Issue 7: May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

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. 7

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Students and parents line up for their Pfizer-BioTech vaccination in the Peery Center's big gym.

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Ben Antonow & Gianna Brogley

In order to help vaccinate those 12-15, Paly held a COVID-19 vaccine clinic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 16 in the Peery Center, PAUSD Health Services wrote in an email to families.

Now that the CDC has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12-15 years old, all Paly students are eligible to get their shots to prepare for a likely fully in-person fall 2021 semester.

PAUSD Health Services, which is working with Safeway to administer the vaccine, held another vaccine clinic on May 23.

“We will have first dose clinics on May 16 and May 23. Second dose appointments will be three weeks later,” the district said in the email.

The email also said students need to make an appointment before visiting the clinic and must bring with them a form of ID to prove that they are 12 or older, an insurance card, a signed consent form and a parent or guardian if they are under 18.

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New bell schedule released !"#$#%&'()#"(*+*,-*+**(%./##'(01&"(23.'451%('&61(135(6271%8( %1913($1"2#5(:#35&0%8(31;(646#"2&'($"#<"&7(

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uperintendent Don Austin released the bell schedule for the 2021 fall semester through Schoology on Friday afternoon.

Under this proposed schedule, both high schools in the district are scheduled for a start time of 9 a.m. every morning.

And, similar to this year's schedule, all seven periods meet on Mondays for 45 minutes.

Tuesday through Friday will alternate between A days when class periods one through three meet, and B days, when periods five through seven meet.

Each period on A days and B days is 90 minutes, except for the first periods of the day, which has an additional five minutes for announcements, and Advisory meets on Fridays from 1-1:50 p.m.

In compliance with CA Bill 328, legislation passed in 2019 that

mandates high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., the PAUSD board of education asked a committee of community members to plan a start time of 9 a.m.

Austin said the benefits of students getting more sleep was the motivation behind this decision.

“We believe in sleep research and respect the guidance from pediatricians,” Austin wrote.

However, with the late start time comes a late end time: on Tuesdays and Thursdays, school is not released until 4:10 p.m.

“The late end (time) is a little later than I would prefer, but I personally think that it’s worth it if we get to sleep in later,” junior Emma Turnbull said. “It’s definitely a bit inconvenient for people who do a lot of activities after school, though.”

Junior and varsity tennis player Agnes Mar said she’s concerned

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the later end time will mean her classes will overlap more with her practices and matches.

“It will definitely make participating in sports a lot harder because we will have to miss more class,” Mar said.

Austin said the district will do its best to prevent sports and class overlap by giving athletes seventh period preps.

“We are working with our counselors to schedule students in a way that minimizes missing academic classes at the end of the day,” Austin said.

Regardless of how that turns out, Turnbull saidshe is disappointed to see the continuation of a Monday schedule where all seven periods meet.

“I’m not super happy about the seven period day because that’s added a lot of stress and weekend homework for me this year,” Turnbull said. “I would have preferred the schedule we had (last year).”

Austin said the district is dealing with this concern by enforcing a policy where no homework or tests can be assigned for sevenperiod Mondays.

“(The policy) will keep Mondays from test stacking and reduce weekend homework. This recommendation will be taken and implemented at each of our secondary schools,” Austin wrote.

Director of Second Education Kathleen Laurence said the bell schedule committee also voted to replace tutorial with PRIME, which stands for Personal, Reteaching, Intervention, Mentoring and Enrichment.

“One of the goals for the committee was to have dedicated flexible intervention and extension time for students –– to that end, time was set aside in the bell schedules,” Laurence said. “(PRIME) is one time per week since the other time slot is being used for Advisory.”

Austin said the bell schedule will be finalized as soon as the schedule as soon as the district can work with a state auditor to confirm the schedule complies with California's sinstructional minute requirements.

Gianna Brogley Editor-in-Chief

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Editor-in-Chief

The University of California system will no longer accept SAT or ACT scores for admissions or scholarships until at least 2025, after a settlement was announced on Friday in a lawsuit which said the use of these tests is discrimatory.

This 2019 lawsuit filed against the UC system on behalf of low-income students and students with disabilities, demanded the UCs eliminate standardized testing requirements for admissions because it discriminates against the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Several months after the lawsuit, the UC Board of Regents voted to phase out the requirements for the SAT and ACT, announcing it would adopt a test-optional policy for studnts applying in the fall of 2021 and 2022.

However, the lawyers representing the students continued to call for a removal of the

SAT and ACT from the UC admissions process, in a way to account for racial and socioeconomic saying even a test-optional system would put disadvantages. low-income students at a disadvantage.

After going test-optional for the fall of 2021 Junior Sam Duong said he understands the admissions cycle, the UC system received the UC system’s decision to remove the SAT and highest numbers of applicants from Black, LaACT requirement, but said he thought the deci- tino and first-generation students in its history. sion could have been handled in a better way.

Marci Lerner Miller, the Potomac Law “It’s weird that they did it in Group attorney who represented the middle of the year, and not the plaintiffs, said in a statement You should know over the summer,” Duong said. the makeup of this year’s appliM!9K(!,#&!('+//!5(%!(,-$%(!

“A bunch of people already took cants shows students are no longer F-$!,/#((!0/#,%7%&' their SATs, and for some people, deterred from applying based on if they did well, it was something their inability to access standardized M!9K(!#6$%%*!'-!0#)!NHOP! that they could use if they really testing.

7+//+-&!+&!/%6#/!F%%(!'-!'<%! wanted to get into a UC school, “We’re confident that this settle0/#+&'+Q( but now they can’t.” ment will lead to students demonHowever, the UC system said strating their abilities, rather than SAT and ACT scores can be their disabilities, in the application submitted for eligibility requirements or course process,” Miller said. “We’re very proud of the placement after a student enrolls. UC officials students and organizations that bravely came said they hope to create their own entrance forward to fight this battle. This victory belongs exam which will be designed and implemented to them.”

The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

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News

Hundreds protest against hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans

BENJAMIN STEIN/THE CAMPANILE

No more silence. Protesters hold up signs at a rally in front of Palo Alto City Hall protesting hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on May 16. Among the speakers at the event were city councilman Greg Tanaka and newly-elected ASB President Johannah Seah. This rally was held in response to the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Bay Area and across the country. “There were hundreds of people who came, and it’s really powerful when all these people rally together,” Seah said.

P

aly students marched at the 8by8 Stop Asian Hate rally on May 16 following a dramatic uptick in hate crimes against Asian Americans both locally and nationally.

Protesters gathered in front of Palo Alto City Hall before marching through downtown with signs and yellow whistles.

They then listened to speeches by organizers, community members and elected officials such as Palo Alto City Council members Greg Tanaka and Lydia Kou. Newly elected Associated Student Body President and sophomore Johannah Seah spoke at the protest, helped coordinate the rally and promoted it to her fellow high school students.

Seah said that for her, this event was long overdue.

“I haven’t been to a Stop Asian Hate protest on this scale,” Seah said. “There were hundreds of people who came, and it’s really powerful when all these people rally together.”

Current ASB junior class president Matthew Signorello-Katz volunteered alongside Seah at the rally.

Signorello-Katz said that he wishes the rally was not necessary in the first place and lamented the existence of the hate crimes targeting Asians and AsianAmericans across the country and the world.

“I hope that (the rally helped to) take away the necessity of invoking change especially in regards to public policy and protect the (Asian-American and Pacific Islander) community

from the abhorrent violence and hatred and racism prevalent throughout history and especially in the present day,” Signorello-Katz said.

Signorello-Katz also said that he would like to see collaboration between ASB and Paly’s Asian-American Student Union.

“I feel as though it would be a wonderful idea see Paly ASB collaborate with the Asian-American Student Union to see how we can best support the AAPI community members at Paly,” Signorello-Katz said.

After months of work planning the rally alongside Tanaka, Kou and other volunteers, Seah said that it was incredible to have her voice heard.

“Overall, it was a really exciting, energizing experience,” Seah said. “I think that there is a certain power that comes with a rally, (and) just hearing people chant together. I was just really energized, and obviously by the end of the rally I was really tired.”

During his speech at the rally, Tanaka introduced his 8by8 initiative, an intiative that he said he hopes will lead to a voter population more representative of the shifting demographics Santa Clara County.

Although census data shows that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders combined make up 37% of Santa Clara County’s population, Tanaka said in his speech that they make up only 15% of registered voters in Santa Clara County.

In order to complete the 8by8 challenge and help the AAPI

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community gain representation in government, Tanaka implored community members to try and help eight friends and family members register to vote within the next eight days.

Seah said that the rally was an important stepping stone that spread awareness and helped people come together in opposition to Asian hate.

However, Seah also said that the energy of the protest must be followed with tangible action in order to result in meaningful change.

“With a protest, it doesn’t just stop at a march,” Seah said.

“The biggest challenge right now is to get people registered to vote. So the aftermath of this protest is reaching out to people and asking them to pre-register to vote.”

With more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders voting for community members that represent them and their needs, Tanaka said that the government, from local to federal, will work better for everyone.

Ultimately, Seah said that the momentum gained from the anti Asian-American hate rally must be maintained in order for the racial justice movement to progress and meet its goals in the long run.

“Apathy is honestly one of the most dangerous things because if people either just don’t care or are indifferent, then nothing’s really going to happen,” Seah said. “Being able to talk with the volunteers afterwards gave me hope, because a lot of them were inspired or felt empowered to share this message further.”

Benjamin Stein Senior Staff Writer

Friday, May 21, 2021

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The Campanile

News

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Principal Kline Q & A

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Sloan Wuttke

Senior Staff Writer

How was being a principal at Santa Cruz High School different from being a principal at Paly? And how is it similar?

I’ve only seen a glimpse. But in those opportunities, especially the last few months as more and more kids have come back, I’ve noticed that both communities of students have really strong academic goals and work very consistently achieving them. But beyond that, the Santa Cruz kids and the Paly kids like to have fun and play, just like the lunchtime activities and things. I’ve never seen so many activities going on during just a regular lunch time, but it’s nice to just be able to see the interaction and the laughter and the connections that kids make.

Did you have any goals that you wanted to accomplish this year, despite school being mostly virtual? If so, how did you work to accomplish them?

I think the biggest goal, especially as a new principal, is to understand the dynamics of the school, the culture and the climate. Just trying to find out what the school’s about and its deepened tradition. Actually, Santa Cruz and Paly were built within a year of each other, so that’s kind of interesting. And trying to understand from a student’s perspective, what I can learn the most from, whether it’s been conversations with individual students or having those formal conversations with the Principal Advisory Committee students. And in the same breath, what educational opportunities are here? And how can we make them even better? And from the understanding and learning from the adult perspective, getting to know the staff and what some of the goals and accomplishments have been within each department. And then, how can I take those departments and make Paly more connected so that we have more cross conversations going on from different content areas?

And I would say some things that have been a priority at Paly and that need continued effort and focus would be providing all students with an equitable learning experience. When you bring it down into our highly underrepresented student population, or students in all levels and varieties of classes and abilities, I think it’s important that we provide everything that we can for all kids so that not just what we do is for struggling learners or people. But we also provide for students who have the access but might be accessing too many things and overdoing it. How can we, from an emotional and social standpoint, help each other out in that particular sense?

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced? How did you overcome them or work to overcome them?

The obvious challenge is that I’ve never had the opportunity to meet everybody and to be involved in everyone’s interaction here at school. I’ve been leading a staff, of which I’ve never really met all of them, which is rather interesting. And so I just have to lead with my intuition or my gut sometimes. It’s been great learning about people and meeting people. And it’s different,

of course, when you meet them through Zoom and in person, and you’re able to get a better sense of who they are. And the amazing thing that I’ve seen here is just the array of opportunities that you all have here at Paly, whether it’s the media arts program, or the significant class offerings within each class or in each department, the amazing sports programs or performing arts. There’s a lot going on that I hope that you all understand. It’s pretty fabulous, and it doesn’t happen in every school.

We can’t wait to see it all live in action.

Do you have a specific, favorite experience or memory from this past year?

The best day was when kids came back to campus, even though it was probably less than 20% of the students, if that. It was like, finally, because that’s why I’m here. I’ve chosen this job, and I do this job to provide all of you some positive opportunities and such. So that was my best day, finally meeting students on campus.

What has this year taught you about being a principal or about Paly in general?

Being a principal, it’s always something that felt right.

And I would tell you that this year has been the most challenging. I’ve been a high school principal for 18 years, and this has been the most challenging. And it’s been challenging because what comes at us, it’s always new, or it’s unknown or unpredictable.

And when you think you have a plan, and you’ve adjusted, it changes again. I think that’s been the biggest struggle — this constant planning, readjusting, changing plans, readjusting. I mean, it’s just been constant. And that’s been super frustrating. I love what I’m doing, and that hasn’t diminished at all, my passion for education and opportunity for kids. I’ve kind of just rolled with the punches.

Moving forward, is there anything you want to change or improve about Paly?

I guess if there’s a message, I would say that equity matters for all students. And every student needs additional support in a variety of different ways. I think that that’s our obligation as adults that interact with you daily and for myself as the principal to continually look at those blind spots that we might have — that we’ve left unattended.

And that we need

to come back and rethink what we do and how we offer things and how we make new efforts to improve. I believe we always need to keep going and need to keep improving. In my principal life, I hardly ever hear about interacting with kids. And I’ve missed that. It’s just not the same right now. And I’m looking forward to that.

I’m looking forward to hearing from students who share their experiences. And I’m all about trying to provide the opportunity for student advice in a variety of different ways. So I look forward to improving that particular piece.

Is there anything that you wish Paly students and staff knew about you and your experiences this past year?

Sometimes it feels like torture how long I’ve (been a principal), but sometimes it feels like it’s brand new.

This has been the year of new experiences for all of us.

It’s going to take time for me to fully understand the dynamics of Paly and the needs of not only our students and our teachers, but also the parents in our community at large. I’m so truly thankful, even today, as I speak.

I know I’m in the right spot. And whether or not I’ve made wrong decisions, or questionable ones along the way, I want everybody to know that I’ve always done it with the best interests. If there’s anything I wish that we could (do, it’s) turn back the clock and redo and get you back here to bring back that spirit, or (to) bring back everything that you should have been a part of. And that’s the hardest thing, I think, saying hello and goodbye to (the seniors) pretty much on the same day. And that’s going to be on June 2 when we’re at graduation. We’ll look back at this, and I think that we’ll all have something that we’ve learned and continue to learn from.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUSD

The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

News

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Teachers retire, administrators shift 6&%7*8#%.05#)*/80*,#8*&))1)/&,/*-$1,.1-&%)9*)&7)*200':7#*/0*;159*<05&9*=1>)05

Joy Xu

Lifestyle Editor

S

uperintendent Don Austin announced several administrative changes at Paly and at the district level in an email sent to parents on May 7. Austin formally introduced these changes at the board of education meeting May 11.

At Paly, three teachers are retiring and two new administrators are coming on board.

LaDonna Butler, a former assistant principal from San Jose School District, will replace Tom Keating as assistant principal, while Keating will become principal of Palo Alto Adult School.

Erik Olah, the instructional leader of the Science Department and Western Association of Schools and Colleges Coordinator, will replace Margaret Reynolds as assistant principal.

Math teachers Radu Toma and Arne Lim are retiring, as is photography teacher Margo Wixsom.

“I have been working towards earning my administration credentials this past year, taking weekly classes over Zoom with other educators from all over the Bay Area,” Olah said. “There was an assistant principal opening at Paly, so I applied.”

Olah said he has been interested in an administrative position for some time and is excited to assume his new position in the coming school year.

Newcomer Butler has served in administrative roles for six years, and taught for 13 “I applied for the opportunity to work within an educational community that values developing the whole child: teaching to the

head and teaching to the heart, ” Butler said.

Toma, who has taught at Paly for 27 years, said he is looking forward to retirement and relaxing.

But he said he will miss his students and the inclusive Paly environment.

“It's just time for me to turn the hat in,” Toma said. “I was going to retire sometime soon anyways, but we got a bonus offer from the district for those who would retire.”

Although Toma said he looks forward to his retirement and a period of relaxation, he said he will miss his students.

“I get to deal with some phenomenal kids over the years. Not just extremely bright but also enthusiastic about math and just a joy to teach,” Toma said. “I love my job, and it’s gonna be hard to give it up.”

One of Toma's former students, senior Matthew Ho, has taken Toma’s AP Calculus BC class and is in his Advisory.

Toma is also the adviser for the Paly Math Club, which Ho is a member of.

“I’ll really miss his enthusiasm for teaching math and for being really supportive for everything,” Ho said. “His BC class was my favorite class; he created an environment where people could make friends easily, and I met a lot of cool people through his class.”

With the 2021-22 school year tentatively returning to in-person learning, changes at Paly are inevitable.

However, Olah said he looks forward to assuming his new position on campus.

He said, “As an administrator, you have a more direct impact on the bigger systems at the school, and I want to work to improve what we do as a school to help all students become successful.”

Retiring teachers

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!"#"$%&"$'()(*+,$-+./0$(112-3$&3.02*3$1422$&522-) !"##$%#&'#$()*+,&-."&/*$&,/*%#&')*/0*)12,131.&,/*+4-$#5#*!04$/*.&)# A cheerleader’s altercation with her high school cheer coach has turned into a Supreme Court case over the extent schools can limit a student’s free speech on social media.

The case, B.L. v. Mahanoy, centers on the actions of Brandi Levy, a then-high-school sophomore. Levy posted a series of expletives on her Snapchat story after not making Mahanoy High School’s varsity cheer team, and in response, the coaches decided to remove her from the junior varsity squad for a year.

Levy’s parents brought up the issue with the school’s administration, and after little success, filed a federal lawsuit that has since become a controversial case. It is currently under deliberation by the Supreme Court.

It might seem silly to some that such a trivial issue is being heard at the highest level of the judiciary, but First Amendment advocates believe the decision of the case has the potential to set a precedent for student’s freedom of speech, regardless of which side wins.

The decision will revolve around the First Amendment and how it applies to students over social media, with a verdict likely to be reached by midsummer.

If the court rules in Levy’s favor, schools may not be able to legally punish students for their actions on social media, unless they’re during school hours on school campuses or deemed “substantially disruptive” by the school.

If the court rules in Mahanoy’s favor, anything a student says on social media may be deemed punishable by their school administra-

tion, regardless of whether it’s during school hours or not.

B.L., the way Levy is referred to in the lawsuit, argues the school’s actions were unjustified because her post wasn’t substantially disruptive –– a condition necessary for the school to get involved, established in the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines. Mary Beth Tinker, the plaintiff in the case, is an advocate for student freedom of speech and strongly supports B.L. “(Limiting student speech) seems sort of reasonable if students are doing things that disrupt school,” Tinker said. “But the more I thought about it, the more I thought of how this power could be misused. I really don't think that the school’s power over the students when they're not at school should be expanded.”

Tinker isn’t the only notable advocate for B.L. Catherine Kuhlmeier of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier –– which ruled school-sponsored student journalism was not protected by the First Amendment –– fears the court siding with Mahanoy could be a slippery slope.

“I think that if (the court rules) against the student, every high school student’s walk is going to become a lot more difficult,” Kuhlmeier said. “You're going to have, essentially, Big Brother looking over your shoulder, whether it's within the walls of the schoolhouse or outside.”

However, Mahanoy, the school district acting as the defendant in this case, argues the

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its punishment was justified B.L. because she agreed to a code of conduct forbidding her from posting negative things about the cheerleading team on the internet.

Mahanoy’s case also claims schools need jurisdiction over students to prevent a myriad of issues, including hate speech, bullying and sexual harassment.

“The laws in the District of Columbia and at least 25 states require schools to address off-campus harassment or bullying that substantially disrupts the school environment or interferes with other students’ rights,” the district stated in a brief submitted by its attorneys.

Journalism adviser Paul Kandell said although the case may significantly impact schools in other parts of the country, the effect is likely to be less pronounced within PAUSD. Kandell said this is probably due to the nature of Palo Alto.

“I think the district is generally not into punishing people for their speech,” Kandell said. “It’s just not that kind of community.”

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson agrees. He

said Paly administrators would usually only try to regulate student speech when a student is in danger.

“I think we’d definitely get involved anytime a crime is committed,” Berkson said.

Even though the effects of the case probably won’t be as sweeping at Paly or in California where statutes such state ed code 48907 give student journalists wide First Amendment rights in schools, schools across the country could be impacted extensively.

“If it’s going to come down to the school district being the long arm of the law, then where do students actually have any rights?”

Kuhlmeier said. “If this goes long, (students) aren’t going to have any freedoms.”

Ben Antonow

News & Opinion Editor

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News

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Bay Area emigration increases amid pandemic !"#$%&'($")$*)*+,),&)#&*+)")-&(.'+**$&("#)*+",)%&'),/+)%$'*,),$0+)$()$,*)/$*,&'1)23+)$()4"',),&)")%#35)$() &3,.&$(.)'+*$2+(,*)"(2)*#&6+2).'&6,/),/'&3./&3,),/+)7"1)8'+"

Leo Malchin

Senior Staff Writer

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istorically, the Bay Area has been a hub for migration, with people from across the globe lining up to live in the world’s technological capital. For the first time in decades, however, Silicon Valley has become an origin of immigration rather than a destination.

In fact, California’s population growth has slowed so much that, for the first time, it will lose a U.S. House of Representatives seat in Congress, moving from 53 to 52 Californian legislators.

According to a University of California study on migration patterns, in the 11 counties that constitute the Bay Area, immigration to the Bay Area decreased by 27% in the last quarter of 2020, and Santa Clara County saw a 20% increase in emigration during the pandemic.

Natalie Holmes, a research fellow at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy who was involved in this study, said in a public statement these numbers are significantly different from those in previous years.

“While a mass exodus from California clearly didn’t happen in 2020, the pandemic did change some historical patterns,” Holmes said.

“San Francisco is experiencing a unique and dramatic exodus, which is causing 50% or 100% increases in Bay Area in-migration for some counties in the Sierras.”

ART BY JIMMY MILLER

Among the many Bay Area residents moving away is freshman Noga Cory, whose family plans to move back to Israel in the summer. Cory said her family’s decision to move was significantly influenced by the pandemic’s effects on Palo Alto relative to Israel.

“I think COVID played a large role in our decision to move away,” Cory said. “We learned that in Israel, basically everyone who is eligible has gotten vaccinated compared to here in the US. Overall, society is getting back to normal at a much faster rate.”

Another significant factor driving many people’s decision to exit the Bay Area has been the increasing prevalence

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of remote work due to the pandemic. As a result, many people have been able to move closer to their families or to areas with a lower cost of living while maintaining their jobs.

Cory, whose parents are now working remotely, said due to this, it won’t really matter where her family lives. Also, moving to Israel allows her family to be closer to relatives without forcing her parents to find a new job.

Additionally, many tech companies, namely Hewlett Packard and Tesla, have recently moved their headquarters away from Silicon Valley. Factors such as California’s high income tax and strict COVID-19 restrictions have turned away many long-time resident billionaires and corporations. States like Texas and Florida have been popular destinations for relocation.

Though many in the Bay Area are leaving, several maintain good memories of the area. Cory, for one, said she will greatly miss Palo Alto.

“Palo Alto has been so good to us,” Cory said. “We are just looking for a change in our lives, and moving to Israel seems like a great opportunity.”

!"#$%"&$'($)*&+)%(,-".-( */%))($.($0.12)*%(3)*4 Will Thomas

Senior Staff Writer After several months of negotiations between the Palo Alto Educators Association and PAUSD, the sides have reached a tentative, two year agreement for teacher compensation and benefits.

“For 2020-21, PAEA members will receive a 3% increase to the salary schedule effective July 1, 2020, a one-time, off the schedule payment equal to 2%, and an increased employer contribution to the cost of Health and Welfare benefits equivalent to an additional 0.26% salary increase,” PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin said. “In 2021-22, members will receive another 3% increase and 2% one-time payment effective July 1, 2021, and in addition, the district shall contribute towards health and welfare benefits an added amount that provides unit members with the same dependent contributions as the 2021 calendar year.”

The raises, which cover all certified staff members including the district’s 850 teachers, are estimated to cost $12.3 million according to PAUSD’s Chief Business Officer Carolyn Chow.

PAEA president Teri Baldwin said that teachers’ needs for raises existed well before the COVID-19 school closures.

“It wasn’t really looking just at (the pandemic),” Baldwin told Palo Alto Online. “We would like to retain and recruit wonderful teachers, and have a salary that helps you live somewhat, hopefully, close to Palo Alto. (The district and the union) might have had disagreements, but we all were trying to do our best for the health and safety of our students.”

PAUSD board member Jennifer DiBrienza said students have been at the forefront of the discussion.

“Our primary attention is always toward serving students, but that happens in a wide variety of ways,” DiBrienza said. “One is doing the work of securing a strong settlement with the employees who teach and support our students.”

Austin said he’s glad an agreement that benefits both sides could be reached.

“Reaching a two-year deal is a good thing for everyone involved,” Austin said. “We wanted to remain highly-competitive with surrounding school districts, and accomplished that goal with our partners in PAEA. I am very happy we reached an agreement and everyone will have certainty about next year, so I can completely shift my focus on my intent to return students to school.”

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Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Opinion

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!"#$%&'(#)$*(+(#,$ *#&+(#$',$-.,-/#(# Zack Silver

Sports Editor

In the last couple weeks, lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have debated granting statehood to the nation’s capital. Though the proposal was doomed ever since Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va opposed it, there is only one real argument against statehood. Those arguing against statehood say the district is too small to deserve two seats in the US Senate.

It is ironic that the institution, which will most likely deny representation for 690,000 D.C. residents, also denies equal representation for millions of other Americans in larger states.

The existence of the Senate, which allocates two seats for each state regardless of population, violates a fundamental principle of democracy: one person, one vote. The district may very well be too small to deserve two seats, but California and its 39,500,000 residents deserve more than two seats. And yet, the institution persists. Why? The Senate, when originally proposed at the Constitutional Convention, served two purposes: it was intended to prevent larger states from overpowering smaller states and to serve as a voice for state legislatures at the federal level. The latter purpose has been obsolete for more than a century, as the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913 ensured that Senators are directly elected by, and therefore represent, the people of their state, rather than their state legislature.

It is the former reason which is commonly cited today in defense of this system of unequal representation. But the state’s rights argument no longer applies because we live in a fundamentally different world than the founding fathers lived in.

More specifically, the nation today is divided, but it is a rural/urban divide, not a state-based one. San Francisco residents have more in common with fellow urbanites in Portland or Seattle, or even across the country in New York City, than they do with fellow Californians in the Central Valley.

Urban areas have separate interests, problems, economies and political views from rural areas. To base representation on arbitrary groupings decided hundreds of years ago is ridiculous.

The Senate does not protect small states against larger states because states do not have their own interests. People do. The only fair way to represent these interests in Congress is through equal representation. There’s one final rebuttal often used whenever a somewhat radical change is proposed: “The founding fathers wanted it this way.”

However, the truth is that the founding fathers wanted change, as can be seen in a quote imprinted on the Jefferson Memorial.

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions,” Jefferson said. “But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. With changing circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”

America has changed significantly in the last 200 years. Our system of representation must change with it.

Anti-Asian sentiment: too much for too long

ART BY AARON KIM

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n the wake of a torrent of violence and racist hate speech towards Asian Americans, those in the public eye have been increasingly pressured to address and advocate against sources of bigotry.

Most public officials and politicians have approached the issue, some more aggressively than others.

Former President Donald Trump, for example, deserves credit only for adding fuel to the fire and of enabling racism and xenophobia already present in the U.S. He exacerbated tensions with inflammatory speech and cruel nicknames, such as labeling COVID-19 as the Kung Flu and China Virus. Perhaps worst of all, Trump created an atmosphere of acceptance for violent anger expression.

By condoning cruelty and brutality, Trump incited extremist groups of Americans to commit atrocious crimes of racism and hate.

But while Trump fostered this atmosphere of acceptance, he by no means deserves the majority of the credit for the rise in anti-Asian hate.

America’s history of mistreating Asian Americans earns that. But lawmakers actively attempting to block reform bills are perpetuating America’s shameful past.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas is one of those legislators. The junior senator was among six Republicans opposing the COVID-19 Hate

Crimes Act introduced in March by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii and Rep. Grace Meng, DN.Y. The bill requires the Department of Justice to review reports of COVID-19 hate crimes, defined as violent crimes motivated by two things: the race of any person, actual or perceived, and the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of race. Since its introduction, the bill has passed through the Senate but is waiting for approval in the House of Representatives.

While the number of politicians addressing the horrors the Asian American community is facing is small, many are rallying in an attempt to help and heal.

In April, the White House outlined a comprehensive plan of action including federal, state and local law enforcement training on handling hate crimes, allotting $49.5 million to fund community-based services for Asian or Pacific Islander survivors of sexual and domestic violence and establishing a committee within the COVID-19 Equity Task Force to address xenophobia.

And while the Stop AAPI Hate organization and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies commended the new administration’s progress, unrest has trickled through the Asian American community.

American law enforcement’s mistreatment of

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Asian Americans has caused many to be more afraid of police than hate crimes, according to the same AAPI advocates and sources.

This distrust stems from the centuries of public violence and government-sanctioned discrimination that line everything in Asian American history in the United States. But even as recently as the 21st century, Asian Americans have not been protected and have often been scapegoated during public health and economic crises.

During the 2003 SARS outbreak, for example, Asian Americans were blamed and then became targets of hate. The tense and fearful climate in the country instead became a hostile racial climate, much like the present day. The stigmatization of Asian Americans began.

Looking back as far as 1850, the stigmatization of Asians began with the ‘Yellow Peril’ fears as threats to the white social order. And then when Chinese immigrants flocked to America in the 1880s and labored to create essential infrastructure for country, they were banned with the Chinese Exclusion Act. In the 1930s and 1940s, aggression towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders was at another high as Americans targeted their pentup anger from WWII against the Japanese.

This pattern of scapegoating Asian Americans during times of hardship in America is clear. It is up to everyone to recognize the trend and support those who can make permanent changes to prevent any more bigoted violence.

Maya Singer

News & Opinion Editor

0-//#1#,2$3&'4#5,'('#,$,"-3/)$5#63'5#$("#'5$,(3)#&(,$(-$.#$4+77'&+(#) Bruno Klass

Senior Staff Writer As vaccines become more available, colleges and universities have begun to add them to their mandates for students returning to in-person school this fall.

Two of California’s major university systems, the CSUs and the UCs, announced in mid April they will require students to be vaccinated before returning to campus.

However, this is not the case at all schools. For example, Eastern University in Washington announced on May 6 that although its strongly encourages students to have a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to campus, it will not make it a requirement and will leave the choice up to individuals. Meanwhile, other schools have decided to wait for more clarity before making an ultimate decision.

Colleges and universities ought to require students to be vaccinated before returning to campus. This would reduce the spread of COVID-19,

which is essential to maintain a safe environment for students and staff.

This will also keep local communities more protected.

This requirement for inoculation against infectious diseases is not new for universities. In a survey of around 100 higher education four year institutions, published by Cambridge University Press, nearly all schools required at least one vaccine for diseases such as meningitis and chicken pox.

When it comes to enforcing these policies, colleges can use registration holds, which prevent students from signing up for classes until they have met the vaccine requirement, and can also prevent them from living in on-campus housing.

Distance learning has been an inadequate substitute for many students during this pandemic, and universities have lost billions of dollars not having students on campus.

With in-person school and class, these schools will start to recuperate their losses and hopefully begin moving towards the old normal.

With the requirement of a vaccine comes the task of keeping

students accountable when reporting whether they have received the vaccine or not. This concern comes from videos that have started to surface on the popular social media platform TikTok. Individuals have posted videos of themselves creating fake vaccination documents which can be a great threat to students, staff and individuals who are around the student, as they are not meeting the technical requirements needed to attend in person school.

While there is nothing that directly can be done, New York has embraced a vaccination verification app called an Excelsior Pass, which is a QR code on a smart device that proves someone’s vaccination status or shows a negative test. The FBI has also taken steps to reduce the chances of fake vaccination cards by E deemBA A

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ing them illegal with consequences including possible fines and/or jail time.

As we enter into the upcoming school year, many schools will start to open up for in-person learning under the assumption that students are vaccinated.

There is hope that in the future, more will be known about the virus and the vaccines in

the works to battle it. But, in the meantime, try your best to vaccinate to keep your peers, staff and community safe.

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

A7

Opinion

Politicians should not be idolized !"#$%&'%()*+#"%,%-%.(/*%(&$%()0/*1+#(* 230$%-.(/4*.5%"%,'*,#*6#"7*".83.90$/* .--#1(,.5"0*&#$*,60%$*.-,%#(/ Anaya Bhatt

Lifestyle Editor

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hen the 2020 presidential election swept through America, the polarization in our country reached new heights –– you were either for former President Donald Trump or against him. In an effort to find a suitable Democratic nominee to face off against Trump, the Democratic party fell victim to a disease that had already spread throughout most of the Republican party –– the idolization of politicians.

Among my left-leaning peers, this glorification is commonly directed towards the likes of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vice President Kamala Harris for the diversity they bring to higher offices as well as the liberal legislation they aim to pass.

It can be argued this idolization of politicians stems from social media platforms that give politicians the opportunity to create a false reality, similarly to what social media influencers do with their platforms.

While these influencers use filters and Photoshop to perpetuate the narrative of a perfect life and an ideal body image, politicians engage in online trends to form personal connections and create a narrative where they support America.

However, it is important to note politicians are people first. They have flaws, and as important as representation in politics is, holding lawmakers accountable takes precedence.

Politicians undoubtedly hold some of the most powerful positions in the United States, representing its people and passing legislation that directly impacts their constituents. With that power comes the need for accountability.

Some of the checks and balances in the government we rely so heavily on are the responsibility of the people.

The problem with idolizing politicians is by choosing to only look at their strengths and accomplishments, we overlook their flaws, allowing them to make decisions that don’t always benefit the people.

Take Kamala Harris, for example. With an Indian mother and black father, the vice president

has become the poster child for diversity in American politics.

She has now been perceived as the minority voice in a sea full of white men, a demographic that has traditionally dominated government positions However, Harris’s past alludes to a different narrative.

Her criminal justice record from when she served as an attorney general shows her aggressive attitude towards crime and her responsibility for the mass incarceration of minorities, which starkly contrast her new statement that as vice president, she seeks to scale back on incarceration.

While Harris’s race and gender identity certainly break glass ceilings and open doors for the next generation of minority politicians, her past proves politicians should not be idolized on the basis of making history alone. Understanding and recognizing their choices is a key part in holding them accountable and honest once elected.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, many Republicans idolized former President Donald Trump and his political views to the point where they refused to believe there was a better candidate for the presidency than him.

We saw the dangerous consequences of this idolization play out during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, where thousands of Trump supporters violently demanded the government give the presidency back to Trump.

While the hope some politicians inspire is essential to maintaining the general public’s trust in the government, it is the work we do as Americans –– holding them accountable and keeping them true to their word –– that ends up making the most of a difference.

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!"#$$%&'()*"$+,-)* )./%+/0'$1*-+,.)2-* -#$+%(*3)*3,$+4#0*3/"5 Adora Zheng

Senior Staff Writer

Mandatory, school-sanctioned surveys often top the list of things students enjoy the least.

These long, repetitive questionnaires cover the same material when they are administered at least every other year for over a decade.

However, the one survey that collects arguably the most important data — and that students are genuinely motivated and interested in has been removed from circulation: course evaluation surveys.

Three years ago, a mandatory course evaluation survey was given to all students in each of their classes at the end of both semesters, collecting important data about course curriculum, student-teacher interactions and quality of learning.

However, starting in the 2018-19 school year, this survey was written out of the teacher contract and disappeared without any explanation from the Paly administration as to why.

Since then, course evaluation surveys have seldom been distributed, but a few teachers — including English teacher Hunter Reardon,

who created his own course evaluation survey in the school-wide survey’s place, and math teacher Scott Friedland, who keeps an anonymous Google Form open all year to collect real-time ideas — have taken initiative to continue receiving feedback from students.

Though Friedland’s survey responses often include humorous, non-course related joke responses, the select few pieces of real feedback provided by his students make the survey a valuable tool for teaching.

A standard course evaluation survey ought to be reworked and re-implemented on a school-wide basis to ensure student voices are heard and to gather both praise and constructive criticism to help teachers improve their teaching style and class structure.

Without a universal survey, teachers who seek feedback have to come up with their own methods of gathering data — and despite the obvious benefits of such surveys, many teachers simply don’t have the time or desire to create them.

The re-implementation of the standard course evaluation survey would take that burden off of individual teachers and save students the trouble of having to answer up to

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seven sets of nearly identical questions, many about courses for which they have no feedback to provide.

The threat of obscene, excessively harsh and non-constructive critical comments may prevent some teachers from creating their own course evaluation surveys. And making course evaluation surveys mandatory only perpetuates this, as students who do not want to take the surveys are more likely to give this type of feedback.

For these reasons, the standard survey should be offered in a manner similar to Friedland’s — optional, anonymous and open all year. This way, students who take the time to

complete the survey will be more likely to give constructive feedback to their teachers.

It is imperative teacher evaluation surveys are open to students to take as many times as they would like and at any time over the course of the year.

By only offering the surveys at the end of the semester or school year, students struggle to remember details about projects, teaching styles and content that they can give feedback on — details that would likely be more accurate if students were able to provide their thoughts in real-time.

Paly administration should imple-

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ment a universal feedback survey that all teachers can use, which will take the responsibility of creating the survey off teachers.

This will provide a simple, easy and consistent way for students to give genuine feedback to teachers to help them improve their teaching style and curriculum.

The survey ought to be kept optional, anonymous and available all year to lessen non-constructive and vulgar criticism toward teachers and ensure feedback is helpful.

This will create a safe environment for both students and teachers alike, as well as improve every class offered at Paly.

The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

A8

Editorials

MAY'S TOP TEN LIST Top Ten Best Things About Summer

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Pretending you know how to surf Waiting for the AC to kick in when you get in your car

37

More material for your Spikeball highlight reel Belly-flopping into a pool on a hot day

39 ADORA ZHENG/THE CAMPANILE

Letter from the 2020-21 Editors-in-Chief

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all us crazy, but one of the things we’ll miss most about high school is pacing the quad on campus, harassing groups of students at brunch to ask if they’d like a Campy still hot from the presses.

Maybe we were just high off our hard work — the inky fumes of a tall stack of freshly printed papers pressed against your chin can be overpowering — but maybe the 20 hours of tireless work over the prior three production days successfully coming together had a small role to play as well.

As racial and religious tensions boil over in our country and around the world, we hope our readers appreciate our attempt to report on complex issues with pieces such as “Being Black at Paly” and “Palo Alto’s History of Redlining,” or spur critical thinking with opinion pieces like the one tackling Palo Alto’s need for RV parking. As editors, we have watched our talented staff members defy all expectations to secure interviews with politicians and famous athletes over Zoom, enter the mazes of political rallies with bulky equipment to return with award-winning photos and more.

It’s been an honor to guide the publication through a visual redesign and an entire textbook chapter in U.S. history. We feel so lucky to have worked with an incredibly capable staff to overcome such obstacles and to have created a phenomenal product that is the first remote edition in The Campanile’s 103-year history.

We’ve had things relatively easy compared to high schools in the rest of the nation — we’re privileged to be in a district that supports scholastic journalism and values the contribution our publication makes to the community. With the rise of misinformation spreading through social media and even major network news reporting, good journalism is more important than ever — as are savvy consumers of media. We hope we’ve wielded this ever-increasing respon-

sibility well, and we are confident that the 104th editorial board will do the same.

Paly journalism has been foundational in our lives. Far beyond igniting an undying hatred for the Oxford comma, The Campanile teaches critical thinking and research better than any College Board class ever will and doesn’t shy away from the mechanics of language like many high school English departments across the nation.

We recommend students take advantage of the stellar journalism department Paly has and we vouch for the atmosphere — serious, yet creative — that is the product of driven student journalists.

Perhaps the day-to-day grind and responsibilities of helming the paper accelerated our high school experience, but we can’t believe it’s come to an end so soon. As the five of us move on to college, and possibly collegiate journalism, we’re certain we won’t forget our roots and Campanile pride.

We’d like to thank our supporting branches as well: the paper would be pulp without the tireless work of our adviser, Satt.

The parents of each staff member deserve names in the staff box too; their emotional and financial support has undoubtedly shielded The Campanile from both burnout and bankruptcy, respectively. We also extend our gratitude to a supportive school district and Paly administration: when it really mattered, they believed in our ability as a school paper — even when our editorials did not reflect favorably on them or their actions (see below; it seems this won't end with us).

Lastly, thank you for reading. We hope you enjoy this edition and the many to come.

Adora, Andrew, Ben, Kris & Shiva

!"#$%&'()*+$,-.+-%+-.'(/")0%'-".'()**"$.'1)$$+-.'2+00'(1/+%)0+'*0#When PAUSD announced the bell schedule for the 2020-2021 school year in May 2020, students were thrilled to see their mornings wouldn’t start until 9 a.m. or later. Accounting for distance learning and the loosening of state regulations regarding instructional minutes, the district shortened class periods to 70 minutes instead of the usual 90 minutes, so school days still ended at the familiar and convenient time of 3:05 p.m.

But to adjust for schools returning to what will likely be full in-person school in the fall, class periods will revert back to their traditional 90-minute length in compliance with state requirements for instructional minutes.

However, the bell schedule committee was hamstrung by a board of education that demanded a 9 a.m. high school start time, resulting in school ending next year much later than it has in the past.

The new bell schedule, released by the district on May 14, calls for the high schools in the district to end between 3:30 and 4:10 p.m. depending on the day, compared to this year’s end time of 3:05 p.m. These end times are too late in the day and will cause numerous negative issues for students next year.

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A 2014 sleep study by Harvard University found sleep helps with focus and thinking skills. While the Campanile agrees benefits exists to sleeping in, an extra 30 minutes of rest in the morning is not worth the school day ending significantly later than usual.

The late end time poses several issues. First, student athletes will have to miss more class time to attend games.

Students participating in sports already have to deal with missing classes at the end of the day, but with the pushback of the school day, they will miss even more valuable class time. Sports practices will also be forced to start later to accommodate the new schedule, leading to athletes having to practice in less daylight and later into the evening.

Other after-school commitments will be interrupted as well. In the best case scenario, students might miss some of an after-school activity, but it is likely they will be forced to pass up opportunities that conflict with later school hours. And students are more likely to skip signing up for activities because of the late end to the school day. Activities or not, all students will arrive home later than usual, leaving less time for completing homework and studying at night, increasing stress levels.

Additionally, students with jobs will have more difficulty finding work because of limited afternoon hours, and students with family members to take care of at home will have less time to help. The late end time will also likely further widen the district's equity gap because disadvantaged students will be unable to fully support themselves or their families.

The choice to extend classes to as late as 4:10 p.m. on some days should be reconsidered. The impact of having later end times is far greater than

getting 30 extra minutes of sleep in the morning.

The 2021-2022 school year bell schedule also features the continuation of seven-period Mondays, a wildly unpopular day for students in the past.

A previous bell schedule committee made the transition away from seven period days for this very reason back in 2018: students found the short periods unproductive and struggled to bring all of their materials for each of their classes to school at once.

Supporters of a seven-period Monday say the alternative, having rotating odd and even days on Mondays, is inconsistent and often confusing for students and teachers, who have to plan out their lessons in advance.

While this is true to an extent, the brief 45-minute periods often result in rushed lectures shortened units nearing the end of the year, and stressful Sundays where students can have homework due for seven different classes on one day.

The recommendation for the new bell schedule does include language about teachers not being allowed to test students on Mondays or make homework due then. But The Campanile speculates some teachers will take this as a suggestion and not as protocol.

The Campanile thinks the district should have asked for more meaningful feedback from students on the bell schedule before deciding on a plan instead of asking for ideas through a survey that did not convey the consequences of choices such as late start times. If they care about student mental health as much as they say they do, the board of education and Superintendent Don Austin should not support a bell schedule with a 9 a.m. start time at Paly and Gunn or a schedule with a seven-period day.

38

Rationing water in preparation for the next drought Juniors telling themselves they will finish apps by August

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36

Planning senior trips that will never happen Going to Hawaii with a year's worth of fellow tourists

3;

34

3:

Knowing your only C-days are on the beach Waiting for the next Campanile issue

35

Editors-in-Chief Gina Bae • Gianna Brogley • Jack Galetti Braden Leung • Austin Xiang Managing Editors Valerie Chu Ajay Venkatraman

News & Opinion Editors Ben Antonow Maya Singer

Media Editor Kyla Schwarzbach

Lifestyle Editors Anaya Bhatt • Joy Xu

Science & Tech Editor Parker Wang

Sports Editors Lauren Chung • Zack Silver

Business Manager Charlotte Hallenbeck Staff Writers

Emma Todd Evelyn Cheng Jace Purcell Andrew Toteda Shantanu Deshpande Kris Risano Olivia Ericsson Krista Robins Ziggy Tummalapalli Andy Wang Bruno Klass Hyunah Roh Leo Malchin Sidd Sahasrabuddhe Sloan Wuttke Bill Xia Shiva Mohsenian Aidan Seto Adora Zheng Ali Minhas Avantika Singh Benjamin Stein Will Thomas Declan Greicius Jimmy Miller

Illustrators

Aaron Kim Zander Leong

Isabel Toteda Astrid Wuttke

Advisor Rodney Satterthwaite Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds22@googlegroups.com. The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit submissions. The Campanile only prints signed letters. Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts. For more information regarding advertisements or sponsors in The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Managers by email at campanile.ads@gmail.com.

Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community. The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper!

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, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Lifestyle

Ode to the Paly Quad

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rom Spikeball tournaments and football games to water balloons during spirit week and groups of seniors basking in the sun, being on the quad is central to the Paly experience for senior Tommy Hall.

According to Hall, the quad is a fun place where he can hang out with his friends and bond with fellow seniors.

“I’ve been hanging on the quad since I was a freshman,” Hall said.

“The boys and I would come here during lunch to play Spikeball. It’s where I see my best friends and where I’ve made my new friends.”

Although the quad hosts plenty

of large events like Quadchella and Quadsidelands, Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said he likes it better when the quad has a lowkey environment where he can interact with students.

“Rallies I don’t like, especially during spirit week,” said Berkson.

“I like the chill atmosphere that we have right now… students having fun and doing the right thing is alright with me.”

Senior Zander Darby said he has a renewed appreciation for how the quad now

that COVID-19 restrictions are relaxing. After spending lunch playing volleyball and cornhole with new people, he said hanging out on the quad, now more than ever, creates a school community.

“Today’s day on the quad is a representation of what the quad gives to us students,” Darby said. “We’re hanging out with 15 people, and half of them I haven’t had a one-on-one conversation with my entire time here at Paly.

But we’re able to come together and have a great

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volleyball game, and then we moved on and had one of the best cornhole games in my life.”

Ultimately, Darby said the quad has played an instrumental role in helping seniors reclaim a sense of unity after a year of lockdown.

“It’s just a very fun environment and a safe place for people to come together and forget about any anxiety or awkwardness,” Darby said. “Everyone just has a fun time, and the quad really brought the grade together.”

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TEXT BY BENJAMIN STEIN ART BY BRADEN LEUNG DESIGN BY HYUNAH ROH & JOY XU

Lifestyle

PHOTO BY MR.TINDC/CC

Seaspiracy Documentary Review

Explore human cruelty on marine wildlife in Netflix’s new documentary.

PAGE B2

Lifestyle

PHOTO BY SUSTAINABLECOMMUNITIESSA/CC

Sustainable Gardening

Palo Alto community members share their garden practices.

PAGE B3

Spotlight

PHOTO BY NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY/CC

College Process & Post-Paly Plans COVID-19 has impacted the college admissions process and results.

PAGE B4-5

!"#$%"$&'()$'$ !"%$*+,-$./00), Joy Xu

Lifestyle Editor

This decade started in the worst possible way, with a near-war with Iran, massive fires in Australia and the outbreak of COVID-19. The summer of 2020 was just -not it.

Lucky for you, the summer of 2021 is looking bright, but let’s spice it up with a step-by-step guide on how to have the most iconic hot girl (or boy or non-identifying person) summer.

The first step to having a hot girl summer is to know about its origin and what hot girl summer means.

This term was first coined by hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion in her song “Hot girl summer,” featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj.

“Handle me?/Huh/Who gon’ handle me?/Who?/ Thinkin’ he’s a player/He’s a member on the team,” Stallion proclaimed in her song.

“He put in all that work/He wanna be the MVP/Boy, bye/I told him ain’t no taming me.”

Stallion promotes female empowerment throughout her song, saying she cannot be claimed by one person during hot girl summer.

This empowerment can be applied to all genders.

Don’t let the “girl” in “hot girl summer” stop you from being your best self. So what can you learn from this song?

Hold yourself to a high standard and don’t settle for anything less than what you deserve.

Have fun, and don’t let other people’s opinions affect how you live your life.

Be true to your identity rather than catering to what society tells you is appropriate, and never base your self-worth on validation from others.

This is the true meaning of “hot girl summer.” Drill this mentality into your head before going into summer.

Next step: wear whatever you want. Scared of judgment? Don’t be.

Remember, we now do not care about what other people have to say. If you want to wear that bikini, do it. If you want to wear those swim trunks, do it. If you want to wear that fursuit, (don’t) do it.

Express yourself freely through your clothes, and wear whatever makes you feel confident and beautiful, because only the way you perceive yourself matters.

After completing the first two steps, people will admire you for embracing yourself and your ability to be comfortable in your own skin.

You’ll find that your own confidence will skyrocket as well. Now is the perfect time to get that one person you’ve been wanting forever. If you put it into perspective, it’s actually not too hard; just successfully leave the talking stage without getting emotionally scarred. Easy, right?

If they reject you, cry for a couple of days, then enter the streets. It’s good to take a walk every once in a while.

I assure you you will have a lot of fun on the streets, and you’ll meet many new friends.

Just be safe; you don’t want any surprises.

Finally, and most importantly, be the best version of yourself.

This requires taking some risks, but it’s important to note mistakes are (actually only sometimes) good –– without risks, you can’t reap the benefits.

Focus on actively improving yourself and making sure to stay positive. If you fail to follow these steps, you’ll risk having a hot girl bummer, and you don’t want that, do you?

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Lifestyle

B2

'Seaspiracy' a call for action PHOTOS BY CELIA FRAHN

!"#$%&"'()"#%*+%,)"%!'Kyla Schwarzbach Media Manager

What does warm weather, summer right around the corner and a friend willing to drive route 92 (or 17) make? The recipe for a perfect beach day. Whether you surf regularly, enjoy a good picnic with friends or just want to escape the stress of school, who doesn’t love to go to the beach? But before you start to drive in the wrong direction, here's a list of some of the best beaches in the Bay Area and what to do once you’re there.

!"#$%&%'($%$)'*)%+, Forty minutes away and perfect for a picturesque sunset picnic, Montara is an excellent spot to spend a day with friends.

I’d recommend stopping by downtown Half Moon Bay and picking up snacks before you head on out!

!-&%.%&/!-&%0%'(1&2'*)%+, Miramar beach is a 30-minute drive from Paly, and possibly the most convenient beach on this list to get to. Right across from a skate park, Miramar is usually packed with surfers, but if you manage to find parking, be sure to watch or catch a few waves.

34)%51&)'3"-#$ Pleasure Point is a 50-minute drive from Paly and according to junior Olivia Milne, it's the best nearby place to go surfing. If you’re going to the point for pleasure (pun intended) rather than sport, you can still enjoy the water from the lookout above or sit by the water below and watch the surfers.

3"64%&'*)%+, A 30-minute drive away, Poplar Beach is a consistent standby beach. Usually packed with families on weekends, Poplar is a great spot to hang out. Make sure to pack a Spikeball net or a good book, and enjoy the views.

7+)%#'*)%+, Almost an hour drive away, Ocean Beach has a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge, classic San Francisco fog and more than enough space to stretch your legs.

Everything about Ocean Beach is perfect — save the time commitment. Attempting a trip to Ocean Beach is a full-day endeavor, but, if you give it a chance, you might just find your new favorite beach spot.

=&->)'?6'@-A,:%B'C The last, and possibly the most quintessential beach trip, is a spontaneous one — just get in the car and go. Grab your snacks and drive over to Half Moon Bay or up Highway 1 until you find the perfect spot for the day.

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as important to the ocean as dolphins and whales, are going extinct because of the growing shark fin soup industry.

Tabrizi found overfishing affects all areas of the ocean. Humans easpiracy, a 2021 documentary on have to compete with sharks, Netflix, follows young filmmaker Ali birds and other predators for Tabrizi and explores how human the fish; when humans fish in activities are harming marine species. large quantities, these other The unique approach of this documenpredators begin to die and tary made me feel like a high-budget vlog become extinct. A statistic following Tabrizi’s project, while still getI found particularly ting the key factors that make documeninteresting was that each taries intriguing such as expert interviews year, sharks kill about 10 and investigative practices. humans but each hour The documentary opens with a warning humans kill 11,000from Japanese locals, who urge Tabrizi to 30,000 sharks. stop filming before it gets him killed, setTabrizi then explores the comting the tone for an important documenmon mis-labeling of fish products. tary topic.

He discovered many tuna products which Tabrizi, an ocean activist, has been say they are dolmaking small phin safe still kill films all his life. dolphins to capture He explains their tuna. The Earth that whales and Island Institute, dolphins are The Cove (2009) which labels these essential for huproducts as dolphin man survival as Sharkwater (2006) safe, even admits they fertilize the there is no way they plankton that Racing Extinction (2005) know if dolphins are is responsible harmed in catching for 85% of the Blackfish (2013) the tuna, as no one oxygen on the watches the fishing planet. If whales For The Love of Water (2009) boats. The Institute and dolphins die, says they can only the ocean dies, Tapped (2009) take the captain's and when the word for it. ocean dies, the Finally, Tabrizi planet dies. tackles the fishing industry. He points out Tabrizi also explains that the plastic thrown in the ocean has killed many whales that it is the leading cause of ocean destruction. Big fishing companies use a method and dolphins, so he’s dedicated himself to called bottom trawling, where they put out replacing all plastic with reusable items to a massive net the size of about 15 airplanes stop hundreds of millions of tons of plastic and drag it through a part of the ocean, from being dumped in the ocean, killing capturing every fish it goes through. marine animals.

The back of the net contains massive Feeling these efforts were inadequate, weights which destroy the floor of the ocean.

Tabrizi wanted to make a bigger impact.

After hearing that Japan reopened its whale Tabrizi compared this practice to deforestahunting business, he decided to investigate. tion but much with a much larger impact.

Every year about four billion acres of ocean Tabrizi traveled to Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are slaughtered daily and some are are destroyed through this method, which is equivalent to the landmass of Greenland, captured and sold to Japanese water parks.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, UK, Around 12 dolphins are killed for each one Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turcaptured, and these dead dolphins sell for key, Iran, Thailand and Australia combined. hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By the end of his discoveries Tabrizi When Tabrizi arrived in Japan, he was shows that sustainable, long-term fishinstantly stopped and questioned by the ing cannot exist. He says the only way we Japanese police. After that interaction, he can save our oceans is to cut down on our was trailed by everyone from the police seafood diet. He said “sustainable” is just a to the coastguard to undercover Japanese marketing phrase and not a real possibility. agents. These people clearly did not want “Seaspiracy'' is an important docupeople to know about their practices, and mentary that brings into question fishTabrizi set out to find out why they were ing practices, government protections, killing so many dolphins. performative activist organizations and After weeks of observation, Tabrizi even the marine diet entirely. I found that fisherman in Taiji had been would recommend it to anyone overfishing the profitable bluefish tuna in the area and the dolphins, who ate the tuna, concerned about the survival of the world or who is interested in were seen as pests. One bluefin tuna sold the climate emergency for about $3 million dollars. The fisherman we face today. wanted to remove the tuna predators so there would be more fish to capture and thus higher profits. The killing of dolphins was an excuse to continue fishing the tuna into extinction and contribute to the multibillion dollar tuna industry.

Later in the documentary, Tabrizi found thousands of sharks with their fins cut off in the same fishing port. These fins were often sold to China for shark fin soup, which is seen as a status symbol based on volatility and price.

Tabrizi said sharks, just Senior Staff Writer

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The Campanile

Lifestyle

Locals try sustainable gardening <09'502-5'(0' 1.628/'&06')2(0' 56**$% Lauren Chung Sports Editor

Music can inexplicably change your mood and perspective in an instant. There’s nothing more effective in turning a bad day around than blasting your favorite songs. With the ominous cloud of finals and AP exams still looming around the corner for some students, here are my top 3 songs to help you power through the end of the school year and launch into summer!

EMMA TODD / THE CAMPANILE

Emma Todd

Senior Staff Writer

P

alo Alto resident Karen Olsen began gardening as a child during World War II and never stopped.

“I grew up during the Second World War, and most every home planted a Victory Garden filled with vegetables to help the war effort,” Olsen said.

With 40 years of experience, Olsen said she has learned the secrets to keeping her plants alive and healthy.

“I have a compost pile where gardening clippings and scraps from the kitchen are composted,” Olsen said. “Every time I dig a hole in the garden, I make sure to add a lot of compost and chicken manure, and that has resulted in really good dirt.”

Olsen has filled her garden with perennials such as camellias, azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, irises, lavender and many flowering shrubs, as well as a vegetable garden for a constant supply of produce.

“Most of my plants are perennials that do not have to be replaced each year, so they have matured and grown over the years.” Olsen said. “However, with the pending drought, I don’t think I will plant summer veggies, and I may have to let our lawns go without much water to save the other plantings.”

To keep the garden clean and healthy, Olsen said she spends a large amount of her time pulling weeds from in between the plants and deadheading flowers.

Along with gardeners who mow the lawn once a week and prune once or twice a year, Olsen has automatic sprinklers on a timer, which Olsen describes as a modernday luxury.

“I remember having to go outside to turn on and off each sprinkler before we had computers doing it,” Olsen said.

Along with her own garden, Olsen has been involved with the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, a nonprofit community horticultural center in Palo Alto. She chaired the

founding committee when it began around 35 years ago.

Biology teacher Elizabeth Brimhall is in charge of the Paly garden, which consists of mostly flowers, and said she has been working hard to maintain it throughout the pandemic. She said this proved especially hard during the beginning of the pandemic when students and staff were not allowed on campus.

“Without the students here, it was hard to maintain,” Brimhall said. “However, students from an eco club visit from time to time.”

Brimhall also said she had a few adult volunteers who agreed to help out last fall when COVID-19 restrictions prohibited students from being on campus.

“Usually, Paly has a garden club that maintains the garden, but that didn’t happen this year,” Brimhall said. “I also have sponsored service learning events in typical years to maintain the garden that I couldn’t do this year.”

Junior Owen Rice said he got his green thumb from his mother who started growing a garden on the side of his house.

During quarantine, Rice said he was creating art in his free time, and he started his own business by putting designs on pots so he could either give them as gifts or sell them.

“Soon enough, she helped me start up a website and helped me learn about the plants and the propagation process,” Rice said.

“Once the site was up, and I had made quite a few pots, I posted on Instagram and the business was off and running.”

Rice said figuring out addresses as well as scheduling times when customers can pick up the plants was definitely one of the hardest parts, but it was a learning experience all around.

“As the majority of customers used Instagram to get a hold of me, it was

pretty easy exchanging information with each other and making payments through Venmo or cash during delivery,” Rice said.

“Probably the hardest part of the whole selling side of the business was probably the deliveries themselves.”

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Dua Lipa never fails to deliver. Her 2021 release, “We’re Good,” has proven once again that Lipa is in fact the queen of pop music. With a catchy chorus, subtle minor chord and funky beat, “We’re Good” screams windows-down, hairflying and driving-onHighway-17 — just the image you need to help motivate you to get through the final stretch of the 20202021 school year.

Lipa’s unique crystal clear voice with a hint of raspiness easily makes her one of the best artists in the pop industry today. Add this song to your summer playlist and you’ll never go a day without listening.

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As an avid Swiftie since 2012, I can confidently say that “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is one of the best hits of Taylor’s Fearless Album (Taylor’s Version) and arguably one of Miss Swift’s finest masterpieces. With a light beat, clever wordplay and a strong chorus, this song is perfect for any situation, whether it be played softly in the background of a study session or blasted loudly during a dancing and singing break.

What makes this song so special, though, is the message behind it. Swift is well-known for writing lyrics that express her experience in rocky relationships and breakups, and although Mr. Perfectly Fine follows that theme, the song mainly focuses on Swift recovering and finding her selfworth. So if you’re looking for an empowering and melodious song, queue up “Mr. Perfectly Fine.”

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“I have an English garden filled with camellias, azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, iris, lavender and many flowering shrubs.”

First opening in 1981, Gamble Gardens boasts a wide selection of plants including eggplant, lettuce, sage and lavender.

“My mom had started getting into the propagation of succulents from my aunt. She grew a garden in our house.”

ART BY BRADEN LEUNG

Doja Cat and SZA collabing was the music moment we had all been waiting for. “Kiss me More” is a lightweight, flowy and groovy jam that is sure to be stuck in your head for hours on end this summer.

The delightful combination of Doja Cat’s sharp tone with SZA’s smooth, effortless voice provides unreal harmonies and blends that will satisfy anyone’s ears.

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Friday, May 21, 2021

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!"#$"%&'(")*+),&-."%&,) /0*)/"%&)&",&1*2&3*%'4 STATISTICS FROM THE COMMON APPLICATION

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Post-Paly

very fall, millions of high school seniors sit down at their computers and attempt to boil their life’s journey into a 650-word essay. Their application, which consists of transcripts soaked in sweat, years of hard work, scores on standardized tests, lists of activities and seemingly endless paragraphs that hope to capture their personality, will decide their fate in the cutthroat, highly competitive college admissions process.

This year’s graduating class had to do even more amid a pandemic.

Faced with unprecedented changes such as the fear and uncertainty about safety during a pandemic, the abrupt transition to credit/no credit grading in the spring semester of their junior year, mad dashes for standardized testing spots and subsequent testing policy changes, distance learning, virtual counselor meetings, lack of social interaction and social and political unrest across the globe, the already stressful process of applying to colleges had never been more daunting.

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The Campanile Post-Paly Plans Map, a compilation whose initial purpose was to gather data on where the graduating senior class would attend college, was intended to be used as a resource and a celebration of the class’s accomplishments. Instead, according to the 201819 Campanile editors-in-chief, it perpetuated a toxic, comparison-driven culture at Paly.

The map ran as “The Campanile’s Annual College Map” from at least the 1980s until 2016 and as the “Post-Paly Plans map” in 2017 and 2018.

According to 2017-18 Campanile editor-in-chief and Paly alumna Maya Homan, data gathering for the map began one month before the paper went to print and consisted of a Google form distributed to the senior class through the class Facebook group, on-campus flyers and word of mouth.

In 2018, the form garnered upwards of 400 responses, about 90% of the class. Homan said the editors even approached stragglers on campus to ask them to fill out the form as the publication date neared.

“It was a lot of just walking up to people in person and being like, ‘Hey, I noticed that you didn’t help us out. Would you be interested in doing so?’” Homan said.

“It was kind of controversial at the time, and there were a few students who said ‘No, I’m not interested’ and we tried to be very respectful of that. But there were a couple of people who were like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to a four-year college, so I didn’t think that there was a place for me there.’ We tried to let them know they could still be included even if they weren’t planning on going to a four year college.”

Homan said the map was a valuable resource for the community, especially for underclassmen.

“A couple friends of mine used it as a way to look at where other Paly grads have applied, either just to know that was a place other Paly students have gone to or just to know who to reach out to when they were considering applying to different schools,” Homan said. “In the years since I’ve graduated, it’s been nice to look back to and kind of remember where everyone that I graduated with is now.”

However, both Homan and Paly College Advisor Sandra Cernobori agree the map and the community’s use of it were flawed. Cernobori said an inherent issue with the map was its lack of context.

“I think when you’re just looking at names and colleges without context, there are assumptions that are made that are not always accurate,” Cernobori said. “When people decide where to matriculate, all kinds of things influence that decision. It doesn’t mean you weren’t admitted somewhere else. For some students, money is a huge factor. Without context, I think (the map) wasn’t great — it reinforced unhealthy conversations and notions about success.”

Homan said another issue was the way the Paly community used the map to compare students.

“There were arguments that it added to this whole competitive atmosphere or harmed people who either couldn’t afford to go to a four year college or just didn’t want to or weren’t able to for whatever reason, and I think there was a valid argument behind that,” Homan said. “People used the name of their school as a way to display their status. That’s what the map became. I think if the (Paly) culture was less academically motivated, the map wouldn’t have been as harmful as it ended up being.”

In 2019, then editors-in-chief and Leyton Ho, Waverly Long, Kaylie Nguyen, Ethan Nissim and Ujwal Srivastava decided not to publish the map, even after spending several weeks gathering data.

“Our community fosters a college-centric mindset which erodes one’s sense of value and can lead to students with less traditional plans feeling judged, embarrassed or underrepresented,” the 2018-19 editors wrote in a statement addressing their decision that was published in May 2019. “We believe the burden of improving Paly’s environment falls on the students. If we don’t shift how we talk and think about college, the culture will never improve. This is the reason we decided not to publish the map this year.”

In its place, a series of quotes from Paly community members on the post-graduation culture at Paly were published. The map has not run in any subsequent years.

“We hope this decision sparks discussion about the values and priorities of students, families and community members,” the 2018-19 editors’ statement read. “We wish the best for every graduating Paly student in pursuing their future goals.”

!"##$%$&1"3*3&37.+"17$* Over the past 20 years, the number of college students utilizing financial aid in America has increased nearly 19%. Many claim this growing reliance for financial help is a direct result of annually increasing tuition rates.

Even during the pandemic, when many Americans were put out of work, institutions such as Stanford, Yale, Brown, Rice and Amherst all raised tuition prices by roughly 5%, according to CNBC. These increases in admission costs did not result in any added benefits for students as the pandemic forced colleges to move courses online. Despite shifting operations online and offering none of the in-person perks a student would expect when spending hard-earned money on tuition, these colleges decided to make their students spend much more for much less.

As campuses across the country continue to roll out plans to open up for the 2021-22 school year, the need for financial aid continues to rise. According to EducationData, the number of students receiving financial aid has increased from 83% in 2015-16 to 86.4% in 201920. The average growth each year during the past 20 years is 0.9%, and today, more students rely on some sort of financial aid than at any other time in history.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the price of tuition for public colleges has increased by an average of 6.5% each year over the past decade. These institutions continue to raise prices regardless of whether or not the public can afford it, and because of this, the public becomes more reliant on external sources and less independent. Unless tuition rates decrease, experts say over 90% of college students will need financial assistance.

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As the competition to be admitted to a selective university increases with a growing applicant pool every year, the pressure on students to perform well academically is at an all-time high. Though there are multiple aspects to an application that colleges consider when practicing holistic review, one of the most common factors used to gauge student performance is standardized testing.

But when testing centers for the SAT and ACT began to close in March of last year, students across the country were left feeling their applications were incomplete due to their missing test scores.

According to Paly college advisor Janet Cochrane, most universities adopted test optional policies this year

to prioritize student health ov and to be fair to students who “Due to the continued diffi most of the colleges that adop for the Class of 2021 have ex Class of 2022,” Cochrane said not officially announced that but it is expected that most o exceptions are still Florida pu emies and now Georgia publi they will require test scores fo Cochrane said because of regarding 2021 admissions, it not students who submitted s over those who didn’t.

“It’s not entirely clear yet, released so far, there were a fe such as the University of Pen University, that appeared to f ted test scores,” Cochrane sai coincidental that students wh test scores were also top stude

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As students navigated the ing during the early days of th athletes attempting to get rec teams faced additional challen luted process.

Junior Sebastian Chancell recruited for basketball were onset of the pandemic.

In a normal year, the recru begins with film or showcases reach out to coaches and ask from their games to see how also attend showcases to play and coaches. If a coach likes t scouts to watch their games o college to meet in-person.

“During this COVID-19 to first get your film out there you have such a small sample

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102.6% STATISTICS FROM COLGATE UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

Increase in applications to Colgate University from 2019 to 2020.

The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

y Prestige

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ver admission requirements o were unable to test. fficulty of finding test seats, pted test optional policies xtended that policy for the d. “There are a few that have they will extend to 2022, of them will. The remaining ublic colleges, military acadic colleges have announced or the Class of 2022.” the limited data released t’s unclear yet whether or scores had an advantage

but from the limited data ew highly selective colleges, nnsylvania and Georgetown favor applicants that submitid. “However, it may be ho had and submitted high ents academically.”

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transition to online learnhe COVID-19 pandemic, cruited to play on college nges in an already convo-

lor said his efforts to get temporarily stymied by the

uiting process typically s. Athletes will typically them to take a look at video they perform. Athletes can y in front of college scouts the athlete, they might send or invite them to visit the

era, it’s much more difficult e,” Chancellor said. “When e size (of game footage) that

you can send to coaches, it becomes a lot more difficult for them to be able to watch your stuff and be able to see exactly what you can do.”

Chancellor said recruiting for basketball often runs through Amateur Athletic Union teams. However, travel restrictions limited the number of tournaments, and even then, coaches and scouts weren’t allowed to watch in-person.

“I tried to take the abroad route, and I moved over to Denmark first semester where they had full basketball,” Chancellor said. “I was able to send game film through being able to play, except over here (in the U.S.) where nobody can do anything, it’s really hard to be able to get film out there (to scouts).”

Basketball is back this year, and Chancellor said it’s absence has made everyone playing more eager to get back on the court and get noticed by coaches.

“Going into next year, a lot of students feel that they haven’t really gotten the looks that they deserve this year,” Chancellor said. “They feel an extra sense of urgency to really get in the gym and to shine each game because they feel as if this year has really been stripped from them.”

When PAUSD announced on March 25, 2020 that it would employ a “credit/no credit” grading system for the spring semester, many students, particularly those applying to college in the coming months, feared the decision would negatively impact their admissions decisions.

But Superintendent Don Austin said the decision to freeze student grade point averages was made to mitigate any damage remote learning might inflict.

“We worked with legislators, the governor’s office and the UC/CSU system officials,” Austin said. “Once we were assured that there would be no penalty, we made the move to credit no credit. Surrounding districts had explosions of Ds and Fs. Grades suffered throughout the nation, while our students earned credit and focused on learning to navigate an online curriculum.”

Austin said the district’s decision was made in the interest of giving students leeway to preserve academic performance during the uncertainty of the beginning of the pandemic. However, many then-juniors like Catherine Reller were relying on the spring semester to demonstrate an improvement in their grades and felt cheated when they learned colleges wouldn’t see them.

“I wanted to show an improvement curve in my grades from the fall semester,” Reller said. “A lot of the schools I had intended on

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applying to had high GPA requirements for admission, and I was going to use my second semester grades to my advantage. It was really disappointing to hear that I wouldn’t get that opportunity.”

Despite pushback the district received following the announcement of the decision, Austin said he is pleased with the final outcome and to have helped pioneer alternative educational routes during the pandemic.

“I am very happy with our decision in retrospect,” Austin said. “Many across California, Oregon, Washington and the rest of the country used us as a model and followed in our footsteps. I knew there would be opposition from people who thought we would be disadvantaged. I trusted the people I called and made a decision.

It was one of a lot of decisions I had to make over the last year and a half and one of the decisions I feel best about looking back.”

!"#$%&') Colleges begin announcing testoptional policies

!"#$%&:( Paly announces it will shift to credit/no credit grades for spring 2020

!"#$%&:) College Board announces AP exams will be administered as 45-minute online tests

!"#$%&'( !"#$%&'#(&$()(*#+#"#*,&*'-( ),,&.%&*'(/0$#$$&/*(%1)%( ./*%"&02%#$(3&%%3#(%/($2..#$$ The secret to the modern college admissions process isn’t what you’re expecting. It’s not a way to game a system, inflate a GPA or recycle essays more efficiently. It’s knowing when to get off the Prestige Treadmill.

Think back to those Advisory lessons about the hedonic treadmill — the ones you were supposed to be paying attention to. The Prestige Treadmill works in much the same way, save for a spin: there’s no baseline of happiness. There’s always a better school, a better launching point to a successful future, a name that will get you more “oohs” and “ahs” when you post your college commitment to your 14 LinkedIn followers.

We’ve heard Paly students this year open their UC Berkeley acceptances and say, “Cool, but I’m still going to try to transfer to Harvard.”

Let’s pretend this typical prestige-chaser successfully transfers. Now, they have to graduate summa cum laude among the best of the best students from around the world in order to stand out.

So, what’s in a name? Yes, the one stitched across your crew neck. College prestige is a simple equation: it’s the product of history and wealth. Ask around on campus what the “best” schools are, and you’ll hear the acronym HYPSM crop up. It’s the holy grail of prestigious institutions according to every student on the Prestige Treadmill: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT. Three of these schools are among the 10 oldest in the U.S., and it should come as no surprise that all five are among the top six wealthiest in the country. But as important as these two resources are to the prestige of a university, the resource that matters more is you.

Every time you judge someone for not going to a top school, you’re promoting prestige culture. With every comparison you draw, you’re enabling higher tuition prices for top schools.

The truth is, we’ve been duped. It’s not the college that gives the student prestige — it’s the minds of the bright, eager and hard-working students that give the college prestige.

The five of us have also ridden the Prestige Treadmill for far too long. Our legs are about to give out because there’s no instructor out there to call time, just as there’s no ceiling to clout.

Hop off the Prestige Treadmill, take a step on solid ground and do what you love because you love it.

*+#,-&' University of California schools announce they will not consider SAT or ACT scores

!"; AP testing begins on campus

8.95&') College Board and ACT cancel their June test dates and makeups nationwide, meaning there will be no spring exam administrations

*./.01&' Common Application opens

2345675#&' Early action/ decision applications are due for many colleges

8"9."#; Regular decision applications are due for many colleges

STATISTICS FROM FORBES MAGAZINE

The average number of applications submitted per applicant was 5.78 in 2020, a 9% increase from 2019.

13.9% > 7.4% STATISTICS FROM THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Drop in Harvard University’s early action acceptance rate from 2019 to 2020. Applications were also up 57% from 2019.

!"; AP testing begins online

!"#$% Decisions are released for many colleges.

="15&!"#$% Ivy Day: decisions for all Ivy League colleges are released

*./.01&' Common Application opens

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8"9."#; Regular decision applications are due for many colleges

!"#$% Decisions are released for many colleges.

Dozens postponed their decision date by several days or weeks.

*+#,-&< Ivy Day: decisions for all Ivy League colleges are released

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Science & Tech

B6

Students build PCs for customizability, cost efficiency

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he personal computer building community encompasses a wide variety of people who build PCs for many different reasons.

Many PC builders at Paly say they build their PCs primarily for gaming, enjoying the potential for customization and cheaper cost of doing so compared to purchasing pre-built options.

Customization is the main appeal for many of these PC builders. Enthusiasts can pick certain parts to tailor to their needs, whether it be a distinct case or special lighting. Specific games also perform better on customized PCs because of their different central processing units or graphics processing units.

CPUs are effective in executing a wide range of tasks but cannot handle many tasks concurrently. GPUs, on the other hand, can process many tasks in parallel over large data sets. CPUs usually have faster individual cores but lack in quantity compared to GPUs. Due to the advantage in parallel processing, GPUs can render videos or images that contain millions of pixels.

Junior Hansen Chai said he has built two PCs for gaming purposes after he found that his previous computer could not support certain games.

“Researching components was the hardest part of building my PC,” Chai said. “There are so many options to choose from and manufacturers roll out new ones every few months.”

A computer requires a multitude of parts, including the ideal graphics card, processor, motherboard and RAM, all of which needs to fit into the builder’s budget while offering performance.

Specific PC parts can also interact with each other differently, adding to the complexity of determining the best components.

While some PC builders focus their attention on raw speed or affordability, junior Jerry Fang said he focused more on the aesthetics when designing his PC. “I got into (PC building) because I could customize my own PC, make it look how I wanted to,” Fang said. “Having the freedom to specifically choose every single part was really cool.”

Fang said he decided to cut out a bit from his budget to buy a tempered glass case and RGB lights.

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!"#$%"&'#()&"$*+,-.$&*)/$'$"#)01$2")#+-31%)4-$&)50#') 601-)$&),0''1$&*).$#$&*)70'".)1"8"1# nearby at-risk cities in order to make the Bay Area as a whole more resistant to climate change.

Another protective measure for the city is a levee, a Staff Writer large embankment to prevent flooding, 20 years in the making. The project’s goal is to replace the old levee, which is ineffective and run-down, by the year 2030.

At only about 20 feet above sea level, East Palo Alto is The new levee is designed to last, projected to stand prone to flooding, leaving its population of 30,000 people strong against up to a 3.5 foot rise in sea level. vulnerable. The city has had recurring issues with torrential The project is split into nine sections, and the initial rains over the last few years, including an instance where section protecting East Palo Alto and Menlo Park should over a thousand houses were flooded in 1998. be completed by around 2024. Once all the sections are San Mateo County is projected to be the most at-risk built, this levee will serve to protect for sea level rise of all Bay Area many other cities and regions in the Bay Counties by 2050, and East Palo Area.

Alto is the most at-risk city in that Bay Area cities facing critical risk, A serious potential issue related to county. About half of the city is according to Adapting to Rising climate change is the cascade effect. already in a flood zone, and projecTides report: Similar to the concept of herd immutions show regular flooding could hit !" #$%&"'$()"*(&) nity, the cascade effect postulates one the city in as few as 10 years. !" +),-&),-".$/($-0 area’s struggles with climate change Over 13% of East Palo Altans !" 1)2-&$3-"435, cause other areas close by to face the are under the poverty line, so a !" 6)7&8"9$-":)%5 same struggles in a matter of time. It flooding event could be catastrophic !" 9$-";7$-<3%<) is important that other Bay Area cities for its residents. !" =3<8>)-0 come together in order to help East Palo Despite its small budget, the city Alto and by extension, the Bay Area as is working hard to develop countera whole. measures to this existential threat.

There are multiple ways that this can be achieved. First, In most cases, these efforts are driven by normal average citizens can push or vote for legislation such as citizens who campaign local government for change. This environmental regulations. Future-thinking legislation, or change can manifest itself in many different ways. our lack of it, will have a massive impact on the Bay Area Currently, the city is implementing education for East for many years to come.

Palo Alto residents and involving community groups in Furthermore, projects such as the levee which demand the process of adapting the city for floods. private and public funding and necessitate cooperation This is especially important for lower-income residents between a diverse group of entities will be essential in of the city, who will have functionally no recourse in the making widespread progress. event of a flood. These efforts should be replicated by

Shantanu Deshpande

GINA

BAE

“I wanted a balance of aesthetics and performance.

I didn't want to spend too much money on one to the point where it compromised the other,” Fang said.

“For my case, I picked a nice looking one. It was a bit more expensive, which meant I had to cut down on some other parts, but I think there's a good balance.”

A major problem that PC builders face is widely fluctuating prices. Shortages of specific components may lead to massive price increases. Currently, GPU and hard drive prices have skyrocketed since the debut of a new Asian cryptocurrency. The RTX 3060 that originally had a manufacturer suggested retail price of $329 now costs over $1000 on Amazon — more than three times the original price.

“It's a really bad time to build a computer right now,” Chai said. “PC communities are facing massive shortages caused by the demand for crypto mining, so prices are skyrocketing to double or triple MSRP at this point.”

This stark increase in prices has occurred before.

In early 2018, PC and PC part prices rose by over 100% but gradually fell back to their previous market around October of 2018. Therefore, Chai recommends enthusiasts wait for prices to return to normal before putting a bunch of money into their hobby.

Bill Xia

Staff Writer

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Science & Tech

B7

The Science Behind Science Fiction

H

undreds of pages sit in a folder on junior Natalie Nguyen’s computer, filled with stories of characters whose lives and relationships have been altered by the advent of technology. Nguyen said ever since she started writing science fiction and fantasy stories in elementary school, she has enjoyed diving into subgenres in science fiction such as cyberpunk, which explores themes like corruption in artificial technology, the nature of humanity and the influence of technology on health.

“There are a ton of sci-fi tropes like time travel and artificial intelligence, but I have an absolute favorite sci-fi trope of all time, and that’s the use of cyborgs as characters,” Nguyen said. “(They are) people who are partially human, partially machine, and I think it’s one of the best ways that sci-fi can explore the nature of humanity — by taking some of it away from a character. So it kind of asks, ‘At what point are you still alive? At what point are you not human anymore?’”

Escape Literature teacher Erin Angell said she has always gravitated towards the science fiction and fantasy sections of the library for the same reason — to dive into books that envision how technology might reshape the future.

“What I really have always enjoyed about science fiction are some of the ways that you can create these really spectacular, amazing scenarios and worlds that still really speak to the human experience,” Angell said. “And I like that part of it where it’s recognizable. You still get to really stretch your imagination and take a break from the mundane, and at the same time, there’s a part of it that’s tethered to reality.”

For Angell, science fiction, like all other forms of literature, incorporates a human element in some way, whether through its portrayal of human nature when confronted with existential crises, or its portrayal of human relationships when the development of technology challenges the boundaries of science. But as an escape literature reader, Angell said her primary goal from reading science fiction is having fun while getting lost in a fictional world.

“There’s an element about (science fiction) that is not ashamed about the fact that it’s supposed to be

entertaining,” Angell said. “It’s not just like the broccoli of the literary world where you know it’s good for you — it’s art.”

For many other readers like junior Mihir Gupta, science fiction is engaging not only because of its ability to look at human tendencies, but also because of the science woven into the heart of the story.

“Science fiction books have helped me realize a lot of things about science; they’ve made science a whole lot more interesting to learn, especially (since) it’s not so much like you’re learning these things just to solve problems (in class),” Gupta said.

Astrophysics teacher Josh Bloom said his passion for science fiction literature and film was what got him interested in astrophysics and fascinated by science fiction’s ability to entertain the idea of sheer possibility.

“When you dive deep into quantum mechanics and you dive deep into relativity, and you realize all the science and experiments that back them up, and how successful those theories are at actually accurately describing the way the universe really works at the extremely large and extremely small scales, you realize, ‘Holy crap, this is our universe — it really does this,’ and it’s insane,” Bloom said. “It’s almost fantastical, it’s almost fantasy — but it’s real.”

Bloom said he has been especially interested lately in reading about theories on parallel universes, a common science fiction trope. “(Parallel universes) are real possibilities, and right now in astrophysics, they are matters of very real scientific debate,” Bloom said. “This used to be the realm of pure science fiction, but it is now very much the realm of legitimate scientific pursuit … And if I had to guess, there

will come a point where we are pretty certain that we are part of a much larger reality.”

Bloom said part of what makes teaching astrophysics so fascinating to him is the idea of being able to teach a course that is constantly evolving in order to reflect the newest scientific discoveries. “Particularly in the last 20 years, there has been a larger effort to make science fiction that’s truly trying to be as scientifically accurate as is possible without losing the story, and I love that science fiction,” Bloom said.

“That really goes back to what I loved about Star Trek, which was things you could actually envision being possible.”

Nguyen said that in addition to being drawn to stories that depict the implications of biological and technological innovations on human society, there has always been one thing that stands out to her when it shows up in a book: when there are human aspects that she is able to resonate with emotionally.

“I definitely respect incredibly designed plots and really well-explained technology — that’s like a no-brainer in the sci-fi genre,” Nguyen said. “But I also like seeing something deeper.

If you have all of the surface (level) stuff like a good plot and good explanations for technology, you have a really good world. But you need the additional depth and the great characters to make that something more and something a story worth telling.”

Valerie Chu

Managing Editor

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Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Science & Tech

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!"#$%&'"()*+" ,'"-+'&./&)'0123 X Shore, a Swedish electric boat company, recently launched the Eelex 8000, its first electric boat. The boat is so technologically advanced it can be driven using a smartphone.

“It provides the user with the most power and user-friendly experience,” X Shore sourcing intern Alex Anckarman said. “The boat contains two 60 kilowatt-hour battery packs and a 225 kilowatt electric motor that gives the boat a top speed of 35 knots. There is also a 24inch touchscreen display that connects up to a custom Garmin smartwatch that gives you many cool functions such as wireless start and a man overboard system. The boat has several sustainable materials including renewable cork and flax material in the hull.”

Anckarman said the interest in the company and electric boat spiked after its launch on the Swedish market.

“X Shore is expanding rapidly and we are currently in the process of setting up a factory in Sweden where we plan to have around 100 employees and have the ability to produce about 500 boats per year,” Anckarman said. “We just recently launched in the US at the Palm Beach Boat Show and have received large amounts of interest from all over the US and the rest of the world.”

Anckarman said X Shore, who has been featured in big name magazines like Forbes and Bloomberg, differentiates itself from other electric boat companies by providing top technology.

“X Shore differs from other electric boat companies in the sense that we consider ourselves a tech company first and a boat company second,” Anckarman said. “We want to provide our customers with the most high tech and userfriendly experience, all while providing a product that performs like no other electric boat on the market.”

4(5'&+$'1")00%6(5)%0" $'27+"%5$'&"8%*7(0)'+ Another company, Watershed Innovation, is working with three early stage electric boat companies to help integrate them into the marine industry.

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Sean Marrero, the President of Watershed Innovation, said the companies they help are incorporating modern technology into their electric boats.

“One of the companies is called Ingenuity,” Marrero said. “Ingenuity integrates 100% electric drive systems into boats that are very challenging to make electric. The first boat we are selling is the Nautique GS22E. It can reach about 40 mph, but it is not designed to go fast. It is designed for surfing. It is 100% battery powered by our unique battery and has a small motor that is about the equivalent of a 300 horsepower V8 gas motor.”

Marrero said Ingenuity is reaching more consumers and is hopeful for additional work opportunities.

“Ingenuity is getting a lot of interest from end customers, dealers, other boat companies and suppliers who want to work with us,” Marrero said.

“The future is bright for us, and we are seeing lots of other opportunities.”

Marreo said that Watershed Innovation has a unique background as a boat company.

“We are like a startup inside a 100-year-old, privately held boat company,” Marreo said. “This helps us in a few ways.

We don’t need outside financing, are not looking to sell the company and already work with some of the industry’s best brands, suppliers and dealers. All that said, we are also very small and nimble so we can make decisions quickly. It is the best of both worlds for us.”

push this motor to almost an equivalent of 250 horsepower for a short period of time. The battery used is a BMW battery; it’s made for the BMW II three and the nominal power on it is 40 to 40.5 kilowatt hours. We found out it’s about 82 miles. ” Zin said the boat is equipped with “range anxiety,” which alerts the user when the boat is low on battery.

“Once you’re running short, or when the system realizes that you need to slow down, it will ask you if you want to come back,” Zin said.

“You’re going to have to come back at that speed all the way home, and it would adjust that speed for you or allow you to go slower. When you’re ready to go home, you just punch a button and it will tell you exactly what speed you need to be, and it will help you adjust to the speed.”

Zin said the boat is also equipped with carbon fiber, a sustainable material that uses recycled resources and allows the boat to be durable and stable out on the water.

“A typical boat this size would weigh somewhere between three and 4000 pounds, (but) our boats weigh 1750 pounds all together, which makes them super light and efficient and allows it to go farther,” Zin said. “Carbon fiber is also a very stiff material, so there’s very little flex.

Our goal is to use recycled residences, moving forward.”

Zin said the market for electric boats is growing quickly, so Zin Boats is working on making their product more accessible to everyone.

“We do not have a boat that is inexpensive enough for everybody to buy,” Zin said. “But we know what that target is. We know what we’re hoping to gain from that market, and I believe we’re going to be able to get there pretty soon.”

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9)0":%(5+"%;'&+" 5'8$0%2%<3=")00%6(5)%0 Piotr Zin, CEO of the Seattle-based electric boat company Zin Boats, said he aims to produce boats with both quality and speed.

“The boat has a 55 kilowatt motor in it,” Zin said. “That is an equivalent of about 67 horsepower, and that is a continuous output. We can

Olivia Ericsson Senior Staff Writer

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The Campanile

Friday, May 21, 2021

Sports

Boys basketball season halted after false positive

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Considering these negative test results, players on the team have expressed frustration with the protocol, or lack thereof, around false-positive results.

“It’s pretty frustrating because as soon as the player received a positive result, they went directly to another testing site outside of the school,” junior and varsity basketball player Sebastian Chancellor said. “They did a rapid test right away and did a normal test that takes a couple of days. Both of them came back negative.”

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, all COVID-19 tests are subject to false positives. Thus, it is likely there will be false positives at Paly given that hundreds of tests are administered every week on campus, Chancellor said Paly sports is working with Predecine to administer tests every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to athletes who participate in indoor sports. The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League has agreed to this testing schedule and requires a negative COVID-19 result 48 hours prior to each game.

“We have 15 guys on the team who take three tests per week, so that’s 45 tests per week for just our team,” Chancellor said. “What were we expecting when we now have JV, the freshman team, both girls and boys (playing) –– you have so many teams. I feel that they should have a protocol for false positives because they should expect that one would come up.”

Chancellor said the team has been supportive of the player who tested positive, especially after he expressed feelings of guilt. He also said no one is blaming the player as the team has tried to reduce its contact to only teammates.

“He was very safe, very responsible,” Chancellor said. “Everybody has been very serious about being responsible and is trying to, as much as they can, stick to just seeing the basketball team.”

The resulting 10 days of quarantine for the team had a big impact on the team and its players, espe-

cially considering their already short season, Chancellor said. The team had to cancel two games versus non-league teams, Bellarmine and Serra, and reschedule games versus Los Altos and Cupertino and two games against Santa Clara.

“Last season we had almost 30 games, and this season we were only planning on having 18,” Chancellor said. “So we already have 12 fewer games, and we just missed six more.

For such a short season, there’s quite a lot of frustration coming from the team because (the protocol) wasn’t thought out.”

Though players and coaches alike have expressed their frustration about the false positive protocol, Chancellor said the team recognizes the circumstances brought on by the pandemic are out of its control. Instead, the team is trying to stay positive about the situation because there are more games ahead of them.

“We’re excited to resume,” coach Jeff LaMere said. “It’s just very difficult though because (of ) the way these rules are working. Say we play a game and everything’s fine on our end, but if there is someone on the opponent’s team who tests positive, then both teams are shut down for 10 days. There are so many things that are out of our control.”

Although the current protocol for false positives caused widespread dissatisfaction, Athletic Director Nelson Gifford said it’s unlikely the county’s protocol will change since everything regarding COVID-19 testing is constantly changing.

“There’s frustration when people believe that the testing is not efficacious or is not giving them the results that they believe are accurate,” Gifford said. “I think that everyone needs to realize that this is brand new, that we are walking test cases right now of how to manage a pandemic, how to keep people safe, and I think we are always going to err on the side of caution.”

Gifford said he hopes that if COVID-19 testing is required for next year’s sports, administrators will have enough information to allow a new protocol that doesn’t require players and coaches to quarantine.

“Sports are first in terms of providing us a better understanding of the mechanics of testing: the best process to do the testing, what ways work for students, what ways don’t work for students, what ways work and don’t work for staff,” Gifford said. “Hopefully, we’ll work out all that stuff now so that if we do come back (for fully in-person school) in the fall, everyone feels confident if we have to test.”

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Sports

The value of fans in the stands

Student-athletes talk about the importance of having fans in the stands and the effect fans have on their performance, as well as Paly Sixth Man and how that has contributed towards attendance at sporting events.

SPORTINAUS / CC 2.0

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Sports

PHOTO BY JENNA HICKEY

Recruiting differences

The process for collegiate-level sports differs between divisions.

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Sports

PHOTO BY DYLAN OBA

Niche sports

Athletes compete in less popular sports, struggle with representation.

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!"#$%&'()('*(*& +,+-+./&""!&0(1+*+2, Ziggy Tummalapalli

Senior Staff Writer

The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League voted to overturn its decision to opt out of section playoffs allowing student athletes to participate in competitions they have long been lobbying for.

Initially, SCVAL voted to maintain its decision to opt out of CCS, sparking outrage among players, coaches and parents, many of whom took to social media and email to voice their opinions.

Callum Olsen — an aspiring college athlete — was upset with the effect this decision might have on being able to play sports in college.

“It’s harming kids’ ability to get recruited by giving us less games and is also taking away the opportunity to compete for what every athlete wants to compete in, titles,” Olsen said.

For Olsen, the news that the SCVAL’s choice had been reversed could not have been more exciting.

“It was a great decision, and I’m happy for the athletes who are now allowed to compete in CCS,” Olsen said.

For parents, in a year that has taken away so much from so many, the sadness about SCVAL’s initial decision also laid in a missed opportunity to return something back to the athletes who have already lost a lot this year.

Maura Rausch, the mother of varsity basketball player Aidan Rausch, said she was frustrated with SCVAL’s original decision.

“Given that no rationale was provided, I was both astonished and dismayed upon learning of SCVAL’s decision as it seems to ignore the mission of SCVAL, and it shows an incredible lack of interest and support of the wellbeing and aspirations of thousands of student athletes,” Rausch said.

Rausch said she was at the forefront of the fight against the decision, leading a charge with other enraged parents.

“Hundreds of student athletes and their parents across all 14 SCVAL schools followed up with emails and letters to SCVAL Board of Managers and representative athletic directors, superintendents, school board members, city mayors and more,” Rausch said.

“Many student athletes, teams, parents, coaches and other community stakeholders also united to launch a social media campaign and a legal effort.”

Now that SCVAL has reversed its decision, Rausch said there is significance in being able to participate in CCS for teams.

“It is extremely important,” Rausch said. “To dedicate yourself to a goal and work hard for years to build individual and team skills only to be pulled out of playoff competition — without any reasonable explanation — was unfair and disheartening for student athletes.”

However, now that SCVAL has changed its decision, Rausch said she could not be happier with the efforts provided.

“While it was disheartening that hundreds of student athletes and families had to put in extraordinary effort to press such a very important issue for students, it was remarkable to see the strength of a unified community movement with the added seriousness of legal pressure, accomplish this terrific outcome for student athletes,” Rausch said.

Rausch said she is also optimistic that students have taken away something from this experience, knowing now the power they have when working together.

“I hope that the student-athletes learned that they really can drive change if they stand up for what they believe in – speaking up and taking action together makes all the difference,” Rausch said. “The biggest kudos go to the student athletes who are active with their teams and in this endeavor.”

Sports

ART BY ASTRID WUTTKE

Sports one year later

Returning to tournaments after a year off has affected performance.

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Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

Sports

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Athletes aim for recruitment the most important aspect that all divisions require — and heavily base their college offer on — is a person’s high school running times. little over 7% of “It’s all about the time students who play when it comes to Division I sports in high school track recruiting, but for Diviadvance to play at the colsion II and Division III, our legiate level, according to the GPA and the courses we are National Collegiate Athletic taking have a big influence on Association. And each of the offers,” Evans said. these student athletes go Evans through a said he began different his recruitrecruiting process de!"#$%&'((&')*+#&#,-&#./-&0,-1& ing process by making a pending on .#&2*/-%&#*&3.4.%.*1&"&#5'26& list of safety, their sport. and Senior 5-25+.#.178&)+#&9*5&3.4.%.*1&""& target reach schools David Evans said he '1:&3.4.%.*1&"""8&*+5&;<=& he was interested committed in running to Emory '1:&#,-&2*+5%-%&0-&'5-& for, setting University’s #'6.17&,'4-&'&).7&.1>+-12-& up an email Division III template that track and *1&#,-&*?-5%@A included his field and times and cross country !"#$%&'#"() GPA and team during using that his senior template to contact all his year but was involved in the chosen schools’ coaches in the recruiting process since his summer after junior year. freshman year. Evans said “Some didn’t get back to the recruiting process slightly differs depending on the divi- me, but I also got a range of responses such as, ‘You have sion within track and cross a decent shot,’ or ‘It’s guarancountry, teed if you apply,’” Evans said. but Unlike track and cross country, where most coaches never see the athlete running in person, baseball recruiting takes a different approach.

Senior Zander Darby chose to commit to the University of California Santa Barabara’s Division I baseball team during the fall of his junior year.

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said although college baseball coaches have access to a player’s statistics, such as their height, batting average, earned run average and metrics on websites such as MaxPreps, most coaches base their offers on watching the players during actual games.

Darby said he was able to get acknowledged by several schools and even received his first offers by attending a baseball showcase in Arizona during the summer before his sophomore year; some stayed in contact by attending his high school and club games.

“The coaches want to watch you play to see what kind of energy you bring to the field and how you react with failure or when you make errors,” Darby said.

Similar to baseball’s recruiting process, senior Kylie Mies said she had college coaches watch her games during club volleyball tournaments before she committed to Pomona-Pitzer’s Division III volleyball team as a setter.

Though Mies got invited to some recruiting camps before the pandemic hit and had already played in front of several coaches, she said she mainly advertised herself for college recruiters by creating and posting her own highlight videos.

“After every big school and club volleyball tournament, I would make highlight videos and send them to coaches consistently whether or not they looked at them,” Mies said.

Since the bulk of Mies’s recruiting process happened during quarantine, she said her highlight videos were the only way to showcase her skills to her coaches.

When comparing the different recruiting processes, one similarity drawn between all sports is that Division I coaches tend to reach out to the players themselves, while Division II and Division III coaches wait for athletes to reach out to them. Therefore, Mies

recommends reaching out to coaches and consistently making highlight videos to any students who are interested in being recruited for volleyball.

“Most (volleyball coaches) religiously check their emails, so don’t hesitate to reach out just because you might think the school is a reach or won’t be interested in you,” Mies said.

Another similarity is Division II and III offers are not solely based on athletes’ skills or statistics but also their GPA and course selection.

If coaches are narrowing down their list of candidates and have to compare two students with the same athletic ability, a player’s grades could be the determining factor.

Nonetheless, Division I athletes are also expected to maintain their academic standings before and after getting recruited.

For Evans, Darby, Mies and other student athletes who were recruited, each has experienced a unique journey in the process.

Darby said, “I feel like my dedication to the sport has paid off from the scholarship I received, but I am not done and will continue to get better.”

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teams in the 800m, 1600m, Anaya Bhatt and 3200m.”

Lifestyle Editor Coach Micheal Davidson said this year, the track & The track and field team field track and field team will started its season on March not be competing in its typi15, while adhering to CDC cal end-of-year events. and district guidelines for “Unfortunately, due to COVID-19. This includes a decision by the board of wearing masks during pracmanagers at the beginning of tices and meets as well as the year, we are not scheduled practicing social distancing at to have any championship all times. meets,” Davidson said. “So, currently, the final meet of the season on May 29 will be it for the season, and we will have to get ready for next year.”

Even without championships, Selwyn said the team hopes to make the most out of its experience.

“For me, I just want to spend time with the team given it’s my last season in high school,” Selwyn said. “I’m just excited to have fun and make some great memories with the team while continuing PHOTO BY JENNA HICKEY Members of the Paly cross-country team compete against runners from Homestead High School. The team has seen to improve on our success throughout this season, beating the majority of its opponents. “The distance team has been especially strong performance.” this year,” team captain Alex Selwyn said. “We usually sweep the other teams in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m.”

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Team captain and senior Alex Selwyn said the team of around 100 athletes has been performing well this season, especially considering the impact the pandemic has had on high schoolers.

“I’d say our team has been pretty solid in our performance this year. The distance team has been especially strong this year,” Selwyn said.

“We usually sweep the other

Lifestyle Editor The girls basketball season started in early April and is ending late May. The JV team has 12 girls, while the varsity team has 10 girls. When it’s not a game day, the varsity team practices two to three hours for six days a week, but during game days the team does not practice.

“We usually have three games a week, sometimes four,” senior and varsity player Ilayda Turgut said.

According to Turgut, the COVID-19 pandemic has made significant impacts on the team and how they are able to practice.

“Of course, we wear masks during practice and games, and we have to test three times a week for covid,” Turgut said. “COVID also shortened our season, so it means that we unfortunately have less time to bond as a team, and just less time playing together in general.”

The team still makes efforts to bond as players, though, and has had a team dinner two weeks ago –– Turgut said.

They have also played

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN STEIN Varsity girls basketball team members practice by playing a scrimmage match. Their season will continue until late May, albeit under COVID restrictions. “COVID ... shortened our season, so it means that we unfortunately have less time to bond as a team, and just less time playing together in general,” senior and varsity player Ilyada Turgut said.

many games throughout the season, and have performed exceptionally well against neighboring schools such as Wilcox High School, which was their most recent opponent.

“Since the beginning of the season, we have played around twelve games, our most recent one at Wilcox with a score of 64-16,” Turgut said.

Despite the negative im-

pacts of COVID on the team, they are continuing to bond through the organization of events off the court, such as senior night, which took place on May 14.

“There were four seniors, Elif Turgut, Annika Shah, Carly Martin, and myself,” Turgut said. “There was a 15-minute ceremony before our game (with Wilcox) and the non-seniors made posters, signs and got us gifts as well.”

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Campanile

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Sports

!"#$%& #'()"&*+&,( *'-."#+#+'&/( #'$,0(1)#"%( 2"1%(')) Evelyn Cheng

Senior Staff Writer After an entire night of restless turning and pre-competition insomnia, my alarm went off, signaling it was time to get ready for my first fencing competition since last February.

Since COVID-19 put many extracurricular activities on hold, I hadn’t attended any competitions for an entire year. I was eager to get back, as fencing has always played a large role in my life since elementary school.

In this competition, new restrictions had been implemented for safety, including capping each event at 126 competitors and adding a noyelling-after-scoring-a-touch rule. I knew competitions would be different, but I was woefully unprepared for the extent.

Even though I have participated in these national-level tournaments for seven years, the routine I once knew like the back of my hand felt alien as I walked into the venue.

Seeing competitors and friends for the first time since quarantine was strange in itself, but the COVID-19 screening, lack of spectators and mandated face masks was a lot to handle.

Due to each state having its own quarantine restrictions, some regions had advantages over others, including the luxury to train indoors during the pandemic. Fencing clubs in my area held outdoor practices in parking lots and resorted to using rubber flooring to serve as makeshift fencing strips.

However, the troubles of training differences paled in comparison to the mental aspect of returning to competition after a long hiatus.

Though I had success in the past, I found my head filled with doubts about my performance. I was so distracted by the idea of disappointing the people who supported me that my focus shifted away from fencing.

Before the pandemic, I attended a national competition every month, so I had an adequate understanding of how I matched up against competitors. Now, I wasn’t so sure where I stood next to my opponents. All this overthinking led to a flawed mental state, which hindered my performance since fencing is a sport dependent on a critical, adaptive and rapidlyevolving strategy.

Unable to properly address my problems, my actions became awkward and repetitive, and my mind fogged up.

I lacked confidence in my skill set and ended up in a match against myself and my thoughts, rather than a match against the opponent.

For some, the return to competitions after a yearlong break may have been easy, but for others like me, the postCOVID-19 season started rocky. Despite the difficulties faced at the first event, the mental aspect will hopefully get easier as competitions are re-incorporated into our regular routines.

ART BY WALLIE BUTLER

Fans in the stands

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enior Chris Chen, with a mask hanging on his chin, swiftly takes the ball a mere seven feet away from rival school Homestead’s goalie. In a blink of an eye, on what seems to be an uneventful Tuesday afternoon, Chen knocks the soccer ball into the goal at such an angle that the ball lands right behind Homestead’s goalie and into the goal.

In a normal year, the boys varsity soccer team would not have played with masks shielding their faces or the uncertainty of having a season, and they definitely would not have had the fan base they had this year.

Chen said high school soccer, especially at Paly, has never attracted many fans. However, this year that all changed.

“This year was very different, and we actually had full stands and sidelines of both students and parents,” Chen said.

In past years, being a winter sport, boys soccer rarely ever had fans since most of the fans were busy attending basketball games, a more popularly watched sport at Paly.

However, since boys basketball is an indoor sport played during COVID-19 with a nospectator policy, fans could no longer watch popular sports like those and shifted their focus onto outdoor sports that did not have a huge fanbase in past years.

Chen said this difference in the fan turnout positively impacted the soccer team.

“I think that having fans motivates the team and myself to work harder and play better,” Chen said. “It definitely brings in a more competitive atmosphere. The fan turnout relative to last year was huge. Last year we had literally no students that stayed for the full game, and this year we probably had 20 plus (students) on some nights plus the parents.”

In the past, Paly students have recognized their importance as fans supporting their fellow student athletes during their sports competitions, and have come to sporting events through efforts such as the Paly Sixth Man Instagram and Facebook account that were prevalent four years ago when senior Malia Wanderer was a freshmen, but have since died out.

Paly Sixth Man was a group created in 2015 by students in order to visit and cheer on as many student athletes as possible, outside of just football.

“I remember when there was a Paly Sixth Man account,” Wanderer said. “I think they posted a lot freshman year but since then

ART BY WALLIE BUTLER

they’ve kind of died out.”

Wanderer, a student reporter for the Paly Voice, said she has noticed a difference in the fan aspect of competitions.

“Last year, whenever I covered basketball games the stands were full and people were cheering, but now there’s only a few people standing in the balcony, and it’s a lot quieter in the gym,” Wanderer said. “I think fans are important because as someone who plays girls soccer, which doesn’t get many fans, it’s cooler to play in front of bigger crowds because fans bring more energy and it seems like people really care about your game.”

Senior Sophia Krugler, who plays on the girls varsity volleyball team, another indoor sport, said she noticed some major differences in fan attendance between this year and years before the pandemic.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever played an official match in an environment (without spectators) until this season,” Krugler said. “The stakes didn’t feel as high, and there was some energy

missing that comes from having a crowd.”

With sports like volleyball and basketball, the Central Coast Section Board of Managers created a strict set of guidelines where the only spectators allowed are at most four family members. The CSS Board regulations also say no visitors outside of family are allowed into games.

Through these changes, Krugler also said she realized the importance of fans in the stands after having none this year.

“When we had games with spectators, I often forgot the crowd was even there until I went back to serve and saw all the people watching,” Krugler said. “I didn’t think having spectators made that much of a difference, but after playing a season without any, I missed having some white noise to fill the silence.”

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Boys tennis focuses on improvement

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Senior Staff Writer

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After losing nearly all of last year’s players to graduation and COVID-19, fears the boys tennis team is working to rebuild and improve.

“Before the pandemic, I had a squad of 15 boys, and we were pretty strong,” coach Andy Haradar said. “Then eight graduated, so I had seven guys left, and my top three of those seven guys decided not to play because of COVID. We were left with four remaining varsity players out of 15.”

The team has two wins against Milpitas (5-2) and Sacred Heart Prep (4-3) and six losses versus Los Altos (4-3, 7-0), Santa Clara (4-3), Mountain View (4-3), Lynbrook (5-2) and Wilcox (4-3).

Haradar said the team makes up for their lack of positive results with their commitment.

“It’s one of the best teams I’ve had in terms of

PHOTO BY JEREMY YUN

Science & Tech Editor boys coming out for practice,” Haradar said. “I get 12 to 13 guys out for practice every practice day.”

Despite the team’s record, players remain committed to improving with every practice and match, sophomore captain Josh Kaplan said.

“Our matches have gone well, not in the sense of winning or losing, but rather learning, this season,” Kaplan said.

With a shortened season and no playoffs to compete in, Kaplan said both players and coaches view this season as an opportunity to improve and prepare for next year. Much of the team's work is geared toward next year, he said “This season isn’t really that important to us,” Kaplan said.

“For all of us, (our goal) is improving our team because next year is what’s going to matter a lot to us, so we’re trying to improve working together as a team and individually as well.”

Despite COVID-19 restrictions limiting many athletic activities, the boys golf team will still play their usual matches and compete in the Central Coast Section competition.

Team captain and senior Anthony Ha said the team does not have many obstacles during practices and matches, aside from adhering to social distancing protocols. The team’s only additional restriction is that they cannot travel to matches as a team.

“The season has been challenging overall,” Ha said. “A fair amount of our players have dealt with injuries, but we’ve worked to do our best in the matches that we play.”

Ha said he finds it difficult to maintain a good leadership role with the younger players as the pandemic has cut off most interactions.

“As a team captain, I’ve struggled to mentor a lot of the younger players,” Ha said. “I’m

used to talking to the traveling team since I have the most interactions with them, but I definitely want to spend more time with the younger players before the season ends.”

Despite the lack of interaction, boys golf coach Doyle Knight said most of the season’s restrictions did not affect his players too much.

“The only inconvenience was that we had to wear masks while we were on the green, but off the green, we were allowed to lower them down when we were not near another player,” Knight said.

Although the team has been relatively unaffected by COVID-19 restrictions during practices, Knight said in-game struggles as well as a recent rule change in the have led to the team using this year as a year to adjust and learn from mistakes.

“This season, it’s just going to have to be a growing season leading up to next year,” Knight said.

The Campanile

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!*$()*'' !"#$%& Varsity: 16-4 !"#"'()*#$%"+) Paly vs. Mountain View 5/14, W, 10-0 Paly vs. Leigh 5/15, W, 11-9 Paly vs. Homestead 5/17, W, 11-3 Paly vs. Santa Clara 5/19, W, 7-3

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Sports

Friday, May 21, 2021

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hen Gunn junior Joaquin Antonio tells people the sport he plays, it is not often what comes to mind when they think of high school athletes. Antonio plays on his high school’s badminton team, a sport whose recognition dwindles in comparison to signature high school sports such as basketball and football.

Like many athletes in other sports, remain obscure. parents so everyone can reference it, Antonio chose his sport based on his “More representation and and I wonder why this already isn’t the own interest. recognition will bring more money, case,” Ramkumar said.

“I have been playing badminton but it’s unfortunate because poor Regardless of the disadvantages of for around three years; I spent my first funding is a big reason why some playing a niche sport, both Oba and two years on junior varsity but finally underrepresented sports fail to succeed Antonio said they still find ways to made it to varsity this year,” Antonio and create a name for embrace the decreased said. “I remember initially getting into themselves,” Antonio popularity of their it because of the conditioning aspect said. sport. Both said they get Most popular high — it was really useful in staying fit.”

While loads of playing time school sports in California While sports such as badminton representation in compared to players in keeps students like Antonio active and high school athletics more popular sports, who Boys dedicated, he said they still receive far may depend on a are often substituted out 1. Football less funding and resources compared sport’s popularity, multiple times a game.

2. Track and field to others. some students think “Less competition 3. Soccer “At Gunn, we lack much needed funding for sports makes it easier to join Girls funding and often go into debt at the should be distributed junior teams or collegiate 1. Soccer end of seasons,” Antonio said. more equally. teams, and I also feel like 2.

Volleyball This situation rings true for several Junior Madhu playing hockey makes me 3.

Track and Field other high school sports as well.

Ramkumar has been more unique in a sense,” Junior Dylan Oba has been playing playing softball since Oba said.

Source: California School Boards Association competitive hockey for four years, kindergarten, and she In lieu of all the issues having played on an unofficial Paly said she is constantly surrounding less popular team in addition to a Double A team. reminded of the sports, Ramkumar said Recently, the Paly hockey team had extreme funding disparities at Paly just athletes should be reminded that the to disband because of lack of funding by looking at the state of the baseball purpose of sports is to enjoy playing, and lack of venues to play. team’s equipment compared to that of whether it be on a team or alone, in “High school hockey teams are a the softball team. front of thousands of spectators or a tricky situation because hockey isn’t a “It’s pretty clear to everyone that dozen. popular sport on the west coast and is sports like football and basketball rake “I wouldn’t say that there’s anything pretty expensive,” Oba said. “We didn’t in much more money in admission unique or advantageous to playing an have enough players or equipment this tickets, which is why I think they underrepresented sport,” Ramkumar season at Paly.” might get more said. “At the end of the day, I enjoy Oba said hockey attention, but I don’t going out to the field every day and deserves more think those factors playing with my teammates, and that’s representation on a should determine the the main thing you can ask for when high school level, but amount of support playing a high school sport.” accomplishing this is that a school gives to a easier said than done. sport,” Ramkumar said.

“The only way for “High school athletics Aidan Seto hockey to thrive in isn’t a for-profit gig, Staff Writer high school athletics is and every sport needs to make it affordable to be treated equally, enough to where high regardless of how much schools are willing money they drive in.” to fund teams,” Oba Although Ramkumar said. “But this is said she understands unlikely if hockey stays Paly is already doing !"#$%&'"()%("* unpopular.” a better job than According to most other schools in Antonio, distributing funding, she funding comes with said there needs to be a clear equality increased popularity, in distributing money to all sports. which is a big factor “I believe that all this information as to why some sports should be available to athletes and

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