Issue 6, 2/2/2018 by The Campanile

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

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The Campanile

Vol. C, No. 6

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

www.thecampanile.org

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Paly admin removes James Franco mural Teen empowerment program unveiled

Recent sexual assault allegations prompt decision to paint over artwork

By Neil Kapoor Staff Writer

VERONICA WEBER/PALO ALTO WEEKLY

James Franco's mural of football players on a wall of the Student Center, painted in 2014, was removed following recent assault allegations.

By Nicholas Melvin

Managing Editor

ver the weekend of Jan. 27, Paly Principal Kim Diorio ordered alumnus James Franco’s mural on the southwest wall of the Student Center to be painted over. The decision was shrouded in controversy, as it comes on the heels of accusations from five women that Franco acted in sexually inappropriate or exploitative manners. In response to the allegations, many adults in the Paly community have expressed concerns

about having the works of Franco displayed in a public setting, such as a school, according to Principal Kim Diorio. “I had quite a few parents and teachers — adults really — reach out to me about feeling like it should be removed," said Diorio. "Given the current climate and the concerns in the community and Paly's involvement with the [Office of Civil Rights], it might be a good idea to distance ourselves from Mr. Franco and some of the recent allegations that are now in the limelight." Diorio also reached out to members of the Associated Su-

tudent Body (ASB) in order to gauge their response to the issue. “I talked to a number of students last week, and I had ASB have a conversation about it, and then I read their notes and kind of talked to [ASB adviser] Mr. Hall about the feedback,” Diorio said. “We decided, after talking to our leadership team and talking to some student leaders, to remove the student center mural, but to keep the paintings and the things up in the [Media Arts Center].” Paly senior and member of the 12th Grade Site Council Kasra Orumchian was among those who took part in that conversation.

“We didn't believe that Mr. Franco’s paintings should be entirely removed, but maybe have their location changed and moved around so more student art could be displayed,” Orumchian said. “Ultimately, we didn't have the final say, but as a group we came to the conclusion that we would like to see student art instead of Mr. Franco's paintings around campus.” But not all students agreed with the administration’s decision. “I think Paly administration’s decision to take down James

Murals

n the wake of several sexual misconduct incidents, the Wellness Center has unveiled the Teen Empowerment Program, a new initiative headed by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) to address issues such as sexual assault and consent. The program takes place on Tuesdays during Flex in room 404, covering a variety of topics such as the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent, dating violence, sexual misconduct and upstander interventions. Three sessions took place on Jan. 16, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 and the next one will occur on Feb. 20. Sophomore Hazel Shah attended the program hoping to learn more about sexual misconduct issues. “I think it is super cool that [YWCA] is trying to spread the word about sexual misconduct and assault, because people need to be educated on how many people it effects,” Shah said. “I also think that more people should join because it’s an important topic that is good to educate yourself on.” Senior Kelsey Lu, another attendee, shares Shah’s positive view on the program. “I think the program is very useful, and I think it’s very empowering,” Lu said. “But I also think there should have been

Tuesdays during Flex Room 404 Next Session: Feb. 20

more people here. We only had two males come, and I think we should have more representation, especially across races too.” According to Michelle Tran, a Prevention Educator at the YWCA Silicon Valley who teaches the workshop at Paly, one out of two women and one out of six men experience some form of non-consensual sexual contact in their lives.

"I think the program is very useful, and I think it's very empowering." Kelsey Lu

“I believe the TEP will reduce the numbers of sexual assault [and] increase the amount of healthy relationships and relationship dynamics [that] folks can have with each other,” Tran said. “I think it’s something that will impact them for the rest of their lives.” This new initiative reflects an increased awareness of sexual assault prevention following a series of recent cases of sexual misconduct within Palo Alto Unified School District, the most recent of such cases surfacing last month. The case involved a part-time music teacher at Paly accused of “inappropriate touching” of a minor attending school in Sunnyvale. In October of 2016, the conviction of a Paly student of sexual misconduct prompted immediate concern within the community, drawing more attention to the issue and a thorough revision of

Teen Empowerment

Innovative Schedule Committee omits Art in Unusual Places to commence C-days in final schedule type proposal Week-long celebration to showcase student art around campus By Kaylie Nguyen

Staff Writer

ollowing a full-day retreat on Jan. 23, the Innovative Schedule Committee (ISC) narrowed down 10 proposed bell schedule types to one that consists entirely of alternating odd and even block days, eliminating the much-disputed C-day altogether. If this schedule type is approved, each class would meet a different number of times per week. This could require teachers to adjust their lessons and test dates to fit the week accordingly. However, research subcommittee member and history teacher An-

drea Struve says she sees several benefits in having only block days. “I would [have] to alter some of my curriculum to be able to fit … having one thing on Friday and then on Monday having the same thing, just in case there was a test or something else,” Struve said. “But all in all, I personally think that having all blocks would allow for a greater and deeper look into history itself and allow, for instance, for primary source review or more-project based learning, and allow for more relationships inside the classroom.” The committee also expressed a multitude of reasons for choosing a schedule type without sev-

en-period days. “From my understanding, with the research and what experts have said, it’s considered to be unhealthy for students to change their focus seven times throughout the day if [they] don’t have the periods next to a break, like a lunch or brunch,” Struve said. “It’s also causing stress because you have the potential of having things due on one particular day in all classes, which doesn’t promote wellbeing … There’s just so many different reasons we didn’t choose [a schedule with C-days].” According to community out-

Bell Schedule

Paly registrar announces retirement Suzanne Brown's 39 years in PAUSD have come to a close By Leela Srinivasan

uzanne Brown, who will retire from her position today, said it was fate that she found her way to the District by chance 16 years after hearing about PAUSD. Originally placed at Juana Briones Elementary School, she worked there for 21 years as a special education aide in resource.

Suzanne Brown

"The first time I heard about Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) was when I graduated from teaching college in the 1960s,” recounts Palo Alto High School Registrar Suzanne Brown. “The District was used as a model

INSIDE

By Yusra Rafeeqi

Staff Writer

"There must have been people taking bets as to how long I would last."

ADRIENNE KWOK AND EMILIA DIAZ-MAGALONI/THE PALY VOICE

Student artwork is dispersed throughout campus in unexpected locations in addition to live performances.

ADAM MANSOUR/THE CAMPANILE

Brown manages transcripts and helps with the college applications. that schools all over the nation should aim to replicate.” When a close friend of hers moved on to a role in regular education, Brown said she began her search for another job in the District and soon transitioned to Paly. Thrown into an entirely new job and set of responsibilities as the guidance registrar, Brown had no

idea she would hold this position for the next 18 years. “There must have been people taking bets as to how long I would last,” Brown said. “I didn’t know what I was doing, coming from an entirely different background in special education. It felt over-

Registrar Retirement A3

Opinion

Staff Writer

tudents will showcase their artistic talents around campus for all to see when Palo Alto High School’s Visual and Performing Arts Department features the annual Arts in Unusual Places celebration on campus from Feb. 27 to March 2. Visual art teachers Susan LaFetra and Kate McKenzie describe the event as a celebration of the arts at Paly. “The great thing about it is that all the performing arts and all the visual arts are together,” LaFetra said. “We try to get out there in front of the students to show them the advantages of being involved in the arts.” McKenzie said Arts in Unusual Places is also a casual, simple way to incorporate art into daily life. “It’s hard to give up a night to go to a performance,” McKenzie said. “But, I can go outside and have lunch and watch people do Shakespeare or dance. I think

Lifestyle

it’s just fun to have all that art around.” Michael Najar, a performing arts teacher and initiator of Arts in Unusual Places at Paly, says that the goal of the celebration is to bring together various forms of art to everyone on campus. “We want to make sure that everyone on campus feels our impact,” Najar said. “And what a great way to feel our impact when you’re going to your math class and there is a group of musicians playing in the hallway, or there is art you’ve never seen when you’re walking around.” The event aims to encourage students to join the various art programs at Paly and to take advantage of the opportunities the art department has to offer, according to LaFetra. During the two week long event, theatre classes, instrumental music groups and choral groups will perform around campus. In addition, photography classes will exhibit their photographs. Steve Ferrera, the fine arts teacher of the glass sculpture

Spotlight

program, has also taken part in this event in past years through installation art, the art of threedimensional works, according to LaFetra and Najar.

"We want to make sure that everyone on campus feels our impact." Michael Najar

“The visual art, however, is a little more difficult to get out in front of people,” LaFetra said. “I have students doing projects with construction paper, and previous years we’ve posted that around campus. I have a couple of students that have done people’s portraits, which not every student can do that.” McKenzie says that she has had difficulty in choosing art assignments that her students will

Art in Unusual Places A3

Sports

the edition

News. . . . . . . . . A1-A4 Opinion. . . . . . . A5-A7 Editorials. . . . . . . . . A8 Lifestyle. . . . . B1-B3, B6 Spotlight. . . . . . . . B4-B5 Science & Tech. . . B7-B8 Sports. . . . C1-C3, C6-C8 Sports Spread. . . . . C4-C5

ADELE BLOCH/USED WITH PERMISSION

WATI GROSSMAN/USED WITH PERMISSION

James Franco murals

Political fashion statements

PAGE A6

PAGE B1

Opposing opinion pieces discuss the controversy over Franco's murals.

A look at how fashion has been used to express political opinions.

PHOTO BY MAX PIXEL/CC0

Student incarceration

An investigation into the juvenile justice system. PAGES B4-B5

PHOTO BY TEROVESALAINEN/CC0

Body image in sports

How unrealistic expectations in athletics cause unhealthy practices. PAGE C1

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

NEWS

Palo Alto braces for future earthquakes

After a 4.5 magnitude earthquake, Bay Area residents worry about the possibility of a larger quake

Student-produced films nominated for Cinequest

Films selected for Oscar-recognized film festival By Miranda Li Staff Writer

CREATIVE COMMONS/FAIR USE

Earthquakes are no stranger to the Bay Area; pictured is 1989’s Loma Prieta Earthquake, which rocked the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, Calif.

By Renee Hoh

News & Opinion Editor

ollowing the 4.5 magnitude earthquake originating in Berkeley, Calif., the threat of a large earthquake hitting closer to the Peninsula is weighing on the minds of many Palo Altans. Attitudes towards earthquake insurance vary from household to household, as the structures of different houses provide varying levels of protection from the tremors. However, the level of protection individuals are granted while at school is more difficult to gauge. The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) does not have earthquake insurance as it is too costly for taxpayers to supply, with minimal benefit, as the school is very spread out, minimizing potential damage. The only exception is the tower building, which has been retrofitted since 1991. “If the District purchased earthquake insurance for the past 10 years, it would have cost taxpayers over $6 million with no benefit,” said PAUSD Risk Manager Victoria Geen-Lew in an email with contributions from

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson. “Our schools are spread out so damage should be minimal, compared to high risers and high density areas. Lastly, schools are built to a much more restrictive code that residential or commercial buildings throughout the state or local area, so schools will withstand quite a bit more than residential or commercial buildings.”

Following the 4.5 magnitude earthquake originating in Berkeley, Calif., the threat of a large earthquake hitting closer to the Peninsula looms. Current Paly students likely have not experienced a devastating earthquake in their lifetime; however, Paly, which is sandwiched between the San Andreas Fault and Hayward Fault, risks being the victim of a high magnitude earthquake, dubbed “the big

one” due to the lack of slips in the past decades along these faults. In preparation for such incidents, Paly is assisted from a Community Emergency Response Team, an in-school first aid team, and is required by the Education Code to hold earthquake drills once a semester. Paly health technician Jennifer Kleckner stresses the importance of preparing for a severe earthquake even in times when the natural disaster may not seem as prevalent as other emergencies such as the presence of an active shooter. “I remember the Loma Prieta earthquake [in 1989], and many of my friends volunteered for victims and families down there,” Kleckner said. “It’s important to be prepared and know what to do, because in those moments of panic, you can’t really think very clearly. If you know what to do, then you do it and you can save lives. While Paly has prepared for the case of an earthquake, some students feel as if administration could better educate students about more long-term actions,

such as stashing food or medical supplies, as well as avoiding dangerous situations in the immediate aftermath of a earthquake. “I feel like our school could do some more education on what to do in an earthquake,” said sophomore Olivia Ramberg-Gomez, who has never experienced an earthquake. “For instance, we how to duck-and-cover, but I feel like knowing how to prepare resources and to react properly to an earthquake would also be helpful. Maybe, [Paly administration] could educate us in an Advisory lesson or post information on the website so students can look it up if they want to educate themselves.” The occurrence of a high magnitude earthquake is nearly inevitable in Palo Alto; however, proper preparation and education are key to surmount such disasters. “[Earthquakes are] rare, but a bigger disaster, so you can’t ignore it,” Kleckner said. “You can’t ignore the possibility of a severe earthquake, but you try to build in ways that keep people as safe as possible in the event of an earthquake, and be prepared in how to respond to it. ”

ASB prepares for dances, Valgrams, sports and more By Bernie Koen

Staff Writer

he Associated Student Body’s (ASB) Quadglobe event last week was a preview of the potential of some of the upcoming events and activities being planned by ASB. Quadglobe featured a multitude of Paly student singers and performers on the quad at lunch every day of the week. ASB announced Prom’s location at the Winter Rally last Tuesday: San Francisco City Hall. The date is set for April 14, and ASB President Jaiveer Sandhu said he expects this Prom to be unlike any previous Prom. “We’re expecting to have record numbers as more and more students go to Prom,” Sandhu said. Prom isn’t the only dance on the radar for Paly students. ASB is also looking into hosting a winter dance with Gunn High School. Nothing is set in stone yet, but collaborative efforts are being made. According to Sandhu, putting on another dance for underclassmen is a big reason for

a winter dance. “Especially for underclassmen who don’t have a lot of opportunities to go out to dances other than homecoming, this will be a great opportunity for them,” Sandhu said. Dances aren’t the only thing ASB is anticipating, as ASB is planning on having the annual Valgrams tradition once again this year. “The student body will have the opportunity to purchase these [Valgrams] along with toys that they can send to anyone,” Sandhu said. Sandhu said he believes that Valgrams give students an opportunity to become closer with their peers, while having some fun. “It’s been one of the more popular events that ASB hosts, and a lot of students really enjoy writing notes,” Sandhu said. In addition, Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up soon. Last year ASB created a video in which teachers would read notes from students appreciating them. Sandhu said he believes that Teacher Appreciation Week is one of the most vital events put

on by ASB every year. “Sometimes we’ll go through the motions and go through school so often that it’s nice to take a step back and appreciate everything that teachers do,” Sandhu said.

“We’re expecting to have record numbers as more and more students go to prom.” Jaiveer Sandhu

Sandhu stated that ASB most likely has some changes coming soon with the way ASB positions are structured, potentially creating more spaces for students. “The District mandated us to add more positions, because our class had only 20 people before,” Sandhu said. Official rules and regulations for ASB can be found in their constitution, which, according to Sandhu. hasn’t been reviewed or updated in quite some time. “We have a constitution but the last time it was revised was

2011,” Sandhu said. “A lot of the amendments and by-laws are outdated. We’re looking at updating that this year.” These changes will most likely include changes to the ASB positions available for next year’s aspiring ASB members, according to Sandhu. ASB will also be rolling out a few new things for the sports diehards. According to Sandhu, ASB will be coming out with Intramural tournaments, including basketball and volleyball. ASB has unfortunately had some legal issues with the Palo Alto Unified School District in trying to implement these programs. “We’re working with the District on supervision issues that come from having a 40 million dollar facility,” Sandhu said. The annual Field Day celebration is also being planned for this spring. According to Sandhu, ASB plans on setting up the entire quad with different athletic activities and foods that both the entire student body and staff alike can enjoy.

The Campanile’s sixth Centennial Report

Pearl Harbor-themed formals, 49-hour band concerts and more in this edition of the Centennial Report By Samantha Hwang

Staff Writer

or the past century, The Campanile has kept staff and students informed and involved in their student community and social events. From various peculiarly themed dances to an exhausting musical marathon by the band, jazz band and orchestra, this edition of the Centennial Report explores the February events of the past. Feb. 4, 1932 Volume XIV, No. 17 After some preparation, plans for the annual Masquerade were announced, with a storybook theme. The dance was held in the

girls’ gym, and the Masquerade Ball Committee hosted a ball that included reenactments of wellknown scenes from “Winnie the Pooh,” “Romeo and Juliet” and much more. Feb. 6, 1941 Volume XXII, No. 14 In the 1941 edition of The Campanile, the much-anticipated Spring Formal date and theme were announced. With a Pearl Harbor theme, the event was held prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occured in December of that year. The decoration committee included details regarding their top-secret plans by hinting at a recreation of a battleship and Hawaiian docks for the dance. It

was advertised that there would be an auction to fundraise on the day of the formal. The Pearl Harbor theme had beat out votes for a Mother Goose themed formal. During the Spring Formal, sophomores participated in a less formal dance held in the girls locker room. Feb. 17, 1961 Volume XXXVII, No. 9 The “Beads and Beauxs” dance, a couples-only Valentine’s Day dance, was advertised for Feb. 18 with huge anticipation for a performance by popular local band “The Zodiacs.” This issue included a photograph of students at the dance in “Roaring ‘20s” outfits, with girls wearing flap-

per costumes and the boys sporting ‘20s-inspired suits. The dance was a conglomeration of different themes — a Sadie Hawkins dance with a ‘20s theme and a Valentine’s Day dance rolled into one. Feb. 3, 1978 Volume LI, No. 11 This edition featured Paly’s third annual band marathon. The Paly band, orchestra and jazz ensemble performed for almost 49 hours straight to raise money, and proved to be a huge success. However, their efforts took a physical toll — during the event, students were barely able to find time to sleep or eat, and suffered from dry throats and swollen lips after their two-day-long marathon of music.

wo short films produced by Palo Alto High students — “Tomato” and “Nadir”— have been nominated to be screened in March at Cinequest, a prestigious film festival recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Both nominated student films were created as part of a project in Paly’s Advanced Video Production elective, and were accepted into Cinequest’s High School Shorts competition. “The youth and discovery category is highly selective in that it accepts content from around the world before they decide which films to screen,” said Advanced Video Production teacher Brett Griffith. “This is a major accolade for the student filmmakers, one that starts a resume and really supports whatever goals students have as they apply themselves after high school.” Reminiscent of author Kate DiCamillo’s novel, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” “Tomato” follows the journey of a tomato can in a post-apocalyptic world. Because resources are so scarce, this ordinary object is suddenly considered something of great value, and goes through the possession of several different people, struggling for survival. “Tomato” was produced by a team of four students — seniors Maya Chin, Gail Hildebrand and Andrew Lee and junior Arjun Venkatraman — in April and May of 2017. According to student director and editor Arjun Venkatraman, the plot revolved around a tomato can so the group could “[challenge themselves] to see how well [they] could tell a story without having it centered around people, whether that be through dialogue or facial expressions or anything else.”

“This is a major accolade for the filmmakers, and really supports whatever goals they have after high school.” Brett Griffith

The film displays a carefully chosen use of color in an otherwise black-and-white view and shots of overgrown landscapes with an “interplay between human structures and nature,” as described by student cameraman and actor Maya Chin, to portray the dystopian setting. On the other hand, “Nadir,” produced by juniors Sam Cook and Sebastian Chapela, is set in a modern context. It approaches

mature themes and provides insight on mental health issues prevalent today. The film centers around Max, who student director Cook says is a struggling alcoholic teen who wants to break out of the box that alcoholism confines him in, due to traumatic memories of his alcoholic father who passed away. The word ‘nadir’ itself means the lowest point and is synonymous to rock bottom, “emphasizing how alcoholism hijacks one’s mind and can drag you to the bottom,” Cook said. “I want the viewer to understand how difficult it really is to get over substance abuse . . . it’s a lifelong struggle for many.”

“Cinequest is considered one of the top film festivals in the country. Getting in is a huge honor. It’s essentially one of the top things you can hope to get into.” Arjun Venkatraman

The Cinequest Film Festival is an annual international film festival hosted in San Jose, Calif., and is self-proclaimed to fuse the world of the filmed arts with that of Silicon Valley’s innovation to empower youth, artists and innovators to create and connect. Venkatraman submitted “Tomato” to Cinequest’s High School Shorts Competition in November of 2017, and was notified of their acceptance last December, though he was sworn to secrecy about the acceptance until it was publicly announced by Cinequest on Jan. 25. “I found out in the middle of English on the last day of the semester,” Venkatraman said. “I was pretty excited, but I couldn’t show it . . . Cinequest is considered one of the top film festivals in the country. Getting in is a huge honor. It’s essentially one of the top things you can hope to get into [as a high schooler].” The student crews of both “Tomato” and “Nadir” agree that short films are an extremely powerful way to connect with the viewing audience and express oneself. “I think the appeal in making short films is the challenge of condensing down a story into such a short time, while still trying to hit those emotional notes which make a film touch people,” Chin said. “I personally believe in art being truly about what you, as the viewer, get out of it. Whatever interpretation, whatever feelings or thoughts you have as you look at a painting, or watch a film–they’re as valid as anyone else’s feelings.”

UPCOMING EVENTS FEB

FEB

14 FEB

19 FEB

GROUNDHOG DAY A holiday for rodents... let that sink in.

SUPER BOWL LII When are they going to make the Monday after a national holiday? AMC TESTING Being good at math is overrated.

THIRD QUARTER PROGRESS REPORT Tell your parents it’s a glitch.

VALENTINE’S DAY There’s no shame in being single.

PRESIDENT’S DAY A day to honor Donald Trump and the gang. AP EXAM REGISTRATION DEADLINE Just like a final, but you get to pay for it!

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

NEWS

District offers action plan after assault survey By Gracie Kitayama

Senior Staff Writer

he Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) plans to work toward preventing sexual assault after receiving the results of a survey given to students, staff and parents of the District at the end of the 2016-17 school year, according to the Office of Civil Rights. The District released its solutions in three sections: for students, staff and parents. According to the survey, the District plans to schedule training sessions during advisory or SEL at Henry M. Gunn High School about sexual harassment with an emphasis on denormalizing it within the district. According to the survey given in spring 2017 taken by 2,549 high school students, 1,981 parents and 742 staff members, 17.5 percent of the students who have witnessed sexual harassment, 15 percent have reported the harassment. Of the 10 percent of students who have experienced sexual harassment, only 15 percent of the victims reported it to an adult at either Gunn or Paly campuses. PAUSD’s Director of Research Evaluation Christopher Kolar has been working with student groups, such as Associated Student Body (ASB), at both Gunn and Paly to determine the reason for the problem of students feeling discouraged to come for-

ward about their experiences with sexual assault. “We’ve never really laid out exactly what happens after [assault is reported],” Kolar said. “And I think that one of the things that discourages people is that they don’t really know what’s going to happen when they step up and say something. So we’ve been talking about trying to make very clear, the entire process; not just to come forward and who you should report it to, but what we should expect to happen afterwards.”

“[Normalizing assault] minimizes the experience of the person who has gone through it.” Christopher Kolar For the staff, the District plans to introduce annual sexual harassment training. Furthermore, the District intends to hold community-wide training on sexual harassment and emphasize the need for a reporting process that reduces fear of repercussions. The District would like to work on how they can improve sexual assault prevention by working directly with ASB on what

would be the most helpful for the District to investigate, according to Kolar. “We would like to [start] coming by, talking [with ASB],” Kolar said. “Maybe even asking the ASB, ‘What’s something that you would like us to do a data dive on, together. So we’re looking for opportunities to do that as part of a continuing conversation. We don’t know what that looks like yet because we’re going to make is up as we go along in conjunction with the ASB.” Another way the District is looking to increase reporting rates for those who have witnessed and experienced sexual harassment is to emphasize the denormalization of sexual assault. “What was interesting is that whole category called normalization, which is ‘Oh, it’s just part of a culture. It’s boys being boys, the cost of being an adolescent,’” Kolar said. “What we’re beginning to see now is in the larger culture, people saying, ‘No, that’s not acceptable.’” According to the survey, normalization is the main reason students who have experienced or witnessed sexual assault do not report it. “[Normalizing assault] minimizes the experience of the person who is gone through it,” Kolar said. “So they think, ‘Oh, well, I’m making a big deal out of something that is just normal.’” Kolar also said cultural influ-

ences such as the #MeToo movement, which works to encourage victims of sexual assault to come forward and report their abusers, has affected the culture in the District.

“What we’re beginning to see now is in the larger culture, people saying ‘No, that’s not acceptable’.” Christopher Kolar “One of the really interesting things about timing is when you look at something like #MeToo,” Kolar said. “All of a sudden, I think that there is a larger cultural shift in terms of being open about it.” After receiving the results of the OCR survey, the District plans to continue discussing and improving its policies on sexual assault with the hopes of improving safety for students. Kolar said, “It’s a process that’s meant to serve the protection of all the students, and if they’re not taking advantage of it because they don’t feel like it’s in their best interest, then we really want to know why and try to remedy that.”

‘Game of Throws’ unites jugglers from around the world

ERIC HE/THE CAMPANILE

Japanese teacher and student activities director Matt Hall shows off his skills at Paly’s inaugural juggling festival, dubbed ‘Game of Throws.’

By Eric He

Senior Staff Writer

alo Alto High School hosted Game of Throws, the first iteration of the national juggling festival, last weekend. Matt Hall, Paly teacher and Juggling Club president organized the event. Through Jan. 26-28, the inaugural Game of Throws drew in over 100 attendees with people coming in from around the world from places such as Brazil, France and Hawaii. “The goal [of this event] is to take all these guests we have who love juggling and share their expertise and their passions with the Palo Alto [juggling] community.” Hall said. Jugglers far and wide came to

Murals

Continued from A1 Franco’s murals are very premature,” said Paly junior Michael Xu. “Mr. Franco is one of the most accomplished alumni of this high school, and it is not fair to take down the work that he donated in response to recent allegations, especially ones that are very questionable as part of a large trend of accusations of sexual assault. I

Registrar Retirement Continued from A1

-whelming.” With the unwavering support of her coworkers, she said she quickly became accustomed to the new responsibility. Brown said she owes it to Luella Phelps, a staff member who passed away for her thorough instruction during the first few weeks on the job, referring to Phelps as “Paly’s legendary Data Processor.” Regarding her current staff, Brown has nothing other than words of kindness towards them. “If anyone has a problem finishing a project, you can count on everyone else to pitch in and finish it together,” Brown said. “If there had ever been animosity between them during the 18 years that I was here, I didn’t know it. This was the most congenial group I’d ever seen.” She said despite the wide age

California to participate in workshops that develop juggling skills, juggling competitions and raffles to win new juggling gear. “The scene is definitely bigger here, but I think that’s just because there’s a lot more people,” said Eli March, founder and co-producer of Circus Luminescence. Hailing from Portland, Ore., March is thrilled to be here. “We love juggling festivals, we have a lot of friends here and it’s just a very vibrant, friendly, creative community. This is the only one in January that I know of, so we’re stoked to be here. It was well worth the journey.” The festival offers workshops and classes that taught various juggling skills such as spins. Various companies attended the event as well, selling juggling

merchandise to attendees.The Gala Show on Saturday night featured performers such as Dan Holzman, two-time Guiness Book world record holder. “Every person you are going to see tonight on stage of the twelve acts at least four of them I’ve trained to one degree or another.” Hall said. “I wanted the show to be encyclopedic; I wanted the show to teach the community what the art looks like now in every prop; in every discipline. Every act tonight is a different discipline, different prop, and the person doing it is one of the best in the world at that prop.” There are high hopes for Game of Throws. Both Hall and March hope to inspire a new generation of jugglers through this festival. “I see this having a lot of po-

tential to keep growing,” March said. “[ Juggling] changed my life for the better, and I think it has that potential for everyone, especially children. It’s beautiful in a lot of ways, in that it’s athletic and builds skill and confidence but in a way is not competitive.” By extending invites to multiple communities and age groups, Hall hopes to grow the juggling community and to imprint the hobby into the youth. “Who’s gonna be the next world champion?” Hall said. “They’re in this room. What you receive as a gift, give as a gift.” By creating Game of Throws, Hall hopes to pass on his interest and passion for juggling onto the next generation of jugglers, so that they can experience the same amazing journey he has.

believe in ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ and Mr. Franco has not been proven to be guilty yet.” Diorio said she is willing to personally accept the ramifications of having the mural painted over. “I hope the allegations against Mr. Franco are proven to be false, and if that’s the case, I will personally apologize to him if he feels like we overreacted,” Diorio said.

Ultimately, Diorio said it was the right call to take the mural down. “I think this is a good way to be sensitive to the needs of the entire community, especially the needs of people who are coming forward with different stories and recognizing that as well,” Diorio said. Two murals were painted by Franco in October 2014 with the help of AP Studio Art students

and his own private design team. The murals were based on pictures in the Madrono yearbook issue 74. This is not the first time that the administration has painted over the works of Franco. In February 2016, the administration decided to paint over the mural on the northwest wall of the Student Center in order to make room for more student artwork.

range of people collaborating in the Guidance Department, she always felt comfortable and supported by her peers. “The people that I work with make me happy to go to work,” Brown said. “We always have a wonderful time.” Her interactions with students solidify her belief that Paly is home to hard-working, goodnatured kids, and she is grateful to have spent 39 years in the District. As the registrar, Brown has been handling all issues regarding student transcripts within the school, and many students are unaware of the indispensable tasks that Brown completes on a daily basis. Although grades are automatically inputted, there are often errors in the system, such as missing or incorrect grades. In unusual circumstances where students attend middle college, enroll in courses off cam-

pus or transfer into the District, Brown is responsible for resolving the situation. She said upon rare occasion, she comes across an entirely new situation, such as writing a letter to an Israeli school to verify students were enrolled at Paly so that they could be exempt from joining the Israeli army. Brown said that she appreciates the fact that she is able to simplify students’ lives through her work. “One of the things I love about working with students is making them feel comfortable,” Brown said. “It’s my pleasure to make them feel relaxed. They already have enough to worry about with tests, projects and countless extracurriculars on their schedule.” Her colleague Susan Shultz shares her experience working with Brown in the Guidance office. “She is such an incredibly

special person,” Shultz said in an email. “Her warmth, her friendliness, her desire to want to help others, her undying devotion to Paly and our students, the list goes on and on. Suzie Brown is truly unforgettable.”

“If anyone has a problem finishing a project, you can count on everyone else to pitch in and finish it together.” Suzie Brown It is fitting that an opportunity to travel was the circumstance that prompted Brown’s decision to retire, as she has always had a passion for traveling. “When I was in my 20s, my

NEIL KAPOOR/THE CAMPANILE

Speaker Zeinab Dahir from YWCA talks about gender stereotypes.

Teen Empowerment Continued from A1

the District’s sexual harassment policy, BP5145.7. The Board Policy Review Committee is currently working to align the District’s policies with Office of Civil Rights guidelines as part of a resolution agreement concluding the OCR Title IX investigation into the District’s handling of the case. Furthermore, the issue of

Art in Unusual Places Continued from A1

not get too attached to in the event it gets stolen or is ruined by rain or wind. In the past, she had students create art pieces with chalk as a fun yet easy way to exhibit their talents. All the art teachers make sure to find some way to participate in the celebration with what works best for their classes as well as the amount of students they have, according to Najar. This year, Arts in Unusual Places will be celebrating its fourth year at Paly. The creator of

sexual misconduct has also been brought to attention in several industries such as business, politics, sports, and cinema. Additionally, upstander movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, both of which aim to raise awareness about sexual misconduct in the workplace and to help victims of sexual assault, have continued to garner support and attention from the public, as well as make headlines months after the movements began. the program, Najar, thought of the idea with the help of his friend. “[My friend] did something similar at a university he was at,” Najar said. “And if you search on the web, you’ll see people do a version of [Arts in Unusual Places] everywhere.” The versatility of art is a concept that should be expressed in both unfamiliar and familiar settings, as Arts in Unusual Places aims to accomplish, according to Najar. “Art happens everywhere, so we shouldn’t designate a space for art,” Najar said. “[It] should be a part of your daily life.”

-reach subcommittee member and junior David Foster, ISC came to this decision by reflecting on their goals to create a schedule that optimizes learning and wellbeing and then narrowing down the schedule types with feedback from students, staff and parents. They also conducted extensive research on which schedules worked and did not work in other schools in the Bay Area. Many people are confused about what this decision means, but ISC members stress that nothing is completely decided yet. The schedule type is not necessarily the final schedule that will be implemented, but rather a framework to build upon. “We decided on [this schedule type] so we can move on and figure out the components of it and kind of flesh it out,” said ISC member and junior Maurice Wang. “It could still change, but we’re sticking with that for now.” The schedule type was decided by a super majority vote, at least two thirds of the committee, because of time constraints. The final result was 14 out of 18 members supported this schedule type. However, when deciding the final schedule, the committee needs a full consensus. This means that the alternating odd and even block design is still up for discussion and can be changed later on. “The entire committee is supposed to be based off consensus, so every member of the committee has to agree, including Ms. Diorio, some teachers and staff, parents and students,” Foster said. “So if a single person does not agree with the decision, it doesn’t happen.” If the committee is unable to reach a consensus, principal Kim Diorio will choose the final schedule to propose to the school board on March 13. According to Foster, if the committee sticks with this schedule type, it will be implemented in the coming 2018-19 school year. Schedules with more radical changes that could be harder

to implement would not be introduced until the 2019-20 school year. ISC will continue to revise the schedule at their next two meetings. They will discuss details such as the alloted time for InFocus, school start and end times, period length and the times, lengths and locations for Flex and Advisory. By Feb. 20, the committee hopes to have final draft of the schedule design, complete with specific details. “Late start — that’s a big thing that we’re discussing,” Foster said. “There’s lots of different ways students could have a late start and maybe teachers could also have a late start. But of course, that also affects end time and you really have to look at both sides of the equation. So, that’s still being decided.” ISC is also making sure that the new schedule is in compliance with California’s Education Laws. This year’s schedule was created after the school was told the previous schedule did not reach the requirement for the number of instructional minutes. However, this may have been a misunderstanding due to the complexity of the law and technical experts’ conflicting interpretations of it. “There’s many different [experts] and they all have different opinions,” Foster said. “For example, right now there’s an issue about staff development days. We talked to two experts. One expert said that staff development days count, one expert said staff development days don’t count as instructional minutes. Obviously, that’s a big difference.” Despite this issue, ISC is doing its best to create a schedule that satisfies state requirements and promotes wellbeing, achievement and learning. “The [Education Code] is old and it isn’t really good for innovative things, things like innovative days or Flex,” Foster said. “[It’s] not really meant for that sort of thing, so sometimes the law can be a little murky and that causes a lot of confusion. But the good thing is now we know, and I think students be happy with what comes of the schedule this year because we may have more minutes than we thought.”

goal in life was to see the world,” Brown said. “I never lost that goal.” She said in her early years of teaching, she jumped at the opportunity to intertwine a job with a trip to a foreign country. “I was sent overseas to teach in Hong Kong,” Brown said. “The position was actually at an international school that hadn’t yet been formed.” During her time in the area, she managed to travel to Japan, Burma and Thailand, and while all of them proved to be wonderful experiences, she said she still thought there was so much more to see after she returned to the United States. Brown said she was recently offered an opportunity she could not turn down. “My sister and I have been given the chance to visit New Zealand and Australia for a month,” Brown said.

The offer, along with the feeling that the time had come to relax, helped her make the decision to retire and focus solely on seeing the world, fulfilling the dream she always had. The registrar position will be filled by Krissy Ludemann, who is moving to Paly from her position as World Language Secretary and Computer Assistant at Henry M. Gunn High School. “She’s a whiz on the computer, a quick study and easily adaptable,” Brown said. “We’ve been training together for two weeks now.” As Ludemann had already become working within the District, the transition was smooth and timely. “It was almost like writing on the wall,” Brown said. “The fact that they were able to find such a wonderful and fitting replacement so fast, and that everything just fit into place.”

Bell Schedule

Continued from A1

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

NEWS

Recreational marijuana laws plagued with issues in Palo Alto

Despite being legalized in California,marijuana growing could still be prohibited by Palo Alto city laws vironment. Palo Alto resident and cannabis planter Thomas, whose name has been changed to protect his identity also agrees that the ban of cannabis clinics is illogical and unmerited. “A lot more minors are buying liquor with fake IDs than buying marijuana at dispensaries,” Thomas said. Thomas has been growing marijuana for roughly half a year and maintains the legal limit of six plants per household. Prior to growing his own supply, Thomas had to depend on medical marijuana dispensaries or legal dispensaries in nearby cities for pot. However, despite cultivating his own plants, Thomas still prefers commercial grade marijuana over his home grown strain.

ANONYMOUS/USED WITH PERMISSION

Marijuana plants like these can be found in the backyards of growers around the Bay Area. Despite being legal in Oakland, growing could be prohibited for Palo Alto residents.

By Raj Lele & Shannon Zhao

Senior Staff Writer & Board Correspondent

oughly two-thirds of Palo Alto citizens voted to pass Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), in 2016. Under AUMA, previous restrictions on the use, retail and home cultivation of recreational marijuana were lifted for those over the age of 21. However, ambiguity reigns as disparities between state and city law exist. Over the past two months, Palo Alto’s City Council members engaged in discussions regarding the cultivation and distribution of recreational cannabis in the city. According to city councilman Adrian Fine, although the passage of Proposition 64 legalized the

use of recreational marijuana in California, local governments still have jurisdiction over restricting commercial marijuana activities in each city. However, cities are not given the authority to prohibit the legal delivery of recreational or medical marijuana on public roads.

Over the past two months, Palo Alto's City Council members engaged in discussions regarding the cultivation and distribution of recreational cannabis. Despite Palo Alto voters' overwhelming support for the le-

galization of marijuana, the Palo Alto city council has agreed to prohibit the growth and distribution of marijuana. “In the 2016 election, California voters passed the Marijuana Voter Act which made cultivation and distribution of marijuana legal,” Fine said. “However, each city could legislate and Palo Alto decided to restrict its residents from selling or growing it even though they could legally consume it.” While Palo Alto has prohibited retail marijuana clinics, neighboring cities such as East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Oakland have defaulted to state regulations, legalizing commercial marijuana activities for both medical and recreational use. As a result, cities that have permitted the installation of marijuana dispensaries have seen somewhat of an economic rejuve-

PAUSD achievement gap remains

Completion of A-G requirements show achievement gap

nation. “Even though consumption patterns haven’t been extensively studied, cities like Oakland which are letting its people grow marijuana and sell it have felt an economic revival,” Fine said. “In Oakland, they’re now much cleaner and thriving. And because Amazon is eating up the businesses that people used to frequent, it’s nice to see that cities like Oakland are trying to reverse this.”

"A lot more minors are buying liquor with fake IDs than buying marijuana at dispensaries." Thomas Due to the enormous support for the legalization of marijuana

and the economic success it has brought to the city of Oakland, councilmen like Fine believe that non-believers in the Palo Alto city council should remove the restrictive regulations imposed on marijuana. However, opponents believe that dispensaries will elicit two main issues: they will serve as an inappropriate use of the city’s space and provide minors with easier access to the drug. Despite these opinions, Fine and other councilmen believe that this logic is flawed. If the same rationalization was used, Fine argues that liquor stores should also be banned because their products are illegal to consume for minors. Other concerns of the council involve the possible fire hazards marijuana cultivation poses, as high temperatures are required for the plant to grow in an indoor en-

While Palo Alto has prohibited retail marijuana clinics, neighboring cities such as East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Oakland have defaulted to state regulation. “I like the marijuana I buy more because I have not yet mastered the art of growing pot; a lot of the plants that I am growing are different strains and I’m really just experimenting with many different factors to see what’s comes out best,” Thomas said. “Commercial marijuana is grown by professionals that have been growing for years so of course the quality is much higher.” The passage of Proposition 215 in 1996 has erected several medical dispensaries in Palo Alto, providing access for many citizens with medical marijuana cards. Thomas said, “There’s a sense of pride and independence when growing your own plants.”

Paly choir to perform pops concert this coming month

Concert to feature Motown record label themed songs By Edan Sneh

T KESI SOUND/THE CAMPANILE

The graph above visualizes percentages of Paly graduates deemed "UC Prepared" by their respective race.

By Paarth Sharma

Managing Editor

he District’s achievement gap, specifically the lack of college preparedness among African-American, Hispanic and low-income and special-education students, has made it to the recent Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) school board agenda. PAUSD’s achievement gap remains an unsolved issue for the District and nowhere is this gap wider than in regards to the completion of course requirements. To be considered for admission to the University of California and California State University system, students must complete A-G coursework requirements. In order to complete these requirements, students must pass a certain set of coursework prescribed by the state of California. While graduation rates for many of these groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, are around the same level as those of others, the proportion of

students that complete A-G requirements is significantly lower than their peers. For example, according to district reports, while over 90 percent of African-American students graduate, only 67 percent of these students complete A-G requirements.

PAUSD's achievement gap remains an unsolved issue for the District and nowhere is this gap wider than in regards to the completion of course requirements. Similarly, while 86 percent of Hispanic students graduate, only 65 percent of Hispanic students complete these requirements. Moreover, while 82 percent of special education students graduate, less than half complete this

coursework. This same gap also appears when considering the proportion of students who are considered prepared for life after high school. According to the State of California, students are careerprepared and college-prepared when they receive their diploma and either meet A-G requirements, meet Smarter Balance test ELA and math standards or pass two Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) tests. Once again, many minority and special needs groups did not meet the standards, with only 22 percent, 32 percent and 18 percent of African-American, Hispanic and special needs students considered college or career-prepared. The District has claimed poor academic planning as a major root factor in this discrepancy and vowed to work on fixing the issue, and will vote on a plan designed by Equality Coordinator Keith Wheeler later this month. The plan has been designed in response to these findings.

Online Editor

he Palo Alto High School Choir will be performing their annual Pops Concert on Feb. 13 and 14 in Paly’s Performing Arts Center. The Pops Concert, directed by choir teacher Michael Najar, features a collection of songs from a particular time period of music. In preparation for the Pops Concert, the choir has been practicing for a month. For many newly joining upperclassmen members, this will be their first Pops Concert.

Despite the new adult accompaniment, Najar hopes to keep the Pops Concert student focused. The Pops Concert tradition started in 2003 when it changed from a Valentine’s Day theme to a concert about showcasing popular music. Following the ‘90s theme from last year’s performance — and previous themes of The Beatles, The Stones, soul music and Bay Area music — the Paly Choir has chosen Motown as this years theme. Motown music is not an exact time period, but a record label company founded on the principal of producing catchy tunes. Ben Gordy, born in Detroit in 1929, created the Motown record company in 1959. These songs would emphasize the artists’ vocals, which coincidentally is Paly Choir’s specialty. “Motown can be thought of in

EDAN SNEH/THE CAMPANILE

Choir students practice for their peformance in the annual Pops Concert.

two different ways: as a label, or as a pop music movement,” Najar said. Motown’s success spans from the late 1950s to the early 2000s. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie & the Commodores, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5 and, later, Michael Jackson have all released songs under the Motown label, some of which will be sung at the Pops Concert. “All of the songs [at the Pops concert] will be part of Motown label,” said sophomore Tyler Furrier. “People should be expecting songs like ‘I Want You Back’ [by the Jackson 5] and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” [by Marvin Gaye] that are fun to sing along to.” A new addition to the 13-yearold tradition is a guest band of professional musicians. “Our wonderful accompanist Todd Billingsley is also going to have a band with him that he is going to direct,” Najar said. “The band will most likely be made up of two horns, a drummer and a base player, who will be playing

charts along with the choir.” Billingsley has played with the choir in the past but never with a whole entourage. Despite the new adult accompaniment, Najar hopes to keep the Pops Concert studentfocused. All the profit made at the Pops Concert will be cycled back into the choir program to support choir students.

"Motown can be thought of in two different ways: as a label, or as a pop music movement." Michael Najar

“My primary goal is for students to have fun,” Najar said. “Every year during the pops concert someone decided to stand out and sing, every year. Some of our students really want to come out at the Pops Concert and sing big, and we've discovered someone we’ve never really heard before.”

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

OPINION A5 Students should be graded holistically, clearly

By Anna Meyer

Staff Writer

early every student is familiar with the stress of waiting for his or her grades to come out at the end of the semester. However, the report card that supposedly represents the sum total of each student’s accomplishments consists solely of a series of letters and perhaps a single sentence from the teacher vaguely expressing what a pleasure the student is to have in class. This grading system provides little information about what material students actually c om prehend and what concepts they have yet to master. Standardsbased grading, in which students are graded based on a rubric detailing how well they understand specific concepts, would eliminate ambiguity in report cards by attaching qualitative meanings to grades.

Traditional report cards can be misleading because they combine both academic and non-academic factors into a single grade. Standards-based grading promotes more comprehensive learning by requiring students to

achieve proficiency in a certain category in order to earn a good grade. Teachers evaluate students’ work on formative assignments and multiple assessments and provide alternate assessments to students who need it, rather than assigning grades based on a series of non-personalized tests and projects. This system would also allow students to retake tests until they receive a satisfactory grade. The option to earn a grade based on improvement pushes students to fully understand subject matter, as opposed to moving on before the class has a chance to truly comprehend the material. While it would be possible for students to underperform on the first attempt of a test, the amount of effort and time it would require in order for students to retake the test would discourage negligence. Subsequent tests would not be identical to the first test, so students would have to thoroughly understand the topic, rather than simply memorize answers. Test retakes have also been shown to help students better retain information. Furthermore, the process of trying and failing without severe consequences provides a safe place for students to learn resilience and perseverance. According to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, intrinsic motivation

(when a student wants to study something primarily for their enjoyment) is the key to higher quality learning. Prompt feedback, class discussions and intellectually stimulating and challenging assignments have all been proven to contribute to a student’s ability to obtain a sense of intrinsic motivation. The traditional grading system rewards students for their ability to select the right answer, rather than their comprehension of the material. This often leads to academic dishonesty and cheating. Contrastingly, standardsbased grading motivates students to delve deeper into material and seek more meaningful approaches to projects. Another downfall of traditional grading is it moves the focus from learning the material to getting a good grade. Research has shown that students are either “grade-orientated” or “learningorientated,” depending on how their schools’ grading systems are structured. “The research quite clearly shows that kids who are graded… tend to lose interest in the learning itself, avoid challenging tasks whenever possible (in order to maximize the chance of getting an A) and think less deeply than kids who aren’t graded,” said Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards and Schooling Beyond

Measure, in an interview with the National Education Association.

Standards-based grading promotes more comphrensive learning by requiring students to achieve proficieny in a certain category to earn a good grade. Although some may argue that a report card including only single-letter grades is more easily understood and simplifies the admissions process for colleges, grading according to specified standards is a more descriptive and objective way to assess students’ abilities. While letter grades would not necessarily be eliminated, the additional descriptions of academic performance would help students to better understand how they can advance their knowledge. Furthermore, traditional report cards can be misleading because they combine both academic and non-academic factors (such as participation and assignments graded only for completion) into a single grade. By implementing standardsbased grading, schools can push students to comprehend all aspects of a certain course, and foster passion for academia.

Paly must implement standardized test tutoring

By Philip Ericsson Business Manager

pending thousands of dollars on hours of tutoring in preparation for standardized tests like the SAT and the ACT is common among families in Palo Alto. However, hiring a professional tutor is not financially realistic for many, and with standardized testing having such importance in the college application process, a way for students to get quality and affordable help through the school is needed.

To support students, a Paly-sponsored tutoring service could help provide tutoring for standardized tests.

The reality for some students is paying these hefty sums for private tutoring may be a problem for their families. With the goal of leveling the playing field and supporting all students, a Paly-sponsored tutoring service could help provide tutoring for standardized tests for those that desire it. Places like AJ Tutoring, a pop-

ular test prep location in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, charges students around $150 per hour to meet with an individual tutor. These are astronomical rates, especially considering that the tutoring service recommends 4.5-13.5 hours of tutoring. This could result in a final bill of over $2000 per week. Getting professional help from a tutor is certainly helpful, but with a price tag of this magnitude, some students who may want assistance in test preparation are unable to receive it. This is where student-to-student tutoring would be a perfect solution. “[T]he people who have the money [to pay for a tutor] aren’t necessarily ‘smarter’ if they get a good score,” said senior James Roake. “They’re just as smart as the people who couldn’t afford a tutor except they get to boost their college admissions chances [by getting professional help].” Paly already houses a magnificent tutoring service through the Academic Resource Center (ARC). The ARC currently allows students to tutor other students in courses that they have already completed. Tutoring in math,

language and the sciences in particular is a big part of what the ARC offers. This tutoring service is free and the students who tutor others receive community service after each meeting. This mutuallybeneficial program gives students incentive to reach out for help and the opportunity to contribute to their community. Standardized test tutoring could also be facilitated through the ARC at Paly. Seniors who have already completed their testing would be able to tutor younger students in preparing them for these crucial tests. The tutees would save thousands of dollars, and the tutors would be able to get extensive community service hours. At Paly there are people who take both the SAT and the ACT as well as many of the different SAT Subject Test exams. Students who have been able to get professional help from a tutor and spent months studying for the standardized tests are certainly capable of teaching the strategies that helped them succeed to others. However, with the current tutoring, it is easy for the ARC to determine who is

eligible to tutor. The current rule states the tutor must have received at least a “B” in that subject in order to be eligible to tutor another student. This verification will not be possible if standardized testing tutoring was at Paly. “The reason [as to why we do not have this kind of tutoring currently] is that it is hard to verify mastery of the standardized test except for test scores,” said Maria, the Peer Tutoring Center Coordinator at the ARC. “When students tutor specific subjects, we check that they have already taken the class and gotten at least a B in the class. This verifies that they know that material. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to accept tutors based on how well they can take a test. Where do I draw the line on a score when the scores are so different between tests-50 percent, 75 percent, 100 percent?” These are questions which need to be addressed. Working together with the ARC and students who have experience from tutoring in the past, we should try to create certain guidelines on how we make this help available.

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

OPINION

Controversy over James Franco’s murals

In light of sexual assault allegations against Paly alumnus James Franco, Paly administration has removed some of his paintings and artwork around campus, sparking a controversy over whether their actions were justified. Should they be taken down?

The murals must go down By Tess Manjarrez

Staff Writer

mid the rise of the #MeToo movement, five women have accused Palo Alto High School alumnus James Franco of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior. While Franco has denied these claims and has not been convicted, such negative attention shed upon the movie star begs the question: What is his impact on our school and what should become of the artwork he contributed to Paly? This week, the large mural on the side of the Student Center was painted over and the administration has considered taking down additional paintings of his in both the student center and the Media Arts Center (MAC). However, many paintings remain on our walls. If even one of the accusations against Franco proves to be true, or if more women come forward with similar stories, Paly will become known for promoting the artwork of a sexual predator, and that’s not a reputation we want. Accusations aside, many applaud the removal of Franco’s artwork. In fact, the first of the two Franco murals in the Student Center was removed a full two years ago — long before the sexual misconduct allegations hit the news.

If even one of the accusations against Franco proves to be true, or if more women come forward with similar stories, Paly will become known for promoting the artwork of a sexual predator, and that’s not a reputation we want.

Franco’s murals are objectively dark in nature. Faceless characters formed from strong strokes of black and gray don’t reflect the cheerful, friendly atmosphere that Palo Alto Unified School District aims to foster in its schools, goals evidenced by weekly therapy dog visits and a well-stocked Wellness Center. It is clear the dark environment depicted in Franco’s paintings isn’t representative of Paly. “I don’t enjoy looking at them,” said senior Ida Sunneras-Jonssan. “It’s not aesthetically pleasing because of how cluttered and messy they are.” Paly has an amazing visual arts program, with talented student artists channeling their inner creativity into their work. The abundant wall space that could be used to exhibit more student artwork has been taken by Franco, who graduated from Paly in 1996. That’s 22 years ago, well before any of today’s Paly students were even born. “When the Franco pictures came up, it

was very dominant,” said librarian Rachel Kellerman. “That was fine for a while, but it’s important that we showcase all kinds of styles.” I’ll be honest: I didn’t pay too much attention to Franco or his paintings before the Golden Globe Awards. I thought the paintings were gloomy and that was it. Franco’s award for Best Actor last month at the Globes catapulted him into the limelight once again and the allegations that followed have kept him there. Now is the time for Paly to have this discussion, while it can still be called relevant. We are experiencing a rare moment in time when things are happening: a hashtag has evolved into a movement that has shaken Hollywood — in fact, the world — to its core. “It’s a good community conversation,” said Kate McKenzie, one of Paly’s art teachers. “I think it needs to be a bigger dialogue.” The presence of Franco’s art on Paly’s walls doesn’t just acknowledge him as an alum, it highlights his successful career and, by extension, his behavior in that career. In fact, hanging huge paintings on multiple walls serves to glorify him. It says, “Hey, here’s this guy who we respect enough to give valuable wall space to. Isn’t he great?” Obviously, Paly can and should acknowledge Franco as an alumnus, but we don’t need hundreds of square feet of painted canvas to accomplish that. As a Paly student, I’m not uncomfortable knowing Franco attended my school. Obviously I can’t know the truth about the sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. However, the scandal around Franco hits close to home when one story involves him, at 35, trying to arrange a hookup with a 17-year-old, a girl not even half his age. The paintings make me uncomfortable because they darken an already-heavy environment. They force us to confront an inevitable question: how could a powerful man with a perfectly clean slate get accused of such inappropriate behavior? How likely is it that he is totally innocent? The process of removing Franco’s glory from the walls of our school is already underway, prompted by parents and teachers who raised concerns after learning about the sexual misconduct allegations. Principal Kim Diorio said the paintings were always a loan, not a gift. “Any paintings taken down that have been donated to us would be returned to Franco directly,” Diorio said. “They have always been ‘on loan’ to Paly and not ours to keep.” So now, our community must seize this opportunity to use the open space for something new that really represents Paly and its amazing student body. Maybe something with less baggage and more color?

Innocent until proven guilty By Peter Gold

Guest Author

ames Franco is not just a man of many talents, but a man of the people. He is a legendary actor, Renaissance man, novelist, screenwriter, artist, director, PhD student and professor. He has contributed a lot to both Palo Alto High School and the world as a whole. He has returned to Paly frequently, each time with something new and positive to share. After recent sexual misconduct allegations against Franco, Principal Kim Diorio had Franco’s last mural painted over, one of two that he painted in 2014. The first mural was painted over after complaints surfaced about its aesthetic creating a negative atmosphere on campus. But his last mural was painted over during the Jan. 27 weekend in response to the sexual misconduct allegations against Franco, which he has repeatedly denied. Diorio did the wrong thing. In an interview with on Jan. 30, she said, “In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have taken them down so fast.” Unfortunately, the damage has been done. The loud and angry voices of certain Paly parents and teachers have pressured Diorio into a decision which does not reflect the voices of many Paly students and parents. Diorio said she does not plan to take down any of Franco’s paintings in the MAC, which is promising news. Unfortunately, the mural which was prominently displayed on the Student Center has been permanently erased. Diorio said her relationship with Franco soured after she disagreed with the outcome of the movie he made with Paly students, despite the fact that the film was shown at major film festivals and received positive reviews. Unfortunately, news of the removal of the murals has already reached publications outside of Paly and is quickly gaining international attention. Diorio’s actions are worsening Franco’s situation. To her credit, she did say if the allegations prove to be false, she “will personally reach out to him and correct that.” As a student, Franco participated in Paly theatre and even wrote for The Campanile. Paly was Franco’s foundation, a place he can call home and a place he can walk through to bring back memories. Franco has been generous to our community, including teaching a film workshop that he ran with family members, journalism adviser Esther Wojcicki and close colleagues, who all volunteered significant amounts of time. In the workshop, Franco returned to Paly for one five-hour Sunday session each month for the duration of the school year. The 40 students in the class, including me, created a 90-minute feature film under Franco’s guidance. (Full disclosure: Franco wrote a letter of recommendation for my college applications.)

From the first day of the workshop, I knew Franco was not just brilliant, but a man who genuinely loved helping others. Unfortunately, sexual misconduct allegations against Franco took the spotlight within moments of him winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in ‘The Disaster Artist’ last month. The #MeToo movement, which aims to give women across the world the power to speak up about their experiences of sexual misconduct, sparked the allegations. Franco had a #MeToo pin on his jacket at the Golden Globes in order to show his support, but his support was seen as a contradiction by his accusers.

Removing Franco’s art is a big statement that says, “You are no longer welcome here.” It is a spit in the face of a very generous alumnus.

After he was accused, he went on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and said the accusations are “not accurate” but that he does not want to “actively refute” the accusations because he does not want to speak over woman, because he believes in the #MeToo movement that much. He also went on to say, “If I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to.” Ashley Judd, who was one of the founders of the #MeToo movement, states that, “I think that what James said is terrific,” in response to his comments on Seth Meyers. The #MeToo movement has united inspirational and powerful women within Hollywood and beyond. I hope it continues to bring an end to both sexual harassment and assault. While the #MeToo movement has brought attention to important issues, it sometimes becomes counterproductive by convicting people without due process. This goes against the foundational principles of our country and the rights of our citizens. Now, this problem is at Paly’s doorstep. By removing Franco’s paintings, the Paly community is punishing Franco before knowing whether or not he is guilty. Removing Franco’s art is a big statement that says, “You are no longer welcome here.” It is a spit in the face and punch in the nose to one of a very generous alumnus. Paly should not just apologize to Franco, but invite him back to paint a new mural. Franco, just like every other member of the Paly community, deserves the right to due process. False allegations can be made against anyone, at any time. We have a responsibility to listen to both alleged victims and alleged perpetrators, but it is not our job to draw conclusions.

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

OPINION

Teachers should be able to fix absences in Infinite Campus

By Peyton Wang

Science & Tech Editor

s imperfect humans, we inherently make mistakes. However, those who make mistakes ought to take responsibility for their actions rather than holding others accountable. At Paly, students who are incorrectly marked as absent by their teachers must undergo a tedious process to fix the mistake. First, they have to pick up a yellow attendance correction slip (or multiple) at the attendance office, ask their teacher to fill out and sign the form, then return to the office and hand in the slip. While complaining about one trip to the attendance office may seem petty, having to take several trips to fix numerous mistakes is a nuisance for students and administration.

Students should not have to fill out correction forms when their teachers make attendance mistakes. It’s bad enough being marked absent when you are actually in class for the whole period and the

teacher mistakenly did not see you. But even worse, some teachers mark students absent when a few minutes late to class. They seem to do this because they believe it will discourage tardiness. There are ways to resolve these issues: First, teachers should take responsibility for their mistakes and there should be an easier way to make attendance corrections and second, students who are late to class should be marked as tardy instead of absent. Many students have expressed their frustration with the current attendance system. “I have a very common last name, so often times my teachers accidentally give me cuts,” said a senior who requested to remain anonymous. “I got so fed up with having to continuously fill out the correction forms, so I just had my parents email the attendance office that I was sick instead.” Students should not have to fill out correction forms when their teachers make attendance mistakes. Instead, there should be a convenient method for teachers to correct student attendance, such as an option on Infinite Campus that allows the teacher to fix the mistake from their computers. This not only creates less

trouble for students, but also for the attendance staff, who must manually corrects the mistakes after students turn in the correction slips. As for tardiness, according to the Student Handbook, a student is considered “tardy” if they are not present in the classroom at the beginning of the period. If a student arrives to class over 30 minutes late, they are officially marked as “cut.” When students are less than 30 minutes late to class, some teachers will mark them as “cut” instead of “tardy” and force them to fill out the attendance correction forms, apparently attempting to dissuade students from showing up late to class. Or, since teachers are supposed to take attendance within the first 10 minutes of class, some might forget to change an absence to a tardy. “Some of my teachers give their students a cut when they are late to class,” said senior Tilak Misner. “Many of my friends who are in this situation feel annoyed with having to repeatedly get their attendance fixed and tell their parents to call them in sick.” When students receive an absence, whether it be excused or unexcused, their parents will

immediately receive several automated notifications of their absence, including via email, home phone and text. Thus, marking a student as absent instead of tardy may cause parents to worry about their child skipping class, when in reality, the student could have been late by just a few minutes. Although it is disrespectful and disruptive for a student to show up late to class, a tardy should not constitute as a cut. If a student shows up late to class by 30 minutes or less, their teacher should mark them as tardy, not absent. Furthermore, marking students as absent instead of tardy proves to be ineffective, as they may just ask their parents to call them in sick. Ultimately, when the teacher is at fault for making an attendance error, the student should not be held accountable and have to fill out correction forms. Additionally, it is unfair for students who are late to class to be marked as absent instead of tardy, so teachers should be required to properly take attendance. At the end of the day, pressing a button to confirm a student’s tardiness requires less work than a trip to the attendance office.

English courses. Although it is currently very underrepresented in the curriculum, philosophy has the potential to teach students important life lessons. In 367 B.C., the Platonic Academy in Athens first introduced 17-year-old Aristotle to philosophy. Mentored by Plato himself, Aristotle eventually challenged the theories of his teacher and became arguably the single most influential individual in Western philosophy. One of Aristotle’s most important contributions was the first study of logic. Logic, a fundamental aspect of both mathematics and philosophy, draws conclusions, whether scientific or philosophical, from information using various methods of reasoning. Less academically, logic also teaches individuals how to arrive at conclusions about decisions they face in a manner which can be widely acknowledged as reasonable or sound, as opposed to “following one’s gut.” English courses already explore theoretical topics, such as finding themes in literature and drawing parallels between characters in stories and historical figures and could easily tie ideas in

literature to the beliefs of key philosophy theories in history. Philosophy, therefore, becomes less of a change in the English curriculum and more of an addition to what Paly currently teaches. The American ideals were revolutionary when the United States Constitution first introduced them to the world stage, but they were almost entirely inspired by the political philosophers who came before the birth of our nation. Before “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” were considered unalienable rights, English philosopher John Locke wrote that “life, liberty and property” were the primary rights which a government should intend to protect. Locke’s great inspiration to Thomas Jefferson is taught in World History, a freshman history class, but Paly does not offer many other lessons on philosophy’s effect on the modern world in the required curriculum. English classes currently ask students to draw conclusions on literature based on textual evidence, but little lessons are given on how to draw these conclusions. Philosophy would provide a method of teaching students how

to craft arguments in their writing and how to craft arguments in their lives. Philosophy would also be able to tie the reading material to theories of ethics and existence to allow students to decide for themselves what they believe. Incorporating philosophy into English classes would teach students why the selected literature is more than just a novel, but an allusion to a bigger picture. In a world in which critical thinking and complex problemsolving have always been the traits of great leaders and great people alike, teaching philosophical principles could make these traits a part of education.

Philosophy should be incorporated into Paly English curriculum

By Noah Baum

News & Opinion Editor

he last of the “Five Good Emperors” of the Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius, regularly composed life advice to himself. Even as one of the most powerful men on the planet at the time, Aurelius’ writing reflected someone who valued humility, self-restraint and the goodness of man. Two thousand years later, Aurelius’ perspectives on life have become some of the most significant philosophical texts in history. In these texts, he asks, “What could be clearer? No other life is more appropriate for the practice of philosophy than that life which you now happen to be living.” Aurelius viewed philosophy as something essential to the mind and therefore a subject we have a responsibility to learn. Introducing students to philosophy exposes young minds to the theories behind important ideas and subjects, such as morality, politics and existence. While Paly offers Humanities as a semester-long English elective which explores philosophy in detail, philosophical ideas are not incorporated into current regular

Incorporating philosophy into English classes would teach students why the selected literature is more than just a novel.

While previously, individuals with these traits have been invaluable to civilizations due to their rarity, introducing philosophy which teaches these skills could raise a generation composed of these intellectual people.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

EDITORIALS

Student input necessary in teacher hiring processes

he past few years have brought an influx of teachers to Palo Alto High School. Twenty new staff members were hired for the 2016-17 school year and another 10 were hired at the beginning of this school year. The hiring process for new teachers at the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is undeniably thorough; according to an interview with Paly principal Kim Diorio, after the pool of applicants is narrowed down to eight candidates, an administrator and the instructional supervisor (IS) of the relevant department hold the first round of interviews, along with administrators from Henry M. Gunn High School and the middle schools. After this meeting, out-ofstate candidates are required to send in a video of them teaching, while candidates who live nearby are asked to teach a demo lesson. Administrators also check each candidate’s references and run informal background checks (in addition to official checks conducted by HR) on accounts like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to ensure that there are no complaints from prior employers or questionable posts on social media. Diorio also stated that after teachers are hired (usually in April or May), they attend a teacher induction program. This week-long workshop teaches them both technical skills (like how to use Schoology) and equity training, which includes topics like teaching special needs students and avoiding unconscious classroom bias. It is evident that the hiring and training process for new

teachers is extensive. However, absent from this comprehensive process is the most important factor: the students. While each applicant is expected to have three references, performance reviews are given only from an administrator’s vantage point. Input from past students is not taken into consideration, and while a student representative is allowed to sit in on interviews with potential administrators, there is no such avenue for students to screen potential teachers.

Absent from this comprehensive process is the most important factor: the students. The Campanile believes that there should be a greater emphasis on student perspectives during the hiring process for teachers by inviting student representatives to interviews with potential teachers. After all, a large indicator of an educator’s success depends on how well their teaching style aligns with their students’ educational goals and learning styles. The Campanile understands that allowing students to screen teachers may create logistical issues. If there are concerns about which students to choose as representatives, we suggest turning to self-selected representatives, such as members of Link Crew. These students have already demonstrated a willingness to improve the Paly experience for younger students, and may have taken some

of the subjects that candidates teach. They would therefore have invaluable insight into the type of teacher who would succeed at teaching a certain course — insight that administrators may be lacking. As upperclassmen, is it unlikely that these students would ever go on to have that candidate as a teacher, reducing confidentiality concerns. If allowing student representatives to sit in at interviews is not feasible, there are other ways for students to provide their input in the teacher hiring process. One proposed solution would be to allow student representatives to watch the videos of teacher candidates teaching or to sit in on their demo lessons. After these lessons, the student representatives could provide feedback on the candidates’ teaching methods, which could help administrators obtain student perspectives on whether or not the candidate would be a good fit for the students overall, an unarguably essential evaluator of the teacher application process. Another solution would be for District administrators to push out a survey to students asking what traits they value most in potential teachers. When screening candidates, administrators and department ISs could go through the qualities that the teacher portrayed in the interview and demo lesson, and further ensure that they align with students’ ideals. Through these solutions, The Campanile hopes to increase student input in the hiring process, fostering a sense of community between teachers and students and creating a more welcoming educational environment.

Communication networks for Paly students and alums

aly has both amazing students and alumni who commit hours and hours to their studies, hobbies, jobs and extracurriculars. The knowledge amassed by current and former Paly students extends far beyond the classroom. Tapping into knowledge garnered from years of trial and error in everything from class selection to college applications would be invaluable to younger members of the Paly community. Yet, such communication is limited. Most younger students do not know older students willing to help them choose classes for freshman or sophomore year or talk to Paly alumni regarding college application's and employment opportunities.

Most younger students don’t know older students willing to help. Firstly, The Campanile believes that the implementation of a program with the ability to network Paly seniors with Paly alumni and underclassman with upperclassman would be paradigm-altering. When it comes to creating a list of colleges to apply to, studentalumni dialogue has proved immensely valuable. Programs

implemented by Paly such as Tea Time have served to help create more dialogue between students and alumni, covering a variety of topics. Additionally, websites such as Paths From Palo Alto have allowed Palo Alto alumni to communicate with each other and their communities regarding school and career experiences. A communication network created for Paly students would connect volunteers of the target grade or postgraduate activity with students who have important questions regarding various topics. It would not only alleviate stress from guidance and counselors, but it may lead to more meaningful and applicable suggestions for students. Having received advice regarding what type of college to apply to at the College and Career Center, or talking with your counselor about schedule changes is helpful, but having access to a primary source of information regarding a topic is invaluable. Students would be going to the tower building for more pressing questions, and would not need to rely on a handful of adults and whatever other contacts they have access to. Instead, they would feel confident in their ability to obtain helpful and genuine advice from students who understand their circumstance.

While current programs are trying to achieve the sort of communication The Campanile believes would be helpful, they are too small and infrequently used to be making the impact that the wealth of knowledge contained within the Paly community could be making.

Tapping into knowledge garnered from years of trial and error in everything from class selection to college applications would be invaluable to younger members of the Paly community. While aforementioned programs such as Tea Time are on the right path, more must be done. Our proposal would be attempting to bring currently occuring dialogues to the mainstream while also streamlining interactions. Paly is full of wisdom regarding education. It is time that knowledge was effectively shared.

AP language courses could benefit from more AP-specific curriculum

n our increasingly globalized world, multilingualism has become a necessity. With countless studies citing the numerous benefits of learning an additional language — more job opportunities, better multitasking skills and longer attention spans, to name a few — it is important that all students learn an additional language early and well. Fortunately, Paly has recognized the need for foreign language literacy. Students are required to complete two years of a foreign language in order to graduate; by the time many students graduate high school, they are proficient in an additional language, which opens up many doors post-graduation.

Even in high level AP language classes, teachers should continue to review the basics. The Campanile recognizes and applauds the language department’s continuous efforts to emphasize student engagement with languages instead of rote memorization of grammar and vocabulary. However, Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which prepare students for standardized tests at the end of the year, should utilize a more structured class style centered around nationwide AP requirements to ensure that students are adequately prepared for evaluation by someone other than their teachers. According to Spanish teacher Kevin Duffy, the language de-

partment is pushing toward the integrated performance assessment (IPA) method of analyzing student mastery of languages and moving away from traditional evaluation methods like grammar tests. With the new change, grading is composed of presentational speaking, conversational speaking, presentational writing and listening and reading comprehension, with formative homework and classwork assignments not included.

The language department is pushing toward integrated performance assessments. While the IPA method may help students in lower-level language classes master all aspects of a language, an AP class requires more structure that specifically prepares students for the exam. The changes implemented in the department could benefit lowerlevel classes, but may not work as well with AP standards. Thus, The Campanile recommends using more AP-specific material, such as practice tests or AP review guides, from the beginning of the school year, so that students can evaluate how much ground they must cover to ultimately perform well in the class and on the AP exam at the end of the year. Because grading is only comprised of evaluations, students need more opportunities to gauge teacher expectations, measure their own improvement and receive constant feedback, instead of relying on a few tests per semester, which ultimately places

a lot of weight on each test. Additionally, while it is important to ensure that students can demonstrate their knowledge of their language in multiple ways, teachers must first help students establish a strong foundation in grammar and vocabulary, which is crucial for a comprehensive mastery of the language. Even in high-level AP language classes, teachers should continue to review the basics, because the reality is that students often enter the year with a hazy recollection of what they had previously learned. Advanced language classes may be the only place where students openly state that they wish they had more opportunities to practice and review the basics. Teachers can incorporate this material by devoting the first few weeks of class to a fastpaced grammar "boot camp;" or if they would prefer not to take up valuable class time, they could instead assign it as optional homework.

Fortunately, Paly has recognized the need for foreign language literacy. The Campanile appreciates the language department’s efforts to constantly develop it's teaching and evaluation methods. However, when transitioning to a new form of teaching or grading, it is imperative to listen to student feedback, as they are ultimately the ones learning the material. We hope the language department will take our concerns into consideration when designing it's courses for next year.

FEBRUARY'S TOP TEN LIST Top Ten Ways To Score A Valentine's Day Date 10) Cross Embarcadero before the light changes to show them your courageous heart. 9) Hit on that guy/girl who you know will be attending the same college as you next year. 8) Go after underclassman hoping the allure of Prom compels them to say yes. 7) Stalk that special someone on Schoology to engineer chance run-ins. 6) Impress them by telling them about how successful your NJB team's Instagram is doing this season. 5) Use APUSH to flirt. Remember, study dates at Coupa are just a text away! 4) Give up and settle down with a bowl of mac and cheese. 3) Invite them to an artsy Instagram-story-worthy weekend brunch. 2) Bond over your favorite QuadGlobe artists. 1) Tell them you're in The Campanile.

-KESI SOUND, EDWARD KIM, PAARTH SHARMA

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Maya Homan • Niklas Risano • Ehecatl Rivera Allison Wu • Ashley Zhang Online Editor Edan Sneh

Managing Editors Nicholas Melvin • Paarth Sharma

News and Opinion Editors Noah Baum • Renee Hoh

Lifestyle Editors Vivian Feng • Kesi Soundararajan

Science & Tech Editor Peyton Wang

Sports Editors Eric Li • Kiran Misner

Multimedia Editor Philip Ericsson Khadija Abid Marie Davis Eric He Kennedy Herron Leyton Ho Samantha Hwang Edward Kim Grace Kitayama

Board Correspondent Shannon Zhao Staff Writers Bernie Koen Raj Lele John Loftus Waverly Long Navid Najmabadi Lucy Nemerov Kaylie Nguyen Ethan Nissim Christopher Pierno

Photographers Peter Gold Samantha Hwang

Jonathan Stoschek

Advisers Esther Wojcicki • Rodney Satterthwaite Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds18@googlegroups.com The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit submissions. The Campanile only prints signed letters. Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts. For more information regarding advertisements or

Business Manager Philip Ericsson Yusra Rafeeqi William Robins Riley Short Leela Srinivasan Ujwal Srivastava John Tayeri Ben van Zyll Byron Zhang Illustrators

Khadija Abid Kimberley CisnerosMartinez

Marie Davis Renee Hoh

Writing Coaches Evelyn Richards • Elisabeth Rubinfien sponsors in The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Managers by email at campanile.ads@gmail.com. Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community. The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper!

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

LIFESTYLE passion for political fashion How politics impact the world of fashion and call for social change t first glance, fashion and politics are from her more traditionally “feminine” two topics that don’t seem to go hand- characteristics so she was seen equal to her in-hand. However, fashion has been opponents. Throughout her campaign, she used throughout history to make bold polit- largely wore white as well, a nod to sufical statements. From bloomers in the 1850s fragists, as white was one of the official to flapper dresses in the 1920s to modern colors of the women’s movement in the “feminist” T-shirts, politics have become 1910s. “Fashion has always been a tool for deeply ingrained in the way we dress. While political fashion has been around social change,” said Wati Grossman, the for a while, it has become even more preva- CEO and head designer of Wati Design, lent following the 2016 election. Designer a clothing company. “The fashion indusPrabal Gurung, for instance, ended his fash- try produces clothes and accessories that ion show during 2017 New York Fashion lead to the expression of one’s chosen self Week with a line of models wearing -shirts identity … you define yourself through the with a variety of political and activist phras- way that you dress and present yourself to es, including “Girls Just Want To Have the world.” Additionally, outfits such as the pink Fundamental Rights” (based on the Cyndi Lauper song “Girls Just Want to Have hats many wore during the 2017 and Fun”) and “We Will Not Be Silenced.” 2018 Women’s Marches, the all-black enDuring the 2016 presidential campaign, sembles worn at the 2018 Golden Globes in support of Donald Trump’s “Make the #TimesUp America Great Again” movement and baseball caps were imthe white roses mensely popular among worn at the supporters. Fashion is a catalyst for 2018 Grammy Hillary Clinton’s signature pantsuit change ... if you’are interested in Awards have been a key part also expressed a fashion, you should be of larger prosymbolic polititests. cal statement. interested in politics. Even stores It showed she like Urban was just as Wati Grossman Outfitters now competent carry shirts as a male with slogans candithat proclaim date. By wearing a pantsuit, “Feminist” or “Nasty Woman.” Grossman has created her own politiClinton also hoped to direct questions cal T-shirts with her daughter, Talia. “It’s something we wanted to do as a away from what she was wearing mother-daughter thing,” Grossman said. and focus them “Talia does the graphics. We agree on the on what she message and I handle the manufacturing.” The shirts include sayings such as was saying. It also “Nevertheless, She Persisted,” “My People took at- Are Immigrants” and “Climate Change is tention Real.” Donations to the ACLU are made away for every purchase of a shirt. “Certainly in our Silicon Valley area, [the statements] really resonated, and still do,” Grossman said. Designers have also taken a political stance outside of just their clothing. Maria Grazia, the first female creative director at Christian Dior, created T-shirts proclaiming “We Should All Be Feminists,” a line taken from the book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie of the same name. In 2017, Grazia received the Swarovski Award for Positive Change for her work. She has also published a feminist reading list and advocates people to engage in politics. Many fashion-based publications have begun promoting activism as well. Teen Vogue i s

just one example of a magazine originally that’s a question that can be answered based on fashion and beauty until Editor- by a single word at a film premiere in-Chief Elaine Welteroth decided her or awards show … I do not think it readers needed to be more educated and is inappropriate to ask a woman who engaged in the they’re wearing as world of politics. long as that’s not Now, the the only topic, magazine has While political fashion has because that just gained recognimakes the audition for their po- been around for a while, it has ence perceive that litical pieces, and is the only worthy become even more known for encourthing to note aging diversity by prevalent following the 2016 about women including models, is their fashion election. contributors and choice.” features of a variThroughout ety of races, body the years, fashion types and sexualities. According to Wel- has remained a popular way to showcase teroth, their online following has grown political views. Clothes are an extension from 2 million to 12 million in the last two of oneself, how they present themself to years. the world and a reflection of the current Other fashion publications like W culture. Magazine and Vogue have also taken a It’s no wonder, then, that the lines more active political stance since the elec- between fashion and politics have tion. become increasingly blurred. ReMovements to combat the hypersexual- gardless of differing political ization of women in the world of fashion views, fashion continues to be a have been frequent in recent months as medium that unites everyone. well. CVS Beauty, Aerie and other com“Thanks to fashion, this panies have pledged to not use Photoshop idea of being a young on their models’ faces or bodies. In France, feminist is actually any commercial photo in which the “body cool,” Grossman said. of the model has been modified … to ei- “Fashion is a catather slim or flesh out her figure” must now lyst for change… if have a “photographie retouchée” (retouched you’re interested photo) label. in fashion, you Political protests via fashion have also should be been taken onto the red carpet. Seeing interested what the stars are wearing is a highlight for in polimany during the awards season. However, tics.” recent feelings towards the red carpet are not as enthusiastic. Typically, female celebrities are only asked about what they’re wearing on the red carpet. But women don’t want to be seen simply for their clothes or their body; they want to be asked deeper questions about the work they’ve been nominated for or their future projects. As a result, reporters are being urged to ask women deeper questions. Some viewers have stopped watching red carpet events all together. “Many people are distinctly interested in red carpet looks so the question is sometimes asked just for advertising purposes,” said junior Alicia Kao. “Howe v e r,

Text & Design by Alyssa leong SCIENCE & TECH

Influenza season reaches its peak

A deeper look into this yearís flu season and vaccinations. The annual flu epidemic hospitalizes many this year as the flu season reaches its climax. This year, the virus has mutated and has proven to be especially dangerous.

ZALDYLMG/ CC-BY-2.0

PAGE B7

Activism

RHODODENDRITES/ CC BY-SA 4.0

Celebrity voices in politics

The #MeToo movement provides a platform for sexual abuse victims. PAGE B2

Art & design by Renee HOH Spotlight

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE JOBS FOR FELONS HUB/CC-BY-2.0

Juvenile justice system

Unjust treatment of minors in cases of incarceration affect mind and body. PAGES B4-B5

Column: A Third Wheel’s Heaven and Hell

ANNIE CHEN / THE CAMPANILE

By Annie Chen

Staff Writer

he wall. The divider between the movie theater seats. The border of the friend zone. The question is, which side are you on? Are you the one sitting next to the stranger at the movies? The middle-aged man with a walrus mustache on the left or the chatty 9-year-old girl who won’t. Stop. Talking. To. You? With your friends on the right and unsurpassable armrests stacked with a melted, lukewarm blue raspberry ICEE and artificially flavored popcorn between you? Do you then see your friends (who you really suspect are much more than friends) can lift up the armrest between them but yours just. Won’t. Budge? (Although you probably wouldn’t want to let loose the crumbs and grime and who-knows-what stuffed in the crack of the armrest, anyways.) And then you realize. The truth. The blessing. The curse. YOU … are the third wheel. A great number of Paly students have been to the Century Cinemas 16 movie theater at Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View. Many have gone in groups of three. Some, a couple and a friend. The couple probably awes at the plush, reclining “luxury loungers” (with extendable footrests!). The friend, on the other hand, stares down the double, unliftable armrests planted between each pair of lounger chairs, preparing for what could be one of the most awkward, lonely experiences of their life, or one of the most hilarious, enjoyable experiences of stealing their friend from their significant other. Of course, the third-wheeling culture does come with burdens, especially when one is literally blocked off by a bulky armrest. “I think third-wheeling in these chairs would make me feel separate from my friends,” said third wheel and sophomore Emma Jiang. “I [wouldn’t] get to talk to my friends as much, and I want to be uncomfortably close to them at all times because they’re my friends.” It’s not so great for the people putting up with the third wheel either. “It feels uncomfortable, like they’re interrupting a special moment,” said third-wheelee and senior Shota Yamamoto. “You also feel like you have to spend time talking to the third wheel as well at times. I’d much rather prefer not being third-wheeled though, to be honest. I’d much rather just spend time with my significant other alone.” Even so, there are still fun, amusing, positive aspects for both the third-wheelee and thirdwheeler (surprisingly, more so for the third-wheeler). After all, “It’s enjoyable at times because my significant other seems to enjoy having her friends around when I’m with her too,” Yamamoto said. And no. An armrest isn’t going to ruin Jiang’s third-wheeling experience either — screw the armrest. With a smirk and the dedication of a true, professional third wheel, Jiang said, “I get to spend time with my friend-- even if I make their boyfriend uncomfortable.”

Fashion

JULIANNA LE/ USED WITH PERMISSION

Hypebeast style popularizes

Fashionable yet expensive streetwear culture has recently taken off. PAGE B3

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Celebrities gain a stronger voice in new political climate Trump’s presidency has blurred the line between entertainment and government, leading stars to voice their opinions By Leyton Ho

Staff Writer

e live in a divisive political environment. Since President Trump’s inauguration, Washington D.C. has been ripe with conflict, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle unable to cooperate. Controversy and tragedy have defined the news cycle, from prominent figures being accused of sexual assault to hurricanes ripping apart cities. But amid all the chaos, one thing has remained constant: celebrities stepping up to influence change. Celebrities and entertainers, often seen as role models for young audiences, have now developed a more crucial role in society than ever before.

“I think that it’s good that these famous icons have a platform to express how they feel about certain issues.” Stan de Martel It started with Trump. A former businessman and television personality, his recent election to president has revolutionized the political landscape. Apart from the obvious controversy Trump has generated through his statements, tweets and decisions, his election has prompted countless celebrities to express their political beliefs. Some social media websites, such as Twitter, have transformed from self-promotion tools to platforms for expressing political

messages. Late night talk shows now seem to address politics even more than the world of entertainment. Awards shows are now opportunities for celebrities to broadcast their political beliefs to the world.

“What Trump was able to do was speak in the exact opposite way that most traditional politicians did, and that is why he appealed to so many people.” Dominic Thibault This tension boiled over on Jan. 7 during the night of the Golden Globes. Attendees notably wore all black as part of the #MeToo movement, pushing for greater awareness about sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. This statement garnered extensive media coverage and resulted in greater discussion of the issues plaguing modern America, most notably the sexual assault endemic. Additionally, it induced dialogue about whether celebrities should speak out about politics. “I think that political statements from celebrities can bring positive change because they have a large platform, voice and people care about what they think,” said junior Dominic Thibault. “Celebrities have great influence over people. People who say they should stick to acting or entertainment should also tell the President to stick to politics

JDEERINGDAVIS/CC-BY-2.0

Celebrities used the 2018 Golden Globe Awards as an opportuntiy to stand up for sexual harrassment and support the #metoo movement. and government. They have free speech and a voice and should use it for good, but they do it at the risk of alienating fans and others that don’t agree with them.” Junior Stan de Martel also said that celebrities should use their platform to express their political views, but warns of potential danger. “I think that it’s good that these famous icons have a platform to express how they feel about certain issues,” de Martel said. “However, a lot of them don’t exactly always know what they’re talking about so it can be both

beneficial in the sense that it can get kids and audiences to become more interested in political issues, but it can also have negative effects such as broadcasting false facts or harmful values to many.” With the influx of celebrities choosing to make their political beliefs known, the general public has suggested some run for office. Trump’s election has made the thought of celebrities running for office a less preposterous possibility. Oprah Winfrey’s empowering speech at the Golden Globes led to a widespread call for her to run for president in 2020. Some even

suggested actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson run for president. Thibault, however, doesn’t think the rumors will amount to anything substantial. “I think Trump is an outlier, and we will see the country swing back toward a steadier, more traditional politician,” Thibault said. “What Trump was able to do was speak in the exact opposite way that most traditional politicians did, and that is why he appealed to so many people. When you look at celebrities that are thinking about running, my guess is that they would try and run a tra-

ditional political campaign without being a traditional politician and that tends not to work.” While a mainstream celebrity may not be elected to the presidency in the foreseeable future, the mere suggestion of another celebrity president demonstrates the cultural shift. The reliance of many on social media for news has gifted celebrities the power to influence political change and attract more media coverage. This power has shaped the beginning of Trump’s presidency and will continue to do so as America moves into a new po-

Smartphones may Review: First-ever Quadglobe a success pose health risks Student bands impressed the crowd with their talent during lunch performances By Riley Short Staff Writer

n a typical day, almost anywhere in the world, one could look around and spot numerous heads down, staring, swiping and tapping away at the little glowing rectangle we call the smartphone. Smartphones are popular devices; in fact, 92 percent of adults age 18 to 29 said they own one, according to a 2017 study by Pew Research. With this surging popularity and rapidly expanding customer bases, the health issues and behavioral effects of smartphones are becoming even more pressing. The first issue is how phones affect people’s attention span. With this small device constantly within an arms reach, there is an almost infinite amount of web pages, videos, pictures and entertainment constantly available with just the touch of a button.

“Across the board, there’s a really consistent trend with mental health issues increasing among teens.” Jean Twenge All of this readily-available information and entertainment has led to the ability to be constantly stimulated and rarely bored. In an article published by Time Magazine titled “You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish,” a study from the Canadian division of Microsoft says that since 2000, the average attention span has decreased from 12 seconds to eight. This eight-second number was then compared to the attention span of a goldfish, which reportedly has nine seconds of focusing capability before getting distracted. Despite the fact that the study is backed by Microsoft and publications such as the New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes Magazine as well as countless other media outlets, it is still contested by several other news outlets such as BBC News and the Wall Street Journal. The counterclaim to the study is that it does not take into account the many things that one might be focusing on or want to devote their attention to, but both sides are still up for debate. Alongside the health effects phones have on attention spans,

there is also the rising concern of smartphones’ general health effects on young children. A recent article from Forbes Magazine highlights these concerns, stating, “Apple is the latest of the tech giants to feel pressure regarding the mounting evidence that excessive screen time is harmful to mental health — especially for kids.” This mounting pressure on tech giants is largely propelled by a letter sent to Apple by its two biggest investors, Barry Rosenstein of JANA Partners LLC and Anne Sheehan of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The letter opens with company praise but goes on to suggest that Apple do more to combat the issue of phone overuse, especially among young children. This type of interaction between shareholders and companies is not commonplace. According to a Digital Trends article, “Activist shareholders are not, as a rule, vocal about social change — which means that this represents something of a momentous occasion.” Apple responded to the issue in a company statement, saying “We think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them. We take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customer’s expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.” Many researchers and psychologists say that the effects phones have on kids range from both social-emotional to physical effects, such as damage to vision. According to statistics cited by Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, the general trend indicates more signs of anxiety and depression than there were 10 years ago, when the world was on the brink of the smart device era. “Across the board, there’s a really consistent trend with mental health issues increasing among teens,” Twenge said in an interview with Digital Trends. The overall debate and research on what health risks phones pose stems from the fact that smartphones, and more specifically iPhones, have only existed for around 11 years. The lack in quantity of research has been set by the parameters of the time researchers have had to study them, so only more research is to come as more time is spent with phones in hand.

ASHLEY ZHANG/THE CAMPANILE

The Paly upperclassmen band Romaine performed both covers and original songs at Paly’s latest music festival on Jan. 25 during lunch.

By Kesi Sound & Paarth Sharma Lifestyle Editor & Managing Editor

he first-ever Quadglobe was a smash success, with a lively student crowd and strong, talent-filled performances from some of Paly’s finest artists. Without further ado, here’s our review of each of the jam packed days. Monday: Quadglobe kicked off with freshmen band Luke Mulani, consisting of Bryant Sid, David Snyder, Marina Buendia and Jasper Ahrends. Despite Quadglobe being the band’s first stage performance, it still managed to pull through with an impressive show sure to have pleased fans of the alternative genre. Needless to say, they lived up to the hype, and their performance caused the freshman class to unite like never before. Tuesday: Ever since Oscar’s Band debuted at Quadchella last semester, the group has amassed a huge following. Declared by many as kings of the Paly music scene and the natural successor to Martin from Palo Alto, Oscar’s Band had high expectations going into their sophomore show at Quadglobe this year.

It’s most recent performance, while more abstract than other Quadglobe performances, pushed the definition of music to another level, including revolutionary concepts like the inclusion of food, comedy and random audience participation. For example, Oscar invited three audience members to the stage and asked one to recite Trump’s inauguration speech, another to recite the lyrics to “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump and the last to recite Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech all at the same time. The chaos that ensued had the audience in tears.

Ever since Oscar’s Band debuted at Quadchella last semester, the group has amassed a huge following. For many fans, this year’s performance came out of left field. Most expected Oscar’s Band to break out their tried and true pots, spoons and didgeridoos. However, this year, they opted for a mix of stand-up comedy with planned chaos and interruption. The show can be compared to the likes of Eric Andre and other acts specializing in the art of the unexpected and strange. Oscar’s Band was preceded by senior duo Lia Straight and

Kelsey Lu, who performed a rendition of the song “Strangers” by Hasley. The two took the stage in full force and moved students into a hypnotic clap.

“I loved the way that the guitarists were able to put a unique twist on classic music.” Kasra Orumchian Wednesday: Day three of Quadglobe kicked off with a brief performance from seniors Ole Erickson, Niko Lillios and George Welch. The trio dressed in flannels, blue jeans and straw hats took to the stage to perform a passionate rendition of Rednex’s 1995 hit “Cotton Eyed Joe.” The short performance left the audience fiending for more covers from the group, and one can only hope to see them perform again in our lifetimes. After this opening act, junior band Miles’ Garage, consisting of Miles Schulman, Lucas Washburn, Lucia Amieva-Wang and Leela Srinivasan performed classic songs from the likes of Pink Floyd, the Beatles and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Indie fans were quick to give the band praise, citing the band’s ability to improvise on the guitar and expertly cover 1970s music.

“I loved the way that the guitarists were able to put a unique twist on classic music,” said senior Kasra Orumchian. “Personally, I am a big fan of older music and seeing my fellow classmates play the music I love was a great experience.” Thursday: Thursday featured only one act, the student band Romaine. The band gave listeners exposure to rock music in a style that contrasted the bands before it. Not quite as experimental as Oscar’s Band and not as indie as Miles’ Garage, Romaine’s ability to perform both covers and original works gave them a fun-yet-emotional learning experience. With lead singer senior Emily Tomz, the band also features senior Andrew Huang on guitar, junior Gil Weissman on bass and senior Vijay Sharma on the drums. Friday: For a band making its nonunderground debut, the expectations were set quite high for student band Plastic Flowers. They did not disappoint, as the band, which consists of seniors Benner Mullin and Gabe Cohen, wowed listeners with song after song of rock music, even causing students to engage in a mosh pit at one point. Mullin excelled on the drums, while Cohen provided his vocal talents.

Friday, Feburary 2, 2018

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Hypebeast: The latest fashion frenzy for expensive streetwear Once-criticized culture gains following as Paly students build collections of limited edition clothing inspired by celebrities By Navid Najmabadi Staff Writer

hether you’re scrolling through your social media feed or strolling down the street, there is no missing the latest eye-catching attire. For generations, streetwear has shaped pop culture and been one of the best ways for the youth to express themselves. Many students at Palo Alto High School have embraced the latest trends of wearing, collecting and selling rare and expensive streetwear, which have come to be known as “hypebeasts.” Junior Nick Le, who has developed a passion for “hypebeast culture” ever since he was in eighth grade, said the connotation of “hypebeast” has evolved over time.

“Paly has definitely evolved a lot since the hypebeast craze started spreading last year. Around one-third of the people I see at Paly either wears or has sold expensive brands such as Supreme.”

In the photos above, Nick Le displays his collection of limited edition streetwear . The collecting of such clothing is known as hypebeasting, and has gained popularity at Paly.

“Believe it or not, when I first started getting into sneakers and streetwear, being labeled a hypebeast was a bad thing,” Le said. “It meant someone that lacked their own sense of style and only wore things because of the hype around it. But now I see the term being thrown everywhere and it’s becoming positive.” But why are these brands gaining such a following? Unlike mall type brands that follow a traditional retail model, these elite streetwear companies differentiate themselves by only selling a limited supply of their apparel, making it difficult to acquire such entities, thus artificially driving up prices and demand. For example, the Adidas Yeezy Boost — a hypebeast brand and collaboration sneaker by hip hop

artist Kanye West and Adidas — is a fashionable commodity dropped in different colors each time it’s released. Every batch consists of a limited supply of shoes, typically anywhere between around 4,000-30,000 pairs that can be bought online on a first come, first served basis. The Boost, like many hypebeast brands, is in high demand not only due to its alluring appearance, but also because of its resale value. The resale value on Yeezys can range from $450-1,200. Retailing at $200, waking up early in the morning is no big deal for collectors to prepare against thousands of customers who also hope to score a pair. “The night before they [release], I make sure I have all the billing and credit card information filled out so that no time is

Daniel Rabello

JULIANNA LE/USED WITH PERMISSION

wasted and bots can’t beat me,” junior Daniel Rabello said. “In the morning, I also have Twitter open to get the most recent information from big websites while I sit and refresh.” In general, while people try to

“Believe it or not, when I first started getting into sneakers and streetwear, being labeled a hypebeast was a bad thing.” Nick Le

cultivate their personal sense of style, most are impacted by popular hip-hop artists and athletes

affiliated with a certain brand. Much of the recent success from popular brands of the streetwear industry belongs to celebrities such as Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and J.R. Smith, who recently wore a Supreme arm sleeve in a National Basketball Association game. These celebrities who encourage the flourishing culture of streetwear also push urban youth to follow the trends they set, increasing the popularity of hypebeast brands. Before celebrity endorsements propelled Supreme into the mainstream, the brand’s target audience was skaters. Now, the company has collaborated with Louis Vuitton and is rocked by celebrities, from Paris Hilton to A$AP Rocky. “We see this so prevalent today with people like Kanye, Virgil Abloh, Jerry Lorenzo where

almost everything they associate with will instantly become a big deal,” Le said. One of the main challenges

“The night before they [release], I make sure I have all the billing and credit card information filled out so that no time is wasted and bots can’t beat me.” Daniel Rabello

hypebeast consumers face is refreshing websites fast enough to purchase the items they crave. Since the competition is high, computer softwares known as

“bots” automatically purchase the limited merchandise as quickly as possible to help beat users who attempt to manually buy merchandise. With the help of so many celebrities pushing the hypebeast culture, many people have been able to turn it into a way of life, flipping merchandise for a higher price and doing business with peers or local traders. “Paly has definitely evolved a lot since the hypebeast craze started spreading last year,” Rabello said. “Around one-third of the people I see at Paly either wears or has sold expensive brands such as Off-White, Vlone, Adidas Yeezys or a fan favorite, Supreme.” At the end of the day, fashion trends come and go, but the spirit behind the hypebeast movement seems to be here to stay.

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

SPOTLIGHT Art by Marie Davis

Juvenile

The Campanile explores varying experie

Backstory

hey were smoking in the car, and his friend began speeding on the highway. A police officer tried to pull them over, but his friend decided to outrun the cop. It didn’t end well. The passenger, then a Gunn freshman, was handed his first sentence to a juvenile detention center and fell into an unfortunate cycle: juvenile detention center, probation, a probation violation and a return to a detention center. Ben, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is not yet 18, but he has logged a total of 14 months in juvenile detention, five separate times over the course of the last two and a half years. Ben is one of 55,000 minors who are sent to a juvenile detention center nationally each year. Although intended to protect atrisk youths, many youth detention centers have outdated practices that sometimes result in more harm than good. Even though the purpose of juvenile detention and correction centers is to help minors improve their lives, these facilities often hinder the detainees’ access to education and provide little to no preparation for future education opportunities. Even rehabilitation centers, which are supposed to focus on helping minors return to a healthy lifestyle, can provide inadequate education unless they are private and expensive. Moreover, teenagers entangled in the criminal justice system often come from families who find it difficult to support them, leaving it to offenders’ own motivation and ac-

countability to work their way toward recovery. It can be, and often is, a long road, but not an impossible one.

Effects on the future

omeone with a juvenile crime record might find it harder than they hope to leave that life behind. Having a juvenile record can pose challenges to accessing higher education. Both the Common Application and the Coalition Application, for instance, include a discipline question about whether an applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor, a felony or another crime. “Palo Alto High School is not informed of such court proceedings, unless it was related to a school event or something happened to someone at school,” said College and Career Center counselor Sandra Cernobori. “So we just say, ‘we can’t answer this because we don’t know.’ Or if we know, we say what we know. Typically an administrator writes a line.” In addition, many college applications also ask whether an applicant ever faced a disciplinary violation at school related to academic or behavioral misconduct that resulted in probation, suspension, removal, dismissal or expulsion. Typically, a College and Career Center counselor, the applicant’s teacher advisor and the applicant each are asked to answer these questions, and

JDAI Eight Core BELIEFS

1. Collaboration between the local juvenile court, probation agency, prosecutors, defenders and other governmental entities, as well as community organizations, including a formal partnership to cooperatively plan, implement and assess detention reforms.

the applicant is given the opportunity to provide an explanation for the violation. Misdemeanors are supposed to be removed from a person’s criminal record, leaving a clean slate for students who are 18 during the college application process, whereas felonies remain on their record. When a minor is assigned

criminal background questions to its application. Criminal records are often used as a screening tactic not just for admissions but also as a factor that could aﬀect financial aid or disqualify students from using a federal tax credit. The Higher Education Act of 1965 prevents adults convicted of a misdemeanor or felony from receiving higher education benefits such as student loans or Pell Grants

der to remain anonymous, experienced low standards of education while spending time in the Santa Clara Youth Detention Center. He attended the center in September after being charged with a felony for assault with a deadly weapon; the charge was later determined inaccurate and Adam was charged with a misdemeanor instead. “The school there is technically at the same level [Paly is] at, but it is so easy," Adam said. "It’s middle school math, middle school history, . . I could do this

time in a correction center, they must miss a period of school ranging from a few days to many months and give up other commitments such as a job or a sport. A minor is not required to report their sentence to their school, even if the sentence is for a period of time that may interfere with academics. Ms. Cernobori said such a student would likely be “disenrolled.” All this causes problems if the student has college aspirations. According to a 2010 study, 60 percent of U.S. colleges consider criminal records when accepting students. Eric Godfrey, Vice Provost of the University of Washington, was quoted in The American Prospect magazine as saying that the university has a “high obligation to ensure that this campus is safe,” when asked in 2013 why the university was considering adding

for low-income families. Without these benefits, even students who have been accepted at a school may not have the financial means to attend. But students mired in the criminal justice system also find that their education at the time is hurt. Many incarcerated minors are denied the opportunity to complete or advance their own education even though youth detention centers generally have educational systems in place. In many youth detention centers, the quality of education has proven to be substandard. Many facilities fail to provide the students with the necessary curriculum required by the given state, resulting in failure to receive credit for classes taken. Additionally, when juveniles are placed in the adult system, it is likely that they will receive no education whatsoever. This system makes it increasingly diﬃcult for minors to receive higher education when released. Adam, a current Paly sophomore whose name has been changed at his request in or-

sh-t in a second." Ben, who was placed in juvenile detention in San Mateo County and who also spent time at Camp Glenwood, a site for extended detention and rehabilitation run by the San Mateo Probation Department, also expressed disappointment in the academics provided during his stays. “All the grades are mixed in,” said Ben. “There was one unit for [kids] 16 [years old] and up, and there was one for the little kids [which were younger than 16]. Yeah, they had an education, but it wasn’t really good, at all.” Camp Glenwood is located in La Honda, Calif., a rural setting, and it helps resident youth with education, behavior, family relations and substance abuse. Residents have to be recommended to the camp by their probation oﬃcer; Ben was recommended to attend Camp Glenwood after violating his probation for the fourth time. The camp also teaches the minors to sustain positive interpersonal relationships, while providing counseling for mental health, including meditation sessions. The average commitment time at Camp Glenwood is nine months, and the average daily population is 30 minors. In addition to publicly funded rehabilitation centers like Camp Glenwood, there are private rehabilitation facilities. Families that can aﬀord to send their children to private rehabilitation centers therefore have an advantage over those w h o have

2. Collection and utilization of data to diagnose system problems and proclivities, assess the impact of various reforms and assure that decisions are grounded in hard facts rather than myths and anecdotes. 3. Objective admissions screening to identify which youth actually pose substantial public safety risks, which should be placed in alternative programs and which should simply be sent home.

4. New or enhanced non-secure alternatives to detention targeted to youth who would otherwise be locked up and, whenever possible, based in neighborhoods where detention cases are concentrated. 5. Case processing reforms that expedite the flow of cases through the system, reduce lengths of stay

in custody, expand the availability of non-secure program slots and ensure that interventions with youth are timely and appropriate.

6. New court policies and practices to deal with “special” detention cases, such as violations of probation and failures to appear in court, that in many jurisdictions lead automatically to detention even for youth who pose minimal risks to public safety.

to wait to be recommended to a public rehabilitation center. According to Rep. Tony Cardenas, a Democratic congressman from Southern California, seven out of 10 children who spend time at a rehabilitation center will not end up in prison or court. Kids who are sent to detention centers face tougher odds – seven out of 10 are likely to return to prison as adults. Juvenile detention also affects individuals long after their school years. Many delinquent youths with a history of significant trauma or loss, limited social support, limited adult guidance or limited academic success are at risk for behavioral problems in adulthood, according to a study led by Karen Abram, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University. The study initially surveyed 1,800 individuals who had served time in juvenile detention, and reconnected with them five and 12 years later. During those check-ins, the investigators looked for patterns among the participants in areas like educational achievement, independent living, criminal activity, substance abuse, parenting activities, gainful activities and relationships. The study found that individuals have trouble steering their life back on track after being released from juvenile detention. "Involvement in the juvenile justice system can lead to a downward spiral that is diﬃcult to reverse," Abram said in a university news release. Only one-fifth of the males and one-third of the females had a full time job or were enrolled in school 12 years later. Only half of the participants had a high school degree or equivalent, according to the study. Unfortunately, family wealth is also a large indicator of future success. Upper- and middle-class children usually do not need to worry as much about facing the consequences that are a harsh reality for lower-class minors. Financially secure families may be able to aﬀord treatment, time at private rehabilitation centers, therapy and other helpful recovery tactics.

Affecting Family Life

or many of these incarcerated students, family members are a crucial support system in the struggle to help their loved one recover from past mistakes. However, for some students, their families are part of the problem. Studies have found that the lack or absence of guidance from parental figures can lead to delinquency problems from a young age. For example, when parents voice threats that lack sincerity, children gain control by failing to obey their parents’ instructions. Also, physical punishment has proven to be ineffective, usually resulting in a non-compliant child. As families have an enormous amount of influence on their children’s manners, values and upbringing, they can also be a large factor in the child’s future success and improvement. According to the CEO of the Youth First Initiative, Liz Ryan, “ W e

7. Persistent and determined attention to combating racial disparities, including careful study to identify and specific strategies to eliminate bias and ensure a level playing field for kids of color. 8. Intensive monitoring of conditions of confinement for youth in secure custody to ensure that detention facilities are safe and appropriate care is provided. Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

SPOTLIGHT

e Justice

Text & Design by Vivian Feng & Lucy Nemerov

ences within the juvenile justice system

1920 Probation is established

1899 First juvenile court in U.S. Established

1974 JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELIQUENCY ACT ENFORCES SEPERATE JUSTICE SYSTEMS FOR Juveniles and Adults

1959 United Nations adopts the Declaration on the rights of the child.

1930 U.S. children’s bureau investigates dangerous juvenile prisons

1967 THE SUPREME COURT DECIDES THAT JUVENILES HAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF DUE PROCESS.

at a rehabilitation center will not end up in prison or court.

I could understand what they were going through and they could understand what I was going through,” Sam said. “We had a lot of group therapy sessions on weekends and honestly, talking with them motivated me to go above and beyond. At another facilities, family visitation is rare.” Sam also has close family members who suﬀer from addiction. “Their past experiences allowed them to be more sympathetic than some of my friends’ parents,” Sam said. “I accepted their decision of sending me away because I know they understand and just want the best for me.” In these cases, parents who have experienced substance abuse issues may be better equipped to assist their child in an eﬀective and more empathetic manner. Recovered substance abusers who have experienced addiction understand the struggle behind recovery, something a majority of people could never fully

Top Juvenile Crimes in California

(National)

(Excluding national offenses)

• Forgery • Marijuana • Sexting • Weapons • Assault and battery

Arson Robbery Vandalism Motor vehicle theft Disorderly conduct Liquor laws Burglary Other

Source: OJJDP

Source: Tony Cardenas

know from research that when young people are in contact with their families, they’re going to actually do much better.” Research has shown that the rate of recidivism is consequently lower for incarcerated minors with close family ties. Youth detention centers can have worsening eﬀects on juveniles as children separated from their families for long periods of time have less support and therefore are more likely to return to the detention system. Sam, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is living proof of this phenomenon, as his family’s support motivated him to improve his life while at Muir Wood Teen Treatment Facility, a private rehabilitation center. A former Paly student, Sam attended the center this year after being charged with several minor misdemeanors. “Having family contact did help a lot because

1985 LOUISIANA CREATES A "BOOT CAMP" TO REHABILITATE JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

Juvenile Arrests by Offense

7 out of 10 minors who spend time

1988 JUVENILE EXECUTION RESTRICTED

relate to. According to the Muir Wood Teen Treatment Facility website, the program highly values family involvement. Families take part in weekly family therapy sessions. As the program only treats 10 boys at a time, the directors are available to facilitate eﬀective and meaningful meetings. Every Saturday, families also take part in a group family program, featuring guest lecturers and ending with a group therapy session. This high-end treatment facility is equipped with psychologists and therapists, giving families generous resources to help their child rehabilitate. However, Sam claims it cost his family upwards of $1,200 a night, producing an inevitable financial issue for many families. Obviously, most incarcerated juveniles do not have access to private rehab professionals or the opportunity to meaningfully speak with their family members frequently. This leaves room to wonder how dra-

matically diﬀerent the juvenile justice system would be if everyone had access to such helpful programs.

National Youth Detention Practices

n order to improve the odds of rehabilitation, more states and counties are adopting the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative ( JDAI), which was launched with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the 1990s. Its goal is to relieve dependency on local confinement for youth pending trial. JDAI operates in nearly 300 counties nationwide, leading to dramatic declines in youth detention populations through a model rooted in eight core foundations. In 1982, JDAI began its demonstration phase. Five pilot

sites were opened to implement the eight core interrelated elements in their reform strategy. Initially, they produced mixed results, but after the second year, two of the pilot sites — one in Oregon and one in Illinois — along with two replication sites — including Santa Cruz County — recorded significant success, each reducing detention rates by more than 50 percent over the course of 10 years. The goal of JDAI is to reduce the number of youth they commit to state juvenile correctional facilities and other residential placements by intervening at the detention phase. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency in An Examination of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative: Policies, Practices and Sustained Reform reports that “placement into a locked detention center pending court significantly increases the odds that youth will b e found delinquent and committed to corrections facilities and can seriously

damage their prospects for future success.” Across all sites reporting, commitments to state custody were down by more than 43 percent in 2011 from the sites’ preJDAI level. Data from the 2014 JDAI progress report shows that participating jurisdictions admitted a total of 59,000 fewer youth to detention in 2012 than in the year prior to launching JDAI, a drop of 39 percent. JDAI is also generating substantial savings for taxpayers. Since JDAI decreases the number of youth that attend JDAI correction sites, jurisdictions avoid costs for the construction and operation of secure detention facilities. According to a 2014 report, 56 JDAI sites have closed detention units or whole facilities as a result of smaller detention populations, reducing their detention capacity by a combined total of 2,050 beds, which translates to an estimated cumulative savings of roughly $143.5 million per year. Overall, outdated practices and financial unfairness act as determining factors in the likelihood of success after rehabilitation. Despite these common obstacles, when minors are motivated to improve their lives, recovery is certainly attainable. “If there’s anyone reading this who has a problem, whether it be substance abuse or something else, it will never benefit you positively,” Sam said. “You might get a small amount of fun from it, but at the end of the day, it will lead you down a dark path. It’s all about maturity and realizing if you keep doing what you’re doing, your life could end up the opposite of what you want.”

KEY No minimum age Age 10 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14 Age 15 Source: OJJDP

Minor Transfer Age To Adult Courts by State

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Column: Life Deep-rooted holiday tradition has no scientific basis hacks for Paly Custom of using rodents to predict weather persists despite lack of evidence supporting accuracy freshmen By Bernie Koen

A By Edward Kim Senior Staff Writer

Get to know your teachers In the beginning, you may think that your teachers are scary demons who solely exist to ruin your chances from getting into [insert Ivy here] by giving you unthinkably low grades. They stand intimidatingly at the front of the class, scolding children who dare take their phones out. However, outside of class, these teachers turn into friendly mentors; use them for help on academics, life advice or even just casual conversations about college admissions. In two years’ time, you’ll need these skills to ask your teachers for a letter of recommendation for college. Practice these skills now so they won’t copy and paste your name into a recommendation letter! Surviving Flex Let’s be honest, you’ve used Flex productively maybe 50 percent of the time, at max. The other 50 percent of the time is spent leaving early to go home (shhhh… don’t tell admin), hanging out with friends in the MAC or watching movies in the MRC. And, after four years of both Flex and Tutorial (Flex’s predecessor), I can honestly say nothing has changed from the unproductivity I had several years ago. If you do want to use Flex productively, make sure to understand all your teachers will be here, so this is the best time to catch up, ask them questions or take make-up exams. Clubs Club Day may seem daunting, but behind the tables are a group of people just as desperate as you to either find a group of friends, boost a resume or find a fun extracurricular activity. Go around and talk to the different people at the booths; they will have a sales pitch and try to make you feel welcome. And although the posters and trophies pose a daunting spectacle, these people were once underclassmen like you. Take their advice. Take the jump and join a club. The activities section of the Common App will thank you later. Publications Similar to clubs, publications are the main news reporters of Paly. Ranging from the Paly Voice, our online news source, to arts and culture magazines such as C-Mag, the Beginning Journalism class presents a great opportunity for students to delve into the world of journalism. From here, you get to choose which community you want to join for the next two or more years. Do you want to be in the midst of a highly-competitive environment? Join Verde. Looking for an obvious divide among the leadership and other staff writers? Join The Campanile. If none of these appeal to you, start your own. Studying, sleep, procrastination All these are covered in my previous columns. As a quick summary, restore your lack of sleep by taking naps. Procrastinate as much as possible while actually completing the work; this will teach you essential time management skills. Studying goes handin-hand with procrastination: if one goes up the other goes down. However, you will soon find increased procrastination leads to more effective last-minute studying. Take these how you may, but these tips will ensure a successful 3.0+ GPA. Navigating Town and Country Prepare yourself for the shortest food review ever. Lulu’s: cheap, filling, unhealthy. Gott’s: expensive, filling, unhealthy. Trader Joe’s Salads: cheap, not filling, healthy. Sushi House: semi-expensive, filling, unhealthy. Village Cheese House: expensive, filling, healthy. Asian Box (possibly not food): cheap, not filling, healthy. Kirk’s: cheap, filling, unhealthy. Howie’s: cheap, not filling, unhealthy. Tony’s Chicken: expensive, not filling, unhealthy. Pick two out of the three categories, then mix and match.

Staff Writer

s the winter weather drags on and spring slowly approaches, the annual celebration of Groundhog Day today.. Starting in 1887, thousands of people gather annually in Punxsutawney, Penn. to celebrate the tradition of using a groundhog to predict the weather for the following weeks. The rules of the tradition are as follows: if the groundhog sees his shadow, winter will continue for six more weeks, and if the groundhog does not see his shadow, spring will begin before winter has actually ended. Technically, no matter what the groundhog says, there are still officially six more weeks left of winter on the calendar.

“If it’s sunny on that day, that would indicate good weather, so it’s kind of the opposite of what you’d expect.” Nicole Loomis According to Paly Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science Teacher Nicole Loomis, the way the prediction system is set up should be flipped. Loomis thinks the method of predicting fair weather from poor weather and poor weather from fair weather leads to misleading results. “If it’s sunny on that day, that would indicate good weather, so it’s kind of the opposite of what you’d expect,” Loomis said. Loomis said she believes that the predictions are made from something that should not be the indicator of upcoming weather. “It would have to be sunny on that day for him to have to see his shadow, and it being sunny wouldn’t necessarily be any indication of there being more winter,” Loomis said. The origins of Groundhog Day date back to the Christian tradition of Candlemas, which takes place on Feb. 2 each year, since it is the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, the shortest and longest days of the year, respectively. German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania in the 1700s and brought this tradition with them. The Candlemas celebration said that if the weather on Feb. 2 was fair, the following weeks would have poor weather, stormy and

ANTHONY QUINTANO/CC BY 2.0

Members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announce the incorrect prediction of an early spring on Feb. 2, 2013 in Punxsutawney, PA. cold. If the weather was stormy and cold on Feb. 2, the remaining weeks would have moderate, fair weather. This holiday would later be altered to include a groundhog: if the groundhog saw his shadow, it would mean that the weather was fair and if he did not, it was because it wasn’t.

According to the Stormfax Almanac, the groundhog is only accurate 39 percent of the time. Technically, a groundhog is not vital for this weather prediction method, since the weather can be determined to be fair or

stormy without needing to indicate whether or not the furry animal can see its shadow. According to the Stormfax Almanac, an organization dedicated to providing detailed weather reports, news and information, since results were recorded starting in 1887, there have been 103 years where the groundhog did see its shadow and 18 years where it did not see it. Many years from 18871899 went without recording the result. Pennsylvanian weather in February tends to range around 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that the weather tends to be more fair than not, and that the groundhog tends to see his shadow. The furry little animals have not had much success in predicting what the upcoming weather would be like. According to the

Stormfax Almanac, the groundhog is only accurate 39 percent of the time.

“It would have to be sunny on that day for him to have to see his shadow, and it being sunny wouldn’t necessarily be any indication of there being more winter.” Nicole Loomis

Despite this low prediction accuracy, the ritual continues as one that connects to the tradition of Candlemas.

The town of Punxsutawney appears to not have much going on other than this celebration. Its main source of revenue is tourism from Groundhog Day. The police force is made up of 12 full-time officers, and the school district has six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. A movie called “Groundhog Day” was released in 1993, which fictitiously tells the story of a weather reporter who relives Groundhog Day thousands of times. Although the movie has almost nothing to do with Groundhog Day other than the fact that the weather reporter was supposed to cover the groundhog’s prediction on Groundhog Day, the movie gave more publicity to the annual celebration.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SCIENCE & TECH

Repeal of net neutrality threatens Silicon Valley companies A community built on technology and innovation could be compromised by a recently-repealed limits on internet usage An Analysis by Ujwal Srivastava

Staff Writer

ilicon Valley, known as a hub of innovation around the world, has given rise to tech giants such as Google and Apple, and is home to Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and Microsoft. In Palo Alto, we’ve seen companies started in garages turn into billion dollar enterprises, and billion dollar ideas become a reality. All of this is only possible because of one thing: the Internet. Today, people use the Internet constantly for even the tiniest of tasks. It is integral to our society, and life without it is unimaginable. Yet, this very entrepreneurship spirit that made the area famous is threatened. In fact, the Internet as people know it is threatened because of a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December 2017 that scrapped regulations known as “net neutrality.” Net neutrality is the movement to preserve the Internet as a free and equal space by allowing the government to regulate Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast. Essentially, it’s a rulebook for these ISPs that places certain limits on aspects of their business, such as pricing. Junior Grace Lam puts it as “the concept that everyone can have equal access to the internet, regardless of whether they are Amazon or the corner bakery.” Stanford student Debnil Sur said net neutrality serves the crucial function of putting power in the hands of the consumer. “Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should provide equal access to all content, without favoring or blocking certain websites,” Sur said. “This lets consumers choose what they see, rather than placing undue power in the hands of a few telecommunications companies.” Without these regulations, people are at the mercy of ISPs, and there are a couple of major drawbacks to scaling back net neutrality laws. The first looming threat is paid prioritization, otherwise known as the practice of charging higher rates for faster Internet access. According to Lam, in 2015, the

FCC passed net neutrality laws that prohibited ISPs from allowing paid prioritization, but by repealing them, they are once again fair game. “[Net neutrality] gives startups an equal chance to compete on the internet with the tech giants,” Lam said. “With the repeal of net neutrality, ISPs are free to charge for a fast and slow lane which could potentially raise prices for consumers.” Paid prioritization has negative effects on both small corporations and consumers, and is best understood through a hypothetical scenario. Suppose Verizon charged a flat $100 for everyone when net neutrality was in place. Without net neutrality laws, this is no longer mandatory. The company is free to charge a “deluxe lane” for $150, and a “mediocre lane” for $100.

Net neutrality is the movement to preserve the internet as a free and equal space by allowing the government to regulate internet service providers. Large companies such as Amazon or Google have no trouble meeting the new price and continuing to get premium service, but small startups and consumers just scraping by are often unable to. Currently, most of the startups in Palo Alto use the internet to market their products and reach new audiences. If, all of a sudden, they were using a slower internet service, innovation could be stifled in Silicon Valley because startups would simply not be able to compete with large corporations who could get their content out faster. According to The San Jose Mercury News, paid prioritization has been likened to a “digital toll-road” for delivery trucks. Imagine that a large-scale chain retailer such as Walmart is allowed to go at 75 miles per hour because they can afford it, but your local mom and pop shop can only go at 40 miles per hour. Once again, the smaller retailer will have no chance of keeping up with the already well-established companies. To make things worse,

PHOTO BY JON FINGAS/CC BY-SA 2.0

The repeal of net neutrality constricts service providers such as Verizon and AT&T by placing limits on aspects of their business. this discrepancy is only possible because laws banning such practices have been repealed, making a once-level playing field uneven. The second major concern surrounding the repeal of net neutrality regards the power of ISPs to block or, in extreme cases, censor content. “Another part of net neutrality is freedom on the internet and protection from censorship,” Lam said. "One of the biggest concerns is that with the repeal of net neutrality, ISPs could potentially block certain content, violating the freedom of the Internet.” As The New York Times explains, net neutrality has been referred to as the First Amendment of the Internet because of the valuable protections it provides in ensuring the freedom of speech on the internet.

The repeal of net neutrality poses a large threat for everyone, but Palo Alto and the Silicon Valley as a whole is uniquely posed to be affected the most. Add to this a 2015 FCC report, which shows that nearly 50 percent of Americans only have a choice between two ISPs and a Vox article that details that four

ISPs — Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable — account for around 60 percent of internet subscriptions; it becomes clear that there is a oligopoly in the ISP market. However, it is more concerning the power to control the information of the masses lies in the hands of the few. Furthermore, in a time in which news media has come under fire, a monopolistic approach to delivering news only harms the reputation of journalism. However, there are some benefits to the repeal. According to Sur, instead of punishing all ISPs regardless of their actions, the repeal allows companies who are behaving honestly to be unscathed. “Currently, regulation is preemptive,” Sur said. “The benefit of repeal is that it alters the regulation to after-the-fact: the FCC will take action if they see anti-competitive behavior. It's like shifting the justice system of the Internet from guilty until proven innocent to innocent until proven guilty.” This line of reasoning is what more critics of net neutrality point to. They wish for a more “probusiness” attitude. Led by Ajit Pai, the chairman of the FCC, former Verizon lawyer and ardent defender of ISPs, one of the most prevalent arguments of the net neutrality critics is that claims of supporters are hypothetical and that net neutrality

Increased use of Apple products in schools potentially a distraction

Tech companies' dominant roles in education changes dynamic in classrooms instead of lined paper. For students like junior Kenzo Morabia, this implementation has been useful; Morabia said the problems do not lie within the computers, but rather the students. “[The technology] gives students variety of options and allows students to further enhance their education,” Morabia said. “It provides students with more information and is much more convenient than other research tools such as a textbook. They can potentially become distracting, especially when students abuse it and use technology for other purposes than the class.”

STOKPIC.COM/CC0

The intersection of technology and education has controversial effects on classroom learning.

By Kiran Misner

Sports Editor

t’s the 20th century. Students take notes with paper and pencil as the teacher lectures, writing down key points on the chalkboard. Student freedom is limited, and the teacher and textbook are essentially the only two sources of knowledge. Fast forward a few decades, and a technological revolution has changed American culture. Teachers now use a variety of teaching methods, from lecturing to class discussion to showing videos. Learning habits changed too; students now take notes on computers and use Google products and applications to find information and work more efficiently. Education has since blended

learning with technology, and much of this change can be attributed to companies like technology giant Apple, which creates a majority of the devices students learn on, such as iMacs, iPads and iPhones. It seems as if these wholesale changes are viewed as almost all beneficial; however, two of the major stockholders in Apple — the California Teachers Pension Plan and the California Teachers Union — are asking Apple to consider the subversive effects of their products in classrooms. In a letter to Apple, the union challenged the tech giant to insert protections against bullying, distractions in class and other distractions and problems they found within Apple products used in classrooms. Apple has not publicly commented on the matter.

A loyal customer of Apple products as well as a school heavily involved in the education market, Palo Alto High School is having a similar debate as to whether having technology in class is useful.

School no longer looks the same as it did. Teachers now use a variety of teaching methods, from lecturing to class discussion to showing videos. In classes like Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES), teachers want to make the class paperless and have been using electronic drives in place of binders and documents

“[The technology] gives students variety of options and allows students to further enhance their education.” Kenzo Morabia In contrast to classes like APES, English teacher and Instructional Leader Shirley Tokheim has implemented a nodevice policy in her classroom, unless students have free time in class to write. She says she has seen concrete results in her classroom that have better allowed students to learn effectively. But this discussion may be a conversation that is happening too late. Twitter user Xavier Maxwell Malina compared the necessities of Apple’s technology to “trying to de-introduce coffee at this point.” Computers and devices have become a staple in the lives of both students and teachers, and by taking them away, schools risk losing many of the advantageous tools that computers bring to the table.

harms small ISPs. Both these arguments are simply false. The Verge reports that in May 2014, Netflix accused six ISPs of throttling their content, and in June 2017, Verizon was found guilty of throttling Netflix content a second time, a direct violation of net neutrality. In 2007, Comcast was also caught throttling content of their competitors, while Comcast-owned channels were unaffected.

“One of the biggest concerns is that with the repeal of net neutrality, ISPs could potentially block certain content, violating the freedom of the Internet.” Grace Lam In addition, the Free Press reports investments in internet companies are up from 2015 (when net neutrality laws were passed), signaling that the laws have had no negative effect in stifling businesses. Lastly, several small ISPs have expressed support for net neutrality laws because they make sure that larger ISPs can’t use dirty tactics to push them out of the market. The country is currently in a very precarious position and faces

a highly uncertain future. Sur reflects this sentiment. “It's ultimately unclear what the real effects of repeal are or will be,” Sur said. “Smaller businesses could have slower online traffic and therefore lose sales. In turn, consumers may be functionally restricted to outlets that can afford to pay for fast internet. Ultimately, it'll depend on the intent of mega-corporations — which can be a scary thought.” While the monstrosity known as paid prioritization has not become mainstream yet, it’s this lack of clarity and reassurance causing widespread panic. The power of the most powerful tool we know, the internet, lies in the hands of a few corporations. The repeal of net neutrality poses a large threat for everyone, but Palo Alto and Silicon Valley as a whole is uniquely posed to be affected the most. The startup culture we are known for is under attack, which is why a multitude of large tech companies such as Google and Facebook have openly called for net neutrality laws. Most recently, 50 senators have endorsed legislation to reinstate net neutrality laws, but this bill would still have to pass through a Republicanmajority House and be signed by President Donald Trump before it becomes law. The battle to preserve the Internet will not be an easy one, but it is an important one.

Influenza season reaches its height

Widespread disease affects thousands By Ethan Nissim

Staff Writer

nfluenza outbreaks have almost always been a part of American history, dating back to a 1793 breakout in Vermont that affected over two million people. Some, such as the breakouts in 1918 or 2009, have been especially deadly, often coinciding with the emergence of formerly unknown strains of the virus. In 2009, the H1N1 virus appeared for the first time, causing one of the most dangerous flu pandemics in the history of the country. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the flu is as American as apple pie. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has stated in the past that declaring the year’s flu season an epidemic is an almost annual occurrence. That being said, the current flu season has proven especially dangerous. According to the CDC, every state except for Hawaii is experiencing widespread disease. This makes it the busiest week for flu symptoms since the devastating 2009 outbreak, when the World Health Organization (WHO) issued their first ever declaration of a “public health emergency of international concern.” Warning signs started to appear once Australia — whose flu season starts a few months before the American season due to the seasonal differences in hemispheres, and is often used to predict which strains will be most prevalent — announced that the year’s chosen vaccines were only 20 to 30 percent effective against the most common strain of the year, the H3N2 strain of Influenza A. During the production of the vaccines for this season, the virus mutated in an unavoidable fash-

ion, dramatically lowering the efficacy of the inoculation. Despite initially optimistic predictions for the season, 2017-18 is closely mirroring the 2014-15 flu season, in which the same strain had yet to peak in virality towards the end of January. This season is also complemented by the H1N1 strain of Influenza A, an especially dangerous combination because H3N2 is incredibly dangerous for the elderly or extremely young, whereas H1N1 is very easy for a school-

According to the CDC, every state except for Hawaii is experiencing widespread disease. age child to contract. The season’s much-discussed danger started manifesting itself early on in the year. In New York, more than 1,600 people have been hospitalized due to the flu in the last fifteen days. According to CDC Influenza director Dan Jernigan in a press briefing midJanuary, the next week or two represents the peak of the season. “We’re at the peak of it now,” Jernigan said. “We’ll probably see it go below the baseline in several months.” Despite the low efficacy rates of vaccines, the CDC still recommends everyone get a flu vaccine if possible. The widespread rate of illness (6.3 percent visits to a health care provider being for a flu-like illness between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, almost three times the annual average) means any form of protection is valuable. Flu vaccines can be received from any Sutter Walk-In Care site in the Bay Area, including the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Palo Alto Center.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SCIENCE & TECH

2000

ADDERALL THE PILL FOR ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS? ART BY MARIE DAVIS

TEXT & DESIGN BY SAMANTHA HWANG

DESIGN BY GRACE KITAYAMA This edition featuring:

Nick Zhao so much. Then I would experience a lot visits.” Loftus said. of body shaking, but now I have it under There are guidelines when to use and control.” not to use a stimulant medication, Loftus Besides having the typical side effects said. as shaking, Nancy also said her appetite Despite Nancy’s casual attitude towards is supressed. On a typical day when tak- taking the drug, she said it has made a ing Adderall, she said she will eat a small great impact in her daily life. It affects her breakfast and will not eat anything else for sleeping patterns, and causes occasional the rest of the day until dinner. shaking which can lead to a series of car“I guess I could see myself doing this diovascular diseases which can be deadly. for the rest of my time in school, be- Nancy takes these side effects very lightly. cause that’s when you need to work on In addition to this, Paly health technician the most focus oriented tasks to do. It’s Jennifer Kleckner advises students to avoid ootropics, just something to aid me. If I didn’t have this medication at all costs. better known it I would be okay, it “I would never as “smart just helps me recommend, or drugs,” are prescribed out,” Nancy even suggest to patients with Attention Dependence is a physiological said. to anyone Deficit Disorder or Attention D r . that they can Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. thing whereas addiction is safely use a However experts warn taking them is a J u a n i t a p s yc h o ac not-so-smart choice. Adderall, Ritalin Loftus a psychological. tive medicaand Phenibut, to name a few, can cause pediatrifrom tion such as a long list of life-threatening side effects, cian said these without ranging from anxiety and depression all Kaiser however, having been asthe way to cardiac arrest. “Taking a stimulant when it has not sessed, given a prescription appropriate According to addictioncenter.com, approximately 16 million prescriptions were been prescribed is illegal. It is dangerous. for them given an honest reporting of written for Adderall in 2012 — triple the A person taking this medication without symptoms, and being monitored,” Klecka prescription may have underlying heart ner said. “Your mind is too precious. Don’t amount in 2008. While the drug has many benefits to disease or other chronic medical condi- you think, to treat Adderall as though it’s those with ADD and ADHD, nootropics tions and he or she risks having deadly nothing more than taking Tylenol, which can have a detrimental effects, creating a side effects: heart arrhythmias (which can by the way can also be misused with serislew of cardiovascular issues, such as heart cause death), seizure and psychotic events. ous consequences.” However despite the life threatening attacks and heart palpitations. Adderall Interaction with other medicines a person is also extremely addictive and is easy to might be taking can lead to life threaten- side effects of nootropics, they can also help ing events.” Loftus said. many patients with ADD and ADHD. build up tolerance to. So far Nancy has not experienced too Junior Elizabeth Rauner-Swann said she Despite these unpleasant potential side effects, the drug is used recreationally by many negative side effects from the drug, was diagnosed with ADD her freshman many students because Adderall can sup- and has not had a negative experience year and has been taking Adderall daily press appetite, increase focus, increase overall, but Nancy said there are exter- since. Every morning, she said she takes a athletic performance and help users stay nal pressures that makes her everyday life slow-acting pill to help her focus the whole more difficult. school day and later takes a fast-acting pill awake. “Even though nothing bad [has hap- to help her focus on extracurriculars and “The chemical composition of Adderall is amphetamine, [which] is no different pened], one of my friends reached out homework. After receiving her diagnosis and prethan methamphetamine, a street drug like to the person that I was buying Adderall cocaine,” said emergency care physician from and she told him, ‘[Nancy] is addict- scription, she said she has seen a dramatic Brant Blair. “[Nootropics] are all stimu- ed. Do not sell her Adderall’. Later I tried improvement in her grades and overall lants, so they have all the same side effects to talk to him, and he kept leaving me on quality of life due to her ability to focus for and addiction properties. We see these ‘read’ (when someone reads a message but extended periods of time. Having dealt with ADD her entire life, cases very frequently because metham- doesn’t respond) and I was very confused,” phetamine is the top drug of abuse right Nancy said. “I got really mad at my friend she said she has acquired many skills to for doing that because I felt like she was combat the disorder without any type of now.” Blair sees deadly cases of amphetamine just going behind my back and I’m a big medication. girl. I can take Since starting on the medication she overdoses on a care of my- said she has noticed some changes and daily basis, and The chemical composition of self. I ended side effects. For example, when taking cautions stuup finding the medication, she constantly feels an Adderall is amphetamine, [which] is no dents not to a new per- increased heart rate and has noticed her abuse the different than methamphetamine, son to buy blood pressure increase. drug in orit from, and “I did notice a big improvement at first, der to avoid a street drug like cocaine. it ended up and I feel like over time I’ve gotten a little these kinds being cheaper. more used to the medication,” said Raunof dangerous You know what er-Swann. situations. “I definitely have gotten what some Nancy, whose name has been changed they say, when one door closes, another to protect her identity, is a Paly sophomore one opens. That’s the only thing that has people would consider dependent on the said she started taking Adderall around the happened that has created drama in my medicine,” she said. “Like I don’t have to middle of first semester this year. It started life, but that was a social thing, not about take it, but when I don’t I feel really drowsy and sleepy, and I am completely unable to as something she was curious about, and my body” Nancy also said the negative reaction concentrate, and I can’t do any homework after asking around, she was eventually able to find a person with a prescription she typically gets when people find out or work. If I don’t take Adderall one day, about her use of Adderall upset her. it’s like the day is gone.” who was willing to sell 200mg for $60. “ I feel like people shouldn’t treat this With nootropics and stimulants such She said she typically uses Adderall for small household tasks, such as clean- like such a big deal because I feel like as Adderall and Ritalin becoming increasing and for studying so she can focus for there’s this whole [stigma] around it, be- ingly more common, it is important for cause from my personal experience noth- students to know what they can and can extended periods of time. Nancy said she also takes the drug for ing bad has happened to me and when not handle when taking nootropics. This the mood boost and the huge jolt of en- people freak out about it makes me irri- can be especially difficult when the noottated” Nancy said. ropics are not prescribed. ergy that it gives her. Again, Loftus said the medication is “I think there is a difference between deNancy describes the feeling of Adderall as having a similar effect as taking high dangerous and can cause harm no matter pendence and addiction,” Blair said. “Dependence is a physiological thing whereas amounts of caffeine, including similar side how many precautions are taken. “It is never safe to take Adderall or any addiction is psychological. Dependence is effects such as shaking and increased enmedication like it without a prescription. a physiological state where your body is so ergy. “When I take too much, I can feel a A person who takes this medication must used to having that particular substance little bit overwhelmed, but I think I’m be under the care of a physician who is that it starts to have withdrawal symptoms smarter now so I know what’s a good dos- competent in diagnosing attention deficit if you don’t have it. Addiction is your beage,” she said. “So I don’t take as much. disorder and who has prescribed it to that havior is such that you are neglecting imLooking back I used to take such high person and who will monitor that person portant parts of your life in order to feed dosages. It’s crazy I can’t believe I took and check them regularly at doctor office that dependence.”

with The Campanile’s own

Edward Kim

The Campanile: Hey Nick, how has your day been? Nick Zhao: Good, you know, I just smashed... my BC test. Starting the semester off strong. TC: How are you enjoying SSS (Second Semester Senior) lifestyle? NZ: Trying a lot of new things, having a lot of new experiences and taking my time before college. TC: Anything in particular? NZ: You know, exploring some activities with the latest in blockchain technology. I’ve been doing a bit of research on the side to familiarize myself with cryptocurrency. I’m an avid investor. TC: I’ve heard you’ve done some AI as well. Can you talk about that? NZ: Yeah, that’s true. I’m pretty well versed with machine learning, especially in the financial services industry. I’ve done several projects with mentors and look forward to grasping the new tech of AI. TC: Now that you’re done with apps, what are you going to do for fun? NZ: I’m probably going to do a lot of Smash... Bros, you know, like Mario! TC: You’re a gamer? NZ: Yeah, I’m into Fortnite. It’s pretty fun, especially when you’re playing with other friends. You get to expand your social depth, character building. I had to take the weekend off to study, though. Gotta work hard before you play hard. TC: Any plans for next weekend? NZ: Exploring new types of exercises, working the body out. TC: Can you talk through some of them? NZ: Working through the quads and glutes, especially. It’s good for increased stamina. Got to make sure you have a partner when you work out, though. That always makes it more fun than doing it by yourself. TC: Prom just got announced. Any thoughts? NZ: I’m looking forward to it. This is my last year here, so I’m looking to take full advantage of whatever I can. I’ve got several other prom events lined up in my schedule, but I’m excited for Paly’s as well. TC: Wow, seems like you’re a social guy. NZ: I’m in more of a study and work mindset right now, just keeping my head down and grinding. TC: Your phone’s been going off as we speak. How’s your presence on social media? NZ: I’m not really a social media guy. I mainly stick to the Wall Street Journal app, where I get to swipe right and match with articles to keep myself informed about blockchain technology and the latest artificial intelligence news. TC: Truly a man of many talents. Any last words for readers out there? NZ: Just make sure to keep your grades up and be a good student while you can. I took full advantage of any opportunities that came up, which is why I’m where I’m at today. Finally, on a more serious note, don’t forget to spend time with friends and family while you can before you move on for the next four years. TC: Thanks for the wise words and here’s to a great SSS. NZ: No problem.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SPOR S BODY IMAGE IN SPORTS From muscular football players to slender ballerinas, athlete stereotypes have contributed to body image insecurities

verely dehydrated] while playing an intensive sport, you could die,” Longi said. “Another risk is that you are starving your body of major nutrients and of all the energy that you need, so your body starts eating at other places. Habdomyolysis [is] where your body starts eating your muscle tissue because there’s no fat or food [available]. People faint because they don’t have enough energy to sustain them through their sport.” Eating disorders and other unhealthy regimens are typically more prevalent in sports with weight restrictions or classes such as crew and wrestling, according to an ESPN survey. Crew, often referred to as rowing, is a rigorous sport where teams race boats at competitions called regattas. It is divided up into two weight classes — lightweight and open weight, also referred to as heavyweight. The requirements for a female lightweight boat state that each rower must be below 130 pounds, and that the average weight in the boat must be below 125 pounds.

TON WA NG

DES IGN

PE Y

BID AA ADIJ N BY KH DESIG

ART BY MARIE DAVIS

SCVALs

SPORTS SPREAD

2018 Paralympics

AUSTRALIAN PARALYMPIC COMITTEE/CC0 1.0

With the upcoming Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, The Campanile investigates the treatment and lack of media coverage given to athletes with disabilities. PAGES C4-C5

Lightweight males rules require that build. “For football, everyone assumes you each rower is below 150 pounds. According to the ESPN survey on need to be big, but there are different types of big,” Division I feLongi said. “If male athletes, you’re a line32 percent of “Essentially any sport man, you’ll be rowers have had more heavy an eating disorwhere if you were leaner set, muscuder, as opposed or lighter it would be lar either way, to 15 percent of more beneficial to your but just more overall athletes. all-around big In addition, 54 sport, those are the ones as opposed to percent of rowwhere we typically see a receiver or ers recorded issues with body image running back that they knew who tend to be a teammate or issues maintaining leaner. Wide with an eating the ideal body for that receivers are disorder. sport.” typically tall, Cutting lanky but lean.” weight is also Athletes prevalent in Justine Longi who play footwrestling, ball are more where athletes prone to utilizcompete with ing steroids or exercise supplements as other athletes in their weight category. “If you’re normally 150 pounds and opposed to developing eating disorders you wrestle [in the 150 pound class], because the ideal body for football tends that’s going to be difficult because to be larger, according to Longi. “For high school, it’s not as bad as usually somebody that’s bigger and usually at a higher weight cuts to it is in college, [where] the pressures to be in the lower class,” Longi said. be bigger, faster, stronger and everything “Somebody that’s 150 pounds like that,” Longi said. “Over here, the could cut down to [the] 130 kids try to look up protein powders, and pound or 120 pound class, which creatine, more work out supplements is a ton of weight. The nature of as supposed to steroids to gain muscle the sport is that they try to make mass. I’ve worked in high school for five, weight and then right after they six years and I’ve never had any experiences where I had to deal with a high stuff their face.” Different sports place an em- schooler taking steroids.” According to Longi, steroid use can phasis on different body types. While many sports like dancing result in severe acne, rapid weight gain, and wrestling encourage a lean fig- testicle shrinkage and intense emotion ure, others, such as football, promote or aggression, commonly referred to as a bigger more roid rage. Body image is incredibly subjective muscular and personal, and varies dramatically based on the sport and individual, Longi said. Many people don’t feel pressure to conform to the norms of their sport, or experience a more individualized set of issues regarding body image or unhealthy regimens. “As a soccer player, I don’t feel pressure to fit into a particular image because there are a lot of different body types and I feel like it’s pretty diverse,” said sophomore Frida Rivera. “There are really slender players, and there are really muscular players, and they’re all good.” In addition, there are lots of efforts to help dispel self-image issues and unhealthy practices. Sports trainers and doctors are taught how to identify potential red flags that point to eating disorders, steroid use or other potentially dangerous regimens. “We keep a vigilant eye on our athletes,” Longi said. “There are signs that you can see [such as] if people are losing too much weight too fast. But in high school, it’s kind of hard because everyone’s going through puberty, everyone’s bodies are changing. Some people lose weight really fast, some people gain weight really fast, but then we just try and see what’s normal for them. We try and promote healthy diet.” Longi also said the first line of defense is always education. Longi said she attempts to combat unhealthy practices by educating students and athletes on healthy and balanced diets as well as the severe consequences and detrimental effects of eating disorders and steroids. Both Longi and Kao agree dialogue and education are the key to solving issues regarding body image and unhealthy practices. “There should be more dialogue on eating disorders and unhealthy practices,” Kao said. “Even if no one in your group has [body image issues], you should always be cautious. It’s something that no one really wants to publicize about themselves, even to their friends. And especially since most people don’t even know if they have eating disorders or unhealthy habits, so it’s important for people and teachers to be more aware.” If you or someone you know is dealing with body image issues, please call (844) 885 1595 or contact an adult.

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Though Kao said her dance teachers thletes are often crammed into constraining boxes of expectations have never told or intentionally presand restrictions when it comes to sured anyone into losing weight, they their physical appearances and abilities. have occasionally praised some of her They’re supposed to represent the best peers for losing weight or becoming of society: the fastest, the strongest, the slimmer. “It’s the little comments that get to most flexible. They’re expected to complete triathlons, land triple axels and you,” Kao said. “My friend’s [dance] teacher once went up to her and said, look good while doing it. Sports are widely valued for provid- ‘Wow! You look like you lost five ing a means of staying fit, but unrealistic pounds, congratulations.’ Even though body expectations can lead to self-image it wasn’t like she was saying, ‘You need issues as well as unhealthy regimens and to lose weight,’ it still creates an atmosphere that encourages weight loss.” coping mechanisms among athletes. Overall, the small comments made “With most sports, you can picture what the players look like: football by coaches, as well as the notion that beplayers tend to be very big and strong, ing slimmer will aid in getting roles, credancers are pictured as thin and slender, ate an atmosphere that looks favorably swimmers are lean and muscular,” said upon weight loss. According to Paly Athletic Trainer junior Riya Matta. “Almost every sport has a specific body type you associate Justine Longi, athletes who participate in sports that encourage thinness are at a with it.” An ESPN survey that asked 201 greater risk for eating disorders or other Division I women about body image unhealthy practices. “We’re taught to look out for [unfound nearly 70 percent of the athletes surveyed felt pressure to look pretty. This healthy practices in] gymnasts and divpressure is especially prevalent in sports ers,” Longi said. “Essentially any sport like dance, ice skating and cheer, where where if you were leaner or lighter it athletes are judged on their appearance would be more beneficial to your sport, those are the and presentaones where tion, in addiwe typically tion to their “You’re stuck in a room full see issues with athleticism. body image or Accordof mirrors for hours and issues maining to junior hours in a tight leotard. taining the Alicia Kao, a Your friends and your ideal body for former dancthat sport.” er at Dance teachers can see your Struggling Connection entire body, so naturally, with an eatPalo Alto, you want to look good for ing disorder the nature of while parthe sport ofclass.” ticipating in a ten creates an rigorous sport image-centric Alicia Kao is not only atmosphere. detrimental to She said in one’s athletic dance, the focus is entirely on a person’s body and ability, but can also cause a myriad of movements, which is why dancers are severe health issues, according to Longi. “One of the girls at my studio actuoften more conscious of their appearally had an eating disorder while dancance. “You’re stuck in a room full of mir- ing, and no one knew,” Kao said. “She rors for hours and hours in a tight leo- wasn’t doing so great in class, but tard,” Kao said. “Your friends and your people just thought she wasn’t teachers can see your entire body, so nat- trying and that she didn’t deserve to be here. She told me urally, you want to look good for class.” The notion that thinness is the “ide- this after I left [the studio], al” physique is also often promoted by but absolutely no one knew more traditional dance teachers accord- that this was a problem she ing to Kao. Classically-trained ballet was going through at the instructors tend to gravitate toward tall, time. I don’t even think slender figures for lead roles, often over- the teacher knew.” In addition, failure looking those with better technique for those whose figure may allow them to to get an adequate amount of calories look better on stage. “Ballet is supposed to be elegant and or water can result fluid, and there’s an underlying under- in fainting, rhabstanding that if your limbs are slimmer domyolysis and or thin, you naturally look better when even organ failure. you dance,” Kao said. “If you Dance isn’t the only sport where talented athletes are overlooked because of [are setheir figure. In fact, most sports assign their positions based on the typical body seen as ideal for that role, according to rower Matta, junior water polo player Ben Rappaport and junior cheerleader Eva Edzema. In volleyball for instance, setters, the player responsible for setting up plays, are typically the tallest players. Edzema, a former member of the Jordan Middle School volleyball team for three years, said while she never felt pressure to be taller, she wasn’t able to try certain positions because she wasn’t tall enough. “[In volleyball,] positions are sort of determined by [your build],” Edzema said. “I really wanted to be a setter, but I wasn’t tall enough, and the coaches automatically assume that the best setter is going to be the tallest girl, so they don’t even let anyone else try.” While volleyball players can’t change their height, dancers and other athletes may feel pressure to change aspects of their bodythey have some degree of control over, such as their weight, to fit these expectations.

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SCVALs award winners

Paly nominates 32 varsity athletes from the fall season. PAGE C6

Feature

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE NATALIE RENFREW/USED WITH PERMISSION

Rock climbing

Senior Maddie Dong overcomes challenges after accident. PAGE C7

Showcase

PETER GOLD/THE CAMPANILE

Hell weeks

Paly students undergo intense training before competing. PAGE C8

Friday, February 2, 2018

SPORTS REPORT BOYS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Moutain View 1/24, W, 74-32 Paly vs. Menlo Atherton 1/27, W, 57-41 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Wilcox 2/02, 7:45 PM Paly at Homestead 2/07, 7:00 PM

GIRLS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly at Los Gatos 1/19, W, 52-50 Paly vs. Mountain View 1/23, W, 58-37 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Wilcox 2/02, 6:15 PM Paly vs. Los Gatos 2/09, 6:15 PM

GIRLS SOCCER

The Campanile

SPORTS

Boys varsity basketball take first place in division Team remains optimistic for rest of the season and looks to continue their great form in upcoming games By Leela Srinivasan Staff Writer

fter a staggering 14 consecutive wins, the boys basketball team has tightened its hold on the first place position in the league. At the beginning of the season, senior center and forward William Schlemmer said that “the team’s first goal is to go undefeated in league this year.” So far, the team has lived up to the expectation with a league record of 6-0-0. Maintaining such a lengthy winning streak is no easy task, and according to senior shooting guard Jared Wulbrun, it stems from the team’s work ethic in practice. “To be a championship team, we have to come out every night with the same mentality and attack with everything we have,” Wulbrun said. Junior guard Marvin Zou said recent improvements on the court have secured numerous wins for the Vikings. “We have been playing more cohesively, and our seniors have been able to make a lot of successful plays,” Zou said. With several returning players on the roster, the understanding of what is at stake is clearer

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Boys varsity basketball coach Peter Diepenbrock fires up his team during a timeout in a game against Gunn High School that the Vikes won.

than in previous years, according to Wulbrun. “We don’t get rattled as much this year because we have so much experience from all of us seniors,” Wulbrun said. The team was tested early on in the season against nationally ranked teams like Salesian High School, according to Zou. “The toughest teams we’ve

had to play so far this year were the ones in the beginning of the season,” Zou said. More recently, the team has dominated on the court, racking up scores with large margins, such as a 74-32 win against Mountain View High School. The momentum from victories like these should help the team. While it might be easy for

a team to experience overconfidence after defeating numerous opponents and possessing a strong hold on the lead standings, Wulbrun said this team has not had that problem. “We just have to take each game one at a time and not worry about our next opponent,” Wulbrun said. “Just take care of what we need to do to make the CCS

Girls varsity soccer start off 2018 with impressive undefeated run Vikings look to continue their great start to the year with tough opponents ahead in their schedule fielders stayed composed and our forward kept up an incredible intensity the whole game,” Tomz said. “In my four years on this team, we have never beaten Mountain View at their home field, so after this game I couldn’t be prouder.”

RECENT SCORES

Paly at Homestead 1/24, D, 2-2 Paly vs. Los Gatos 1/26, W, 2-1

“I think that now we’re starting to connect better and the team’s coming together a lot better.”

UPCOMING GAMES

Paly at Santa Clara 2/02, 6:00 PM Paly vs. Homestead 2/07, 3:30 PM

Frida Rivera

BOYS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Homestead 1/17, W, 3-0 Paly at Los Altos 1/26, L, 1-2 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Santa Clara 2/02, 3:30 PM Paly at Homestead 2/07, 3:30 PM

WRESTLING UPCOMING MATCHES

Mission San Jose Tournament 2/02-03 TBA Paly vs. Los Gatos 2/07 6:30 PM SCVAL Championships 2/9-10 TBA CCS Championships 2/10-11

Open [Central Coast Section Open Division].” The varsity team will face off against Wilcox High School in a league game tonight at 7:45 p.m. at home. The junior varsity ( JV) team is scheduled to play prior to varsity, and will take on the same opponent in the Peery Center at 4:30 p.m.

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Junior Venus Sandoval scores the only goal against St. Francis in a game which the team won 1-0, giving them three crucial points in league.

By Ujwal Srivastava Staff Writer

any teams strive to perform at a high level and dominate their opponents on a regular basis, but few are ever able to achieve it. However, the Palo Alto High School’s girls varsity soccer team is not like most teams. Through the first seven games of 2018, they are undefeated and have gone 5-0-1 in league play during that stretch. They have also outscored opponents 29 to 10 in those seven games. “I would say that the season

is going pretty well,” said sophomore Frida Rivera. “A lot of the team is new, so it’s made it hard to adjust, but I think that now we’re starting to connect better and the team’s coming together a lot better.” After closing pre-season with a 3-2 record, the Vikings played their season opener at home against Saratoga High School. Two goals by junior Leela Srinivasan helped the team cruise to a 2-0 victory. Next up was Sacred Heart Prep, and they faced a similar fate. An assist and goal by Rivera led the team to a comfortable 4-0 win.

The first away game of the season was on Jan. 10 at Los Altos High School, but the Vikings dealt them a loss, coming out on top 4-2. This victory was followed by a 6-0 thrashing of Santa Clara High School, a 2-2 tie with Homestead High School and a 2-1 victory at home versus Los Gatos High School. However, up next was the daunting challenge of Mountain View. The Vikings hit the road to battle against the then-undefeated number one team in the league. “The best team we’ve played so far is Mountain View,” Rivera said. “They have really good inten-

sity and connect really well.” However, in a hard-fought game, the Vikings prevailed 2-1, led by two goals from junior Claire Moley. “The last few games before Mountain View were a bit shaky, but playing Mountain View brought us a new energy and drive we lacked before,” said senior captain Emily Tomz. “We need to bring that same attitude to the rest of the season’s games.” In addition to playing a solid game from a skills standpoint, the win had an extra kick for Tomz. “Our defenders did a fantastic job shutting down Mountain View offensive plays, our mid-

Coming up next is an away game at Santa Clara (Feb. 2), followed by a home game against Homestead (Feb. 7). The Vikings will look to build on their recent performances, but a few hurdles still remain in the way. For one, despite going undefeated so far, the team will look to become more consistent. “A lot of the times we start a little bit shaky,” Rivera said. “Sometimes we stoop to the level of the competition which can be a good or a bad thing. If our competition is really good, we play really well, but it’s a negative thing if we don’t play well when we’re playing a not-so-good team.” Tomz adds that the team needs to work more on defending as a team and connecting on offense. “We tend to win the ball and lose it pretty quickly after that,” Tomz said. “It’s often a constant back and forth with the opponent and we need to focus on keeping possession and moving the ball all over the field in order to go forward.” Junior varsity ( JV) is also undefeated in its league thus far, solidifying that the future of the girls soccer dynasty is in safe hands.

BOYS LAX UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Palma 3/03, 6:30 PM Paly at Archbishop Mitty 3/07, 3:30 PM

GIRLS LAX UPCOMING GAMES

Paly at Wilcox 2/28, 7:00 PM Paly vs. Leland 3/02, 7:00 PM

TRACK AND FIELD UPCOMING MEETS

Paly vs. Mountain View 3/08, 3:30 PM Paly at Los Altos 3/15, 3:30 PM

SUPPORT PALY! DONATE TO MEDIA ARTS BOOSTERS PALYMACBOOSTERS@GMAIL.COM

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

SPORTS

Boys soccer aims for a successful season after loss to Los Gatos The team, with a previous winning streak of four, must adjust to playing without graduated teammates this year By Kaylie Nguyen Staff Writer

espite the loss of last year’s senior players, the boys soccer team has only lost one match in the league so far, and currently places third in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s top division. “We definitely depended on our seniors last year, but I think we’ve adapted really well,” said junior Kenzo Morabia. “Physically, we’re not really big, but we’ve compensated for that and played around that.”

“I think we have a stronger chemistry as a team as we practice more and more.” Kenzo Morabia Although the team lost 3-2 against Alvarez High School in a preseason tournament game on Dec. 7, it took the following tournament win against Abraham Lincoln High School 2-0 on Dec. 9. The team also won and tied its non-conference games against Sequoia High School 1-0 on Dec. 11 and against Junipero Serra High School 1-1 on Dec. 14.

Following a long winter break, the team started its first few conference games strong, going undefeated for four consecutive games. It won 3-2 against Fremont High School in an away game, 2-0 against Los Altos High School at home, tied 0-0 against Santa Clara High School and won 3-0 against Homestead High School. However, varsity had its first loss in the league with 2-1 to Los Gatos High School on Jan. 19. “[All our games are] important, but I’d have to say the one that as a team we wanted to win the most was [against] Los Gatos,” Morabia said.

“We definitely depended on our seniors last year, but I think we’ve adapted really well. Physically we’re not really that big, but we’ve compensated for that.” Kenzo Morabia Los Gatos is first in the league and is the team’s biggest rival, according to Morabia. Paly will have a shot at redemption when the two teams face off for league points and pride at home on Feb.

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Alex Antunez kicks the ball away from incoming Los Altos High School players. Paly would win the Jan. 10 match with a final score of 2-0. 9. According to Morabia, he hopes to win the rematch against Los Altos for the satisfaction of beating them. “[The last game against Los Gatos] was more of a mentality game,” Morabia said. “We got caught up in a lot of feuds with

the players. We’ll definitely try to play our best [in the next game], but knowing that it’s Los Gatos, hopefully we’ll try even harder.” The team won its match against Mountain View 2-0 on Jan 24 and lost its match to Los Altos 1-0 on Jan 31, making the

team’s conference record 4-2-1. “I think we have a stronger chemistry as a team as we practice more and more,” Morabia said. “I feel like every practice the players are hungry, and the dynamic is definitely changing in a positive way.”

The team will face off against Santa Clara at home on Feb. 2 and against Homestead on Feb. 7 before its match against Los Gatos. Boys junior varsity currently has a conference record of 2-31 and will also face off against Homestead on Feb. 7.

Girls basketball basks in all the winter season’s big wins Chemistry and expertise are responsible for the team’s impressive winning streak that players now hope to continue By Leyton Ho Staff Writer

ith six consecutive victories against Santa Clara twice, Wilcox, Gunn, Los Gatos and Mountain View to close out the first half of the De Anza League season, the girls basketball team (13-5, 7-0) is on a roll and atop the standings. Junior forward Lauren Daniels said the team’s increased chemistry is leading to wins. “I think the team is really starting to play well together through knowing how everyone plays and their strengths and weaknesses and trusting each other,” Daniels said.

“We hope to continue the streak as we go into the second half of the league. We will need to bring all that we have to each game because the other teams know how we play now and will probably adjust their games.” Lauren Daniels With its undefeated start in league, the Vikings have set themselves up to win the league and earn a trip to the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California State Championship (NorCal states), a very prominent

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Freshman Elif Turgut secures the rebound from a Gunn High School opponent in a match which Paly clinched 64-35 on Jan. 13 as one of the game of its six-game winning streak. goal set at the beginning of the season. According to Daniels, the team must continue to maintain a high level of play in order to extend the winning streak. “We hope to continue the streak as we go into the second half of league,” Daniels said. “We will need to bring all that we have to each game because the other teams know how we play now and they will probably adjust their game plans accordingly. We

need to keep being aggressive and physical and go into the second half of league like we are 0-0 in order to continue winning.” One player key to the team’s success is senior guard and team captain Carly Leong. Leong said the team has a target on its backs and needs to stay ready to continue racking up wins. “[We can continue the streak] by working hard every day in practice and being ready for teams

because they are going to give us their best game every single time,” Leong said.

“[We can continue the streak] by working hard every day in practice and being ready for teams.” Carly Leong In the Jan. 9 win against Santa Clara, Leong reached 1,000 ca-

reer points at Paly. Leong was appreciative of her current and past teammates helping her reach the milestone. “It [1,000 points] is awesome,” Leong said. “I just couldn’t have done it without my team over the past 3 1/2 years.” The girls kicked off the second half of league with another win against Santa Clara on Jan. 30. The Vikings won convincingly, 47-29. Daniels identified strong defense as a driving factor for the

win. “I think our defense helped us pull out the win and really helped us even when we were not that calm on offense,” Daniels said. The Vikings take on Wilcox this Friday at 6:15 p.m. in the Peery Center. Daniels said, “We need to work really hard in practice on Wednesday and Thursday in order to prepare to play Wilcox on Friday because that is going to be a really tough game.”

Wrestling, working and winning Domination by team attributed to practice and hard work By Ben van Zyll Staff Writer

ith a recent victory against crosstown rival Henry M. Gunn High School, the wrestling team has had a winning start to the 201718 campaign. Junior captain Andrew Wang has played a role in the team’s success and looks to continue his fine form throughout the remaining events, as displayed through his performances on the mat. “Last week on Thursday Paly beat Gunn at a duel,” Wang said. This victory was the first time Paly’s wrestling team has beaten Gunn in a duel in the past three years. The team also continues to improve with every practice and duel. “The team is doing well and each individual is improving and learning,” Wang said. “The best thing about wrestling is that while everyone does try to bring glory to the team, the whole concept mainly focuses on your progress and victories.” Senior Bryan Tsang credits the team’s success to the good team chemistry and pushing each other to get the best out of one another every day. “The team likes to have

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Varsity boys wrestler Elliot Clark takes down an opponent at practice. friendly competition during practice,” Tsang said. “Then we cheer each other on during meets. It’s a good environment.” However, team chemistry is just one factor in the cog that is the Viking wrestling team. Within every practice, the squad’s work ethic and effort is shown. “We come to practice every day and work hard,” Tsang said. “We do our warm ups, then tumbling, then drills for about an hour. And for the last hour we do mock matches and conditioning,

the hardest part of practice.” As the season concludes, Paly hopes to continue to dominate in wrestling to go as far as possible. Beginning on Jan. 26, the team takes on some of the best wrestlers around in the Midcal Varsity Tournament at Gilroy High School. Girl’s wrestling Central Coast Section (CCS)Championships will be on Feb. 2-3. The Mission San Jose varsity tournament will be on Feb. 2-3. The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals at Los Gatos High School will be on Feb. 9 -10.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

PARALYMPICS

C4 Text & Design by Byron Zhang

n 1984, New Zealand archery athlete Neroli Susan Fairhall became the first disabled athlete to step out of the Paralympics games, which were designated for those with disabilities, and proceed to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics Games. Fairhall, injured from a motorcycle accident which paralyzed her below the waist, proved athletes with disabilities are just as capable as their able-bodied competitors. Although 14 more athletes with disabilities have participated in both the Paralympics and the Olympics since Fairshell’s debut, which brought attention to the Paralympic Movement, disabled athletes still face misunderstandings, biases and challenges from modern-day media.

Seperation from Olympics

ports for athletes with physical disabilities did not emerge on a large scale until the end of World War II, as a byproduct of the massive number of disabled war veterans. In a time where war had ravaged everything, sports became a symbol of nationalism for recovering countries. The Paralympics initially took place in the same time frame as the Olympics. According to the oﬃcial website of the Paralympic Movement, in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries participated in Olympicsstyle events. The series of Olympic games featuring mostly amputees was later dubbed the “Paralympics,” using the prefix “para” to refer to paraplegic. As more athletes with diﬀerent types of disabilities started to join the Paralympics, “para” started to be defined as “parallel” among the public as an event to run parallel to the Olympics. Since then, the Paralympics have replicated the style of the Olympics in terms of format and selection for the team. “The Paralympics are essentially the same format as the Olympics, and it’s an honor to go, because we get to represent the U.S. as a country,” said Amy Watt, a long-jump athlete from Palo Alto who participated in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. “I defi-

The Paralympic Overshadowed a

nitely wanted to go, but it’s based off of my performances at the tryouts. I was able to be selected for the team, and it was obviously a huge honor just to go to represent the USA.” Over the course of three decades, the Paralympics have taken steps to differentiate themselves from the Olympics. Paralympics usually takes place three weeks after the Olympics and athletes with disabilities have to comply with official Olympics rules and cannot use assistance or special equipment, just as if they were to participate in a regular Olympics game. Essentially, “parallel” symbolizes two parallel lines that while similar — can never intersect, representing the Olympics and the Paralympics games, which are identical, but not affiliated with each other. In fact, the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) does not belong to the International Olympics Committee (IOC). “While the Olympic Movement seeks to develop elite sport, logically an exclusive orientation, the Paralympic Movement regards one of its roles as promoting ‘the concepts of health and human rights for athletes with a disability,’ a much more inclusive approach,” former Paralympian Cheri Blauwet said. Since the Paralympics are not associated with the Olympics, it receives far less attention and media coverage than the Olympic games. “The public isn’t as interested in the Paralympics, or not aware of it,” Watt said. “The media caters to what the public wants, so if the public is not really aware of it, then the media probably does not really want to report much on it [on television].” The Paralympics demonstrated minimal presence on the primary platform for sports coverage: television. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics game, commercial broadcasters in Australia refused to air the Paralympics without charging fees. As a result, the television broadcasting arrangement of the Sydney Paralympics were not settled until March 2000, when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which was the state broadcasting station, took on the job. Additionally, unlike the 24-hour free coverage of the Olympics, ABC only aired short-period

“[The Paralympics] definitely does not receive enough attention as the

Olympics does. I have never been able to

find it [on television].” Amy Watt

highlights and ceremony. The reluctant attitude of broadcasting channels has not wavered. According to Watt, recent Paralympics games, such as the Rio Paralympics, were broadcast online, and unlike the Olympics, were not subjected to copyright protection. The Pyeongchang W inter Paral ympics are approaching in March, but with the absence of Russian athletes and the introduction of North Korean competitors, the Olympics have experienced diﬃculties in attracting public attention. As of Jan. 21, approximately a week before competitions, the Pyeongchang Olympics have only sold 69 percent of its tickets, according to American television channel CNBC. As such, the situation for the Paralympics does not seem optimistic. “I have not watched a lot of winter Paralympics games, mostly because they are not aired on television, so it’s kind of hard unless you go,” Watt said. “If it is aired, it definitely does not receive as much attention as the Olympics does, because I have never been able to find it.” According to data collected by researchers at the University of Calgary, from 19552012, there are 10,487 visible articles about the Olympics on The New York Times but only 246 articles regarding the Paralympics.

Stereotypes

he separation from the Olympics has also made Paralympic athletes the target of stereotypes. Many media outlets continuously use terms such as “supercrips” or “suﬀering” to describe Paralympic athletes. In reality, not every athlete runs on machines, and not every athlete suﬀered during his or her childhood. “I think at least personally, sometimes people see that all

the Paralympians have disabilities and kind of focus on [their disabilities], and don’t really focus on the work they put in,” Watt said. “They do kind of glance over that, like oh well, you have one leg, and you’re running, that’s amazing, but I think it’s even more amazing on top of that, they’re able to train and get to the level that they are.” Watt is one of many examples of athletes who do not fit the stereotype. Although having only one arm, she was raised in the same fashion as other children. Watt said her mother signed her up for soccer and dance teams, and in her sophomore year, she joined Henry M. Gunn High School’s track and field team. Watt said she always thought that she was as good as her peers, and that

The Campanile

Friday, February 2, 2018

PARALYMPICS

cs Predicament: and Undervalued having one arm did not hold her back from joining and excelling at competitive sports. According to Watt, for people who do not have a disability, it is diﬃcult to conceptualize the actual experiences of Paralympic athletes. “I have one hand,” Watt said. “If I do something, then other people will say wow, that’s so diﬃcult, it’s amazing that you can do it, but for me, since I’ve grown up only knowing how to operate without an arm, it doesn’t seem hard. People see that things they think are hard. For me, I do things without my arm every day, and they don’t seem that hard for me. And sometimes there’s more focus on aspects like having one hand, over just working

hard and having a talent.” According to the study done at the University of Calgary, negative terms relating to disabilities such as “injury” and “disabled bodies” have been used for more than 200 times in articles about the Paralympics. Statements such as “the Olympics is where heroes are made. The Paralympics is where heroes come” has appeared in New York Times articles and books that further distinguish Paralympic athletes from Olympics athletes, diminishing the Paralympians athletic accomplishments, Watt said. Consequently, the media’s portrayal and emphasis on the disability of athletes have influenced public perceptions of the Paralympics. Watt said she thinks Paralympians were treated diﬀerently than Olympians in some regards. When Watt stayed at the Olympic village in Rio, volunteers frequently asked her whether she needed special assistance. “Although that is a nice act, oftentimes we know how to deal with our disabilities and do things without help,” Watt said. “I guess that while they’re working with Olympians, they wouldn’t ask to do the same thing.”

Contrary Views

espite stereotypes, misunderstandings and the lack of attention towards athletes with disabilities, the media has also paid large eﬀorts for rapid improvements in the Paralympic Movement. The numbers of countries participating in summer Paralympics have grown from 68 in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics to 159 in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. For the Winter Olympics, although the increase

Design by Kiran Misner Neil Kapoor

in the participation rate is more gradual than the summer games, the 2014 Sochi Paralympics still accumulated nine more participating countries than the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympics. In fact, the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics was the mostwatched event for disabled athletes in the history of the Paralympic Movement. Additionally, according to media monitoring platform iSienta, Australian news media coverage of the 2004 Paralympics games in Athens published approximately 19,666 stories through radio, television, print and online media outlets. This number grew to 31,986 instances of coverage for the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, and then more than doubled in the 2012 London Paralympics games, reading a staggering 63,343 publicized stories. Although media outlets have heavily emphasized the disabilities of Paralympic athletes when it comes to reporting, some reporters said there will be an unavoidable diﬀerences between reporting about the Paralympics and mainstream sporting events. “We’re working with our athletes to sell a product, to open the door to what we do,” an IPC media and communication team manager said in a project done by researchers from the University of Sydney. “We want you [the athlete] to talk about how you got here, what this means to you. We don’t want people watching at home who have just watched football to then turn over to the Paralympic Games and hear a Paralympic athlete giving the same rehearsed interview that a footballer just did.” Similar viewpoints suggest in order to cater to the interests of the general public, there have to be unique qualities in a Paralympic athlete to capture audiences’ attention; therefore, it is hard to dodge the heavy emphasis on the athletes’ disabilities. “Mostly I think [the Paralympics] are really cool opportunities for both athletes and viewers,” said junior Annie Tsui. “I think Paralympians are much more athletic and have much more commitment than most Olympians. The sheer dedication it must take is amazing, and it’s really unfortunate that these athletes often get overlooked. If you look

at what they are really doing, Paralympians are just so impressive, and I really think they should garner more support for it.”

Reforming Public Attitudes

or many athletes, the most important aspect of the Paralympic Movement is that it carries the responsibility and the significance of broader social and political movements for people with disabilities, which creates multiple dilemmas for mainstream media that cannot be solved in a short period. On one hand, media platforms have to ensure exposure to the Paralympics games. On the other, they need to avoid sensitive topics such as stereotypes. “I think there is a fine line between noticing [the disabilities] and just putting all the emphasis on it,” Watt said. “There is a grey area on it. Noting the disability is beneficial in some senses, because we have had to work hard to overcome the disability, but just the disability on its own doesn’t define what we can and cannot do.” In light of the increasing popularity of the Paralympics games and the momentum for rights of people with disability, the idea of integrating the Paralympics into the Olympics has emerged. Although appealing, such suggestions will bring about more complications between the IPC and the IOC, since the two international sports committees have been running parallely for over half a century. In the end, Watt said it is necessary to pay attention to the upcoming big event. According to the IPC, the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics will take place between March 9-18, about two weeks after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic games. The event will include up to 670 athletes, a 24 percent increase from the 539 athletes that competed at Sochi in 2014, including a 44 percent increase of female athletes. To watch live-streamed Pyeongchang Paralympic games, visit https://www.paralympic. org/live-sport from Feb. 9 -25.

“We don’t want “what an people to hear a awkward Paralympic athlete situation. giving the same blah blah rehearsed blahblah interview that a bhabalalafootballer did.” lalalala.” International balala

Paralympics Committee

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SPORTS

Students look to community for sporting-related jobs From coach to referee, middle and high school athletes are learning leadership by getting involved in local sports programs

SHANNON ZHAO/ THE CAMPANILE

Senior Kasra Orumchian explains new plays to Jordan Middle School seventh grade basketball players.

By John Tayeri

Staff Writer

f you attend Palo Alto High School, chances are you have played sports at least once in your life. Whether you are obtaining scholarships to Division I schools for playing soccer or if you played Little League when you were 8, sports have likely had an impact on your life in one way or another. However, we tend to disregard the people who work behind the scenes. We grew up as the ones playing sports, but what about the referees, the ball boys, the coaches and the team managers? Although adults typically take these jobs,

high-schoolers in the area have taken the opportunity to work in sports-related fields as well. The substantial amount of children playing sports in the area creates numerous job opportunities for teenagers over weekends or after school. There seems to always be a need for referees, especially in soccer, one of the most popular sports in the area. Santiago Garcia, a sophomore attending Menlo High School, has played soccer all his life. Along with many other teenagers, he referees soccer games in his spare time. “I got started into refereeing because some of my friends doing

it told me it was an easy way to make money,” Garcia said. According to Garcia, he makes up to $35 per game, depending on the team playing and the location.

Students who coached have gained a lot of management skills. “It was an easy way to make money at such a young age," said junior Dylan Wilde, who is also a referee. "It was fun that I got to make money doing something that I was interested in." Although anybody can become a referee, it is more difficult

to perform the task if one has no experience playing soccer. “When refereeing, there are many scenarios where your knowledge of the game helps you determine what the call is, such as advantages and fouls,” Wilde said. Aside from money, refereeing gives people a chance to gain leadership, work with others and learn more about soccer. “Working with children was a lot of fun, because I always wanted to be a teacher,” Wilde said. “Refereeing was the first true time that I played the authoritative role in life.” Furthermore, being in the referee's position has given Garcia a new perspective of the game; previously, he had blamed many problems on referees. “As a player, I have learned how to speak to referees in a less condescending tone,” Garcia said. “I have also learned how to be more understanding about the decisions made by referees because I’m also in that position.” For many students, working at a local gym is a great fit, because the students get to know the ins and outs of gym equipment, allowing them to work out in many different ways. Aside from weight-lifting, Palo Alto fitness centers offer unique types of strengthening classes, such as yoga, kickboxing, crossfit work and many others. Many students have started working at nearby gyms on weekends so they can continue to workout. Aside from any students who are currently paid to play sports professionally, being an instructor at a gym is the best way to work while still keeping in good shape. One of these students is junior

Gigi Tierney, who has worked at Form Fitness for over a year. “The best part about my job is that I get free access to all classes being taught there,” Tierney said. “That helps me get into good shape, and I love being an instructor, so the job is perfect for me.” Coaches play one of the most vital positions in sports. They control the team, create the plays, run practices and have the largest influence on the players. When an athlete plays for a team, he or she looks up to the coach, even if they disagree with the coach's tactics.

"I learned a lot as a person from my coaching position. I learned a lot about responsibility, how to cope well with kids and how to be a good leader." Sebastian Khairkhahan Taking up a coaching position as a teenager is a huge commitment and takes a lot of passion and dedication. Coaching typically includes working on weekdays as well as weekends. Paly senior Kasra Orumchian is one of the coaches for the Jordan Middle School seventh grade basketball team, and is helping the team achieve new heights. “I really enjoyed my coaches in middle school basketball, so it feels good to give back the way my coaches me did for me,” Orumchian said. Paly junior Sebastian Khairkhahan was a coach for a local swim team over the summer and said coaching also taught him

much in terms of leadership. “As an experienced swimmer, I helped the new learners get to my level,” Khairkhahan said. “I learned a lot as a person from my coaching position. I learned a lot about responsibility, how to cope well with kids and how to be a good leader.” Coaching opportunities are not as easy to find as other sports jobs, but students who coached have gained a lot of management skills. According to Orumchian, coaching gave him a new perspective on sports and has helped him realize that a strong dynamic within the team requires both commitment from the coach and the players. Most athletes do not see each practice and competition through the eyes of our coaches. By being a coach, one can accept the players may have to improve in many ways as well. There are always volunteering opportunities emerging, and some of those opportunities include sports. Often, these positions come from big sporting events, such as Stanford University athletic competitions. Paly junior Brian Ho has volunteered for two years at the Stanford Invitational, a track meet for high school and collegiate levels. He competed in track and field both his freshman and sophomore year, and according to him, it was his love for the sport that led him to volunteer. “The best part about volunteering was getting to witness how great some of the athletes were,” Ho said. “When most people had to pay to enter, I had the opportunity to see the events from up-close.”

Paly's All-League Athletes Cross Country First Team Boys

Boys Football First Team

Aashai Avadhani Sam Craig Donald Taggart John Tayeri

Ervin Brown Aiden Chang Junacio Henley Bryant Jefferson Cullen Tellez Wes Walters

First Team Girls Grechen Berndt Kai Douglas Miranda Jimenez Audrey Lemoine Julie Meng

Girls Volleyball First Team

Chelsea Fan (MVP) Amelia Gibbs Susanna Limb

Second Team Tanli Su

Second Team

Andres Jimenez Lou Passarello Joe Reynolds

Water Polo First Team Boys Jack Andersen

Second Team Boys Bryan Look

First Team Girls Sophie Frick

Second Team Girls Hollie Chiao

Girls Golf First Team

Priya Bakshi Stephanie Yu

Second Team

Jasmine Choi Marina Mata Madison Piwneda Katherine Sung

KERRY FALLA/USED WITH PERMISSION

Left: Senior varsity player and Santa Clara Valley Athletic League All-League nominee Hollie Chiao prepares to score during the first girls' water polo game of the season against Mountain View High

All-League athletes receive awards for outstanding performance

Santa Clara Valley Athletic League recognized athletes in football, cross country, water polo, volleyball and golf teams By Ben Van Zyll

Staff Writer

he Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) honored the best of the best in fall sports with seasonal “All-League” nominations, including 32 varsity athletes from Paly. The award illustrates an athlete’s dominance throughout the season in their respective sport. All-League athletes are voted on by the coaches of each team at the end of the season. Every coach, having taken notice of the best athletes in the league, decides who they think are the most phenomenal players in the league. The 32 Paly All-League nominations are from boys cross coun-

try, girls cross country, boys water polo, girls water polo, girls volleyball, football and girls golf.

"To me, this award shows how much we as a team rely on running the ball and how much effort our linemen put in so this can happen.” Aiden Chang Despite its defeat in the first round of Central Coast Section (CCS), the football team had a decent season overall. With star players in a variety of positions,

the team was strong during league play, with a big offensive influence from junior running back Aiden Chang. “I got first team All-League running back because my rushing yardage was one of the top in the league,” Chang said. Chang has made a name for himself as an elite running back in the De Anza football division despite only making his first varsity appearance this year. Although Chang puts on a show on the field, he credits the team for many of his feats. “To me, this award shows how much we as a team rely on running the ball and how much effort our linemen put in so this can happen,” Chang said.

As just a junior, Chang has already achieved one of the biggest honors in high school football and still has another season to continue to prove what he can do on the football field. “I feel very humble being up there with some of the best as a junior,” Chang said. “[Senior] Paul Jackson III was a great mentor for me. My hopes for this upcoming season are to stay healthy and really come together as a team.” Girls golf went undefeated during the high school season, beating Saint Francis High School for the first time in years, winning the Helen Lengfield High School tournament, winning the league tournament and even winning the CCS championship.

Sophomores Priya Bakshi and Katherine Sung were two of many members of the team to receive All-League awards. “We practiced a lot during the offseason so we could play well during the high school season,” Bakshi said. “It means a lot to me that we did so well because it shows all of the hard work that we put in.” Sung echoes Bakshi's sentiment. “I wanted to replicate what I was doing over the summer during the high school season,” Sung said. Because the team plays at a level high above the rest of the league, the golfers do not think of the award as much of an accomplishment.

“It doesn’t mean much mostly because we’re both competitive golfers, and our league is not as competitive as we’re used to,” Bakshi said. Due to similar success as the last couple seasons, the standout athletes are looking for unprecedented achievements. “Our biggest goal as a team and individually is to make it to states since we have been really close for the past two years,” Sung said. Paly athletics look to continue dominating the SCVALs throughout the winter and spring seasons with more athletes winning All-League honors, more teams winning league titles and more trophies for the school.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SPORTS

Student athlete climbs road Athletes’ experiences differ in to recovery after car accident team versus individual sports

Maddie Dong undergoes physical therapy to rockclimb again Students encounter distinct life lessons in respective athletics By Kennedy Herron Staff Writer

NATALIE RENFREW/USED WITH PERMISSION

Senior Maddie Dong carefully scales an outdoor rockclimbing wall to make her way to finish the course.

By Sophia Moore

Staff Writer

fter a physically and mentally damaging car accident, senior Maddie Dong, an avid rock climber, found her groove once again through intensive recovery and the discovery of confidence in herself. Dong initially climbed with Planet Granite’s Competitive Team in Sunnyvale for five years. A number of members on this team have joined the U.S. Climbing team. However, at the end of Dong’s sophomore year, her climbing career came to a halt. Dong was injured in a car accident and was hospitalized for six days due to 12 bone fractures, a torn ACL and a brain injury, which were all detrimental to her competitive climbing. “It was difficult knowing that I wouldn’t be able to climb for a long time,” Dong said. “There was even talk about never being able to climb again as I broke my back, so they were worried about paralysis. It was kind of rough to hear that while having my coaches in the hospital with me.” After six months of recuperation, during which she attended physical therapy to slowly regain her strength, Dong was eventually able to begin climbing at Planet Granite once again with the aid of

her teammates and coaches. Her physical strength was not the only recovery made. Mentally, Dong was able to regain confidence in both life and climbing. “I think emotionally, it was a little bit hard, because I did identify with being a rock climber for most of my life and having that taken away was really hard,” Dong said. “[Recovery] made me emotionally stronger as well; I can really overcome anything if I can get out of this.” Dong’s strength only grew from this point on. She was able to climb more often and with more vigor. Her assurance in her abilities prompted further recovery and has made her a much better and more motivated climber. “It was kind of inspirational, and it made me want to climb much more and I wanted to train harder after my accident,” Dong said. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been now.” After Dong regained physical strength, she realized the importance of things she had previously taken for granted, such as “life, climbing and the ability to move my body a lot more.” Dong said she has worked hard to be where she is now; out of her many climbing related accomplishments, she is most proud of finishing a 5.12a grade climb called Line Up (located in Jail-

house, Calif.). A grade of 5.12a proves a difficult course that takes experience and determination in order to execute the climb. Her stronger appreciation for the ability to climb changed her future climbing career. Through recuperation, Dong said she realized she wanted to suspend climbing competitively due to the pressure; she instead wanted to make the most of her experiences. Dong did not want to see climbing as a stress-filled activity, but rather one that she could enjoy. “It makes me feel so liberated and the adrenaline is insane,” Dong said. “Even if I don’t make it to the top, it’s good to know there’s something for me to look forward to: being able to solve it and to climb the climb in the future. It definitely gives me motivation to work on something for the payoff.” Between the adrenaline rush and the satisfaction of finishing a climb, Dong knows that climbing is where her priorities still lay. Although she is not currently climbing competitively, Dong said she is considering giving competition another shot. “I have been looking at the schools that have climbing teams, and I think I want to try competing collegiately,” Dong said. “I think I’ll be climbing, I hope, for the rest of my life.”

unior Andrew Shih enters the ice rink with his fellow teammates, prepared to skate at the prestigious gala performance. Suddenly, during the performance, Shih falls out of his double toe loop. Luckily, his counterpart falls simultaneously, and both skaters laugh at their synchronized mistake. Even with this minor error in the routine, Shih has no doubt that his other teammates will have his back. “My teammate was there to support me and make the best out of such a bad situation,” Shih said. Shih is one of the many people who prefers team sports over individual sports. “When you have a lot of people around you working towards the same goal, it’s like a motivator,” Shih said. “[In] a team sport you always have a safety net to fall onto and you learn a lot more about cooperating.” According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), Generation Z, or those born in or after 2000, prefer team sports over individual sports, with 56.7 percent participating in team sports and 47.6 percent in individual sports. Those who participate in individual sports will find that they have retained completely different knowledge than those who are members of a team. “I like the team aspect of soccer, as opposed to tennis and gymnastics,” said varsity soccer team senior captain Emily Tomz. “In team sports, you rally around each other, so it’s easier to have this morale.” According to Tomz, another benefit to a team sport is the support from others, which raises self-confidence. “You don’t always have to be constantly boosting yourself up — you have others to help you with that,” Tomz said. However, participants of team sports also have an additional sense of responsibility to teammates. “I put a lot of pressure on my-

JOHNNY LOFTUS/THE CAMPANILE

Junior Jack Callaghan makes a splash with a back one-and-a-half tuck.

self to perform well and help the team win,” Tomz said. In contrast, junior diver Jack Callaghan joined diving after realizing he did not enjoy team sports due to the possibility of letting teammates down, resulting in disappointment from not only himself, but from his whole team. “With diving, since it’s individual, it’s really relaxing when you’re practicing, and you don’t have to deal with other people,” Callaghan said. “If I don’t do well in a meet, it’s fine because I’m not necessarily letting down the team as a whole, I’m only letting down myself.” Paly diving coach Emma Miller has experience in gymnastics, diving, volleyball and soccer. After growing up playing many sports, Miller said she prefers independent sports because there is still a team aspect involved. Additionally, success is completely selfreliant and failure does not bring down the whole team. “My biggest issue on team sports is that you don’t want to be the worst on the team,” Miller said. “In individual sports, you’re competing against your best score or your personal best, and you’re always trying to improve.” According to Miller, life lessons are included in all sports but those incorporated in individual sports are extremely valuable. “I feel like you can learn a lot more from your teammates in individual sports,” Miller said. “If there’s someone on the team that’s better than you, then you can learn from them whereas if there’s someone on the team that has less experience than you, then

they can learn from you.” Junior Lucia Amieva-Wang is also familiar with individual sports and, as a gymnast and rock climber, has never been a part of a sports team. “Rock climbing is way more independent, and it’s more laid back, so if you want to get good you have to take the initiative,” Amieva-Wang said. “In gymnastics, you have no choice [but to do] what your coach says, so I like rock climbing because it makes you want to work hard instead of just having to work hard.” According to Amieva-Wang, in gymnastics, the competitors score points for the team, rather than working together with teammates in order to win as a team, which causes all of the pressure to fall on one individual. Junior track and cross country participant Henry Saul also participates in an individual sport that involves teammates. According to Saul, the atmosphere at track practices and events is what makes running and racing so enjoyable. “I actually really like training with other people,” Saul said. “It takes a certain type of person to be a runner and those people are really fun to be around.” While there is technically a team the distance runners are competing for, Saul said he considers track an individual sport. “Individual sports are a lot more stressful because you can’t really blame someone else, and if you don’t do well, it’s your fault,” Saul said. “How your race goes depends on you and how hard you work.”

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Campanile

SPORTS hell week PLAYERS REFLECT ON GRUELING PRESEASON WORKOUTS “About half of the people started throwing up near the end.” On this brutal first day, Martinez said he woke up at about 5:50 a.m. and arrived at the gym at 6:50 a.m. After the suicides, the team started t h e 10-minute

n the movie “Remember the Titans,” Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, is hired to be T.C. Williams High School’s football coach over a white coach, Bill Yoast. The film is set in 1971, shortly after the school had been racially integrated. Most of the team did not like Boone’s harsh style. He would not allow the players to have water breaks, made them run miles for completing drills incorrectly and would not relent until his players were bent over vomiting. Not a single member of the Titans spoke up until assistant coach Bill Yoast uttered the words,“There’s a fine line between tough and crazy, and you’re flirting with it.” This line has been crossed by many coaches and even parents. When a Little Leaguer’s dad yells at another kid on the team, other parents are quick to point out his wrongdoing. Where it becomes more complicated is in high school sports. Not only are there fewer restrictions on what coaches can do or say, but parents are not always around to call out a coach crossing the line, especially during practices. At Palo Alto High School, there have not been cases of coach abuse, but tough workouts are far more common. For example, before the basketball season commences every year, the team has conditioning after school. Junior Marvin Zou has been through these routines, and is familiar with what occurs at these sessions. “We start conditioning really early, around October,” Zou said. “We had sessions o n Mondays and Fridays for usually an hour and 15 minutes.” At these sessions, the t e a m would be i n formed of the workout they w e r e expected to complete and start running, according to Zou. “During conditioning, we would run the whole hour,” Zou said. “The running included a mixture of 100s, 200s, 400s, 800s, and 1600s. Saying it’s tiring would be an understatement.”

Another sport with intense preseason workouts is football. Although players do run in the offseason, most of the workout time is spent by lifting in the weight room. Additionally, in the summer, the team takes part in the passing league, a non contact way to play football. “We had workouts in the summer and had passing league, which is seven versus seven football without pads,” said junior Wes Walters. Non e t h e l e s s , one of the harder workouts is a sport that people might not suspect: baseball. Each weekday, there is morn-

ing conditioning starting at 7 a.m. This session takes place in the small gym of the Peery Center, and usually consists of push ups, sit ups, sprints and a 10-minute run without a break.

“A few steps later, I threw up on the floor in the small gym and all over my shoes.” Julian Martinez

“We ran a bunch of suicides, and by the fourth one, a person starting throwing up,” said junior Julian Martinez.

run. At this point, Martinez started to feel light-headed. “Towards the end coach said ‘one minute left,’” Martinez said. “Two minutes later he says ‘fifty

According to Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, “In the teen years, when development continues … the sleep deprivation effects of brain and body development are significant.” Although these workouts may seem hard, a common agreement, according to most of the players interviewed, is the success of the workouts. Last year, the varsity team finished the regular season in first place. Then, in Central Coast Section (CCS), they lost the first round to Mitty High School. The team’s main goal is to prevent another devastating loss from happening again this season. If these harsh workouts are going to help the team succeed in the season, then some players, like junior Kyle Mostofizadeh, say they are worth it. “The conditioning is a whole other level this year and it’s a good thing,” Mostofizadeh said. “We are animals and we’re not here to take part. We are here to take over. If we got guys

E R Y B ART

OF THE

MONTH

This edition featuring:

MATT KNOWLES & Carly Leong with The Campanile’s own

KESI SOUND

seconds.’ That’s when I felt nauseous, and I started to go towards the trash can. A teammate behind me yelled, ‘Keep going. Don’t stop,’ so I did, and a few steps later, I threw up on the floor in the small gym and all over my shoes.” After this unfortunate event, Martinez went home to change shoes and ended up falling asleep and missing two classes. In addition to the morning workout, the team also has conditioning after school, which is generally even more serious. On the same first day, the team had a workout called the fitness test. “We had to run two miles in 14 minute, two 400s, four 200s, and six 100s,” Martinez said. These morning practices have decreased Martinez’s and many other players’ hours of sleep per night. “Now that I have to wake up around 6 a.m., I am getting less sleep, which makes it harder to focus in school,” Martinez said. Since juniors and seniors are already staying up late finishing assignments, waking up an hour or two hours earlier can be unhealthy for both their mental and physical health.

throwing up, that’s a really good thing. That’s the poison leaving our bodies.” Additionally, returning junior baseball player Josh Kasevich said the workouts are “very helpful” in getting the team in shape for the season. The coach running the conditioning sessions, assistant coach Peter Columbo, agrees. “When I was head coach, I started the morning workouts back in 2003,” Columbo said. “That’s when we started playing much better. The main thing is that we are trying to do a little more than any other team is doing. That’s how we earn the right to do something special.” In addition to merely conditioning, the workouts “bring the team together and create a bond between the players,” Columbo said. Due to the amount of players throwing up at the morning workouts, Columbo said he might need to make the conditioning easier. “I went a little too hard the first time,” Columbo said. “My wife is a personal trainer and she told me, ‘It’s not OK if they’re throwing up, Pete. I had to take the foot off the pedal a little bit and ease up.”

DESIGN BY LEYTON HO

H O H NEE

ATHLETES

TEXT & DESIGN BY WILL ROBINS

The Campanile: Alright, so, first off could you guys give me a little introduction about who you are? Matt Knowles: Alright, I am Matthew Knowles, the captain of the boys varsity soccer team. I play center back despite being one of the shortest players on the team. Carly Leong: I’m Carly; we technically do not have team captains for the seniors on the team, and I’m the shooting guard for the varsity basketball team. TC: What are your goals for this season? MK: I think our main goal is to win league and then go and do well in Central Coast Section because for the past few years we have been losing in the first round, and it’s been pretty disappointing. I think that we have a good enough team this year, to do better than the previous years. CL: Our team goal is also to win league, but we’re also trying to go undefeated in league and maybe win CCS again this year. TC: Big goals for big people. How would you describe your team culture? MK: For the soccer team, we have a lot of banter at practice and before games. We like to keep things light and stay loose. Sometimes during warm-ups people will be super serious, but I try to keep things light, keep everyone loose; that way you don’t have any nerves going into the game. We’re really a tight -knit family I would say. CL: The basketball team has a lot of freshmen this year so a lot of our humor is based on like really childish stuff, but it’s still kind of funny. Also, for our warm ups we like to go to the locker room and blast music, so that’s pretty fun. TC: How is it being the only senior on the girls basketball team? CL: I think this year is really, really tough because I’ve always been the youngest on the team, and I’m finally the oldest. It’s really weird, but I think I’m becoming a better leader as I go. TC: For sure. What about personal goals for the season? MK: Yeah, so I think for me as a defender I want to keep a clean sheet in every single game. So, not allow any goals, and if we can do that, every single game we’ll have a chance to win. Also, a goal for me is to score a few goals. I did that during club, and it’s very satisfying feeling to chip in a few of those. CL: For me, I would like to get my shooting percentage up and be more positive toward my teammates and not yell at them as much but be more constructive with my advice. TC: How do you guys feel being some of the oldest people on your teams? MK: I think that the younger players look up to us so we have to create a mold for what Paly soccer is. For the past few years, everything has been really serious. For me, I like to keep things loose. I’ll joke around with all the players and get to know the freshman, that way there seems like there is no disconnect between us. So that’s the culture I’m trying to build. CL: I joke around with them a lot too, I make fun of them for being freshman. At the end of the day, the team comes first, and I’m the one who tells them to focus since they’re always off track. TC: A lot of responsibility. Is there anything else you wanna add? CL & MK: Sko Vikes!