The Campanile
PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
Vol. XCVI, No. 5
Palo Alto High School • 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301 • www.palycampanile.org
Prom to be held at Exploratorium ASB announces location after planning for nearly a year, hopes to accomodate for all students By Maya Kitayama
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Editor-in-Chief
uring halftime of the annual Staff-Student Basketball game on Jan. 16, the Associated Student Body (ASB) announced the 2014 Prom location: the newlyrenovated Exploratorium. After recently undergoing a relocation and redesign effort, the Exploratorium now resides on Pier 15 off the Embarcadero of San Francisco. Packed with hundreds of sciencerelated exhibits and programs, the venue will cater to more student attendees by combining a larger spectrum of entertainment. According to Senior Class President Audrey DeBruine, ASB hoped to choose a Prom location that would surpass students’ expectations, making the annual event more exciting overall. “We wanted something big and exciting for Prom this year, and the Exploratorium at its brand new location right on the water definitely fit that bill,” DeBruine said. DeBruine acted a the primary advocate for hosting the Prom at this specific location, and with the support of Student Activities Director Matt Hall and other upperclassman
Monday, January 27, 2014
Break brings renovations to Tower By Seth Alston
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Karla Erovick/SF Romance Travel Examiner
Palo Alto High School’s 2014 Prom will be held at the newly renovated San Francisco Exploratorium. ASB officers, the decision was finalized in the spring of last year. “I began researching venues for Prom 2014 pretty early last year, actually I’d say a little over a year ago,” DeBruine said. “We pulled the trigger and put down a deposit right after ASB elections in March, so this has been set for a while.” Considering the sheer size of the museum, students and guests will not have complete access to the entirety of the building. Prom will be held in the main central space of
the building and one of the attached wings. All the exhibits within this designated area will be available for the enjoyment of student attendees. Additionally, the event will include a large dance floor with the same DJ as last year. Rather than providing a traditional sit-down dinner, ASB decided to serve hors d’oeuvres throughout the night, mainly because there is not a singular space big enough to seat the hundreds of guests. Although the floorplan is still in the final planning
stages, food and seating areas will be dispersed around the dance floor. The expenses for hosting the Prom at the Exploratorium are relatively high, but ASB is in the process of figuring out fundraising ideas in order to compensate. Palo Alto High School will be the second high school to host its prom at the Exploratorium since its opening. With the unique aesthetics of the museum, the dance will looks to be an unforgettable experience for all who attend.
Staff Writer
he Tower Building underwent the first round of renovations slated to continuously take place in the administration building over the next several years. After the Strong Schools Bond program, a $378 million bond measure that was passed in 2008, the administration sought to modernize the building, which has been a cornerstone of the Palo Alto High School campus since its construction in 1918. The building avoided widespread modernization of the campus in the 1970s and there are no intentions to drastically alter it in the future. “There has been enough of a contingency to say ‘lets not get rid of this building,’ and it will not go away” Paly math teacher and alumnus Arne Lim said. Over Winter Break, the main office, comprised of both the reception area and administration offices, was repainted and had a new carpet installed.
See TOWER, Page A3
Senior wins debate tournament Team anticipates success in the future following team captain Chenís impressive wins at tournament against top opponents By Mischa Nee
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Staff Writer
ravis Chen, the captain of the Palo Alto High School Debate Team, looks to lead a new wave of successful debaters after winning the Victory Briefs Tournament (VBT) in Los Angeles the first weekend of January. Despite taking months off from debate to focus on college applications, Chen had no trouble defeating the top two Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debaters in the nation during VBT, a tournament widely regarded as the second most prestigious, behind year-end the Tournament of Champions. The semifinal rounds were Chen’s toughest round, as he had to face Danny DeBois, the number one LD debater in the country. “[DeBois is] an excellent debater, so our round was very close,” Chen said. “But I ended up winning on a 2-1 [vote]. In all of the other elimination rounds, including the finals, Chen won on unanimous 3-0 decisions. “I was happy with my performance at the tournament as a whole, as I did
much better than I expected,” Chen said. Assistant Coach Alex Carter traveled to Los Angeles and witnessed Chen in the final round, along with 100 other debaters and coaches from across the country. Carter is optimistic that Chen’s triumph at VBT will not only bring prestige to Chen, but will also help attract new students to the debate team.
[Chen] is the kind of debater [who] everyone on the team looks up to. Jennie Savage Debate Team Head Coach
“[Chen’s victory] hopefully brings [out] our team visibility both within Paly and on a national scale,” Carter said. “Big wins contribute more than anything else to our recruiting efforts.” According to Head Coach Jennie Savage, Chen contributes much more than debate victories to the team. “[Chen enhances] the reputation of our team not only because of his
successes, but [also] because of his integrity,” Savage said. “[Chen] is the kind of debater [who] everyone on the team looks up to and most of the team aspires to be.” One such debater, sophomore Griffin Carlson, has acquired priceless knowledge from Chen throughout his high school career, who he says is effective because he “leads by exampele.” Savage recognizes the full extent of empowerment Chen’s win at VBT gives to the rest of the debate team. “[His victory] lets folks know that they’re a part of a team that is successful and close knit,” Savage said. With Chen set to graduate this spring, the expectation of accomplishment that the debate team has acquired will pass onto the underclassmen. However, Chen has high hopes for their success. “I absolutely think that Paly Debate will continue destroying it at tournaments next year,” Chen said. “We have a lot of talented novices and awesome sophomores who are very driven to excel.”
English electives heavily overenrolled By Jeffery Ho
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Staff Writer
s Palo Alto High School begins the second semester of the school year, many upperclassmen who are currently enrolled in English electives are being impacted by overcrowded classes. The average public secondary school class size in the country is around 26 students per instructor, according to the National Education Association. However, Paly’s classes exceed this value: there is an average student-teacher ratio of 28.5-to-1 for every class at Paly, except Special Education classes. For upperclassmen, this ratio further increases to 30.2-to-1, with some English elective classes currently having a ratio as high as 35-to-1.
AhMed Awadallah/The Campanile
Comedy Literature is among popular English electives that are overpopulated.
Electives such as Comedy Literature, Film Composition and Literature, Escape Literature, Sports Literature and Humanities are all jam-packed classes, as more students tend to sign up for them. All five of these contain at least an average of 32 students per class.
According to Assistant Principal Kathleen Laurence, overcrowded classes stem from two places: students transferring electives at the beginning of the semester, and administrators needing to create larger than average classes to counteract classes that are smaller in size.
SpOtLiGHt Cheating
Lifestyle Award Season Picks
See ENGLISH, Page A3
Jensen Hsiao/The Campanile
Principal Kim Diorio appointed Eric Bloom as school climate TOSA.
Economics teacher begins role as teacher on special assignment By Alvina Zou
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Business Manager
alo Alto High School economics teacher Eric Bloom has settled into being a teacher on special assignment (TOSA), with a focus on school climate, starting this semester. Climate change issues can encompass anything from events, such as Link Crew and freshman orientation, to policies on campus, such as the academic honesty policy or overall attendance. “[A school climate teacher] does a lot of things, [but] it really has to do with the climate and culture of the school,” Bloom said. “It has to do with how people to treat other. When [Principal Kim Diorio and I] talked about what we want TOSA to be, it was the idea of building empathy but also this concept of building this collaborative culture. [Diorio] really wants to try to create a culture where we’re more focused on being empathetic and thinking about [questions like]: ‘How is this going to impact the people I’m working with? How is going impact the students?’”
INSIDE N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 4 Opinion............................A5-A8 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1, B2, B8 Food....................................B3 Spotlight........................B4-B5 StudentLife............................B7 Sports........................C1,C3-C8 SportsAlumni...............................C2
Explore the different methods that students use to cheat. B4-B5
The Campanile shares our picks for this yearís award shows. B8
SpORts Davante Adams
Former Palo Alto High School player declares for 2014 NFL draft. C2
Bloom has already began to implement certain changes within his classes. Along with economics teacher Debbie Whitson, Bloom has revised the economics course schedule for homework and tests to prevent their tests from falling on the same days as other classes such as Analysis Honors, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC and AP Psychology in order to spread out the workload. Bloom wants to experience what other students are feeling by participating in all the activities that they do every day.
How can we better focus on building a caring culture? Let’s have someone to focus on making the place a nicer place to be.” Eric Bloom Teacher on Special Assignment
“We want to try to do [something they do] in the middle schools [called] ‘student for a day’ [or] ‘teacher for a day’ for 24 hours,” Bloom said. See TOSA, Page A4