Octagon 2023-24 Issue 2

THE

OCTAGON

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 1668 @scdsoctagon

VOL.47 NO.2 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA • www.scdsoctagon.com • October 24, 2023

IDENTITY THEFT An unnamed student demonstrates the dilemma of code-switching as they choose their persona. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ZEMA NASIROV & GARRETT XU

Students, teachers share experiences with code switching

BY LAUREN LU & SAHEB GULATI

S

tudents alter behavior and language to adapt to different social contexts, a phenomenon known as code-switching. At Country Day, code-switching manifests itself both socially and academically, impacting relationships and mental health.

English teacher Jason Hinojosa defines

code-switching as altering one’s behaviors or language to fit a given context. Similarly, senior Imani Cochran believes code-switching can be performed in various ways.

Is code-switching inauthentic, or is it “just reading the room”?

“It’s not just behaviorally-speaking — it’s how you present yourself, how you dress and even how you walk,” Cochran said.

Regardless of the manner in which it oc-

curs, all people code-switch in some form, Hinojosa said.

“Code-switching is an inevitable reality of existing in a community and society,” he said.

To sophomore Liam Donohue, it’s only natural that students act more casually around friends and peers compared to their teachers.

This isn’t necessarily a good or bad dynamic, Donohue said.

“As long as you’re doing what you’re sup-

posed to and following social norms, it’s fine,” Donohue said.

Senior Mia Crowder often finds herself code-switching around different groups of people in an attempt to form connections or to fit in.

Crowder recognizes code-switching as an asset in forming friendships, as it allows her

CODE SWITCHING page 3 >>

Country Day affinity groups provide safe spaces for students

BY AVA EBERHART & EESHA DHAWAN

The new affinity and alliance groups, which are piloting during the 2023-24 school year, work to maintain Country Day’s values as a school of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Coordinated by history teacher Christopher Arns, these groups hold meetings for high school students to share ideas, discuss experiences and organize activities.

Affinity groups hold meetings exclusively designated for students who share a certain identity.

“The point of an affinity group is solidar-

ity so that people feel more comfortable in an environment where they feel like others are going to truly hear them and understand their shared experiences,” Arns said.

Students have the opportunity to participate in four affinity groups: Asian Affinity Group (APSA), Black Girls Society (BGS), Black Student Union (BSU), Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and Latinx & Hispanic Student Union (LHSU).

In addition, APSA, BSU, GSA and LHSU hold alliance meetings.

Alliance meetings are open to all students, regardless of identity. Those who attend the meetings despite not belonging to that identity are considered to be ally

CAMPUS CORNER

members.

“I think allies can be active bystanders and be vocal in providing their support about why affinity groups are helpful for everybody,” Arns said.

If students have any questions or concerns regarding the affinity and alliance groups, they should contact Arns.

Asian Affinity Group (APSA) Asian Affinity Group (APSA) affinity and alliance meetings are designed to foster a sense of community among high school students from various Asian backgrounds.

As co-presidents, seniors Siri Atluri and

Lauren Lu founded APSA with the help of senior Julie Tsoi as vice-president and middle school English teacher Gary Wong as adviser.

The group was originally run as only an alliance club during the 2022-23 school year, but has now branched out into an affinity group as well.

“The club version is a student alliance, so allies or people who aren’t Asian are still allowed to join,” Lu said. “But in the affinity group, it’s a safe space for only people who hold that identity.”

During APSA’s affinity group meetings,

INSIDE the ISSUE

ROCKVEMBER FEST

BLOOD DRIVE

On Nov. 3, Country Day’s high school students will compete and bond in a series of games and events from dodgeball to video games. Students will also get a chance to showcase their skills in the annual talent show and meet with advisers to discuss about grades all in one day.

On Nov. 3, the annual blood drive led by seniors Zoe Genetos and Derek Taylor and sophomore Zema Nasirov will take place in the Benvenuti Gym. Students who are 17 and older can donate blood, while those who are 16 need to have a parental consent form filled out beforehand.

Clubs in focus Learn about four new or returning clubs in the Sacramento Country Day high school community. (PAGE 6-7) PHOTO BY ZEMA NASIROV

AFFINITY GROUPS page 3 >>

02 NEWS STAFF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ava Eberhart Lauren Lu Garrett Xu COPY EDITOR Saheb Gulati HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY Siri Atluri NEWS EDITOR Zema Nasirov FEATURE EDITOR Eesha Dhawan SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Burr A&E/OPINION EDITOR Ishaan Sekhon PHOTO EDITOR Rehan Afzal PAGE EDITORS Rehan Afzal Siri Atluri Andrew Burr Eesha Dhawan Ava Eberhart Lauren Lu Anisha Mondal Anika Nadgauda Zema Nasirov Ishaan Sekhon Garrett Xu BUSINESS STAFF Saheb Gulati, manager Aaryan Gandhi, assistant Daniel Holz SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Ava Eberhart, editor Lauren Lu, editor Anika Nadgauda, assistant Anisha Mondal REPORTERS Kate Barnes Elisenda Bota Jesse Dizon Aaryan Gandhi Saheb Gulati Daniel Holz Ava Levermore Rebecca Lin Luke Scripps Lillian Wang PHOTOGRAPHERS Rehan Afzal, editor Rebecca Lin Anika Nadgauda Zema Nasirov MULTIMEDIA STAFF Zema Nasirov, editor Andrew Burr Jesse Dizon Anika Nadgauda Luke Scripps GRAPHIC ARTISTS Lauren Lu, editor Claire Gemmell Rebecca Lin ADVISER Andrea Todd The Octagon is the student-run newspaper of Sacramento Country Day high school. The print edition is published eight times a year, and the website is updated daily. The Octagon is committed to unbiased and comprehensive reporting, serving as a source of reliable information for SCDS students and the school community. The Octagon will publish all timely and relevant news deemed appropriate by the editors-in-chief and adviser. We seek to highlight high-school-related events and spotlight the voices of those with a story to share. Further policies can be found on our website or by scanning the QR code below.

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

Students stand against marijuana marketing

S

BY AARYAN GANDHI

enior Imani Cochran and junior Jackie Washington participated in Breakthrough Sacramento’s Substance Abuse Awareness and Policy Internship, giving them the opportunity to present at the statewide 2023 Elevate Youth California conference on Oct. 6 and 7. The conference took place at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center.

Being a part of the Breakthrough program, Cochran and Washington were given the opportunity to intern in April. From April to October, they researched issues revolving around the physical and physiological impacts of marijuana, marijuana marketing and marijuana’s impact on the environment.

Early into the internship, Cochran and Washington specifically decided to research how marijuana marketing targets youth, as more recent marijuana products have been designed to appeal to a greater audience of young people.

“Even though marijuana was the main focus of the internship, we also talked about how scary other drugs can be,” Cochran said.

“So, Jackie and I wanted to ask what kids think about these issues because they aren’t fully developed like adults are.”

Faith Galati, the Breakthrough Sacramento Executive Director, worked with Cochran and Washington throughout the internship, also introducing them to the design thinking process.

“We use this process to organize our research and prototype solutions regarding how marijuana impacts youth,” Galati said.

“It also helps to make sure we look at the data before assuming our own answer.”

Following the design thinking process, Cochran and Washington reached out to minors in Sacramento with surveys and questionnaires about marijuana abuse and policies.

From these surveys, they analyzed the varying responses to determine which youth under the age of 21 and communities are less aware of marijuana abuse.

“This is a continuous process,” Galati said.

“So, we make sure to review and change the survey if our data shows any gaps in what the youth thought about marijuana laws.”

For example, Breakthrough’s surveys demonstrate the opinions that young people have against marketing marijuana and what loopholes are used to market to minors.

In fact, Galati, Cochran and Washington realized that young people’s opinions were stricter than the current laws put in place by California. As of now, marijuana marketing laws state that they cannot target marketing to people under 21, yet many marijuana producers use the likenesses of people who appear much younger in advertisements.

“The youth filling out our survey have a lot of opinions, specifically around marketing,” Galati said. “When students recognize that they’re truly being preyed upon, that’s upsetting.”

The internship has been in running for just over two years and is funded by the Sierra Health Foundation on a grant that Galati applied for to start the internship.

The Sierra Health Foundation is a private philanthropy organization that forges new paths to promote health, racial equity and justice in partnership with communities, organizations and their leaders.

In addition to funding the Breakthrough internship, Sierra Health funds Elevate Youth California (EYC). The EYC serves as a statewide program that prioritizes youth leadership in under-resourced communities harmed by drug abuse.

Through the EYC’s partnership with Breakthrough, Galati, Cochran and Washington submitted a proposal for the seminar that they would present at the EYC. Their proposal was accepted.

Cochran and Washington’s seminar took attendees through the design thinking process by participatory icebreakers.

To start the seminar, they introduced a foil tower icebreaker where participants had to build the tallest tower possible to win a small prize.

“We used the foil tower activity as a hook to start our presentation,” Cochran said. “I think that first activity helped to get people engaged for the rest of the presentation.”

Throughout the seminar, participants sat in table groups to complete other interactive activities. One of which included asking participants to think of questions related to the legalization of marijuana using the design-thinking process.

“I was kind of nervous going into the presentation, but I’m happy that people liked it and asked questions after too,” Cochran said. “I’m still in the Breakthrough program and would definitely be interested if more opportunities regarding marijuana policy come up in the future.”

PRESENTING THE PROCESS Senior Imani Cochran presents a substance abuse seminar. PHOTO COURTESY OF BREAKTHROUGH SACRAMENTO

Mock trial team places 14th at Empire

BY KATE BARNES

The Country Day mock trial team flew to Chicago to compete in Empire Mock Trial: The Windy City Challenge.

For most of the team, it was their first time competing. Despite this, the team placed 14th out of 32 teams from across the country.

Mock trial coach Rick Lewkowitz was impressed with how well the team did given their inexperience.

“For six out of the eight attorneys, this competition was their maiden voyage, and I was really proud of how well they did,” Lewkowitz said.

Senior Grace Zhao, co-captain of the team for two years, elaborated on the challenges they faced, such as unprecedented objections and inadequate examinations.

“During our third round, a plaintiff attorney objected with something totally out of left field. As a result, we ended up being unable to present the entire second half of our examination. A lot of mock trial is how you can handle unexpected moments. That really takes experience and I think that nobody let it get them down,” Zhao said.

The team competed in four rounds at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. In the first round, the SCDS team faced Oakdale High School, Louisiana.

Three judges in each round give ‘ballots’ based on the team’s performance. The team who earns the most ballots wins the round.

Country Day won all three ballots.

After winning, the Country Day team ranked fourth overall. In the second round, the team went against Evocation Academy of Canada and won 2-1.

In the third round, the Country Day team lost to Chattanooga Southeast Home Education Association of Tennessee 2-1, dropping to tenth place.

In the fourth and final round, the team lost all three ballots to Centennial High School of Bakersfield, California, who went on to win their division.

Each division is made up of 16 teams, and there are two divisions. The first round is decided randomly, and then after that the rounds are power-matched. If a team finishes first in their division, they face the other first place team in the championship round.

However, to Lewkowitz, the mock trial team did an outstanding job despite their mostly inexperienced team of 11 students.

Throughout all of the rounds, Zhao said that the team was resilient when faced with difficult questions.

“There were a couple moments in our rounds where we just didn’t quite know how to respond to something that the opposing team said, but the team just kept pushing, which is really all that matters,” Zhao said.

Zhao herself was awarded one of only 10 individual awards given to the best witnesses.

“Empire was a challenging competition — a national level competition. So to be able to place so high in the midst of such admirable competition really means a lot to me,” she said.

Lewkowitz also emphasized how impressive Zhao’s award was.

“To put it in perspective, over 160 of those students were witnesses, if not more, and she had the third highest score,” Lewkowitz said.

Lewkowitz said that another student, sophomore Liam Donohue, did especially well.

“He had an excellent command of the facts.”

Donohue, who was a guest witness for two teams, said that his first competition went better than he thought it would.

“It was a lot easier than I expected. Although I still had to work hard, I definitely improved a lot,” Donohue said.

An unexpected upside to the smaller group was the bonding experience, according to sophomore defense attorney Lillian Wang.

“I feel like our team got a lot closer. Before, I would say we weren’t as close because

the sophomores were a group, the juniors were a group and the seniors kind of did their own thing. But since it was a small group, we eventually grew a lot closer,” Wang said.

The team’s next scrimmage is against Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California on Nov. 10.

NEWS 03

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

Code Switching: Concealing one’s identity to fit in (continued from page 1) to connect with individuals with whom she may not share obvious similarities.

“I’m friends with a lot of people who aren’t necessarily super similar and sometimes I have a different sense of humor or different energy levels,” Crowder said.

Similarly, code-switching allows Cochran to adapt to interactions with various people.

“I talk to some people in certain ways and other people in different ways, and it’s not wrong. That’s just mutual comfortability,” Cochran said.

Cochran uses code-switching as a precautionary measure, deciding what is appropriate to say so that she does not unintentionally offend those around her.

For example, in her freshman year, Cochran recalls a joking response to a classmate’s comment backfiring.

“They all looked at me like, ‘Why did you say that?’ and I realized that I can’t act in certain ways around different people,” Cochran said.

In this way, Cochran finds code-switching to be a useful method for engaging with people effectively and respectfully.

Although students recognize the benefits of code-switching, they have also faced consequences from this practice.

For example, Crowder fears that when she relies on code-switching, her relationships are not being constructed on authenticity.

“If I know or I catch myself doing it, it leads me to feel less close to the people that I’m doing it for,” Crowder said. “I have thoughts of like, ‘Am I being fake right now, or am I just matching the energy of somebody else?’”

As a result, she feels more distant from individuals for whom she code-switches.

“There’s a line that can be crossed between your code-switch and going beyond to be like somebody else,” Crowder said.

In interactions where she considers her code-switching to be going overboard, Crowder

worries that she will be perceived as ingenuine or insincere despite that not being her intention.

Conversely, when Crowder notices that she is not making deliberate changes in her behavior, she feels closer and more comfortable with the individual that she is interacting with.

“With different people, I find myself, not necessarily being someone I’m not, but kind of tapping into different parts of myself,” Crowder said.

While it can be jarring to see an individual alter their behavior, Crowder tries to remain compassionate, seeking to understand their perspective or reasons for code-switching rather than cast judgments.

For Donohue, code-switching and retaining one’s authentic self aren’t mutually exclusive options.

“It’s still you, just adapted to the environment,” he said.

As a teacher, Hinojosa’s relationship with code-switching on campus tends to be different than how most students experience it.

“I’m certain that I observe it in class,” Hinojosa said. “But I don’t know that I’m observing it because 95% of my interactions with students happen in the classroom.”

Nonetheless, Hinojosa sometimes gets glimpses of different aspects of students’ identities in spaces or moments outside the classroom.

He also acknowledges the troubles and pressures students face to alter themselves in the classroom or socially.

“I think Country Day is not perfect, but is generally a place where people are welcome and encouraged to be their authentic selves,” Hinojosa said.

When students do bring their authentic selves to the classroom, Hinojosa finds that more robust discussions tend to occur.

Hinojosa encourages students to share their ideas and avoid censoring themselves — while doing so in a respectful way.

“The rules in a classroom are different from the rules outside the classroom. Without those rules,

I think there is some latitude to express yourself sincerely,” Hinojosa said.

Although it depends on the situation, Crowder generally believes that code-switching allows people to succeed in professional or formal settings.

“For example, if you’re in a fancy business job, you might have to adhere to different rules or different standards from every day,” Crowder said.

“Not necessarily that you can’t show your personality, but you have to develop different ways of fitting in.”

Cochran prefers to avoid relying on code-switching, especially in professional environments.

“It could seem like it’ll help, like, ‘Oh, if I speak this way, talk this way, I’ll get that sort of respect,” Cochran said. “But it can feel like you’re not being genuine, and usually people can see through that — they can tell something’s off.”

Although code-switching can be advantageous in professional environments, the mental toll that it can take outweighs the benefits, she said.

“You might be successful professionally, but it’s going to affect you mentally,” Cochran said. “You feel like you’ve got to step into this place and put on a mask — you’ve got to act.”

In addition, code-switching done in excess impacts Cochran’s self-perception and security with her identity.

This stems from pressure to fit stereotypes about her identity as a Black person and to perform a role that is expected of her, Cochran said.

“These past two years, I’ve not really been code-switching, but it really takes a mental toll, like, ‘What am I doing here?’” Cochran said. “I don’t really feel like I belong here when I can’t feel like I belong within myself.”

One way code-switching based on identity manifests itself in Cochran’s behavior is through her speech.

“I feel like I have to act or speak ‘properly,’” Cochran said. “But it’s not something that I usually think about — it’s kind of natural for me. I guess I’ve always been code-switching.”

Reflecting on the complexities of code-switching, Hinojosa recalls his own youth, a time when he often felt expected or demanded to assimilate to a dominant school culture.

This can be a difficult situation to navigate, and is something Hinojosa wishes was different for some students.

“If code-switching is that, the reduction or denial of someone’s true self, and they have to reduce or hide their true self in order to fit in, it can be hard,” Hinojosa said.

From personal experience, Hinojosa remembers more feelings of falsehood in his youth compared to the present day, where he is more comfortable with himself.

In his experience, code-switching can be accompanied by shame and similar emotions, especially when people involved believe they’re faking or altering themselves; however, he believes that it is not equivalent to phoniness.

“I push back on the idea that if you code-switch, you are not your authentic self,” Hinojosa said.

Through experience, Hinojosa has learned that himself and students can have multiple authentic selves.

He analogizes the adaptability of individuals to different environments to switching between walking and swimming in different mediums.

“When I’m in water, I don’t walk. When I’m on land, I don’t swim. That doesn’t mean I’m faking it in water,” Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa responds to the environment around him, and presents varied, but authentic versions of himself across social engagements and formal ones, like the classroom.

“All people code-switch all the time. We should respond to that with some sensitivity and compassion. We’re all navigating the context.”

Affinity Groups: Safe spaces to share experiences (continued from page 1) discussions about identity and Asian-specific experiences often take place. Members are also able to get involved in planning events, including fundraisers.

“What’s really important is having a balance between a discussion-based approach and an action-based approach,” Atluri said.

Led by the student leaders, APSA members discuss many topics such as student life and Asian culture.

“It’s a space where we can have difficult conversations where we don’t necessarily have to walk on eggshells,” Wong said. “We can talk about difficult things because we all have this common trait.”

In addition to discussion-based meetings, APSA leaders and members also spend their time together planning fundraising events for various causes. Currently, the group has plans to fundraise for a non-profit organization called HairToStay.

HairToStay works to help cancer patients afford scalp cooling, which reduces hair loss from chemotherapy.

Through selling merchandise and hosting movie nights, APSA hopes to raise at least one thousand dollars in order to open a fund and allocate the money to the non-profit.

Along with fundraising events, APSA also plans activities for the purpose of increasing awareness of Asian culture.

“During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we want to put on more events,” Lu said. “We had an idea to build a playlist of Asian artists and have it play during snack time.”

No matter what is being done during an APSA meeting, the leaders always want there to be a sense of belonging and safety.

“That’s the thing about affinity groups,” Lu said. “Everyone shares the identity, so if you talk about something related to it, most people probably understand or share a similar experience.”

Black Girls Society (BGS) Black girls on Country Day’s campus now have a safe space to talk about their experiences: the Black Girls Society (BGS) affinity group, founded by alumna Karabelo Bowsky, ’23.

Now led by seniors Imani Cochran and Annalucia King as co-presidents, BGS spreads collective belonging amongst Black girls on campus. The group is advised by Director of Advancement Rachelle Doyle and third-grade teacher LaTeeka Bradford.

It’s important to create a welcoming and stress-free environment where members have a group to support each other, Cochran said.

“If you have struggles on campus, we have people to talk to,” she said. “We want to bring a sense of belonging and not feeling isolated on campus.”

Members of the group come together to talk about their shared experiences of being a Black girl.

“My goal as co-president with Imani is to help other Black girls on our campus feel unified,” King said.

Black Student Union (BSU)

The Black Student Union (BSU), a Country Day affinity and alliance group, was created to support and amplify the views and experiences of Black students.

BSU is led by co-presidents senior Imani Cochran and junior Sundiata Dumisani and advised

by Director of Advancement Rachelle Doyle.

They plan to meet monthly to celebrate, uplift and educate students on Black culture.

The group will help foster a feeling of connection to the school and fellow students, with activities both fun and meaningful.

Planned activities include Black Jeopardy, potlucks, spoken-word events and movie nights, with “The Color Purple” as one of the many possible movie selections.

BSU also provides students with a place to discuss events that some may have trouble processing by themselves.

For example, last school year, BSU discussed the racially-motivated 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y. “Sometimes we have days where we just need to talk about things that are going on. When the Buffalo shooting happened, I was overwhelmed.

We had a day where we just sat there and got all that out,” Cochran said.

Cochran openly discusses her first experiences on campus when she frequently didn’t see other students with faces, or experiences, similar to her own.

“BSU has taken off a lot of that anxiety. A lot of the time you don’t feel heard or you don’t know if you should speak up about something, especially when you feel underrepresented. But I also want people to walk out of our meeting thinking, ‘Oh, I enjoyed myself today,’” Cochran said.

Students of all identities are invited to join the BSU alliance group.

“We want to make sure that everybody is educated. We want anybody who is interested to come,” Dumisani said.

Dumisani wants BSU to be more active this year. For starters, he hopes to connect the high school and middle school BSU groups.

Involving middle school students would not only be a beneficial learning experience but would also allow them to participate in the activities high school BSU members participate in, he said.

“It’s important for every individual to be able to have someone who advocates for them,” Doyle said. “There are moments in life when we feel like we are not being seen and heard by

people around us. It’s huge in terms of being a human being.”

Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA)

Once a month during flex, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) group meets in room 8. The group’s affinity meetings are for anyone who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community, while anyone may join the alliance meetings.

The group is led by junior Ash LaPlaca and senior E Robinson as co-presidents, as well as sophomores Morgan Hansen and Claire Gemmell as co-vice presidents.

English teacher Jason Hinojosa, the GSA group’s adviser, attends meetings and helps facilitate the planning process.

During these alliance meetings, members are encouraged to share ideas on certain topics and participate in planned lessons.

“There are multiple prongs to the approach,” Hinojosa said.

GSA is not only a safe space for queer-identifying people to gather with others who identify, but is also a learning opportunity for all.

“We have some educational meetings planned where students will teach on certain terms or vocabulary, famous queer people, that kind of thing,” Hinojosa said.

One of the lessons this year, taught by LaPlaca, went over what sexuality and gender identities mean.

“We taught about some lesser known identities to raise awareness a bit about just how many identities there are,” LaPlaca said.

In addition to lessons, GSA also gives students the opportunity to participate in various activities. Leaders of the club are planning on organizing field trips for members to attend later this school year.

“One place that we want to go to is the Lavender Library, which is an LGBTQ+ establishment in downtown Sacramento,” LaPlaca said.

In addition, GSA holds an annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser to raise money for their group.

Anyone who wants to help can bake various goods to be sold to students and staff.

“The more students or faculty that show support, the more confidence we all feel in what we are doing and trying to achieve,” LaPlaca said.

Latinx & Hispanic Student Union (LHSU) The Latinx and Hispanic Student Union (LHSU) affinity and alliance group, led by seniors Sylvia Valverde and Juliette Zúñiga as co-presidents, establishes an active Latinx and Hispanic student presence within the school community.

LHSU meets during flex on one Friday of every month. Meetings predominantly revolve around interactive discussions. Typically, the sessions feature informative slideshows highlighting themes and potential discussion topics.

Valverde and Zúñiga’s vision is to expand

membership, create a safe and culturally distinctive space and encourage greater engagement within the student body.

“There are so few Latinx people on campus. I want to make sure that we actually have a voice,” Zúñiga said.

LHSU aims to create an environment where participants are drawn to the affinity group out of genuine interest rather than obligation.

At the same time, students should feel comfortable enough to share potentially vulnerable aspects of themselves, Zúñiga said.

In this way, LHSU provides advocacy and alliance for Country Day students.

Zúñiga emphasized the significance of creating a better campus environment for everyone.

“There are certain discussions that are more culturally based on your own experiences or something more personal,” she said. “I think it is important to have a safe space where you know that people will understand you.”

One topic that LHSU discussed during the group’s first meeting was microaggressions and how to handle them.

Microaggressions are small remarks that are targeted at a group of people who have a common identity. Although they can seem insignificant, they may ultimately lead to detrimental issues.

“I know the school right now is focusing on microaggressions because of some things that have happened in the past. We want to make sure that we crack down on that because we `know the effects of microaggressions can be very harmful,” Valverde said.

Along with being taught by student leaders, the group is also keen on inviting guest speakers of Latinx or Hispanic descent who can share their personal experiences with the group. LHSU is also exploring the idea of hosting separate meetings focused on allyship — in which anyone can join — and have members actively participate in the group’s activities.

Alicia Perla, adviser of LHSU and director of college counseling, said her goal is to provide the group with experience, a mature perspective and voice toward the faculty.

Perla aims to foster understanding among students, encouraging them to support one another and take an active role in ensuring that the entire community is represented.

When Valverde first started high school at Country Day, there was a noticeable absence of a robust Latinx and Hispanic presence, Valverde said.

“I know it is getting better as more generations come in,” she said. “I just want to make sure that there is a safe place for people to be able to talk. I want to strengthen the program for future generations.”

04 FEATURE

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

Senior Grace Zhao overcomes obstacles, triumphs in mock trial

C

BY ISHAAN SEKHON

lear skies and rippling water surrounded then-freshmen Grace Zhao and Samhita Kumar, ’23, as they rowed together in a kayak on their class trip in San Francisco.

Despite the stunning scenery, Zhao’s mind’s-eye remained firmly on a far away beauty: the courtroom of her next mock trial competition.

As she rowed, Zhao continued to recite her mock trial speech over and over again until not only did she completely memorize it, but Kumar did as well.

According to Kumar, the following week, Zhao gave a perfect closing argument.

“That’s just how she is,” Kumar said.

Now-senior Zhao’s passion and dedication to mock trial stems from her Folsom Sutter Middle School debate team.

“I felt super passionate about researching the cases, working with my team and the spontaneous improvisation you have to do in debate,” Zhao said.

Since Country Day doesn’t have a debate team, Zhao joined the mock trial team, recognizing its similarities to debate.

To Zhao, the best part of mock trial competitions are the opening statements, which are completely scripted.

“I really like to plan and choreograph my opening statements down to vocal inflections and hand gestures,” Zhao said.

Kumar described Zhao as hard-working and detailed.

“In the time that I’ve known Grace, if there is something that needs to be finished or something she wants to do, she will get it done,” she said. “She has a lot of talent at so many things, but she will always take the extra step to make sure something is the best it can be.”

Mock trial head coach Rick Lewkowitz said he saw great promise in Zhao as a freshman, making her the first

freshman case-in-chief attorney in his eight years of coaching mock trial at Country Day. “It’s been a real pleasure to be able to coach Grace. She’s extremely talented in her analysis and her ability to articulate points,” Lewkowitz said.

Unfortunately Zhao’s time in mock trial was temporarily cut short due to mental health issues exacerbated by COVID-19, causing her to take a gap year in between her freshman and sophomore years.

A year later, Zhao was eager but nervous to return to mock trial.

“In my heart, I knew that if I returned to Country Day, I would return to mock trial,” she said. “I was scared to return to mock trial in the beginning because I quit under such difficult circumstances.”

Kumar said Zhao’s return to mock trial can be attributed to her inspiring mental strength.

“She’s managed to come back as a better version of herself,” Kumar said. “After everything she’s gone through, I can tell she’s happier and more comfortable with herself.”

During the summers before her junior and senior years, Zhao competed in the Gladiator Mock Trial competition, a one-onone mock trial tournament in Atlanta, Ga. Zhao placed 28th out of 44 her first time and 4th out of 36 her second.

She attributes her improved success to her confidence.

“When I entered my hotel room for the first competition, I could hear my competitors preparing their speeches through the walls. It was like a madhouse,” she said. “The second time I was a lot more prepared. I knew how to prepare and what was expected of me.”

Zhao credits this tournament to her experience against unfamiliar opponents and said that it taught her a valuable lesson about confidence.

“Even if you don’t have confidence, you just have to act like you do,” she said.

In her junior and senior year, Zhao was named co-captain of the mock trial team.

Lewkowitz said Zhao has all the necessary traits to be a mock trial captain.

“She really tries to help the other

students, especially beginners. If I hadn’t named her captain, she would’ve been a captain without the title,” Lewkowitz said.

Lewkowitz said that a proper captain needs the respect of their teammates, a willingness to lead and a selflessness for others.

“Grace has all of those qualities,” he said.

Sophomore Isaac Reynen, a member of the mock trial team, also praised Zhao’s leadership when she helped him in his freshman year.

“Grace made all my worries seem small. When I had a question, she had an answer,” Reynen said.

In September 2023, 11 members of the mock trial team competed in the Empire Mock Trial competition in Chicago, Ill. for the first time in Country Day history.

“This tournament was a major step up for the team,” Zhao said. “As a captain, I had to push them to reach a new level but also give them confidence.”

In her final year, Grace has extended the role of the captaincy by creating mock trial office hours, in order to further help her team to help every member of the team improve as much as possible.

“I want to see people learn as much as they can because we have so many new faces and so much potential. I want to see them gain the kind of passion for mock trial that I did,” Zhao said.

PHOTOS BY ZEMA NASIROV; GRAPHICS BY AVA EBERHART

FEATURE 05

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

HIGH SCHOOL TRIP ADVENTURES

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uring the first week of October, the high school quad was silent and still. Only squirrels occupied the campus that week, for there were not students in sight.

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors were away on their annual class trips, a Sacramento Country Day tradition designed to foster unity, community and new friendships.

The freshmen enjoyed team building activities, rope courses and hikes around the South Lake Tahoe area and Tahoe Vista Park.

Sophomores participated in horseback riding and fishing at Greenhorn Ranch in Quincy, California.

The junior class watched multiple plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, engaged in a makerspace workshop in Talent, Oregon and explored the famous town of Ashland, Oregon.

On their first night, freshmen participated in an activity that taught budgeting. With a set amount, students purchased food from the grocery store not only to cook their own dinner for that night, but to make lunches for the following days of the trip.

The first day was packed with team-building activities and ropes-courses at Tahoe Vista Treetop. The many rope courses at Tahoe Vista Treetop were full of obstacles and ziplines up in the redwood trees, each with a different diffulcuty level.

“I did all of the available courses with my friends,” recounts freshman Diana Haus.

The trip also featured a hike, a pool party and stargazing.

“We looked at the stars because they’re very bright in Tahoe. Latin teacher Mr. Comer explained some of the history behind them,” Haus said.

When sophomores arived at Greenhorn Ranch, they were imediatly immersed in the vast nature surrounding them.

During their time at Greenhorn Ranch, sophomores built shelters from materials in the forest and went fishing for trout.

Throughout the day, sophmores participated in activites such as scavenger hunts and horseback riding.And after diner, they line-danced, sang and and made smores by the bonfire.

Sophomore Kamron Khodjakhonova said his favorite activity was horseback riding. “I wanted to stay another week,” he added.

Juniors traveled out-of-state to Ashland, Oregon. They attended three plays, learned and experimented in a workshop and visited the neighboring town of Talent.

Juniors watched Romeo and Juliet, Rent and The Three Musketeers at the Angus Bowmer Theater for the Oregon Shakespear Festival.

“We got a behind the scenes tour of what goes on in the process of making a play. One of the actors from the play the night before actually came to talk to us which was really cool,” said junior Avery LaPlaca.

Juniors also visited a makerspace, which is a place where students and citizens of Talent get to go create and express some of their ideas in the form of art,such as felting.“We made hats for our graduation year and a little owl,” LaPlaca said.

During their free time, Juniors went shopping and explored the city of Talent, Oregon.

Park Strolls

Horsing Around

A Night at the Theater

STORY BY ELISENDA BOTA; GRAPHICS BY ZEMA NASIROV

The Palm Motel

Sunrise @ 7:22 a.m.

06 OCTOBER 24, 2023

CENTER

SCDS Club Scene `

Robotics Team Country Day’s Robotics Team has returned for the 2023-24 school year after a 15-year hiatus. The team meets after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Room 15.

The Robotics Team was successfully rebooted after sophomore Annabelle Do reminisced about her middle school robotics competitions.

“Why is there no Robotics Team in the high school?”

Do asked herself.

“I think that robotics is really important to learn today, especially since technology is becoming a more and more prevalent part of society,” Do said.

As a result, she talked with middle school science teacher Cade Grunst, her former robotics coach. Grunst helped recruit other teachers to be advisers and secured funding for competition equipment and registrations.

The team has two new advisers: high school math teacher Yanling Lei and middle school Computers and Programming elective teacher Tim Dobbins.

Do encourages students to join the Robotics Team because it prompts team building and problem-solving.

This November, the team will compete in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Tech Challenge.

The FIRST competition consists of high school students building remote control robots made up of similar parts and running the robot in competitions.

The Robotics Team will be one of 3,300 teams from 31 countries competing in 94 districts.

During meetings, members are separated into three primary work groups: Engineering, Programming and Operators.

Engineers work on constructing and rendering the robot. Programmers work on the software that controls the robot autonomously, and operators work on controlling the robot with a handheld controller.

“Every year, FIRST releases a new challenge. Once you get the challenge, you figure out your game plan.

Teams use reusable kits to build their robot and control their robot using Blocks and Java coding languages,” Do said.

“It’s important to have teammates with different types of skills. Some people are better at building the robot versus other students who are better at the other parts, such as programming. That’s why we need a team to build a robot,” Lei said.

Even though some students did not have much experience in robotics, Lei said that they were all learning together.

“Each day is challenging and has its own setbacks and breakthroughs. The students working through these issues create a very fun and creative environment. Robotics can be a place where everyone can learn no matter how much experience they have,” Dobbins said.

Sophomore Sanjay Brink is a member of the Robotics Team. He works on the programming of the robot.

The FIRST competition will be a challenge for the team, as it is the first time that Country Day has participated, Brink said.

“We are hoping to learn from our mistakes this year so that future teams at Country Day can focus more on winning the competition. We are still in the learning stages,” Brink said.

Despite these challenges the advisers and students are excited for their season and implementing their STEM skills in an after school program.

“My goal, or at least what I look forward to, is watching the team learn from each engagement, structure the learning into improvement ideas, and implement those ideas,” Dobbins said. `

A Touch of Kindness The dimly-lit classroom is filled with the soft sounds of gently colliding metal. Amidst the delicate, rhythmic sounds of “click, clack, click, clack,” strands of pastel-colored yarn gradually weave together into a soft, childsized blanket.

With a snip, the blanket is tossed into a growing pile of its counterparts, labeled “for the hospital,” written in bolded sharpie. Underneath was written, “A Touch of Kindness,” one of Country Day’s newest clubs.

Founded by sophomores Sophia Monasa, Eesha Dhawan and Grace Mahan and advised by high school mathematics teacher and dean of student life, Ms. Jacobsen, A Touch of Kindness primarily focuses on working for philanthropic causes like helping underprivileged communities and schools.

While it was Dhawan’s idea to start a club, Mahan was

the one to suggest a kindness club. They officially decided to start the club because most of the other clubs didn’t interest them, and they wanted to do something extra for school and the community.

Monasa, Dhawan and Mahan plan to make local contributions, such as writing letters to veterans and senior citizens and knitting blankets for children’s hospitals.

The founders also plan to continue a connection a previous Country Day group had established with Dyer-Kelly Elementary, a school in Puerto Rico with many refugee, underprivileged and immigrant families. The previous group had collaborated with the school and held drives for them before everything fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The founders wish to continue their path and start the relationship back up again.

A Touch of Kindness plans to hold their first meeting in

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Room 3 before Veterans Day. While A Touch of Kindness will not be directly volunteering for other nonprofit organizations, it will still count as community service hours because the activities directly serve the community.

Volunteer hours are tallied according to attendance at club meetings or events, as meetings frequently involve activities such as writing letters or knitting blankets.

In the future, Monasa wants to leave a legacy and hopes that as the years progress the club will keep on growing.

She also hopes to extend the club’s range to reach more people and form more relationships with other schools and organizations.

“Hopefully, we’ll stay in a relationship with Dyer-Kelly or any other school and just spread kindness around Sacramento,” she said.

RP O I NT

THE OCTAGON

07

e: What’s Your Fit? `

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Cavs for a Cure While the return to school marked the end of summer h i b e rn a tion

for many annual clubs and student committees at Sacramento Country Day, for sophomores Rebecca Lin and Aric Reuben, it also signified new beginnings.

Among the plethora of club tables and tri-fold boards on display during Back to School Night on Sept. 21 was Cavaliers for a Cure (CFC), a new club partnered with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, dedicated to raising money for blood cancer research and treatment.

Aside from raising money, club participants develop skills such as public speaking, financial planning and marketing, while also logging community service hours.

Lin first came up with the idea last summer and asked Reuben to join as a co-leader after noticing the potential impact that the club could have within the Country Day environment.

“We are trying to start this partnership at Country Day because we believe it can reach a wider audience, and contribute a lot more money to the cause,” Reuben said.

In its first month, CFC increased its membership from two to seven and already has bold plans for the future. As part of the Student Visionaries of the Year program, the club is hoping to make a major contribution to the cause.

“Our financial goal for this year is $20,000 dollars raised for donation,” Reuben said.

The Student Visionaries of the Year program — formerly known as the Student of the Year campaign — is a national program dedicated to developing leadership, project management and networking skills in high school students seeking to make a difference in the battle against blood cancer.

Candidates ­— either participating alone or as part of a team — raise money in their community over the course of seven weeks. After the competition ends, the candidate teams with the most money raised receive Student Visionary of

the Year Titles.

As benefits of their partnership with the program, CFC receives resources to aid them throughout the following year, such as general information about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, guides on how to pursue corporate sponsorships, and even their own website to link donations to.

CFC plans to raise most of their money by selling custom club merchandise at school events, concerts and farmers’ markets. Reuben also hopes that the club may be able to work with the school.

“We could speak with the administration and officially partner with some school events rather than just selling things on our own,” he said.

For the time being, CFC is focused on preparation. Soon, the club will host guest speakers to teach participants about how to raise money and dedicate upcoming meetings to designing merchandise, posters and flyers for advertising purposes.

Reuben would also like to work on improving his own skills as a leader.

“I’m not the best at public speaking. Making scripts and organizing meetings has also been hard so far,” he said. Luckily, Reuben has some time to practice; the fundraising campaign does not start until March.

By the end of the year, CFC aims to surpass their donation goal and compete with Student Visionary teams across the country for national recognition. Regardless of their success, Reuben says that he expects this year to be one of growth for the club.

“We already have underclassmen, but not many seniors. We’re hoping to expand the club to a larger membership base,” Reuben said.

Currently only beginning his sophomore year, Reuben hopes that CFC can make a measurable impact on the Sacramento Country Day community not only during this March, but for many Springs to follow, raising awareness for the fight against blood cancer along the way.

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C o u n try Day high school students captivated by the field of medicine meet in the biology room, where they take part in Pre-Med Club.

The Pre-Med Club is run by co-president seniors Zoe Genetos and Eshaan Dhaliwal with co-vice-presidents junior Ashley Lattyak and sophomore Zema Nasirov. Biology teacher Kellie Whited serves as the adviser.

Whited has been an adviser for the Pre-Med Club ever since her first year at Country Day in 2007. Her role in the club consists of ideally doing next to nothing, as she hopes that the Pre-Med Club is something that the students and their passion lead.

The club invites doctors and researchers to speak about their knowledge of the medical field and their experiences in their specific field. Speakers that have visited ranged from neonatologists, cardiovascular specialists and ER doctors.

Club members are able to ask questions about the guest speaker’s profession to learn more about the different types of fields and discover their own passions.

The club meets once or twice a month during flex on Thursdays whenever a speaker is scheduled to present.

Pre-Med Club Many of the guest speakers that the Pre-Med Club recruits are found at open houses or through personal connections.

At the start of the 2023-24 school year, the Pre-Med club interviewed orthopedic researcher Damian Genetos who is a professor of the department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology at University of California, Davis.

Pre-Med Club also interviewed associate professor Robin Altman who works at California State University, Sacramento in September. Altman runs Country Day’s biology internship program.

“We interviewed him about how he became a researcher, what he does, and for Dr. Altman, her role in the program and how that program started,” Dhaliwal said.

The main focus of the Pre-Med Club is to show aspiring medical career members that there are many different paths you can take while pursuing medicine or STEM. “For us, it’s just really important that they know they’re not restricted to just being a doctor, or just getting a PhD. There are so many different little routes they can take and so many different specialties,” Genetos said.

Currently, the Pre-Med Club is planning multiple fundraising events and is hoping to host two speakers or more a month.

One of the events being planned is fundraising for Doctors Without Borders, which is an organization that

provides medical assistance to people who are affected by diseases, exclusion from healthcare, human or natural causes, disasters and conflict in more than 70 countries.

The club also helps with Country Day’s annual Red Cross Blood Donation drive, which gives all of the blood received from donors to patients in need.

Genetos and senior Derek Taylor lead the Red Cross Blood Drive at Country Day, and are planning to have three blood drive events this year.

“It’s basically a chance all day for kids and community members in the surrounding area to come in and donate,” Genetos said.

Students join Pre-Med for various reasons. For some, it’s to get a feel for the medical field, while for others, it is to get serious about the profession.

“I truly just love hearing about what other people are doing and what they are interested in,” Genetos said.

Dhaliwal hopes to help make other students aware of and educated on the field of medicine.

STORIES BY AVA LEVERMORE, LUKE SCRIPPS, REBECCA LIN AND JESSE DIZON; GRAPHICS BY ANIKA NADGAUDA, GARRETT XU AND REHAN AFZAL

08 OPINION

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

“AP Mania” by Claire Gemmell

EDITORIAL: The endless chains of college admissions

T

here are over 25,000 public and private high schools in the United States — each year, there are at least 25,000 valedictorians, student body presidents and club leaders vying for admission to top colleges.

Yet there are around 2,000 freshman spots at a place like Stanford, meaning thousands of qualified applicants — valedictorians, student body presidents, club leaders — are rejected.

In this obsessive quest for admission to an “elite” school, students take on obscene amounts of stress: “Why [insert ‘elite’ university here] REJECTED me, the ‘perfect’ student,” laments a heartbroken student on YouTube.

“How to get into X: The Complete Guide,” offers false hopes and platitudes.

“Do I have enough APs to get into X?” applicants agonize.

These anecdotes show the immense pressure students feel to get into top colleges.

But the hard-to-swallow reality is, where you go to college doesn’t really matter.

In the words of one admissions officer: “Just as a Gucci belt or a Chanel purse won’t automatically make you stylish, the brand on your degree can do only so much work for you.”

Highly successful people like Steven Spielberg (Cal State Long Beach), Warren Buffett (University of Nebraska), Sergey Brin (University of Maryland), and Amy Tan (Linfield University) are living proof.

The 2023 Fortune 500 list showed that only 11.8% of Fortune 100 CEOs obtained their undergraduate degrees from Ivy League institutions.

You are not defined by where you go to college.

Every college is full of smart, curious and excellent professors who want to help you achieve your goals.

Almost every college is going to have some major you love, a dynamic campus life and opportunities to make amazing lifelong friends.

Many companies love to hire scrappy kids who don’t attend “elite” institutions, who have to work hard to get in the interview room — different paths, similar destinations.

A recent trend is that the number of college applications to institutions have been growing, but mostly towards big-name schools. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) set records in application numbers last year.

This benefits prestigious colleges; their class size remains the same, but they lower their acceptance rates and outwardly appear more prestigious.

Simultaneously, because of relaxing restrictions — like

test scores becoming optional — the metrics colleges use can be more subjective and random than ever.

Therefore students need to apply to more places to be sure that they get in somewhere, increasing the number of applications.

This creates a positive feedback loop among top colleges, while lower acceptance rates funnel even more attention and applicants. The trend of more applications to top schools reinforces their perceived prestige and exclusivity.

Most high school students can barely name any nontop 50 colleges that aren’t in their area until their senior year. There needs to be more attention paid to a wider variety of schools.

Country Day’s old tradition of M&M man, which endded before the COVID-19 pandemic, helped bring attention to other schools. For Country Day, this was something that was the old practice of the M&M Man helped with. Each morning meeting, mini morsels were offered to seniors who announced each of their college acceptances — usually to cheers and affirming applause.

This practice succeeded in bringing awareness to the rest of the high school of the kinds of colleges that students do attend or apply to that aren’t elite institutions or traditionally well-known.

Positive experiences like this can broaden students’ perspectives on college options.

It turns out, the majority of colleges admit most students who apply — 75% of schools that use the Common App admit more than half of their applicants.

Plenty of spots are out there, just not at a small set of schools.

But this obsession, this unfounded hype has still taken up a staggering amount of our brain space.

It’s not uncommon for students at Country Day to take 10, 12 or even 15 Advanced Placement (AP) courses across four years — undoubtedly a commendable undertaking. Some schools even require students to take AP exams.

The College Board and test prep industry profit enormously from this frenzy, but more APs don’t necessarily help students.

The College Board rakes in over $1 billion annually from exam fees. The test prep industry is worth billions more.

Some families spend thousands on test prep.

The counter-argument would be the recent move to make tests at many top schools optional. This supposedly takes the pressure off students.

However, this change actually increases pressure in other ways. With tests optional, students feel the need to take more AP courses and do more test prep and

coaching to get SATs and ACTs in an even higher percentile bracket so the scores really stand out and matter.

Parents sometimes also push PSAT prep, hoping for a National Merit Scholarship level score or other designation students can highlight on applications, even for colleges that don’t allow test scores (like the UCs).

Taking APs is a great way to demonstrate rigor and investigate a subject you’re interested in. But piling them on, “AP-stacking” per se, yields diminishing returns and needless anxiety.

Rigorous class loads are still good — passing your college calculus and science requirements, for example, can be extremely advantageous over time and save students a year later on.

Life is too short to waste time doing some class or activity to further your college admissions rat-race ranking.

Emphasis on extracurriculars has even, to some degree, spawned an exhausting culture of résumé padding that complicates the process more. Padding resumes with activities you’re not truly interested in also adds unnecessary stress.

How can we justify allowing ourselves, our students or our children to stake their self-worth and precious adolescent years to the capricious whims of a system that, by all measures, ranges from being systematically unfair at best to a complete gamble at worst?

In this manic environment, students fear deviating from expectations or pursuing their true passions, lest it jeopardize their chances at top schools.

Meanwhile, rates of stress, depression and suicide continue rising; over 30% of kids ages 13 to 18 have issues with anxiety. Studies have proven depression among teenagers increases over the school year, dropping over summer break.

Education should instill a lifelong love of learning, not serve as a checklist (stress-list) to get into college.

It’s supposed to expose you to all sorts of ideas, people and things that you can do and want to do with your life — that you find compelling.

It should spark curiosity, empower independent thinking and prepare students to navigate and have an impact on an increasingly complex world.

But easier said than done. This obsession is deeply ingrained in our culture. We equate elite colleges with success. Adults feed the frenzy too — pushing kids to pad resumes, worrying over rankings.

The solution: rather than fixating on external validation, students should feel free to follow their intellectual and creative instincts — and society should stop equating college pedigree with human value.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Eberhart Family, Gulati Family, Intel Foundation, Lu Family, Monasa Family, Nadgauda Family and Xu Family

OPINION 09

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

MY ANGLE: Writing using AI is turning Terminator into a reality

BY ISHAAN SEKHON

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he first 23 years of the 21st century have been marked by incredible technological advancements, including the progress of artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and autonomous machinery, with even greater innovations almost certain to follow.

However, as more incredible creations help support humankind, I wonder if our lives, our minds and our bodies can also be negatively impacted by these illustrious technological revelations.

Is it possible that an over-reliance on technology, specifically AI, could cripple humanity instead of support us?

Although this question was once the center of the plot of many sci-fi movies and will undoubtedly inspire countless more, this once-fictional topic is rapidly transitioning into reality, especially in the realm of writing.

Writing, one of the oldest and most useful inventions of mankind, has been fundamental to the human experience, playing a role in creativity, communication, expression, exploration, culture, history, organization, critical thinking, brain development, therapy and discussion.

However, in the minds of many, especially high school students, writing is becoming increasingly irrelevant due to the development of AI assistants capable of generat-

ing a plethora of well-written text in a matter of moments and at no cost, seemingly eliminating the need to learn and practice writing.

Why should students spend time and effort to improve their writing skill when AI can do it for them in seconds?

The answer? Go watch Terminator.

In all seriousness, the more and more we rely on AI to do menial tasks, the more and more we subjugate ourselves to the will and support of the AI to take on increasingly greater responsibilities.

Although I do recognize and agree that AI is becoming an increasingly important part of our lives, we should only rely on it as a tool to support our endeavors and not as a crutch to hide weaknesses like poor writing skills.

I’ve already mentioned the various niches writing fills in our lives, but the most important is our creativity and critical thinking, which are all fundamental aspects of human individuality and existence.

In nearly every humanity versus AI movie, humanity only triumphs through creativity, which is still a popular message. However, by over-relying on OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other models to write for us, for example, we are killing our creativity and our decision-making abilities, stifling our great advantage over AI. Isn’t it ironic and intriguing yet horrifying to think a programmed AI is the source of creativity for so many people?

Writing also helps generate or enhance critical think-

ing skills, which are fundamental to lead discussions, stay organized and solve complex problems.

The less we write, the more our critical thinking skills weaken. Do you remember the infamous 2020 presidential debate between candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump?

This debate is well known because of the poor discussions and class both candidates had.

Do we want our society to slowly follow suit and lose our ability to have proper discussion?

Whether you believe in the dangers of AI writing assistants or not, I think we can all agree that it’s best not to have our conversations echo the mumbling and tantrum-throwing of that infamous presidential debate.

Although AI invading our lives is an inescapable reality, we can control how AI impacts us on an individual level. I do believe AI can be beneficial to human life.

However, in order to protect the vital traits of our humanity, I think it’s paramount that we don’t over-rely on AI. I implore everyone who heavily relies on AI, especially high school students, to continue writing on their own, whether online or print writing, and rely less on ChatGPT in order to preserve or strengthen their creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills.

We shouldn’t sacrifice our world to create a Terminator sequel. Keep writing.

ADVICE: Homecoming delusion and navigating animosity

BY ANONYMOUS This is an advice column that responds to questions anonymously shared by Country Day students.

Q: I agreed to go to homecoming with someone as friends, but now, after homecoming, they are acting like we are dating. I am interested in them a little, but I’m not ready for a relationship. I don’t want to hurt them, so how do I handle the situation?

Transitioning from friendship to romance can feel like walking on a tightrope. Although there are growing feelings between you and your homecoming date, it’s important to not only acknowledge your date’s feelings, but your own as well. You might not be ready for a fullfledged relationship just yet, and your feelings are completely valid.

Don’t fret. As sticky as this situation may seem, the solution is refreshingly simple: be honest.

Find the right time and place to have a candid and private conversation with this person. Make sure you are both relaxed and ready to talk.

Start by expressing your appreciation for their friendship. Then, have an open conversation in making your feelings clear — while you value their friendship, you aren’t looking for commitment right now.

As awkward as this may feel, thoughtful communication is absolutely key to handling this situation.

Tell them your feelings directly. I urge you to break it to them gently, yet firmly. Use “I” statements and focus on your own feelings rather than making it about them.

Tell them, “I’m not ready for a relationship,” straight up.

Don’t beat around the bush.

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Q: What if my friend is getting close with people that I dislike?

It can be frustrating to see your friend hanging out with people that you dislike, especially because this may lead to more frequent interactions between you and these individuals.

However, handling this situation is not rocket science.

It will just require some personal introspection as to your bias and to the basis of your friendship, while exercising honest communication about what you realize.

Before you act, ask yourself three questions. Why do you hate said individuals? Are your concerns founded?

Are they based on misunderstandings, past experiences

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or genuine ethical grounds?

It’s important to assess the underlying reasons why you dislike your friend’s new friends. Reflecting on your own biases and perceptions can go a long way in helping you identify the solution to your situation.

If you recognize your dislike of these people as originating from unfounded biases and perceptions, I urge you to get to know them better. Whether that means joining your friend in talking to them more often or doing activities from sports to schoolwork with them, putting aside your biases might make you realize they aren’t so bad after all.

However, let’s suppose that even after self-introspection of your biases, you still insist you dislike these people. In that case, I’d encourage you to sit down and have an honest conversation with your friend.

Tell them your concerns and feelings. Explain your perspectives and why you have reservations about these new relationships.

Once you’ve shared your feelings, listen to your friend’s point of view with an open mind.

Remember, this situation isn’t all about you. Just like you, your friend has the right to choose their own friends, and it’s possible your friend sees qualities in these individuals that you may not recognize.

As a friend, recognize and listen to their feelings.

Perhaps, you will then find common ground, changing your mind about said people.

If it doesn’t, you can still maintain a close friendship even if your social circles don’t completely align.

Ultimately, friendships are built on trust, respect and understanding. That’s the way to go if you wish to preserve your friendship. Otherwise, don’t call yourself a real friend.

OCTO-BLOCK

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This approach avoids blame and conveys your feelings while leaving room for their response.

Yes, it’s true that by being honest, there’s a possibility that you might hurt that friend, but your feelings are just as valid as theirs.

If you’re not interested in dating right now, don’t let guilt push you into a relationship you’re not ready for. Be compassionate yet firm in setting boundaries.

In the case that they express their desire for a romantic relationship, it’s also key to remember that it’s not them that’s the problem. Reiterate your point that it’s about your lack of readiness, not a rejection of them as a person.

At the end of the day, this is your friend, not a stranger.

With mutual understanding, you can move forward with a friendship built on open communication, not false expectations. Although it may sting in the short term, it spares greater hurt down the road.

I urge you to have strength, courage and clarity in dealing with this delicate situation.

Across

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1. The currency of Japan 5. Half-man, half-horse 6. European music and architectural style from the 17th-18th century 7. What does a pirate say?

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Down 2. Randomness or the disorder of a system 3. What a Band-Aid helps you develop 4. Ripe, creamy French cheese that is typically eaten with honey

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2. Entropy 3. Scab 4. Brie

Down:

1. Yen 5. Centaur 6. Baroque 7. Aye

Across:

10 SPORTS

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

Kait ait lyn Dias S acramento Country Day’s girls varsity volleyball practice begins, senior and team co-captain Kaitlyn Dias leads her team on the court. While players serve and pass the ball, Dias guides her teammates and congratulates them for each good hit.

Dias’ interest in volleyball first began after her mother, math teacher Patricia Jacobsen, invited her to watch a varsity girls’ volleyball game at Sacramento Country Day. She was in the fourth grade.

“I just remember falling in love with it as I watched the varsity players,” Dias said.

Dias has been playing volleyball ever since.

She joined Country Day’s volleyball team when she was in fifth grade, and in sixth grade, the team won the Parochial Athletic League junior varsity championships.

“We have that flag hanging in the gym now,” Dias said. “My sixth-grade coach made me the setter. I think she said I had good hands. Her making me the setter when I was literally 11 really changed the course of my volleyball career.”

Since then, Dias has been the setter on every team she’s played for.

One of the first-ever setbacks Dias remembers facing in volleyball was her first experience trying out for the Sacramento Performance Volleyball Club’s (SPVC) Power team.

Her mother remembers Dias’ devastation after not making Power in middle school.

“The coach kind of let on that she and a couple of the other kids, if they tried out for Power, they would make it. And so she was pretty confident that she would make the team,” Jacobsen said. “And she didn’t make the team. So for a while, maybe like a day or two, she was as devastated as I’ve ever seen her.”

Instead, Dias made a less competitive team under the SPVC, called the Premier team. The team was called the Premier Lexi, named for coach Lexi Fowler. Dias was on the Premier Lexi team for three years, from age 13 to 15.

“We were really like a family. She did an amazing job with getting us to have fun,” Dias said.

During practice, Fowler would implement games and challenges to keep the girls engaged and develop their bond as a team. For example, the team members would write how they were feeling at the beginning and end of practice on a whiteboard to stay in tune with the mental aspect of the sport. The Premier Lexi team became very close throughout years of playing with each other because of Fowler’s leadership.

“She always did a really good job of uniting us, so we were like a family,” Dias said.

Jacobsen saw Dias’s experience on Premier Lexi as a great opportunity for Dias to grow and improve as a player.

“Coach Lexi was just really great in terms of nurturing and encouraging and getting the girls to be a team instead of individual players,” Jacobsen said.

“She probably helped me the most to fall in love with volleyball. She’s always been my biggest supporter,” Dias said.

Dias still keeps in touch with Fowler.

After her time with Fowler’s team, Dias made the decision to try out again for Power in her sophomore year of high school. At the time, Fowler recommended Dias to Power

coach Martin Soyama.

“He watched me at practice and he was like, ‘Yeah, you’re really good.

You could play at an even higher level than this, but we want you to be our setter,’” Dias said.

Jacobsen was initially hesitant to have Dias try out again for Power.

“It’s hard to see your kid get rejected and then they have to deal with that reaction to setback,” Jacobsen said. “But she tried out, and this time she made it. So that was really important for her.”

When Dias made Power, she was initially concerned that she was not good enough to play for the team, even after Fowler assured her of her skills.

“The first time I played Power, I was really anxious when I was setting. It was like I forgot everything,” Dias said.

“But one day I was driving to practice with my mom and she just started playing Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre and Eminem in the car.”

Dias walked into practice from then on feeling much more confident. “I don’t know why, but it just really helped to have that upbeat music.”

After leveling up in difficulty by joining Power, Dias experienced a tumultuous period with her former teammates.

Because Dias was the only member of the closely bonded Premier Lexi team that left, some of her prior teammates developed a sense of resentment towards her after learning she made Power.

“Being the only one to leave, I felt really weird about it. I felt like I was trying too hard to be something else, and like they felt I was thinking I was too good for them,” Dias said. “I just wanted something more and to see how far I could push myself. Leaving them was hard, but I still watched their tournaments.”

Dias pushed herself even further when she participated in a two day advanced volleyball camp at Occidental College last summer, called the Occidential Tiger Advanced Camp.

“After the first day, I got in the car and I was like, “I don’t feel good enough. I don’t feel like I’m on this level,’” Dias said.

Despite her concerns, at the end of the camp, Dias received one of the ‘Camper of the Week’ awards, which were given to two out of the 16 total players.

“I was really proud of her in that moment.

The first day she didn’t feel like she measured up to the other girls who were there, but she’s not the type of kid who would be like, ‘I’m not as good as they are so I don’t want to go back the second day,” Jacobsen said. “Of course she’s going to go back the second day.”

Country Day's volleyball star STORY BY SIRI ATLURI; GRAPHICS BY ANDREW BURR; PHOTO BY REHAN AFZAL

knowledge of plays, training and honed skill set in turn strengthen her leader-

For Dias, earning the award and getting positive feedback from the camp’s coaches, Heather Collins and Rich Huynh, became rewarding experiences that reminded her not to be too hard on herself.

“I’ve always been s u p e r self-deprecating and negative about

ship.

“Her volleyball IQ is great. She’s an amazing setter, she’s an amazing hitter — she’s probably one of our best hitters as well — but she can’t do that because she’s the center, too. You want to be better when you’re around her,” Kreps said.

As a junior, Dias was on the first team for the varsity season. One of Dias’ strengths is ace serves; an ace occurs when a player serves a ball that the opposing team is unable to pass.

This season, Dias was ranked first in aces for the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League and top three for aces in San Joaquin Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). She was also ranked fourth in California and 22nd nationally for ace serves, among all divisions.

Dias would like to continue playing volleyball in college, and has kept in contact with the coach of the Occidental summer volleyball camp. “After receiving that award, I really was motivated to step up my game to be on that Division 3 level,” Dias said.

Division III level of the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) is the last of three division levels offered by the NCAA. Currently, Country

m y s e l f when I play, and I get really anxious on the court when I’m not perfect. But hearing the coaches telling me, ‘Wow, you’re doing so much better,’ really helped that,” Dias said, “And it’s also helped me in other parts of my life where I’m feeling inadequate or not confident in myself.”

Now, as co-captain of Country Day’s varsity girls volleyball team with senior Zoe Genetos, Dias works hard to encourage and instill a similar sense of confidence in her teammates at school.

“She’s always there for others. She’s incredibly selfless on the court and off the court. Her entire position is based around setting other people up for the kill and she’s always so happy when they get it. She’s always complimenting the passers and the hitters,” Genetos said.

According to the Cavaliers girls Varsity team coach Jason Kreps, Dias’ well-rounded skill set is central to the team’s dynamic. Her

Day’s girls varsity volleyball team plays in Division 6 of the CIF San Joaquin Section. Although Dias is considering playing volleyball for college, the decision has been a hard one for her to make.

“I wanted to see if I could not be totally committed to volleyball — if I could do something else, or find another passion,” Dias said.

“But I really think volleyball has just become my life, and I don’t really know what I would do without it. It’s all I think about and all I really love to do.”

In the end, Dias’ long-standing passion for volleyball makes it one of her most important factors in selecting a college. College is also the last period for which she could play on a school team.

“I want to use that as an opportunity to keep playing, make new friends, and have a new little court family,” Dias said. “I want to keep having fun playing volleyball for a school team that I would really get along with.”

A&E 11 A&E

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

Overall Rating: “For All the Dogs” may not be for all the people

O

BY DANIEL HOLZ

n Oct. 6, Canadian singer, songwriter and rapper Drake returned to his old, heartbroken self when he released his eighth full-length album, “For All The Dogs.”

Similar to his previous album, “Certified Lover Boy (CLB),” the album is yet another lengthy project, consisting of 23 tracks and spanning almost an hour and a half in duration.

“For All The Dogs” does not really have a central theme like a usual Drake album. Each track dances around a different topic leaving the scope of the album very broad.

Drake narrates about how all of his exes are fake and toxic, while also singing about his hard-earned success, contributing to the sheer Drake-ness of this album.

Accompanying Drake in this wide range of themes is a hefty list of features including big mainstream artists such as J. Cole, SZA, Yeat and 21 Savage to name a few. With a feature list this stacked, I was very curious as to what I would experience diving into this project.

The sixth track, “First Person Shooter,” features J. Cole and is one of my favorites on this album.

The beat is very dark and intense, with deep cycling background vocals and fast-paced drums, all accompanied

by J. Cole and Drake’s lyrics.

The duo rap about “being the greatest of all time,” boasting their successes as hip-hop icons.

Like most Drake and J. Cole collaborations, this track had me feeling fired up during its entirety, the bars from J. Cole and Drake giving the track immense amounts of energy.

For instance, J. Cole likens his collaboration with Drake to being “as big as the Super Bowl,” yet also reminds the listener that it is just stuff two guys created in the studio.

Not only does it identify the magnitude of this collaboration, but it also demonstrates how the duo can garner this amount of attention by just being together.

This track is one of the most streamed on the album, and I think that it definitely deserves the hype.

The track was very energetic and powerful, both Drake and Cole’s verses weaving together to create a wave of bars that hit hard. Rating: 4/5 The seventh track on this album was “IDGAF,” featuring Yeat.

The introduction to this track was astounding, with ethereal vocals and an almost jazz-inspired instrumental.

It also had ’80s-synthwave-esque effects as backing, which greatly added to the enjoyment and gave it a mysterious, space-age vibe.

However, the instrumental transitioned into a brash and gritty beat accompanied by Yeat’s vocals, which was a jarring change in pace for the track.

While Yeat’s vocals are certainly not terrible, I do wish that the track could have developed that mysterious vibe from the introduction further.

Yeat’s bars feel a little bit meaningless, with lyrics such

as “I’m counting up money for fun,” and “I’m poppin’ these Percs just for fun,” not contributing much to the depth of the song.

However, this is the style of Yeat most of the time, and is to be expected with a song featuring him.

The track was also mostly focused on Yeat, who had the spotlight for most of the track. This almost made it seem like Drake was a feature on his own song, instead of Yeat being the feature. Rating: 3/5 The 17th track, “8am in Charlotte,” is my favorite off of this project.

The track has a very laid-back and flowy instrumental, feeling almost like it would be played late at night in a fancy bar.

The gospel vocals in the background accompanied by the smooth jazzy piano chords create an ambience that is satisfying to the ears.

There are some corny bars here and there on this track, “Things get kinky after 15 years of dominance” being the most prominent, but this is to be expected from Drake at this point.

Another thing I really like about this track is that it has no features. Drake’s lyricism and his flow stand out on their own, without having to rely on another artist to keep things interesting.

This track feels like Drake is having a conversation with the listener, expressing his feelings about how he wants to influence his “dawgs” to become better people.

Drake also deals with beef on this track, taking shots at famous rapper NBA YoungBoy who dissed him on one of his own tracks.

Drake feels very relaxed with his vocals on the track, moving with the beat. The lyrics almost feel freestyle, with satisfying rhyme schemes to tie it all together. Rating: 4/5 One of my least favorite tracks was “Gently,” the 19th song on this album and featured Bad Bunny.

This song was a complete mess, and left me physically uncomfortable. Drake brings Bad Bunny onto the track just to rap in an extremely poorly crafted accent himself.

While the instrumental isn’t that bad and I enjoyed the repeating guitar plucks and synths, Drake’s vocals were simply too horrible to overlook.

In the first half of the song, Drake interpolates Spanish into his English vocals, creating a Frankenstein monster of a verse, which leads into a beat switch accompanied by Bad Bunny’s lyrics.

The second half of the song felt a little bland and boring, with a single repeating background vocal and simple drums. Bad Bunny offers almost no emotion in his lyrics, marching through them as if it were a tedious day job.

This track could have been a lot better if Drake decided to do his own thing instead of trying to match Bad Bunny.

Additionally, the second beat could have been developed a little bit more, and some variance in the second half would have helped a lot. Rating: 1/5 The third track, “Calling For You,” which featured 21 Savage, was one of my least favorite songs on this project.

The track had an unnecessarily long intro, filled with empty bars from an artist who clearly didn’t know what to do with all of the intro time.

Drake pitches his vocals high some time into the track, with awkward autotune layered over creating an uncomfortable experience.

He also included a woman ranting about how she didn’t enjoy her vacation with him, creating an extremely dragged-out section that was by far the most arduous part of the track.

Drake’s bars felt very choppy, with almost zero flow from one to the next. Additionally, there are many portions of the song with just empty space, the instrumental failing to fill the time adequately, and overall creates an unbalanced and strange aura.

The production was very good on this track, and I feel like if it was shortened a bit and with more substantial bars added, this could have been one of the best off of the album for sure.

21 Savage’s verse at the end of the track was the most appealing part of this track, but it was not up to par with his previous collaborations with Drake, leaving more to be desired.

Rating: 1/5 Overall, “For All The Dogs” felt very scattered, and the quality of the tracks seemed varied. While there were certainly some bangers on this album, the project felt bloated with too many tracks to be a comfortable listen.

I felt very mixed about this album.

Although Drake was a lot smarter with his song placement than on albums like CLB pushing most of the good tracks toward the end, the album did have its fair share of duds.

I think that it would have been much better for Drake to concentrate his efforts on a fewer number of tracks to really perfect his songs.

Favorite Track: 8am in Charlotte Least Favorite Track: Gently Overall rating: 3/5

FATD

12 ENDPOINT

OCTOBER 24, 2023 • THE OCTAGON

HALLOWEEN HORROR STORIES

I

t’s October of 2016 and Halloween spirit is in full swing, especially in the fourth grade classroom of current junior Garrett Xu at Rocklin Elementary school.

One day his teacher announced a new opportunity: a classroom Halloween costume contest. The winner received the wonderful prize of two free homework passes.

“As a small, little studious kid, I was naturally up for the challenge,” Xu said.

In order to make plans for his costume, Xu asked the teacher when the competition was. She told him it would be the next day.

Xu decided that he wanted to dress up as an angler fish.

He prepared his costume after school. To complete the look, he bought a lightbulb from Pottery Barn to wear as an angler fish’s luminescent fin ray. At 6 a.m. the next day, he got dressed and walked out the door, ready to win the competition.

When Xu got to school, no one else was wearing a Halloween costume. He turned to his teacher.

“Sorry, I told you the wrong date by accident,” she said.

To Xu, not only was that the worst Halloween ever, that was the worst day of elementary school ever.

On the night of Oct. 31, 2021, senior Lilya Jafari and her family were sound asleep.

At 3 a.m., the Jafari family was awoken by a sudden loud noise coming from outside.

What did they see?

Looking out the window, they discovered that the noise was made by a teenage boy who had jumped the fence.

The stranger was retrieving a ball that the kids at a party next door were playing with.

Jafari’s parents were so upset about being awoken in the middle of the night that they grabbed baseball bats and ran to the neighboring house where the party was being held.

The cops were called to the party, and Jafari’s parents finally went back to bed to get a good night’s sleep.

To celebrate Halloween in their sophomore year, senior Pax Graham decided to do a partner costume with their cousin.

After buying all the materials, Graham’s cousin canceled their plans for the costume.

On top of that, Graham’s cousin invited another girl to come spend Halloween with them the day before Halloween.

The girl had been saying curse words all around their house, even near their parents, Graham said.

Graham felt excluded in their own house with their own cousin and was left to babysit the little kids around the house.

Later, Graham found out that their cousin had been dating this girl and that they broke up a week after going to Graham’s house.

This was an absolute horror story of a Halloween for Graham.

STORY BY ANIKA NADGAUDA; GRAPHICS BY ANISHA MONDAL