CLASH CLASS
Duringa contentious ve-hour special Board of Education meeting on Jan. 23, the Board narrowly approved a freshman ethnic studies course as a high school graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2029. e vote was 3-2, with Board members Shana Segal, Shounak Dharap and Josh Salcman voting in favor while Rowena Chiu and Alison Kamhi voted against.
In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom made ethnic studies a state graduation requirement starting with the class of 2030 by signing Assembly Bill 101. Since then, a group of social studies teachers from Gunn and Paly have worked for two years to create a single-semester ethnic studies course designed to replace one semester of freshman World History.
Both schools o ered one pilot ethnic studies class last semester to freshmen, covering four ethnic minorities: African Americans, Chicanos and Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans and Paci c Islanders.
A week prior to the Jan. 23 special board meeting, Superintendent Don Austin said he realized Newsom never allocated funding to the ethnic studies mandate in his proposed yearly budget. As a result, he said, the course was no longer a state mandate.
After talking to the ethnic studies teachers about this, Austin said he went to the board agendizing committee, consisting of himself, Segal and Dharap.
“First, I went to our ethnic studies teachers, told them what I discovered and told them why I thought it was problematic,” Austin said. “ ey were disappointed but understood. en, I asked our board president and vice president to meet with me and shared the information with them. I recommended pulling (ethnic studies from the agenda), and in our case the president has nal say …(so) we had an agreement (to pull it).”
On Jan. 16, Austin publicly announced the decision to remove the approval of ethnic studies from the agenda of the upcoming board meeting, but after he said that message to the community, he said he received numerous emails criticizing this abrupt change.
“Shortly after, (Segal) called me back and said that she’d like it agendized,” Austin said. “It was too late to put it on (Jan. 21), so we landed on a special meeting date to have it heard.”
Only ve days after ethnic studies was pulled from the agenda, Austin sent a ParentSquare update notifying the community of the special board meeting to discuss the approval of the course.While there were three public meetings about the course over the past year and a half, the full curriculum of the course was never released publicly. About 36 hours prior to the board meeting, Austin released a curriculum outline PDF titled “Curriculum and Sample Lessons.” Social studies Instructional Leader Mary Sano said during the board meeting, though, that this was not the nalized curriculum but a “brainstorming document” from about a year ago. Sano declined an interview request for this story.
Before Sano's statement at the board meeting, some attendees, including parent Alan Crystal, expressed concerns about the document Austin released which included PDFs that posed the question “Is AGENCY gained when oppression is resisted?” to which the notes say, “ at depends on whether or not the oppression was resisted violently or nonviolently.”
Board member Rowena Chiu said prior to the meeting that she didn’t know the document Austin released was un nished and that her understanding of the course’s content was largely based on the brainstorming document.
“I was concerned to nd that the materials as presented to me were either incomplete or during the meeting it was claimed that they were working drafts,” Chiu said. “I did see a slideshow, which I assumed was a form of a lesson plan, but some things seemed removed … After the board meeting. When I went back to look for the slideshow, it was removed from the packet.”
Because topics taught in ethnic studies are sensitive, Crystal said openness about the curriculum is crucial. “ ere was an original direction that the state took about what should be included in the class, and that caused a big uproar amongst many communities because the content was really out of line,” Crystal said. “ e subject of ethnic studies has been very controversial, and that being the case, I think that would be a situation where the school district would want to take extra measures to be transparent."
However, all the students enrolled in the pilot course who spoke at the board meeting gave positive feedback.
“I recently completed the ethnic studies pilot program. I'll admit I had some reservations going into this course,” Gunn pilot student Quinn Boughton said. “I wasn’t sure how much it would apply to me as a white student or whether the topics might make people feel divided or uncomfortable; those fears turned out to be completely unfounded. e curriculum and our teachers were able to navigate this delicate subject matter in a way that was inclusive and engaging for all students.”
And both Paly ethnic studies pilot teachers, Benjamin Bolanos and Christopher Farina, said they provided the community with su cient materials needed for the school board to approve their curriculum.
“We provided the same thing that we provide for all of our course proposals, which is a detail of all of the essential questions and learning target documents across all of our units,” Farina said.
Teleféric
downloaded thousands of proprietary documents before leaving the company. ese documents included customer data and marketing materials, which the Padrosa siblings, who own Teleféric, allege were used to help launch Macarena. In an email response to e Campanile, Macarena denied the allegations.
“Teleféric Barcelona’s allegations are baseless, merely an attempt to sti e competition and hurt our reputation in the press,” the Macarena team wrote. “Our recipes are entirely our own, and we stand by the originality and quality of our culinary creations.”
timely and transparent fashion, and so we also, as board members, have asked to see a full curriculum.” Crystal agrees.
“I’ve been very disappointed by the lack of transparency,” Crystal said. “ ere have been community members and parents who’ve been asking the administration for months … for information about the class. Many community members have been concerned about understanding what’s going to be in the class, but the administration has really not been forthcoming at all.”
3-2
board members vote in favor of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement
And Bolanos said the community should have more trust in teachers and their ability to create a class, without community input.
“We’re the expert on the curriculum and curriculum development,” Bolanos said. “We were trained to teach the discipline we studied and how to do that while it’s e ective and with the best strategies in the classroom.”
In addition, Austin said there’s a balance to be had. ere are people that say they just want to see the daily lesson plans. at’s unprecedented,” Austin said. “ ere’s no course in our entire district where every daily lesson plan is presented. Also, I don't want our school board to think it’s their role to approve daily lesson plans. at would be quite an overreach.”
He also said teachers will be providing a syllabus for the California Ethnic Studies course soon with a more in-depth layout of the course.
Even so, Chiu said there wasn’t enough information for her to vote to approve the course.
“I feel like there’s been very little transparency and inability for the current board members and all the community who are concerned to even judge this,” Chiu said. “We have asked for materials under the California Ed Code … that pertains to instructional materials. ere has been some concern within the community that the district has not provided the materials in a
Teleferic did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. e lawsuit also alleges Linares and Reviriego deleted con dentiality agreements and used Teleféric-provided contacts. In addition, the Padrosas, the co-founders of Macarena, are accused of using Teleféric’s private data to secure business proposals with high-pro le partnerships, such as a contract with the San Jose Sharks for the 2024-2025 NHL season.
e San Jose Sharks did not respond to inquiries regarding the status of the partnership.
For Chiu the environment of the Jan. 23 board meeting made her feel pressured while casting her vote to pause the course, and she wondered how the other board members felt about that before they cast their vote.
“I think it is safe to say generally that the atmosphere in the room was very hostile and intense,” Chiu said. “ e room felt very one-sided. ere was nger clicking and cheering for certain positions and for other positions. Of course that made things very hostile. So certainly I think everybody on the board felt pressure, but I think it is fair to say that the three new board members felt more pressure.”
Following this board’s decision to approve the course for next year's freshmen, Austin said teachers will have full jurisdiction over the course. “ e board’s role on that class ends with approval,” Austin said. “(It’s) beyond the scope of the board. e teachers are happy to revise as they go and to see what’s working and what doesn’t work.”
Farina agrees.
He said, “We do have a continued opportunity to reach out to the community and help them feel comfortable with the version of the course that we’ve developed and understand that we do really feel like it is in the best interest of all of our students to have this course."
Kamhi and Salcman did not respond to interview requests for this story.
Sophomore Lily Liu said the debacle sheds light on competitiveness in the Palo Alto restaurant industry.
“It’s surprising to see such serious legal allegations surrounding something like food,” Liu said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anything like this happening around here before. I’m interested in seeing how it’s going to play out.”
Angela Molyneux, an employee at Sweet 55 in Town and Country, agreed and said the situation may impact hiring practices in the local food service industry.
“It’s going to be hard to trust anybody
that works for you,” Molyneux said. “You might even have to get agreements going soon.”
Despite the ongoing lawsuit, Macarena said it will proceed with its launch as planned.
“We remain con dent in our values and the steps we’ve taken to launch the restaurant,” Reviriego wrote in the email. “We are excited to serve the Palo Alto community and deliver exceptional experiences for our patrons.” A case management hearing will be held in July to determine the next steps.
ARYAN KAWATRA/USED WITH PERMISSION
Dalia Saal Sta Writer
Cindy Liang Sta Writer
Gunn pilot student Quinn Boughton speaks at the special board meeting on Jan. 23 next to Paly pilot student Amaan Ali. " e curriculum and our teachers were able to navigate this delicate subject matter in a way that was inclusive and engaging for all students," Boughton said.
Lucas Lai
Sta Writer
TikTok was brie y unavailable in the United States on Jan. 18 after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring ByteDance, its parent company, to sell the app by Jan. 19 or face removal.
Hours later, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump issued an executive order delaying the ban by 75 days, raising legal questions about his authority to override federal law.
If a solution is not reached within 75 days, the ban will remove TikTok from all app stores and prevent ByteDance from pushing forward new updates, causing the app to slowly degrade.
While TikTok came back online in the U.S. within 12 hours of being shut o , it remains unavailable for download on major app stores such as the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Computer science teacher Roxanne Lanzot said regardless of whether people can still download the app, any ban would be di cult to enforce.
“( e U.S. government) is going to need a lot of compliance in order to actually make this happen,” Lanzot said. “(Apple and Google) are not the only two makers of smartphones. ere are lots of di erent companies making phones that are out there.”
e ban stems from a national security concern that the Chinese government could access sensitive user information since ByteDance is a Chinese company.
According to Wired, TikTok “ ... knows the device you are using, your location, IP address, search history, the content of your messages, what you’re viewing and for how long.” Additionally, multiple studies found the app tracks users even when they aren’t actively using it.
Lanzot said most people are unaware of how much data the app collects.
“What I know from teaching computer science is that almost nobody reads those user agreements, and sometimes apps have an incredible amount of data that they get your permission to access,” Lanzot said. “ e typical habit of all of us Americans is if you want an app, you just ‘yes, yes, yes, accept, accept, accept’ through those terms and agreements.”
In addition to security concerns, some fear the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to spread its propaganda.
Sen. Mark Warner, who was the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee until Donald Trump, said TikTok has the potential to become “the most powerful propaganda tool ever.”
Sophomore Caroline Lee shares Warner’s concerns. She said young adults who rely on TikTok for news are susceptible to propaganda and misinformation
“A lot of teens don’t read the news, and instead they get their news from TikTok,” Lee said.
While Lee said the privacy concerns of using TikTok are real, she also said people should consider the signi cance of TikTok in many people’s lives.
“TikTok has its dangers to national security, but many people use it to communicate with others,” Lee said. “A lot of people would also lose their jobs because some people create content for TikTok as a full-time job.”
Trump, who issued an executive order in 2020 banning TikTok from app stores, reversed his stance in 2024 after meeting with Je Yass, a billionaire Republican donor and ByteDance investor. However, Trump denied discussing TikTok in the meeting.
In March 2024, Trump told CNBC he still thought TikTok was a national security threat, but that “young kids will go crazy without it.”
In September, he posted a video on his social media site, Truth Social, urging people to vote for him in the presidential election.
“If you like TikTok, go out and vote for Trump,” he said in the video. “If you don’t care about TikTok and other things like safety, security, and prosperity, then you can vote for a Marxist who is going to destroy our country.”
Junior Santiago Sanchez said aside from security and propaganda concerns, he is concerned TikTok’s widespread use among teens could be disruptive to their education.
“If TikTok gets banned, I think a good thing that will happen is that students will stop procrastinating as much and not go on their phones as much,” Sanchez said. Ultimately, Lanzot said the trust people have in government in uences their opinions on the ban.
“In the intelligence community, you can’t just tell everybody what’s going on because it then becomes a security leak,” Lanzot said. “It’s one of those moments where we must ask ourselves how much we trust our own government to make the right decision, especially at such a politically fraught moment.”
Meta loosens hate speech prevention
Luca Vostrejs Lifestyle Editor
In what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said was a reaction to political bias and a lack of trust in the system,
Meta removed fact-checking systems from Facebook, Instagram and read’s and loosened hate-speech prevention in early January.
In announcing the change, Zuckerberg said Meta’s social media platforms will adopt Community Notes instead of company fact-checking, providing contributors the opportunity to manually evaluate the accuracy of a post, similar to X’s community notes. Zuckerberg said this approach enables a diverse range of community perspectives to determine whether posts are misleading or need more context, eliminating company bias.
“Experts, like everyone else, have their own biases and perspectives,” Meta said in its press release. “ is showed up in the choices some made about what to fact-check and how.
Over time we ended up with too much content being factchecked that people would understand to be legitimate political speech and debate. Our system then attached real consequences in the form of intrusive labels and reduced distribution. A program intended to inform too often became a tool to censor.”
Community Notes allow users to leave “fact-checks” on posts.
Zuckerberg said some people believe giving more people a voice is driving division rather than bringing us together.
“More people across the spectrum believe that achieving the political outcomes they think matter is more important than every person having a voice,” Zuckerberg said in Meta’s press release. “I think that’s dangerous.”
Junior Xander Deisseroth likes the new move and said community-based fact-checking can minimize polarization.
“I think Community Notes is gonna solve what I view is a really big problem with media today, which is media platforms only expressing one viewpoint, and that leads to a lot of political polarization,” Deisseroth said. “If a platform o ers more than one viewpoint — which Community Notes allow for — then, people are getting a more varied set of perspectives which will help get to the actual truth as opposed to a version of the truth that is biased.”
Although this change may prevent company bias, Jenni Olson, Senior Director of the Social Media Safety Program at GLAAD –– a National LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization –– said Meta’s removal of hate speech prevention makes LGBTQ+ communities more vulnerable. She said Meta modi ed sections of its hateful conduct policy to allow hate speech, citing, “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’”
“ ey are not only permitting anti-LGBT hate speech, but they’re intentionally employing anti-LGBTQ language themselves in the hate speech policy, which is a complete break with best practices in content moderation,” Olsen said. “One of the components of the policy uses this word, ‘transgenderism,’ which is a right wing anti-trans trope that implies that being transgender is an ideology rather than an innate identity.”
Olson said having a company like Meta allow hate speech towards the LGBTQ community is appalling. e allegations of mental illness or abnormality are a horrible right construct,” Olson said. “To say that LGBTQ people are abnormal makes me want to cry. at people could be so terrible and express such hate, but particularly that a company that we think of as a trustworthy, legitimate company would express such extreme anti-LGBT hate is really shocking.”
But addressing hate speech is not an issue exclusive to Meta. Computer science teacher Roxanne Lanzot said hate speech is prevalent on every social media platform.
“I largely stay o of social media, and part of the reason why is because I feel like it’s bombarded with hate speech,” Lanzot said. “Even the social media that I can’t avoid using, like YouTube, I never look at the comments because the times that I have, the terrible, awful things that people are saying, that are totally unrelated, can just ll you with such a deeply hopeless, dark and negative perspective of humanity.”
Olson said this hate speech may foster an environment of fear and enable harassment.
In order to combat it, she said allies need to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community so they can have a voice.
“Much of what happens for LGBTQ people, for people of any protected characteristic — for instance women — is that you’re afraid to say certain things or nervous that if you say something, you might get attacked,” Olson said. at (causes) extraordinarily higher anxiety for people from historically marginalized communities and that means that it actually suppresses my free speech. (If) I am afraid to
say anything because I’m going to be attacked, and that in itself is a harm. LGBTQ people, and especially trans people, right now really need everyone to stand up and express values that this is not okay.”
Not only can hate speech suppress voices, Lanzot said encountering these hate- lled platforms can negatively a ect mental well-being.
“One of the things that I learned really early on as a young person was that once you see something, whatever that thing is, there’s no way to unsee it,” Lanzot said. “Young people are naturally curious about all sorts of things, as they should be, (but) it is easy to stumble upon things that might harm you … emotionally or psychologically.”
And as companies remove automated guardrails, Lanzot said more responsibility falls on the individual.
“Be ever mindful of what you’re looking at and how it a ects you,” Lanzot said. “How do you feel afterwards? Do you feel better? Do you feel refreshed? Do you feel entertained? Or do you feel a bit sad? Do you feel a bit weirded out? Do you feel a bit disconnected? Pay attention to your own reaction to things. If the organizations are not going to protect you from content that might be harmful, it’s even more important to think critically and question everything that you see and read. ink critically about who created this and what was their motivation.”
Despite less guardrails on social media, Lanzot said the younger generation needs to be mindful as it continues using social media.
“Your generation is saddled with a tremendous talk in terms of how to navigate this brave new world of technological innovation,” Lanzot said. “Stay aware of your emotional state. Stay aware of what brings you joy, and stay aware of what doesn’t and what brings you despair, hopelessness or general bad feelings. Try to make the best decisions you can.”
Board expresses support for continued higher math
e Palo Alto Uni ed School District
Board of Education showed support for o ering an advanced math course beyond BC Calculus to students at its Jan. 21 board meeting, but did not pass any o cial motions.
In the spring of 2023, PAUSD decided to stop o ering multivariable calculus on campus, sending students to Foothill or De Anza to take the course instead.
During public comments held at the meeting, many students and parents supported a push to bring multivariable calculus back to campus. Sophomore Kira Tzeng said at the meeting o -campus math courses are inaccessible.
“Last year, I was a starting pitcher on Paly’s softball team, and I also played ag football this past fall,” Tzeng said. “I would have a hard time scheduling an o -campus or after-school class with sports and choir practice.”
At the meeting, Stanford professor Brian Conrad said o ering multivariable calculus in high school is crucial for later success in data science and arti cial intelligence. “ e district provides resources in varsity sports for athletically ambitious students to achieve their full potential,” Conrad said. “Creating equity for intellectually ambitious students … is at least as important as sports.”
However, not everyone supported reintroducing the class. Parent Uzma Minhas said PAUSD has spent unnecessary resources on the course.
“We need to take a zoomed out approach to this,” Minhas said. “Public
schools have a broader mission to provide equitable, free education that prepares all students to become civic-minded individuals. O ering college-level courses like multivariable calculus goes beyond this mission.”
On the other hand, board trustee Rowena Chiu said she supports o ering higher math courses through PAUSD.
“As a parent of four children . . . I have seen the importance of allowing each child to discover their own intrinsic motivation and their own path in life,” Chiu said. “I hope that this district will not suppress advanced acceleration and choice.”
For board Vice President Shounak Dharap, the decision is all about trusting teachers.
“ e best thing we can do is support the professionals in our district to go out on a limb,” Dharap said. “Many math teachers think it might be best for some of our students to have a math elective beyond BC Calculus.”
Board President Shana Segal agreed and said she wants to help every student reach their full potential.
“Based on the sta report and communications between Foothill and PAUSD, o ering multivariable calculus right after school on PAUSD campus in alignment with the PAUSD calendar seems to be the most optimal outcome at this time,” Segal said. “We want to help our students.”
LEGACY OF FLAMES
When Paci c Palisades resident Julie MacIntosh Levin left for work in the early hours of Jan. 7, the radio crackled with a forecast of high winds, stirring unease in her stomach. But once she arrived at work, her anxiety took over, and she quickly rushed home.
“As I drove into town, heading west, I could see the entire hillside right behind the Palisades village on re,” MacIntosh Levin said re ecting on her drive home from work. “With the wind blowing toward the village and toward the blu where I live, I got extremely choked up because it just seemed so di erent from times in the past.”
MacIntosh Levin said that after she arrived home, she and her husband began packing up to immediately leave, just as they had done in two previous evacuations.
“I had never actually seen the ames close by, and so the threat seemed so much more real,” MacIntosh Levin said. “As I was coming back on Sunset, I could already see the cars bumper-to-bumper as people were trying to get out of the Palisades.”
e day after she evacuated Palisades, MacIntosh Levin received a video con rming her fears that her house had burned in the res.
According to the New York Times, although the Los Angeles Fire Department was aware of an increased re risk due to the strong winds and sent out extra re ghting personnel before the res broke out, there was too much wind and not enough resources on the ground to stop the res from spreading. e Palisades and Eaton res eventually burned a combined 37,728 acres of land, some of the most destruction in California history.
While the original cause of the Los Angeles res remains unknown, many recent res in California have been a result of energy infrastructure aws, yielding multiple PG&E lawsuits from power lines above ground catching re. e sheer number and scale of these res have had devastating impacts on the people and communities that have burned.
Chris Field, a wild re researcher and director of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, said res are a natural occurrence in California’s chaparral biome with the region’s hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
“Wild res have always been a part of the ecology of the West,” Field said. “We have ecosystems, whether they’re grasslands or shrub lands or forests, that really have evolved with re, and, in many cases, where re is important for healthy ecosystems.”
However, Field said extreme res are not supposed to occur as regularly as they have in recent years.
ese super high-intensity res that we’ve seen in the last 10 years or so are very unusual in the history of California, and it may be overwhelming the ability of the plants and animals who reside in these places to cope with these conditions,” Field said.
A history of re suppression in California, where forest management immediately puts out res in any form to minimize damage, has led to the buildup of large amounts of dry vegetation, contributing to the recent intensity of the wild res.
“ is recent Los Angeles event is (a) super dry winter combined with these really bad winds that leads to the fuels being so dry and ready to burn, and the winds being so overwhelming that a re crew can’t even stop the re,” said Pete Stewart, a re ghter at the Sonoma Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department.
AP Environmental Science teacher Nicole Loomis said winds blowing in opposite directions further fueled the res and prevented rst responders from quickly putting them out.
“Normally, wind blows from west to east, so from the ocean onto the land, but when they ip, you get really dry, hot winds coming from the Mojave Desert blowing toward the ocean,” Loomis said. “ at is really going to increase the risk and also the magnitude of res because you have no moisture. If any spark happens in that situation, it’s going to be a disaster.”
Disaster and division
By most accounts, the morning of Jan. 7 seemed unremarkable, other than the strong winds that began to pick up as the day went on. e day before the res started, the National Weather service alerted residents of a “life threatening and destructive windstorm.” e rst sighting of the Palisades re occurred at 10:20 a.m. By noon, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the re grew to 1,200 acres.
At 6:18 p.m., fueled by winds of up to 100 mph, the Eaton Fire had reached the town of Altadena. ere, the re destroyed more than 9,400 structures, including 6,000 homes. e rapid spread made evacuation di cult, according to Altadena Treasurer Milissa Marona.
“ ere was a wall of re coming to my house,” Marona said. “Driving out, there was a huge tree that had blocked the road out of our neighborhood … ere was a tornado, a re, coming at us … I felt like the Wicked Witch of the West as I tried to drive. It was unreal.”
When Marona returned to the area after evacuating, parts of the town were completely gone.
“ e northwestern part of the city was hit very hard,” Marona said. “Street after street after street —
A home is engulfed by ames during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8. “Street after street after street — just decimated,” Altadena Treasurer Milissa Marona said. “I went back on a view of the city with the sheri s, and I was with one of my fellow council members as she saw her house for the rst time. As we stood and looked up to the mountain, all you could see was replaces all the way up and nothing else, just one tree that maybe remains and the rest half-burned to the ground.”
SOQUI/USED WITH PERMISSION
Two re ghters from the 2020 Creek Fire ght through the smoke from the nearby ames. “Any time that re ghters or police ofcers are working, there’s good people that are out there trying to do good work and help people,” retired Palo Alto re captain Mark VonAppen said. Photo courtesy of Mark VonAppen.
just decimated. I went back on a view of the city with the sheri s, and I was with one of my fellow council members as she saw her house for the rst time. As we stood and looked up to the mountain, all you could see was replaces all the way up and nothing else, just one tree that maybe remains and the rest half-burned to the ground.”
Many Altadena residents, who are primarily workingclass, owned properties that have grown in value over the years. Now, much of that wealth is gone. Marona said she worries that a lack of compensation from insurance will force those who lost their homes out of the community, without many options for other places to go.
“Lower-income people who maybe had a $1 million property are being o ered $750,000,” Marona said. “ at’s more money than they’ve ever seen in their lifetime. But … what are they going to do with that in Southern California? Nothing. You can’t buy a house for that.”
Following the res, major insurance companies have refused to insure homes. Companies still willing to insure homes have signi cantly raised prices, leaving lower-income and undocumented residents particularly vulnerable.
“I’m sure lots of people checked on the status of their insurance,” Fox said. “I have heard stories of some insurance companies canceling people’s insurance shortly before the storm. A lot of people have had to go to California Insurance, the state insurer of last resort, and they generally have less attractive coverage.”
Field said many insurance companies are pulling out of the state due to California’s insurance protection laws, which make the cost to cover the risk of wild res signicantly higher.
“California tries to be proactive socially and has for many years been trying to protect people from unfair increases in their insurance premiums,” Field said. “ ey set very strict rules on how much premiums could increase … What’s happened in the past and what we’ve seen in the last few years is that … (insurance companies) don’t charge nearly enough premium to cover the risk — that’s why insurance companies have been leaving the state.”
Another complication was that some re hydrants ran dry, prompting a surge of misinformation claiming the mismanagement of the water system caused the water shortage. O cials and experts have said the slow ow was due to low water pressure caused by the vast amount of water that was being used to ght the res. However, President Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that shortages are happening due to water being held in the north that state o cials aren’t sending to Los Angeles.
Marona said the politicization of the re response by Trump creates unwanted distractions for victims.
“All this talk about the re hydrants — a re hydrant only can handle (a few) houses,” Marona said. “You don’t ght forest res with re hydrants. Also, our reservoirs of water burned to the ground, pumps and everything, and the electricity was turned o . If you want to pump the water, you’ve got to have the electricity on.”
According to ABC News, Trump has perpetuated much of the online misinformation and used it to criticize California leadership and threaten to withhold aid. Brian Fies, who lost his home in the Tubbs Fire of 2017, said this politicization has been deeply frustrating.
“ is whole idea of ‘We’re not going to help California unless California adopts our policies’ is just outrageous to me,” Fies said.
Nevertheless, Mark VonAppen, a retired Palo Alto re captain, said emergency responders commit to serving their communities and try to remain una ected by political con ict.
“Any time that re ghters or police o cers are working, there’s good people that are out there trying to do good work and help people, and they try to stay out of politics as much as they can,” VonAppen said.
Community response
e 2017 Tubbs Fire, which was the most destructive re in California at the time, destroyed much of Sonoma and Napa Counties, burning over 36,000 acres of land and killing 22 people.
“My wife and I got up and evacuated about 1:30 in the morning, and we think our whole neighborhood of 200 houses was gone by a half hour later — just gone,” Fies said. “And I walked back the next day. It was seven in the morning and the re was already out. It had burned through so fast and so intensely, and then was over.”
Craig Fox, a Santa Monica victim of the Palisades re and professor at the University of California Los Angeles, said he had stressfully evacuated both his family and another.
“I was teaching a class Wednesday night, and I didn’t know if my house was gonna even survive the class,” Fox said. “ ere had been rumors that there was a re less than a half block from my house. Turns out it was an electrical re that was put out quickly. But when you hear there’s a re, you assume it’s from an ember and that your house is going to go.”
Fies said he too had an emotional reaction as his house burned down.
“One of the most well-meaning and cruelest things people say is, ‘Well, y’all got out alive. It’s just stu ,’” Fies said. “And in response to that, I always say, ‘I used to have
a little Polaroid picture of my twin daughters in utero, an ultrasound of my twin daughters, their little heads right next to each other. I used to have that, but I will never see that again.’”
Fies said the recovery process was also draining.
“Our entire neighborhood was destroyed,” Fies said “We had a little time to put some things in the car, but we lost almost everything. It was just a matter of getting up every day and making a checklist of what we have to get done.”
As a doctor, Brooke Vezino, another Sonoma County resident a ected by the 2017 res, said hospital and pharmacy care soon became overcrowded.
“Because of my profession (as) the family doctor at a federally quali ed health center, we were immediately a rst responder crew, (which) meant that we were waiting to get people their medications because everybody lost their medication,” Vezino said. “Oftentimes communication lines were overloaded to get people medical care.”
Vezino also said the 2017 res left lasting anxiety in the community. “ ere’s been a lot of acute trauma and just kind of shock going on,” Vezino said. “In addition to the folks who were at the core of the loss, there was vicarious trauma to everybody else around them as well… e folks who lost their houses are now watching that same thing happen again in LA, and it’s just bringing up a lot of anxiety and fear—appropriately so—but it’s hard to remember that you’re safe.”
Despite the hardships, Fies said he appreciated how his local community came together to support one another in the aftermath of the disaster.
“Right after the res, there was a real spirit of strong community,” Fies said. “When somebody at a restaurant found out you’d been in the re, they gave you a free lunch. Somebody at the hardware store found out we’d been at the re, so they upgraded my wheelbarrow … Everybody wanted to help, and everybody came together.”
Gian Ngo-Willis, a highschooler in LA who had to be evacuated due to the Altadena re, said he saw a similar response within Altadena as the Eaton re started to be contained.
“Because we don’t have gas, we can’t cook — we either have to eat out or go somewhere else for a meal,” NgoWillis said. “ ere’s a restaurant right by our house called HomeState giving out free meals, free water, free food. People are … walking up and down our street, handing out food, handing out water. We got a bunch of supplies dropped o to us like ashlights, extra masks, extra meals.”
Historically a Black enclave for families eeing the Jim Crow South in the 1920s and ‘30s, Marona said Altadena has a rich, vibrant history, making the loss so much more devastating.
“I love our community, ” Marona said. “I didn’t think that was going to bring me to tears, two weeks later. I am so hopeful (the re) doesn’t change the character of Altadena. Because of white ight in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Altadena had a lot of middle-class and African American families that moved in. ere’s also a large number of Hispanic families that live in Altadena. I love the fact that my kids grew up in Altadena.”
Overall, Ngo-Willis said the recovery initiatives reinforced his bond with his community.
“People can be so cutthroat … in regular life, but this is a really nice reminder people are totally still there for you,” Ngo-Willis said. “ ere’s always an outlet if you need one, especially in a time of need like this.”
Fire prevention, resilience, recovery
Fire suppression has existed in California since the 1850s, when the State Legislature outlawed the intentional setting of res. By 1911, the Weeks Act made “cultural uses of re” illegal, which put an end to the traditional Native
American practice of controlled burns. In the mid-1940s, the Smokey Bear campaign was launched to inform the public to exercise caution with re outdoors to prevent wild res from erupting, as many re ghters were in the military ghting during World War II.
However, ecologists argue that the history of anti- re messaging has caused the buildup of dry wood and material that fuels res. Combined with drought and high intensity winds, this has created dangerous conditions for people living in re-prone areas.
In response, California has adopted new policies that increase the use of controlled burning to reduce the amount of fuel that has accumulated over the years. e state has also put forward re prevention regulations to protect homes from burning.
“ e new standard that Cal Fire is advocating is ve feet around the house with no vegetation at all — they call that Zone Zero,” Field said. “It sounds like, ‘How could 5 feet make a di erence?’ but it’s turned out to be really e ective.”
VonAppen said preventative preparation is essential, regardless of the re risk of a home.
“Make sure that you know you’re ready to go,” VonAppen said. “If something does happen, heed the warnings. If the local authorities tell you that you need to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Having some things ready to go at all times — a ‘go bag’ is extremely important.”
For people living outside of directly a ected areas, Marona said there are ways to help.
“(Altadena residents) have gotten the basics right now, but they want to go out and be able to — just like you would want to — go get what they want to wear and feel comfortable,” Marona said.“Rotary is our trusted source for who we would like the money to go to. You could donate by Venmo or check.”
Although the media and politics can sometimes add unnecessary complications, Fies said the spotlight can help support communities in long-term recovery.
“When you’re the re survivor, it doesn’t really matter much because you’re not paying any attention to the media.” Fies said. “You’re in the middle of the story, but you don’t really know what the story is. (You’re) still digging out of mud and trying to rebuild schools and lives when those cameras go away.”
STORY BY DALIA SAAL, ELISE ANDRADE & NAVEEN NARAYANASWAMI
A re ghter surveys damage during the 2020 Creek Fire. “I got there two days after it started,” VonAppen said. “And so a lot of the big re activity in terms of structures being lost had been stopped, but we were out, you know, ghting, you know, res in the woods for a month around and that kind of thing. So it was fun. You learn a lot about yourself. And it’s great because they send four people, and you really bond.”
Residents assess what’s left of their home, which was burned to the ground during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025. “I love our community,” Marona said. “I didn’t think that was going to bring me to tears, two weeks later.”
Elon Musk’s DOGE is doomed to fail
Whether your reaction in the morning hours of Nov. 6 was full of woe or full of celebration as the presidential race was called, conservatives, liberals and independents alike can agree on one thing: the next four years will be interesting.
President Donald Trump, with the experience of a rst term under his belt, in addition to a Congress and Supreme Court at his will, has the power to shape American politics for decades. But one man who helped put Trump in this position seemingly bought power of his own. Trump named tech icon Elon Musk as the head of DOGE — the Department of Government E ciency — whose stated goal is to slash costs in govern ment expenditures.
Many conservatives and liberals alike expressed cautious optimism about DOGE, due to a skyrocketing de has promised to cut $2 trillion out of the annual budget to help claw back from the de cit. But a slew of misinformed statements from Trump, Musk and their supporters need extra context when evaluat ing DOGE’s e ectiveness.
Musk and Republicans aren’t wrong when they suggest control of the debt is needed. While holding a national debt isn’t inherently bad, the trajectory of our national debt will soon to be unsus tainable. e Wharton School at the University of Pennsylva nia suggests public debt cannot exceed 200% of GDP without defaulting on payments. Today, we are about halfway there.
Projections from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation show government spending outpacing revenue for years to come because of an unsustainable tax structure and rising Medicare and Social Security costs from an aging population. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Treasury Department spent $882 billion on interest payments, a gure that has tripled since 2020 and is roughly equivalent to our annual defense spending. e critical question is whether Musk and DOGE can succeed in their endeavor.
As someone who’s been following Musk for a decade on the business side, I’ve already learned to take his words with a grain of salt. We’re coming up on the 14th anniversary of his “I’ll put a man on Mars in 10 years” interview, and the Tesla Roadster he announced in 2017 and promised in 2020 still has no timeline. But attempting to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget is the most ridiculous promise of all, given that the entire discretionary budget is only $1.7 trillion. A majority of our $6.7 trillion budget is wrapped up in interest payments, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense. Although Musk recently revised this make any cuts to the military, and said that he “will not touch Social Security and Medicare.” When you look at what DOGE actually can cut, the options are slim. Even within the discretionary budget, much of the spending is necessary. lists the top recipients of non-defense discretionary funds going towards veterans’ bene judicial system, income security, international a natural resource management and other necessary expenses.
If Trump and DOGE really do go digging in the budget, the average American will have a lot more to worry about than the de memo announcing a freeze of all federal grants had tens of millions of students, hospitals, educators and more wondering how they would possibly stay a oat. While this order was quickly revoked because of immediate legal backlash, it goes to show the wide-scale impact of sweeping cuts. DOGE will have to focus on smaller endeavors if it is going to be successful. Musk’s most recent proposed cut? e penny. of the penny costs more than the penny itself, and streamlining or eliminating this process could save a grand total of $180 million dollars, chump change in terms of the $500 billion goal. While an optimist would say eliminating ine ciencies could add up to a
more substantial number, the reality isDOGE will be have meaningful impact on the de cit. Any cuts made by DOGE will pale in comparison to the bills Trump racks up. If he goes through with just half of what he says, he will overshadow any DOGE cuts tenfold. Mass deportations alone, with the cost of legal processing, additional agents and detention, is likely to cost
Musk’s involvement in DOGE also represents a con ict of interest. With his position, he has been given access to a trove of government records that could include trade secrets and enforcement actions, creating an advantage for all of his companies. He also now has political leverage to free up regulations for SpaceX’s rocket-launching e orts. SpaceX also has tens of billions of dollars wrapped up in contracts with NASA and the limits under his leadership. Other large Trump donors, in pharmaceuticals, transportation, surveillance and
But the money is just one side of the story. e behind-the-scenes operation of DOGE also raises questions. Musk bought his way into his position. In addition to buying and politically weaponizing Twitter/X, Musk was the single largest donor in the 2024 election cycle, committing $277 million to Trump and other Republican candidates.
His America Political Action Committee paid voters in some states to sign petitions pledging to support the First and Second Amendment. And while it’s nearly useless to try to analyze the behavior of the eccentric billionaire, his political views drifting over time surely raises questions about
He donated to Obama in 2008, supported Clinton’s campaign promises in 2016, and at the time called Trump’s nomination “embarrassing.” ered and accepted positions on two of Trump’s White rst term, he stepped down in 2017, ironically disagreeing over Trump’s desire to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. However, it was during these years his donations started to skew Republican, with Musk saying he voted for a Republican candidate for the As recently as 2022, Musk suggested Trump was too old to hold the ce, and said he planned to support Ron DeSantis. Musk’s political switch-up seems to raise several questions about his motive, parect his own self-interest.
Musk’s relationship with Trump is also one to pay attention to, practically certain to end in disaster. Two egotistical billionaires, one with power, and one with the illusion of power (DOGE is an advisory committee, not a new department of the federal government) will publicly clash should any rst of these may have already arisen — Trump announced the new $500 billion Stargate AI venture from OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle, yet Musk is currently involved in a lawsuit with OpenAI Trump is also strongly opposed to electric vehicle mandates that would serve Musk’s Tesla enterprises well. Vivek Ramaswamy, the other original co-head of DOGE, quit DOGE a mere hours into Trump’s presidency after clashing with Musk, a harbinger that the sustainability of the commitWhen thinking about long-term sustainability of this committee, just look toward past precedence. DOGE is nothing more than the latest in a long line of failed government audits. An opinion piece by Laura Tyson, former chair of the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers, points out that nearly every attempt at cutting the government budget, from the Grace Commission under Reagan to the Hoover Commission under e private-sector business approach to running govRather, Tyson argues that of the fourth of the government budget reform commissions that succeed, all of them are run by public-sector employees who design legislation and track their performance with digital tools. Until the government meaningfully invests in digitization and other operational processes that are decades behind private busiciencies will cause money to slip through the Instead of scapegoating the penny, the government could help equip the understa ed IRS with the resources needed to close the $600 billion tax ective way to improve our debt. Until Trump and DOGE change their approach, DOGE will ultimately be a meme-worthy spectacle chasing its
Rohan Bhatia Sports Editor
Fan ction should be treated as a legitimate literary genre
Cherianne Yoon News/Opinion Editor & Art Director
If the genres of literature—non ction, sci- , romance, thriller, fantasy, mystery and others—were students in high school, fan ction would be the loner sitting in the corner of every room, brooding in angst, or the designated “mis t” of the literary universe—overlooked, dismissed and most of all, unfairly judged. ough criticized for not measuring up to more “legitimate” forms of writing, fan ction has layers of creativity and fosters a loyal community that inspires members to write and read, allowing people to express their own interpretations.
In the same way we remix and reuse allusions and metaphors, fan ction is another form of creative reimagining. If there’s one thing my AP Literature class has taught me so far, it’s that everything and anything can be related back to the Bible. Gardens, snakes, apples and oods all serve as universal symbols used to explore larger themes such as betrayal, sin, and redemption.
In fact, the Bible is so widely recognized that even authors who are not explicitly religious incorporate biblical themes into their works. And isn’t it the same with Harry Potter or Twilight fan ction? ese two literary works are so widely known and integrated into
modern pop culture that you can’t escape them. erefore, for many authors, it is almost inevitable that their work draws inspiration from their own experiences with literature.
Over the years, many online reading platforms have emerged, free and accessible to anyone with an electronic device, expanding the audience for fan ction and enabling faster exchange of ideas.
For instance, Archive of Our Own, or “AO3,” was founded in 2008 and has rapidly grown to be one of the largest and most open stores of fan ction. Users can upload, share, comment on stories and sort through their preferences with an intricate tagging system.
Wattpad, with over 90 million monthly users, is not only a platform for fan ction but also a space where hundreds of writers publish their own novels and short stories, gaining both fans and opportunities for amateur writers to catch the attention of publishing agents. ese platforms provide the rst stepping stones for aspiring authors who want to tell their stories or bibliophiles in marginalized communities that lack the money to publish their works or purchase physical books, platforms like AO3 and Wattpad are the rst stepping stones into the literary world.
Overall, the in ux in writers has increased representation and inclusivity in the fan ction and literary community—a wide variety of di erent backgrounds, characters, experiences, and cultural values re ected in each story—allowing readers to relate to these stories beyond mere entertainment.
Unfortunately, published works on platforms like Wattpad and AO3 are frequently mocked, with both writers and readers being looked down upon for interacting with stories that aren’t traditionally published, usually considered as “lower” quality.
But the varying quality may just be a natural opportunity cost for giving everyone the liberty of writing and adding their own twist onto stories, and at the end of the day, the quality of one’s work is often subjec-
tive, it shouldn’t take away the value of fan ction or non-traditionally published stories. More importantly, looking down on these stories may discourage writers from writing at all.
Recent adaptations of fan ction like Fifty Shades of Grey (inspired by Twilight), as well as After and e Idea of You (both originally Harry Styles fan ctions) have broken into mainstream media, demonstrating that the fan ction community is still rapidly growing. roughout fan ction, authors can challenge contemporary literature to reevaluate traditionally overlooked concepts such as a diverse cast of characters, found family, friendships, and a deeper exploration of identity.
While adaptations and fan ction are sometimes dismissed as “cringey” or overly sentimental, truth be told, they bring joy and a sense of belonging to many. More importantly, fan ction has cultivated a vast and inclusive community, democratizing storytelling by proving that anyone with passion and creativity can contribute to the literary world.
All in all, fan ction plays a crucial role in our literary culture, shaping and in uencing the original works it draws from while using innovative storytelling to challenge the rigid mold of mainstream conventions. Far from being the sidelined “mis t” of the literary universe, fan ction deserves a seat at the literary table.
ART BY CHERIANNE YOON
One size (doesn’t) t all
Every time I step into Brandy Melville, I admire the clothing racks lled with vintage-inspired T-shirts, dainty tank tops, soft sweatpants and oversized hoodies. Cream-colored mannequins model carefully-picked out ts that re ect the common desire of a teenage girl’s wardrobe.
Wandering through the store, my ngers run over fabrics. One in particular catches my eye, I glance at the tag and the words “ONE SIZE” glare back up at me, a reminder of Brandy’s all-too-familiar (and often controversial) sizing policy.
Brandy Melville is a clothing company known for its e ortless California-inspired attire. First founded in Italy in the '80s by Silvio Marsan and his son, Stephan, now the brand's CEO, the company has since captured the hearts of many around the world. But, despite its widespread popularity, I bet you have never seen a Brandy advertisement before. So, how did they reach this level of recognition? One word: exclusivity. e brand rst rose to popularity through social media in uencers who catered to its female teenage audience, most of whom follow the mainstream/popularized aesthetic of young, thin, white and often-blonde girls. When you shop at Brandy, you join a community who strive to achieve a certain look only attainable by wearing Brandy clothes, developing an almost “beauty standard” based on if someone can t into Brandy’s clothes or not.
Since its opening, Brandy has faced mass controversy.
Not only do accusations about their toxic work environment, including unreasonable standards for employees, raise suspicion about what really goes on behind closed doors, but their sizings exclude a majority of Americans.
Brandy’s “one size” corresponds to an XS/S and really only ts sizes 00-4, even though the average girl is around size 6. Even though their clothes are marketed as “one size”, its tops are made from stretchy material, creating the illusion that it can be stretched to t all body types. In reality, Brandy Melville ts some, but not all.
In a documentary called Brandy Hellville & e Cult of Fast Fashion, social media posts show teenagers complaining about how they weren’t tting into Brandy clothes and how they plan on losing weight in order to t into them. e documentary also highlighted how both customers and employees struggled with eating disorders and body image issues because of Brandy’s marketing and work environment. It even said Marsan
required full body pictures of employees before they went to work, ring any employee whose looks he deemed unsatisfactory.
Brandy’s corporate culture even perpetuates body problems that already exist. A study by the National Organization for Women reports that at age 13, 53% of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” is grows to 78% by the time girls reach 17, an age demographic Brandy Melville targets, one who will be even more negatively impacted by the “one size” policy. Keep in mind, teenage years are generally the most di cult — with our heads already wrapped up in nding ourselves, who we are, and who we want to become, the added pressures of physically “ tting in” with made-up, absurd standards creates a harmful self-environment.
In a world gradually embracing body-positivity and inclusivity both in-person and online, Brandy Melville’s de ant act of upholding destructive standards stands in stark contrast to its competition. Most clothing brands have shifted to
more inclusive sizing (including plus sizes and plus-size collections), even promoting self-love through advertisements and showing commitment to representing all consumer body types. Not only does this re ect well on a company’s values, but it also attracts more customers, where shoppers of all body types can enjoy the clothing. Along with body positivity, many popular clothing brands have also emphasized diversity in their marketing. It is now common to see a vast array of ethnicities on display in advertisements. When diversity is represented in brands, it also broadens the audience of consumers willing to shop at a store. People will be more inclined to shop somewhere if they see someone who looks like them being elevated by a brand. is exclusivity isn’t just a marketing choice — it’s a statement. One that sets Brandy Melville apart in the competitive and abundant world of fast fashion. With an estimated annual yearly revenue of $93.5 million Brandy’s success is undeniable, and while it’s unlikely that they will abandon its signature “one size” model, they may eventually nd that exclusivity comes at a cost. Brandy Melville did not respond to requests for an interview.
e overlooked genius behind those who make us laugh
Humor, de ned as the quality of being amusing or comic, is a human quality that is often overlooked. From children’s knock knock jokes to renowned comedians, evoking laughter in others has always been regarded as a desirable trait. Few understand the intellectual quality behind these quips, categorizing humor as a super cial property. However, I believe the quality of humor is one of the greatest forms of intelligence.
Humor is often stereotyped in the media and society. e trait is associated with charisma, lightheartedness and super cial interaction. Many think that “funny” or “fun” people are not as smart or capable of being serious. Generally, “popular” kids in high school share a common thread of being fun to be around and able to carry conversations through humor and jest. However, these individuals are rarely considered to be intel ligent, portrayed as not caring for school and having bad grades. From Cher in “Clueless” and Elle in “Legally Blonde” to the entire “Breakfast Club,” pop culture perpetuates this stereotype. Perhaps society deems funny people less intelligent because their idiocy or “dumbness” is what makes them so funny. Similar to the common “class clown” archetype, a person's airhead behavior, whether it be falling o chairs or failing to answer elementary math questions, evokes laughter in others.
Several TV characters follow this trope. e classic Nickelodeon's children show, “Victorious,” features Ariana Grande as the main character Cat, the bubbly and dull-witted redheaded girly-girl that everyone’s always howl ing at because of her foolish commentary. Likewise, Karen in “Mean Girls” delivers some of the most iconic comedic lines of the movie, from spelling “orange” wrong to genuinely wondering how Cady could be from Africa since she’s white. Furthermore, in “ e Hangover,” the character Alan de nitely stands out as the “dumb” character, but he delivers some of the sharpest lines during the lm. is classic representation of humor is exactly what drives most people to think that humor cannot be associated with intelligence. humans nd stupidity thrilling. A laugh may always come from poking fun
at other people or at yourself. It’s a common tactic many renowned comedians use. However, humor can also be dangerous if taken too far. e best kind of comedians are those who can be funny without being mean. According to Time Magazine, comedian Jo Koy faced backlash after the 2024 Golden Globes for his sexist poke at the “Barbie” movie, o ending the actors and creators of the lm. Koy said: “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721-page Pu-
just right so it’s relevant while avoiding being o ensive. A perfect example of this was the 2025 Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose witty commentary displayed his knowledge of the actors, nominees and their movies. “ e jokes are hard hitting, but I’m not out for blood,” Glaser said in an interview on the red carpet with Entertainment Tonight. “You won’t be crying later about my jokes. Don’t be cruel, be a cool person who can laugh at yourself. I’m not throwing any punches, I just don’t wanna ruin anyone’s evening. If I make a joke about you, I promise it’s not to take you down or point out something about yourself that no one else knows.” e audience was incredibly engaged in Glaser’s performance. For example her leading comment, “I’m scared, Ariana hold my nger?” is listed in an article by Billboard. is was a reference to Ariana Grande holding her fellow “Wicked” cast member Cythia Erebo’s ngernail in an interview. Not only was the joke received positively from Grande and others, Grande engaged with Glaser mimicking holding her nger. Furthermore, with one of my and the BBC’s personal favorites, “Zendaya, you were incredible in Dune, I woke up for all of your scenes,” Glaser proved her ability to subtly mock the movie, while also complementing the actress. e best humor requires utmost knowledge and awareness. e almost psychic ability to be able to “read the room” and anticipate how an audience will receive a line requires a deep social emotional intelligence that most take a lifetime to acquire. e best comics must understand perfect timing and human patterns. Furthermore, a funny person requires a wide knowledge of current events and pop culture on the top of their head, and the wisdom to use this information wisely and timely.
MIRAI MATSUZAWA / THE CAMPANILE
Brandy Melville, a California-based clothing store with a location in Downtown Palo Alto, was rst founded in the 1980's by Silvio Marsan. In her article, Mirai Matsuzawa writes, “Since its opening, Brandy has faced mass controversy. Not only do accusations about their toxic work environment, including unreasonable standards for employees, raise suspicion about what really goes on behind closed doors, but their sizings exclude a majority of Americans.”
Mirai Matsuzawa Sta Writer
Zoya Prabhakar Sta Writer
Pause ethnic studies requirement
In a 3-2 vote at its Jan. 23 meeting, the Palo Alto Board of Education approved California Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement for the class of 2029.
e Campanile thinks the board made the wrong decision and should have instead followed the amendment proposed by board member Alison Kamhi to delay the implementation of the course by a year. We support the values of an ethnic studies course in fostering discourse and educating students on the history of minority groups within California, which is minimally covered in current freshman and sophomore social studies courses. However, because of concerns over the curriculum draft and the lack of transparency about what is being taught, we think further consideration and community involvement are necessary before the course is implemented.
A slippery slope
In a Jan. 16 letter to the community, Superintendent Don Austin said the original September 2023 mandate to require the course for the class of 2029 was contingent on funding from the state legislature, which has been paused inde nitely.
Austin said the state’s initial attempt at creating a model ethnic studies curriculum “proved so problematic that it had to be largely discarded and rewritten, resulting in a broad, ambiguous document that has led to local divisiveness across California” and the extreme politicization of the course “(undermines) the true goal of the course: to foster insightful, well-guided discussions.”
And it is not just the state that has struggled with developing a curriculum. Before the board meeting, Austin released, along with the California Ethnic Studies course description, a PDF titled “Curriculum and Sample Lessons,” which many assumed was a nalized version of what would be taught in the course. But during the meeting, Paly social studies Instructional Leader Mary Sano said the le was a brainstorming draft compiled a year ago. Board member Rowena Chiu then asked if there was an updated curriculum created within the past year, to which there was no response. is implies either a concrete curriculum has not been developed or the district is unwilling to release it. Both options are equally worrisome. In addition to community distrust, other districts have already facednancial consequences due to failure or refusal to release ethnic studies curriculums. Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District, for example, agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in January for not releasing its ethnic studies curriculum under a public records request.
is uncertainty was heightened when, during the board meeting, board member Shounak Dharap asked “What is ethnic studies?” to the teachers who piloted California Ethnic Studies during the 2024-2025 school year.
Gunn social studies teacher Ariane Tuomy said the course intends to include “co-constructed” discussions but did not provide what the conversations were actually about other than that they “are centered in the disciplines of African-American, Asian, Paci c Islander, Latina and Native Americans” and will “look at the history.”
In addition to uncertainty over the topics covered, the claim the course prioritizes discussions during lessons is debatable. Survey data from the pilot classes conducted this year shows some students said the “debates stood out as particularly impactful because classmates got a chance to converse about their ideas” and prepared them “to engage in meaningful conversations much more because of all the very important class discussions.”
But other students said there was “very minimal discourse throughout (the) discussions” and “the course did not have debate or conversation as a big part, so the class never got a chance to practice.” ese comments highlight inconsistencies that can be addressed through the release of a formalized curriculum for the community to review.
However, Gunn social studies Instructional Leader Je Patrick said the release of the curriculum would threaten his teaching agency by restricting him to a curriculum outlined by the community, eroding trust in his teaching capability. Paly social studies teacher Benjamin Bolanos called the requests the “de nition of micromanaging” during the board meeting.
But instructional agency should not come at the cost of transparency, and adjusting to students’ needs should not con ict with the educational standards of a course. We trust teachers to discuss controversial topics responsibly, but that does not equate to blindly following every decision made. AP courses require teachers to follow syllabi to prepare their students for exams, yet classes can still maintain exibility. e purpose of a curriculum is to provide information about the content, not the schedule, of a class.
Board member Shana Segal said curriculum requests could be a “slippery slope,” because most courses only require a course description for board approval. Ethnic studies, though, especially being a required course, requires special attention because of the sensitivity of the topics.
During the approval of a PAUSD sex education curriculum in 2017, for example, community members requested the curriculum be released to the public. Max McGee, superintendent at the time, said parents should
have time to review course materials and make informed decisions on whether their children should opt out of the lessons, and some board members at the time said parental input should have been incorporated. We should not repeat the same mistakes of limiting openness and collaboration. If the district and teachers leading this course are afraid of these conversations, we are worried about the freedom of discussion within the classrooms as well.
Content misinformation
Increased transparency is especially necessary as we think parts of the current curriculum are problematic.
Linked in the “Curriculum and Sample Lessons” document, a 7-year-old video titled “Sex & Sexuality: Crash Course Sociology #31” describes how “among the Sambia of the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, young boys perform oral sex on, and ingest the semen of, older men, as part of a rite of passage to adulthood” and that “it’s not clear that this should be thought of as sexual.”
Multiple sample documents pose the question “Is AGENCY gained when oppression is resisted?” to which the notes say, “ at depends on whether or not the oppression was resisted violently or nonviolently.”
We think it is misleading and dangerous to teach students that violent resistance is inevitable and necessary.
In response to our request for comment on the video, Bolanos said it was “not taught” and part of “a list of options to discuss intersectionality.” Given that these samples were present in the brainstorming document, we acknowledge these materials may not be in the nal curriculum. However, their presence still poses serious questions. e topic of sexuality is not mentioned in the course description, yet it is one of the rst topics considered by the teachers during their brainstorming, creating confusion about the goals of the course.
Furthermore, if speci c course content has been developed, it is reasonable for community members to assume the resources presented at the board meeting are the ones used in classes. It is unacceptable for the district to ignore concerns and expect parents and students to support a course that may include content condoning sexually explicit behavior between minors and adults or violence. If this is “misinformation,” then the district can easily alleviate those concerns by releasing the entire curriculum.
e course description also includes questions like “How much power do I have in my society?” and learning objectives like “I can re ect on my own positions of privilege and power.”
With these questions and objectives framed as having de nite answers, the course risks generalizing ethnic identities and reinforcing the xed mindset that
Chiu should apologize, not resign
After a heated ve-hour school board meeting where a required freshman ethnic studies course was approved by a narrow 3-2 margin, newly elected board of education member Rowena Chiu, on Jan. 27, reposted an X post referencing statements at the meeting from Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danae Reynolds.
e original post, made by the account “Asians Against Wokeness,” alleged Chiu was “gang(ed) up on” by school employees during the Jan. 23 meeting. Chiu has since removed the repost, which had accumulated over 1,000 likes and nearly 100 comments — many of them racist and physically threatening toward Reynolds, who is Black.
During the meeting, Chiu said she didn’t feel safe, but Reynolds cautioned attendees against using the word “safe” in a situation that is merely “uncomfortable.” It is unclear whether Reynolds’ distinction between feeling unsafe and feeling uncomfortable was addressed to Chiu, and Reynolds could not be reached for comment.
Regardless of the context of Reynolds’s response, e Campanile thinks Chiu should take responsibility for amplifying a racist account and retweeting a post that could incite attacks toward a district employee. e original X post contained the link to the full board meeting video and a screenshot of Reynolds’ pro le on the district website. We recognize the board meeting was tense, with loud cheering, which created a potentially antagonistic environment towards those in support of pausing the implementation of ethnic studies. But we think Chiu’s rst line of recourse addressing her safety concerns should have been through proper channels with district human relations.
Although Chiu has since said she does not condone the Asians Against Wokeness account, we expect elected board members to not bring attention to organizations inciting racism, hate and division. And as a minimal standard, board members also should verify and fact-
check what they are reposting on social media, ensuring what they publish to the school community doesn’t cause further tension and target students or employees. Chiu should also not have ampli ed a post that was inaccurate. e post claimed that Reynolds “lecture(d) her about how the word ‘unsafe’ is essentially inappropriate for people of Asian background because Asians are not truly oppressed,” even though no one in the meeting mentioned Chiu’s racial background. Reynolds also did not gang up on Chiu, as the post claimed. Reynolds’s comments were her own, and she did not coordinate with other attendees to target Chiu during the meeting.
e Campanile also recognizes the large power imbalance between Chiu and Reynolds. No employee should have their superior retweet screenshots of their personal bio online or be subjugated to racist comments. We appreciate that Chiu released a statement apologizing to Reynolds and deleted her original X post, but we also think Chiu should privately apologize to Reynolds, if she hasn’t already done so. With 65 members of the Palo Alto Management Association and 13 former board members calling for Chiu’s resignation, e Campanile thinks Chiu, to move forward as an e ective board member, must hold open, honest conversations with district stakeholders to clarify misinformation spread by her retweet and hear their grievances. Unlike many organizations, though, we are not calling for Chiu to resign, which we think could create a precedent for calling for resignations without giving someone appropriate time to rectify a mistake they made, especially since Chiu is supported by and represents a large community within our district. Her resignation would not currently reverse any potential harm that was caused. But what Chiu does need to do is to restore her credibility as a leader in our district, modeling correct behavior for the students she makes decisions for by taking accountability for her mistakes.
power and privilege is innate and cannot be changed. Combined with an oppressor-oppressed approach, which categorizes students into binaries based on their race, these topics can lead to potential alienation or division among students regardless of educational professionalism.
Ignored complaints
Despite these concerns, defense of the course was largely in uenced by student input, especially during the board meetings. But it is crucial to examine which voices are being ampli ed.
Students who participated in this year’s pilot course either volunteered or were selected to participate by their middle school teachers. While not all pilot students may be biased toward the class, since they were not a random selection of students, their perspectives may not re ect that of the broader student body. In fact, a Schoology survey sent in January, which was later taken down, indicated students were split on approving the course. Similarly, an Instagram poll sent out by the Associated Student Body in January resulted in a 50-50 vote on whether or not the course should be implemented. It was, however, not clear in either survey that the course would replace a semester of World History and not be an extra required elective, which may have in uenced results.
Regardless, the district appears unaware of students who have concerns. During the board meeting, Austin said “not a single complaint that came forward through any of our channels” based on the pilot survey’s results despite some criticism. is suggests the district either disregarded or has not put e ort into understanding the varied opinions of our community outside of a small cohort of students.
By pausing California Ethnic Studies approval for a year, the district would have more time to collect community input to ensure the curriculum fosters productive discussions for students of all backgrounds. Ideally, this would allow for a randomly selected pilot to minimize bias and collect data to further improve the course.
At the bare minimum, we ask the district to release all California Ethnic Studies instructional materials and initiate community input sessions that are transparent and collaborative as opposed to the presentation-style meetings, which many of the past ones have been.
For a course meant to teach students mutual understanding, it is contradictory to withhold information that would allow open discussions and educate the community on crucial topics.
If the purpose of ethnic studies is to have di cult, uncomfortable conversations, this is one we should be having.
The Campanile
Samanvika Senthil Kumar
B1 B1
Lifestyle
Picturing Purpose
On New Year’s Day, junior Talia Boneh settles into her favorite spot at her local co ee shop with her laptop in hand, ready to set the tone for the year ahead. On one tab, Pinterest lls the page with images of study aesthetics and healthy food “inspo;” on another, Canva — the canvas for the digital collage that will shape her 2025. Boneh said she creates a board at the beginning of each year because of its fun and simplic ity.
“It really forces you to think through what you want for yourself and what kind of lifestyle you want to live, so having all that up there as a reminder of the kind of person you want to be is really helpful,” Boneh said. “It can be easy to feel very immersed in everything that’s going on in your life, and you feel like you don’t really know what’s going on, so having that reminder that you’re still a person and you still have goals that you can work towards—it’s grounding in a way.”
Boneh is one of many students who uses vision boards — collages of images, quotes and goals — as a way to stay motivated and set inten tions for the new year. While created as a tool for re ection and inspira tion, vision boards have gained widespread popularity beyond personal use. A TD Bank survey found that one in ve successful entrepreneurs use vision boards when starting their business, with 76% reporting their progress has aligned with their vision. Freshman Nieve Teetzel agreed and said her vision board incorporates areas of her life she wanted to improve from last year.
“I look at it pretty much every day, maybe not actively, but at least when I wake up I see it on my desk, and I think that’s a really great way to start your day — to just ground yourself,” Teetzel said.
For Boneh, these daily goals in digital format are a constant reminder of her priorities.
“I actually set my vision board as my wallpaper on my iPad, so whenever I open up my iPad to go study, I have this really big layout of ‘be healthy,’ ‘be productive,’ ‘be focused,’” Boneh said. “Over time, I might start paying a little bit less attention to my mood board, but it’s still there as a reminder.”
Vision boards are often tied to the concept of manifestation, the idea that focusing on speci c goals can help bring them to reality. While psychology teacher Chris Farina said there haven’t been many studies on manifestation, he noted for many people it may have similar results to the placebo e ect.
“Your beliefs about what outcomes are likely to be have a psychological impact,” Farina said. “We know from a biomechanical standpoint it’s not doing anything. What it really seems to be doing is boosting their con dence, and so when they do that ritual, they actually do perform better.”
Because of how motivation works, Farina said vision boards could have a larger impact than writing down goals in a text format.
“Having the visual component to it has a strong impact because not only have you taken the time to create what that vision looks like, but it helps you more clearly realize the outcome that you’re striving for,” Farina said.
However, Farina said some vision boards lack the procedure and speci city that SMART goals, a type of goal-setting framework emphasizing Speci c, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives, provide. “ e speci city of doing SMART goals helps in a way that maybe like a pure vision board of just the outcome might be a little bit more general,” Farina said. “Oftentimes, if people set a goal, the goal might just be the outcome rather than the process that leads to an outcome. And if you just focus on the outcome, you’re less likely to see results.”
Overall, Farina said vision boards can help people maintain motivation ere can be an interpretation of, ‘ ey project an aura out into the world, then the world will change’ — there’s no scienti c evidence for that,” Farina said. “But it does make you more likely to maintain your e orts even when things get tough.”
Boneh also said whether vision boards are e ective is dependent on the mindset of who made them.
Junior Dylan Chen needs a break. He’s tired, hours of work slowly grinding down his stamina, but he knows just what he needs to do. He throws on a pair of headphones and pulls up his rock playlist, cranking up the volume to drown out the outside world.
Besides using music to study, Chen, like many students, said he also listens to music to relax during the day.
goals,” Boneh said. “ e vision board is something to help push you, but at the end of the day, it is you who’s initiating it.”
For Teetzel, vision boards are best used to celebrate and embrace rather than reinvent.
“ ere’s a common misconception that creating a vision board is about becoming a better version of yourself, but for me, making the vision board
already have,” Teetzel said. “It’s been great to have something in my
Post-pandemic music culture booms reshape trends
“If I’m in a di erent mood, I listen to di erent music, and it’s just a great thing to have around me, especially on my laptop and phone,” Chen said.
e country is listening to more music than ever before. In 2023, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry found that people listen to an average of 20.7 hours per week, up from 20.1 hours per week in 2022 — or almost 45 days per year.
For some, music can take on di erent roles. Senior
William Tu said music plays an important role in his daily life.
“I need music to dance,” Tu said. “I also listen when studying or when I’m driving, honestly anywhere.”
Tu said all his listening has helped him make social connections with those who have shared musical tastes, both online and at Paly.
“I know a lot of people that listen to the same genre, so it’s something I can talk about with other people,” Tu said. “Also, albums and idols are very good looking, so it’s nice to have those photo card things and it’s great bonding time with other people.”
For math teacher Alexander Dade, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic where he started to see artists start breaking out of the mold.
“People spent a lot of time in lockdown learning music, and there are a lot of great musicians who came from COVID because they had the time to actually sit down and learn music,” Dade said.
He also said that COVID a ected people’s moods, further shaping the musical landscape. e general vibe made people more introspective, and that made people crave more introspective music,” Dade said. “It also made people bored, which meant that people wanted to dance. And so we’ve had sort of a resurgence of disco, and electronic music has exploded, which I think is awesome.”
Dade also said the current innovation with top artists in today’s music, makes the landscape more diverse.
“It is interesting to see an explosion of hip-hop and pop as the dominant genres,” Dade said. “ ey always have been, but it’s interesting to see more experimental aspects of those genres starting to come into the mainstream with artists like Charlie XCX and Kendrick Lamar and Chappell Roan, who are really pushing the boundaries of pop and hip-hop music, but also are some of the most successful people in their elds.”
Dade said some popular artists are starting to explore their music and working with sounds others hadn’t used before.
“For example, Kendrick Lamar with his 2015 album
‘To Pimp A Butter y’,” Dade said. “He incorporated so much jazz, live jazz, jazz samples, spoken word and stu that hadn’t really been explored, at least at that level.” But the growing popularity of music has also create downsides.
Chen said streaming services have homogenized music rather than diversifying it.
“Let’s say you like Taylor Swift, right?” Chen said. “Suddenly, it’s a nationwide, worldwide sensation that Swift’s music is so good, and people just tune their taste to Swift and that genre of music, and that takes up all the market.”
Dade said the rise of streaming has changed the way music is consumed.
“As someone who previously pretty much only listened to albums front to back, I de nitely think the album is not quite as much emphasized as singles, and the way that music is released just looks very di erent,” Dade said.
For those who feel that contemporary music is bland, Chen said he recommends older music.
“I like exploring di erent styles, like rock, ‘70s, ‘80s,” Chen said. “I think music of the past was way more diverse and had much more soul to it.”
On the other hand, Dade said it’s an exciting time to be keeping up with the music landscape.
“I think pre-COVID, things were a little bit stagnant,” Dade said. “If we’re talking the past couple years post-COVID, I think music’s in a pretty good state right now.”
Managing Editor
Annika Chu News/Opinion Editor
Lifestyle
Student activism increases
When he was 8 years old, senior Faizan Kashmiri attended his rst protest. Surrounded by members of his family, Kashmiri was introduced to advocacy not just as a spectator in the 2017 Women’s March after Donald Trump was rst elected president, but also as an activist.
“My mother brought me to the Women’s March, and that was my rst real taste of it,” Kashmiri said. “Since then, I’ve joined a political organization, the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. I consider myself involved in working around labor issues and getting involved in the chapter, which I’ve done after Trump was elected.” Kashmiri said participating in a strike at Sequoia Hospital a few years ago as the youngest protester there allowed him to realize the impact he could have on the world.
“I remember this woman,” Kashmiri said. “She was this older woman, who’d been working there, and she said, ‘Never have I seen such power like this before.’ at really got me involved in organized labor and (understanding the) power people can have in this country.”
Junior Nusaybah Mohsin also said participating in protests helped her nd community.
“It’s also empowering to see that you’re around all these other people who care about the same issue,” Mohsin said. “While you’re chanting or holding that sign, you really feel like you’re a part of change.”
However, protests are not the only way to bring social change. Junior Kathryn Chen said she shows her support for causes that matter to her in other ways, choosing to prioritize awareness instead of protesting.
“I am passionate about mental health e orts and environmental concerns,” Chen said. “I stay updated on current events and news related to those subjects, as well as discussing the issues with other people (to) spread awareness.”
Chen said increasing awareness is an option for students who face difculty engaging in protests.
“San Francisco or Berkeley have a lot more active activism,” Chen said. “(Protests) are not really in Palo Alto because there are time and distance constraints. Even though I would prefer to see a world in which I do more
in the future, it feels really hard when you’re in high school. You don’t have full freedom. You can’t vote on issues you care about.”
In addition to logistical constraints, Chen said some students are also afraid of facing backlash from participating in protests.
“I know people who feel deeply about these social issues, but they don’t want to go because they’re worried that it could a ect them getting a job or getting into college,” Chen said.
And Mohsin said potential exclusion from Palo Alto discourages genuine advocacy despite the community’s attempts to promote it.
“I think Palo Alto has always been an interesting place,” Mohsin said. “We advertise ourselves as very diverse, and I think to a degree, we denitely are, but there’s always that little bit of fear of saying something that doesn’t go with the general norm.”
Isabella Bian Newsletter Editor
Evolution of education: technology changes learning experience
to train people with basic skills, but requirements have extended beyond that.
It’s 7:50 am as you walk into your rst period class. e room is full of chatter about the highlights from last night’s football game and e Campanile’s recently published, hilarious (and controversial) April Fool’s edition. Your teacher’s call for attention turns the class towards her, eager and engaged, as she begins writing a warm-up problem on a blackboard that stretches across all four walls of the room. e year is 1985. You wonder: what might Palo Alto High School be like four decades from now?
Veteran teacher Kathy Bowers, who has been at Paly for 37 years, said one of the school’s biggest changes is the student body size. Bowers said when she rst began teaching, Paly’s 1000 students attended seven, 50-minute periods every day and held rallies in an amphitheater that has since then been replaced by the science building.
“It was a very di erent vibe because of the lack of technology and the small school size,” Bowers said. “I felt like I knew everybody on campus. You certainly wouldn’t pile four kids in your car and take them to Home Depot (now), but we did back then.”
But Bowers also said many practices and traditions have stuck, like the lunchtime migration to Town & Country, student-sta basketball games and Spirit Week.
“Spirit Week, the oats and the dance, even though it’s evolved, has always been a big (event), and something I think the kids really enjoy,” Bowers said. Paly has evolved beyond just culture and student life, though. Early Childhood Development teacher Hilary McDaniel said the classic education system was built
“You need to be able to do math, but we have calculators for simple stu ,” McDaniel said. “You need to be able to read, but what’s more important is critical thinking.” e modernization of education through technology has also negatively impacted students and teenagers, Bowers said.
“At lunch, it used to be that everybody was busy talking, throwing Frisbees, kicking soccer balls, singing in the corner, playing music,” Bowers said. “I think the world has changed.” In the classroom, desks remain one of the only relics of the past. Bowers said although blackboards have been replaced by whiteboards and TVs, the real di erence is students used to walk into classrooms engaged and ready to learn. ey took notes, (and) were more engaged because there were no distractions,” Bowers said. “ ey were eager to participate in the conversation. ey talked to each other. ey got your jokes. ey thought you were funny. Everybody was with you.”
And technology’s impacts extend beyond the classroom. McDaniel said the ubiquity of devices is negatively impacting childhood development as well as students’ academic success.
“We’re robbing children of important developmental skills because we’re just putting them in front of screens,” McDaniel said. “Even just having your cell phone on your desk in class takes test performance down at least 20%.”
For some students, the competitive nature of modern high school has turned what should be four years of growth and self-discovery into a stressful, anxiety-inducing experience.
Sophomore Ishaan Juyaal said Paly’s intense academic culture proliferates social pressures from peers, family and students themselves, which can make nding a solution to unhealthy stress di cult.
“I’m currently not having a great work-life balance due to a ton of commitments,” Juyaal said. “It’s a combination of wanting to be the best and also because I do enjoy some of the activities. Teachers continuously tell students not to overload themselves, but we still do it. e fact is, getting into a ‘good’ college isn’t life or death.”
Still, Juyaal said he hopes that the rising awareness around mental health and stress will lead to change.
“Over time, I (hope) we progress to just doing what you want to do, and if that still means you’re juggling a bunch of commitments, go for it,” Juyaal said.
Other changes at Paly have been positive, though, Bowers said. One example is PRIME, which Bowers
said replaced the pre-internet-era “Homework Hotline,” a program where students would call teachers for help through landline phones.
“PRIME is one of my favorite things because you’re just working with the kids one-on-one,” Bowers said. “It’s not a rat race. It’s not micromanaging. ey want to be there. ey’re getting help.”
Looking to the future, McDaniel said technology — and especially AI — will be vital to the future of education, so students should be taught how to use these tools in a positive, responsible manner.
“I think AI is a tool students should be using every day,” McDaniel said. “You absolutely cannot use it to do your assignments for you. at will be to your detriment. Teachers need to be talking to (students) about how to use these tools in ways that will actually bene t (them).”
For some, the future of Paly and high school in general hinges on what is done to counteract technology’s impacts on teens. Bowers said if she could change one thing about high school, it would be to reimagine technology.
“I do think there is a place for technology, (but) we need to reimagine how it looks,” Bowers said. “Unfortunately, that’s not in anybody’s control, because we can’t control the internet. We can’t control what happens when you walk out of here.”
For others, improving the high school experience starts with a shift in perspective on what it even means to be a high schooler. McDaniel said she hopes her future students learn to experience the joy of learning more.
“It’s really important not to lose sight of what’s really important and not be so focused on (grades or college),” McDaniel said. “When you’re always putting o the happiness or the satisfaction, you never get there.”
GAVIN LIN/THE CAMPANILE
Students and community members protest the funding of the Israel-Hamas war at the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road on May 10, 2024 in light of President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Palo Alto. “People are su ering tremendously in Gaza and the West Bank,” junior Duncan Sego, a protester at the rally, said. “(Biden) and Congress are doing nothing to stop it. In fact, they’re even encouraging it and that needs to stop.”
Ethan Chan Sta Writer
Sunscreen Saves
As the bell rings, senior Chloe Amos packs up her bags as she heads for swim practice. In the few minutes before practice starts, she nds herself deciding between two things: having a snack, or putting on sunscreen.
For Amos, it’s a sacri ce she has to make. “It can be kind of challenging to apply sunscreen regularly, especially if I have practice right after school and it’s a sunny day,” Amos said. “But I’m willing to spend that extra 15 minutes putting sunscreen on. I’m pretty good about putting sunscreen on because I’m worried about getting sunburned.”
According to Cancer Research in the UK, too much ultraviolet exposure, from real or arti cial sunlight, damages DNA in skin cells, potentially leading to skin cancer. While some people may be at higher risk for skin cancer, anyone can develop it given enough exposure and no skin protection. According to the Mayo Clinic, a sunburn is in amed skin that is hot and painful to touch and appears as a result of too much exposure to UV light. Getting sunburned increases the risk of skin cancer signi cantly as it is a clear indicator that the DNA in your skin has been damaged.
Ann Marqueling, clinical assistant of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, said freckles, wrinkles and tans are all signs of skin damage. “Any amount of tanning is basically sun damage to the skin, so sunscreen does a good job of preventing that,” Marqueling said. “Preventing sun damage to the skin helps minimize the impact of aging on the skin, which we don’t really appreciate at your age. It also decreases the risk of sunrelated conditions.”
Marqueling said there are two main types of sunscreen to prevent skin damage. e goal of sunscreen is to minimize the impact and damage of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation,” Marqueling said. “ ere’s physical sunscreens that re ect the sun’s rays so they’re not getting into the skin and causing damage, and there are chemical blockers that absorb those rays.”
According to the American Medical Association, physical blockers work instantly and are more resistant to water, while chemical blockers take time and can be more irritating to people with sensitive skin. Marqueling recommends nding a sunscreen that has a SPF, “sun protection factor,” of 30 or higher.
“Physical blockers are kind of the same as mineral sunscreen, so ones with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide sit on the surface of your skin and try to block or re ect the
sun’s rays,” Marqueling said. “Often, they’re the white ones that leave a cast on the skin that a lot of people don’t like. Often, they’re harder to rub in. Chemical blockers are things like oxybenzone, avobenzone and several others that sit in that layer of your skin and absorb some of those rays so they don’t damage the skin. And sometimes those sunscreens are likely to be irritating, especially for sensitive skin.”
Senior Charlotte Lungren said she uses sunscreen with high SPF to prevent burns.
“Usually I use the Banana Sun Bum one — it’s SPF 70,” Lungren said. “I also have a zinc stick that I put on my face, so it’s just more protection for my face because I burn real easily.”
Although sunscreen is the most e ective option for sun protection, Marqueling said there are other methods if one faces allergic reactions to sunscreen.
“Protective clothing — wearing hats, wearing rash guards, long sleeves — can de nitely be helpful,” Marqueling said. “You can look for a sunscreen that doesn’t have the things that are most irritating or most likely to be allergenic — looking for the physical blockers rather than chemical blockers or ones that are fragrance-free. Once you something that doesn’t bother your skin, stick to it.”
According to Elta MD Skincare, zinc oxide, a common ingredient in physical sunscreens, is an astringent, which means it shrinks pores to absorb excess oils.
Using zinc sunscreens on dry skin can worsen dryness.
Amos said because she uses sun screen so often, she has to add mois turizer to prevent drying.
“I have to be mindful of what brands I use and apply moisturizer often,” Amos said.
“Neutrogena zinc sunscreen has a lot of zinc in it. I’ve used that on my face in the past, and
it’s gotten pretty irritated and dry, so I’ve kind of strayed away from using that and using more sensitive sunscreens on my face because of that.”
Amos also said other swimmers around her don’t put on as much sunscreen as she does.
“ ey don’t want to take the time to put it on, or they also feel like they might be less worried about getting sunburned, and their skin tans more than burns,” Amos said. “My skin burns pretty easily, so I understand why some people might not be as concerned about that.”
But Marqueling said regular sun exposure without sunscreen can lead to problems down the road.
“I think those who have spent a lot of time in the sun when they’re younger often will have signs of aging earlier,” Marqueling said. “ ere is a higher risk of getting those types of skin cancer sooner. My adult colleagues will see basal cell carcinoma in 20 and 30-year-olds who have gotten a lot of
cell cancers do have to be removed, and so those usually wind up having to be removed surgically, and that leaves a scar behind.
And if you’re starting out with those in your 20s, you can imagine how many of those you’ll have in the next several decades.”
Likewise, Lungren said a primary motivator for her to regularly apply sunscreen is to avoid skin cancer in the future.
“My dad was also a swimmer his whole childhood, and he didn’t really wear sunscreen that much,” Lungren said. “And now he has stage one skin cancer, and he has to go to the dermatologist every year and get treatment and prevent it from spreading more. So seeing that he has to do that below 50 years old, is a sign to me to take precautionary measures because I don’t want to have to do that every year as soon as I turn 46.”
As such, Marqueling said applying sunscreen every day is crucial even when you may think you’re only going to get a few minutes of sunlight, and reapplying at least
According to the American Medical Association, up to 80% of UV rays can still penetrate through the clouds, making sunscreen application on overcast days still important. Marqueling also said another common misconception is that people with more pigment, or melanin, in their skin often don’t need sunscreen.
e darker the skin, the (more) pigment, (which) does provide more protection to the skin,” Marqueling said. “ ere is a lower risk of a lot of these types of skin cancers that are sun-related, but I don’t think that means that they don’t need any sunscreen.”
Overall, Lungren said anyone can get skin cancer, and it’s important to consider the potential risks of not wearing sunscreen.
“People don’t quite know how easy it is to get skin cancer — it doesn’t have to be like one big event that makes you get it,” Lungren said. “It just build(s) up over time (with) more and more sun exposure. If you’re outside, I feel like there can’t be any
Cynthia Huang Lifestyle Editor & Social Media Manager
Taking to the podium at Stanford’s Trans-Paci c Sustainability Dialogue, silence washes over the room as all eyes turn towards the next speaker. Conviction held in every word, former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon passionately speaks to the audience about his mission for a prosperous future. Attending the dialogue on Oct. 10 and 11, Ban met with world leaders to discuss current progress regarding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global agreement to work towards achieving the list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. e SDGs and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development were adopted to combat several global issues such as climate change, poverty and access to education.
“ is (agreement) is by far the most ambitious, most far reaching vision the United Nations and humanity has ever presented to the people’s world,” Ban said.
e Stanford event focused on the 9th SDG on the agenda: industry, innovation, and infrastructure.Since retiring from public service in 2016, Ban has continued his work on climate reform as chairman of the Ban Ki Moon Foundation, empowering young leaders and inspiring current authorities.
“I will continue to contribute myself as (part of) civil society, but also (as part of an) international organization,” Ban told e Campanile.
According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, atmospheric temperatures have risen about 0.11° Fahrenheit – 0.06° Celsius – each decade since 1850, or about 2° F. Ban said it is essential to address the issue of rising global temperatures immediately, and that is impossible for any nation, organization or individual to address alone.
“We have to work together, this is what I learned during my time at the United Nations,” Ban said. “However powerful one nation may be, or resourceful one nation may be, there is no such country, there is no such person who can do it alone.”
Growing up in poverty during the Korean War, Ban said he was especially grateful for the knowledge he absorbed reading textbooks provided by the UN. In his autobiography “Resolved,” Ban said as
Korea reorganized, his education continued in impromptu schools across the country, the jarring destruction of war fostering his passion for change.
“As we sat in those makeshift classrooms, we knew that one day we would be able to pay back the world for its assistance in our darkest hour,” (11) Ban wrote in “Resolved.”
Given his tumultuous upbringing, Ban also said he has always prioritized access to education as secretary general of the UN.
“When somebody’s born as a child one must be educated at least (until their) secondary education,” Ban said.
As he matured into adulthood and began his career, Ban committed to combating climate change, garnering unanimous support from world leaders for environmental policies such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs. Ban said he was most active in pushing the 13th SDG of curbing climate change.
“ ese sustainable development goals are not law… it’s a political declaration, a strong commitment,” Ban said. “We must do it, but if you don’t, it’s only you and your neighbors who will su er.” Ban said his approach to nding a solution was rooted in urgency and creativity.
“ ere are two ways of addressing climate issues: mitigation and adaptation,” Ban said. “By this time, lots of people know we have to reduce carbon (emissions), but to adapt to a changing situation (such as) this, you need some scienti c as well as creative ideas.” Re ecting on his lasting impact, Ban said he hopes to inspire vigor and a sense of mission in the next generation.
“Work hard and raise your voice with passion and compassion,” Ban said. “You should balance each … I’m sure that you have passion in your heart, but if this passion is not balanced with compassion for others, then you may not know where you are going.”
In particular, Ban said he encourages the youth to take action to advocate for change when the government and society aren’t serving them properly.
“As a young generation, raise your voice, challenge your leaders,” Ban said. “You have the privilege. Nobody may listen to you, because you are not the mayor, you are not the minister, but when mayors and ministers are not doing that, you have the right to challenge.”
ART BY CYNTHIA HUANG
Eden Yoo Guest Writer
‘Squid Game’ hits record views
riginal Net ix series “Squid Game” was released in September 2021 and returned with the release of Season 2 on Dec. 26. Korean Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, received an Emmy for the show’s rst season as well as four Blue Dragon awards and the Special Jury Prize from Busan Film Critics Association. Within just two days of its debut, “Squid Game” Season 2 topped the watch list in 92 countries, including major markets like the United States, France and the United Kingdom. “Squid Game” broke the world premiere viewing records with 68 million views in three days, beating out “Wednesday’s” 50.1 million views over seven days. Since its release, Season 2 ranked seventh in most popular non-English shows in record time, and Season 1 stays at the top with 265.2 million views. While there are a vast amount of reasons why people found this show so entertaining, Lee Jung-Jae (Seong Gihun, Player 456), while in an interview with VanityFair, said “ e reason why Squid Game resonated with so many people is because of how real it feels. e games may be extreme, but the struggles are universal.”
Freshman Henry Chan said he valued the diverse array of characters and their morals. “One of my favorite characters, anos, is a symbol for the audience who just wants to see the bloodlust and greed of society, like how people hurt each other for their personal gain,” Chan said.
Freshman Brandon Lin said “For the rst time, I saw a darker side of people when they were going for something that they really really wanted.”
Sophomore Tessa Berney, said while she enjoyed watching the second season, it felt lackluster.
“It had the added depth of characters with rich background stories and great plot twists,” Berney said. “ e second season did just seem like a repeat of the rst. I thought it would expose more about how the game works, but the writers barely revealed anything about the employee picking process or organ-tra cking scheme.”
But Berney also said the show still maintained her interest because the viewers could easily replicate and participate in similar games as the ones played on screen.
“‘Squid Game’ (o ers) a lot of opportunities to be interactive with the (show),” Berney said. Chan said if he were asked to participate in “Squid Game,” he would only do so with the knowledge gained from having watched the show.
“Now that I know how the games operate and the codes to win them, I would think that I would have a better chance of winning,” Chan said. “However, there is the frightening idea that the frontman will always win, and it will always come down to luck.”
Matthew Hong Guest Writer
ART BY MEDHA MUPPIDI
ART BY CHERIANNE YOON
C1
Sports
On fantasy football draft day, chemistry teacher
Aparna Sankararaman’s desk is cluttered with a laptop lled with National Football League depth charts on the screen and her fantasy football app ready on her phone.
e clock ticks down for her turn as she waits for the other science department members to make their picks. She reminds herself of her winning strategy: pick a player who is most likely going to be a starter or who is on a team that has no other talent. Apparently, this calculated strategy paid o , leading her to victory in this year’s science department fantasy football championship. Fantasy football, a virtual game where players create teams by drafting real-life NFL players from di erent teams, allows players to gain points based on how well those players perform in actual games. Participants then compete against other league members weekly, with the higher-scoring team winning. Participants often play in a league with friends.
Sankararaman said she initially decided to join her league at Paly because she was asked by other science department members if she was interested in joining the Math department vs. Science department league.
“Apparently they had an opening in the science department, and the instructional lead at the time heard that I was a big fan of college football,” Sankararaman said. “I decided to join the league, even though I knew nothing about the NFL or fantasy football because I gured this would be a way to get to know other teachers at Paly.”
Senior and football captain Joseph Kessler said he decided to join a league because of his past experiences with fantasy baseball.
“I got into fantasy football because my friends invited me to join a league last year because they needed some people,” Kessler said. “I had played fantasy baseball before and wanted to give football a try.”
Tradition may also be a reason for leagues. Senior cross country runner Stefan Sochacki, for example, said the varsity cross country team holds a fantasy football league.
“I think the best part is the competitive nature amongst your friends,” Sochachki said. “Fantasy foot-
ball really made our group closer. We would talk to each other and hang out and argue with each other a lot more.”
Sankararaman said fantasy football can even help foster connections between teachers and students.
“I have asked students for advice in the past about my lineups and whom to pick o the waiver wire,” Sankararaman said. “I think it is important for students to see di erent dimensions of their teachers past the subject that they teach.”
Kessler said his draft strategy relies on advice from experts who provide the projected score of players, but he also favors certain types of players.
“Experts know more than I do, so I’ll listen to them,” Kessler said. “I like guys who are tough and will play through injuries and guys who are going to produce every week.”
Despite his determined research, Kessler said bye weeks — designated weeks throughout the middle of the season in which teams do not play a game — are the most difcult part of advancing in his league.
“Having two of your best players on bye at the same time is very frustrating,” Kessler said. “It’s hard to make up for all those lost points in must-win matchups.”
For Sankararaman, the most challenging aspect of fantasy football is losing a matchup, especially when the loss was due to a reason out of her control.
“I can use historical data, projected stats and a ton of research to determine who my starters are going to be, and none of that will matter if a player gets injured in the rst quarter,” Sankararaman said. “Fantasy football gives this false sense of control, but ultimately luck is a huge factor. When I lose, I tend to forget that and feel like I did something wrong in my research.”
Many leagues incentivize winning by assigning a punishment for last place. Sochacki said their league’s annual fantasy football punishment has been a tornado short mile.
“Each lap, we get to blend up whatever ingredients we want, and then the loser takes a shot of whatever you choose,” Sochacki said. “It was really funny for us, but for them, it was really bad.”
Sharing a similar punishment, Kessler said his league requires the last place nisher to run a milk mile.
“You have to drink a gallon of milk and run a mile within the time limit. If you don’t make the time you have to repeat,” Kessler said.
However, Sankararaman said their league does not enforce a punishment.
“We keep track of department versus department matchups during the regular season, and the department that loses has to host the department that wins for a Super Bowl party in February,” Sankararaman said.
As the winner of his fantasy football league, Kessler said his advice is to draft a premier tight end and pick a new defense every week based on favorable matchups.
Despite all the strategy and statistics involved, Sankararaman said her favorite part about participating in a fantasy football league is the social and competitive aspect.
“We’ll complain about our teams to each other, talk about the games and occasionally, give each other advice,” Sankararaman said. “It’s a feeling of we’re in this together, but at the same time competing against each other. Join a league where you like the people and just have fun during the season. Don’t take the losses too personally and don’t gloat too much over the wins.”
2/5, L, 64-43
2/4, L, 27-24
In a crosstown rivalry match on Jan. 11, boys basketball defeated Gunn 63-50.
Head Coach Je LaMere said going into the game, the team understood a victory over Gunn would be a formidable challenge.
“Whenever we play this game against Gunn, you can throw the records out,” LaMere said. We know that they’re going to give us their best shot. is was by far the best that they’ve played, and so I was really proud of our guys to be able to weather the storm on the road.”
As he knew Gunn would be a challenge, senior and point guard Gavin Haase said the team needed to play its best to come out on top.
“You know, gotta be tenacious,” Haase said. “Gunn was really tenacious tonight. I’ll credit that to them. Even though we have a very talented team, we can’t rely on our talents if we want to be the best team in our league or the best team in our section, which is a goal of ours. We got to play (with) tenacity. We got to play with force, and we got to leave it all on the court.” Moving forward, Haase said the team also needs to improve organization on the court.
“(We need to) make sure we’re focused and dialed in,” Haase said. “We gotta make sure we’re communicating, make sure we’re all in the right spots and stay focused on defense.”
LaMere said the win was a product of every team member’s e ort, from the starters to the energy on the bench.
“Everyone is investing, everyone’s coming to practice,” LaMere said. “We win as a team, and we lose as a team.”
And in light of the season going by quickly, LaMere said it’s important to enjoy every moment.
“ is goes fast, so when you have a game like this and you win, you need to enjoy it,” LaMere said. “Enjoy the journey. If you don’t have joy with what you’re doing with this game, it’s hard to come out day after day. You need to be able to nd joy in what you’re doing, joy with your teammates, joy in togetherness, joy in the journey. And I think that’s a really important piece that sometimes can get lost a little bit as you go through.”
As a result of the rivalry spirit, LaMere said the energy in the gym was electric, and the stands packed with fans were a reminder of why games like these are so special.
“( is game was) by far the best atmosphere we’ve played in all year, and it makes the game exciting,” LaMere said. It’s really fun for both teams, and it’s fun for everybody who’s here. You know, it’s what the game should be about.” e team will face o against Los Gatos High School on Feb. 14.
Paly vs. Los Altos 2/7, W, 65-27
Paly vs. Milpitas
Paly vs. Saratoga 2/7, W, 41-25
Paly vs. Santa Clara
Paly vs. Fremont
W, 3-0
Paly vs. Los Gatos
Senior Jorell Clark avoids a block and shoots his shot. “We got to play with force and we got to leave it all on the court,” senior Gavin Haase said.
Lucas Lai & Luca Vostrejs Sta Writer & Lifestyle Editor
LUCAS LAI/THE CAMPANILE
ART BY ANGELIKA GERA
Heather Song Managing Editor
Dorin Flynn’s balancing act between rowing and school
Girls basketball lost 37-29 on Feb. 1 in a highly anticipated match against Gunn High School.
Head coach Kevin Blunt said despite the tough loss, he saw great improvement from the team.
“Obviously I wanted to win. is game felt very winnable,” Blunt said. “But I’m happy about the outcome in the sense that we didn’t get blown out — we got blown out in our last game (against Gunn).”
Paly’s rst game against Gunn on Jan. 11 ended in a 40-18 loss, and the team faced similar problems regarding tness and the ability to nish strong.
Junior and captain Camryn Ogawa said the lack of performance toward the end of the game was what cost her team.
“I was happy that we got back in the second and third quarter,” Ogawa said. “It was just in the fourth quarter again — we just need to work harder and make sure that we condition more so that we have more energy.”
But Ogawa said there were many things to be proud of during the game, especially during the middle quarters.
“I was very proud of our defense in the second and third quarter,” Ogawa said. “We were able to talk more, shut down their best players, and because of our defense, our offense became stronger.”
In addition to hard work on the court, Blunt said the team’s attitude was resilient.
“When we brought in our players o the bench, they continued to play hard, got out of their comfort zone and worked on things that we needed to work on,” Blunt said.
Ogawa said the team will continue to persevere in practice and improve.
“Some challenges that persisted in this game were that our talking isn’t as strong as it needs to be and that we need to box out our players more instead of watching the ball,” Ogawa said. “Overall we had a lot of energy, but we de nitely have things to change for our next game”.
Girls basketball’s next game is against Cupertino High School on Feb. 14.
It’s 4:30 a.m. on a brisk ursday morning and junior Dorin Flynn’s alarm is blaring. Groggy but determined, Flynn rolls out of bed, pulls on her rowing gear and eats a quick breakfast.
Minutes later, she’s out the door, headed to practice. By 5 a.m., she’s warming up on the ergometer, a rowing machine, preparing for another session on the water.
For Flynn, rowing isn’t just a random sport she tried. Flynn said she was rst introduced to the sport by her father, who rowed in college.
“I rst tried rowing because my dad was so passionate about it,” Flynn said.
“At camp, rowing was one of the activities, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ I ended up loving it and never stopped.”
However, nding a new passion also comes with its challenges. Flynn said she has struggled with the mental and physical demands of the sport.
“Something my coach tells us a lot is that rowing is all about who can keep their hand in the re the longest,” Flynn said. “Rowing pushes me to nd a strength that I didn’t even know I had.”
Flynn also said she carefully structures her days to balance academics and training. Her early morning practices give her afternoons to focus on schoolwork, a priority she’s maintained despite the intensity of the sport.
“School comes rst,” Flynn said. “You can get injured by rowing, but your education is something no one can take away from you.”
Senior Anika Ra e, Flynn’s former club teammate, said the strong work ethic rowing demands translates into academic success.
“Rowers are often some of the best students I know because the work ethic comes with the sport,” Ra e said.
“Dorin de nitely has that killer mindset.”
Sophomore Harper Skey, Flynn’s current club teammate agreed, and said he has a lot of respect for her discipline.
“It’s honestly impressive how Dorin manages everything,” Skey said.
“Between early mornings and grueling practices and school, she somehow keeps
everything in check. It’s something that a lot of us struggle with.”
And Skey said what sets Flynn apart from the others is her unique drive.
“She’s the kind of rower who doesn’t just show up,” Skey said. “She’s always looking for that next level to push herself to, and that’s something I really admire about her.”
While Flynn has achieved lots of success in her career as a rower, she said one of the biggest challenges she faces is maintaining a positive team dynamic under pressure.
ere’s a lot of stress before big races because most of us are aiming for college recruitment,” Flynn said. “ at stress can sometimes lead to tension, but it’s important to focus on supporting each other instead of blaming each other.”
However, Flynn said her dedication to rowing has paid o
“A year ago, we quali ed (to) and won Nationals in Sarasota, Fla.,” Flynn said.
“It was de nitely one of my proudest
achievements because all the work we put in showed. We had no idea until we crossed the line that we won because we were just so locked in on what we were doing during the competition.”
Looking to the future, Flynn said her immediate goals include improving her times on the ergometer and placing well at upcoming competitions in the summer.
“Right now, it’s about getting faster and placing well at Nationals, which is in Sarasota again this year,” Flynn said. “I’m mainly really focused on improving my times for (college) recruitment.”
Ra e said with Flynn’s drive and focus, there’s no doubt she has a bright future ahead.
“Dorin puts down her head and puts in the work every day,” Ra e said. “Rowing as a sport really has no casual option, you’re either in it or you’re not. Because the bare minimum is so intense, you have to be incredibly dedicated and disciplined.”
Ultimately, Flynn said to her, rowing is more of a mental game — one that demands determination and an unwavering drive.
“Rowing teaches you to push beyond your limits,” Flynn said. “It’s not just about winning — it’s about giving everything you have, every single day. at’s why I love it.”
College transfer portals o er athletes exibility, more opportunities
For sophomore Peter Revenaugh, college football isn’t just a game — it’s a heartbeat, a tradition, and a erce loyalty that binds fans to their alma mater for life. But since its introduction in 2018, the college football transfer portal threatens to upend player and fan loyalty alike. For Division I student-athletes in 2021, there were nearly 10,000 portal transfers. In 2023, that number increased 75% to over 13,000. e transfer portal allows student-athletes to declare their intent to transfer by adding their name to an online database, which schools must update within two business days. Once listed, athletes can be contacted by other schools for recruitment. A new rule also lets athletes transfer during a 30-day window after the regular season, enabling earlier and multiple transfers per year without sitting out a season. Revenaugh, a self-described college athletics fan, said the bene ts of these new rules largely depend on an athlete’s ability to transfer, in uenced by factors such as their team status, the availability of alternative schools and the demand for their skills.
“It gives players the opportunity to try and grow their brand at other schools that might have a competitive advantage compared to the school they are currently at,” Revenaugh said. “At the same time, students who might be walk-ons or are less covered in the media might be hurt by these new regulations.”
Already, head football coach David DeGeronimo said the loosening of transfer regulations has signicantly changed the landscape of recruiting, with fewer high school student-athletes being recruited, and only 6% moving from high school to the NCAA.
“When the season ends, many of the coaches save scholarships for (transfers) because they’re already experienced and have starting positions for other schools,” DeGeronimo said. “ ey don’t recruit high school players as much as they used to.”
Additionally, college football has grown in popularity with ESPN seeing a 58% increase in its viewership last year, creating a platform for student-athletes to easily promote their brand through social media, interviews and game coverage. In particular, the rise of name, image and likeness deals, which grant student-athletes the “right of publicity” and allow them to monetize their brand, has contributed to the spike in college transfers seen recently. As such, DeGeronimo said the transfer portal gives players the opportunity to explore other programs that may o er them better opportunities for media coverage, viewership or playing time.
“ e bene t is all at the college level, it allows players to go to a program if their current one is maybe not a t or they want to extend their career,” DeGeronimo said. “You see this a lot in the quarterback position where they play, and then another quarterback comes in and beats them out, but they’re still a pretty good quarterback, so they can now go to another school and start when they lost their job at a previous school.”
However, senior Joe Kessler, who will play football at Claremont Mckenna College, said he thinks fans watching frequent transfers may question the players.
“If you transfer once, OK ne, but if a player transfers three to four times, at that point, it’s not the
program, it’s the player,” Kessler said “I see guys who transfer often as guys who can’t be coached.” DeGeronimo said increased student freedom comes with new challenges around nancing the NIL deals of the most valuable athletes.
e power may be too much in the player’s hands, (which) really can frustrate coaches or a ect programs,” DeGeronimo said. “Not every school has the same amount of NIL money, and not every school has NIL money, so those schools are at a very big disadvantage to keep the best and get the best players.”
DeGeronimo also said entering into the transfer portal o ers players a way out if unhappy, but is a risk.
“If players don’t get the money they expect, or they want to get a better deal, then they can hit the transfer portal,” DeGeronimo said. “It’s like there’s always this aspect of them marketing their skills there and basically going where there’s more money, which is typically a better program. People often don’t understand if you decide to hit the portal, you might have to give some of that money back or all of it.”
However, DeGeronimo said the portal has bene ted many players with the opportunities it o ers studentathletes who are unhappy with their current program.
“It gives them the exibility to move around and not be tied to one school,” DeGeronimo said. “Whether they don’t like it because it’s too far from home, or it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be or the team is not performing well, they have the opportunity to go wherever they want. It’s like quitting a job and going to a better job.”
DeGeronimo said others need to look positively at this change rather than hyper- xate on the problems it has caused.
“As a coach, you want to maintain continuity in your team, have team chemistry and have players that buy into your philosophy,” DeGeronimo said. “While the transfer portal has become a challenge to navigate as a coach, it’s not necessarily a bad thing because if you can attract the kids that buy into your program, then you can keep them there.”
Junior Dorin Flynn sits in her boat while rowing on the waters of Foster City’s lagoon. Flynn is often up by 4:30 a.m. to get to practice on time. “Something my coach tells us a lot is that rowing is all about who can keep their hand in the re the longest,” Flynn said. “Rowing pushes me to nd a strength that I didn’t even know I had.”
ART BY ANYA RASMUSSEN
Mirai Matsuzawa & Zoya Prabhakar Sta Writers
DORIN FLYNN/USED WITH PERMISSION
Freshman Abigail Neumann defends. “I was very proud of our defense in the second and third quarter,” Camryn Ogawa said.
CHLOE AMOS/USED WITH PERMISSION
Isabelle Carlsen Business Manager
Meryem Orazova Sta Writer
Girls wrestling pins down stigma
Sophomore Hudson Press steps onto the wrestling mat before practice, the room buzzing with testosterone and lled with boys sprawled across the mats, warming up for the grueling evening of training ahead of them.
But being one of only four girls on the Paly team doesn’t faze Press. Her goal is to qualify for the California State Wrestling Championships before she graduates high school. Press said the primary reason for the low number of girls on the team is the stigma surrounding the sport.
“Mainly for girls, a lot of people assume that all wrestlers have to cut weight and have eating disorders,” Press said. “I understand how someone would see that, but you can, in my opinion, say that about any sport, like cheer or dance.”
Similarly, head coach Jonathan Kessler said stereotypes surrounding girls wrestling are often generalizations and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“We want a good press release (about girls wrestling) and you know, a lot of times these stories will come up,” Kessler said. “In terms of the stereotypes, there are multiple di erent weight classes; there are junior varsity competitions and varsity competitions.”
Despite stereotypes around her sports, Press said wrestling provided her with unique social opportunities.
“I love most of the team and the people I’ve met; I’ve made a lot of great friendships, even from other schools … the team really feels like family,” Press said.
Junior Bela Meyers also said wrestling has provided her with a new, supportive community.
“I stuck with it because my coaches and my teammates are very encouraging, and they always believe in me,” Meyers said. “ ey always tell me, ‘You can do this,’ they never doubt me.”
To create a safe community, Kessler said he coaches both genders with the same mindset.
“Being from New York and coaching out there, we didn’t have any girls, so it’s kind of funny,” Kessler said. “My rst interview here 10 years ago, they asked me that same question (about coaching boys and girls), and I didn’t really know how to answer it, and then in one of the interviews I was like, ‘You coach them the same.’ It’s true.”
Kessler said that while there may be only a few girls on the team, their success has been remarkable.
Freshman standout Ella Cohen is ranked 13th in the country in her weight class. With such a strong start, Kessler said much of her success early in her career is thanks to her unwavering dedication.
“She’s like a sponge. She just works really hard. She’s probably the hardest worker, to be honest,” Kessler said.
Not to be mistaken for a typo in a cocktail menu listing, Muay ai, also known as the art of eight limbs, is a form of kickboxing deeply ingrained in ailand’s culture, history and national identity.
Since the seventh century, Muay ai has been a vital tool for self-defense, discipline and survival, utilizing eight body parts — the sts, elbows, knees and shins. Now, thousands of gyms and training camps are bustling with students and future prize ghters around the world.
Originating in the military training of ancient Siamese soldiers, Muay ai began as a combat system to defend against foreign aggressors attempting to invade ailand.
Over time, Muay ai grew beyond a ghting style, becoming a form of art and spiritual expression. Muay ai ghter Amorndet Ranjanthuek, also known as Anh Fairtex, trains aspiring ghters in the Bay Area.
“I require my students to perform the Wai Kru (a ai ritual that involves showing respect to teachers, trainers and other mentors) before a bout,” Fairtex said. “Muay ai is an intense physical activity, but it is also a mental and emotional practice.”
In addition to ai culture, Muay ai is linked to ailand’s socioeconomic realities. For more than half a million ai children, ghting in the ring is not just about passion or pursuit of honor — it is a means of survival. In rural areas of ailand, children from low-income families start training in Muay ai as early as 6 or 7 years old.
Fueled by nancial hardship, many children are encouraged, sometimes pressured, by their parents to join local gyms, train relentlessly every day and become skillful enough to ght in amateur bouts for cash awards. Fairtex, one of four children from a farming family outside of Bangkok, rst stepped into the ring as a 6-year-old, su ering a deep laceration above his right eye before ghting two more times the same night.
“I won the ght and got paid 25 baht,” Fairtex said. “We needed money for food, so I had to keep ghting.”
In some cases, children competing in Muay ai rise through the ranks, achieving celebrity status while accumulating wealth and lucrative sponsorships along the way. Some may eventually transition into professional careers and reap signi cant purses from major ghts. For underprivileged ais, the nancial appeal of Muay ai is di cult to resist. Muay ai has gradually achieved global reach over the past three de-
“A lot of dedication, a lot of national terms, traveling around to seek that competition and put herself in position to hopefully become a girls state champion.”
Meyers said the success of her teammates like Cohen and Press inspires her to push herself more and believe that anything is possible.
“It’s like you’ve got yourself, but then you see someone else do it and you’re like, alright, well, if she can do it, then I can do it,” Meyers said. “ ere’s no reason for me to not at least try.”
Press said she would encourage young girls to join wrestling and not be intimidated by its reputation as a male-dominated sport.
“Don’t be scared to go and try it, even if you’re working with guys,” Press said. “Show them that you have the dedication, and you’re willing to give the time and e ort to perform your best, whether you’re going against guys or girls. Just don’t be afraid to show up and try it out.”
Although including only 18% of all high school wrestlers, Kessler said girls wrestling has come a long way since he started coaching the sport, and he hopes to continue seeing it provide opportunities for females.
“( e NCAA) just sanctioned national championships in the 2026 season, so it’s only going to grow,” Kessler said. “Right now, California is the biggest girls wrestling state in the nation. It’s growing, and I just can’t wait for all these Division II and Division III (colleges) to pop out programs, because it’s only going to be bene cial to the girls.”
e Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to Vegas. While not quite as glamorous as UFC 306 in the Sphere, a stacked card in the T-Mobile arena will still produce drama. By the time this reaches your hands, UFC 312 will have just nished. But that card is a mere ller. I mean, for the record, I think Du Plessis will win. Not that it matters, because UFC 313 is the real show.
e main and co-main ght has defending champion Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev for the light heavyweight title, and Justin Gaethje vs. Dan Hooker for the lightweight bout. ey’re all incredible, storied ghters. As I write this, the line for the Pereira vs. Ankalev is currently set dead even at -110 for each ghter, meaning it will come down to pure heart and raw skill on the night.
Let’s rst take a look at Gaethje and Hooker. With a ve-round ght, the 36-year-old and 35-year-old are ghting for the CTE belt before the championship belt. ese two ruthless ghters will make the combat a war. But at this stage in his career, Hooker has a real chance.
Despite brutal beatings from the likes of Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier and a short stint in the featherweight division, Hooker has developed some momentum in his last few ghts. However, in his last ght against Mateusz Gamrot, he showed he’s still a psychopath who just swings. He’s always been one to get involved in wars, a strategy that doesn’t work at this stage. Hooker needs to bring more defense in this ght to have a real shot at victory. However, if he does so, Hooker may be able to overwhelm Gaethje in a late-round stamina battle. But Gaethje may not let it get to that point. Gaethje himself is coming o a brutal loss to Max Holloway. An already explosive ghter will be looking to show his worth early before stamina fades. Once exchanges start, I just can’t see Hooker going tit-for-tat with Gaethje. Final prediction: Gaethje by third-round TKO. e two ghters in the co-main will feel like they won if they even walk away from the ght. But in the main ght, the stakes could not be higher. Pereira is looking to defend his championship for the fourth time. A win here could see him knocking on the heavyweight division’s door, looking to become the rst three-division champion in UFC history.
But the former kickboxing champion and his lethal left hook will have an interesting challenge from Ankalaev. e Russian is an elite grappler with heavy hands and a smothering top game. He’s on an 11- ght unbeaten streak, and many believe he was unlucky not to already have the belt after his controversial draw with Jan Błachowicz. If Ankalaev can avoid Pereira’s power early and force clinch exchanges, this meet could turn into a long night for the champion.
e ght will ultimately depend on Ankalaev’s utilization of wrestling and Pereira’s ability to defend from takedowns. But I’m going to go with the cliché: Ankalaev’s slow start, plus Pereira’s signature precision and explosiveness leads to a short ght. Pereira wins in the second round by KO. Chama.
cades, especially in the West. With the birth of crossover athletes in the late 1900s, western ghters sought more dynamic techniques to advance their striking skills. Muay ai’s focus on clinching, elbow strikes, knee strikes and low leg kicks quickly made it a favorite among practitioners of other combat sports like kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
Scott Coker, a kickboxing and MMA promoter, said Muay ai is a pivotal skill to have.
“As a lifelong martial artist, I appreciate the importance of Muay ai in the ght industry,” Coker said. “Because of its sheer excitement, Muay ai has captured the imagination of Western fans. e ghts are thrilling spec-
tacles because they’re fast-paced, brutal and technical. MMA has proven that professional ghters can’t rely solely on wrestling and jiujitsu. ey also need to have a standup striking art like Muay ai.”
Coker was the force behind Strikeforce, a leading MMA promotion company acquired by the UFC in a deal considered to be the highest-pro le sports and entertainment transaction in 2011. e UFC pursued Strikeforce because of its deep bench of superstars, many of whom were elite strikers with a Muay ai base.
“My ghters elevated the sophistication of the UFC’s roster,” Coker said. “Within a year, Strikeforce contenders won four UFC belts, demonstrating that Strikeforce athletes were better than the UFC’s.”
Coker most recently held the reins of Bellator MMA which was sold to the Professional Fighters League last year. At Bellator, he continued to nurture exciting ghters like Usman Nurmagomedov, Michael Chandler, Patricio Pitbull, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi. Muay ai has amassed a signi cant following in the United States, Canada and Europe too. Training camps and gyms specializing in Muay ai attract enthusiasts interested in tness, self-defense and combat sports. MMA trainer Javier Mendez said Muay ai’s footprint is conspicuous in the modern evolution of MMA as ghters incorporate its techniques into their arsenal to gain a competitive edge.
“Cross-training Muay ai with other martial arts disciplines has created a new generation of ghters who are as skilled standing up as they are on the ground,” Mendez said.
Given Muay ai’s skyrocketing popularity, martial arts in uencers in the West have a unique platform to raise awareness about the challenges faced by ai children who are required to ght their way out of poverty. We need to use our voices to advocate for policy reforms that prevent vulnerable children from being exploited in the ring. Let’s not forget that Muay ai was initially created to protect the people of ailand and is a crucial part of its history and culture.
Amaya Bharadwaj Sta Writer
Ranked 13th nationwide for her weight class, freshman Ella Cohen tussles with her opponent. “She just works really hard. She’s probably the hardest worker, to be honest,” head coach Jona-
than Kessler said. “A lot of dedication, a lot of national terms, traveling around to seek that competition and put herself in position to hopefully become a girls state champion.”
JONATHAN KESSLER / USED WITH PERMISSION
Rohan Bhatia Sports Editor
Kane Do Sta Writer
ANH FAIRTEX / USED WITH PERMISSION
Muay ai trainer Anh Fairtex blocks a kick. “I won the ght and got paid 25 baht,” Fairtex said. “We needed money for food, so I had to keep ghting.”
Science & Tech
Siri-ous Suspicions
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant, Siri, was eavesdropping on users without permission — even when disabled — and shared conversations with advertisers. ough Apple has denied selling the data collected from Siri, individuals who owned Siri-enabled devices between Sept. 17, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2024 are eligible to receive $20 per device.
Senior Sophia Dong, president of the Paly Girls in STEM club, said she wasn’t surprised by the lawsuit.
ere were de nitely moments where sometimes Siri would suddenly activate, which I thought was a little creepy,” Dong said. “I don’t even remember what I was talking about, but it de nitely wasn’t something that I wanted to share.”
With Siri listening to her conversations, Dong said she can recall moments where despite having Siri o , she received ads for things she had talked about in private.
“I remember there was one time where I really wanted to go to K-pop concerts,” Dong said. “I was thinking and talking about it, and literally the next day and the whole week after, I would just be bombarded with ads about an IVE concert in Oakland, and I was like, ‘How did they know what I was saying?’”
Computer Science teacher and CTE Instructional Lead Christopher Bell said he has seen countless data leaks and data breaches, and people should pay more attention to data privacy.
“If you’re letting others use your data or have your data at some point, it’s going to go somewhere that you didn’t intend, and people should always be aware of their devices and what permissions their devices have,” Bell said. “ ... When people download apps, they often just blanket agree to allow access to everything in order for them to use the app —they have to.”
To ensure he doesn’t share information unnecessarily, Bell said he makes sure to look at the privacy settings of any app he downloads on his devices.
“ e app still needs to function the way you want it to function,” Bell said. “But does everything need access to your contact lists? Does everything need access to your microphone? Does everything need access to your
le storage? Being careful about that, I think, is the minimum we need to do in order to make sure that we’re not giving away too much data.”
But Dong said she thinks turning o the Siri function is designed to be complicated.
“It is a tactic that works because people are going to be less inclined to switch o the wake word activation,” Dong said. “I de nitely think that the more barriers that you put to switching (settings) or the harder it is to deactivate Siri, the more people are gonna be lazy. Humans are lazy, and you want to just do what’s easiest, even if that means sacri cing privacy.”
Despite the potentially troubling use of user data, Apple may just want to gather as much information as possible and improve the user interface, Bell said.
“ ere is a line that it’s hard to tell whether you’re actually deceiving or not,” Bell said.
“When you are hiding things behind multiple steps in order to turn on and o at the same time, you’ve got to balance that usability versus like the information, because every time you open up your phone, if you had to press 10 things to agree to, you would not really like that experience.”
For Dong, though, the issue extends beyond just privacy concerns since she said trust between consumers and companies is essential.
“It’s less about data breaching, but more about the underlying trust,” Dong said. “I feel like it’s a bigger issue than a lot of people realize, because consumer-company rapport is really important.”
One way to better educate young people about technology and privacy, Dong said, is for schools to teach students more about how to use technology safely.
“Especially given that our world is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, the more that students know about how to protect their data and keep themselves safe, the less danger that they can get into,” Dong said.
And Bell said PAUSD has such a plan.
“We have the digital citizenship curriculum that goes all the way through elementary and middle school — di erent courses at di erent times address di erent parts of that,” Bell said. “So students do get some information all the way into high school, and then (there are)
individual teachers and courses that you’ll get information from.”
Bell also said PAUSD has a system for keeping students’ information and data safe, and he hopes that students can continue to protect their data when they leave school.
“Luckily, we have education laws that do protect us,” Bell said. “We have protection now for students and for sta , but when they get out (of school) and those protections are no longer there, we still want them to be able to understand and do best practices.”
For students who are concerned about keeping their data private and want to look for ways to protect themselves, Bell said Common Sense Media, an American nonpro t organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology, is a good place to start.
“Common Sense Media rates di erent apps and products and gives more clarity for people to nd out more information,” Bell said. “ ey are a great (organization) to go to since it’s also free.”
Senior Darwin Rescorla also said there are many other data protection options to choose from including open source projects.
“For example, if you want to somewhat leave Google’s monopoly, there are awesome free alternatives to Google Docs, like, for instance, the LibreO ce Suite,” Rescorla said. “ e LibreO ce Suite is a great alternative. It has an equivalent to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and it’s all free. It’s all open source. It’s all non-proprietary, nobody — no company — owns it … So generally speaking, open-source projects, especially those big as LibreO ce, are very, very safe. And so you can use stu like that which isn’t owned by companies like Google.”
In the end Bell said protecting personal data is important, especially since the reliance on technology will only increase.
“I don’t see our reliance on technology ever going down,” Bell said. “It’s just going to keep going up. But what these things can do is shine a light on the importance of data protection and making sure that companies are held accountable to protecting user data to the best that they can.”
Cherianne Yoon News/Opinion Editor & Art Director
PAUSD literacy instruction shifts its focus through Benchmark
Christina Nosek still remembers the overwhelming freedom she was granted when she rst started teaching reading in PAUSD elementary schools in the early 2000s.
“When I rst came to the district — and this is speci c to elementary school, I can’t speak to secondary — you basically did whatever you wanted,” Nosek said.
For years, Palo Alto’s elementary school teachers were left to piece together their own literacy instruction, pulling resources from various programs without a standardized curriculum. It wasn’t until 2021 that the district adopted Benchmark, its rst formal, district-wide literacy program.
Benchmark emphasizes building context behind scenarios described in books through a step-by-step program.
District Reading Specialist Rachel MillikenWeitzman said the standardized curriculum has made it much easier for her to screen for areas where students are struggling.
“Because we follow a very clear scope and sequence, it’s really easy for me to gure out exactly what they don’t (know),” Milliken-Weitzman said.
Benchmark isn’t the rst widespread literacy program that PAUSD used. Previous initiatives included the uno cially adopted Units of Study. e Units of Study was a looser curriculum emphasizing responsive teaching in small groups and one-on-one settings, in contrast to the step-by-step curriculum Benchmark provides.
ers. It was something to use, and it came highly recommended, so we loved it. We had the training in it. en the district invited some trainers from Teachers College to come for a summer training. Teachers could opt in to take it or not. Over the course of the next school year, people at the district o ered to purchase just the Units for the schools.”
Nosek also said a few PAUSD elementary schools had direct instruction from Teachers College sta
According to Milliken-Weitzman, the Units of Study allowed students to have more freedom in their reading journey due to its emphasis on individualized learning.
Nosek said the adoption of the Units of Study began as a grassroots effort from the teachers.
“A few teachers started using the Units of Study from (Columbia University’s) Teachers College,” Nosek said. “I was actually one of those teach-
“A few schools became what they call Teachers College Project schools, where Teachers College trainers (and) sta developers would come and work with us twice a year in our classrooms, doing professional development in our classrooms to help support us in implementing writing and reading workshops,” Nosek said.
“ ere were some great things about the program that we used to use. One of them was that it gave kids a lot of choice and a lot of time to pick up books and follow their passion,” Milliken-Weitzman said. However, implementing the Units of Study led to some di culties. Milliken-Weitzman said the open-endedness of the approach led many teachers to have di culty guring out how to help students in certain scenarios. “ ere were kids who didn’t get it or that were struggling, (and some of) the teachers didn’t really know what to do,” Milliken-Weitzman said. Nosek said the Units of Study was designed as a living curriculum that required training from the Teachers College to keep up with frequent updates.
e Teachers College is a think tank constantly updating their practices based on what they learn about literacy instruction,” Nosek said.
Another criticism against the Units of Study was its incorporation of the “three cueing” method which teaches children to use context clues to determine the meaning of words. is approach is part of an ongoing debate on e ective reading methods, with critics arguing phonics should be heavily emphasized while proponents of balanced literacy argue phonics is not the sole priority during the reading process.
“If a little kid keeps mistaking the word ‘horse’ for ‘pony,’ it doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re reading, or they don’t know how to read,” Nosek said. “It means we need to support that child in relying more on the letters that are printed on the page, rather than just their meaning and background knowledge. ” AP English Language & Composition teacher Kindel Launer said acquiring these reading processes require repurposing a circuit from the language part of the brain.
“We’re bringing information in from our eyes, and we learn to map sound to that image that we see, like an ‘L’ or a ‘P’ or an ‘H’ or an ‘A,’” “ at’s the repurposing of the circuitry. In English, or languages that aren’t tonal. We also learn to map sounds to letters,” Launer said.
Launer said only a subset of the population can read intuitively, meaning they can read based on any strategy taught.
“About 25% of us can kind of naturally repurpose that circuitry without really thinking about it,” Launer said. “And there’s about 50% of us who need some instruction and some guide that helps the brain repurpose that circuitry. And then the other 25% need a particular type of instruction to repurpose that circuitry. ”
For the people who do not, Launer said phonics are necessary for them to understand the fundamentals.
“ ere are languages like English, which are opaque, where sounds don’t map to letters the same way all the time,” Launer said. “Depending on the context or how the word is put together, the sound and letter don’t necessarily map. ”
Milliken-Weitzman agreed and said phonemic awareness is a critical skill for children.
“Kids struggle with segmenting,” Milliken-Weitzman said. “If I’m looking at the letters, and I can go, ‘buh-at.’ Take each piece apart. If they struggle with that, then they’re really going to struggle with decoding.” Ultimately, Nosek said improving literacy curriculum requires balancing di erent learning approaches and needs.
“Literacy is a balance of teaching phonics and teaching kids to love and appreciate reading,” Nosek said. “You need both to be a skilled reader.”
Lea Kwan Senior Sta Writer
ART BY CHERIANNE YOON