Issue 5, 12/11/15

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The Campanile

Vol. XCVIII, No. 5

Palo Alto High School • 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301 • www.palycampanile.org

Board considers renaming PAUSD school Community raises concern over Jordan Middle School’s namesake’s ties to eugenics CLAIRE DENNIS

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

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recent petition created by a Palo Alto community member advocates for the renaming of David Starr Jordan Middle School because of the namesake’s support of eugenics, which is the belief that society can be improved by selective breeding.

Lars Johnsson, a Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) parent, hopes to acquire 500 signatures in order to persuade the PAUSD Board of Education to appoint a “citizen advisory board.” The board would deliberate and offer recommendations for a new school name. Discussion of the petition has been added to the Board agenda for the January 2016 meeting.

Jordan Middle School is named after the first president of Stanford University, David Starr Jordan, whose tenure at the university lasted for 22 years.

Jordan was an ardent advocate for in eugenics, arguing for the superiority of certain races in his 1901 novel,“The Blood of the Nation.” “[David Starr Jordan] was one of the most vocal and influential leaders of the movement,” Johnsson said.

“This is not the handiwork of a casual bystander. This is the crowning achievement of a lifelong obsession.”

Thus, petition supporters do not believe that David Starr Jordan’s legacy represents the values of PAUSD or the Palo Alto community. Teachers, parents, alumni and community members have offered alternative namesakes, such as David Downs, a long-serving industrial technology teacher at Jordan Middle School, and Lucie Stern, an influential Palo Alto community leader.

“By choosing to name district schools after particular individuals, the district is affirmatively endorsing

Friday, December 11, 2015

Live webinar outlines new district goals MAGGIE ROSENTHAL

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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n his first ever public webinar, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Max McGee discussed the District’s goals for the coming year and the progress made in 2015 through a live video stream that was available online.

According to McGee, one of the District’s main goals for 2016 is the implementation of suggestions from the Minority Achievement and Talent Development Advisory Team.

JORDAN SCHILLING/THE CAMPANILE

COURTESY OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Left: David Starr Jordan, a former Stanford president and eugenics advocate. Right: Jordan Middle School, named after Jordan.

such people as leaders worthy of this honor,” Christina Schmidt, chairperson of the Special Education Local Plan Area 1 Community Advisory Committee said in a statement endorsing the petition. “We want our children to associate their schools with leaders who reflect positive civic values, inclusion and equity.”

Some community members, however, see the goal of this petition as an attempt to rewrite or “whitewash” history. “[ Jordan] was involved in the peace movement, was an early environmentalist and was the first president of Stanford — all very important things,” Jordan math and science teacher Robin Levy said. “We have to view a person’s beliefs in conjunction with the times during which he or she lived. I’d really like to see this controversy used as a teachable moment in our classrooms.”

Johnsson decided to start the petition after his son, a seventh grader at Jordan Middle School, wrote a book report about David Starr Jordan’s legacy. After learning of Jordan’s involvement with eugenics, Johnsson

began contacting PAUSD officials to learn of the process to rename the school. According to PAUSD Superintendent Max McGee, the decision to rename a school remains under School Board authority, not that of school administration, and operates in conjunction with a citizen advisory board.

By choosing to name district schools after particular individuals, the district is affirmatively endorsing such people as leaders worthy of this honor.

Christina Schmidt Committee Chairperson “The Board encourages community participation in selecting names,” according to a Board policy. “A citizen advisory committee may be appointed to review name suggestions and submit recommendations for the Board’s consideration.”

The petition additionally cites several other schools that have undergone recent name changes. For

example, opponents of the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Long Beach encouraged the local school district to establish a community advisory board to evaluate the use of confederate references.

No conclusion has been made of the name change of the school so far.

The recent publicity surrounding the name changes of various schools may have contributed to the timing of the petition.

“The fact that both Princeton [University] and Amherst College are having or recently had similar conversations has made national news,” McGee said. “Princeton is currently considering renaming their Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.”

Supporters hope that this movement will translate to a potential name change for Terman Middle School, which named after eugenicist, Lewis Terman.

“There are several logistical challenges and some expenses,” McGee said. “We will be researching those.

My sense is that they are not insurmountable obstacles.”

Goals McGee mentioned include an ownership of personalized learning, as well as enrollment management. “[The Minority Achievement and Talent Development Advisory Team,] of course, wanted to work with one of the historical challenges we’ve had in this district, and that’s closing the achievement gap,” McGee said in the webinar. “But even more than that, we want to make sure that every student’s talents and potential are developed to their maxima or in the words of our mission statement, [which is] to empower every child to reach his or her fullest intellectual, social and creative potential.”

McGee went on to describe the progress the team has made so far.

“This committee worked throughout the year to identify problems and then develop solutions,” McGee said.

“So at this point, we are in the implementation phase.”

A major recommendation that is being taken into account is the addition of parent liaisons to A3

WEBINAR

City Council to reform old Challenge Success survey data released groundwater usage policies Results show a large percentage of students lack full physical health Stricter dewatering regulations put in place SAMUEL YUN

STAFF WRITER

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n response to recent community complaints regarding the treatment of groundwater pumped beneath Palo Alto homes, the City Council’s Policy and Services Committee endorsed a list of shortterm reforms for dewatering and basement construction practices on Dec. 1.

According to the Policies and Services Committee Staff Report, such changes outlined require contractors to “mitigate the impacts of dewatering; explore new fees to capture the value of discharged water; find new uses for the water being pumped out; and pursue a long-term study focusing on best practices for groundwater.”

Dewatering has been a problem in recent years due to the increasing number of families looking to rebuild their homes. Since the city does not account for basements in calculating the weight of a home, building underground has been a common way to increase the property value of a home.

Palo Alto has approved 14 dewatering projects in 2015, according to the annual Public Works Department report. This shows a sharp increase in the past decade in which the

city averaged 5 to 10 permits a year, according to another report released in 2008.

Currently, water that is displaced from homes that are built near shallow groundwater (typically located near the San Francisco Bay), is being flushed into storm drains to waste.

According to the City’s consulting engineers, every basement construction results in a loss of around 8 to 10 million gallons of water.

The main concern of citizens in Palo Alto is that the policy sends the wrong message about the value of water, especially in the midst of the 5-year drought California is currently experiencing. Most of these concerned people are part of a new group called “Save Palo Alto’s Groundwater” and requested for more studies about the impact of basement construction on Palo Alto’s water supply, neighboring homes and trees.

In November, the group submitted a petition with around 200 signatures calling for the city to ban the pumping of groundwater until more laws are set to preserve the resource.

The petition states that “water is too precious a resource to be wasted, and current city policies regarding dewatering do not take into account the possible need of this water to WATER POLICIES

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JEREMY FU/THE CAMPANILE

JEREMY FU

ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

KATE DEANDRE

STAFF WRITER

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alo Alto High School’s Challenge Success team is sharing findings from the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences with students and parents in order to facilitate discussion of current administrative policies as a means of highlighting areas wherein the school can improve.

Earlier in the semester, students took the Challenge Success survey to measure and provide information on students’ perspectives on homework, extracurricular activities, sleep, physical health, stress, parental expectations, academic engagement, academic integrity and teacher support.

“The goal was to share out the information that was collected through the survey with the students, clarify questions and also start the discussion about what conclusions we can draw and what we should do as we move forward,” School Climate Teacher on Special Assignment Eric Bloom said.

The meetings were advertised on InFocus and Schoology; however, the first meeting on Dec. 1 only had an attendance of three students.

Principal Kim Diorio saw the meeting as an opportunity to encourage students to share their experiences to better the school’s policies. As a result of the low turnout, the administration hosted a second meeting on Dec. 8, to try to encourage more students to take part in the important discussion of finding solutions to the issues prevalent at Paly.

“It is a second dip at the well [or a second chance for students to show up], because it is not easy for people to find out about the event, so not that many kids came,” Bloom said.

“It is hard to get student opinion, because students are busy during the day.”

Among the findings are statistics on student engagement. The survey found that 41 percent of students “do school,” or often work hard, but rarely find their schoolwork interesting, fun or valuable. Out of the entire school, only 18 percent of the students reported “full engagement.” English teacher Erin Angell said that she sees greater student involvement in her Social Justice Pathway classes than in her traditional English classes.

CHALLENGE SUCCESS

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INSIDE

N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 5 O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 6 -A 8 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1, B3, B7, B8 Fashion...............................................B2 Spotlight............................B4-B5 Entertainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C 1- C 8

NEWS

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California will no longer require prescriptions for birth control.

PAGE A4

Check us out at www.palycampanile.org

COURTESY OF THE HUFFINGTON POST

Revised Birth Control Laws

LIFESTYLE

COURTESY OF TECHINSIDER

Anonymous vs. ISIS

Hacktivists look to take down a growing world terrorist organization.

PAGE B1

COURTESY OF DEMOCRACY NOW

COURTESY OF JOHNNY ROHRBACH

SPOTLIGHT

SPORTS

Racial tensions at universities cause protests surrounding free speech.

PAGE B4-B5

Surfing, commonly thought of as a leisure sport, is actually a rigorous pursuit.

Free Speech Debate

Stereotypes of Surfing PAGE C1

Friday, December 11, 2015

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The Campanile

NEWS

NEWS TO KNOW

Panel initiates alumni dialogue Theater Former students speak on transitioning from PAUSD to adulthood

plans for Macbeth

COLE HECHTMAN

STAFF WRITER

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COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

@nytimes Eagles of Death Metal return to Bataclan for first times since Paris attacks

@abcnews German chancellor #AngelaMerkel has been name @TIME’s Person of the Year.

@LarryKing Will @realDonaldTrump suggest MuslimAmerican internment camp next, as US wrongly did w/ Japanese-American in WWII

@darrenrovell Nike has signed LeBron James to a lifetime deal. Largest single athlete guarantee in company’s 44-year history

@HuffingtonPost The House votes to ban the terms “Oriental” and “Negro” from federal law

@TIME ABC confirms Dirty Dancing remake is happening

COURTESY OF BBC WEATHER

@BBCWeather More rain to come in SE India, 100 mm possible in a day. Worst of it south of Chennai

@ABC 80 Boston College students sickened by norovirus after eating at Chipotle, authorities say

@TheEconomist The EU faces challenges. Poland needs to become part of the solution, not the problem

@BBCWorld Russia gives France a puppy called Dobrynynya after Diesel, the polic dog, was killed in a #ParisAttacks raid

COURTESY OF CHRISTINA CHEN

Community members listen to alumni discuss success and wellness at an event hosted through the Life After PAUSD series.

MADS MCCLUSKEY

STAFF WRITER

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he Alumni Dialogue Initiative (ADI), comprised of Palo Alto High School and Henry M. Gunn High School alumni, spoke on behalf of Wellbeing and Openness in the Palo Alto Community (WOPAC) in the Life After Paly panel on Nov. 24.

Alison Lyon and Krista Bortolin, both Paly alumni, were the two panelists who spoke at the event, along with two alumni moderators, Karl Gumerlock and Christine Chang.

The Life After Paly panel was designed to continue previous dialogue from events that took place over these events, such as a discussion on mental health and a panel about success. The summer events were organized by WOPAC members Jess Brooks and Christina Chen.

“This is the first [event] that we’ve actually organized ourselves, and we have a target at [having monthly discussions], but we’re not sure if we’ll meet that or if it’ll be more or less frequent,” Gumerlock said.

The Life After Paly panel drew 32 attendees. Many were students, but parents also attended and asked the panelists questions. Students, teachers and parents all expressed interest in holding another panel for others to attend.

“What speaks out to most high schoolers, in my opinion, is the fact that they didn’t have it all planned out and they didn’t know what they wanted to do,” junior Maddie Frick said. “They went with the flow, which is what we’re all kind of doing.”

The event took place during Tuesday’s tutorial period, offering students an effective way to use the now mandatory time.

“I think [panel discussions like Life After Paly] would’ve helped our class a lot because there were a lot of people who ended up in suicide prevention in college because they pushed so hard to get through high school, and then they had mental breakdowns when they got to college because it was just too much stress,” Paly Class of 2000 alumna, Bortolin said. “I think talking about it and maybe not putting so much stress on the future would definitely help all of you guys.”

Many of the panelists believe that education starts with parents, who were also advised to attend the events. They believed that if parents do not understand what children are experiencing, parents cannot help students. “[Sharing experiences is important] because everyone is struggling to make it out,” Bortolin said. “It helps you choose your path and know that you’re not alone in choosing your path and that, even though Paly may be difficult now, there’s still more in the future.”

The more perspectives you have, the more likely it is that you’ll know something you didn’t previously know. The more perspectives you collect, the more you’ll learn about yourself.

Karl Gmerlock Paly Alumni

The panel opened up for the audience’s questions in the last 10 minutes of the talk. Overall, the speakers believed that the discussion allowed students to gain perspectives other than those of a teacher, peer or parent.

“I’d say you have to watch for opportunities,” Gumerlock said. “A lot

ASB planning International Day for the upcoming spring semester New events follow the successful kickball game and movie night ANNALISE WANG

STAFF WRITER

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s the semester draws to a close, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has planned multiple events to help students persevere through the final stretch of school before winter break.

ASB is looking forward to a fantastic second semester filled with new events and revamped traditional ones.

Anmol Nagar ASB Vice President On Dec. 4, ASB held its first-ever inter-grade kickball game at lunch on the lacrosse field. The event was complete with hot cocoa and also included staff members as active participants of the game.

Anmol Nagar, ASB vice president, believed the kickball game was a huge success.

“We had really positive feedback from team members, and [were] also

able to involve 60+ students and attract a huge audience turnout as well!” Nagar said. “The hot chocolate was also a huge hit and a great way to bring students together.”

ASB also hosted a movie night on Dec. 4. At the event, ASB screened Home Alone and offered free admission.

The final ASB-hosted event this semester is the traditional free cookies and cocoa on the quad after the last day of finals week.

During the second semester, ASB will be hosting International Day as a way for clubs promote diversity, and promote their clubs. There will also be several performances by different dance groups at the event.

ASB is moving to provide more club recognition and celebrate the many diverse and hard-working clubs at Paly. “[ASB is] very excited to be recognizing clubs more this year for the amazing impact they have on the Paly campus,” Nagar said.

ASB will be giving special recognition to one club per month for

that club’s work for charity or success hosting an event on or off Paly campus by naming it club of the month.

December’s club of the month is Key Club.

As the first semester winds down, ASB remains enthusiastic about the culmination of their hard work throughout the semester and is excited to see second semester acheive equal success.

ASB will be giving special recognition to one club per month for that club’s work for charity or success hosting an event on or off Paly campus by naming it club of the month.

“First semester was amazing and we’d like to thank the student body for their participation and enthusiasm for all school events from sports tournaments to movies to dances to rallies,” Nagar said. “ASB is looking forward to a fantastic second semester filled with new events and revamped traditional ones.”

of what I experienced in high school was that everything is nice and packaged; however, often opportunities will present themselves in ways that are not expected, and so you have to be looking out for those. And if people aren’t offering them, then go look for them. It’s about being open to opportunities, watching for them, taking them and then using that to inform your future decisions.”

The panelists stayed after the dialogue was over to talk with anyone who had remaining questions. Many students thanked the speakers, telling them that the discussions really helped them. The speakers comforted many worried students and found common interests with others.

“It is important to have [events like Life After Paly] because you can see that it isn’t all about high school and there is more beyond here,” Frick said. “And you will get there because these people have. Also, they both have gotten knocked down so many times and have had so many obstacles thrown at them, and yet they seem happy where they are.”

The aim of the series is to bring the accumulated knowledge and experiences from alumni back to students. The knowledge that the alumni are able to share with students allows them to look into other paths and gives them more perspectives as they head into the next few years.

“It’s about diversity,” Gumerlock said. “The more perspectives you have, the more likely it is that you’ll know something you didn’t previously know. The more perspectives you collect, the more you’ll learn about yourself.”

WOPAC’s next event will be a panel on resilience in late December and will be held in the Mitchell Park Library.

fter completing a successful run of “The Odyssey” last month, Palo Alto High School’s Theatre Department is moving forward and tackling a new project, William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth.”

Paly Theatre produces a Shakespeare play every other year, usually during the spring. With the Haymarket Theater closing at the end of the school year, Macbeth will be Paly’s final main stage production in the theater. The performances will be held in February and March.

“It is traditional to close a theater with Macbeth,” Paly Theatre’s Department Director Kathleen Woods said.

Working with Shakespeare is always enriching, and I always look forward to getting to know his plays and characters more deeply.

Kathleen Woods

Theater Department Director Woods is setting the play in a modern context. She is excited to see how the concept unfolds and to work closely with students to see how they add ideas in the process.

“Working with Shakespeare is always enriching, and I always look forward to getting to know his plays and characters more deeply while watching students and audience members fall in love with this type of theater,” Woods said.

However, the project’s success will not come without some difficulties.

Woods predicts that Shakespeare’s language will be challenging for both students and audience members, and is something the program will spend time perfecting.

Paly Theatre has a very busy schedule set for the upcoming semester. After “Macbeth” closes, students will attend California Youth in Theatre Day in Sacramento, the California State Thespian Festival in Ontario, Calif. and the Ashland Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where they will participate in a range of activities to enhance their abilities.

Students will also be writing plays as part of the TheatreWorks Young Playwrights Project and as part of the “Play in a Day” event at the beginning of winter break. They will also create the annual student-produced One Acts. In May, all theater students will produce a final showcase honoring the Haymarket Theater.

The Paly Theatre program will perform “Macbeth” on Feb. 26-27 and March 4-6 at 7:30 p.m., and on March 6 at 2 p.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS DEC

16 DEC

18 JAN

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FIRST DAY OF FIRST SEMESTER FINAL EXAMS

Get excited for some relaxing fun!

LAST DAY OF FIRST SEMESTER

GPA’s aren’t that important anyway...

TEACHER WORK DAY/LAST DAY OF WINTER BREAK

Wouldn’t want to be a teacher today, or any day for that matter.

FEB

CLUB DAY TWO

FEB

PRESIDENT’S DAY WEEKEND

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With those grades, you’re going to need all the help you can get.

Spend it the way the Founding Fathers would’ve wanted you to — skiing in Tahoe.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

NEWS Remembering Harrison Chen

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New groundwater policy

Students look back on Chen’s optimistic personality and creativity Restrictions drafted after residents’ petition

JARED YANG

GUEST WRITER

BENJAMIN HUANG

GUEST WRITER

THEODORE HSIUNG

GUEST WRITER

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arrison Chen, aged 14, left us over Thanksgiving break, surrounded by his family in Monterey. He lived in Palo Alto and

attended Palo Alto High School as a freshman.

Harrison was a kind, inquisitive boy who embodied both humility and intelligence. He was always positive and level-headed, no matter the circumstance, and kept an optimistic outlook on life. He could often be found reading a different book each day, eager to learn and discover more about his surroundings.

Born on Feb. 12, 2001 in Mountain View to Hongbiao Chen and Jieyun Wan, Harrison attended Stockmeir Elementary School in Sunnyvale, El Carmelo Elementary School and Jane Lathrop Stanford ( JLS) Middle School where he exuded creativity and curiosity. At the young age of nine, Harrison not only learned how to make a parallel circuit but also sought to explore more about the subject by attempting to build an electric car.

Harrison was a great student who excelled in all subjects, and was well-

known for his exceptional math skills.

He skipped a grade in math classes and was an avid member of the Paly Math Club. Harrison also earned the highest score on the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10, an examination which is typically taken by sophomores, of any student at JLS. Harrison will always be remembered as someone who questioned the world around him. One day, he said that the sky looked like the inside of a plastic bag, as the way the clouds moved and the blue sky shimmered made him believe that there was some sort of effect in the atmosphere that made it look similar.

An event to celebrate Harrison’s life will be hosted tomorrow at The Lord’s Grace Christian Church, located at 1101 San Antonio Rd., from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will also be an open-casket service afterwards at Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

PAUSD aims to reduce achievement gap

District hopes to increase consistency of education at all schools Continued From A1 communicate between groups of parents and the school district.

“We want to ensure that when we have school or district committees, we have historically underrepresented students’ parents, faculty and staff representation on those committees,” McGee said.

McGee also discussed the expansion of summer school and its potential to close the achievement gap.

“We’re looking to expand summer school beyond credit recovery,” McGee said. “So the board has already allocated more than $300,000 for summer school programming. That’s to provide opportunities and access for our underrepresented students and others.”

There is also an aim to incorporate a more consistent level of teaching and learning into all PAUSD schools.

The district plans to do this primarily by focusing on standardizing learning foundations while still allowing teachers to customize their teaching to best fit their own students. McGee explained that the main goal of this was to ensure teachers could teach in their own style while still having students across all classes leave with the same knowledge.

Data-driven instruction is another main goal of McGee’s, which will be achieved partially through the implementation of assessments in reading, writing and mathematics in early elementary school. Though concerns from parents were expressed around an overuse of testing, McGee justified the addition of tests with this goal by explaining the importance of collecting data.

“If we are using data from these assessments to make better instructional decisions so we can provide in-

terventions as soon as they’re needed ... we will be doing [students] a great service,” McGee said.

Additional goals McGee mentioned include an ownership of personalized learning, as well as enrollment management. The final goal he mentioned was to make all district schools safe and welcoming. According to McGee, this is meant to encompass social, emotional and physical health for students.

During the webinar, McGee also discussed changes that have been implemented this year, including a new block schedule at Henry M. Gunn High School, the Advanced Authentic Research Program and new writing workshops at elementary schools.

McGee was joined by various other district leadership during the webinar. McGee hopes to hold a webinar at least once a month in the future, to cover a variety of specific topics.

Continued From A1 open normally again. Upon discussmitigate future droughts nor its beneficial effects of supporting our canopy, our properties and our infrastructure.”

The petition created by the group states that “water is too precious a resource to be wasted, and current city policies regarding dewatering do not take into account the possible need of this water to mitigate future droughts nor its beneficial effects of supporting our canopy, our properties and our infrastructure.”

Keith Bennett created the conservation group to fight for recognition that water should not be treated as a useless byproduct of construction.

“Whether potable or not potable, this water is clearly usable for irrigation,” Bennett said in an interview with the Palo Alto Daily News. “It should be managed as a valuable resource.”

This issue first caught Bennett’s attention in 2011 when a nearby home began its dewatering operation.

After about three weeks, Bennett noticed that he was having trouble opening his front door. Once the dewatering stopped, the door began to

ing with his neighbors, Bennett realized that some were having issues as well, including one family reporting that there were cracks in 2008 when another dewatering operation was taking place.

At a discussion with about 50 residents concerned about this issue, Skip Shapiro, another member of Save Palo Alto’s Groundwater, provided the solution to prohibit basement construction when groundwater must be pumped.

“If [someone is] building basements in residential areas where dewatering is required, perhaps that’s not an appropriate place to add basements,” Shapiro said in an interview with the Palo Alto Daily News.

Currently, the group is continuing to attract more supporters to sign its petition until the city has enforced policies to “require construction practices and/or zoning policies that preserve groundwater as a drought and emergency water supply resource . . . and mitigate the impacts and costs of basements on the City’s storm water handling and aquifer recharge capabilities.”

Challenge Success survey Administration looks for student opinion Continued From A1 “In my classes outside of the Social Justice Pathway, my students less often approach me about what they would like to see in the class,” Angell said. “All of my students are prepared if I asked them, but fewer students in my classes outside of the pathway will approach me to make suggestions about bringing curriculum in.”

Among the changes that students believe could be effective are changing the way teachers assign homework, changing how tests are given, and creating more opportunities to do homework. Bloom agrees that the school needs to engage in dialogues to discuss how to move forward.

“I think giving students more time to do homework could be huge, but would take a huge cultural shift to implement,” Bloom said. “Sixty-eight percent of kids are saying this change could be quite effective or very effective. There are not 68 percent of kids in my current classes that actually do my work when I give them class time.”

During the meetings, students focused mostly on the lack of sleep and the issues that students face when they have conflicting obligations and are not granted extensions. The students that attended also commented on the laning systems currently in place, and the negative connotations that come with dropping down a lane.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

A4 NEWS New law increases access to Short-term rental birth control in California boom spurs debate Birth control now available for purchase over-the-counter at pharmacies ANNA MORAGNE

STAFF WRITER

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new law will go into action in California early next year, allowing women to obtain birth control pill from pharmacists over-the-counter, instead of with a doctor’s prescription. This new law will introduce a new, possibly cheaper and more convenient way for women to obtain contraceptives.

Previously, women who wished to obtain daily birth control needed to schedule an appointment with their doctors, and undergo a physical evaluation. The new law will create a more efficient way for women to get their birth control.

Now, pharmacists will be required to give their patients a questionnaire inquiring into their medical history, before prescribing birth control. There will be no age restriction on women who wish to receive birth control over-the-counter.

It is not yet known when the law will be put into effect, as it may take time to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration. State officials are expecting the law to take effect around January 2016.

There are close to 6.6 million pregnancies annually in the United States, and around half of them are unintended, according to the Guttmacher Institute. By making it easier for women to get a hold of birth control, state officials hope to decrease the number of unintended pregnancies.

“My tenet is there should be nobody between the patient and the pill,” Dr. Mark DeFrancesco, the president of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in an interview with the New York Times.

393,000 ANNUAL UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES IN CALIFORNIA

DAVID TAYERI/THE CAMPANILE

In California, 51 percent of all annual pregnancies are either unwanted or mistimed.

Ideally, birth control will be less expensive once the new law is implemented, since it will no longer be a prescription drug.

However, the new law does not address insurance coverage of birth control. The Affordable Care Act does not require insurance plans to cover over-the-counter medications, which could lead to women paying high prices in order to obtain birth control pills that were previously covered by their insurance. California Democrats have introduced a bill that would require insurance coverage of over-the-counter hormonal contraceptives in an effort to lower costs.

Locally, some critique the absence of professional advice in the proposed law.

“My concern with the law is that ... if [women] are not getting adequate

health care, and they are just taking the pills [without seeing a doctor” that it could be more detrimental to them,” Letitia Burton, a Palo Alto High School Living Skills teacher, said. “I feel like women need to have a relationship with a healthcare professional for their health and safety.”

Oregon passed a very similar law in June 2015, but women in Oregon must be 18 or older to get their birth control from pharmacies. In Oregon, women under the age of 18 will be required to have their first contraceptive prescription from a doctor.

Pharmacists in Oregon will also have to receive more training on prescribing birth control than pharmacists in California.

California will be the first state in the country to allow women to obtain birth control without prescriptions.

Oregon will be the second state.

Local residents express concerns over popular hostels and hackerspaces, demand regulations CLAY WATSON

STAFF WRITER

Palo Alto has seen an increasing trend of single family homes converted into hostels — homes which take in as many as 16 people at a time.

This trend of short term rentals has upset residents.

Short-term rental sites such as Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) and Airbnb have created a new market for Palo Alto residents looking to profit by way of renting out their houses for a few days at a time. In response, community members have voiced concerns regarding the overpopulation of these rented homes.

While short-term rentals have been increasing in popularity around the United States, Silicon Valley’s short-term rental market is unique.

Lax laws and a booming technological industry have resulted in the transformation of many single family homes into such rental hackerspaces (community oriented working spaces, usually for coders) and hostels. The durations of these rentals have been reported to be anywhere from a few days to months.

It’s very expensive ... to stay here.

I couldn’t believe the prices here, most people have to share or go further away.

Oscar Rueda

Short-term housing tenant While neighboring residents have complained about these overcrowded homes, reporting both noise complaints and health concerns, many renters of these houses claim that this type of housing is one of the

only ways that they can afford to live in Palo Alto. The increase in longterm rental rates has many Palo Alto residents expressing their concerns regarding this newly appearing common occurrence. Oscar Rueda, a scientist visiting Stanford University for two months from Cambridge University expressed his concern regarding rental prices in Palo alto.

“It’s very expensive, very expensive to stay here,” Rueda said. “I couldn’t believe the prices here, most people have to share or go further away.”

Still however, members of the community have asked for stricter regulations. This being said, Palo Alto Planning and Community Environment Department Director Hillary Gitelman recently wrote in an email to Palo Alto Online that the City of Palo Alto is unable to regulate the number of people who rent and reside in a home.

“City code also does not limit the number of bedrooms or bathrooms that can be constructed within a residence; it regulates the overall size and use as a residence, rather than as a hotel,” Gitelman wrote.

Under the current legislation, little can be done to prevent the establishment of these hostels and hacker spaces. The popularity of short-term rental spaces brings to light concerns regarding residential overpricing in Palo Alto and the increasing financial difficulties for the city’s renting population. With one bedroom apartments in Palo Alto being rented out for an average price of $2589 per month, and two bedroom apartments for an average price of $3343 per month, renting spaces has become nearly impossible, financially, for many aspiring Silicon Valley workers.

Beechwood takes the District revisits middle school goals classroom outdoors PAUSD examines efforts to decrease the number of low-performing students Innovative outdoor program at Menlo Park school allows students to learn through nature RACHEL FARN

BUSINESS MANAGER

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tudents at Beechwood School are preparing for upcoming educational excursions; a part of the school’s recently integrated outdoor education program.

Beechwood, a private, non-profit school located in Menlo Park, is giving students a chance to explore nature and adventure away from their usual surroundings.

The school consists of more than 100 low-income families from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. K-8 students, as well as parents who wish to go, are given the opportunity to go hiking, camping and kayaking in places like Yosemite, Angel Island and Big Basin, or even Seattle, San Diego and Lake Tahoe.

“The idea is to take kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity to do these kinds of things outdoors and expose them and their parents, who come along on the trips, to [nature],” Melinda Christopherson, finance manager and development director of the California Family Foundation, a funder of Beechwood, said in an interview with Palo Alto online.

On trips, students not only learn about plant life and animals, but also prepare for the trip on their own, thus teaching them about responsibility as well At the same time, students are able to bond with one another while working in groups to set up tents and sleeping areas, or cook and clean breakfasts, lunches and dinners. “[The trip] let me get away from my family and explore something on my own, especially the camping part,” Lala, a Beechwood student, said in an interview with Palo Alto online. “My friends had to help me roll up my sleeping bag and figure everything out, but we got through it together, so it really built a sense of community for me.”

The program’s trips also allow for many students to explore the outdoors. As a class, students experience an unfamiliar environment together for the first time.

When you spend all day in a classroom, you lose touch with nature. It’s an important skill to be able to really let go of everyday stresses and just focus on being at peace with nature.

Brooklyn Willis TEAM Senior Leader The trips offered by Beechwood’s outdoor education program are similar to the Yosemite and Foothills camping trips Palo Alto High School’s TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) members go on and experience similar benefits, according to Paly senior Brooklyn Willis, a past TEAM student and current TEAM senior leader.

“Students learn about the importance of connecting with nature,” Willis said. “When you spend all day every day in a classroom, you lose touch with nature. It’s an important skill to be able to really let go of everyday stresses and just focus on being at peace with nature.”

Although Willis believes that TEAM trips should be kept separate from school, she still believes that camping trips and outdoor excursions that are similar to those at Beechwood should be offered to more students at Paly.

“I think that there should definitely be trips for students outside of TEAM offered,” Willis said. “It’s fun to get out of the classroom and school, but still be with your friends and classmates.”

With its new outdoor education program, Beechwood School is creating a new standard for school curriculums and setting an example for other schools to follow.

JARED STANLEY

STAFF WRITER

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recent board meeting was held on November 17 to discuss goals that had been established during the 2013-2014 school year for each middle school within the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). The overall theme that PAUSD had hoped to achieve

by June 2015, the end of the previous school year, was to “create an exceptional learning environment that engages, challenges and supports all students so that they thrive and achieve their academic potential every year.”

Jordan Middle School At the board meeting, previously made goals for Jordan were assessed.

The first was to improve the curricular system and instructional practices so that every student would be challenged. This would be accomplished if Jordan could reduce the number of students performing below a “C”average. During the 2013-14 school year, there were 58 students from both sixth and seventh grade performing below “C” level work (25 sixth graders and 33 seventh graders).

While following these same students, the number of them performing below C level work actually increased from 58 to 72 students.

Another one of the objectives was to increase the number of co-taught classrooms from 18 to 20 by the end of the of the 2015-16 school year.

According to PAUSD, “co-teaching is a specific instructional strategy where two or more teachers deliver instruction in the same class, at the same time.”

To date, the number of these classrooms decreased to 16. This is because there was special education reform occurring during this same time period.

The special education reform was highly successful. Now, 95 percent of special education students are being taught in mainstream classes some with aid support and some without.

COURTESY OF THE PALY VOICE

The PAUSD School Board convenes to discuss the progress of creating an aligned curriculum.

Terman Middle School Staff at Terman set out to reduce the number of students consistently turning in below “C” level work in their classes as well.

They attempted to reduce the number of sixth graders performing at a “C” level from 11 to six students, the number of seventh graders from 13 to seven students and the number of eighth graders from 15 to eight students.

By the end of the second semester, Terman had achieved each of these desired goals.

Terman additionally attempted to create a safer learning environment for its students. Progress for this goal was tracked throughout the school year by a questionnaire that was directed towards how safe students felt on campus.

Several attempts were made in order to increase the number of positive responses to the questionnaire, however only one category saw the required 3 percent increase.

One question used to measure progress in this category asked Terman students if they felt that they mattered at the school. Another asked students the number of adults on campus they felt comfortable discussing such matters with.

Terman, overall, accomplished what its goals were or at least came very close, based on the final results.

Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School (JLS) In order to improve the curriculum at JLS, staff focused on students’ abilities to study and prepare for tests.

A survey of students was taken annually from 2012-15, with one question — “What problem, if any, tend to cause the most homework problems?” Studying for tests as the main cause of homework problems saw a drastic decrease from 42.60 percent in 2012 to 31.63 percent in 2015, and assignments that required teamwork as a major cause of problems with homework saw a significant decrease from 33.60 percent to 24.42 percent.

JLS also attempted to “create, produce and distribute a writing handbook for all staff and students to utilize as a resource in all content areas when writing is assigned.” The writing department agreed to administer common writing assignments throughout classes. Teachers were also confined to the handbook when grading papers.

In order to test results, teachers were required to assign the same assignments for consecutive years across all classes.

The board meeting ended with a final report that stated, “English teachers have utilized this benchmark assessment as a way to review and reflect on their writing instruction.”

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

OPINION A5 Fear-ridden Americans too harsh towards refugees

MACKENZIE GLASSFORD

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STAFF WRITER

he American people are, understandably, a little apprehensive about Syrian refugees entering the United States after the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, especially since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has vowed to wreak comparable havoc here in the United States. Our fear is justified, but it has gotten the best of us and we have reacted hastily, especially taking into consideration the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the Obama administration plans to accept into our country in the next year.

Many Americans have a strong opinion on the refugee crisis, in part precipitated by the countless news stories surrounding the admittance of Syrian refugees. According to a national poll conducted by Bloomberg Politics, about 53 percent of American adults do not want any Syrian refugees accepted into the United States. As of Nov. 25, 31 governors have stated that they will not allow refugees to be admitted into their states, despite the fact that they have no legal authority to refuse refugees.

Syrian refugees are as much victims of terrorism and ISIS as Parisians are. They have been forced out of their homes and onto the streets by war, and many are struggling to survive.

Before forming an opinion, it is important to understand the background of the conflict in Syria, and to know how domestic tensions have escalated.

The Syrian Civil War started in 2011 as the authoritarian government, led

by President Bashar al-Assad, started cracking down on pro-democracy

demonstrations. The use of heavyhanded force only spurred more of the country’s citizens to call for al-Assad’s resignation.

Additionally, because Syria’s borders were drawn up by Europeans, with no regard to religious, ethnic or cultural differences, there are many different factions fighting to gain political power in Syria. ISIS, which was formed in 2013, saw the instability of Syria’s government as an opportunity to usurp power and establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria. For almost five years now, Syrians have been subjected to the terrors of war, including chemical warfare and an internationally condemned means of attack by their own government.

Syrian refugees are as much victims of terrorism and ISIS as Parisians are.

They have been forced out of their homes and onto the streets by war, and many are struggling to survive.

Because the refugees are from Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State is based, it is easy to conjure up fears that the jihadi group has inserted its own members among the refugees in order to burrow into host societies and then spring their traps. However, posing as a refugee is a lot of trouble for a terrorist to enter this country. Refugees hoping to enter America have to go through a rigorous, lengthy process, which takes an average of 18-24 months.

The first step for a refugee hoping to get into America is to register with the United Nations High Commissioner Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which then makes a referral to a resettlement country. The UNHCR then collects biometric data, including iris scans for Syrians and other Middle Eastern populations and biological information.

Once a referral has been made, a U.S. government-funded refugee support center receives the refugee’s application. A file is created and information is collected to begin background checks that ensure the refugee is genuinely fleeing persecution or harm. The refugee background data collected by the government will be run through at least four independent databases.

The State Department maintains that the details of the background checks are classified, but it is known that the agencies that screen refugee candidates include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the National Counterterrorism Center.

Syrian refugee applicants undergo an additional screening by the Department of Homeland Security, the only refugee group required to do so. Syrian refugee cases may be referred for review to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. If any new information comes to light, such as a previously used name or a different phone number, the entire screening process is repeated.

Once the background checks are completed, refugees must have a faceto-face interview with a Department of Homeland Security officer. During the interviews, officers are looking for associations with terrorist organizations and evidence that applicants provided material support for such groups, although it has been a challenge for officers interviewing Syrians to determine this.

Out of the 2,500 Syrian refugees taken in by the U.S. since 2011, 50 percent are children, and the rest are evenly split between men and women.

Only two percent of refugees were single men of combat age, the demographic most likely to be involved with terrorist groups.

The process that refugees have to go through is extremely comprehensive and eliminates any significant threat of a terrorist entering America posed as a refugee. Of course, there is always a chance that one could slip through the cracks, but then there is also an equal, if not greater, chance that anyone entering the United States from anywhere else in the world, even somewhere such as Canada or China, could end up committing acts of terror.

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, since the attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has admitted 784,000

refugees worldwide, and only three have been arrested for suspected terrorist activity. Two were trying to leave America to join terrorist organizations overseas, and the third was nowhere close to actually having a plan of terrorism to carry out.

These refugees are families who want a quality life — parents and children seeking asylum from a war that has shattered their country. They deserve our compassion and understanding.

Despite this, the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives recently passed a piece of legislation that would put further screening procedures in place, requiring the director of the FBI, the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of National Intelligence to take the time to confirm that each and every Syrian and Iraqi refugee admitted into the country poses no threat.

But what this measure fails to acknowledge is that these refugees are families who want a quality life — parents and children seeking asylum from a war that has shattered their country. They deserve our compassion and understanding, not scrutiny and suspicion — especially considering that they just went through nearly two years of that during the screening process.

“We also have to remember that many of these refugees are the victims of terrorism themselves — that’s what they’re fleeing,” President Barack Obama said earlier this month in Turkey at a meeting of the Group of 20. “Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values. Our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and ensure our own security. We can and must do both.”

The Campanile

Friday, December 11, 2015

A6

OPINION

Greater awareness of ISIS’s usage of social media needed COLE HECHTMAN STAFF WRITER

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hen a video displaying harrowing images of American reporter James Foley being beheaded surfaced in mid-August last year, Americans were shocked by the barbarity of such an act conducted by a rising terrorist organization and dumbfounded by the terrorist group’s strong social media presence. The group soon emerged as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an extremist group primarily located in Iraq and Syria with the goal of establishing a new Islamic caliphate across the Middle East. Over a year later, ISIS has been widely discussed internationally as one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations.

ISIS’s widespread recognition would have been impossible without modern technology and the coverage surrounding the recent string of horrid events perpetrated by this terrorist organization.

ISIS has found success by inciting fear through social media which then enables it to spread propaganda. Unfortunately, the younger population, specifically those of the teenage demographic, are most susceptible to ISIS’s propaganda, and some are influenced by the false promises of ISIS recruiters. In order to limit further expansion, it is important that members of the demographic be aware of the tactics ISIS is using to recruit new members and spread its message.

ISIS’s widespread recognition would have been impossible without modern technology and the coverage surrounding the recent string of horrid events perpetrated by this terrorist organization. Graphic photos and videos that endlessly circulate the Internet are exactly what the organization has strategically used to gain traction and are what have isolated ISIS from other terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Kataib Hezbollah.

These groups are not known for employing social media as a terror

tactic, but are instead known for their acts on a larger scale such as kidnapping 300 Nigerian schoolgirls or killing U.S. soldiers and instigating frequent rocket attacks. ISIS uses much more direct tactics, by spreading its messages through appalling publicity stunts and marketing itself on various social media sites.

ISIS has differentiated itself from similar groups through its strong online presence. Until recently, terrorist organizations would have made headlines through wide-reaching terror attacks. With today’s resources, all it takes is a viral video. President Barack Obama claimed ISIS’s members are solely “killers with good social media.”

ISIS has manipulated the Internet by creating gruesome videos, which may focus on one victim rather than many, and then become widely shared on all media outlets. Through this tactic, ISIS incorporates its central message of becoming an independent Islamic state. For instance, in the video where Foley was beheaded, the masked man said he was killing the 40-year-old American journalist in an act of retaliation for the recent United States’ airstrikes against the terrorist group in Iraq.

The terrorist organization has used social media to further its fight in multiple ways. The largest use has been for communication and coordination.

ISIS has accounts on all of the largest media sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. They use these sites to promulgate their messages, plan attacks and distribute their videos. ISIS quickly moves from different networks to apply itself to different audiences, and creates thousands of new accounts, as many are quickly banned. Another strategy it has used has been to hijack popular hashtags. For example, it overtook the hashtag “#fifaworldcup,” and flooded the results to spread its message.

Not only have media outlets served as a tool to publicize ISIS, but they have also granted them a powerful platform for recruiting new members.

ISIS specifically targets children and teenagers, mostly through different media sites. They exploit the youth by promising a better life and a way to escape difficult missions. Aqsa Mahmood, a British teenager, recruited by ISIS, said that the terrorist organization provides incentives for allegiance. “[They give you] a house with free electricity and water [is] provided to

you due to the Khilafah (the caliphate or state),” Mahmood wrote in his blog about life under ISIS rule.

The promise of many financial and material benefits, as well as a sense of belonging and importance, is enticing to some vulnerable teenagers. Young people may be drawn to these recruiting techniques, as recruiters can be very deceiving.

The way that ISIS is using social media to further its campaign is a difficult problem to resolve. ISIS is very technologically advanced and has been ahead of government attempts to shut down their operations online, making the group difficult to monitor.

It is critical that people in the world are fully aware of potential ISIS propaganda that may influence certain youth to join. Awareness is the most important step to limit ISIS from expanding and preventing further advancements.

“It needs every school, every university, every college, every community to recognize they have a role to play, we all have a role to play in stopping people from having their minds poisoned by this appalling death cult,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said to the press.

Absences for religious holidays should be recognized ing celebrated by the majority of the large population of Chinese students at Paly. Though the dates of these holidays vary from year to year, they tend to land on weekdays. Students are often unable to fully experience these festivities, and other holidays, that are so central to their culture, due to schoolwork. Given the popularity of these holidays, teachers should be more lenient and grant extensions as needed so that students can enjoy the holidays as intended.

Adding days off from school in order to accommodate all major cultural and religious holidays would be a logistical nightmare on behalf of the district. Furthermore, having the district dictate which holidays are worthy of a day off could potentially trigger more issues of inequality and discrimination.

Instead, the district should work on improving the experience for students who attend school on major religious or cultural holidays in order to make the holiday less stressful.

ALICE ZHAO STAFF WRITER

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s December passes by, many students are looking forward to the 2-week winter break to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s.

The extended time off from school allows students to truly appreciate the holidays with their friends and family, free from tests, assignments and projects.

However, many students celebrate different holidays which may be less commonly celebrated, but are just as important. When celebrating these less popular holidays, students do not have the luxury of taking a breather from school during that time. Palo Alto High School is a melting pot of cultures, religions and ethnicities, encompassing a variety of holidays throughout the year. Yet, the Palo Alto

Unified School District does not offer the same consideration to all major cultural and religious holidays.

Although it is not feasible for the district to grant days off for every holiday that arises, teachers should be sensitive in terms of schoolwork during major cultural and religious holidays.

Given the separation of church and state, it is neither the district’s nor the teacher’s job to decide which holidays merit a day off; however, teachers should respect a student’s decision to miss school due to religious or cultural purposes.

Although the Paly Student Handbook states that absences due to “religious purposes” are warranted and excused, junior Molly Weitzman has repeatedly struggled with being absent on major Jewish holidays.

“I had told all of my teachers that I would be gone [on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hoshana,]” Weitzman said. “But

some [teachers] did not let me make up work, did not tell me what I would miss when I asked and did not give me any materials that I needed for the missed classes.”

Despite officially being deemed as absences excused by the school, missing class for religious purposes seems to have less credibility among teachers. The the fact that teachers do not acknowledge religious absences to be as valid as say, health related absences, contributes to the notion that students do not deserve to celebrate their religious and cultural holidays.

Additionally, cultures that may not be considered religious, also have important holidays which have just as much right to be warranted and excused as well.

Pertinent cultural holidays such as Chinese New Year and the Mid Autumn festival receive no accommodation from the school despite be-

Despite officially being deemed as absences excused by the school, missing class for religious purposes seems to have less credibility among teachers.

Teachers need to be more aware of upcoming major cultural and religious holidays. This way, teachers can be better prepared when these holidays arises, and the students can more easily request extensions or make-up work. On top of that, all religious and cultural holidays, that do not already have a day off, should be accommodated equally to avoid discrimination, favoritism or an amalgamation of the church and state.

With the ever-increasing academic workload, it is of the utmost importance that all students have the equal opportunity to celebrate their religions and cultures with minimal school related stress.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

OPINION

A7

Silicon Valley startups need stricter oversight PETER MAROULIS

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

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merica is in danger. The United States has had a storied past as the world’s hotbed of corporations, serving as the cradle for behemoths such as Ford, General Electric, Walmart and McDonald’s.

The 20th century engendered a new breed of companies, bigger, mightier and seedier than ever before, churning out products and profits at an astonishing rate. As corporations grew, the U.S. government outlined rules and restrictions that checked businesses’ power, thus keeping companies in line by establishing business taxes, a minimum wage, insurance requirements and further ethical and economic guidelines. However, the “Dot-com boom” at the turn of the 21st century begot another, more alarming, species of companies: startups.

From the conception of startups, their popularization has been accompanied with a mix of curiosity and encouragement from the general populace — how could one not respect a venture dreamt up in the American way by a couple of pals in a rustic garage? The past 15 years have seen startups extend across a variety of industries, from transportation to personal security.

Money from venture capitalists has swollen personal projects into multimillion and even billion-dollar private corporations. Yet, despite acquiring so much wealth, many successful startups maintain the auras of small businesses, which allows them to circumvent typical restrictions put on larger companies worth millions or billions. Herein lie two pressing concerns: how are startups affecting other American industries and how should people truly view startups?

To answer these questions, consider Airbnb, Craigslist and Uber, three of the 21st century’s most lucrative private startups. Airbnb, valued at $25 billion, connects travelers with homeowners and apartment tenants to expedite temporary living arrangements.

Craigslist is worth $5 billion and makes money by establishing a network of people willing to do odd jobs

as well as those looking to buy and sell goods and services. Uber is valued at $50 billion, a figure it achieved by linking people seeking transportation with drivers using their own personal automobiles.

These three companies all have counterparts and thus rivals in the American economy: Airbnb competes with the hotel industry, Craigslist competes with all-purpose stores and employment agencies and Uber competes with taxi companies and public transportation.

Despite being undoubtedly characterized as companies, none of these three startups are required to pay corporate taxes or guarantee the national wage and insurance standards set by their employers, thus skirting major American corporate laws. Because of this lack of regulation, these startups can easily outcompete rival public corporations by providing lower prices and earning higher profit margins.

Airbnb does not have to pay hotel and service taxes and is a simple, cheap alternative to staying at a hotel. Craigslist is an unrestricted marketplace, one that federally-regulated stores cannot measure up to. Uber is almost singlehandedly eradicating the taxi industry, posting fares cheaper than those of city cabs and undermining the rigorous training process which taxi drivers receive. The government is making comparatively little money off of startups, while other equivalent companies that adhere to American labor laws are suffering.

It is also important to understand the societal and behavioral connotations of startups. The next generation is growing up amid a flurry of start-up culture, and needs to be mindful about the potential dangers of many of these commonplace companies. Any twisted psychopath can rent out his or her home as a part of Airbnb, prostitution and drugs can and have been solicited

via Craigslist and violent predators (what happened to “never get into a car with a stranger”?) can easily take advantage of Uber. American industries currently being taxed by the federal government are established enterprises with health and safety protocols: startups are the Wild West of health and safety laws.

Extremely wealthy startups are not inherently bad, but should be subject to the same regulations as public corporations in order to remain legitimate. Frustratingly, many of the new companies’ most active clientele do not see that they are sinking money into dangerous, albeit well meaning, efforts.

The people of America should understand that many of the services they have grown to love are direct violations of the law. It is time for million and billion dollar startups to cast off the guise of the lemonade stand and assume the responsibilities of the American corporate system.

Startups should no longer be considered exempt from government regulation, but should rather be regarded as corporations themselves.

Pop quizzes cause undue stress, should be eliminated

Pop quizzes induce unnecessary stress, as they do not add to student learning in any way while causing anxiety.

SARAH WANG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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lass, there is a pop quiz.”

For some students, this phrase is bound to evoke panic. Pop quizzes, unlike normal tests and quizzes, are administered without warning to unsuspecting students.

Though there may be teachers out there who dole out pop quizzes just for the novelty, most teachers use them to keep students on task by pushing them to continuously study in the event of a pop quiz. Unfortunately, regardless of the intentions behind them, pop quizzes result in stress and panic, while other similar alternatives can still yield the intended benefits.

Stress is normal and, to a certain extent, can even be beneficial for high school students, but no student should ever fear going to class or feel pressured to understand concepts immediately. Senior Emily Zhang took Analysis Honors, a class that used to give out pop quizzes, and Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus BC, a class

that continues to give out pop quizzes.

The pressure of pop quizzes constantly left her on edge in the classroom, when she should have been focused on learning. “[Pop quizzes] cause unnecessary stress,” Zhang said. “I remember being scared every time my teacher left the classroom, thinking he would bring back a quiz.”

Furthermore, pop quizzes, especially those that test concepts taught the same day of or two days preceding the quiz, favor those who grasp concepts more quickly over those who learn slower but put in the work to eventually learn the concepts. Senior Kelsey Wang, a former Analysis Honors and AP Calculus BC student, also felt the pressure of having to comprehend a lesson or concept immediately after it was taught while taking these math classes.

“I felt much more stressed if there was a concept I couldn’t immediately grasp because of the possibility of having a pop quiz that I wasn’t ready to take yet,” Wang said. “I felt anxious

coming to class if I didn’t feel like I understood the material perfectly.”

The purpose of making quizzes “pop” is to give students an incentive to stay up to date with class content by spacing out their studying, a psychological phenomenon known as the spacing effect. This way, a student will not end up cramming in a unit’s worth of knowledge the night before a test.

Spacing out material can help students retain material.

“We know that there’s psychological research that [when] you space out your studying [and] you space out your preparation, you have longer term retention,” AP Psychology teacher Melinda Mattes said. “Pop quizzes, ideally, what they get you to do is space out your studying.”

In theory, the idea behind pop quizzes is sensible, since many students struggle with spacing out their studying. However, this attempt to help students study more efficiently falls short of its goal. Zhang did not change her methods of studying just because she knew there was a possibility of a pop quiz. In fact, because pop quizzes are not set in stone, the unpredictability deterred her from studying.

“I didn’t plan my time out for studying for pop quizzes,” Zhang said.

“I was too busy studying for quizzes and tests I knew were going to happen, rather than studying for a quiz that might or might not happen.”

In addition to not fulfilling their purpose, pop quizzes present logistical problems for both teachers. Because students cannot prepare for them ahead of time, instances of cheating increase significantly as many students feel that they are not prepared to take the quiz on their own merit. Mattes stopped giving out pop quizzes in AP Psychology after she saw too many instances of cheating.

“The issue with pop quizzes is that unless you vary it from class to class, the first class gets it [and] they’re at a severe disadvantage because [later periods] find out they have a pop quiz,” Mattes said. “[When] the last class meets the next day… they’re all pre-

pared. … We would vary it and you would never know which class gets it, but then there’s that inconsistency, because then is it really fair that I tested this class on this concept but tested the other class on the other concept?”

To truly help students space out their studying, there are better methods. On top of homework, which is already meant to help students study every day by reinforcing the concepts taught in class, measures such as benchmark quizzes require students to space out studying without the additional stress and temptation to cheat.

Already implemented in math classes such as Intro to Analysis and AP Calculus AB, the benchmark quiz system means teachers have a scheduled quiz every day that tests students on the material learned the class before.

Unlike pop quizzes, these short quizzes are announced and can be retaken until students get full credit. With this system, students can feel more prepared by studying for a quiz that they know is coming, and they also have no incentive to cheat since they can retake the quiz.

Instances of cheating [on pop quizzes] increase significantly as many students feel that they are not prepared to take the quiz on their own merit.

Should implementing the benchmark quiz system be too much trouble or too difficult, regular quizzes also suffice. Quizzes that get spaced out still push students to study, just without the negative consequences.

Pop quizzes fail to actually carry out the spacing effect, and instead, induce a variety of negative effects on students. If stress and cheating are the results of this learning tool, a tool that can easily be replaced with more beneficial methods, then pop quizzes should no longer be an option.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

A8

EDITORIALS

Non-AP calculus course needed

C

urrently, Palo Alto High School juniors who take the math course Intro to Analysis and Calculus (IAC) are expected to take Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB their senior year, the next course in their lane. However, there is a noticeable jump in the level of difficulty between these two courses that may leave students struggling to perform as well in AP Calculus AB as they did in IAC. Because of this, The Campanile recommends that Paly’s math department create a non-AP Calculus course that students in IAC may opt to take their senior year if they do not feel prepared for an AP level calculus course.

IAC broadens students’ understanding of Algebra 2 and Trigonometry and builds on their existing foundation of knowledge regarding these two topics. Many lessons are either more in-depth examinations or review of previously learned concepts.

The course ends with a brief preview of Calculus A, but for the most part, students taking AP Calculus AB are delving into a completely new topic their senior year.

However, AP Calculus AB is still taught at around the same pace as IAC is, even though concepts may be brand new, making it difficult for students to fully comprehend material.

Therefore, students who were already challenged by IAC will struggle more so in AP Calculus AB, and as the

course moves on, these students will fall further and further behind.

Evidence to support the fact that many students who are in AP Calculus AB are not thriving in the class can be seen in the heavy curves that have been placed on several quizzes and unit tests throughout the semester. Even with the high number of students who dropped down from AP Calculus BC to AP Calculus AB, many assessments in the course still have a very low median score, in the 65 to 75 percent range, and are curved to the targeted median for the assessments in the course, 82 percent.

The fact that there are such drastic curves in the course and that medians can be as low as a failing grade show that many students are struggling and cannot keep up with the course.

The Campanile acknowledges that the purpose of the AP Calculus AB is to prepare students for the AP exam in May, so even if teachers wish to slow the pace of the course or teach material in a more simplified manner, they cannot do so. In order to adequately cover all important concepts for students to perform well on the exam, material must be taught at a rapid pace and certain depth. Implementing a non-AP Calculus course would create an option for students who do not feel that they are ready for the difficulty of AP Calculus AB to take a calculus course that is not as fast-paced or rigorous. Without

Requesting quarter grades

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the AP exam at the end of the year, teachers have the flexibility to bend the curriculum to the students’ needs, ultimately furthering students’ understanding of the material.

Additionally, it is vital that a nonAP Calculus course be put in place so that students who already know they are struggling in IAC have a better option for a math course in their senior year. It is not reasonable for students in IAC to drop to the next lower lane of math since the course option for seniors directly below AP Calculus AB is Precalculus, which is a simplified version of IAC. If students in IAC do not want to take AP Calculus AB, they must face the decision of not taking math their senior year or taking math electives. Both of these options do not allow students to continue with a traditional path for their math education, especially because the only math elective which fulfills the year long CSU/UC math credit is AP Statistics — arguably a very challenging course as well. With the creation of a non-AP Calculus course, students struggling in IAC and those who decide to drop AP Calculus AB will have a safe option to turn to.

Given the district’s current efforts to alleviate and quell student stress, The Campanile believes that allowing students a choice when it comes to their senior year calculus course will have a substantial positive impact.

or early decision and early action schools, most seniors across the nation have the option to send quarter grades, giving colleges insight into a student’s success in more difficult courses taken during senior year. Yet, at Palo Alto High School, it has always been standard to only send these reports when they are required by the college due to the extensive work it would add for Paly Registrar Suzie Brown. The Campanile, however, believes that placing this limitation unfairly prevents students from showing an upward trend in their grade point average (GPA) and from compensating for prior grades.

According to Brown, in order to send quarter grades to colleges, she must go through the arduous process of examining each student’s individual academic record and downloading the report to send to colleges. As a result, she only has time to send quarter grades for colleges that require them, even though most universities allow students to submit quarter grades.

Many students step up their game in senior year, with college finally in sight, and students who received less than satisfactory grades junior and sophomore year must make the choice of whether to apply early to their dream schools or to bring up their GPAs in their first semester of senior year and apply regular decision. Quarter grades provide a way to

achieve the best of both worlds; they encourage students to apply early to colleges, allow them to finish the application process early, and give students a way to demonstrate a higher level of achievement in their school performance.

This issue of creating additional work for Brown as she sends quarter grades could be solved by allowing students to request quarter grade reports from their teacher advisors (TAs) along with the transcript and secondary school report in the Common Application. This proposed system would function under Palo Alto Unified School District’s regulations, according to Brown. This way, the job of sending quarter grades would be distributed across different TAs, and Brown would not carry all the responsibility of having to go through the time-consuming process of sending grades for all seniors.

By instituting a system that allows Paly students to send grades without requiring Brown to take on all the responsibility, seniors will be given the opportunity to display improvement or show greater academic achievement in their senior year, which can help them during the stressful time of college applications. Ultimately, students should always be given the option to display to colleges their accomplishments, and Paly should make its best efforts to allow students to do so.

Call to revive dead week

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or many Palo Alto High School students, the end of the school semester marks the culmination of stressors, primarily those relating to academics. This increased stress is exacerbated by many teachers’ tendencies to condense significant amounts of curricula and unit tests into the weeks preceding finals, resulting in yet more mental and emotional strain for students.

An almost universal colloquial term among students and teachers alike, dead week is meant to refer to the week preceding finals, characterized as “dead” for the supposed lack of scheduled testing and homework.

However, much to the angst of students, the week is far from wholly void of said work, as many teachers provide only the bare minimum of final examination review.

According to the Student Handbook, teachers are required to use the two class periods before the final for purely review, and both unit tests and projects are prohibited during the same time period. With Paly’s current schedule, however, this means that review only extends into the Friday of dead week, and that unit tests and project due dates can fall on any day during the first four of dead week.

This combination of student responsibilities can result in a broader version of test stacking: incidents of having three or more major tests on one day. In a letter to parents and students sent out ahead of finals last May, Principal Kim Diorio underscored the importance of remedying test stacking and wrote, “We [the administration] will continue to be flexible and create a ‘culture of care’ at our school as the best way to address the issue of ‘test stacking.’” Though exact instances of test stacking are scarce during dead week, there is test and review stacking in that timeframe.

The expectation for students to be able to prepare for unit tests while simultaneously reviewing for final exams is not only unrealistic but also unconducive to learning.

In addition, data from Perception Data in the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ evaluation of

Paly last year indicated that “some students acknowledge that work needs to be done around honoring review days before finals.”

The Campanile believes that dead week should be treated as a true review week, in which students do not have to worry about pressures to perform well on unit tests.

These issues all stem from one overarching cause: the lack of accountability for teachers to plan out their curricula and ensure the week prior to that of final examinations is stress-free. If teachers were to schedule a strict calendar for instruction, the predicament of condensing untaught material would be nonexistent.

Additionally, these calendars would allow dead week to be fully dedicated to review. The phenomenon of teachers truncating or abbreviating their curricula to fit it in before the semester is all too well known, especially considering that such cramming is typically due to poor planning on the teacher’s part. Classes that abide by strict scheduling do not fall subject to this incompleteness. Rather, they prepare students for their final examinations in an efficient, stress-free manner.

We believe that the onus in enforcing teachers to plan out their curricula for the semester at the start of the school year lies with the administration.

This requirement would give administration the opportunity to promote a greater sense of transparency between students and teachers, as students will not be blindsided by tests and assignments as finals approach, and would also curtail the stress that surrounds the weeks preceding finals week.

The Campanile also urges students to do their part in evolving this change by noting teachers who schedule tests or cram curricula near finals in the Qualtrics Course Evaluation Survey. This survey, which has been recently administered to students to evaluate teachers, provides specific medium for students to voice their concerns and identify teachers that are culpable.

Rejectio n Wall

BO FIELD/THE CAMPANILE

SANTA CAME EARLY THIS YEAR

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Miranda Chen • Stephanie Cong • Owen Dulik Lauren Klass • Mischa Nee • Nikhil Rajaram Online Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Fu News and Opinion Editors Claire Dennis Peter Maroulis

Lifestyle Editors Aiva Petriceks Carissa Zou

Sports Editors Kai Oda Ethan Teo

Business Manager Rachel Farn

Design Editor Bo Field

Photography Editor Dami Bolarinwa

Yael Ben-Shachar Josh Brigel Susana Cacho Kate DeAndre Greg Eum Joanna Falla Maddie Feldmeier Mackenzie Glassford Eli Gwin-Kerr

Staff Writers

Jamie Har Cole Hechtman Antonio Kieschnick Masha Konkov Christina Le Will Leighton Tiffany Liang Anant Marur Mads McCluskey Jacky Moore

Anna Moragne Josh Ng Thomas Rauner-Swan Gillian Robins Maggie Rosenthal Bethany Shiang Tommy Smale Adrian Smith Noah Smith Jared Stanley

Photographers

DECEMBER’S TOP FIVE LIST Top Five Ways To Cope With Getting Accepted Into College 5) Cover the “Rejection wall” with your acceptance letters.

4) Power a personalized hydropower system using your classmates’ tears.

3) Leave an empty box of donuts outside a friend’s house with a sweet, pitiful note.

2) Shop with your friends’ money. You need to save up for tuition.

1) When your friend is crying, calmly say, “At least you didn’t get into ____ college, like I did.” Smile.

-JAMIE HAR

Abira Berezin Daniel Hammerson

Avi Tachna-Fram David Tayeri Annalise Wang Sarah Wang Clay Watson Jessica Wong Catherine Yu Samuel Yun Alice Zhao

Jacky Moore Jordan Schilling

Editing Consultants

Evelyn Richards

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Advisor Esther Wojcicki Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds16@googlegroups.com The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis.

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

The Campanile only prints signed letters.

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The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Managers by email at campanile.ads@gmail.com.

Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community.

The policy of The Campanile is to publish editorial content that represents at least half of the staff.

L FESTYLE

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

K-pop Idols

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ANONYMOUS DECLARES WAR ON ISIS

TEXT ANd Design by ORE O M Y K C A J

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o l l o w i n g the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, online hacktivist group Anonymous launched retaliatory maneuvers on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) via Twitter.

Anonymous has worked to cripple the militants’ efforts to use social media platforms to indoctrinate potential supporters.

Anonymous is associated with a faceless figure in a suit in addition to the white, moustached Guy Fawkes mask. The organization works collectively to attack certain groups, the most notable of which are PayPal and the U.S. government. They lack a singular leader and are instead organized by groups of hackers with common interests.

After hacking a given website, they leave behind their logo, occasionally with their slogan: “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

This specialization in different fields of attack has proven to be effective in Anonymous’ latest endeavor against ISIS: Operation ISIS (also called Operation Paris).

The movement began in retaliation against the November attacks in Paris and is designed to hobble ISIS’s online influence. Different groups of hackers in Anonymous are focusing on certain aspects of the hack, ranging from flagging ISIS Twitter accounts, alerting Twitter of ISIS propaganda and violence and shutting down ISIS’s servers.

The ISIS Tw i t t e r Census, a report published earlier this year by the Brookings Institution, states that “Much of ISIS’s social media success can be attributed to a relatively small group of hyperactive users, numbering between 500 and 2,000 accounts, which tweet in concentrated bursts of high volume.” The same study stated that there are roughly 6,000 active pro-ISIS accounts on Twitter alone at any given time, each with an average of 1,004 followers.

Out of the social media platforms on which ISIS has established a dedicated following, Twit-

K-pop expands to have fans around the world.

DESIGN BY CARISSA ZOU

Bulletproof Final Tips

AIVA PETRICEKS

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

There is one F-word that can raise any high schooler’s anxiety through the roof: finals. Finals mean it is time to study all the things you “learned” throughout the semester. Since I am (hopefully) still on track to graduating and these will be my last finals (because #sss), I can give some tips on how to get through finals week.

ter has proven to be one of the most effective. The speed with which media can be shared on Twitter allows ISIS to disseminate information internationally.

On the day of the Paris attacks, an Anonymous hacker with the handle @CtrlSec tweeted that a total of 72,079 ISIS Twitter accounts had been suspended. @CtrlSec and other hackers are currently using the handle @OpParisOfficial and the hashtags #OpIceISIS and #OpParis to organize their tweets into main, easily identifiable streams.

Anonymous officially declared war against ISIS on Nov. 16 in a video posted to YouTube. The clip featured a member of Anonymous wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and speaking in French.

“Expect massive cyber attacks,” the spokesman for the hacker group said. “War is declared. Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down.”

Anonymous is working to cripple ISIS’s Twitter success by flagging ISIS-related accounts for deletion and spamming pro-ISIS hashtags with unrelated content. On Nov. 24, @OpParisOfficial tweeted, “Our first, yet simple hashtag to #RickrollDaesh is #SupportISIS. Simple, but just our starter. Remember to post the video link.

Have fun.”

Posting the “video link” refers to spamming the pro-ISIS hashtags, referring to the group as Daesh, with videos of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The hacktivists also use conventional maneuvers to combat ISIS, notably Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks involve rendering online servers inoperative by flooding them with traffic from unknown origins. This type of attack is not uncommon and is a signature attack of Anonymous.

An elite sector of Anonymous fighting ISIS is Ghost Sec. According to their website, Ghost Sec’s mission is to “eliminate the online presence of Islamic extremist groups... in an effort to stymie their recruitment and limit their ability to organize international terrorist efforts.”

The website provides a form to report pro-ISIS content and social media accounts. Ghost Sec has explicitly stated that its methods of attack include the flagging of the content in question to the host platform and, should that fail, “the employment of digital weapons to forcibly remove content.”

On Nov. 27, Ghost Sec hacked an ISIS propaganda website, changing the w e b site to display “ T o o Much ISIS.” I S I S ’s content has been replaced by an advertisement for the online pharmacy CoinRx and the statement, “Enhance your calm.

Too many people are into this ISISstuff. Please gaze upon this lovely ad so we can upgrade our infrastructure to give you ISIS content you all so desperately crave.”

Certain Twitter accounts and websites such as the now-removed one hacked by Ghost Sec are run by agitators from ISIS to post threats, warnings and updates on ISIS to garner attention and supporters.

Mass numbers of ISIS supporters tweet propaganda released by ISIS from other websites; the most infamous instance being the circulation of the video of the beheading of American journalist James Foley on Twitter. Additionally, ISIS propagandists urge their Twitter followers to spam popular hashtags with extremist content in a manner similar to that of Anonymous.

CNN estimates that more than 20,000 foreigners have migrated to pro-ISIS countries to fight for the extremist group, 3,400 of whom are from Western nations. Some join ISIS for the religious rewards

it promises. Most recruits are young and attracted to the sense of purpose that ISIS offers. Propaganda on social media plays a major role in influencing Westerners to join the extremist group. “[ISIS] disseminates timely, high-quality media content on multiple platforms, including on social media, designed to secure a widespread following for the group,” former National Counterterrorism director Center Matthew Olsen said. “[ISIS] has used this propaganda campaign to draw foreign fighters to the group, including many from Western countries.”

Twitter has worked to remove ISIS-related content, helping to handicap the group’s social media influence. In August 2014, the company stated that it would take down media of the deceased.

T h i s policy would also include photographs and videos of James F o l e y ’s execution.

Additionally, Twitter has erased thousands of pro-ISIS accounts and images. Despite the fact that creating new accounts is relatively simple, mass deletion of ISIS accounts makes it difficult for the extremists to maintain and gain supporters.

Some have called into question the morality of Twitter’s censorship.

The social media platform has the capability to control what people can and cannot see of ISIS, drawing ire from those wanting the platform to accurately voice all of the opinions of the world. Citing its terms of use, which do not condone terrorist material and their circulation on the social media platform, Twitter quickly shut down these protests.

“Twitter continues to strongly support freedom of expression and diverse perspectives,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an interview with the Washington Post. “[But] the use of Twitter by violent extremist groups to threaten horrific acts of depravity and violence is of grave concern and against our policies, period.”

Getting that extra point Remember when you wrote that English essay in September and your teacher gave you an 89 percent instead of a 90? You do remember, and you remember well. That one point on that one assignment you did that one time might make you have an 92 percent in the class instead of a 93 percent, and NO ONE wants an A minus instead of an A going into finals. So to avoid that, I encourage you to go to your teacher and get that one point back. Teachers love it when you argue about your grades with them, especially when the assignment is over four months old — if anything, this is the perfect time.

ONLY study in a library Being the great AP Psychology student that I am, I now know you should not cram the night before if you want to retain information; rather, you should be studying in the days prior. As we all learned in elementary school, the library is a quiet place where everyone gets work done. Ask anyone who has ever studied in the Paly library during finals, and he or she will undoubtedly inform you the library is a quiet place where everyone gets work done! When you are in the library with a group of your friends, you will never get distracted! Also, because no one is ever distracted, the library is super quiet! Just know after a long night of studying, only going over one chapter of history out of the 20 you need to study is normal.

Netflix (and chill) Everyone uses the term “Netflix and chill” to describe some PG-13 (or maybe even R) rated activity between two people while “watching” Netflix; however, I use the term in the literal way. During finals, I implore everyone to Netflix and chill, but only the PG version. Much like how the Pomodoro technique calls for 25 minutes of studying followed by a 5-minute break, you should do the same with Netflix during finals: 25 minutes of watching Netflix followed by five minutes of studying. Though it may seem like you’re watching more shows than actually studying, you’re guaranteed to get an A on that APUSH final. Think of it this way: if you watch enough Grey’s Anatomy, you basically become a doctor by observational learning and will therefore ace your biology final.

If you do follow these tricks and don’t get the results you want (which definitely won’t happen because these tricks are bulletproof — did you even read the title?), you probably just forgot a step. It’s not like these are some inefficient, satirical tips I came up with. Good luck on finals, Paly Pals!

STUDENT LIFE

Peppermint products to try this winter

CATHERINE YU/THE CAMPANILE

With each winter come new peppermint products in anticipation for the holidays.

From peppermint mochas to peppermint popcorn, there are plenty of minty treats to try this holiday season.

Tech Gifts Under $50

Caltrain Stops

Quentin Tarantino

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ENTERTAINMENT

COURTESY OF GOOGLE

An inexpensive assortment of electronic gifts for the family.

COURTESY OF SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY

LIFESTYLE

Along the Caltrain itinerary, there are many places to explore.

COURTESY OF BET.COM

LIFESTYLE

Famed director will release new Western film this Christmas.

Friday, December 11, 2015

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The Campanile

FASHION

Fashion trends of the ‘70s make a comeback

Styles resembling typical couture from decades ago have now emerged as the prevalent new fad of the season chunky bangles are as stylish now as they were 40 years ago. In addition to lighter fabrics such as silk and rayon, suede was a popular choice back in the ‘70s, featured on skirts, jackets, shoes and vests. Around campus today, suede accents everything from fringed handbags to backpacks to Vans. All of these accessories and more can be found at popular stores such as Urban Outfitters, Free People and Brandy Melville.

COURTESY OF JUST JARED

High waisted shorts, palazzo pants, vests and flowy fabrics are key to ‘70s fashion, as Kendall Jenner and her friends demonstrate.

ANNALISE WANG

STAFF WRITER

S

tar Wars is not the only thing from the ’70s making a comeback — boho vibes, Bombardier jackets and sweeping printed palazzo pants are back in rotation as well.

Although it might be exactly what your parents wore when they were teenagers, ‘70s fashion is resurfacing and expected to be bigger than ever. Every day is now a throwback to fashion’s groovy past, and all that is kicky is predicted to stay for at least another two seasons, according to an article published earlier this month by Harper’s Bazaar.

The essence of the ‘70s can be described in three words: love, peace and trippy. The days of the ‘70s had heavy influences from the ’60s counterculture movement — said days were filled with positive vibes and psychedelic mashups. The clothing of

the era really reflected this with their worldly bohemian aesthetics, colorful prints and wild fabrics. Can you dig it?

Flowy Fabrics Relaxed silhouettes adorn the figures of many students at Palo Alto High School. These flowing fabrics pay homage to the ‘70s saying of “feeling like you’re walking around naked, yet having clothes on.” Four decades back, fashion was all about breaking through the modest ways of the past and making way for garments that showed a bit of skin. Today, examples of this trend can be seen in peasant tops, draping dresses and palazzo pants. These tops and dresses are made of gauzy, sometimes translucent fabric, such as chiffon.

They are typically solid pastel colors or are printed with bohemian designs that often include flowers, chevrons, diamonds and interlocking shapes.

These tops and dresses feature low

necklines and sometimes added lace detailing, fringes, fabric layering or embroidery. Manufacturers such as Free People incorporate these features into their garments regularly.

Pants of this style are made of light, breathable fabrics, such as silk crepe or rayon, and are usually patterned with psychedelic, colorful prints, adding to the mimicry of the carefree aesthetic of the ‘70s.

Groovy Accessories Accessories underwent a revolution in the ‘70s. Gone were the white gloves and matching bag-and-hat set of the ’40s and ’50s. Along with the social and cultural revolution of the ’60s came the eventual breakdown of set rules for traditionally proper, matching accessories. Denizens of this subculture became more adventurous with crazier prints and large, statement jewelry. Certain looks with accessories such as far out round sunglasses, black wide-brimmed hats or

Chuck Taylors A pair of white high-top Converse, high-waisted shorts and a ribbed, striped t-shirt sounds like a modern-day outfit for a high schooler, but this bangin’ getup is straight from the heart of the ‘70s. Converse Chuck Taylors were all the rage for adolescents in the era of peace and love — everyone had to have bleach white high-tops. They were the defining shoe of the ‘70s and have been becoming more prevalent in the past few years, becoming one of the most popular shoe choices for teenage girls.

Chuck Taylors are certainly not made solely for women, and in fact, in the ‘70s they were more popular among men. With distinct roots tracing back to the ’70s, this shoe has become a modern-day staple.

Moto Jackets and Vests Tell me about it, stud. Born out of the 1978’s hit movie “Grease” came leather jackets of varying colors, shapes, sizes and fabrics. Popular back then were classic black leather jackets, along with the Bombardier jacket, more commonly known as a bomber jacket, which closely resembles fighter jet pilot jackets. Bombers are often made of leather or sheepskin, occasionally with sherpa lining on the inside. These jackets can be found in a variety of colors, most commonly black, and sometimes featuring snap buttons, zippers and pockets. The sibling of the bomber jacket, the motorcycle jacket, aptly

dubbed the moto jacket, was also extremely popular in the ‘70s and continues to be worn today. These leather moto jackets come in various colors, and feature studs, zippers and many pockets. Both jackets are currently prevalent and sold by almost every major retailer. In addition to these long sleeved jackets, another type of outerwear is becoming more relevant: vests. These sleeveless garments are back with noticeable tributes to the ‘70s, featuring fur, fringes, or bubble lining and just about every style of vest dates back to the ’70s.

High-Waisted Everything Back in the day of jiving to disco tunes, high-waisted bell bottom jeans could be spotted all across the dance floor. Although these flared pants may be scarce today, many jeans, shorts and skirts are being made so that the waist is located around the belly button area, which was a major trend in the ‘70s. This style allows for shorter shirts to be worn without showing as much skin. Crop tops back in the 70’s were paired with matching skirt sets or high waisted shorts. Today, crop tops are more commonly paired with high-waisted shorts. Ribbed knit crop tops and tank tops can currently be found at Brandy Melville.

When summer comes, out come the short shorts — or what people called hot pants in the ’70s. Hot pants were high-waisted shorts that were colorful, sometimes patterned and typically made of either denim or cotton.

Any shorts today labeled “highwaisted” are probably a very close replica of hot pants. Finally, skirts today are made high-waisted as well.

High-waisted skirts were huge in the ‘70s, as matching skirts and crop tops took center stage. The ‘70s also marked the all-time peak in popularity of the miniskirt, which is just as popular today as it was back then.

Versatile and flattering, miniskirts remain an everyday staple among teens, as it did 45 years ago.

Athletic clothing brands gain further popularity Many sportswear companies are now designing more versatile styles, including outfits for everyday fashion KATE DEANDRE

STAFF WRITER

T

he popularity of sportswear as a part of everyday outfits is rapidly increasing and becoming one of the most stylish trends of the season. Sportswear companies have designed their clothes to be comfortable and stylish, hence why the style is becoming more prevalent. It is common to find at least one piece of sportswear in everyday clothing, whether it be Lululemon “Wunder Under” yoga pants or Adidas Originals shoes.

Adidas This is one of the most trendy athletic brands at the moment. This surge in popularity may be due to Kylie Jenner’s influence, seeing as she is a well known figure and is often seen sporting Adidas. The brand is rising in the fashion industry thanks to the increase in popularity of its Superstar shoes and other products from the Originals collection.

The Superstar Originals are comfortable for everyday use and easy to clean because they are made from leather. This sneaker is a simple and classy alternative to the traditional tennis shoe. Adidas also offers a variety of clothing, shoes and other accessories to men, women and children.

They primarily market towards soccer players and tennis players, so the company tends to excel at creating best selling styles in these categories.

Adidas prices are middle-ranged for a sports company. All of their products can be purchased either on-

line or at various department stores, like Nordstrom or Macy’s.

Nike The company Nike has always been a well known sports equipment brand, with its wide spectrum of merchandise and the athletes it sponsors to serve as faces for the company. The brand is popular for its products for all sports, especially basketball and running.

Nike is the go to brand for customers seeking running shoes due to the variety of styles they offer, and the innovative characteristics of their shoes. Its most commercial shoes are not running shoes, but training shoes featuring exotic colors and prints, such as the Free TR 5 Print or the Roshe One Winter.

These shoes are excellent for lifting weights, but can chafe your feet.

Running with these shoes can be harmful because they do not have the proper support in the sole. Nike products can be found at a Nike store or at a sporting goods store.

Lululemon This brand has become famous for its appeal to teenage girls because of their strange love for yoga pants.

The “Wunder Under Pant” is an easy, signature substitute for jeans to fit an athletic style while prioritizing comfort.

The pants are perfect for working out as well, especially during colder days. Lululemon is also widely recognized for its sports bras, t-shirts and other apparel that use sweat-wicking fabrics to make the clothing dry faster. Lululemon apparel is available for

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOOKBOOK

Sportswear brands have increased the variety of their clothing and are gaining more and more popularity in everyday outfits.

both men and women, and there is another company created by Lululemon, Ivivva, designed exclusively for young girls.

Lululemon does run a hefty price for its yoga pants, starting at $88.

However, they can be a quality long term purchase because of their exceptional durability. Lululemon products can only be acquired at Lululemon stores.

Patagonia Patagonia has been gaining popularity for its legendary fleece jackets and puffy vests for winter. These items are easy to wear as everyday pieces or for hitting the slopes during ski season. Patagonia offers a vast

variety of apparel, most of which can be incorporated into an extra layer for a ski outfit. Its best-selling product is the Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Pullover, which is a fleece jacket with snap buttons offered in a variety of colors and patterns.

Patagonia products are always of the uppermost quality and are meticulously created to keep customers warm. Consequently, the price is very high for most items by this brand.

Find Patagonia items at sporting goods stores, such as REI or Sports Authority or at a Patagonia store.

New Balance Sneakers from this brand are well known for their fashion forward de-

signs that also provide comfort. The Classic Running Shoe is made mostly with suede and has a higher sole which gives the shoe support.

These shoes are not recommended for long runs, but instead for everyday usage. New Balance also produces other styles of running shoes that are more suitable for running, but do not always have the top fashion trends.

Additionally, New Balance offers sneakers that are used specifically for walking. New Balance offers apparel and accessories for men, women and children.

Their prices are pretty similar to that of Nike and Adidas. Their products can be purchased at Foot Locker and Nordstrom.

Mid Peninsula Orthodontics STACEY D. QUO DDS, MS Specialist in Orthodontics

965 High Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 Tel: 650-328-1600 FAX: 650-327-6556 email: info@orthoquo.com

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

B3

Three beneficial study habits for finals week

Students can utilize psychological concepts in order to memorize and study material for year-end assessments s finals week slowly approaches, students are beginning to feel the rampant stress and scramble that finals week always entails. With final exams covering a multitude of subjects and material that disappeared from students’ memories months ago, many students are struggling to find the most effective means of studying.

Thankfully, there are a few key studying tips that have been psychologically proven to be effective in solidifying concepts in long term memory: sleep, the spacing effect and recall.

perform well during a final or other assessment.

“When we are sleep deprived, we perform all cognitive tasks worse, whether it’s focusing, learning or recalling,” Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology teacher Christopher Farina said. “Therefore all stages of memory [such as attention, rehearsal and recall] will suffer.”

Because sleep deprivation negatively affects all facets of memory, which include the capabilities to learn and recall information, studying into late hours of the night is often less effective than going to sleep at an earlier time. Remember to get at least eight hours of sleep so that you can perform attentively and effectively.

Sleep Sleep well, think well. Seems fairly intuitive, right? Apparently not. At Palo Alto High School, it is not uncommon for students to be getting less than seven hours of sleep for a variety of different reasons: hours spent at a school or club sport, homework and projects or too many extracurriculars. It is clear that many students have become accustomed to prioritizing other facets of their busy lifestyles over sleep.

With finals around the corner, students will need to draw the line between studying and sleeping once more: what is the perfect balance between getting an appropriate amount of sleep and absorbing enough information to succeed in upcoming finals?

While reviewing and studying material is effective to a certain extent, it appears to be far more effective for one’s health and memory to be well rested. In fact, it is psychologically proven that sleep deprivation directly impairs memory functions, which can ultimately detract from one’s ability to

The Spacing Effect For many, the night before an exam seems to be the most convenient time to study — this technique allows the information to be fresh in one’s mind, so one can easily recall the information when tested on it the next day.

However, contrary to popular belief, psychological research seems to indicate the exact opposite. Learning information gradually over a long period of time, a phenomenon known as the spacing effect, is much more effective in ensuring that the lessons one learns are retained in long term memory.

“If you’ve crammed one time, then Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve shows that while you might be able to keep a bare majority of the information in your memory through the test, you’ll forget a large portion of it within a day or so afterwards,” Farina said.

While it is often tempting to study information for the sake of doing well on an upcoming test or final, it is far more important to actually learn the information in a way that will promote retention in the long run.

CARISSA ZOU

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

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CATHERINE YU/THE CAMPANILE

Furthermore, if the information comes up in the future, students are much more comfortable and familiar with the material if they have studied to actually learn the material, not just crammed. The topics and subjects discussed today are likely to resurface in students’ lives in the future, whether it be in an advanced college course or later in their high school careers.

“Obviously the goal of learning is not to have someone memorize information long enough to answer a few multiple choice questions, but rather to understand the information deeply and for them to maintain that learning over time,” Farina said. “In addition, if one forgets the information from unit one by the time of the final, one has to relearn that information all over again.”

In general, the spacing effect ensures a far calmer finals week because students will retain the information for the long term, which is especially helpful for cumulative exams later one, such as finals or AP exams.

“Research suggests spaced-practice as opposed to massed-practice as the

way to study,” Farina said. “Study a little bit regularly every day for a few days, and as you feel as though you’ve truly learned the material, you can study it less frequently.”

Recall, Not Recognition By now, most students are fairly familiar with two types of tests: multiple choice and free response. While both are effective ways of testing one’s knowledge on a subject, free response questions tend to test a deeper understanding of the topic. Why? This distinction between these two test formats is largely due to the difference between two forms of memory, recall and recognition.

While recall, tested by free response questions or fill in the blank questions, measures one’s ability to retain and retrieve information on their own, recognition, tested by multiple choice questions, measures one’s ability to only identify items that they have previously seen or learned.

Furthermore, because recall requires one to learn, store and retrieve the information, it often demonstrates

a more profound grasp on the material.

This distinction can also be applied to study habits — to ensure a more comprehensive understanding, one can use study habits that test their recall, not simply recognition. “[To study,] ask the student to explain the information to someone else, [which demonstrates] recall, who can verify it, rather than just reviewing multiple-choice questions, [which demonstrates recognition],” Farina said.

To better understand the topics students are studying, students can engage in interactive review exercises that use more portions of the brain to ensure better memory of the topic.

“Writing and speaking out loud engage more of your brain than just thinking about it, and any time you can involve more regions of your brain in studying you’ll better recall the information later,” Farina said. “If you understand information well enough to explain it to someone, you probably understand it well enough to demonstrate that knowledge on a test.”

Peppermint treats for the holidays Junior exhibits talent Sweet snacks and drinks to indulge in during the winter season for aerial gymnastics Sarah Sundermeyer participates in rare athletic and artistic activity using silks YAEL BEN-SHACHAR

STAFF WRITER

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DAMI BOLARINWA/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Alec Olmstead is shown drinking a peppermint coffee. Students have many peppermint snacks to choose from this winter.

CHRISTINA LE

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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is the season! As winter rolls around, stores are bringing out all of their peppermint products in anticipation of the holidays.

Nothing beats snuggling in warm blankets by the fireplace and snacking on some minty treats. Here are the best festive snacks to try out this year.

Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s Every holiday season, Trader Joe’s brings back its popular take on peppermint Oreos. Joe Joe’s are crispy chocolate wafer cookies stuffed with vanilla cream and real, minty pieces of candy cane.

Pair these cookies with a hot cup of cocoa for a satisfying winter indulgence. Trader Joe’s only sells these cookies for a limited period of time, so grab a box of Joe Joe’s while you can.

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha If you want to try something less “basic” than a Pumpkin Spice Latte, try Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha.

This warm and refreshing beverage is a holiday classic made with

steamed milk, a shot of espresso, sweet chocolate and peppermintflavored syrup and topped off with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls.

Pinkberry’s Peppermint Frozen Yogurt Do not let the cold weather stop you from trying Pinkberry’s limitedtime, holiday inspired flavor of frozen yogurt. The flavor of Pinkberry’s peppermint yogurt has a vanilla base with just a hit of peppermint. Minty and sweet, the yogurt has a luscious creamy finish that is sure to bring joy to your taste buds.

If you like the subtle taste of peppermint, this treat is just for you. The mint is not overpowering but rather is, cool and truly a refresh”mint”. Top the yogurt off with crushed candy canes and chocolate shavings, and you will be in for a healthy treat.

Homemade Peppermint Bark Warning — this is highly addictive. What is better than getting togetherwith friends or family and making some peppermint bark? All you need is some dark or milk chocolate, white chocolate and of course,

crushed candy cane to get that mint flavor in.

The best thing about peppermint bark is that you can add anything to make it your own. Love Oreos? Add them. Want to add marshmallows?

Have at it! Making homemade peppermint bark is quick, inexpensive and festive.

Peppermint Luna Bars Have you ever gone to Trader Joe’s just to buy a peppermint Luna Bar, and unfortunately come to realize that Trader Joe’s has completely run out? You are not alone, my friend.

Peppermint Luna Bars are not only the best Luna Bars around, but also the best energy bars out there.

Unlike most protein bars, peppermint Luna bars are delicious and make you want to eat them time and time again.

The bar is made up of dark chocolate granola, topped with a white chocolate dip and a sprinkle of crushed peppermint sticks. Thankfully, these are sold year round; however, they sell out quickly, so be sure to get some! As you can see, there are many options for you to indulge in holiday snacks.

rapped in a strip of fabric, hanging 30 feet from the ceiling, junior Sarah Sundermeyer twirls herself up in preparation for a triple star drop, a move during which she will flip three times and fall 15 feet before catching herself on the thin fabric.

This is the art of aerial silks, categorized as a type of gymnastics with one major twist: it takes place in the air. The art, commonplace in circuses, is meant to make aerialists to appear as if they are flying in a very elegant manner.

“You put yourself up in this big strip of fabric hanging from the ceiling, and you can do poses and drops,” Sundermeyer said.

There are four primary aerial apparatuses: aerial silks, straps, rope and trapezes. Sundermeyer has tried all of them, but she is most fond of aerial silks, and has been practicing ever since she learned about silks from a friend last year. She fell in love with the thrill of it instantly.

“It’s kind of a dangerous sport when it comes down to it, but it’s really exciting and thrilling so that’s why I love it,” Sundermeyer said.

Although the risk is part of what makes this art form so enjoyable, Sundermeyer found that it can still be quite frightening.

“Initially the drops were really scary to me, especially open drops, where there isn’t necessarily a wrap holding in [because] you have to catch yourself, or it’s all over, ” Sundermeyer said. “But I love how exhilarating drops are, and I love being so high above everything.”

Fortunately, there are mats on the ground to cushion a fall. However, at such high elevations, there is always a risk of injury. Due to the fact that aerial silks depends mainly on strength, it can be especially dangerous to attempt some poses at first because one may not have the strength for it.

“You’re holding yourself up entirely with your own strength, so that’s

one of the hardest parts about it,” Sundermeyer said. “Initially there are a lot of moves you can’t do because you just don’t have the strength yet.”

Sundermeyer prefers drops to poses because they are more striking than poses. Her favorite, and most frightening drop is called the Charlie Chaplin, in which she performs a series of wraps at the top of the silk in an upright position. Then, she twists as she drops until she is hanging by her ankles a few feet off the floor. This moves requires immense strength, and a fearlessness heights.

The sport’s focus on strength is part of the reason Sundermeyer enjoys aerial silks so much. It is not only fun, but also is a great way to build muscle.

“I can feel myself getting stronger,” Sundermeyer said. “That’s one of the nice things about it. Just doing it even once a week makes you a lot stronger.”

Sundermeyer practices about once or twice a week, whenever she has the time. Because she does not compete, she is free to practice whenever she wants just for fun without the stress of having specific days and hours in which she must practice.

“I stay for an hour or two hours, but it’s really hard to keep stamina up because it revolves a lot around strength, and your strength gives out after a period of time,” Sundermeyer said.

Sundermeyer practices at the Arrillaga Family Gym in Menlo Park, and is coached by a circus performer, who teaches the class various wraps and poses. The moves are then put together to create an entire routine.

“Throughout the year we learn different moves and then at the end of each semester we choreograph our own routines with a series of poses and drops set to music, and we usually have a performance at the end of every semester,” Sundermeyer said.

Aerial silks is a beautiful and very strenuous art form that often appears in circuses, such as Cirque de Soleil, but for now, Sundermeyer is enjoying performing for fun.

Friday, December 11, 2015

B4

The Campanile

The Campanile

Friday, December 11, 2015

SPOTLIGHT

B5

SPOTLIGHT

At the crossroads of free speech and safety

The Heated controversy over restricting offensive speech at colleges in favor of eliminating the threat of racial discrimination A CALL TO ACTION

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here will never be a n— in SAE, there will never be a n— in SAE, you can hang him from a tree but he can never sign with me, there will never be a n— in SAE,” went the twisted parody of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” A video depicting members of the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity repeatedly shouting racial slurs surfaced in May 2015, igniting controversy and drawing the attention of national media.

In response to the racist act, the OU football team refused to attend practice. Since the incident, OU administrators have taken action by suspending the SAE chapter at OU and expelling the students involved in the incident.

OU is not alone in facing struggles over the restriction of speech; racial tensions have been pervasive in universities around the country, and academic institutions of all levels have begun taking steps in order to promote equality and foster a sense of cultural sensitivity even if that means impinging on free speech.

While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech in the United States as a mechanism of democracy, at times, the very same amendment allows for harmful microaggressions in communities nationwide that lead to certain groups feeling marginalized.

JEoPaRDIZING STUDENT COMFORT

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roponents of free speech restriction point to the urgent concern of having total equality at all university campuses, arguing that the collegiate playing field must be leveled for students of all backgrounds. Likewise, programs such as affirmative action and financial aid were introduced to universities during the 20th century, as ways of bridging gaps between students of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. The aim of these programs is fundamentally undermined by the notion of unrestricted speech: complete uncensored speech allows for the existence of racially intolerant or insensitive rhetoric on campus, which many students from minority or non-affluent backgrounds can find offensive and demeaning.

Recently, many American universities have been part of a widespread debate over what the role of administrators and faculty should be in the regulation of speech — an anomaly that finds most students favoring the authoritative power of universities — previously viewed by minority groups as oppressive and biased.

On Oct. 28 at Yale University, Nicholas and Erika Christakis, masters of the school’s Silliman College, wrote an email addressed to students calling for student self-discretion in choosing appropriate, inoffensive Halloween costumes and suggesting that students be thin-skinned in reacting to Halloween costumes. The suggestion received severe backlash from Yale students, who demanded universityled censure rather than a more laissezfaire, student-initiative based social policy.

“In your position as a master, it is your job to create a place of comfort and home for the students who live in Silliman,” a Yale student protested. “You have not done that... [Being a master] is not about creating an intellectual space! It’s about creating a home here!”

The Christakises, who also both lecture at Yale, have taken leave of the college for the remainder of the semester.

The student’s impassioned criticism reflects the views of many other students at Yale, including current Yale student and 2013 Paly graduate Julian Hornik.

“Where the line was drawn was that this was not [Christakis] utilizing her voice as a professor or intellectual,” Hornik said. “Her role in the

college, which people outside of Yale have a hard time grasping, is as a figurehead in a dorm; she’s supposed to be a figure of hope for people.”

According to Hornik, the Christakis email violated that code of trust.

“When she sent out emails to her college, the sense was that this was person was saying ‘you know you’ll get over it,’ which was insensitive to [students of color],” Hornik said.

Hornik further noted that the student outcry at Yale over the Christakis email was motivated primarily by a call for help rather than by criticism.

“The part that people are perceiving incorrectly is that it wasn’t about intellectual freedom — we have plenty of that — this is about when someone in your own home is voicing something that has the potential to marginalize people within that home,” Hornik said.

Persons advocating for limited speech noted that their efforts were highly popular because they were entirely student-led.

One such advocate is the dean of Yale College, Jonathan Holloway, who encouraged student advocacy against uncensored speech in a Nov. 5 email addressed to the student body.

“Remember that Yale belongs to all of you, and you all deserve the right to enjoy the good of this place, without worry, without threats, and without intimidation,” Holloway wrote.

One-third of Yale’s undergraduate student body is from minority groups, and many seek the protection of their university in order to feel comfortable and thrive in a supportive learning environment.

“The idea that freedom of speech is being limited on campus is in a similar vein of rebranding as something like the gay marriage issue being twisted as the freedom of religion issue,” Hornik said. “One thing is not being excluded over the other; it’s letting all voices be heard.”

Roxane Gay, a professor at Purdue University, explained the need for administrative involvement in speech regulation as a system for helping minority groups in her Nov. 13 opinion, “The Seduction of Safety, on Campus and Beyond,” published in The New York Times.

“I am now always searching for safety, and I appreciate safe spaces — the ones I create for my students in a classroom, the ones I create with my writing and the ones others create, too — because there is so much unsafe space in this world,” Gay wrote.

In her piece highlighting the controversial events at Yale, Gay emphasized the need for such safe spaces as completely anti-discriminatory havens, wherein students could physically go in order to escape any remarks they might find hurtful.

Text by Ethan Teo and Peter Maroulis Sports Editor and News & Opinion Editor

“When you are marginalized and always unsafe, your skin thins, leaving your blood and bone exposed,” Gay wrote.

The crux of Gay’s argument is that non-minority Caucasians are desensitized to racism, and simply cannot recognize what many minority groups would see as a discriminatory or offensive remark.

“Those who mock the idea of safe space are most likely the same people who are able to take safety for granted,” Gay wrote.

“As with everything else in life, there is no equality when it comes to safety.”

An undeniably important aspect of the free speech debate is that it is not exclusive to Yale; other universities such as the University of Missouri (Mizzou), Lewis and Clark College, University of Louisville, UCLA and Amherst College, have all seen student-led protests over restriction of speech in the past six months.

Like Holloway, many backers of student-led efforts for administration to censor speech make the point that, in the eyes of the law, university students are adults and should thus be able to responsibly lobby for speech restriction and further build an on-campus community wherein students feel comfortable. Though peppered with obscenities, the Yale student’s criticism of the Christakis email is seen by Holloway and proponents of restriction as mature adults’ pleas for a conducive learning environment.

Those who mock the idea of safe space are most likely the same people who are able to take safety for granted. As with everything else in life, there is no equality when it comes to safety.

ROXANE GAY PURDUE UNIVERSITy

WEAPONIZING SAFE SPACES

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hile discrimination and inequality are undoubtedly present everywhere, some journalists have noted that the fight to prevent it has recently come at the sacrifice of free speech.

In several instances, many have argued that protesters have gone much too far with their actions. Journalists have explained that a significant part of the problem is that students have begun criticizing the wrong crowd — the very people who are trying to work together with the students to create an anti-discriminatory atmosphere.

The students at Yale have been blaming administrators for denying the existence of structural racism on campus, but this line of argument itself can be seen as flawed. According to Conor Friedersdorf, staff writer at The Atlantic, the Christakis email does not suggest that racism is not a problem, but rather argues that setting societal norms through expressions of free speech is the most effective method in truly eliminating racial discrimination. Christakis also believes that having higher powers such as administrators create a so-called “safe space” that in reality is just a facade hiding the real issues.

Hundreds of Yale protesters have signed an open letter to Christakis criticizing her tolerance of a potentially dangerous and prejudiced community.

“In your email, you ask students to ‘look away’ if costumes are offensive, as if the degradation of our cultures and people, and the violence that grows out of it is something that we can ignore,” Yale students wrote. “We were told to meet the offensive parties head on, without suggesting any modes or means to facilitate these discussions to promote understanding.”

The students argue for a “means to facilitate discussions” in their letter, but Christakis reasons that she has done nothing but support healthy discussion. Christakis explained in her email that prohibitions from authorities are ineffective and instead encourage the students to create their own thresholds for what is and is not acceptable by allowing for personal expression free from interference of administrators.

“American universities were once a safe space not only for maturation but also for a certain regressive, or even transgressive, experience; increasingly, it seems, they have become places of censure and prohibition,” Christakis wrote. “And the censure and prohibition come from above, not from yourselves!

Are we all okay with this transfer of power? Have we lost faith in young people’s capacity — in your capacity — to exercise selfcensure, through social norming, and also in your capacity to ignore or reject things that trouble you?”

The students go on to complain in their letter that the administrators have allowed perpetuation of the issue by encouraging offensive Halloween costumes.

“We are not asking to be coddled,” the students said. “The real coddling is telling the privileged majority on campus that they do not have to engage with the brutal pasts that are a part of the costumes they seek to wear.”

Friedersdorf believes that the premise on which the students base this reasoning also makes an unfair assumption — that the administrators find offensive costumes acceptable. However, Christakis makes it clear in her email that she is supportive of the battle against provocative costumes and acts, but that the battle must be fought by the students and not by authorities.

The Yale masters claim that their initial intent was to improve Yale communities, and while Christakis’s email raised several controversial issues, much of the general public believes that the students’ reactions to it have been overblown.

“Why the f— did you accept the position?” a Yale student screamed at Nicholas Christakis. “Who the f— hired you? You should step down! You should not sleep at night! You are disgusting!”

Friedersdorf sees irony in the Yale protests and explains that in an effort to ensure a safe space for themselves, the protesters have created a threatening space by personally attacking Nicholas Christakis, spitting on several other Yale students who were in agreement with Christakis and asking both Nicholas and Erika Christakis to resign their roles at Silliman.

Despite this accosting, the Christakis couple has invited the students of Silliman College to continue a civil discussion in their campus home. Many appreciate this invitation, as it shows that the couple is open to discussion.

At Mizzou, a group of student activists, ConcernedStudent1950, has led numerous protests against the administration that resulted in the resignation of Mizzou President Timothy Wolfe and the outcry against racism nationwide.

On Nov. 10, Mizzou student photojournalist Tim Tai was on a freelance assignment for ESPN to capture the events of a gathering organized by ConcernedStudent1950. As he began to take photos, a group of students from the gathering obstructed his view and ability to take photos by waving their arms in front of Tai’s camera, claiming that they had a constitutional right to privacy.

“Hey hey, ho ho, reporters have got to go,” the students chanted.

Tai stood his ground and continued to take photos, insisting that he himself also had a right to be at the event as a journalist.

“The First Amendment protects your right to be here and mine,” Tai said.

The crowd eventually formed a wall and began to walk forward, attempting to push Tai out of the event. Tai made no attempt to fight back, and continued to explain that his right to take photos was defended under the Constitution.

A video of the incident was uploaded to social media by another journalist, Mark Schierbecker, who at the end of the video appeared to also have encountered physical harassment. Melissa Click, assistant professor of mass media at the Missouri School of Journalism, grabbed at Schierbecker’s video camera after he revealed his identity as a journalist.

“Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here?” Click yelled. “I need some muscle over here!”

After the video went viral, many fellow journalists as well as the general public applauded Tai’s maturity and defense of his First Amendment freedoms.

David Kurpius, the dean of Mizzou’s journalism school, was among the supporters, saying Tai “handled himself professionally and with poise.”

Meanwhile, Click has received enormous backlash over social media and even made appearances in several episodes of “South Park,” an adult animated sitcom known for its raunchy social commentary. Click apologized to both Tai and Schierbecker several days after the incident, but has continued to be heavily criticized.

“I regret the language and strategies I used, and sincerely apologize to the [Mizzou] campus community, and journalists at large, for my behavior, and also for the way my actions have shifted attention away from the students’ campaign for justice,” Click said.

Tai claims that he had no malicious intent in capturing the event, explaining that he planned to use these photos to allow others across the nation understand the racist incidents that minority groups at Mizzou have had to battle.

“We’re documenting historic events with our photographs, and when people are crying and hugging when Wolfe re-

signs, it becomes a personal issue that people all over the country can connect with,” Tai said. “It’s my job to help connect those people to what’s going on.”

Creating a safe space on any campus is valuable, but it has been argued that protesters have not taken the right approach at universities like Yale and Mizzou.

“In the video of Tim Tai trying to carry out his ESPN assignment, I see the most vivid example yet of activists twisting the concept of “safe space”in a most confounding way,”Friedersdorf wrote.

“They have one lone student surrounded.

They’re forcibly preventing him from exercising a civil right. At various points, they intimidate him. Ultimately, they physically push him. But all the while, they are operating on the premise, or carrying on the pretense, that he is making them unsafe. It is as if they’ve weaponized the concept of safe spaces.”

Friedersdorf also argues in another article that while free speech has the potential to allow offensive language, it preserves the tools necessary to struggle against racism.

“To me, it is bizarre that the same campus activists who declare their institutions and the United States to be rooted in white supremacy and hostile to students of color want to empower the very authorities in charge to punish speech at their discretion!” Friedersdorf wrote.

Friedersdorf goes on to explain that while declaring the First Amendment null when it interferes with racist speech seems compassionate towards marginalized groups, it harms them in the long run since it sets a precedent that could potentially restrict minority groups themselves from speaking up against oppressive structures.

Friedersdorf, White and other critics of excessive student activists believe that rather than produce a threatening environment, especially to those who claim to be decrying social injustice, protesters should reevaluate their actions and make sure that they are protesting to and against the right crowds.

Have we lost faith in young people’s capacity — in your capacity — to exercise self-censure, through social norming, and also in your capacity to ignore or reject things that trouble you?

ERIKA CHRISTAKIS Yale residential College Master

Paly’s Perspective

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he primary public issue of free speech at universities ties directly into a growing American movement of political correctness. Princeton University has recently debated whether to remove President Woodrow Wilson’s name and image from its public spaces and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs due to Wilson’s support for racial segregation. Georgetown University has had similar discussions over Mulledy Hall and McSherry Hall, both of which are named after school administrators who encouraged slavery.

But the issue is not limited to universities — Palo Alto residents have recently petitioned for the renaming of David Starr Jordan Middle School for similar reasons. Jordan was the founding president of Stanford University, but also argued for the superiority of whites over other races in his series of publications entitled “The Blood of the Nation.” Some community members feel that Jordan’s advocacy of eugenics is not representative of Palo Alto’s values, and thus his name should be removed from what is currently Jordan Middle School.

“I’m really looking forward to the dialogue — I’m really keeping an open mind right now,” Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Max McGee said. “I’m really interested in hearing how the school got named in the first place. What are the different alternatives? What are the logistics and the financial ramifications? What other unintended consequences are there? I think it’s a really fascinating conversation.”

This instance of endorsing an individual with racist views is comparable to what has been happening at Princeton and Georgetown, even Paly campus is not safe from racial marginalization.

“Everyone has their conscious or unconscious prejudices, and needs to learn how to unpack and

address them,” 2013 Paly graduate and current Vanderbilt University junior Yoko Kanai said. “So yeah, I see racism everywhere, even Paly.”

At Paly, racism primarily takes form in microaggressions, or acute hostilities. Although the magnitude of the offenses that occur on campus may not be quite as severe, as elsewhere, they still perpetuate an overall environment of marginalization within the community.

“I haven’t seen anything as drastic as what’s been going on at these colleges,” senior Gideon Kortenhoven said. “Little things happen, but that happens everywhere. But I think Paly does a good job. I don’t know many people who are super disrespectful, but that’s not to say that there aren’t still people who are unconsciously offensive.”

Kortenhoven is involved in Paly’s Black Student Union (BSU), a student club which meets weekly to discuss issues of racism on campus and the broader community.

“In BSU, we talked about microaggressions and people shared some of their experiences with microaggressions,” Kortenhoven said. “I think that BSU is really positive — anyone can say anything they feel in BSU. I wish more people would take advantage of the opportunity, because it’s a place where you can talk about anything.”

Besides forming organizations such as BSU to promote the cultural interests of marginalized communities and create safe spaces for individuals, PAUSD has taken steps to prevent the harms of racism that have potential to expand.

“One of the key problems that last year’s Minority Achievement Talent Development Committee identified was an unconscious narrative of bias,” McGee said. “Over the next two years, every single employee will go through two consecutive days of unconscious bias training. I think it’s going to make a difference — it certainly did for a lot of the people I’ve talked to that have gone through it already.”

This unconscious bias is a problem that communities have struggled with for a long time. 2014 Paly graduate and George Washington University sophomore Lande Watson believes that both administrators and students should play a role in exposing these biases and creating norms within the community to weed out unhealthy behavior. “[Administrators] should ensure that students aren’t threatened because they’re attempting to have a discussion about racism and cultural sensitivity,” Watson said. “I agree that the onus is mainly on students to facilitate these discussions, but the administrators have a responsibility to students of color to create and maintain a safe environment.”

Defining the threshold for what is culturally insensitive is difficult, especially given that different groups of people have dissenting opinions on what that threshold is. However, most agree that it is important to be respectful of people of other cultures and not violate their individualities.

“When it comes down to it, those in cultural communities know what is culturally insensitive and what isn’t, and students who aren’t a part of that culture should be respectful of that,” Watson said.

While administrators and students alike are faced with the difficult task of making everybody feel welcome, it is important for community members to understand that any discrimination that they may be facing is a battle fought by many others around them.

“My advice is that you are never alone in your experiences of marginalization,” Kanai said. “You can find people who have got your back.”

Indeed, it seems that a more culturally sensitive ideology has emerged at universities, in keeping with a newer American movement of political correctness. As universities have begun reconsidering names of traditional buildings and even contemplating discrediting historical figures, it is clear that an increasingly acute viewpoint has emerged.

When it comes down to it, those in cultural communities know what is culturally insensitive and what isn’t, and students who aren’t a part of that culture should be respectful of that.

LANDE WATSON Paly Graduate, GWU Sophomore

OUTCOME

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s we continue to address the same issue of racial marginalization that has caused enormous strife in past centuries, many controversies remain unsettled. What is administration’s responsibility in resolving racial tensions? How can communities effectively communicate to reach consensuses on what is and is not acceptable?

When we reflect back on SAE’s incredibly racist chant, it is important to keep in mind two distinct schools of thought. Yes, the chant is undeniably offensive and marginalizing. Yet, is it not the quintessence of freedom of speech?

Design by Ethan Teo, Bo Field and Rachel Farn Sports Editor, Design Editor and Senior Staff WRiter

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

B6 ENTERTAINMENT Second Instagram accounts used for private sharing Fewer followers and hidden pictures remove the pressure of creating the perfect image to receive the most likes GILLIAN ROBINS

STAFF WRITER

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ocial media platforms, especially Instagram, are often utilized to display perfect versions of otherwise imperfect lives to the world. Teenage Instagram users often spend extensive amounts of time editing their photos and coming up with captions for their “main accounts” — that is, accounts that are home to high-quality, carefully photographed pictures. These pictures often feature users posing with friends or family, hiking or sitting in a coffee shop, drinking a perfectly-brewed latte. However, many teenagers have created second Instagram accounts that tend to be restricted so only followers can access their photos. In these second accounts, users post less flattering pictures that often depict them in scandalous actions, partying or engaging in illicit acts. For many, these second accounts are a means to showcase the real and secluded lives of teenagers.

Most “main accounts” are public, meaning anyone can access the photos within the account, while almost all “second accounts” are private. For private accounts, owners have to approve users to allow access to their photos. Generally, the usernames of private accounts feature nicknames or inside jokes between friends so that their account is not easily discoverable using Instagram’s search functionality. Main accounts often contain owners’ full names, making it easier for others to find these accounts. Most people who have second accounts only let close friends follow them.

When Rebecca, whose name has been changed along with all others who appear in this story, created a private Instagram, she simply wanted a way of posting pictures of her and her friends having fun, no strings attached.

“[During] my freshman year, all of my friends were making them [second Instagram accounts,]” Rebecca said. “It was a way to post scandalous pictures without getting called out for posting them.”

The superficial nature of Instagram generates an atmosphere ripe for teenagers to compare themselves to one another. This is done in terms of numbers: the number of likes a picture receives, or the number of followers one has. These numbers are often affected by the amount of effort that goes into taking photos, editing them and creating captions to correspond with the photos. However, private accounts have significantly less followers than main accounts. With second accounts, the anxiety from the numbers game is no longer present, because posts are solely for friends to see and be entertained, not to be judged based on the aesthetic quality of the image.

“I post whatever I want [on my private account,]” Rebecca said. “It used to be just pictures at parties, but now I post anything. It’s pretty much Twitter, but in picture form.”

Though some use second accounts as a venue to share pictures of them committing illicit acts, many avoid posting such pictures to negate the possibility of authorities, parents or college administrators accessing them.

According to a study conducted

by Pew Research Center, only 9 percent of teenagers are “very concerned” about a third party having access to their social media data. Rebecca, falling in the 91 unconcerned percent of teenagers, is not wary about who will see her account — she sees the fun in it.

“I don’t feel a need to [post on the second Instagram account]; it’s just kinda like, ‘why not?’” Rebecca said.

“I’m just keeping my close friends updated with funny occurrences in my life.”

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

Private Instagram accounts are used by many to share scandalous or illicit photos with close friends and to help diminish social anxiety.

According to a study done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 70 million teens in the country spend time on some form of social media, and half of those teens see pictures of kids on social media drunk, passed out or using drugs. Parents are often unaware of their kids’ activity on these second accounts. Because teens use private accounts to post their “real” lives, they often portray illegal activities, such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Grace, like many teenagers, does not want to reveal this side of her to her parents. “[My parents] would explode [if they saw my second Instagram account], there are way too many illegal things on it,” Grace said.

However, not everything teens post on their second accounts would be deemed unsightly by their parents.

Many simply want other accounts to post funny pictures for only close

friends to view, as was the case for Sophia.

“I would definitely let my parents see [my second Instagram account] because I don’t post anything they would be ashamed of,” Sophia said.

Although many teens are not concerned about posting incriminating pictures of themselves online, there is still a possibility that they can be punished for their pictures. Pictures that teens post on their second Instagram accounts could be easily screenshotted and shared with the wrong people. Many people abstain from posting pictures of themselves at parties on their main accounts because these accounts have more followers.

On second accounts, followers are close friends, so users feel safer to post less demure pictures. Sophia has debated posting more suggestive pictures, but has her reasons for deciding against it.

“I mean, I have pictures [from parties], but I wouldn’t post them because I know that if you post pictures like that they’re out there forever,” Sophia said. “And I wouldn’t want them to ruin all the things that I’ve worked hard for.”

Some users, including Sophia, prefer their main account over their private account, due to the aesthetic and artistic appeal of it. Others enjoy the humor of the private account, as well as the casual attitude that comes along with the process of posting photos.

Whether or not posting provocative pictures on private accounts is harmful to the user is subjective.

However, second Instagram accounts undoubtedly open a door into the true, unedited lives of teenagers.

These accounts stand out from other social media that is used to display the “perfect” lives of adolescents.

Rustie’s recent album Affordable tech gadgets to gift friends is a sensational release Products vary from portable streaming devices to media players

the Astro E5. I did not have to worry about charging my device overnight or about my device running out of battery during the day. The Astro E5 can be easily stored and also includes a built-in flashlight. There are two USB ports for two devices, with a micro USB between the two USB ports to charge the power bank itself.

Artist uses creative techniques to create a unique and dynamic listening experience BO FIELD

DESIGN EDITOR

T

hroughout Scottish beatmaker Rustie’s career, he has specialized in frantic, maximalist soundscapes that sound like angels screaming as they fall from the towering slopes of heaven.

However, both he and his fans were slightly let down by his second album “Green Language,” which had slightly too many features and a little too much crossover appeal. Rustie recently remedied these issues with a surprise release of his newest LP, “EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE”, which succeeds at capitalizing on and advancing his talents for gigantic production and hectic melody.

The tripped-out pink fuzz obscuring the sky on the album’s cover can give listeners a good idea of the color and feel of the tape. Opening with spacey swells of cotton-candy flavored synth stabs that immediately drop into hyperspeed dance and trap breakdowns, the spirit of high energy and oversaturation remains consistent throughout. Tracks like “Atlantean Airship” unexpectedly pound bass into your skull, with valleys of lush, spacey vocals punctuated by peaks of fuzzy distorted bass and clattering snare rolls.

Opening with spacey swells of cotton-candy flavored synth stabs that immediately drop into hyperspeed dance and trap breakdowns, the spirit of high energy and oversaturation remains consistent throughout.

The album further stands out through its unconventional mixing techniques and sonic engineering.

Rustie is no stranger to pulling together massively complex arrangements with impeccable clarity and volume consistency, as he proves

through his previous works. On “ EVENI F UD ONT BELI EVE,” Rustie eschews tradition and gets creative with drums and bass that push decibel limits in stark contrast to their softer lead ups. This technique lends incredible impact to his already wild transitions and leads to a dynamic listening experience with decent speakers or headphones due to the heavy bass.

The album’s uniform cohesiveness amidst its creativity makes it feel like one long musical idea, rather than a random collection of singles.

Standout tracks like “Peace Upzzz” and “Your Goddezz” exemplify this technique’s effectiveness. The same squealing synth lines repeated throughout the album slowly build tension before brief whiplash inducing spirals into insanity as the volume is ratcheted upwards. Rustie playing with his listeners’ expectations and attention spans is integral to the tape working as well as it does. The sonic and arrangement structures subvert standard tropes of a subgenre that Rustie himself played a large part in developing and inspiring. In this way he continues to do what he does best, pushing the music forward to places nobody could have imagined prior.

The album’s uniform cohesiveness amidst its creativity makes it feel like one long musical idea, rather than a random collection of singles.

From beginning to end there are no low points, and the themes stay fresh and interesting enough to keep you from wanting to turn anything else on for days. Let the album ride on repeat for a while and your life will be soundtracked by rainbow dolphins on ecstasy squealing over filthy fast rave beats. “EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE” is a highly recommended piece of art but may not be for the faint of heart.

SAMUEL YUN/THE CAMPANILE

These electronic devices all serve as affordable and useful gifts for family and friends.

JOSH NG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

I

t’s always difficult to find the right holiday gift for family and friends. You want to get them something cool, but you do not want to go broke. To help you and your gifting struggles, here is a list of tech products that cost under $50.

Chromecast On July 24, 2013, Google released its first digital media player, known as the Chromecast. Coming at a base price of $35, the Chromecast takes form as a dongle, unlike other digital media players, such as the Apple TV and the Roku. When hooked up to a TV’s HDMI port, the Chromecast will allow users to stream media content such as movies, pictures and music onto the larger screen. Users can then manage settings and streaming while the device is synced up to the dongle over Wifi. The Chromecast supports apps such as Netflix, Spotify, Twitch, WatchESPN and YouTube.

This is especially useful for consumers who prefer their media consumption to be displayed on a large platform.

A large platform provides a better viewing experience and can be shared with friends. Although the Chromecast does not have as many features as other digital media players, it does its job of streaming media content fairly

well in a cheap and relatively compact package.

Mpower Bluetooth Speaker The 30-dollar Mpower Bluetooth Speaker is one of the most versatile bluetooth speakers you can find in the market. Mpower geared the product towards consumers who enjoy spending time outdoors. The speaker is rainproof, waterproof, shockproof and dunk proof (which means you can dance along to your favorite songs in the shower in the shower without any worries that it will break). Because the speaker is bluetooth, you do not have to worry about wires being tangled around your device. Not only does it act as a speaker, but it is also an external battery. Device users can charge their phone with a 1000 mAh battery (about a 60 percent charge for an iPhone). The Mpower bluetooth speaker is the best multifunctional speaker that won’t take a toll to your wallet.

Anker Astro E5 Power Bank If the Mpower Bluetooth Speakers 1000 mAh battery does not suffice, Anker built a cheap external battery that holds 16 times more of that battery. The Astro E5 holds 16,000 mAh battery (or about nine full iPhone charges) for $32.99. In a test with my iPhone, I lasted the entire week charging my iPhone using just

Bluedio T2 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headphones Bluedio is one of the lesser known names in the headphones market, but it may very well be one of the dark horses in the industry. One of its newest products, the Bluedio T2 Wireless Headphones, comes at a price of $35. Compared to more well known brands that also produce wireless headphones such as Beats By Dre ($380), $35 is a steal. With a durable plastic, leather and metal build, the T2s come with a premium build. The T2s also produce very good sound quality for their price, with a built in equalizer to change volume settings and noise cancellation to block out outside noise.

Misfit Flash Know a fitness fanatic who doesn’t have the money to buy a fitness tracker? The Misfit Flash is a durable and cheap alternative that goes for $29.99 on websites such as Amazon or Adorama. The Flash takes form as a plastic disc that can be attached to a clip or wristband. With a companion app that you can download on the App Store or Google Play store, the Flash tracks your daily step count and how much sleep you are getting every night. The plastic disc holds a 12 LED lights in a circular fashion that indicates how far you have gotten to attaining your daily step goal (six out of the 12 LED lights are full, you are halfway done with your goal).

The Flash is waterproof so you can shower with this too and lasts for a full six months before needing battery replacements. Though the Flash lacks a heart rate monitor and a premium build, a fitness tracker that not only functions well but is also waterproof is difficult to find at this price.

The Campanile

Friday, December, 11, 2015

LIFESTYLE B7 Places to eat near Caltrain stations How to fake Restaurants and cafes near Caltrain stations provide a myriad of diverse dining options

BETHANY SHIANG

STAFF WRITER

A

dventure is out there, and is nearer than anticipated.

The harsh reality is that the only times most people want to go on adventures around the Bay Area is when they have been planned far in advance, or when they are close to home. Sometimes, the simplest adventure only requires a Caltrain day pass and a companion. This adventure does not even require much exercise — which many might appreciate. Besides the popular Caltrain destinations such as T-Pumps in Burlingame, there are many hidden gems to be discovered. These small, but charming, food stops at multiple Caltrain stations feature different and diverse foods that are worth trying.

Redwood City: Gourmet Haus Staudt Walking out of the Redwood City Train Station, the familiar food chains are easy to spot, as the iconic logos of Peet’s Coffee and Tea and Noah’s Bagels draw almost all attention. On the corner of Broadway and Perry streets lies a charming, simple store that is easy to overlook, but opening the door is a complex sweet aroma of chocolates and goods.

When first walking in, the customer is greeted with stacks upon stacks of chocolate bars, along with buckets of German snacks and assorted condiments on different wooden tables.

This festive German shop is a small but homey place for everyone.

“Whenever I bring my kids, they always go for the Kinder and Milka chocolate bars, and they spend at least 20 minutes just trying to pick out a flavor,” Gourmet Haus Staudt frequenter Laura Burchess said. “There are a lot of Christmas-inspired things here, so I am excited to shop for those, especially the chocolate and ginger cookies.”

The back of the store features a small cafe that serves simple traditional German plates. The menu contains many conventional German sausages, accompanied by different side plates.

One of the most renowned dishes served is the cheese and salami giant pretzel, which is freshly made and served warm to the customers.

ALICE ZHAO

STAFF WRITER COURTESY OF YELP.COM

Food stops at the Caltrain stations offer a variety of dishes, such as soft pretzels in Redwood City and cheesesteaks in Morgan Hill.

“The [pretzels are] soft and warm, which are so much better than the pretzels you get at baseball games,”first-time customer Ryan Depson said. “It’s really filling and I love the sweet and standard mustards that come with it.”

The food may not be for everyone, but Gourmet Haus Staudt is a friendly and unique place to experience German culture, and provides a great chance to taste genuine, imported German snacks.

Eggettes has an extensive array of pre-made boba drinks that range from $3 to $3.50 and customers can pay $2.50 to make their own drink at the do it yourself bar. Unlike many other boba stores which rely on syrup to make boba tea, Eggettes instead adds in fresh fruits to make their refreshing drinks.

“The food is similar to the food we would eat in Hong Kong, so it is a good reminder of Hong Kong,” regular customer Kent Mo said.

San Mateo: Eggettes Many people have different predilections about boba shops, but Eggettes features do-it-yourself boba drinks, so that customers can add different condiments to tailor drinks to their own likings. Though Eggettes is a small shop on 47 S. B St., hidden behind Donuts Delite, the store is glowing with music and lights.

Eggettes is named after their signature pull apart egg puff snacks that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside to create a enjoyable texture and flavor. The shop serves different flavors of eggettes, such as classic original, chocolate and coconut, and an assortment of Asian snacks, ranging from salt and pepper popcorn chicken to rice rolls.

“I love that [the Eggettes are] light and not too sweet, because the boba is sweet too,” local resident Elton Chen said. “They make them in front of you and give them to you when they are warm, which I like when it is cold outside.”

Mountain View: Kolbeh Restaurant Kolbeh, a small Persian restaurant located on 1414 W. El Camino Real, strives to serve authentic Persian dishes to bring a taste of the Middle Eastern foods to the Bay Area.

Kolbeh servers are welcoming along with a friendly setting with flowers and paintings of small towns in the Middle East.

Many people are familiar with kebabs as sticks stacked with meats and vegetables, but Kolbeh serves authentic kebabs that have been marinated in spices for at least 24 hours to ensure that they are flavorful and high quality with sides of rice and a choice of sides. Along with the kebabs, Kolbeh also serves an assortment of small plates such as baba ghanoush, which is baked eggplant with a creamy tahini sauce, garlic and oil served with pita.

“When I come, I usually will order small side plates, and it is just as filling [as a normal plate],” Kolbeh frequenter Blake Williams said. “Where

I live, there is not a lot of restaurants as diverse like this, so I come here when I want some Middle Eastern food.”

Kolbeh’s menu also contains dishes that are fit for vegetarians such as the falafel wrap and Persian soup. The dishes are served with baklava, which is handmade by a family member and served warm. Although Kolbeh is a bit far from the Mountain View Caltrain station it is well worth the walk.

Morgan Hill: A-Jay’s Cheesesteaks Philadelphia’s cheesesteaks are a civic icon, but it proves difficult to find an authentic cheesesteak in the Bay Area. A-Jay’s Cheesesteaks a family-owned shop on 17400 Monterey St. The menu contains over a dozen versions of cheesesteaks along with different styles of fries. The wait is usually short, depending on how crowded the store is, but the satisfying bite through the crunchy bread and the hot combination of onions, ribeye steak, and cheese is worth any wait.

“I like that there is an even ratio, rather than a cheesesteak that is mostly just cheese,” regular customer Elaine Giles said. “I always order their sweet potato or curly fries and they have always been really fresh and hot.”

A-Jay’s also serves burgers and salads, which certainly require more than one napkin. A-Jay’s is a relaxed place to eat, especially for San Francisco Giant’s fans, who can get the “Dodgers Suck” cheesesteak.

Quentin Tarantino films lack original storylines New action film “The Hateful Eight” will determine the Tarantino’s directing reputation

COURTESY OF SCREENRANT.COM

Tarantino’s upcoming film is expected to be similar to his previous movies such as “Inglorious Bastards” and “Kill Bill Volume 1.”

ANTONIO KIESCHNICK

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

I

t’s Christmas day, and there’s this guy, and he’s walking down some main street somewhere, and the main street is full of movie theaters.

Each movie theater is showing one Quentin Tarantino film following the year 2000. So this guy, he has to decide which film he wants to watch.

He’s mulling it over, because he’s got half an hour before any of the films start, and then it hits him: It doesn’t matter, because they’re all the same.

They’re great. They’re brilliant examples of post-modern cinema, but they’re all the same: A flawed antihero in search of revenge. Think “Kill Bill” Volumes 1 and 2, where The Bride seeks out her attempted murderer. Think “Inglorious Basterds” where a group of Jewish militiamen go on a violent rampage through Nazi Germany. Think “Django Unchained” where a freed slave pursues his wife’s kidnappers.

being composed

This Christmas, Tarantino’s latest, “The Hateful Eight,” will come out.

Perhaps the aforementioned guy will decide to go see it, perhaps he will enjoy it, but unless Tarantino has gone for a completely different style to his previous films, this aforementioned guy will probably forget the film as soon as he leaves the theater.

There is no doubt that Tarantino is a cinematic genius. “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs” will go down in film history as masterpieces. Few pieces of filmmaking will ever beat “Django Unchained” for pop-culture relevance, having been referenced in countless top-ten hits throughout the English speaking world. But if Tarantino wants to truly be remembered as one of the greats, he needs to freshen up his stories. As wonderful as the heist movie or neo-western storyline is, it can become old-hat quite fast.

All of Tarantino’s characters end up somewhat detached, tending to take a sort of lone ranger approach to

the various difficulties they are faced with. As a result, it becomes almost impossible for the audience to sympathize with them. Their personalities and general lack of emotion are so far away from that of the average human being that it makes almost all of them instantly forgettable (barring perhaps Butch Coolidge, Bruce Willis’ homespun, entrapped character in “Pulp Fiction”). While this makes for entertaining spectating and leaves us with a memorable storylines and excellent one-liners, the characters themselves seem to fade from one’s memory as fast as they appeared.

As soon as you enter The Campanile’s newsroom there is a quote by Maya Angelou on your right, next to the door: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In a sense, this applies to Tarantino as a director.

While we have, of course, not forgotten what he has said (especially with his superbly crafted scripts), the emo-

tions have long disappeared. Perhaps he seeks to evoke a sense of wonder at his own talent, but for the audience, it is nothing but a frosty wasteland of emotions.

It feels almost as if Tarantino is unwilling to go out of his comfort zone; he insists on using the same archetypal characters and similar aesthetics in all of his films. There is nothing wrong with attempting to preserve a unique style and voice in filmmaking — in fact, it is key that we as an audience understand that a film is by Quentin Tarantino. It is vital to his own legacy that his print be firmly inked onto every single film he directs. However, the films are beginning to feel like they are more about Tarantino than the story itself. We are wowed with dazzling displays of directorial skill and nous, but we are never truly introduced to the characters themselves.

One need only look at other great directors to see what Tarantino is failing to do. Tarantino’s hero, Akira Kurosawa, may have directed “Seven Samurai”, a film steeped in the violence Tarantino so loves and lacking any real touch of humanity to it at all. However, Kurosawa also wrote and directed “Dersu Uzala”, a film set in the Eastern Siberian forests about an aging local hunter’s struggle with humanity’s rapid expansion into the forests he holds so dear. It is one of Kurosawa’s most personal films, where we truly come to understand and sympathize with the sad futility of the old man’s struggle. The film was one of Kurosawa’s best and won him an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Tarantino has made it clear that he is intent on leaving a legacy as a filmmaker. If he truly wants to make his mark on cinematic history, it is vital that “The Hateful Eight” show a more human touch.

“Fake it ‘til you make it.” This saying has been passed down from generation to generation and has even earned itself its own Wikipedia page, most likely because it works so well!

Not a single person became a bigshot without first pretending like they were already successful. It is common knowledge that success comes without hardship, so you should make all attempts necessary in order to conceal his or her stress. As a long-time suppressor of emotions and frivolous struggles, I assure you that I am an expert in pretending to have my life together, when in actuality, it is more often than not in shambles.

“How are you?”

The only appropriate answers to this question are: “I’m fine,” “I’m good” or a variation thereof. To take it a step further and truly convince others that you are fine, respond with a flashing smile and a prompt, “how are you?” This way, the conversation will be diverted to someone else. Even if this question is asked sincerely, do not give in to your desire to pour out your frustrations; you must keep all negative emotions bottled up inside.

Instead, the correct response to this genuine inquiry is to persist that you are doing well until the questioner uncomfortably changes the subject.

Never say no to anything If someone asks you for a favor, make sure to always comply. Turning down extra work suggests that you are not in tip-top condition, and you should always be in tip-top condition. You must avoid the assumption that you are overworked at all costs — showing weakness is akin to throwing away your entire reputation you have worked so hard to construct.

If the favor is being asked over text, make sure to respond with a “no worries” followed by a smiley face; this response will ensure the recipient that you are, in fact, not even the slightest bit inconvenienced by their request.

Dress for success In order to portray someone who has their life together, you must not only act the part, but also look the part. Clothes that give the illusion of a successful life include button-up shirts, blazers and wildly expensive designer brands. Avoid wearing the same outfit twice in one season, as this may be translated into a sign of laziness or giving up. Instead, make sure to have enough unique outfits to last at least one month. People will look at you and say, “wow, someone who dresses like that must really have his or her life together.”

Polymath or nothing You must excel in all aspects of your life in order to convince others that you are truly doing well. Instead of prioritizing the one thing that you are passionate about, make sure to put in huge amounts of effort into everything that you do so that you can be successful at all of them. Who says that great achievements take sacrifice?

I believe that you can accomplish all of your goals without having to give up anything. This way, when people see that you are multifaceted, and they will readily agree that you have your life together. Sure you may have lost a few hours of sleep, but it’s all in the name of adding achievements to your LinkedIn profile. Speaking of which, get a LinkedIn profile.

But really, these tips were all just jokes. In fact, I am actually a relatively put-together person, so no worries, I’m fine :) How are you?

These tips are dramatizations. The column writer encourages prioritizing happiness and mental health.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

B8

K-POP IDOLS 1

in

2000

Text by: Greg Eum and Josh Ng Senior Staff W­riters

W

hen Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video was uploaded onto YouTube in 2012, the South Korean song became a hit all over the world, racking up over two billion views since its release. Although the song’s popularity abroad was mostly due to the outlandishly hilarious aesthetic of the music video, it was a breakthrough for the genre of Korean pop, more commonly known as K-Pop. Many Americans may not know about K-Pop outside of “Gangnam Style,” but K-Pop is very popular both domestically in South Korea and internationally, including many parts of Asia, Europe and even South America.

Women in the Korean music industry are often objectified and sexualized to entice male audiences.

The rise and expansion of K-Pop overseas began fairly recently, the genre started in the early 1990s, with the debut of “Seo Taiji & Boys.” Borrowing from popular American genres such as rock, techno and rap, “Seo Taiji & Boys” gained instant popularity and took Korea by storm. With catchy beats and choruses, K-Pop was born, leaving many in search of high potential profits from this rising industry.

To produce more artists for this new and lucrative field, many entrepreneurs created large entertainment companies to churn out artists to the public. Soo Man Lee pioneered this movement of mass-producing groups, creating the largest entertainment company Korea has ever had, S.M. Entertainment (SM). SM has produced numerous popular artists and groups that dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s such as Boa, H.O.T and Shinhwa. SM retains its status as Korea’s largest entertainment company today. It is also home to many of Korea’s biggest acts, including Girl’s Generation, EXO and Shinee. SM belongs to the “Big Three” along with JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment as the three major companies in the industry.

In the early 21st century, K-Pop began to venture outside of Korea, an expansion known as the “Hallyu Wave.” K-Pop grew to China and Japan with immensely popular artists such as Rain and BoA, both of whom are solo artists. Though Rain and BoA found success in their careers, most entertainment companies looked to invest in other boy and girl bands.

These entertainment companies then decided to train artists together and create

Design by: Sarah Wang and Josh Ng Senior Staff Writers

many male and female bands, which make up the majority of the industry today.

K-Pop’s international popularity can be in part accredited to the integration of the Korean language into songs. Though most audiences elsewhere in the world do not understand Korean, much of the focus in the songs is not on the lyrics, but on the melodies and rhythm.

“As an instrumentalist, I tend to focus more on interesting melodies, harmonies or rhythms rather than lyrics, so not being able to understand Korean isn’t a drawback and actually lets the music stand out more,” junior Alan Huang said.

Although musical talent is a large part of why K-Pop groups and singers are famous, some of this popularity can also be attributed to their physical appearance and individual fashion styles.

“I think a big part of [K-Pop’s popularity] is looks, since the whole K-Pop industry is focused on getting more fans, and physical attractiveness does seem to play a big part in gaining more of an audience,” senior Minyoung Kim said. “But I also think that each K-Pop idol’s talent counts.”

One such example of a K-Pop star who gained popularity through appearance is G-Dragon who, from the group Big Bang, has become one of South Korea’s biggest fashion icons. He has garnered much recognition, receiving the “Style Icon of 2008” award and being acknowledged this year by Business of Fashion as one of the “500 Global Fashion Leaders.”

He has also started many fashion trends in Korea, most notably his signature hairstyle — dyed blonde hair parted to the side.

“I think K-Pop most often tends to set fashion and image trends,” Kim said.

“This kind of goes back to how K-Pop idols are generally physically attractive, and how they model for different magazines and commercials. But one thing that I don’t necessarily love about K-Pop culture is how girl groups are often portrayed in a sexual way.”

Women in the Korean music industry are often objectified and sexualized to entice male audiences. Many groups such as Sistar and 2NE1 have members that have endured plastic surgery in order to achieve a certain look that the entertainment industries and K-Pop audiences want to see. This is not to say that men do not go under the knife as well. G-Dragon has received a chin job and V from the group BTS underwent surgery to change his nose. Those who undergo plastic surgery to achieve a certain body or facial image supports the idea that K-Pop idols are treated as nothing more than products of the K-Pop industry.

The K-Pop industry can almost be likened to the production of sausages, in that the end product is great, but the con-

BIG BANG BAND MEMBERS: G-Dragon, Seungri, Taeyang, Daesung AND T.O.P

struction process is unappealing. For most K-Pop entertainment companies, this is true. Before artists become K-Pop star, they undergo rigorous training until they debut. During this training, they are subject to strict dietary restraints and training regimes while still having to attend school, which is notoriously hard in South Korea. Even after these idols debut, their schedules do not become easier. From going on weekly shows to participating in variety programs, life as a K-Pop star is not as great as it seems to be.

Little known entertainment companies have their chance at stardom taken from them due to strong competition from larger companies. Even successful artists get paid modestly for their hard work, with a large percentage of their earnings going back to their parent companies and having to split earnings between group members. This broken method of payment has led to many controversies and disputes between companies and group members over contractual issues. One of the largest disputes involved Kris Wu, a member of SM Entertainment’s EXO, and his management over his unfavorable working ethic. In the next few months, more members of EXO wanted out of their contracts, including Luhan and Huang Zitao. Other groups, such as TVXQ and Kara, have suspended their activities for extended periods of time because of contractual disputes. Despite the common portrayal of K-Pop artists, striking success within the industry is extremely hard and maintaining that success is even harder.

“I think K-Pop most often tends to set fashion and image trends.”

Minyoung Kim Senior

K-Pop has integrated itself into other cultures, where it has the potential to become extremely popular and affect others just as much as it has affected Korean culture. The genre’s unique sound and evergrowing fanbase contributes to its gaining popularity. Though the K-Pop industry has expanded to different countries of the world, most who consider themselves as K-Pop fans are apathetic towards what happens behind all the glamour and fame.

However, the apathy from the fans seems to do the industry good, as the K-Pop entertainment industry’s success continues to rise as its influence extends to other nations.

This edition featuring:

Sean King with The Campanile’s own

Josh Brigel The Campanile: First question. If you had to, what would you rate your rap battling skills on a level from 1 to 10?

Sean King: I’m alright, definitely not the best. But I’m definitely better than Louie Marzano is at rapping. Eh… five.

TC: Describe your relationship with Louie Marzano.

SK: He’s a good kid, but he tends to remind me of a fish from time to time.

TC: Oh really? What do you think of being a trout, as some people have called you?

SK: I think it’s a derogatory comment which I tend to use a lot myself.

But I guess what goes around comes around.

TC: What do you think of vape culture at Paly?

SK: Well you know the vape culture at Paly, [is] in pandemic mode if I’m going to be honest with you — it’s really terrible. All these people blowing these demonic clouds destroying our bathrooms. It’s almost toxic really.

TC: Alright, well would you support a vaping designated area of the quad?

SK: Yes, preferably the deck and only for seniors.

TC: Haha, okay, so a more serious question. Who is your favorite dictator of all time?

SK: Hmm, Julius Caesar. He ruled with an iron fist.

TC: Okay, Okay. You know he was an emperor right? Well, thoughts on maybe tearing down the deck and building a newer, better, two-story indoor one?

SK: It’s a travesty.

TC: What do you think, being a senior now?

SK: Being a senior now, I’m glad that my year was the last year to have the real deck, because you guys as juniors will never have the real deck.

TC: Oh wow. Can you give me some new slang words around school, some lingo?

SK: The new lingo? Check out 3PACtv.com. You should be quite filled in.

TC: Anything, like hoots?

SK: I sometimes say stuff like “hoot,” “trout,” you know “swag,” I like that word.

TC: I like that one too. Give me a rundown of what you’re wearing right now.

SK: Well you know I’m wearing a leather jacket, a red shirt, some jeans and aviators.

TC: What is your favorite part of what you’re wearing?

SK: Right here... my favorite part the aviators.

TC: Would you consider yourself a good longboarder or skateboarder or who can do tricks?

SK: I would say I’m alright at long boarding, definitely not very good with tricks on a skateboard, although I’m a legend when it comes to scooters.

TC: Haha, I could see that. Any advice that you can give for underclassmen?

SK: Clouds are beautiful, always take a minute to stop and appreciate a good cloud.

TC: Very spiritual and good stuff.

What would you say is your favorite type of cloud?

SK: Cumulonimbus clouds.

TC: That’s a really great cloud. If you could change something at Paly what would it be?

SK: Promote Ronnie Farrell to be principal. Oh, and for advice to underclassmen, please refrain from stepping on the deck until you are a senior.

The Campanile

Friday, December 11, 2015 ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

SP RTS

Freshman Henry Saul’s speed was a key contributor to cross country’s success at this year’s CCS Meet.

C7

vs. Reality: Misconceptions of Surfing

Text and design by: kai Oda Sports Editor

Design by: Kate Deandre Staff Writer

Surf’s up brah!

41st is pumping, the barrels are coming through and i’m pitted.

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hat makes surfing fun?

Part of it is the anticipation of tracking a storm over several weeks, waiting for the imminent waves the storm will create. Part of it is the fear of watching the waves reach land in an explosion of water and sound.

Part of it is the horror of wavering at the top of the wave, staring down into the blackness below and thinking about how sharp the rocks at the bottom are. But the exhilaration of skimming down the wave, narrowly dodging other people and just barely staying ahead of roiling foam combines the amalgamation of emotions together, creating a sport that many call “fun.”

Yet, surfing is a foreign sport to most Palo Alto High School students. This may be because of the difficult learning curve involved and one-hour drive needed to reach Santa Cruz, Calif., the most popular surfing destination in the Bay Area.

Learning to surf requires commitment and uncharacteristic patience. Juniors Peter Wisowaty and Johnny Rohrbach are familiar with the time required to learn how to surf well, as they have been surfing for four and 12 years, respectively.

“I’ve been surfing since I was 5 years old,” Rohrbach said. “I saw

a surf camp, and not understanding that you had to pay to be there, ran up and stole a surfboard. And that was that.”

There’s this persona built around surfing [that describes] the cool, nice, hippie guy that just loves the sport, and that appeals to a lot of people.

Johnny rohrbach junior

Over time, the gap between people’s perceptions of surfing and the reality of the sport has grown further and further apart. First of all, the sunny beaches, palm trees and long wooden boards which most people imagine when thinking about surfing have been replaced with frigid waters, stone cliffs and shortboards made of expensive composite materials.

“In northern California you have to wear a wetsuit,” Wisowaty said.

“You’re freezing your a** off in the water until you start moving around, and it’s not fun.”

The second misconception about surfing concerns the surfers themselves. The stereotypical surfer is pictured as either a tan male model or an anti-society rebel who dons bean-

ies and rides around on a skateboard.

They are generally unmotivated, even slackers at times. “[People] think [surfers] are ripped or hippies,” Wisowaty said.

“I mean that’s obviously not true because look at Johnny [Rohrbach].

Now look at me. We don’t exactly fit the stereotype.”

Surfers are known for their “Aloha” attitude and their acceptance of other surfers, associating each other like family. Unfortunately, this is also a myth.

Surfers have a vocabulary that is dedicated to describing how other people interfered with their waves.

Among this vocabulary are the phrases “dropped in,” “burned” and “cut me off ” — terms which describe the relative position of two surfers are on the same wave. When accusations are made in the form of surfer slang, hostilities between surfers can reach an all time high.

“For the most part people are really really mean in Santa Cruz,” Rohrbach said. “One time this guy got really aggro and punched me in the temple after I dropped in on him.”

With all the complaints out of the way, the question of why people surf still remains. For Rohrbach, the stereotypes that surround surfing add a “cool” factor to the sport. The crowds, which are usually an annoyance and potential hazard, are also part of the equation.

“There’s this persona built around surfing [that describes] the cool, nice, hippie guy that just loves the sport, and that appeals to a lot of people,” Rohrbach said. “Also, when you get a good wave and people are watching you do something sick — that’s awesome.”

Both Wisowaty and Rohrbach used the word “fun” to describe their reasons for surfing. This fun comes from an adrenaline rush that ensues as the two juniors narrowly avoid rocks, people and even their own board while surfing.

in northern california you have to wear a wetsuit. you’re freezing your a** off in the water until you start moving around.

Peter wisowaty junior Over the years, the two have made mistakes and sustained bloody injuries. Wisowaty has three stitches on his head from hitting the reef, while Rohrbach has nine stitches from collisions with rock piles. Rohrbach also has scars on his knee and butt where the fin of the board has impaled him, as well as various cuts on his mouth

and face where other surfers have rammed into him. Wisowaty has developed a fear of receiving more of these injuries, and the rush of evading danger factors into his enjoyment of surfing.

“I had to get stitches because I hit the reef, and now I’m pretty scared of inanimate objects,” Wisowaty said. “I just don’t want to hit the reef, and I am scared of sea urchins.”

Despite occasional confrontations with other surfers, surfing has the potential to bring people together. For Rohrbach, the best feeling in surfing is sharing his love of the sport with other people.

“I enjoy surfing because it’s something my dad and I can do together,” Rohrbach said. “I also have a lot of friends who do it, and it’s a great thing to enjoy with other people.”

Surfing provides a unique connection to nature, as surfers can reap the benefits of the waves, but also receive a brutal beating depending on their skill level. With a little bit of time and hard work, a beginner can have as much fun as a pro surfer. The act of standing up on the board brings universal joy.

“Everything else just kind of leaves your mind and you focus on one thing,” Rohrbach said. “It’s a good place to go to clear your mind and get rid of stress.”

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAI ODA / JOHHNY ROHRBACH

SPORTS

INSIDE

2015 College Bowl Game Predictions

As the college football season draws to an exciting climax, find out which teams will be facing off in the bowl games and which talented team The Campanile predicts will be this year’s Bowl Championship Series winner.

COURTESY OF PROJECTPOINTSPREADBLOG

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HIGH SCHOOL

COURTESY OF EUROPE WORD

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KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

Read about the talented basketball players in the European league.

Ever faced a strong team? Now you can blame its recruiting process.

High Schools that Recruit

From 2000 Feet Up

PAGE C6

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European NBA Players

Palo Alto student Abby Santullo describes her unconventional sport.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

C2 VIKING RECAP

GIRLS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Dougherty Valley 12/4/15, W, 50-36 Paly vs. Carondelet 12/5/15, L, 53-59 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Napa 12/12/15, 1:30p.m.

Paly vs. Valley Christian 12/19/15, 7:00p.m.

Paly vs. North Salinas 12/28/15, 7:45p.m.

Paly vs. Los Gatos 1/5/15, 7:00p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Junipero Serra 12/4/15, L, 42-65 UPCOMING GAMES Paly vs. Sacred Heart Prep

12/18/15, 6:00p.m.

Paly vs. Amador Valley 12/21/15, 7:10p.m.

Paly vs. Oak Grove

12/23/15, 5:30p.m.

WRESTLING RECENT SCORES Half Moon Bay Tournament

12/5/15, L UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Webber Lawson 12/12/15, 9:00a.m.

Lynbrook Tournament 12/19/15, 9:00a.m.

Paly vs. Monta Vista 1/7/16, 5:30p.m.

Paly vs. Fremont 1/14/15 5:30p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Sequoia 12/5/15, W, 5-1 Paly vs. Menlo Atherton 12/8/15, W, 3-0 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. San Benito 12/12/15, 12:00p.m.

Paly vs. Los Gatos 1/6/16, 3:30p.m.

Paly vs. Homestead 1/8/16, 3:30p.m.

Paly vs. Milpitas 1/13/15, 3:30p.m.

BOYS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Milpitas 12/3/15, W, 3-0 Paly vs. Seaside 12/8/15, W, 3-1 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Gunn 1/13/16, 7:00p.m.

Paly vs. Mountain View 1/15/16, 3:30p.m.

Paly vs. Freemont 1/20/16, 3:30p.m.

Paly vs. Santa Clara 1/25/15, 3:30p.m.

FOOTBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Salinas 11/20/15, W, 42-38 Paly vs. Milpitas 11/27/15, L, 42-0

Season begins with victory for boys Consisting mostly of returning players, boys soccer is optimistic for a successful season JOANNA FALLA

STAFF WRITER

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ith a final score of 3-0 against Milpitas High School, on Dec. 3, the boys soccer team started off the season with a scrimmage game win.

The three goals were scored by junior Neil Verwillow and seniors Dami Bolarinwa and Roberto Sotelo as the Paly team shut out Milpitas.

Junior Derek Schoenberger believes that this first win is what will drive the players to be a more cohesive team.

“I think a win is what we needed as a team,” Schoenberger said. “We were still figuring some stuff out coming into [the Milpitas] game and changed player’s positions throughout the game and I think a win really boosted the team’s confidence.”

Senior Cole Tierney also looks back on the first unofficial game of the season as a learning experience and a concrete starting point for the team’s improvement during the regular season.

“I think everyone would agree there’s a couple things we need to work on,” Tierney said. “I don’t doubt we have the talent but we need to work on our chemistry and how we play together.”

Schoenberger believes that the defense was underutilized and that defensive players were not able to show their worth.

“Offensively we had a lot of good opportunities, but we definitely need to work on our finishing and team chemistry when we’re building the ball to goal,” Schoenberger said. “The defense wasn’t challenged very much this game, but something we could

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Cole Tierney attempts to steal a ball while Junior Derek Schoenberger watches. Paly went on to win the scrimmage 3-0.

improve on all around is our communication.”

I think everyone would agree there’s a couple things we need to work on, I don’t doubt we have the talent but we need to work on our chemistry and how we play together.

Cole Tierney Senior The team scored one of its goals in the first half of the game and the other two in the second half, but Tierney thinks that those numbers could have been much larger if the team had played at its fullest potential.

“If we had capitalized on all our chances in the first half we could’ve

ended the half up by at least 4,” Tierney said. “Defensively there were very few errors but unfortunately the defense and Eli [Friedlander], our goalkeeper, were hardly tested in this game.”

The boys soccer team lost five seniors last year and two sophomores have since been moved up to varsity in an attempt to fill the shoes the seniors left vacant. Senior Eli Friedlander believes that the team will deal with the losses in a strong way and the younger team members will be able to play at the same level as the other team members.

“They [the new players] have really stepped up and shown that they deserve to be where they are,” Friedlander said. “We definitely miss Wesley Woo, Preston Kuppe, and Steven

Blatman, but we also have a lot of guys that are more than capable to take over.”

Looking ahead Schoenberger also believes that with the returning players and the addition of underclassmen, the team should place well in its league.

“There are only two underclassmen on the team this year and both are very good; despite their age they always seem to impress me with how they play,” Schoenberger said. “Considering the amount of returning players from last year, I believe this is going to be a very strong year for Paly soccer.”

With a team full of strong defensive and offensive players, the boys soccer team is sure to make a name for itself.

Girls basketball has Boys basketball gears high hopes for season up for league matches Team animated after preseason successes CLAY WATSON

STAFF WRITER

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he girls basketball team is looking to continue its preseason winning ways as they prepare for the De Anza League’s (DAL) competition.

The team, made up of one freshman, two sophomores, four juniors and three seniors, has found early success through their first four games, winning a scrimmage against Saint Ignatius College Preparatory and placing second in the Dougherty Valley Winter Classic Basketball Tournament.

Last year, the Paly girls basketball team found great success in DAL play, going undefeated with a record of 12-0. Junior Skylar Burris hopes to repeat this accomplishment while improving on postseason play.

“We’re hoping to go undefeated in leagues like we did last year and make it to opens [Central Coast Selection] again,” Burris said. “Last year we didn’t really show the other schools in that division what we could do, so the plan is to prove it to them this year.”

The Paly’s girls basketball team’s season came to an end last year on March 11 when they lost to Oakland High School.

With the majority of the team made up of returning varsity players,

Burris believes that the team chemistry that the players have with each other will be a key factor in their hopeful success this upcoming season.

“Because we’ve all been playing together for so long, we’ve really learned how to play off each other,” Burris said. “There’s always things to work on, but our team chemistry is hard to find in the majority of high school basketball teams.”

Last year we didn’t really show the other schools in that division what we could do, so the plan is to prove it to them this year

Skylar Burris Junior In addition to the experience that the girls have had playing for Paly, many have been playing together since elementary school, playing for Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) middle school basketball teams, and Amature Athletic Union (AAU) teams, such as Palo Alto Midnight.

With the official DAL season set to begin on Jan. 5, 2016, Paly’s girls basketball team looks to continue their success from last season, utilizing their unique team chemistry as they take on Los Gatos High School.

Returning coach implements new strategy GILLIAN ROBINS

STAFF WRITER

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he boys basketball team is gearing up for this season with veteran head coach, Peter Diepenbrock, who returned to the team after seven years. The team has had an influx of players who joined the team this year.

“It’ll be hard to continue with a big group of new players,” junior Jack Simison said. “So we need to focus on getting them ready to play as a team with the players that are already on the team.”

Diepenbrock has taken strides to cultivate the team in a new way. He has coached Paly basketball for 11 years, and, in their time, led the team to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) division II state championship in 2006 before stepping down in 2008. Last year’s coach Adam Sax left the team after five years of being with the team. Because Diepenbrock liked the group of players on the team this year, he decided to coach once again. “[Diepenbrock is] doing a ton, from fundamentals to a whole new playbook,” Simison said. “We have a whole new coaching staff and each one plays their part. [There is] a conditioning coach [and], the head coach [Diepenbrock] who is redoing the

whole system compared to our old coach. Our new coaches’s techniques are focused on defensive and work ethic.”

On Nov. 30, the team had a preseason game against Junipero Serra High School which they lost 42-65.

The team is still working on their rhythm.

It’ll be hard to continue with a big group of new players, so we need to focus on getting them ready to play as a team with the players that are already on the team.

Jack Simison Junior “I think we’re starting to understand our offense a bit better and starting to play some better defense,” senior Justin Hull said. “There’s still a lot of room to improve and hopefully we’ll be ready for our first game on Thursday.”

On Thursday, the Vikings played a three-day tournament at Piedmont Hills. This is the Vikes first match of the season. Diepenbrock had a solid objective for their upcoming match.

“My goal for Thursday is for us to play solid man defense, and take care of the ball so we can get as many shots as possible,” Diepenbrock said.

Early season victories strengthen girls soccer team Younger squad revamps, seeks revenge against opponent Mountain View High School TOMMY SMALE

STAFF WRITER

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he girls soccer team is aiming high after placing second in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) and Central Coast Section (CCS) last year.

The girls team played very well in their first game, beating Los Altos 4-1, with two goals scored by senior Nika Woodfill.

In the team’s first home game, Paly won 5-1, against Sequoia High School. The girls soccer team has remained undefeated at home since 2013, and looks to continue that streak.

“We did a good job of attacking and getting goals early,” senior Jacey Pederson said.

The girls soccer team has a record of 3-0 despite big losses to the team.

The team lost many notable players from last year’s team.

Fromer players Katie Foug and Lena Chang were both commended as SCVAL first-team all-league players last year. Livi Musil will also be a key loss as she was voted most inspirational by her teammates. Despite these losses, the team hopes to be even stronger this year to beat Mountain view.

“Our goal this year is to one, beat Mountain View [High School] and

two, win the whole thing,” junior Reilly Filter said.

Last year Paly lost to Mountain View High School in both league championship and the CCS championship last season. This year, Mountain View has many experienced players returning including six seniors and other junior and sophomore varsity athletes from last year’s team. Because only two seniors graduated from last year’s team, they are expected to be even stronger this year.

Paly has high goals to defeat Mountain View. This years team has a mix of youth and experience. The team has four freshman and will be lead by seniors Jacey Pederson and

Heidi Moeser. The team had a shaky start in their first games, but are developing into a team that plays really well together according. Having a close team is imperative to having a successful season. “[There are] a lot of new players but everyone is getting along really well and it can only get better from here.” Pederson said.

Tightening up defensively and allowing fewer goals is something the team looks to improve upon according to Pederson.

If the team polishes up their defense, they will be strong contenders this season for the league championship and a CCS title.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

Wrestling team limited by its young roster The team looks to compensate for lack of experience by recruiting more junior varsity wrestlers

C3

My Fantasy Football Journey

JOANNA FALLA

STAFF WRITER

T

he wrestling team ended its first tournament at Half Moon Bay High School with junior Seth Goyal winning the tournament and senior Eric Oshima taking third place. The upcoming season will be very constructive, according to head coach Jonathan Kessler, who believes that the amount of underclassmen will make this season a learning experience.

“This season is going to be a rebuilding year because the varsity line up will be comprised of many underclassmen,” Kessler said. “This makes for a unique opportunity for some freshmen to gain varsity experience early in their careers.”

This season is going to be a rebuilding year because the varsity line up will be comprised of many underclassmen.

Jonathan Kessler Head Coach The Palo Alto High School team placed third at the tournament, and Goyal believes that with the addition of some new varsity players, the team will see lots of overall improvement.

“Since we only had two people on varsity for the tournament we didn’t do so as well, but in January we’re moving up a lot of people to varsity,

TIFFANY LIANG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF SHELLEY CHRYST

Junior Seth Goyal holds down an opponent at a tournament in Half Moon Bay. The boys placed third at the tournament overall.

so then we should do much better,” Goyal said. “We didn’t move them up because of the tournament but because we feel that they will have enough high school wrestling experience then all of the people moving up are freshmen that wrestled since middle school but haven’t yet wrestled in high school.”

Last season, the wrestling team lost state qualifier and team captain James Giaccia. Even with this loss, Kessler believes that by maintaining a consistent mindset and strong eth-

ics, the underclassmen will be able to stand with the upperclassmen.

“I don’t like to make predictions, but my expectation is that all the wrestlers will work hard, stay focused and give it their all and if we do that, we will have a successful season,” Kessler said. “We have wrestlers that should expect to compete in [Central Coast Section] and the [California Interscholastic Federation] state tournaments.”

Looking forward, the team plans on improving its knowledge this

year by running different drills during practices and gaining experience through matches.

“We’ll do a lot better at the end of the season because the freshmen are all semi-experienced wrestlers who want to learn but have not yet competed at the level of high school wrestling,” Goyal said. “They just need more experience wrestling in live competition with people that they don’t know because that way they get into situations that don’t necessarily come up in practice.”

Boys cross country team ends a strong season Despite individual improvements, state team injuries hinder state championship success AVI TACHNA-FRAM

STAFF WRITER

T

he boys team’s season is over after finishing 15th, out of 23 teams, at the California Interscholastic Federation state championship meet on Nov. 28.

While placing 15th was not good enough for the boys to win a placement trophy, the boys team considers their performance at states a victory.

“Most of us got personal records and those of us who ran at states last year shattered our old times,” junior Spencer Morgenfeld said.

Despite their strong performance, the boys team could not place as high as they hoped, largely due to injuries.

“Kent [Slaney] didn’t run as fast as he has in the past due to an overuse injury,” Morgenfeld said. “Henry [Saul] sprained his ankle a week ago and wasn’t able to run today.”

At states, senior Sam Desré stepped up to take Saul’s place after recovering from his own ankle injury.

Because of the injury, Desré does not think his performance was his best.

“I ran faster on that course at the start of the season, but I was happy to run with the team one last time,” Desré said.

Desré placed 166th out of 197 runners.

Despite Slaney’s injury, he still placed 63rd overall at states, and first for Paly.

With this year’s success, the team is optimistic about the 2016 season.

“Next year we want to improve off of this year try and win CCS and do even better at states maybe get in the top 10,” team captain and junior Naveen Pai said.

Desré is sad to leave his teammates, but has high hopes for his team.

It’s going to be difficult to leave all of them behind, but I know that they all have a bright future ahead of them and that they will keep improving as a team.

Sam Desré Team Captain “It’s going to be difficult to leave all of them behind, but I know that they all have a bright future ahead of them and that they will keep improving as a team,” Desré said.

With only one graduating senior, and quite a few promising sophomores and juniors that the team feels will improve the team next year.

“I think Kent Slaney will have a really strong season next year,” Pai said. “Sam Craig and Reid Foster are

COURTESY OF MALCOLM SLANEY

Junior Kent Slaney runs at the California state championships, placing 63rd overall.

also showing a lot of potential, and they’ve improved steadily so I think they should be top of the team.”

The team is also confident that they can replace Desré’s varsity spot next year.

“We have a really, really solid group of alternates (Aashai Avadhani and Donald Taggart) ready to take his [Sam Desré’s] place,” Morgenfeld said. “I’m confident that our team will be stronger than ever next season.”

Seniors on junior varsity such as Garrett Lees and Sergio Valente will be sorely missed for their large contributions to team’s spirit and morale.

All of these seniors have had an immense affect on all of their teammates.

“They make us laugh, and they lead us on runs and core [exercises] sometimes,” junior Ben Beaudry said.

“They cheer us to on, and they bring a cheerful vibe to the team.”

Football season ends in crushing loss to Milpitas High Vikings’ season comes to an end, falling short in the semifinals of the CCS playoffs ELI GWIN-KERR

STAFF WRITER

O

n Friday Oct. 27, the Palo Alto High School Vikings ended their season with a record of 5-7 following their 0-42 loss to the Milpitas Trojans in the second round of Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs.

The Milpitas defense played heavy on the Vikes, not allowing a single touchdown. This was the team’s second game against Milpitas this season, after the Vikings fell short in their first meeting 13-40.

“Well, we had a full week to prepare for Milpitas, during Thanksgiving break, and we worked our butts off to be able to keep up with the Trojans,” junior Arthur Halsted said.

“Coach Fred Koloto, the offensive line coach, put us through some drills that could essentially help us out with their immense defensive line.

But during the game, Milpitas did a good job of rushing and blocking the running game and limited Paul Jack-

COURTESY OF KAREN AMBROSE HICKEY III

Running back Paul Jackson III runs by defenders during the divisional semi-final.

son to run the ball for less than 40 yards in total.”

There are 22 seniors leaving the team next season, leaving the current juniors responsible for leading the team.

“We’re losing a lot of key seniors from the team next year, but I’m hoping that we the juniors and some sophomores will step up and help

us for the upcoming season,” junior Peter Snodgrass said. “[The juniors] are going to be taking on a big role next year ... and even though we aren’t feeling it yet, we’ve got to lead the team next year. I definitely think we are going to go far next year, we’ve just got to work for it.”

The Vikings improved on their 3-8 record from last year and hope

to continue to improve their record and develop their young players next season.

“When we played Milpitas we definitely came out well, had a couple turnovers, but when it came down to it they were just a more athletic and bigger team,” senior Matthew Lewis said. “But there wasn’t much we could have done even though we played our hearts out. The juniors are going to have to pick up a lot of slack next year.”

The current juniors have high hopes for the 2016 season. The team also boasts multiple two year varsity veterans, including sophomore running back Paul Jackson III. “As for next year, the [offensive line] needs to win their individual battles,” Halsted said. “If that can happen, just pray that Paul runs it into their end zone.”

Despite another year with a losing record, the Vikings are confident that with practice and hard work they can use their great potential to achieve playoff victories and beyond.

I’ve always known that Fantasy Football was a thing, I just never decided to participate, despite the constant chatter that surrounded it.

My excuse for neglecting to tap into my sportier side was that I’ve always thought Fantasy Football was pointless — why does it matter when it does nothing for you in “real life?”

But the truth is, I guess I just don’t understand football.

You could say it’s pretty embarrassing that I know almost nothing about football in spite of being on the Palo Alto High School cheer team for the past three years. However, I do have the basics locked down — there is a quarterback, touchdowns are always good and I’m supposed to root for the San Francisco 49ers. As for the rest of the game, I get pretty confused.

But, I’m going to college next year (hopefully) and I will probably become a huge fan of football (BMS bound?) so I need to start learning now.

On draft day this year, I created my very own league. It was a total of two people, a loyal friend who agreed to embark on this journey with me, and myself.

After a quick search of “how to Fantasy Football draft,” the drafting process was pretty straightforward (with minor bumps in the road).

Although I read multiple articles about how friends usually draft in person, we chose to communicate over the very underrated Google Hangout in hopes that our other gal pals would have joined us as well (they didn’t).

Draft day is apparently the most exciting day of fantasy season, but it was also the most confusing. Ignore what I said earlier about how drafting was ‘straightforward’ — I was just trying to sound impressive.

Unfortunately, we did not familiarize the positions in football, which is probably what made the draft so difficult. But don’t worry, we went with what we knew.

First, there is a quarterback. Research on the internet showed that I should draft Aaron Rodgers. We weren’t sure if we actually got him or not — the timer thing was really misleading.

Second, touchdowns are good.

All I know about touchdowns is watching Eli Givens run across the giant lettering of “Vikings.” This is promptly followed by the fight song of the band and the waving of pom poms with a flurry of various enthusiastic tumbling. Unfortunately, Eli was not on the roster, so we had to improvise a bit.

And lastly, I knew to root for the 49ers. The deeper I got into Fantasy Football, the more confused I got. I draft people from other teams? What if they don’t get along? Am I going against my beliefs?

It was only after draft day that I realized I was being pitted against my friend. We weren’t co-owners of a team, we were different teams fighting to win! My naivete deceived me into believing this isn’t a dog eat dog kind of place. And there I was trying to help her with my football advice (which probably hurt her more than it helped, but oh well, competition is competition).

A couple weeks fly by and in the midst of college apps, naps and loads of homework I remembered that I had a Fantasy team! Hoping it’s somewhat like Neopets where your pets never die, I have high hopes for my team and its ability. But prior to checking my stats, my friend informed me that my team wasn’t doing so well. I had to make an executive decision that some things are better left unseen. So here, my friends, is where my Fantasy Football journey comes to a close. Good luck!

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

The Campanile

Friday, December 11, 2015

SPORTS SPREAD

SPORTS SPREAD

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAME PREDICTIONS A

s bowl season quickly approaches, some games carry more importance than the rest. Obviously, the best games come from ranked teams of a close skill level. Some games are better than others due to their attacking offenses or stifling defenses which will be on display in the national semi-final games. Both the semifinal games contain teams ranked no lower than #4 in the nation and are sure to excite fans and alumni all over the country. It is not a coincidence that all these teams were in the College Football Playoff conversation at one time or another, because those teams create the best matchups. The lowest ranked team included in these games is Baylor, who comes in at #17, yet they peaked at #2 eight weeks earlier, meaning that even the “worst” teams involved have great potential. Represented here are only teams from the Power 5 conferences minus Notre Dame, who is independent, with the Big 12 and Big 10 housing 3 each and the SEC with one team. No team will play a team from the same conference and all Power 5 conferences are in the Playoff except the Pac12; however, all teams are conference champions. Here are the top bowl games that will stretch all the way from early December to mid January.

#5 STANFORD vs

I

#6 IOWA

owa and Stanford have both surpassed preseason expectations. Iowa was not even close to being ranked at the start of the season, but worked hard to make their way into the playoff after going undefeated in the regular season. Despite going into the game as very heavy underdogs and facing the first real challenge of the season, they played to the very end and lost by little, earning national respect.

Stanford was supposed to finish behind Oregon and UCLA this season in the Pac 12, yet they somehow found a way to stay relevant for what seems like forever. Boasting Heisman hopeful Christian McCaffrey and perhaps the best offensive line in college football, Stanford was counted out after a season opening loss against Northwestern, where the team looked slow and sloppy. Despite that, they went on an amazing run nearly making it to the Playoff if it had not been for a loss to rival Oregon.

The more experienced of the two should win this battle which is Stanford in this case, who is practically playing on a home field.

#10 NORTH CAROLINA vs #18 BAYLOR

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wo very similar teams on different paths will meet in Orlando, Baylor and North Carolina (UNC). Baylor, who many believed would walk into the Playoff, came up short. UNC surprised everyone and played #1 Clemson to the very close in their conference championship. Both these teams are centered around their high speed passing offenses and outscored opponents. Baylor ended their season with a third string quarterback, but may get back their second string, who has the honor of throwing to future National Football League (NFL) receivers Corey Coleman and KD Cannon. UNC has Marquise Williams, a great starting quarterback throwing to Ryan Switzer, his main target who not only plays offense but also return man on special teams. Although UNC has had a Cinderella season, the clock has struck midnight against Baylor, who will win a great shootout in a few weeks.

CFP Semifinal

#1 CLEMSON vs

#4 OKLAHOMA

CFP Final

#8 NOTRE DAME

#4 OKLAHOMA

#7 OHIO STATE

vs

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#3 MICHIGAN STATE

n unexpected matchup between both of the lower seeds, this should be an amazing game between two teams with differing personalities. Michigan State (MSU), who played the role of spoiler all season, snuck into the playoff as this year’s “destiny” team after ruining the season of Michigan, Ohio State (OSU) and Iowa. Oklahoma (OU) did the same to Baylor, Texas Christian University (TCU) and Oklahoma State, but in a different fashion, by taking an early lead and never letting go. Both teams have NFL prospects and some experience, but MSU takes the edge in that category.

OU, however, does not play with luck like MSU does, and will thus not make mistakes. However, MSU does not need luck against OU and may have the Big 10 win both of the first two College Football Playoff Championships. MSU and destiny will prevail for the second year in a row over OU just as OSU did so over Oregon last year.

T

vs

N

otre Dame (ND) and OSU have always been consistent powerhouses and both almost made the College Football Playoff if not for a single loss each. ND had a similar roster change with quarterbacks this year as OSU had last year, and although it occurred earlier in the season, it has had a similar effect. Deshone Kizer, ND’s quarterback, who came from nowhere, has had an immense effect on his team and has filled in nicely for Malik Zaire — who was playing amazing before a season ending injury. OSU, which is somewhat in a slump and still hungover from last season’s championship, has not taken their season seriously enough. Although they wanted and may have deserved a shot at the Playoff they got the next best thing. OSU seems like they will be playing with a vengeance and will take this game on New Year’s Day.

CFP Semifinal

#15 OREGON

#2 ALABAMA

vs

W

#11 TCU

hat may have been a semifinal game last year has now turned into somewhat of a consolation bowl for two top 15 teams.

TCU looked the part of a real contender early in the season but was plagued with injuries on both sides of the ball and did not have an amazing defense to begin the season either. Oregon had to cope with the loss of their Heisman winning quarterback, Marcus Mariota, who has since departed to the NFL. Both teams have played tough schedules all year and have each faced a playoff team, MSU for Oregon and OU for TCU, both resulting in close losses. Both teams have plenty of NFL draft prospects such as Josh Doctson and DeForest Buckner who will most likely go in the first round. Vernon Adams, Mariota’s successor has finally begun to excel and he gives his team the edge in this matchup which will see Oregon take it in this 2016 matchup.

vs

#3 MICHIGAN STATE

O

klahoma should make quick work of Clemson which makes this semifinal game much more interesting. Unlike last year when OSU played Alabama, fans have a better idea of how this game will play out. Alabama may seem like an overpowering favorite in this matchup, but will probably be in a dogfight against MSU, as they are peaking at the end of the season. In past years, MSU had amazing bowl game performances, winning the Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl back to back while miraculously losing almost no major players. On the other hand, Alabama got blown out against OU two years ago and last year against OSU. This trend seems like it will continue and have Connor Cook and MSU prevail.

he Orange Bowl in Miami will feature Clemson, who has held the #1 spot for a majority of the year, against OU, who snuck into the top four two weeks ago, taking a much different path to the Playoff. Despite this, OU is still likely to be favored barring any important injuries. Clemson has great players including quarterback and Heisman hopeful Deshaun Watson, linebacker Shaq Lawson and cornerback Mackensie Alexander. On the other end, OU has another Heisman hopeful quarterback Baker Mayfield, playing alongside runningback Samaje Perine and cornerback Zack Sanchez. Without playing a conference championship, OU was guaranteed a spot in the Playoff before any team, but also lost a week of prep and had over a month without football before this game. Surprisingly, Clemson and OU met in a bowl game last season, which was ultimately embarrassing for OU, who lost 40-6. But do not expect to see the same type of result this time around. Although they may start slow and with some rust, Oklahoma should pull away at some point in the game or by just enough to give Clemson their first loss of the season.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

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Hooligan culture around the world ATHLETE OF THE Soccer fans violently support their favorite teams across Europe and South America DAVID TAYERI

STAFF WRITER

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creaming fans, packed together like cattle in the stands, encourage their team with cheers and hurl obscenities at the opposition.

Outside the stadium, two drunken fans of rival clubs throw punches after a fiery argument over which team has the better keeper. Soccer hooliganism resulted in nearly 2,500 arrests in the U.K. in 2013, with charges ranging from violent disorder to racist chanting to possession of an offensive weapon.

What exactly is a hooligan? Football hooliganism, less common in the United States, is described as any sort of destructive or harmful behavior displayed by an overzealous supporter of a football club or team. Hooligans can be found anywhere there are 22 players on the field, a ball and two goals. Hooligan culture is especially prevalent in England, Argentina and Turkey.

England It is likely that England, which many consider the birthplace of soccer, is likely also the birthplace of hooligans. In fact, hooliganism was first recorded in England in the 1880s. Rabid fans formed groups, united by their club allegiance. Arsenal supporters dubbed themselves “the Herd,” Manchester United fans

were “the Red Army” and Burnley followers became “the Suicide Squad.” By the 1970s these gang-like bands of fanatics became established, organized “hooligan firms,” almost mafia-like in structure and influence.

In fact, the term “firm” is derived from British slang for a criminal gang.

These firms are certainly gang-like in their violent and bloody histories. In the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985, 39 Juventus fans were killed and 600 more were injured. A throng of Liverpool hooligans pressed against opposing Juventus fans, and a retaining wall collapsed on top of hundreds of spectators. Following this heinous event, English clubs were banned from international competitions until 1990, with an additional year of suspension for Liverpool. It’s no wonder that hooliganism is sometimes called “the English disease.”

Argentina Gang violence and sports collide again in Argentina. Since 1924, there have been over 300 soccer related deaths in Argentina. Most of these killings are conducted by barra bravas — groups similar to English firms, but even more organized and deadly.

The Boca Juniors, an immensely popular Buenos Aires based team, have perhaps the biggest barra brava element of any club. Boca Junior hooligans are responsible for dozens of shootings and stabbings. Recently,

This edition featuring:

henry saul with The Campanile’s own COURTESY OF IVAN ALVERADO

After the Argentinian loss in the 2014 World Cup, fans took to the street in protest.

in a match between the Juniors and their bitter rivals, River Plate, Boca hooligans used aerosol cans to spray an eye irritant at River Plate players.

The game was called off.

When Argentina plays at an international level, the violence escalates.

After a 1964 Olympic qualifying match against Peru in Lima, 300 people were killed and 500 were injured in a massive riot.

Turkey Hooligan groups in Turkey are highly organized, have elected leaders and are often comprised of knife bearing street fighters. However,

most groups in Turkey follow a “racon,” or code of conduct that states that, in hooligan brawls, the intention must always be to injure, not kill.

Stabbings must be made below the waist, and guns should be used only when firing into the air to celebrate.

Of course, these racons have done little to prevent widespread hooligan violence in Turkey over the years. Recently, to stem the flow of beatings and stabbings, the Turkish Football Federation increased security at major games (8,000 policemen, stewards, and officials at the Turkish Cup Final) in addition to devising harsher punishments for acts of hooliganism.

High schools athletic recruitment is unfair Private school’s recruiting athletes provide an unfair advantages over public school teams

COURTESY OF LIANA PICKRELL

Senior Eli Givens, who was scouted by St. Francis, goes for a touchdown against Wilcox.

CATHERINE YU

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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cross the Bay Area, Palo Alto High School is recognized for having an outstanding athletic program. Titles won by Paly athletic teams include California Interscholastic Federation State Championships in football Division I state championships in 2010, volleyball Division I state championships in 2010 and 2011, boys varsity basketball in 2006 and countless Central Coast Sectionals (CCS) titles in other sports. However, many people frequently associate its athletic excellence with Palo Alto High School’s status as a public school.

But to what extent do the privileges of private school affect athletic competition?

Public schools have the potential to attract the best athletes because open enrollment allows any student in the geographic area to attend or transfer into the school. However, an increasing number of private schools are emulating the college recruitment model.

This has led many to debate whether or not the two different groups of schools can compete with one another as private schools are not limited by the same restrictions public schools face. In the Central Coast Section (CCS), Paly belongs to the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League,

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which consists of a group of public schools within the Santa Clara Valley geographic location. On the other hand, the West Catholic Athletic League consists of a group of private schools that range from San Jose to San Francisco. But teams often play outside of their league before taking on inter-league schools. In higher conference sections, such as CCS and states, schools compete again against schools outside their leagues.

Coco Lovely, a senior who has been on the girls varsity basketball team for four years, has experienced the inequity of private school recruiting first hand.

“They are able to get the best athletes from their area which makes them better than all the other public schools in the area,” Lovely said.

“There were a few girls in the Class of 2018 who were supposed to come to Paly and play basketball, but they were recruited by Pinewood, so they went there instead.”

Many private schools have the ability to pay for an athlete’s tuition, giving students a “free alternative to public schooling. This advantage takes money out of the equation, leaving the athlete to compare a private school’s facilities, academics and athletic program against a public school.

High school recruiting is slightly different from college recruiting in the sense that the athlete still has to

try out for the team. Additionally, the student does not get offered a scholarship up front. However many students who are invited to play for a private school team receive scholarship or financial aid money if accepted.

Senior Eli Givens is an example of a student athlete who has been sought after by multiple schools for his athletic abilities in both hockey and in football. In the summer after eighth grade, he was approached by a hockey coach from Bellarmine College Preparatory. His sophomore year, a football coach from Saint Francis High School contacted him as well.

“I was just trying to play,” Givens said. “It’s different from DI college recruiting because I still had to try out. I guess you could compare it to being a walk-on or going to a play for a DIII school, where they can’t offer you to play, but if you try out and make it, they can give you a scholarship.”

High school recruiting is not a term that can be used to officially describe the process private schools employ to attain high-caliber athletes. However, these types of schools rely heavily on the use of tools such as money and lack of geographic restrictions to bolster their athletic programs, ultimately giving themselves an advantage over their neighboring public schools.

Owen Dulik Henry Saul is a prodigal freshman cross country runner who holds multiple course records and brings life and young talent to the team.

The Campanile: So to start off, how did you feel about being a freshman on the varsity cross country team and being one of the fastest people on it?

Henry Saul: I mean it was weird because when you start running, nobody really knows what level everyone’s at. So I was trying to run with a lot of the faster people, but they thought I was one of the really stuckup freshman that was like “I’m better then all of you,” or that freshman that was really not that fast and trying to train with them. But then after the first race I think they all began to gain some respect and that helped.

TC: So you were around lots of older kids, lots of older women and I have some inside information telling me that you kissed a woman at Disneyland, could you please elaborate on this?

HS: When I was about, honestly like five years old, I enjoyed and liked lots of Disney princesses I guess. They thought I was a cute little child.

TC: That’s great. Also your brother Nathan has recently become an icon in the Paly community, would you say you could beat him in a fight?

HS: Well, I think that in a fight it would come down to the fact that I would fight him and if he got the upper hand, I would run away and then I would try and fight him again.

So I think eventually I would be able to win, and if I had a weapon like a small baseball bat, which I have had before, then I could take him.

But it matters depending on the circumstances.

TC: So according to the record books, last time you fought, you were actually hospitalized, can you elaborate?

HS: That was not the last time we fought but, there was one time he sent me to the plastic surgeon, that was interesting.

TC: So, do you train a lot with your dog for cross country?

HS: I think Mojo is such an amazing athlete. He is a bit outside everyone’s skill level, I mean I don’t think even Usain Bolt would train with him, he has such good turnovers that it’s just not possible.

TC: Alright, any last words?

HS: No. That’s good. Thank you.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Campanile

C6 SPORTS European basketball players gain popularity in NBA Foreign basketball players perform exceptionally in the NBA, playing side-by-side with their childhood idols ADRIAN SMITH

STAFF WRITER

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or many years, European basketball players have contributed their unique cultural backgrounds to the National Basketball Association (NBA) by bringing foreign talent to the team. Traveling overseas to show off and play for another country takes great courage, especially with basketball’s popularity in the United States. Newly drafted Europeans defy the odds of coming from small countries where basketball is unpopular and grow into the legends they grew up watching.

Veteran players such as Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki are known to be legends of the sport, dominating in the extremely competitive nature of the NBA. Coming from France and Germany, respectively, they have changed the platform of the NBA with their foreign backgrounds by adopting scarce play styles that tend to be hard to defend.

European players are selected for their special skills that make them stand out from the rest of the players in the NBA. Dirk Nowitzki has been playing in the NBA for more than 17 years, winning the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2007, the Championship in 2011 and the Finals MVP also in 2011.

Serving as an important role model for many young European basketball players, Nowitzki punishes his opponents with an extremely accurate and elusive shot. Nowitzki has been credited by Kristaps Porzingis, an upcoming NBA player from Latvia for carving a path for many young talents from Europe by giving them someone to look up to.

“He’s one of the best of all time,” Porzingis said in an interview with ESPN. “Dirk’s just amazing. I want to be as great as a shooter as he is one day, hopefully.”

Nowitzki was coached by a well known German international basketball player, Holger Geschwind-

COURTESY OF USA TODAY SPORTS

COURTESY OF CBSSPORTS.COM

Left: Kristaps Porzingis is the first Latvian drafted in the NBA. Right: Frenchman Tony Parker has been playing in the US since 2001. He is a four-time Championship winner.

ner. As a rookie, Dirk Nowitzki’s training with his coach consisted of long workouts focusing only on precise footwork, shooting and passing.

This practice method grew Nowitzki into one of most precise shooters to play in the NBA. Being the fourth ever German NBA player, Nowitzki is ninth on the list of all-time NBA scorers.

Rookies look up to the veteran players originating from similar backgrounds as idols and role models.

“I’m just trying to walk in his footsteps. I would like to be as great as he is,” Porzingis said.

Hall of Famer Tony Parker has been respected by many fans of the NBA for his quickness, agility and mid-range shooting.

Parker has won the NBA Championship four times with the San Antonio Spurs, and won the MVP award for the 2007 Finals. Parker is known for his ruthlessness in the paint, and creating new ways to put the ball in the basket.

Tony Parker joined the Spurs’ summer camp before the 2001 NBA draft hoping to stand out and earn a spot in the draft. European players have trouble advertising their strengths overseas to the coaches of NBA teams and are forced to compile a highlight reel of their best games.

The Spurs’ coach, Gregg Popovich, invited Parker to the summer camp to watch him face up against other NBA prospects.

At 6 feet 2 inches tall, Parker was initially pushed around by the bigger players, showing little strength as a player. He was then cut from the summer camp roster, not proving himself enough to the coach.

However, Parker was called back to play after Popovich watched his highlight reel from his European games. These videos saved Tony Parker’s career, allowing him to have the opportunity to become one of the legends of the sport.

Rookie Kristaps Porzingis was drafted fourth overall in the NBA

draft this year, picked by the New York Knicks. Porzingis is the first NBA basketball player from Latvia.

The Knicks were in need of a dependable big man, and at seven feet tall, Porzingis was deemed important enough for the Knicks’ first-round draft pick.

Newly drafted Europeans defy the odds of coming from small countries where basketball is unpopular and grow into the legends they grew up watching.

So far, Porzingis has made a sizeable contribution to the struggling team by taking advantage of his height. He averages 13.8 points and nine rebounds per game. Porzingis has been commonly heralded as “Godzingis” for his aggressive putback dunks over defenders. Mirroring the playstyle of the veteran seven-footer Nowitzki, Porzingis has a deadly outside shot where he forces

defenders to challenge him inside and outside of the paint. Perhaps with the right coaching, Porzingis can follow Nowitzki’s path to the Hall of Fame.

Third year player from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo, entered the 2013 NBA Draft at 18 years old coming from a Greek team called Filathlitikos.

Antetokounmpo was drafted 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, sharing the power forward rotation with Turkish player Irsan Ilyasova.

Giannis Antetokounmpo stands out for his ability to move at the same level of agility as a point guard at 6-foot-2.

Using a combination of his wingspan and athleticism, Antetokounmpo is known as the “Greek Freak” for blocking his opponents and then finishing with an aggressive dunk at the other end of the floor.

European players continue to add to the diversity of the NBA, traveling overseas to compete in the sport they love.

Friday, December 11, 2015

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The Campanile

SP RTS

TEXT BY JESSICA WONG STAFF WRITER

DESIGN BY AIVA PETRICEKS AND ADRIAN SMITH LIFESTYLE EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER

CLIMBING TO SUCCESS FRESHMAN ABBY SANTULLO’S LIFETIME OF COMPETITIVE ROCK CLIMBING AND HER LOVE FOR THE UNIQUE SPORT

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pastime to some and worst nightmare to others, traversing cliff faces at dizzying heights is not a conventional sport. But to Palo Alto High School freshman Abby Santullo, it is second nature.

Santullo began competitive rock climbing at eight years old, following in the footsteps of her parents, who are both avid climbers. She first began her journey in climbing shortly after learning to walk.

“My parents started rock climbing right before I was born,” Santullo said. “I’ve been going to the gym with them my whole life, and started climbing with them as soon as I was able to.”

Since then, Santullo has gone on to climb competitively for Planet Granite, an indoor team based in Belmont, Calif.

With practices spread out throughout the week, Santullo’s relaxed schedule allows her to efficiently balance school and climbing. Planet Granite has two practices a week for two and a half hours each, with an occasional extra practice on weekends that lasts all day. Every few weeks, her team competes in all-day competitions.

In local competitions, climbers are assessed on the number of climbs, or “problems,” they are able to complete. Advanced competitions limit participants to a smaller number of problems, giving each climber several attempts and a designated period of time to complete each climb or get as high up on the wall as he or she can. Climbers compete individually within their age group, placing based on the difficulty of the climb completed, their speed, or their overall ranking among other competitors their age.

Since she began climbing competitively, Santullo has received recognition and numerous medals for ranking highly in competitions. At the age of 11, just three years after beginning to climb competitively, Santullo placed first or third in every local competition she competed in. More recently, she has competed and placed in several out-of-state competitions, including Youth Divisionals in Salt Lake City, a selective invitational meet. In the upcoming months, Santullo looks forward to traveling to more competitions outside the Bay Area.

“The competitions in other places haven’t started yet, so I haven’t been to any away meets this year,” Santullo said. “I’m really looking forward to them.

Competing somewhere unfamiliar makes everything feel more exciting and it kind of motivates me to do as well as I can, and it’s just fun to travel to cities I wouldn’t normally ever visit.”

Climbing also allows Santullo to enjoy the benefits of team sports without requiring the skills typically regarded as necessary for conventional athletes. While rock climbing necessitates strength, it places less emphasis on the heavy physical exertion found in most other sports, which Santullo feels makes the sport more fun and rewarding.

“I love climbing because you don’t need to be super agile or athletic,” Santullo said. “I’m not either of those things. But I’m still a part of a team and I am still really dedicated to my sport. I’m not very good at most other sports, but rock climbing is something I can actually do and still have a lot of fun.”

Beyond competition, Santullo enjoys climbing recreationally with her friends and family. Having climbed with her parents her entire life, she occasionally travels to outdoor climbing sites with them on weekends. Each summer, Santullo spends the last weeks of her vacation visiting family in Maine, where she frequently climbs nearby cliffs and boulders — a refreshing change from the indoor climbing walls she practices and competes on.

Santullo feels that climbing outdoors can be a more realistic and satisfying experience — ascending natural rock faces rather than artificial plywood and concrete ones and enjoying the open-air setting rather than that of an enclosed gym.

“I always train and compete indoors, so it’s nice to climb outside when I have time,” Santullo said. “Bouldering and cliff climbing have challenges that don’t show up in gyms, so even when I’m just climbing outside for fun it’s still good practice.”

However, like all other athletes, Santullo has had her fair share of difficulties with her sport over the years.

“I broke my wrist a few years ago, which prevented me from climbing for a few months,”

I CLIMB BECAUSE I LOVE IT AND IT’S ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF WHO I AM, AND THAT’S WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO ME RIGHT NOW. -ABBY SANTULLO

Santullo said. “That really set me back a lot. It’s also hard to train sometimes, when we occasionally have practices as far away as Reno, [Nev.]” Though Santullo’s climbing schedule is generally relaxed throughout the school week, occasional crucial practices in larger, less proximate facilities can make it harder for her to train for a higher level of competition.

“When we have practices further away, I have to sacrifice some time that I would have used for schoolwork,” Santullo

said. “If I were to not go to the travel practices, I would feel like I’m missing out on important training time with the rest of my team.”

The irregularities in her team’s practices are some of the largest drawbacks Santullo has experienced with competitive climbing, forcing her to haphazardly plan and make decisions surrounding single training sessions.

Nonetheless, Santullo will continue to climb for as long as she can. In the future, she hopes to progress to higher levels and

rankings in order to compete in more advanced competitions, but she also has no specific long-term goals in the sport.

Instead, Santullo is focused on performing as well as she can in competitions, taking each meet one at a time.

“I’m pretty content with the way things are now, I practice to do well in competitions but still having a lot of time to do recreational climbing,” Santullo said.

“I climb because I love it and it’s always been a part of who I am, and that’s what’s most important to me right now.”