Issue 7 3/27

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

The Campanile

Vol. XCVII, No. 7

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

Friday, March 27, 2015

Sir Robinson challenges educational norms $1 million to In MAC presentation, TED speaker promotes reforms aimed to foster student creativity Seth Alston

Rachel Price

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I

Staff Writer

nternationally acclaimed educationalist Sir Kenneth Robinson spoke at the Palo Alto High School Media Arts Center (MAC) on Tuesday, March 24, addressing what he identifies as a fatal failure to foster creativity in students through contemporary education.

A bestselling author of “The Element,” Robinson, who also holds the esteemed distinction of giving the most viewed Technology, Education and Design (TED) talk of all time, spoke to an audience of 270 attendees in the MAC about what he sees as dangerous flaws in modern education and how schools should act in order to inspire meaningful change in the field.

Robinson has been involved in education for over 40 years, working with nonprofits throughout the world and with the British government, where his work included a plan for educational and economic development in Northern Ireland.

We have a world now where we are expected to know everything. It’s seen as a social fault if you declare ignorance about something.

Sir Ken Robinson

Education Philosopher Central to Robinson’s presentation was his idea that modern education requires systemic change in order to appropriately serve today’s students. He targeted the institution of standardized testing as one of the most harmful to student creativity, and stated that the climate of education in the United States is overreliant on utilitarian testing practices.

“There are brilliant schools around, like this one, almost in spite of the dominant culture of testing, but they’re great in spite of it, not because of it,” Robinson said. “That’s

EPA youth for arts education

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Ella Mernyk/The Campanile

Sir Ken Robinson argues for changing the current schooling system by systemically improving the educational enviornment.

partly what I’m arguing for, is to have an education system that’s differentiated and which takes into account individual talents and interests, rather than judging people by a single standard.”

Robinson detailed what he sees as a misuse of technology, namely the internet, by schools. Rather than individualizing learning, Robinson sees technology as being used to justify unrealistic expectations of students.

“We have a world now where we are expected to know everything. It’s seen as a social fault if you declare ignorance about something,” Robinson said. “It’s the presumption to know that has been the death of dialogue in education, and it’s happening all the time in schools that people are often expected to know things that are, frankly, unknowable.”

In addition, Robinson explained that he hopes to see greater individualization in schools, likening the transition to the move from industrial agriculture to organic farming.

He also expressed a need for schools to offer a morediverse curriculum, without undue emphasis on either technical education or the arts, stating that the current system only accommodates certain types of learners.

“I’m not saying that education is a total disaster and it’s badly served everybody; on the contrary, there are loads of people who have done quite brilliantly by this current system. But it’s tailored to certain sorts of people.”

Robinson said. “So what I’m marketing for is to change the climate so all schools can be good, because of it, not in spite of it.”

The event also focused on the promotion of Robinson’s upcoming book, titled “Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education.” The book, Robinson’s third, focuses on what Robinson describes as an outdated educational system, more suited for the industrial revolution than the modern world. In response, Robinson outlines his recommendation for a flexible, creative and organic system of education, on which can prepare students for an uncertain future.

Humorist and writer Emily Levine also spoke at the event, promoting the release of her film, “Emily @ The Edge,” which addresses issues in American society using scientific concepts. Robinson’s book is set to be released on May 13, but is available for pre-order on Amazon.

hris Cox, Facebook Chief Product Officer, has recently given the nonprofit group Live In Peace Inc. (LIP) $1 million to establish relationships between East Palo Alto (EPA) youth and local tech companies, enterpreneurs and universities.

Cox, a past supporter of Live In Peace who encourages long-term perspective, believes in the organization and the good his dollar will do in the hands of its leaders.

“It’s been a privilege to get to know this group and their work over the last five years, and we are honored to help sustain and grow their impact over the years ahead,” Cox said in an interview with Palo Alto Weekly.

According to LIP, the organization works to support youth in arts and culture, education, technology and economics. Its mission statement states that LIP’s goal is to help “students discover, develop and direct their creative genius for the benefit of their community and the broader world.”

The organization was established a little over 20 years ago by community members Justin Phipps and Heather Starnes. In an interview with the Palo Alto Weekly, Phipps noted that the organization was really founded by the commnity.

“We’re blessed to be welcomed into the community and to be part of what’s present here,” Phipps said.

The organization hopes to create living-wage jobs for EPA residents.

The funds donated by Cox will contribute to the organization’s goal of developing infrastructure for the next two years, and staffing and expanding the programming of EPAnow.us, a youth run news site.

The $1 million that was recently donated to the LIP group by Cox is hoped to benefit LIP’s goal of estabishing success in EPA and help the organization and the people who benefit from it.

Battle of the Bands raises funds for the arts District examines policies

Boys and Girls Club event will feature local student music groups School Board revises multiple school codes Maggie Rosenthal

Staff Writer

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DAMI Bolarinwa/The Campanile

Members of the group Koitus, Jess Feeman, Gabe Galang and Karly Quadros, practice for the Battle of the Bands competition.

SARAh WANG

Staff Writer

T

he Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula (BGCP) will hosts its second annual Battle of the Bands fundraiser at the Palo Alto High School Haymarket Theater on Friday, March 27, to raise funds toward expanding its arts and music programs.

The event marks its second year after first being organized by a group of BGCP youth volunteers, the High School Champions, who support the organization through fundraisers, according to the BGCP website.

Entry into the event costs $5, but bringing donated art supplies reduces the cost to $3. All proceeds will go toward improving the arts and music programs of the various BGCP sites in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. BGCP works toward closing the achievement gap in at-risk neighborhoods, and as a nonprofit, relies on financial support from the surrounding community.

Two of the six bands scheduled to compete, Paper Islands and Koitus, are comprised of Paly students. The fundraiser will function as a competition between bands with the winner decided by local judges, according to

High School Champion Alex Matthys, a senior at Henry M. Gunn High School.

“There will be three judges who will determine among themselves who wins,” Matthys said. “All [of the judges] are professional musicians or very involved in music.”

This format marks a change from the last year’s event, where professional bands played after student bands and also served as judges. This change was implemented after the organizers noticed more interest in student bands, according to High

Battle of the Bands A3

alo Alto Unified School District’s (PAUSD) Board of Education held a policy review meeting recently, reviewing 13 different policies.

The Board began by reviewing the Fees and Charges Policy, which included the addition of the clause that school officials may charge for school events such as Advanced Placement examinations, with the clause that they are not a course requirement and have no impact on a student’s grade in the class.

The Board reviewed the Mathematics Instruction and Science Instruction policies. The group also made minor edits to clarify the language of the math policy and add in small sections to address students struggling with their class as well as students who need additional challenges.

“The language that we have about students that are at risk of failing to meet performance standards seems fairly objective to me,” PAUSD Board of Education member Ken Dauber said in one of the policy review meetings.

After a suggestion from PAUSD Board of Education president Melissa Baten Caswell, the wording was revised in the policy to include

computer science courses and covers other options relating to mathematics instruction to ensure college preparedness.

Curriculum regarding religion was addressed in the science policy. “[Philosophical and religious theories] may be addressed in science classes, in the context of the history of science and the scientific process,” according to the revised science policy.

The Board continued to discuss the Sale or Lease of District-Owned Real Property Policy and the Financial Reports and Accountability Policy.

The Board also discussed the policies of Tobacco Free Schools, Employee Notifications, Status Reports and Post-Retirement Employment.

The tobacco policy outlines the health hazards associated with tobacco products and prohibits the use of these products in district buildings.

The notification policy details when a notice should be sent out to employees about various subjects.

The meeting continued with a review of the Discipline Policy and the Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process Policy.

The meeting concluded with the Board’s review of the Identification and Education Under Section 504 and Remuneration, Reimbursement and Other Benefits policies.

INSIDE N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 5 Opinion............................A6-A8 L i f e st y l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3, B6-B8 Spotlight..........................B4-B5 S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C 1- C 8

Spotlight

Lifestyle

Sports

Examining price inflation and its effect on students.

B4-B5

Are our schools preparing us for the 21st century?

B1

Paly graduate leads the University of Michigan basketball team C7

Cost of higher education

Creativity vs. School

Aubrey Dawkins

Check us out at www.palycampanile.org

Friday, March 27, 2015

A2

NEWS TO KNOW

The Campanile

NEWS Drought leads to increased water costs Santa Clara citizens may have to pay higher water rates due to lower usage revenue ETHAN TEO

STAFF WRITER

Courtesy of aBC News

@cnnbrk U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

@WHLive “America is proudly open for business and we want to do everything we can to make it simple and attractive...to set up shop here” —Obama @washingtonpost Apple Pay’s pitch: Simpler is better. But after a spike in fraud, some security experts disagree. @nytimes 62% of Bostonians in a poll chose life in prison over the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Courtesy of La TIMES

@cjperezcaballo ‘Irish and Queer”: first time #LGBT people march in the NY St. Patrick’s Day Parade @whitehouse “America is now in the midst of the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record.” —Obama @washingtonpost Paris tries to fight smog by banning half its cars from the roads

@RollingStone Elvis Costello will release his memoir ‘Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink’ later this year. Get all the details: http://rol. st/1boxvWR @wesleylowery DOJ probes cut both ways: Clear Wilson and call into question “Hands Up” yet conclude Ferguson PD + courts systemically racially prejudiced @warriors Last night’s win in Portland clinched the #Warriors first Pacific Division title since the 1975-76 season » http://on.nba. com/1FUiKGs

A

fter originally suggesting a 31 percent hike in water rates, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has proposed a more modest increase of 19 percent instead. The deliberation arises from the district’s desire to find more effective water conservation methods in the midst of California’s current drought. The district’s final decision will be made in May. The district is encouraging citizens to reduce their use of water in efforts to conserve during the drought. However, cutting the public use of water by 20 percent without increasing water rates would cause the district to lose $20 million, which prompted the initially proposed rate hike. Some members of the board still disagree with the proposal to reduce the rate hike, and are pushing for as large of a rate hike as possible.

On the other hand, residents of the Santa Clara county have supported the rate hike reduction but hope to see the rates decrease even further.

“Where do you cut, where do you sacrifice?” San Jose resident Ruth Callahan said in an interview with San Jose Mercury News. “I’m the face of the rate payer, OK? I’ve been rateincreased to the max.”

Most residents argue that the burden of cost should not be placed on

Courtesy of The Guardian

Clarence Frietas’ farm outside Fresno faces a sharp decrease in water supply for crops

the citizens. Instead, they believe that the district board ought to find other ways to manage the limited budget without passing the financial burden onto citizens.

Where do you cut, where do you sacrifice? I’m the face of the rate payer, OK? I’ve been rateincreased to the max.

Ruth Callahan

San Jose Resident However, it has been difficult for the board to find alternatives considering the huge financial toll taken on

the district’s budget by the drought.

In the past three years of drought, $22 million has been spent on buying water from sellers outside the county, $5 million on rebates to pay residents to remove lawns and replace old toilets and appliances and $7 million to collect water from Kern County’s groundwater bank.

The drought has not been detrimental to only district finances — local farmers have been affected as well.

The lack of rain has resulted in difficulty feeding livestock and raising crops for area farmers and ranchers.

“The drought has been horrible on us,” Old Creek Ranch owner Bob Blanchard said in an interview with

Administration works to Theatre students prepare for upcoming festivals mitigate student stress Staff arranges AP tests and new schedules ANANT MARUR

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto High School administration is focusing on reducing student stress in the wake of a tragic suicide on the train tracks on Monday, March 9. During the following week, school psychologists and counselors walked around the Paly campus, offering emotional support for those emotionally troubled by the tragedy. School psychologists and counselors remain available to help any students who continue to struggle to cope with the loss of their peer or who face any other emotional challenges.

Looking forward, administration seeks to ensure that Paly remains a safe and supportive environment for students and hopes to prevent such tragedies in the future.

In addition to the administrations emotional support initiatives, assistant principal Victoria Kim continues to work on configuring logistics for Advanced Placement (AP) test-

ing, which will begin on May 4. Late signups for AP tests ended on March 12. Kim is working to find proctors and allocate adequate space for each AP test depending on the number students taking each test.

Assistant principal Kathleen Laurence has begun organizing students’ schedules for the 2015-2016 school years since all course signups have been submitted.

“We’re figuring out how many sections we need of each class, what doesn’t have enough students to run, and trying to find any mistakes students made during signups,” Laurence said. “We try to minimize the number of conflicts for students, but sometimes it’s hard to build the master schedule so there’s not some conflict somewhere.”

As always, the master schedule will be a work in progress throughout the summer and administration will release schedules one to two weeks prior to the beginning of the school year and will deal with any potential errors at that time.

Students attend various theatrical events MAGGIE ROSENTHAL

STAFF WRITER

T

he Palo Alto High School Theatre department has begun to prepare for upcoming festivals after closing on the spring musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

The first of these events was the California Youth in Theatre event.

Sophomore Joelle Dong, junior Sophie Swezey and seniors Cara Kienitz and Hannah Nguyen participated in this on March 16 and 17, traveling to the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. to present to California legislators about the importance of the arts in high school.

Theater students also attended the California State Thespian Festival in Upland, Calif. in late March, from March 26 to 29.

“We have around 20 to 30 students traveling to Upland, Calif. for California State Thespian Festival, which is probably our biggest trip of the year,” Nguyen said. “It’s a three day conference where we perform,

ASB coordinates prom logistics and Not in Our Schools Week

Carissa Zou

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urrently, the focus of the Associate Student Body (ASB) is planning for various student activities that will take place in the next quarter, such as the International Lunch, the 2015-2016 ASB elections, Not in Our Schools week and this year’s prom.

In preparation for the 2015-2016 school year, ASB is currently electing new officers for ASB President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer along with Class Presidents and Vice Presidents. On March 23 and 24, ASB presidential and vice presidential candidates engaged in a town hall style forum for the first time. Each candidate gave a speech on their aspirations for next year and then opened up the forum to students, who could ask questions and clarify the candidates’ positions on specific issues.

ASB is also currently working to execute the International Lunch, which will take place on March 31.

For the first time, ASB’s climate committee is hosting an International Lunch, where Paly clubs will have a fundraising opportunity to sell food on campus. Students will be able to purchase food from a diverse array of

club booths to support Paly clubs and enjoy a snack. Clubs and language classes can also set up informative booths to educate students about the organization’s goals, past achievements and events.

Traditionally, Paly’s NIOS hasn’t been as big as other schools, but this year we’re really trying to make the week have a larger impact with more relevant themes and involvement from the school.

William Zhou

Junior Class President Not in Our Schools week, a week dedicated to ensuring social and academic equality, will be on April 20 to April 24 and ASB has decided themes for each day of the week.

William Zhou, current Junior Class President, hopes to see NIOS engaging more students and having a wider effect on campus.

“Traditionally, Paly’s NIOS hasn’t been as big as other schools, but this year we’re really trying to make the week have a larger impact with more

relevant themes and involvement from the school,” Zhou said.

The themes from Monday to Friday are Erase-ISMS, Ability Awareness, Sexual Awareness and Identity Safety, Compassion and Action in conjunction with Service Day, and Health and Wellness.

ASB has also been working on configuring and the various logistics of this year’s prom, which takes place at the San Francisco City Hall on April 18. The theme this year is “I left my heart in San Francisco” and tickets are being sold until April 10 for $120 with an ASB card and $130 without an ASB card.

On Feb. 26, ASB helped set up a student forum, which many students attended to offer potential improvements Paly may make. Some of the main topics discussed include interactive, project-based finals, allowing test retakes and ACS counseling.

Students were able to express their opinions and staff members took note of each topic and students’ stance on many issues.

Overall, ASB continues to work to organize relevant school events, such as the International Lunch, Not In Our Schools Week and prom, in the final quarter of the 2014-2015 school year.

present technical work, attend workshops and work hands-on with theatre professionals.”

Students are also planning to attend the TheatreWorks Young Playwrights Project, which will be on April 15, as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore. from April 23 to 26.

Locally, students are also preparing for One Acts auditions.

“One Acts consists of a series of short student-directed one act plays, which can be either student written or professionally written,” junior Ophir Sneh said. “Performances for this event will take place in early May.” Auditions will be on March 30 and 31, with callbacks on April 1.

The actual event will include performances on May 7-9, all starting at 7:30 p.m.

Showcases will wrap up the theater performances for the year, with the Theater 1 and 2 Showcase on May 19 and the Senior Showcase on May 16.

UPCOMING EVENTs

Student officer elections to come to a close STAFF WRITER

Peninsula Press. “Running a farm on a third of the normal rainfall hasn’t been easy.”

Due to the drought, Blanchard has been forced to reduce his herd to half its initial size. The drought has also caused more reliance on outside resources for hay and alfalfa. However, demand for hay has been record-high in China, causing local American farmers to constantly be priced out.

The competition for hay and alfalfa has caused prices to rise $300-$400 per ton this past year.

The increase in costs for obtaining resources for farmers has also caused market prices in California to rise.

“Prices for meat and dairy have been affected the most at the market,” Blanchard said. “Prices [are] well above normal market standards, [but] even with these kinds of price increases, costs to farmers aren’t being covered.”

Any action taken to conserve water will result in short-term loss to one party or another. It is now just a question of who takes the hit — the district board or the residents.

“I don’t feel comfortable with the recommendations we’re seeing right now,” board director Barbara Keegan said in an interview with San Jose Mercury News. “Let’s exercise some muscles here and not have our knee jerk reaction be ‘we need to raise rates.’

If there are other options, we need to consider those.”

MARCH

27

END OF ASB ELECTIONS Bitter politics. Vicious campaigning. Facebook flame wars. It all ends here.

APRIL

APRIL FOOLS DAY The day you get into your dream school!

Sike, April Fools.

APRIL

JOB FAIR Cotton candy, parlor games, and a ferris wheel!

What more could a student want?

(Fool you once shame on me, fool you twice...)

APRIL

SPRING BREAK BEGINS! Seniors get a well-deserved break from not doing homework and skipping class.

APRIL

PROM If you’re planning to peak in high school, you better nail this.

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2

3

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Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

Battle of the Bands

Continued from A1

School Champion Saba Moussavian, a junior at Paly “Most people ended up coming for the high school bands, so we decided to focus more on those,” Moussavian said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for students to hear local bands.”

The idea came from Matthys, who started teaching a music program at the BGCP clubhouses a few years ago after noticing a lack of opportunities for the kids to experience music. “[I] came to the Boys and Girls Clubs when they didn’t have any music programs,” Matthys said. “We’ve slowly built it up, but now we’re really trying to expand more because the kids love it.”

In order to expand BGCP’s arts and music programs, the organization needs the basic supplies required to participate and learn in these activities. According to Matthys, most sites do not even have some of the most fundamental materials.

“Of the three local clubhouses, which are the main BGCP sites in this area, only one of them has any actual musical equipment besides a standard piano,” Matthys said. “[The] most important [supply needed] is equipment such as guitars and drums, [and the] second most important thing lacking are students and teachers to help teach classes on music.”

Matthys believes this year’s fundraiser should be more successful in reaching its goal of expanding the arts and music programs, especially with the new changes in place.

“Last year went fairly well,” Matthys said. “This year’s should be way better, more accessible, cheaper and more exciting.”

In addition to the music provided by the competing bands, the event will include snacks for purchase and a raffle for BGCP apparel and gift cards, according to the event’s Facebook page.

A3

NEWS

District plans administrator shifts

Superintendent McGee announces changes in elementary school principals at four sites Claire Dennis

Staff Writer

P

alo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Dr. Max McGee announced his plans to change administrators at the elementary level for the 2015-2016 school year.

The planned shifts currently involve switching principals at four elementary schools. Palo Verde Elementary School Principal Anne Brown will take over as principal of Barron Park Elementary School, as current Barron Park Principal Magdalena Fittoria will transition to a position in the district office. Fittoria will become the Special Projects Administrator, focusing on minority achievement and talent development.

Additionally, El Carmelo Elementary School Principal Chuck Merritt will swap positions with Escondido

Elementary School Principal Danae Reynolds.

McGee announced the upcoming changes in a press release on March 6.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowers assured parents and staff that he would work closely with the individual elementary school communities, especially that of Palo Verde, where the district has yet to name a successor for principal, to ensure a positive replacement.

“PAUSD is in a process of making systemic changes that will strengthen programs and services in our elementary schools and across the district,” McGee said in the March 6 press release. “Matching the expertise of these leaders with the districts’ critical needs is fundamental to our goal of continuous improvement, and I am confident they will make broad and important contributions to students, staff, and families in their new roles.”

Brown, who will be leaving Palo Verde for Barron Park, fully supports Dr. McGee’s decision in making leadership changes.

Change might be tough at times, but it is worthwhile and healthy for everyone.

Anne Brown

Current Palo Verde Elementary School Prinicpal “I believe movement of principals brings great opportunities for a principal, a school and the district as a whole,” Brown said.

Brown believes that the message the district sends through the changes in leadership parallel with the lessons taught at the school sites themselves.

“Our district encourages staff to never be satisfied with the status quo,” Brown said. “We all need to be lifelong learners, searching for new opportunities to stretch, for the good of students and ourselves.”

Brown also expressed excitement for the learning opportunities for herself and the individual school sites.

“Moving schools helps me to learn more about our entire district and all of the various communities,” Brown said. “Moving principals allows the opportunity for everyone’s strengths to be shared throughout the district.

What I can offer a staff may be different from the next principal. I would hate to deprive my current school from learning from another leader who can make positive changes that I may have not been able to make.

Change might be tough at times, but it is worthwhile and healthy for everyone.”

Gunn looks to implement block periods

Neighboring high school debates pros and cons of newly proposed alternative schedule Aiva Petriceks

Staff Writer

H

enry M. Gunn High School is considering implementing a block schedule that would take effect as soon as Jan. 2016 in order to provide a social-emotional curriculum to students Gunn is currently using a schedule where students meet with six out of seven of their classes for 58 minutes each day. Gunn is preparing a schedule similar to that of Palo Alto High School, where classes would meet every other day for 90 minutes each.

The change was sparked by members of the community who wanted to reduce student stress through better emotional support on campus.

“There was a schedule committee that was meeting last year, and what was prompting the work to look at

“Almost as good as really loud rap music.”

the schedule last year was the need for school counselors and others to implement more social emotional curriculum to support student stress and well being,” Gunn principal Dr. Denise Herrmann said. “That was following the first suicide cluster.”

If Gunn decides to implement a block schedule, there needs to be time set aside for a social-emotional curriculum lead by staff members, much like how Paly uses teacher advisors.

“If it’s a teacher advisor who would [run an advisory similar to Paly] or a school counselor, [or a homeroom teacher], we are not quite sure who would be responsible for helping students navigate [through the social emotional] curriculum,” Herrmann said.

Teachers will have an easier time meeting with the common core curriculum.

“The common core curriculum calls for a lot more project and application based learning, and that is easier to do in longer blocks of time,” Herrmann said.

Longer periods would also allow teachers to collaborate more, creating more consistency among courses.

Using a block schedule also helps reduce the amount of time spent on homework per night, since classes would meet fewer times per week.

Gunn sophomore Jenny Han believes students at Gunn would enjoy more efficient class periods.

“I have heard that some class time isn’t filled with teaching and that students have free work time during the non-instructional minutes,” Han said. “That is something a lot of students would enjoy.” However, some Gunn students believe that changing the schedule will not reduce stress.

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“I don’t believe that there is a correlation between Gunn’s schedule and the pressure students face,” Gunn junior Alper Karakas said. “I don’t think changing our schedule would do anything beneficial.”

On the May 12 school board meeting, Gunn’s schedule committee, along with its administration, will present its findings on the possible implementation of a new block schedule.

“The school board would hear our recommendations and then at the following meeting they could take action,” Herrmann said. “That would allow us summer and the fall to do professional development, and to develop homeroom or advisory to see what the social-emotional curriculum looks like and then it would be implemented in second semester, which would be January [2016].”

“Practically written for iPads”

Politixworks.com

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

NEWS

A4

Indian sexual assault documentary sparks controversy “India’s Daughter” faces government opposition in India for its portrayal of women and rape culture Jamie Har

Staff Writer

T

he Indian government’s attempted suppression of the documentary film “India’s Daughter,” which covers the atrocious 2012 Delhi gang rape of a 23-year-old woman and includes shocking interviews of the convicted rapists, has sparked intense controversy over whether India’s population should have access to such a film or if the film generalizes and vilifies India’s culture to an unfair degree.

Directed by Leslee Udwin, the film is part of British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Storyville series, which plays the world’s most acclaimed documentaries. It was scheduled to air throughout the world on March 8, International Women’s Day; the film was broadcast as planned, in all countries except India.

On the fateful evening of Dec. 16, 2012 in Munrika in South Delhi, female physiotherapy intern Jyoti Singh and her male friend were walking back home from watching “Life of Pi” in theaters when a private bus appeared and offered to take them the rest of the way to their home town. Once in the bus, Jyoti Singh was raped by six men, including the driver. Jyoti Singh and her male friend were both beaten and thrown out onto the road where they were found later that night, and though Jyoti Singh was taken in for treatment thirteen days after the incident, she died soon after from her serious injuries.

A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy.

Mukesh Singh Bus Driver

Immediately after the public found out about this event, the Indian government received harsh criticism from within the country and abroad for failing to properly protect its women. Starting in New Delhi,

protests broke out throughout India and clashed violently with government security forces.

The six men were arrested, charged with sexual assault and murder and put through trial. One of the adults, Ram Singh, died in jail from alleged suicide, though his family claims he was murdered, and the one juvenile was given a sentence of three years in a reform facility. The other four accused were sentenced to death by hanging on March 13, 2014.

The film received much criticism for several different reasons. Some people criticized the authorities for allowing the interview to take place even after the convicts had pleaded not guilty and appealed their death sentences. Other critics accuse the film of helping rapists justify their actions and blame victims, while others, still, point accusatory fingers at BBC for painting all of India as a rape-infested, unjust nation that dehumanizes women.

Regardless, many people around the world were too shocked by some of the rapists’ mindsets and words to simply let the issue go.

Especially condemned by the public was the overwhelming sense of victim blaming present in the statements made by the convicted men.

“A decent girl won’t roam around at nine o’clock at night,” Mukesh Singh, the bus driver, said. “Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes.”

In addition to questioning Jyoti Singh’s decency as a person and claiming poor choice in behavior, Mukesh Singh bluntly blamed her for the rape because she was a woman.

“A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy,” Mukesh Singh said.

“When being raped, she shouldn’t fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they’d have dropped her off after ‘doing her,’ and only hit the boy.”

Mukesh Singh expressed what effects he believed putting the rapists to death would instigate.

Courtesy of the independent

The All India Democratic Woman’s Association in India show its disgust while protesting after teenage girls were gang raped.

“The death penalty will make things even more dangerous for girls,” Mukesh Singh said. “Now when [people] rape, they won’t leave the girl like we did. They will kill her. Before, they would rape and say, ‘Leave her, she won’t tell anyone.’

Now when they rape, especially the criminal types, they will just kill the girl. Death.”

Even when Udwin read out the details of Jyoti Singh’s numerous injuries to Mukesh Singh in his interview, she was unable to find even “a glimmer of regret” on the part of the perpetrator, according to her article on the BBC.

We will not have our women unsafe. We will not have our women disrespected.

Leslee Udwin Director

Chilled to the bone by the lack of remorse and the extreme devaluing of women, many people called for changes to government policy as well as to what some see as a misogynistic culture in India.

Though the government had banned the film in India, it was released on YouTube on March 4, 2015 even before it aired on television. Millions of people worldwide were able to access the documentary before the Indian government asked YouTube to take down the video the next day.

Still, copies of the film were made available online through other means and continued to stir up agitation.

Even within India, activists have taken direct action to spread awareness. In front of 50 people at the Ravidas Camp in the slum where the rapists lived, activist Ketan Dixit projected the film on large sheets. This was his second time publicly showing the documentary.

“This film is important,” Dixit said.

“Poor people already know about this rape case and they are interested in it.

They should get to know the mindset of the rapist in this case.”

Though some people at the public screening left part way because they could not understand English and the police injuncted the screening on the grounds of rising tensions, the shock from the film still created waves of support from people around the world rallying for women’s protection and rights.

“There is already a very loud conversation in India about this grim reality [of rape culture in India],” Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, told the Los Angeles Times. “[The rape culture] lies very widely among the society at large. Reducing it to this one man and this one film is not the answer.”

Udwin emphasized the global relevance and significance of this incident and its resulting protests.

“India was actually leading the world by example, [with] ordinary men and women in India [taking] to the streets across India’s cities to cry, ‘Enough is enough. We will not have our women unsafe. We will not have our women disrespected,’” Udwin said. “But let us not forget, this is not India only.”

Change is happening across the world as both men and women refuse to sit around and let rape and misogyny be swept under the rug .

“What carried me through … was what had inspired me in the first place: the new-thinkers, especially among the youth, in India who want change and are clamouring for it,” Udwin said. “And I am absolutely optimistic that we are now on the cusp of change.”

Council discusses change in rental zones State Higher Education award to be announced New rental home zoning regulations debated by City Council

Award to go to most innovative college

Antonio kieschnick

staff writer

Rachel Farn

staff writer

T

he Palo Alto City Council held a meeting with local residents to discuss the possibility of adjusting local zoning regulations to address regulation of short-term rentals on homes on March 9, 2015.

This discussion followed a meeting on Dec. 15, 2014 where Palo Alto Council members were urged to address the impact the short term rental of homes had on the community.

These issues included the increase of traffic in the area, concerns about safety and the loss of tax revenue from permanent householders.

The impacts of short-term rentals are not confined solely to Palo Alto, as many communities across the region and the nation have been faced with the same dilemmas.

The Palo Alto Council staff has provided two different solutions to the problem — one imitating the San Francisco City Council and the other a similar approach to the one adopted by the San Luis Obispo City Council.

The San Francisco City Council approach involves protecting the existing housing stock and maintaining affordable housing throughout the area, while the San Luis Obispo approach involves protecting and maintaining the existing housing and living standards.

Both require a prospective shortterm owner to get a business license and register for the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) program.

Enforcement generally consists of making sure the required tax is paid and not ignored as well as making sure there are no violations of the administrative permit.

Regulation of short-term rentals in both policies takes around eight to nine months, assuming the council prioritizes regulation above any other zoning issues at present.

A

Courtesy of Ella Mernyk

Rental homes are now monitored after talks at the city council meeting on March 9.

Current zoning regulations state that a residency cannot take up more than 25 percent or 500 feet of the gross area of a house and must not cause any substantive increase in traffic that would be uncommon for the household. These ‘residencies’ are defined as lasting less than a month, and the local government will collect TOT if this is the case.

To deal with enforcement of the TOT, Palo Alto currently has two enforcement officers working on allocating resources to each zone. Response to infringement will usually vary per zone as the enforcement of the rental regulations is heavily reliant on resources.

This reliance is partly due to the aforementioned resource-reliance that Palo Alto’s enforcement generally operates on a voluntary basis.

Where local residents will complain to the council in various ways either through the city’s website or

through the city council’s 311 structure.

Usually residents will report unlawful rental occupancy if they see an increase in traffic to and from the house in question. After which, staff will then proceed to investigate the house.

If a resident has failed to comply with regulations, the staff will seek voluntary compliance, but if the resident refuses to do so, further steps will be taken to ensure the enforcement of the residential code.

Due to the amount of short-term rentals in Palo Alto, large-scale shortterm rentals involving whole houses or apartment complexes have been given priority over smaller scale listings.

Although little action has been taken so far, the council will still provide guidance to local community members and may institute greater regulation in the near future.

seven-member committee led by Governor Jerry Brown’s Director of Finance, Michael Cohen, is due to announce the winners of California’s Awards for Innovation in Higher Education later this month.

The committee is looking to reward California community college, California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) campuses that revise their policies to reach three main goals.

These goals are to increase the amount of bachelor’s degrees achieved, let students achieve their bachelor’s degrees within four years after starting higher education and let students transfer between California schools more easily.

Awards will be given to the schools that comply with the following main criteria: how well the changes meet the previously mentioned three goals at a lower cost without making students pay higher tuitions or fees, how much participation from UC campuses, CSU campuses, community colleges and other educational institutions is involved, how replicable the changes are and how committed the campuses are to these changes.

Numerous groups will be hosting a forum where participants will be able to present their ideas in front of business leaders, officials and members of the award’s judging committee.

California Competes, an organization helping to improve higher education in California, will be one of the hosts.

Ideas that are currently being considered cover a numerous aspects of college life, from counseling to replacing textbooks or creating advanced outreach programs for high school students.

Bob Shireman, the executive director of California Competes, asked 15 outside experts to review the proposals before the forum. Interesting ideas included a partnership between San Francisco City College and San Francisco State University to develop small learning communities to help students during their first two years of college and create a clear transferring path.

Administration representing California State University, Fresno proposed to give students tablet computers for courses centered around the devices. Lastly, UC Irvine is persuading more students to take courses online and over the summer.

So far, 52 schools are competing for the awards. This includes eight UC campuses, 18 CSU campuses and 26 community colleges.

To enter the competition, colleges were required to fill out applications describing the steps they took to increase the amount of Californians earning bachelor’s degrees in four years as well as steps to make it easier for students starting in two-year colleges to finish in four-year universities.

In the 2014 Budget Act, $50 million from the General Fund was put aside for Innovation in Higher Education.

Brown pledged to use this money to reward campuses with innovative, cost-effective approaches but not before an innovative prize and system to determine the winners were developed.

“The prize is an innovation itself,” James Mayer, the president of California Forward, a government reform group, said at the higher education showcase. “The awards were predicated on an important realization: public agencies throughout California, including colleges and universities, must find ways to reduce costs and improve results.”

The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015

OPINION A5 Minorities deserve equal College process representation in media stress is beneficial Unequal representation of gender and racial minorities in the media bolsters stereotype acceptance and bias in the public eye

Mackenzie Glassford

Staff Writer

T

hanks to some of this year’s Oscar acceptance speeches, there has been a lot of recent discussion about inequitable representation in the media, as there should be. Women and ethnic minorities are consistently underrepresented in today’s media. First of all, there is a huge inequality in the movie industry. There is a 5:1 ratio of men working in films to women. Of the four female nominees for “best director” in Academy Awards history, only one has won, and none of the nominees were women of color.

Of women on screen in general, only 30.8 percent were speaking characters, according to the New York Film Academy.

In the year of 2011, ethnic minorities, despite making up 36 percent of America’s population, were represented by only 10 percent in characters in a leading role. Since then, the movie industry has been making an effort to include minorities in films, as seen in popular movies such as “Selma” and “12 Years A Slave.” However, it is not enough to just include minorities, producers have to do a better job of casting people of color in nonstereotypical roles. In today’s society, the media has the power to shape our cultural values like never before. If the African American man is continually cast as the thug and the Latino as the gardener, people will continue to see people belonging to those racial groups that way.

The problem extends beyond Hollywood as well, reaching into the realms of television journalism and

news media. Sixty-five to 70 percent of the guests on news networks Microsoft National Broadcasting Company, Cable News Network and Fox are male. Eighty-three to 88 percent of their guests are white, with many ethnic groups being disregarded entirely, according to Media Matters for America.

There is no lack of qualified women or people of color in the media world, but mainstream news tells us a different story. It seems as though women and people of color are invited as guests only when the topic concerns domestic abuse, race, sexism or anything pertaining to a specific group. Otherwise, white males dominate the scene on politics, foreign policy and economics.

In the year of 2011, despite making up 36 percent of America’s population, ethnic minorities were represented by only 10 percent in characters in a leading role.

On a similar note, people of color are rarely on the front pages or the headline story unless it involves negative news. Most people know about Frederick Young, the man who mur-

dered two teens in Detroit, but few recognize the name Esther Okade, the 10-year-old Nigerian girl who is enrolled in a British university and who plans to have her Philosophiae Doctor in financial math by 13. According to a Stanford research paper done by Shanto Iyengar, public opinion polls show that the news audience has accepted the message that ethnic minorities are more prone to violence. This racial bias in the news must be recognized if we ever want to represent ethnic minorities in a way that properly reflects our society.

Why is any of this important?

Media is threaded into our daily lives, whether we like it or not. Stereotypical representations of minorities perpetuate cultural ideas that encourage racism and sexism. They influence attitudes and reinforce gender and racial segregation. And worst of all, they dehumanize people and reduce them to one or two characteristics based on race or gender. Minorities are people.

They have the same personal experiences, emotions and desires and deserve to be treated as such.

The first step is to critically analyze the messages we get from the media about minorities. The second step is to support all media with equal representation. And the third is to demand it.

Courtesy of npr.org

David Oyelowo stars in the film Selma, playing the role of Martin Luther King Jr.

Pre-college procedures help juniors gain a better understanding of themselves

Lauren Klass

News And Opinion Editor

I

t’s that time of year again: as seniors come to the end of their college application journey, juniors are just about to embark on one of their most difficult challenges yet. From balancing standardized tests to trying to keep grades up, we are faced with a daunting future: college applications. And while it is quite a lengthy and exhausting process, the lead up to college applications is great for keeping students on their toes and makes for a good opportunity for self reflection.

Though it is a grueling process, there is a lot to learn from all the crazy things one must handle during their junior year. Balancing coursework, standardized tests and sleep is the ultimate challenge. However, it teaches extremely valuable skills of prioritizing work and managing tasks and time. Furthermore, it helps to know that the hard work and time you are investing in your studies will eventually land you in college. Though it seems like an overwhelming thought, keeping this in mind can really help you stay focused and motivated.

What many do not realize is that in the search for the “right” schools, students undergo a special process of self reflection. It requires you to reflect on skills, strengths and weaknesses that will ultimately set you up for success.

Typically, a survey you might fill out for your college counselor or for Naviance will ask you all sorts of questions about yourself and your preferences. In just a few questions, you must already begin to question aspects that you have taken for grant-

ed. In those initial moments, you already begin this process of self reflection, ultimately leading to a greater understanding of yourself.

For example, you might be asked whether you would rather attend a liberal arts school or go straight into, say, business school. If you prefer liberal arts schools, you are likely someone who want to explore various classes before settling down on a career, or you value gaining a general education instead of limiting yourself on one topic. On the other hand, if you prefer going into a major-specific program, you are likely an eager worker, ready to divulge in a subject you enjoy and get into the workforce as soon as you can. You are probably very passionate about the major you choose, considering that you are willing to devote yourself to focusing on one subject.

At the end of the day, the college itself plays a major role in the application process too. Sometimes, a school might seem “perfect” with the exception of it missing one quality you valued. In that moment, you must draw the line: will you compromise and take advantage of what the school can offer, or will you reject all possibility of attending that school due to your priorities?

High school goes by in a blur, and suddenly we are faced with some of the biggest decisions we have ever made, considering that we are so young. While some students know, or think they know what they want, others may be a little more lost. In any case, the college process will ultimately serve to clarify certain aspects of the students in terms of personality and aspirations.

As juniors brace themselves for one more quarter and the whole college application lead up may seem to be a never ending challenge, it is key to keep things in perspective. There is much more to this process than countless tests and surveys. It is an opportunity to take an initiative in planning your future and, along the way, gain a deeper understanding of who you are as a person, in a way that you have not gotten a chance to see before.

The right to read college recommendations is disadvantageous

Exercising FERPA rights discourages fair recommendations, promotes homogeneity in college applications

Jeffrey Ho

Online Editor in chief

A

s seniors finish hearing back decisions from colleges and juniors find themselves at the beginning of the tedious college application process, we as students continue to wonder how external factors may affect which institutions we get accepted to and rejected from.

Most notably, many juniors are now at the phase of deciding which teachers to ask for letters of recommendations and how these choices may impact their applications.

Before adding recommenders to systems such as the Common Application, a window will prompt on the screen, giving an introduction to students’ inherent Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) rights. After proceeding to the next steps, students are immediately prompted to decide whether they choose to waive FERPA rights.

In January, a group of Stanford students discovered that they could exercise their FERPA rights by accessing their own applications when they applied to Stanford. Within their application contained not only their teachers’ letters of recommendation, but also information regard-

ing legacy students and minorities, as well as other comments made by the admissions officers who read those applications. After The Fountain Hopper, a student-run Stanford email newsletter, publicized step-bystep instructions of how students can obtain their own files, other elite institutions across the nation followed these Stanford students’ lead by creating an increasing wave of students seeking to see their applications.

The influx in requests to see personal records may drastically change the path of college admissions — the comments in a student’s accepted application serve as a prime example of how admissions officers evaluate students for admission. Despite the hype, however, choosing to not waive FERPA rights in favor of future access to personal records only makes it so that teachers have less incentive to write a fair recommendation and the overall college admissions process would become increasingly difficult.

Choosing to not waive FERPA rights in favor of future access to personal records only makes it so that teachers have less incentive to write a fair recommendation and the overall college admissions process would become increasingly difficult.

Because students across the nation have uncovered a process to obtain recommendation letters that previous teachers have written for them, they can now see how the teacher truly felt about a student’s role in class. This puts the teacher in a compromised position — what incentive does a

Conner Harden/The campanile

Students should not be allowed to read teacher recommendations for it may pressure the teachers to write dishonest letters.

teacher have to write a truly fair recommendation if a student can know and react directly to what the teacher wrote about him or her?

None.

In such a scenario, university admissions offices would receive an increasing number of generic recommendations, many of which would feature sentences along the lines of “[Name] was a good student in my class; it was a pleasure working with him/her during his/her junior year.”

Although this means that the recommendations that stands out in such a stack must mean a student has set him or herself above and beyond the rest of the pool, this leaves little to differentiate other students from each other. As a result, combined with decreasing overall admissions rates, this would lead to either a greater number of waitlists, rejections or both.

Within a time span of about one generation, Ivy League and similar prestigious colleges went from accepting students with significantly lower grades than the average student today to rejecting students outside the top five percent of their class, even some with straight A’s. As grade inflation continues as a significant cause of diminishing admissions rates all across the nation, students are driven to work harder and tack on more extracurricular activities to provide themselves with an edge to get accepted. In the same way, the ability for students to see their previous applications at their matriculated universities will change the entire scope of college admissions, as these papers serve as a first glance of how admissions officers truly view and decide on accepting certain students. In the long run, as much of this exact infor-

mation becomes public and accessible to all, students will have an even more difficult time differentiating themselves if everyone writes their essays in the same way or does similar extracurriculars based on what they know for a fact has gotten other students accepted into elite institutions.

As appealing as having the power to read what others wrote about you may be, the extra information seems quite counterintuitive in the long run.

Knowing exactly what and how your teacher recommender wrote about you may seem appealing, but at the same time continuing the process would homogenize many applications. In addition, as amazing as acceptance into an elite institution is, it feels even better if you did so with integrity rather than fighting for small bargaining tokens to support your application.

The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015

OPINION

A6

Drones should be more accessible for common benefit Negative connotations of commercial drones prevent drones from maximizing their full technological potential

Thomas rauner-swan

Staff writer

D

rones, also called Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), were historically so expensive that they were only affordable to the military. Technological advances now make them viable for commercial and personal use. The previous laws and regulations that were developed for the military are now outdated and unreasonably restricting. For hobbyists, laws concerning these aircraft are fairly reasonable, with restrictions like only being allowed to fly under 400 feet and staying away from people and airports. However, if companies want to use a drone for commercial purposes, it would take much more time and effort than their hobbyist counterparts. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should quickly finalize regulations on the commercial use of drones and make the regulations less challenging so

companies are able to use this technology to its full potential.

If a farmer wants to use a drone to map his or her land or keep an eye on his or her crops, he or she wouldn’t be able to just order a drone on Amazon and fly it the next day. Instead, he or she would have to jump through a number of bureaucratic hoops. According to a letter from the FAA to a real estate company using a drone for advertising, one must first get a full scale pilot’s license, pass medical tests and request to fly two days in advance. Unfortunately, this is not all. The farmer would also be required to use a spotter, like a copilot, fly in his or her line of sight, operate under 300 feet and fly slower than 35 miles per hour. On Feb. 15, the FAA began to move in the right direction by announcing a proposal that would make it easier to use a drone for commercial use. The proposal states that companies would be able to operate drones if they followed a certain set of rules and restrictions. These include a weight limit of 55 pounds, a 500 feet altitude limit and a 100 mile per hour speed limit. They would still have to fly line of sight, but would no longer need a pilot’s license and medical tests. The problem is that it is unlikely that this will become a law for a number of years forcing companies to adhere to the previous cumbersome guidelines.

There are strong negative connotations surrounding the use of drones,

Courtesy of creative commons

Commercial drones have prospective value for everyday use and will greatly convenience the public if regulations are minimized.

particularly around public safety and national security. One concern is that drones will collide with a plane and cause it to crash. This is an unlikely event because current regulations do not allow drones to fly around airports or above 400 feet, and airplanes are not allowed to fly below 500 feet.

The only way that there could possibly be a collision is if someone were to break the law which is not an inherent problem with drones.

According to Vice, airplane collisions with birds “may be more dangerous than drones because, though they’re made of feather and bone, they often fly much faster than small drones can.” There is also a concern that drones may threaten national security. An example is the recent drone scandal in Paris in which more than 50 drones were seen around popular tourist destinations and nuclear sites,

Poor location of bike paths makes biking dangerous for students

according to the British Broadcasting Corporation. There are no strict regulations on cars, which have been used in acts of terrorism including the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the initial World Trade Center bombing of 1993.

Drones can be used to access dangerous areas that are unsafe for humans. Most drones are equipped with technology like global positioning systems, gyroscopes and accelerometers. High tech drones may also have sonar and other detection software.

Using this technology, firefighters would be able to map out a burning building without going inside. Search and rescue teams could use infrared cameras mounted to the underside of drones to search for stranded people at night. With this technology, dangerous situations like these do not have to put humans at risk.

Community service should be motivated by passion Volunteer work needs to come from the heart

Traffic regulation should be improved to avoid biking hazards

Peter Maroulis

staff writer

A

Kai Oda/the campanile

Students who bike to school illegally crowd at the Alma and Churchill intersection after a train triggers a red light for traffic.

Kai oda

Staff writer

A

round 850 students bike to Palo Alto High School between 7:40 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and most have to cross a high traffic intersection right before entering the school. This intersection is where Alma Street, Churchill Avenue, Caltrain and hundreds of drivers and bikers meet daily to form the potential for a disaster. Biking to school has become increasingly dangerous, and either traffic regulation or lane improvements need to be implemented to prevent bike related accidents from happening.

The number of bikers to school has steadily increased over past four years and so has the number of accidents. Before 2012, only one or two accidents were reported annually. Then in 2012 and 2013, bike accidents increased to four to five per year. This year there are more bikers than ever before, with over 40 percent of Paly’s population biking to school.

Three sophomores have been in bike accidents and broken wrists, collarbones and forearms this year. None of them reported their accidents to the

police, meaning that the actual number of student injuries is unknown.

The greatest risk of injury is at the Alma Street and Churchill Avenue intersection. The number of students piles up at the intersection as they wait for the light to turn green.

Between the time of 8:05 a.m. and 8:10 a.m., the line of student bikers sometimes stretches 75 feet from the intersection.

When the light turns green students have a 20 second window to make it across the intersection. Unfortunately, the line is so long that the window closes before everyone makes it across. But instead of obeying traffic laws and stopping, students keep going, cutting off cross traffic and putting themselves directly in the way of cars moving at 35 miles per hour.

If students keep doing what they have always done, then it is inevitable that the number of accidents will increase.

When the Caltrain goes by, all lights turn red momentarily. The cunning student has realized that this means that no cars move through the intersection. Students now bike against their red light and across the intersection directly at the moving train and stack up on the other side of the intersection. Except now, the bikers in the back once again cut off cross traffic and are in the way of fast moving cars when the traffic light suddenly turns green. Enraged

drivers now honk at the bikers who stretch across the intersection and wait for the train to pass by.

In these situations the bikers are at fault. They disobey traffic laws and put themselves in danger. If students keep doing what they have always done, then it is inevitable that the number of accidents will increase.

A solution is to request the police officers that hide in the bushes on Churchill to ticket bikers more.

Stricter enforcement of traffic laws may be the mental check needed to keep us from charging the light.

Once one crosses the intersection, there is still more danger. Cars will block the bike lane when asked to pull over by the police handing out tickets. This causes domino-like collisions, as 20 to 30 bikers suddenly screech to a halt. Finally the students have to turn right into the Paly parking lot. Unfortunately, many cars are trying to make the same turn and a bottle-necking effect results are cars and bikers disagree over who takes the turn first.

These dangers are a result of issues with the bike route. Past the intersection, the sidewalk should be sloped, allowing bikers to smoothly transition onto the sidewalk without being forced to suddenly stop or get hit by cars at the turn into the parking lot.

There is nothing more important in our lives than staying alive. In a bike versus car situation the bike always loses. There needs to be some change, either with the regulation of traffic, Caltrain or the student bikers to prevent biking from being more dangerous than ever.

Drones could also be used for monitoring and surveillance in high crime areas, farmland and high security buildings. An example in Africa is the use of drones with special cameras to detect poachers. There are many opportunities for positive uses like this in the United States.

Technology is advancing so quickly that the government should not continue making minor updates to outdated laws. In the case of commercial drones, existing regulations are extraordinarily restricting. The FAA should implement new and less restricting regulations that do not require a pilot license, medical checkup and 48-hour notice before flying.

Minimizing restrictions will enable companies to fully harness the power of drones in innovative ways that can strengthen our economy and improve our society.

n abundance of Palo Alto High School students are always jumping at the chance to complete community service projects, ready to exchange time with their family and friends in order to commit time to volunteer. However, this readiness to volunteer might not be as heartwarming as it initially appears — many of these students are not motivated to improve their community or help those in need, but rather to rack up dozens or hundreds of hours in order to amp up their college applications.

In my mind, there are two distinct groups of volunteers: those driven by a passion to make a change in their community, and those driven by a passion to look good to college admissions officers. At Paly, an average of 150 students receive the President’s Service Award per semester, which recognizes the completion of at least 100 hours of service in one year. Out of these 150, I wonder how many are genuinely interested in serving their community. There are many opportunities to help the Palo Alto community, from working with homeless people to working as a tutor, yet there are just as many opportunities to accumulate 100 hours of service without making a positive change.

When my grandmother was in the hospital, recovering from surgery, a high school aged volunteer came into her room uninvited to inform her that, as a “medical volunteer,” he was assigned to “count all of the hospital’s beds.” To be frank, nobody enjoys counting beds, and the hospital patients do not enjoy having their beds counted. Unless this volunteer had the intention of becoming the first professional bed-counter, his service was inspired by a want to earn that award.

The real irony here is that the volunteer actually disturbed my grandmother instead of helping her.

As a volunteer, I understand that earning the President’s Service Award is a nice extra benefit and will be help-

ful when applying to college. However, that does not mean that I should forsake genuine passion for a cause solely for the purpose of earning an award to add to my college application.

When deciding where to volunteer, I found that I did not have a desire to work at many of the organizations I was researching. Finally, I found Learning Ally, a charity that records audio books for people with blindness and dyslexia. At Learning Ally I found my niche, but I also learned that volunteering is not a traditional commitment. My hours are earned through a flexible schedule: I do not have to volunteer when I do not want to. What distinguishes volunteer organizations from other commitments, such as playing music or competing in athletics, is that charities compete for your time instead of you competing for their time.

I am in no way inferring that I am the perfect volunteer; rather, I am suggesting that students put their time towards a cause they feel is worthwhile, and that every minute of their volunteering is prompted by a wish to better that cause. I adopted this philosophy and find it liberating, as I can truthfully say that I enjoy every hour spent at Learning Ally.

Many of these students are not motivated to improve their community or help those in need, but rather to rack up dozens or hundreds of hours in order to amp up their college applications.

It is also important to keep in mind that the quality of work is much higher when someone enjoys what he or she is doing. According to mental health website helpguide.com, “volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place.” Society should place more emphasis on volunteering as not just a fulfilling, but also a fun activity so as to encourage people to volunteer for their own fulfillment.

It is easy to get swept up in the rush to be a favorable college applicant, but volunteering is so much more than a hunt for a certificate. “Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most,” musician and conductor Pablo Casals was quoted as saying. Casals’ view applies to the nature of volunteering: if community service comes from the heart, it will make a positive difference.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

OPINION

A7

Hillary Clinton must take blame for improper email use Clinton’s use of personal email for government purposes was reckless and jeopardized America’s security

Owen dulik

sports editor

P

eople should be concerned about the way that the president of the United States uses technology, and prior to her 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton is raising uneasiness, as it appears that she did not use a secure, official government email for professional correspondence in any of her four years serving as Secretary of State, from 2009 to 2013.

Information has just been released stating that Valerie Jarrett, a senior aide to President Obama, leaked Clinton’s use of a personal email, which has hurt Clinton. Jarrett’s move makes sense, as she has been in a faction of the Democratic party that has opposed Clinton for many years.

It is astonishing that someone that is so high up in our government could

act so carelessly and jeopardize American diplomatic relationships among other state secrets.

Clinton may not have caused serious damage as her email most likely was not hacked, yet the mere fact that she ignored the system in the first place and chose to have an independent email shows that Clinton lacks competency in understanding the potential dangers of hacking.

After this leak, the State Department approached Clinton’s lawyers, attempting to read her emails from her time in office in order to assure that there was no national security breach.

Clinton stated that she actually was the one to ask the State Department to release the emails, since they prove no wrongdoing.

Upon researching Clinton’s personal email, State Department lawyers found that there were 900 pages of messages on her personal email account that referred to the attack of on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya in 2012.

Additionally, it was found that Clinton casually deleted some 30,000 emails, which could have referred to anything from yoga classes to American military operations.

Despite her obvious deviation from government protocol, Clinton apparently saw no fault in her actions during her four years as Secretary of State. “[I]

fully complied with every rule,” Clinton said during her news conference addressing the email scandal.

It would seem to any rational person that one should not mix personal emails with important business, and this especially relates to Clinton’s situation, as her reckless actions have such drastic possible consequences.

If her email was leaked, American diplomatic information would be released to both our allies and our enemies alike, causing strain on our foreign affairs.

I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously it hasn’t worked out that way.

Hillary Clinton

Former Secretary of State Speaker of the House John Boehner will announce this week a new, longterm investigation of the content of the emails. As of right now, the State Department believes that there was not any classified information released, but some sensitive information may be involved. Regardless of whether or not Clinton’s email was hacked, which is not public knowledge, her actions were dangerously reckless. During her news conference about her email use, Clin-

ton stated her motives for using one email instead of a personal one and a professional one.

“I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously it hasn’t worked out that way,” Clinton said.

In this day and age, children are raised to know that everything that is ever temporarily put on the internet stays up there forever. People are aware that privacy is of the utmost importance, as hackers are prevalent. It is confounding that our former Secretary of State had the notion that it was acceptable to use one email address, “hdr22@clintonemail.com” for matters as diverse as planning a family wedding to discussing the Benghazi terror attack.

If it turns out that Clinton did in fact divulge sensitive information that could endanger American lives, military operations or diplomatic relationships, then it could greatly impact her image. This is a major development, as Clinton seemed to be the choice for the Democratic party in the 2016 presidential election. However, this might weaken her in comparison to the Republican candidate.

This is not a partisan issue, it is simply about common sense. While Secretary Clinton maintains her innocence, her ignorance does not excuse careless actions that put America in jeopardy.

Clinton’s lack of technological awareness simply provides another stage for which tech safety can be preached to our nation’s youth.

As people use technology more and more, they become more careless with it, which can lead to problems. Clinton’s mess-up should serve as a cautionary tale to all of the teenagers of Silicon Valley, who rely so heavily on technology.

Every last keystroke on computers, phones, tablets and any electronic device is recorded, and the information is stored. While sending a text gossiping about a classmate may seem harmless in comparison to Secretary Clinton’s gaffe, rest assured they can both lead to dire consequences.

Think about any and every text, email or message you send. Is it really worth it to tell someone the answers to a test, or to talk about a friend behind his or her back? No it is not. While these actions should not be condoned at all, this technological age simply provides more evidence of wrongdoing, and therefore incriminates even further.

While technology is a blessing, it is also a curse. So when we use this fantastic treasure that has been bestowed upon us, make sure to use it with care.

For information is stored and can be hacked or read by more than just the intended audience.

Openness is key to relationships Add more teambuilding Communication helps build compassion and trust among couples

to advisory curriculum Advisory should promote honest discussions

Stephanie Cong

Lifestyle editor

Mischa nee

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veryone has been asked, or has at least thought about the question, “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?” Some would say invisibility, teleportation or being able to fly, and some would say telepathy — specifically the power to read other people’s minds.

Though this choice may not seem as exciting as the others, having this ability would allow one to gain information on the thoughts and feelings of others anytime he or she desire to. Not only is this knowledge powerful, but the process used to attain this information is also efficient, making today’s forms of communication less necessary or even irrelevant.

But telepathy is just a superpower, and humans are not meant to be mindreaders. This makes communication crucial for humans as it is the only ways to understand and form relationships with others. The power of basic communication is common sense to most.

What is not as obvious is the importance of a specific type of communication: Open communication.

Open communication requires that both, or multiple people, in a relationship no matter whether it is a working, personal or family relationship are clear, honest and willing to openly express their feelings when need be. Ideally, if both parties are open with each other in this way, little room is left for beating around the bush, passive aggressive behavior or bottling up one’s feelings. This is not to say that open communication leads to a perfect relationship, as all relationships undergo bumps in the road, but it will make for a more easy going and efficient one.

For example, when a conflict arises between people in a relationship, there are many paths of action they can take.

Today, many might choose to keep their feelings to themselves, adopt a passive aggressive attitude or choose to ignore the other person entirely, also known as the “silent treatment.” While the person carrying out these behaviors might feel a sense of satisfaction or believe that his or her actions are justified, any behavior of the like is simply counterproductive.

Junior Jessica Cheng also feels that behaviors which include keeping emotions to oneself are not helpful.

staff writer

Dami Bolarinwa/THE CAMPANILE

Seniors Jade Schoenberger and John Rogers speaking openly with each other.

“Bottling up your feelings won’t only hinder your effort to fix your problems, but will impede others’ efforts to help you as well,” Cheng said.

These behaviors do not solve the conflict at hand and can even result in further hostility between the people involved. More importantly, since this type of behavior usually leads to no communication between those involved in the conflict, both parties have no idea what the exact actions or emotions of the other party are, leaving this information up in the air for speculation. Neither side understands the big picture.

Bottling up your feelings won’t only hinder your effort to fix your problems, but will impede others’ efforts to help you as well.

Jessica Cheng Junior

Instead, if those involved in the conflict took a different approach and simply expressed their emotions and explained their actions to each other, at the very least, all the information would be out in the open.

Nothing would be left to speculation, both parties would get a chance to get everything off their chests and both parties could fully understand both sides of the conflict. As mentioned before, humans are not mind readers, and cannot address issues or solve problems they are not aware of. This is why it is so crucial that both parties communicate openly with each other, as there is no way for hidden feelings or issues to be solved.

Junior Alisha Kumar believes that equal, open conversation is the best way to solve conflicts.

“When faced with a conflict, I believe that having a matter of fact con-

versation with the other person is the most efficient way to handle the situation,” Kumar said. “By communicating your frustration and being willing to have an equal conversation with both parties participating and sharing their opinions and emotions, everything is out in the open and a logical solution can be reached.”

Open communication is not only useful for dealing with conflicts but can be applied to relationships in daily life as well. In fact, if people are open about issues as they arise and express their concerns freely, small matters will not boil over time into larger issues or will not combine with other issues to become a huge and unnecessary conflict later down the road.

Additionally, open communication also helps both parties of a relationship become better listeners, as they learn to respect and acknowledge the viewpoints of others. Cheng believes that open communication requires reciprocating the act of listening and understanding the feelings of others.

“Speaking actively about your problems means you’re expecting the other individual to be actively listening and understanding,” Cheng said. “And if you’re expecting them to do that, you should do the same.”

Through listening, both parties of a relationship can learn to better empathize with each other, recognize the values of the other party and slowly understand what truly makes the other upset.

This can help both parties involved form a stronger, more knowledgeable bond with each other.

Open communication gives people the opportunity to learn how to care about and empathize with each other and how to express themselves. It gives people the chance to strengthen their bonds of love, friendship and trust with each other, something that is very special and unique. It may be a blessing that humans are not mind-readers.

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dvisory is constructed as a designated time to gather information ranging from graduation and college to bullying and other social-emotional issues.

Aside from the few get-to-know you activities done during the team building day, advisory seems to be focused entirely on efficiency.

In the final weeks of freshman year, students from all different circles on the quad meet for the first time in what will become the longest “class” of their high school career.

But quickly, the system diverges into another classroom with just as many lectures and less social interaction.

The teacher advisory (TA) system lends itself to establishing a close-knit group of students whose bond persists throughout the final three years of high school and ought to be treated as such.

Palo Alto High School has received community-wide approval for the TA replacement of the typical guidance counselors, yet Paly is still lacking a space that promotes meaningful conversations among peers. The creation of a safe space to create personal connections away from the threat of academics could greatly benefit Paly students and provide a means for every student to see the struggles of others underneath their calm deceptive personas.

For teenagers, and in Palo Alto especially, the expression of vulnerability is looked down upon. If friends have been created on the basis of humor and laughs, the change of pace could come as an unwanted surprise. Struggles need to be shared, as humans inherently rely on the empathy of others in overcoming our challenges.

Paly should look to enhance honest exchanges between peers by adding to the scope of the advisory system. When students have been given the chance to connect with classmates in a formal situation, the success has been obvious. “[Shirley] Tokheim has turned her classroom in a safe-zone where all of her students feel comfortable talking to each other about topics that they wouldn’t usually talk to anyone about, which is great,” junior Portia Barrientos said. “What’s really great about

Tokheim’s effort is that she realizes that the kind of environment where students are encouraged to have real conversations must exist at all times, not just after a suicide has occurred.”

But with the amount of required learning in each class, it is rare for teachers to have available time to designate for “developing personal connections.” As such, advisory should become the space for students to connect in a meaningful fashion.

Throughout sophomore year, advisories can often be filled with preachy lessons on bullying and academic honesty that, to the vast extent, fail.

“Nothing substantive has been discussed in advisory, say minus the time we had course selections,” sophomore Candace Wang said. “So it’s not particularly useful.”

These less applicable sessions could be cut, and the remaining information could be consolidated so as to allow advisers to utilize the time for community building.

In place of Powerpoint presentations, advisory could host activities that promote non-judgemental interactions. Aspects of the curriculum from the biannual Camp Unity, which serves to breakdown stereotypes and unify a collection of individuals from all kinds of backgrounds, should be incorporated into advisory sessions.

These activities might consist of students blindly stepping backwards or forwards based on their agreement with a list of statements or asking and answering the “36 questions that lead to love” with an unfamiliar face in the room. This would allow for students to expand friendships across cliques in a safe environment. The repetition of these activities beyond sophomore year aids the creation of a community in which each student can express the varying challenges of his or her changing life.

Advisory should be placed immediately following lunch. This change would pressure students into habitually attending the informal class. But at the secondary level, it would show students that advisory is of equal importance to their other classes.

Currently, students feel that the designated time for advisory is undervalued and opportunities to have vulnerable discussions should be more prevalent in the structured school schedule.

“I think [promoting real conversations] is a perspective that the entire school should adopt,” Barrientos said.

By implementing both of these changes, Paly would prove to its students that it values the emotional health and safety of each of its students as much as his or her academic achievement, giving students an EQ to match their IQ.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

EDITORIALS

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Disclaimer: The ideas and views presented in the editorial section represent over 50 percent of The Campanile staff and do not necessarily represent the views of any particular staff member.

Extend local voting rights to teens

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ecently in San Francisco, a city supervisor introduced a charter amendment to lower the voting age in municipal elections to 16 due to a resolution penned by a San Francisco teen. The Campanile not only applauds the actions of the brave teenager standing up for his right to have a voice in the democratic process, but also encourages other Bay Area cities to follow suit, starting with Palo Alto.

The Campanile believes that not only will this give more people the chance to have a say in voting but also increase the commitment and awareness of young adults in the voting process as they grow up and find themselves in different communities.

Studies have shown that by the age of 16, teenagers have generally fully developed the regions of their brain responsible for logical thinking, and

thus have as valid of a voice as a legal adult. Numerous studies have also shown that lifetime involvement in voting and civil affairs depends, in large part, on the age of the person when he or she casts his or her first vote. As such, young adults who start voting in municipal elections at the age of 16 are much more likely to continue to remain politically active throughout the duration of their lives.

The move is also not without precedent. In 2013, two cities in Maryland, Takoma Park and Hyattsville, each lowered their municipal voting ages to 16 in quick succession. Those cities have seen no negative impacts or a lower voting age and have yet to report on the influence on voting behavior in the future.

When the voting age was lowered to 18 years old in 1971, it came as a result of citizens complaining that

they could be forced to join the military and fight in a war without having the right to vote.

Currently, 16 year olds can drive, become their own legal guardians, or be sentenced to life in prison, yet remain unable to vote on the issues concerning them. It is only fair that they should be able to vote municipally, as many of the propositions, specifically those pertaining to education, affect them more than any other group of residents of the city.

They should be able to see the real impact of their vote on their lives, setting them up for a strong history in voting and furthering their interest in public service.

More than 3,500 residents of Palo Alto are between 15 and 19 years old and most of those are fully capable, and therefore deserve the right to vote.

Students should utilize opportunities presented by ASB

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he Associated Student Body (ASB) elections for 20152016 executive and class officer positions marks one of the most competitive set of races in recent years. With only two candidates running unopposed, for the positions of student body secretary and junior class president, the pursuit of student government positions is becoming noticeably more intense among Palo Alto High School students.

The Campanile applauds ASB for further legitimizing the name and role of the leadership body and increasing awareness of elections. In an effort to further improve the democratic voting process and range of options for students, our publication urges the students at Paly to take more initiative in both running for office and voting for the candidates they support, as well as upping their general participation in ASB events and services.

ASB has a significant presence on campus. The mixed group of elected and appointed officers from each grade level plans Spirit Week, Not in Our Schools Week, school dances, prom, Valgrams, forum events and more. On a more serious note, the student government team speaks with Principal Kim Diorio frequently to discuss climate and school policy and oversees a hefty budget. With the level of influence ASB possesses, it may come as a surprise that only a little over 30 percent of our entire student body voted in ASB elections last year. Especially when our student government has made candidate in-

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s college decisions continue to be released and seniors begin to decide where they will attend college in the fall and juniors begin their college application process, it is important to have a comprehensive overview of these institutions of higher education. Many students use a variety of tools to research their prospective schools including testimonies, websites, guides and campus visits, which together paint a generally holistic view of the college.

However, what is missing from these resources is an accurate understanding of the prevalence of sexual assault on campuses. While websites and guides provide a plethora of helpful statistics, including general crime and safety, they lack more specific information in this arena.

Especially in today’s climate, where collegiate sexual assault is becoming a national discussion, this kind of information should be easily accessible to students.

According to the non-profit “One in Four” in a nationwide study with anonymous reports on multicampus

10) ­13.198 10 ounce bags of takis

9) 1.88 flights on Southwest from SFO to LAX 8) 92.857 orders of fries at In-N-Out 7) 16.270 months of Netflix 6) 0.002 of a year of college

5) 15.294 rounds of laser tag at laser quest

4) 0.372 Patagonia ultralight-down hoodies 3) 37.901 gallons of gas

2) 217.878 condoms you won’t use 1) 1 sad, uneventful night

-GALEN BYRD

Ella mernyk/The Campanile

“Do they miss us yet?”

The Campanile

Go here to vote:

surveys spanning thousands of colleges, one in four college women have survived sexual assault with five percent of women on college campuses experiencing sexual assault every year.

National statistics are readily available, but statistics for specific schools are not. Students have the right to know this information when making their decision about where to attend college. Colleges should make this information readily available on the various mediums students use to research colleges, so students can make informed decisions regarding their future safety.

The Campanile hopes that making these statistics readily available to prospective students will not only help students make better informed college decisions, but hopefully colleges will be further incentivized to decrease sexual assault and rape on their campuses. According to “One in Four,” the national collegiate sexual assault statistics have not changed since the 1980s, so hopefully more transparent, individual statistics will lead to expansions in preventive measures.

What to do with your $130 instead of prom

COMIC OF THE MONTH

formation and voting extremely accessible. Students are provided with a website link for casting their ballots and can also vote during school hours.

This year, ASB implemented an additional time slot for on-campus voting, with officers manning voting booths not only during lunch but also after school. Flyers posted around campus are plentiful and display a convenient Quick Response (QR) code for students who want to submit their votes through a quick smartphone scan.

Participating elections is just one of many ways the student body can improve its relationship and influence with the already eager-to-collaborate ASB. This year, the class reintroduced the “Advice for ASB,” a set of suggestions boxes located in the library, in front of the Student Activities Office and online through a Google form.

For those who do not want to relay their ideas or opinions verbally, “Advice for ASB” provides an easy, anonymous and quick method for communication. For those who do enjoy sharing aloud, ASB held an open forum event and encourages students to speak at School Board meetings.

If students hope to grow their impact on the school, voting or running for ASB office is an easy and powerful first step.

Collegiate sexual assault rates should be publicly available

MARCH’S TOP TEN LIST

Editors in Chief Seth Alston • Esther Doerr • Grace Kim Claire Liu • Coby Parker • Sarah Tayeri News and Opinion Editors Lauren Gargiulo Lauren Klass Business Manager Haley Fang

Lifestyle Editors Stephanie Cong Paul Mewes

Sports Editors Galen Byrd Owen Dulik Kevin Mullin

Online Editor Jeffrey Ho

Photography Editor Conner Harden

Staff Writers Abira Berezin Dami Bolarinwa Susana Cacho Miranda Chen Kate DeAndre Claire Dennis Joanna Falla Rachel Farn Bo Field Jeremy Fu

Yi Gi Mackenzie Glassford Danniel Hammerson Jamie Har Antonio Kieschnick Masha Konkov Nicole Li Tiffany Liang Peter Maroulis Anant Marur

Conner Harden Danny Hammerson

Mischa Nee Joshua Ng Kai Oda Aiva Petriceks Rachel Price Nikhil Rajaram Thomas Rauner-Swan Maggie Rosenthal William Shin Chris Skokowski Noah Smith

Photographers Zoe Tierney Ella Mernyk

William Snodgrass Owen Staiger Jared Stanley Alec Sullivan Ethan Teo Sarah Wang Jenny Zhuge Catherine Yu Carissa Zou Jake van Zyll

Dami Bolarinwa Sara Gram-Knutsen

Advisor Esther Wojcicki The Campanile would like to thank our sponsors Dick & Jerry Smallwood for their contribution to our production.

Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds15@googlegroups.com The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis.

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

The Campanile only prints signed letters.

Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts.

For more information regarding advertisements or sponsors in 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.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

classroom body language

L FESTYLE

Nicole Li

B2

ADAPTING TO THE AGE OF INNOVATION UNIFORMITY

Ever since the start of public schooling during the Industrial Revolution, public schools have maintained an uniform environment with a very rigid structure. From the way the school day is formatted with students bustling from one class to next according to the bell, to the way classes are taught with teachers spewing knowledge and students absorbing it, leaving little room for creativity.

This intense uniformity can be beneficial, for the school structure does ensure that knowledge is engraved in the minds of students before they begin to use this knowledge to form creative ideas.

Creativity is not conjured out of thin air but is built off of what is already known. iPhones are based off of mobile phones and touch screen iPods, and Google driverless cars are based off of cars with drivers. So although schools seem to be drilling the creativity right out of students, they also seem to be preparing students to be creative later on, whether that be in college or a career.

However, according to predictions made by Cathy N. Davidson, a distinguished scholar of the history of technology and a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 65 percent of today’s preschoolers will end up working in careers that do not even exist right now.

Since the future looks extremely unpredictable, shouldn’t students be allowed to think creatively and outside the box in order to prepare as best as possible for what is to come?

Even without just looking at the future of today’s preschoolers, inventions like the iPhone and Google’s self-driving car arose from creativity on behalf of the creators. Products like these, at some point, seemed like an inconceivable fantasy, but were formed from the creativity and dedication of their creators.

Though schools may be preparing students with the knowledge that they will use later to be creative, Robinson contends that this system is just killing creativity, not cultivating it.

“I believe this passionately, that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it,” Robinson said in his TED Talk. “Or rather, we get educated out if it.”

Schools, though ingraining information in the minds of students that would adequately prepare them for the Information Age, need to lose some of their uniform structure in order to invite more creativity for the Innovation Age.

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he Information Age is over, and the Innovation Age has begun. The accumulation of knowledge is no longer the only priority of our society. Rather, the introduction of novel concepts, methods and products is the new focus. The Innovation Age, by its very definition, implies change.

The means of inducing this change lies in creativity, the use of imaginative and original ideas. With the rise of this new age, a new generation follows. But who is in charge of preparing us, the new generation, for the Innovation Age? Our educators.

The ability of students to thrive in this Innovation Age depends on what methods and priorities are set by our educators. Educators must alter schools’ curricula, paralleling the changing times.

Sir Ken Robinson, author and educator, came to give a talk at Palo Alto High School on Tuesday. In 2006, he gave a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Talk titled “How Schools Kill Creativity,” which has since become the most viewed TED Talk. Along with his message and other resources, the question is posed: are our educators preparing us adequately to take on the Innovation Age?

ROLE OF THE TEACHERS STANDARDIZED TESTING

Today, our society puts a lot of emphasis on excelling on standardized tests.

Schools are ranked according to a number of factors, one of which is how well its school body performs on standardized tests.

If utilized properly, standardized testing can be a great diagnostic tool. Its use of multiple choice questions allows for no subjectivity, allowing students to be evaluated objectively and impartially. In this sense, standardized testing provides for a straightforward way of gaging at what level students can perform academically.

However, the use of standardized testing has arguably escalated much too far. Emblematic of the problem are the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which were once tests that one could not prepare for, yet the preparation for which has recently grown into a profitable industry.

While intelligence is dynamic, standardized tests measure static knowledge.

It has gotten to a point where there is not much learning involved. Rather, it is rote memorization, a regurgitation of rules that teach kids to “do this” when they “see that.” Ultimately, standardized tests have strayed from measuring student performance and instead measure a student’s ability to outsmart the system.

“Standardized tests have a place,” Robinson said in his TED Talk. “But they should not be the dominant culture of education. They should be diagnostic… But all that should support learning. It shouldn’t obstruct it, which of course it often does.”

Text by Lauren Klass News and Opinion Editor Sarah Wang Staff Writer

In the majority of classrooms across the world, teaching occurs from top to bottom: teachers have the information and they convey it to the students. Students are expected to be like sponges, absorbing the information taught in class. Furthermore, there often exists a certain amount of material to be covered within a school year. Sometimes, this amount conflicts with the time constraints of the school schedule, leaving the teachers to rush through the content and providing students with little time to understand, question or explore the new material.

On one hand, having the teacher fulfill the role of the authoritative figure in the classroom can be beneficial. In taking control over the class, teachers are able to guide students through loads of content.

On the other hand, however, setting up the classroom as a hierarchy with the power centered in the teacher can be detrimental to students’ learning experiences. Concentrating the school year’s focus on the teacher’s agenda, simply because it is the “given” way to go, does not leave much room for students to explore the content further or in a different manner. In fact, having the content practically imposed makes a student feel limited, which could actually lead them to feel unmotivated to learn.

Robinson found that high-achieving, successful classrooms all share one key element: individualized teaching and learning. “[The teachers] recognize that it’s students who are learning and the system has to engage them, their curiosity, their individuality and their creativity,” Robinson said in his talk. “That’s how you get them to learn.”

Another approach which builds off of Robinson’s findings is that which the Paly journalism program takes: a student-run, teacher-advised organization.

Unlike typical Paly classes, publications are run by students. The editors run class regularly, organize production cycles and make almost all the decisions. Each publication has its teacher advisor, Esther Wojcicki, Paul Kandell or Paul Hoeprich, who do exactly what their titles suggest: Advise.

According to Kandell, having students take control of the classroom leads to more effort and better results.

“Student ownership equals greater investment in the product,” Kandell said. “When students are invested more, they’re going to be more creative. They’re going to care more.

They’re going to look for solutions with greater energy.”

Classrooms should look to involve students more in their education to motivate them and expand their areas of learning.

FINDING A BALANCE

Design by Rachel Farn Maggie Rosenthal Staff Writers

Ultimately, a “perfect” education is not one that focuses solely on STEM and testing, nor does it focus solely on the arts and abandon all previously set standards of performance. Instead, it comes with a balance and a limit.

Rather than focusing on fitting students into a mold of what society has determined to be the “right” way to go, be it STEM or something more, schools should emphasize the development of an evenly diverse, knowledgeable and holistic student. There is a time and place for everything: specializing in one area of study should be left for college. Even then, it is important to come in with and continue developing one’s well rounded character.

“Our education system has mined our minds in the way that we strip-mine the earth: for a particular commodity,” Robinson said on TED. “And for the future, it won’t serve us. We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we’re educating our children.”

See full story on palycampanile.org

INSIDE

The fall of cable Anant Marur

B3

Balancing school and art

Benefits of marijuana legalization

Bo Field

Jared Stanley

B7

B6

Friday, March 27, 2015

B2

Trials and tribulations of the vertically blessed

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Parenting strategies may lead to narcissism Certain styles of parenting, such as overvaluing children, may lead to narcissistic behavior Miranda Chen

Staff Writer

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claire dennis

staff writer

6’1”. That is the answer to the question I’m sure you were just about to ask me: “How tall are you?” Or maybe you were just about to make the enlightening comment: “Wow, you’re tall.” Maybe your five-foot self is experiencing a small twinge of jealousy. Or maybe you are wondering why a person gifted with the grace of height would ever complain. But, before you offer me cheesecake in exchange for three extra inches (yes, this is a true story), here are a few downsides that you should know: 1. Plane rides are awful.

Curse whoever sits in front of me on airplanes and feels the urge to recline his or her seat into my legs.

Can’t you see that my knees are already in my face? Now, I give you my (semi) fool-proof strategy: use your knees to prevent said selfish person from reclining their chair. It will either end in a victory, as the person gives up and assumes his or her recliner is broken, or with you panting and pissed off, while your tray table digs into your stomach.

2. You are always in the back of photos. Always.

I would like to meet just one photographer who asks the tall people to come to the front. Granted, if this occurred, the photo would probably just show my smiling face, but would that really be so bad? On the bright side, you are usually saved from the passive aggressive measuring of height back to back. Because whether you are 5’6” or 5’7” will determine the quality of our group photo. But don’t mind me, I’ll just be chilling in the back row.

3. Wearing heels is a constant battle.

Let’s go back to eighth grade graduation, when I made the controversial decision to wear one inch wedges. Innocent me was unprepared for the backlash that ensued. Wearing heels when you already surpass six feet does not exactly make you popular among your vertically challenged friends. But you get the final laugh when you watch other girls teetering along with blisters. And that, my friends, is karma.

4. The Shirt/Dress Dilemma.

Is it a shirt or is it a dress? This existential crisis was described in the previous “Short People Problems” column. Yet, this is a tragedy encountered by us, tall folk, as well. Say you find the dress of your dreams, only to discover that this article of clothing is a bit questionable. It looks like a long shirt. Do you wear pants, leggings or tights? Don’t ask me. I can’t solve all of your problems.

5. No, I can’t dunk.

I sincerely feel sorry for anyone north of six feet who had exactly zero talent in sports. The next question after “How tall are you?” is sure to be “Do you play sports?” and no one wants to be that awkward person to shake his or her head. But sometimes this assumption goes a little too far.

Take my encounter in seventh grade, when a random classmate asked if I could dunk and I had to be that awkward person who shakes her head with embarrassment. We tall folk need to draw awareness to the cruel stereotype that says every tall person plays basketball like LeBron James.

If I did, I would probably already be competing against Brittney Griner in the Women’s National Basketball Association (not that anyone cares to watch women’s basketball, but that is another rant altogether). As you can see, I am just a lowly high school student struggling to survive in the cruel world that expects too much of my athletic ability.

So next time you complain about your lowly stature, just understand the pain that you would endure as a tall person. Maybe you’ll want to take back that cheesecake offer (I swear this is a factual conversation).

t least once in our lives, we have probably heard someone say the phrase “I know that I’m always right.” — a statement typical of a narcissist, someone who is “overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish,” or a person who derives “gratification from admiration of his or her own physical or mental attributes.” Everyone knows a narcissist — but rarely do we ask, how did he or she become narcissistic? What led him or her to become that way?

Recently, a new study conducted by researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Amsterdam has attempted to answer these questions for the first time. After surveying 565 children and their parents, the study has ultimately been able to determine one of the primary causes of narcissism: parents who overvalue their children during their developmental stage. According to the study, parents who believe that their children are better, more special and more deserving than other children create narcissists by passing these ideas on to their children, overpraising them and telling them that they are superior and thus entitled to special treatment.

But what exactly does it mean to “overvalue” children?

In the newly released study, Eddie Brummelman, one of the study’s coauthors and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam, asked parents questions such as whether they thought their child was more special than others, or whether their children deserved something extra in life. Through carrying out his research, Brummelman was ultimately able to determine what it meant for parents to “overvalue” their children.

“What we found was that parents who overvalue [their children] think their child is very smart but in reality, the child isn’t smarter than others,” Brummelman said to the Cable News Network (CNN).

While Brummelman’s classification of what it means to overvalue children is valid and has significance, some students alternatively believe that it is crucial that parents convey to their children that they are meaningful and carry an important value in society.

“I believe that it’s hard for parents to strike a balance [between overvaluing and not valuing their children enough],” junior Andrew Lee said. “Parents have an important

Graphic by antonio kieschnick

Repeatedly indulging children’s egos may lead them to be narcissistic, even if they seem to be healthy words of encouragement

role to play in showing their children that they care for them [while also] preventing them from becoming selfcentered.”

According to Brad Bushman, a researcher from Ohio State University who contributed to the study linking parenting and narcissism, there is a significant role that parents hold in ensuring that their children are not narcissistic and self-centered, while maintaining and assuring that their children still have self-confidence and self-esteem.

“Of course, self-esteem and narcissism are two very different things,” Bushman said to National Public Radio. “Self-esteem basically means you’re a person of worth equal with other people. Narcissism means you think you’re better than other people.”

This means, according to Bushman, that telling a child that he or she is very smart or that he or she is special fosters their narcissism. Telling a child that he or she works very hard, on the other hand, raises selfesteem while preventing egotism.

On the surface, all of these may seem like compliments — but the slight distinction between these phrases of praise and flattery are integral in determining whether a child develops valuable self-confidence versus unhealthy narcissism.

Sophomore Daniel Li believes that this necessary balance between self-esteem and narcissism in children is both fragile and of paramount importance. In fact, according to the study, phrases such as these that parents use to compliment their children during childhood ultimately create

the narcissists that we see during adulthood.

“I think it’s really interesting how such a small difference in how we praise our children can affect how they view themselves in an immense way,” Li said. “It seems like there’s a lot of pressure on parents to say and do the right things in order to create a moral and respectable child, and I guess narcissism is another one of those things that parents have to control in their children.”

So ultimately, aside from having to deal with a narcissist and his or her obnoxious self-confidence, why should we care so much about narcissists? Do they actually contribute anything detrimental to society or our lives?

Brummelman’s answer to that question? Yes. Narcissism has been rising among Western youth in recent decades, and in his study, Brummelman has established the underlying dangers of narcissism.

“I’ve been studying aggression for about 30 years, and I’ve seen that the most harmful belief that a person can have is that they’re superior to others,” Brummelman said in an interview with The Washington Post. “‘Men are better than women, my race is better than your race, my religion is superior to your religion.’ When people believe they’re better than other people, they act accordingly.”

A study published in 2011 explored the changes in music over the past three decades, and researchers found a significant shift toward lyrics that reflect narcissism (“I” and “me”

appear more often “we” and “us”) and hostility (change from positive to angry words and emotions).

This phenomenon of narcissism is larger and greater than just egotism and self-absorption — the attitude of “you’re on your own” and the shift in societal values from collectivism to individualism has consequently shifted people away from civic responsibility and more so towards an attitude of self-gratification.

Now, we often meet people who always choose their own desires over others, who need constant attention or admiration or who have a strong sense of entitlement.

This growing shift in Western culture — in which we live in an age of digital narcissism, with the rise of the selfie and the constant sharing of our digital profiles on social media — is not the only issue with this growing culture of narcissism.

However, the real, main concern of many is when society as a whole begins to embrace and accept narcissism as the norm and not as the exception.

Have we reached this point now?

Is narcissism now regarded as acceptable and normal?

It seems as if we are approaching this detrimental acceptance of narcissism in our culture — but hopefully, our society is able to turn away from and resist this trend of the “narcissism epidemic,” in which a culture of caring only about oneself and not for others exists, and ultimately move towards a society where we appreciate and consider the needs of others as well as our own.

Improving in-class body language for students Students’ body language in class conveys their mood and readiness to learn the curriculum

connor harden/the campanile

It is important to keep the students engaged through a variety of teaching techniques

nicole li

staff writer

T

eachers can tell sense the strength and value of a student-teacher relationship from body language. Getting good grades and showing effort are not the only factors in garnering respect from teachers, who also care about attitude.

Students can use their body language to convey respect and also adjust their body to become more engaged in class.

Social psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy’s viral TED talk “Your body language shapes who you are” informs

everyone from students to businessmen about the importance of paying attention to body language.

“Social scientists have spent a lot of time looking at the effects of our body language, or other people’s body language, on judgments,” Cuddy said.

“And we make sweeping judgments and inferences from body language.”

Cuddy’s talk emphasizes that people can detect power and attitude in others based on outward appearances. Palo Alto High School teachers agree that students project an array of different messages with their appearances, and that they use these messages to adjust their teaching mechanisms to fit the students.

“I’m constantly working with students and their ideas,” art teacher Kate McKenzie said. “I’m always kind of pushing students, sometimes beyond their comfort [zones]. I can tell right away from people’s body language whether I’ve pushed them too far and I need to pull back, or just let them make the choice to get people comfortable again.”

So what can we as students do to improve the way we participate in our classes?

Make eye contact “Body language tells me whether or not students are ready to learn and eager to learn, or whether or not they’re resistant to learning or appearing to be resistant to what we have to teach,” World History teacher Steve Sabbag said. “Classic things are like sitting up straight, eye contact [and] where your hands are, versus slouching [and] not making eye contact.”

Sit up straight “If you look collectively at body language, sometimes you can tell how students are receiving the activity or information,” English teacher Melissa Laptalo said. “Sometimes if a lot of students look kind of bored or tired, the pacing might be too slow for what you’re doing. If you can see a lot of students really sitting up in their chairs and leaning forward, you can tell that they’re engaged in what’s happening.”

Using the power pose, or “making yourself big” In a study of Master of Business Administration (MBA) students, Cuddy noticed that power poses and

the lack thereof predicted the students’ behavior in class. “You have people who are like caricatures of alphas, really coming into the room, they get right into the middle of the room before class even starts, like they really want to occupy space,” Cuddy said. “You have other people who are virtually collapsing when they come in … [It] seemed to be related to the extent to which the students were participating, and how well they were participating.”

A more comfortable, spread-out position may help you overcome your fears of peer judgement. Not hiding your face with your hands and not resting your chin on the table will make you seem more commanding.

Apply meditative techniques Body language can help you as much as it helps your teachers like you. By relaxing your shoulders and taking big cleansing breaths, mindfulness helps you stay awake in class to digest information. Keep your feet flat on the floor to prevent leg-shaking and further distractions.

Some simple tweaks in eye contact and posture could also make you feel more engaged in whatever class you are in and take the fear out of participating. These changes can also help teachers feel more listened to and more respected. Teachers are human, and while speaking in class may be difficult, teachers are the ones who need to communicate to an entire room all the time.

Showing respect would make their lives easier and strengthen your relationship with them.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE B3 Does sound appropriation push music to evolve?

Trends in songs demonstrate that no music is truly original and it is up to the artist to differentiate themselves Antonio Kieschnick

staff writer

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usic is kind of like cherry pie, but not really. In fact, it is nothing like cherry pie. It bears no relation to cherry pie, but that does not mean it has no boundaries. Was that unpredictable? Is music unpredictable? Should it be unpredictable? The beauty of music is its unpredictability — no one can know what direction a song will go in the next second or minute.

So the more songs sound the same, and the more predictable they are, the uglier they become right? Well, that depends.

It depends on pop, In the recent court case involving Robin Thicke and his collaborator Pharrell Williams against the estate of Marvin Gaye, Williams, Thicke and rapper T.I were made to pay $7.4 million as compensation to the Gaye estate for copying the Gaye tune “Got Give It Up” with their own groove, “Blurred Lines.” Some argued that the Williams song did sound like “Got To Give It Up” and they had been rightfully sued, while others argued “Blurred Lines” bore no resemblance to Gaye’s tune, and this was just another example of the ‘intellectual property-police’ who were killing music. But something was amiss in all of the loud-mouthing that was taking place. No one was asking the question: Does this even matter? Should we really even care whether a song is a rip-off or not?

It depends on the audience. As has been repeated ad nauseam by any music enthusiast at this point,

courtesy of billboard

Intellectual property legal cases, like a recent case disputing Thicke and Williams’ popular song “Blurred Lines,” become increasingly common as society claims music original.

the music industry has always had a history of appropriation: Rockabilly is just an electric version of the blues.

The same goes for rock and roll. Punk is a primitive form of rockabilly, a sort of wild-man Chuck Berry. Grunge is the hard rock of Black Sabbath playing at funeral procession. The list goes on. But throughout all of this, there still seems to be some sort of acknowledgement that songs should not be similar. You can absorb a style, but you cannot simply copy it and do something that is exactly the same.

But why not? Why should musicians not be able to copy their favorite artists? Should there even be a line between plagiarism and appropriation?

Shouldn’t it all just be one thing?

It depends on the artists. Sometimes, a band might not be productive enough. It might have a sound, but very little music for its fans to listen to. Then along comes another band, a band that might sound similar to

other artists at first, while at the same time it provides a unique twist on its predecessors. For example, Buddy Holly left behind a legacy of around 25 songs. Most of The Beatles’ early records are rough imitations of Holly’s style. So in a sense, The Beatles provided fans with some extra Holly.

It really does depend on the artists. When a musician covers another song, it is pretty much impossible for him or her to not leave his or her own mark on the music. This is in part due to the unique nature of any artist, making him or her impossible to mimic flawlessly, but also due to the person creating the cover leaving his or her own indelible imprint on the tune.

A song is as much defined by the emotions it evokes in the performer as its chord progression or lyrics, and as each person feels slightly different when performing the same song, the song will morph from cover to cover.

It also depends on the industry. Music, as like all art is, is subjective. Since the beginning of the modern era, new musicians and musical genres have sprung to life by attempting to imitate older genres, such as the aforementioned Beatles and Buddy Holly, or Eminem and the Beastie Boys. In a sense, music has only ever progressed as a result of plagiarism. It is impossible to sound exactly like someone else, but in attempting to do so, one ends up crafting one’s own sound.

It depends on the other side of the argument. The flip side being that when artists or musicians plagiarize music from some other bands, they aren’t contributing anything new to the musical canon, and they are simply responsible for the death of music. For example, the last decade has seen the rise of post-punk blues bands. At their vanguard were the White Stripes and the Black Keys, but that riff driven rock continues to-

day and shows little sign of progressing. If anything, there appears to be an increase in post-punk blues bands, with Black Pistol Fire and Royal Blood playing a brand of blues rock considered by most to be fairly similar to their millennial predecessors.

In the end, it depends on everybody else. If a song sounds similar to another, should we decry it for being a rip-off ? Or simply applaud the effort and encourage the musician to pursue this style until he or she genuinely develop their own style?

Well, it all depends on what everyone else thinks. Will music continue to progress? Is originality something innate to humans? Or has music peaked? Have we as humans lost all of our originality? Are we just weird robots or zombies? To paraphrase lyricmeisters Flight of The Conchords: Are the humans dead? Did we in fact “use poison gasses to poison their asses”? Well... I guess it all depends.

Smart homes go mainstream Cable users turn to Companies compete for dominance in a new technology market video on demand jeremy fu

Users are attracted to the viewer freedom and cheaper prices of subscription video

staff writer

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he connected home finally appears to be approaching mainstream America, alongside a great amount of hype from major technology companies.

The connected home is made up of devices that are linked to the network and in so doing, allow the devices to be monitored and controlled remotely. Considering the pervasive influence of the Internet in our daily lives, it seems a long time coming that the Internet is finally brought to the home.

Connected devices which aid in home automation include thermostats, security systems and home appliances, all of which are revolutionizing the technology market.

The race for control over the smart home market began with Google’s acquisition of home automation company Nest in January 2014, signaling the arrival of major tech companies into the connected home market. In turn, Nest, acquired Revolv, a smart hub company, in October that year.

In June 2014, Apple unveiled HomeKit, a home automation framework that allows iOS 8 users to control a variety of smart devices from their iPhones. Unlike other platforms, users of HomeKit can also use Siri to speak commands and control devices. A few months later, Samsung brought itself into the market by acquiring SmartThings, another system which functions as a hub for smart devices. However, transitioning to a smart home is filled with obstacles. Device fragmentation due to competition between platforms such as Home Kit, SmartThings and Revolv prevent a streamlined experience for consumers. The lack of a standard platform which can connect all smart devices causes compatibility issues between devices and limits the growth of the smart home.

“Instead, as consumers add individual smart products to address additional problems, they will realize new tasks that this combination of gadgets could address — if only the solutions were able to communicate and interoperate,” Frank E. Gillett, analyst for Forrester, a market research company, wrote. “This realization by customers will create demand for federation among smart products.”

courtesy of wonderhowto.com

Netflix and Hulu are some of the many SVODs that make viewing content easier.

anant marur

staff writer courtesy of fortechsolutions.com

Technology allows everything from thermostats to blenders to be remote-controlled.

Furthermore, there is the problem of integrating smart technologies into current houses. Early adopters will have to foot a large bill for retrofitting new wiring displays and thermostats, which may quickly become obsolete as the market is still not mature.

“The killer app that provides the tipping point has not materialized,” Dinesh Sharma, vice president of marketing at Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing told USA Today. “But if you have any doubts about the market, walk down the aisle of a Home Depot or Lowe’s.

You see connected devices, and it’s not just Nest.”

Indeed, home improvement stores are now filled with appliances that hope to bring organization to the home. First to begin this revolution was Lucky Goldstar, which premiered the Internet Digital DIOS fridge in 2000. At the time, it was ridiculed as an unnecessary product and was not widely adopted — perhaps due to its $9,000 price tag.

However, the smart fridge is now a feasible alternative to regular refrigerators, with the price point reaching near parity. LG has decided to give smart fridges a second try and brands such as General Electric and Samsung have also created their own.

The advancement of technology allows smart fridges to remind users when to stock up on more groceries or allow users to watch television.

Smart appliances are not the only devices to flood the home improvement market. Phillips Hue light bulbs, for example, can change color for different ambiances, be turned on or off remotely and be set to slowly brighten in the morning.

Other innovations include the Nest Protect smoke alarm which can send phone messages if it senses smoke and reminds its users when it has a low battery. The alarm gives warnings with a human voice before sounding an alarm. It can also be paired to a Nest Thermostat, which can turn off gas if there is a leak of carbon monoxide. The Nest Thermostat can even intelligently learn a family’s thermostat usage.

These devices join a growing number of smart home devices, including electronic door locks, garage door openers, security cameras, weather stations and even watering cans.

While the smart home may still be more popular with early adopters than mainstream consumers, according to findings from the National Association of Realtors, 46 percent of homeowners believe installing smart home technologies is worthwhile.

Yes, it may take some time before connected devices become ubiquitous in every home, as the market has yet to go mainstream. But, their dominance is inevitable and based on the amount of products flooding the market, it is coming very soon.

C

able behemoths like Comcast and AT&T U-Verse are finally being forced to treat their customers right as Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services such as Netflix and Hulu continue to edge cable out of the television market.

As users find more reasons to include SVOD services in their monthly bills, they begin the migration away from the cable industry. It doesn’t help that cable services have been notorious for abusing their monopoly on the video broadcast industry, raising average rates by 97 percent in the last 14 years.

In addition, 6.5 percent of households in the United States have cut off their subscription to cable. The younger population displays an even higher aversion to cable, with 12.4 percent of households with an 18 to 34-year-old year old canceling their cable services. Netflix and Hulu’s are clearly responsible for this shift, with 18.1 percent of households with Netflix or Hulu cutting off cable.

Television networks are catalyzing the process. CBS and HBO now offer their own streaming services in an effort to retain control over their content as cable loses more of its user base. This decreases incentive to stay with already unpopular cable companies However, cable companies may get the last laugh. Most households use the same provider for internet and cable, so providers are hiking up data prices for households that do

not also subscribe to cable, making it more expensive to stream and allowing providers to skim profit off of streaming services.

One advantage to streaming services is the ability to watch anything from the selection at any time. Unlike cable, which dictates what can be watched based on hotly contested time slots on different networks, streaming allows the user to choose exactly what show to watch at any time. Many users, especially the younger population, take advantage of this capability and focus on one show at a time, rather than watching the variety that cable offers. This gave way to the new trend of ‘marathoning’ a TV show.

A long standing solace for cable companies were their sports channels.

However, with increasing streaming services such as WatchESPN and DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket offered online, cable is beginning to lose that monopoly as well. Cable is still safe for the time being though, since online sports streaming options have a much smaller selection of sports and networks than cable sports packages.

In additon, 6.5 percent of households in the United States have cut off their subscription to cable.

Millennials are increasingly avoiding cable altogether and choosing options such as Hulu and Netflix instead. This spells trouble for cable providers, since its far more difficult and expensive to draw in new customers than it is to keep old ones.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

B4

SPOTLIGHT

THE [HERCULE

text and design by stephanie cong lifstyle editor

investigating the history and reasoning behind tuition hikes in public higher educatio

Student opinion

O

n Nov. 20, the UC Board of Regents passed the Napolitano’s tuition hike plan. Less than a day later, protests against the approval of this plan sprang up all across the state at several UC schools — from Berkeley to San Diego.

Hundreds of students joined together to participate in marches across schools, the occupation of campus buildings, or even the disruption UC Board of Regents meetings, to make their voices heard.

An anonymous student from UC Berkeley believes that the majority of students are opposed to the tuition hikes and agree with the message of the protests.

“For the most part, a good amount of the students disagree with the fee hikes because the allocation of the tuition fees is very misrepresented and not put towards bettering t h e education system within the UC, rather it is used to pay outrageous salaries for the administration,” an anonymous UC Berkeley student said.

UC Davis student and Paly alumna Young-Ju Lee believes that requiring students to pay more tuition should not be necessary to attend a public university.

“I understand that the economy isn’t at the best place right now, but pulling out funds from taxes and making UC students pay more for their tuition basically defeats the purpose of going to a UC school,” Young-Ju Lee said.

Yvette Felarca, a UC alumna also agrees that, as the UC system is public, students should not have to put up with tuition hikes, especially without having any representation or say in the matter.

“The UC is still a public university and we intend to make it that way,” Felarca said in an interview with KRON 4 News. “ [Napolitano’s] proposal for a 25 percent fee hike is completely ille-

“

public four-year private nonprofit four-year public two-year

Academic year gitimate, it’s undemocratic, it’s been railroaded through and it’s had no vetting or any kind of input from students or alum or anything.”

Even students who do not view the tuition hikes as a personal problem, such as Austin Leung, a Paly alumnus and current UC Berkeley student, understand how hikes are troublesome for others.

“For me, the tuition hikes aren’t really a problem,” Leung said. “However, I understand out-of-state kids already pay a ridiculous amount to attend UC’s, and that just 10 years ago, in-state tuition was dirt cheap to the point it was almost free.

Also, I understand many people are in tight financial situations and that any increase of tuition just causes additional stress.”

The UC schools, which participated in the tuition hike protests, all took different approaches to the matter. Matt Talajkowski, a student at UC Santa Cruz, believes that although the protest strategies each UC school uses are different, they are still unified as one against the tuition hikes.

“Each UC [school] which participated in the protests was in solidarity with each other, but each used different tactics,” Talajkowski said.

The schools are holding protests, but it is hard to decipher how much effect the protests have. UC San Diego student and Paly alumnus JJ Kadifa feels that though the protests are definitely spreading the message that students are against tuition hikes, their message may not be sinking in for Napolitano or the UC Board of Regents.

“The pro-

pulling out funds from taxes and making uc students pay more for their tuition basically defeats the purpose of going to a UC school.

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- Young-ju lee, UC Davis

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Before the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, regulation of the mortgage market was sparse, which helped contribute to a collapse of the market. Now, the market is heavily monitored, but student loans remain neglected.

Since the 2008 economic crisis, the number of Americans that have at least one student loan has increased from 29 million to 40 million, with average debt levels increasing from $23,450 to $29,400, according to The Institute for College Access and Success.

This swell of student loan debt has gone far from unnoticed.

Protests have erupted across the country, and nationwide movements such as Strike Debt have been created in response to the ballooning student debt that is plaguing many students.

College tuition and fees from the 84-85 to 1415 school years relative to the 84-85 school year in inflation-adjusted dollars

tuition and fees relative to 84-85

“W

e realize that what you are all qualified to do is run private businesses, but we students and Richmond community members are not your personal banks!”

Kristian Kim, a University of California (UC) Berkeley student, cried as she led a protest at the UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco on March 18.

Kim takes her dress off, over her head in one swift motion, and steps on top of her chair, wearing undergarments covered with the words “student debt.”

“This is all I got left!” Kim shouted. She paused to reach into her bandeau top, and boldly tossed paper money at the Board of Regents sitting across from her.

As she continued to deliver her message, fellow students and Richmond community members joined her in taking off their outer layers of clothing.

“You are taking the shirts off our backs!” she yelled.

Kim paused, then signals the others to join her by chanting “Raise up Richmond, no tuition!”

The crowd chants for a minute before police enter the room in full riot gear, warning protesters that they could be subject to arrest or further police action. The crowd disperses, but lets the Board of Regents with a haunting message: “We’ll be back, we’ll be back!”

The reason for the radical protest? Rising tuition prices.

The past few years have seen more backlash over the inflated prices of higher education than any before.

According to a report published by The College Board, nationwide public four-year college tuition has increased 3.25 times in inflation-adjusted dollars since the 1984-1985 school year. In fact, since 2000, public four-year college tuition has increased almost twofold. In California itself, the average public four-year college tuition has risen from $5,277 in the 2004-2005 school year to $9,173 in the 2014-2015 school year.

This rapid increase in tuition has culminated in over $1 trillion in nationwide student debt, ranking student loans as the second biggest source of consumer debt, exceeded only by mortgages.

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We’re in the dark

The growing monstrosity that is student debt poses a threat to taxpayers because when the loans go unpaid, taxpayers are forced to subsidize the debt.

This prospect is shocking when considering that little is known about the specifics of student loan debt. In an article published by the New York Times titled “We’re Frighteningly in the Dark About Student Debt,” Susan Dynarski underscores the magnitude of the student debt predicament.

“We are remarkably ignorant about student debt,” Dynarski said in her article. “How many borrowers are delinquent on their federal loans? How does delinquency differ by amount of debt, income and education? Which colleges leave students underwater, with low earnings and large debts they can’t pay?”

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tests are definitely spreading attention of the issue at hand, but neither the UC [Board of ] Regents or the governor seem to be listening to the students,” Kadifa said.

Kim believes that the protest at the UC Board of Regents meeting she participated in recently was effective.

She feels that it was able to show Napolitano’s disconnect with students in the UC system, especially after her rude remark during the protest, calling the protest “crap.”

“This most recent protest which I was a part of was effective in exposing the vast disconnect between the Regents and the student body,” Kim said. “I think as students of the UC that’s something we very well know to exist, but the fact that Napolitano’s hot mic caught her little ‘crap’ comment, it was successful in the sense that it made that disconnect very explicit.”

Leung agrees that protests help show the gap between Napolitano and the UC students but does not think that the protests will ultimately change her paths of action.

“In terms of effectiveness, I think they [protests] do bring attention to Napolitano, tell her that not everyone agrees

“

the UC [Board of] Re governor are using the as a bargaining chip rath the interest of th

-jj kadifa,

What now?

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Though Napolitano’s recent tuition hike plan was approved, the future of tuition for public universities, funding of the UC system from the state of California and regulations of student debt remain unclear. Decisions about these topics in future years may be influenced by factors such as the rise of organizations such as Strike Debt, the opposition between

The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015

B5

SPOTLIGHT

EAN] A$CENT

text and design by Nikhil Rajaram Staff writer

on // reactions of students and government to the growing mountain of student debt

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ublicly funded universities are in a never-ending tug-ofwar with their resident states over funding. When the state that a university is in decides to cut funding to said university, tuition increases and students pay the price (literally).

In fact, national student tuition now contributes more to public college funding than state fund allocation does. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), tuition accounted for 17 percent of public college revenue in 2003, as compared to 25 percent in 2012. During this time, the percentage of public college state funding fell from 32 to 23 percent. The 2008 economic crisis led every state, save for North Dakota and Wyoming, to cut funding for higher education. In California itself, fund-

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL REVENUE

percentage of public college revenue composed by tuition and state funding from 2003 to 2012

percentage of total revenue accumulated by state funding percentage of total revenue accumulated by tuition

fiscal year

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with her policies, and make her think about her decisions,” Leung said. “I don’t think it will sway her decision, but the protests definitely aren’t pointless.”

Where does the disconnect between students and Napolitano and the UC Board of Regents occur?

Kadifa does not agree with the recent decisions of Napolitano and the UC Board of Regents as he believes that they are not acting in the students’ best interest.

“I disagree with the recent tuition hikes because the UC [Board of ] Regents and the governor are using the student’s tuition as a bargaining chip rather than acting for the interest of the students,” Kadifa said.

Kim believes that Napolitano runs the public UC system as a private business, and is an example of the lack of respect students within the system are given.

“Napolitano runs the UC like a private business, which is completely contradictory to the public nature of the institution,” Kim said. “I just don’t like the way she runs this profit machine as well as who she is and what she’s done in the past, she’s just a manifestation of the lack of respect within the UC system for the population it supposedly serves.”

Leung, on the other hand, understands why Napolitano and the UC Board of Regents feels that there is a need to be an increase tuition, as he feels the state may not be able to provide enough funding for the UC system.

“The only problem, is that the money needs to come from

egents and the e student’s tuition her than acting for he students.

UC San diego

Napolitano and Brown over funding for UCs from the state and more access to free online and community college education.

Regardless, Felarca finds it important to protect the public university system with the help of the younger generation.

“We’re fighting for the dignity and equality of the people of this state,” Felarca said in an interview with KRON 4 News. “Young people and students are a force in this country that are among the strongest force to make a real difference and change, to defend public education.”

somewhere,” Leung said. “We either can choose to cut funding to the universities, which would not be cool, or we have to take money from the state and/or the students. Since California already has money issues, I understand the need to raise tuition.”

Still, seeing as many students do not agree with Napolitano and the UC Board of Regents, they instead see solutions for funding the UC system which do not include tuition hikes for students.

Felarca and the students she works with feel that not only must tuition hikes be halted and that funding for the UC schools should come from the state instead of the students, but she also believes Napolitano should step down from her position.

“We want to send a message to Janet Napolitano, that she should resign,” Felarca said in an interview with KRON 4 News. “We are building a movement to defend public education, to stop privatization [of the UC system], but [also to] make sure that we stop these fee hikes and get more funding from the state of California for what the UC [system] and future generations of students deserve in this state.”

Kim agrees with Felarca on the terms that public education must be defended, that the state must reinvest in public education and that in theory, public education should be free for the public and provided for by the state.

“Ideally, the notion of a public institution, specifically education, is that it is funded by the state, which essentially means it’s funded by the public because thats where the taxes come from,” Kim said. “Students would have their tuition paid for and being paid for as they’re attending the university. I think a lot of things have to change, but ultimately, the state needs to reinvest in public education.”

Tuition on the rise also means rising levels of student loans and debt. Phoebe So, a Paly alumna and UC Davis student feels that students may find it harder to attain higher education due to the looming presence of student loans and debt.

“Currently, higher education is incredibly important and beneficial, however, with student debt on the r i s e and being notorious

“

Brown and Napolitano have since been in deadlock over the issue of tuition hikes and state funding for the UC system. On Jan. 8, 2015, Brown informed Napolitano of his decision to allocate an additional $120 million to the university rather than the $220 million that the UC system had requested.

“We have been increasing [funding to the UC]... and $120 million is not chump change. Some parts of the budget didn’t get any increases,” Brown said.

Brown remains in opposition to divert more funding to the UC system as tuition rates increase because his plan for increasing funding to the UC system is contingent upon tuition remaining constant.

In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal, Allysia Finley denounced the UC system for clamoring for more funding, whether it be through tuition hikes or increased state funding allocation to the UC system.

“Between 2008 and 2011, state general-fund spending on UCs dropped by about $900 million,” Finley wrote. “During that period, the regents ratcheted up in-state tuition by more than 70 percent, to $12,192 a year, from $7,126. But note that revenues from tuition and fees have increased to $3 billion from $1.7 billion, so the increase more than offset state budget cuts. And now general funding for the universities is merely $300 million below its 2007 peak.”

Part of the governor’s refusal to allocate more funding to the university is spurred by his lack of faith in how the university spends its money.

“I’ve got a whole book showing how the university is spending money it doesn’t have to,” Brown said in 2013. “Certain kinds of research, sports, gardeners, a lot of things.”

This rapid increase in tuition is making accessibility to higher education more and more limited. According to a statistical analysis undergone by Randal Olson, it is now nearly impossible for students to work their way through college. Whereas the average college student in 1979 only had to work 182 hours per year to pay for tuition, the average college student in 2013 had to work 991 hours. That’s the difference between working a part-time summer job and a full time job for half of the year.

At this point, the UC system is prioritizing spending more and expanding the universities over providing affordable education, coming at the price of the should-be beneficiaries of public education — students. for being difficult to pay off, students with monetary restraints are finding it harder to receive a good education that won’t set them up with significant financial burdens in the future,” So said.

The notion that public education should be free for students, mentioned by Kim, has provoked the start of movements such as Strike Debt, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.

Student debt due to inflated tuition prices, as mentioned by So, is a problem which exists nationwide. Strike Debt claims to be a nationwide movement of debt resisters fighting for economic justice and democratic freedom.

Strike Debt has started a project, named the Rolling Jubilee, which helps those who are in debt due to finance and access basic necessities such as housing, medical care and education. The Rolling Jubilee does this by buying debt from banks for at a discounted price with help from donations and charities and then simply abolishing it instead of making those who owe money for basic necessities pay back their debt. At first glance, this concept may seem foreign, but banks are willing to sell debt to collectors at discounted prices to ensure that they get at least some portion of the money they have loaned back. If those who are in debt completely default on their loans, or file bankruptcy — the bank will not get a single cent back.

As of March 23, the Rolling Jubilee has raised $701,317 to pay off the discounted debt they buy, and has abolished $31,982,455.76 of debt. Strike Debt has also started another initiative more specific to student loans, called The Debt Collective.

“If you owe the bank a thousand dollars, the bank owns you,” reads The Debt Collective website. “If you owe the bank a trillion dollars, you own the bank. Together, we own the bank.”

The Debt Collective aims to foster a community where people can come together to strike against student debt. Together, the community has pledged not to pay $167,672,922 of debt.

“We have one thing to say,” reads The Debt Collective website. “We owe you nothing.”

I think a lot of things have to change, but ultimately, the state needs to reinvest in public education.

“

The problem

ing for four-year public colleges and universities has been cut by 15.8 percent per full-time student since 2008. In this same time period, average tuition for four-year public universities in California has increased by 62 percent.

The UC system has been receiving $460 million less in funding from the state than it did in 2007 and 2008, although their enrollment is skyrocketing.

UC President Janet Napolitano plans to respond to the budget cuts to the UC system with a tuition hike that would raise tuition by five percent each year over the next five years. On Nov. 20, 2014, the UC Board of Regents approved the tuition hike on a 14-7 vote and the Regents Long-Range Financial Plan Committee on a 7-2 vote, with student regent Sadia Saifuddin and Gov. Jerry Brown as the two dissenters.

The increased revenue from tuition hikes will be used to enroll 5,000 more in-state students, maintain the university’s financial aid program and fund investments to improve in educational quality.

- Kristian Kim, UC berkeley

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

B6 LIFESTYLE Legalization reveals benefits Songwriting is not States with legalized marijuana usage experience economic rises just for musicians Jared Stanley

Artists use songwriting to communicate and connect with others through emotion

staff writer

M

any residents from Alaska and Oregon will be saying “I’m on that good kush and alcohol” come 2016. Although 27 states and the District of Columbia either allow the medical use of cannabis, or decriminalized possession of small amounts of it only four states allow it to be used for recreational use.

Colorado celebrated its one year anniversary of allowing the recreational use of marijuana on Jan. 1.

The state of Washington has also allowed recreational use of cannabis since June of 2014, and will soon be accompanied by Oregon and Alaska in 2016. Many of these states are beginning to allow the medical use and or the recreational use of cannabis because of the benefits that follow, both economic and social.

According to a November 2013 report from ArcView Market Research, a San Francisco-based investor group focused on the marijuana industry, the legal cannabis market was worth $1.53 billion in 2013 and in five years is predicted to be worth over $10 billion.

If all 50 states accepted legalization, they would bring in over $3 billion dollars in tax revenue, and the amount would continue to increase yearly.

According to the Huffington Post, after the first two months of legal recreational use in Colorado, $6.17 million dollars were collected in tax revenue. Of all the money to be gained by the legal sale of cannabis, Colorado has decided to give $40 million of its earnings towards the construction of public schools. As marijuana continues to bring in an increasing amount of money, why have other states not allowed cannabis to be used for recreational use?

According to NerdWallet, if all 50 states accepted legalization, they would bring in over $3 billion dollars in tax revenue, and the amount would continue to increase yearly. The annual revenue collected by these dispensaries is projected to reach anywhere from $10 to $15 billion by the year 2018. If California were to accept the recreational use, it would benefit the most economically, bringing in upwards of $519 million per year, while New York would be second with $248 million.

In the recreational marijuana business, an ounce of marijuana can cost anywhere from $150 to $300.

However, most customers never buy that much at once. The most common marijuana purchase is about an

abira berezin

staff writer

H

Design by Bo Field

Through economic statistics, legalizing marijuana creates profits through taxing.

eighth of an ounce, costing anywhere from $25 to $45.

Colorado is able to benefit from the sale of legal cannabis as a result of the high tax that is imposed when buying marijuana. When buying an eighth of an ounce that costs $30, state taxes will add an additional $6, while a special Denver tax will add another $2.59. After all taxes are applied, the customer pays an additional 29 percent.

Allowing both the recreational use of cannabis and medical use of cannabis does not only bring in money for the states that allow it, but it also has the potential to create thousands of jobs for the residents of these states.

As of April 2014, the legal cannabis market has created anywhere from 7,500 to 10,000 jobs for the people of Colorado, according to Michael Elliott, the Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group.

Another benefit that legal cannabis brings, if the experience of Colorado is anything to go by, is a decrease in crime and drug related arrests.

Marijuana related arrests in the state of Colorado make up more than 50 percent of all drug related arrests, since legalization, the number of arrests related to the use of marijuana have plummeted.

This single reform has allowed local law enforcement agencies to focus on other issues within the state. By removing several of these marijuana penalties, Colorado has saved between $12 million and $40 million, according to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

Legalization of recreational marijuana has continued to gain public support since it became an issue. According to a Gallup Poll, in 1969,

eight out of ten Americans opposed legalization. In 2010, when California voted on Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana, it garnered 47 percent support and was narrowly defeated by a 53 percent majority. Just three years later, in October of 2013, a Gallup Poll found that 58 percent of adults were in favor of legalizing marijuana.

Colorado, a state with similar approval concerning recreational use, allows its citizens over the age of 21 to buy no more than one ounce of cannabis per visit. One downside to the recreational use of cannabis is the lack of enforcement that follows.

No law requires dispensaries to keep records of what their customers buy, and how much they buy. The one ounce limit is up to the customer to abide by. Nothing prevents customers from visiting multiple dispensaries, and purchasing one ounce at every store they visit.

Many people hop from one store to another, in the hopes of being able to accumulate enough marijuana to sell on the black market. Selling their legally bought cannabis on the black market in hopes of making some sort of profit is known as smurfing.

Smurfing is something that many officials were worried about with the legalization of cannabis.

With clear economic benefits such as an increase of employment as well as a new market for taxation, the legalization of cannabis seems beneficial.

However, the contrast of drawbacks such as poor regulation makes it a controversial proposition. It is up to the people of California to decide whether recreational marijuana use would be most advantageous, taking social and economic factors into account.

uman connection is beautiful. Within this complex life we are all living, the want for being wanted is screaming throughout everyday life. It is human nature to feel and want to connect with someone. Connection does not have to be physical and can be effectively felt through music. The art of songwriting is, and has been, a way to communicate and can be used as a coping mechanism.

“There are a lot of issues in daily life that can’t be solved normally and in those cases music is a good outlet for that” senior Maggie Peng said.

It is incredible how one can connect with someone they don’t even know by just listening to a song. The song does not have to have words, but you can still feel something and know how the person who wrote the song was feeling. If you listen to the words of a song, actually listen to the words. If you understand the words to a song, then that is the ultimate connection with the writer of the song.

You are literally listening to someone’s thoughts and feelings. If that doesn’t blow your mind, have fun being an unpassionate person.

I get inspired by the people that I meet and the things that happen to me and my friends in life

Gabe Galang Senior

Songs feed off of feelings and follow with ideas. People have a common misconception that songwriting is for musicians and you have to have some amazing songwriting ability.

False. Anyone can write a song. It does not have to be the most beautiful and literate thing ever, but if you get your message across, who cares.

The greatest song writers are just like you, they sit in their rooms and write.

Believe it or not, students among you are writing songs and using them as comfort. Songs are a way of inspiring other people and inspiring yourself to be more able to express yourself.

“I get inspired by the people that I meet and the things that happen to me and my friends in life,” senior Gabe Galang said.

“I think you write your best songs when you’ve experienced something that’s had a great emotional impact on you,” Junior Clara Chiu said.

You might ask, how does one start writing a song for the first time?

Sometimes writing songs cannot be

forced and sometimes you cannot think of anything. But ask yourself, how you are feeling and what are you thinking about? These questions could spark some inspiration but it can also be liberating to check in with yourself.

“I normally write songs when I’m going through time of my life that cause really strong emotions, happy or sad,” sophomore Alexandra Stump said.

It is a lot like writing a poem and can be changed while going along, but once you are done and happy with a song, it can be very freeing. Writing songs can help people through hard times and allow them a way to sort their thoughts. This is why anybody could do it. Everyone has thoughts and feelings and should use them to their advantage.

Even if the songs are just for yourself, the process of writing them is what helps you through whatever you were going through and can be looked back upon.

“It’s really hard to just wake up and decide to write a song if you don’t have any inspiration from a real-life experience,” Chiu said.

Writing songs can also become a routine and allow a person to reflect on their life or even just their day.

“I try to write something everyday. Just like a part of a riff or even just a line or two of lyrics. I aim to just try to be productive,” senior Gabe Galang said.

Listening to someone’s song and understanding and connecting with it can be a curious but comforting feeling. But once someone connects with your song, it is one of the most empowering and emotional feelings. Even if it’s just one person who connected with you. They listened or read your song and understood. You let yourself be vulnerable and a person appreciated it. That is the beauty of music. Music is communication.

“Writing music has been a sort of outlet for me, so to hear that others connect with my music feels really wonderful”, sophomore Alexandra Stump said.

We are all trying to find ourselves music gets us a little closer to real feeling. No one should feel discouraged out of writing songs or even just writing down your feelings. Get in touch with yourself and carry on the alluring art of songwriting.

“I only make and release music that I enjoy myself, so when other people comment on it and say they like it I appreciate that,” senior Will Kast said. “But what makes me the happiest I made it in the first place.”

Smack High Twitter account verges on cyberbullying Nationally followed Twitter account allows anonymous harassment of high schools through social media catherine yu

staff writer

P

aly, you’ve just been smacked!

“Palo Alto High, where all girls think that they are mod-

els.”

Gaining popularity at Palo Alto High School, and throughout the country, is a Twitter account known as “Smack High.” It is self-described as the “largest collection of high school student-submitted news, stories, sports and entertainment” with the intent to “deliver instant, school specific news and happenings.” Smack High has accounts in 24 states and over 600,000 collective Twitter followers, receiving millions of engagements each month.

Each state that Smack High is established in has its own account focused on high school submissions for the specific state; for example, Smack High California.

Within those states, student volunteers take it into their own hands to manage accounts specific to a certain area, such as Smack High Bay Area. Through Twitter direct messages, mentions or an external link, students can submit any message they would like to be posted onto the

account. Not every submission is approved — they are first screened by the account managers for any overly offensive content.

Most students in the Paly community first find Smack High through retweets that appear on their Twitter news feed. From there, they go on to investigate the account and see what it is all about. When scrolling down Smack High’s profile, the bulk of the tweets are “smacks,” or trash-talking between schools.

For instance, in a tweet directed at Paly, Smack High posted, “Dear Paly, your blood to alcohol level is higher than our GPA. Sincerely, Gunn.”

Throughout the entire feed, viewers and followers can see smack after smack, directed at specific schools.

Compared to accounts such as Smack High Georgia and Smack High Alabama, whose tweets are mainly of sports, the Smack High Bay Area account focuses more on rival smack — which is a divergence from Smack High’s original intention.

“Most of their stuff is just talking smack about other high schools,” junior Bradley Brewster said. “The only ‘school-specific news and happenings’ that I have ever seen on there is someone sent in that Serra [High

School] won the open division state championships for football. ” A small portion of Smack High’s feed includes legitimate updates on current events at different schools.

They also update scores to sports games relatively often. But even then, it is in the form of a smack from the winning team against the losing team.

“The majority of the account is anonymous comments that are sent in with the intention of teasing or provoking,” an anonymous freshman said. “Obviously, it is the admin of the account’s decision whether he or she should post more news or more rival smack, but if a ton of comments are being sent, he or she is going to want to put up whatever it is the followers want to see.”

The mass of the school-on-school bashing posted on Smack High may seem like it’s all in good fun. Since no individuals are named, the smacks are therefore are assumed to be less offensive, allowing them to pass the account manager’s screening and be shared with the public.

While some students look at the smacks and do not think twice about them, others take offense. There is one side that views Smack High as a form of cyberbullying, calling out

Graphic by danny hammerson

The Smack High Twitter account contains tweets targeted towards high schools.

the account for allowing schools and individuals to badger each other on social media.

“In my opinion, Smack High is definitely bullying of a sort,” junior Kash Rogers said. “It constantly talks down schools, which I think is crazy.

The fact that if one student has something to say about you, and sends it in to Smack High, their opinion, whether negative or positive is now publicized to eight thousand plus people. I don’t think that’s okay.”

The other side find the tweets to be vague enough, not targeting one person or a specific group of people so that they are not considered harm-

ful or constitute as harassment. By allowing rival smacks to take up the most volume on the account, Smack High becomes an outlet for school rivalries to flourish. Posting subject content that provokes a response increases the engagement from the public, causing more smacks to be submitted.

“I feel like Smack High does promote school rivalry, just not the right way,” junior Bradley Brewster said.

Using Smack High as an outlet, students have expressed themselves.

As more rival smacks are posted, more engagements the account receives, and larger its coverage grows.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

B7 LIFESTYLE Student artists sacrifice their passions for academics Graduation requirements and excessive homework assignments prevent students from spending time on art Bo Field

Staff WRiter

C

reative people are known for thinking out of the box, going against the grain, acting spontaneously and possessing many other traits that normal people view with incredulous confusion.

So it is no surprise that historically, when faced with the challenge of school, which consistently asks you to conform, act and think predictably and sink thousands of hours into meaningless busywork, many famous artists have either tried to adapt and failed or given up and dropped out.

Because if you are going to be a starving artist anyway, why waste your time in school just to be a starving artist with a diploma?

But not everyone can drop out of school and still go on to be a social media billionaire or a culturally inflammatory rapper and designer. The students that aren’t Zuckerbergs or Kanyes are forced to buckle down and work like everyone else to graduate, even though most of the time, they are not actually working towards anything that they would like to do as a career. A backup degree is not only suggested, but essential to the survival of anyone wanting to take the risk of pursuing a career in the arts. On top of this, the time commitment school requires continues to increase as students progress through grade levels. Similarly, the further one advances as an artist, the more time you have to dedicate to honing and perfecting your craft. This presents us

with a huge dilemma: there are only 24 hours in the day. How do you fit in both art and study?

When surveyed, Paly student artists showed the lack of room for balance. Only about 11 percent said that they were able to spend three to five hours a day on their art. Notably, 37 percent said that they were able to spend less than an hour a day. However, 52 percent said that they would like to be able to spend three to five hours but are not able to because of other commitments. When this is compared with time spent on homework, it becomes clear that we’re forced to prioritize. Realistically, 40 percent spend three to five hours on homework nightly, 40 percent spend between one and three hours, and only 20 percent are able to spend an hour or less.

It is true that students have opportunities to practice art in school through Paly’s excellent programs. A variety of classes are offered in different media, giving students a couple of block periods a week where they can learn new skills and practice their artistic abilities. But just because these classes are available does not mean that everyone who wants to take them can. Only one art class is needed for A through G requirements, and once most students finish that they have to finish other requirements. With only seven periods in the day, and most of those periods taken up by core classes and graduation requirements such as Physical Education and Living Skills, students only have one or two periods open for electives. Tack on Advanced

design by Bo Field

Many students wish to extensively hone their art skills, but homework and long school days leave little time for artistic projects.

Placement courses and the necessity of a prep in order to sleep and treat cluster headaches, and it is practically impossible to fit in an art course that you genuinely want to take due to other courses that you are forced to take.

So it seems like it all comes down to time management. Much like athletes, artists have to commit time outside of school to practice and hone their skills. But while athletes have partitioned practice time every day, artists have no designated time set aside for them. And when no one is yelling at you to draw harder or spend more time recording in the studio, it can be hard to motivate yourself to create after a long day of sleep inducing lectures and stressful testing. On

top of taking up copious amounts of time, schoolwork also saps the energy that is vital to creativity. Even if artists can carve out a couple of free hours a day, they might be too tired and drained to pick up the paintbrush and will probably just decide to sleep instead.

The conclusion we can draw is that artists in particular do not have enough hours in a day to properly hone their craft and pursue their passions. The classes they take in school do little to encourage a creative mindset and in some cases might even stifle creativity and make it harder for artists to get back into the flow once they return home. The only solution in sight requires cutting something out of the equation, whether it be

slacking off on assignments in order to further their artistry or giving up on art in favor of higher grades and test scores. But the most striking part of this issue resides in the realm of the hypothetical: if students spent an equal amount of time on their art as they did studying calculus or memorizing ancient legislations, what kind of masterpieces could they create?

The most impactful artists are few and far between — rarely do we see a voice that speaks to a generation or changes the world. But how many potential creative messiahs simply lie dormant under the rigorous intellectual conditioning of modern education? This millennium’s Da Vinci could be throwing his sketchbook away and studying for a math test.

Death Grips pave a flashy trail to final album release In the past year, Death Grips have announced disbandment, delayed albums and released incendiary cover art Danny Hammerson

Staff WRiter

T

he experimental trio Death Grips recently announced that the long awaited second half of their final album “The Powers That B” will be released on March 31. The second half is titled “Jenny Death.” Along with this information, a single from the upcoming album titled “On GP” was released with an accompanying video. Following a leak on March 19, the band released a full version of the album to YouTube, but the official March 31 release date still applies. On March 24 they announced a world tour that will begin in June.

This has come after a history of mysterious antics regarding the band’s interaction with the media and its fans. The announcement that the group had disbanded came in July 2014, with a photo of a note written on a napkin posted to social media.

This announcement came not long after the release of the first half of the band’s final album, titled “N****** on the Moon.” After the death of Death Grips was declared, many awaited the second part of the album and expressed their anticipation online.

Soon after, the trio released an instrumental album titled “Fashion Week.”

The first track in the album was called “Runway J” and all the subsequent tracks in the album eventually spelled out “JENNY DEATH WHEN”,

Design by Bo Field

Fans are highly anticipating Death Grips’s final release after the group’s dramatic social media posts and inconsistent appearances.

which left listeners awaiting the release of the album.

Though releasing an album completely out of the blue isn’t by any means a new release strategy for Death Grips, the hidden statement within the instrumental album and various other clues left many questioning the validity of their break-up.

Long before their break-up, Death Grips deleted their Twitter account, but months later an account claiming to be the trio sprung up. This mysterious account posted a picture of the band at Disneyland and a screenshot

of a video that would officially be released four months later on Dec. 9, 2014. This account also correctly predicted that the trio would be going on tour, despite cancelling their last tour and supposedly breaking up a couple months earlier. The account also posted a video of the band practicing for a tour, leading to even more speculation on whether Death Grips had ever ended. This speculation continued after the trio posted on Facebook that they might continue making music; which is the closest to direct information fans have recieved.

Prior to this, the band’s antics lead to controversy and that even caused them to be dropped from their major record label. After the band released their self-titled debut EP and mixtape “Exmilitary” in 2011, they signed to epic records a year later.

On this label, they later released “The Money Store.” Following this release, they cancelled their first major tour, but promised another album releasing that year. Due to complications with label, the release date of such an album was extended greatly; which lead the band to release “No Love

Deep Web” for free without the labels consent. Though the impromptu release of such an awaited album was unexpected, the album art was even more surprising. The album art featured an erect penis with the album title written on it. Though speculations exist, there are no explanations for the meaning of such an explicit cover. Many believe the cover art was a statement against the label, who subsequently dropped the band.

Around a year later, the band founded their own label, Thirdworlds Records, under the major label Capitol Records and were given free creative reign.

Following this, the band had a string of no-shows at concerts and events it was scheduled to play. The most notable was their scheduled Lollapalooza aftershow, where there was no band and the stage was set up with a backdrop of a fan’s suicide note and a toy drum set in front of it. After the audience realized the band was a no-show, chaos ensued, the audience destroyed the onstage equipment and trashed the venue. Shortly after these events, the trio released their third studio album “Government Plates” without prior announcement.

Even though Death Grips’s presence has confused and left fans questioning, they have made all of their music readily available online and in stores. Fans can look forward to an entertaining final release by such an entity.

Do you play sports? Do you want to participate in a simple research study? Do you want to help other people like you in the future?

Jan Medical Inc is a local company that wants to take recordings of healthy, normal high school athletes without a history of concussion. Our study coordinator will meet with you to take recordings with our research headset called Nautilus BrainPulse that you will wear on your head for about 2 minutes. The headset does not generate any heat or energy and is comfortable to wear. Data from your recording will be treated as confidential. You will be compensated for your time and support of this study To learn more please email jsandy@janmedical.com or call 650-318-5785 Note: Placement of this ad does not imply an endorsement of the BrainPulse technology by Paly or the Palo Alto Unified School District

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, March 27, 2015

B8

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

2

in

2000

This is the age of the director. Trailers for films trumpet the names of famous directors alongside the words ‘produced by,’ ‘created by’ and even just ‘from.’ Unfortunately, while ‘from’ does sound nice, it doesn’t actually mean that the person mentioned did anything but sign a contract for their name. Directors, now as much as movie stars, have become branded. Names, more than anything else, draw studios into new projects, and this practice hurts those names as much as it hurts the industry.

With the release of the movie “Chappie” earlier this month, director Neill Blomkamp simultaneously went back to his roots and changed the course of his career. Blomkamp’s career came full circle with the film based off the short film that got him noticed by Peter Jackson and pushed him into Hollywood, but, in a strange contradiction, the film indicates that his career is on a completely different course. While his first feature film “District 9” was a smart, pointed satire of South Africa during Apartheid, the plots of his films have become simpler and condensed (despite their longer run times), and the critical reception for his directorial efforts has turned from hot to cold. Blomkamp’s career seems to be in jeopardy, and he is quickly joining a growing group of directors who need saving both from studios, and from themselves.

Richard Kelly, whose name has only appeared after to the word ‘from’ once, is one of the best examples of how a director’s valuable name can work against them. With his first film “Donnie Darko” gaining popularity, and cult status from its 2002 DVD release, Kelly found himself with enough leverage to make the movie he really wanted to, and enough people on board to fund it. Kelly’s second film, “Southland Tales,” could only have been green lit by studio executives because of the name attached to it, because the movie is widely considered one of the biggest train wrecks in cinema, both critically and commercially (it made up less than two percent of its budget up at the box office). Kelly’s ambition worked against him, and upon being given a blank sheet of paper and a blank check, he wrote the script to a movie so full of subplots that it, for all practical purposes, forgot to actually have an ending. The movie that Kelly wanted to make ended up killing his career simply because nobody wanted to say no to the guy who directed “Donnie Darko.”

On the other end of the spectrum are directors whose fame has actually eroded their ambition. While Michael Bay is often derided as the worst of these offenders, the transition of an action-movie director to a slightly-dumber-action-movie director isn’t as egregious as some of the descents in Hollywood. Ridley Scott, the director of the visionary “Alien” and “Blade Runner” moved on to powerful (if predictable) epics like “Black Hawk Down” and “Gladiator,” before he decided that his career had enough good movies and he created “Prometheus” and “The Counselor.” Scott’s directing of “Prometheus” amounted to little more than a cash-grab, as the supposed prequel to “Alien” ended up directly conflicting with the original, and “The Counselor” played out as if its plot had been made after-the-fact in order to connect a few scenes the director thought were cool.

None of the boundary-pushing effects or original ideas present in Scott’s early work can be seen in his films today, and in most cases, it seems that his effect on the film was in name alone.

Laziness and overconfidence are on other ends of the spectrum for directors, but both are equally dangerous to a film. By relying on a director’s name or reputation, instead of their current ideas, Hollywood does these directors a disservice and encourages them to harm their own careers. With Neill Blomkamp now on board to direct a reboot of Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” we will have to see whether the movie franchise that launched one career will be the downfall of another.

This edition featuring:

Jaisel and Jaiveer Sandhu with The Campanile’s own

Chris Skokowski

The Campanile: Jaisel, if you could use one word to describe yourself and one word to describe your brother Jaiveer, what would those words be?

Jaisel Sandhu (BJS): Well, I’d say that nothing captures my essence as well as the word ‘moist’, and I think the word ‘hooligan’ best describes my brother.

TC: What words would you use Jaiveer?

Jaiveer Sandhu (LJS): I would say ‘fly’ for myself and ‘embarrassment’ for my brother.

TC: So, Jaisel, will you be handing over the reigns of Even-PeriodWeatherman-In-Chief to Jaiveer next year?

BJS: We’ll see, we’ll see, I don’t think he has what it takes. There really isn’t any substitute for raw talent in weather-casting.

TC: Now, Jaiveer, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongues: do you think Claire’s asking would even have had a chance at succeeded without your solo?

LJS: I mean, honestly, I’m surprised Claire didn’t just change her mind and ask me after that solo.

TC: I think we’re all a little surprised.

LJS: Yeah, I gotta say that I’m done with prom askings for this year. I don’t want to end up hijacking an asking after coming so close with this last one.

TC: How did you feel about your brother’s performance, Jaisel?

BJS: I think that Lil’ J really broke it down out there on the quad, but let’s not forget who he learned all those moves from.

TC: Aaaayyyy.

LJS: Jaisel, you suck at dancing. You can’t even dance.

TC: Can you tell us about the balance of power within the Sandhu residence?

BJS: I wouldn’t say that there is even a balance of power since I hold it all. It’s pretty clear that I am the dominant male within the Sandhu household.

LJS: As if. I run this family.

TC: Jaisel, would you say that sophomore Clay Watson is even more of a younger brother to you than Jaiveer?

BJS: Yes and no, Clay is more like a son-in-law.

LJS: Don’t talk in that tone.

BJS: He’s a franchise player. Allen Iverson.

TC: Any shout-outs you’d like to give, seeing as you’ll be graduating this year Jaisel?

BJS: Shouts out to Mr. Bungarden.

Definitely.

TC: What about you Jaiveer?

LJS: Shout out everyone who voted Jaiveer. Your support is appreciated.

TC: Now, Jaisel, what is the philosophy behind your weight-gain regimen?

BJS: Honestly, you just need to eat a lot. No secrets.

TC: So, Jaiveer, before Jaisel exploded in size, you were getting pretty close to overtaking him.

Are you going to start eating big in order to keep up?

LJS: I mean, Jaisel is pretty tiny, so you can’t really compare us in size.

TC: Jaiveer, how would you say you’ve adjusted in your first year at Paly?

LJS: I think the better question would be how has Paly adjusted to me?

All: Aaaayyyy.

The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015 ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

SPORTS

Senior track and field captain, Julia Asin, sprints her way to success.

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A coach’s love for lacrosse and his high school

D.j. Shelton’s path from being “Biggest Drama King” senior year to becoming his alma mater’s lacrosse coach

Courtesy of Paly Madrono 2008

Courtesy of D.j. SHELTON

Left: Shelton is recognized as the “Biggest Drama King” in the 2008 edition of the Paly Madrono. Right: During his time at Goucher College, Shelton drives down the field after a winning face-off during a lacrosse match.

MASHA KONKOV

STAFF WRITER

F

uschia argyle socks finish off his obviously well planned outfit, and a half full Peet’s iced coffee sits on the table of his office in the social studies department.

Although D.j. Shelton may have studied international relations and history in college, his true calling was found early in the sport of lacrosse.

Shelton, or “Djeezus” as the Palo Alto High School varsity boys lacrosse team calls him, graduated from Paly in 2008 and went on to play lacrosse for Goucher College, a small liberal arts school in Baltimore, Md. “Going to college was a very humbling experience, because I went from being one of the better kids on the team and winning the state championship to going back east and being on the bottom of the ladder for two straight years,” Shelton said.

Shelton was not just known to the Paly student body and faculty as a stellar athlete but also as a kid with quite a vivacious personality. Upon graduating, Shelton won “Biggest Drama King” and was an honorable mention for “Biggest Gossip” in his class senior polls.

Shelton never played lacrosse as a Viking because the boys lacrosse program began after he graduated.

Rather, he played for the Tomahawks Lacrosse Club, one of the most prominent clubs in the Bay Area.

He coached for the Tomahawks his high school senior year and at Mountain View High School after college.

Along with coaching the varsity team at Paly, Shelton is now the head coach of the NorCal Platinum team.

“Some things about Paly are literally the exact same as when I attended,” Shelton said. “I walk through the quad to the office and students are sitting in the exact same place, it’s kind of eerie actually. The physical parts of campus have changed, but otherwise, it is so similar. Unless you go to a really large school for college, I don’t think you will ever experience the same level of school spirit as there is at Paly.”

Shelton describes his coaching style as intense and tries to infuse as much energy into practices as he can.

“I would never say I am laid back, but I never belittle my players,” Shelton said.

He tells the boys, “Don’t ever listen to the tone of my voice but rather what I am saying.”

Shelton is working on strengthening the team’s coherence and dynamic, as well as developing all the players’ skills.

“I have to take a step back from the X’s and O’s of strategy, because the tools needed to implement the strategy are not solidified yet,” Shelton said.

Originally falling in love with the sport in fifth grade after receiving his own stick, Shelton now brings not only his appreciation for lacrosse, but also his devotion to education, in order to give the Paly boys their best experience with lacrosse possible.

Although Shelton may nearly perfectly embody the “lax bro” aesthetic with his brightly colored shorts and boat shoes, he has grown to despise the term. Despite thinking it was funny in high school and being characterized as a “lax bro” while he played in California, where the sport had not yet reached popularity, once he got to the east coast, everyone referred to him as a “Cali bro” solely

because he wore flip flops instead of boat shoes.

“That term is such a perpetuation of the upper middle class white population that plays lacrosse,” Shelton said. “I think the overall outreach of the sport has developed tremendously, but if you look at the top tier schools — Syracuse University, John Hopkins University and Georgetown University — there won’t be any kids of color playing.”

Lacrosse originated as a tribal game played by the Iroquois Native Americans. However, the sport was extensively modified by European immigrants who made it exclusively available for white people. According to Shelton, the evolution of lacrosse has made it develop into a “prep boy” sport.

“I was a junior at Paly when the Duke University rape case happened, and people thought it was acceptable to jokingly call me a rapist just because I played lacrosse,” Shelton said.

“Lax bro culture perpetuates things like that, which kids [high schoolers] that age aren’t really capable of understanding yet. Football is going through the same thing right now in terms of negative publicity: safety issues of concussions and the domestic

abuse cases. We’re finding that there are elements of culture related to sports that aren’t good, when it comes to a violent sport like football, you can’t act shocked when a player acts violent off the field. When it comes to lacrosse, its not a reflection of how the game is played, it’s a reflection of how the players band together, and that exclusivity continues the segregation of the sport.”

Although Shelton says he can not control what the boys on the team do outside of practices, he tries his best to set a high standard of conduct for the team to follow.

Shelton attributes his extremely diligent work ethic to a set of skills he developed through his time playing in college. Originally falling in love with the sport in fifth grade after receiving his own stick, Shelton now brings not only his appreciation for lacrosse, but also his devotion to education, in order to give the Paly boys their best experience with lacrosse possible.

“Over the long term I’m a better coach than player,” Shelton said. “I always played specialized positions in lacrosse, I’ve never been the most athletic kid, I have good hand-eye coordination and a good sense of the field.”

Zoe Tierney/The Campanile

Paly’s lacrosse coach D.j. Shelton talks to the boys varsity team during practice, as the boys take a water break. Shelton has been coaching at Paly, the high school he graduated from in 2008, since the 2014 lacrosse season.

WhY 49ER’S maNaGEmENt IS BRINGING thE tEam doWN Manager Jed York has made several faulty decisions, including firing excoach Jim Harbaugh, which could make it difficult for the team to succeed in future years.

C4-C5

INSIDE AUBREY DaWKINS Paly alumnus’ journey to Division I basketball and his success on the University of Michigan team as a freshman.

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ToP CoNtENdERS foR thE NBa’S moSt ValUaBlE PlaYER Which NBA superstar deserves to take the trophy home in April?

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The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015

SPORTS C2 New badminton coach hopes to increase physical training Team optimistic that new coach will make up for loss of seniors

Win against Mountain View sparks excitement Track and field performs well in first meets

JEREMY FU

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto High School’s badminton team began its season with a loss against Monta Vista High School; however, the team is still optimistic for the rest of the season.

The game opened with the highly anticipated match between Paly’s varsity 1 boy’s doubles team and Monta Vista’s varsity 1 boy’s doubles. On Paly’s team were junior Eric Chiang and senior Joseph Chang, on Monta Vista’s team were sophomore Sean Chen and senior Justin Ma, who is ranked number one nationwide in boy’s singles for the U-19 division.

The Vikings began down multiple points, however the gap soon closed to 16 - 14 after multiple successful shots by Eric Chiang and mistakes by the Matadors. As the game progressed, the score difference increased once again and the Paly boys could not overcome their point deficit.

After a brief respite, the game moved to the second round, with Monta Vista pulling an early 5 point lead over the Vikings. A crowd grew as the game intensified, and the players competed with several successive volleys, taking increasingly difficult shots to beat their competition.

Despite the efforts of Chiang and Chang, Monta Vista increased its lead, finally winning the game 21 to 12. The match did not continue on to the third round. However, Chang is happy with the result of the game despite the fact that the team lost.

“It was a tough match, we knew who we were playing,” Chang said.

“We tried our best, and I think we made a good effort. I think Eric played well overall. What we should’ve done [was] attack Shawn a lot more and play keep away on Justin Ma.”

COURTESY OF MALCOLM SLANEY

Kent Slaney pulls ahead in the 1600 meter at the St. Francis Invitational track meet.

CONNER HARDEN/THE CAMPANILE

The Paly badminton team faces off against Monta Vista High School in the Big Gym.

Around the gym, it appeared that Paly’s teams would not win many games, as varsity 1 boys singles team lost against Monta Vista setting the tone of the tournament for the Vikings.

However, a little beacon of light appeared as sophomore Linus Wang and freshman Jackie Cai successfully defeated Monta Vista in the last two rounds, gaining a much needed win for the team.

But once we slowed down the pace, we knew what we were doing and I was really confident.

We did not drop as much and we tried to drive a lot more.

Jackie Cai Freshman

“I know during the first game we were having communication problems and we were rushing,” Cai said.

“But once we slowed down the pace, we knew what we were doing and I was really confident. We did not drop as much and we tried to drive a lot more.”

Boys lacrosse off to good start in first league games

After several tough losses, Vikings push on

However, the Vikings had already lost overall, as the Matadors already grabbed 17 out of the 30 points in the game.

Nevertheless, the games continued and the Viking’s varsity 3 boys doubles team of seniors Dan Su and Matthew Li beat Monta Vista’s own team in two rounds, bringing Paly’s score up by one. In the end, Monta Vista High School beat Paly 26-4.

Despite the overall score, Assistant Coach Arne Lim expressed the need for a positive attitude.

“Going into this match, I thought that we would have a very difficult time getting points,” Lim said. “Yet you still put your best foot forwards.”

Lim also said that a number of good players were unable to play due to missing medical cards.

“We had to shape up some of the errors that we had over the past two years,” Lim said. “People can’t just walk in and play and not attend practice. What is important is they be consistent and I be consistent and we will be able to experience something that we’ve never imagined.

The team’s next game is March 31 against Lynbrook High School at home.

ETHAN TEO

STAFF WRITER

A

fter a strong start to their season by defeating Milpitas High School in all four divisions — boys varsity, boys frosh, girls varsity and girls junior varsity — on March 10, Palo Alto High School track and field teams have been performing with mediocrity.

The team’s latest meet was the St. Francis Invitational at which more than 40 schools across the Bay Area competed. Paly’s boys varsity team placed eleventh while the boys frosh/ soph team came in tenth. The girls did not do quite as well, with both the varsity and frosh/soph teams ending in 19th place.

The Paly boys’ frosh/soph distance medley team placed first in its event and is comprised of sophomores Tanner Newell and Naveen Pai along with freshmen Sam Craig and Aashai Avadhani.

“Coming into that race, we didn’t know what to expect,” Newell said.

“We had never run this race before, so the entire relay team was nervous.”

The race was a testament to the strength of the Paly underclassmen.

According to Newell, there is a lot of potential among the underclassmen.

“We have a very strong team, especially among the freshmen and sophomores who have a lot of potential and are getting better every day,” Newell said. “The next two years will be interesting since many of our best athletes such as [sprinter] Eli Givens will leave us, but our sophomore class will be ready to step it up.”

Paly junior Eli Givens placed first in the boys varsity 100 meter dash at St. Francis with a time of 11.04 seconds. Besides being Paly’s star sprinter, Givens also excels in long jump and placed fourth at the invitational.

Paly hosted Henry M. Gunn High School on March 17 where the boys varsity emerged victorious, but the other three divisions lost. Sophomore Kent Slaney took first in the boys varsity 800 meter race as well as the 1600 meter race with times of 2:01.43 and 4:32.92 respectively.

Slaney believes that the team has a bright season ahead of them.

“Our team is really good this year,” Slaney said. “People to watch out include Eli Givens, who’s always great, also Brett McBride. Brett has been running great races recently. I think that we’ll have multiple individuals and relay teams go to States.”

The team looks forward to the next meet on April 2.

Girls lacrosse off to good start

Hopeful for success in SCVAL championships, team goes 6-1

DAMI BOLARINWA/THE CAMPANILE

Attackmen Matt Selignson and Cole Tierney wait for the defense to clear the ball.

WILL SNODGRASS

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A

fter suffering a heartbreaking loss to Menlo Atherton High School in the semifinals of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League playoffs, the Palo Alto High School boys lacrosse team is looking to build momentum going into league play.

The Vikings have experienced a difficult preseason schedule that has included games against several tough opponents. The team opened with a 12-10 win against Archbishop Mitty High School, with senior Zach Levitan scoring three goals. However, the win was followed by three straight losses.

The Vikings fell to Sacred Heart Preparatory High School by a score of 11-6, which was followed by a frustrating defeat to Menlo Atherton High School by a score of 8-2.

The team’s final preseason game was against Saint Francis High School, which resulted in a 12-4 loss.

Despite shoulder injuries to seniors Owen Staiger and Levitan, the team has bounced back from its slow start. The Vikings opened league play with a dominating 11-3 win over rival Gunn High School, then carried its momentum into another win over Saratoga High School by a score of 16-5.

Injuries held several players out of a 10-3 loss to Los Gatos High School, but the team received important contributions from junior Matthew Seligson and sophomore Hayden Libbey. They followed that with a 20-4 rout of Leland.

Levitan was impressed with his teammates ability to respond to their early defeats.

“We struggled early and had a tough preseason schedule, but we’ve been playing well recently even with all of our injuries,” Levitan said.

With a 3-1 league record, the boys still have a serious shot at bringing home a league title. The Vikings next play against Los Altos High School on March 27.

CONNER HARDEN/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Paige Bara, and juniors Reid Walters and Maya Benatar face off during girls lacross pratice at the El Camino Lacross Field.

SUSANA CACHO

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto High School girls varsity lacrosse team has started off its season with a 6-1 record.

The team’s first game was on Feb. 27 in which it competed against the Burlingame High School Panthers and won 12-2.

On March 12, the team faced off against Henry M. Gunn High School and defeated the cross town rivals 9-5. Paly outscored Gunn 4-2 in the first half and 5-3 in the second half. The game featured goals from seniors Paige Bara, Allie Peery, Claire Chevallier, Lisa Rogge and junior Maya Benatar. Paly’s goalkeeper, junior Meredith Kinnaman, made seven saves against the Titan offense.

The Lady Vikes were defeated by St. Francis Catholic High School on March 14., ending their initial 4-0 winning streak. After the upsetting lost against St. Francis, the team won against Los Gatos High School 20-8.

According to junior Kylie Callan, there are many reasons for the team’s success so far this season.

“Everyone on the team is very supportive of one another while also pushing each other to improve and play their best, which just creates a good atmosphere,” Callan said. “Also, everyone is enthusiastic about the sport and shows up every day ready to give 100 percent, whether it’s a game or just a practice.”

Even though the girls varsity lacrosse team is off to a great start, there is still room for improvement.

“When we face teams that aren’t as good, we can play down to their level and make games be closer than they should be,” Callan said.

The Paly girls varsity lacrosse team ended last season with a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) division title, and this year the team hopes to have a similar outcome.

“So far we’re undefeated in league, so we hope to continue with that success and hopefully win SCVALs at the end of the season,” Callan said. “Unfortunately there’s no CCS [Central Coastal Sections] playoffs for girls lacrosse, so we can’t win anything division-wise, just league.”

The girls varsity lacrosse team’s next game will be on March 27 against Pioneer High School, and will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

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Girls swimming and diving team undefeated The girls swimming and diving team looks ahead after claiming second place in the Spring Invitational Kate DeAndre

Staff writer

P

alo Alto High School’s girls swimming and diving team began its season with an easy win at its first meet of the year.

The dual meet was on March 12 at Henry M. Gunn High School and the Paly Spring Invite resulted in a second place medal on March 6 and 7.

The meet on March 20 against Homestead High School ended with a win for the girls swimming and diving team.

“I think everyone is playing a part in meets and I think that’s really good,” junior swim captain Katie Francis said. “Everyone’s doing really well, especially this early in the season. We have a lot of really good freshmen and sophomores coming in, so we have a very young group, and that’s really cool to see.”

Although the team performed exceptionally well during the last meet, each team member recognizes that there is more to work on in order to continue their wins.

“It is definitely different for each and every swimmer because we all have our own individual weaknesses

and strengths, but collectively we are focusing a lot on our turns and breakouts,” sophomore varsity swimmer Catherine Passarello said.

The girls varsity swim team has been working hard through each of its daily after-school practices, along with a maximum of three morning practices.

Girls varsity swim and dive coach Danny Dye hopes for the team to define the techniques of its strokes and prepare for racing during practices.

The team hopes to improve its ability to work well as a team and creating a dynamic between the team members by focusing on creating friendships and doing activities outside of practice.

“We’re working on bonding, getting to know each other and trusting each other,” Francis said.

The varsity diving team has also begun the season successfully with a win against Homestead on March 19.

It hopes to continue to improve on uniformity of its dives so it can get a higher accumulative score.

“We’re really trying to keep our dives consistent and trying to improve our degrees of difficulty,” sophomore diver Emma van der Veen said. “So hopefully we’ll all be able to

Oliver Tucker/the Campanile

The girls swimming and diving team looks to carry momentum after winning its first meet against Homestead High School.

place at CCS this year and contribute to the team,” The girls varsity swimming and diving teams have won or received second place in all of their meets.

“They have been doing well.

The girls are young so they’ve been kind of getting used to the training and learning how to work in races,” Dye said. “They are competitors and

they’re working really hard, so I’m proud of them.”

Girls swim and dive teams will compete in the St. Francis Yamamoto Invitational on Saturday, March 28.

Baseball team stays Softball team confident about positive after defeat ability to continue strong start The baseball team rebuilds after its defeat against San Ramon Valley High School Thomas rauner-swan

Staff Writer

P

alo Alto High School varsity baseball team suffered an unfortunate loss in the tenth game of their season after getting defeated by San Ramon Valley High School with a score of 3-0 last Saturday on March 21.

This was a tough loss for the Paly Vikings, scoring no runs the whole game.

However, this was only their second loss of the season and the team hopes to bounce back quickly for their next game against Wilcox High School on March 25.

The success of the recent games has brought the team together, united under the common goal of great performance.

“The boys are playing with a lot of energy. Everybody seem to be on the same page,” said Pete Fukuhara, first year head coach said. “They are all really good kids.”

Recent games are an indicator of the effectiveness of this coaching strategy.

In a game against Mountain View High School, a few great plays led the team to victory. The game ended

with a core of 13-6. Coach Pete Fukuhara was pleased by the team’s performance.

“We came to the field ready to play, our first inning on offense, everyone was really unselfish they went up with the attitude of just battling into the next guy and it payed off,” Fukuhara said.

“We got a couple big hits, Ben Cleasby hit a triple with a man on second and third,” Fukuhara said, “Just a number of quality at bats just carried us through.”

Fukuhara believes that most of the team’s success has come from a combination of good coaching and the teams ability to put in effort.

“We have the theory of just getting a little bit better everyday and just coming out and working really hard,” Fukuhara said.

The players, excited by the last few games, are more motivated than ever to do well in leagues.

“I think we have what it takes to win leagues,” sophomore Ben Cleasby said. Cleasby’s enthusiasm is shared by the rest of the team and has been heightened by its recent successful games.

The Vikings are looking forward to their next game on Friday, March 27, against Wilcox High School.

The girls team accredits recent wins to good chemistry, which might allow them to continue the rest of its winning season

Dami BolarinWa/The Campanile

Junior Ashley Crichton practices her swing in preparation for Friday’s league game.

Haley Fang

business manager

A

fter much preparation, the Palo Alto High School’s softball team started off its season with a game against South San Francisco High School.

Unfortunately, the team lost 5-1, but they later won 8-1 at their next game making the game against San Mateo High School their first win of the season.

They continued with a 10-0 win against Menlo-Atherton High School and a loss against The King’s Academy, finishing up with a close score of 5-4.

The team progressed with a 13-1 win against Silver Creek High School, a 12-1 loss against Woodside High School, a 3-1 win against Castilleja High School and a 10-0 win against Lincoln High School.

The Palo Alto High School girls softball team is confident in its ability to win games and improve.

“This season has built upon last season,” senior Maddy Jones, one of five senior captains, said. “Especially our team chemistry, being able to work together on the field extremely well, and our work ethic. We have spent more time going back to the basics, especially focusing on our hitting.”

This year, the team welcomed four new members onto the team including Jesse Kim, Maggie Renteria, Natalie Snyder and Ashley Crichton.

“Especially [Renteria], who starts at third, has been doing really well,” Jones said. “We also have two players from basketball, Maddy [Atwater] and Sophie [Frick], who are still trying out but have played in our last three games.”

Overall, the team has been doing well, and is working hard to continue improving during the season, hoping to build on its momentum and have a successful season.

We have a lot of determination to put in the hard work and our coaches are always pushing us to do our best.

Maddy Jones Senior

“This season we will improve on last season’s record,” Jones said. “We have a lot of determination to put in the necessary hard work and our coaches are always pushing us to do our best.”

Boys swim team victorious after close meet with Homestead After a close dual meet, the boys plans to improve for their second opportunity to defeat Gunn High School Joanna Falla

Staff Writer

T

ConnEr Harden /The Campanile

Sophomore Tommy Smale gets ready on the block to prepare for the meet on Friday.

The boys team is looking to avenge a loss to Gunn High School earlier in the season.

he boys swim team had a nailbiting victory recently at its last match against Homestead High School on March 20.

The boys swim team has started their season strong and are looking forward to beating Henry M. Gunn High School after an unfortunate loss earlier in the season, according to junior Kevin Bowers.

“The team did well,” Bowers said.

“It was close though, which we didn’t want, but we did pull off the win. I think we’re just looking to beat Gunn at leagues and that’s basically our main goal.”

The team wants to eventually be at top of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) league and go to league championships to get revenge against Gunn as well as hopefully moving on to Central Coast Sections (CCS).

Both Bowers and Varsity Coach Danny Dye believe that the team must work on its fundamentals to

be ready for its next match against Monta Vista High School.

“Right now they’re just working on their base training,” Dye said. “It’s just kind of a short season, so they’re putting in some yardage right now; trying to build up some toxins, in the muscles so that they can have a good taper at the end of the year.”

Bowers thinks that each swimmer must work hard in their events so that they can divide and conquer at their next match. “[Improvement] differentiates for each person,” Bowers said. “I know that distance is trying to improve their time specifically, and they’re not doing as hot as they were early in the season — but that’s alright we have a lot of time.”

The team’s eventual goal is to beat Gunn at the league tournament at the end of the season.

Its next match is against Monta Vista, and Dye expects another close match between the two teams.

“It’s going to be a close one,” Dye said. “It’s all going to depend on how the guys feel that day. How much

they want it and how hard they’re willing to try.”

Dye currently remains neutral on the topic of victory because he is unsure if the team feels prepared enough for the tough competition next week.

However, Bowers is confident in the boys swim team’s ability to pull our a win for Palo Alto High School.

“I think we’re going to win it,” Bowers said. “We’re going to try switching up the races, maybe try to put some new people in some different kinds of races and see how it goes from there.”

Bowers feels confident that the boys team will have a positive reaction to the new change of events for the upcoming races. Mixing up what events the boys usually do could potentially be the answer to defeating Monta Vista in their next meet.

“We could possibly move some people around because it’s still early enough to try it out so we’ll just have to see how it goes,” Bowers said.

The boys swim team is sure to provide a great match to watch against Monta Vista on Friday, March 27.

Friday, March 27, 2015

C4

The Campanile

49ers management

THEN

49ers fr on the d text by Owen Dulik Sports Editor

Courtesy of Forty Niners Football Company

N

Candlestick Park (1960-2014)

courtesy of talk of fame sports network

Owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (1977-1999)

estled in the iconic fog of the San Francisco Bay, Candlestick In terms of the future, Colin K Park used to welcome 49ers Faithful into the famed home the offense for several years, and h of one of the most renowned football teams in the National ever, his play has dropped off noti Football League. However, this famous stadium, as well as and while he has amazing athletic the legendary leadership of former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., is no lonon multiple occasions. Yet the 49e ger a part of the San Francisco 49ers. pernick would be the team’s long Now, the historic team plays at the brand-new, technologically to a long, expensive contract. advanced Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and is subject to the quesThis has been yet another goof tionable leadership of Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jed York, unreliable, and difficult to coach. B who is both DeBartolo’s nephew and godson. agement made a decision and stuc In many ways, the 49ers are not the same team that has won an the fact that after signing Kaepern astonishing five Super Bowls and has brought glory to San Francishas put him on the trade block, an co. In the early 2000s, the team struggled with finding a true leader This is exactly why the team d among players and coaches. After several coaching changes, the soBaalke and York need to adopt De lution was found in successful former Stanford football coach Jim ers, and make them a part of the 4 Harbaugh. ues to keep players short term an Harbaugh brought this success cann former powerhouse out Additiona of the ashes and rebuilt 49ers runnin it to his liking, taking it has become to three consecutive confranchise. G f management continues ference championships and motivat and one Super Bowl apdecided to p to keep players short term pearance. While the fiery will bring a Harbaugh made enemies the 49ers are and then dump them off the of some players and of be able to r team s success cannot be some upper level managHyde, and re ers, he did the job, and Gore’s pa sustained did it well. entirely York However, York felt this team fo that Harbaugh was not a fan favorit performing up to stanin which he dards after the team touchdowns failed to make the playoffs during a disappointing 2014 season. expected raise that comes with a While this result satisfied nobody, it could be expected from a team tract. that was ravaged by injuries and faced one of the hardest schedules One of the things that Eddie D in the entire league. is best known for is the fact that While management has been at odds with Harbaugh for the latextra mile and always paid his fran ter part of his term as head coach, Harbaugh has always maintained exorbitant amounts of money to k the support of his players, who respect his passion. the family. DeBartolo was not as “I wish Harbaugh the best; he’s a great coach. I love the way he greedy as York, instead he just wan approaches the game,” Frank Gore said. “My best years were with York simply does not have the him. When he was here, we won.”

DeBartolo did, and it is all his o Now that Harbaugh has been fired, the team is falling apart.

York actually started caring about Though it is not entirely York’s fault, 30-year-old all-pro linebacker stead of just profits, then he could and team leader Patrick Willis retired on March 10, shocking everyplayers’ support, and they would one. The 49ers have been known for its shutdown defense in the past better and want to stay within th few years, and Willis has been the main component. tion.

Willis suffered from foot injuries for the past several years of his Instead, York decided that he career, and cited his desire to enjoy life free from pain as his reason skimp on paying one of the mos for his retirement. players on the team, causing Gor Another shocking development this offseason was the surprising Colts. retirement of rookie linebacker Chris Borland. Borland stepped up While this result frustrates ma for the team in the absence of Patrick Willis, and really dominated. the series of business gaffes by th In addition to management issues, the 49ers might suffer on the field York. You can’t give a teenager a F due to this lack of depth at the linebacking position. without crashing.

Much like how the management of the team is deteriorating, the Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was a great list of stars in the 49ers lineup is shrinking. Borland had made a management and team united as name for himself as a run-stuffer, and was seen as the future. passed to York, York made it abou

I

’

courtesy of ESPN

Head Coach Bill Walsh (1979-1988)

courtesy of total pro sports

Quarterback Steve Young (1987-1999)

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December 28, 2008

February 3, 2013

December 28, 2014

January

Jed York moves up in the 49ers franchise, takes over as CEO of the 49ers.

Ravens beat the 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII.

49ers end the season 8-8, miss the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Former defens Jim Tomsula Harbaugh as

courtesy of usa today sports

courtesy of the sports post

courtesy of the sports post

co

The Campanile

Friday, March 27, 2015

49ers management

C5

NOW

ranchise decline

courtesy of NBC News

Along with the loss of key players and team identity, Levi’s Stadium does not represent what the team actually stands for. This technologically-savvy field does not focus on the nasty, old-school football that was shown in the historic Candlestick Park.

This stadium is appealing to the young Silicon Valley tech workers, and is driving ticket prices up so much that the old faithfuls from San Francisco who have been watching the team for years canby management, as Kaepernick is not even afford to attend games anymore.

But it is respectable that the manWhile the old Candlestick Park was a haven for the hard-workck by it. What is not respectable is ing San Franciscan who wanted to uproariously cheer on the red nick, there are rumors that the team gold, Levi’s is made for the techie who wants to eat fancy food and nd is willing to part with him. stare at their smartphones for three hours. And while it is not awful does not stick by its management. for York to want to attract the new wave of Silicon Valley, he is doing eBartolo’s ideals and stand by playthis at the expense of the old faithful.

49er family. If management continFor those who had been 49ers season ticket holders for decades at nd then dump them off, the team’s Candlestick, it was roughly $50,000 for them to even buy the right not be sustained. to keep their season tickets. This is an absolute outrage. Although ally, Frank Gore has been the Levi’s Stadium needs to be paid for, York should not be alienating ng back for the past decade, and the dedicated fans who keep the team going. the all-time leading rusher for the While all of these faults seem to point towards a poor 2015 seaGore, arguably one of the most loyal son, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With some sense, York ted players a team could hope for, let general manager Trent Baalke handle the hiring of a coach. And part ways with San Francisco. This after passing over offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Baalke made major question for next season, as a solid choice in Jim Tomsula. e a run-heavy team, and might not The passionate former defensive line coach symbolizes the old rely solely on second year Carlos 49ers in his fervent defense of players, and his wanting to bring this team back together as a family. Tomsula’s belief that this franchise ecent signee Reggie Bush. is a family has gained him support from the players of the franchise. arting with the team was almost “He’s a hard-working, blue-collar guy and a lot of guys in the k’s fault. Gore had been a staple of locker room can relate to him,” 49ers nose tackle Glenn Dorsey said. or ten years, and has always been “He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the game, and a lot of wisdom.” te. After another fantastic season While this pass on Roman meant that he would leave, Baalke had 1,106 rushing yards and four made another great selection in promoting former quarterback coach , Gore was not rewarded with an a hefty conGeep Chryst to offensive coordinator. Chryst is another coach who has DeBartolo Jr. the support of the playhe went the ers, and will bring a fresh nchise players im omsula is a perspective to the job, keep them in hard working blue collar guy all while preserving the shrewd and team’s core values. nted to win. and a lot of guys in the locker So, while the 49ers support that room can relate to him have lost a lot of what own fault. If they used to stand for, his team, inGlenn Dorsey there seems to be an upwin back his side to the disappointstart to play 49ers Nose Tackle ment. As long as York he organizastays out of management as much as he possibly e needed to can and leaves the key st important decision-making to Baalke, Tomsula and Chryst, the 49ers might be re to move on to the Indianapolis able to dig themselves out of the hole that York has dug.

Unfortunately, this change is not likely to occur immediately, and any fans, it should be expected in the franchise should be expected to have a rough couple of years he undeserving and underqualified before the next turnaround.

Ferrari and expect him to drive it While the old management is gone, the one thing that remains representative of the old 49ers is the ever-loyal 49er faithful fan base. t leader of the team, and made the As long as the fans stay as loud and dedicated as they have been, the a family. Yet once the reins were true spirit of the team will stay alive. ut money.

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design by Mischa Nee Staff Writer Owen Dulik Sports Editor

Kaepernick has been at the helm of has led the team to success. Howiceably. He makes constant errors, cism, he has cost the team heavily ers management decided the Kaeterm quarterback, and signed him

Levi’s Stadium (2014-Present)

courtesy of foxsports

CEO Jed York (2008-Present)

courtesy of usa today sports

Head Coach Jim Tomsula (2015-Present)

courtesy of rant sports

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick (2011-Present)

14, 2015

January 28, 2015

February 19, 2015

March 10, 2015

sive line coach replaces Jim s head coach.

Former quarterback coach Geep Chryst replaces Greg Roman as offensive coordinator.

Candlestick Park exterior demolition begins.

Former 49ers running back Frank Gore signs with the Colts; linebacker Patrick Willis retires.

ourtesy of brian bahr / getty images

courtesy of usa today sports

courtesy of forty niners football company

courtesy jeff chiu / AP Photo

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS C6 Boys tennis begins Boys golf continues win streak season on good note Vikings remain undefeated in league play, hope to place in CCS Team recovers from loss of key upperclassmen and seeks to stabilize team dynamic Peter maroulis

staff writer

P

alo Alto High School’s Boys Tennis team kicked off their season with a 5-2 win against Sacred Heart Preparatory High School on Feb. 25 and has been playing solidly through March. Currently at 8-3 in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) De Anza Division, the team is looking to continue winning and improving this season.

“Overall, tennis is going great,” sophomore Henry Badger said. “We have some very good players, and we had some great wins.”

Currently, the team has five sophomores on its 13-man roster, an unusual number of underclassmen at the varsity level.

“We lost seven seniors from last year so we are suffering [with] depth of our team,” sophomore Adrian Smith said.

Smith, who played on the varsity team last year as a freshman, said that the season is going a bit slow so far.

The highlight of our season was our trip to Fresno for the California Tennis Classic,” Smith said. “We won the Division Three Bracket.”

Other high points of the season include a 6-1 rout of Los Altos High School and a clutch 4-3 defeat of Aragon High School at home. Unfortunately, the squad was tested after a 7-0 shutout loss at Henry M. Gunn High School.

“We have had some great wins, but we have been losing as well,” Badger said. “We’ve been learning from our losses and improving as a team.”

With a young team, Badger believes that there needs to be deeper

personal connections in order for the team to do well for the duration of the season.

“Personally, my favorite part of the season so far is how much we’ve bonded as a team,” Kevin “Bench” Chen said. “We have great nicknames and that really boosts team moral.”

Chen, along with Badger, Smith, Noah “Slaps” Galper and Dylan “Parrot” Polley, comprise the “sophomore dream team,” a nickname given to the underclassmen “We’re pretty young but we’re pretty raw, ” Polley said.

Among the sophomores, there are a few veteran leaders such as Junior Shiv “Twister” Matta, who is returning for his second varsity year, and his first year as varsity singles one.

Personally, my favorite part of the season so far is how much we’ve bonded as a team. We have great nicknames and that really boosts team moral.

Kevin Chen Sophomore

“Playing number one singles is always great, as it improves your game and makes you more athletic on the court,” Matta said.

Currently, Matta has won four out of his seven singles matches and is team co captain along with Kevin Huang.

These veterans provide a stable anchor for the squad, a much needed anchor to have on such a young team.

With several matches coming soon, the tennis team hopes to continue winning and continue polishing its team dynamic.

courtesy of doyle knight

Junior Henry Gordon prepares for an upcoming tournament by practicing his swing at the Glendora Country Club in Pasadena.

Joanna Falla

staff writer

T

he boys golf team maintains a strong position in the De Anza division after beating Mountain View High School with an impressive team score of 190. The team currently is currently composed of two freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and three seniors. Junior Henry Gordon believes that the grade ratios are beneficial to team chemistry.

“Our team plays extremely well as a whole, and the new freshmen additions have made it so that we have some nice depth,” Gordon said. “We are extremely strong with depth, and when our top guys do not perform at the level they need to, some of the lower guys can pick us right back up.”

The staggered dynamic has clearly been working for the team, as they are currently 4-1 overall and 2-0 in leagues this year and hope to remain as the current undefeated league

champions for the third year in a row. Coach Doyle Knight agrees with Henry about the team’s diversity.

Even after a loss to Sacred Heart Preparatory High School, they still plan to take the top position in Leagues and Central Coast Section (CCS).

“We have a great team, with two freshmen who are some of our top players.” Knight said. “The ratio of players keeps us balanced not only for this year but for future teams also.”

Freshmen are usually underrated in most sports due to lack of experience, however, the freshman on the golf team prove otherwise.

The boys golf team works as a fine-tuned machine when they work together, however, each player hones in on his own talents so he can improve as both an individual and team player.

“We are playing Cupertino [High School] for our next match, and so we are just focusing on individual improvement for the time being,” Gordon said. “We just want to elimi-

nate mental mistakes and start to play smarter in our preparation for Leagues and CCS.” Gordon thinks that the team’s biggest focus would be to target mental attitude during gameplay, but Knight thinks that there are more tangible things that they need to work on.

“What they work on is to control the flight of the ball to be able to place it where they want with accuracy and consistency and to finish it off by putting well,” Knight said. “Bad putting leads to bad scores.”

The boys feel confident that if they maintain their path and fix mental errors, they can look ahead to eventually play top-notch in tournaments such as NorCals as well as their end goal of Leagues and CCS. “As long as we win our league matches and play well at the league tournament at Santa Teresa, we are set for CCS,” Gordon Said.

According to Gordon and Knight, the boys will have what it takes to be the tough team to beat this season.

Catering for all Occasions 477 South California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94306 (650)-329-0700 izzysbb@gmail.com www.izzysbrooklynbagels.com

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

C7

Dawkins shines at University of Michigan AThlete Paly alum named Big Ten Freshman of the Week due to his outstanding performance

of the

Month

This edition featuring:

Julia Asin with The Campanile’s own

Sarah Wang and Cat Yu

Julia Asin, a senior on the track team, runs a variety of races. She describes her experience on the team and gives advice to aspiring runners.

Photo courtesy of umhoops.com

University of Michigan freshman Aubrey Dawkins shoots a three in a February game agaisnt Iowa. Although Dawkins scored a total of 16 points, Michigan fell to Iowa 72-54.

Stephanie Cong

Lifestyle Editor

A

lthough the University of Michigan basketball team has faced many setbacks this season, one of its freshman players, Aubrey Dawkins, has shown his potential as a rising star on the team.

Dawkins has greatly benefitted the team throughout the last half of the season and was recently named Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten conference.

Dawkins is a Paly graduate, a member of the class of 2013. During his junior and senior years with the Vikings, he helped lead the team to back-to-back Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) De Anza Division titles and the opportunity to participate in the Central Coast Section (CCS) tournament. Dawkins was additionally named the 2013 Most Valuable Player of the SCVAL De Anza Division as a senior. Despite these achievements, Dawkins was not at the level of a Division I player after graduating from Paly.

Instead of immediately pursuing college recruitment, he chose to spend a year at New Hampton Prep School to continue to train and hone his skills and improve his recruiting profile.

Dawkins averaged 12.3 points and 3.6 rebounds during this year, playing

in one of the most competitive prep school conferences in the country.

As the year drew to a close, no major scholarships were offered to Dawkins — until the University of Michigan reached out to him. If the University of Michigan had not reached out to Dawkins, he could have taken part in the Stanford University’s basketball program.

“He’s got a short memory when it comes to misses. He’s back out there, loading the gun and shooting it again. He worked hard at this and I’m really happy for him.”

John Beilin

University of Michigan Head Coach

This is because Dawkins’ father, Johnny Dawkins, is the current head coach at Stanford. That being said, Aubrey Dawkins was determined not to rely on his father’s position and wanted to a pave a road for himself based solely off his merit as a player, something his father praises him for.

“He didn’t want to live off what I had done,” Johnny Dawkins told Mlive.com in an interview. “He wanted to prove to people on his own

merits that he was a good basketball player. I respect him for that. I’m impressed by that approach.”

For the first 12 games of this season, Aubrey Dawkins only played about 63 minutes and scored a total of 15 points. He spent most of his time during games on the bench until the team’s first game against University of Illinois. However, Aubrey Dawkins’ stellar breakout performance ultimately carried the team to victory — he hit six three pointers to finish with 20 points and gave the team a 67-63 lead with just over a minute remaining in overtime.

Aubrey Dawkins’ excellent performance did not stop at this game.

He went on to accumulate significantly increased amounts of playing time in later games and also increased his field goal percentage and points scored per game, most notably in the team’s game against Rutgers University. During this game, Aubrey Dawkins scored 31 points, with eight three pointers.

“Once I made the first one, I’ve got to shoot the second one,” Aubrey Dawkins said in an interview with Mlive.com. “Once I made the second one, I keep going with it.”

Aubrey Dawkins’ performance helped the team secure a win, and he has continued to assist the team in performing to the best of its ability.

Additionally, he is the first freshman from the University of Michigan to score more than 30 points in a game since Trey Burke scored 30 against the University of Minnesota in 2012.

John Beilein, the team’s head coach, believes that Aubrey Dawkins’ recent performance is a sign of growth that he has worked for. “[His recent performance] shows the tremendous growth in him,” Beilein said in an interview with Mlive.com. “When he got it, he needed to get it off quicker and he’s worked hard at that. He’s got a short memory when it comes to misses.

He’s back out there, loading the gun and shooting it again. He worked hard at this and I’m really happy for him.”

Aubrey Dawkins was named Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week, recognizing his growth and the contributions he has made to his team. This is not only Aubrey Dawkins’ first Big Ten award, but the first and only Big Ten award the University of Michigan has received this season. The team may have lost the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament to the University of Wisconsin and not received a March Madness or National Invitational Tournament bid for the first time in years, but with stars such as Aubrey Dawkins, there is a lot to look forward to in upcoming years.

Real Madrid falls 1-2 to rival Barcelona at “El Classico”

Los Blancos suffer loss at Barcelona’s stadium after several terrible calls from referees JAKE VAN ZYLL

senior staff writer

S

occer is the most popular sport in the world. The fiercest game between any two club teams occurs when Real Madrid Club de Futbol and Football Club Barcelona clash. The matchup of the two biggest cities in Spain and consistently two of the best teams is referred to as El Clasico. Each meeting between the two soccer superpowers garners hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Barcelona won the latest meeting on March 22, as things were not going Madrid’s way, winning 2-1.

Madrid came out hard in the first half, pressing Barcelona and creating several chances to score. In the twelfth minute of the match, Madrid forward Karim Benzema chipped the ball to across the box to Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who volleyed the ball, which rattled off the crossbar! So close!

Madrid continued to dominate. It looked like Madrid could put one in anytime. Then in the 19th minute, the referee called a foul on Madrid defender Pepe about 30 yards from goal.

The controversial call by the referee received more backlash when Barcelona’s Lionel Messi crossed the ball to defender Jeremy Mathieu, who headed the ball past Iker Casillas, putting Barcelona up 1-0.

Los Blancos bounced back from Barcelona’s lucky goal and contin-

photo Courtesy of international business times

Madrid defender Sergio Ramos steals the ball away from Barcelona forward Luis Suarez. Barcelona went on to win the match 2-1.

ued to create chances. In the 31st minute, Ronaldo produced a classy finish to the bottom left corner from Benzema, who delivered a beautiful backheel assist. Madrid simply would not let up, and continued to press the withering Barcelona. Benzema got the ball just inside of Barcelona’s box, crossed the ball which Ronaldo flicked on with his head to Gareth Bale, who finished brilliantly! Goal Madrid! The White Knights win El Clasico!

Well, at least that is how it should have happened. Unfortunately, the assistant referee had his flag up, sig-

naling offsides. Barcelona players closed their eyes in relief that they have been bailed out by the officials while Madrid players put their hands on their heads in disbelief. Madrid fans across the world watched in anguish as the replay is shown, revealing no players to be offsides.

The goal should have stood. The first half ends 1-1, Barcelona reenergized from the poor call and Madrid demoralized by the officiating blunder. Both teams took the field for the second half, but Madrid never recovered from the beautiful goal that it was robbed of.

The second half was tight, but Madrid’s energy was not there anymore. In the 52nd minute, Barcelona defender Dani Alves lofted a ball from his own half, finding forward Luis Suarez, who eluded Pepe and touched the ball past Casillas. A goal out of nothing. The rest of the match dragged on, with Madrid creating a few chances. The referee blew the whistle and Barcelona dug out the win, the referees supplying the shovel. Barcelona now lead La Liga, four points ahead of Madrid. With ten games remaining, the race to win the league will come down to the wire.

The Campanile: What events do you run?

Julia Asin: I run the 400 mostly and I also run the 200, 4x100, and the 4x400.

TC: Would you say the 400 is your favorite event?

JA: I would say I have a love-hate relationship with the 400 because it’s the event I’m best at but it’s also horrible and painful and disgusting.

TC: That sounds awful. What are your goals for this season?

JA: Last season my main goal was to break 60 seconds, which I did. I just wanted to run below 60 seconds again [this season], which I did at the Gunn meet. So now my goal this season is to consistently run under 60 [seconds] and maybe break 59 [seconds].

TC: You’re doing the 4x100 this year. That’s new, right?

JA: Yes, it is new. It’s super fun and we have this group chat.

TC: Who’s in this group chat?

JA: There’s Cat [Yu], Anna [Dukovic], and Marion [Sellier].

TC: Who’s your favorite person on the 4x100?

JA: I would say they’re all unique and nice and fun in their own ways.

TC: How do you feel being a senior on the track team?

JA: Being a senior on track is what I have always looked forward to. It’s fun and you’re older than everyone.

TC: So you’re a captain this season.

Do you feel like you have a lot more responsibilities?

JA: This year we’re going to try to change up the warm ups since we didn’t really have a team warm up last year. Being a captain is really fun.

TC: Why do you think you’re athlete of the month?

JA: I don’t know! Well, I’ve been running four events at every single meet. I run two 400s at every meet and for those of you who don’t know the 400, it’s horrible.

TC: Do you think that’s worse than running the mile, the 800 and the two mile all in one meet?

JA: Yeah. Yeah. I ran cross country my sophomore year and the 400 is definitely worse. But I admire long distance.

TC: How would you describe the transition from the [Jason] Fung Era to the [Kelsey] Feeley Era? JA: Obviously Fung has a lot of years of track experience. What’s great about Kelsey is that she used to be a middle distance runner so she knows a lot about the 800 and the 400 and she really helps me out.

TC: Do you have a pre-meet routine?

JA: When I was a sophomore I was actually ridiculous and I had to wear the same exact sweatshirt and shorts to warm up, and I used to have to eat the same exact salad from Trader Joe’s. But now I usually just get a healthy salad from Calafia and drink lots and lots of water and I’m good to go.

TC: What’s your advice for a runner aspiring to become the next Julia Asin?

JA: I guess you mean good at the 400?

TC: No. The next Julia Asin.

JA: Oh. Stay in school. Keep it real.

TC: Do you have any last words?

JA: Cat and Sarah are my favorite people in track.

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Campanile

SPORTS

C8

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is the most prestigious award in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The chosen player is the one who has benefitted his or her team the most and has played with the most vitality and skill. There are several players who possess both of these attributes and qualify as candidates for this award.

Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry, one of the most versatile players and highest scoring point guards in the NBA, is the leader and leading scorer of the Golden State Warriors, the number one ranked team in the NBA. He and shooting guard Klay Thompson in the backcourt have established their dominance in their entire league, averaging a combined 45.8 points per game. Not only is Curry adept at ball handling, but he is also known for his ability to consistently make three point shots. On Jan. 7, Curry made his 1000th career three point shot, marking him as the fastest player to score 1000 three point shots. Curry’s innate skill for the sport led him to acquire the most votes in the All Star voting process, beating out last years winner, Lebron James. Curry having the ability to lead the number one team in the NBA is more than enough of a reason for him to win the MVP title.

Photo Courtesy of ESPn

Originally out in the beginning of the season plagued by a hand injury, Westbrook came back with a burning passion to take the Oklahoma City Thunder to the finals. The Thunder is continuing to play without its star small forward, Kevin Durant, but Westbrook’s level of play seems undeterred. In fact, his level of play is the same as last year, if not better. Westbrook is the league’s leading scorer, is fourth in number of assists and third in number of steals. Westbrook’s sheer athleticism has marked him as one of the most dangerous guards in the NBA. He is fast, physical and not afraid to draw fouls when he plays. Westbrook has been acknowledged as one of the best guards in the NBA, only comparable to Warriors guard Stephen Curry. The Thunder started off with a 4-12 record during the time span Westbrook was injured; regardless, it has since made a tremendous effort to be back in the playoff run and is now the eighth seed in the western conference. Westbrook’s ability to lead the Thunder and his extraordinary level of play put him at the top of the list of players who deserve the NBA MVP title.

Russell Westbrook Photo Courtesy of guemblung.biz

james harden

The egotistical left-handed shooting guard James Harden has lived up to being “the best all around player in the NBA,” according to a statement he declared at a NBA 2K15 press conference. During the time he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was overshadowed by stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. However, since being traded to the Houston Rockets, the former sixth man has made a name for himself.

Harden is the second leading scorer in the NBA, averaging about 26.8 points per game, and is the fifth leading player in steals. “The Beard” is feared as one of the most dangerous scorers in the game as his array of offensive moves is unparalleled by that of any other player’s. He is efficient at drawing fouls, creating space for himself to shoot and knocking down three point shots. Harden currently leads the league in the number of assists leading to three point shots. During the 2013-2014 season, Harden’s MVP race was hindered by his lack of defense. However, his increased aggressiveness in the paint is one of the Rockets’ main reasons for them being one of the most feared teams in the league. With Harden’s incredible offensive play and improved defense, he has proved himself to be a worthy MVP contender.

Photo Courtesy of imgkid.com

Lebron James has already been the MVP four times during his 12-year career, so it would not be a surprise if he was chosen again for this prestigious honor. When James returned to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was difficult for him to adapt to the new players on his old team. Originally, James played with a team that revolved around him. He played with mediocre players who had to fit to James’ needs in order for the team to succeed. However, with the addition of superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, it has been hard for James to learn that he is no longer the focus of the team. James even had to undergo a diet which changed his large, muscular frame to that of a lean, more agile frame in order to fit in a new role that complements Love’s and Irving’s playing style. James’ new role seems to benefit the Cavaliers as they are now the second seed in the Eastern Conference. James led the Cavaliers in beating the number one team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, and placing them in second place the Eastern Conference. James is third in averaging points per game and surpassed Scottie Pippen as the forward with the most assists. His exceptional play this year as well as his leadership role in a new team make James a worthy contender for the 2014-2015 MVP.

Lebron James Photo Courtesy of jason miller