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The Campanile

Vol. XCVI, No. 8

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

Public records request made for Winston, six other district employees Palo Alto Weekly confirms investigating allegations of misconduct, Diorio stays mum By Hillel Zand

Friday, March 28, 2014

AP Psych classes face cheating scandal By Michelle Yin

Editor-in-Chief

n the last month, the Palo Alto Weekly has made a public request of disciplinary files of former Palo Alto High School principal Phil Winston, three Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) administrators and three Paly staff members after first making a formal records request to the district. The newspaper confirmed that it is looking into allegations of misconduct and that it is currently in the process of gathering information and factchecking, declining to state when it will be publishing any formal report. Current principal Kim Diorio says she was notified of the Weekly’s inquiry “about a month or so ago.” The PAUSD website states that “the district will respond within ten days to acknowledge receipt of [a] request and provide a timeline when the information can... be disclosed.” PAUSD releases public records in accordance with the California Public Records Act of 1968 “unless there is a specific reason not to do so.” On March 26, a group of approximately twenty teachers met with PAUSD Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers — the district official in charge of human resources — after an email was sent to Paly staff members notifying them of the Weekly’s inquiry. Sources confirmed that Bowers informed the teachers who chose to attend the meeting of the

sarah tayeri/the campanile

The files of former Principal Phil Winston and six other unnamed district employees have been requested by the Palo Alto Weekly.

records request and said that faculty may choose to speak with media on their own volition. A source said that the district would issue a press release addressing the inquiry on March 26, but PAUSD Communications Coordinator Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley told The Campanile that the district had no information to release. A day earlier, she indicated that the district would in fact be releasing information on the 26th. “We’re looking forward and it’s not an issue on campus anymore,” Diorio said, not specifying what “it” is.

Winston announced his resignation in an email sent to members of the Paly community on June 18, 2013, after suffering “a life-threatening medical illness” — reportedly a staph infection —which he says caused him to “seriously reevaluate my priorities, health, and personal and professional goals.” The tenure of Winston’s predecessor, Jacqueline McEvoy, was marred by disciplinary scandals, most infamously an egg wars incident in October 2009 that cut short that year’s Spirit Week. While McEvoy was known for her troublesome relationships with students, Winston — who

was 33 when he was appointed principal — was known for being more laid-back and approachable, receiving much flack from the community for his nonchalant and dismissive approach to the annual tradition of Streak Week. “We’re focused on improving the climate at our school,” Diorio said. “We’ve done a really good work this year, we’ve hired a school climate TOSA [teacher on special assignment,] we’re... We’re working toward our shared vision for the future. It would not be appropriate for me to discuss a personnel matter or a former colleague of mine.”

Lifestyle Editor

n March 18, Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology teachers Melinda Mattes and Chris Farina gave the administration a list of students who are suspects for cheating on the free response portion of a unit test. Mattes and Farina speculated that cheating specifically through sharing the free response test occurred on the Unit Six exam two months ago. However, unable to ascertain this and unsure how to deal with the issue, Mattes and Farina pardoned the suspected dishonesty with a mere warning addressed to all AP Psychology classes. “We chose to believe that there weren’t a lot of people involved,” Mattes said. “Sometimes students make the wrong decisions due to environmental factors and we tried to appeal to the humanity and the goodness that I still believe is in all of us” According to Mattes, she sympathizes with the stress that many students face and as a teacher, she tries to remove some of the factors that contributes to that stress such as a different and slightly more lenient grading scale than the standard one used across most classes. However, she acknowledges that it is impos-

See PSYCH, A3

Not In Our Schools Week modifies approach to capture students’ attention ASB hopes to improve events after evaluation of last year By Haley Fang

PAUSD struggles to finalize bullying policy

SARAH TAYERI/THE CAMPANILE

More than two years after district was found to be in violation of several state and federal laws, PAUSD officials still looking for a solution

By Sarah Tayeri Staff Writer

or over a year now, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) has been struggling to agree on a concrete policy to handle bullying and harassment complaints. The district took a great step forward in the drawn-out process on Feb. 11, when it finally agreed to adopt a policy that targets “protected” bullying, a procedure that helps bullying victims with cases based on legally protected characteristics like sex, race and disability. However, on March 12, the district rejected yet another proposal addressing “non-protected” bullying, which would have laid out a procedure on how to deal with complaints about bullying that the law does not extend procedural rights to. The beginning of the process dates back to late 2012, when the parents of a disabled student attending Terman Middle School claimed their complaints to the school about bullying were not dealt with efficiently, or at all. After a lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights found that the district’s weak approach in handling the severe

bullying of the student had violated the student’s civil rights. More so, the investigators found that PAUSD had absolutely no complaint policy for disabled discrimination, which violates many state and federal laws. After these findings, it was clear that the district’s complaint procedure was in desperate need of re-examination, and PAUSD agreed to revise and approve its policies by March 15, 2013. However, over a year later, the policies are still unfinished. In an email sent in November 2013, PAUSD Superintendent Kevin Skelly, who has since announced his resignation, attempted to clear the district of criticism by defending its actions. “Let me reassure you that this delay in board policy and regulation has in no way affected our compliance with laws intended to keep students safe,” Skelly wrote. Seth’s Law, passed in July 2012, also mandated the adoption of the same procedures and added that all school personnel must intervene to stop discrimination bullying and harassment that they witness.

See BULLYING, A3

Staff Writer

uring the fourth week of April, Paly will host its annual Not In Our School (NIOS) Week to inspire unity and encourage discussion about diversity. Overall, students have had mostly positive experiences in previous years with the week full of activities. Junior Rudra Aiyar was pleased with the events held last year. “The variety of performances and activities on the Quad really strengthened the school’s community throughout the week,” Aiyar said. “I thought that Not In Our Schools Week achieved what it wanted to, which was unity.” Associated Student Body’s (ASB) Cultural Commissioner junior Ellen Shuan has led the planning of this year’s NIOS week and has made an

effort to work in union with Henry M. Gunn High School to improve Paly’s activities. “After hearing about Gunn’s past NIOS, I contacted Gunn’s Diversity Commissioner Danny Golovinsky and asked him to help,” Shuan said. “Later, a couple of ASB members and I met up with him at Gunn and we talked over possible themes, logistics, budgeting and the way we could approach and organize this event.”

This is the first time that [Paly’s] Not In Our School Week is working with Gunn’s [and] has a NIOS decision-making body. Ellen Shuan

ASB Cultural Commissioner

Even though she enjoyed NIOS week last year, Aiyar had hoped for

more activities during lunch and brunch. “I hope that there are more events going on throughout the week [this year] that the students can engage in,” Aiyar said. “Last year, I think most of the events started to die out as the week progressed.” ASB has implemented changes to this week-long event, which will hopefully address the critiques from other students such as Aiyar. “This is the first time that [Paly’s] Not In Our School Week is working with Gunn’s [and] has a NIOS decision-making body,” Shuan said. With this new decision-making body, ASB will receive more input from students regarding the planned activities and how they will run the week instead of having ASB make all the decisions themselves. This is to

See NIOS, A3

Gunn principal announces resignation District veteran Villalobos latest in string of administrator departures

fter four years of leading the school, Henry M. Gunn High School Principal Katya Villalobos announced her resignation in an email to the Gunn community on March 24. Her last day in office will be June 30, the same day Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Kevin Skelly is set to resign. Villalobos, who has worked in the district for nearly ten years — at Gunn and Palo Alto High School as a history teacher — stated in the email that she aims to “pursue new

opportunities, including a doctoral program.” “[Villalobos] has a good heart and truly cares about the well being of her students,” an anonymous Gunn parent posted on Palo Alto Online’s Town Square forum. “She has been in a difficult situation of trying to broaden the outlook of a faculty that seems to be particularly powerful and resistant to change.” However, Villalobos’s resignation came as a relief to some community members. “Gunn needs a capable, strong leader who can stand up to the cadre of teachers who have been running the school since [Noreen] Likins

SPOTLiGHT Buena Vista Trailer Park

sPORTs Rise of the 3-pointer

By Hillel Zand

Editor-in-Chief

left,” an anonymous Gunn parent posted on Palo Alto Online’s Town Square forum. “Gunn deserves a good principal.” The announcement marks a recent string of high-profile resignations in the district within the last month, following that of Skelly, three elementary school principals, the head of the Palo Alto Adult School and Jordan Middle School Assistant Principal Ellie Slack. “Let’s just say this: in her resignation email, [Villalobos] forgot to sign it and so she had to send out another one with her name on it,” Gunn senior David Patou said. “That sums up a lot.”

INSIDE N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 5 Opinion................................A6-A8 Lifestyle .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . B1, B6, B7, B8 StudentLife............................B2-B3 Spotlight ..................................B4-B5 Sports..............................................C1-C8

LIFESTYLE United for Ukraine

Local Ukranians protest Russian influence in their native country.

Closing of Palo Alto’s only mobilehome park.

B4-B5

The importance and prevalence of knockdown shooters. C4-C5

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Friday, March 28, 2014

NEWS

NEWS TO KNOW

The Campanile

Gunn music building and theater Plans for to undergo almost twenty million future school events begin dollars in renovations ASB readies for elections, Day of Silence, Prom and Not In Our Schools Week

Central Building Project projected to cost $19.4 million Hisyam Sallem/free Malaysia today

@Fox News Malaysia Prime Minister says satellite data indicated missing jetliner went down in Indian Ocean.

By Esther Doerr

@CNN Breaking News Whitehouse: U.S. and 6 other Western Nations vote to effectively kick Russia out of G8 after annexation of crimea.

@New York Times 3 dead and at least 18 missing after Washington Mud Slide.

@Washington Post Egyptian court sentences 529 Morsi supporters to death.

Karl Stanton/Inquiring minds

@Time.com The September 11 memorial and museum will open on May 21.

@BBC Africa U.S. sending military aircraft and more special forces to look for LRA’s Joseph Kony.

@Associated Press Indiana becomes first state to withdraw from Common Core.

@The Switch About 5.1 million Americans have security clearances. That’s more than the entire population of Norway.

Courtesy of DLM Architecture

The design for the addition to Spangenberg Theatre is currently in process, but the current sketch of the building would have a new lobby for the theatre and more trees at the entrance. The addition will also have music classrooms for the music program.

By Jack Paladin

Opinion Editor

arlier this month, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) approved a plan to demolish the music building in front of the Spangenberg Theater at Henry M. Gunn High School and replace it with an improved building. The project is estimated to cost $19.4 million and is currently in the early stages of development. PAUSD has contracted DLM Architecture as the architect of what is now being called the Central Building Project. DLM has created conceptual designs which offer many additions to the current entrance to Gunn. The plans include an upgrade to the current Spangenberg Theater lobby, which would introduce new restrooms, office space, a ticket office and storage room.

Many tech companies are assessing their office’s readiment By Nikhil Rajaram

Staff Writer

s a result of having offices in areas susceptible to flooding, select Silicon Valley businesses are working to battle sea level rise. Many of these companies, located at or below sea level, fear flooding in coming years. Facebook is among the businesses that could be affected by floods with its offices in Menlo Park, an area vulnerable to flooding. Though the current 8-feet levees around the Facebook campus are sufficient enough to block water

School Board discusses thirteenth elementary school and new Gunn facilities

Senior Staff Writer

he Board of Education of the Palo Alto Unified School District met on March 11 to discuss the deferral of planning the thirteenth elementary school along with the approval of DLM architect’s conceptual design for the Central Building Project at Henry M. Gunn High School. They started in a closed session with just the board, then moved to an open session with the community. In the closed session, the school board discussed various topics, including employee evaluation and appointment in accordance with government code, liability claims according to government code and real property negotiation. They also discussed student and employee discipline and employee dismissal and release. Regarding the thirteenth elementary school, it was decided that the smaller cohorts will give time to the District to delay decisions regarding a thirteenth elementary site. A delay

to three new classrooms, the school may be able to ease some of the overcrowded classes and move a new section of music classes into the added building. The Central Building Project is still very open in its designs. There is a possibility of adding a second story to the project. Another benefit to this project is that it aims to improve the aesthetics of the entrance to the school. The building will have a newer look and will hopefully be inviting and aesthetically pleasing to students, parents and other members of the Gunn community. While this project is still in the phase of development, the School Board giving DLM the green light will make this project continue to move along. The project will not begin this year, but it may break ground as early as 2015.

Local businesses address rising sea level

NEWS BRIEF

By Lauren Guirata

Along with improving the Spangenberg Theater, the project also entails building new music rooms, extra classrooms and more offices. While there are still many designs to choose from, some offer many more additions to the building. Some of the notable additions include a college and career center and a wellness center. The current conceptual plans include the possibility of a large courtyard that will be partially covered and partially open. This area will be placed in between the improved Spangenberg lobby and the proposed new building that will hold the classrooms and office space. With the continued rise in student population at Gunn, this addition will be very beneficial addition will offer more space both for students during breaks and for students in class. With the possibility of up

will also allow the new superintendent, who has not yet been selected, the chance to review the 2014-2015 enrollment data in order to make appropriate suggestions regarding the next steps. This will therefore postpone the work of the Elementary School Program Advisory Committee and allow for more time to consider extension of the leases that are held with Stratford School for Garland and Athena Academy for 525 San Antonio Road. The expiration date will be extended from June 30, 2015 to June 30, 2016. A 14,000 square feet building will be attached to the Spangenberg Theatre located at Henry M. Gunn High School. The construction includes a possible two floor scheme. The alternate program for a two floor scheme of the add on to Spangenberg includes three new classrooms, a College and Career Center, a Wellness Center, a shared reception and lobby area, two shared conference spaces, and ten offices. The total area of the new construction will be approximately 19,250 in plans that were given to the School Board.

from San Francisco bay, if the sea level were to rise as is predicted, they would not hold. To show their concern for rising sea levels, Facebook is funding San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority’s (SFCJPA) SAFER Bay Project. The SFCJPA is hoping to improve flood protection facilities that will account for sea level rise in up to a 50year time period. Over the summer, the SAFER Bay Project, the SFCJPA will promote planning, design and environmental review for flood control plans in the San Francisco Peninsula.

Once the planning phase is complete, the SFCJPA will propose their ideas to all the neighboring cities that will be affected by flooding. Then, the city will choose whether or not to implement the flood protection program. Over the past century, the sea level has risen nearly eight inches on California’s coast as a result of climate change, according to a paper by the California Energy Commission. California’s coastal sea level is speculated to rise as much as sixteen inches by the year 2100, which would cause mass flooding due to it’s largely subsea level land mass.

Staff Writer

n March 13, Principal Kim Diorio shadowed a freshman student who is currently a part of the TEAM program. Throughout the day, Diorio went to World History, English 9A, Biology and Advisory. This experience allowed her to empathize with students in terms of distractions in class, uncomfortable desks and chairs, “disgusting” bathrooms, hunger in class and the library food policy. Throughout the day Diorio texted assistant Principal Jerry Berkson about things she noticed along the way and even ended up late to two of her three classes. “I totally get it now,” Diorio said in response to what students struggle with on a daily basis. On March 21, Assistant Principal Victoria Kim shadowed as well. After her shadowing experience, Diorio called a meeting with the rest of Paly’s administration and encouraged everyone to experience shadowing a student. Twenty-five teachers have signed up to shadow. The program has existed for nearly a month and teachers such as math teacher David Baker have already participated.

s the fourth quarter begins, Palo Alto High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) plans and prepares for ASB Elections, Day of Silence, Prom and Not In Our Schools Week. ASB elections are taking place this week for all elected positions. Polls went live online on March 26 at 7:30 a.m. and close today on March 28 at 3:30 p.m. Any students who are interested in appointed commissioner positions can pick up packets after Spring Break. The Day of Silence is planned for April 11. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness for people in the community who feel silenced by their sexual orientation. This is an opportunity for anyone to feel the silence that those students feel every day and at the end of the day, everyone who participated will come together and scream as a symbol of breaking the silence. This year, Prom is scheduled to be held at the Exploratorium in San Francisco from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Currently, Prom tickets are $120 with an ASB card and $130 without a card, and all guest passes are $130. The last day to purchase tickets is Monday, Apr. 7, and tickets are selling fast. Bus sign-ups are online and are accessible through the Paly Website. ASB is also planning Not In Our Schools Week which will take place from April 21 to April 25. The theme for this years week is “Hear Our Voices,” which places emphasis on those in the community who feel silenced or suppressed due to their defining characteristics. Not In Our Schools Week is essentially a week-long event with each day focusing on a different social issue facing Palo Alto. “By the end of the week, we hope to have a more united student body that is more compassionate and aware,” said Maya Ben-Efraim, ASB’s Spirit Commissioner. Service Day is scheduled to be on the Thursday of Not In Our Schools Week. All students will have the opportunity to volunteer events on and off campus. On the final night of Not In Our Schools Week, Friday-Night Everytown is set to take place, which is essentially an abridged version of Camp Everytown.

UPCOMING EVENTs

Faculty shadowing students in classes By Lauren Gargiulo

Staff Writer

Mar

ASB ELECTIONS Guys! It’s not just a popularity contest!

Mar

SPRING BREAK STARTS Take a break off from school without homework from AP classes. Sike.

APR

JUNIOR AND SENIOR PROM No underclassmen are invited. Please don’t bring any.

APR

NOT IN OUR SCHOOLS WEEK STARTS Everyone be nice to each other for one week of the year.

APR

PALY SERVICE DAY Make use of this wonderful opportunity to bolster your college apps...the only reason Paly students do anything.

26 31 12 21 24

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

NEWS Stanford study finds homework counterproductive, ineffective

AP Psychology deals with cheating allegations

Study shows homework generates social, physical issues like stress

-sible to remove all of those stressinducing factors. On the Unit Eight exam, the most recent AP Psychology exam, the sharing of free response test prompts was made obvious due to an unusual correlation between multiple choice and free responses test scores. Some students who scored below average on the multiple choice section of the exam received high free response test scores, despite having a noticeably more difficult prompt. “We don’t consider it cheating to go back and look through old free responses and we actually mention the website,” Mattes said. “What’s not okay is if [students] have a little bit of insight or information because with these, you get passed a couple key words and you Google it and get one hit.” While the free response prompt was a College Board released prompt from an old AP test, and thus accessible on the Internet, passing the information to focus the studying was not tolerated. According to Mattes, an evident distinction was noticed between those who cheated willfully and those

By Grace Kim

Staff Writer

onducted by Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education and a published author in the “Journal of Experimental Education”, research has found students experience more stress, more physical health problems, a lack of balance and even social isolation when assigned too much homework. The research used a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in uppermiddle class California communities where the median household income exceeded $90,000. 93 percent of the students at these high schools went on to either two- or four-year colleges and had an average of 3.1 hours of homework per night. Using a survey with open-ended response questions, the research examined students’ perceptions about homework, students’ well-being and their behavioral engagement. “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” Denise Pope said, according to Stanford Daily. “The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, highperforming schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being.” Pope’s findings question the value of homework, and Pope argues that homework should not be assigned in large amounts or as a simple routine

practice. This directly conflicts with many of the homework policies held by many of the higher-level classes, especially honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, where homework is given both regularly and in rigorous amounts. Pope and researchers found that many students felt their homework was “pointless” or “mindless”, and there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much they liked it. Many said they only did their homework in order to keep their grades up. “This kind of busy work, by its

This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points. Denise Pope Senior Lecturer

very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said. “Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development.” Along with that, Pope and researchers have found that too much homework can be ineffective and even counterproductive. They cite prior research that shows that homework’s benefit plateaus at about two hours per night. The researchers believe that 90 minutes to two and a half hours a night is how much homework a

high school student should have, but for many students at Paly, especially those in higher-level classes, this is considered an easy homework load. Their study finds that too much homework is associated with greater stress, health issues and overall less time for extracurricular pursuits. In the survey data, 56 percent of students considered homework their primary source of stress, while 43 percent attributed this to tests and 33 percent to the pressure to get good grades. Less than one percent said homework was not a factor in their stress. In the open-ended response questions, many students said homework led to a loss of sleep and other healthrelated issues including headaches and exhaustion. Homework was also proven to detract time from friends and family, from extracurricular activities and from the development of “critical life skills.” In both the survey and the open-ended responses, students indicated that they were more likely to drop classes, not see friends or family and not pursue hobbies because of too much time spent on homework. Researchers also concluded that too much homework was associated with less time to foster personal responsibility skills. Many students felt forced to choose homework over their extracurricular activities and social time. “Young people are spending more time alone, which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities,” researchers said.

Foundation donates to Media Arts Center

The Media Arts building, which is set to open this August, is planned to accommodate photography, video production and journalism facilities By Jensen Hsiao

Editor-in-Chief

he Brin-Wojcicki Foundation has funded $85,000 for auxiliary furniture and equipment for the classrooms of the new Palo Alto High School Media Arts Center on the campus that will open this August. The announcement was made March 25. The new 22,000 sq. ft. building will house 800 students in a state-of-theart facility that costs over $10 million. The building was funded by Palo Alto voters in Measure A in 2008 and by a $2.7 million Career Technical Education grant from the State of California. The building, which will house the school’s photography, video production and multi-platform journalism classes, includes a broadcast journalism studio, conference rooms, a journalism library and a presentation atrium seating 150 to 200 people on three levels. Construction of the building started in 2011 and was scheduled for completion in 2013, but delays have pushed back the opening date to August of 2014. The Media Arts Boosters headed by parents Carol Chalmers and Debbie Crouch have already raised over $101,000 to help support the buildings needs. The group is still seeking other donations to support field trips, scholarships for summer camps and conventions, guest speakers honoraria, and a grand opening celebration.

Jensen Hsiao/The Campanile

Student-rights advocate Mary Beth Tinker poses in front of Media Arts building. Tinker is responsible for ensuring students’ rights in Tinker v. Des Moines case.

Slow enrollment growth prevents PAUSD from building thirteenth elementary school Board members support the delay as the project requires time and funds and will allow for Skelly’s successor to review the plans By William Shin Staff Writer

he Palo Alto Board of Education put off their long time plans to build a 13th elementary school at the latest School Board meeting on March 11. The majority of members accepted Superintendent Kevin Skelly’s proposal to push the date for making a decision regarding the placement of school until spring. Skelly, who is stepping down at the end of the

school year, claimed that it would allow his successor enough time to take a look at the issue and make a decision. The major problem with building a 13th elementary school was the unexpected slow enrollment growth numbers. One of the main factors contributing to the low enrollment numbers may be due to California’s 2010 Kindergarten Readiness Act, which mandates that children must be at least five years old by September, rather than December, to enter

kindergarten, amongst other factors amongst other factors. Most of the Board members voiced their support for the delay citing that such a decision cannot be rushed when large funds are required, and a change in leadership is taking place as well. In addition to the fiscal and school program direction problems that the Board may have run into, others also cite that having more time to make a decision allows for educational creativity brainstorming to take place.

PSYCH, Continued from A1

who didn’t at all but merely stumbled upon the free response as part of their studying. Mattes and Farina gave students an opportunity to step forward but a slim number did so. As a result, the administration is now involved in dealing with the consequences for these students, which are to be determined for each student depending on how meetings with the students go. However, according to Mattes, action will be taken whether it is receiving a zero on the exam or reporting the incident to colleges, out of fairness to the other students in the course. “I was surprised and disheartened by how many [students] it was but at the same time I was affirmed at how few it was,” Mattes said. Furthermore, Mattes believes that bystanders who witness cheating yet remain idle about the situation contribute implicitly allow cheating to persist across departments as well. “I’m disappointed at those who have witnessed all year cheating and just sit around and roll their eyes rather than doing anything about it,” Mattes said. “The culture doesn’t come from admin or teachers. We’re part of it, but it’s the students and the community as a whole.”

District aims to protect with new bullying policy School board attempts to finalize bullying policy after complaints regarding discriminatory harassment POLICY, Continued from A1 “We’re not violating Seth’s law: we just don’t have policies about Seth’s law,” Skelly said at the Board Policy Review Committee in December of 2013, according to the Palo Alto Weekly. In fact, according to Skelly, the procedures are not important. “As long as we’re following the law, that’s the most important thing,” Skelly said. Still, it was clear that PAUSD’s lack of policy and procedure to address complaints of discriminatory harassment was in direct violation of Seth’s Law, as well as any state civil rights laws passed prior to Seth’s Law. As a matter of fact, PAUSD’s violations were abundant and often obvious. To take just one example, the district, as uncovered by the Palo Alto Weekly, left many protected classes out of its procedures. Until last month, the official Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) under PAUSD failed to include bullying by religion, disability, age, sex or sexual orientation as protected cases. Nondiscrimination policies did not include gender identity, gender expression or association with a person with actual or perceived characteristics of any of these groups. A policy banning hate-motivated behavior failed to include disability, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, color, genetic information or age. In February, the district finally approved policies that defend “protected” students. The new policies include a timeline for reviewing complaints, and guidelines for decision making based on evidence. However, though several versions have been presented in the last year, an “unprotected” student bullying policy has not been

approved. Although the PAUSD District Office claims to be pleased with the steady progress the district has made, it blames the slow development of policies on the vast amount of comments and assessment they receive. “In the days right before and at the BPRC meeting on March 12, we received a significant amount of feedback from the community,” the District Office said. “We are reviewing all the pieces of feedback and expect to have a revised draft [of the ‘unprotected’ student policy] in a few weeks.”

As long as we’re following the law, that’s the most important thing. Kevin Skelly PAUSD Superintendent

The District Office wants to remind concerned parents that reviewing and rewriting policies that reflect the opinions of the community takes copious amounts of time and effort. “It is important to note that drafting this important policy has been an iterative process where feedback is valued and actively considered, therefore it is expected that documents would evolve over time,” the District Office said. As Skelly mentioned in December of 2013, providing safety and security for the district’s student is the PAUSD’s greatest concern. “The most important thing we can do is make sure our schools are the safest places possible,” the District Office said. “We are continuing to focus our attention on refining the policy while maintaining our efforts in providing academically challenging and supportive environments for every student.”

Not In Our Schools Week strives to be more student driven Leaders of NIOS plan to engage clubs in this year’s event NIOS WEEK, Continued from A1 encourage greater participation in organizing NIOS Week. The decision-making body will include presidents of clubs that choose to contribute, select teachers, a few ASB officers, Student Activities Director Matt Hall and a few Camp Everytown alumni. Eric Bloom, the school’s climate Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), is one of the teachers involved in organizing the annual NIOS Week. “I’m one of the adults helping the students implement what is that they want to do,” Bloom said. “We’re really trying to keep it being very student

driven, and we’re here as a support to help them achieve their goals.” With these new changes, Shuan expects this year’s NIOS Week to be more exciting to more students. “Not In Our School Week this year is going to be entirely based off of activities on the Quad at lunch and brunch,” Shuan said. “We’re going to focus on a different theme each day. Along with the activities that’ll go along with our theme, we’re going to have a different color to represent our theme.” Though the schedule for NIOS Week is still undergoing changes, the themes for each day are predicted to include gender equality, anti-bullying, disability, stereotypes and racism.

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

NEWS

Theatre students to attend statewide festival

18 members of Paly’s International Thespian Troupe will be attending a statewide conference held from March 28-30 By Shivonne Logan Business Manager

any of Palo Alto High School’s theatre students will be attending the California State Thespian Festival from March 28-30 in Upland, Calif. The conference is hosted by California State Thespians and attracts students from all over California. At the conference, students have the opportunity to put on performances, compete for scholarships, attend workshops, watch other performances and interact with other thespian students from high schools around the state. The California State Thespians’ mission is to “support students and their teachers by providing a means of recognizing and honoring excellence and dedication; leadership training for school troupes; and an annual state festival offering workshops, performance opportunities, scholarships and the opportunity to meet and learn from Thespians from all over the state,” according to their website. When students arrive at the three-day conference, they have the opportunity to participate in individual events; audition for various programs such as PlayMarathon, PlayWorks and Scenefest; and scholarships interview for a technical position in the All State Show, a festival-wide program that is cast and produced during the conference. Members of Paly’s Thespian Troupe #909 have consistently attended the event in the past, with many starting to attend their freshman or sophomore year, and those

Hannah Nguyen/The Campanile

The theatre students attending the 2014 California State Thespian Festival, as pictured above, will spend three days in Upland, Calif, performing and presenting technical work for judges, auditioning and rehearsing for various performance opportunities and scholarships, participating in workshops and interviewing for technical positions. who have gone before look forward to doing so again. Although the weekend can be physically and mentally draining for many participants, the festival is one of the largest thespian events for high school students in California, if not the largest, and provides a wide range of opportunities. “I went for the first time last year,” senior Sarah Ohlson said. “It was an exhausting weekend, sometimes with 19 hour days, but it was also a blast. I’m excited to go back because I feel more prepared and experienced this time.”

The festival also offers opportunities for students interested in technical theatre. Professional technicians who work at Disneyland Parks are hired to help train student technicians, allowing high school students to work hands-on in a professional environment. Several Paly thespians will have the unique opportunity to perform for the entire conference, performing a cut version of “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani in front of an audience of several thousand fellow thespians. Their rendition

Student-produced One Acts showcase to premier in early May Students get the opportunity to direct, produce, perform in annual One Acts showcase

of the play won Play Marathon, a local competition featuring 10 Bay Area high schools, allowing them to perform at the festival. “It’s a bit intimidating,” senior Aaron Slipper said of performing at the festival. “It’ll be very exciting.” Slipper will be one of the students performing in “Almost, Maine” on the main stage, in addition to participating in several workshops and events out of hundreds offered during the three-day conference. “A huge number of high schools come,” Slipper said. “We’re [thespi-

Underclassmen debaters tie for first place at championship Freshman Collin Fee, sophomore Eric Foster share first place title at Western States Championship, beating out 23 competitors By Oliver Tucher Staff Writer

Courtesy of Paly Theatre

Paly’s 2013 One Acts featured a play written by senior Paige Esterly, titled Nowhere, New Mexico. The 2014 One Acts event will feature more student-written plays that are cast, directed and produced entirely by students.

By Galen Byrd Staff Writer

ach year, the Palo Alto High School Theatre Department produces a One Acts event, which is a series of short, studentdirected plays. This year’s One Acts show will feature five short plays, three of which were written by students. Junior Daryl Dillahunty notes that working with a student director is an entirely different experience than working with Paly Theatre Director Kathleen Woods, who directs the mainstage shows. “You’re working with a student director so the person is a lot more on your level, instead of working with a director who is also your teacher,” Dillahunty said. The five plays vary in length, cast size and genre. For example, senior Aaron Slipper will be directing a 13-person cast cut of “The Six of

Calais,” a drama written by George Bernard Shaw, while freshman Jason Pollak will be directing “Sure Thing,” a comedy by David Ives that features a three-person cast. The Paly Improv Troup, a group led by senior Paige Esterly, will also perform at the showcase.

You’re working with a student director so the person is a lot more on your level, instead of

working with a director who is also your teacher,

Daryl Dillahunty Junior

Other plays that will be performed at the showcase include studentwritten shows written by sophomore Charlotte Moffat, and seniors Dashiel Grusky and Curtis Wu. Another dimension of One Acts that differs it from other Paly shows

is that it senior Jonathan Mackris will be the student producer of the show, unlike the fall and spring shows that are also produced by Woods. According to Mackris, his role will be to “coordinate the aspects of the show, be it the directors, the techs, etc.” Mackris is confident that this year’s production of One Acts will be successful. “We had some unforeseeable difficulties last year, but I’m confident this year will go swimmingly,” Mackris said. According to Mackris, the entire cast and crew includes around 50 people. He notes that the diversity of the showcase will attract a wide audience. “I think people should see On Acts because the variety of shows makes for a delightful evening,” Mackris said. “I think there is something for everybody to enjoy being [performed].” One Acts will be performed on May 1, 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m.

an troupe] number 909...It’s a huge event. It’s essentially the biggest even, in terms of magnitude, of the year.” Senior Briana Billups, who has twice attended the statewide festival as a student technical, notes that a highlight of the festival is the social aspect of it, and interacting with other thespians. “State festival is always a lot of fun,” Billups said. “You get to meet other theatre kids from around California and while part of [the festival is] a competition, it really doesn’t feel that way.”

alo Alto High School competitors won first and second place at the annual Western States Championship debate competition, which was held at San Francisco State University on March 8 and 9. The Western States Championship for Novice and Second Year Debaters is a competition for the top novice debaters of schools in western states, hosted by the Bay Area Urban Debate League (BAUDL). According to the BAUDL website, the topic of this year’s competition was Latin America and economic engagement. The website goes on to say that “students will be debating about the environment, social justice movements, domestic politics, the structures of government, international relations, global economics and much more.” There are 25 competitors in the Western States Debate league. Paly freshmen Collin Fee and sophomore Eric Foster tied for first place in this prestigious competition. Because two competitors from the same school cannot debate each other, the Fee and Foster shared the first place title. Second year debater and sophomore Anant Marur made it to finals and won second place in the tournament.

For winning first place, Fee and Foster, won full scholarships to the Victory Briefs Institute debate summer camp which cost about $2,450 for two weeks. In the competition, debaters are judged based on their ability to speak and argue with fluency and persuasion. The debater who has the more persuasive argument wins. This competition started with six preliminary rounds during which debaters face each other in a one-

on-one debate that a group of judges pick the winner and award speaker points to each debater. After these preliminary rounds, eight debaters continue to the elimination rounds. Fee, Foster and Marur all conducted award-winning performances. Marur, who won second in the tournament, won the first speaker award, meaning that he had the highest average for speaker points. For winning first place, Fee and Foster won full scholarships to the Victory Briefs Institute debate summer camp, which costs about $2,450 for two weeks. The runner -up, Marur, won a half scholarship for the same camp. Marur was also successful earlier in the debate season, when he qualified for the Tournament of Champions at the Alta Tournament, which took place in December of 2013.

The goal of the competition is “to provide an opportunity for first and second year debaters to experience a spring championship tournament in an atmosphere that promotes learning. This is not the first year that Paly students have been successful at the Western States Championship. Last year, sophomore Gabi Rossner was awarded the title of first speaker in the novice category, while fellow sophomore Andy Gibson made it to the quarterfinal round. Like Fee and Foster, Rossner and sophomore Arianna Groetsema shared the championship title. According to Executive Director of the BAUDL, Dmitri Seals, the goal of the competition is “to provide an opportunity for first and second year debaters to experience a spring championship tournament in an atmosphere that promotes learning and prepares the debaters for more advanced competition.”

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

NEWS

East Palo Alto school implements yoga for students Students use calming yoga techniques taught at school to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder

Courtesy of PBS NEWShour

Students at Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto do yoga as a part of a research project directed by Stanford researchers.

By Alvina Zou

Business Manager

tanford University researchers John Rettger and Michael Fu teach seventh grade students at Cesar Chavez Academy in East Palo Alto to cope with their stress by practicing yoga.

The researchers are a part of the Stanford Early Life Stress Research and Pediatric Anxiety Program’s Mindfulness program, which is overseen by Dr. Victor Carrion, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Rettger serves as the Mindfulness Program Director, and Fu is a medical student and trainee.

“The principles of mindfulness really try to make you focus on the present moment,” Fu said in an interview with PBS Newshour. “So whether or not you came in this morning experiencing something stressful at home or something bad happened, for you to be able to come into the classroom and really embrace it and embrace the

learning, I think it really allows students to reach their potential.” The mindfulness technique uses yoga to teach students to calm themselves instead of using anger, fear or depression as coping methods. The children growing up in these communities are also more likely to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to Cesar Chavez Academy Principal Amika Guillaume. “Do I think that stress of our community can get to a child?” Guillaume said in an interview with PBS Newshour. “One hundred and ten percent, absolutely. For every child who acts out at our school, I can look exactly to the point in their life where things are not working. Every single time, there is a very concrete, very sad story.” Rettger and Fu focus on using yoga in schools as a technique that students can use everyday to deal with psychological and emotional stress and teach students to handle one’s own emotions. Those with PTSD show a decreased activity in the middle frontal cortex, which often discourages learning abilities, according to Carrion. “We have, by the 2010 census, as many as 50 percent of students [at

the school] who are homeless,” Guillaume said. “When I say children are under stress and duress, it’s the little things. Let’s not even go into the gang war in our neighborhoods. Just the little, simple things are very stressful.”

We have, by the 2010 census, as many as 50 percent of students [at the school] who are homeless. Amika Guillaume Cesar Chavez Academy Principal

Some teachers at Cesar Chavez Academy have noticed a difference in student behaviors as a result of the strategies that the mindfulness program adheres to, such as students coping with anger or frustration by using breathing techniques to calm themselves to explain why they are upset. “Each session is structured around one of four central themes — paying attention to the present moment, paying attention with kindness, paying attention with curiosity and responding versus reacting — and involves a combination of formal mindfulness practices and reflection,” Fu said in an interview with SCOPE blog.

Santa Clara County elections approaching Science Olympiad team Election creates intense competition as new candidates challenge incumbents By Kevin Mullin

SciOly places first at regional competition

Staff Writer

ongtime Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith will run against two challengers in the upcoming election that will be held on June 3. Smith, who was the first ever female county sheriff, will face Capt. Kevin Jensen and former Chief of Police Martin Monica. Smith was first elected in 1998, winning in a landslide after eight years as Assistant Sheriff. Now a four-term incumbent, Smith has been scrutinized for her decision to assign a bodyguard to family friend and Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr. Shirakawa was later convicted of misuse of public funds and other crimes. Smith has also lost favor with the county union after failing to come through on her promise to provide more appropriate uniforms for extreme weather. As a result of these controversies, the Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriff ’s Association and the Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers Association have decided to endorse Jensen for the upcoming election. Jensen’s 28 years of experience impressed the unions, and according to the union heads Sgt. Dennis Moser and Sgt. Lance Scimeca, over 90 percent of the members favor Jensen heading into the election. Monica, a retired chief of police, is the only Democrat running for county sheriff. Martin is hoping to promote a better relationship between law enforcement and the community by

advances to state finals By Sarah Tayeri

COURTESY OF SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Matthew Harris and Annrae Angel, above, are both running for county judge. strengthening senior citizen and child safety measures. District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who won the election in 2010 and took office on Jan. 3, 2011, will run unopposed for reelection. Previously, Rosen served as Deputy District Attorney and was defeated the incumbent district attorney for office. Prior to taking office, his objective was to restore integrity to the district attorney’s office.

The point [of this election] is to get rid of Judge Ritchie. Annrae Angel Candidate for County Judge

He made changes such as a reinstitution of a Cold Case Unit to

review old murder cases and establish better criminal prosecution and law enforcement practices. Two challengers have stepped up to face Judge Diane Ritchie in the race for Santa Clara County Superior Court. Ritchie’s first term was marked by a string of gaffes, including one incident in which she asked the defendant for their phone number so they could arrange a social meeting. Matthew Harris and Annrae Angel will oppose Ritchie. Angel said she is willing to step down from the election if it will help prevent Ritchie from being re-elected according to the San Jose Mercury News. “The point [of this election] is to get rid of Judge Ritchie,” Angel told the San Jose Mercury News. “If too many candidates enter the race, the vote could split.”

Staff Writer

aly’s Science Olympiad (SciOly) team placed first place in the Bay Area Regional Science Olympiad (BARSO) competition on March 15. Competing at California State University, East Bay, Palo Alto High School placed first out of 56 teams, allowing the team to advance to the Northern California State Science Olympiad. Paly’s team, Palo Alto SciOly, is a student-run group focusing on professional science competitions.

We’re all very excited to go to States, but we also know that our competition is going to be tougher after our one-point victory last year over Mira Loma. Ken Chen Co-President of Paly’s SciOly Team

Last year, Paly’s SciOly team won States and advanced to Nationals for the first time since the club was established in 1996. This year’s team aspires to follow the high standards set by last year’s team. At regionals, high school teams from all across the Bay Area were tested on both engineering tasks and content-specific exams.

Ken Chen, one of the three presidents of Paly’s SciOly team, was pleased with Paly’s performance. “Regionals is always a bit rough for us because it’s, for many of our members, their first exposure to competition,” Chen said. “While we stumbled a bit in some events, overall everyone performed admirably and I’m very pleased by all the individual achievements by our team members.” Since its winning performance at BARSO, Palo Alto SciOly has been preparing for State finals, which will take place on April 12. Last year, for the first time in the club’s history, Palo Alto SciOly defeated long-time rival and perennial powerhouse Mira Loma High School by one point, breaking Mira Loma’s eight year winning streak. “We’re all very excited to go to States, but we also know that our competition is going to be tougher after our one-point victory over Mira Loma,” Chen said. “However, I’m still very confident that we can win [States] again and make Nationals.” According to Chen, Palo Alto SciOly team’s strength lies in the widespread support and confidence among teammates. “While many other competitive teams I know have structured school programs in which many people don’t even know all their teammates until competition day, we’re a close circle of friends always looking out for one another,” Chen said.

Friday, March 28, 2014

OPINION

The Campanile

Wild animals deserve Yoga should be offered as more attention from alternate class for physical animal rights activists education credit for 10th grade

Certain species do not enjoy the same representation

By Heather Strathearn Senior Staff Writer

eginning next year, farmers must provide hens with enough space to stand up, lie down and extend their wings fully without touching another bird in order for their eggs to be sold in California. While this may seem like a step forward in securing animal rights, this law fails to make the necessary progress in animal rights. Although animal rightists should fight to give chickens more space, they should also focus on the rights of wild animals. While it remains important that all animals are treated humanely, there lies an injustice in how we go to secure the rights of animals in the food industry and leave countless wild animals to suffer and die every day as a result of our pollution. In 2008, California approved a ballot initiative that bans farmers from housing egg-laying hens in enclosures that are too small for the birds to lie down, stand up or fully spread their wings. Following this, in 2010, state legislators passed a law that extends these standards to all producers who sell eggs in California. Now, in 2014, Missouri’s Attorney General Chris Koster has filed a suit to block the California law. Officials

of Iowa, Nebraska, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alabama joined the suit on March 5. The lawsuit’s expansion follows Iowa representative Steve King’s failed attempt to add an amendment to the latest federal farm bill. This amendment would have banned states from setting mandatory standards for agricultural products from other states. King argues that this law would hurt his state’s egg producers, which sell about a third of their eggs in California. In order to comply with the law, out-of-state farmers would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to change their facilities and provide hens with 116 square inches of space, up from 67. And while it is true this law would have some financial impact on out-ofstate farmers, animal rights activists among others, argue that this effort represents a reasonable change that can help improve the horrible conditions we often see in industrial farming. While it is fine we promote the rights of the chickens to enough space to move, we should focus our animal rights efforts on wild animals that are suffering and dying without purpose. It is estimated that more than 100 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris floating in the ocean, with around 80 percent of this plastic coming from land and the other 20 percent originating from boats or swimmers in the water, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Rather than pushing legislation in order to give chickens more space, animal rightists should focus on creating legislation that will help eliminate pollution, specifically plastic pollution, but also including pollution related to oil spills and other trash.

Adding yoga to the course catalog would give students more options, allow students to be more relaxed at school

By Josefin Kenrick

News Editor

tress is a large part of Palo Alto High School students’ lives. However, resolving “stress” in general at a high school is a daunting task. There will always be homework assigned and testing will continue to add to students’ stress levels. However, there is something that can be done within Paly to reduce stress in students’ lives and explore a fun hobby. This solution is to offer a yoga class within Paly’s Physical Education (P.E.) department. Yoga is an extremely beneficial and widely-practiced exercise form. It increases endurance and strength within the core, back, arms and more. Yoga also is helpful for flexibility and relaxation. Yoga teaches students how to be aware of breathing and its connection to the body, which, while it may sound phony, can have an immensely positive effect on one’s mood. This type of relaxation and fitness combination is exactly what we need at Paly. Students are constantly moving from class to class, think-

courtesy of lululemon athletica

Allowing students to take yoga would promote a new form of fitness and help them de-stress.

ing about homework, tests, friends, parties, parents and extracurriculars. Moreover, after school can be difficult to have time to de-stress if that time is overridden by extracurriculars and more schoolwork. Furthermore, students can fall into a routine of laziness and equate television with relaxation. However, this kind of de-stressing activity does not allow for an active reflection within oneself or any sort of physical benefit. There are few times as a student when a class is relaxing and allows some sort of relief from the unfortunately common stress of a day. Even in P.E., the majority of class is running around the track, doing strength exercises or playing miscellaneous games. While there is noth-

ing wrong with that, it would benefit Paly as a whole if there were more variety offered for P.E. credits. Because the P.E. department already offers dance classes as an alternative option for P.E. credit, offering yoga as another option to sophomores is even more feasible. The dance program has proven successful, suggesting that a yoga program would fare similarly if implemented. The yoga class could also be offered as a sophomore year option instead of regular P.E. If it is successful, there could be more periods offered for students in any grade who want to learn more about the practice or who want to relax at school and learn how to be peaceful among all the chaos in their lives. Namaste.

The Campanile

OPINION

Friday, March 28, 2014

Are the changes to the SAT beneficial?

By Will Snodgrass Staff Writer

YES

t many colleges, test scores might work as a deciding factor between students with similar GPAs. For this reason, many students put large amounts of time and money into preparing for tests such as the SAT or ACT. College Board President David Coleman recently announced that major changes will be made to the SAT in the spring of 2016, changing the testing system as we know it. Overall, the planned changes are a step in the right direction for improving standardized testing. According to the College Board website, the SAT test is “designed to assess your academic readiness for college.” However, the current SAT has often been criticized for being a “teachable” test. Many students have improved their scores through extensive tutoring in which they receive training and practice for the actual test. Students who can afford tutors thus receive an unfair advantage because they learn tips and tricks to answer questions, putting students that cannot afford tutoring at a disadvantage. The new SAT format aims to test students on what they have actually learned in school. The College Board plans to create a test that will level the playing field for all students by eliminating the tricks of the previous test. Therefore, tutoring will no longer have as much of an impact on improving scores. The new test will be a more accurate measure of college readiness because students will be tested and evaluated on a more equal playing field. Among the major changes in the new test is the combination of the

reading and writing sections into one section called “Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.” The new test will no longer test students on obscure vocabulary, but rather words based on the context of a passage. These words are relevant to the academic and professional world. This is an improvement over the previous test because students no longer have to memorize obscure vocabulary with the help of private tutors. In addition, the College Board has partnered with Khan Academy to create free online tutoring for the test. The College Board also offers an abundance of free practice for students online. If students use the resources that are available to them online, the disparities between tutored test takers and non-tutored test takers will be greatly decreased. The new SAT also contains logical changes that will make it an improved test. Similar to the ACT, the new SAT will not contain any guessing penalties and the essay will be optional. These improvements will make a better testing atmosphere by giving students more flexibility. Critics of the new test have claimed that the College Board is making the test easier in an attempt to attract more students. Even if the test is easier, it’s more important that it will be equal for all students. Given that SAT scores can sometimes single-handedly affect college admissions, it’s important that the College Board strives to create the best test possible. If the changes occur as planned, the College Board will have made the right choice, thus improving to the SAT.

By Angela Stern Senior Staff Writer

he changes announced for the new SAT format that will pilot in 2016 are not all bad, however it seems they fall short in achieving the College Board’s goals for the exam. Some components of the old test that are no longer part of the assessment actually did hold significant value. First of all, as discussed in the New York Times article “The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul,” one of the largest factors that prompted David Coleman, the president of the College Board, to change the test was that children of higher-income families can afford high dollar test-prep services, while middle and lowerincome families cannot. As seen in the graph created by The Week, there is a clear correlation between a family’s income and average SAT scores. The improved results are commonly deemed to be a result of a family’s ability and willingness to contribute to what the New York Times cites

Courtesy of The Week

Graphical comparison of the average SAT scores with a family’s yearly income.

as a “$4.5-billion-a-year industry” of SAT classes and tutors. Students seek private test-prep services because of their anxieties of how they will perform on this singular test that will be heavily considered in the college admission process and follow them later in life when applying for jobs. Like the prophecy in the Harry Potter book series says, “either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.” The unsettling truth is that the infamous anxiety and stress of the SAT cannot be eliminated so long as the test lives on. Ambitious students who have the means to do so, will continue to seek and pay for expensive testprep courses, regardless of changes to the test’s content. Even if the new test will reflect more of the material being taught in classrooms, that ultimately will not change how much time and or money a student puts into preparing for the test. Additionally, changing the content will not change the ability of test-prep companies and tutors to “coach” students on how to “game the test” and learn strategies on how to succeed. On March 7, 2104, The Princeton Review released a statement concerning the changes to the SAT. “A common refrain when these changes are announced is that they are being made because the old test was coachable, and that the new test will be better tied to curriculum and less coachable,” Deborah Ellinger, CEO of The Princeton Review, said. “We’ve never seen a test that wasn’t coachable.” Coleman has, however, made a partnership with Sal Khan of the popular and free tutoring website, Khan Academy, to create additional practice for the SAT that will focus on the core knowledge being tested rather than test-taking strategies. While in theory Khan’s material will be available to students of all income brackets, only time will tell how successful the College Board is in encouraging particularly low-income students to make use of it. As for the changes to the content itself, in general the College Board is moving in a positive direction by grounding its content more closely with what students actually learn in school, and by focusing on evidencebased style reading and writing. One

upsetting change, however, is that of the vocabulary section. While the popular reaction to the thought of not having to memorize countless flashcards of words that have been criticized as esoteric and archaic was likely celebrated, some students were surely not nearly as pleased to bid farewell to the vocabulary section. The College Board appears to no longer be encouraging young people to pursue richer vocabularies, when now more than ever it would appear that the opposite is crucial. With the Oxford English Dictionary officially adding “LOL” and “OMG” in 2011, and students even here at Palo Alto High School using other such abbreviations pervasively across electronic and actual means of communication, now is not the time for the College Board to undermine the importance of a well-developed vocabulary.

The unsettling truth is that the infamous anxiety and stress of the SAT cannot be eliminated so long as the test lives on. A strong vocabulary enables people to become eloquent, a characteristic that can greatly aid them throughout their lives. Used properly, it can improve others’ perceptions of them during interviews, or even in daily conversations. Although the College Board’s view that understanding the context of how words are used is important, questions of that nature already existed in the old form’s reading sections. Eliminating the completing the sentence questions is eliminating the only force that prompted young people to expand their own vocabularies. It is improbable now that a busy student will choose to learn hundreds of vocabulary words in their scarce free time. While that task may seem daunting, it was one of the most useful and beneficial aspects of the SAT that could actually serve of some purpose beyond the scope of the test. It seems highly unlikely that the College Board will be able to eliminate the advantage of wealth that skews SAT results, as unfortunate of a predicament as that is. A test that measures raw intelligence rather than how well one prepared would be nice, but intangible. Also, I look to the College Board with despair as they abandon their noble albeit unpopular cause of encouraging youth to master vocabulary.

The benefits of bringing back lawn chairs

By Jeffrey Ho

Staff Writer

t is quite evident that Palo Alto High School is the frontrunner for many facets of academia, from top public school education to sophisticated technology to superior athletics. As we sit in the realm of constant change and venture into the future, not only do our educational and technological surroundings

improve, but our social lives change every day. The cost of maintaining an active social life often comes at a steep price, as coping with factors such as balancing daily tasks and stress has proven challenging for many. However, if both students and staff could enjoy once again the green and white lawn chairs that used to populate Paly’s Quad, everyone would benefit as Paly’s outdoor environment would change for the good. Former Principal Phil Winston originally instituted lawn chairs on campus two years ago in order to change the social culture of the Quad. After Winston’s first attempt at providing students with extra comfort, most of the chairs were either broken or stolen within a few weeks. On the contrary, upon a second try instigating the program in January 2013 with 100 more chairs, we noticed that the

more durable chairs lasted until the end of the year. After two trials, Paly has proven that the student body can handle the privilege additional seating, thereby reaffirming the idea of replenishing the stock of lawn chairs. Given the two “failed” attempts at maintaining lawn chairs for the long run, one may believe that they were essentially a waste of otherwise “surplus” Associated Student Body (ASB) funds. However, this move put forth by Winston and ASB allows Paly to continue improving by offering lawn chairs and other ergonomic seating as a means of outdoor campus seating. In addition, the lawn chairs led to an affinity on the Quad only seen previously during special events. The lack of lawn chairs and other outdoor ergonomic seating shows a clear digression from the advancement that our school as a whole

strives for. Within the classroom, the math department has explored options for new desks; many of which attach a more ergonomic chair to its structure. From an extended classroom perspective, a set of lawn chairs provide teachers with the option to allow their students to work outdoors rather than being cooped up in uncomfortable desks inside a classroom. If Paly brought back lawn chairs, classroom and teaching culture could change for the better, as the option of outdoor learning would give access to a new medium in which teachers could positively expand the learning environment and strive to be revolutionize the classroom of the future. For those who are overly conscious about clean clothes, lawn chairs provide a dry, comfortable place to sit for those who wish to enjoy the Quad. In combination with other social ben-

efits, the ability to sit on the quad in comfort with minimal risk poses great benefits to Paly’s overall school culture. Lawn chairs may not seem cheap, but they remain much more affordable than any other outdoor seating option that is compatible with the quad. Previously, Paly purchased lawn chairs for around $20 apiece, but these costs can be significantly reduced, as many home improvement stores sell the “Adirondack” chair for less, and negotiable manufacturer’s discounts would make the chairs even more affordable. In the long run, if students and staff were given new lawn chairs to use on the quad, the benefits of lawn chairs would outweigh the cost of purchasing and they will turn into a prized investment that may eventually define outdoor school cultures around the nation.

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

EDITORIALS

Midnight rule is beneficial for students

t’s no secret that Palo Alto High School is one of the most rigorous and competitive schools, not just in California, but in the nation. For this reason, it is not unusual for many students to take a large number of challenging classes. This often leads to a high stress school environment that has been the focus of countless community debates regarding how to best reduce stress of Palo Alto High School students. While there have been many proposals involving changes to the school calendar, counseling systems and amount of homework given, The Campanile believes the simplest and easiest way to relieve stress is to institute the “midnight rule” for all classes at Paly. The midnight rule is the policy that allows students to turn in an assignment online by midnight on the day it is due. Some teachers already utilize this policy for assignments such as essays. However, it is the opinion of The Campanile that the midnight rule should become an official, schoolwide policy.

The midnight rule would help alleviate student stress by essentially giving students an extra day to complete major assignments. It also encourages students to complete their work by giving them a second chance to turn in assignments even if they accidently miss the due date. Considering how many Paly students, particularly upperclassmen, often enroll in many Honors and Advanced Placement courses, it is understandable that a homework assignment may fall through the cracks every now and then and not get completed. Rather than giving students a zero or partial credit that negatively impacts students’ grades, thus reducing their motivation to put forth their best effort, students still receive full credit for their work and the grade they deserve as the assignment is still turned in by the deadline. This system of the midnight rule would not apply to regular daily homework assignments as they are often reviewed during class and the material will pertain to what is being taught on that day. Furthermore, the midnight rule would help address the much larger

issue at Paly of teacher consistency and uniformity among different sections of the same class. Currently, some teachers allow students to turn in assignments by midnight, but others do not. This gives students who have teachers who observe the midnight rule an unfair advantage over students of those who don’t, as they are given different amounts of time to complete the same assignment. Moreover, there is currently a lack of equity in the amount of time students in different periods receive for the same assignment. If a course is taught during first and seventh periods and an assignment is due on a Wednesday or Friday, students in the seventh period class essentially receive an extra day to complete the assignment. By having the assignment due at midnight gives all students the same amount of time to complete the work before the due date. The Campanile believes that instituting the midnight rule would relieve student stress and learning, as well as increase equity amongst various classes.

AP Microeconomics course should be added to history curriculum

he Palo Alto High School History and Social Science Department made a conscious decision to offer only Advanced Placement (AP) Macroeconomics, choosing to neglect Advanced Placement Microeconomics in the course offerings. The department cited its reasons for choosing to do so: to prevent students, who might feel obliged to take the course, from overloading their schedules and to prevent the establishment of another lane. The department believes that students and classes benefit from having a broad set of students as well as the modeling that high-performing students can offer others. The introductory economics course, the department believes, offers a lot of information, albeit being relatively easy because it is a graduation requirement. For students who would like to challenge themselves in the subject, the department offered AP Macroeconomics so students would be able to take a college-level course. For those who would like to also take the AP Microeconomics exam, the teachers would be willing to help students prepare. In contrast, Henry M. Gunn High School offers an Advanced Placement Economics class that covers both AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics in addition to an introductory economics class. The department notes that the introductory economics class at Gunn is facing difficulties, with not enough students wanting to take the class because most opted to take the AP Economics course. However, The Campanile recognizes the basis for the department’s choice to include AP Macroeconomics but not AP Microeconomics; students do tend to overload their schedule without realizing the amount of work and time required, and typically in laned classes, there tends to be a large dichotomy in not only the level of work done, but the level of performance exhibited. The Campanile believes that students’ education should be their own prerogative. Students who believe they can handle tacking on AP Microeconomics to their course load should be given the opportunity to do so at Paly.

The basis of most students’ concern stems from the fact that many colleges do not give credit to students that take only AP Macroeconomics without its counterpart. For example, University of California, Berkeley, requires its incoming freshman to have received either a score of four or five on both AP Economics tests in order to skip Economics 1 or 2. Berkeley is only one of many schools to have implemented this policy. Other schools allow students to skip an additional class if they choose to take both exams. Princeton University gives credit for Economics 100 for a score of five on the AP Microeconomics exam and credit for Economics 101 for a score of five on the AP Macroeconomics exam. Students understand that the department is willing to support students who are trying to prepare for the test on their own, but also face impasses in the completion of the test. Currently, Paly does not offer testing accommodations for students who would like to take the test. Students have to either take the test at Gunn or take the test on the make-up day — both of which are inconvenient for students. Some students find themselves unable to find transportation to Gunn or are burdened with other tests to take on the make-up day. It is understandable that the administration may not find that including an AP Microeconomics exam is worth the cost, as not many students take it as there are few students who choose to take the exam right now because Paly does not offer the class and the semester-long preparation that the class would entail. The Campanile would like to ask that Paly take steps to include both the class and the test as that would not only give students a more detailed knowledge of microeconomics if they so choose, but the preparation would provide incentive for more students to take the test and thus urge the administration to offer it. The Campanile hopes that Paly will take into consideration many students’ frustration in not having school support for those who would like to fully take advantage of AP classes in order to receive collegelevel curriculum.

Letter to the editors

here were some excellent ideas in the Campanile’s editorial about database training that can be part of the WASC process as we move forward with identifying ways to improve our school. Having a clear research methods curriculum delineated by grade and subject would help ensure that every student builds a firm foundation for conducting academic research, an expectation for success in college. Conducting research seminars during tutorial is another great idea. However, I question the headline that database training should only target

freshmen. This year, before conducting database training in every AP Psychology class, I had students take an online survey to assess their research expertise. The results showed that while students understood many aspects of the research process, there was still a pressing need for more instruction. I also question that training is redundant. Every time I visit a class there is a new assignment with new research challenges, and I witness first-hand the growth of new knowledge. —Rachel Kellerman, Librarian

MARCH’S TOP TEN LIST Top ten excuses to ditch your date at prom 10) “I have to get home to do homework.” 9) “I’m going to go dance with my friend.” 8) “Let’s see who can get thrown out more quickly.” 7) “I’m going to wait on the bus.” 6) “Let’s play hide-and-seek! I’ll hide.” 5) “My favorite pastime is staring at the water alone.” 4) “I must go to the bathroom. I love the contemporary tile design.” 3) “The chocolate fountain is calling me.” 2) “OMG I need to find my friend who I won’t see on Monday.” 1) “I really want to see this exhibit, alone.” -JACK PALADIN

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Got something on your mind?

Submit a letter to the editor at theeds2014@googlegroups.com

COMIC OF THE MONTH

Jane gorlik/The Campanile

Consistency between teachers of the same course.

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Rachel Cui • Jensen Hsiao • Maya Kitayama Daniel Tachna-Fram • Hillel Zand • Stephenie Zhang News Editor Josefin Kenrick

Opinion Editor Jack Paladin

2014 Hybrid Publication Gold Crown Award Winner

Lifestyle Editors Kian McHugh Michelle Yin

Sports Editors Julia Kwasnick Ziv Schwartz

Online Editor Jonathan Ziegler

Lifestyle Design Editor Irene Ezran

Spotlight Editor Emily Semba

Photography Editors Ahmed Awadallah Andrew Sternfield

Cartoonists Jane Gorelik Jacques Manjarrez Brian Kannappan

Business Managers Shivonne Logan Alvina Zou

Staff Writers Seth Alston Maya Benatar Dami Bolarinwa Galen Byrd Stephanie Cong Parker Devine Esther Doerr Owen Dulik Haley Fang Bo Field Jeremy Fu

Lauren Gargiulo Bowen Gerould Lauren Giurata Conner Harden Jeffrey Ho Grace Kim Lauren Klass Emily Lee Zachary Levitan Tiffany Liang Claire Liu William Mendenhall

Ahmed Awadallah Dami Bolarinwa Keri Gee

Paul Mewes Kevin Mullin Mischa Nee Hannah Nguyen Arjun Parikh Coby Parker Nikhil Rajaram Maggie Rosenthal Jack Shapiro William Shin William Snodgrass Owen Staiger

Photographers Conner Harden Jeffrey Ho

Angela Stern Heather Strathearn Alec Sullivan Nicholas Sullivan Sarah Tayeri Zoe Tierney Oliver Tucher Jacob van Zyll Leslie Wan Eli Weitzman Catherine Yu Lily Zhang Grace Kim Andrew Sternfield Zoe Tierney

Advisor Esther Wojcicki

Letters to the Editors: E-mail all letters to editors to theeds2014@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 in The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Managers by e-mail 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 28, 2014

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Spring fashion

By Stephanie Cong

united for ukraine S

ince the March 16 Crimean referendum, Ukrainians in the Bay Area are organizing in protest to make sure their country remains separate from Russia and retain the autonomous republic of Crimea. The organization, known as MaydanSF, works to support Ukraine in any way it can from its Bay Area location. The referendum – conducted by the Crimean legislature and the local government of its capital, Sevastopol — resulted in margins upwards of 95 percent of votes in favor of joining the Russian Federation. Many Western countries, such as the United States and Canada, have called the results illegitimate. On March 24, seven nations officially suspended Russia’s membership in the G8. Although some Ukrainians are pro-Russia, the majority of the country favors retaining Crimea. Even the interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov condemned the referendum. The referendum went against the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, in which Russia, the United States and United Kingdom agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and its existing borders. Additionally, international law upholds the territorial integrity of countries, allowing a part of a country to secede only if the country’s government has denied rights to or otherwise violated the region. Therefore, according to international law, Crimean secession is technically illegal. There have also been outcries against the manner in which the vote took place. According to Iryna Bilokin, a member of MaydanSF, those who operated the voting used carousel voting — a method which allows people to vote multiple times — in order to ensure the annexation of Crimea. “[Russia’s actions are] absolutely unacceptable in the modern world,” Bilokin said. “All of Russia’s actions are illegal and immoral.” Another member of MaydanSF, Lesya Pishchevskaya, also believes that the referendum was conducted illegally, given that Russia had too much influence on the voting process. Pishchevskaya hopes that Russia does not get away with what she views as an illegal referendum. “I hope that the new ruling party in Kiev and the international community keep putting pressure on Russia, since the referendum was not legitimate,” Pishchevskaya said. MaydanSF is a regional branch of EuroMaidan, an international organization which calls for an increased European influence in Ukraine and helped pressure the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, into resigning. Now that the revolution that deposed the president is virtually over, EuroMaidan seeks to lessen the influence of Russia in Ukraine. MaydanSF is not affiliated with a political party or organization, but rather just seeks to improve Ukraine as a whole. “[MaydanSF] cares about Ukraine deeply and [is] helping the Ukrainian EuroMaidan movement with protests, fundraising and lobbying for sanctions,” according to the organization’s website. In viewing the current situation in Ukraine, both Pishchevskaya and Bilokin believe that the country has been unstable for the past few months. Many believe that the Russian Federation has been increasing the problems through military presence and international discussions by the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The situation hasn’t been stable for three or four months now,” Pishchevskaya said. “While the situation has become more stable in Kiev, now the country is experiencing a crisis in the Crimea Peninsula and [in the southeast] of Ukraine. People are mentally drained and want to see the country peaceful and within its border [as] defined by the Constitution of Ukraine.”

Vladimir Putin

Local Ukrainians condemn Russian annexation of Crimea, weak international sanctions text by Coby Parker & Paul Mewes Staff Writers design by Irene Ezran & Paul Mewes Lifestyle Design Editor and Staff Writer

Many members of MaydanSF believe that Russia has broken international law multiple times in its interaction with Ukraine. The United Nations imposed sanctions against Russia after Putin signed off on the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, but MaydanSF believes that the these sanctions are insufficient. The organization believes that the U.S., which has already frozen the assets of several high ranking Russian officials in western banks, should broaden its scope and freeze all assets of Russian politicians and oligarchs. “[The United States should] enforce stricter sanctions, send weapons [and] potentially send troops to Ukraine to protect Ukrainians,” Pishchevskaya added. In an open letter to President Barack Obama, MaydanSF states that it understands that the president does not want to risk a military interaction with the Russian Federation, but encourages the United States to carry out four specific actions so as to assist the Ukrainian people. First, MaydanSF wants the U.S. to impose more meaningful economic sanctions on the Russian politicians that were singled out for participating in the situation in Ukraine. “Work with our European allies to freeze the assets of Russian politicians and oligarchs held in Western banks,” the letter stated. Second, the group wants the U.S. to financially support the state of Ukraine in order to prevent the influence of the Russian Federation. “Due to the plunder of their state treasury by the previous administration, the country has resorted to having private donors buy supplies and gas for their military,” the letter states. “Strong engagement with the Ukrainian state will indicate to Mr. Putin that we are committed to their success… will discourage him from unilaterally attacking the country either directly or through his paid provocateurs or special forces.” Thirdly, MaydanSF wants more NATO troops to be sent to the area in order to dissuade any Russian military advances. “This will reassure our allies in the region that we are committed to protecting them,” the letter says. Finally, MaydanSF wants the U.S. to respond to any further Russian interaction in Russia with harsh sanctions and other military reactions similar to what the U.S. has done in Iran. The letter directs the U.S. to “deprive Russia with access to Western financial markets, industrial machinery, visa access, consumer goods, direct investment, or any sorts of partnerships with Western businesses or governments” MaydanSF is encouraging its members to send a copy of this letter with their name signed at the bottom to President Obama in order to cause a chain reaction that will positively influence the situation in Ukraine. The organization has already raised over $25,000 in donations. It sends some of the money it raises to the families of dead protesters and uses the rest of it for humanitarian needs of protesters in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. According to Pishchevskaya, Russia violated international law by annexing Crimea and will most likely invade more of Ukraine. She believes that Russia should be justly punished for what it has done and prevented from taking more of Ukraine. MaydanSF is doing all that it can to protect Ukraine from the grasp of Russia and residents of the Bay Area can contribute to the cause by donating to www.maydansf.com, sending letters to politicians demanding action, raising awareness of the situation and becoming more informed on the international issue.

President of Russia

Oleksandr Turchynov Interim President of Ukraine

INSIDE

Holi festival

Martial artists By Jeremy Fu

Prom safety is quite, QUITE important. Trust us.

This Indian festival celebrates the arrival of spring

By Leslie Wan

By Maya Kitayama and Jensen Hsiao It all starts months in advance. When the infamous “Paly Prom Dress” group hits the collective Facebooksphere of Palo Alto High School females, the focus immediately shifts to Prom. As the days grow closer, students find a new source of entertainment, watching others parade through the Quad wearing costumes, walking dogs, singing songs or carrying a punny sign, all in the hopes of finding the perfect Prom date. The buildup to Prom seems so drastic and long that there is no way one singular night could be as magical as we make it out to be. But the cynics are sadly mistaken. As we flaunt our dresses and tuxes, heels and cummerbunds, dancing the night away, creating the perfect cliche high school moment, it’s as if we are living in “High School Musical” for the night, until we get back to Palo Alto and the film we seem to be living in switches to something more like “Back to the Future” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” Don’t take this as another drug and alcohol warning, something to be ignored and joked about. We are not going to argue that drug or alcohol use is a practice high schoolers should not partake in. Rather, we want students to go out and have a fun, memorable night with their peers, friends and love interests; instead of focusing on using and abusing substances. Obviously, there is no way for us to convince you all that drinking, doing drugs and having sex is wrong and should no way take place during the time post-Prom; we want you to make smart decisions that you will happy with for the rest of your life. According to a Huffington Post article by Carleton Kendrick, teen drinking and alcohol-related car accident rates increase considerably on Prom night. Furthermore, a spike in the amount of teenage sex generally occurs the night of the high school Prom. With these facts in mind, we want to ask all the Paly Prom goers to consider this: do you really want to waste away a classic high school moment by drinking into a state of oblivion? Do you really wish to erase all the memories of this one night by partaking in illegal activities where you or one of your friends could face true danger? Even though this night has been built up for months, we shouldn’t let drinking, drug-use or sexual activities mar the experience. So Paly, we ask you to make smart decisions, and remember to focus on the glittering memories of this special night. Don’t let the excitement of dressing up and dancing the night away be overruled by an unexpected trip to the emergency room. Treat the night just like any other, Prom is not an excuse to get wasted, it’s an opportunity for us all to have a great night out together, a night that we’ll never forget.

The history of sun tanning By Lauren Gargiulo

Friday, March 28, 2014

Life as Second Semester Seniors

LIFESTYLE

The Campanile

Students practice, teach martial arts

Seniors Jafar Alkenany and Ashley McCann train in different forms of martial arts

By Will Mendenhall and Michelle Yin As second semester seniors, there is one golden rule about life that we all know very well: as work load decreases, party rate increases. As simple as this sounds, one dilemma is that people find themselves lost in the crowd as they attend such social attractions. These parties attract people far and wide, like moths to a flame, and can get quite hectic at times. It is important to understand who you might encounter and should avoid acting like in order to become an experienced party animal. To help the lost souls out there, we have highlighted some key people to look out for on your partying crusade. The Graduate “This is just sad...learn to party.” There is nothing more awkward than the one graduate who always shows up at high school parties. It’s funny because the graduate is usually the biggest party animal of his/ her own class, and now, like a deer in headlights, wanders around awkwardly attempting to socialize with younger students. The Pros “Are there BP? Kiss em!” Win or go home. That is the motto of none other than the Pros. If you ever come face to face with one of The Pros, do not be afraid, for it may seem like there is little hope of victory but there is always a chance. There is always a chance that you might find your inner strength to put the team on your back and beat The Pros. And when that day comes, The Pros you beat may never show their face at a party again. The Pros never show up to a party if they know they can not win. For if they are not winning, then they are not coming. The Amateur “Let me on the table!” This is the troll that you might see sitting under the table wallowing in their crushed BP dreams. The Amateur might be aggressive in calling next game, but they are not aggressive when the situation calls for it. Rather, they miss every shot. While The Pros are successfully launching ping pong balls across the table, drilling them into the cups, making every attempted shot, they are also drilling the emotional stability of the Amateur. The Hugger “Bring it in, guys!” You see this person approaching you with open arms and that unearthing baby voice squealing your name and asking for a hug. This is the hugger; the overly friendly person who spends practically the entire party hunting people down for hugs, even the people they barely know. The hugger is easily the most annoying person at parties, so just bite your tongue, take the hug and try not to get bogged down in small talk. The Dab “I can’t see anything, guys. Help!” All you want is to peacefully excrete the fluids from your painfully overloaded bladder, yet the bathroom is occupied by a giggly clan of girls who just will not leave. As they walk out, the dab wipes the chunks of her pasta dinner off her face and resumes her overly affectionate and excited state. The dab attempts to make her way back to the party as she stumbles across the living room, bumps into the table, knocks over some cups and receives some angry shouts from The Pros. The dab does not even realize, attempts to hug the pros and continues socializing. The DD with the luxury car “We out to PMT?” You can spot the DDs as they usually carry their lanyard around their neck or swing it around to keep their drink-less hands busy. This is the guy that offers to drive everyone to Taco Bell and then home after parties in his BMW and then throws a fit when his car is covered in regurgitated Doritos Locos Tacos at the end of the night. But dude, if you’re going to be the DD, why drive your $50K car?

COURTESY OF ASHLEY MCANN

From left: Martial Arts students and instructors perform for friends and family ; Ashley McCann, a blackbelt in taekwondo, prepares to break a brick with her hands. Senior Ashley McCann started ity of helping the younger genera“Kempo as a martial art is really By Jeremy Fu hard to put into a box; its a mixed practicing martial arts at the age of tion gain confidence and inner peace Staff Writer martial art,” Alkenany said. “It takes five; her inspiration came from wom- within themselves,” McCann said. enior Jafar Alkenany began pieces from Karate, forms from Kung en in the Martial Arts field, who, by Competitions give McCann a practicing Kempo at age Fu, groundwork from Jiu-jitsu and participating in a traditionally mas- chance to evaluate her own abilities five; since then, his skills Mongolian fast wrestling. We also do culine sport, were breaking gender and learn which skills she needs to have progressed as he competes in a lot of boxing oriented practice.” boundaries. improve. tournaments. Last year, at a regional competi“Being a tomboy in my younger Alkenany is a second degree and “I remember having an obsession practices at the United Studios of years, I aspired to be like these wom- tion called the Bay Area Open, she with Jackie Chan and Kung Fu mov- Self Defense (USSD) in Palo Alto. en,” McCann said. “As I grew older, received second place in kata (forms) ies in general, plus my dad thought it In a typical week, he practices the pressure to act and look more and third place in point sparring. was a good idea,” Alkenany said. “I was a little disappointed about around five to six hours and teaches feminine haunted me.” Kempo, which translates to “fist for 15. However, that number inAfter receiving her black belt in my performance in point sparring, so law,” is undogmatic, which means its creases depending on events and taekwondo, McCann spread out to I intensified my training for my next techniques vary from instructor to in- competitions. other arts, like boxing, kickboxing, competition,” McCann said. structor. Then, at the next event she went muay thai, jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts However, certain characteristics and wrestling. McCann trains almost to, Shark City Nationals, she won Being a role model in the marcan be found in all forms of Kempo. every day either by herself or with a first place in the highest female black tial art community bestows a Kempo techniques are almost all coach. She also fences to increase her belt division for point sparring. responsibility of helping the counters, and a typical Kempo school “I love competing not because of agility. Besides training, McCann younger generation gain confidoes not teach its students how to atalso instructs her students in martial the winning aspect, but because with dence and inner peace within tack. arts, at Hiruko, a studio in Palo Alto. each opponent I face, I learn somethemselves. “The type of practice I do as a “I get a good workout with all thing new,” McCann said. martial artist is oriented mainly Martial arts has a profound effect my classes because even though I’m Ashley McCann around practical self defense, fitness a teacher, I believe can always learn on McCann, although it gives her Senior and a little bit of competition,” Alkesomething from my students,” Mc- the ability to defend herself, she says nany said. martial arts also allows her to live a Cann said. An important component of McCann believes being a teacher confident and fulfilling life. “The amount I practice really varKempo is a set of motions called ies,” Alkenany said. “When getting is valuable because she is able to see “It empowers me as a woman, alKempo, which creates a self-defense ready for a tournament or test, I could the impact she has on her students lowing me the ability to not only technique usually comprised of fast be doing up to 15 hours a week. It re- and the impact they have on her. defend myself, but also the ability to strikes to soft points of the body and ally takes up a lot of time, but I enjoy “Being a role model in the martial live a confident and fulfilling life,” a takedown. art community bestows a responsibil- McCann said. doing it.”

Alumnus forms educational website Economix101 aims to inform youth about importance of investment, economics By Eli Weitzman

Senior Staff Writer

ormer Palo Alto High School student, football player and campus personality Jackson Moses (Class of 2011) has gathered a team of Paly graduates to form a new company called Economix101. The company aims to educate youth about investment and the economics. Moses recently came to speak to senior economic classes as a trial for his future presentations. He shared that he grew interested in investing at a young age. “It was individual interest with the stock market,” Moses said about his first experience with finance. “It was a product of the environment I grew up around, being around a lot of my dad’s friends that were venture capitalists.” Moses emphasized the connection between information and the stock market; he found that if he was able to follow one, he could follow the other. Guided by his own volition, he overcame learning curves and entered the market before many kids had any understanding of the stock market. With this passion, he went to University of California, Berkeley and became an economics major, studying in detail the intricacies that he had experienced in the market. In the beginning of the 20132014 academic year, Moses decided

he wanted to spread his knowledge of economics and investing. One primary goal was to inspire a new generation of investors below him. “Its not easy to start a company, if you really, really enjoy what you are doing and you find it beneficial not only to yourself, but the people you are surrounded by and the people you are trying to help, then its totally worth it,” Moses said. Balancing school, a job at Cisco and a college social life, Moses needed to gather a team of excellent individuals that he knew and trusted for his new project.

He turned to his former high school classmates for help; Moses mentioned his trust in Paly students to work hard. His choice to work with close friends was a hard one though. “There is always a very difficult line you have to draw when working with friends,” Moses said. “The opportunity cost can be quite high; you don’t want to have to fire a friend.” Despite the opportunity costs, Moses has found his team to be committed and reliable to the project since Economix101 started in late January.

IZZY’s Brooklyn Bagels Catering for all Occasions 477 South California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94306 (650)-329-0700 www.izzysbrooklynbagels.com

Moving forward, Moses says he doesn’t have a specific target audience, but instead hopes to provide information to anyone — whether it be adults or teens — that are looking for a simpler entry into the investment market. “There is a huge barrier to entry for young adults, college students and for adults themselves, in that there is no type of information out there that is just easy to understand that caters to people who want to begin their investment experience,” Moses said. “And that’s the divide we are trying to breach.” The large Economix101 team includes Paly graduates: Sam Moses (CMO), Allie Simpson (Brand Oversight Manager), Sam Maliska (Website Development), Nate Bills (VP of Marketing), Erik Anderson (Social Media), Ryan Vertelney (Business Affairs), Jacob Lauing (VP Website Management) and Spencer Drazovich (Market Research Journalist). “At the end of the day, we are trying to provide information that comes from the minds of young adults, that is easy to understand, to help kids... teenagers... college students…[and] even adults, get the framework to build upon,” Moses said. If you are interested in investing, or even if you are not interested in doing so, you can find Economix101 or by visiting their website at www. economix101.com.

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE B3 Spring break adventure destinations With spring break around the corner, discover locations within the Bay Area to spend it in By Maggie Rosenthal

Staff Writer

pring break, while a much needed break from school, can sometimes get a bit boring. The week can be long and tedious if you don’t have anything to do. However, because The Campanile doesn’t endorse R-rated activities such as those seen in the movie “Spring Breakers,” here are some suggestions to make your spring break a little more interesting without getting arrested.

The Beach Even though it’s an obvious choice, it’s hard to resist going to the beach during spring break, especially when the weather starts getting warmer. Try going to beaches like San Gregorio or Moss Beach that are uncrowded and more suited for exploring, though they’re likely to have some fog. Alternatively, drive down to Capitola for a sunny, sandy beach with a small beach town for walking around. Another close by is Santa Cruz: a large, somewhat crowded beach, with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk attached. The rides on the boardwalk can provide entertainment for those who quickly find the beach boring. San Francisco San Francisco is a good day trip if you start to tire of Palo Alto and

Courtesy of Casablanca Inn

Santa Cruz is one of the many easily accessible beaches in the Bay Area. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has the added benefit of a boardwalk for games, rides and food. the activities around the city. If you take the train in the morning, you can have enough time in the city to return any time. Go exploring through the city, and even visit some of the museums if you’re feeling really cultured. Try thrift shopping in the HaightAshbury district, or for an even more inexpensive activity, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Try out any of the numerous restaurants in San Francisco, stopping by the Ferry

Building for its extensive selection of stores to buy food from. Hiking There are countless hiking trails to try out close to Palo Alto, and what better time to spend a day hiking than a day during spring break? For a shorter trip with less driving, try out local areas like Arastradero or the Stanford Dish. If you’re more adventurous and looking for some-

thing new, try heading north to Muir Woods or the Marin Headlands for more interesting hikes and views. For a hike somewhere in between, challenging but not too far, is Windy Hill. Try packing a picnic and planning out where you’d like to hike, so you can spend a while there. Camping Camping is a great alternative to staying in the suburbs of Palo

Alto. Leave behind any technology and just enjoy the outdoors. Book a campsite, gather some friends and spend a night outside, even whipping out some old Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts skills and building a bonfire. Treat yourself to some s’mores! There are plenty of inexpensive campsites to choose from, but a couple that are conveniently located are Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Butano State Park, both about an hour away.

How to search for a college roommate Students utilize social media in search for like-minded, friendly roommates

keri gee/the campanile

Sophomores protest against their inability to purchase parking permits, despite the frequent empty spaces in the Churchill lot.

Underclassmen look for solution to current parking difficulties Alternative parking inconvenient for students, residents By Catherine Yu

Staff Writer

nvision the excitement many underclassmen experience after passing their nerve-racking driver’s test at the Department of Motor Vehicles and receiving their driver’s license. The next school day, they drive themselves to school, enjoying a newfound solitude. Driving into the Churchill parking lot, they see a number of empty spots, but unfortunately they must park across the street since they cannot purchase a parking permit and must walk a longer distance to school. As many underclassmen have no choice but to park in front of residential homes, many are subject to the abuse of local homeowners. This is one of the issues faced by Palo Alto High School sophomore Ariya Momeny. “I know several people [who] have had their cars keyed and their tires slashed,” Momeny said. At Paly, the administration solely issues permits to park in the Churchill lot and the El Camino lot to juniors and seniors. However, some

underclassmen purchase permits from upperclassmen in order to enjoy on-campus parking privileges and to avoid the inconvenience of parking off-campus. “The thing that initially pushed me to voice my opinion was getting a parking ticket for parking on Castilleja Street, across from Churchill [Avenue],” Momeny said. “The people living there called the police to give me a ticket.” Momeny has taken this issue to Student Activities Director Matt Hall to see what can be done about the matter. Hall and Momeny have discussed the matter and are considering taking it to the administration, according to Momeny. A friend of Momeny, sophomore Griffin Carlson, even made a petition to draw additional attention to the subject. “It was a good idea to show that people support it,” Momeny said. “Unfortunately, everyone just wants to have their spots next year without underclassmen taking them so they are hesitant to sign.” Furthermore, some upperclassmen are fixed on restraining parking

permits to only juniors and seniors. Although many sophomores now strongly believe in giving everyone with a license a permit, some changed their mind when thinking forward to their junior year. “I will still support my viewpoint next year as a junior,” Momeny said. “Realistically, the underclassmen are most likely not going to be able to get them until they are all sold out. But knowing that they even have a chance is good.” In Momeny’s case, he is one who stepped up in taking action on a vocal issue amongst underclassmen. He hopes to make progress in improving how other students are treated when parked across from the school or make an impact on the administration to consider extending the permit allowance to underclassmen as well. “I think that upperclassmen should obviously get priority, but it should be open to everyone [who] has a license,” Momeny said. “It’s unfair because I can see that there are open spots, but I can’t use them. And having people call the police on me because I’m parking near their house is crazy.”

By Emily Semba

off-site and providing a more detailed picture of their match’s personality.

inding a roommate is a lot like online dating. Are you a night person or a morning person? How often do you shower? Are you more of a party animal or a stay-inand-play-World-of-Warcraft type? Finding a college roommate can be a tricky process, particularly if one is attending private or out-ofstate school, where most students are coming from outside the Bay Area. However, with the help of the Internet, there are many easy ways for high school seniors to socialize with their future peers and select a potential dorm roommate.

Facebook Groups The majority of colleges have a Facebook page or group specifically for each class of incoming students. In these groups, students can post about themselves and introduce themselves to their peers and potential roommates. This provides a great platform for students to meet others with similar interests and learn more about their peers with a hearty dose of Facebook “profile stalking.” Students can also initiate Facebook conversations, giving users a more vivid idea of their potential roommate’s personality before committing to sharing a dorm.

Spotlight Editor

Roomsurf Arguably the most popular site to discover a roommate, Roomsurf requires users to fill out a short survey, measuring factors such as organization level, personal hygiene and typical bedtime. Students list how they would prefer their roommate to respond to these questions, ranking factors from very important to insignificant. The website provides the user names of students who have the desired responses. However, in the free version of the site, only the first names of matches are given and us-

[People] tweet a lot of things, especially their own individual thoughts. Gabby Parker Senior

ers can contact potential roommates only through the site. With the premium version, requiring a payment of $20 or participation in a sponsored game or survey, users have access to the Facebook profiles of matches, allowing students to contact their peers

Twitter With the rise of this social media platform in recent years, Twitter has also become a way for students to connect with each other. Twitter provides users with a more in-depth and candid look into their peers’ personalities, unlike the often more polished and restricted Facebook profiles that are often cleaned up for college recruiters and parents. “You learn more about the person through Twitter,” said Gabby Parker, an incoming freshman at North Carolina State University, who found her roommate, Anna Glover, via Twitter. “[People] tweet a lot of things, especially their own individual thoughts, rather than a summary of themselves like you would see on Facebook or Roomsurf.” Parker said hashtags allowed her to initially find Glover and discover that they were in the same class. “[Glover] had tagged #NCSU18,” Parker said. “I looked at her Twitter and thought she seemed nice, so I messaged her. Overall, [Twitter provides you with] a better idea of who they are and how they act.”

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPOTLIGHT

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPOTLIGHT

RUNNING OUT OF TIME RESIDENTS AND CITY ACTIVISTS FIGHT TO SAVE BUENA VISTA MOBILE HOME PARK, THE LAST COMMUNITY OF ITS KIND IN PALO ALTO Top: Casey Hornback, a longtime resident of Buena Vista, races by on his electric scooter. Walking or scootering everywhere, Hornback prides himself on his environmental awareness. Casey Hornback, pulling over off has been a resident of Buena Vista for For the hundreds of residents currently calling Buena Vista home, the his scooter, grins and immediately 10 years. He lives in his home with Jissers’ request for closure has caused agrees to offer some thoughts. He two daughters and his wife and mainimmense distress. The City of Palo shares the personal obstacles that tains a job in Portola Valley. Munoz TRANSLATION ASSISTANCE BY Alto ultimately cannot prevent the would follow the potential shutting says the mobile park has granted him JOSE TORRES and his family countless opportuniowners of Buena Vista from sell- down of the park. “[The closing of Buena Vista] ties, and that their life will be deeply ing property, but it has the power DESIGN BY EMILY SEMBA, to demand relocation services for would certainly impact me because impacted if Buena Vista faces closure. SPOTLIGHT EDITOR dislocated mobilehome inhabitants. I’d obviously have to move away, His words echo Hornback’s previous Under the California Mobilehome away from my work nearby,” Horn- suggestions that families with chilressed in a faded Residency Law, the owners of mobile back said. “I support myself with dren, in particular, will face difficult green-blue wind- home properties are required to pro- a job in the area, which I’d have to obstacles if the park is sold. breaker, an older vide relocation payments if they sell leave. That wouldn’t be ideal, but at “I have two young daughters,” man laughs to him- their land, and the owners of Buena least I got places to go, family and Munoz said. “[My daughter] Jennifer self and zooms by Vista are is studying on an electric scooter no excepat Terman. I on a roughly paved street behind a tion. have a baby shopping center. He sports a pleasgirl who is L a s t ant smile and an aged complexion, month, on two years a mane of the same salt and pepper Feb. and three 20, hair that grows as a heavy beard on after five months. It his chin. won’t be failed atMeet Casey Hornback, a resident t e m p t s , long till of Palo Alto’s Buena Vista Mobile over a year she is to Home Park (Buena Vista.) Buena of negotiastart kinVista, the city’s last mobile home tions and dergar ten. living area, sits on a four-acre plot re visions, PAUSD is a of land tucked behind the intersec- the owners great school tion of El Camino Road and Los submitted system and Robles Avenue. A quiet and discreet a RelocaI want my alleyway, contiguous to the shop- tion Imkids to be ping center that holds Baja Fresh and pact Reable to learn Jamba Juice, leads into the seemingly port (RIR) at these hidden Buena Vista community that documentschools, Hornback calls home. too.” ing their Buena Vista was first established p r o m i s e d Munoz in 1926, making the 88-year old mo- relocation states that bile home park the oldest and one of services to if he and his the last affordable housing options in the Buena Roberto Munoz lives in a mobile home at Buena Vista with his wife and daughters. family were Palo Alto and the greater San Fran- Vista residents. On its sixth attempt, friends to stay with. My children are eventually forced off the Buena Vista cisco Bay Area. The plot of land is the RIR was approved by the city. all grown up, so it’s not so bad if I’m property, their hopes for staying in currently home to approximately 400 Whether or not these proposed of- forced to pack up my car and go. I the city would disintegrate, and they residents: singles, couples and fami- fers — which include the purchasing guess I could live in my truck again would most likely move away due to lies. Of the 129 children growing up of each resident’s home at an ap- too.” the high costs of Palo Alto living. at Buena Vista, 99 receive an educa- praised value and paying the differ“It’s just impossible for us,” MuA bigger issue, Hornback sugtion at Palo Alto Unified School Dis- ence between Buena Vista rent and gests, is the one families with chil- noz said. “I work nearby, and my wife trict (PAUSD) schools, with most of the rent cost of the resident’s new dren would face. is a house cleaner in Palo Alto. We the younger children attending near- affordable housing for 12 months — “The families with the little ones work a lot, and we work very, very by Barron Park Elementary School. are enough to mitigate the losses that — it will be a big struggle for them,” hard. But there is no way we could Most of the Buena Vista inhabit- will be experienced by the residents he said. “I raised my kids — they’re afford a home, not even a little apartants are categorized as those of the is a topic of debate among many resi- grown. They went to all the schools: ment in Palo Alto — I’ve looked. It’s “working poor” class, many of whom dents of Buena Vista and the greater Terman [Middle School], JLS [ Jane so hard.” are racial minorities living off a low- Palo Alto community. Jennifer Munoz Tello, Munoz’s Lanthrop Stanford Middle School], income salary. Because the RIR has been ap- Jordan [Middle School], [Henry 12-year-old daughter, is just one of In 2012, the owners of the propM.] Gunn [High School], Paly the many residents of Buena Vista erty filed a request with the [Palo Alto High School]. I whose life would be affected were the City of Palo Alto to close got real lucky and I’m glad mobilehome park to be closed. MY CHILDREN ARE ALL GROWN UP, Buena Vista and relo“I have lived here at Buena Vista they got educated here. SO IT’S NOT SO BAD IF I’M FORCED TO PACK UP cate the residents. The The families living here for ten years — almost my whole MY CAR AND GO. I GUESS I COUD LIVE IN MY Jissers, who purchased TRUCK AGAIN TOO. now, with the kids, they life,” Jennifer said. “This place is my Buena Vista 27 years can’t just go ‘poof ’ and find home. When my dad told me that a ago, announced that after a place to live right here in Palo letter came in the mail saying [Buena shutting down the park, they Alto. These people would be los- Vista] might be closing, I just started would sell the 4-acre plot of land to proved, a court hearing, during which ing out in terms of an education for to cry.” Prometheus Real Estate Group for a judge will decide whether the re- their kids. That is a big, heavy wound. Jennifer fears that being uprooted around $30 million. After obtain- quest to sell the property can move Who knows where they’d go?” from her community will force her to ing the space, Prometheus would forward, will be announced in the As Hornback scooters off, a man deal with the daunting task of having up-zone it and create 180 “upscale” next couple of weeks. For the Buena in a red flannel and cowboy hat exits to reestablish her social circle. Havapartments to be sold at luxury prices Vista owners, this is a significant step his mobile home a couple doors down ing lived in Buena Vista for nearly for “young tech workers.” toward their goal of selling the property. the alleyway street. Roberto Munoz her whole life, friendships run deep. STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLAIRE LIU, STAFF WRITER

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“When I found out [about the prospect of Buena Vista being closed], I thought about my friends,” Jennifer said. “I will lose all of my friends that I’ve made growing up. I have made some very good friends who I really care about. It’s gonna be hard to just leave like that. It’s gonna be hard to move away and have to make all new friends. It’s just gonna be hard.” Jennifer also voiced her fear of leaving the school district she grew up with. “I don’t know if there is any district greater than [the one] here,” Jennifer said. “The teachers are so nice to me, and I have gotten a lot of help throughout my [time in school]. I don’t want to leave them, the schools and the teachers.” Twenty-eight-year-old mother Erika Escalante shares similar worries about the changes in education and general communal lifestyle that would come with the potential shutdown of Buena Vista. Escalante believes that a lot of the opportunities she has been granted in her adult life have been beneficial results of her family’s decision to move to the park when she was a young girl, 16 years ago — the same age as Tello is today. Today, Escalante works at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation site in Burlingame as a coordinator of the Circle of Care program, and raises an eight-year-old son at home. “We’re here for the community,” Escalante said. “The schools, the safety, the opportunities. A lot of my family lives here — my parents, my siblings too. Buena Vista has allowed us to not only live and raise our children in a great community, it has allowed our family to stay together in close proximity all these years and support one another. Even if Buena Vista shuts down, I will not give up. I want my son to be able to finish his education with PAUSD.” Escalante, aware of the RIR submitted, questions the quality of the owner’s proposals and criticizes the appraisal procedure. “They’re saying that they’ll purchase our mobile homes at the value the appraisers say they’re worth,” Escalante said. “These people are saying our homes are worth less than half of what they really are. They seem to be putting the minimum value on our homes. I researched and found a home very similar to mine in an East Palo Alto mobile community, and it’s price is multiple times more expensive than what these appraisers told me mine was worth. That’s concerning. I hope that the city and hearing officer really pay attention to that [when they make their decision.]”

Sitting on a plastic chair outside corners of the community, as well: market, there are very, very few avail- the situation and hardships faced by fordable housing] is a complicated his mobile home is resident Tim from the Palo Alto School Board, able spaces at these other parks. The the residents at Buena Vista,” Nanda topic.” Wood. Tim has been living in Buena Palo Alto Human Relations Com- housing in Palo Alto is too expensive said. “We are aware that there were “There is recognition of the issue,” Vista for decades and has called Palo mission, various churches, the Pen- so there is basically no way the resi- alternative options to pursue besides Keith said. “It’s a separate conversaAlto home for almost his entire life. insula Peace and Justice Center and dents could remain in this town. It the one we chose. However, the Jiss- tion from Buena Vista though. We The closing of the park would drasti- countless other organizations. don’t know what’s going to is difficult to guarantee that even cally impact his life. happen in the future in Dellenbach urges students and a handful of these residents PALO ALTO IS A WELL-KNOWN PLACE “I’ve lived in Palo Alto for over citizens alike to become active and would be able to find livterms of additional AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF ALMOST 400 OF forty-some years, and I am in my fif- aware of the Buena Vista situation ing affordable living araffordable housOUR NEIGHBORS IS NOT AN ISSUE ties,” Wood said. “I have lived in this through joining Friends of Buena rangements somewhat ing. But affordable TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. community for so long and Buena Vista or attending City Hall meet- close by, let alone 375 of housing is certainly a Vista allows me to continue to [live ings and hearings to support the them. Where are we going to topic of conversation for here]. It [would be] hard to live here park in numbers. She stresses that a suddenly find 100 plus units of afthe city.” [without Buena Vista] because I don’t shutdown could result in something fordable housing in the Bay Area?” While Dellenbach too conhave a job because I am disabled. If detrimental for Palo Alto as a whole. The pay-the-difference compo- ers have made an informed decision cedes that the Jissers have the legal this place gets closed, I don’t really “This is a huge issue that could nent of the RIR, which would cover as to how they will sell the land and right to sell property, she suggests know what I’ll do. Maybe some of not only hurt the lives of Buena 12 months of rent for the relocated will carry that plan out. Yes, families that within the realm of options for my friends and I will pool our money Vista residents, but the overall Palo residents, is a meager offering in Del- will be relocated and their children selling the Buena Vista land, the and get a mobile home in Fremont. I Alto community,” Dellenbach said. lenbach’s eyes. might be moved out of the district family had various other viable ophope we get more time, and they pay “If we shut down this place, we, as a “[The owners] say ‘I’ll pay the dif- schools, but when people consider tions that they chose to shut down. us what we deserve. I don’t want to city, would lose a huge chunk of our ference’ but it’s ultimately just for one the situation, they should think about “The [Buena Vista residents] leave my home here.” economic and ethnic diversity. It has year which really isn’t very helpful,” this: is anyone living in Palo Alto have twice attempted to purchase The struggles vocalized by Horn- been shown over and over that it’s Dellenbach said. “Consider the large perpetually entitled to the services the land themselves in order to save back, Munoz, Tello, Escalante and better for a community to be diverse population of Buena Vista residents and education provided here? No, their homes,” she said. “They were Wood are just a few of the many than for a city to homogenize. By who have depended on the affordable not really.” rejected both times by the owners. concerns regarding the damage that supporting a variety of people, from housing units for multiple decades: Additionally, Nanda insists that Something like this could realistiwould be inflicted upon residents different backgrounds and economic the elderly and disabled individuals.” the Jisser family has appropriately cally happen, however, if the city and forced to leave their homes at Buena levels, we are benefiting the whole Margaret Nanda, the Jisser fam- outlined its responsibilities in the re- residents were willing to contribute. Vista. Support among Palo Alto citi- town. [A diverse population] brings ily’s attorney, defends her client’s cent RIR. She asserts that many of Guarantees could be made that the zens living outside the mobile home different perspectives and cultures choice and right to relocate the resi- the publicized complaints regarding land would be continued to be used community has grown since the own- and experiences, which is highly ben- dents and sell the land, as well as academic relocation and a shortage of for affordable housing. A third-party the proposed mitigations they have low-income housing are immensely entity could purchase it, such as the ers submitted their request to sell the eficial for Palo Alto.” Additionally, Dellenbach is skep- recently submitted. She encourages important, but ultimately, not an is- Palo Alto Housing Corporation, a land 15 months ago. Winter Dellenbach, a city resi- tical about the recently approved people to consider the legality of the sue directly associated with the legal nonprofit that manages high quality, affordable living.” dent, has organized a Buena Vista RIR, and points to the reality of the situation and the constitutional right obligations in place for the Jissers. After receiving phone calls and “It is not the private owner’s readvocacy group that aims to fight the housing market and decline of low of a private-property owner to make sponsibility to guarantee all the emails from reporters across the decisions for their property. mobilehome shutdown. Specifi“The Jisser family has children at Buena Vista a Palo Alto country and even internationally, cally, Dellenbach’s Friends I WILL LOSE ALL MY FRIENDS provided the cheapest Unified School District Education,” Dellenbach suggests the shutdown of of Buena Vista hopes to THAT I’VE MADE GROWING UP. I HAVE MADE housing in Palo Alto Nanda said. “Education is not a topic Buena Vista will become a topic of “work together to enSOME VERY GOOD FRIENDS WHO I REALLY for decades,” Nanda in the city ordinance which outlines discussion reaching far beyond Palo sure residents have the CARE ABOUT. IT’S GONNA BE HARD TO JUST said. “They’re now look- the expectations for mobile home Alto city limits. option to remain in Palo LEAVE LIKE THAT. “The whole world is watching,” ing to sell the land because closure. Overall, whether or not Alto, ensure students will the father who initially pur- there are enough low-income hous- Dellenbach said. “Palo Alto Online finish their education in Palo chased it is retiring. They have the ing units in Palo Alto and the Bay is not the only news source covering income housing options as a part Alto, replace any of the 108 units of Area is an area of focus for the city, this story. NPR (National Public Ralegal right to be doing this.” Buena Vista affordable housing that of her reasoning. However, Nanda acknowledge the for government and not for private dio) wrote a long feature on Buena “There are very few mobile home may be lost and work with residents to guarantee their fair treatment communities in the Bay Area, espe- problem of relocating residents and home-owners. What people need to Vista, and I’ve received requests for and their rights upheld.” The mo- cially in the immediate and nearby the effects of relocation on families consider before coming to conclu- information from places as far away sions is what exactly are the respon- as Japan. Palo Alto is a well-known bile home park and its residents have cities,” she said. “Additionally, given and children in the school district. “The Jisser family is well aware of sibilities of the land-owners? What place and the displacement of almost garnered additional support in other the economic boom and housing obligations do they need to fulfill 400 of our neighbors is not an issue to be taken lightly.” under the law?” Dellenbach believes shutting Claudia Keith, the communications officer for the City of Palo down Buena Vista and evacuating Alto, asserts that the city has “very residents would undoubtedly raise little authority” in the outcome of the unpleasant questions regarding the Buena Vista situation, as the private integrity of Palo Alto as a city. “We’re that city in the Silicon Valley, property owners have the legal right famous around the world for inventive to sell the land. “There are many limits placed on thinking [and] technological successes,” the city,” Keith said. “Once the RIR she said. “We’re the home of Apple package is approved, a hearing of- and Google, eight billionaires and ficer will look at it and determine if countless millionaires. Our citizens it’s adequate. The city itself has a very could easily raise the funds to purchase this land, or at least support its residents. limited role.” In response to the shortage of low We are a center of innovation, known for income housing in the city and larger tolerance and flexibility — and we can’t Left: One of the many units at the Buena Vista mobile home community. Bay Area, Keith says the city “is in find a basic solution to help save 375 Right: Tim Wood, resident of Buena Vista, poses in front of his mobile home with a favorite cactus plant. wide agreement that [the lack of af- human beings their own existence?”

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Friday, March 28, 2014

LIFESTYLE

The Campanile

Annual festival of colors returns to Stanford

Students, families around the Bay Area gather at Stanford University to celebrate the Indian holiday, Holi By Leslie Wan

Senior Staff Writer

n April 5 through April 6, Stanford University will be hosting its 15th annual Holi celebration at Sandhill Fields in Stanford, CA. One of the biggest and most colorful celebrations in the Bay Area, Asha Holi brings together friends and families to celebrate Hindu legends, welcome the inauguration of spring by throwing water and gulal or colored-powder, upon one another and fundraise for underprivileged children in India. During the festivities, visitors will begin the celebration by throwing handfuls of gulal at friends and strangers alike, gradually masking themselves and others in a plethora of colors until no sign of untouched skin shows. Afterwards, visitors can not only wash off all the colored powders at nearby water stations, but they can also participate in innumerable activities and watch and listen to traditional Indian performances and music. Senior Aashli Budhiraja attended the Stanford Asha Holi celebration a couple of years ago and reminiscences on the day’s festivities. “[Holi] was very crowded, noisy, but a lot of fun,” Budhiraja said. “When you first walk in, you see tables with different colored powders

and then people either throw the colored powders at one another or shoot each other with water guns.” Budhiraja, who lived in India during her middle school years, recalls that the traditional Holi celebration in India is more hectic as people dump buckets of water on one another and the colored powder is thrown randomly. “I love the enthusiasm [at Holi],” Budhiraja said. “People kind of just let themselves go and have a good time.” In addition to the welcoming of a new season, Holi celebrators view this holiday as the day to rid of past errors and conflicts, to forget and forgive and to pay debts. Each year, Asha Holi focuses on one project to raise awareness about certain national or global issues. For the 2014 Holi celebration, Stanford University will be spotlighting the Institute of Social Work (ISW), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Kolkata, West Bengal that works to protect women from violent crimes and create more opportunities for them to support themselves. In current years, the NGO provided enhanced education for underprivileged children and vocational training for women. One of Stanford’s biggest fundraisers, Asha Holi brings together families and friends to commemorate

Courtesy of delapt.com

During the Indian holiday, Holi, Palo Alto residents partake in the traditional activities that involve throwing colored paint. the beginning of a new season. Stan- season, many people do not know sister, the demoness Holika, who was ford’s Holi celebration not only cre- about the various legends that help gifted with the power of being imates a day for people to have fun and contribute to this unique holiday. mune to fire, to murder his son. She learn about the legends and history One particular story describes the coaxed Prahlad to sit in her lap as she behind Holi, but also spreads aware- arrogant king Hiranyakashipu who sat blazing fire. However, Prahlad reness about innovative projects to help ordered his people to worship him as mained unscathed as his aunt burned serve underprivileged children in In- a god. However, his son, Prahlad, dis- to death. In memory of Holika’s deobeyed his father and chose to wor- struction, bonfires are built throughdia. Although Holi is commonly ship Vishnu, the god of destruction out northern India on the eve of Holi known as the beginning of the new and disease. Thus, the king sent his as part of the Holi traditions.

Late night eats around Palo Alto entertain student business By Zach Levitan Staff Writer

In-N-Out Open until 1 a.m. on weeknights and 1:30 a.m. on weekends. In-N-Out is one of the most popular late night eateries to visit. On any given night, you will see someone you know there.

courtesy of virgin australia

“A burger will always taste better after 11,” junior Charlie Olivera said. “It’s more like a party then a restaurant. The food is always satisfying.” With great hamburgers and cheap prices, In-N-Out is the best place to actually eat food. There are many other late night snacks, like Happy Donuts, but In-N-Out provides the best meal. Jack in the Box Open 24/7 Jack in the Box is another one of the few 24//7 eateries in the area. Jack in the Box has numerous nicknames such as the bag and jbo. While nowhere close to the food quality of InN-Out, Jack in the Box will give the

most bang for your buck, with items like 99 cent tacos and the Jumbo Jack. They even have a late night special. “The best time to have the bag is late at night,” junior James Giaccia said. “The Jumbo Jack and tacos contain the best prime meat in America.” It might not make your stomach feel great, but when you need food late at night, Jack in the Box is the place to go. Pizza My Heart Open until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on the weekends Pizza My Heart is a great place to eat at any time of day. While their pizza is delicious, it is more expensive than many other options. Pizza My

Heart provides a great meal with a fun atmosphere. You are more likely to see some middle schoolers that snuck out than any high school students late at night, but nevertheless it’s a great place to hang out. Happy Donuts Open 24/7 Happy donuts is the ultimate late night snack. Happy Donuts is one of the only places near Palo Alto open 24/7. It doesn’t matter that it is one of the only places open at four in the morning; it’s a great place to have some donuts and milk to satisfy your midnight hunger. “Happy Donuts is great,” senior Malcolm Davis said. “The chocolate

Courtesy of yelp.com

long john and the chocolate milk are good. As long as you don’t use the bathroom, you’ll be fine.” On any given night, you may see a homeless man sleeping in the corner, a hardcore gamer using the free wifi while drinking a Redbull and college students working on their laptops.

The team behind the clean: introducing the nighttime janitors Janitorial staff work especially hard during spring semester, when upperclassmen pranks are more frequent

Conner Harden/The Campanile

The janitorial staff work hard every week to maintain clean classrooms and help keep the campus and school looking good.

By Emily Lee

Senior Staff Writer

alo Alto High School’s nighttime custodians are an easygoing bunch. Each day, following the final bell signaling the end of school, they trickle into the custodial service room one by one, readying themselves for another day on the job. They greet each other, stow their jackets in their

lockers and hang around a bit before it’s time to go. The overall duties of a janitor may seem somewhat intuitive, but few students truly understand the ins and outs of how exactly their classrooms get cleaned. There’s more to the job than just vacuuming and locking doors. Each of the custodians is assigned a different part of the school to manage for the entire year. George Pascual manages the area around the student

center, the 100 building (Art) and the portables. Tap Phou oversees the 300 and 400 buildings (Social Studies and Math) as well as half of the library. For custodian Wes Slack, that area includes both gyms and locker rooms, the track and track bathrooms, the auto shop, robotics room and several portables. As part of his job, he’s seen — and smelled — some interesting things over the last three years he’s been at Paly. Especially during the water polo and swimming seasons,

locker rooms aren’t pleasantly aromatic. “It gets easier every day,” Slack said. “Being congested — it almost helps.” Thinking of the strangest thing he’s seen on the job takes Slack some time. Eventually, he comes up with an answer. “Last year, someone took six or eight deodorant sticks and just wrote around the whole — every single locker, every single wall, even the roof,” Slack said. That the student or students were able to somehow cover the entire surface area of the boys’ locker room continues to baffle Slack. “I don’t even know how [the students] got up there,” Slack said. “The whole windows — everywhere was completely white; it looked like it snowed. It must have taken them hours.” Unsurprisingly, the prank took place in the fourth quarter of last year, when the incidences of pranks go up substantially. “That was really strange,” Slack said. “Just that someone would take that long of a time to do something... it wasn’t very creative either.” Sunny weather, AP coursework, and college admissions stress coming to a close: perfect conditions for some good-humored fun. While second

semester seniors are far better known for their mischievous tendencies than their strong work ethic, it can be hard to remember that seemingly harmless senior pranks do have consequences — even if the pranksters don’t get caught — and affect the custodians more than the administration. Phou recalls the longest day he’s worked in his seven years at Paly: Graduation Day, 2013. After folding all the chairs from the graduation ceremony, the custodians were met with an unpleasant surprise. Phou, Pascual and three other custodians worked into the early hours of the morning following the senior graduation ceremony last May because an emergency shower head had been pulled and left running for hours in a science classroom, flooding much of the science building. “We had to open the floor and suck all the water out,” Phou said. “The bad thing is, with all the closets on the side, we sucked all the water out, but the water was still stuck on the inside, it kept seeping out, so it took us a long time to clean up.” It took over eight hours to clean completely, finishing by 4 a.m. the next morning. Pranks or not, these dedicated workers will continue doing their jobs to keep Paly safe year-round.

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

LIFESTYLE

Suntanning, the burning debate The beauty standard of tanned skin causes controversy due to concerning health risks

Zoe tierney/the campanile

Contrary to olden day tradition, people lay for hours soaking up the hot sun to obtain that coveted bronzed skin. By Lauren Gargiulo

Staff Writer

hroughout history, and even in some cultures today, being tan represents poverty and lower social status. In the Victorian era, being pale was so desirable that women would cover their faces with thick, white powder and would never go outside without a hat, floor-length dress and long sleeves. Some women even used lead-based cosmetic products to brighten their skin tone, which in turn resulted in lead poisoning. A tanned look did not become popular until the 1920s when legendary designer Coco Chanel accidently

got tan while on vacation and her fans loved the new look. This lead to a new trend of suntanning, with some even using baby oil to enhance these tans. Tanning was also prescribed by many doctors to help with various conditions, such as, psoriasis, acne vulgaris, and eczema. It was not until the 1960s when sunscreen products for sale were given a sun protection factor (SPF), and around 10 years later, the first tanning beds were created. More recently, researchers have discovered the harsh effects of suntanning, ranging from conditions as minor as wrinkling and freckles to as major as skin cancer. Despite these consequences, tanned skin has become highly desirable.

“I like to tan because I glow when I have beautiful golden based skin,” junior Olivia Scola said. Today, the suntanning business has grown to a multi-billion dollar industry and is widely enjoyed, especially in our culture. Many supporters of suntanning believe in heliotherapy or light therapy, which uses the exposure of natural daylight of a specific wave length through various devices in order to treat certain conditions. This practice is known to treat skin disorders, sleep disorders and some psychiatric disorders. Another benefit of suntanning is the transmittance of ultraviolet (UV) rays, which are essential for the body to produce vitamin D; however,

only a moderate amount of exposure to the sun is need for a sufficient amount of vitamin D. The negative effects of tanning, in the sun or in tanning beds, are quite obvious. Exposure of UV radiation can cause your skin to age faster, thereby causing side effects such as the development of wrinkles and dark spots. Also, UV radiation increases one’s risk for skin cancer. This is because UV radiation damages the DNA in skin cells, causing the skin to grow abnormally and form cancerous tumors. In addition, UV radiation is known to weaken the immune system, which makes it less effective against cancer cells and other harmful pathogens. “I like tanning,” junior Brooke Santana said. “But the cons are that you can get wrinkly skin overtime and it can cause skin cancer.” In today’s society, the public is often conflicted because first they are being told that being tan is beautiful and desired, but also told that it is extremely dangerous. To compromise this contradiction, many popular products used by the public are self tanners and spray tans. Sunless tanning was invented in the late 60s when health officials first linked skin cancer with too much sun exposure. These products contain DHA, a colorless sugar, that interacts with the dead cells of the skin and changes a color. However, these products are known to either be overly expensive or ineffective. Because of popular media, people feel pressured to conform to society’s standard of beauty that says tanned skin is beautiful. However, people are also scared by all the research telling the public how harmful tanning is. Conflicts like these appear when certain beauty standards can only be achieved by harmful methods.

Cosmos bridges academics and entertainment

Neil deGrasse Tyson replaces the late Carl Sagan in the remake of the famed series By Owen Dulik and Seth Alston Staff Writers

t is common knowledge that people watch television, spending hours watching anything from sports to soap operas. While those hours are not wasted, most viewers choose to watch shows that evoke laughter or drama, rather than those that would expand their brainpower. However, a new television show, Cosmos, has emerged and is not only entertaining, but educational as well. If people are going to spend time watching TV, why not learn as well? The late Carl Sagan, a famed astrophysicist, felt that people should have access to television which would both provide intellectual advancement and be enjoyable to watch. He debuted and hosted the show “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 1980.” This original series was not only exciting to watch, but was ground-

breaking as well, using special effects instead of a set. This incredible series reached many worldwide and became the most watched series in the history of American public television, a title it would hold for the next decade. Its 13 episode original run covered topics ranging from natural selection to whether or not intelligent alien societies exist and has been described as a watershed moment in the genre of science-themed television. Fortunately, Cosmos has been brought back on the air, as “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” broadcasted by Fox Television. Its return to television was orchestrated by Ann Druyan, Sagan’s widow and a producer of the original program, as well as by Seth MacFarlane, both of whom serve as the program’s executive producers. The current host is Neil deGrasse Tyson, an experienced astrophysicist and friend of Carl Sagan. The first episode was aired on March

9, to critical acclaim and high viewer ratings and has since been viewed by over 500 million people worldwide. In Oklahoma for instance, local broadcasters are facing criticism after the momentary mention of natural selection was edited out of the program. However, the program was generally well-received as a whole. In the first episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, titled “Standing Up in the Milky Way,” viewers were enveloped in a plethora of topics. From astronomy to philosophy, Tyson used state of the art special effects to show the audience the history of earth, as well as parts of the galaxy. Even viewers uninterested in science would be amazed by the stunning visual display and the actual immensity of the cosmos. The first episode laid a background for the order of the planets and the parts of the cosmos by showing Earth’s “cosmic address,” while also telling the life story of Italian

Renaissance astronomer Giovanni Bruno, showcasing his pursuit of scientific truth in the face of organized persecution. Through the metaphor of a calendar, Tyson explained that all of recorded human history takes the last 15 seconds of the last day of a year, with the last several centuries of relevant history occupying the final second of Dec. 31. The hour long show was even introduced by President Barack Obama, who fully recognizes the benefits of such a program. While the vast array of topics may be briefly covered in school, viewers are receiving a much more in depth insight into scientific topics. Even though it has been over 30 years since the original Cosmos aired, the need for accessible scientific education is as pressing as ever. Tyson closed the episode by sharing his memories of the late Carl Sagan, whom he met as a young science student.

Online tutorials offer alternative learning methods

Various educators take teaching to the Internet and find news way to keep students engaged By Owen Staiger

Staff Writer

he Internet has revolutionized how we learn. There is information on almost every topic easily accessible through a simple search through a search engine. YouTube, a popular video sharing website, further simplifies this search process by providing a centralized resource with a variety of educational videos available. There are many channels that publish educational content on YouTube. Some channels specialize in specific topics such as biology or math. A notable user that has a specialized YouTube channel is Bozeman Science. Paul Anderson, a Montana high school teacher, posts YouTube videos on various biological topics. Anderson’s channel, popular not just with science students but also teachers, explains specific topics that are part of science class curriculums. Since Anderson’s videos each comprehen-

sively cover a single topic, students can easily find and watch a video on something they don’t understand without searching through material unimportant to them. Another high school teacher that has taken some of his teaching to YouTube is Rob Tarrou. Tarrou, in Florida, has been teaching math for 19 years. Tarrou makes his videos on an old chalk board he found and restored. Tarrou’s lessons are unique because he of their length and depth. His “Chalk Talk” videos are normally around 40 minutes long and mimic a classroom style lesson. A benefit of having Tarrou’s math lessons on video is that students can pause the video or rewind when they need something reiterated. Other educational videos on YouTube are not specifically designed to teach what students are learning in their classes. Some YouTubers create fun educational videos that keep viewers entertained while teaching interesting topics.

Courtesy of Khan Academy

Khan Academy, like many other YouTube channels, provides help for students. Michael Stevens makes YouTube videos on his channel, “Vsauce”, that answer a variety of interesting questions that everyday people have about the world. Stevens’ videos take scientific approaches to answer questions that you may have always wanted answered or may have not known you wanted answered. Why did the chicken cross the road; is anything real; and how much does the internet

weigh? Vsauce answers all of these and more. You can learn about almost anything on YouTube by searching for the topic. To narrow down your search you can visit YouTube’s education section of their site where they consolidate their wide range of educational videos. So next time you are studying, visit YouTube and you are sure to find a video.

The greatness of Matthew McConaughey

By Jake van Zyll “My hero, that’s who I chase. Now, when I was fifteen years-old, I had a very important person in my life come to me and say, ‘Who’s your hero?’ and I said ‘I don’t know, I gotta think about that, gimme couple of weeks. I come back two weeks later and this person comes up to me and says, ‘Who’s your hero?’ and I said, ‘Ya know I’ve thought about it, and it’s me in ten years. So I turned twenty-five ten years later and that same person comes to me and goes, ‘So are you your hero?’ and I was like, ‘Not even close!’ She said ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because my hero’s me at thirty five.’ Everyday, every week every month and every year of my life, my hero is always ten years away. I’m never gonna be my hero. I’m not gonna obtain that, I know I’m not, and that’s just fine with me because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.”

That was an excerpt from Matthew McConaughey’s March 2 Oscar acceptance speech. He won the Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role for his role as real-life AIDS patient Ron Woodroof, who smuggled and eventually sold illegal medications to combat the disease. McConaughey lost forty seven pounds for the role. The forty-four-year-old has had the year of his life. He is easily at the pinnacle of his career, winning numerous awards for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club”, such as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama, the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture. He also had a standout seven minute cameo in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street. His television career is taking off as well- he is the star of the new HBO drama True Detective, which may get him his first Emmy. The show already has 9.5/10 stars on IMDB, the fourth best television show of all time. What is truly fascinating about McConaughey’s newfound success is the career transformation he has made. With starring roles in films such as “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” (2003), “Failure to Launch” (2006) and “Fool’s Gold” (2008), it seemed that McConaughey was simply the pretty boy in romantic comedies. But in 2012, the Texas native took on the role of Mud in Jeff Nichols’ “Mud.” The role gained him vast notoriety and immense respect among filmmakers, but more importantly, it opened the door for future career opportunities, like his role in Dallas Buyers Club. McConaughey commented on his career transformation in a 2013 interview with Jake Hamilton. “I’ve been really just going for the experience- choosing roles for the experience, and the experience has been outstanding,” McConaughey said. McConaughey has attributed much of his newfound success to his wife, Camila Alves. “She really motivates me and pushes me to be the best I can be. McConaughey said in an interview with People Magazine following his Oscar win. “She’s the person I want to make the most proud of me.” I am glad to have had the opportunity to see Matthew McConaughey mature both as an actor and as a person. It will be interesting to see what future projects McConaughey takes on, and if he continues to utilize his newfound talent.

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Spring Fashion As spring approaches, it is time to trade all your warm winter clothing for more light and vibrant alternatives. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when you decide to shop for that new wardrobe. Staff Writers

Socks

Pastels

Pastels — such as mint greens, corals, baby pinks and lavenders — have made their way back into the fashion scene, and are not going anywhere. Seen all over the Spring 2014 runways, pastels add soft color to your wardrobe without coming off too flashy. Those who rarely style color into their outfits should start small by pairing clothing with pastel accessories, such as jewelry and scarves, with other neutral-toned pieces to highlight their outfits. Once one is more comfortable with wearing these colors, they can try wearing bolder pieces, such as pastel blouses, skirts or jeans and even combine multiple pastel articles of clothing together in an outfit. Pastels tend to make one look tanner, making the hue perfect for achieving that “summer glow.” Andrew Sternfield/The Campanile

Spring’s greatest opportunity to add exuberance to your outfit. Those Costco socks won’t cut it anymore; there are no pants to cover up your laziness. Instead, either make the decision to play it safe by wearing low-cut socks or be bold and make a statement. Fashion is all about taking risks and straying from the traditional styles can be intimidating, but also highly rewarding. Socks allow for complete freedom: say something about yourself, add a little humor or just sport some crazy pattern. This goes for the athletes too — add some individuality and spend those $14 on two pairs of unusual socks instead of yet another pair of Nike Elites. However, if you would rather keep the jock style, at least save yourself the embarrassment of wearing shoes that expose the heelcap on your Elites.

Cropped jackets

Many complain about the contrast in temperature of spring mornings and afternoons, as afternoons can be quite warm while mornings remain chilly. Cropped jackets are the perfect solution to this problem: a simple, short layer to throw over a light spring or summer outfit. These jackets come in many variations, are versatile and easy to style. Jackets made of denim, twill and leather are among the most popular styles and are sold at many stores starting around $25. Try pairing the jackets with pieces of clothing that Each spring brings a major life are solid in color or have dilemma for guys: what kind of minimal patterns for shorts do I wear? This huge decision everyday go-to outfits. will say everything about you, or at least who you want to be. Cargo shorts for the vast majority of high school boys are unnecessary. What’s the purpose of having six pockets for absolutely nothing? We are in high school, not a wilderness camp. Basketball shorts, on the other hand, are understandable. Comfort is of utter importance, and the regularly used touches of neon can still make a sort of fashion statement. However, switch it up once in awhile. After wearing basketball shorts throughout fall and winter, it is pretty obvious that you’re an athlete and there is no need to continue proving it. Instead, open up a new drawer and pull out a classier pair of chino shorts in a soft pastel. Exposing your knees is not the end of the world, but will soon Statement jewelry have all the girls runStatement jewelry is not just for formal occasions. Jewelry, whether it be rings, ning towards you. necklaces or earrings, are key in mixing up outfits and can make a dull or plain Embrace your outfit stand out. Statement pieces may be harder to wear than typical minimalinner frat boy; ist pieces, but are more unique and live up to their name: they make a statement. college isn’t too The concept of introducing pastels into a wardrobe applies here as well, start small. far away. Begin with jewelry that feature classic colors, such as gold, white and black. Then, slowly transition to jewelry with more sophisticated, attention-grabbing colors and shapes. A couple of ideas on styling these pieces are pairing necklaces with collared shirts or color-coordinating multiple pieces of jewelry with a basic outfit.

Andrew Sternfield/The Campanile

Shorts

Jensen Hsiao /The Campanile

Andrew Sternfield/The Campanile

Jensen Hsiao /The Campanile

Andrew Sternfield/The Campanile

2000

Guys

Girls

By Stephanie Cong and Mischa Nee

Sunglasses

As soon as the weather forecast gets over 75 degrees, it may become High-waisted skirts & pants quite tempting to whip out that new pair of Ray-Bans you have been High-waisted shorts have been trending for a while and are easy to pull off, eyeing all winter. However, proceed with caution. Sunglasses walk a but high-waisted skirts and pants take a bit more effort. If styled right, they fine line between douchey and hip, therefore knowing how to wear them accentuate one’s waist and create the illusion of longer legs. However, properly often proves difficult. Selecting a statement, yet classy eyewear they must also fit right, as they may be uncomfortable if they’re too tight is the first and most important step. If you want some flare, then by all or droop down to your hips if they’re too big. Any top can be worn means purchase a pair featuring a fun color. It’s spring — you are allowed. with these skirts or pants as long as it is easily tucked in and will stay Reflective lenses can also provide a similar statement, though they are easin place throughout the day. High-waisted skirts often look great ily scratched. But never wear sunglasses which flaunt both of these. If you do, when accessorized with a belt, long cardigan or flannel and high-top please take yourself over to the nearest douche jar and drop in a Jefferson. But, shoes for a cute and chic look. Boots with socks, a simple top and do not put that wallet away yet — wearing sunglasses indoors is easily another a cropped jacket worn with high-waisted pants would make for a five, at night is definitely worth a ten. However, whenever your newly-tanned relaxed and comfortable outfit on a colder spring day. calves aren’t visible, leave them at home.

This edition featuring

JJ Kadifa with The Campanile’s own Maya Kitayama, Kian McHugh and Parker Devine

The Campanile: How wet is too wet? JJ Kadifa: Pretty wet. TC: Who is your inspiration? JK: Benjamin Franklin. TC: Why? JK: He loves a lot of things and is the best in a lot of different things TC: Do you see yourself as Benjamin Franklin? JK: Well, I’m interested in a lot of things, but not the best at a lot of things. TC: What are you the best at? JK: I don’t know. There are a lot of great people out there. TC: Do you look better with your clothes on or clothes off? JK: Next question. TC: Do you look better with your clothes on or your Speedo on? JK: Probably my clothes on. TC: What do you have to say about [senior] Ethan Look’s receding hairline? JK: Flirting kills everything. TC: So we’ve heard you have a girlfriend, is that true? JK: Yes. TC: What is she the best at? JK: She’s a great singer and has a great voice. TC: Who’s your celebrity crush, besides your girlfriend? JK: I don’t know. She’s a celebrity to me. TC: What’s your favorite brand of clothing and why? JK: Uh, I’d say Underarmor has some good things. TC: JJ, if you were going to a deserted island and you could only choose one book and one snack, which would they be? JK: Ritz crackers and Lord of the Rings. I haven’t read them yet and they would take me a long time to read. TC: The correct answer is the Bible. Alright, where would you like to go to college next year? JK: That I’ve gotten into? Right now I’m looking at UCSD, but I haven’t visited there yet. TC: How wet is too wet? JK: It’s on the damper side of things. KM: Who is the sexiest guy on the water polo team besides yourself? JK: Other than Kian and myself, I got to go with Scott Powell. TC: Over Omri Newman? JK: It was close, actually. TC: What is your favorite physics feature on a male? JK: Abs. TC: Would you rather have hair everywhere all over your body or no hair at all? JK: I would say no hair at all. If you ever see the swimmers at the Olympics, they have no hair because they shave it all. TC: I hope you know that no hair means no eyebrows either. JK: I’d rather have no hair for my eyebrows than hair all over my body. TC: If you had a posse that robbed banks in the 1940s, what would you be called? More like 1920s though. JK: It would be JMoney. TC: I like it. Is that a reference to John Young? JK: It could be if you wanted it to. TC: What is... JK: My favorite color is blue.

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH Senior Jordan Gans leads the boys lacrosse team in goals scored C7

Athletics Department looks forward to a new era of leadership Football and track coach, Paly alumnus Jason Fung to take over for retiring Athletic Director Earl Hansen By Maya Kitayama

Editor-in-Chief

fter Athletic Director Earl Hansen announced his planned retirement back on Dec. 3, 2013, Palo Alto High School waited in anticipation for the decision regarding which individual would replace Hansen. The administration released the announcement earlier this month, reporting that longtime track coach and physical education teacher Jason Fung will take on this role beginning with the 2014-15 school year. Fung was one of three candidates under serious consideration for the position. The first interview for the job was held on March 13, conducted by a panel of eight community members. The panel responsible for interviewing and making the final decision included several administrators, parents, students, colleagues and other coaches within the Paly community. After the initial interviews, Fung went through a second meeting with a smaller panel consisting of Principal Kim Diorio and Assistant Principals Victoria Kim and Kathleen Laurence on March 19, and the final decision was released later that afternoon. “I’m super excited; I think he’s going to be great,” Diorio said. “To me, Coach Fung really spoke to the heart and mind of teaching and leading and really being there for students.” Fung has been a part of the Paly athletic community for over 35 years, including his time as a student athlete him-

self. He believes the promotion is an ideal opportunity for him to give back to a program that he participated in for so long. “[The position] was a perfect opportunity to accept because it allowed me to have a hand in making this athletic program great,” Fung said. “It was an opportunity that allowed me to give back to a program that I was a part of for four years of high school and also 15 years of coaching.” In order to accommodate the demands of the new position, Fung has slowly lessened his role as a track coach, while still assisting both the team and the new individual who will take over as head coach. “I’m slowly trying to oversee the transition in track and help the new head coach understand the ins and outs of being head coach at Paly,” Fung said. “I’ve asked him to take a year off from coaching, so he can really be there for all sports, not just football and track, which is what he is coaching,” Diorio adds. Next year, Fung will also reduce his time teaching in order to focus more of the Athletic Director position. “He will teach one period of P.E. and then he’ll be the AD for four periods,” Diorio said. Hansen fully supports the panel’s decision of Fung as the new Athletic Director, and believes that his skills as a coach and educator will only further the program in the years to come. “I think he’s gonna be great,” Hansen said. “He’s smart, he’s strong and he understands. Look at the sports he’s coaching: large groups of kids he’s organized and those are the kinds of things you have to look for in finding a new Athletic Director.”

In terms of his goals for the future, Fung hopes to carry on the prestige of the program Hansen will be leaving behind. He hopes to expand his presence and involvement within the athletic department, especially in terms of the students, parents and teachers involved. “I’m hoping to just step in and continue our excellence,” Fung said. “[Through] being a presence in our sports through all the season, [making] sure the athletes and parents have someone to bounce ideas off of or help problem solve situations [and ensuring] that our coaching staff continues to strive to be great and to take opportunities given to them to improve.” Fung’s visions to continue building and improving the athletic program set him apart from other applicants looking to acquire the position. Coupled with his support for students and connection to the community this made him the ideal candidate, according to Diorio. “He’s a real community builder, he loves Paly, he’s a Paly grad, he knows our kids, knows our campus, knows our teachers,” Diorio said. “I think he’s got a really good vision for athletics and supporting student athletes on our campus.” With the planned demolition of the gym and the upcoming construction of the new athletic facilities in sight, Fung sees this as an opportunity to only expand the athletic program. “I predict that our program will continue to be dominant and the facility will help those that are on the fence about being part of [the athletic program] to jump in and create great experiences for themselves,” Fung said. “This is an opportunity that has been presented to us and I see nothing but great opportunities for our athletes to excel in.”

It was an opportunity that allowed me to give back to the program that I was part of for four years of high school and also 15 years of coaching. Jason Fung Future Athletic Director

INSIDE RESURGENCE OF THE THREE POINTER Originally introduced as a gimmick,

QUAD SPORTS C4-C5

Students make use of the quad

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PREVIEW

the three point shot has grown to

with KanJam, Spikeball and

dominate the game.

Ultimate Frisbee.

Get ready for the start of the

professional baseball season. C8

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

SPORTS

Athletes react to proposed changes in new facility With the construction of the new gymnasium, students speak about the effect on practices and games By Hannah Ngyuen

Staff Writer

he 2014-15 school year will bring many changes to the Palo Alto High School campus. Students will be able to utilize brand new media arts and mathematics and social studies facilities, both of which will contain state of the art equipment. The upcoming school year, however, will most notably bring the closure of certain athletic facilities, in particular the Big Gym and the pool. For some, the Big Gym has been the home of many memories, from basketball games to the three-point shoot-out during Spirit Week. “I’ve pretty much grown up in this gym playing basketball and it's become like a home to me,” says sophomore Courtney Lovely, a member of the girls varsity basketball team. “I'm for sure going to miss it.” Due to safety reasons regarding construction in the vicinity of the Big Gym, which is scheduled to be demolished on June 1, the pool will also be closed. This means Paly’s aquatic teams will be left without a place to practice and host games. Athletes on the water polo and swimming teams who relied on the availability of the Paly pool for daily practices are displeased with the pool’s closing.

The fact that we have to commute all the way to Gunn everyday for water polo is definitely a hassle. Sheila Subramanian Junior

“The pool during construction is actually not being changed, so it is very frustrating to me,” junior Sheila Subramanian, an athlete on both the varsity water polo team and varsity swim team said. The swim teams and water polo teams do not have a definite plan

as to where practices will take place during the construction. A likely option is the aquatic facilities at Henry M. Gunn High School, an alternative that members of these teams find troublesome. “I [wouldn’t] mind if practice was at [Stanford University] because it's right across the street,” Subramanian said. “The fact that we have to commute all the way to Gunn everyday for water polo is definitely a hassle. Hopefully, our swim team will be granted access to the [Avery Aquatic Center].”

It is sad that the big gym will have to go, but I feel like it is a step in the right direction. Claire Dennis Sophomore

Lovely agrees that practicing without a gym on campus causes inconvenience to the teams. “[A] downside is that practicing next year is going to be tough because we will have to drive to another school for practice,” Lovely said. “We also won't have any home games, which is a bummer.” Many student athletes, while saddened or irritated by the demolition of the historic building and the closure of the pool, express excitement about the arrival of new facilities. “It is sad that the Big Gym will have to go,” sophomore Claire Dennis said. “[But] I feel like it is a step in the right direction. Having to use another facility for the upcoming season will be a challenge, but it's a small price to pay.” Dennis also notes that new facilities will be a key step in terms of publicity for Paly athletics “The publicity and excitement will lead to more support and fans in attendance for Paly athletics,” Dennis said. Lovely echoes this sentiment. “I'm pretty sure that in the long run it will all be worth it,” Lovely said.

Courtesy of Palo Alto online

Keri Gee/The Campanile

Top: A computer simulated model displays a three-dimensional view of the finished Big and Small Gym. Bottom: The Palo Alto High School community officially said goodbye to the historic Big Gym in a ceremony on March 16.

Boys lacrosse expected to continue playing strong after beginning the season with a solid 5-1 overall record Team captains look to both veterans and underclassman varsity players to improve upon last season’s performance By Nikhil Rajaram and Dami Bolarinwa

Staff Writers

ollowing a dominant performance in a tournament and an early 2-0 league record, the Palo Alto High School boys lacrosse team is looking to continue their success. The team has played extremely well in their first two games, beating Burlingame High School and Los Gatos High School with respective scores of 16-7 and 20-8. “[In the Los Gatos game], we won as a team, and everyone got to play, senior Jordan Gans said. “Tully McCalister and Matt Seligson played well that game.” Since the season started the team has faced strong teams; Los Gatos was a team they were able to best on both offense and defense. “The win against [Los] Gatos was our best win of the season so far because we were able to dominate on

Zoe Tierney/the Campanile

Senior team captain Jordan Gans passes the ball to a nearby teammate. every part of the field,” sophomore lot of promise as a first year varsity Matt Seligson said. “[Sophomore] player; picking up ground balls off Quintin Valenti and [senior] James face-offs.” Harrison held down the defensive Seligson also believed the offense end and created a lot of turnovers for performed well during their recent us. Christian Laurence is showing a games.

“During the Gatos game [our midfield unit] transitioned the ball well and created many fast break opportunities,” Seligson said. “[ Junior] Zach Levitan has great vision and led the team in assists that game. Our attack unit did extremely well last game, and accounted for over 13 of the game’s 20 goals.” The team has continued to work hard during practice, while ensuring that all members of the team are aware of the game plan. By following these protocols, they’ve been able to cement their success. “We have been able to win games by practicing hard and sticking to the game plan,” Gans said. Gans and Seligson both had a fantastic game, both of whom managed to lead the game to victory during the Gatos game. “Jordan Gans and Matt Seligson have really shown their presence on the field and scoreboard so far this year,” sophomore Cole Tierney said.

Despite multiple injuries setting back the team, they have proceeded to do extremely well. “[Seniors] Zach [Rizk] and Will Hare, who are out right now, have both taken their injuries really positively,” Gans said. “I can’t imagine the physical and emotional pain they are going through.”

We have been able to win games by practicing hard and sticking to the game plan. Jordan Gans Senior

Gans also went on to comment on the general status of the team. “We have a lot of players who don’t get to see the field a lot during the game but go hard during practice and help the team improve.” Paly will next play at home against Menlo School on April 1.

Baseball looks to improve with games against league teams

Team gets back into winning groove with three wins following huge losses against non-league powerhouse opponents By Owen Staiger and Owen Dulik Staff Writers

courtesy of Dana phillips

Senior Austin Kron prepares to catch a pitch against Saratoga High School.

hile the Palo Alto High School baseball team has not had a great start to their season, the season is still young and the team is finally getting into a rhythm. Overall, the team has a 3-6 record and is 2-2 in league play. The record may suggest that the team is playing poorly, but they actually have faced their toughest opponents and have a relatively easier schedule from here on out. After starting out with four losses and no wins, the team picked up a series sweep against Saratoga High School, with whom they shared the league title with last year.

Paly decidedly won the first game at Saratoga with a score of 18-9 and rallied to beat the Falcons at home with a score of 6-4. Paly looks even more well-rounded with every game, with a core of seniors leading the way and younger players following in their footsteps. Senior shortstop Jack Cleasby is performing strongly on the offensive end, with a batting average of .414. Not far behind are younger players, such as junior outfielder Phil Lewis and sophomore infielder Owen Plambeck. Plambeck leads the team with two home runs and will surely be a staple of the team in future years. After the Saratoga series, the Vikings went on to beat Carlmont High School 7-2 before starting a home

and away series with Wilcox High School. On March 19 at Palo Alto, the Vikings lost to visiting Wilcox by a score of 7-3. Two days later, the Vikings traveled to Wilcox, where they were unable to avenge their loss. The Vikings lost a hard-fought game on March 21 with a score of 1-0. Up next, Paly will travel to Los Altos High School for the second game of a two-game series on March 28. The Vikings are starting to hit their stride, and will be looking to continue their strong recent efforts throughout league play and the rest of the season. “We’ve had a good start, we’ve had some good battles,” Lewis said. “We just need to keep to our style of play and we should be set.”

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

Girls lacrosse hopes to continue strong performance Recent wins in league games show promise for season despite losses in tournament By Nikhil Rajaram and Tiffany Liang Staff Writers

fter winning its two league games against Los Gatos High School and Leland High School, the Palo Alto High School girls lacrosse team is hoping to continue its success. During its first league game against Los Gatos, the team won 146. “[Sophomore] Maya Benatar and [senior] Ami Drez are some of our leading scorers, [and] they’ve been doing really well,” junior Claire Chevallier said. “Also, [senior] Sama Soni Rao and [sophomore] Reid Walters have been doing awesome on defense.”

We are still working on our patience on attack, but other than that, we are a very strong team. Kristen DeStefano Senior

Though the team has succeeded in its league games, it has lost two non-league games against Oakridge High School and Saint Francis High School, making its overall record 2-2. “[In the game] against Oakridge High School in Sacramento, we got crushed 18-3; they were really good,” sophomore Maya Benatar said. “On Saturday, we played Saint Francis of Sacramento and lost 14-13, but could have won.” “I think our biggest issue right now is getting into the right mentality before games,” Chevallier said. “I

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Junior slow attacker Claire Chevallier runs down the field in their latest game against Saratoga High School. The Vikings went on to win the game 18-13. definitely think we have the skills to play better than how we have been playing these first few games.” The girls will face crosstown rivals Henry M. Gunn High School (3-0) on March 28. “This year, it looks like Gunn is our main competitor,” senior Kristen DeStefano said. “They have really improved and seem to be the biggest

threat to us. We will be fine though because we put up a very strong fight when our focus is right.” Benatar also believes that Gunn will be one of the toughest opponents this season. “[The game against] Gunn is going to be tough because two of our best defenders [Rao and Walters] are going to be gone, and Ami Drez, who

Softball team already improving on last season’s record New coaches, revised practice ethic leads team to six early wins By Hannah Nguyen

Staff Writer

alo Alto High School’s softball team is recovering from a disappointing 2013 season with strong performances in recent games. Despite losses to Prospect High School on March 6 and Aragon High School on March 11, the team demonstrated resilience and took home three consecutive victories against Woodside High School on March 13, Sequoia High School on March 15 and Lynbrook High School on March 18, with final scores of 3-2, 1-0 and 5-0, respectively. In the team’s game against Woodside, senior pitcher Julia Saul pitched her fifth complete game, while junior pitcher Casey Glassford hit a triple, double and two singles, allowing the

Lady Vikes to take home their first league win. The team was defeated by Mountain View High School on March 20 in its first league loss of the season, but recovered quickly from the loss. On March 22, the team won against The King’s Academy with a final score of 10-0. The total batting average for the team at this game was an impressive .500, and Saul pitched a three-hit shutout. As of March 23, the team boasted a record of 6-3. In comparison to last season, players note a significantly favorable difference. “Last season, we only won three games so to have won five games already is a huge improvement,” Saul said. A particularly noteworthy performance so far this season has been that

of Glassford, who leads the team with a batting average with .519. According to players on the team, much of the credit for the success of the team can be given to Head Coach Bill Laskey and Assistant Coaches Mike Dutto and Liz Roscoe. “We have a new coach who has been pushing us to perform to our potential and practice hard every day,” Saul said. “Paly softball has seen four head coaches in four years and [Laskey] is here to stay.” Saul notes that the strength of the team’s recent performances are vindicative of the true potential of the team. “I’m not only excited for what this season has in store for us, but also for the whole [program] and what can be accomplished in the years to come,” Saul said.

is our top scoring attacker, will also be out of town,” Benatar said. “[Gunn] also has a really strong team this year so it should be a close game, but I still believe we can beat them.” The worry of being a young team, having lost 13 seniors from the 2013 season, is no longer a problem. “So far, I think that our team is really connecting,” DeStefano said.

Boys golf looks to extend win streak Team’s first six wins reminiscent of last year’s undefeated season By Paul Mewes

Staff Writer

he boys golf team has started its season excellently, going undefeated in its first four games against Los Altos High School, Mountain View High School, Homestead High School and Fremont High School. This good form is carrying over from last year, when the team went undefeated in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Despite how well the team’s league results have been, it did not fare quite as well in preseason tournaments, coming in second place in a tournament in Salinas and finishing middle of the pack in a tournament at the Diablo Country Club. Junior captain John Knowles believes that the reason the team has been able to do so much better in leagues is that the competition in leagues is not as high as the competition at tournaments. In addition, there is much more pressure at tournaments than league games. According to junior captain Alex Hwang, the team can improve throughout the season. “It seems like we’ve been making a lot of big numbers, so if we can reduce the huge mistakes we make, then our scores will start looking a lot better,” Hwang said. “We’re also working on playing smarter and getting our individual skills in shape to prepare for the playoffs at the end of the year.” Knowles agrees that the team can continue to improve. “We can improve our focus level at the matches,” Knowles said. “There is Senior pitcher Julia Saul throws a pitch against Aragon High School on March 11. Saul has pitched five complete games this season. a tendency not to play as hard when Keri Gee/the campanile

Tutoring in time for Finals! K-12: Math, English, and Science.

Adam Juratovac Attorney at Law PALY Football Coach B.S., M.S., J.D.

“The [midfielders] are doing a superb job of moving the ball swiftly through transition. We are still working on our patience on attack, but other than that, I think we are a very strong team.” Benatar agrees with DeStefano’s statement and adds, “We have a ton of athletic girls and we’re improving quickly.”

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we play schools we know we can beat, but come playoffs we need to be focused and determined, so starting with league matches will allow us to build our focus level up.” Although the team can continue to improve, it does many things well, as its undefeated record will testify. “We are very consistent as far as scoring goes,” Knowles said. “In addition, we have a very deep team, so we have a lot of guys who can play well.”

If we can reduce the huge mistakes we make, then our scores will start looking a lot better. Alex Hwang Junior

The team hopes to go undefeated in league for a second season in a row and win Central Coast Section (CCS), in which it lost in the second round last year. If the team were to win CCS, they would enter the Northern California Playoffs. According to the captains, the team has the talent to do just that. “I think we’re definitely the team to beat,” Hwang said. The younger players on the team echo Hwang’s sentiments. “Knowles and Hwang carry our team on and off the course,” sophomore Matthew Lewis said. “They’ve been great captains so far and have kept everyone at their best.” “We’ve started out well and have some important matches coming up that will be a test of our abilities,” sophomore Henry Gordon said. “We have a solid top seven players, and John Knowles has been doing really well in recent play.”

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Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

Exploring the resurgence of the three-pointer I

t was more than half a century ago when the threepoint line first entered the game of basketball. The American Basketball League (ABL) implemented the new rule before quickly folding a year and a half later, along with the three-pointer, according to USAB.com. The National Basketball Association (NBA) never seriously considered the rule change until a competing basketball league did. The American Basketball Association (ABA) differentiated itself from the NBA with its embrace of fan friendly experimentation. And with that, the three-pointer was back in business. In 1976 the ABA and the NBA merged, but the three-pointer was absent from the package. The NBA didn’t end up adopting the three-point line until 1979 — the rookie seasons of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and this change would end up reshaping the way the game was played through the next decades until today. “Once [three-pointers] became mainstream, though, basketball would never be the same again,” Ryan Wood of iHoops.com said. Fast-forward to present day and the use of the three-point line is still evolving and shifting the landscape of basketball. Shooters continue to improve, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has had to extend the distance of a three-point shot. The line that used to stand at just 19-feet and nine-inches away from the basket is now a foot further in men’s college basketball. The landscape of professional basketball continues to evolve as well. This season, 25.6 percent of all NBA shots come from 3-point range and 22.8 percent of all

D-league team is 22.35. The Vipers shoot more than double that, at 45.1 per game, almost a three a minute. As a result, the Vipers on average make 16.03 threes per game compared to the D-league average of 8.7, according to a video by Grantland. “One of the reasons to have a developmental league team is to try something in NBA-like game situations,” Vipers associate head coach Paul Mokeski told Grantland. The Vipers hit on average 35.9 percent of their three-point shots, more than enough to break even on their strategy. This has allowed the team to lead the D-league in scoring at more than 123 points per game, win percentage at over 70 percent, and win two championships and go to the finals for the second time in only the last four years. “That conveys over that how we’re playing is an efficient way to play,” Mokeski said. The trend of using the three-point shot increasingly more has not just permeated the college and professional levels. It was used to an extent this past season by the Palo Alto High School girls’ varsity basketball team. “This season we had an outstanding number of players who could all shoot which put an emphasis on shooting more threes this season,” senior forward Charlotte Alipate said. “In practice we did lots of shooting drills and in every game we worked hard to put up as many shots as possible. We knew

Text by Arjun Parikh and Jack Shapiro Senior Staff Writers when we weren’t shooting well we lost sight of our offense and lived or died by our threes.” The Vikings shot incredibly well from the three-point line on average throughout the season, however. “I didn’t get to play this season, but I was amazed by the number of shooters on our team,” Alipate said. “At one point in our season we were second in the nation and first in the state for made three-pointers per game.” For teams like Paly and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the three-point shot is a weapon that can be used efficiently and effectively. The three pointer has come a long way since its inception in 1961, and with talk of adding a new four-point shot, the strategies that dominate basketball could be as different in 20 years as they were 20 years ago. Until that point in time, however, teams and coaches will continue to extend the boundaries of traditional basketball strategy and to move the game further along its ever-deviating path of evolution.

First Season NBA and NCAA adopted 3-point line:

Design by Lauren Klass and Jeffrey Ho Staff Writers

1979-1980

that if we couldn’t work something inside the post, we could dish it out for a shot.” Devastated by Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears to the only two seniors on the team, Alipate and Hope Crockett, the team of underclassmen was still able to secure a 5-7 league record and advance further in the post season than last year: all the way to the Central Coast Section (CCS) semi-finals. “Three-point shooting definitely contributed to our success this season,” Alipate said. “During pre-season we put up so many shots that we won games by 20 [points] or more, and we were able to qualify for playoffs early. Into our league season we definitely put up lots of battles and with our threepoint shooting we were able to make comebacks in some games.” Senior guard Hope Crockett also agrees with Alipate on the role three-point shooting played in the season, even if at times it was relied on too much by the team. “This year we had a lot of really good threepoint shooters coming in to the season, so it naturally came to be a major part of our team’s strategy,” Crockett said. “As the season progressed we learned to incorporate three-point shooting into our overall offense. Having threes be a major part of one’s offense can be great when you’re shooting well; other teams couldn’t stop us when we had three or four people hitting threes. However, at times

courtesy of romeiigromo.blogspot.com

points are scored from 3-point range, both alltime highs. In the 1979-80 season, the San Diego Clippers led the league with 543 three-point field goal attempts. A decade later the Cleveland Cavaliers led the league with 851. A decade after that the Sacramento Kings led it with 1,656 attempts and the 2012-13 New York Knicks led the league last year with 2,371 attempts. The use of the shot continues to grow at a staggering rate, and with it comes the ever-growing strategy behind how to best utilize the shot. “Now you’re seeing it on the fast break, whereas coaches from old school wouldn’t want you to take that shot on the break,” said American sportscaster Len Elmore, who played in both the ABA and NBA. “They’d want you to challenge the defense and get the highest percentage shot. Also, you’re seeing guys now driving to the basket, and even though they have an opportunity to take the layup or a much shorter shot, they’re more willing to kick it out to the wide-open 3-point shooter. I’m not sure the percentages work from that standpoint, but it’s a trend.” It turns out the math behind the strategy is pretty simple. Making 50 percent of all two-point shots, a relatively good team shooting percentage in basketball, is the same as making 33 percent of three-pointers. The difference is that it is common for good shooting teams nowadays to shoot at a clip anywhere from 35 to 37 percent. These numbers are behind the philosophy of Nevada Smith, the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA Developmental League. The average number of threes taken by a

courtesy of metro.us

“Making 50 percent of all twopoint shots, a relatively good team shooting percentage in basketball, is the same as making 33 percent of three-pointers. The difference is that it is common for good shooting teams nowadays to shoot at a clip anywhere from 35 to 37 percent.”

The NCAA 3-point line is now one foot farther from the hoop than it was in 1980

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, an NBA D-League affiliate, shoot 45.1 threes per game, almost twice the average number of threes shot by a DLeague team

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Campanile

SPORTS

Sports provide pastimes for students on the Quad Sports like hackysack and Ultimate Frisbee provide students with fun activities to play during prep, after school By Ziv Schwartz Sports Editor

Bowen Gerould Senior Staff Writer

he Quad is notorious for bringing students together in an environment that emphasizes the community aspect of Palo Alto High School (Paly). People flock from all over campus to socialize with their friends and enjoy the summer weather. Now that second semester has rolled around, students have started to utilize the Quad for different sports and activities, thereby adding to the so-called “Quad culture.” Some of the more popular games are fairly simple in procedure, and do not require much in terms of equipment, rendering these games and activities perfect for time spent on the Quad. Ultimate Frisbee Whizzing through the crisp air at around 25 miles per hour, this eccentric floating disk may seem odd to the common man, yet for some Paly students, it is a way of life. It is no surprise that the game of Ultimate Frisbee has picked up steam in the last couple years due to its laidback style and its absence of multiple necessities; all needed is a Frisbee and some open space and you are set. Thanks to Paly’s large and spacious campus it was only a matter of time before the floating disks began sailing through the shadows of the tower building and across the Quad. One of the most popular activities to do on the Quad without a doubt is toss around a plastic disc with a couple of friends. With second semester in full swing, seniors are spending more and more time laying back on the Quad and the perfect way to cope with their stronger than ever Senioritis is to throw around a Frisbee with a couple of friends or classmates.

ANDREW STERNFIELD/THE CAMPANILE

A couple of seniors play Ultimate Frisbee, a recreational activity that has gained popularity on campus in recent years, on the Quad during tutorial to pass time. Kan Jam A new sensation is sweeping the senior nation. It is derived from the more popular sport, Ultimate Frisbee, widely played by college students across the country. This modified version features four players, two to a team, two plastic cans with open tops and a slit in the middle and one Frisbee. The goal of the game is to get 21 points with your team before the other pair. Players can score points in three ways. One way to earn one point is awarded if one player throws the Frisbee and the other player redirects it so it hits the can. Two points are awarded if the person throwing the Frisbee hits the can on the fly without the help of the other player. Three points are awarded if the Frisbee is hit through the opening on the top of the can. A team automatically wins if the person throwing the disc throws it into the small hole in the front, called “slitting it,” which produces quite the reaction from those involved. To add difficulty and make the game more

Jonathan Martin joins the 49ers Former Dolphin, focus of NFL bullying scandal returns to Bay Area By Dami Bolarinwa

Staff Writer

ormer Stanford University offensive tackle Jonathan Martin is being reunited with his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. After being traded from the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft pick, Martin attended his first practice with the San Francisco 49ers on March 13. "I can tell already that I'm going to get along just great with those guys," Martin said to ESPN about his new teammates. "I've felt a warm welcome from the entire 49ers community, fan base, coaching staff, everybody. I'm just looking forward to the future and getting back to playing football." Martin was the centerpiece of a National Football League (NFL) bullying scandal after he left the Dolphins midway through the 2013 season following repeated harassment by fellow linemen Richie Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey. As a 49er, Martin is looking forward to starting the 2014 season with a new team, new teammates and a new focus. “My focus is 100 percent on the future and moving forward," Martin said. "It's a blank slate for me. I'm looking forward to revitalizing my career, getting back to playing. I want to do whatever I can to contribute to this O-line. It's one of the best Olines in football already." Martin joins an offensive line that has powered the team to three straight National Football Conference (NFC) championship games and Super Bowl XLVII. He will likely be competing with incumbent starters Joe Staley and Anthony Davis for a starting spot.

"[I’m looking forward to] playing for a winning franchise, a team that's had a lot of recent success,” Martin said. “And to hopefully be able to contribute to further success with this team." Martin is excited to be back under the wing of his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh, and to be back in the Bay Area; he has already been seen taking classes on Stanford campus.

I’ve felt a warm welcome from the entire 49ers community, fan base, coaching staff, everybody. I’m just looking forward to the future and getting back to playing football. Jonathan Martin San Francisco 49er

Martin tweeted on March 11: “Opportunities are few in the NFL... Can't wait to get to work #49erEmpire.” Harbaugh has said that he believes the trade for Martin is a good move and that he never doubted Martin’s tenacity, work ethic and dedication to the game, adding that the 312-pounder can continue to have a successful career in the NFL despite recent locker room distractions. “It appears that Martin was up to the challenge of dealing with physical and verbal intimidation by opposing players during NFL games, but fell victim, at least in part, to persistent taunting from his own teammates,” Harbaugh said. If Martin makes it onto San Francisco’s 53-man roster by the start of the 2014 season, Miami will get a 2015 seventh-round draft pick from the 49ers. Martin was a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

interesting, neither team is allowed to get 13 points or they are forced to return to zero. Additionally, if a team scores more than 21 points for some reason, they must subtract the points they got from their score before the turn. For example, if a team gets a two when they have 20 points, they will go down to 18 instead of 22. Kan Jam is perfect for students who want a change of pace from the more traditional Quad games. It provides players with a challenge and taps into their teamwork skills. Spike Ball Another thing for seniors to do on the Quad is the new phenomenon Spike Ball. Spike Ball is a newlycreated sport, which involves a net, a ball and four players. Two teams each made of two players and the task of the game is to slam the ball on the net and make sure that the other team doesn’t hit it back. The game can get extremely intense at times as both teams could be equally matched. However, it is a great way for seniors

to lay back and relax on the Quad and at the same time let out their anger that they still have to come to school and go to class. Football There’s nothing more fun than throwing around the pigskin with your friends on a Friday afternoon. All it takes is one other person to help pass the time. It is even more fun when teams are chosen and the game becomes more competitive with designed plays and one-on-one match ups. Quad football gives us the opportunity to feel like we are a star at a game that only a few people have the skills to be truly good at. It’s a great feeling to go up against a friend and leave them in the dust. Wiffleball Once AP classes come to a close, students trade their pencils for bats, hitting the field during class time friendly games of wiffle ball against rival classes. The game, which strongly resembles baseball, is played in-

stead with a plastic ball and bat and allows ex-little leaguers to return to the glory days of crushing balls over the fence. It is the stereotypical second semester senior Quad sport, seeing as most of the participants are seniors enjoying the last weeks of their final year in high school. Hackysack Don’t deny it, we’ve all wondered what the one group of seniors was doing in the middle of the senior deck; standing in a circle kicking around a little ball. That game is hackysack, a game derived from the most popular sport in the world, soccer. In hackysack, there is no winner or loser. The basic point of the game is to see how many times a group of people can dribble a hackysack, essentially a small ball filled with dried rice, without letting it hit the ground. The one rule is that the ball must be passed around with any body part besides the arm. It’s a fantastic way to kill time during a boring lunch or during a prep and at the same time, get some good healthy exercise in.

Boys swimming and diving look forward to playoffs By Grace Kim and Jeremy Fu

Staff Writers

alo Alto High School’s boys swimming and diving team is continuing its winning streak after a successful meet against Monta Vista High School, as they continue to work towards a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) and Central Coast Section (CCS) playoff win. Palo Alto swimming and diving has faced strong programs, in particular, Monta Vista High School. The Vikings beat them 93-81. “Monta Vista is the only real challenge we expect this season leading into Leagues and CCS so we were really excited about the win,” senior varsity captain Ethan Look said. This win has made the team more confident to go undefeated in leagues. “My predictions for the season are that we go undefeated in league meets and go on to win the SCVAL league championship just like we have done the past three years I've been at Paly,” senior varsity captain Omri Newman said.

COURTESY OF ALBERT DREBIN

Junior Winston Wang competes against Monta Vista High School. Ever since the end of last season, Paly’s swimming and diving teams have focused on taking down Bellarmine College Preparatory and CCS. Last year was Bellarmine’s 29th straight CCS win. “We are going to take down Bellarmine at CCS,” senior Ethan Look said. “It's going to take a lot of work, but our team is more than capable.” Look is hopeful that the success from Friday will help energize the team to continue working hard as the season continues to progress into the second half of the season.

“We need to keep our motivation high, and focus on the big picture. Each week is just a stepping stone,” Look said. “I think the team needs to continue working hard at practice just like we have been doing so far, and we will continue winning,” Newman said. Look is certain that they will continue to improve as they enter the second half of the season. “We just need to continue to work hard like we have been doing the past four weeks in order to achieve a win at CCS,” Look said.

Upcoming 5k runs in the Bay Area By Tiffany Liang

Staff Writer

t Run or Dye on May 29, you are the canvas and volunteers are the painters. It costs $52 for team registration (groups of four or more) or $57 for individual runners. The volunteers throw ecofriendly powdered dye at you for each kilometer you run. Everyone is welcomed to participate in Run or Dye. Run or Dye also partners with charities to donate part of their earnings to every year. This year, they have partnered up with ViviendasLeon, a charity headquartered in San Francisco that works to alleviate rural poverty in Nicaragua.

The Electric Run is on May 30, and costs only $59 for individual runners, and $54 for team runners. It has the same idea as Run or Dye; running five kilometers while getting color bombed with powdered dye at each kilometer. Except, the Electric Run is at night and the dye is glow in the dark. Music will be played while you run, and neon trees will light the way to the finish line. The course may have colored fountains dancing to the beat, lakes in other-worldly colors, glowing arches and lighted columns. Like Run or Dye, the Electric Run is also partnered up with a local charity. This year, they partnered with Next Move, a program that helps moves

homeless families and individuals towards self-sufficiency and self reliance. The Hit and Run is on the first day of the new year in 2015 and only costs $40 (early bird special). If you have ever watched the show Wipeout, Hit and Run’s concept is similar to this popular show. This is a fun 5k filled with obstacles such as the Duck or Dive, which consists of six balance beams that you try to walk across while giant balls are being swung above you, the Bouncy Bridge which is trying to cross a bridge entirely made of humongous bouncy balls and many more. This 5k can make even the toughest of ninjas giggle.

The Campanile

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

Athlete Ways to watch your favorite sports of the Students need to learn to understand the game to appreciate it

month

This edition featuring

Alec Sullivan/The Campanile

Jordan Gans with The Campanile’s own Alec Sullivan and Will Snodgrass Jordan is the leading goal scorer for the Boys Viking Lacrosse team. Jordan recently committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and has helped lead the team to a 5-1 start of the season.

Photographer/Creative commons

From top left, clockwise. The San Jose Earthquakes play against the New York Red Bulls. Buster Posey hits a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Golden State Warriors play against the Memphis Bulls. Colin Kaepernick performs a running play against the Baltimore Ravens during the Super Bowl XLVII.

By Kevin Mullin

Staff Writer

s a sports fan, one of the most annoying things is watching a game with people who don’t know the most basic information about the game they’re watching. Here’s a list of things all sports fans must know before watching a game with other people: Soccer: Before you even turn on the TV to start watching a soccer game, you have to understand the basic principle behind the entire idea of the sport: it’s extremely hard to score. For this reason, going in with the expectation of an exciting game is completely unrealistic. Treat every goal like it’s a delicious piece of cake: savor it, love it, respect it. Secondly, don’t be surprised when

one of the players throws himself onto the ground like there’s a sniper in the stadium. More than likely, he’s “diving,” a tactic used by some of the more wimpy soccer players out there. Don’t feel bad for these divers because they feed off the sympathy of fans and referees everywhere. Football: Please, please, please don’t say, “Did we hit a touchdown?” That’s the kind of thing that makes people lose respect for you as a human being. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, play it smooth by keeping quiet. Teams “score” touchdowns and “kick” field goals. If you’re having some trouble getting interested in football, try creating a fantasy football team. I can personally guarantee that you’ll never talk about anything else for roughly the next three months. Additionally, un-

Track and field loses first meet

derstand the down system. If a team is losing with less than two minutes left, they are definitely going for it on fourth down. Don’t ask if the 49ers are going for it when they’re up 17 points with 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. Finally, know the roles of each position. The running back carries the ball, the quarterback throws the ball and wide receivers catch the ball. On defense, cornerbacks play defense on the wide receivers, linebackers play coverage while also helping to tackle the running backs and defensive lineman engage in a battle with the fat guys across from them in an effort to “sack” the quarterback. Basketball: One of the greatest things about basketball is that the game is never over. Evidenced by some outstanding performances

from Reggie Miller (eight points in nine seconds) and Tracy McGrady (13 points in 33 seconds), a comeback is never out of the question. As a result, never turn off the television until the final buzzer sounds. Don’t be like those Heat fans who left Game 6 of the NBA Finals with a minute left, only to listen the radio as their team pulled off one of the greatest last-minute comebacks in the history of the NBA. Most importantly, understand the beauty of March Madness and fill out a bracket. By filling out a bracket, you will ensure that you have interest in the games, as well as basic knowledge of the teams that are playing and how the tournament works. Good luck, fans. We hope you avoid making a complete fool out of yourself in the near future.

Team looks to improve after loss to Gunn By Misha Nee and Lauren Klass

Staff Writers

ollowing the track and field team’s disappointing opening loss at a dual meet against Henry M. Gunn High School on March 13, the team took the time to reflect and make changes in anticipation of its March 27 meet against Mountain View High School. Both junior varsity and varsity boys and girls lost. However, there is clear room for improvement, as head coach Kelsey Feeley attributes the loss in part to the injuries of top athletes, the absence of runners returning from winter sports and the relocation of different people between events. “Not to make excuses, but we did have a couple of our key runners out of the meet due to injury and we’re kind of adjusting, moving people around to different events to fill in gaps,” Feeley said. Numerous athletes stepped up, such as sophomore Rory Harriss, a first year thrower, who fulfilled the team’s empty varsity spot. Senior Jackson Hansen — who normally runs in middle and long distance events, and ran in the 4x400 meter race against Gunn — ran the 300-meter and 110-meter hurdles for the first time in his high school career. Also, freshman Brett McBride achieved a personal record, threw up after that race, yet according to Feeley, he tenaciously still ran the 4x400.

Despite the performances of these individuals, the team was still too unsettled to be at its best against its tough rivals. “The Gunn meet was a hard way to start the season,” sophomore Bryn Carlson said. “Gunn has a really strong team, and even though there were individuals from Paly who did well, overall we just didn’t perform.” Coach Feeley agrees with Carlson’s assessment. “Gunn is a very strong team, [as] they’ve shown that the past few years, especially on the girls’ side,” Feeley said. “So, it’s unfortunate that we had to race Gunn at the very first meet… but you know, you win some you lose some.” In order to achieve success against Mountain View, Carlson believes that organization is key. “I think better organization will help us to be successful against Mountain View,” Carlson said. “We had a lot of holes in the team, like certain events with very few Paly participants so we need to find those holes and then have people who are willing to take on an extra event to ensure we are just giving away points to the other team.” Furthermore, Coach Feeley is confident that the team will do better, especially now that it has channeled its focus towards a common goal. “I feel that we have much better chances,” Feeley said. “With this week especially, coming off the tough loss, everyone’s a little more focused now, working towards the ultimate goal of moving on past our league meets.”

Andrew Choi/The Campanile

Senior George He practices for an upcoming competition with his teammates.

Boys tennis defeats Cupertino High Tennis team’s record improves to 8-3 By Bo Field and Catherine Yu

Staff Writers

he boys tennis team is faring well as it continues further through their season. Victories in tournaments and matches against other schools have increased the team’s morale and provided motivation for further successes. “When sophomore Shiv Matta clinched our match against Mount Tamalpais in the consolation finals in the Fresno tournament, it was one of the most victorious moments of this season so far,” senior Niall Patrick said. “It was really exciting; everyone was pretty pumped up and it definitely brought us together more as a team.” However, the team has also had its losses along the way. “The most disappointing moment would have to be when we came so

close to Monta Vista High School, but lost to them in the first round of the Fresno tournament,” Patrick said. According to Matta, the boys tennis team suffered its most disappointing loss of 6-1 against Saratoga due to its team members beating Paly’s boys in its respective spots. At their next match against Cupertino, the boys tennis team won, 4-3. JV player sophomore Joseph Kao, along with his teammates were credited for winning the last match, which allowed for Paly to win. “The team is doing really well with an 8-3 standing overall,” Patrick said. “We need to take the season each match at a time and not get ahead of ourselves. I like to think that every match should be played like it’s our last.” Currently, the team is preparing for its next competition against Henry M. Gunn High School on April 8.

The Campanile: Tell us a little bit about when you started playing lacrosse. Jordan Gans: I think I started playing in fourth grade with [senior] James Harrison on the Firehawks. TC: How do you like the new lacrosse coach? JG: He’s a pretty good guy, and he’s nice. He wears lots of Lululemon. TC: Do you like Lululemon as much as your coach? JG: I don’t think that is even possible. TC: How’s your season going so far? JG: It’s pretty good. I think we’re 5-1, so I think we have a legitimate chance of winning a championship. TC: Do you have any goals for this season? JG: Personally, I just want to score more than [senior] Tully [McCallister]. For like team goals, I think we should be trying to win the league championship and beat every team. TC: What’s your best accomplishment on the lacrosse field? JG: I think the biggest thing was getting recruited for college. TC: Where are you playing next year? JG: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). It’s in Albany in upstate New York. TC: How does it feel to be a part of EVENT? JG: I don’t really like doing the dances and all that stuff. I think it’s kind of stupid to be honest. TC: What is the true meaning of EVENT? JG: You’d have to ask [senior] Chris [Smith]. I don’t really like that. Some of the stuff is over the top. TC: How’s Prom looking for you this year? MPC [ junior Maria Paula Coronado] round 2? JG: Uh, no. I don’t have much to say about that. TC: Favorite Prom asking so far this year? JG: [Senior Matt] Fogarty was pretty good. Or [senior Josh] Totte; that was pretty funny. TC: How much do you lift a week? JG: Out of season, seven days a week. On a bad day, I probably put up about 400 on the bench. TC: What’s your favorite memory from your time at Paly? JG: When [senior] JP [Flather] knocked someone out in wrestling and then pinned him while he was out. TC: What was your favorite memory on the lacrosse field? JG: Tully getting laid out. That’s probably every game though. TC: Tell us a little bit about Tasso. JG: There’s always a party going on at Tasso. That’s the spot. TC: Favorite pregame meal? JG: I don’t really eat much before games. One time I had like 50 potstickers before a game and then I threw up. I was sitting in the car and I was like, “aww I don’t feel really good.” TC: Who do you think is most improved on the team? JG: [Senior Zach] Rosenbaum thinks he’s most improved, but the most improved is really [senior] Jason Trisler. He has a couple goals, so he’s playing well. TC: Who is your inspirational figure? JG: I’d say JP Flather or Tully McCallister.

Friday, March 28, 2014

SPORTS

C8 MLB

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The Campanile

POWER

Rankings Text By Nick Sullivan senior staff writer

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With the MLB season kicking off, many people wonder where their favorite team ranks among the 29 other clubs on opening day. There has been a lot of change in the league since the season ended last fall, with players switching teams via trade and free agency, coaches having come and gone and top prospects looking to carve in roles on their respective teams at the major league level. All of these situations are factors that determine whether your team will move up or down in the ranks from its previous position at the end of last season. Here are the top ten teams in the MLB.

los angeles dodgers

With the exception of 2B Dee Gordon, very few flaws can be found on this team, as the owners keep throwing what seems to be unlimited money into this franchise. Their starting rotation features a front line staff including Cy Young award winners Clayton Kershaw and Zack Grienke as well as Hyun-Jin Ryu, a strong pitcher coming off a 14-8 rookie season with a 3.00 ERA. The team’s starting lineup is also loaded up with SS Hanley Ramirez, 1B Adrian Gonzalez and OF Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp. This should be an exciting team in 2014 to say the least and have the talent to go all the way. Courtesy of Dodgers nation

new york yankees

The Yankees went shopping this winter, as they typically do after the underachieve in the previous season, bringing home OF Jacoby Ellsbury, C Brian Mccann, OF Carlos Beltran and P Masahiro Tanaka. Looking at the Yankees lineup, it would have been a guarantee for them to win the World Series with all these players three years ago, but 2014 isn’t 2011. Age is obviously a concern, with no players in their regular lineup under 30. Another concern is how they will fill the voids left by departed 2B Robinson Cano and suspended 3B Alex Rodriguez. This team could be very dangerous if all the cards fall in their favor, but they will be competing in a very competitive AL East this year. Courtesy of blogs.dion.ne.jp

St. louis cardinals

Coming off a World Series appearance, it is expected that the Cardinals will be strong contenders again. The loss of OF Carlos Beltran will hurt, but they possess arguably the best starting rotation in baseball. Adam Wainwright and Shelby Miller turned in stellar seasons and Michael Wacha was called up, and pitched pretty much lights out the last month and a half of the season. They added OF Peter Bourjos in a trade and signed SS Jhonny Peralta to their already solid lineup. They have questions in their bullpen but still remain one of the top teams in baseball. Courtesy of addison recorder

texas rangers

This team arguably became the best hitting lineup in baseball this offseason when it acquired 1B Prince Fielder via trade and signed OF Shin-Soo Choo in free agency. Slipping these guys into an already dangerous lineup containing 3B Adrian Beltre, SS Elvis Andrus and top prospect Jurickson Profar, this team will easily lead the league in runs scored if everyone plays to their potential. Pitching is another story. The club has only two established pitchers in Yu Darvish and Martin Perez with expected No. 2 starter Derrick Holland out until mid-season. The rest of their rotation contains pitchers who are either injury prone or are veterans on the decline. This team should be able to win the AL West with the other teams in the division experiencing their share of problems as well. Courtesy of fan share

boston red sox

The World Series Champions crack the top three despite the losses of OF Jacoby Ellsbury, C Jarrod Saltalamaccia, SS Stephen Drew and P Ryan Dempster. Top prospect Xander Bogaerts, who played a key role in the postseason for the Red Sox, is expected to take over at shortstop and has the potential to be an instant upgrade over Stephen Drew. They signed C A.J Pierzynski, who has been one of the better hitting catchers over the past decade, to assume the unoccupied role. The Red Sox also signed former all star Grady Sizemore, who has become one of the more intriguing stories of spring training in his attempted comeback. If he makes the team and returns to form, the Red Sox would become an even more dangerous team in American League.

tampa bay rays

Going into this offseason, it was all said but done that P David Price would be traded. However, he is still in a Rays uniform going into the 2014 season. The Rays were a dangerous team in the AL East and should only improve this year with no significant player departures this offseason. Their lineup will feature 3B Evan Longoria, rookie Will Myers, and 2B Ben Zobrist. They certainly have a solid lineup with no flaws. The Rays’ pitching staff remains strong with David Price, Alex Cobb and Matt Moore. Look for the Rays in the race in the AL East. However, if they opt to trade David Price mid-season, this team would drop out of playoff contention. Courtesy of black sports online

Courtesy of wikimedia

detroit tigers

Immediately after the World Series, this team would have ranked as a number one; however they were unable to keep their team together due to financial restrictions. This led to the trades of 1B Prince Fielder and P Doug Fister. While they did acquire 2B Ian Kinsler in the Prince Fielder trade, Fielder’s production and protection of Miguel Cabrera will be hard to replace. Detroit also recently lost SS Jose Iglesias for the majority of the season due to an injury, which leaves a hole at shortstop. On a more positive note, they signed all-star closer Joe Nathan, who provides much needed help to a club that struggled in that role last year. Detroit still remains an elite club; it just remains to be seen how they will react to all the change that happened during the

cincinnati reds

The Cincinnati Reds lost OF Shin-Soo Choo and P Bronson Arroyo in free agency and have replaced them through in-house options of OF Billy Hamilton and P Tony Cingrani. The Reds lineup is once again solid with all-star 1B Joey Votto, OF Jay Bruce and 2B Brandon Phillips. Their starting rotation remains in tact with Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos and Homer Bailey leading the charge. Expect them to make the playoffs as a wild card, but tamper your expectations after that because the National League has other teams that are much stronger than the Reds. Courtesy of espn

Courtesy of ahs the spud

washington nationals

Although this team struggled last year, the team is in one of the easier divisions in baseball in the NL East. The team also added P Doug Fister, who will bolster the team’s starting rotation. Their lineup featuring OF Bryce Harper, OF Jayson Werth, SS Ian Desmound and 3B Ryan Zimmerman looks good on paper and if everyone produces as expected, Washington will be in the run for the NL pennant. Courtesy of washington post

pittsburgh pirates

This team has slowly built up and finally was able to contend last year. However, they were knocked out early in the playoffs when they lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series. While the departures of OF Marlon Byrd and P A.J Burnett hurt, this is a young team full of talent that should be able to recover from those losses with in house options. Their lineup features all-star OF Andrew McCutchen, Of Neil Walker and 3B Pedro Alvarez. Francisco Liriano, rookie Gerrit Cole and Wandy Rodriguez fill out the Pirates rotation. While they don’t look to flashy on paper, it seemed like last year this team always was finding a way to win by grinding out games. Courtesy of the sports quotient