Issue 3: December 4, 2020

The Campanile

Friday, Dec. 4, 2020

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44

www.thecampanile.org

Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Vol. CIII, No. 2

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ess than a week after the Palo Alto School Board unanimously passed a new secondary school reopening proposal, Santa Clara County, along with the majority of California, reverted to the strictest “purple tier.”

Prompted by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases throughout the nation, Newsom announced a return to increased restrictions for most counties in the state, including Santa Clara County.

Additionally, on Thursday Dec. 3, Newsom issued a stay-at-home order due to a potential shortage of ICU beds.

Palo Alto Unified School District secondary schools will not be able to reopen until after they spend two weeks in the “red tier.” According to PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin, returning to in-person instruction poses too many logistical challenges.

“I don't see a path back to that plan right now,” Austin said. “I think transitioning back to the hybrid option midstream for high schools just doesn't work.”

However, because primary schools opened before the new regulations, they will not need to cease in-person operations.

“Our elementary schools have demonstrated an ability to follow rules, maintain distancing and operate within cohorts,” Austin wrote in a letter to parents. “They will remain open at this point in time, per the Public Health Department guidelines.”

Although Austin said he had reservations about their reopening, elementary schools have been thriving under the hybrid learning model.

“We've had a small number of positive cases but no spread, all of which were contracted somewhere other than our schools, and our teachers are just teaching their hearts out,” Austin said. “The schools sound like schools again; you can hear your students laughing and running around and learning — elementary schools are beautiful right now.”

Austin said that if there was a significant outbreak at a primary school, it is very likely that it would close down. If 25% of schools are to close, the whole district would have to transition to distance learning.

Prior to the tier shift, the school board unanimously passed a hybrid learning plan for secondary schools, with only student board representa-

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tives Medha Atla and Thomas Li dissenting in an advisory opinion.

At the board meeting when the plan was approved, over 90% of the community members who spoke expressed dissatisfaction. The proposed reopening plan was for Paly students to attend their English and Social Science classes on campus and their remaining classes virtually through Zoom. Students would have also been placed into cohorts for their classes, making any transition to quarantine more smooth.

After the ruling, families were asked by the district to make a decision on whether they would switch to hybrid mode or remain in distance. Only 10% of families opted to return.

Due to the low demand and difficult implementation, rather than pursuing a midsemester hybrid plan, the district is opting to expand their PAUSD+ program.

The program gives disadvantaged students access to necessary resources such as food, wifi or in-person classes. They hope to support students who most need to be on campus.

“Every student needs to be on campus,” Austin said. “Initially we had capacity issues so we could only get back the (students) that were struggling or disadvantaged in some way. I think as we go into the second semester, my belief is that as long as it's safe and we're

able, students need to have some interaction back on campus.”

Although PAUSD+ will expand to additional students that are struggling with online school, to what extent it will be available to those who wish to return was not specified

by Austin.

Furthermore, the district hopes to bring PAUSD+ to students who are struggling with virtual learning despite having all the necessary resources for online school and to provide a safe place for such students to learn in-person.

Austin believes the district is putting their best foot forward with this program and said he will continue supporting PAUSD through these tumultuous times.

He said, “I'm committed to the school district and want to be here to see us through not only these tough times, but in the future, in the good times when the clouds part and we can see sunshine and we're back in school.”

Ben Antonow, Valerie Chu & Jace Purcell Staff Writer, Board Correspondent & Managing Editor

The PAUSD board of education approved a four-year contract extension for Superintendent Don Austin at its Nov. 10 board meeting, despite calls from some community members to hold off on the extension until the issue could be publicly discussed more.

The public was notified of Austin’s contract extension the week before the board meeting on the BoardDocs website.

Austin said the contract extension was originally set to be approved during the spring but was delayed.

“Because of COVID shutdown, the timing wasn’t the best, and we had many other things to worry about, and we didn’t want to distract anybody with those kinds of things,” Austin said.

Austin said he is committed to the district and keeping it stable during trying times. He also said he wants to help see the community through not only the tough times but good times as well.

“In the good times, the clouds part, we can see sunshine and we’re back in school, which I think is a good step in the direction of stability,” he said.

At the board meeting, members of the public, including parent and Tahirih Justice Center Advisory Council member Sayona Freeman criticized

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Former Paly Robotics coach and computer science instructor Kathleen Krier has filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging wrongful termination following her resignation in 2018.

She is also pursuing legal action against a group of Paly parents, alleging incidents of bullying and homophobic behaviors. During the Nov. 10 Palo Alto Unified School District Board meeting, a closed session described the board’s settlement with a former employee, which sources say was Krier. District officials said they can't comment on personnel actions taken at closed sessions meetings.

Krier resigned in Oct. 2018 after students submitted official complaints about her professionalism and response to laboratory safety culture. Team members, led by former co-captains Jennifer Xu and Bryan Yang, noted Krier was often hostile toward students in a letter sent to school administrators in Aug. 2018.

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Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

News

A2

Lights, webcam, action!

PHOTO BY GREG MILLER

M

akeup, clothes and props ready, junior Arnav Singhal looks into the camera, preparing to put on one of the semester’s biggest plays for a faceless audience. This year, he is performing at home, with a greenscreen hanging behind him and his fellow actors mere two-dimensional images on a shared Zoom call.

Each situated in their own rectangles, actors and musicians in Paly’s performing arts programs have adapted to the conditions made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their virtual performances have each taken their own spin on the classic, in-person kind.

As an actor in the murder mystery play “Clue,” one of three plays that Paly Theater put on this fall, Singhal said that being able to experiment with different filters and virtual backgrounds has been a unique experience.

“I think it’s cool that we have the capability of technology to at least sort of make up for (performing virtually), and it’s interesting to see how we can use it creatively, especially technology that we normally would not have used for theater,” Singhal said. “Like dungeons and dangers are not theater, but we’ve managed to make it work and it looks pretty cool.”

Singhal also said that in order to put on a successful play, he and the rest of the actors needed to adapt to performing virtually — and, in a way, almost relearning how to act.

“A big part of theater is it being live,” Singhal said. “So I’m on a stage.

I can see the audience. I can hear their reaction. I can see their reaction.

And most of that has gone away over Zoom or other forms of virtual theater because you can’t really see the audience or see their reactions. A source of energy for me is a way to feed off of

that and continue my performance so I sort of have to motivate myself and be like, ‘I’m sure they like it’ and that kind of a thing.”

Band teacher Greg Miller said the technological limitations of teaching virtually have been one of the biggest learning challenges that he and his students have faced so far.

“We can’t hear our students like we would normally if we were all teaching in-person,” Miller said. “The normal model (is that) I give a direction, students play something, I listen to that, I listen to see what they can do better, give that feedback, have them do it again … And that’s kind of gone.

So we had to find ways to recreate that.”

Miller said students in his classes have been adapting to different forms of rehearsing and practicing, including playing along with a clicktrack, using apps like Smartmusic and Soundtrap to record themselves and breaking out into instrument groups to rehearse with only one student unmuted at a time.

Junior clarinetist Natalie Nguyen said that this method of rehearsal has been going well for her so far, but there are still downsides to rehearsing virtually.

“I definitely miss being able to play in person, but we have still been able to practice together as a group,” Nguyen said.

She also said she has enjoyed

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working with the other students in her section, and that hearing everyone play together in the virtual concerts that Paly’s band directors have put together has been great.

Miller said he also became much better at putting virtual performance videos together, especially compared to when he was assembling videos in the spring.

“Now that I’ve kind of got the skill set — at least the basic skill set of video production — it’s pretty fun for me personally to put together the videos and then to share them with the students in class and watch them see themselves perform together, even though they all recorded at home,” Miller said. “They’re an opportunity just to have a nice distraction from the world and enjoy music that the students have worked really hard to put together.”

And although Singhal believes that many of the technical elements of Zoom would not be used when plays are performed in-person again, he said he has learned new skills and tried new ways of expressing his character through his performance.

“I think we’ve discovered in this production for virtual Zoom that a lot of stuff is doable if you just try to find ways,” Singhal said. “I thought like, ‘Oh, how’s this going to work? How’s it going to look like someone is handing me a gun?’ But then we troubleshooted it. We tried to make it work using virtual backgrounds and using Zoom on and off to place each person next to each other. And it works pretty well, so I think that we now know that a lot more is possible than at least I would have thought.”

Valerie Chu

Board Correspondent

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Art & Photo Director The arraignment of 74-yearold math tutor Mark Allan Hodes is scheduled for Dec. 23.

The Palo Alto Police Department arrested Hodes in August and charged him with sexually molesting teenagers at his residence during private math lessons between the years of 2002 and 2016.

The investigation of these allegations began in June 2020, when two women in their 20s reported to the PAPD that they were allegedly molested by Hodes.

The PAPD investigation identified seven alleged victims between the ages of 14 and 17 who said they were sexually assaulted

by Hodes. Detectives say Hodes may have victimized additional students of the same age.

Hodes, employed by families, not school districts, tutored students from many local high schools including Paly, Castilleja, Gunn and Gideon Hausner Jewish Day school.

He tutored students in math at his private residence in a closedoff office.

Many students and parents who hired Hodes as a tutor said they were repulsed to hear of his arrest.

A 2020 Paly graduate who was tutored but not assaulted by

Hodes said, “I was disgusted and appalled when I found out. It sort of made sense since there had been times when I felt mildly uncomfortable, so I wasn’t shocked, but I was still pretty taken aback, and I remember hearing the news made my stomach hurt. I know that my situation could have been much worse, and realizing that I could have been taken advantage of so easily was a scary thought.”

The Campanile is not naming this Paly grad to protect her privacy.

She also said in light of the charges against Hodes, she has

reconsidered how easily she places her trust in people.

“I also talked about it with someone else that I knew had had him as a tutor, which provided some comfort, but also exacerbated my disgust since he had made both of us uncomfortable at times,” she said. “It also made me realize that while I am generally pretty trusting of people and their intentions, that may not be the best approach to situations, especially where it involves a power dynamic.”

Santa Clara County Public Information Officer Cynthia Sumida said, “Mr. Hodes is out on bail pending arraignment, and lengthy delays before arraignments for individuals who are out of custody is unfortunately common at this time, in part because

of the ongoing public health emergency.”

Sumida also said The Palo Alto Police Department is continuing its investigation and she encourages anyone with any information to contact the department at (650) 329-2413, no matter how much time has passed since any incident involving Hodes.

Neither Hodes nor his attorney responded to interview requests.

PAPD encourages anyone with information related to its investigation of Hodes to call its dispatch center at 650-329-2413

Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

News

A3

Restrictions heightened during holidays !"#$%&'(")'*"+$"+,-.)'+/"($ 012$3"13)"$14"2$)1*%$.2"-5+ ART BY SASHA LEHRER

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he California Department of Public Health updated its guidelines regarding holiday gatherings and travel in hopes of decreasing the spread of the novel coronavirus during this holiday season. Health officials warn of a second wave of COVID-19, and the state has subsequently placed new restrictions in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 with a focus on holiday gatherings.

These guidelines include social distancing, a limit of households allowed at gatherings, mandatory face masks, a limit on the duration of holiday gatherings and social distancing when singing or doing physical activities.

The Santa Clara County Health Department has also released a mandatory directive on travel that strongly discourages non-essential travel and requires people entering the county from over 150 miles away or anyone who lives in the country and travels over 150 away to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Jessica Ridgway, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago who specializes in infectious diseases, said it is important to follow these guidelines during the holiday seasons, even though they may seem restrictive.

“Most of the people who have the disease are asymptomatic, or they can be contagious before they develop symptoms, so that’s why

we have these precautions even if everyone is feeling well,” Ridgway said.

Ridgway said all the recommendations have a basis in science even if they may seem unorthodox.

“There have been a number of outbreaks related to choir,” Ridgway said. “There was a big outbreak and a number of people died in a choir.

The thought is that when you’re singing, you are releasing a lot of respiratory droplets which is more dangerous than talking in a normal voice.”

Ridgway said the most effective guideline is holding gatherings outdoors.

“We’ve clearly seen that the virus spreads much more efficiently indoors with poor ventilation,” she said.

Travel, especially in planes or other closed environments can have a high risk of transmitting COVID-19, Ridgway said. Because of these risks, many people who frequently travel will be staying home this holiday season.

Junior Ryan Hwangbo said during normal circumstances he would be visiting family friends during the holiday. This is especially important to him because he said he doesn’t see his relatives often since they live outside of the U.S. But this year he said he and his family are staying home, which doesn’t bother him too much.

“It’s a little bit of a downer, but my family isn’t too big on holidays in general,” Hwangbo said.“We do a lot of video calls with my relatives so not much has changed.”

Junior Max Vroemen, though, said he is visiting his relatives in the Netherlands during winter break despite state recommendations against travel.

“I think the chances of contracting COVID-19 is quite low given that everyone has to wear a mask and there’s aircraft ventilation,” Vroemen said.

Since they moved to the U.S. in fourth

grade, Vroemen said that he visited his extended family every year during winter break.

Vroemen said he and his family will be tested for COVID-19 on their arrival in the Netherlands. And because he said his immediate family is healthy and at low risk of developing severe symptoms from the virus, Vroemen said the risks of contracting the virus are small enough to allow for travel.

But health officials say not traveling is still the best approach to stop the virus’ spread.

“It’s different depending on who you’re trying to see,” Ridgway said.

“People who are in the higher-risk categories should minimize travel.”

According to the CDC, the at-risk category would include older people, people with underlying lung disease or compromised immune systems. These people would have a high risk of developing severe or life-threatening symptoms from COVID-19.

“The other thing you could do to try to make things safer is to try to self-quarantine for 14 days by minimizing gathering with other people before you see any family members especially if they are at higher risk,” Ridgway said.

Ridgway also said that these are only guidelines; it is up to everyone to be careful to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“I know that we are all tired of the pandemic,” Ridgway said. “People have been really careful. It has been really restrictive, really hard on the economy and people’s personal lives. I know that we all want it to be over and get back to normal just want to say that it’s not over yet. Even though it’s tempting to act like things are normal, I think that is not a good idea.”

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the board for its decision.

“He has failed to follow straight state directives, and he has openly through his Twitter account mocked concerned parents and teachers during the height of talks between the board, the school, teachers, the unions and the parents,” Freeman said.

And Gunn High School student Tenzin Chang said Austin’s actions online detract from his credibility as a superintendent.

“Don Austin deactivating his Twitter account should already speak volumes about his transparency as superintendent,” Chang said.

Chang also said the lack of discussion with students in handling issues such as in emails regarding COVID-19

policies is another problem to his job as superintendent. with the decision to extend “In our national politics Austin’s contract. at this time, somebody in the “Don Austin is the enigma highest office right now has at Gunn. His lack of persona Twitter feed that is outside ality has made him the butt of his role as the leader of of many jokes this district,” among stuGardner said. dents,” Chang Austin’s said.

Twitter conParent troversy seems Liz Gardner, to have begun though, spoke in March, in defense of before the Austin, noting skyrocketting his work during of COVID-19 the pandemic cases, when ART BY PARKER WANG warrants exPaly student tending his contract to 2024.

Luis Pablo Michel disagreed “He was amazing, and he with the school reopening has been continually amazplans Austin made on one of ing in his job in leading this his Twitter posts and replied district forward during this to the post with “Resign.” national, state and local emer- Shortly thereafter, Michel said gency,” Gardner said. he noticed Austin blocked Gardner also said Austin’s him.

Twitter account is unrelated “I want him to resign for

Bill Xia

Staff Writer

being so negligible because he was forcing children to go to school in the middle of a pandemic,” Michel said.

Michel said the conditions of the pandemic were at a point where learning at school is too risky for health and vulnerable for COVID. “I felt the need to comment ‘resign’ to express my anger with having to go to school while a pandemic was growing throughout the world,” Michel said.

Eventually Austin said he disabled his Twitter account for a couple of weeks around the time of the presidential election to halt critical comments on his posts.

“I think that this is a really sensitive time, and around that election time, I couldn’t post anything without being criticized,” Austin said.

But Austin recently

enabled his Twitter account, and said he tries to follow the light, bright and polite rules.

Austin said, “I think the easiest thing on social media is that if you don’t like what someone is saying, you unfollow them.”

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team at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.

According to court documents, Krier alleges Paly administration asked her to deal with safety problems and lack of diversity on the robotics team.

However, Krier said she experienced multiple instance of discrimination from parents and robotics team members when she tried to implement new protocols.

She said she documented one instance where her pride flag was broken and put into the trash can. She also said her car windshield was broken after a discussion where Krier recommended several students for the robotics team that other team members didn’t want on the team.

Those students would have broadened the diversity of the robotics team, Krier said in her court filing.

Senior Griffin Zajac, whose mother is named in Krier’s lawsuit, declined to comment for this story. Senior and Robotics co-captain Nina Hunt also declined to comment. Krier is asking for $450,000 in damages from the school district and $300,000 from the parents. Krier, her attorney and PAUSD officials did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The Campanile

Friday, December 4, 2020

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espite pleas from parents, teachers and students, the Palo Alto Unified School District Board unanimously voted to adopt a hybrid reopening plan during its meeting on Nov. 10.

The plan, which allowed high school students to voluntarily return to school for English and social science classes two days a week, was largely opposed by the student body, according to a survey conducted by the Associated Student Body.

To maintain the cohort system outlined in the plan, all student schedules and classes would likely change, regardless of whether the student chose to return to campus. Teachers and parents also expressed concerns about COVID-19 safety.

Rising COVID-19 rates in Santa Clara County and the governor’s placement of the county into the purple, most restrictive, tier of COVID-19 infection prevented the hybrid plan from going into effect, but members of the Palo Alto community say they are still reeling from the lack of communication between the board and the community about the proposed reopening.

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Many secondary parents, including Giselle Galper, the mother of a Paly junior, were opposed to the board’s secondary reopening proposal, saying they feared COVID-19 infections among students and staff and worried about their student having to change teachers mid yeart. “(Our child) wanted to keep as many of his peers (in his classes) as possible,” Galper said. “He was also concerned about the safety of the hybrid plan, and that there was no support for students who were exposed to COVID-19 to stay home.”

Galper said she was frustrated by the lack of input from the community in the board’s decision.

“The board did not listen to parents, students or even the student representatives who voted against the plan,” Galper said.

Jason Oliger, the parent of a Greene Middle School seventhgrader and member of the Parent-Teacher Association, agreed.

“So many teachers came on during open comment, and yet there was very little teacher input in what actually happened,” Oliger said.

Oliger also said the administrators didn’t give enough information to the parents when they were expected to make a binding decision about whether to send their child back to school.

“There are still so many unknowns,” Oliger said. “Mondays are still listed as TBD on the schedule, and yet parents are expected to make a binding decision of whether to do hybrid or distance learning.”

Oliger also said he felt the district did a poor job of implementing the plan in individual schools.

“Guidelines were handed down from the district level to the site level, and at Greene, a lot of it had to be scrapped because it wasn’t viable,” Oliger said. “I’ve heard consistently that teachers have no idea what’s going on, and that’s a huge, inexcusable whiff.”

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Although only 10% of high school students said they wanted to return under the proposed hybrid proposal, board members and administrative staff continued to push it, disregarding the letters and petitions sent to them by teachers, parents, community members and students.

“This was not by any means a model plan that I loved … I don’t think anyone loved it,” recently re-elected board member Jennifer DiBrienza said. “But we knew we had to do something, so it was something.”

DiBrienza said while the majority of the district’s high school students didn’t seem to like the plan, she said it would help support students who needed extra help and more teacher and peer interaction, as well as those who lacked reliable internet and a quiet place to work.

Principal Brent Kline, in his first year at Paly, said because of this he is now shifting his focus to the drawbacks of the original plan in an effort to remedy some of them.

“It was a very restrictive return to campus in terms of the two courses that you

were only able to select, and there was so much misinformation that it was hard to even get a handle on any of it,” Kline said.

Kline said he is using PAUSD+ as a model in his planning. PAUSD+ is the district’s name for a program that brings students to campus in person who don’t have access to reliable WiFi or a quiet place to work or are struggling with remote learning in general.

“Possibly, we could bring groups of students back that just need to reconnect with other students, maybe into cohorts,” Kline said. “We’ll focus first on the students that signed up for the hybrid (plan) and see if anybody has interest.”

In light of rising COVID cases and Santa Clara County’s reversal into the purple tier, elementary schools will stay open, but middle schools and high schools will not re-open at the beginning of the second semester, according to DiBrienza.

Middle schools, DiBrienza said, will likely reopen in the fourth quarter as long as the county returns to the red tier and bringing students back is safe. She said the board will likely continue to refine the reopening plan to prepare for such changes.

And just like before, student input is unlikely to be part of this planning process, DiBrienza said.

“Student input is important, but I think it’s more valuable in certain places than others,” DiBrienza said. “I’m not sure if the board having their own makes any sense, besides our two student board members.”

While the board may not be as interested in direct student input, Kline said he has set up multiple committees of students that he meets with regularly, including his Principal’s Advisory Committee.

“I want to move out and reach more students and create forums to be able to give an educated opinion,” Kline said. “I want to meet parents and hear their opinions through PTSA. I want to acquire our communities’ voices, and maybe we can open up consistent communication channels, even after we’ve dealt with COVID-19.”

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d expressing their concerns regarding the secondary reopening s. Seventy-eight Paly teachers have since signed the letter too. ording to the letter, the board of education misrepresented or many facts about the reopening plan.

The surveys given to students and teachers asked leading tions and were only open for very short periods of time,” the hers wrote in the letter. “Educators were not consulted; we were n a directive. We were only included after key reopening decis had been made.”

Additionally, the teachers expressed concern with such a drastic nge in the learning environment midway through the year.

One of the central premises of modern pedagogy and classm management is that students learn best in environments with istent routines and expectations when teachers are rigorously ared,” the teachers wrote in the letter. “Radically changing the ning environment in the middle of the year limits educational ctiveness for students in person and at home.”

The reopening plan would have increased distance class sizes to aximum of 39 students, which the Gunn High School teachers would reduce their ability to both support and build relations with students.

Additionally, the teachers said the reopening plan would widen achievement gap even further.

Students in hybrid classes will receive a radically different rience than students in distance classes, effectively punishing ents who want or need to stay home,” the letter read. “Regardstudents who are already struggling may now find themselves istance classes that are significantly bigger with teachers they en’t had before and who have an even greater workload.”

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The doors of the district’s 12 elementary schools remain open, Superintendent Don Austin said this return of students to pus has gone smoothly.

(There were) teachers that were concerned about coming back ementary school and then came back anyways,” Austin said. at concern faded from almost all of them after the second day, d day.”

But the opposite sentiment was expressed at the Palo Alto Educators Association’s community forum on Nov. 16. At the forum, Genevae Pierre Dixon, the mental health and wellness coordinator at Gunn High School, talked about the added stress and anxiety many of the students and teachers were facing as a direct result of the pandemic, as well as the uncertainty of second semester plans.

“I am really concerned about the human cost we’re dealing with here,” Tom Culbertson, a fourth grade school teacher at Juana Briones Elementary said. “This all takes a huge toll on us teachers, and it affects the way we interact with our students.We are in a situation where there are limits, and this is truly unsustainable.

Jessica Oakson, a member of CSEA, a teacher aide at a district elementary school and a PAUSD mom, broke into tears when speaking about the stress of constantly cleaning up in between cohorts and trying to keep both herself and the students safe “The first month was extremely stressful, and it still is,” Oakson said. “We didn’t know what to expect, and sometimes we still don’t. I’ve never seen so many adults on the verge of tears.”

7&*+$%&(8/.4$'("#$(5/.%5(*%0$"#+ At a board of education meeting on Nov. 10, both Paly and Gunn’s student board representatives spoke out and

voted against the hybrid plan which the rest of the board approved unanimously, though their votes count only preferentially, ASB Vice President and junior Diana Narancic said the stances of Paly student board representative, who did not respond to requests for an interview, matched that of the student body as a whole.

“We put out a survey, and saw that a lot of people preferred distance learning, and were frustrated that their schedule would change,” Narancic said.

Narancic said she was surprised to see the rest of the board vote unanimously in a direction that both student board representatives opposed.

“I was a little bit shocked that they were so focused on reopening the schools that they dismissed both the high school representatives’ opinions,” Narancic said.

Following this board meeting, students began voicing their dissatisfaction with the board’s vote through a petition sent out via many platforms to students, parents, community members and staff.

Junior Kabir Bhatia, who helped organize the petition, said the district’s reopening plan was rushed and had many downsides, which led him to write an email to the board that ultimately became the basis of the petition.

The district has not adequately listened to the community when they came up with this plan,” Bhatia said. “If they had done their research or listened to their constituents and the people they’re supposed to represent, then they would see that at least 680 people who signed the petition think that it merits reconsideration.”

As of Dec. 1, the petition has garnered 689 signatures. Bhatia said he knew there was discontent among in the community about the secondary reopening plan but found the number of responses to be a pleasant surprise.

“We knew that the teachers had not been kept in the loop in regards to the hybrid plan and how the teacher-suggested plan was totally (ignored),” Bhatia said. “So we knew that people were against it, but we didn’t know if any teachers would want to put their name above the letter that we slapped together, but I’m really glad that they chose to do that.”

ers to organize themselves, or go to a four day school week until this is over, because the amount of extra work that we have on our plate is beyond what anybody not (in) education could possibly understand,” Schieffer said. “I don’t think that there would be any teacher who would complain.”

Pete O’Hara, a psychology teacher at Carmel High School in Indiana and the president of the Carmel Teachers’ Association, said he and his union have been well-represented in the reopening process. In his district, elementary students are fully in-person and secondary school students are in cohorts attending school in person every other day, with an option of a completely distanced learning model.

“Every step of the way we were involved in writing the plan to go back to school this year,” O’Hara said. “We work hand in hand, have a great relationship with our administration and our union was instrumental in putting that together.”

Part of Carmel’s success in reopening has been its ability to prevent the spread of the virus at schools through safety protocols such as enforcing mandatory mask wearing, disinfecting classrooms and alternating bell schedules to keep masses of students roaming the hallways at once.

“One of the safest places in Carmel is Carmel High School and the three middle schools,” O’Hara said. “People are getting sick somewhere else, but not in school — we quarantine and social distance kids so it’s been a very safe environment.”

With states such as Nebraska and Indiana nearing a full reopening of schools, administrators, including the Gunn High School teachers, all wish for students and teachers to return to school.

However, many teachers, students and community members would like their voices heard in the reopening decision-making process to ensure schools are reopened in the right way and at the right time.

“We have other options to get students back on campus,” the Gunn High School teachers said in their open letter. “We can expand and improve PAUSD+. We can expand on-campus activities within County health guidelines. Teachers are willing to work in-person when the academic and social-emotional benefits to our students outweigh the costs and risks incurred by all.”

9&0$#('&"&$'(0"%+2.%5(&0.%5'(+.:$#$%&2; Other states have been handling the reopening of schools in different ways. Jessica Baese, a chemistry teacher and president of the the Dexter Education Association at the Dexter Community School District in Michigan, said she and the DEA have been heavily involved in the decision-making process behind her district’s method of learning during the pandemic.

Although Dexter schools recently shut down due to an influx of coronavirus cases in Michigan, the district took a route similar to PAUSD, Baese said. Dexter started the school year in full distance learning, phasing younger students into an optional hybrid situation. However, unlike PAEA, Baese’s said her union has felt properly represented in their district’s reopening process.

“I sit in all of the meetings, and while our school board weighs in on some of the proposals that our superintendent is making, the proposals from the superintendent are coming from our district planning team which I am part of, and some of our data-driven decisions are coming from our data team which I’m a part of,” Baese said. I think our teachers have had really positive representation in that process.”

Part of this decision making process comes with developing stringent safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, which Baese has doubled down on.

“If a kid won’t wear a mask, they’re going to be put in our home-based program, and we have a good cleaning protocol — we’ve replaced a lot of our filters and filtration systems on some of our facilities,” Baese said. “Those are things that I’ve truly advocated for knowing that I can’t control what the district’s going to tell my teachers to do, but I want it to be as safe as possible.”

Diane Schieffer, the yearbook adviser at Elkhorn High School in Nebraska, however, has felt overwhelmed by her school district’s reopening.

In Schieffer’s district, schools are completely in-person, with some students opting to be remote-only, causing teachers to have to teach in-person and over Zoom simultaneously. Schieffer isn’t completely satisfied with this reopening and the teachers’ representation.

“I don’t think the teachers (union) was involved as we would like, and I think if they were involved, they weren’t very transparent as to what teachers were consulted,” Schieffer said. “Ultimately, who has all the cards is the school board because they run the show.”

And Schieffer said if she were consulted, she has a better reopening plan for schools to consider.

“A really good solution would be a half day a week off for teach-

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Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

Opinion

A6

Does the passing of Prop 22 demonstrate the excessive political power of major corporations Ajay Venkatraman Online Editor

W

hile the eyes of the world were fixated upon the heated 2020 presidential race on Nov. 3, the day brought something else noteworthy to California: the approval of the most expensive ballot measure in state history.

The passing of California’s Proposition 22 exemplifies the ability of corporations to abuse their wealth to their political benefit. Between Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart and Postmates, companies spent over $185 million in support of the proposition, spreading their message to exempt themselves from legal restrictions on employee classifications. Introducing a stricter cap on funding to these propositions would prevent companies from directly controlling the law.

At its core, Prop 22’s purpose is to extend companies that rely on independent drivers an exemption from restrictions put in place by California Assembly Bill 5.

AB5, passed in September 2019, restricted rideshare companies’ ability to classify their workers as independent contractors. This bill instead required these companies to treat their drivers as full time employees, ensuring them health insurance and other benefits which come with that status.

The bill aimed to ensure living wages and benefits for drivers who previously may have received none of these, despite working full-time hours.

Companies, though, said the bill adversely affected them because they had to spend significantly more on labor costs. In light of this, Uber and Lyft went so far as to threaten to cease operations.

The bill received widespread support from several key figures on both a local and national level, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, and received a significant majority when voted on in the state assembly.

It was subsequently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in late 2019.

It is worth noting that this bill passed in the State assembly with minimal outside interference.

Proposition 22, which passed with 58% support in this

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year’s election, creates an exemption in AB5 for rideshare drivers, allowing companies to again classify their workers as independent contractors.

The law now allows rideshare companies to save potential millions on labor costs. The issue? These companies had a significant impact on creating and passing the proposition.

Regardless of whether Prop 22 is a net positive or negative, it displays the ability of wealthy corporations to make changes to the law for their own financial gain, possibly at the cost of the public good. In addition, the proposition makes it difficult to change any future laws relating to the issue, requiring a 7/8 super-majority in the assembly to alter it. This creates a safeguard for companies against being held accountable for any issues which arise in the future.

Funding for Prop 22 by these multi-million dollar rideshare companies led to a deluge of advertising from the corporate side of the argument, while the other side’s perspective remained relatively unseen because its budget couldn’t compete.

Prior to election day, Yes on 22 ads appeared in my inbox, on my YouTube feed and even appeared in high-profile events like the NBA Finals and the World Series.

I never saw a single email from No on 22.

But this was not the fault of the No on 22 campaign. In the context of any other proposition, the total funding for it’s cause would likely have been enough to run a powerful opposition to Yes on 22. In this case, however, excessive corporate spending made this impossible.

In addition, an overfunded campaign can take advantage of their wider reach by using possibly misleading advertising in order to highlight certain parts of an issue while oversimplifying the matter as a whole.

Many of Yes on 22’s ads focused on abstract benefits of passing the law, possible indirect harms of striking it down or the implication that all or most drivers were in support of it in order to simplify the matter and distract from

the real implications of the law.

Ads by Yes on 22 and affiliated parties made claims that a failure to pass the bill would result in a shutdown of rideshare services and that an overwhelming majority of drivers supported it’s cause, both of which are primarily unwarranted and have been contested.

The process by which wealthy corporations generated support for Prop 22 is indicative of their ability under the current system to introduce ballot measures and generate unchecked support for them as they see fit.

Considering the overwhelming opposition to the proposition by national Democratic leadership, it seemed unlikely that California, a predominantly liberal state, would naturally vote to pass it. Thus, it is highly probable that the effect of one-sided advertising and publicity artificially boosted support for Prop 22.

And Prop 22 is not the only example of corporate domination of legislation. In response to Prop 23, for example, which would have mandated the presence of a trained doctor for all dialysis procedures, Dialysis Clinics spent more than $90 million to fund No on 23. Again, the opposing Service Employees’ International Union’s $6.2 million pales in comparison. California voted No on 23 by a 64% margin.

Wealthy groups’ ability to use their money to sway ballot decisions is harmful, and we should seek to safeguard against this. A stricter limit on corporate and individual contributions to proposed legislation would help maintain the integrity of legislation by preventing these groups from having such a drastic impact on the creation of state laws.

The actions of Uber, Lyft, Doordash Postmates and Instacart this election cycle show the need for measures protecting against excessive spending. The introduction of a spending cap would be an effective solution to the problem.

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Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

Opinion

A7

ART BY JAMES MILLER

ART BY DECLAN GREICIOUS

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Leo Malchin

In most cases, the answer is overoptimism — an overoptimism that has costs beyond an inevitably disappointing As the COVID-19 reconciliation with reality. pandemic edges closer to These unrealistic expectathe one-year mark, it’s only tions can lead to irresponsible natural for students, teachers and parents to foresee — or at student behavior that could jeopardize the viability and least hope for — a path back safety of any hybrid model. to normalcy. Whether paved If students had returned to by an effective vaccine, newly school in January anticipating elected administrations or, for the normalcy and socialization those in the Paly community, they’ve long been deprived the district’s reopening plan, of, they would have only that path seems to be getting have been let down, but they clearer. would have been more likely However, no matter how to violate the district’s safety promising these events may guidelines. appear, it’s important to It’s important for some remember they are small steps who hope to return to campus toward returning to pre-panto readjust their perspectives. demic life — not solutions.

Hybrid learning should be At the Nov. 10 school viewed as nothing more than board meeting, board meman alternative for those on bers approved the district’s whom distance learning takes secondary reopening plan, a significant toll — not a which would have allowed chance to have fun. middle school and high If you’re itching to return school families to choose either full distance learning or to business as usual, it’s a transition to hybrid learning unwise to blindly expect a social paradise waiting for you for second semester. ifyou return to The campus under proposal some kind of at the time hybrid plan. was for However, students since distance who learning — choose hywith its muted brid learnmics, turneding over off videos and distance time spent learning staring at a to meet screen — is with two not stimulatclasses for ing for the just one to mind, it can two blocks disrupt stuper week dents’ mental and learn health. remotely This learnwith their ing environremaining ment can classes. also be tough Clearly, on those despite who learn hopes that best through returning discussions, to campus hands-on would activities and usher in visualization, a return INFORMATION FROM CDC .GOV all of which to preare limited in pandemic a distance learning environtimes, second semester in ment. hybrid secondary learning is For those who’ve had bad now off the table because of experiences with distance Santa Clara County’s return learning, the hybrid option to the state’s most restrictive may have been the best of two purple tier. bad options. But for those Despite the initial plan, who have adjusted successhybrid learning may not be fully to distance learning, any conducive to an improved learning environment anyway. hybrid option is unnecessary.

If you plan to choose Without the ability to move hybrid learning, if it is ever ofwithin six feet of peers and fered, to see your friends and teachers, students wouldn’t have a good time, you should have experienced the same reevaluate your expectations interactive environment for what reopening could will which they were accustomed look like. to. Table groups, class games, Hybrid learning is not one-on-one instruction and there to allow you to socialize, other benefits of traditional, and it won’t mark a miracuin-person learning wouldn’t lous return to normalcy. have been possible, even Thus, it’s crucial those who for those who opted for the may have opted for hybrid hybrid plan. education to accept this realIt also appears hybrid stuity and to adopt a cautiously dents would have been split optimistic mindset — with an into smaller groups of 30-60, emphasis on the cautious. so dreams of reuniting with In times like these, comfriends, or even teachers, were promise is the name of the unrealistic. game.

Knowing this, why were If we expect any kind of some students envisioning a hybrid learning to take us second semester filled with back to February, we’ll be met Spikeball, socialization and with great disappointment. normal-sized classes?

Senior Staff Writer

Tech companies’ data use ought to be regulated to protect user privacy !"#$%&"'()'**+)%"),*)-"$'+)%")(%".)("/&0#)1*+&0)/"2."20%&"'(3) 4&(%"25)"-)10#&/&"$()+0%0)$(*

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hether you’re in the grocery store or at a restaurant, people are glued to their screens, checking out the latest Instagram post or taking a selfie on Snapchat. Is this the society you want to live in?

Is social media’s prevalence in society detrimental to humanity? Should social media and the tech companies who own them be regulated in terms of their data use? These are among the many questions that we must grapple with as the technology powering our interactions continue to evolve.

The recently released Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma,” addresses the issues social media platforms create in society.

Through the lens of influential employees inside these companies, it acknowledges the threat social media has become and the negative consequences social media has on the younger generations.

One of the biggest problems with social media is its negative effect on mental health. A study

by Child Mind Institute found between the years of 2010 and 2015, depressive symptoms in 12th graders increased 33% of and the suicide rate for girls increased 65%.

The comparison to an unrealistic standard vastly impacts mental health and leads to serious problems.

While social media companies market themselves as platforms for communication between people all over the world, the intentions behind these companies may not be as clear. In addition to being detrimental to mental health, social media apps deliberately get people hooked by using algorithms to feed people what they want to see and hear. Creating personalized feeds

based on your browsing history, tech companies essentially track every move you make.

By clicking on “popular videos for you,” people make the problem worse, as the algorithm becomes smarter and continues to feed people what they want to see. In addition, people become closed off to certain world views since they are only provided more information to confirm the opinions they already have, something known as confirmation bias.

The strategies tech companies use to grow comes down to those making the most profit which hurts society. With increased technological advancements in data storage, companies will be able to use our data in new, potentially harmful ways.

These companies can now sell our digital profiles to advertisers outside of the social media platform without our consent. But how do we regulate these companies without restricting freedom of speech?

The solution begins at the consumer level. People who use social media platforms can begin to think smarter than the algorithms. One solution presented in “The Social

Dilemma” includes not clicking on “for you” videos or content because by not doing so, you’re confusing the algorithms making it harder from it to know what content to feed you next. You also need to constantly ask yourself whether the information you’re consuming is reliable and true, as a step toward limiting the spread of misinformation.

Although social media use can create physical and mental health problems and poses the potential for addiction, tech companies are not the only ones able to make social media platforms positive communities.

Government regulations should restrict data shared by social media platforms, and consumers need to be on the alert for misformation on these platforms. Ultimately, the government, social media companies and individual users must work together to ensure social media platforms are used only for communication between individuals, not for selling people’s personal data.

Olivia Ericsson Senior Staff Writer

The Campanile

Friday, December 4, 2020

A8

Editorials

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s COVID-19 cases rise to record highs, the Palo Alto Unified School District board has approved a now-defunct plan for secondary students to voluntarily return to campus starting Jan. 7.

After a grueling hour of teachers, parents and students speaking out against the plan at the Nov. 10 school board meeting, the two student board representatives, Paly senior Medha Atla and Gunn senior Thomas Li, were the only board members to vote no (preferentially) on the plan.

The district should have involved teachers earlier and more extensively in the process of creating the hybrid plan and urges the board and the district to consider whether the plan truly benefits and protects the health and safety of the majority of students — as it stands, The Campanile does not think it does.

The first priorities of the district ought to be to protect the safety of teachers and students. Yet English and History/social science teachers, many of whom are in high risk

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groups for severe illness if they contract COVID-19, would have essentially been forced to return to campuses if they wanted to continue to teach, while a necessary shuffling of schedules would have torn apart preexisting classroom communities that already took months to build over Zoom.

Regardless of whether students chose distance or hybrid learning, the district made it clear that class schedules and teachers were going to change for every student, with few to no exceptions. Distance class sizes were going to increase, reaching a maximum of 39 — an increase many teachers said would make individualized feedback and the development of trusting relationships more difficult.

Juniors who have established these relationships with teachers they hope to receive letters of recommendation from would have had to change their plans entirely, starting over with a new set of teachers.

Further, free-flowing collaboration and hands-on activities, arguably some of the only things severely lacking in distance learning for the majority of students, would still have been impossible to do in person under proper social distancing guidelines.

The benefits of returning to campus, especially for English and History/social science classes, were few to none.

Beyond speaking at board meetings, many community members have come together

against the plan. Juniors Kabir Bhatia, Madison Abbassi, Matthew Cao and Jeffrey Tu wrote an open letter to the board expressing their disapproval of the plan, citing concerns about the safety of faculty and families, schedule and course disruptions, inadequate support for student needs and lack of teacher and staff choice. The petition has been signed by 689 people, including 376 students and 139 district staff members.

Staff members have also come out against the plan with a similar letter, claiming facts surrounding the involvement of staff were misrepresented, that the plan exacerbates inequity and does a disservice to students and a lack of clarity around why the district decided to move forward with this plan in particular.

“Educators were not consulted; we were given a directive,” the letter read. “We were only included after key reopening decisions had been made.”

The letter was signed by 34 Gunn teachers, then echoed by 78 Paly teachers who signed a letter of support for the original.

The reopening plan as it stands is deeply flawed: it will inevitably disrupt students’ schedules, rip apart their existing connections with classmates and teachers, and put their health at risk.

In the future, The Campanile urges the district to involve teachers in decisions that will impact them directly before decisions are made.

!"#$%&'()*%+&,-..+/+&#00!&#1%(,.+&2#$&%1-*3.()/&-)&'#)4&.+5+.$ I found the recent article, “Last minute college app tips,” quite troubling (B1, Nov. 5 issue).

While I think some of the ideas presented in this column are meant to be sarcastic, there is no byline to indicate anything to that effect, so it’s not obvious.

I’m concerned about how they could be interpreted by the broader public.

For example, “You want to go to Yale? COVID-19 be damned. Hop on a plane and

take a tour. You may even earn bonus points for the increased risk.”

While the author later indicates there are easier ways to demonstrate interest in a college, there are others who may think such travel is encouraged (even if it jeopardizes one's health) and will be rewarded — which is not the case.

The article goes on, explicitly telling readers to “bend the truth” about their achievements; but, doing so can jeopardize students' admission.

and listening to their peers.

As the Palo Alto elections demonstrated people may be less prone to change than they claim.

Each election cycle voters across the country are given an opportunity to have their voices heard, but in Palo Alto’s elections this year, citizens choose comfort over change.

The Campanile thinks in order to accomplish meaningful change in our community and beyond, citizens must actively participate in our democracy.

This means we cannot simply be satisfied by voting.

We must take it upon ourselves to continue our civic duties and engage with issues outside of the voting booth.

The Campanile is encouraged by historic levels of civic participation, but acknowledges there is more work to be done. Though we live in the age of information, our local elections and the increasing political polarization display how Americans are doubling down on their own beliefs and selfinterest instead of questioning them.

Our democracy relies on individuals processing new information, and voting their values, not just saying them out loud. If individuals are unwilling to question or change their beliefs and vote appropriately, our current system of government, both local and national, will fail its citizens.

Editors-in-Chief Shiva Mohsenian • Kris Risano • Benjamin Stein Andrew Toteda • Adora Zheng Online Editor Ajay Venkatraman

Managing Editors Jace Purcell • Andy Wang

News & Opinion Editors Siddhartha Sahasrabuddhe Sloan Wuttke

Lifestyle Editors Krista Robins • Gianna Brogley

Science & Tech Editor Austin Xiang

Sports Editors Evelyn Cheng Ziggy Tummalapalli

Multimedia Editor Gina Bae

Business Managers Will Thomas • Emma Todd

Board Correspondent Valerie Chu

Art & Photo Director Sasha Lehrer

Staff Writers

Ben Antonow Lauren Chung Shantanu Deshpande Olivia Ericsson Jack Galetti

Bruno Klass Braden Leung Leo Malchin Ali Minhas Aidan Seto

Declan Greicius Hailey Hwang

James Miller Aaron Kim Alexander Leong

Zack Silver Maya Singer Avantika Singh Parker Wang Joy Xu

Illustrators

Isabel Toteda Astrid Wuttke

Advisor Rodney Satterthwaite

!"##"$%#&%#'"%()*#&$+ Dear Editors,

The 2020 elections served as a unique moment in our country’s political system.

With the highest voter turnout in a century and the most votes cast in the country’s history, the elections provide a new standard for what it means to be a United States citizen.

But what happened in Palo Alto? The city which takes pride in preaching its progressive nature elected many candidates for city council and school board who don’t reflect these values.

The Campanile endorsements for both city council and the Palo Alto Unified District School Board prioritized diversity and closing the achievement gap, but it seems many in the community vote for their property values over progressive candidates.

Even though the polls have closed, politics cannot be set aside while we wait for the next election. Regardless of political affiliation, The Campanile implores Palo Alto citizens and particularly students to hold elected officials accountable for addressing our school system’s achievement gap and our city’s diversity issues.

Furthermore, in future elections, The Campanile urges voters to put the needs of struggling community members ahead of improvements in property values and tax benefits, by educating themselves regarding candidate platforms

College admissions isn’t a “game” and the unethical behavior you advocate can have serious consequences.

Then, applicants are told to “spin a tale about the trauma;” while referring to a C+ grade as trauma is exaggerated, given the serious mental health issues in our community, making light of any trauma isn’t appropriate and certainly isn’t funny.

Finally, CSU Bakersfield is listed as the target for “adjust(ing) the college of your dreams;” this is incredibly judgmental and

insensitive to students for whom Bakersfield is their dream college (some students are really looking for a college fit or affordability, not the most prestigious or selective colleges).

I’m super disappointed by the tone and message conveyed — but more worried about the unintended consequences this article might have.

Sincerely, Sandra Cernobori Paly College Advisor

Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds21@googlegroups.com. The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit submissions. The Campanile only prints signed letters.

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The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper to the homes of Paly students.

Our Vision Statement: The Campanile has upheld the highest standard of student journalism for the last century by engaging the community through various mediums of storytelling.

Our coverage of news, culture and athletics aims to represent the diverse perspectives of our student body.

Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

Lifestyle !"#$"%&'()*$+,'&'%-,*'."+,+)'"#*'(*&/"*%,-##0++1

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hen reminiscing about the days before online school, some students recall the typical classroom setting as a place where collaboration and educational, respectful conversations occurred.

But for senior Jackson Bundy, the days where his class periods ended with frustrated peers glaring in his direction after an aggressive dispute over political views live vividly in his memory. In a Campanile survey measuring student political views, only 5 out of the 145 students who answered the question said they supported President Donald Trump, while 140 said they supported President-elect Joe Biden. As a student who tends to lean toward the conservative side of the political spectrum and supports Trump, Bundy said he often feels ostracized for his views among the many liberal voices at Paly.

“I’ve had classes where I was told that I wasn’t allowed to state my viewpoints because I was conservative, which is frustrating,” Bundy said.

“But I also realized that it was probably going to happen eventually. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a class with more than three conservatives, including myself, but it’s kind of just something I’ve learned to deal with.”

Bundy isn’t the only student struggling with his political identity in the classroom.

Sophomore Kyle Lee said he feels uncomfortable having right-leaning beliefs in a heavily liberal school. He said some of his closest friends cut off contact with him because of his political views and that he believes some of his teachers treat him differently because of these views.

“I have a teacher who hates me because I’m conservative,” Lee said. “I know she does because I turn in the same work-

sheet, and I worked with all my friends on it. Even though they’re different answers, they’re basically the same idea, but she’s giving me way lower scores on my (worksheet).”

Lee said he is open to civil discussions, he said he is frustrated that others don’t take his opinions seriously.

“They will say I’m wrong, and they will not say anything (else),” Lee said. “They will not make any proof, they will say Trump’s a racist … it’s the same thing over and over again. I will debunk it and I will say, ‘Do you have any other points?’ I have a 34-ish page document of debunking everything that people have claimed. People say, ‘You’re uneducated. You’re stupid. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I do my research, I know what I’m talking about.”

In spite of some of Bundy’s negative experiences with political differences, he said one of his close friends is a passionate leftist, and they frequently have hour-long conversations about politics to help each other understand the opposing side’s perspective.

“Our viewpoints are never aligned,” Bundy said. “It’s really interesting because we’ll have political discussions a lot, but we’re never like, ‘Oh, you’re an idiot. I can’t believe you think this,’ it’s usually more like, ‘That makes sense, and I see where you’re coming from, but I disagree.’ I can have discussions like this, but I’ve also had discussions where I’m the only conservative, and it’s just six people yelling at me that I’m wrong.”

Since AP officially called the election in Joe Biden’s favor on Nov. 7, Bundy said his peers

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have been generally respectful towards his support for the incumbent President Donald Trump.

“For the most part, (conversations) have been civil, with the occasional argument getting heated,” Bundy said. “I’ve definitely heard some comments that I wasn’t supposed to hear, but they haven’t affected me at all.”

Like Bundy, freshman Anna Van Riesen said she has no problem listening to people whose opinions may differ from hers and is willing to agree to disagree with them.

However, she said the definition of an opinion is debatable.

“If your opinion is that someone should not get their civil rights, then that’s not an opinion –– it’s oppression,” Van Riesen said.

Van Riesen said she thinks people being able to have conversations about different topics regardless of where they stand is valuable.

“I think that it’s always important to listen to what other people have to say as long as they’re willing to have a conversation,” Van Riesen said.

“Just being able to talk with one another without automatically cutting someone off is really important for depolarizing the political situation.”

As a product of two parents with opposing views, sophomore Evie Barclay said she has come to learn the importance of hearing out both sides of the argument.

“I’m having conversations at home that I wish I was having in school,” Barclay said.

“It’s really disheartening to see this amount of contempt and extremism from both sides when the reality is, most people fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.”

Because of her background, Barclay said a lot of progress needs to be made in terms of how people should treat others with opposing political views.

“There’s a unique political toxicity in our area, and I believe as a school and as a community, we can do a better job of including all students and treating all students with respect,” Barclay said. “I’ve had people tell me they feel like they can’t voice their opinion, even though others may actually agree on some things with them but just choose not to listen.”

She also said she does not choose friends based on

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political ideology.

“If I lose respect for anybody, or lose the desire to be friends with them, it’s not because of their political opinions. It’s because of the way they treat and perceive people,” Barclay said. “It’s actions, not words, that I base my friendships on.”

Barclay said she encourages others to discover the value of sparking healthy, respectful conversations with others regardless of whether

or not they agree.

Barclay said, “it’s worth listening to people who have different opinions and opening up discussion, even when it gets a little uncomfortable.”

Gianna Brogley, Valerie Chu & Gina Bae

Lifestyle Editor, Board Representative & Multimedia Editor

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College representatives host online visits in wake of pandemic PAGE B3

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Distanced holidays

Palo Alto families find new ways to safely celebrate Thanksgiving PAGE B4

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Senior Sadness

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or the class of 2021, instead of becoming a Second Semester Senior, it faces the prospect of Seasonal Senior Sadness. The COVID-19 pandemic raging, college application season in full gear and the loss of human interaction are putting a damper on what many say should be the best year of high school. No more last-minute trips to Trader Joe’s for a lunch salad or finally beating every grade during spirit week or sitting on the senior deck for the first time.

It has been difficult for many seniors.

“Right now I think the thing I miss the most is just seeing my classmates and saying hi to people that aren’t in my close circle,” senior Jenna Tetzlaff said. “School’s definitely a great place to catch up with classmates and friends that you don’t usually see after school or on the weekends.”

Tetzlaff said the disappointment is even worse because she has been excited about being a senior since elementary school.

“It’s a bummer for sure, but right now I’m hoping the new hybrid schedule will make it feel a little more like what I expected this year to be,” Tetzlaff said.

Unfortunately for Tetzlaff, it appears that secondary PAUSD students won’t be returning to a full hybrid model this year.

Wellness Outreach Worker Whitney Aqinuo, though, said she understands what seniors are going through, missing the feeling of being at school and socializing with their friends.

“Grief doesn’t just take place when we lose a loved one; it can be a rejection, a breakup or the loss of an event that will never take place,” Aqinuo said. “For some seniors, they’ve been looking forward to senior events for some time now as rites of passage; to

celebrate how far they’ve come, their accomplishments and their hard work. Now that some of these events have been rescheduled or altered due to the pandemic, many are experiencing it as a loss.”

But Aquino said students can do to a lot of things to try to feel better and take care of themselves such as exercising daily, getting enough sleep and eating well.

“While students may not have a traditional senior year, it will be a very unique one, and it can feel reassuring to know that there are others who understand exactly how you feel,” Aquino said.

In fact, Aquino said the pandemic has helped some people see things in life they may have taken for granted and allowed them to be more grateful and mindful.

To help students cope, the Wellness Center provided a Give Thanks, Give

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Back November calender that had each day filled with ideas and events students could focus on in gratitude.

Aquino said the Wellness Center’s main goal is to make sure students feel supported during these difficult times.

“We want to validate what people may be feeling and experiencing, encourage them and raise awareness about the resources and supports available to help,” Aquino said.

“We want to share ideas for healthy activities and positive outlets so that people feel empowered with their own coping toolbox of skills and resources they can use any time.”

Also to help support senior wellness, ASB Spirit Commissioner Sabrina Chan said she has been working with the other ASB Spirit Commissioner, Joy Xu, to figure out how to make senior year fun online.

“If safe and given admin approval, Joy and I would like to plan an in-person spirit week or some variation of it sometime in late spring,” Chan said. “However, since plans are changing every day, it is really difficult to predict events so far in advance. We understand that students are lacking that social aspect in distance learning, and currently we are only able to plan virtual events.”

Chan said ASB has discussed creating events such as an Among Us student tournament, and a Palo Alto-wide open mic competition with local high schools.

Chan said. “This will also allow us to plan events with more of an in-person aspect.”

Emma Todd

Business Manager

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Sports Editor

Alex Trebek, longtime host of the game show “Jeopardy!,” passed away on Nov. 8.

Trebek’s death sparked tributes across the world and at Paly, with many fans and exparticipants praising Trebek’s kindness and intelligence.

Senior Thomas McGall said, “Alex Trebek made the show personal,” McGall said.

“He’s been the face of jeopardy for so long, and he’s become a part of countless people’s childhoods and early memories.”

McGall said the show ill be different without Trebek as its host.

“The show won’t feel the same for sure,” McGall said. “It’ll be just as fun, but it will feel strange for sure.”

The show has also been a way for McGall and his father to connect, and he worries that might not be the same with Trebek gone.

“My dad has always been a big fan of ‘Jeopardy!’,” McGall said. “We used to watch

it a lot together when I was younger, and it was something we bonded over.”

In addition, McGall said he has learned a lot from the show, knowledge he may not have not gotten otherwise.

“I still watch it today with friends and seeing how much random information you’ve learned over the years is gratifying,” McGall said.

Spanish teacher Trevor Crowell was a contestant on “Jeopardy!” in 2019 and said he will miss Trebeck.

“Alex Trebek is the face of ‘Jeopardy!’,” Crowell said. “Consider his immaculate articulation, his dry

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wit, his 36-year run, his total class and, of course, his lustrous moustache.”

When Crowell appeared on the show, he said Trebek was a lot like the person he appeared to be on TV. “My favorite part was being on set to play, then getting to watch the other matches from the audience,” Crowell said.

“I really liked seeing Alex laugh at my lame stolen car story and hearing him say, ‘Trevor again!’ after I lucked into answering five or six clues in a row.”

Crowell said he decided to try out for the show because he enjoyed watching it and thought participating would be a fun experi-

ence. And Trebek was a big part of making the program entertaining.

“Alex certainly played a large part in making the show enjoyable,” Crowell said. “I love how he keeps the show moving and makes it a jam-packed educational experience, and ... how he sometimes throws subtle shade at contestants for missing easy clues.”

Because of Trebek’s legacy, Crowell said he is interested to see who “Jeopardy!” selects to succeed Trebek as the next host.

“Lots of people are clamoring for a rockstar contestant like James Holzhauer or Ken Jennings to take over, but that would likely disqualify a lot of top-tier former contestants from playing again; you’re not allowed to have any connection to the host,” Crowell said. “I think my top choice would be LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow.”

Despite Trebek’s passing, Crowell said he thinks “Jeopardy!” will remain being aone of the most popular game shows.

“It’s going to be an enormous transition,” Crowell said. “Something will feel off about the new shows for a while, but I’m confident ‘Jeopardy!’ will continue its success.”

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Friday, December 4, 2020

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Post-election thoughts

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Staff Writer

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hen Joe Biden was announced as the U.S. president-elect, senior Rachel Owens felt reassured.

It marked the end of five consecutive days of nerve-wracking anticipation and president Donald Trump’s tumultuous four-year term, which had given her a constant sense of uneasiness.

“I think I'm just really relieved,” Owens said. “I think that like a lot of people had been anxious for a very long time about what was happening in the state of the country and the state of the world.”

After five days of continuously refreshing the election results tab, sophomore Kyle Park said that he felt the same way. Park said he found the motivation to escape the confines of his bed only when his parents informed him of the results of the election.

“I guess that really expresses how happy I was,” Park said.

“We have a president whose next four years are not going to be a complete disaster. I hope.”

When junior Anton Tompert woke up Saturday morning to the election results, he said he regarded them with both surprise and indifference.

“I was kind of surprised –– I totally thought Trump was gonna win,” Tompert said. “At first, it did not look like Joe Biden had a chance. I'm not upset or anything, but I think if the Senate is Republican, then crazy stuff isn't going to be passed.”

As someone whose mother supports Biden and whose father supports Trump, Tompert said he falls somewhat in between his parents on the

political spectrum, aligning most similarly with the views of Liberatarian candidate Jo Jorgenson.

“I think she has the most policies that I line up with,” Tompert said. “I think the presidential candidates for the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are too extreme at the moment.”

History teacher Katya Villalobos was pouring herself a morning coffee when her mother alerted her of the results on CNN. During the last week, Villalobos said she and her mother were addicted to CNN and almost everything about the election.

“It was kind of exciting to see it live.

And then watching so many Americans start to celebrate, it was like one big block party,” Villalobos said. “Especially in the cities, people were dancing and hugging each other, not great for COVID-19, but it was nice to see America celebrating for a day.”

The New York Times has called every state in the presidential election, with Biden winning vital swing states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan. Biden currently holds a seven million vote lead in the popular vote as well, with 81 million votes to Trump’s 74 million. Villalobos said the voter turnout was unprecedented.

“The biggest news about the election right now is that 150 million Americans voted, and we are still counting,” Villalobos said. “That is astonishing. We have never seen a turnout like this. And I think that does tell you to the importance of the election.”

Nonetheless, some think that Biden’s margin of victory was too little for comfort. Senior Antonia Mou said while

she is happy with the results of the election, she is disappointed with the large number of votes Trump received.

“The Palo Alto bubble is not really representative of the entire U.S., and 60, 70 million people still voted for Trump even after his four years,” Mou said. “That was very disheartening for me.”

Come Jan. 20, Biden will be sworn into office in the midst of both a health and economic crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owens, the daughter of Santa Clara County Health Director Sarah Cody, said she thinks many of the deaths from the pandemic are a result of Trump’s disregard for medical experts.

“There was stuff that was out of his control,” Owens said. “But he didn't take enough action early enough. And he wasn't listening to doctors; he wasn't listening to scientists about what to do in a pandemic. Now hundreds of thousands of people have died.”

Tompert said the pandemic was clearly the worst part of Trump’s presidency.

“I think (in) the first three years, everyone was overreacting,” Tompert said. “And then this (past) year, everything was really poorly dealt with.”

Owens said Biden's candidacy marks a change in the country for the better, both in terms of the COVID-19 predicament and as a president.

“To have a president in office who is going to try and represent the views of everyone who voted for him, try and bring this country together, listen to scientists, advisers and experts on issues and not make rash decisions based on what he's feeling like that day –– that is really great,” Owens said.

But Tompert said the importance of the 2020 presidential election has been overstated.

“My dad’s a hardcore Trump supporter, and he said, ‘If Biden wins, American democracy is ruined. Everything that this country stands for is going to go to the dogs,’” Tompert said.

“And I talked to my mom, and she said, ‘If Trump wins, American democracy is over; this country is over.’ and I was like, ‘OK they’re both just freaking out.’”

Sometimes overlooked is that Kamala Harris will become the first woman and the first woman of color to be vice president. Owens said this is long overdue.

“It gives hope to a lot of young girls and women in general to see themselves in such a high position,” Owens said. “I really hope that like she said in her speech, she's the first but she better not be the last.”

Villalobos said she admires Harris’ decision to wear white for her victory speech.

“It’s the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment this year,” Villalobos said. “She wore white on her when she spoke that night of when the election was called for Biden. White is the color of women's coats in the suffrage movement. I thought that it was amazing to pay homage to the women that came before her.”

Villalobos said Harris as vice president is a significant event in America’s history. She said that having a woman of color in office could change future expectations for the position.

“It's important for young women and men across this nation to see that a woman has attained that level of political office,” Villalobos said. “Not just as a woman, but a Black woman, and a woman of Indian descent, which is for our first time in history.”

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Business Manager It is 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and senior Lexi Gwyn is up preparing for a virtual college information session. Scribbling in her notebook, Gwyn jots down a list of questions to ask the school’s representative.

Gwyn feels to truly gauge if a school is a good fit, she needs to speak with the students and faculty that represent it.

“The information written on a school’s website is great, but it can really only get you so far,” Gwyn said. “My main thing is that I love talking to people, and asking a representative my own questions gives me a chance to sense if their love for the college is genuine and authentic.”

As the pandemic persists into fall, colleges have made several adjustments to their application process.

Many have dropped standardized testing requirements, and applications now allow students to explain their circumstances during the pandemic.

With colleges making changes seemingly every day, the application season for the class of 2021 has been like no other.

Perhaps the biggest change to the process has been the inability to physically tour campuses. While many schools have implemented virtual tours, Gwyn said it is impossible to simulate the feeling of visiting the school in person.

“What we, as prospective students, miss from not being able to put our own feet on campuses is seeing the interactions that students have with each other,” Gwyn said.

“We aren’t getting to feel the vibe of schools, which is a really important deciding factor for me.”

In lieu of college recruiters speaking to students in person, the College and Career Center has scheduled virtual Zoom visits.

Despite being online, CCC advisor Janet Cochrane said these visits are more important than ever.

“I do think something is lost when students can’t meet with representatives in person, however, I was surprised at how well the conversation between reps and students went in the Zoom meetings,” Cochrane said. “I think (virtual) college visits have become more important since student’s cannot visit campuses themselves; both the students and reps who attend the meetings get a lot out of them.”

Kris Tesoro, a regional recruiter from the University of Michigan, said it took time for the university’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions to adjust to giving presentations digitally.

“The transition to a completely virtual high school visit environment has definitely changed our approach to how we are able to effectively communicate with students,” Tesoro said. “During a traditional high school visit, we, as admissions professionals, are able to read the room and be nimble with our messaging. In this virtual environment, we recognized that we needed to provide a virtual session where that information is clear and deliverable in meaningful ways.”

Regardless of how it is conducted, Tesoro said the information shared is crucial for students interested in Michigan.

“I believe that virtual high school visits play an important role in allowing prospective students the chance to connect with a representative from the University of Michigan,” Tesoro said. “This connection provides students a chance to review important admissions/financial aid information, such as deadlines and procedures, and also get a sense of the campus culture/community through the lense of the admissions representative.”

Sebastian Franco, a Freshman Admissions Counselor at UC Santa Barbara, says his office is doing everything it can to make up for the lack of campus tours.

“We understand the importance and value of visiting each campus a student is interested in as it can really provide an insight of what their college lives may look like,” Franco said. “This is why our ‘visits’ are more important this year than in the past. Even though it is not the same experience, we are able to provide a closer perspective on UCSB and answer questions a student may be curious about or would even have asked if they got the opportunity to visit campus in person.”

Both Tesoro and Franco have expressed their concerns for students with technology limitations.

“Our office recognizes the digital divide present in our society and provided a robust offering of virtual resources on our main admissions website if students were not able to utilize the zoom platform with their existing technology,” Tesoro said.

“Even though we are able to provide the same content and information on a Zoom platform, it is not the same experience for all,” Franco said. “Some students do not have great access to the internet or might have other challenges to attend the virtual presentation which is why I think we’ve encountered a smaller number of students attending our

presentations. If possible, I encourage students to look around our website and take advantage of the resources we offer since they are all intended for students to gain a better perspective of UCSB.” Cochrane said regardless of how students explore colleges virtually, plenty of opportunities exist for them to do so. “(In addition to) attending as many of the virtual events that you can for each of the colleges, research colleges online–read their mission statement, look at their departments/ majors/minors and campus life,” Cochrane said. “Read reviews in college guidebooks like the Fiske Guide, and websites such as niche.com or youniversitytv.com.”

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Friday, December 4, 2020

The Campanile

Lifestyle

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Holidays in the wake of COVID-19 !"#$%&"'()*"(")(+),,)-('"."%(/.&$."%(.&$(0%/.1&(."(2)/% (+)0(32.&4'5161&5(1&(,152"()+(#*"174(1&(7)0)&.610#'(7.'%' Avantika Singh Senior Staff Writer

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he Thanksgiving table at junior Nikhil Majeti’s house is usually spent with family members at a booming-withlife celebration signaling the start to a joyful holiday season. But this year, only four seats will be pulled up around the turkey. Thanksgiving, often known for warm extended family gatherings around a table full of food, is, like everything else, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, likely putting a damper on the cheer and travel associated with the holiday.

“Usually we would get together with extended family and have a huge meal, but with the risks for the elderly associated with travel with (COVID-19) my grandparents can’t come,” Majeti said. “My aunt recently had a treatment that compromised her immune system, so that isn’t an option either.”

Senior Ryan Leong is in a similar situation.

“During a normal year we would usually go to LA or some other place,” Leong said. “But, because of COVID-19, I definitely won’t be traveling or going to any big get together or anything.”

And for freshmen Avni Shah, a Thanksgiving tradition of traveling to see family in Chicago will have to be put on pause this year.

“We’re just going to stay at home this Thanksgiving,” Shah said. “Usually we go to Chicago to visit family during Thanksgiving, but we won’t be able to see our family this year.”

For many families, Thanksgiving traditions will have to wait this year.

“I think lots of families will end up not being able to meet, and the ones who are dedicated enough to travel may end up with serious consequences,” Majeti said.

In order to comply with COVID-19 rules and restrictions, both Leong and Shah had what some would call a more modified Thanksgiving celebration.

Leong ended up having his outdoors Friendsgiving since most of his friends were in town due to not being able to travel as much this Thanksgiving.

“Our Friendsgiving was super fun,” Leong said. “The food that we brought was super good, and although not all of it was homemade it still tasted great. People brought mashed potatoes, sparkling cider, and apple pie.

I brought two whole rotisserie chickens which ended being a big mistake because we actually only ended up eating two, so I went home with a whole chicken.”

Shah, unable to see family, was still able to have a somewhat traditional meal while staying safe and having just as much fun.

“I had a potluck lunch with my friends in their backyard.

Everyone wore makes and was super safe which was great,” Shah said.

Both Christmas, New Year’s and Black Friday are all likely to be affected by the pandemic too Black Friday, a day typically boasting a nationwide shopping frenzy, seems especially hard to conceive of under social-distancing guidelines.

“I think Black Friday will be hugely affected in person, but in this day and age, more and more shopping is moving online, so in that capacity it may not be affected as much,” Majeti said. “I think Christmas and New Years will be affected similarly to Thanksgiving.”

Shah agrees and said part of the reason people enjoy Black Friday is for the experience of waking up early and cramming themselves into stores where people are fighting over getting the best deal.

That’s not likely to seem so thrilling this year.

Leong said he hopes that with the pandemic in mind, people approach the holiday season with caution and sense.

“I think that COVID-19 should hopefully scare some people off from going to large gatherings, but honestly things like Black Friday shopping might be too tempting for some people, so for something like that, I, unfortunately, don’t think it’s going to affect much,” Leong said. “Hopefully people will use their best judgment and not go to large gatherings.”

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Tony McKenna

freshman “I chose to go with distance learning … Palo Alto schools are not ready to reopen. COVID-19 is pretty much still in full swing and Santa Clara County moving to the purple tier only serves as more reason for schools to stay closed. It would be beneficial for everyone to stay distanced this year to have a better chance of having a normal school year next year.”

Olivia Milne

sophomore “Originally when they came out with the plan that I didn’t really know the details to, I thought that I would love to go back to school ... But when I learned that only history and English were going to be in person and the teacher would have a more lecture-based style of learning, I realized that I would rather continue on Zoom.”

Liam Brady

sophomore “I am most likely going to choose distance because I wouldn’t want to have to bike from the Duveneck area to Paly for only two classes ... I don’t think it’s worth a huge schedule change for a hybrid plan that’s going to get shut down again (...) I don’t want to get COVID-19. But I think it’s nice the school is trying to take an initiative.”

ART BY ASTRID WUTTKE

Willow Steele

sophomore “I am choosing to continue distance learning because the two classes offered to be taken in person which are English and history are both classes I find to be easier online. If science and math were the two classes offered in person, then I think my final decision would have been different.”

Michael Arne

freshman “I decided to try a hybrid school mostly because my mom wanted me to. To be honest, I’m still a little on the fence about the decision (since) COVID-19 cases have not been going down, and I feel as though the idea of a hybrid is a rushed and sloppy process.”

Grant Morgenfeld

sophomore “I would have chosen hybrid, but the only thing stopping me is the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to participate in sports if a student (in my cohort) gets COVID-19.”

Sloan Wuttke

News & Opinion Editor

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“I think it was a pretty weak move,” Seto said. dy said. “But I think it hurts the individual teams on “It certainly ruined a lot of the excitement that the a local basis because the fans of those teams know NBA brought, and it brought a new generation of that only three or four teams have a shot at a title superteams, which I don’t like.” and the great talent migrates to those teams.”

Former Mercury News sports columnist Mark Senior David Snyder said that good weather and Purdy also said the move was a sign of the changing branding opportunities inherently draw players to NBA landscape. bigger cities.

“More and more, the NBA is being manipulated “(Who)’s the latest big player that’s gone to by the superstar players,” Purdy said. “I was interMilwaukee or something?” Snyder said. “Or Minested to know the dynamics of how it happened nesota? Or Utah? When was the last time a big star this time. As we now know, several of the Warriors went to Utah?” players basically Seto said small talked Durant into markets have to coming to Golden do a few things in State after his order to succeed. initial interest.”

“In order to re“Historically, people want to go to the While Dumain consistently rant’s switch was competitive, they Lakers. Look at Shaq. He’s made a lot of lambasted by the have to be very money post-career. It’s more predictable media and fans as good at drafting,” the end of fairSeto said. “And that you’ll be successful in L.A. Whereas ness in the NBA, they also have like, Sidney Moncrief, what did he do after competitive parity to have a good in the league has basketball culture playing? Nothing.” always been a and good manmyth, Seto said. agement and good “The NBA is coaching, meaning not fair,” Seto said. players want to “The main issue is stay there.” that people don’t Snyder said want to play in that a small marsmall markets, ket team needs a so teams like the good basketball Warriors and (Los Angeles) Lakers culture and draft success to consistently and (Los Angeles) Clippers can domisucceed. Big market teams don’t need nate because they’ll get free agents.” that, he said.

Out of the 74 NBA championships, 56 of them “Luke Walton was the coach of the Lakers, have been won by teams playing in one of the and that was the year LeBron came,” Snyder said.

NBA’s top 10 media markets.

“Players don’t care about staff and culture as much In comparison, the teams playing in the NBA’s because there’s enough factors off the court whereas bottom media markets combine for 10 champismaller market teams need to be the best just to onships, with half of them coming from the San have a chance.”

Antonio Spurs.

Seto said the Spurs succeed because of their “Small market teams pretty much just get domiculture despite not signing a marquee player. nated by the larger market teams,” Seto said. “Some “The Spurs have continued to dominate because teams have short-term success, but in the they have good ownership and good coaching, and long run, they get destroyed.” they draft really well,” Seto said. “Bigger market Purdy said that superteams teams don’t need any of those things. They don’t are beneficial for the league as a have to draft well or have a great front office. They whole but hurt small markets.

“It helps the league on a national basis because viewers across the country like seeing top tier stars playing together,” Pur-

David Snyder

Sports Editor can always rely on getting a free agent and building a team around them.”

But Purdy said the biggest factor in determining a team’s success is compatibility of talent., instead of the talent itself.

“The willingness of great talent to be unselfish and play with — and for — each other (is most important for team success),” Purdy said. “I remember attending a Warriors practice in (2015) and started up a conversation with Al Attles, the great Warrior Hall of Famer who coached the team’s 1975 title team. Attles said the thing that he almost couldn’t believe about the Warriors of Curry-ThompsonGreen was that they all did agree they were playing for each other. To find complementary personalities and attitudes on a team was a big thing. They’d share the ball, move the ball around in the motion offense, play good help defense and didn’t care as much about their individual stats. That was so unusual in the NBA of today, Attles said.”

Seto said there are some examples of unsuccessful teams playing in big markets.

“The (New York) Knicks are still awful,” Seto said. “Despite being the largest market team, their culture and their front office are horrible, and their owner is the worst in the league.”

Even so, many small market teams fail to succeed even when they draft well and build a winning culture, because smaller markets don’t make as much money as their large market counterparts.

“The downfall of the Thunder came because they didn’t want to pay the luxury tax,” Seto said. “So they traded away a future MVP and rising star in James Harden. And if they had just waited a few years, or if they just decided to shell out the money at the time, there’s no doubt they would have won multiple championships.”

Seto also said even small market teams that draft a superstar struggle to be competitive.

“Take the (Minnesota) Timberwolves, for example,” Seto said. “They had a really good star in Kevin Garnett, but ultimately, he moved on to the (Boston) Celtics, which is a larger marquee team.”

Seto said. “They just don’t have either the cap space or the or the benefits that the larger market teams have.”

Seto said that small market teams will have a tough time breaking through and winning a championship.

“I would consider the NBA to be sort of like an oligopoly,” Seto said. “Where the larger markets like the Lakers, the Celtics or the Warriors are able to dominate the smaller market teams.”

The rest of the league combine for 24.4% of all championships

75.6% of NBA championships have been won by a big market

Text & Design by Sidd Sahasrabuddhe

When the NBA announced its season would resume without spectators, fans and players rejoiced at the idea of games being played in empty arenas in the Orlando bubble.

Long gone would be the crowded, pushy lines to get into stadiums, the stuffy atmosphere of the indoor stadiums and the nearly deafening noise emitted from enthusiasts and the big speakers.

No longer would fans have to choose from the limited food options of stadiums. At home, fans would have their own kitchens at their disposal and could watch games in peace.

Additionally, fans are safer watching games from home but not because of COVID-19. Courtside fans no longer had to fret about being barrelled into by players hustling for loose balls or slipping on a drink a server dropped on the sideline. Fans could rest assured knowing that no balls would fly into their face when they looked at their phone.

Many fans were also saved from a lifetime of embarrassment of viral videos of themselves at sporting events.

From proposals gone wrong to Kiss Cam fiascos, fans could enjoy watching games at home without the nagging fear that their most embarrassing moments would live forever online.

For players, not having fans in stadiums is also ideal.

They can perform at higher levels now they do not have the distractions of passionate fans. When a player hits a 3-pointer or puts a defender on a poster, there is no uproar.

Rather, players can look at the screens surrounding the court containing virtual, nearly silent fans. Players could also better hear instructions from their coaches, preventing costly errors and miscommunications, heightening the quality of the play.

In the NFL, thousands of cardboard cutouts fill the stands. Because of this, stadiums now often feature some of the world’s most famous faces, such as Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Queen Elizabeth, who were pictured sitting next to each other at the Kansas City - Houston game in September. As a player, why would you want to play in front of a crowd of unknowns when you can have some of the most prominent eyes in the world on you?

The lives of players and fans are far better with empty stadiums. If a time ever comes where fans are allowed back into NBA arenas, fans and players alike should both protest because for now, everyone is better off without live fans.

Design by Ben Antonow

ART BY BRADEN LEUNG SCIENCE & TECH

BIDEN ON CLIMATE CHANGE How the science community will be impacted by president-elect Joe Biden’s election and president Donald Trump’s departure.

CC BY-SA 2.0/ OTODO

PHOTO BY ZIGGY TUMMALAPALLI

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Sports

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0/ JIMA

Science & Tech

CC BY-SA 2.0/ NORTH CHARLESTON

Plan moving forward sports

Paly Robotics online

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As cases rise, state of season one sports remains in question.

The robotics team begins a new season –– via Zoom.

Sports

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Open-air stadiums

Santa Clara County bars fans from outdoor stadiums.

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ART BY HAILEY HWANG

An (im)perfect season

!"#$"%&'"("%&)*#$+%,#$,(-%$.,%/*(/',%$0,(1%',"20#3%/'"+,(-%*#4,($"0# Jack Galetti Staff Writer

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t is winter and the fall season has yet to begin, but Santa Clara County’s move to the purple COVID-19 tier stopped preseason training in its tracks.

Guidance from the California Department of Public Health currently bars sports from beginning.

So, what will Paly sports look like this year?

In short, nobody really knows.

“We are in somewhat of a wait and see mode,” said David Grissom, commissioner of the Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. “There are a myriad of possibilities that exist.”

Grissom said this “myriad of possibilities” is dependent on ever-changing guidance and information from the state and the CDPH. As of now, their guidance is leaning towards further postponing sports seasons or canceling them altogether.

“As long as the current guidance from the CDPH is in place, practices are not permitted,” Grissom said. “We have been under the belief that this guidance would change, but given that the vast majority of counties have re-entered the purple tier, that is unlikely at this time.”

This re-entering of counties into the purple tier led to an immediate end to Paly’s preseason training that began in mid-September.

Preseason training was conducted under strict guidelines and regulations, and now even those regulated practices have been paused until at least Dec. 7.

This leaves a small, one-week window of last-minute training before the official start of the fall season on Dec. 14, a date that remains

in place despite many counties moving into the purple tier.

“This date was set for season one in July and has not changed,” Grissom said.

Yes, the CDPH currently prohibits practices. Yes, the CIF plans to begin official practices on Dec. 14. No, you did not read that incorrectly.

Even if the CDPH alters its current guidance, allowing for the fall season to begin on Dec. 14, the district may prioritize safety and further postpone the season.

With such a possibility in the balance, it is also important to address that some sports can train safely under COVID-19 regulation, begging the question: how will these sports that can be played safely be affected by the postponement or cancellation of other sports that can not?

“If one sport doesn’t play, what does that mean for the other ones?”

Athletic Director Nelson Gifford said. “The CIF made the decision we are all going to do this all at once. We’re all in this together.”

This “all in this together” approach essentially means all sports go back or no sports go back, despite some sports being much easier and safer than others to play during COVID-19 — most notably, golf.

“Golf is the one sport right now that you can play full out with no changes; it’s the perfect physically distant sport,” Gifford said. “You’re not sharing equipment. You’re far away from people. You’re in an open area with small numbers — it’s perfect.”

This year, golf and wrestling

both have spring seasons, putting the idea of “we’re all in this together” seriously on the line. Is it fair if wrestling, an indoor, contact sport gets its season cancelled or postponed, that golf, the “perfect” COVID-19 sport, meets the same fate?

This plan is neither confirmed nor final, however. According to Grissom, new guidance from the state and CDPH could lead to an altered or altogether different plan for beginning seasons.

“The results of the new guidance could allow for a plethora of scenarios, including having some sports start while others do not,” Grissom said.

Should the CIF take this course of action and allow some sports to begin as scheduled and others not to, there are a number of factors in addition to safety that may influence its decision as to what those sports actually are, such as economics.

Stanford, for example, cut 11 of its varsity sports, including the individual, masked and gloved sport of fencing, in the name of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet kept football.

“If you ask yourself, why is Stanford so focused in on playing football, it’s not because of their charitable hearts,” Gifford said. “There’s clear economics involved.”

Still, Gifford said safety will be the number one priority. But with safety in mind, Santa Clara County’s return to the purple tier points to an uncertain, possibly non-existent future for sports this year.

“If the numbers remain the same and the restrictions aren’t lifted then we won’t be able to play,” Gifford said. “That’s just the reality.”

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Carpooling to practice.

Sharing snacks. Stealing sips out of teammates’ water bottles.

These were all elements of a pre-COVID-19 era volleyball practice for junior Hathaway Bush. But in a matter of months, Bush’s familiar practices vanished as mandates of masks at all times, six-feet social distancing and regular sanitizing of equipment overshadowed her once-familiar routines.

Due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19, most club sports discontinued practices in early March, resulting in widespread disappointment among student athletes. But in late June, the California Department of Public Health announced guidelines that would allow for the reopening of sports.

“Before the closure of my volleyball club, practices were super fun,” Bush said. “I looked forward to getting a good workout, improving my volleyball skills, and talking with my teammates.

Now, we are required to wear masks all the time, temperatures are checked, and my parents aren’t allowed to watch me play.”

According to the CDPH guidelines, physical distancing of at least six feet and a stable cohort of 12 people are required to play sports. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends face coverings, outdoor practices and daily disinfection of equipment.

“Before, the focus on volleyball was 100%, but now I feel like it’s about 75% — the other 25% is on COVID-19 guidelines,” Bush said.

While Bush acknowledges following COVID-19 restrictions is crucial to her safety and the safety of her teammates, she also said the guidelines often undermine the purpose of practices.

“We end practice about 15 minutes early to clean the courts and equipment, which is important to protect the health of my team, but it takes away from the time we actually get to play volleyball,” Bush said.

All of which makes Bush recognize the aspects of volleyball practice she took for granted

before COVID-19 changed her sport for the foreseeable future.

“I miss being able to share mid-practice snacks with my teammates and hugging or high-fiving them for a good play,” Bush said. “I wish I could go back and cherish those moments.”

Sophomore Cameron Toland’s club softball team has been observing the same COVID-19 guidelines announced by the CDPH. Contrary to Bush’s experiences, though, Toland’s softball practices look similar to what they were in the pre-COVID-19 era. Because softball is played outdoors and players are naturally spaced out across the field, COVID-19 restrictions only slightly impacted Toland’s practices.

“We usually do team bonding every year like having dinner together or having a team sleepover, but we can’t really do that now,” Toland said. “The social aspect of softball isn’t the same since we can’t do fun activities, and I think there’s a bit of awkwardness in the team since we do not know each other very well.”

Similar to student athletes, a new meaning of practices has emerged for Paly Dance Coach Alanna Williamson. With the majority of practices being virtual, Williamson has experienced challenges and limitations with coaching over Zoom.

“It often requires me to ask the dancers to change the angles of their cameras so I can see things more clearly,” Williamson said. “When we do things that are as a group, getting everyone to do the same timing is more challenging and I cannot physically give them cues or manipulate their bodies like I normally would.”

COVID-19 guidelines have impacted high school sports many ways, with athletes and coaches longing for the non-restrictive practices that were held in the pre-coronavirus era.

“It’s sad to not be able to be in person together as often, or be able to get close to each other and do regular things like change formations or execute lifts,” Williamson said. “But overall I am extremely grateful that our sport has been one we’ve been able to continue very easily.”

ART BY ZANDER LEONG

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Staff Writer As junior Aidan Do watches his beloved San Francisco 49ers football team play on TV, the vast sea of empty red seats surrounding Levi’s Stadium’s football field hardly affects him. More than halfway through the NFL season, the lack of fan presence feels normal to Do and many other fans.

On Oct. 20, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced professional sports teams in Santa Clara, San Francisco and Alameda Counties could hold outdoor events at limited capacity because of their orange COVID-19 tier status. This status has since regressed to purple. Despite this reopening, the Santa Clara County Health Department said fans could not enter open-air stadiums.

“Watching sports in person is more exciting than on TV,” Do said. “Being at games makes me appreciate sports as a whole and its ability to bring so many people together.”

As more stadiums across the country slowly allow limited attendance at sporting events, Santa Clara County’s strict regulations continue to prevent 49ers fans from attending Levi’s Stadium.

“It makes no sense whatsoever to have audiences at stadiums,” Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith said. “Putting an audience in a stadium in large groups is asking for trouble. It’s like a Petri dish.”

According to the Santa Clara ER County Health Department, HR LE HA due to the virus’s rapid S A accelerated transmission T BY S AR rate and contagiousness, it’s essential to maintain social distancing to ensure that the community’s safety isn’t compromised, and packing fans in a stadium may only increase the virus’s spread significantly.

Santa Clara County Health Department released a statement saying people will not be allowed at professional sporting events anytime soon.

Currently, the reigning National Football

Conference champion 49ers’ empty stadiums have been met with mixed feelings from the Paly community.

“If the state allows a limited attendance at stadiums, Santa Clara County shouldn’t interfere,” junior Sam Duong said.

Unlike Duong, Do empathizes with the county regulations.

“I understand the stance the county is taking,” Do said.

“Preventing the increase in cases is important, especially for high-risk citizens. I live with both my little brother and grandma, and I definitely don’t want anything happening to them.”

Still, Do said adjusting to sports on television has been a difficult transition.

“I miss waking up on game days, looking forward to going to the game,” Do said.

“The atmosphere and culture in stadiums are

unmatched. One of the things I miss most about attending games is watching my favorite teams win and connecting with others in the community.”

Students aren’t alone in missing in-person sports. History teacher Steven Foug said he has gone to great lengths in an attempt to attend football games.

“I found myself checking online if there were colleges allowing partial attendance and if there were cheap flights,” Foug said.

“I am finding myself increasingly frustrated and longing for a live football game.”

This year is providing members of the Paly community with an unusual fan experience. For Foug, this includes breaking traditions that have lasted decades.

“I realized a couple weeks ago that 2020 will be the first year I do not attend a live football game since the 1980s,” Foug said.

For Santa Clara County residents, waiting for the end of the pandemic looks to be the most probable solution in allowing fans back into Levi’s Stadium. In the meantime, 49ers fans must resort to their favorite players duke it out from home.

Do said, “As our community continues to persevere through the pandemic, watching sports through the screen isn’t too horrible considering the circumstances.”

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Science & Tech

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STATISTICS FROM JAMES CLEAR, BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY

Austin Xiang

it would put less stress on me in the you didn’t procrastinate,” Balva said. long run,” Lee said. “This would cause “So I think even though it might cause less strenuous amounts of work and stress at first, in the end the person will pressure placed on me on certain days.” be much more satisfied with their work Sophomore Arthur Balva, though, and their abilities.” s he works on his homework, said delayed Farina said junior Aidan Lee receives a gratification it’s important message from his friend, askFour simple ways to train is not easy to to find a baling to hang out. However, Lee knows master or use. ance between he must continue studying for his “I think (the tion: pushing yourupcoming test and that he will derive benefits are self too hard at more joy from passing the test than worth the work 1. Take baby steps to make once and not hanging out for 30 minutes. beforehand), “There are a lot of distractions that following through more easy getting work but it’s more of done. occur when I am busy with a task,” a matter of be“You need Lee said. “However, there are many ing determined tally. Don't try and reinvent to have a balstrategies that I use to my advantage to practice ance of both in order to help me keep focused, such the wheel on day one. it in the first because you as delaying gratification.” place because can’t just be Aristotle first conceptualized 3. that’s where a working for the delayed gratification, a psychologib lot of people long-term and cal concept where a person resists the struggle to never taking temptation of an immediate reward start off with,” time to actually for a later reward, in the year 300 B.C. Balva said. “I enjoy your life,” Fast forward to the 1960s when think when you step is the hardest.

Farina said.

Walter Mischel, a psychologist who have some bad “Most of the did research on delayed gratification, habits, it’s hard research now ran a marshmallow experiment where for them to get out of the bad habits would suggest that you do want a balhe gave children two options: receivand start practicing (delayed gratificaance (between) things you need to get ing one marshmallow immediately or tion).” done just because they will help you in two at a later time.

Farina said most people have the long run and things that actually Psychology teacher Christopher to consciously implement delayed bring you pleasure in the moment.”

Farina said there was one reason some gratification into their lives with the However, Lee said balance is not children waited to receive two marshknowledge that the benefit will be always necessary. He said short-term mallows. greater than the immediate reward. work and long-term benefits can go “The individuals who were most “If most people are going to put hand in hand, with long-term adsuccessful at delaying gratification, off their gratification, they’re doing vantages serving as motivation for at putting it off, seemed to be able to it intentionally,” Farina said.

“But the procrastinators to finish their tasks. do that because they redirected their expectation is getting something bet“(Delayed gratification) could poattention from whatever that reward ter in the long run.” tentially work for a lot of procrastinais on to something else,” Farina said.

But Lee said, even if he does not tors because these procrastinators are “The kids who were successful receive something better in the often distracted by other things that were the ones who found a way long run, he can always derive hinder their work from to distract themselves from something positive being completed,” thinking about the from finishing tasks Lee said. “If single marshmalon time. they manage low in front of “Though everytheir time them.” one’s benefits are using Farina said different, from delayed the frontal what I’ve exgratifilobe of the perienced, my cation, brain allowed benefits are the end some of the typically the reward children to fact that I could be delay their can get a something gratificalonger rest that retion and period after I ally motivates receive two finish a heavy load of them to finish marshmallows.

ART BY AVANTIKA SINGH homework over a long span their work.” “(The) frontal lobe of time,” Lee said. “Even is usually the one that’s if I am not rewarded well after the in charge of planning and executive completion of work, I am still able to functioning and thinking about what’s do other things that don’t require as going to happen in the future,” Farina much concentration and thinking as said. school work.”

Although Lee said he frequently However, Lee said delaying utilizes delayed gratification to his adgratification could cause short-term vantage, many others, not only at Paly unhappiness. but around the world, use this concept “The amount of pressure the proto their advantage. crastinators put on themselves within “(Delayed gratification) is everya certain time period to be rewarded where because everybody is constantly with the end reward could be (an) imtrying to do the thing that they need mense amount,” Lee said. “Though in to do, so that they can enjoy things my opinion, if they spread their work later down the road,” Farina said. “It’s out over a longer period of time and just a universal phenomenon for all manage their time properly, the prespeople in all walks of life.” sure will not impact them as hard.”

For Lee, delayed gratification helps Despite this stress, Balva said he him reduce procrastination and deal thinks the initial, short-term stress is with excessive homework. worth it in the long run.

“I use delayed gratification to man“In the end, it’ll make (you) hapage my time because I always know pier because when you procrastinate, that even if the prize and end reward is not as great as I had hoped, I know that it ends up causing more stress than if Science & Tech Editor

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Her spirits high after winning a regional tournament for the first time in 14 years, senior and now co-captain of the Paly Robotics team Nina Hunt was on top of the world.

But upon the team’s return to Palo Alto, they found that their season had abruptly ended, and their shot at a championship title vanished.

“It was especially disappointing for championships to be canceled,” Hunt said. “That was a big bummer especially for this year’s seniors, who have never been able to go to championships.”

The Paly Robotics team, otherwise known as Team 8, competes in the international FIRST Robotics Competition. In March, they traveled to Utah for their first regional competition of the season.

Following the victory, the team returned to Palo Alto in high spirits — only to have the rest of their season cancelled due to COVID-19.

Despite the let-down from last season, Team 8 has picked up where it left off.

This season’s game, essentially a series of tasks so the team’s robot can complete with other robots, has remained the same as last year, so their robot won’t need a complete overhaul.

“We always change our robot design throughout the season,” Hunt said. “We always find issues with it. This year, we’ve had our design team work from home to redesign parts of the robot so it can be lighter and more efficient.”

Since competitions currently can’t be held in person, the FRC is holding virtual events that feature design and innovation challenges to solve problems in local communities. However, FRC has yet to announce whether championships will be held in person this spring.

“I’d say the biggest uncertainty right now is whether we’ll even have competitions to go to,” Hunt said.

Since students have limited access to the robotics lab, team members congregate over Zoom in their respective subteams: Design, Art, Build, Business and Software. The team’s other co-captain, senior Amy Yu, oversees the Business and Art subteams.

“Since Zoom has limited participant capacity, we’ve been unable to meet as an entire team,” Yu said. “It’s been difficult not having the feeling of a larger team. We’re around 70 people, so usually we would be able to experience that whole community, but for now, we’re limited to our subteams.”

Another important aspect of robotics that has been disrupted is the orientation process. Albeit virtually, subteam captains have been teaching freshmen the skills they will need to know to participate on the team once they are able to get back in the lab.

Technical Director Griffin Zajac has been helping with the management of new recruits.

“For most of our subteams, training online hasn’t been too much of an issue,” Zajac said. “The Build team is really held back because they can’t use machines online. But even then, they’ve still been giving presentations on how to use the different machines and the various methods of manufacturing parts.”

As Zajac said, the majority of the team has adapted to the new environment, including the software subteam and their training.

“A lot of the teaching is happening through Zoom,” Hunt said. “For example, the software recruits are learning actual robot code through Zoom classes with the older veteran members.”

After some administrative changes over the past few years, Paly teacher Chris Kuszmaul returned to his previous position of head coach of the robotics team this fall.

With a new, unfamiliar season ahead of the team, Kuszmaul has felt some of the difficulties of being online.

“It’s a little hard for me to know what’s going on with the team because we don’t get to meet in person,” Kuszmaul said. “It’s all been a challenge.

The way people interact is difficult.”

Regardless of the struggles that have arisen, Team 8 has entered this season exercising cautious optimism.

“Overall, we’re feeling pretty good about our robot,” Hunt said. “Our robot has been working really well, and if we can get these improvements done it will work even better. So, I’d say we’re feeling confident.”

ART BY KRISTA ROBINS

Friday, December 4, 2020

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Science

Tech

Renewing the fight against climate change

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hen news outlets called the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden after a long week of vote tabulation, Stanford University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mark Jacobson breathed a sigh of relief. Jacobson said Biden is poised to stand behind the world of science to mitigate the environmental problems the nation faces, namely global warming and climate change.

“Biden’s election is definitely beneficial for science,” Jacobson said. “My life’s mission is to understand and solve these problems, so it is good that we now have a national leader who can be guided by science to speed up solutions.”

Two weeks before the election Biden said climate change is the clear-cut, number one crisis facing humanity — promising a national transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

To achieve such a goal, Biden’s climate plan includes a $2 trillion investment in clean energy use and fossil fuel reduction in the transportation, electricity and infrastructure sectors. Biden said he plans to use this opportunity to create a burst of green jobs to achieve his goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Deputy News Editor of Science Magazine David Malakoff, who specializes in the coverage of science policy, energy and the environment, said there are two

ways to view Biden’s presidency and its effects on the U.S. science community — in terms of government funding for research and in terms of how the government employs scientific findings to create policy.

“In terms of federal funding for scientific research, President Donald Trump was never successful in persuading Congress to enact the deep cuts in research spending he proposed,” Malakoff said. “President-elect Biden, in contrast, is not likely to propose deep cuts to science funding, but he will face deep economic problems, caused by the pandemic, that could constrain big increases in research spending by the federal government. Republicans are likely to argue for efforts to reduce the national debt, which could lead to intense annual budget battles over how much to spend in different areas, such a defense and social welfare programs.”

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are likely to continue to support science research funding, Malakoff said.

Biden could request significant increases in climate change research and alternative energy.

Ultimately, it will be up to Congress to decide if it will approve such requests, he said.

With regard to policy, Malakoff said the Trump administration routinely attacked the use of scientific expertise in many areas. Many observers have said the Trump administration conducted a war against science.

It dismissed findings on climate change, which supported stricter controls on pollution and expo-

sure to toxins such as pesticides and highlighted the dangers of COVID-19. It actively blocked regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency from using the best science available. It fired or demoted government scientists who disagreed with Trump’s policy positions and undermined committees that advise the government on technical issues.

“Biden has promised to reverse all of this, and to lead with science and listen to the scientists,” Malakoff said. “He has already appointed 13 noted researchers and experts to a panel that will help craft his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And he is expected to appoint respected, world-renowned scientists to lead key science agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”

Biden’s aggressive climate policies exceed the targets of the Paris Agreement — an agreement among the United Nations aimed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C — which he said he will rejoin.

“The Paris Agreement is one step, but is too weak,” Jacobson said. “We need an 80% transition to clean, renewable energy by 2030 and 100% no later than 2050. This will cost about $7.8 trillion up front. Biden proposes to spend $2 trillion over the next four years, so that is a fantastic start.”

Jacobson said Biden should implement goals and policies to expedite the transition to clean energy — reduce the barriers to the growth of offshore wind, unleash the renewable energy potential of the U.S., speed up the transition to electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, electrify industry and infrastructure faster and stop the use and subsidy of fossil fuels.

However, Malakoff said it won’t be enough for the U.S. to act alone.

The U.S. is no longer the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. The levels in China and India are rapidly rising. Malakoff said the world must act together, but the U.S. can play an important role by leading the way. The big challenge is whether science can be translated into ambitious policies and actions to cut emissions.

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“Biden will have vast power to realize some of his climate plans, but the fact that Republicans are likely to control the U.S. Senate will greatly limit his ability to realize other ambitious proposals,” Malakoff said. “For example, Biden will be able to take action on his first day on the job using executive power — such as ordering federal agencies to do more without needing approval from Congress. But any big spending plan — such as the proposed $2 trillion investment — will need the approval of Congress. And under a divided Congress, that could be very difficult for Biden to win. ” According to Malakoff, although the two parties agree on supporting robust research into renewable energy and climate change, powerful government action could be difficult to realize. And without sustained action, the fight against global warming could become more difficult.

Malakoff said this means the country will have to adapt to warmer climates, higher seas and shifting precipitation patterns.

But he said humans have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to changing environments, and he is certain people can do so again.

“Climate problems will accumulate if we don’t act now, which means we will need to speed the transition even faster to avoid long-term damage,” Jacobson said. “That would put even more pressure on us all to implement changes. We need to keep our eye on the ball and focus only on solutions that we know work quickly.”

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Vaccines usually take years, even decades to develop. However, countless pharmaceutical companies are pushing the envelope and scrambling to produce a COVID-19 vaccine by 2021.

After a vaccine is created, it has to pass three phases of clinical trials to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In the first phase, the vaccine is administered to a small group of healthy people to test the initial safety of the vaccine. Then in phase two, around 2000 people are vaccinated to test the correct dose and in the third phase, it is given to tens of thousands of people to test both the efficacy and safety of the vaccine on a large scale.

Johnson & Johnson has developed one of the 11 vaccines currently in the third phase, and they have a trial running at Stanford University. Phillip Grant is the site principal investigator of the Stanford study.

ART BY ZANDER LEONG

“It’s logistically very challenging to run a Phase Three study,” Grant said.

“It’s very expensive — in the billions of dollars.”

Because of the high costs, it can be risky for companies to take on the challenge of a Phase Three study. In an effort to encourage companies to make the investment, the federal government initiated a program to reduce the financial risk of a failed vaccine.

“One thing that the current administration has done that is good is Operation Warp Speed,” Grant said.

“Basically, they’ve already bought doses from the companies that are developing the vaccine. They’ve told the companies, ‘Just produce it, and whether it works or not, we’ll buy it.’”

Johnson & Johnson is not the only western company that’s made progress.

On Nov. 9, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced early results of their Phase Three clinical trials, which boasted a 90% efficacy rate in building immunity to the virus. Since then, other companies like Moderna have also released promising results, with similar efficacy rates.

“90% is good,” Grant said. “Assuming that there are no concerns around safety from this set of data, it’s on the road to approval.”

Grant also said the speed at which people are likely to receive a vaccine looks promising.

“I would anticipate the Pfizer vaccine would be approved sometime in early

March,” Grant said.

Because the vaccine has been bought by the federal government, millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine will have already been manufactured by the time it gets FDA approval.

According to the National Academy of Medicine, before the vaccine becomes available to everyone, those in high-risk situations, such as essential workers in low-income communities, will be prioritized.

“If you live in Redwood City, you might have a higher rate of transmission based on where you work or how many people live in your house,” Grant said. “If you live with six people, you might pass the virus on to more than three or four people. So, the key is getting that person in Redwood City vaccinated — the person who’s going to work in a food cannery, for example.”

Census data shows that there tend to be more people per household on average in more marginalized communities such as Redwood City in comparison to Palo Alto. These communities also have more people working blue-collar jobs –– jobs with a higher risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

Actually administering the vaccine poses a new set of constraints. The National Academy of Medicine said the initial distribution of the vaccine will go primarily to healthcare workers and then to the elderly or those with underlying conditions that put them at a higher risk for developing severe symptoms.

“There won’t be enough doses for everyone to get it,” Grant said. “It wouldn’t be for high school students.”

However, despite high schoolers not getting vaccinated immediately, these initial rounds of vaccination could affect school reopening protocols by reducing the danger of transmission between students and at-risk groups.

“The more people that get vaccinated, the closer you are to herd immunity,” Grant said. “At least it slows down the replication rate of the virus.”

Although a vaccine is likely to reduce the chances of someone developing COVID-19 symptoms, The New York Times drug industry correspondent Katie Thomas says it’s not yet clear whether a vaccine will be able to stop transmission of the coronavirus to unvaccinated people.

“The only thing that these clinical trials were testing was whether they prevented people from developing COVID-19, which is, of course, the disease you develop after being infected with the coronavirus,” Thomas said.

“We really don’t know yet, even if a vast section of the American public gets this, whether or not they still will be able to pass the virus from person to person.”