Issue 5, 12/9/2016

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

PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44

The Campanile

Vol. XCIX, No. 5

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

Friday, December 9, 2016

EPA water supply falls drastically BETHANY SHIANG

BUSINESS MANAGER

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ALLISON WU/THE CAMPANILE

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

Fiery Arts Glass sale showcases student talent

Clockwise from upper left to right: A new glass piece is put in the oven; visitors admire the 200 student-made glass pieces; a hand-made glass swan sculpture is on display at the sale. The sale funds the $50,000 program. Continued on A4

ast Palo Alto has plans to bring job growth which include a 120-unit affordable housing development and a private school funded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan that would create affordable housing and thousands of jobs. The only thing stopping them: water scarcity.

East Palo Alto's lack of water has forced the city to freeze some of its new developments since June 2016.

To combat this problem, four members of the Palo Alto City Council plan to allocate some of Palo Alto’s water to its parched neighbor.

Council members Eric Filseth, Karen Holman and Tom DuBois proposed a solution in a memo to transfer or sell a “small portion” of the city’s water to East Palo Alto. Many businesses depends on the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System to deliver water from the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park to the Bay Area. The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) works in negotiations with The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC)

WATER ALLOCATION

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Code Fest to MATD board proposes first Choir hosts 50th annual Paly be held at JLS draft of revised Equity Plan Madrigal Feaste, held in PAC CHARLOTTE CHENG

New plan sets forth 40 new goals for the district

STAFF WRITER

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or the second year in a row, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Code Fest will come to JLS Middle School.

The PAUSD Code Fest is a conference-style coding event that will strive to promote the introduction and aspects of the field to the attendees, even those who may not have any computer science experience.

Open to all PAUSD students, parents and the Palo Alto community, the coding event will focus on topics such as hardware, robotics, and app development. It is a volunteerdriven event and will feature many presenters, some of whom are currently Henry M. Gunn High School students.

“I started programming at around fifth grade when I made a toy robot drive. Since then, I’ve used computer science on everything from analyzing data from the Hubble Space Telescope to flying drones.”

Maggie Wang Gunn Student Guest speakers include Kenneth Hawthorn, a teacher at St. Raymond’s School in Menlo Park, Michael Vaganov, a teacher at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton, and Abhinav Mathur, a representative of Pythronroom, an autonomous coding education management system.

Proving its success last year, the number of presenters that have offered to volunteer at the event has doubled. According to the official PAUSD website, there are currently 25 sessions in three time slots.

CODE FEST

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SAM YUN

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

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artha Castellon, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD)'s equity coordinator, held a meeting on Dec. 2 to discuss the achievement gap affecting Historically Underrepresented Students (HUR). Spearheaded by recommendations from the Minority Achievement and Talent Development (MATD) Advisory Committee, Castellon has proposed the first draft of an Equity Plan to a group of parents, students and District administrators.

Traditionally, HUR students are those who come from low-income families who demonstrate a history of academic deficiency in the district.

Of the 40 focus goals set in the Equity Plan, 12 were identified as “priority goals” by the MATD committee. Five of these proposed priority goals will be enacted by the 20162017 school year. Such plans include creating a process to expedite the process of soliciting feedback from HUR students and parents, finalizing the Equity Plan, continuation of the MATD Advisory Committee, ensuring that enrichment programs actively reach out to HUR families and encouraging school-based parent groups to share resources with HUR parents.

Another main point of interest in the Equity Plan was creating the Parent Advocate/Liaison position at the District level. There are currently 11 part-time parent liaisons serving at the 18 schools in the District.

According to the Equity Plan, “liaisons will help each school by reaching out to HUR families, creating opportunities for involvement. They

Fundraiser for choir attracts impressive turnout

will collaborate with parent groups that serve HUR families to increase parent engagement throughout the district, such as serving as interpreters for parent-teacher conferences if there are language barriers.”

Currently, the District is already providing “ongoing administrator, certificated and classified [unconscious bias] training to support the Equity Plan,” as noted in the Equity Plan. PAUSD staff will undergo this training every four to six years.

“Staff of color will already have an understanding of the struggles that HUR students may feel so there’s no need for any additional training.”

Marcia Perez Immigration Attorney JORDAN SCHILLING/THE CAMPANILE

As stated by the MATD Advisory Committee, an underlying and likely unconscious “deficit mindset” as opposed to an asset­based mindset results in a narrative of bias associated with the capability and potential of HUR students. Students of color, regardless of socioeconomic status, are disproportionately likely to be diverted into lower lanes and special education.

However, concerns were raised regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of such training.

“Why not just hire a more diverse population of staff members for those classes who need it,” said Marcia Perez, a San Francisco Immigration Attorney and mother of two children in PAUSD. “Staff of color will already have an understanding of the struggles that HUR students may ACHIEVEMENT GAP

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Senior Jason Pollack stands center stage as he performs in his final Madrigal Feaste.

UMA CHOUDHURY

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he Palo Alto High School Choir performed at the 50th annual Madrigal Feaste on Dec. 3 and 4. The event was held in the Performing Arts Center for the first time.

The Madrigal Feaste is one of the Paly Choir’s most widely-attended events and is the biggest choir fundraiser of the year. It is unique in that it includes a choral performance, a theater piece and a meal.

The proceeds of the show will be used for the choir’s operating costs, including international trips that the choir takes.

Other profits go toward scholarships for the choir students.

Senior choir member Joao-Gabriel Carvalho De Pina will miss the

memories he made with his fellow choir members the most.

“Madrigal Feaste is the biggest event for choir, and coming together, even pre-show and post show — I’ll miss those memories the most,” De Pina said. “High school definitely wouldn’t have been the same without choir.”

The choir’s goal for the Madrigal Feaste was to take audience members back to King Henry VIII’s Westminster Palace from the 15th century.

The this objective in part by wearing period clothing during the shows, as well as the Friday before the shows.

Within the play the costumes highlight the different in hierarchy between the nobility, gentry and peasants. The choir owns over 200 of these elaborate costumes.

MADRIGAL FEASTE

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INSIDE

N ew s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 4 Opinion...................................A5-A7 Editorials......................................A8 L i fe st y l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 1- B 3 , B 7- B 8 Spotlight................................B4-B5 H o l i d ay i B re a k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 6 Sports....................................C1-C6,C8 SportsiOpinion....................................C7

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Pre-college exploitation

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Friday, December 9, 2016

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NEWS TO KNOW

NEWS Speech and Debate season starts strong Team hopes to gain more interest and expand its new yet successful Congress program AVI TACHNA-FRAM

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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t’s no secret that Palo Alto High School’s Speech and Debate team is a powerhouse, and in recent competitions the Paly juggernaut has continued to dominate while making inroads into a new type of debate competition.

At its most recent competition, the Dempsey-Cronin Memorial Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament at Santa Clara University (SCU), eight Paly Speech and Debate team members made it into the top four spots in each of their respective events.

In particular, Paly’s Congress team, the newest section of the debate team which started attending tournaments in August 2015, performed exceptionally well. Congress is a format of debate modeled on the proceedings of the U.S. Congress with competitors presenting, discussing and voting on mock legislations.

“We’ve had at least two people medal in each tournament so far and at SCU we had five people break the [semifinals] and three people break the finals,” said Ujwal Srivastava, sophomore and Congress captain.

Since the Congress team is relatively small compared to the other groups in Paly’s debate club, expanding the team is a primary goal.

“It started off being seven kids doing Congress this year, but because our team started off the year really strong and has only gotten stronger, we have kids defect from the other squads and go to Congress,” said Jen-

ERIC FOSTER/USED WITH PERMISSION

Sophomore David Foster (left) and junior Stephanie Lee (right) were finalists at SCU.

nie Savage, Director of Paly’s Speech and Debate team.

The Congress team’s coach Christina Gilbert also hopes that some of the members of the team will go to the state competition this year.

The Congress team attributes its success to exceptional teamwork and a strong work ethic.

“They’re a very tight knit squad,” Savage said. “The three kids who started the squad last year: Ujwal Srivastava, Dominic Thibault and Grace Lam, work harder than practically any kids I’ve seen in 12 years.

They started the squad [and] the ethic of that squad is ‘you go hard or you go home’ they give it 110 percent.”

The speech team also performed well at SCU as sophomore David Foster and junior Stephanie Lee took second in the Humorous Interpretation and third in the Original Prose

and Poetry events respectively.

Foster attributes the team’s success to a good coach and strong teamwork.

“We have a fantastic coach,” Foster said. “She really teaches us well and helps us learn and grow as speechies.

She’s always there when you need to perform in front of her and you have the entire team there to help critique and see what you can make better.”

The Congress team is not the only bright spot in the Speech and Debate team’s future. Its first-year LincolnDouglas (LD) debaters also accomplished much at SCU. Originally, freshman Ella Ball lost in an octofinal round against a debater from Dublin High School.

However, Ball’s opponent turned out to be a third-year debater and since SCU mandates that those competing in the novice tournament must be first-year debaters, he was disquali-

fied from the tournament.

Ball was eventually the runnerup, while freshmen Neil Kapoor and Kai Vetteth made it to the semifinal round of the tournament.

“When it was just the novices left and they were all at [the elimination rounds], they shared flows and they [helped each other prepare],” Savage said. “They were some of the only people left there and they were all in this big cluster, prepping each other as novices. That’s really unusual since usually novices are just freaked out, but they weren’t.”

The varsity LD squad had resounding victories over the competition at two other tournaments this season: the Jon Schamber Invitational at the University of the Pacific (UoP) and the Robert Garcia Memorial Invitational at St. Francis High School.

At UoP, junior Tanay Krishna won the tournament, and at St. Francis, junior Sarah Youngquist and senior Ethan Teo both made it to the final round, making them co-champions.

Although the varsity LD team’s winning streak ended at SCU with Krishna’s quarterfinal run, the team still managed to win several awards, including the Top Speaker award, which sophomore Emily Wang received.

Krishna feels that Paly’s coaching led to his success at UoP. “I put in a lot of work this semester to debate, but I think my coach David Slater really was the most instrumental in the process because he ran me through a bunch of drills and gave me pointers on how to better myself as a debater,” Krishna said.

Santa Clara County receives tax benefits

$1.5 million to be spent on various environmental protection programs in several cities @billboard .@TheWeeknd charts entire “Starboy” album on #Hot100.

@SportsCenter BREAKING: LSU RB Leonard Fournette announces he will enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

@BBCWorld .@jimmykimmel to host the #Oscars 2017.

@WhiteHouse Thanks to the ACA, 20 million more Americans have the financial security of health insurance. Sign up by Dec. 15th: http://HealthCare.gov.

KATE DEANDRE

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority plans to begin 15 projects across Santa Clara County from the recent funding. General manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Andrea Mackenzie awarded $1.5 million made up of an open space tax approved by voters.

The fifteen projects include urban gardens, new trails, neighborhood park improvements and programs to educate students from low-income neighborhoods about the outdoors.

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority is a public agency from San Jose that has preserved 20,000 acres of open space since 1993.

“There are a lot of people in Santa Clara County, especially in the cities, who don’t have access to parks and open space,” Mackenzie said. “A lot of people want more community gar-

dens and urban farms.”

On Nov. 10, the agency finalized the upcoming projects they plan to pursue. The urban environmental project ideas were submitted by community groups, schools, cities and the remainder of the county. Through these proposals, the agency hosted public meetings with feedback from a citizens advisory panel and received 27 different requests asking for a total of $3.3 million.

In November 2014, Measure Q passed with 68 percent of the vote in the Santa Clara County. Measure Q aims to fund $120 million within the subsequent 15 years through an annual $24 parcel tax. The measure instructs that up to 25 percent of the funds are spent on parks and environmental activity to improve community areas and preserve the land from urban sprawl. This means that the measure will collect up to $30 million by 2029.

The measure will be implemented

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@CNET Aussie students recreate @MartinShkreli’s $750 HIV pill for $20.

@UN UN report finds marine debris is harming more than 800 species, costing countries millions.

CLAY WATSON

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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hile the national spotlight is focused on the recent presidential election with vote recounts underway in Wisconsin and potential recounts pending in Michigan and Pennsylvania, Palo Alto’s Board of Education election is set to be recounted and certified in mid-December. The local race is one of 10 elections subject to recount due to the narrow margin of victory between two board member candidates vying for the final open seat.

In Santa Clara County, any elections that are within 0.5 percent of the total number of ballots cast automatically trigger a recount. With the narrow margins between incumbent Heidi Emberling and threeterm trustee Melissa Baten Caswell, a recount will be called, even though Emberling had conceded to Baten Caswell after the Nov. 8 election.

In addition to the Palo Alto School Board election, there are other elections in Santa Clara County that will need to be recounted. These

elections include the Los Altos Hills Town Council, Monte Sereno City Council, Los Alto City Council, Cupertino Union School District Board, San Jose City Council District 8, Gilroy City Council, Gilroy Unified School District Board and San Jose Unified School District parcel tax, Measure Y.

Any elections that are within 0.5 percent of the total number of ballots cast automatically trigger a recount.

The automatic recount system is only being piloted, and has been in play since the June 7 primary election, which resulted in one recount of a San Jose City Council election. The piloted system has yet to change the results of any elections in the county.

The Registrar of Voters will oversee the recounting of votes for narrowly contested elections such as the Palo Alto School Board Election. A team of 150 staff members are tasked with the recount and are expected to certify the results by mid-December.

in San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Milpitas and Morgan Hill. The new investments amounting to $2.6 million, with a new grant being awarded every fall.

“People want more community gardens and urban farms.”

Andrea Mackenzie Manager of SCVOSA Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s primary goal is to protect environmental spaces by purchasing development rights on farms to keep agriculture alive in the county. The majority of the preserves are based in rural areas, such as the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Since the vote, the agency has decided to spend the funds on counties closer to where the majority of the voters live.

“We cannot make everything industrial, there needs to be a place that is not a skyscraper,” senior Ryan

Chang said. “I think areas will be improved if there are more parks because there will be more places for people to hang out and more environmental places.”

According to the San Jose Mercury, the upcoming projects include: $24,987 for the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, $250,000 towards Latinos United for a New America for Nuestro Lugar, $40,000 for Bay Area Wilderness Training, $248,001 for the city of Morgan Hill to expand the community garden, $34,500 for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, $48,829 for the city of Campbell for the Nido Neighborhood Reforestation program, $132,353 for Friends of Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County to raise for the Martial Cottle Park in San Jose and $76,703 for the Coyote Meadows Coalition.

“The goal is to connect people to nature where they live, so they don’t have to get into their cars,” said Mackenzie.

UPCOMING EVENTS DEC

FLEA MARKET

DEC

FINALS BEGIN

JAN

FIRST DAY OF SECOND SEMESTER

JAN

LAST DAY TO ADD A CLASS

JAN

INAUGURATION DAY

10 14 4

19 20

Yes, people actually go.

lmao good luck

Seniors, enjoy hearing from all the colleges you didn’t get into!

Break your teacher’s heart and switch to another class!

Thanks Obama.

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

NEWS A3 Madrigal Feaste held in PAC Palo Alto considers 50th annual choir event features singing, dancing and food

water redistribution

Memo suggests selling or donating to EPA CONTINUED FROM A1

JORDAN SCHILLING/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Jason Pollack sings on front of a crowd in the PAC, attempting to capture the 15th century aesthetic of king Arthur’s court.

groups perform in the show, including the Concert Choir, Spectrum, Madrigal Singers and the a capella group.

Taylor Duncan, a Paly senior, reminisces on past shows as she performs in the Madrigal Feaste for the last time.

“As a senior it was pretty bittersweet,” Duncan said. “It was bitter because this is my last time here and I’ve been doing it [choir] for the past two years, but it was sweet because it had a great outcome and I got to be with the friends I’ve made over the past two years.”

Duncan was extremely impressed with the high turnout of the Feaste this year.

“We had a really great turnout with the audience on both days, which made it [Madrigal Feaste] even more special and I wouldn’t have wanted to end my last Feaste any other way.”

to distribute the water to their customers. SFPUC first established water allocations distributing 184 million gallons of water per day (mgd) to 26 customers including both Palo Alto and East Palo Alto in 1984, a time when East Palo Alto had just been incorporated as a city. Palo Alto received 17 mgd, while East Palo received 1.96 mgd. Currently, Palo Alto is using only 10 mgd. In contrast, East Palo is using all of its water allocation putting a halt on expansion projects.

“We forecast that we will never need all 17 million gallons even in 2050 or 2060,” DuBois said. “We are potentially transferring 500,000 to 1 million gallons a day to East Palo Alto, which is a small percent of what we use.”

East Palo Alto city manager Carlos Martinez said the city is planning on expanding its own groundwater supply by bringing two wells into production, which would take several year to complete, but the city has other projects ready to build immediately.

Furthermore, the addition of well could potentially pump saltwater from the bay, impacting the aquifer they share with Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

“We are asking the council to consider the water allocation to East Palo we have left it really open and it is up for discussion,” DuBois said. “We just wanted to raise the issue.”

In addition, East Palo Alto city leaders have asked SFPUC for an extra 1.5 mgd and BAWSCA, which

JLS to host second City Council discusses annual Code Fest building height limit CONTINUED FROM A1

Maggie Wang, a senior at Gunn, will be one of the presenters on Saturday.

She did not participate last year, however she expressed her excitement and background with coding.

“I started programming at around fifth grade when I made a toy robot drive. Since then, I’ve used computer science on everything from analyzing data from the Hubble Space Telescope to flying drones,” Wang said. “I love how versatile the field is, and I hope to show others the wide applications of technology in our world.”

Another presenter, Gunn junior Uma Bahl, hopes to encourage coding at a younger age.

Bahl entered the world of coding in order to emulate her brother. Her motivation to continue coding stems from enjoyment of the field.

“I started out with visuals, drag and drop coding, and produced my own app soon after,” Bahl said. “The excitement of having people play my app immediately had me hooked, and the encouragement I have received from being a woman in STEM kept

me exploring.”

Attendees will be able to partici-

50-foot height ceiling may be in jeopardy

“The excitement of having people play my app immediately had me hooked, and the encouragement I have received from being a woman in STEM kept me exploring.”

JARED STANLEY

Uma Bahl Gunn Junior pate hands-on sessions which can be self-guided or taught.

Hoping for a successful turnout, Wang encourages students to come and experience the world of coding.

“It’s really important to get kids excited about technology to broaden their views on how they can make an impact in the world,” Wang said.

“Through our hands-on workshop sessions, we hope to show kids how fun computer science is and inspire them to continue programming.”

Although registering for the event is encouraged, the event will also be welcome to those who haven’t registered.

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he sky’s the limit. Over the years these words have been spoken millions, if not billions, of times to illustrate the point that there is no cap on what an individual can achieve. For Palo Altans, however, the limit is 50 feet.

Since the early 1970s, Palo Altans have been forced to keep all office buildings under the capita of 50 feet, in order to keep the aesthetic qualities that Palo Alto holds so dear to their heart.

An increase in the height ceiling could facilitate the growth of retail market as well as the availability of housing in Palo Alto.

Revising the current restrictions and allowing developers to build above fifty feet could be one way to encourage building mixed-use projects. Mixed-use projects would be able to incorporate retail and shops on the ground floor and housing on

upper floors.

These suggestions to build housing at various local retail hubs, such as the Stanford Shopping Center and Town & Country Village, were met with mixed reviews by city council members. Council members will continue the land use talk in early 2017 after recently elected council members take their seats.

City Planning Commissioner and Councilman-elect Adrian Fine, who will begin his term in January, has previously called the building ceiling “arbitrary,” in a planning and transportation committee meeting. However, during his campaign, he stopped calling for the abolition of the ceiling limit.

Greg Tanaka, another planning commissioner who was elected to the council, has not taken any strong stances for or against the current height limit. He has, however, demonstrated strong support for the building of more micro units and senior apartments.

represents the 26 customers, to create ways for cities to allocate any unused water to East Palo Alto and other cities in need. Additional water allocation can assist in economic equity issues. East Palo Alto has 0.23 jobs per resident, the lowest jobs-percapita ratio in the country, and an unemployment rate twice as high as the county average. More water could allow more development of business, increasing the amount of jobs for local residents.

“We forecast that we will never need all 17 million gallons even in 2050 or 2060. We are potentially transferring 500,000 to 1 million gallons a day to East Palo Alto, which is a small percent of what we use.”

Tom DuBois City Council Member “There are several cities that are not using their water and I was encouraging multiple cities to participate in this water allocation but it’s difficult to get cities to coordinate,” Dubois said. “Mountain View might do it, but each city will have to work with East Palo Alto one-on-one.”

City Council members met on Dec. 5 to further discuss potential plans for water allocations to East Palo Alto.

“By allocating water, it will help the expansion of East Palo Alto which creates more affordable housing close by,” Dubois said. “They are our sister city so it’s the right thing to help out.”

Equity plan CONTINUED FROM A1

feel so there’s no need for any additional training.”

The District is also encouraging community members, especially those who are directly affected by it, to provide feedback on the proposed Equity Plan.

“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to leave comments and make your input heard because, unfortunately, this has been an issue in this district for many years,” a parent at the meeting said.

Another concern that was raised by a parent was the lack of representation that HUR students receive in the classroom curriculum. The solution that was proposed was to create an ethnic studies course that serves as an alternative class to U.S. Government and U.S. history.

“Time after time, it has been shown through research that children of color who see their place do better and the gap is actually closed,” Perez said. “There’s the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland which is a high performing school composed entirely of children of color and they have reached proficiency in 100 percent English [and] math… they have an Ethnic Studies course.”

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

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NEWS

Winter Fiery Arts sale a glowing success Paly’s signature glassblowing program displays over 200 pieces of student-made art as part of fundraising sale KAI ODA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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he Winter Fiery Arts Sale featured an atypical demonstration involving a glass teapot simmering at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit being thrown through the air to a student wearing a heatshielded apron and gloves. The teapot was then rushed to the cooling station where it unfortunately shattered, spilling sharp glass shards across the floor.

The sale, which funds the $50,000 glassblowing program at Palo Alto High School, ran on Dec. 2 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over 200 hand-blown glass pieces were displayed in the Tower Building ranging from $5 to $200 dollars.

Community members were also invited to watch a glassblowing demonstration which featured seniors Ben Beaudry and Jeremy Rosenbaum making, and occasionally breaking, intricate glass cups, goblets, teapots and vases.

“The demonstration is held every year, and I’m super happy to be participating,” Beaudry said. “People can come watch and ask us questions about the program.”

Unlike traditional art forms, glassblowing takes mere minutes to complete. A cup was completed in five minutes, and Beaudry’s goblet was placed in the cooling station within the hour.

In addition to providing funds for the glassblowing program, the sale also showed off student work, and allowed them to make some money.

“Students can put their work into the glass sale, and receive whatever profit they make from it,” Beaudry said. “Alternatively, they can donate the money they make back to the school and help out the program.”

The glassblowing instructors also created advanced work for the sale, which made for a diverse selection of glass pieces. A special Christmas

Top: Paly senior Ben Beaudry crafts glass during this year’s Fiery Arts Sale. Bottom Left: Student made flowers on sale. Bottom Right: Holiday gifts available to buy in the office.

themed section of the glass arts sale featured glass snowmen, pine trees, reindeer and candy canes.

The Winter and Fall Fiery Arts Sales are a major source of funding for Paly’s glassblowing program.

Only four programs exist across the entire United States due to the exorbitant cost. For the fortunate students in Paly’s program, glassblowing provides a unique form of expression through its dangerous process.

“Glass blowing is a really great way to express yourself because you can make whatever you want,” Beaudry said. “There are no limits as long as you set your mind to it.

ALL PHOTOS: KAI ODA/ THE CAMPANILE

County reassures illegal immigrants County officials prepare to stop potential mass deportation force JOSEPH YANG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors are considering a proposal to partner with the city of San Jose and nonprofit groups to give immigrants legal services, such as preparing documents and representing them in court.

The plan would also ensure that immigrants in the county know about changes in federal immigration policies that may affect them, according to Chavez and Cortese.

“We will do everything we can to make sure our residents know their rights and have access to legal services to protect them from unjust deportation,” board President Dave Cortese said. “The county has long strived to be a place where immigrants can live without fear of being uprooted from their homes. That doesn’t go away with a new administration.”

Groups that oppose illegal immigration questioned spending public funds for such purposes.

“I’m not sure if the taxpayers of Santa Clara County would think that is a priority for them,” said Ira Mehlman, director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

“There are probably a lot of other needs that money could go toward.”

The move to provide legal aid for local immigrants is similar to steps taken in other cities that voted democratically in the Nov. 8 election.

Major cities around California in Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles have also reportedly discussed using public funding for legal representation for immigrants and have even taken further steps to make sure that their local police departments should take a “hands off ” approach with regards to immigration.

Local police departments around the Bay Area have also decided not to take an active approach in enforcing immigration policy not only because it could corrode community trust but also because it could lead to the vic-

timization of people with immigrant status by providing incentives for immigrants to avoid law enforcement.

“The San Jose Police Department has not and will not enforce federal immigration laws,” police chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference Friday at police headquarters. “It’s not our role.”

Donald Trump has said that one of his priorities will be deporting immigrants with criminal records, and experts have said that to accomplish that goal Trump would have to go after hundreds of thousands of people in California, including some with green cards and low-level convictions.

The steps for Santa Clara county to provide legal aid is in the midst of rising calls around the country for cities that voted overwhelmingly against Trump to become “sanctuary cities” that do not honor requests from federal immigration officials.

“The San Jose Police Department has not and will not enforce federal immigration laws. It’s not our role.’’

Eddie Garcia SJPD Police Chief Much of the uproar was also in response to the President-elect’s vow to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) through which more than 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children have obtained temporary relief from deportation.

The march was part of a groundswell movement calling for colleges to become “immigrant sanctuaries,” places where school administration officials would not actively cooperate with federal officials on rooting out illegal immigrants.

According to the online publication Inside Higher Ed, more than 20 petitions calling on administrators to take action to make their institutions “sanctuary campuses” have circulated

through social media since the election and many more are to follow.

The effort to create safe spaces for illegal immigrants in both universities and in the cities actually began under the administration of President Barack Obama, whose own aggressive deportation efforts provoked strong resistance but has only been strengthened since the election.

A major concern that universities and police departments have around the country is a fiscal fallout with the federal government. Under federal law, school administrators and police departments cannot technically block the federal government from deporting illegal immigrants as that would violate the tenets of the supremacy clause in the Constitution.

However, neither police departments nor schools have to report immigration status which would make it more difficult for the department of immigration and border protection to find immigrants as they would have to conduct their own investigations.

Santa Clara County is also shifting staff into high gear to prepare for the fiscal fallout if the Trump administration were to withhold federal funding from local jurisdictions bucking his immigration policy.

Joe Guzzardi of Californians for Population Stabilization said people should wait, however, to see what the administration brings rather than jumping to hasty conclusions.

“I just don’t see where there’s an immediate threat to the existing illegal population,” he said. “What Trump has said is that he’s going to get rid of the criminal aliens, and then establish a reliable border security by fence or wall or combination of the two. Only at that point is he going to decide what to do with the remaining population of illegal immigrants.

“That to me says that any kind of action for the general illegal immigrant population could be years away,” Guzzardi said. “There’s a lot of fear and fear mongering going on out there.”

Palo Alto aims to reduce emissions

City works toward new climate standards EHECATL RIVERA

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 36 percent since 1990. Palo Alto City Council has begun putting together the framework of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) which aims to both create a more eco-friendly community and inspire other cities to transition into a more environmentally friendly place.

“The plan is obviously broader than climate. We are here to talk about creating the kind of future that we want.’”

Gil Friend Palo Alto Sustainability Officer With discussions regarding climate change, resource efficiency, and other topics worldwide, the city of Palo Alto seeks to transition into a greener community City officials plan to do so in partnership with Palo Alto’s first-ever sustainability officer Gil Friend, who was appointed three years ago by the city council.

“The plan is obviously broader than climate,” Friend said. “We are here to talk about creating the kind of future that we want, which includes a healthier, safer and more sustainable community.”

On Nov. 28, City Council adjourned and discussed the S/CAP. The meeting was meant to be centered around building up S/CAP. Other topics discussed included decision criteria, guiding principles and design principles for the development of the subsequent S/CAP implementation plans.

“The purpose of the S/CAP is to do our part as a city where the leading edges around the world and to meet the global climate challenge and to

do as we have done many time over the past decade, to lead by example,” Friend said when debriefing at the meeting.

The main goal of the S/CAP is to reduce 30 percent of the annual carbon emissions by 2030, otherwise known as the “80 by 30 goal.” Palo Alto has started moving towards this benchmark; seven teams have been formed to aid in implementing key S/CAP sections such as mobility efficiency in electrification, water, zerowaste, municipal operations, natural environment and sea level rise.

Last April brought the draft of the 80 by 30 gas reduction goal. According to Friend, the S/CAP depends on a few key success factors — having strong and directional goals, having clear principles and criteria to guide staff and building flexible platforms.

At the council meeting, Friend mentioned that S/CAP aims to have a timely and transparent performance tracking which will be available to the public. However, this raises concerns regarding the methods that Palo Alto can use to regulate the S/CAP. As a result, the city will be keeping an eye on the GHG levels and other indicators which will help guide decisions in the future.

The S/CAP will ultimately rely on a few “core moves.” Firstly, S/CAP needs to reduce resource use by, for example, taking energy efficient measures. Secondly, the plan will require the city to shift the way resources are affecting our community which could be done through electrification. The final core move would be transforming systems, by potentially outcompeting single occupancy driving with mobility services such as buses.

Palo Alto, being one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the nation, hopes to lead by example and inspire others to help transition the world into a more sustainable and eco-friendly planet.

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

OPINION

A5

Course catalog should more accurately represent material NIKLAS RISANO

S

STAFF WRITER

ome of the most important decisions in any student’s high school career involve what courses they choose to enroll in. With a plethora of electives — and a dizzying number of academic “lanes”— it can be difficult to find a course that will engage and challenge a student while remaining within a reasonable level of difficulty.

At Palo Alto High School, the primary resource that exists to mitigate the difficulty and complexity of course selection is the course catalog, which serves as a guide to what the course curriculum consists of, and, additionally, to what prerequisites are either recommended or required for that course.

Yet, if you ask nearly any student, they will be able to share an experience of enrolling in a course they eventually grew to hate. Of course, in certain instances, the student could never have known that they would dislike the course until they had completed it.

However, in many instances, incorrect or misleading information within the course catalogs is to blame, and it is unacceptable for this continue.

Palo Alto High School should have teachers write short summaries of general topics they wish to cover throughout the year.

One example of this is my recent enrollment in my Communications class. Initially, I was extremely excited to improve my communication and leadership skills. Based on information found within the courses description, I felt at ease with my selection. Fast forward past the first traditional Communications assignment, and I found myself in an unexpected unit.

The purpose of the unit was to explore the difficulties which the gender binary presented to those who fell outside of the norm. While this was an important idea that classes rarely deal with, it was something that simply was not reflected in the course catalog. As the semester continued, the class con-

KATE DEANDRE/THE CAMPANILE

tinued to examine instances of gender bias and racial stereotyping within different types of media. These subjects are vitally important to learn, but the fact of the matter is that the class I signed up for was intended “to [focus] on persuasive organizing, supporting, and presenting speeches, writing and other forms of effective communication.” It was not a class meant to focus on the many stereotypes that exist within our society. As our discussions of gender continued throughout the semester, I learned many valuable lessons, many of which were unexpected revelations.

However, learning about these many societal flaws was not reflected in the course catalog, and it should be in order to assess interest in the class.

Currently, the syllabus barely delves into the curriculum which is present in Communications, and I believe that a more accurate description should be provided to reflect the uniqueness of the class.

Ultimately, the many lessons Communications taught me will surely be beneficial in my understanding of my peers. However, if a major part of the curriculum is related to gender norms and stereotypes, then that should be reflected in the course catalog. In short, I would certainly have taken the

class if the course catalog was accurate, but nonetheless, it is perfectly plausible that some students would choose a separate English elective, or additionally that students who wished to study these lesser taught ideas would never have found the course.

Another fundamental flaw in the course catalog involves the stronglyrecommended prerequisites. This mainly applies to Honors science classes, where some of the prerequisites are simply unnecessary. For example, in order to take Honors Chemistry, it recommends that a student be enrolled in Algebra 2 or higher, despite the fact that only basic mathematical concepts are utilized in the course. The course catalog could be discouraging students from challenging themselves.

It is completely ridiculous to recommend that students have a certain level of proficiency in a separate subject unless that subject is definitely necessary for success within the course. While there may be a correlation between success in mathematics and success in science, this does not justify the presence of unrelated prerequisites.

A student who is in a lower math lane could succeed in classes like Honors Chemistry and Honors Physics. Students should not have to defy the course catalog in order to take a

class they are interested in. The solution to this problem is quite simple and should be implemented for the coming school year.

Paly should have teachers write short summaries of general topics they wish to cover throughout the year. If printing this list of course descriptions would, for some reason, be infeasible, then it should be placed on Paly’s website.

Either way, it is of the utmost importance that the teacher who is teaching the class provides the description of the class, not administration. As for lane suggestions, teachers must reevaluate which skills are truly needed in order to succeed in the course so students do not feel discouraged to challenge themselves. After all, a core purpose of our school is to reaffirm the potential of each and every student attending.

Overall, these problems, although not major, have such an easy solution that it makes absolutely no sense to refrain from resolving the problems that exist within the course catalog.

It will better enable students to choose courses which are appropriate for their interests, and additionally aide the admin in delivering on the school’s core message of reaffirming the potential of each and every student.

Overabundance of technology is detrimental to students

CHARLOTTE CHENG

S

STAFF WRITER

choology, the Chromebook “One-to-One” system and online notes are affecting student education more negatively than positively. The Palo Alto School Board has always strived to provide students with programs that effectively advance our education, however, I believe these programs have not benefited us. Paly should stop trying to integrate technology and social media into our learning because it interrupts our ability to learn important lessons and directly affects the information we process.

In the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is the home of many of the world’s most famous technology companies such as Google and Facebook.

Given this reputation, students at Palo Alto High Schools have access to some of the world’s most cutting-edge technology. And in the past couple of years, Paly has incorporated social media and technology into the classrooms and lives of the students. However, the idea of combining technology into learning environments can ultimately be detrimental to a student’s

education.

On the first day of seventh grade, my classmates and I were introduced to Schoology, an online system where teachers post homework assignments and updates for each class. The idea of not having to copy down homework by hand anymore and simply relying on an online system seemed to make our lives so much easier.

However, over the years I have realized the drawbacks of the system.

Relying on an online system strips us from taking responsibility for our homework and accepting consequences when we forget to copy the assignments down.

In our future, our employers will not be posting online what needs to be done on that day; it will be expected of us to be on top of our own work and responsibilities. Counting on an online system takes away from important life lessons down our paths, such as time management, self-sufficiency and taking initiative.

Much of the time, teachers forget to post assignments anyway. There is also the possibility of the website being down, a frequent problem for many, or a student’s internet not working on a particular night. If those events hap-

pen, what are we supposed to do? Not do our homework?

Additionally, the use of technology in classrooms can be a distraction to learning. With the internet providing such access to the outside world, students are often off task during class.

Websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram become accessible to students, who can mentally check out any time they think a lecture is too boring.

Just this year, the Palo Alto Unified School District has decided to make it mandatory for sophomores and juniors to bring their own laptops to school. If a student lacked a device, a Chromebook donated by Google could be lent to them for the year.

Since this “One-to-One” system has been implemented at Paly, many teachers have steered away from notebooks and pencils in favor of computers.

Although students have the option of taking notes by hand, they usually choose to use computers due to the ease and relative speed of typing. The thought of not needing to handwrite notes and simply typing on our keyboards takes away the strain on our wrists.

As many schools in our nation begin moving towards integrating technology into their platforms, studies such as those conducted by Dr. Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University set out to compare how notes taken by hand or by computer can affect a student’s learning.

“When people type their notes, they have this tendency to try to take verbatim notes and write down as much of the lecture as they can,” said Mueller, to National Public Radio’s Rachel Martin. “The students who were taking longhand notes in our studies were forced to be more selective — because you can’t write as fast as you can type. And that extra processing of the material that they were doing benefited them.”

This study showed that students who handwrite their notes perform significantly better than those who type their notes. Translating directly to Paly, the One-to-One system is bound to influence students to use their laptops more often for note taking, ultimately lowering their performance when processing the content they learn.

Counting on an online system takes away from important life lessons down our paths, such as time management, self-sufficiency and taking initiative.

People may argue that technology helps students learn more efficiently.

However, for this to happen, there needs to be extensive training for students and teachers on how to effectively use technology in the classroom.

Unfortunately, this has not happened at Paly.

With Palo Alto High School being one of the more respected schools in the nation, it is important that we don’t just implement social media and technology, such as Schoology and the “One to One” system without proper training and planning because it can ultimately be detrimental to our education.

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

A6

OPINION

Pre-college programs are an insult to validity

PAARTH SHARMA

A

STAFF WRITER

s students look for more and more ways to better their chances of being admitted to top colleges, the “pre-college program” has suddenly presented itself as a viable way to gain an upper hand in the admissions battle. In increasing numbers, students taking pre-college courses in the hopes of boosting their chances at a prestigious college, the realities of the pre-college system are coming to light.

In the current system of pre-college courses, students pay thousands of dollars to take summer courses that are aligned with what they intend to study in college. Unfortunately, the reality is that these programs turn into an easy way for wealthier students to further increase their chances for admission.

The vast majority of students who enroll in pre-college programs and courses do not enroll with the intent of learning more or improving their grade point average (GPA). Instead, the goal for most who attend is to improve their admission chances at

the college they take pre-college programs at. There is no academic credit given for most pre-college programs­ — rather, the credit comes in another form — an unofficial admissions advantage given to those who partook in these expensive courses.

On top of this, the quality of the programs themselves are compromised. Most attendees describe programs as nothing more than sleep-away camps with nonexistent academic responsibilities.

Students who cannot afford to pay the incredibly high fees for these programs — many prices exceed $10,000 (not counting airfare) — simply cannot gain the same edge as their wealthier peers, and as a result, are disadvantaged during the college admissions process.

While many universities across the country have claimed that these programs do not help students with admission, the evidence seems to indicateotherwise, with increased likelihood of admission.

Columbia University’s summer program, which admits over 2,000 students a year and costs over $7,000 for

three weeks of schooling, supposedly does not affect undergraduate admissions. However, about 25 percent of Columbia summer program attendees went on to attend the university. When compared to the university’s 6 percent acceptance rate, it appears that those who attend the summer program have a clear advantage.

It is true that this advantage is not entirely based on attending the summer program. Those who attend summer programs are likely to get a letter of recommendation from faculty at the university, and, being able to pay for the program itself, likely are wealthier than the average applicant, giving them greater access to tutors, SAT practice exams and college admissions counselors.

However, this jump is extraordinarily high for one of the most selective schools in the country. To observers, it certainly appears that those who attend the program have a definite and clear advantage when applying to the university.

Such evidence suggests a deeply disturbing trend: the pre-college program, supposedly a tool for students

to become accustomed to college life while taking rigorous courses, has turned into a cash cow that preys on the fears of wealthier students and parents while at the same time disadvantaging poorer families.

Why else would the acceptance rate for the pre-college summer program at the University of Chicago be 70 percent, a mammoth-sized jump from the school’s 8 percent undergraduate acceptance rate?

The answer is simple: most universities have little to no interest in making these programs about learning.

Instead, colleges see them as a way to make lots of money off of the anxieties of parents and students who will fight for every last advantage to get into the best school.

It appears that the pre-college program has now become the textbook definition of pay-to-play corruption.

Parents pay the university thousands of dollars to allow their child to stay on campus for a few weeks, take nonintensive “classes,” and leave with an advantage in the college admissions process. In short, parents pay to increase the chance that their child gets admitted to a particular university — the definition of pay-to-play corruption.

While many universities across the country have claimed that these programs do not help students with admissions, the evidence seems to indicate otherwise.

The system is unlikely to change: as long as students and parents lust after big-name schools, colleges will have no problem taking a student’s money in exchange for an unofficial advantage at getting into the school.

The pre-college program today is a sad state of affairs: a program that uses the rich for their money, disadvantages the poor, does nothing to further education and ultimately does nothing but take advantage of a school’s brand.

The Electoral College is an unequal, biased system MAYA HOMAN

A

STAFF WRITER

t roughly 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, it became clear to most Americans that Donald Trump would win the presidency. In the first few hours of the following morning, Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech, despite winning the popular tally by more than 2 million votes. Although Trump is the current President-elect, he will not officially be confirmed until Dec. 19, when the members of the Electoral College cast their votes.

Most Americans understand that the popular vote is not what counts when electing a president. But millions often wonder how the Electoral College really works.

It’s actually quite simple. Each state gets a certain number of electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives of that state in Congress. Washington D.C. also gets three electors. The electors themselves are appointed by political parties in each state. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a particular state wins all of that state’s electoral votes (except for maine and Nebraska), and the first candidate to win 270 votes — just over half of the total amount of electors — wins the presidency.

Sounds fair? Not exactly.

Why was it created?

When the Framers first drafted the Constitution, they were conflicted about one of the most crucial components of our country: electing the president. Some of the Framers wanted Congress to elect the president.

However, this option made the executive too dependent on the legislature

This is problematic because many people in "safe states" do not feel as if they have as much of a voice in politics.

for political power.

Others favored a popular vote.

However, many feared that the public wouldn’t be informed enough about the candidates, since the majority of Smerica lived in rural areas of the

country. They worried that the people might choose a leader based on charisma instead of political talent or experience. The Electoral College was the perfect compromise.

Should it exist today?

The first and most obvious flaw of the electoral system is that the winner of the Electoral College does not necessarily have to be the winner of the popular vote. This has happened four other times in American history, this election being the fifth. Because of the winner-take-all system, a candidate could win a state by one vote and still take all the electoral votes for that state — whether it is three votes or 55.

Furthermore, the electoral college gives a disproportionate amount of power to “swing states,” or states that do not consistently vote for one party.

States like California and Texas have an enormous number of electoral votes (55 and 38 respectively), but shift party allegiances little from year to year.

Therefore, especially in a close race, it comes down to swing states like Iowa and Florida to determine a victor. This is problematic because many people in “safe states” do not feel as if they have as much of a voice in politics, leading to consistently lower voter turnout in those states.

Another significant flaw is the role

gerrymandering plays in the election.

Gerrymandering — or the manipulation of electoral districts to favor one party — is a form of discrimination that has disproportionately affected minority voters. Targeting minorities, many of whom support the Democratic Party, sways the electoral vote towards the conservative end of the spectrum. This is likely why Democrats won the popular vote six out of the last seven elections but only won the electoral college four times in that period.

A 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 63 percent of Americans believe that we should abolish the electoral college.

The main concern surrounding the popular vote was that the public would not be informed enough to make a wise decision. The other concern — that the public would elect an inexperienced leader based on charisma alone — ironically never would have happened if we used the popular vote in this election instead of the electoral college.

So, what can be done?

Can we abolish the Electoral College? Realistically, no. Advocates of abolishing the system have been trying to do so since 1934. In all, more than 700 proposals to amend or abolish the electoral college have been brought up

to Congress.

However, abolishing the electoral college would require an amendment to the constitution, which would be nearly impossible to pass, especially now that the Republican party controls all three branches of government.

However, there are steps that can be taken that do not require an amendment. States can opt to abolish the winner-takes-all system within their borders, and instead send a portion of their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, like the states of Nebraska and Maine do. A bill called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would allow states to give their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. So far, it has been joined by 10 states, and will be enacted as soon as the sum of electoral votes from states in the agreement reaches 270.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, democracy is the “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

If we ca not abolish the electoral college entirely, it is time that we as a nation started respecting what the majority of the people want, rather than using an outdated system just because it is the status quo. America is based on the principle that all voices are able to be heard. Let’s make that dream a reality.

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

OPINION A7 Presidential election reflects an ignorant America BEN BEISHEIM

SENIOR STAFF WRITER man who thinks that China had taken advantage of the United States in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will soon become our nation's chief diplomat. A man whose rise to power was engendered by xenophobic lunacy will soon hold the powers of Chief Executive. A man who unapologetically brags of sexually assaulting women is about to assume the responsibility of Chief of State, which requires representing our nation's deepest values. In just a few months, Donald Trump will become the most important human symbol of our nation.

This past election reminded me of an assignment I did in my Foreign Policy class last year. We read Francis Fukuyama’s 1989 essay “The End of History,” in which he argued that western liberal democracies were the epitome of sociopolitical advancement. According to Fukuyama, the decisive triumph of the United States and the west against the Soviet Union was evidence that we (or at least some of us) had reached perfect systems of government and culture. Answering a question about what I thought of Fukuyama’s thesis, my junior year self wrote “I think the model of human history he presents was relatively accurate… I am still, however, not convinced that the current liberal democratic political/cultural structures of the west will ‘end history.’ I think there is still room for significant development in these areas.”

The election of Donald Trump strongly supports my argument. It is hard to imagine that a society which elects such a man as their chief representative is one with no room for improvement. Beyond this, it seems that we are not even on a track of progression — whatever problems Obama may have had, surely his successor cannot indicate a forward thrust for American culture and government.

These realities beg an extremely important question: what are the inadequacies of our society that permitted such a blunder?

The left and right have both produced facile diagnoses that hyperinflate the potential causes which are convenient to their respective narratives. A liberal is likely to tell you that the obscene abundance of racism is

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the primary explanation for Trump’s election. A conservative who is in the camp of those who decry Trump will assign culpability to the opinion censorship and politically correct culture of the left. Both of these explanations fail to take serious and potential causes that do not serve to their respective political agendas.

It is rather obvious that racism in America contributed to Donald Trump’s election. We can feel certain that practically every white supremacist in the United States voted for him. While it might not be as obvious, there is a very strong argument to be made that certain practices that have become prevalent in liberal political circles alienated many voters that would have otherwise voted for Clinton. While many may have been drawn to him because of their racism or their frustration with his opposition, there is one commonality between almost every single Trump voter (and Clinton voter, for that matter): they don’t know the first thing about politics.

As someone who typically spends hours every day browsing news and political content, I think it would be fair to assume that I am an exceptionally informed person, relative to the average American voter (which is

ironic given that I can’t vote). Yet with all of this time spent, I still couldn’t name specific provisions in the TPP, or hope to accurately understand the effects of specific immigration policies. After years of heavy political engagement, I am still stuck with “I don’t know” as the honest answer to most questions about what policies the U.S. ought to implement.

So here is the problem — knowing stuff is a lot harder than we want to think it is, especially in politics.

While a doctor must spend years training to diagnose a single person's health issues and prescribe a treatment, an adult in America needs only citizenship to diagnose and treat the largest problems facing our nation today.

The fact of the matter is that voters have no clue what is going on in the world around them, so we cannot continue to be surprised when the people they elect reflect ignorance.

Whenever a truly competent leader finds his or her way into the White House, it must surely be by luck. Her electorate couldn’t have voted based on a pragmatic analysis of her policies — people by and large simply do not think that way.

Pragmatism is an anomaly in American voters, especially as of late.

Voters of both parties have selected ideologies that precede facts in almost every case.

As numerous candidates vie for our nation's highest office, their battle of ideas are marked not by intellectual honesty and pragmatic discussion, but by a competition to pander as many ill informed and politically ignorant voters as possible.

An adult in America needs only citizenship to diagnose and treat the largest problems facing our nation today.

So if your intention is to prevent someone like Trump from nearing the presidency, your time will be poorly spent attempting to eradicate racism or political correctness. The most effective thing you can do as an average person is remind yourself how clueless we all are about the intricacies of American politics.

That doesn’t mean you ought to not vote, but that you ought to dedicate as much time as you can to understanding the complex society that you live in. Every American should fulfill their obligation of knowing as much as they can before one votes.

Secession would be advantageous to residents of California moved from their homes. California is one of the most diverse states in the Union, and we should be proud of that.

Furthermore, we are not idiots. We recognize the economic advantage in having a liberal immigration policy.

Immigrants built this country. And that’s not me being romantic — according to University of California economist Gordon Hanson, immigrants — specifically high-skilled immigrants — are essential for innovation. Immigrants are more likely than native-born Americans to secure patents on new inventions or processes, and Hanson argues, immigrants can bring unique knowledge about foreign markets to American companies.

JACQUES MANJARREZ

I

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

n 2019, Californians will be given the opportunity that their southern neighbors fought and died for a century and half ago. This opportunity will come in the form of vote to secede from the Union of the United States of America.

Now disregard the fact that this article exists within the opinion section when I say that California is, objectively speaking, the greatest state in the Union. Our Gross State Product (GSP) is the sixth largest in the world.

It has the greatest diversity of terrain and population in the United States, where a citizen could hypothetically snow ski in Lake Tahoe in the morning, drive South and be surfing in San Diego by sundown. California is where you can be wine-tasting in Napa Valley, working at a new startup or filming some high-budget film without ever having to leave the state.

We are the Golden State. The envy of all the fly-over paupers and East Coast inferiors, and frankly, deserving of the privilege of being an independent country.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “You have riled me up, good sir, with patriotic language that has evoked within me a sense of nationalistic pride for this, the greatest state of the Union. You have done your job as an opinion author and have convinced me beyond a reasonable doubt that secession is the most logical course of action. Now how exactly do we secede?”

Well, hold on now! Don’t get me wrong, it’s that kind of impulsive nature that I most admire about the Californian character, but at least give me a chance to give you further justification for leaving the Union before you go out and start singing “Hotel California” for your pledge of allegiance.

Not surprisingly, there are a mul-

titude of reasons in support of secession. For one, Californian values are not shared among a vast group of people who reside within the United States. What California has is the perfect set of values for a progressive state. A diversity of opinions politically and socially, but a strong liberal majority — as is only proper. What has been made more than clear in this last election is that the attitude of the United States as a whole is aligning itself with radical ideals that abandon rational thinking. California should exit the Union as to not be associated with said values, as they are detrimental to California’s image in the eyes of more developed countries.

Another reason to secede is to protect our accepting immigration policy. With the president elect taking office, the policy of the United States of America will go from strict to authoritarian. We cannot allow our state to degrade into a dystopia where families are separated and forcibly re-

We are the golden state. The envy of all the fly-over paupers and East Coast inferiors, deserving of the privilege of being an independent country.

Still unconvinced? The heart of the American spirit stands for principles built on empathy and logic.

Without those principles, our country would be reduced to chaos.

Perhaps it’s already too late for the United States, but we can still save ourselves. Simply put, if you genuinely believe in these principles, then it is your duty as a citizen to fight to retain them. I personally cannot associate with a country that does not accept these principles, and as a result I see no better option than to raise the Great Grizzly above Old Glory from Los Angeles to Point Reyes.

We are Californian. We like avocados, yoga, redwoods and relatively vague intervals of time signifying our arrival to brunch. We swear we’re totally accepting of all viewpoints and that we’ve never stepped foot inside a McDonald’s while there is an In N’ Out within an hour drive. Let us all join together as a culture and leave the Union that has betrayed us.

Friday, Dec 9, 2016

The Campanile

A8

EDITORIALS

Optional assessments before final Improve test alignment

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s finals week approaches, the stakes of critical cumulative assessments loom over the students of Palo Alto High School.

This time is particularly stressful for students with a borderline grade — where the final exam will determine their grade for the semester. There is a way to alleviate student stress while reinforcing material taught over the course of the semester: optional retakes and assignments.

Optional retakes are quite simple — students are given the opportunity to relearn the material they misunderstood the first time, and demonstrate their knowledge by taking a revised test or rewriting an unsatisfactory essay. The student’s score on the revised assessment is then substituted if it is higher than the original score.

This practice would give students the opportunity to raise their grades, reducing the stakes and subsequent stress of the final exam. However, the greater benefit is that it helps students encode a topic from shortterm memory into long-term storage.

Studies have shown that after cramming the night before, students typically lose 40 percent of the learned information within seven days.

However, subsequent review sessions allow students to retain more of the information for longer periods of time.

Furthermore, the most successful review sessions are ones that involve

active testing of knowledge through quizzes and answering questions.

Students reviewing for the optional retake would be actively retesting their knowledge, which in turn is preparing them to better retain that information and perform well on the final exam. The bottom line: retesting is relearning.

The purpose of a classroom is not to hand out a certain percentage of A’s, B’s and C’s — it is to ensure that students learn the material as thoroughly as possible.

Another solution is for teachers to offer optional projects and assignments for students to complete at the end of the semester. Such assignments, such as an additional essay or passage analysis in an English course or a conceptual explanation video for a science class, would allow students to practice or relearn material, while also adding additional points to their grade.

Such optional assignments could be announced by the teacher at the beginning of the school year or quarter, and made optional for students who are satisfied with their grade in the class.

By completing these projects and assignments, students worried about their grade prior to the final will have

another opportunity to improve their standings.

That said, The Campanile feels that these retakes and extra assessments should be made optional.

There is little incentive for students who performed well in the class originally to retake the tests or complete extra work, and there are also a certain number of students who performed poorly simply because they do not care.

The optional nature of the retakes allows the teacher to distinguish between students who are having trouble with the material versus students who lack interest and motivation. If required, exams could place an undue amount of work on teachers. The optional retakes would benefit students who performed poorly on the original assessment, but are ready to put in the necessary effort to properly learn the material.

The retake would give these students the opportunity to demonstrate commitment, and foster long-term retention of class material in the process.

The purpose of a classroom is not to hand out a certain percentage of A’s, B’s and C’s — it is to ensure that students learn the material as thoroughly as possible. Student learning must come first, and the more opportunities students have to test their knowledge, the greater their learning will be.

Difficulty and grading curve of homework and tests should match AP test standards

S

tudents have complained that homework assignments have not matched the difficulty of tests, while others are concerned that material taught in Paly’s Advanced Placement (AP) classes is more difficult than what is tested on the actual AP test.

The level of difficulty of homework and material should be similar to that of test questions. The purpose of homework is to practice and understand the application of concepts in class, while tests are meant to gauge understanding of the learned material. If the difficulty of the two are not aligned within a class, at least one of two problems exists: either the homework is not adequate practice, or tests are evaluating material beyond what was taught in the class. A discrepancy in assignment difficulty also makes it hard for students to prepare sufficiently for summative assessments.

Conflicting guidelines can lead to poor performances on important tests. In addition, many AP classes at Paly fall victim to grade deflation, which makes it more difficult for Paly students to remain competitive with students from other schools when comparing grade point averages. In Paly’s AP Calculus BC class, a three year analysis from 2010-2013 found

that roughly 45 percent of students received an “A” in the course, while 90 percent of them scored a 5 on the AP test, according to data on the PAUSD website. Similarly, Paly’s AP U.S. History course saw 45 percent of students achieve a score of 5 on the AP test, while only 29 percent of students received “A” grades.

It is certainly important for AP courses to incorporate AP-level questions on assessments to help students prepare for the test in May, but not without applying a reasonable grading curve that follows AP scoring guidelines. The percentage threshold for scoring a 5 on an AP test tends to be far lower than 90 percent — the standard percentage threshold to receive an “A” in a high school course.

Students scoring an AP score of 5 on test questions should be receiving “A”s in the class, while those scoring 4s should earn “B”s, and so on. Paly’s AP Psychology class does an excellent job of shifting the grading scale to match the AP test curve.

Ultimately, teachers should keep in mind the underlying purpose of homework and tests — to practice and evaluate understanding of concepts learned in the classroom — as well as the importance of battling grade deflation in AP classes to avoid an unfair distribution of grades.

Attendance policy must be made more lenient

A

t Palo Alto High School, nothing short of a field trip, a college visit, an illness or a family death counts as an excuse for a student to miss school. This attendance policy, while earnest in its efforts to restrict gratuitous absences, is illogical and unnecessarily harsh.

The Campanile would like to provide constructive, substantiated criticism on how to amend the policy so that it is more fair to students, yet still legitimate. Our paper feels that the following analysis is both substantiated and legitimate: In the United States, the average American worker receives 14 salaried days of vacation per year, and Palo Alto counts some of the hardestworking Americans among its populous.

Many Paly parents work local medicine, law or STEM jobs, which often impose inflexible schedules and demanding hours on employees.

Thus, the holidays given to students are not always aligned with the time off that their parents receive, which often creates the need to take family trips (for reunions, educational purposes or pleasure) during some part of the scheduled school year.

However, the price that students have to pay for such trips is receiving an unexcused absence, which impacts their ability to receive extra credit or other privileges in many classes, and also might require them to attend Saturday school. Additionally, students with unexcused absences receive automatic zeroes for tests that they miss. To put it bluntly, this is not logical: truancy holds the exact same penalty as missing school time for a family trip.

While administrators might cite concerns over excusing family trips,

primarily criticizing a lack of student instruction because of missed time, these worries can be easily assuaged.

It does not take much effort for a student to talk to a teacher and plan ahead of time with that teacher any assignments that they will be missing.

Otherwise, the teacher should hold the student accountable at the instructor’s discretion. Admittedly, this plan calls for student initiative and requires work to be completed on students’ personal time. But does that not already happen with students who miss school because of illnesses?

What The Campanile recommends is a new policy, which would allow students to miss up to four days of school per year for family reasons, as long as the students coordinated with teachers ahead of time to make up assignments and exams.

Four days is not enough time to significantly impact a student’s learning — they would not miss the majority of instruction for a unit in any subject — but it is enough time for families to work with in order to plan trips. It is not right to force families to not take vacations because even a single day of school might be missed.

Students already circumvent current administration attendance policies by feigning illnesses, and thus not having to suffer any consequences.

With a new plan in place, the need for lying would be eliminated, families and students would not have to be inconvenienced and students would still receive the necessary instruction time.

To be frank, the current policy is nothing short of a bureaucratic headache. For the good of the students and the school community, The Campanile urges administration to consider our proposal.

DECEMBER’S TOP TEN LIST Top Ten Strategies to Raise Your Grade 10) ­Hack into your teacher’s Infinite Campus 9) Babysit your teacher’s kids 8) Cry in front of your teacher 7) Get your parents to send an angry email 6) Sell your soul for extra credit 5) Steal the final exam 4) Sabotage your friends to inflate the curve 3) Spend hours on Rogerhub 2) Threaten them with ratemyteacher.com 1) Drop the class -Alice Zhao

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Peter Maroulis • Jacky Moore • Kai Oda Ethan Teo • Jessica Wong Online Editor-in-Chief David Tayeri

Managing Editor Alice Zhao

News and Opinion Editors Sam Yun Ashley Zhang

Lifestyle Editors Eli Gwin-Kerr Annalise Wang

Sports Editors Cole Hechtman Kiran Misner

Multimedia Editor Mads McCluskey

Social Media Manager Kate DeAndre

Business Manager Bethany Shiang

Ben Beisheim Yael Ben-Shachar Josh Brigel Ethan Bundy Charlotte Cheng Uma Choudury Philip Ericsson Joanna Falla Mackenzie Glassford

Staff Writers

Maya Homan Edward Kim Grace Kitayama Will Leighton Jacques Manjarrez Nicholas Melvin Anna Moragne Jordan Quigley Maya Ravel-Bailey Niklas Risano

Photographers

Charlotte Cheng Maya Homan Gracie Kitayama

Gillian Robins Jordan Schilling Peyton Wang

Advisors Esther Wojcicki

Rodney Satterthwaite

Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds17@googlegroups.com The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis.

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

The Campanile only prints signed letters.

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Ehecatl Rivera-Pinedo Gillian Robins Paarth Sharma Jared Stanley Avi Tachna-Fram Peyton Wang Clay Watson Allison Wu Joseph Yang

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Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community.

The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper!

L FESTYLE

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

Drug Monopolies: Not Just About Moving the Pieces I

f any product’s price was raised from $13.50 to $750 overnight, the only reasonable explanation would be that something about it had changed drastically. Maybe the technology was improved for maximum effectiveness or efficiency, or an addition was tacked on to make it more innovative, or easier to use.

But what if the only thing different was the owner of the product? And what if this product was no ordinary product, it was a product needed to save lives?

In August 2015, the drug Daraprim, used to treat a life-threatening parasitic infection, was acquired

by Turing Pharmaceuticals. Following the acquisition, Turing raised the prices of Daraprim by over 5,000 percent. There was a public outcry from people who were rightfully worried about their safety due to the price increase; many were put in direct harm’s way by not having access to drugs necessary for survival.

inordinately expensive drug, forcing them to supplying a less safe version of the treatment that may not be as effective.

When drug companies have a monopoly over a specific drug market they are granted the power to charge consumers whatever price they choose, allowing them to raise prices unnecessarily so they can make a larger profit. The United States government further perpetuates the issue by not setting a price control for drug c o m panies.

Almost e v e r y other developed country has some system of negotiated prices to limit the extent to which drug companies abuses its monopoly power.

In the U.S., drug companies are granted a 20-year patent, protecting other companies from creating replicas of the initial drug. After the patent has expired, it can still take upwards of 10 years for other companies to conduct research, testing, and have the drug FDA approved, before being able to put it on the market.

By the time this would be complete, the first company would have already taken over the market, making a name for itself as the primary provider of the drug, resulting in making it nearly impossible for the similar, newer, possibly cheaper drugs to carve out their own share of the market.

Pfizer was one of the first Big Pharma companies to be set up i n

The US Government has let the drug industry go unscathed by having government protected monopoly rights for drug manufacturers.

With a monopoly on the market, Turing was able to raise prices so significantly without having to worry about losing all of their business. At the time, there were no other safe and effective alternatives to Daraprim.

Additionally, the market for Daraprim is quite small — only 8,000 prescriptions for the drug were written in the United States last year, so other companies do not have much of an incentive to attempt to get into the market.

Yet Turing CEO Martin Shkreli defended the price hike by attributing it to financial reasons. “[Daraprim] was unprofitable at the former price, so any company selling it would be losing money,” Shkreli said in an inter view with CBS News.

“A n d at this price it's a reasonable profit. Not excessive at all … I’m trying to create a big drug company, a successful drug company, a profitable drug company. We’re trying to flourish.”

Due to the price increase patients could be forced to pay up to $634,000 for a year’s worth of treatment.

Not only were individuals affected by this price hike, but hospitals were as well. After the increase in the price of Daraprim many hospitals were no longer able to afford the

the United States in 1849.

The drug industry began to grow rapidly during the Civil War as the demand for painkillers increased exponentially.

The industry really began to boom in the 1940s when

standards of living and technological optimism rose, leading to companies focusing on the production of new drugs.

However, as the barriers to entry of the drug-production market rose the industry began to consolidate. In the past three decades particularly, the drug industry has began to move away from discovering and producing new and useful drugs towards the marketing and selling of drugs.

Throughout history, the United States has been cracking down on monopolies in a variety of industries as to protect the public and consumers who were being exploited by the high prices of monopolies.

President Roosevelt was one of the biggest proponents of trust busting from taking down J.P. Morgan’s monopoly on railroads to passing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which outlawed monopolistic business practices. Yet, the U.S. Government has let the drug industry go unscathed by having government protected monopoly rights for drug manufacturers.

Drug companies’ abuse of power extended well past Turing Pharmaceuticals. In the United States, it

is estimated that 15 million people have food allergies, yet 14.5 percent of Americans live in poverty.

This suggests that around 2 million people with allergies are living in poverty.

And yet Big Pharma sweeps them under the rug.

Pharmaceutical company Mylan — uniquely responsible for producing the EpiPen, the device that delivers epinephrine to people when they have severe allergic reactions — has raised the price of EpiPens over 400 percent since 2007.

EpiPens are ideally supposed to be carried in sets of two and must be replaced every year. The recent hike in prices has put a large burden on people already struggling to support their families.

The cost of epinephrine is extremely cheap — what people are paying for is the mechanism to inject it. But EpiPens have been on the market since 1987, hardly novel, so the cost should not be driven up. Mylan’s price increase has forced people all over the United States into being unprepared for a possibly deadly situation by depriving them of medical devices necessary to them.

Heather Bresch, Mylan CEO, felt as though people were misunderstanding the rationale behind the EpiPen price increase.

“I know there is considerable concern and skepticism about the pricing,” Bresch said during a Sept.

21 congressional testimony. “I think many people incorrectly assume we make $600 off each EpiPen. This is simply not true.”

Mylan profits about $100 per EpiPen after factoring out rebates, fees and related costs. Yet, millions of EpiPens are purchased every year so

the increase in prices was not necessary to keep the company afloat.

Part of what has allowed Mylan to brutally increase the price of the life saving device is the fact that they control over 90 percent of the epinephrine auto injector market.

Mylan has a patent on the device until 2025, making it nearly impossible for other companies to break into the market and create a device of their own to supply epinephrine to those in need.

Mylan’s price increase has caused people around the United States to be unprepared for a possibly deadly situation.

The incidents of Daraprim and the Epipen are not isolated ones; the list of overpriced monopolized drugs goes on and on from Doxycycline to Isuprel to Nitropress, used to treat bacterial infections, certain heart problems, and congestive heart failure, respectively.

The recent upsurgence of drug companies’ greed as a result from monopolies in the news brings up the question of ethicality.

When companies are providing drugs that are essential for an individual’s survival, why is it just to deprive them of medication by raising the prices to unaffordable costs?

When drug companies raise prices so that they can have higher profit margins it causes groups of people to be unable to afford medication they need to live or stay healthy, which indirectly suggests that the companies value their wealth above human lives.

Companies create these drugs to save lives, but end up depriving some of the help they initially planned to give to the public by putting their own interests above those of the common g o o d .

People who rely on certain drugs and medications are completely in the hands of drug companies.

When people may so crucially need medication it is up to these companies to provide it to them and make it affordable. In the industry of healthcare, health should be prioritized above business, yet in today’s market the priorities have been flipped.

LIFESTYLE

New Year's traditions across cultures

Delve into the specifics of the cultural differences in how New Years is celebrated from culture to culture. Explore traditional festivities such as the Chinese dragon dances, sounding the shofar during Rosh Hashanah and sending greeting cards on Shogatsu.

WIKIPEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS

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LIFESTYLE

JD HANCOCK/CREATIVE COMMONS

WIKIPEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS

STUDENT LIFE

LIFESTYLE

WIKIPEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS

Holiday gift ideas

Students giving back

Style in LGBTQ circle

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Find the perfect gift for that perfect someone on any budget.

Students in the area discover passions for volunteering activity.

Fashion breaks gender stereotypes by promoting tolerance.

Friday, December 9, 2016

B2

ANNALISE WANG

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

DEAR ANNALISE, My boyfriend has been doing a lot of drugs recently. He told me he has never done drugs before, and beyond that we haven’t really discussed drug use in our relationship.

He has been hiding his drug use from me, and I know because one of my friends made a joke about him smoking and I said he didn’t smoke.

My friend told me that he smokes a lot, much to my surprise.

I feel very uncomfortable, not so much about the drug use, but more about him lying to me about it. Should I approach him about it?

I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with him using a lot of drugs, or especially if he eventually pressures me to use them but I don’t know how to convey that to him in a non-judgmental way or in a way that could potentially compromise our relationship.

-ANON DEAR ANON, It’s completely normal to feel stuck in situations that force you to confront your feelings towards your partner. Above all, in a healthy relationship there needs to be honest and open communication between you two about these types of problems. Sweeping the problems under the rug isn’t going to make

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE Holiday gift ideas for any price range

you feel any more comfortable, and you deserve to be happy in your relationship and have both you and your partner aware of your needs.

Trust and boundaries are a necessary foundation for any relationship.

You need to set boundaries about how comfortable you are with certain aspects of your relationship with your partner, namely drug use. Find a neutral area for you to have an honest discussion with your partner, and begin with some objective observations about your relationship.

Perhaps share something like, “A few friends have told me that you are using drugs.” Try to be as objective as possible, because you can’t know for sure what he has done or why.

It’s going to be tough to bring up these things to your partner. However, it’s truly important that he knows what is bothering you so you can sort out your communication. If you told him that you cared about drug use in a relationship and wanted to set some boundaries, it would be clear what you are comfortable with in a relationship. It’s up to him if he can respect those boundaries.

What matters in the bigger picture is your overall happiness in relationships and that is rooted in communication.

It probably feels weird to approach a conversation about drugs with him. You may feel peer-pressured to develop a more accepting attitude towards drugs.

Many students may have a lax attitude toward drug use, but other opinions exist too, and he should respect that if he want to be in a relationship with you. Even if it’s “normal” to him and it bothers you, he should be aware and respect how you feel.

Also, moving forward, your boyfriend, or anyone else for that matter, should not force you to do anything.

This kind of peer pressure is not something you need to conform to, your choices are yours and whatever you decide to do is perfectly okay.

Make sure you are able to say no when you are uncomfortable and be able to stop your boyfriend from

pressuring you into things if it ever happens or if you are concerned about it happening.

I know the drugs aren’t the entirety of the problem, the root of the problem is the lying about them.

The lying is a separate issue with communication. You can’t guess why he was lying to you, though a million ideas may be racing through your head right now, and you may be feeling anxious or very confused.

You cannot assume what the truth is, so similar to confronting the drug use, be objective about what you feel transpired.

Obviously it bothers you, so find a time to reach out to him about it.

If you’re comfortable about it, reach out to him about it at the same time as the drug use. Easier said than done, but he did something that betrayed your expectations of him as a boyfriend, and he has to know that.

You can’t expect him to know it was wrong, so please talk it out with him and resolve the communication.

Overall, don’t be shy about pursuing happiness in a relationship. As a high-schooler myself I understand how hard it is to think about my happiness and convey what I want clearly before simply acquiescing and trying to make the other person happy.

Your happiness is so important!

This act of communication in a relationship is just a tiny blip in your life, and what matters in the bigger picture is your overall happiness in relationships, and that is rooted in communication.

WITH LOVE, Annalise Dr. Moira Kessler, a child psychiatrist at the Stanford University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, offers feedback to the column writer. She is not providing any clinical services.

To submit a question or issue to be published and answered in an upcoming issue of The Campanile, please complete the form “Dear Annalise Submission” which can be found at paly.io/dearannalise.

Winter gifts for anyone that can fit any budget ALICE ZHAO

MANAGING EDITOR

T

he season of gift giving is quickly approaching, and whether you have an abundance money saved up or little to spare, here are some thoughtful gift ideas to help you out.

Under $5 Only have pocket change? No worries. The thoughtfulness of your gift can make up for its economic value. Instead of getting your friend a $5 gift card to a coffee shop, why not treat them to a cup in-person?

Whether it’s from Mayfield, Philz, Starbucks or Peet’s, nothing beats the cold weather like a piping hot drink.

Coffee shops offer a cozy and warm ambience to catch up with friends at no extra charge! The recipient is sure to appreciate not only their free drink, but also your company.

If they are not much of a coffee or tea person, try making your own gift. Handmade gifts are often more personal and meaningful. A framed photograph is a simple “do it yourself ” gift that requires minimal artistic skill and money.

First go out and buy yourself a frame — cheap options can be found at Walmart or at a secondhand store.

Then, print out your favorite picture of you and the recipient to place in the frame. If you want to get a little more fancy, try making a collage of several different pictures.

Under $20 Now that you have more money, you can purchase some of the nicer things in life. Similar to treating your friend to coffee, try taking them out for a meal. The premise is more or less the same, but now you have more options! Plus, if you go to a cheaper restaurant, you may have enough money to treat them to a movie.

Are they an avid reader? Magazine or newspaper subscriptions may be the gift you’re looking for. It’s a gift that keeps on giving! Whenever they see that glossy cover on their doorstep, they’ll be thinking of you.

Alternatively, you could buy them a book.

A safe gift would be some sort of water bottle — everyone needs to get those eight cups a day! While Swell bottles are all the rage, they can get quite pricey. Look-alikes are easy to find and are just as aesthetically pleasing and functional as the real thing!

Another fail-proof option is a CamelBak water bottle, since they are drip resistant and easy to sip out of.

Over $50 If you’re willing to spend this much, he or she must be someone very special to you. Gift them the things they wouldn’t dream of splurging to buy on their own.

With nearly all ports disappearing from Apple products, get them Bluetooth headphones — the nice kind.

Or buy them an Amazon Kindle — it’s lightweight, travel-friendly and has a great book-like display.

If you’re still looking for a gift that can be used together, purchase those concert tickets to see the artist that they always listen to. To be quite honest, you probably have something grand already planned if you’re spending this much, and it will be much appreciated.

FREE Well, you done goofed, but just because your pockets are empty doesn’t mean you can’t give a thoughtful present. With finals ramping up next week, try giving your friends a hug or writing them a heartfelt note. Amidst all the consumerism, let’s not forget that friendship is priceless (but also completely free).

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

B3

Rhyme after rhyme: The evolution of the MC

As tastes change and music becomes easier to create, rappers split time between entertaining and inspiring PETER MAROULIS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

J

ust be real, that’s how I feel,” spits Brand Nubian frontman Grand Puba over a smoothly mixed beat, circa 1989.

Nearly three decades later, it is hard to do those words justice. Gone are the days of hip hop when the kings of the rap game were the high priests of rhyme, the concrete jungledwelling dreamers known as “MCs.” Historically, emcees first came about in the 5th century, when they were charged with overseeing Catholic masses. When rhyme became religion in the late 1970s, so too was the role of the MC (a catchier, abbreviated version of “emcee”) translated over. A burden was placed on the shoulders of this new breed of artists: to tell it like it was.

And they did. Grandmaster Flash, Chuck D, KRS-One, Run and thousands of other lyricists — whether beloved by millions or under the radar — poured their hearts out through thousands of microphones. Over cut, gritty beats or soft, tightly-produced backgrounds, they gave America a piece of their minds. Whether criticizing gang violence or praising activism, MCs presided over the entire nation and sparked genuine societal reforms.

MCs remained a stalwart through hip hop’s Golden Age: the era of Tupac, Biggie, Q-Tip and, of course, Wu Tang. But something was different. More earnest bars were gradually giving way to braggadocio-infused tales of personal exploits, and fewer MCs were keeping it real. Telling the stories of the underrepresented was no longer in style — blowing kush and making money was. Of course, there were exceptions, and rappers who shared grim moments of regret (think “Suicidal Thoughts”). Yet for

SEHER SIKANDAR/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Epochal MC Kanye West sweats it out during a set at South By Southwest in 2009. West, a pioneer in the rap industry, epitomizes the rise of a new brand of hip-hop artists.

the most part a new age had dawned, leaving many classic MCs in the dust.

Suddenly, musical genius Kanye West burst onto the scene and into the 21st century, bringing hip hop into the eye of the general public.

By 2005, if you hadn’t vibed to a rap song, you hadn’t lived. The ease of making music was also contributing to a sharp rise in “artists,” inflating the MC currency. Anybody, lazy or ambitious, could purchase mixing equipment and whip up a melody within the hour. This phenomenon extended the American Dream to the music industry, and yielded many terrific artists who came to fruition in the latter part of the decade. But it also diminished the value of the realest MCs, adding layers of amateur fluff to the proud art of legitimacy. So Kanye, whose painfully vivid ballads

of middle class life are some of the most revered works of all time, was joined by a bunch of pimply teens with the temerity to label themselves “MCs.” Nowadays, your average rap fan can be found slapping to Young Thug or Lil Yachty, who, to their credit, produce catchy and hilarious tunes.

Rap is the new pop, and thus modern rap songs are written like pop songs: lightly, breezily. “Indie Rap” is a recently-birthed genre characterized by powerful, or just different, lyrics atop atypical beats. For old-school MCs, it is the last haven of uncut expression. Even with Killer Mike and MF Doom cranking out thoughtful bangers, social commentary seems to be falling on deaf ears. Indeed, with a small but loyal following that doesn’t seem to be changing, Indie Rap is un-

fortunately stagnant.

As everybody knows, yearning for the days of yore is unhelpful. Nostalgic declarations of “kids these days,” simply aren’t constructive in trying to figure out what happened to the MC and why. What happened is a technological revolution, an ushering of rap into the mainstream because of its ease of accessibility and production. We can thank Garage Band and Soundcloud for that. Why it happened? Well that’s a little more difficult to explain. While “telling it like it is” helps society, it isn’t a consistently enjoyable form of music. People get tired of hearing struggle after struggle, and want a tall tale or a laugh every once in awhile.

Of course, this only provides a surface level analysis–a pretentious one at that. Most everyone signed to

modern powerhouse Top Dawg or in contemporary poet collective Pro Era has had their name on a truly beautiful record or two. These new artists balance storytelling with bragging, seen especially in someone like Top Dawg’s Kendrick Lamar. Two lines from him can be a different as anything you’ve ever seen. Case in point: Section .80’s “F**k Your Ethnicity” (a story of racial empowerment) vs.

Good Kid m.a.a.d City’s “Backseat Freestyle” (the flexiest flex of all time).

Modern rap has given us a different, diluted batch of MCs. The recipe for these is equal parts loudmouth and philosopher. Indeed, the MC isn’t dead after all; the MC who spit rhymes when the Chicago Bears were good certainly is. Keeping it real is still alive ­— very much so. It is just under a few layers of goofiness.

Eurocentric beauty “Search Party” brings new standards promote take on mocking Millennials harmful self-image Debut comedy show slips into easy pitfalls, condescendFrom light skin to double eyelids, today’s definition of beauty excludes minorities GRACE KITAYAMA

STAFF WRITER

I

t is no secret that American society and the world as a whole faces an issue with racial bias.

The Implicit Association Test found that white and biracial people show a strong favoritism towards people of European descent over people of color. The beauty industry further highlights this implicit bias.

Whether this is in accordance with physical appearance or other traits, Caucasians are almost always held in higher regard to beauty standards than other ethnicities and have been throughout contemporary history.

Beauty products are frequently marketed around the world, especially in Asia and the Middle East, to make people of color appear to look more Caucasian. In past years, whitening creams have become popular in many Asian countries, including China, South Korea and India. In fact, the skin-whitening market in India was estimated to be worth $450 million according to New Statesmen.

The beauty industry as a whole is based off of one’s personal insecurity. People buy beauty products to fix the things about their body that society has taught them to be ashamed of.

In South Korea, many people undergo plastic surgery procedures in order to resemble Caucasians. This practice has become increasingly normalized across the country. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Cosmetic Surgery, rhinoplasty (or nose surgery) as well as double-eyelid surgery are among some of the most common procedures in South Korea. The objective

of these procedures is to have a more European looking face.

“A relatively common procedure for women here [is] double-eyelid surgery [which] creates a crease above each eye [which is] common in Caucasians but less so in Koreans,” said Jaeyeon Woo, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. “For some Asian men, a high-bridged nose common in Caucasians is seen as desirable.”

A favoritism for Eurocentric beauty standards is nothing new.

European societal norms have been in place throughout history. Dating back to European colonialism in 1800s, European culture has diminished different cultures’ individual values of beauty.

Whether this is in accordance with physical appearance or other traits, Caucasians are almost always held in higher regards to beauty standards than other ethnicities.

The beauty industry as a whole is based off of personal insecurities.

People buy beauty products to fix the things about their body that society has taught them to be ashamed of.

When only thin, white women are shown in the majority of beauty advertisements and media, women are once again reminded by society that they do not measure up to beauty standards.

Industries do well when women feel bad about themselves and in turn, seek ways to fix their own perceived imperfections.

Although America claims to thrive on diversity, there is still a widespread presence of partiality towards white people over people of color. We can only move past these stereotypes that divide us if we become aware of them.

ing Millennial stereotypes with cringeworthy content and

JEROME WETZEL/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Alia Shawkat stars as Dory, a stereotypically disillusioned Millenial living in Brooklyn, on the new TBS comedy “Search Party.”

ELI GWIN-KERR

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

W

hen TBS’ new comedy “Search Party” debuted on Nov. 21, it seemed like another television show that was a poking fun at the supposed self-centeredness of Millennials. So goes the cycle of generational punching-bags; the youngest age demographic is always susceptible to becoming the laughingstock of their elders. And while Baby Boomers have long passed that stage of replacement where they passed down the reins on popular culture to Generation X-ers, Millennials have taken up the mantle of providing them with source material for the entertainment industry. There is a reason that youth culture is always so misrepresented in the media: the ones who depict it are well beyond the age they attempt to mimic. Mocking certain aspects of being young is all too simple, and many a movie and television show has resorted to this kind of humor. But “Search Party,” which is written by Michael Showalter of Netflix’s reincarnation show “Wet

Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” takes Millennial entitlement and apprehension and repackages it in a missing-person, clueless-detective story.

There is a reason that youth culture is always so misrepresented in the media: the ones who depict it are well beyond the age they attempt to depict.

In the span of five hours (two half-hour episodes over five nights), Showalter and co-creators SarahViolet Bliss and Charles Rogers play on Millennial stereotypes to stretch what seems like a challenging premise. “Typical” Brooklyn millennial Dory is played by Alia Shawkat of “Arrested Development” cult fame.

When Dory gets news of the disappearance of a college classmate, she and her posse of friends become transfixed — she finds a direction in a misguided generation.

This set-up seems destined for mediocrity, at best. Shawkat’s role as

a distanced outsider seems to parallel her path through Hollywood. Since her semi-breakout role in “Arrested Development,” she has drifted in and out of being cast as the millennial archetype that “Search Party” so needs to make its statement about youth in the 21st century. Her character is confronted with the same existential crisis that many of her peers try to deny, as if the writers are painting this generation in the same disaffected light as the Lost Generation. But instead of being disillusioned with the world and unable to settle into life after war, their generation is narcissistic and obnoxious, and embodies the insecurities that come with entitlement.

As for the plot, it becomes apparent that this mystery drags Dory out of her sheltered clique. However, “Search Party” is not a coming of age story. Like her boss says, she’s “good at doing all the things no one else wants to do.”

“Search Party” is a story for the anti-millennial, for the person who likes to cringe at the exaggerated selfcenteredness of a generation growing up around instant gratification.

Friday, December 9, 2016

B4

The Campanile

SP TLIGHT

Protests: The Evolu

Text and Design by Allison Wu Staff Writer

A

Marching In

s hundreds of students flooded the streets of downtown Palo Alto in reaction to Donald Trump’s election victory, they marched in step with a proud American tradition: exercising the democratic right to protest.

America is a nation grounded in freedom, democracy and civil liberty. The right to protest — a form of free speech — is the first liberty emphasized in the Constitution and has endured for two centuries since ratification. Despite this inalienable right, protests have been widely criticized throughout our country’s history. Indeed, public assembly has often been seen as an impractical and fruitless method of solving societal injustices. Even the most popular of protests have had dissenters and faced accusations of detrimental disruptions to society.

Yet, time after time, people have continued to take to the streets, holding up signs, flags and fists. Through frigid winters and humid summers, tear gas and water cannons, thousands of protesters throughout the years have withstood countless obstacles in pursuit of a single common goal: justice.

The nation has most recently been rocked by protests following the polarizing presidential election. In an increasingly divided Union, protests denouncing President-elect Donald Trump have become commonplace.

The onset of these protests once again renews the time-old question: are protests an effective means of implementing societal change and cementing America’s foundations of democracy?

Or are they just futile attempts ignited by minority groups of revolutionaries?

D

For Democracy

uring the Civil Rights Movement, prominent activist and leader Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that people have “a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” As citizens of America, a country that so emphatically values democracy, protests often allow people to express their voices and exercise their democratic rights in times of societal injustice.

“When things get really terrible, you have to look at all different kinds of options,” said Shepherd Siegel, a Palo Alto High School alumnus and a participant in the anti-war protests at Paly and University of California, Santa Cruz in the 1970s. “To the extent that I am not in jail and that I am a free citizen, exercising my right to protest is really important, and I believe in the rules around civil disobedience.”

The tolerance of active civil disobedience varies widely in different countries around the world. According to Susan Olzak, a professor of sociology at Stanford University, there is a strong correlation between the occurrence of protests and levels of democracy. In less democratic areas, freedom of expression and instances of widespread protest are often perceived as dangerous to the society and are therefore prohibited.

“The underlying idea here is that the legitimacy of protest is a critical component of democracy, whether or not there is a large amount of protest that also goes on,” Olzak said.

However, the frequency of protests that occur in an area does not necessarily indicate the region’s status of democracy. Countries that are more democratic and countries that are more repressive may both experience either little or widespread protest, depending on circumstances. In reality, many other factors, such as the content of

the general population, contribute to a widespread occurrence of protests.

“The presence or absence of protest does not by itself indicate democratic principles govern a country,” Olzak said. “Rather it is the legality and legitimacy of citizens' rights to express dissent that seems crucial.”

S

Against the Grain

ince the dawn of the United States, societal change has often been implemented through the creation of social movements and their respective protests. The formation of our country was a protest in itself, in the form of a rebellion against British rule. The Civil War, our nation’s bloodiest conflict, was largely prompted by the Abolitionist Movement. The fight for women’s suffrage represented a prominent milestone in our country, symbolizing a form of relief from discrimination. Similarly important movements have occurred throughout America’s history and continue to do so.

Protests and social movements are generally not accepted by the broader community at the time they occur. During the Vietnam War and the corresponding anti-war movement in the 1960s and 1970s, only a small fraction of citizens was willing to physically participate in protests against the injustices.

“In a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) poll that was done at the time, at the height of the [anti-war movement], probably 1969, only 2 percent of the population considered themselves to be revolutionaries,” Siegel said. “But then again, that’s usually all it takes to make a revolution.”

According to Rob Wilson, a Paly alumnus and a participant in anti-war protests at both Paly and Stanford University, the conservative slogan during the anti-war movement was “America: Love it or Leave it,” indicating that a large number of citizens undoubtedly supported the government and its decisions at the time.

“There were several smart and radical students who were involved, but the majority was — in the vernacular of the time — apathetic,” Wilson said.

An article written by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research of Cornell University stated that “the public is particularly uncomfortable with protests during wartime.” A number of cit-

izens during the Vietnam War and the Gulf War in 1991 believed that “protests should be made illegal” during times of national warfare. However, this article also noted that when viewed in hindsight, these protests are often more widely praised.

For example, according to a series of polls conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation for President Nixon in 1971, 71 percent of American citizens disapproved of the anti-war protests during the Vietnam War, while in 1990, years after the end of the war, a reduced proportion of 39 percent deemed the antiwar protests unfavorable.

Another example of protests being unpopular during their time is shown by the widespread unpopularity of King during the Civil Rights Movement, of which he was a prominent leader.

According to a poll conducted by the Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University in 1994, 79 percent of Americans considered King a hero. However, a Harris survey conducted in 1966, at the height of the movement as well as King’s leadership, found that half of white American citizens thought the protests King led were actually hurting the reputation of the Civil Rights Movement. Only 36 percent believed King was contributing to the movement in a positive way.

Why do popular opinions of protests increase over time? The answer: success. Today, the Abolitionist Movement of the 1800s — hotly-contested at the time — is currently viewed as an essential advancement in our country’s history. Women’s Suffrage is now looked at with praise because of its staggering success.

“Success — in the form of actual concrete goal attainment — undermines subsequent protest, presumably because the motivation to protest has been undercut,” Olzak said. “Alternatively, if there is no chance of success, protest may be completely extinguished over time.”

A

War for Peace

lthough protesting practices have evolved, violence inherent in demonstrations of protests in general has remained constant despite efforts to maintain peace and nonviolence in organized protests.

For example, even protesters in the anti-war movement, which was built on the basis of peace in Vietnam, believed in using violent strategies as a means of reinforcing their voices and societal values. Consequently, many of these protests were condemned.

“Tactics such as demonstrations, marches, dramaturgical performances, boycotts and organizational mobilization have been the staple activities of protesters for centuries,” Olzak said.

“So too has violence, attacks on buildings and/ or attacks on group's identity using symbolic displays, such as putting Nazi symbols on gravestones or burning of Ku Klux Klan crosses.”

However, Olzak stated

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

SP TLIGHT

B5

ution of Revolution that violence does not necessarily indicate a more effective protest. Although violent protests may garner more attention, the goal is rarely ever truly accomplished, which causes many citizens to be extremely wary of these protests.

As an Office for Civil Rights/Nixon poll conducted in 1971 depicted, almost 50 percent of surveyed American citizens believed that the police should arrest protesters.

“Widespread participation by a population — especially using nonviolent tactics — seems to be weakly but positively associated with positive outcomes,” Olzak said.

W

Progression

ith the evolution of time also comes a change in the themes, trends and motives inherent in protests. New, prominent issues and social movements have arisen, and so have new social issues with protests that differ greatly from those in the past.

“In terms of changing over time, there is one perspective on social movements that claims that protest in most countries has been increasingly aimed at national governments, as opposed to local, parochial or regional concerns,” Olzak said. “Issues and demands also may have changed from class-based movements — for laborer or union rights — to more identity-based movements, [such as] ethnic, religious, gender, sexual orientation, racial, et cetera.”

Protests in the 20th century were heavily based on the idea that people needed direct change in society, and that they were protesting a specific conflict. An example is the anti-war protests, where people were protesting as an immediate response to the war in Vietnam.

Current movements, such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) protests, are created as a result of people’s need for the acceptance of their identity in the community and country in which they live. Gay Pride parades in San Francisco and elsewhere are examples, as are the “silent” protests of withholding business from an organization, such as the boycotts that call for canceling events in North Carolina in light of its recent anti-LGBT legislation. However, identity-based movements often motivate an us-versus-them mentality, and end up targeting those who do not support their cause.

“For movements associated with identity politics, such as the effect of LGBT protests on community organizations, this is particularly tricky, because protest not only signals movement strength and helps recruit new members and supporters, but LGBT protest also creates a more visible target for those who are opposed to LGBT rights,” Olzak said. “My view is that many contemporary U.S. movements have both an identity component and a countermovement dimension to them.”

D

Repeating History

ecades have passed since the major movements of the 20th century, yet many snapshots of that era are reflected in current protesting methods. Many are worried that the same injustices protesters fought against decades ago have since been renewed, nullifying years of demonstrations.

Movements themselves often bear striking resemblances to those that occurred years prior.

The Black Lives Matter movement, aimed at combating the disproportionate amount

Text and Design by Ashley Zhang News and Opinion Editor

of police brutality against African-Americans, is reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement and even the anti-war movement through its message of combating systemic injustices, such as discrimination and violence.

Take the war in Iraq, for example, which was recently a largely disputed conflict. According to a 2003 Gallup poll, 29 percent of American citizens supported protests of the war. Only 5 percent believed that protests made them more sympathetic to the cause.

The basis of this evidence is strikingly similar to statistics regarding the anti-war protests, where only a handful of people opposed the war, while a large number of people condemned the anti-war protests. It seems as if we are, in a way, repeating history with the current protests.

“Iraq is strong evidence that we did not [learn from our past],” Wilson said. “In response to a flawed policy, based on a broad paranoia about a global threat, ‘radical Islam,’ in this case, a devastating war was launched, and we are now seeing the continuing ripples of decisions made back then in the massive hatred of America among young Muslims, the rise of ISIS and global terrorism.”

ticipants on their Facebook page were exposed to the movement exclusively through social media. “[The Women’s March] is inspiring lots of other communities to take action,” said Renee Mckenna, a prominent activist. “Out of one march that was planned in Washington, there are now marches in every state and every major metropolitan area across the country, and the number continues to grow.”

Yet, newer generations’ increasing reliance on technology and the internet is not without its downfalls. Although the internet has led to easier and more widespread organization of protests, the convenience of “internet activism” often results in the facade of productivity and a lack of participation in real-life physical protests.

“I am proud of the young people who are out there,” Wilson said. “I am just afraid that the ease of escaping into the cybersphere will dilute their impact. Petitions and reposts, Tweets and memes, do not make a revolution. They are just too easy.”

Impact of Media

s today’s teenagers march forward as a new American generation, they will be responsible for maintaining democracy through freedom of speech. After all, as President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

High school students could play a huge role in inspiring this societal change.

“I've stayed involved my whole life,” Siegel said. “I think high school kids are smart enough and have been around long enough that they know that there's a whole world out there. They have not yet been made cynical by that world; they’re still idealistic and optimistic, and they’re willing to put themselves on the line to take risks. That’s why I love young people in high school.”

Siegel also stressed the importance of high school students in performing acts of civil disobedience at times of peril as a means of immediately creating change amid current problem around the world and in the U.S. government.

“I can’t wait for my congresswoman or my congressman, and I can’t wait for my senator to pass a law that’s going to prevent the destruction of the national parks if they are going in there with the bulldozers right now,” Siegel said. “I have to get myself into my car and get there and commit an act of civil disobedience that’s actually going to stand in the way of the destruction of a national park.”

Many remain hopeful for the revival of the same level of momentum that propelled historic protests.

“A lot of us are still waiting and watching,” Wilson said. “If there is a moment when scattered protests truly coalesce into a unified force, when that upwelling of anger is harnessed, when we reach that critical mass of fury, frustration and disgust — and there is a loud, reverberating call from a trusted leader — I will push past the pain in my back and my knees and join that march.”

A

s news becomes more easily accessible and reliant on expediency, the credibility of the media often comes into question, and mischaracterizes many global events, including wars and protests.

“Our media is [now] largely a ratings-driven, sensational selling machine,” Wilson said. “There are still a few courageous investigative reporters reporting from the battleground, but the military has learned how to control them. For years now, just the sight of flag-draped coffins being shipped home has been barred.”

However, even less aggressive media have not hindered the growth of current social movements. Although the media often relies on sensationalism to attract viewers, the outrage caused by such headlines has propelled many to become involved.

The rapid expansion of movements can also be credited in part to social media. Technology has revolutionized the methods of organizing protests and bringing movements to all corners of the country and even other countries. Black Lives Matter gained momentum through the sharing of videos of police brutality across multiple social media platforms.

Many movements have relied on Facebook events to organize and mobilize protests. One such movement is the Women’s March which will take place in January 2017, supporting women’s rights. The 130,000 planned par-

A

Political Engagement

Friday, December 9, 2016

B6

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

1

in

2000

This edition featuring:

Pete from Boston with The Campanile’s own

David Tayeri

GRAPHIC BY NICK MELVIN/THE CAMPANILE

Winter activities that keep it chill

These games are a great way for students to use the ample time over winter break JORDAN QUIGLEY

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

W

ith winter break approaching, students will have an abundance of free time to make fun memories with some of their close friends. Here are some of the best activities for a large group of people to partake in during this holiday break: Secret Santa One of the best ways to bring all your close friends together is to plan a Secret Santa gift exchange. The event is best accomplished by inviting as many of your close friends as you can — the more people involved, the better! There are many ways to organize the exchange, the easiest being to have everyone write their name on a piece of paper and put all the names in a box. Then, have everyone choose one name from the container and the name you select is the person who you will gift.

There are various ways this activ-

ity can be done — the most enjoyable way involves anonymously buying gifts, a different one every day — for your designated person and then giving the gift to another person to give to them. This way, they are getting the gift each day, but your identity is kept secret. The gift-giving is usually done over a one-week span, where the final day your identity is revealed when you give them your last and final gift.

Secret Santa is one of the best ways to get closer with your best friends this break, as well as receiving cute and unique gifts.

Ice-Skating Another fun thing to do this winter is going ice-skating at Winter Lodge. There are few things better than skating next to your friends and sipping delicious hot chocolate.

Winter Lodge also has an aesthetically pleasing look, complete with bright, twinkly lights and a beautiful Christmas tree placed in the center of the ice rink during the days of December. Winter Lodge is a great

place to not only skate with friends whenever you want to, but also to host a party. Depending on the number of people, the ice-skating rink at Winter Lodge can be reserved for a private party if you want to just be out on the ice with your closest friends!

Favorite Things Party Lastly, throwing a “favorite things” party can be one of the easiest and most fun ways to spend time with your friends. This type of party is similar to the Secret Santa gift exchange, except with a few twists. Again, it is always more fun with as many friends as possible, so invite as many people as you can and tell them to each bring a special gift.

The gift you bring to the exchange should be something that you love, such as your favorite perfume, and it should be wrapped. Once people have put their gifts on a table, everyone sits in a circle, and the competition begins.

Again, there is no “right” way to go about this gift exchange, but the most

classic approach is as follows: There is a box containing numbers from one to the number of people in the group, which will determine the order of the gift-revealing.

Everyone blindly picks a number out of the box, and then the first person gets to pick a wrapped gift of their choice from the table.

Then, the first person unwraps the gift in front of the group. Now it is the second person’s turn, and they have the option to either steal the gift the first person got, or to pick a new gift from the table and unwrap it. The game continues like this, with the next person getting the opportunity to steal any gift that has already been unwrapped or getting to open a new gift.

In this exchange, it is best to be the last person, because you have the chance to steal any gift you want.

The game finally comes to a close when everyone has a gift. This is one of the best ways to spend time with your friends, as well as getting to take home someone’s “favorite thing.”

Students giving back to their community

Various local organizations allow students to serve others while pursuing their interests GILLIAN ROBINS

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

H

igh school students often view volunteering and community service as a way to accumulate hours that are almost obligatory for college applications.

However, many students have discovered that they can explore interests and pursue their passions through service.

Students can give back to the community by simultaneously pursuing their interests and helping others.

Some of the most popular areas of interest are animal services, environmental work and youth education.

Get Involved Palo Alto is a nonprofit that benefits organizations that help youth and the community, and aims to provide high schoolers with the chance to do service learning and professional development while making an impact on the community.

It is available to students seeking community service opportunities is available to students seeking community service opportunities, and will

match you up prospective volunteers with service opportunities throughout the Bay Area.

One of the service’s most popular areas of engagement is with animals, directing students to organizations including the Palo Alto Humane Society, Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, Peninsula Humane Society, Hidden Villa and Pound Puppy Rescue.

Students can give back to the community by simultaneously pursuing their interests and helping others.

But some students still find an interest in volunteering without working for such programs. Senior Adrienne Kwok’s passion for fostering kittens began in first grade when colonies of cats were discovered living under her mother’s office.

“Some volunteers set up a trapping program and needed foster families,” Kwok said. “I used to always play with those cats, so taking in a few kittens

was not really different.”

Kwok now fosters kittens from the Nine Lives Foundation in Redwood City. Nine Lives is a non-profit organization that rescues cats and kittens from homelessness and highkill shelters and places them in a nokill facility.

This organization provides medical treatment to all animals, including disabled ones.

“I think it’s great to alleviate pressure from the shelter,” Kwok said.

“Most significantly, it’s important that the kittens get lots of human interaction so they become more friendly and adoptable, which is our ultimate goal. It’s a win-win because at the same time that I am benefitting the shelter and my community by keeping feral cats off the street, I also have the chance to play with kittens.”

Another area of interest for students is environmental issues. Some popular organizations include Hands On Bay Area, Energy Service Corps, and Grassroots Ecology.

The latter engages people in the Bay Area with restoration and edu-

cational programs. They restore local ecosystems with strategies focused on habitat restoration, environmental education and more.

Senior Avery Pearson got in touch with this organization through AP Environmental Science.

She volunteered at the recent events Grassroots Ecology hosted, planting baby plants and taking out invasive species. The experience provided the opportunity to get handson with environment, while also learning about human impact on environmental issues. “[Grassroots Ecology] put a lot of emphasis on service learning so when we’re out there the leaders are teaching us about the ecosystem and how we’re helping it,” Pearson said.

“I think where we live it’s especially hard to find environmental volunteer opportunities. There’s a lot you can do to help the planet locally.”

Volunteering does not have to be a grueling, tedious activitys. There are many organizations to involve oneself in the community, all one needs to do is take the opportunity.

The Campanile: Hi Pete, glad you could join us.

Pete from Boston: Happy to be here.

TC: How do you like Paly so far?

PFB: It’s alright. At first I didn’t really like it, but over the last couple weeks it’s really grown on me.

TC: What do you like about Paly specifically?

PFB: I think, like, the kids here are more laid back compared to where I come from (Boston). Like, people don’t care as much about social s—t, I’d say.

TC: Would you say enough people pack cheddar at Paly?

PFB: No, not enough. It needs to be a trend.

TC: Maybe you’ll be the one to start it. Thoughts on the Prophecy?

PFB: I don’t have an issue with it.

It’s just a group. People need to get over it.

TC: Who’s your favorite member of the prophecy?

PFB: Cleasby. He’s my agent.

TC: Since when has he been your agent?

PFB: Since day one. Whenever I get asked for interviews he lets me know if the people are cool, and if I can trust them.

TC: I’m glad we made the cut.

Describe yourself in three words?

PFB: Cheddar, cheddar, cheddar.

TC: Can you tell us a little about your old school?

PFB: It was, like, a boarding school.

Had about 350 kids. Kind of, like, super douchey, super stuck up.

TC: Why did you move to Palo Alto?

PFB: I got kicked out.

TC: Why do you think you’ve become such an icon at Paly?

PFB: I have no idea. I don’t know why everybody knows who I am.

Everyday I ask, “how the f—k do these kids know who I am?”.

TC: How would you describe your daily style?

PFB: Like what I wear? Yeah I get a lot of shit for that. Usually shorts and flip-flops is like the main thing, I’d say. I’ve got to keep it comfortable.

TC: For sure. Do you usually wear a shirt under you Patagonia or not?

PFB: No, I— everybody has an issue with that. Where I’m from nobody gives a shit. No, I never wear a shirt under my Patagonia.

TC: That seems comfortable.

PFB: Like, what am I revealing? Like two inches of chest hair? Is it that bad to people?

TC:I’m sure a lot of people enjoy those two inches of chest hair. Are you going to try out for the lacrosse team?

PFB: Well, I’m getting my diploma in two weeks so probably not.

TC: Are you saying that you will be leaving Paly in two weeks?

PFB: Well I have all my credits.

TC: Pete, this changes everything.

PFB: Yeah, plot twist.

TC: What would your final words to Paly be?

PFB: Go pack some cheddar.

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

LIFESTYLE B7 LGBTQ community breaks into the fashion world Large fashion brands are making efforts to promote tolerance and acceptance by breaking gender stereotypes fall fashion week catwalk in clothing considered to be more traditionally feminine, such as pussy-bow blouses and pea-coats. Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) has incorporated male elements into female clothing since its debut of Le Smoking, a menswearinspired tuxedo tailored for women, in 1966. The incorporation of male elements in women’s clothing is a trend that YSL has returned to again and again.

Other industries are following fashion’s progressive path. Makeup is not something most males, gay or straight, have been brave enough to try. Despite this, in early October, Covergirl signed James Charles Dickinson, internet personality, to be one of its spokesmodels. Not only had Covergirl signed its first male model, but they also signed their first openly gay model as well, a major step forward.

For the most part, this action was met with celebration, especially from the LGBTQ community. However, even today, the choice sparked its fair share of critics.

Many opposers to the brand’s decision threatened to boycott all of Covergirl’s products and complain that a male wearing makeup looks unnatural. The makeup giant has continued to respond to the backlash with messages of acceptance and tolerance.

MADS MCCLUSKEY

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

MACKENZIE GLASSFORD

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

I

n 1919, women’s rights activist Luisa Capetillo became the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear men’s pants in public. She was charged for this “crime” and jailed for her actions.

However, after this incident, working women around the world began to follow her example in protest of the rigid social norms set for women. This was one of the first instances of anyone challenging gender-expected clothing trends. It certainly would not be the last as this defiance prospered and continued well into the 1920s and 1930s. It was a groundbreaking movement from a modern lens. Unfortunately, the reactions from the public were incredibly negative at the time.

While many question the authenticity of the movement, it brings to light pressing social questions that the world is currently trying to address.

In the modern world, these progressive acts are met with a much warmer reception. In January 2016, 18-year-old actor and model Jaden Smith signed as the face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear ad campaign, making him was the first male model to be the face of a women’s campaign in history.

Although Smith has not explicitly stated whether or not he is a member of the LGBTQ community, he has commented on his penchant for wearing women’s clothing and has used his social media platform to advocate for LGBTQ rights. Smith’s is a staunch opposer of heteronormativity and gender-conformity. Louis Vuitton’s decision to sign Smith is a sign of changing times.

As gender identity continues to evolve in the modern world, it is time for the fashion industry to catch up.

His portraits appeared in the brand’s February spread and throughout the three-part spring-summer ad cam-

ANANDABAZAR/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Transgender Pakistani model Kami Sid stands for her portrait as the first transgender woman in the Pakistani fashion world.

paign.

Not only have Smith and Louis Vuitton broken stereotypical gender roles, but other magazines and fashion corporations have as well. Burberry, an English luxury fashion house, has often accessorized its women’s clothing ads with young men.

In the spring of 2016 they signed model Dylan Brosnan onto their roster to advertise for their female clothing lines.

Burberry is seen as a more traditional clothing brand, so their effors

to expand their palate to controversial models is groundbreaking. More and more, fashion brands and labels are pushing for acceptance of the LGBTQ community and are promoting and tolerance. The movement of opposite-gender and LGBTQ models in fashion has spread worldwide.

Kami Sid, a Pakistani transgender social activist, recently joined the fashion scene. She posed for her first photoshoot in the fall with photographer Haseeb M. Siddiq. Pakistan maintains the status of one of the

most religious countries in the world, with the whole population adhering to social norms. Pakistanis have witnessed transgender violence and heavy discrimination, and the movement of bringing gender-fluid fashion into the world has greatly aided countries like Pakistan.

Some fashion brands who have not yet produced such bold ad campaigns have still been making an effort to break gender stereotypes in the fashion and the makeup world. In 2015, Gucci sent male models down their

More and more, fashion brands and labels are pushing for acceptance of the LGBTQ community and are promoting and tolerance.

While many question arise about the authenticity of this new movement, it brings to light pressing social questions that the world is currently trying to address. Seeing LGBTQ models represented in mainstream media is a major stride in the fight for equality, tolerance and acceptance.

Breaking gender stereotypes in the fashion world is an important step in recognizing and accepting people for who they really are. Hopefully overtime, the rest of the world will follow in fashion’s footsteps.

A Tribe Called Quest’s new album addresses the hip hop industry After the death of lyricist Phife Dawg, ATCQ has come back with an album spanning a plethora of genres WILL LEIGHTON

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

O

n March 22, 2016, the entire entertainment industry grief-stricken upon hearing the news of Phife Dawg’s death. A member of the New York rap group, A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ, or “Tribe”), lyrical genius Phife Dawg passed away at the young age of 45 due to complications with his diabetes. Fortunately, Phife Dawg and his group had already began work on a new project.

Nearly 20 years since the group’s last release, which was “The Love Movement” in 1998, ATCQ has returned one final time to create their final classic, “We Got It from Here...

Thank You 4 Your Service.”

The group planned this phenomenally, making their comeback right when we needed them more than ever. In the midst of a ludicrous election, a multitude of terrorist attacks all over the globe and an overall disconnect in the world, the group felt “charged up” and ready to share their opinion.

Thanks to A Tribe Called Quest, the path was paved for many successful artists today, allowing them to find their own sound and not feel restricted by the constraints of the music industry.

Comeback albums often deserve the skepticism with which they are met. This is expected, especially given ATCQ’s history, but ATCQ’s new release defied all odds with an album that maintained Tribe’s classic melodic sound the hip hop community was desperately missing.

Alternative rap is reaching an alltime high in the industry thanks to

FAN ART/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

A Tribe Called Quest finally released its first album in 20 years. The cover art for its latest “We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service” features a painted man’s eyes.

the rise of artists like Chance the Rapper and Mick Jenkins, making this a prime time for the group’s return. On the track “Dis Generation”, the group denounces claims of the Hip Hop Industry losing the rhythmic touch it once had.

They shout out Joey Bada$$, Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole as people who continue to nourish the original grounds of hiphop, maintaining the profound history of creative and intricate lyrics that made hip-hop able to connect with so many.

Ever since their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in 1990 A Tribe Called Quest has been regarded as the pioneers of alternative hip-hop, creating something years ahead of their time.

Alternative rap refers to a sub-

genre of hip hop that leans away from the “mainstream” or traditional forms of rap, which contains gun violence, heavy hitting bass, and the gangsta lifestyle.

This is expected, especially given ATCQ’s history, but ATCQ’s new release defied all odds with an album that maintained Tribe’s classic melodic sound the hip hop community was desperately missing.

Instead, they fuse genres, sampling funk, jazz, reggae and in some cases even country. Thanks to A Tribe Called Quest, the path was paved for many successful artists today, allowing them to find their own sound and not feel restricted by the constraints

of the music industry.

The late Phife Dawg says it best, “Who can come back years later, still hit the shot?” a reference to the groups 18-year hiatus failing to abate the group. They began working on the project in late 2015, giving Phife Dawg time to record a great deal of versus for the album.

His partners also include a handful of tasteful tributes to him, for example on the song Lost Somebody Q-Tip reminisces on his childhood with Phife Dawg, and apologizes for his sometimes “overbearing” attitude.

The 16-song album contains a plethora of wide-ranging features.

From the multiple Grammy winning legend Elton John to the Hip Hop mogul Kanye West, people who were riding with the Tribe from day one, like Busta Rhymes to newcomers like

Anderson.Paak, a 2016 XXL Freshman.

The track with Anderson, Moving Backwards, has had a massive impact, introducing the young fans of Anderson to the people that made his career possible.

This December is packed full of new music. Childish Gambino dropped his third studio album, “Awaken, my Love!” on Dec. 2 which was the farthest thing from expected.

It has a much more psychedelic and funk sound to it than past projects from Gambino.

Drake has a playlist called “More Life” dropping sometime this December. He has already released 3 singles including the track Sneakin featuring 21 Savage. The long awaited J. Cole album is finally almost here. “4 Your Eyez Only.”

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

L FESTYLE

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s the end of 2016 rapidly approaches, Palo Alto High School students, teachers and administrators are counting down the remaining school days until winter break, eager to spend this holiday season with family and friends. While many look forward to celebrating New Year’s Day in the traditional American style, other cultures will celebrate the start of 2017 in different ways.

Israel: Rosh Hashanah

America: New Year’s Day

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n the night of the last day of the attending sports games and making New year, over one billion people count Year’s resolutions.

Though most people find it difficult to down to midnight while watching the famous ball drop in Times Square. In adhere to their New Year’s resolutions, it America and other countries, including is still a widespread custom to create one Italy and Canada, New Year’s Day takes for the upcoming year. This tradition has existed for nearly 4,000 place on Jan. 1.

Although traditional Making resolutions years, originating with the ancient Babylonians, who New Year’s Day foods ingives me hope. clude sauerkraut, black- Ethan Mathieu Mouloudj made promises and resolutions to their kings at the eyed peas and pork, most Freshman start of each new year.

Americans typically eat “Each year, I make New Year’s resolucontemporary American foods or dishes tions, such as to hang out more with my from their individual cultures.

In American culture, many people friends rather than just being a recluse,” celebrate the beginning of a new year by said freshman Ethan Mathieu Mouloudj. watching televised fireworks and parades, “Making [resolutions] gives me hope.”

I

n Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means “the beginning of the year.” The celebration occurs during the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which usually is composed of the end of September and the beginning of October.

This year, Rosh Hashanah took place from sundown on Oct. 2 to sundown on Oct. 4. On Rosh Hashanah, families read from the mahzor, a prayer book used on Jewish holidays, and sound shofars, instruments made from ram horns. They also attend daily prayer services.

Although a large portion of the holiday is dedicated to attending religious services, less devout Jewish families also celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

Vietnam: Tet Nguyen Dan

Korea: Seollal

V

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ietnamese New Year is considered the most important celebration of the year in Vietnamese culture. In 2017, the holiday will ocurr on Jan. 28.

Prior to New Year’s Day, Vietnamese families clean their houses and prepare special foods, such as bamboo soup and sticky rice. Food plays an essential role in the celebration, as Tet Nguyen Dan literally translates to “feast of the first day.”

“My family typically eats banh chung, which is sticky rice with a filling, such as meat or beans,” said junior Antares Tran.

“We also eat dua hanh, which is pickled onions and cabbage, and cu kieu, or pick-

led small leeks.”

Vietnamese New Year’s festivities include watching fireworks and parades with drum performances, which ward off evil spirits. Oftentimes, dragon and lion dances are held, where several performers dance in colorful costumes as music is played in the background.

The new year is also a time for families to gather and pay their respects.

“We wish each other good health and fortune to be hopeful for the new year, but more importantly, to enjoy each other’s company and honor the memories of those who have passed,” Tran said.

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n the same day as Vietnamese “Our family used to attend Sebae, a New Year, Jan. 28, Koreans ritual where we wish our elderly good forwill celebrate Seollal, their New tune throughout the year in exchange for Year’s Day. Over the course of this three- allowance,” Hwang said. day celebration, many Traditional Korean Koreans enjoy traveling After eating a bowl of New Year foods include and attending memorial tteokguk, we figuratively various types of jeon, or services to honor their gain one more year. pancakes, and japchae, ancestors and wish them or glass noodles.

Brian Hwang another year of fortune “We eat soup that Junior in their afterlife. has flat rice cakes with After moving from Korea to America dumplings, called tteokguk,” Hwang said. in seventh grade, junior Brian Hwang “After eating a bowl of tteokguk, we figcontinues to carry on his traditional Ko- uratively gain one more year, even if our rean New Year customs with his family. birthday hasn’t passed yet.”

Japan: Shogatsu

China: Spring Festival hinese New Year is celebrated in accordance with the traditional lunar calendar. Ranging from year to year, the date takes place between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. In 2017, Chinese New Year occurs on Jan. 28, marking the beginning of the Year of the Rooster.

On New Year’s Eve, which will take place on Jan. 27, family members gather for a reunion dinner, typically consisting of traditional lucky foods that are synonymous for good fortune. According to junior Andrew Shieh, his family hosts reunion dinners and eats traditional dishes during the Chinese New Year.

“Chinese New Year is a good time to meet up with family and friends,” Shieh said. “We eat fish, dumplings and nian

“My family is Jewish, but we aren’t religious at all, in the sense that we don’t go to synagogue or believe in God,” said junior Tamar Sarig. “But that actually makes Rosh Hashanah perfect for us because it’s a very cultural holiday, rather than just religious.”

Traditional Rosh Hashanah foods include honey cake, apples dipped in honey and pomegranates, all of which ensure a sweet new year. Many dishes symbolize good fortune for the rest of the year.

“Our dinner includes many traditional foods, all of which have a symbolic meaning,” Sarig said. "For example, we eat a round challah to symbolize the continuing cycle of the years.”

gao, which are rice cakes. Many foods have special meanings, like noodles and Chinese broccoli are a symbol of longevity.”

Chinese teacher Liyuan He notes that Chinese New Year embodies good luck for the upcoming year.

“We eat fish during the new year because it sounds like the Chinese word for surplus, which symbolizes a plentiful harvest,” He said.

Chinese New Year traditions include watching dragon and lion dances, setting off firecrackers and lighting lanterns.

“My favorite custom is bai nian, when the elderly hand out money to children in red envelopes,” He said. “We also wear new clothes, particularly red clothing, which will bring us good luck.”

Te xt

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apanese New Year previously followed the Chinese lunar calendar, but is now held on Jan. 1. At midnight, bells in temples are rung 108 times to forswear the 108 defilements of Buddhism and welcome a pure new year.

During this holiday, many stay up all night or wake up early to watch the first sunrise of the year.

“In Japan, we go to the shrine to pray,” said Japanese teacher Teruko Kamikihara. “Usually, we prepare for the new year beforehand, so from Jan. 1 to Jan. 3, the housewives don’t cook or clean.”

Many Japanese families celebrate by eating osechi, an assortment of traditional dishes packed in bento boxes. Some dishes include fish cake and egg custard, which

eyton Wang P y b n g i & Des e On & Maya Ho c i l A y b n g i s man De

each have their own symbolic meaning.

For example, kagami mochi, a rice cake topped with an orange, represents the continuation of future generations.

“On New Year’s morning, we always wake up early to make ozoni, a Japanese traditional soup with mochi,” said junior Cameron Akioka.

It is customary for the Japanese to participate in otoshidama, where children receive money from parents, relatives and friends, oftentimes in decorated envelopes.

“On New Year’s day, we give money to children,” Kamikihara said. “We also send out greeting cards called nengajo, which are written in December. The post office delivers the cards to each family on Jan. 1 as a huge bundle.”

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

SPORTS SAILING SMOOTH Paly junior Andrew Huang sails through life DESIGN BY NIKLAS RISANO

TEXT AND DESIGN BY EDWARD KIM

O

ff the sparkling waters of However, when he went to his the San Francisco Bay first practice in 2012, he was immeshines late afternoon light, diately captivated by the sport. illuminating the giant cargo vessels “My first time on the trapeze of a heading towards their destinations, 420 was super fun; I wanted to keep the immense shipping ports of the doing it because it literally feels like East Bay. However, not all is quiet flying,” Huang said. “It’s hard to exon the western front of the Bay. plain. It’s like controlled chaos, if that In stark contrast to the dull, makes sense. It’s the best feeling in monotonous roar coming from the the world to feel like you’re flying shores of Oakland and San Francis- almost parallel to the bay, with the co, a fleet of boats, sleek and nimble, spray all over your body while going tear through the waters off the coast 20 miles an hour across the water.” of Redwood City. It is here that sevEvery day after school, Huang eral sailors from the sailing team of commutes to the port of Redwood Peninsula Youth Sailing Association City with several other teammates (PYSF) train for regattas across the to engage in the competitive sport. nation.

Huang personally sails the C420 Sailing is an afterthought in the class dinghy, a double handed craft realm of American sports, and often manned by two people. The 420 title takes a backseat to more popular wa- comes from the length of the vester sports, sel, a miniscule such as 4.2 meters. The swimming, dinghy, a spincrew and naker sloop water polo. rig, is equipped Its popularwith a mainity briefly sail, jib and a surged in spinnaker,which 2013, with is essentially a the dramatgiant parachute ic comesail for going back victory downwind. of the OrH u a n g acle team spends most of in Amerhis time intenica’s Cup. sively preparOracle, ing for sailing down 8-1 competitions ANDREW HUANG in a firstcalled regatJUNIOR to-nine setas. These ries, reeled are held off eight across consecuthe native victories, taking the last one by tion during the course of 44 seconds, and at the same time, the year, though most freAmerica’s heart. Alas, sailing soon quently over the summer. faded away, now existing only in Especially competitive small pockets across the nation. regattas draw the attenOne such pocket exists in Redwood tion of sailors across City. the world, and bring It is here that Andrew Huang, a out a crowd whose Paly student, began his sailing ca- numbers rival those reer, which he hopes will be a ticket of a professional to future opportunities. Huang, competition. In who always loved being out in the the summer water, decided to pick up sailing out there are nuof the blue. merous ma“I was always messing around jor regattas with boats, or surfing, so one day I around the just decided I may as well learn how country. to formally sail,” Huang said.

“The

“It’s the best feeling in the world to feel you’re flying almost parallel to the bay, with the spray all over your body while going 20 miles an hour across the water.”

most notable ones for amateur sailors are Nationals, North American Championships and Buzzard’s Bay, where top sailing teams in nation and talented individuals come to compete,” Huang said.

“It’s very stiff competition. You look at the start line and there are so many people the start lines like half a mile long. The margin of error is also miniscule, to a point where it’s almost intimidating. If you mess up once you go behind 50 boats.”

R e garding the intense competition,

Huang feels that it detracts from the first coach, Molly Vandemoer, sailed overall sportsmanship. However, in in the London 2012 Olympics, just order for the sport to succeed it is a before she came to coach PYSF with necessary evil.

Huang.

Without the proper mindset in “She was the first coach who reraces, Huang recognizes that he can’t ally got me excited about sailing and succeed. Even before the race starts, taught me all the fine details about the sailors already attempt to beat the sport,” Huang said. each other to With rethe line. gards to his “You alteammates, ways have to Huang values be moving the time they back and spend bonding forth and together. The around to sailing comjockey a munity has algood polowed him to sition,” form friendHuang ships with peos a i d . ple from other “ [ Yo u b ac k g ro u n d s h a v e that he norANDREW HUANG to] put mally wouldn’t JUNIOR yourinteract with. self in “We spend t h e several hours best condition to make sure each day out you’re moving at full speed on the water with each other, and by the time the pistol you have to work well with the other blows.” person manning the boat,” Huang However, outside of the said. “In addition, we travel together, racing itself, the sailing which builds camaraderie.” community is especially Although there is a large sailing inclusive. Once removed community, Huang still feels that from all the competi- sailing is a niche sport that most peotion, Huang notes the ple either avoid or don’t know about. immense diversity and “There’s a perception about those camaraderie present in who don’t know about sailing that the sailing community. it’s sitting on a yacht drinking pina “I’ve made lots of coladas,” Huang said. “Sailing is also friends within the super hard to understand. That’s the community and it’s biggest reason why it’s a niche sport. really a niche sport,” It’s not a simple game to get.”

Huang said. “The Upon reflecting on how he has people you do know come to where he is in the sailing you get to know very community, Huang regrets nothing well. You see them about his past choices. all over the place at “I wouldn’t say sailing is my life, regattas, which is but is it a part of my life where I can pretty cool. Every- be in the water, which is what I like one in sailing has to do,” Huang said. “Two of my fathis community, vorite things to do are sailing and [and] they feel surfing, where I can get in the water. I like extended like being able to go away from being family.” a student and then fly above water.

H u a n g Also sometimes I look back and don’t also values his know how I got myself so committed teammates and into this, but I’m okay with it.” coaches.

His Huang’s family also supports his athletic endeavors.

“They come to the majority of my regattas and always help with costs,” Huang said.

“We spend several hours each day out on the water with each other, and you have to work well with the other person manning the boat.”

SPORTS

Dilemma on paying college athletes

Despite top college athletes recieving full scholarships, many argue that their immense contributions to collegiate revenue are underappreciated and that their relentless work in athletics should be further rewarded.

ESPN/FAIR USE

PAGES C4-C5

ESPN/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Marijuana in pro sports

ESPN/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

ESPN/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Marijuana, which slows reaction time, has no place in sports.

Popular support for a an eight team playoff continues to increase.

Eight teams deserve playoffs

Historic moments in sports

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These moments overcame social barriers to shape sports.

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

SPORTS

C2 VIKING RECAP BOYS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Lincoln 12/3, W, 1-0 Paly vs. Menlo-Atherton 12/6, W, 1-0 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Salinas 12/10, 1 p.m.

Paly vs. Sequoia 12/12, 3:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Menlo-Atherton 12/3, W, 5-0 Paly vs. Capuchino 12/5, W, 7-0 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Terra Nova 12/10, 10 a.m.

Paly vs. Saratoga 1/5, 3:30 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Sacred Heart Prep 12/6, W, 80-55 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Amador Valley 12/16, 6 p.m.

Paly vs. Oak Grove 12/22, 6 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Piedmont Hills 12/3, W, 66-15 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. St. Mary’s 12/9, 5 p.m.

Paly vs. Foothill 12/12, 7 p.m.

WRESTLING RECENT SCORES

Peninsula Invitational 12/2, 7th place UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Lynbrook 1/5, 5:30 p.m.

Paly vs. Los Altos 1/19, 5:30 p.m.

XC RECENT SCORES

CCS 11/12, Boys 2nd, Girls 5th State Championship 11/26, Boys 13th

FOOTBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Mountain View 11/4, W, 36-29 Paly vs. Los Gatos 11/11, L, 31-6

VOLLEYBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Los Altos 11/9, W, 3-0 Paly vs. Los Gatos 11/12, L, 2-3

Vikes continue to conquer the field Despite losing several key players, the girls kicked off their season with a string of wins EHECATL RIVERA

STAFF WRITER

F

o l l o w i n g a grueling two weeks of tryouts, the girls soccer team has finalized its roster and kicked off its season with an outstanding 3-0 win against Woodside High School in a non-conference match. Everyone on the squad logged minutes in a true team effort.

The three goals were scored by senior Tess Preising, junior Ally Scheve and freshman Chloe Japic.

“I definitely think that we could have put away some more goals, so we worked more on going to goal this week leading up the Gunn game,” said junior Emily Tomz. “Against Woodside, our defense did an outstanding job, and it was great to see many new players integrating smoothly into the team play as well.”

Last Friday also brought a 2-1 win in a close match against rival Gunn High School. The match was a nonconference game that was played at Gunn. Goals were scored by Japic and Pressing. Junior Darrow Hornik thought that the team was less unified in that game.

“Our team seemed to be playing more like individuals and less as a unified team, which led to our inability to make solid passes and shots,” Hornik said.

The girls won Saturday’s home non-conference match against Menlo-Atherton High School. The score was 5-0, with goals scored by senior Reilly Filter, senior Natalie Maloney, sophomore Claire Chen, Tomz, Preising and Japic.

The girls also showcased an excellent performance in goaltending from junior Clara Luehrs and sophomore Kaitlyn Hanay with a total of

JORDAN SCHILLING/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Natalie Maloney tries to keep the ball away from Menlo-Atherton High School’s defenders. The Vikes beat the Bears 5-0.

six goals blocked.

The team is expected to perform well throughout the season, thanks to a number of talented players.

Despite having lost several skilled seniors from last year — like Jacey Pederson, who was recruited by University of California, Los Angeles — the team remains hopeful and believes that its current arsenal of players will be more than sufficient for the season.

The girls have now started practicing together, evaluating each other’s strengths and weaknesses and working on building team chemistry.

“I definitely see this season as potentially being very successful,” Tomz said. “After finally practicing with the full team this past week, I definitely say that we have an extremely strong team this year, as everyone is focused and playing well together.”

Although the girls have only had scrimmages and no official season games, they have already set some long term goals for the season.

According to Tomz, the team’s long-term goal is winning the league.

For the past two years, the team has failed to fulfill this goal, conceding first place to Mountain View.

“Of course, before we can do that we have to focus on beating Mountain View, which is always a really intense and competitive game,” Tomz said.

The team also aims to win a title in the Central Coast Section (CCS), which has been out of the girls reach several times in the past seasons.

The team seems to be on their way to a great season. If the girls are able to pinpoint their specific weaknesses and drill through them, they will be strong contenders for a league championship and quite possibly a CCS title.

Season begins with uplifting victory for boys Boys soccer team credits its win against Milpitas to strong team chemistry between players PHILIP ERICSSON

STAFF WRITER

T

he ball soars through the air, cutting a deft arc into the net for the ninth time, unanswered. Not long after, the referee blows the whistle for the final time of the match, and the Palo Alto High School boys soccer team walks triumphantly off the field after a 9-0 victory against Milpitas High School on Nov. 29.

The boys started off on a fantastic note with their first game of the season. Goals from seniors Neil Verwillow and Jack Stoksik and sophomores Marco Tan and Jason Shorin helped the Vikings achieve a 9-0 victory in a dominating performance at home against the Milpitas Trojans.

Additionally, junior Kiran Misner and sophomore Patrick McIntosh had superb performances as goal-

keepers.

The change in the formation implemented prior to the season could be a reason for the early success experienced by the team. Last season, the Vikings played with a 4-4-2 formation, but this year they are playing primarily in a 3-4-3.

The new formation gives them an extra offensive push, and the four primary defenders are utilized to give the team more versatility. Despite the Paly team only having played two games, the team has great chemistry, and that is sure to help them out early on.

“I think we have a lot of chemistry on the team,” Verwillow said, “I know a lot of the guys play club together myself included, so it’s not like we are starting from scratch or it’s the first time that any of us have played together.”

The second preseason game of the

season was played at home against Carlmont High School on Nov. 30.

The Vikes took home another victory, winning 2-1 with both goals scored by sophomore Kenzo Morabi.

“I think we have a lot of chemistry on the team. I know a lot of the guys play club together myself included, so it’s not like we are starting from scratch or that it’s the first time that any of us have played together.’’

Neil Verwillow Senior With its undefeated record after two games, the team headed into a preseason tournament. The first game was played against Lincoln High School on Saturday.

The team’s win streak was extended to three with a 1-0 win. The lone

goal of the game came from senior Michel-Ange Siaba. Misner prevented any goals from being scored throughout the entire game.

With this excellent start to the season the Vikings are hopeful for a successful 2016-2017 campaign, with their sights set towards the Central Coast Sectionals (CCS).

“I think the biggest thing this year is going to be pushing ourselves to consistently get better during practices,” Verwillow said. “Last year it was easy slack off, but this year I hope me and the captains are going to be able to push the rest of the team to keep getting better.”

Be sure to head out and support the soccer team in their upcoming games. The season is set to officially start after winter break. On Jan. 5, the Vikings will be away versus Los Altos High School in the first game of the season.

Girls have high hopes Boys basketball looks to for basketball season improve on past records

After a promising start, the girls look ahead Varsity wins encouraging preseason games

MAYA HOMAN

STAFF WRITER

I

t’s the season for winter sports!

The girls basketball team is preparing to kick off their season by mixing tried-and-true methods with new strategies in the hopes of continuing the success of last year’s season.

The girls team dominated the court in their first game of the season on Dec. 3. They played against Piedmont Hills High School and finished the match with an invigorating victory of 66-15 that was reminiscent of last season’s success.

“It gave us an opportunity to build our team chemistry, and gave us a confidence boost going into the rest of the season,” said senior Maya Lathi, who has been a guard and small forward on the varsity team for all four of her years at Paly. “I had a lot of fun playing our first official game with new team members!”

Last year, the team won the Central Coast Section (CCS) and had a

relatively successful season. However, they suffered a crushing loss in the first round of the state-wide tournament, bringing their season to an early end. Despite the loss, the team was still proud of all it had achieved during the season.

“I thought we did really well [since] we won CCS,” said junior Carly Leong, who has been on the team since her freshman year.

Although their team has been beyond successful, they remain dedicated to improving their strategies and team cohesion for the upcoming season.

“We are trying to use less plays and have a more free-flowing offense,” Leong said.

Though they lost key players Maddy Atwater, Alexis Harris and Coco Lovely, the team has welcomed freshman Grace Thayer and sophomore Lauren Daniel to the team. The Vikes are optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I think that we’ll perform well during the league season,” Lathi said.

NIKLAS RISANO

STAFF WRITER

A

fter a grueling 2015-2016 season, the boys basketball team is looking to improve on last season’s 16-9 record and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with for the coming season.

Last season ended on a bitter note for the squad, who earned a bye during the first round of Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals to a strong Cupertino High School team. The score was a close 54-50, and was the team’s second loss in a row. Although the season was not a failure, the team has made changes in order to better last year’s record and dismal playoff run.

“Our preseason has looked good so far, we are using some new defenses and offenses that we didn’t have last year,” junior Max Dorward said.

In addition to the slight alterations in the offensive and defensive schemes, the team has made some tempo changes on the court.

“We are trying to be a faster team and play with a faster tempo, which has been a hard adjustment to make,” junior William Schlemmer said.

Though not having played any regular season games yet, the team has been playing in semi-formal scrimmages against local high schools, and improvement is already being noted.

“We still have to work on them but we have gotten much better throughout the preseason,” Dorward said.

Despite losing seniors after last year, Dorward expects to see another stellar season from senior Miles Tension and Jared Wulbrun, a sharp shooter who recently moved from Alabama. If the same consistent improvement is seen as the team goes from scrimmages to league games, the Vikings are expected to have a solid season full of exciting up-tempo play and hopefully a deep run into the CCS playoffs. If the new strategies prove to be effective, don’t be surprised to see the team improve on last years 16-9 record and quarterfinal elimination.

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

Wrestlers tussle for victory in upcoming match

SPORTS C3 Cross country conquers final hill at competitive State meet Team finishes strong despite numerous injuries to key runners

Sights set on becoming top seed in league EDWARD KIM

STAFF WRITER

P

articipating in perhaps the most physical sport in the realm of Palo Alto High School athletics, the men of the wrestling team grapple each other, colliding as they try to pin each other to the mats.

With conditioning beginning in September, the wrestling team has eagerly prepared itself for the grueling season ahead.

The season opens with three tournaments in just three weeks.

“We’ve been working hard all through the offseason and now have practices six days a week,” junior Calvin Grewal said. “We’ve put in effort to improve as a team and individually.”

Every day after school, the wrestlers change into their singlet uniforms, and make their way to the wrestling room for an intense workout.

Their routine consists of drills, one of which is “free wrestling.”

For this activity, wrestlers practice grappling with one another. The n they wrestlers eventually finish off with 30 minutes of conditioning.

The team placed sixth overall in the Peninsula Invitational in Half Moon Bay on Dec. 2 with outstanding performance from senior Sara Aguilar, who came in 1st place, and senior Seth Goyal who also came in 1st place.

The team and head coach Jonathan Kessler intend to regain ground lost last year in the divisional standings.

With more combined experience than ever, the wrestling team has set their sights on a top seed in the El Camino League.

Headed by seniors Seth Goyal

and Sara Aguilar, the wrestling squad definitely does not suffer from a lack of talent.

Goyal, whose junior season was cut short by injury, looks for redemption this year.

“I genuinely believe [Goyal] has a chance to win states if he doesn’t get injured like last year, or at least place high at that tournament,” Grewal said.

Several other wrestlers bring support to the team’s two captains.

This support comes mainly in the form of three of the team’s strong components including freshman Calvin Grewal, sophomore Andrew Wang and junior Calvin Grewal.

Wang and Heydapour bring vitality to the team.

Both are underclassmen looking to make an impact this year on varsity.

They have a very encouraging season in front of them, even though many of the players have various skin conditions.

"I genuinely believe [Goyal] has a chance to win states if he doesn’t get injured like last year, or at least place high in the tournament."

Calvin Grewal Junior These conditions will negatively impact the start of some athlete’s seasons.

Junior Elliot Clark, in particular, has been afflicted with a skin disease, and Clark will have to treat it before he returns to the mat in the upcoming week.

However, the wrestling team looks forward to a competitive season and has high hopes for their performance.

MALCOLM SLANEY/USED WITH PERMISSION

Senior Naveen Pai pulls ahead as he nears the finish line at the State meet. Pai led the boy’s team and is a top runner in the state.

KIRAN MISNER

SPORTS EDITOR

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nfortunately, all good things must come to an end. On Nov. 27, the Palo Alto High School cross country team’s record breaking 2016 season came to a stunning finish at the prestigious Central Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Meet in Fresno, Calif.

This competition was designed for the very best of the best, and it was clear that the Vikings deserved to be there.

Their performance could not be categorized as anything less than outstanding as they ended a great fall season on a high note. The Vikings also got a chance to bond as a team.

“For the most part we all had really good races,” said senior Ben Beaudry. “Being together and sharing the experience was unforgettable.”

Senior Naveen Pai led the pack of Paly runners and managed to capture a top 50 finish among 200 of the fast-

est competitive runners in the state.

“He paced it really well like he usually does,” said sophomore David Foster. “He started slow but just ran people down throughout the race.”

Widely regarded as the top runner for the Vikings cross country team, senior Kent Slaney had a disappointing finish to an illustrious high school cross country career.

Slaney fell sick before the race and was unable to race at his usually stellar pace.

“He was really frustrated because it was his last race at Woodward Park,” Foster said. “I think it affected our final place in the race.”

The lone girl competing for the Vikings was freshman Miranda Jimenez, who placed 135th out of 199 runners.

According to her teammates, Jimenez’s performance this year will likely be the start of a successful era for the Vikings.

Injuries played a critical role in the boys’ performance from the very be-

ginning.

Recurrent and chronic injuries to juniors Sam Craig and Reed Foster hindered their performance throughout the season and proved to be another obstacle in the State Meet.

Moreover, stalwart senior Kai Oda rolled his ankle before the race, forcing him to drop out.

Although the injury ruled out any chance for Oda to run, he made his presence felt by cheering on fellow teammates.

“We had a really tough season for injuries, despite this supposedly being a ‘peak season’ for our runners,” Foster said.

Next season, the boys will say a big goodbye to all of their seniors. Even with the loss, the team will not lower the team’s expectations to improve on the phenomenal season they have had.

“Our goal next year is to qualify for States again and hopefully, bring up some strong sophomore and juniors to help our scoring,” Foster said.

Friday, December 9, 2016

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The Campanile

SPORTS SPREAD

Paying Colle Text and Design By: Kiran misner

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he argument for paying college athletes has become years include the University of Miami and Ohio Stat or sums of money that reward players for playing s College Athletic Association (NCAA) should pay these stud

The Case for a Collegiate Salary "

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here are hungry nights that we don’t have enough money to get food in. Sometimes money is needed. I feel like a student-athlete.

Sometimes, there are h u n g r y nights where I’m not able to eat, but I still got to play up to my capabilities.”

These were the poignant words of former University of C on n e c t i c u t star point guard Shabazz Napier, reflecting upon the lack of compensation of Division I (D-I) student-athletes.

Student-athletes across the nation regularly face such nights without anything to eat due to the fact that they are still prohibited from r e ceiving

direct monetary compensation from the National College Athletic Association (NCAA).

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Without athletes, the NCAA would never be able to exist, so isn’t it only fair that the athletes are compensated?"

If some student-athletes cannot afford even necessities as basic as food and water, imagine the many other things that they cannot pay for.

One possible solution to this problem is a controversial idea that has become a hot topic of debate the past few years: paying college athletes.

The average adult works 32.2 hours in a week for an average salary of $850.12 per week. Now, take a D-I college athlete. From morning practices to gym workouts to tactical sessions, the hours of work a studentathlete must dedicate solely to their respective sports can easily add up.

Although the NCAA officially “limits” the number of hours of practice during the season to 20 hours a week, the NCAA does not check up on teams who may be overworking their players, according to Business Insider. The lack of enforcement from the NCAA has led to many common incidents of coaches exploiting their players.

In a survey from Busi-

ness Insider, student-athletes reported that the number of hours they spend practicing varied from 32 to 43 hours per week, depending on the sport. This means that the average time a player spends per week is just as much as the average American works.

This also does not take into account the student part of “student-athlete” — they must work long-practices and through late nights to pass their classes. By working this much every single week of their season, the players can no longer be treated as just athletes playing simply for the love of the game. Instead, they become the employees of their athletic programs and on a grander scale, the NCAA. The D-I Men’s Basketball tournament, also known as “March Madness,” raised a whopping $900 million in 2015. Out of this giant sum of money, guess how much the players made out of it? A grand total of zero dollars. The money was instead allocated to different athletic programs, such as the Academic Enhancement Fund, Basketball Fund, Conference Grant and the Grant-in-Aid Fund.

Coaches are paid handsomely, with top football coaches generally making the most income. For example, the University of Michigan’s head football coach Jim Harbaugh made $9 million for this season alone.

However, college sports are watched because people want to see promising athletes perform. Athletes are the source of all revenue for the NCAA, yet they do not receive a single penny of the funding they create.

Isn’t it only fair that the athletes themselves are compensated?

The Campanile

Friday, December 9, 2016

SPORTS SPREAD

ege Athletes

e a hot topic over the past few years. Cases in recent te University giving some of their players “stipends,” sports. Yet the answer as to whether the National dent-athletes is a complicated and controversial one.

Design by: Charlotte Cheng Graphics by: Jacques Manjarrez

The Case Against Paying College Athletes

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ith this controversial idea comes a moral dilemma.

How is it possible to pay all student-athletes fairly? Many suggest that the best idea would be to work off the concept of capitalism — the best athletes who generate the most revenue should get paid the most. However, there are many flaws with this proposition.

Firstly, many athletes across the nation will be freshmen starting their first season for the team. It would be incredibly difficult to give a salary to a freshman who has not proven themself, or to determine which players make the most money for the program. Additionally, the NCAA prohibits the sale of jerseys or anything using player likenesses. Therefore, there is no way to tell who the fans come to support.

Moreover, injuries are an influential part of sports that would create immense conflict if a salary was involved. An injured player no longer generates any revenue for the program because they aren’t playing.

Still being contractually obligated to pay the player, the school would go into debt as a result of the frequency of injuries. Lastly, giving college athletes a salary would lead to another, perhaps bigger debate, about how athletes would get paid. Athletes who work just as hard in a lesserknown and publicized sport, such as gymnastics or wrestling, would be compensated much less than a players in a sport that NCAA promotes through television and media. This method of assigning salaries based on publicity is unfair because it is not up to the player how much they get paid, but rather the decision of the NCAA on which sports should get increased coverage.

While this payment system of favoring those who are the most popular is the one

that most professional leagues such as the National Basketball League (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) have adopted, that does not mean that the NCAA should abide by it. Both the NFL and the NBA are separate entities who decide who let teams decide who should get paid. The NCAA, on the other hand, is the governing body of many colleges, many more sports and thus, many more people. As a result, the NCAA cannot let teams decide how much money they pay their athletes because it would result in corruption and greed from the universities.

Furthermore, being the sole “owner” of so many athletic programs, the NCAA has a much greater responsibility to be fair to its players when they are getting paid.

“

Being paid as a professional in any domain is a privilege that must be earned through education and maturity.”

The status quo of not paying student athletes allows colleges to field more athletic teams than they would if they paid athletes. Today, athletic programs run based on the money they “earn” through their athletic triumphs — winning championships, making it to big tournaments — and the apparel they sell.

That money, given to them by the NCAA, is divided up and spent on their athletic programs. However, if universities had the added expense of paying their athletes as well, it would not be able to fund as many sports as it does now. Lesser-known sports or teams with low winning percentages would be cut, as the college

would no longer have money to fund a program that is not directly helping them make more money. By having access to more athletic programs, colleges and universities can provide more opportunities to their students to play sports during their college experience.

College is a place for learning, growing as a person, trying out new experiences and meeting new people. One thing college should not be, however, is a professional work environment. Students who attend college are still academically maturing, discovering what they would like to study and filling their heads with knowledge to one day become part of the workforce. The same applies to student-athletes. As college players, these student-athletes are not professionals, but amateurs who should not strive to make money immediately, but instead educate themselves about the game, slowly developing into experts that will one day become professionals.

Being paid as a professional in any domain is a privilege that must be earned through education and maturity.

College is the place for athletes to do just that: grow and mature before they head off to become professionals. The time to get paid will come for a limited amount of athletes, however, as amateurs, paying athletes is a benefit that the NCAA should not give. L a s t l y , these students are already being compensated in so many ways. From scholarship money to free books as well as travel fees to games already paid for them, the athletes are already financially protected. By paying them to play, college athletes gain an extra boost of compensation that is not necessary for their higher education.

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Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

C6 SPORTS OPINION Professional sports records stand the test of time High-achieving athletes and teams have set world records that are unlikely to be beaten within the century

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Top left: Wilt Chamberlain after scoring triple digits in 1962. Top right: The Celtics during their eight-year winning streak. Bottom left: Cal Ripkin Jr. fielding the ball. Bottom right: Roger Federer defending his title.

COLE HECTMAN

SPORTS EDITOR

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ine-time Olympic gold medal champion Mark Spitz famously stated, “Life is true to form; records are meant to be broken.” In most cases, this is true; however, this statement is not always valid. Many athletes across a wide range of sports have competed to leave their mark on history, but only a few are remembered years later.

These select few are the ones who have accomplished what was previously thought to be impossible, thereby setting themselves apart opponents in their sport. Here are the athletes and teams who have set some of the records that will likely remain unbeaten within the next century.

Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632 Consecutive Games Played Nicknamed “The Iron Man” for his exceptional physical endurance, Ripken Jr. played shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles for the entirety of his tenured 21-year career.

During this time, Ripken Jr. played in every scheduled game for 16 consecutive years before voluntarily sitting out a game for the first time in his professional career. At the end of his record, he was 38-yearsold. The second longest streak is more than 500 games behind Ripken Jr.’s and is held by hall-of-famer Lou Gehrig.

Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game Hitting Streak In 1941, outfielder Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak record surpassed Major

League Baseball (MLB) legend Pete Rose, who recorded at least one hit for 44 straight games. It remains one of the most impressive records in MLB history.

To make the record even more admirable, DiMaggio also maintained a .407 batting average during the record and led the American League in runs, hits and RBI’s.

In the 2016 MLB season, Atlanta Braves infielder Freddie Freeman inched towards the record with 30 consecutive hits, but ultimately failed on his quest to beat Dimaggio’s virtually impossible record.

John Stockton’s 15,806 Career Assists When most National Basketball Association (NBA) fans hear the name Jason Kidd, they think of him as one of the greatest passers of all time. Kidd played for 19 years and holds the second-most assists in NBA history, yet he still has over 4,000 fewer assists than former Utah Jazz point guard and current hall-offamer John Stockton.

Furthermore, Stockton also holds the record for most assists in a single season at 1,164 — that year, he averaged nearly 15 assists in every game.

With point guard Andre Miller as the active player with the most career assists with 8,524, it seems extremely unlikely that the record will ever be broken.

Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game In 1962, the Philadelphia Warriors set out to play against the New York Knicks. Nobody, including Chamberlain himself, had anticipated what

would ensue. In fact, only 4,124 spectators attended and the game was not even televised. However, by the end of the first quarter, Chamberlain had scored 23 points, and tallied another 18 by halftime.

With minutes left in the fourth quarter, the team had adjusted to focus on getting the ball to Chamberlain. Finally, with only 46 seconds left before the final buzzer, Chamberlain made a free throw for his hundredth point. In beating the single-game scoring record, Chamberlain also set five additional shooting records.

Celtics Eight Consecutive Championships To this day, the Boston Celtics are the most decorated National Basketball Team (NBA) — as an organization, they boast an incredible 17 championship titles. Much of this success can be attributed to the team’s incredible performance under renowned coach Bill Russell from 1959 to 1966.

Russell’s unstoppable team won eight consecutive championships, five of which were played against the Los Angeles Lakers; this would spark the fierce rivalry that still exists between the two teams. After winning the 1969 championship, Russell retired, ending the Celtic’s decade-long domination of the NBA. Martin Brodeur’s 691 Career Wins During goaltender Martin Brodeur’s 21-year career with the New Jersey Devils, he played a critical role in the team’s three Stanley Cup Championships and five Eastern Conference titles.

With these accomplishments, it is not surprising that Brodeur holds the record for most career wins among any National Hockey League player.

Brodeur sits comfortably as the record holder; retired player Patrick Roy has the next most career wins at 551.

Roger Federer’s 23 straight Grand Slam Semifinal Appearances The Grand Slam tournaments are considered to be the four most important events in tennis. In any tournament, a player able to advance to the semifinals is typically considered very talented, yet none compare to Roger Federer, who competed in the Grand Slam semifinals for 23 straight times over almost six years.

In addition to consistently making the semifinals, Federer also holds records for the most single championship titles, and number of appearances in the finals and quarterfinals in Grand Slam tournaments.

Michael Phelps’ Eight Gold Medals in Single Olympics Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, few spectators and professionals thought it would be possible to beat former American swimmer Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympic games. However, if there was anyone who was going to do it, it would be American swimmer Michael Phelps. At the 2004 Olympics held in Athens, he came close, but fell short at six gold medals.

For Phelps, this may seem like a small margin; however, just two gold medals would be a monumental accomplishment for almost any other

athlete. After his final performance in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Phelps holds also the record for most individual gold medals, having earned 23 throughout the course of his illustrious swimming career.

Peyton Manning’s 14 4,000 Yard Passing Seasons While the National Football League record for single-season passing yards is over 5,000, achieving 4,000 yards in a season is nonetheless considered very impressive. In order to throw for 4,000 yards, a quarterback must average 250 yards in each game.

To accomplish this in 14 different seasons, like Peyton Manning did, seems nearly impossible. The average NFL career is only 3.3 years, which shows how incredible it was for Manning to perform that well across 14 different seasons.

Jack Nicklaus’ 18 Major Tournament Wins Like in tennis, there are four major events in professional golf that are considered the most prestigious.

These four events are the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the Professional Golfers’ Association Championship.

From 1962 to 1986, professional golfer Jack Nicklaus won each event at least three times, totalling 18 wins.

Behind him, Tiger Woods holds 14 wins, followed by Walter Hagen with 11. Both Woods and Hagen are likely to never play again, at least competitively. Therefore, the record will likely be held for years to come.

Marijuana usage in the NFL to be reconsidered Medical marijuana proven to delay players' reaction times and has no place in professional sports as painkiller PHILIP ERICSSON

STAFF WRITER

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magine your Sunday afternoons as you sit down on the couch in front of the television in your living room and flip on Sunday Night Football on NBC. Your typical Sunday has seemingly become a part of your weekly routine and something to look forward to during the week.

However, the image of your favorite sporting league could soon be tainted if it were to allow the use of marijuana.

The proposed eradications of strictly placed guidelines regarding marijuana use set in place after the National Football League’s (NFL) collective bargaining agreement by certain members of the NFL’s Player Association jeopardizes the legitimacy of the league and threatens to cast a shadow of uncertainty on a league already facing decreasing viewership.

28 states allow the use of medi-

cal marijuana, and after the recent election results, the number of states that allow the recreational use of the drug more than tripled, increasing from two to seven states. Several NFL teams now play in areas where the recreational use of marijuana has been legalized. The 49ers, the Raiders, the Chargers and the Rams play in recently weed-legalized California, along with the Patriots in Massachusetts. These teams join the likes of the Broncos and the Seahawks, who already play in Colorado and Washington, both states who have legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Skill impairment may last up to 24 to 36 hours after usage, making it just as bad to smoke a few days before the game compared to directly before.

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) are

currently advocating for the largely detrimental use of marijuana as a painkiller to be allowed for NFL players. The current status which was set forth after the collective bargaining agreement prohibits marijuana.

If players are tested positive or fail to adhere to the tests they can be suspended without pay.

Stating that marijuana should be legal as a painkiller is an absurd excuse for allowing it, as there would be no way of determining whether the drug was used for medical or recreational use. Apart from the impossibility of enforcing the rule, marijuana is a dangerous substance that would inhibit the ability of the players to compete, which is what they are being paid millions of dollars to do. It is scientifically proven that marijuana impairs hand-eye coordination and a fast reaction time. Marijuana also reduces motor coordination, tracking ability and perceptual accuracy, diminishes concentration, and hinders

time perception.

Allowing NFL players to use marijuana as a painkiller would be a huge step backwards for an already scrutinized professional sports league.

Hand-eye coordination may be the single most important skill for any football player. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., may be most remembered for his impossible one-handed catch by the sideline for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. However, it is likely that if he had been getting high smoking a few joints with his buddies before the game for “medical purposes,” his hand-eye coordination would have been so poor that the football would have likely hit the frame of his facemask and bounced out of bounds for an incomplete pass.

Other side effects of the use of

marijuana include the reduction of maximal exercise capacity, resulting in increased fatigability. If NFL players were to be allowed to use marijuana as a painkiller teams would likely be forced to schedule fewer practices.

The NFL might as well go ahead and reduce the length of the game to two 12 minute halves as players would be so winded that they wouldn’t even be able to explode quickly off the line of scrimmage, let alone catch a quick slant for a first down. Skill impairment may last up to 24 to 36 hours after usage, making it just as bad to smoke a few days before the game compared to directly before.

Allowing NFL players to use marijuana as a painkiller would be a huge step backwards for an already scrutinized professional sports league.

Conventional opioid painkillers provide minimal risks if used under the correct circumstances. Therefore, marijuana should have no place in American football.

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Campanile

SPORTS OPINION

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Team success not correlated with individual greatness Critics quick to blame superstars for failure to win championships despite the team effort needed to win games NICK MELVIN

STAFF WRITER

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hampion and greatness. Two words often tied together in a delightfully mystical way.

Tied together through apparent common sense, but separate in an allencompassing wonder called reality.

In professional sports, the public often judges which players qualify as great and which do not based on the number of championships they have won. Think Vince Lombardi. When we hear the name, we are reminded of the Lombardi Trophy, synonymous with winning a Super Bowl, and Lombardi’s victories in the first two Super Bowls as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

But in invoking the name of Lombardi, there is an inherent platitude.

Lombardi was an amazing coach, and he accomplished so much more than merely the two Super Bowls. In fact, one might even argue that these accomplishments were some of his least impressive achievements that he achieved. This legend also helped diversify the game of football, stunt the growth of racism in the sport and served as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, firing any player or coach who discriminated based off of sexuality before their “ass hit the floor,” as he put it.

Over the years, Lombardi’s more notable and truly valuable achievements have been overshadowed by his ability to lead his team to championships his legacy today is only a part of the great man he truly was.

In modern-day sports, a similar issue has arisen in situations in which who the greatest is not as clear-cut as it is with Lombardi and head coaches. In debates over who is the greatest, the ring factor often trumps all others.

One example of this: the debate over who is the greatest basketball player of this generation: Lebron James or Kobe Bryant. In this argument, the most common perspective is that Bryant has won more titles than James, and is therefore the better player.

GREAT LAKES PREP/ CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Coach Vince Lombardi, the namesake of the Super Bowl winner’s trophy, had a very impressive career for the Green Bay Packers, but he should be recognized for his entire legacy.

But this argument is highly flawed and has no true merit to it. This is because if championships are truly what matters in terms of greatness, then does that not make former NBA player Robert Horry better than either James or Bryant? Or Charles Haley and his five Super Bowl rings the greatest football player of all time? Does it mean Luis Sojo, who won five World Series, better than Barry Bonds? Obviously not, as these players did not play the same as athletes like Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. Yet people argue that Bryant is better than James because he has more titles. Or that Brady is better than Peyton Manning merely because he has more Super Bowls.

The main issue with this is that it ignores the fact that football, baseball and basketball are largely team sports,

and that no individual can singlehandedly win a championship for their team. It requires the strengths and skills of multiple well-practiced individuals, each of them equally apt to demolish the competition and to win a title.

Knowing this, why is it that number of championships overshadows more important factors when calculating greatness? Instead, more value should be placed on individual achievements, such as leading the league in three pointers, strikeouts, rushing yards or passing touchdowns.

These are achievements that truly test the individual skill, prowess and natural ability of the player whose greatness is in question.

Measure the accomplishments that truly define them as powerful individuals, rather than well oiled cogs

in a machine of efficiency and scoring. A way to check this is through the use of sabermetrics, most notably in baseball. Baseball has a variety of statistics that judge an individual player outside of the influence of extraneous circumstances.

Some examples of these are Wins Above Replacement, a calculated value of wins that a specific player earns for his team on his own, Fielding Independent Pitching, a stat that measures a pitcher’s pitching solely on the pitcher’s job pitching and Isolated Power, a stat that measures how well a batter hits the ball, rather than relying on the countless random events that control the outcome of baseball games.

This year, Mike Trout stunned the sporting world by claiming his second American League Most Valu-

able Player at the age of 25 in his fifth season. Despite clearly being the best player in the league, it was widely accepted by most that Trout was not going to be able to beat out Mookie Betts or Jose Altuve for the award, as his Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were unable to scrape out a playoff appearance.

By giving Trout the award, the baseball community took a large step towards recognizing that individual greatness cannot be graded on a scale of team achievement, as team achievements are often times dictated by the team, not a single player on it.

This acknowledgement is one that a large percentage of the sporting community should attempt to make, as the pursuit of greatness is a road that is ultimately walked alone.

Paly game attendance dwindling CFP being held back Impressive turnouts at football leads to other sports feeling neglected by four-team format Updated college football system would offer a better range and determine the true best NCAA team ETHAN BUNDY

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he College Football Playoff (CFP) consists of the four highest ranked teams throughout the nation. Only recently did the College Football Playoff committee decide to change the number of teams from two to four. However from this past National College Athletic Association (NCAA) season, it is quite clear that there could be more than four teams competing for the championship.

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

The Paly student section celebrates a point against rivals Los Gatos High School in the Central Coast Section volleyball championships.

JOANNA FALLA

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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n 2015, Palo Alto High School’s girls basketball team advanced to the second round of state championships after not only dominating the De Anza division, but also winning the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships. During the tournament, Paly played against Dublin High School at Gunn High School.

At the game, there were roughly 20 Paly supporters in the stands, the majority of whom were parents of the players. The only publication to cover the game was Madrono, Paly’s yearbook. Even though the Vikes had advanced farther than most of Paly’s other athletic teams, the majority of spectators were from Dublin, Calif., which is an hour’s drive away from Gunn.

This story may sound familiar to many student athletes — teams work incredibly hard throughout the season only to have their new garnered champion titles in front of some parents and loyal referees.

Though Paly is perhaps best known for its stellar academics, its

sports teams are incredibly accomplished and worthy of recognition.

However, community support for the majority of sports teams is minimal.

For example, the Paly gear popup stand is a merchandise booth run by parents supporting Paly boosters. However, the booth only goes to football games, ignoring all of Paly’s other accomplished teams. The student body has supported the teams that have performed well, so why isn’t the merchandise following suit?

Though Paly is perhaps best known for its stellar academics, its sports teams are incredibly accomplished and worthy of recognition.

If the basis of the merchandise vendors primarily depends on the popularity of the sport, they should also put up shop at boys basketball games and girls volleyball matches.

This is not at all meant to be a knock towards the boys football team; instead, it is meant to educate the student body about the amazing sports that lack a substantial student fan base. If the sports boosters

program is always struggling to stay afloat, then the obvious answer is to capitalize on the sports that have acquired a strong following.

For example, boys basketball receives larger crowds during their night games, which should incentivize merchandise vendors to continue selling Paly gear to help lessen the load of donations the parents of athletes are forced to make. Furthermore, if the vendors stay for the girls game as well, people will be more inclined to continue watching and supporting both teams.

Paly’s athletes are incredibly grateful for the new equipment and buildings gifted to the sports program, but with nobody but parents to fill the bleachers, it can be hard for the teams to feel valued. Regardless if Paly merchandise decides to follow the exciting wave of coming to more sporting events, it should be noted that all Paly sports are greatly deserving of a higher spectator attendance.

Don’t stop going to the football games, just start supporting friends who play basketball, lacrosse, soccer or any of the record-breaking teams your friends are on!

Due to this past NCAA season, it is quite clear that there should be more than four teams competing for the championship.

The most clear example that there could be an increase in the amount of teams, is the fact that the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan teams are not in the running for the title. Although Penn State won the Big Ten championship, making them the best team in their division, they are now prevented from the possibility of a national championship. Instead, the Big Ten team which has the playoff spot is Ohio State University. Although Penn State beat OSU in a regular season game 24-21, OSU has been given a ticket to the postseason. In addition to Penn State beating OSU, Michigan beat Penn State in the regular season, 49-10. Looking at these states makes one question whether or not the “best team” of the Big Ten conference is represented by the team in the CFP. If two teams were chosen from each conference to play in the CFP, it would provide a more accurate representation of the best college teams.

Although this would not allow for all three of the previously mentioned teams to compete, it would bring at least two teams which can be con-

sidered equal in skill to compete for the national title. It would also make a great deal of people to be pleased with the system. The more people that are pleased, the more fans will be in attendance to the games.

“The more games that there are played in the playoffs, the more games there are, and the more games there are the more money the colleges make from ticket sales, which leads to more profits for the college and more spending opportunities for the students at the schools,” said Jamie Cullen a Paly senior.

Cullen brings a good point to the table, with the acknowledgement that the addition of teams to play in the CFP could have a further reach than just football.

The money made from the additional games and fans in attendance would bring a positive effect to not just the football society around the country but to all the students in attendance to those schools.

“The more games there are the more money the colleges make from ticket sales, which leads to more profits”

Jamie Cullen Senior Although there will be those happy that their team has a higher chance of making it to the CFP, there will always be those who are unsatisfied. In March Madness, there are 64 teams, but people still complain that number is not high enough.

So while the addition of four more teams to the CFP could make for a more exciting, entertaining, and high profit tournament, there is reason to doubt that it will stop at four more teams.

It is quite possible that the addition of four teams could bring on the mindset of wanting to add four more.

But, as the saying goes: the more the merrier.

Friday, December 9, 2016

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The Campanile

SPORTS

Influential Moments in the History of Sports

ports have always been a centerpiece of American culture. Besides providing its die-hard fans with hours of entertainment and a sense of comradery, athletics often provides glimpses into an era’s sociopolitical climate. Some moments in sports history have become iconic for transcending the game, and making a statement about society as a whole, not only changing the way people view sports, but also the way they viewed the world.

Breaking the Barrier One of the most renowned moments in sports history took place on April 15, 1947. Years before Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights Movement, years before boycotts and sit-in protests and years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, Jackie Robinson ran out onto Ebbets Field as the first and only black member of what was previously one of America’s most racist institutions — Major League Baseball (MLB). Because American history has always been so heavily influenced by the legacy of slavery, desegregating the nation’s favorite pastime was monumental. Because of baseball’s importance in American culture, Robinson’s courage and success inspired many in the nation, black and white alike, and ignited a step towards equality in American baseball.

Battle of the Sexes Title IX, the federal civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in school sports, was a major milestone for female athletes in America. However, the professional sports world was still plagued by sexism and discrimination. It came to the public’s attention when an arrogant professional tennis player named Bobby Riggs claimed

he could beat any of the top female but supporters were moved by the tirement from professional basketball tennis players. Billie Jean King, who act and praised Smith and Carlos due to the fact that he had acquired was in the top 10 female players, ac- for their bravery. At the time, many the Human Immunodeficiency Virus cepted his challenge in 1973. Hotly people thought politics had no place (HIV). The announcement came at anticipated, the match drew a televi- in sports, much less the Olympic the peak of Johnson’s career. In the two decades years since, sion audience of 50 million Johnson has dedicated people worldwide, while Because American history has over 30,000 spectators always been so heavily influenced by much of his time and into educating watched live in the Astrothe legacy of slavery, desegregating money people about HIV and dome in Houston, Texas. the nation’s favorite pastime was fighting HIV/AIDS disKing defeated Riggs in monumental. crimination, even creatthree straight sets. Not ing his own foundation only did her victory affect the sports world, it affected society as Games, and this stunt opened future to help combat the virus. His ana whole. During a time when Title doors to political discourse in sports. nouncement came at a time when IX was newly in effect, it validated It also brought worldwide attention most believed that only homosexuals the viewpoint that women belonged to the racial divide and general ineq- could contract HIV. Indeed, Johnuity in America. Although nearly fif- son’s statement was the beginning of on the field. ty years have passed since the Games, a more open conversation about the The Black Power Salute One of the most iconic images Smith and Carlos are still subject to previously taboo topic of HIV. Johnfrom sports history is that of track criticism, and are often deemed un- son led the way to acceptance of the virus and helped medical progress to stars Tommie Smith and John Car- American due to their protest. be made towards its cure. los raising their black-fisted gloves Magic Johnson’s HIV On Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin “Mag- Michael Sam’s Sexuality from the medal podium at the Football has long been thought of shocked the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico ic” Johnson he an- as the most hyper-masculine sport City. This simple, yet powerful, pro- world when in America. However, that did not test took place in the middle of the nounced stop Michael Sam from announcing Civil Rights movement, one of the his rehis homosexuality to the world just most racially charged time periods before the National Football in American history. The two athLeague (NFL) Scouting letes were immediately booed Combine in 2014. for their actions and were Although his expelled from the perforGames,

Text by

Mackenzie Glassford

Senior Staff Writer

Design by

Nick Melvin & Ehecatl Rivera Staff Writers

mance at the Combine wasn’t spectacular, he was still a hot prospect after being named the Southeastern Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 at Mizzou. The day after his announcement, Sam dropped 70 spots, almost two full rounds, in the NFL draft rankings.

Going into the draft, it was a mystery whether or not a team would take a chance on him not only as a player, but also on his story. The days went on without Sam being picked, and finally, in the seventh round, with only eight picks left, the St. Louis Rams drafted Sam to their team. When the announcement was made, Sam had crushed stereotypes about sexuality in sports as he walked across the stage.

Unfortunately, although Sam was the first publicly homosexual player to be drafted, he was cut from the team before he could become the first openly gay player to play in a regular season NFL game. Despite leaving the organization and being unable to land a slot on another NFL team, Sam continues to advocate for LGBTQ rights.

Moving Forward Sports can be a casual pastime.

They can be a time-consuming hobby. Sometimes, sports can change the world. The aforementioned athletes, and many more, have used their significant platforms to inspire change and spark international discussions about social justice issues. The sports world is incredibly influential and has helped our society countless times to evolve and move towards a more progressive culture. Each of these moments have left a lasting impact and are cemented in history. As Nelson Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does.”