulse of the Eastern aesthetic, so hop into your pickups (Priuses, I know) and don’t bother to roll up your windows as Kenny Chesney comes on. The 1999 film “Genghis Blues,” about an artist who travels to Northern Asia in pursuit of a career as a Tuvan singer, brought this genre to popularity in the United States. While still a fringe genre, Tuvan singing has some notoriety both in its own cultural circles, and among world music enthusiasts. You’ll Like This If: You fantasize about Peace Corps volunteering while fingering massive amounts of wooden jewelry. You have started a book drive for children in the Himalayas and only drink tea with names that contain more than five syllables. You may also enjoy Tuvan if you are a Mongolian tribesperson. Favorite Bands: Tyva Kyzy, because harmonies sung in croaky bass remind yours truly of noisemakers on purim.

Favorite Bands: Darko Rundek, Gogol Bordello.

GYPSY PUNK Context: Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” borscht and toothless babushkas are conjured up by grinding Klezmeresque violin and woodwinds. Possibly the best part of this genre is the delightfully predictable lyrics, which in their addressing of subject matter (ranging from alcoholism to prostitution) make the listener revel in sordid liberation. Bar fights and other ignoble subject matter aside, this East-meets-Westmeets-West genre is a personal favorite because of its upbeat, frivolous musical candor and matching lyrics (this coming from a Google Translate enthusiast). You’ll like this if: You spend endless hours reveling at angsty Tumblr pages, often look through your grandfather’s sketchbook from Ellis Island, and subsequently find yourself craving beet juice.

GOREGRIND Context: The world, or at least some of its more daring inhabitants, decided that they were ready for the next step. Perhaps Goregrind is a product of intense frustration or perhaps it is the brainchild of boredom with those limit-testing genres that no longer offered a sufficiently horrifying listening experience. In any case, Goregrind is about what it sounds like: an exaggeration of “hardcore” music that either leaves its listener hiding under his bed in fear, or clutching a jagged soda can and on the verge of a breakdown. You’ll like this is: You’ve been listening to death metal for years. Once you were even shamefully discovered by your friends attempting to recreate Morbid Angel songs by screaming and slapping pans against each other in front of your computer’s Garageband. You don’t care for Nirvana, and you scoff behind your chin-length bangs whenever you hear the words “rugby” and “hardcore” in tandem. You’re a big kid now, and your growing angst draws you towards titles such as “Vomited Anal Tract” and other more unmentionable things. Favorite Bands: So many choices — bands with names like “Aborted” and “Regurgitate” among them — but it will go to Carcass for the aforementioned title. Congratulations, Carcass! v

∆ ADS & SECTION COVERS ∆

D ES CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE SONS OF GUNS HOLD YOUR FIRE

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TECHNO TROT Context: I am almost ashamed to admit how profoundly it affirms my stereotypes of Asian culture that the shrieking vocals of Korean Folk music, combined with delightfully catchy techno-pop would become wildly popular in Japanese cell-phone culture. This is the kind of music that one could play while reading Murakami, were it not so very distracting, or while watching muted infomercials for grape-flavoured Japanese gum on Youtube. It is so contrary to the American ear that, like everything Lady Gaga, it gives one a creeping fear that they are missing something very crucial. You’ll like this if: You are deaf. Favorite bands: Wing, because who wouldn’t go head-over-heels for an adulteration of Elvis classics with shrieking Korean vocals? That’s right, readers: No one.

∆ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE ∆

GUN VIOLENCE IN PALO ALTO AND EAST PALO ALTO

Text by NOAM SHEMTOV and KATIE EBINGER Art by DIANA CONNOLLY Photo Illustration by LISIE SABBAG

EXPLORING THE ISSUES OF GUN CONTROL AND GUN VIOLENCE IN EAST PALO ALTO AND PALO ALTO

northward on 101. The man addresses Jane. “Hey honey, it’s been a while. What can I do for ya?” “Yeah it has, huh?” Jane says. “I heard that [someone’s] got a gun around here?” “Down the block,” the man says. “‘S for a good price, too. Got a clip and everything. You gonna buy?” The man is old enough to be her grandfather, selling single cigarettes out of his front door. His accent, like his manner, belongs in the American South, and he eyes me like an unwelcome tourist in East Palo Alto, so clearly out of place and touch. Jane tells him she isn’t, that she was just curious. She exchanges a crumpled bill for a cigarette, and lights it. “See? That’s how easy it is to get a

gun here,” Jane says to me, once out of monitors the number of shots the man’s earshot. “All you gotta do is fired in a locale during a givcross 101 to East Palo Alto. ... He’s cool, en time, reported an avthough, the dude who’s selling. Tons of erage of 13.3 gunshots people are strapped [carry concealed daily in November weapons] over here.” 2012 and 108 single Jane does not hesitate to recount gunshot incidents the story of the night several years beand 70 multiple fore when she was shot, an accidental gunshot incidents casualty o one of EPA’s violent territoin EPA in Janurial conflicts. We cross in front of Home ary of the same Depot, where a group of day laborers year. In the same are congregated near a red Ford whisperiod, not a sintling over faintly musical radio static. gle shot was “I didn’t know what was going fire within on,” Jane says, recalling the shooting. “I Palo Alto just hit the floor. I remember hearing city limits, someone call, ‘Mark a-- n----!’ at us and although watching the car drive away, windows all several reports of tinted.” gun related crime have been filed with Jane recalls the sound of the shot Palo Alto police, among them the arrest of hammering all other noise two Paly students on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11 out of her consciousfor bringing guns onto campus and ness, breaking several armed robberies in the against the indowntown area. side of her ears. She Getting Involved dropped to In Palo Alto, as in “You buy them the floor, the rest of the coun[firearms] on the but before try, the debate on gun street, like drugs.” reaching control rose to promi— Jane, it she was nence on Dec. 14, hit in the 2012, when Adam Lananonymous source leg, lying on za killed 20 children and her stomach six adult faculty members in front of the of Sandy Hook Elemenneon signs of a tary in Newtown, Conn. The fast food restaurant. shooting brought gun control to “I didn’t even know the center of political debate on the what was going on that night,” Jane national level, drawing a proposal from the says. “The guys I was with helped me White House calling for “increased backget home, but we didn’t call the cops or ground checks for all gun sales, includanything. I was too scared to start s---. I ing those by private sellers currently shouldn’t have been with people [from exempt.” Also in the proposition another neighborhood]. I guess they’d was a reinstatement of the 1994 had beef before, but I shouldn’t have ban on assault weapons that been there.” was abandoned in 2004, and other clauses that have drawn The Facts serious reactions from proShotspotter, an online service that ponents

PALO ALTO LIBERTY: Gun groups such as Palo Alto Liberty have mobilized for or against gun control since the Newtown shooting earlier this year.

of relaxed firearm control and the National Rifle Association. An anti-gun group based in the Silicon Valley organized in support of Obama’s proposal at its inaugural meeting on Jan. 17. The group, which includes Palo Alto residents, plans to lobby to politicians to back Obama’s proposal. Local action in support of gun control is planned for Feb. 23 by Silicon Valley investor Robert Lee and outreach coordinator James Cook. Backed by some $50,000 in funding, an anonymous gun buyback will be hosted at Palo Alto City Hall for the tri-city area including Menlo Park, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. Also since the Newtown shooting, maroon signs with white text have been distributed throughout Palo Alto. The text reads, “With just one single exception, EVERY public shooting since 1950 in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed has taken place where citizens are not

allowed to carry guns.” The signs belong to Palo Alto Liberty, a local self-described “physical manifestation” of the anarchist group Anonymous that has taken a stance against gun control. The group claims to be “fighting tyranny and corruption when and where [it] can,” and the pending gun control proposal represents a clear breach of what it considers to be an essential constitutional freedom. The Debate John J. Donahue III, a professor of law at Stanford University and the author of “Shooting Down the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis,” argues that the relationship between gun ownership and crime is not, as argued by the NRA and much of the right wing, inversely correlated. In EPA, gun ownership takes on a completely new shape. According to Jane, firearms in EPA are being used primarily

for violent crime, an attitude that influences the mentality around firearms enterprise and culture in the city. “I’m waking up to shootings almost every night,” Jane says. “Most of them happen cause of turf wars and drug deals.” “We keep our beds under the window, just in case anything flies through,” Kelly, Jane’s friend, adds, warning me, as I turn to use the restroom in a nearby building, not to cross to the other side of the street alone. The firearms that spray bullets through Jane’s and Kelly’s waking nights are sold on the street, Jane says. “Most of the guns here are unregistered,” Kelly says. “You buy them on the street, like drugs, from someone who got it from someone else. It goes on like that, in a chain, until you get to the [original] buyer.” “People aren’t protecting themselves at home,”Jane says, tying her scarf tighter

across her forehead. “Everybody knows not to come in when somebody’s at home and start sh-t. People here have guns for the street.” Donahue attributes the abundance of illegal weapons and frequency of gun violence in EPA to the propagation of drugs. “EPA is a locale in which there is a certain amount of drug dealing going on,” Donahue says. “Dealers tend to need guns because they cannot rely on the police to enforce their contracts or protect them from theft because they’re engaged in a criminal enterprise. ... If one thing would diminish the rate of murder and nefarious gun trade in the U.S. it would most likely be the legalization of drugs ... [Palo Alto is] a growing site for drug criminality, which may well pose a problem in our future.” A Tale of Two Cities By Donahue’s estimation, the drug

trade and a host of other factors brought on by the socioeconomic divide between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto determine a split in the role of firearms in the two cities. “In East Palo Alto, I can see people feeling the psychological need to buy guns for safety in the home, especially considering how difficult it is to [legally] register a concealed carry,” Donahue says. “In Palo Alto, that need is negligible. Guns [in Palo Alto] are used for recreational sports... and as Republican party political statements, political props of Second Amendment support.” Lee Hughes, a Paly Junior and gun owner, has an attitude towards gun ownership that corroborates Donahue’s assumption. “Fun!” Hughes says. “I’m not gonna lie, guns are fun. They are not evil things like everyone thinks, when used correctly. But key words are ‘used correctly,’ since

they are not toys and if you think of them as such you don’t deserve [to own] one.” To Kelly and Jane, the restriction of gun ownership surpasses the realm of individual liberty and crosses into that of individual safety. They are not concerned with the party politics surrounding gun control, and do not stop to think about the intangible implications of tighter restrictions or of laxer ones. “If I’m not going to be waking up to gunshots, though, it means that somebody’s getting them off the streets,” Kelly says. Jane is concerned for the quality of life and the degree of safety for herself and those around her, concerned that she’ll hit the pavement again with a bullet in her knee, afraid to get help. “In EPA, guns are being used to kill and injure,” Jane says. “I don’t care what, but something needs to be done to stop it.” V

DE CI G AN A AN RA N U IN I T P D T D S RA FO T Y S O C IN WI O ERI EXT E IS PE RM UR LE TH STE NE OU RE PR A RO AR E D I TH S ME O TIV U U CU N AT ISS SE E N P S LT TH G U CU ST DI O UR E E E TIO AT NG ME E S ME TS I S D U R O N TI A I IN CS PE F T RRO A HO AB , A HE UN PE OU SER AM DI B NG S O T RA IES I F S H P E OF DD IN G

RAPE

TODAY

of rapes don’t lead to any sort of prosecution

69%

AVERAGE NUMBER OF YEARLY RAPE CASES IN THE U.S. IS 207,754 THAT NUMBER CONSISTS OF OVER 112,187 RAPES REPORTED TO POLICE

of rapists are never faced with a conviction

46%

AND 95,566 RAPES THAT REMAIN UNRECOGNIZED AND UNPROSECUTED U.S. Dept. of Justice

of rapes are not reported or prosecuted

FBI & Dept. of Justice

When asked whether or not “Certain women are more likely to be raped due to their flirting, teasing or promiscuous behavior”

58% AGREE of Paly students represented in a focus group of 100 responded

E IS TH CR A V I E I N M C W UM E, A IOU AC OM ER N S RO EN O D SS CO IN U R PA NT APE IN IS CR A V O IM ICI VI F PE E, OU GO CTIM RPE AN S T NE O S RA D N N T E LE D AT O T T N R O O I CO C O S HE F M VE E PR A SUF NA AN NU RA EDI RA EV VOI FER LLY D T ME FA PIS A A GE AILS CE IN WH HEIR R W CT TS ND OF IN WH SIL O FR HIL THA RUN IN THI TH IE S ENC E EE E R T R S IE AP TH FRE APE ISSU EY E CU E D AR ES L IN E P T UN ITE UER AB TH E LE E

STATISTICS SHOWN HERE WERE TAKEN FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, THE FBI AND A SURVEY DISTRIBUTED TO PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLINE ASKING THEIR OPINIONS ON QUESTIONS CONCERNING RAPE.

The same focus group answered 78% disagree to the statement, “A lot of people, especially women, are too likely to label a sexual encounter as ‘rape’”

Page design by NOAM SHEMTOV Illustration by HANAKO GALLAGHER

RA P

AN D

SU E, V

ER DE

25%

THE STATE OF

FEATURES

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION: California Legislature May 30, 2013

∆ RAPE CULTURE INFOGRAPHIC ∆

FROM VERDE’S “YOU CAN’T TELL ME I WASN’T RAPED”

∆ WRITING ∆ ∆ WRITING ∆

∆ WRITING ∆

THE NAKED TRUTH

FRENCH WOM an walks her son down San Francisco’s Castro Street, where the technicolor whiplash of flags in the sun fills the street with resounding cracks. One of the woman’s delicate hands protectively grasps her son’s while the other grapples with a taut leash, at the end of which her dust-bunny of a terrier struggles for freedom. A van scoots past them, leaving behind a cloud of hashishstained air and exhaust that streams from the beaten-up tailpipe like the hair of some hippie. In front of Harvey’s Bar, a drag queen films a music video backed by two women dressed in clothing that seems to make a strong case for third-wave feminism to the few straight men on the road. “Excuse me, misters.” The mother approaches a pair of balding men walking up the street hand in hand. “Do you know where there is a good place to eat here?” “You could check out Market and Castro, there are some nice little places up there,” one of the men says. Leaning in closer, his partner brandishes a heavily ringed hand and adds in a grave tone, “If you don’t mind seeing a few asses and cocks, that is. There’re some perverts up there who like to walk around without their clothes on.” The man’s more cautious attitude with regards to public nudity has permeated San Francisco’s Castro District, the historical nucleus of radical sexual culture in the city; whose liberality defines so much of our identity as residents of the Bay Area. District 8 (which includes the Castro) Supervisor Scott Wiener passed a ban on Nov. 20 on public nudity that prohibits displays of “genitals, anal-area and perineum” on San Francisco’s streets and parks, the stages on which free-lovers and gay protesters played out the unrestricted scenes of sexual libera-

tion. The ban applies only to those above the age of five, and violation is punishable by a potential $500 fine, although violators will not be arrested as sexual offenders. Licensed street fairs and parades are exempted from the ban, which has seen unanimous support from the district’s neighborhood services committee. In an article that appeared in Slate magazine on Nov. 27, William Saletan states that the public nudity movement is an affront to the gay community and that it has falsely adopted the gay movement’s rhetoric in its campaign for “freedom of sexual expression in all its forms.” An article by Joshua Sabatini that appeared in the SF Examiner on Nov. 5 quotes Wiener saying, in reponse to allegations that the ban is anti-gay, that homosexual men make up the “dominant demographic” of the ban’s supporters. The same article quotes Supervisor David Campos saying that he is “still trying to understand why [anti-public nudity] legislation was a priority.” Wiener’s ban, Sabatini says, has become representative of San Francisco’s rising conservatism and “has prompted soulsearching questions about San Francisco’s identity, such as whether tolerating nudity on public streets is intrinsically tied to what makes The City a destination for visitors and a leader on social causes.” These are the soul-searching questions that nude activist Gypsy Taub attempted to answer by tearing off her dress during a Nov. 5 city hall discussion on public nudity, spurring San Francisco lawyer Christina DiEdoardo to sue the nudity ban in a class action case on behalf of four of its protesters. The ban asks the core of the gay and sexual liberation movements, a center of radical dissent and the United States’ most renownedly liberal city to reconsider its definition of lewd behavior, not to pun-

FEATURES

ish the innocent. At the same time, it asks lewd exhibitionists to accept the responsibility of tolerance and and challenges a definition of free expression that is so tied up with what it means to be San Franciscan. “[The ban] is an interesting experiment in acceptance,” says Richard, a San Francisco nudist who refrained from sharing his last name. “The line between ‘nude’ and ‘lewd’ is pretty ambiguous,” Richard says. He notes a disagreement in the legislation’s premise and its enforcement, saying somewhat sardonically that “It’s interesting to me that nudity is going to be reserved for the Folsom Street Fair and Gay Pride Parade [both overtly sexual events].” The French woman and her son sit down for breakfast at a bar overlooking Jane Warner Plaza. Unwrapping burnished silverware from linen swans, they don’t give a second look to the practically nude, wiry figure who looms at the hill’s crest like a mirage. As he reaches the plaza, a sequined butterfly on his loincloth winks in the light. “I think that the nudity on Castro is something that tourists really appreciate,” says Lloyd Fishback, a prominent nudist in the San Franciscan community, the butterfly over his crotch threatening to take flight on a passing breeze. “It’s iconic.” Averting eye contact and in a selfconscious tone, Fishback concedes that locals of the Castro may not agree with his lifestyle on account of some “bad apples” whose lewd exhibitionism has ruined public nudity in the eyes of many. Cars pass and a group of winos hoot in ecstasy as they beat on a goatskin drum and pass a cockatoo over to Fishback’s sunburned shoulder. Nobody glances up from their breakfasts or newspapers. “Nudity to me isn’t about showing myself off,” Fishback says, kneading the day’s warmth into a long scar that sits un-

“SAN FRANCISCO NUDISTS ‘STRIPPED’ OF THEIR RIGHTS”

comfortably on his abdomen like a botched caesarean. “It’s not an exhibition show. To me, it’s about freedom of expression. I’m just out here enjoying the sun.” At a nearby table Richard writes in scrawling letters on the fading pages of his notebook. Growing up, he says he “was taught to be ashamed of [my] body, the expression of our most basic selves.” He vigorously taps his hand with a thick fountain pen as he recounts a childhood of repression. At San Francisco’s nude beaches, he learned to accept his body and himself. A blue-eyed, diffident child beat up for his long hair and pushed in the gym shower, Richard’s celebration of self through nudity means more to him than the free air tossing itself against his ruddy skin. To Richard, outlawing public nudity would be an oppressive action against the expression of his most essential being. His metronomic thrashing continues. “We’ve laid a guilt and criminality upon ourselves that we should let go of,” Richard says. He delivers his philosophy without pretension. “I just want to sit here looking boring and writing in my book. Sex has no place in this.” Crossing the plaza, a woman with brightly dyed red hair warns her less experienced friends of the weirdos around who are “just here to expose themselves.” A man makes a joke about some street art to his partner. “It’s a homobile!” He points to a hanging bike wheel adorned with running rainbow flags, ornaments shaped like cosmic ellipses and pairs of Ken dolls in stiff, plastic embraces. “Doesn’t this violate the ban? There’s a naked one!” Richard’s nakedness sparks much discourse between passersby, but being the subject of controversy does little to shame him for his unassuming celebration of self.

Only once has a reaction to Richard’s nudity awakened old humiliation. His pen-tapping crescendos, Morse code for distress, while he tells the story. “It was this young woman in a full burka,” Richard says, pointing his slate-disc eyes at the concrete. “She looked at me with such fear. She shielded her children from the sight of me with incredible urgency and shame. I felt sorry for her, even a little guilty for awakening that kind of trauma.” Offering a wide smile and a Diet Coke, Daniel Bergerac, a perpetually grinning gay man in his early middle age, momentarily excuses himself from the terrace behind the dogwash that he owns with two other men. “I’ve really evolved on this issue,” Bergerac begins, gentle voice underscored by the crack tzzzz of the opening coke can. “It used to be a few guys, two or three times a week, sitting out in the sun. Nothing more.” Nudity in the Castro, like Bergerac, has undergone some change in recent years. “Since that time, we’ve had exhibitionists show up in genital adornments,” Bergerac says. “Constantly adjusting themselves, oiled bodies …they’ve ruined it for the nudists.” He mimics the shape of the area around Jane Warner plaza with powerful arms. “There are three elementary schools and one public library within three blocks of Jane Warner Plaza,” Bergerac says. “I think it should be a parent’s choice when they want to expose their child, if at all, to that kind of overt sexuality.” Bergerac mentions twice that he is convinced there is something for persons of every sexuality in the “tremendously accepting” Castro District, but conversations with his customers and others in the com-

munity have revealed nudist exhibitionism as an unsavory form of expression. “It is making the majority of people very uncomfortable,” Bergerac says. “It doesn’t add anything positive to the district’s atmosphere. There’s a lot of humanity that passes through the Castro on bus lines and metro lines, they don’t necessarily want to see a bunch of naked guys just... hanging out.” Bergerac chuckles, faint lines in his face creasing with pleasure at his innuendo. At noon in the center of the plaza, a circle of older gay men listen intently to a comrade’s tales of sexual escapade and declarations of social equality one night, conversing with a robust nude man at a bar down the road. “And I go back to the bar, and my friends all say, ‘Are you crazy? Why were you talking to that pervert?’” he says, cataract-ridden eyes full of incredulity. Around the table, a wide-set woman who joined in the middle of the story begins to absently weave bottle caps into jewelry. “This is San Francisco for Christ’s sake!” He eyes each of them carefully with the emphatic mannerism of a dissident. “This is San Francisco! There are no perverts here. I’m a pervert, he’s a pervert. We’re people, goddamnit!” So his story ends, his pummelling of the table ushering only apathy from his listeners. The wide-set woman tends to her bottle caps, which have been jarred off its edge in a series of clacks. The rest seem rather unaffected by his account, continuing to salute passing acquaintances and to stretch and curse arthritic ligaments. Across the road, the rainbow flag above the gaping subway station snaps against itself like a thrashing rainbow beast, a fighting testament to the obstinate liberalism of San Francisco. v

HONORABLE MENTION: GENERAL FEATURE Northern California Federation of Press Women, 2012-2013

ACROSS THE LINES

AROLYN RECALLS the first time she broke the law. She was in the third grade, sitting in the Walter Hays administration office, filling out paperwork with a false address. Her mother had told her it was the right thing to do, but as she scrawled the address, Carolyn remembers feeling as if she was hiding behind the address’ meaningless characters — numbers and letters that spoke nothing of home. The same numbers and letters that kept Carolyn on the right side of the 8-mile divide between her and a better education. “I felt like I was stuck [between] what my mother was telling me to do and what the truth was,” Carolyn says. Carolyn’s case is far from uncommon. She is just one of many out-of-district students who breach the law daily, faking their addresses so they can attend Palo Alto’s public schools. These students, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, cost the district upwards of $12,000 a year per-student according to residency officer Roberto Antonio River. Carolyn and others in her situation are at the center of a phenomenon that exposes Palo Alto Unified School District as the victim of its own success. Defining the Issue The district actively pursues nonresident students through a search carried out over two randomly chosen grade levels each year by the district’s residency officer, who was hired as part of a 2007 crackdown on out-of-district students. This crackdown came about after the number of students dismissed from the district on the basis of residency violations nearly doubled between 2006 and 2007. This increase coincided with the enactment of a supplementary parcel tax that meant district families would be paying more than ever before for schools according to a 2007 article in Palo Alto Online.

By the district’s estimation, around 30 such students have been dismissed from the school district annually since the 20062007 academic year, effectively saving the district an approximated $360,000. To these students, however, PAUSD’s stringent residence policy means the threat of having to leave friends and education behind. “It [is] really hard,” says Kate, whose parents have sent her to Palo Alto schools since elementary school under the borrowed address of a relative. “Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be here.” Kate’s parents’ decision to illegally enroll her in Palo Alto schools has dictated the shape of her social life and drawn a very clear line between her sense of “house” and of “home.” Kate remembers waking up at 5 a.m. every day for school, each morning receiving her mother’s reprimand to keep the secret of her residency between her parents and the relative under whose address they are registered. “Ever since elementary school my mom constantly told me, ‘Don’t forget: don’t tell anyone you don’t live in Palo Alto,’” Kate says. “My mom said she could go to jail to get me to keep the secret.” Kate’s attendance of PAUSD schools has caused some tension between her and her family. “I want to be more independent, which is hard because I have to rely on my parents for transportation, keeping my home life a secret.” Kate says. “I notice that I am straying away from my family members, but I feel like I owe them a lot.” Hiding her domestic life from her friends also took its toll on Kate, who broke her promise to her mother in middle school and told her secret to her closest friends. The betrayal of one friend has stayed with Kate ever since. “I didn’t want to keep lying,” Kate says. “One of my friends knew that I didn’t live [in Palo Alto] and she told me that we couldn’t be friends anymore because I had lied to her. It was just so strange to me.”

COVER

Kate’s family accepts the pressure of secrecy as a sacrifice made for a higher quality education, a sacrifice that, for better or for worse, has defined Kate’s sense of belonging to a community that sometimes pushes her to her limits. “I think I’ve gotten a better education,” Kate says, fidgeting nervously with the keychains on her bag. “The school work here is so hard that sometimes I feel like I just can’t deal with it. Sometimes I think it would have been better if I had just gone to school in [my city of residence].” Even so, Palo Alto was the place where Kate’s childhood unfolded. It was where she learned to read, made her first and closest friends, the place where she illegally grew up. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to leave,” Kate says. One day, she came close to finding out. “We almost got caught once... they sent someone [to the house] when I was in elementary school,” Kate says. Although nothing came of the investigation, to Kate, it represents the very tangible threat of being evicted from the setting of her childhood. To the man who knocked on her door demanding proof of her residency, however, Kate’s near-expulsion was just one of around 100 contacts by the district every year. Combating the Problem River receives an accusation of illegitimate residency approximately once every day. These tips most often come in the form of bounced-back mail from an illegit -imate address, a tip from an online source or over a phone call via an anonymous residency hotline [(650) 329-3700 ext. 7385]. River, like the families of the students he investigates, took the job of residency officer with the interests of his family at heart and in mind. “I took the job for health benefits,” says River, sitting in his district office chair. “I have a young family. It was interesting to work with the school district, and it’s been

“THE DOUBLE LIVES OF PALY’S ‘ILLEGAL’ STUDENTS”

very rewarding.” To River, the reward in his job is serving the interests of young families like his own, the PAUSD residents. “[Disenrolling non-resident students] does a very good service to the school district and its taxpayers,” River says. Even though he finds it difficult, River says he has to distance himself from any sympathy he feels for the students and families he investigates. The way River sees it, he’s not punishing the criminal, but the crime. “We investigate parents and not students,” River says. “What affects me is that it [the population involved in residency violation] is not poor, it’s not rich, it’s everybody. [Residency violations] cross all the different socioeconomic levels. I have to retain a level of professional objectivity. I cannot create results, I can only uncover facts.” River begins investigations of suspected violators with a check on residency documentation, background and address legitimacy. He proceeds with his search using the physical paperwork of the family in question and through several government databases to which PAUSD subscribes. When these first steps give way to more serious suspicion, River takes further action. “At [the] high school level, it’s almost impossible to be able to pick a student out of a crowd [so]... we implement one of two different field contacts,” River says. These contacts include a “residency check,” in which an official identifies himself with a photo ID and PAUSD business card, asking to see a visual of the student as proof of their residency. Investigations are unannounced in order to preserve their candidness. The other field contact involves a significantly more thorough observation. “At times, we observe a student from an address to school, from school to an address,” River says. “This is basically watching the house, see[ing] who’s coming and going and mak[ing] observations.”

River only implements the “observation” approach in his toughest cases. “I think PAUSD’s methods are extremely invasive,” Carolyn says. “By following a student home, they are crossing a boundary that separates the student’s public and private lives.” Despite this view, Carolyn does believe it is well within the district’s rights to investigate suspected students using less extreme methods and remove them from the district. River’s observations aren’t limited to the field. “I’ll find information on Google, on LinkedIn, on Facebook,” River says. “Not only do parents have their Facebooks, students have their Facebooks. I can identify through pictures off of Facebook. I can get parents’ employment information off of LinkedIn.” House or Home For students like Kate, the district’s stance on residency is much more than public policy. To her and other out-of-district students like Jessica, it represents the idea of equal opportunity, opportunity that they believe should be made universally attainable. “A good education should be available to everyone,” Jessica says. Not everybody shares her opinion — especially in PAUSD. Unlike its neighbors, PAUSD is a basic-aid district, which means that it gets a vast majority of its funding not from the state, but through local property tax revenue and grants from parent-run organizations like Partners in Education and the Parent Teacher Association. Growing numbers of enrolled students have brought the issue of residency violation into the arena of serious district concerns. The more students enrolled in district schools, the more likely it becomes that the quality of education will decrease, causing Palo Alto taxpayers to pay close attention to residency violations as a method of quality control, ensuring the highest return per tax dollar.

“Our schools are overcrowded as it is and we really don’t have the capacity for students who live outside the district,” says Diana Walsh, a concerned parent and former member of PiE. “Our classrooms are packed to the gill and overflowing.” Jessica’s parents, however, were not thinking about education in terms of interdistrict tax return when they lied for her to attend PAUSD. “My parents just wanted me to have a good education and the same opportunities as kids here,” Jessica says. “They’ve sacrificed a lot to get me those opportunities.” Many Palo Altans feel that Jessica’s parents’ concern is not a legitimate one. “The kids [who attend PAUSD illegally] are in a really tough place because their parents have convinced them that this is the best place for them when, in fact, they can get a good education in many places,” Walsh says. The district focuses on the quality of its children’s education, which is being funded out-of-pocket. The families of Kate, Jessica and Carolyn see no rationale for why they shouldn’t reap the same benefits and opportunities for their children. The issue of district residency has extended beyond the bounds of economic dogma, and not just for out-of-district families. Some parents say that it not only detracts from legal residents’ educations, but also from the moral education of the student perpetrators as well. “I’m horrified to think that parents teach their kids that it’s okay to steal to get ahead,” Walsh says. “To me, that’s appalling.” For Kate, the issue is not political. It goes beyond questions of “stealing” taxpayers’ money and the morality of vigilante socialism in a capitalist system where the taxpayer’s dollar is everything. To Kate, her address is just a collection of meaningless numbers and letters that allows her to remain within the boundaries of the place she calls home. “I just sleep in San Jose and come back,” Kate says. “Palo Alto is my home.” v

HONORABLE MENTION: GENERAL FEATURE Columbia Scholastic Press Association, 2012-2013

HONORABLE MENTION: GENERAL FEATURE Northern California Federation of Press Women 2012-2013

INTOLERANT TOLERANCE

NSIDE THE CHURCH, A PASTOR delivered his sermon with dramatic, revivalist passion. It was the night of a sub-tropical rainstorm. Fruit hung heavily like garnets from the trees. It was my third week in Para-

guay. An angular face across the pew bore curious eyes into the side of my deliberately turned head. He always asked the most questions about United States, about what we were okay with there, where our boundaries were, if our pastors ever talked about the sin of homosexuality. That night in the church marked the first time I have ever felt shame for my sexuality. Not because of the preacher’s sermon, but because of the apathy I had previously expressed about being gay. Hiding behind Palo Alto’s liberalism, I had allowed myself to shrug off my homosexuality, reserving it for the dramatic irony of my own self-deprecating humor. Outside the church, homosexuality was silenced in Paraguay, made a non-issue. I had treated it the same way in my life, dismissing my being gay as insignificant and calling this delusion profound self-acceptance. The October decision of the Boy Scouts of America to deny gay scout Ryan Andresen the rank of Eagle Scout drew the same reaction from me as the night in the church. It tore through the politics

surrounding the marriage issue and joined the institutional bigotry of the conservative church with a symbol of good samaritanship, the Boy Scout, making the civil issue of the gay community accessible. It spoke directly to the American community. The message was clear: Andresen’s courage is not only undeserving of a badge, it is diametrically opposed to heroism, to Americanism. It was an isolating message, that made a public distinction between Andresen and that all-too-banal system of “American family values” that seems to have replaced reason in the argument of gay equality. The BSA’s reaction was to claim that it would tolerate silent homosexuality, the equivalent of saying “don’t push the gay agenda into our sacred value system and it won’t get pushed out.” The desire to act on such a personal “non-issue” as homosexuality had never so much as occurred to me, but the Andresen case is one of those instances in American life that make my kind of apathy problematic, that reveals it as deeply self-centered. By measuring the dramas of gay life against my priviliged one, I had rejected ownership of an experience receding from prominence in the civil rights arena on the basis that homosexuality is largely tolerated. Today, the collective reaction towards the gay community has not moved forward from the fight for tolerance. It floats be-

tween the halfway victory of tolerance and the unwelcome silence that comes holding tolerance’s hand. Actions against equality go against tolerance by definition, but raise no incendiary response. Perhaps they shouldn’t. There should, however, be a total rejection of the “tolerance” idea. The general attitude has been that tolerance is still a big enough success, that asking for total equality would be unreasonable. Tolerance pacifies and pays lip-service to the idea of equality, to the idea that Andresen is even more deserving of a badge for upholding the secular moral code of equality than he would be for some community project. If there is tolerance, there is no conflict, but there is no discourse either. The response to decisions like this one by the Boy Scouts of America reveal that tolerance takes the problem away without giving a solution. The case reminded me that my first world liberal life was not so different than what I had encountered in South America. The Andresen case attacked the delusion that being gay meant nothing more to me than the genders of the wax figures on a future civil-union cake or the genetic composition of children I wasn’t planning on, that it was not a quality of my life directly tied to my political rhetoric. It re-problematized a social issue that I had taken as solved and thus ignorable. It put me firmly behind the struggle for equality with no irony or selfdeprecation. v

“It was an isolating message, that made a public distinction between Andresen and that all-too-banal system of “American family values” that seems to have replaced reason in the argument of gay equality.” PERSPECTIVES

“A REACTION TO THE BOYSCOUTS’ OPPRESSIVE POLICY” #2 OPINIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: National Federation of Press Women 2012-2013

RAISING THE BAR, SLOWING THE PACE

hether you spend your school days hunkered down over meticulous notes or over the anarchy symbol you have carved into your desk, you have been marginalized by a metrics based education reform. This is the term I will use to denote the ascription of a value by No Child Left Behind to every marginal activity we perform in school, gauging individual successes and intelligence in a calculated, one-dimensional manner. The “Beforemath” When George W. Bush exhorted the pitch for “No Child Left Behind”, the idealist in each of us was enamored with the idea of a world in which the United States reigned supreme as the quintessential land of educational opportunity. Desperate to cling to this idealized perception of our nation’s education, we blinded ourselves to the implications of “No Child” and hopped onto the ideological bandwagon. The premise that every child would be presented the opportunity to give account to himself and thus catapult to success, and not “against all odds” seemed too superfluously attractive to let down. So it would be: our school systems would stand proud once again, a paradigm of education according to which the rest of the world would identify itself-yeah, take that, rest of the world! Well, here we are, hindered by the demands of a goal-oriented ideology and resentful of our respective alma maters. And what’s more we are lagging further behind in global education. The Aftermath No Child Left Behind addresses aca-

demic progress with several clauses, mandating that schools reach “proficiency” on two levels by regulated tests. One of these required that by they year of 201314, schools reach a level of proficiency in regulated state tests. Should it fall short, said school would be subject corrective measures from outside, including potential administrative and governance changes. According to a report by Stanford University, nearly half of the school principals and superintendents consider this federal legislation as aimed at undermining public schools. I could not agree more. Public schools are forced to adhere to standards, periodically verify progress, and thus enforcing organization by threat. The detriment brought about by all this is an end result of schools racing to raise their success rates through ends-oriented educating, as opposed to allowing the freedom for students to pursue education and intellectuality more or less as they please. The schools don’t have a choice, either; without this they are at the mercy of government intervention, better a watered down education than none at all, right? The Rant Here is where it becomes tricky, in attempts to avoid an astringent critique of our education system, I have strayed into the murky waters of politics and ideology. But in the cracks between my supposed wit lies a very real political truth, that we are the casualties of a metrics-based value system. Now those of you who just drove home from the math class you overzealously take at Stanford may find yourself lost in such empirical waters, but have no fear: incapacitated though you may be in a portable setting, you are safe where you are.

Now my intent is neither to berate the school system, nor to belittle those whose talents manifest themselves in a metric environment. On the contrary, I salute you. Those of you on the other side of that line, however, you I can sympathize with. Cultivating a vacuum in which the rift students with students a penchant for pedantic behavior and those without paints the picture that pedantic tendencies and an overwhelming desire to “come out on top” by predetermined means are the essential qualities of intelligence which, of course they are not. So as this gap grows, so does that of our achievements, uninspired and disillusioned, those students whose fascinations lie beyond the offered curriculum are left in the shadow of a calculated pragmaticism. The Cop-Out Solution What do we do? On a global scale, nothing, I say. There isn’t much we, as students can do to get in the way of a nation-wide epidemic. On a personal level, however, I suggest you find comfort in the little things. Read a book every once in a while, write something just for you, or spend twenty minutes a day learning French instead of going on Facebook. It may not much, but the best we can do is only hope that through it change will come. “Thank You, and Good Night” So, while attempting to resist a vacuously Gouldian rant on the value of true intelligence and it’s correlation to this and that, I will leave you with general disappointment in an end-based educational methodology at the hand of poor politics, and if I’ve done my job, an overwhelming desire for change. vIN

PERSPECTIVES

“A DIAGNOSIS OF EDUCATION POST‘NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND’” -Wrote all text, copy edited text, created images and designed page layout

CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

E PEERS OUT OF the stucco house, looselipped and sunken-eyed. The man is rangy with tightly drawn, rusty skin and a fine shock of white hair. He passes a single slender Newport to the woman at his door, who lights it, flicking off the burning tip and releasing a puff of grey. It is a Sunday, one of the year’s first, and Jane, who briefly attended school in the Palo Alto Unified School District, is showing me around East Palo Alto’s arms trade. Her name, like others in this story, has been changed to preserve her anonymity. Cars blur past like bullets on the highway, each leaving in its wake only a trail of exhaust and a string of drivers pursuing it northward on 101. The man addresses Jane. “Hey honey, it’s been a while. What can I do for ya?” “Yeah it has, huh?” Jane says. “I heard that [someone’s] got a gun around here?” “Down the block,” the man says. “‘S for a good price, too. Got a clip and everything. You gonna buy?” The man is old enough to be her grandfather, selling single cigarettes out of his front door. His accent, like his manner, belongs in the American South, and he eyes me like an unwelcome tourist in East Palo Alto, so clearly out of place and touch. Jane tells him she isn’t, that she was just curious. She exchanges a crumpled bill for a cigarette, and lights it. “See? That’s how easy it is to get a gun here,” Jane says to me, once out of the man’s earshot. “All you gotta do is cross 101 to East Palo Alto. ... He’s cool, though,

the dude who’s selling. Tons of people are strapped [carry concealed weapons] over here.” Jane does not hesitate to recount the story of the night several years before when she was shot, an accidental casualty o one of EPA’s violent territorial conflicts. We cross in front of Home Depot, where a group of day laborers are congregated near a red Ford whistling over faintly musical radio static. “I didn’t know what was going on,” Jane says, recalling the shooting. “I just hit the floor. I remember hearing someone call, ‘Mark a-- n----!’ at us and watching the car drive away, windows all tinted.” Jane recalls the sound of the shot hammering all other noise out of her consciousness, breaking against the inside of her ears. She dropped to the floor, but before reaching it she was hit in the leg, lying on her stomach in front of the neon signs of a fast food restaurant. “I didn’t even know what was going on that night,” Jane says. “The guys I was with helped me get home, but we didn’t call the cops or anything. I was too scared to start s---. I shouldn’t have been with people [from another neighborhood]. I guess they’d had beef before, but I shouldn’t have been there.” The Facts Shotspotter, an online service that monitors the number of shots fired in a locale during a given time, reported an average of 13.3 gunshots daily in November 2012 and 108 single gunshot incidents and 70 multiple gunshot incidents in EPA in

January of the same year. In the same period, not a single shot was fire within Palo Alto city limits, although several reports of gun related crime have been filed with Palo Alto police, among them the arrest of two Paly students on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11 for bringing guns onto campus and several armed robberies in the downtown area. Getting Involved In Palo Alto, as in the rest of the country, the debate on gun control rose to prominence on Dec. 14, 2012, when Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adult faculty members of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. The shooting brought gun control to the center of political debate on the national level, drawing a proposal from the White House calling for “increased background checks for all gun sales, including those by private sellers currently exempt.” Also in the proposition was a reinstatement of the 1994 ban on assault weapons that was abandoned in 2004, and other clauses that have drawn serious reactions from proponents of relaxed firearm control and the National Rifle Association. An anti-gun group based in the Silicon Valley organized in support of Obama’s proposal at its inaugural meeting on Jan. 17. The group, which includes Palo Alto residents, plans to lobby to politicians to back Obama’s proposal. Local action in support of gun control is planned for Feb. 23 by Silicon Valley investor Robert Lee and outreach coordinator James Cook. Backed by some $50,000 in funding, an anonymous gun buyback will be hosted at Palo Alto City Hall for the tri-city area including Menlo Park, Palo

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“A LOOK INTO GUN OWNERSHIP IN PALO ALTO & EAST PALO ALTO”

Alto and East Palo Alto. Also since the Newtown shooting, maroon signs with white text have been distributed throughout Palo Alto. The text reads, “With just one single exception, EVERY public shooting since 1950 in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry guns.” The signs belong to Palo Alto Liberty, a local self-described “physical manifestation” of the anarchist group Anonymous that has taken a stance against gun control. The group claims to be “fighting tyranny and corruption when and where [it] can,” and the pending gun control proposal represents a clear breach of what it considers to be an essential constitutional freedom. The Debate John J. Donahue III, a professor of law at Stanford University and the author of “Shooting Down the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis,” argues that the relationship between gun ownership and crime is not, as argued by the NRA and much of the right wing, inversely correlated. In EPA, gun ownership takes on a completely new shape. According to Jane, firearms in EPA are being used primarily for violent crime, an attitude that influences the mentality around firearms enterprise and culture in the city. “I’m waking up to shootings almost every night,” Jane says. “Most of them happen cause of turf wars and drug deals.” “We keep our beds under the window, just in case anything flies through,” Kelly, Jane’s friend, adds, warning me, as I turn

to use the restroom in a nearby building, not to cross to the other side of the street alone. The firearms that spray bullets through Jane’s and Kelly’s waking nights are sold on the street, Jane says. “Most of the guns here are unregistered,” Kelly says. “You buy them on the street, like drugs, from someone who got it from someone else. It goes on like that, in a chain, until you get to the [original] buyer.” “People aren’t protecting themselves at home,”Jane says, tying her scarf tighter across her forehead. “Everybody knows not to come in when somebody’s at home and start sh-t. People here have guns for the street.” Donahue attributes the abundance of illegal weapons and frequency of gun violence in EPA to the propagation of drugs. “EPA is a locale in which there is a certain amount of drug dealing going on,” Donahue says. “Dealers tend to need guns because they cannot rely on the police to enforce their contracts or protect them from theft because they’re engaged in a criminal enterprise. ... If one thing would diminish the rate of murder and nefarious gun trade in the U.S. it would most likely be the legalization of drugs ... [Palo Alto is] a growing site for drug criminality, which may well pose a problem in our future.” A Tale of Two Cities By Donahue’s estimation, the drug trade and a host of other factors brought on by the socioeconomic divide between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto determine a split in the role of firearms in the two cities.

HONORABLE MENTION: GENERAL FEATURE Northern California Federation of Press Women, 2012-2013

“In East Palo Alto, I can see people feeling the psychological need to buy guns for safety in the home, especially considering how difficult it is to [legally] register a concealed carry,” Donahue says. “In Palo Alto, that need is negligible. Guns [in Palo Alto] are used for recreational sports... and as Republican party political statements, political props of Second Amendment support.” Lee Hughes, a Paly Junior and gun owner, has an attitude towards gun ownership that corroborates Donahue’s assumption. “Fun!” Hughes says. “I’m not gonna lie, guns are fun. They are not evil things like everyone thinks, when used correctly. But key words are ‘used correctly,’ since they are not toys and if you think of them as such you don’t deserve [to own] one.” To Kelly and Jane, the restriction of gun ownership surpasses the realm of individual liberty and crosses into that of individual safety. They are not concerned with the party politics surrounding gun control, and do not stop to think about the intangible implications of tighter restrictions or of laxer ones. “If I’m not going to be waking up to gunshots, though, it means that somebody’s getting them off the streets,” Kelly says. Jane is concerned for the quality of life and the degree of safety for herself and those around her, concerned that she’ll hit the pavement again with a bullet in her knee, afraid to get help. “In EPA, guns are being used to kill and injure,” Jane says. “I don’t care what, but something needs to be done to stop it.” V

MIND THE GAP

gap” are trying to make a difference. One of such students is Paly Senior, Tremaine Kirkman, who is involved in the district discussions about the achievement gap. “[The achievement gap] is a really serious problem, and while I think we are pointed in the right direction on the school level, there is more we could be doing as a district,” Kirkman says.

What’s the problem? The achievement gap is the difference in academic performance between white and minority students, particularly black and hispanic students. Although Paly consistently ranks highly in overall performance, on average, its minority students are not performing at this same standard of excellence. Paly’s SARC (School Accountability Report Card) shows that in 2011, only 15 percent of the black students who graduated had completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission. In addition, although 98 percent of white students and 99 percent of asian students had completed Algebra I by the end of their freshman year, of their black and hispanic counterparts, only 55 and 74 percent respectively had completed that level of Math. The achievement gap is a problem in schools across the state, but PAUSD has a severe case of academic disparity. The district ranks 147th in California in regards to the proficiency of PAUSD’s hispanic and black students in Algebra II. On the other hand, PAUSD’s asian and white students are ranked third in the state for their proficiency in Algebra II. Many students and teachers intent on “closing the

Title 1 and No Child Left Behind Ten years ago, President Bush sat down at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed an act that supports standardsbased education reform. The No Child Left Behind Act has led to increased federal funding of education by $12 billion within the first five years of its passing, but the act has not had entirely positive results. Because of the act, there is a considerable danger that the PAUSD district will lose federal funding. How could Paly, ranked 83rd in the nation in the US News and World Report and known for sending students to top-tier universities and national math and science competitions, be in danger of losing federal funding? The answer is this: the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act required that counties set forth goals by which 100% of their students would be proficient in a statewide standardized test. If this goal is not met, then it is possible that the district will lose federal funding. “If, by 2020, not all students have reached 100% proficiency in the California Star Test, then Paly will be regarded as a ‘failing school,’ which is most respects it isn’t,” Wilmot says. Even though private

investments make up a large part of Paly’s budget, these donations are not enough to keep the school running if it were to lose federal support. “The act puts a lot of pressure on teachers to account for what they’re doing,” Maria Rao, a Focus on Success and Math teacher, says. “Everyone – parents, students, and teachers – needs to get involved to make a significant change”. A-G Requirements With the intention of mending the bifurcation of our student’s education, the school system proposed a controversial change in graduation requirements, to mirror those of eligibility to California’s state universities. These changes were contested by Paly’s math department with a strongly opposed letter, calling the changes “well-intended” but predicting “devastating consequences.” Others, though have reacted favorably to these pending changes, “There is a lot more we could be doing on the district level” Kirkman says on the issue. “Right now, though they are considering aligning A-G requirements, and we (student representatives) are strong supporters of this alignment.” Kirkman says, and adds that students are more likely to succeed if more is expected of them and that on the school-level there is enough support in place to make these changes. Paly principal Phil Winston agrees. “I wish it was that easy, it is complicated. Yes I believe we are doing good work in this area [supporting kids to achieve the A-G standard]. Motivation is the most difficult area to tackle”, Winston says, who is optimistic about the school’s abili-

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“EXPLORING THE CAUSES & EFFECTS OF PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT’S ACHIEVEMENT GAP”

ty to meet the A-G standards should they be implemented. A report by the district shows that an average of 89% of white and asian students are currently meeting A-G standards. This number is mirrored by a mere 15% of black A-G graduates.

rates, however, have fallen from previous years and mathematic proficiency has seen a decrease across the board. Even with support at earlier junctions in students’ educations, Wilmot predicts that current goals will be difficult to reach.

An Early Start According to Kirkman, the Achievement Gap is not just a transitional issue. “The main thing we could do is look at elementary levels and early education and focus on putting support in for students” Kirkman says in regards to the district’s shortcomings in addressing the gap. Winson agrees, and claims that the district has been making efforts to provide support in the earlier grades. “In the educational system there are red lights or warning signals. The district has made a massive effort to provide support and interventions to struggling students at the earlier grade levels” Winston says. Barron Park elementary provides a program that allows students the organizational and other support they need in the formative years of their early education. Paly librarian Rachel Kellerman describes the program as “a wonderful opportunity that will no doubt have a positive impact. She is not the only optimist. Winston, too predicts that support at earlier grade levels will yield positive results with time. Wilmot’s district statistics have displayed some growth in proficiency among Black students, around 11% since 2009, in the English Language Arts section of the CAHSEE. Hispanic students’ success

Focus on Success In order to meet the goal of 100% proficiency among its students, Paly aims to help its struggling students more directly. Focus on Success, a class period where students do their homework or receive tutoring, is intended to be that direct help. “It’s all about providing students with the support they need, the resources and capacity for self-advocacy that will help them achieve at the same level. I think that Focus on Success is a great way to achieve that,” Kellerman says, claiming to have observed Focus on Success as a catalyst for positive change over the years. Math and Focus on Success teachers Kathy Bowers and Rao also express enthusiasm and hope for the cause. “It’s all about getting the students to buy into it; a lot of them come into the class having been shown time and time again that they are failures” Bowers says. “Once we can get them to see results they often times take their education into their own hands”. Rao agrees, and claims that motivation to succeed comes after students are shown their ability to do so. “I think it’s all about showing struggling students that they have the resources they need to achieve, so that they can seize the opportunity for themselves,” Rao says. “They all want to be performing at the same level as their peers”. For

these teachers, teaching Focus on Success has been gratifying because it has shown them that failing students are often truly interested in succeeding. Kirkman agrees, though tentatively, “improvement of study skills is important, and it definitely helps with that, but the district on a whole needs to make steps in the same direction”, Kirkman says. Winston claims that the Focus classes have a visible influence on students’ performances. “Relationships have a major impact on a student’s education and performance,” he says. Despite the Focus on Success program’s success, the achievement gap hasn’t been eradicated. PAUSD superintendent Focus on Success may not be the key to achieving 100% proficiency on the California Star Test, but Kellerman, Bowers, Rao and Winston will all vow for its positive effect on the performance of minority and struggling students. Looking Forward With programs like Focus on Success and teachers and students passionate about making a difference to close the achievement gap, Paly may, indeed, meet its goal. The Focus On Success program is evidence that with the right support, students from all backgrounds can perform in school. “There is a lot of work to do, but we have the resources and will power to close this gap. The district is in our corner, but it takes a lot of time and effort to solve such a big problem” Kirkman. v

GOLD CIRCLE AWARD: #1 GENERAL FEATURE Columbia Scholastic Press Association, 2011-2012

LEFT, RIGHT & IN BETWEEN

EVENTY NINE YEAR-OLD HARRIET PALMER, A LOCAL VOLUNTEER FOR THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN, PASSES OUT POLITICAL PARAPHERNALIA TO THOSE WHO PASS BY HER DESK. She appears rejuvenated by every new arrival at the Menlo Park Democratic convention, where she volunteers. Palmer, the physical embodiment of a patriotism that is both new and old, seated behind the sticker-covered table, is surrounded by bouquets of balloons in the archetypal red, white and blue and peering out at her America from behind her wire-rimmed glasses. “I’ve always been in politics,” Palmer says, as if she ran a similar reception desk at the arrival of the Mayflower and has watched politics evolve ever since. She hands out nametags as she professes her love for her country. “This is the greatest country in the world,” Palmer says, “My passport when I was growing up was an important thing for me. I’m fortunate because I’m here but that also gives me responsibility. That’s what patriotism means to me, owning up to our responsibility as a country.” The true meaning of patriotism has long been the center of a vehement debate. Maybe this need to identify ourselves based on love for our country is the reason that we defend the objects that symbolize America so desperately, draping flags and thematic balloons over reception tables, flagpoles and infomercials. Maybe this need to qualify patriotism is why Palmer punctuates her definition of it with the claim that “Romney doesn’t recognize his universal responsibility, our universal responsibil-

ity” as a country who has considered itself a universal paradigm since independence. Damon Linker, in his article, “Calvin and American Exceptionalism,” traces this overconfidence as the seed of American patriotism. “[There was a] profound impact of Calvinist assumptions on the formation of American patriotism — and in particular the country’s sense of itself as an exceptional nation empowered by providence to bring democracy, liberty and Christian redemption to the world,” Linker says. Linker cites this religious elitism as the feature of American patriotism that sets us apart from other countries. “It is this persistent theological selfconfidence that distinguishes American patriotism from expressions of communal feeling in any other modern nation,” Linker says. Palo Alto High School senior and outspoken Republican Jake Kerman disagrees with Linker’s claims that patriotism is rooted in religious America’s altruistic intentions, instead claiming that capitalist individualism is our country’s backbone. “Democrats believe that government has the responsibility to create a playing field where people in need of aid receive it by law,” Kerman says. “Conservatives believe that this aid should not come through the government, but rather by way of strong community values and private charity.” The claim, at once firmly based in capitalism, and socially conscious, evokes somewhat more of a “Bleeding Heart Conservatism” than Romney’s recent “47 percent” remarks. Palmer and Kerman stand for the two types of patriotism that drive the ever-uglier political campaigns in

our country and constant speculations that each election will be the one that defines America for our generation. “I would say that mainly Democratic ideals are what I believe in,” Palmer says, reaching across her table and gesturing at flyers printed with Obama slogans. Palmer’s sparsely ringed hand passes over last election’s dictum, “Yes we can,” as if subconsciously affirming the statement that her patriotism and ideology cannot be split, and that our country’s greatness lies in that eternal promise. “It’s important [for patriots] to have a belief.” Lisa Altieri, Palmer’s colleague and the regional field organizer of the Obama campaign, agrees with Palmer’s partisan take on patriotism. “Right now, we’re at a crossroads,” Altieri says. “Either people will understand what’s going on or they will believe what they [the Republican party] are saying and we’ll lose everything.” Altieri interposes her rejection of a legitimate right-wing patriotism with a bite into her sandwich. “The idea that you can have a partisan attitude is very much part of our political culture and we’ve internalized that,” Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize-winning Stanford professor of history says. This is a split that is becoming more and more pronounced as we are bombarded on Facebook by the posts of our pseudo-pundit peers and on television interviews by their lobbying adult counterparts. The student population has taken it upon themselves to declare their political orientation over social media platforms in dispute over which patriotism is more correct, whose love for America greater. “I think there’s an asymmetry — Re-

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“LOCAL AMERICAN PATRIOTISM AS IT OPERATES BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES”

publicans who, generally speaking, represent old-stock Americans and Democrats who have become the much more multiracial party, much more the party of immigrants,” Rakove says. This asymmetry has existed since Anglo-American times, when Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian ideologies gave birth to the party-specific strands of patriotism that we see in politics today. Even apart from the most dramatic right-wing factions like the Tea Party, the Republican Party in general defines patriotism in terms of America’s beginnings. According to Rakove, “their platform has been advertised in Hamiltonian vernacular, condemning all traces of “socialism” and the left as “more interested in national norms than American interests.” “He [Obama] takes his political inspiration from the socialist Democrats in Europe,” says Romney in Fox’s GOP debate on Sept 22. “I believe in free enterprise and capitalism. I believe government is too big.” “We are a country that demands freedom in every sense of the word. We are a country that values hard work and getting ahead of the curve,” Kerman says. “It does not matter what one subscribes to; as long as they subscribe to it with these beliefs, patriotism will form as a results.” “The way symbols [of patriotism] operate between the parties is what is significant,” Rakove says on the true meaning of partisanship in American patriotism. Rakove’s claim hints at a patriotism that is shared between the two. Contrary to their competitors, the left campaigns in terms of the promise that America can improve on itself (Obama’s former “Yes we can” mantra immediately comes to mind).

“What makes America great is not its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better,” President Barack Obama said in a 2008 speech in aptly-named Independence, Missouri. Obama qualifies American exceptionalism by relating it to humanity, not the individual, connoting that as a country, America has much to realize and the potential to do so. “Patriotism for me is a belief in true democracy,” Altieri says. “People all over the world really want what we have here in terms of opportunity for equality.” According to Christopher Morriss’s Time Magazine article, “The New Patriotism,” the left designates social characteristics to the equality that Altieri talks about. The left campaigns for an America where all races, creeds and sexual orientations will be afforded the same privileges and fiscal opportunities, using Romney’s lack of Obama’s rags-to-riches appeal to downplay his understanding of the common American. Peter Rockhold, Paly graduate class of 2012, and one of few Paly students who take on the responsibility of patriotism by planning to join the Navy defines patriotism as independent of party division. His views are his alone, and do not necessarily mirror those of the US Navy. “What really defines America [and our national identity] is our documents: the Declaration, the Constitution, these are true American ideas and values,” Rockhold says. According to Rakove, the virtue of true American patriotism is rooted in something much deeper than the party division that he calls “a false dichotomy” in American politics.

“The American Patriot is loyal to the Constitution of the United States of America,” Rockhold says. “For a long time, sailors of the United States Navy have been taught the constitutional paradigm. Politics is where the lines blur between patriotism, greed and jingoism.” These politics dictate the different operations of symbolism on either side of our political spectrum; these politics that inspire us to defend our ideology so aggressively by flag-waving and chest thumping. Kerman holds a similar opinion on true patriotism to Rockhold and Rakove’s, he claims that partisanship is nullified by patriots’ common loyalties to the great American documents, and that patriotism is a definitive pride in the principles that make up America, and the ideals that we stand for as a nation. According to Kerman, it is our Constitutional ideals that define true American patriotism at its core, that dictates the goals we are fighting over on televised debates, during Occupy protests and in virtually every expression of love for our country. Perhaps it is this universally applicable strain of patriotism that inspires Palmer to recognize the American community in saying, “No man is an island, we’re [as Americans] all part of a whole,” Palmer says as she reclines away from her desk and peers up at the balloon bouquets with new meaning. Perhaps it is this patriotism that we adorn with our flags and Fourth of July napkins. According to Rakove, “The fact that we continue to argue about our ideals; what kind of equality we favor, what kind of social norms are we comfortable with, is what defines American citizenship, a virtue so bound up with who we are as people.” v

-Wrote body text & edited with co-author -Designed page layout and thought of concept for dominant image (taken by CHARU SRIVASTAVA) -Conducted all interviews & reporting

EDITORIAL; NEW CALENDAR

fter endless debates and countless conjectures, the Palo Alto Unified School District has finally experienced the schedule change we spent so long last year discussing. The change, which moves the calendar so first semester ends as winter break begins (instead of awkwardly in the end of January), will also take place next school year. However, the school board will then decide whether to keep the change for the next two years. Verde encourages the school board to maintain the new schedule. Although the transition may have been imperfect, we believe that the new schedule significantly

improves the old system. The post-finals break frees up time for students to work on various extracurricular commitments that don’t otherwise fit into their schedules, such as finishing college applications and preparing for the SAT or ACT. Moreover, the new calendar allows families to relax and prepare mentally for the coming semester. The opportunity to push the stresses of our academic lives on the back burner, free from the looming threat of January finals, radically changes the transition between semesters. We encourage faculty and administration to iron out curricular discrepancies that do not fit comfortably into the new schedule. It appears that second semester is much shorter than first semester, which

NEWS SAMPLE 1 Palo Alto High School’s musical duo, juniors Remi Wolfe and Chloe Zilliac, will be playing a concert at Angelica’s Bell Theatre & Bistro in Redwood City, beginning at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. The Palo Alto High School juniors booked the venue at an open mic audition at Angelica’s. Remi and Chloe will be performing a two-set show, one with a full band and one in their classic, guitar-and-vocals format.

The set list for the concert includes original songs by the duo, and their spins on other artists’ work. “We play a combination of classic rock, bop and top-of-the-charts with an acoustic spin,” Wolfe said. The duo is influenced by artists ranging from Stevie Wonder, to The Beatles, to Nirvana, and they try to emulate and honor these artists’ work with soulful vocal harmonies.

seemed comparatively crammed with information — sometimes too much for teachers to complete. These rough patches are unavoidable with any reform. Current seniors may remember the rocky switch freshman year, as Paly moved to block periods. Although the first two years were rough, the improvement was ultimately much better. However, the administration cannot do this alone: students and teachers are vital in giving constructive input to make this transition happen as smoothly as possible. All in all, the staff of Verde Magazine strongly supports the new schedule. Although it may need development and alterations, bridging the two semesters with winter break only benefits PAUSD. V

“What sets Remi and Chloe apart is our friendship,” Zilliac said. The two hope to take their music beyond the realm of its current high school celebrity. “We are always trying to improve, and we are always looking forward to reaping the rewards of that process,” Zilliac said. “We are considering going to college for music, but it’s all just speculation at this point,” Wolfe said.

NEWS SAMPLE 2 A mural painted by four students in Steven Ferrera’s Art Spectrum class is expected to arrive in front of assistantprincipal Jerry Berkson’s office sometime in late May. Plans for the mural are being drawn up now by its creators, sophomores Yun-Hsuan Jan and Ester Leung and freshmen Juliet Newman and Flora Leu.

A preliminary mock-up drawing of the mural is due at the end of spring break. The mural, according to current plans, will depict a fantastical forest in vibrant colors. “I think it will look really nice where it’s going,” Newman said. “Hopefully it will add some color to the quad.” According to Ferrera, the decision to

paint the mural was random, sparked by a thought from principal Phil Winston that a mural would look nice on the wall. “We were chosen because our ‘impeccable taste,” Newman said. “I’m really excited to see the whole thing happen, hopefully it turns out the way we planned.”

NEWS SAMPLE 3 Now and in the weeks to come, Palo Alto and Gunn High Schools’ guidance programs will be under the supervision and review of a third party consultant to review and amend current practices, called the Guidance Model Review Project. Consultant Kelun Zhang will be conducting parent and child focus groups as well as supervising Palo Alto Unified School District guidance faculty. She will also supervise teacher advisers to formulate a report on the guidance departments due at the end of March. To gain a greater perspective from a wider index of students than the focus groups, Zhang will be conducting a student survey and reviewing guidance departments at neighboring schools, including Mountain View and Saratoga, although her affiliation is solely with the

Palo Alto School District. “Our two schools use different models to provide guidance support to students and families. The Board and community have an interest in making sure students have comparable services in this area, regardless of service model”, said PAUSD Superintendent Kevin Skelly in an e-mail to members of the Board of Education. Assistant Principal Kim Diorio described the project as, “a routine check-up on one of our districts departments” and not driven by increased pressure from outside guidance services or student stress. With second semester budget-cuts under way, Principal Phil Winston says it may be difficult to undertake large projects or amend the guidance practices in a serious way.

Zhang encourages students across PAUSD to continue to take her survey released in Feb. to help formulate a broader and more accurate report. Guidance-related support is available to students through programs outside of their respective school student services department, and through projects such as Project Safety Net. PAUSD is a leading partner in this organization, according to Amy Drolette, a co-chair of PSN and a supervisor of the Guidance Model Review Project. Reviews of departments such as the library have occurred in the past and were “a great opportunity to receive objective feedback and improve [our] system” according to Rachel Kellerman, head librarian, who believes that the consultations will give PAUSD guidance a chance to review and amend itself.

NEWS SAMPLE 4 California’s public schools are admitting more international and out of state students, to limit the influence of coming budget cuts. A document released by the University of California Regents showed an admit rate of around 51 percent and 53 percent for out-of-state and international students respectively in 2010. These statistics were magnified by 10 percent in the following year. Palo Alto High School senior Amy

Ke, an incoming freshman at University of California Los Angeles, is excited about this change. “I think it’ll be good for the school to admit more out-of-state students because it’ll bring more diversity into the schools and make them more like private schools where you meet people from all over the country, as opposed to the state you’ve lived in all your life,” Ke said. Ke’s classmate, Toby Lee, disagrees,

NEWS AND EDITORIAL

“The UCs will benefit themselves financially by charging for higher tuition,” Lee said. “The UC system is not taking the right approach at all.” In the future, the public California system is looking at an increase of more than 100 percent tuition money from out-of-state students, according to a report by US News. That money will go towards accounting for government budget cuts.

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REFRAINING FROM NORMALCY

CHRISTIAN DEATH METAL Context: An eclectic mix of Jesus and paradox, Christian Death Metal stepped onto the scene on the verge of the 1970s, a time that no doubt smelled of the pungent breath of its hippie-turned-Christian forefathers. A movement of born-again Christians in the late 60s decided to turn away from their musical roots as sacrilegious noisemakers and move in a holier direction. Attempting to stray away from the occult Satanic symbols of such bands as Mötley Crüe and Black Sabbath, newly converted hippies and self nominated “Jesus People” put down their crack pipes and picked up their rosaries for a bout of good, not-soclean fun! You’ll Like This If: You wear black every

day except Easter, and every year before Christmas you ask Santa for nothing but an Uglydoll, a Bible from Hot Topic and revenge on the unholy. Favorite Bands: Jerusalem and Barnabas for the unforgiving guitar, which carries a much more forgiving message. Suggestion for a Jewish spin-off: Guns and Moses. TUVAN THROAT SINGING Context: We set the scene in Southern Siberia, where the Tuvan people fill mountain caverns with their guttural chanting melodies. Apart from the chronological inconsistency, an untrained ear might rationally mistake Tuvan singing for the love child of Kermit and Cher. Don’t feel simple, American readers, even an intellectual as erudite as myself can’t quite grasp the pulse of the Eastern aesthetic, so hop into your pickups (Priuses, I know) and don’t bother to roll up your windows as Kenny Chesney comes on. The 1999 film “Genghis Blues,” about an artist who travels to Northern Asia in pursuit of a career as a Tuvan singer, brought this genre to popularity in the United States. While still a fringe genre, Tuvan singing has some notoriety both in its own cultural circles, and among world music enthusiasts. You’ll Like This If: You fantasize about Peace Corps volunteering while fingering massive amounts of wooden jewelry. You have started a book drive for children in the Himalayas and only drink tea with names that contain more than five syllables. You may also enjoy Tuvan if you are a Mongolian tribesperson. Favorite Bands: Tyva Kyzy, because har-

monies sung in croaky bass remind yours truly of noisemakers on purim. GYPSY PUNK Context: Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” borscht and toothless babushkas are conjured up by grinding Klezmeresque violin and woodwinds. Possibly the best part of this genre is the delightfully predictable lyrics, which in their addressing of subject matter (ranging from alcoholism to prostitution) make the listener revel in sordid liberation. Bar fights and other ignoble subject matter aside, this East-meets-Westmeets-West genre is a personal favorite because of its upbeat, frivolous musical candor and matching lyrics (this coming from a Google Translate enthusiast). You’ll like this if: You spend endless hours reveling at angsty Tumblr pages, often look through your grandfather’s sketchbook from Ellis Island, and subsequently find yourself craving beet juice. Favorite Bands: Darko Rundek, Gogol Bordello. TECHNO TROT Context: I am almost ashamed to admit how profoundly it affirms my stereotypes of Asian culture that the shrieking vocals of Korean Folk music, combined with delightfully catchy techno-pop would become wildly popular in Japanese cell-phone culture. This is the kind of music that one could play while reading Murakami, were it not so very distracting, or while watching muted infomercials for grape-flavoured Japanese gum on Youtube. It is so contrary to the American ear that, like everything

CULTURE

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HIPSTER QUIZ Lady Gaga, it gives one a creeping fear that they are missing something very crucial. You’ll like this if: You are deaf. Favorite bands: Wing, because who wouldn’t go head-over-heels for an adulteration of Elvis classics with shrieking Korean vocals? That’s right, readers: No one. GOREGRIND Context: The world, or at least some of its more daring inhabitants, decided that they were ready for the next step. Perhaps Goregrind is a product of intense frustration or perhaps it is the brainchild of boredom with those limit-testing genres that no longer offered a sufficiently horrifying listening experience. In any case, Goregrind is about what it sounds like: an exaggeration of “hardcore” music that either leaves its listener hiding under his bed in fear, or clutching a jagged soda can and on the verge of a breakdown. You’ll like this is: You’ve been listening to death metal for years. Once you were even shamefully discovered by your friends attempting to recreate Morbid Angel songs by screaming and slapping pans against each other in front of your computer’s Garageband. You don’t care for Nirvana, and you scoff behind your chin-length bangs whenever you hear the words “rugby” and “hardcore” in tandem. You’re a big kid now, and your growing angst draws you towards titles such as “Vomited Anal Tract” and other more unmentionable things. Favorite Bands: So many choices — bands with names like “Aborted” and “Regurgitate” among them — but it will go to Carcass for the aforementioned title. Congratulations, Carcass! v

My tumblr page • Is my pride and joy, a tasteful mix of muppets singing songs and accessible poetry. I often use it as my platform on which I complain about made up ADD and sleep apnea. (5 points) • I might understand the appeal if I could access it from the neolithic stone tablet I use instead of a computer. (10) • What better place to share my favorite of our generational iconography: bleeding eyeballs and exposed knee-caps? Where else would I figure out how to stud my own leather? (15) After the first presidential debate • I posted a ridiculous, partisan status that used words like, “Trotskyism,” “however” and “Plutocratic.” I was attacked by a healthy mix of infuriated pseudopoliticals and ambivalent friends and strangers who rightly shunned me. (5) • Why is this all about social networking? Is this what we’ve come to? Sorry, I can’t hear your response over the Jefferson Airplane CD I just bought from a homeless man’s Ebay account. (10) • I guess I’m just an anarchist, which is pretty rad. So it’s all the same to me. (15) On Spirit Week • I was a moderate participant, did just enough to pass the bar unless the day elicited the opportunity for some great, hyper-intellectual pun-making. I shamelessly submitted cheers that hardly rhymed, I mean, what rhymes with “Congenital Arrithmea?” For that matter, what rhymes with “Orange?” (5) • I was a full on participant, I incorporated shirts with oversized cat, mustache and wolf patterning into my ridiculously intricate outfits. I took selfies only to upload Instagram-filtered results to ev-

ery social media platform known to (wo) man. The caption read something along the ironic lines of, “Txt it!” (10) • It’s a fascist holiday; I’m not sure how and I couldn’t justify it through my whipit induced haze if I did, but it is. I hate capitalism. (15) On Books • Whenever someone asks, or complains about reading “American Political Tradition” in class, I respond, “I mean, I actually really like reading!” And in theory I do. Every once in a blue moon, I pick up some American classics, and then put them down again once I’ve found something smart to put in my “Favorite quotes” box on Facebook. I’m overly nostalgic about Judy Blume and can quote liberal pundit-bloggers Mormon propaganda allegations against all my favorite Stephenie Meyer novels, but between friends, I haven’t read a book since “Holes” and I know it. (10) • Unabashedly read Derrida in the middle of class. Nothing curls my toes like a big, fat, juicy new word — and I just love the way I sound quoting “anything Thoreau.” (5) • So obsessed with finding anti-egalitarian, anti-marijuana, pro-“the man” connotations that I am confined to Satanic cult literature and the sob stories of teen identity crises. (15) On my iPod • I mean, Taylor Swift’s new album just came out. (10) • From “Scenes of Childhood” to experimental jazz, I say I like everything “good.” Actually, I like everything fancy that came before The Beatles ruined music forever. (5) • Come on man, Kurt Cobain just died, like, 10 years ago. Not cool. (15)

You are the hyper-intellectual, false-glasses-wearing, skinny-leg-having hipster that haunts the streets of San Francisco’s Mission district and the halls of Palo Alto High School. You make our lives miserable in your attempts at out-witting the world, but, ostensibly, we’re impressed. You’re probably the only person who would deign to take this quiz. For that, and little else, we appreciate you. Congratulations on making it to page 11 of Verde. You probably aren’t too pleased with this turn of events, but you know that those hours that you think you spend doing English homework are spent on Hulu plus (Why would you do that to your bank account?) watching “New Girl” and fishtailing your hair. You are the gore-grind anarchist hipster who wanders through the world asking such important metaphysical questions as “Why?” and “What?” It never really ceases to amaze you that the whole world is just a projection of society. Is that, like, a catch 22?

∆INTERNSHIP

ISRAEL HAYOM

∆I N T E R N S H I P Israel displays one of the lowest levels of social cohesion in the Western world, a study released Tuesday by the Jacobs University Bremen in Germany, has found. The study, which was commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation, ranked Israel 28 of 34 countries measured for social cohesion in the past 25 years. The study, which claims to be an empirical measure of social cohesion based on comparative international surveys and “other scientific data,” defines social cohesion as “the special quality how members of a community live and work together … characterized by resilient social relationships, a positive emotional connectedness between its members and the community and a pronounced focus on the common good.” Project leaders Professors Klaus Boehnke and Jan Delhey divided social cohesion into three components -- social relations, connectedness and focus on the common good -- “each consisting of three individual, measurable components.” Of the 27 European Union nations and seven Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members

reviewed in the study, Israel placed at “a lowly 28th, avoiding placement in the rockbottom country group by a very small margin.” The report attributed this ranking to an extreme unwillingness to accept diversity, a low level of trust in political and social institutions and an abysmally low perception of social fairness among Israel’s population. According to the report, Israel reached a nadir in civic participation in 2009, which has lasted until today. Overall, Israel ranked in a category largely occupied by Eastern European countries -- Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria among them -- and some southern European neighbors, namely Greece, Portugal and Italy. The study placed Israel far below the leading Scandinavian countries, Western Europe and the English-speaking world. Findings displayed a strong inverse correlation between a country’s income gap and its social cohesion, though it cited wealth and social cohesion as directly correlated, making Israel’s marked down rank quite a surprise. It also mentioned a correlation between social cohesion and

general satisfaction, saying “citizens in societies with high levels of social cohesion enjoy much higher levels of perceived wellbeing.” However, Israel displayed a higherthan-average placement in the identification category, and an average in “solidarity and helpfulness, trust in people and social networks,” earning it the designation of “a country torn by conflict yet united in its identity.” A 2012 project by the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya attempting to increase social cohesion cited a study that ranked Israel 114 out of 150 countries measured for social cohesion. The project abstract accredited Israel’s low social cohesion to its status as an immigrant nation comprising “a mosaic of groups.” The Jacobs report attributed Israel’s perceived trouble accepting diversity to the its turbulent geopolitical situation. However, program supervisor Stephan Vopel said in the report that “modern societies are based … on solidarity rooted in diversity and mutual interdependence,” not “solidarity rooted in similarity.”

Israel is irate at UNESCO for having adopted a Palestinian-sponsored resolution that denounces Israel’s activities in Jerusalem’s Old City. The resolution was presented to the 37th World Heritage Convention in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, where it passed with a narrow majority of 8:3 with 10 abstentions. According to Shimon Samuels, director of international relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Estonia, Germany and Switzerland voted against the resolution, while Algeria, Iraq, Malaysia, Qatar. Senegal, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates voted in its favor. Cambodia, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Serbia and Thailand abstained. The resolution also accused Israel of failing to disclose crucial information on the state of the various sites in the Old City to the World Heritage Committee. Israel canceled a U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization fact-finding mission to the city, which was planned for May, saying that the Palestinian Authority had politicized the issue despite agreeing not to. “This is a dark day for UNESCO,” a statement by the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. “Exactly as Israel had warned in the past, the Palestinians are exploiting their admission to UNESCO as a member state in order to hijack the agenda and drag this important U.N. agency into the abyss of politicized manipulation.” UNESCO accepted the Palestinian Authority as a full-fledge member in October 2011. Israel suspended its ties with the U.N. body following the vote and the United States suspended the funding lent to it. At $60 million a year, the U.S. provides about 22% of UNESCO’s annual budget. The Jordanian-drafted resolution, which was a last-minute addition to the

agenda, came as a surprise to those present, and has reinforced Israel’s concerns that the Palestinians will use Israeli excavation and construction in Jerusalem as political rhetoric. The meeting, which focused on promoting tourism in Cambodia, was supposed to see the Palestinians defer five pending anti-Israel resolutions concerning Al-Aqsa mosque, the Mughrabi Gate bridge, Bethlehem, Hebron and Gaza. The Palestinians had agreed to postpone their motions following an agreement signed with Jordan in March, cementing Jordan’s custodianship of the Islamic holy places in Jerusalem. Though the Jordanian Waqf, which administers the Temple Mount compound, already manages Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites in coordination with Israel, the agreement reinforces Jordan’s power in the city in a manner which may restrict Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem. The agreement stressed Jordan’s right to maintain the holy sites and its recognition of “the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people is expressed in realizing the State of Palestine.” Former Jordanian Communications Minister Sami al-Maayta stated that the agreement was intended to limit the Judaization of Jerusalem. Israel’s refusal to allow the UNESCO mission into the Old City prompted UNESCO’s Arab members to hijack the meeting and push for an official censure against Israel, over its continued developments in the city, including the construction of a visitors’ center, the installation of an elevator near the Western Wall and what the Palestinian claim are excavations that are damaging Muslim sites on Temple Mount. “It is still premature to talk of a confederation, given the official and resolute Jordanian position that it is necessary first

of all to establish an independent Palestinian state,” Palestinian Liberation Organization Central Committee member Abbas Zaki told the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute. The reverberations of the fight over the hotly contested religious site made it all the way to Saudi Arabia, who is custodian of the holy Muslim sites. The Saudi Gazette quoted a statement by the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage saying that Israeli excavations near the Mughrabi Gate, Umayyad palace and the entrance to the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan were “a theft and piracy against the Islamic civilization and culture … aimed at the [Judaization of] Jerusalem and the collapse of Al-Aqsa mosque to build the so-called second [sic] temple on its ruins.” Israel maintains that is has a strict policy against excavation in Islamic holy sites. “The Israel Antiquities Authority has never excavated, nor will it ever permit excavation, in the Temple Mount compound,” the Foreign Ministry said. “It is a site of supreme historical value in which excavations are prohibited. All construction is to take place outside the Temple Mount, and care taken to preserve the status quo.” The Foreign Ministry remains firm that Israel will continue to support freedom of worship in Jerusalem, despite the resolution’s apparent claims that Israel has encroached on religious freedoms in excavations and construction projects in the Old City. “Israel will uphold its commitments and its sovereign responsibility by continuing to ensure freedom of worship to all faiths in Jerusalem, even as UNESCO insists on turning its back to reality and wreaking damage to the interests of member states through the regurgitation of Palestinian propaganda,” the statement said.

NOAM SHEMTOV