Issue 8, 3/31/2017

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The Campanile

Vol. XCIX, No. 8

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

First-ever Paly Fun Run raises $7,000 Proceeds from the over 200 participants in the 5-kilometer run will fund Paly athletics

Friday, March 31, 2017

School Board in favor of weighted GPAs AVI TACHNA-FRAM

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

Runners of all ages participated in the Paly Fun Run, which was organized by Paly Sports Boosters and the track and field team. The organizers hope to make it an annual event.

KAI ODA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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he first annual Paly Fun Run drew over 200 participants this past Saturday, raising around $7,000 to help fund all Palo Alto High School athletic teams. Two Paly students, senior Ben Beaudry and sophomore Donald Taggart placed second and fourth respectively, with impressive average mile times of five minutes, 38 seconds and six minutes flat over five kilometers, respectively.

The race course consisted of one lap around the Paly campus, followed by a loop into the old Cas-

tilleja neighborhood. Runners then cut through campus, passing iconic Paly structures like the Performing Arts Center, the Tower Building, the quad and the new gym before finishing with a lap on the track.

“It wasn’t a great race for me personally, but I still had a lot of fun because everybody around me was having a good time,” said Taggart. “I signed up because there were a lot of people doing the race, and it sounded like a good way to help Sports Boosters. Everyone likes to run, right? Why not do the Fun Run?” Track and field head coach Michael Davidson was impressed with the turnout, but said the event could

be even more successful with the participation of all Paly athletic teams.

Only track and cross country members played a major role in helping set up the course, directing runners and recording times for Fun Run participants.

“It would be great to have more of the other teams represented here to help support the event, let participants know what they do and what their needs are,” said Davidson. “I think it would be better for everybody if we could get lacrosse or tennis [members] out here showing off with their rackets. Maybe golf showing some people how to putt.”

The Fun Run will hopefully be-

come an annual event, and Davidson has ambitious goals for the future.

“I personally would love for thousands of people to be out here,” Davidson said. “There is [already] a lot of support [for] what we are doing, which is to raise awareness for Paly athletics and get the whole family fit.”

The Paly Sports Boosters and the track team collaborated to make the Fun Run possible. The two groups worked in advance to round up the sponsors and volunteers needed to run the event. Sponsors such as G-Fit Boot Camp, Fleet Feet, the YMCA and the Capitola Hotel set up booths

FUN RUN

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o weight or not to weight?

That is the question.

Continuing a contentious debate from last fall, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education seemed mostly supportive of Superintendent Max McGee’s recommendation Tuesday to provide weighted and unweighted grades on transcripts.

All Board members praised McGee for his effort, but some Board members and many of the parents present questioned two of his suggestions: not weighting classes taken freshman year and using the University of California (UC) classification for determining honors classes. Using the UC classification for honors does not necessarily mean using the UC system for weighting, which also includes the unpopular Advanced Placement (AP) cap not included in McGee’s proposal.

Student Board representatives Ankit Ranjan and David Tayeri echoed the concerns of parents. They worried that refusing to weight freshman grades could disincentivize some freshman positioned to take honors and AP classes in math and foreign language from challenging themselves.

“What I’m afraid of is if we don’t weight freshman courses, then it might create confusion for [freshWGPA

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Committee chooses Former Mexican President to visit Paly revised bell schedule Vicente Fox to speak on April 17 in the MAC about immigration “Option One” to cause minimal changes

ASHLEY ZHANG

NEWS & OPINION EDITOR

SAM YUN

NEWS & OPINION EDITOR

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fter collecting and considering available feedback from all participating parties, Paly’s Bell Schedule Review Committee (BSRC) has decided to recommend to the Education Council a slightly altered version of “Option One” (which calls for minimal changes) for the current bell schedule for the 2017-2018 school year.

Under Option One, the basic structure of the current Paly schedule will remain intact. To remedy the current lack of instructional minutes, InFocus will be extended to 10 minutes and mandatory hour-long joint Advisory-Flex blocks will be held after sixth period on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“If [teachers] don’t have time built into the schedule, I’m worried that the forward movement that we’ve been making would slow down.’’

Kim Diorio Paly Principal According to the Ed Council report sent by the BSRC, the committee plans to use Option One as a placeholder for 2017-2018 as it continues to “investigate, analyze and recommend a schedule that will optimize student learning and community well-being.”

The BSRC has also requested an

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additional month to further revise the Option One bell schedule, specifically to gather input regarding the “restructuring of C Days, later start times for students, collaboration time for teachers, allocation of InFocus time in class, amount and use of Flex and advisory and the inclusion of minimum and Flex days,” according to the report.

“The committee will finalize the schedule for next year, possibly including some tweaks,” said Clay Volino, a junior student BSRC representative. “We are hoping to continue Paly-only minimum days and flex days. Then, we will begin looking at potential changes for the future.”

The decision was based on a survey sent to students, parents and Paly staff, as well as feedback from forums and comments sent to the committee’s email. For the survey, participants rated their level of support from zero to five, with zero representing no support and five representing strong support.

Option One was the most popular choice among all three surveyed groups, receiving 48.2 percent of votes from students, 54.2 percent from parents and 57.4 percent from Paly staff. This choice is most aligned with the current bell schedule, which a majority of each group said they were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with, according to the survey results.

“The survey was not a huge surprise,” Volino said. “Notably, students are moderately satisfied with the BELL SCHEDULE

NEWS

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ROB WILEN/VERDE MAGAZINE

GAGE SKIDMORE/CREATIVE COMMMONS LICENSED

Fox speaks at the 2015 International Students for Liberty Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C.

ETHAN TEO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SAM YUN

NEWS & OPINION EDITOR

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crackdown on immigrantprotecting sanctuary cities — including those within Santa Clara County — has been the latest of President Donald Trump’s contentious immigration policies.

Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, has much to say about the issue.

Fox will visit Palo Alto High School on April 17 at the invitation of journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki to discuss immigration, Trump’s proposed border-wall, and the future of Mexican-American relations. The event will be held in the Media Arts Center atrium at 2:30

BODLEIAN LIBRARIES/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

SPOTLIGHT

p.m. Being held on a minimum day, students will have to stay at school to attend the event. There will be a signup form available on the online version of this story.

Fox, who was Mexico’s President from 2000-2006, has been an outspoken critic of Trump and his policies, particularly regarding immigration. In response to Trump’s initial proposal to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico at Mexico’s expense, Fox said in a February 2016 interview that “Mexico is not going to pay for that f****ng wall. [Trump] should pay for it. He’s got the money.”

Fox has also said in a series of tweets that the United States ought to “wake up today,” pleading Congress to not “let this guy get away with his own [words].” He has also warned the public to not “let [Trump]

TBEC REVIEW/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

LIFESTYLE

bully” America and suggested Trump to “build the #F****ngWall around [himself ] and spare [the public] from [his] evil.”

After speaking at Paly, Fox will attend a talk about the future of US-Mexico relations at a public conference on the Stanford University campus on April 18, and again at the University of California, Berkeley on April 19. He will also speak at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco during his Bay Area visit.

With the goal of understanding student perspectives on issues of immigration and encouraging healthy discussion around the topic, Fox intends for the discussion at Paly to be interactive — after a short talk of his own to the audience, he will open up the event to a question and answers session.

OLIVIER +/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

SPORTS

Beauty and the Beast

Bursting the bubble

The romanticization of vapes

Biased dance culture

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Palyís theatre program brought this childhood classic to life on the stage.

Palo Alto should rethink its news consumption after the election.

The stigmata, or lack thereof, surrounding vaping on campus.

Male dancers are often unjustly favored in competitive dance.

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

A2 NEWS TO KNOW

NEWS Women take day off to raise awareness Millions of people across the United State participate in “Day Without a Woman” protest MAYA HOMAN

STAFF WRITER

WIKIMEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

@NASA A supermassive black hole inside a tiny galaxy is challenging our ideas about what happens when two galaxies merge.

@VP This administration will work to eliminate every unnecessary & harmful regulation, leading to more jobs for the American people.

@cnnbrk The Trump administration is requesting $1 billion to cover 62 miles of the proposed border wall.

@HufingtonPost Flint reaches agreement with state of Michigan to replace lead water lines by 2020

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omen across the United States celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 by participating in the “Day Without a Woman,” a protest in which women abstained from working, spending money and caregiving.

According to the Women’s March website, the purpose of the mass strike was to “act together for equity, justice and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.”

The organizers asked women to take the day off of work, and refrain from spending money or caring for family members in an effort to make the public realize how much women contribute to both the economy and society.

They also advised women who were unable to participate (and men who wanted to show support) to wear the color red in solidarity. However, some Paly students felt that there was more to be done.

“Change to me requires sacrifice,” said senior Nadia Leinhos, who did not attend school on March 8. “In this instance, I felt that writing to our state senators about the protection of

all women’s rights (including trans women’s rights) was more important than a day of sitting around in class.”

Along with the strike, marches and rallies were held in cities around the country, including San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose and Oakland; many students participated in these as well.

“Like many of my peers I am very passionate about women’s rights,” said junior Claire Billman, who attended a rally in San Francisco. “I knew that this was something that I had to do.”

Palo Alto High School teachers participated in the strike as well. Of the 45 staff members who protested, 31 of them were teachers.

“I think the students have been really supportive and interested,” said Paly science teacher Kelli Hagan, who participated in the strike along with seven others in the science department. “They should be very concerned too, absolutely. I think that all young women should be very concerned about the new administration, and the direction that things are heading.”

The demonstration led many schools in the U.S. to close due to staff shortages, and some small businesses closed for the day in solidarity.

“I felt empowered,” Leinhos said.

“I ran into a friend of mine who told

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Many women were able to take time off work to protest the gender inequalities.

me most of his teachers were substitutes today. I got a message on Schoology from my Advanced Authentic Research (AAR) teacher cancelling today’s class because the District couldn’t find a sub. I knew I was standing up for the same things my teachers were today, and that so many districts across the country were feeling the effects.”

The “Day Without a Woman” protest was coordinated in part by the organizers of the Women’s March, a massive series of assemblies that took place in cities across the nation the day after President Trump’s inauguration.

However, plans for the day’s events began in Oct. 2016 in response to massive women’s rights demonstrations in Argentina and Poland.

The International Women’s March organizers reached out to activists in

several different countries and partnered with the creators of the Women’s March to promote the strike in the U.S. “I think it’s a good form of activism to make your voice known by doing something, by taking some kind of action,” said Christopher Eggert, a Paly history teacher. “This is a concrete [action] by women removing themselves from respective places in the workforce. It’s not like, ‘imagine what it would be like if we weren’t here,’ it’s ‘okay now we’re not here, now see the effect.’”

Although International Women’s Day is over, many activists hope that the spirit of the event lives on.

“I’m hoping that people recognize the power in somebody’s voice,” Hagan said. “If I could teach you guys anything, I would teach you how much power you have in your voice.”

CIOS week features ‘Hamilton’ to show club performances in San Francisco WIKIPEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

@darrenrovell “Nike has signed former Stanford RB @ CMcCaffrey5. Repped by WME-IMG for marketing. Swoosh now has McCaffrey & Dalvin Cook.

@mashable Chance the Rapper needs an intern. Apply if you want, but there’s no telling whether you’ll get college cred.

@nytimes The “Fearless Girl” statue that’s staring down Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” will remain until early 2018

UMA CHOUDHURY

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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alo Alto High School’s annual Change in Our Schools (CIOS) Week kicked off during the last week of March with each day involving music on the quad, accompanied by activities pertaining to the topic being addressed that day.

The week started with the theme of “Paly is…” with students describing their thoughts on Paly with a couple words. Tuesday had an identity theme with the leading question “Who am I?”

“It’s extremely important not only to recognize issues but to be able to respond in a way that is better for both you and the greater world.’’

Anmol Nagar ASB President

@YahooMovies ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins to write, direct ‘Underground Railroad’ series at Amazon

Paly’s own Korean Pop (K-POP) dance group performed a choreographed dance on the senior deck, and there were several other club performances throughout the week.

Wednesday’s theme was “How do

we treat each other,” Thursday was JORDAN QUIGLEY “What are my Sources of Strength?” SENIOR STAFF WRITER and Friday with “How do I care for “ amilton,” a huge Broadway myself.” show that is gaining national This year, Associated Student attention, is coming to San Body (ASB) changed the name of Not in Our School’s Week to Change Francisco.

The first of several March showIn Our Schools Week. The name change was created to portray posi- ings in San Francisco and Oakland tivity and address important ques- begins on March 10.

The inspiring Broadway show was tions. In the past, CIOS worked to written

by Lin Manuel Miranda, a dispel terms associated with racism, Grammy, Tony and Emmy award sexism and LGBTQ issues.

“It’s extremely important not only winner. The main character is Alexto recognize issues but to be able to ander Hamilton, a person who faced respond in a way that is better for many obstacles in his youth, but overboth you and the greater world,” ASB came his challenges to become a rePresident Anmol Nagar said. “During spected political leader and an AmerCIOS, we address questions like ‘who ican Founding Father. The opening are we as Paly,’ ‘What is my identity,’ act of “Hamilton” centers around ‘How do I treat others,’ ‘What are my Alexander’s childhood, an orphan at sources of strength?’ And ‘how do I the young age of 11 after being born care for myself?’ ”CIOS has not only out of wedlock. He then moves to created a positive vibe around cam- New Jersey in the late 1700s where pus, but it has also impacted students. he starts school and becomes educat“The activities and performances ed. After school, he becomes involved that have taken place during lunch in the American Revolutionary War, really helped bring the school to- where he eventually assists future gether, which I think makes the week President George Washington. After successful because one of the [CIOS] his time in the war, Hamilton’s life goals is unity,” said senior Cassandra was full of ups and downs. He had to deal with fights, gossip and the draftFong.

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Paly film to compete in festival

UPCOMING EVENTS

John Dai will be in the running to win the Golden Gate Award RAJ LELE

STAFF WRITER

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alo Alto High School senior John Dai’s film, “Brown Penny,” which is the visual adaptation of W.B. Yeats’ poem, has been nominated to be played at the 60th annual San Francisco International Film Festival, which runs from April 5-17.

The San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest running film festival in the nation, holds a category for teenagers who have produced films. According to Video Production Teacher Brett Griffith, teenagers who submit their films could earn the Golden Gate Award, which is given to the best film in the category.

“My film is about love and heartbreak,” Dai said. “It’s a unit in my video production class.”

Dai says that Griffith was the reason he sent his movie to be nominated.

“I got involved because my video production teacher encouraged me to submit to the film festival,” Dai said.

Every year, Griffith supports his students in their journey to submit their film. In his advanced classes

students are required to submit their film to events, such as the San Francisco International Film Festival.

“Submitting and attending premiere film festivals is an experience — part of understanding what it means to fully participate in the arts as they exist in our society.’’

Brett Griffith Video Production Teacher “In the Advanced classes, every student submits work to both Scholastic and SF International because the cost to enter is nominal, waived in event of hardship or free,” Griffith said. “John is a valued member of the program — passionate and reflective about what he does.”

Griffith also said how he especially wanted Dai’s film to be submitted because, unlike many other films he views, Dai’s piece is one he is incredibly proud of.

“Formally, it features strong miseen-scene, visual fundamentals and control in terms of audio design,” Griffith said. “With respect to postproduction and editing, it utilizes match shots and match-on-action

cutting, and there is evident forethought: color grading — beginning of character’s story is vibrant, saturated colors in golden day and moves to desaturated colors in night — per emotional tone.”

Griffith also adds that the film sticks to the main plot but adds new information, which completes the story and is one of the reasons why the film was a success in his eyes.

“The pace compels us and reveals new information concurrent with the central metaphor as the film moves forward,” Griffith said. “I think the tale of unrequited or a hard-lost young love is a powerful and enduring one — a timeless tale — and in this case executed very well.”

Currently, Dai’s film has not been nominated for any awards. Whether or not Dai’s film receives the Golden Gate Award, Griffith believes that the experience of having one’s film be accepted is one to remember.

“Submitting, and attending premiere film festivals is an experience — part of understanding what it means to fully participate in the arts as they exist in our society,” Griffith said. “Doing so further re-emphasizes what we do and to aspire to excellence in our coursework.”

ing of the American Constitution.

“Hamilton” originated in New York City at the Public Theatre two years ago. However, it became so widely popular that it began showing all around the world before ultimately winning 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize in 2016.

In addition to superior acting and amazing fighting scenes, the soundtrack for “Hamilton” is by far the best part of the play. Every song is unique and sung beautifully by talented actors, such as Ruben J. Carbajal, Jordan Donica and Amber Iman, who are among the most talented thespians in the Bay Area.

From songs such as “The Schuyler Sisters” and “Helpless” to “The Election of 1800” and “Alexander Hamilton,” the songs are powerful and soulful.

“Hamilton” is widely appreciated and admired for its merit as a play as well as for the amazing story of its main character. Alexander Hamilton helped break down economical barriers and was essential to the formation of the United States. The play has earned global praise through it’s phenomenal screenplay and music that capture and celebrate his story.

APRIL

SPRING BREAK You know it’s been a good break when you come back with cornrows and a sunburn.

APRIL

MINIMUM DAY At this point every day is a minimum day.

APRIL

PROM Don’t tell anyone that you bought your own corsage.

MAY

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK What’s not to appreciate?

MAY

START OF AP EXAMS Remember to sit 60 inches apart! @GunnAdmin.

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The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

NEWS

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CDC releases results of local youth suicide report

Paly administration and the Center for Disease Control are hard at work preventing suicide in the Bay Area KESI SOUND

STAFF WRITER

T

he Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), released its final report concluding the over a year long investigation regarding teen suicides in the Santa Clara region on March 3.

The CDC was called in by the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) to help after the Santa Clara County Public Health Department requested an Epidemiological Assistance (Epi-Aid) investigation to look into the prevalence of teen suicides in the Santa Clara County.

In the report, the CDC aimed to investigate and analyze existing data regarding teen suicides to provide the community with structured recommendations and goals to help curb the epidemic.

According to the report, the investigation focused on four main goals: addressing the epidemiology of suicidal behaviors, examining the role of the media in meeting safe suicide reporting guidelines, evaluating suicide

prevention programs already in place and constructing recommendations for local schools using the findings of the previous three objectives.

The report found that out of all regions in Santa Clara County, Palo Alto and Morgan Hill had the highest youth suicide rates, with rates 14.1 and 12.7 per 100,000 youths ages 10 to 24 respectively. Compared to the Santa Clara county average of 5.3 suicides per 100,000, it is clear both Palo Alto and Morgan Hill are outliers.

The report aimed to analyze these high rates by diagnosing certain precipitating focal points that may have led to the incidents, an important one being gender. It found that 75 percent of the completed suicides were carried out by males.

“That statistic did not surprise me," said Jonathan Frecceri, Paly Health and Wellness Coordinator.

"Males tend to be more lethal when it comes to attempting suicide, whereas with females we tend to see more help seeking behaviors. For me as a clinician, I think one thing we should take away from the report is that it would be wise for us to start to target more interventions that appeal to

males.”

The report also examined the role of the local media in covering the suicides, culminating in a list of “positive” and “negative” reporting. According to the CDC, positive media behavior includes links to suicide hotlines, and discussion of suicide as a complex and preventable issue, while negative factors included sensationalized headlines and detailed descriptions of the deaths.

The report found that from 2009 to 2015, articles reporting on suicide would exhibit on average 4.3 of the negative characteristics and only 0.5 of the positive protective ones.

“It was very discouraging to read what was in the CDC report about the media coverage,” Frecceri said.

“We as a county are not adhering to safe reporting practices. We know when it comes to contagion that media coverage does play a big role.

When people read articles that are portrayed in that negative way it can make someone more vulnerable.”

While the media is still far from fostering healthy responses to suicide, the report did find an increase in the number of positive characteristics and decrease in negative charac-

Students perform Beauty and the Beast A Disney collaboration of Paly's band, orchestra and theatre MACKENZIE GLASSFORD

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CHLOE IGLEHART / MADRONO

Alia Cuadros-Contreras as Belle, holding hands with Jackson Kienitz, as the Beast.

whole experience. They played off of each other and the performance was smooth and seamless.

All of the original songs were also performed. The actors didn’t seem fazed by the large audience and

sang the songs confidently, all while performing original choreography.

While the dancing didn’t mirror the moves that the animated film is known for, it was elegant and fit the theme flawlessly.

School board in favor of weighted GPA CONTINUED FROM A1

...men] about whether they should wait a year and just not be studying math or French or something else,” Ranjan said.

Some also worry that using the UC system to determine which classes get AP or honors status could confuse students since the UC system occasionally changes requirements for a class to be considered honors, such as their recent decision to once again allow sophomore classes to receive honors credit.

“I don’t feel comfortable being at the mercy of the UC system,” Tayeri said. “I’d feel more comfortable if we had our own system that was not [vulnerable to] the UCs changing and the confusion that it brings.”

Board member Melissa Baten Caswell also worried that freshmen could be discouraged from taking harder classes, but the rest of the Board was more open to McGee’s suggestion, believing it necessary to allow students a chance to become acclimated to high school without having to worry about their GPA. They fear that adding the potential stress to the difficult transition between middle and high school could harm student well-being.

“It took my breath away when I read that 23 percent of ninth graders have thought about taking their own lives in the last 12 months and

10 percent actually made a plan,” Board member Jennifer DiBrienza said. “I’m open to the conversation and maybe it's not the right thing to do, but I also think it might be the right thing to do.”

In statistics collected by the District in a survey of over 2,000 staff, students and parents, 77 percent of students and 83.6 percent of parents support some type of weighted GPA. Additionally, the vast majority of those present at Tuesday’s Board meeting backed weighted grades.

Most in attendance strongly believed that the weighting is necessary for rewarding high achievement and reducing stress.

“Students are taking a risk by taking these higher-level courses,” said Gunn junior Advait Arun. “They’re putting in more work, and the bottom line is that students should receive a reward for that work in terms of weighted GPA.” Only one speaker out of more than 30 at the Board meeting argued against adopting a weighted GPA, advising that the Board remember it must provide for both motivated and unmotivated students.

“Board policies are very clear that the Board acts in the best interest of all students, the students who excel because they have the engagement and the drive and passion for learning and the students who struggle because they haven't found those yet

like I did,” said Gunn graduate Shounak Dharap. “Those are the students who will feel pressured to take more AP and honors classes than they can handle, and those are the students that are going to feel ashamed and inferior and embarrassed when they can’t handle that load.”

With a large majority preferring weighted grades, most of the current disagreement revolves around deciding which weighting system to implement. According to the District’s survey, 52.3 percent of students prefer using the UC system, while only 24.7 percent would rather use Gunn’s cumulative system, which counts classes like Chemistry Honors not recognized by the UC system.

This is reversed for parents, with 74.7 percent preferring Gunn’s system and only 8.9 percent in favor of the UC system. Meanwhile, 52.4 percent of the District’s staff still want an unweighted system.

Despite the controversy still surrounding the issue of weighted grades, Board member Todd Collins reminded the community to be optimistic about the progress that has been made so far.

“When we started out [whether or not to weight] was a controversial proposal and now I think the surveys and the research all generally seem to support it, and I’m glad that there seems to be at least an emerging consensus about it,” Collins said.

report just validates the good work we’re already doing,” Diorio said. “It’s important we went through this process. Having someone come in with that objective could really tell us ‘are we missing something?’ But knowing that we have already put so many of those recommendations in place, I’m really proud of that.”

With the report in hand, community members such as Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent McGee are excited for the future of properly managing mental health in the PAUSD community.

“With these findings now in front of us, we can focus on more targeted efforts for all PAUSD students,” wrote McGee in his March 3rd letter to the PAUSD community.

For those coping with the thought of suicide: 24/7 TEEN CRISIS HOTLINE: 1-888-247-7717 SUICIDE CRISIS HOTLINE: 1-855-278-4204 TREVOR LIFELINE - LGBTQ: 1-866-488-7386

Committee chooses revised bell schedule CONTINUED FROM A1

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

alo Alto High School’s spring musical, Beauty and the Beast, finished its one-week run on March 26. This year’s musical was a special one, as it was the first to be performed in the new Performing Arts Center. It involved over 100 Paly students, and has been in the works since early January. Playing the lead roles of Belle and the Beast were seniors Alia Cuadros-Contreras and Jackson Kienitz, respectively.

Paly theater worked hard to do the Disney classic justice, and they succeeded. Cuadros-Contreras and Kienitz perfectly portrayed the main characters, while senior Jason Pollak brought the laughs as the flamboyant Gaston. The chemistry between the actors was evident, and added to the

teristics from 2009 to 2015. Positive characteristics went up from 0.3 per article in 2009 to 1.2 per article and 2015, and negative characteristics experienced a decrease from 5.3 per article in 2009 to 3.9 in 2015, a trend many hope continues.

Current programs implemented regarding youth suicide prevention were also investigated in the report.

Of programs implemented in Santa Clara County, the report found that 33 of the 51, or around 65 percent, were implemented by the Palo Alto Unified School District.

“It shows we are being very proactive in trying to address a very complex issue, and trying to use our resources as best as we can,” said principal Kim Diorio.

Using all of the above results, the CDC was able to synthesize their findings into 13 concrete suicide prevention strategies. These strategies include implementing additional ways of diagnosing risk factors as outlined by the report, providing access to mental care, ensuring suicides are safely reported on and planning and implementing suicide prevention programs.

“I feel like in a lot of ways this

...current schedule.”

77.4 percent of students wanted the new schedule to be flexible enough for future Flex or minimum days, while 77.3 percent of parents and 76.2 percent of staff deemed having a consistent bell schedule a top priority. 69.6 percent of students and 64.2 percent of parents also support a later start time.

“Later start will likely be a big consideration, because parents and students strongly support it, but many teachers are concerned about rush hour commutes with a later end time,” Volino said. “There is a state bill being considered to require high schools to start after 8:30, so if it passes if we could be forced to start later.”

However, Principal Kim Diorio said she is concerned Option One would not be optimal in providing teachers with built in time after school to work on collaboration.

“In option one, staff lose collaboration time,” said Diorio in a previous interview with The Campanile. “For me, I think it’s really important that your teachers have the opportunity to work together and collaborate and work on things like alignment and consistency and grading. If they don’t have the time built into the schedule, I’m worried that some of the forward movement that we’ve been making the last few years would slow down.”

As stated in their report, the Bell Schedule Committee expects to announce the final recommendation for the 2017-2018 school year by April 19.

“There are a lot of ideas for the future, and a lot of challenges and restrictions,” Volino said. “We hope to potentially be more creative. At the same time, we may find what we do next year is the best option for the long run. If anyone has a good idea, please tell a committee member and we will consider it if it seems workable.”

First-ever Paly Fun Run raises $7,000

KAI ODA / THE CAMPANILE

Donald Taggart, a Paly sophomore, leads the pack in the Paly Fun Run this weekend.

CONTINUED FROM A1

...with raffle off prizes such as a free, two-night hotel stay.

The Paly Juggling Club also set up a booth to help entertain participants before and after the run. The club has slowly gained members over the course of two years, and is finally ready to start showcasing member skills at large events.

“The Fun Run is the first event that we are attending, and we got a great turnout from our club members and people watching,” said club president Zach Strassberg-Phillips. “A lot

of people at Paly are juggling academics. So physically juggling actually helps you become more grounded, and it looks awesome.”

This year’s Fun Run hopefully marks the start of an exciting new tradition for Paly athletics. With the continued support of Sports Boosters and Paly athletic teams, the event will likely continue to bring the community together to support Paly.

“It was good to see everybody I knew, not only from track and field, but everybody from the school running and showing that they care,” said sophomore John Tayeri.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

A4

NEWS

Palo Alto Zoo to expand Council tackles New volunteer opportunities and facilities to be included by 2020 housing issues Reforms include increasing “granny units” GILLIAN ROBINS

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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PALO ALTO JUNIOR MUSEUM & ZOO/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo will double in area and feature an aquarium and several new animals after its remodeling.

BYRON ZHANG

STAFF WRITER

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fter three years of planning and $25 million in fundraising from the Palo Alto community, expansion of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (JMZ) will start at the beginning of 2018.

JMZ is a recreation center for elementary school students. The JMZ is composed of an exhibit section with toy machines, and a zoo section where kids can observe small animals in their enclosures.

The reconstruction will double the current area of JMZ and add a second floor to the main building. It will also add five new exhibits to the museum’s collection, including a canopy walk to a tree fort.

JMZ plans to use the expanded area to build an aquarium and introduce several new animals, such as meerkats and mongeese. The new animals will come from the Small Carnivore Taxon Advisory Group’s Regional Collection Plan, a rescue program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

In addition to the exhibit and zoo upgrades, JMZ also plans to

hire more staff. The current budget of JMZ is about $2 million, but after the reconstruction, the budget is expected to increase to $3 million.

The additional funds will be used to maintain and operate the larger facility, which has the potential to create more job opportunities for the nearby community. High school students will also have the opportunity to become staff members.

“Although the JMZ is only intended to serve those in elementary school, we are also deciding to give high school students chances to work here,” said John Aikin, JMZ Executive Director. “There will be more volunteering opportunities and paid internships for teaching and mentoring little kids about animals.”

The zoo already allows high school volunteers to take on the role of counselors at summer camps. High schoolers working for JMZ also survey users about their experiences to help decide what new elements to introduce into the zoo and count the number of visitors in order to model the new capacity of the zoo.

According to the volunteers’ data, JMZ receives about 160,000 visitors each year. Surveys taken during the

summer show that people who live as far as 45 miles away from Palo Alto come to the JMZ, perhaps because it is the only zoo in Bay Area that is free of admission fees.

However, after the reconstruction, the zoo plans to implement admission fees, which may result in fewer annual visitors.

“The model now predicts that only 130,000 visitors will come each year, but it assumes that some people would choose to not come because the fee is a barrier,” Aikin said. “However, we are reshining the zoo, which means that more people would come out of curiosity.”

The construction is expected to finish by 2020. One of the main challenges the zoo may face is the side effect on the neighborhood, including noise and dust, especially since Walter Hays Elementary School is next to JMZ. “We are going to restrict access for deliveries [of building materials] for certain times in the day to decrease the negative effect on air quality,” Alkin said. “This project has a lot of hand labor instead of heavy equipment, so it is not going to be really disturbing.”

he Palo Alto City Council enacted a new policy that will address the Bay Area housing shortage, relaxing the rules around parking rules and “accessory” housing districts.

The City Council approved reforms on the night of March 7, encouraging more “granny units,” a second “dwelling” space on the same grounds as the house such as an apartment over a garage.

The positive aspects of a granny unit are that families get to stay together, share funds and help with child care. Some negative aspects are that they will have a negative effect on property values, a sentiment that was expressed by resident Kristian Meisling.

Two bills were recently passed to encourage accessory dwelling units, which will allow residents to transform parts of homes into accessory dwelling units.

“There’s no ‘let’s try,’ there’s no ‘let’s look at something new, let’s borrow ideas from around the world,’ there’s none of it. It’s just a big fat no to everything.”

Kate Downing Former Planning Commissioner Despite some backlash, responses to the decision were mostly positive.

There was a large turnout at the City Council meeting on March 7. This is a big improvement from the lack of initiative seen by the Council in previous years to effectively address the shortage that has plagued the Bay Area for years. Former Planning Commissioner Kate Downing released her letter of resignation online

about a year ago heavily criticized the City Council for failing to address the housing shortage. Downing expanded on why the Council has not made an effort to the address the problem.

“We have a ton of innovation, and yet there’s no innovation in government,” Downing said. “There’s no ‘let’s try,’ there’s no ‘let’s look at something new, let’s borrow ideas from around the world,’ there’s none of it.

It’s just a big fat no to everything.”

She also discussed some of the consequences that come when the absence of residences is not properly addressed.

“Because at the very end of this, we’re saying ‘you’re a worker and you can’t afford to live in Palo Alto,’ [so] you move to San Jose, but you just displaced someone in San Jose, so where does that person move?”

Kate Downing Former Planning Commissioner “I feel like there’s this really big lack of conscientiousness and a big lack of concern,” Downing said. “Because at the very end of this, we’re saying ‘you’re a worker and you can’t afford to live in Palo Alto’, [so] you move to San Jose, but you just displaced someone in San Jose, so where does that person move? At the end of that domino effect, is always homelessness.”

Voting on improvements that break down barriers to granny units is an action that many local community members are applauding the Palo Alto City Council for, as it directly confronts the prevailing and pressing issue of the housing shortage in this area.

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

OPINION

A5

Bomb threats against Jews must be addressed

JOANNA FALLA

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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he Jewish people have long been persecuted for their beliefs, often becoming the scapegoats for problems the public has no answers to. It has held true time and time again across history that minority groups are often the first to be attacked in a high-pressure situation, and the first to suffer the consequences of bad decisions. Microaggressions have taken place for ages, but since President Donald Trump began his term in January, the hate crimes have greatly increased in number, visibility and severity by up to 20 percent, according to NBC. America as a whole simply cannot have a change in heart and become tolerant to all people overnight. However, bringing to light the major assaults against minority groups across the country will destigmatize the idea of standing up for others. Further reporting of these events will prevent desensitization and incite change in the American people.

Even in a time when bomb threats are a common occurrence, acts of violence should never be taken lightly.

Feb. 27 marked the fifth bomb threat against a U.S. Jewish Community Center ( JCC) since Trumps

election. Many people are unaware of the previous four instances, but this attack was reported nationally due to the magnitude of people affected. JCCs from 13 different states were anonymously informed of underground bombs that would kill everyone in the buildings, leading to mass evacuations of the centers. The JCCs in Marin and Palo Alto were among those called, followed by complete evacuation, including their preschool programs.

Furthermore, members of the JCC gym and adjacent rental houses were emailed about the threat and advised to stay away from the area until a secondary email was sent out to confirm that the JCCs were safe. Local news reported on these two cases, but bomb threats and attacks were reported in 13 states. This wave of attacks does not include other isolated incidents like the grave desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia and Missouri.

Juan Thompson, an ex-reporter for Intercept, an investigative journalism website was arrested and charged with eight of the JCC bomb threats, as well as for calling in a bomb threat to the Anti-Defamation League’s headquarters in New York. Thompson allegedly made these threats in an attempt to frame a woman he had been harassing.

His crimes will likely result in a fiveyear prison sentence. One cannot make any assumption about whether he is mentally ill, anti-Semitic or an egomaniac, but this event should not be taken

likely as it could be a foreshadowing of what the future may hold. The fact that the suspect thought he could have the biggest impact by attacking JCCs should be a large reminder of what large groups of like-minded people can do once an enemy has been identified, whether they are validated or not.

These attacks should not just worry the Jewish-American population, but serve as a reminder that any minority group can be targeted as a scapegoat.

More recently, the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos was evacuated on March 9 following an anonymous call about a bomb, but this incident received significantly less coverage than previous disturbances. The lack of publicity is not due to underlying anti-Semitism in the media, but rather the growing insensitivity to these random acts of violence.

President Trump has not incited violence or blatantly condoned heinous acts against American citizens, but the fact that he does not openly speak about these acts of domestic terrorism invites others to attack minorities, as the assumption is that they will face little to no national attention and only minor consequences.

When our president says that the threats were made across the nation “to make others look bad,” one has to wonder what must happen to force him to openly oppose behavior that does not affect him personally. One would think that with his son-in-law

and daughter, who are both practicing Jews, along with many Jewish businessmen servings as his closest advisers, President Trump would have the personal connection to make it easier to speak out against this blatant attack on the Jewish people.

This is not an opinion stating that Trump condones violence. This article is not made to shift the American people’s blame from one minority group to another. Rather, it is meant to serve as a tale of caution for those who choose to be silent in the face of adversity.

Even in a time when bomb threats are a common occurrence, acts of violence should never be taken lightly. Those who argue that people are becoming too sensitive to these heinous acts and microaggressions often lack a personal connection as well the empathy required to interject in social issues. Protestant pastor Martin Niemöller wrote a poem after spending seven years in Nazi concentration camps, which sums up the current American attitude.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

just taking Art Spectrum for an entire year, students can take one semester of art and one semester of photography.

This enables students to learn more about the different VPA courses offered, and thus allows them to determine which form of art they prefer for future years. There is rarely any room in students’ schedules for more than one VPA course per semester, so if a student is only able to take one VPA class for an entire year, they will likely miss out on another VPA course that they might have enjoyed.

Furthermore, under the current system, if a student takes a VPA class that they realize is not for them after a few months, they will be forced to continue in a course that they dislike for the rest of the year. In this case, the student is not only losing the opportunity to be in a different class they may enjoy more, but also an enjoyable year in artistic education, as they are not interested or engaged in the curriculum.

Therefore, the class can devolve into a waste of time. In that case, neither the teacher nor the student benefits from

that student remaining in the course for a year.

Like VPA, CTE courses are also electives that serve as graduation requirements. However, unlike VPAs, they offer many semester-long options. Therefore, the administration already has proof that semester-long electives work well. There are many more options for students choosing CTE courses, and they can often take two in a year, allowing them to broaden their horizons and explore different areas of study. With the current system in place for VPA courses, students are forced to either stay in a course that does not interest them, or drop the course and take another full year of a different VPA course.

While it is necessary to have semester-long VPA options, not all VPA courses should be so short. The majority of entry-level VPAs should be semester-long, but the more advanced courses that require prerequisites, such as Ceramics/Sculpture or Advanced Photo, would best remain as full year courses. As a result, students will have

more leeway when they first choose which art classes they would like to take.

After taking a couple introductory courses, students will have a better idea if they want to continue to take a certain type of VPA course, confident that they will enjoy the course and gain a deeper knowledge of the art form.

Visual Performing Arts classes should be one semester

YAEL BEN-SHACHAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER

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s we glide through second semester, course selection is a topic on many students’ minds.

Every year, students are required to take several core courses, so the true dilemma with class selection is deciding on electives choose. Students strive to ensure that their electives choices satisfy either the Career Technical Education (CTE) requirement or the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) requirement while still being interesting and exciting. However, because all VPA offerings are year-long classes, it can be difficult to remain engaged with the subject throughout the entire year. Accordingly, Paly should offer semester-long VPA courses in order to allow students to have more flexibility in their course selection and remain engaged in the course.

One advantage of semester-long courses is that they allow students to have a greater variety in their artistic experiences. For example, instead of

Students are forced to either stay in a course that does not interest them, or they must drop the course and take another full year of a different VPA course.

Administering more semester-long VPA courses would only be advantageous to students, specifically those who do not have much of an interest in art, because it enables students to try a wider variety of art courses and maintain their interest in the class.

This change is simple to implement and has shown to be helpful for electives that give CTE credit, which are similar to VPA courses.

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

A6

OPINION

Teachers should incentivize co-curriculars

RENEE HOH

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STAFF WRITER

few weeks ago during Flex, I walked out of my chemistry classroom having just taken a test I never imagined I would be taking: the Chemistry Olympiad.

What was I, with no affiliations to Science Olympiad or interest in pursuing a chemistry major, doing there?

The answer is simple: my Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry teacher had given me the proper incentive — extra credit ­­in exchange for my taking the test.

Palo Alto High School offers its students plenty of opportunities to further their educations outside of the classroom; however, how many students actually engage in these extracurriculars or after school events?

"Co-curriculars have been found to motivate struggling students by increasing participation in school."

Any Paly student is eligible to take the Chemistry Olympiad, though in previous years only students who have already participated in the Science Olympiad have attempted the grueling 60-question, 110-minute evaluation according to AP Chemistry

teacher Ashwini Avadhani.

“I encourage these tests and I do not treat them as a waste of time. Instead, I think it is time well spent because [the students] learn something,” Avadhani said.

However, after Avadhani implemented her extra credit opportunity, 120 students total filled four classrooms to participate in the Chem Olympiad this year.

While it is true that some students only did the minimum to get their extra credit, evident by the uniform column of “C”s bubbled in on their scantrons, many others took full advantage of the opportunity, one they may not have attempted without a push.

Avadhani said that despite the fact that only one student, a SciOly participant, advanced to the next round of the Chem Olympiad last year, many of her students placed in the middle range and above the national average.

There is a plethora of reasons why students are not engaging in activities or learning experiences in line with the academic curriculum, or co-curriculars, by themselves. They may be unaware, uninterested or simply too lazy. Yes, students are liable for managing their own time, but ultimately, some students would rather complete assignments crucial for their grade or focus on their extracurriculars rather than voluntarily participate in an ac-

tivity with educational benefits for the class, even one they may be interested in.

Students should explore the curriculum outside of the classroom and cocurriculars are often opportunities that allow a more creative and interactive application of classroom knowledge.

Additionally, co-curriculars have been found to motivate struggling students by increasing participation in school and improving attendance.

Students involved in co-curriculars are less likely to have unexcused absences, skip school and more likely to maintain a GPA above 3.0, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

It is strange that in our reward-oriented community, many classes lack a culminating project to display the skill and knowledge students have accumulated over the year. Co-curriculars offer a chance for students to create tangible projects or participate in events at little to no cost and without risk.

For instance, the Model United Nations, a simulation of the United Nations Delegate proceedings, takes students’ knowledge of government and politics to another level. Participating students, each representing a country, negotiate and address social, environmental and safety issues. The Model U.N. program is great opportunity, one that can be emphasized by

teachers with extra credit, for students to expand their knowledge of politics and foreign affairs.

Another example is the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which is an extension of creative and technical writing and serves as a creative outlet.

The competition is open to students in grades 7-12 and celebrates creativity in the form of essays, short stories and portfolios without any prompts or restrictions. Additionally, gold and silver portfolio medalists win scholarships of $10,000 and $1,000 respectively. The competition is a manner in which students can be rewarded and recognized for their writing or artistic abilities, outside of the school.

In the case of the Chem Olympiad, I found it challenged the basic skills I had attained and allowed me to evaluate my own readiness for the AP test approaching in May. There are flyers in classrooms and in the library announcing these events and contests; however, students often pass them without a second glance.

Teachers can have influence over their students involvement in co-curriculars.

They can either offer extra credit, class time or resources, as well as assign cocurricular activities as assignments.

“To [participate in co-curriculars] there is no stress, there is no loss and there is only something to gain from it,” Avadhani said.

in the two different regions of the world also contribute to the overall attitude of that area.

Generally, the legislation in Europe that is generally skewed in favor of the employee contributes to a less competitive environment with high job security. This leads to a more inclusive workplace with a variety of backgrounds and previous education and experience. It is also highly beneficial for professionals with families as they have a stable income with vacation days and established parental leave requirements.

However, the more reserved guidelines and company favored laws in the United States presents other favorable aspects as well. The flexibility in the United States helps increase the competitiveness which in turn helps raise salaries for those who are at the top of the workforce. Not being contracted with a single company allows for more competition within the market to earn higher salaries. It encapsulates a system with higher risk but also higher reward.

The philosophy in the United

States is likely a large contributing factor to what has become the tech mecca of the world, Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is a place of great risk but potentially great reward as well. High salaries, flashy titles and a cutthroat mentality await those at the top of the workforce in rapidly growing startups; it is not a stable market for those looking for a secure job.

This was proven in 2016 where large and small tech firms throughout Silicon Valley terminated people at a rate never seen before. In August of that year, Cisco Systems, Inc. announced that they would slash 5,500 jobs, which was consistent with Silicon Valley tech terminations running almost double the pace of 2015.

12,000 lay-offs were also announced at Intel in the same year; 30,000 job cuts were announced by Hewlett and Packard the year before. This compares to data in parts of the world like Europe were companies are more vary of who they hire because they want to be sure that the worker is of proper quality as it is harder to fire them later.

The growth of jobs present in Sili-

con Valley had decelerated rapidly since 2014 when job growth was at 6.4 percent or approximately 42,300 to 3.5 percent or 26,700 new jobs in 2016.

American work regulations should follow European model PHILIP ERICSSON

I

STAFF WRITER

magine being called into your boss’s office on a normal day of work as a veteran of the Silicon Valley tech world. Possibly expecting a promotion, but instead receiving the news that there is a funding shortage and that the company is therefore forced to let you go. This constant threat of being laid off is a norm in the tech world, and especially in recent years following the trends of fastgrowing startup companies. However, in European countries, this practice of being fired on the spot is unheard of, and Americans could benefit by following this practice.

Whether to offer employees a guaranteed contract or not is a contentious issue that sets the likes of European and American professionals apart.

Used correctly, these contracts can create stability and ensure the appropriate amount of competition.

The employment laws that are guaranteed under the European Union and designed to protect the worker are very different compared to those in the U.S. A primary example is the employeeemployer relationship. In Europe, the validity of an offer letter is enforced by state law. In the United States, letters are often simply indications of interest that do not lead to a job offer. Furthermore, in Europe, terminations by the employer must be justifiable, follow certain rules and include a period of notice for the employee in which they receive full pay and are allowed to look for other work. The failure to adhere to policy in Europe can lead to unfair dismissal or discrimination claims by the employee. In comparison, United States employees can be hired and fired in practically the same day.

Obviously, the stricter policy of hire and fire in Europe leads to a completely different environment when compared to the United States. However, one way is not always right. Employment contracts favor different types of people in different environments. The different approaches to employment

"Whether to offer employees a guaranteed contract or not is a contentious issue that sets the likes of European and American professionals apart. Used correctly, these contracts can create stability."

Overall, employment contracts should be implemented entirely depending on the situation and mentality of a region, but companies should try to implement some sort of job security for the worker. The risks must be weighted with the potential reward as both the employer and the employee, but also the state must look to what is valued in a certain place. The freedom of the market to control the employment will allow for rapid growth while destabilizing the market through the use of employment contracts can cause the stagnation of an entire workforce.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

OPINION

A7

Creative writing should be implemented in Paly curriculum

ALLISON WU STAFF WRITER

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n our educational environment, we tend to focus on objectivity rather than creativity, especially in the realm of writing. Teachers and students alike emphasize research and analytical writing over prose and poetry, and creative writing often becomes a fleeting subject in core English classes.

Ostensibly, creative writing does not offer numerous real-world applications, while academic writing is more widespread in professional environments. However, the importance of creative writing is largely underestimated. In reality, when practicing creative writing, students exercise a multitude of skills, such as originality, organization and storytelling, all of which are beneficial and pertinent to a wide range of activities and fields.

Furthermore, students may also improve their mental health through continuous writing and journaling.

Creative writing carries a large capacitance of approaches and allows for flexibility of ideas. It offers a wide variety of genres, such as realistic, fantasy and historical fiction, and includes many types, like prose, memoir, poetry and songwriting. Even within a specific type and genre, writers have

the freedom to choose their preferred methods of storytelling, whether it be through motifs, dialogue, narration or even all three — a privilege that is often not appropriate in other forms of academic writing.

Today, in an era in which innovation is particularly esteemed, originality is crucial; similarly, our writing needs to reflect this ideal. In this way, creative writing grants students the access to explore their inventive minds and fosters the opportunities to come up with plots and characters that are completely unique and completely theirs. Unlike expository writing, where students often use a variety of professional sources to influence their opinions and analyses, creative writing invites individuality.

“I think we can’t do enough to invite divergent and sometimes deviant thinking,” said Lucy Filppu, Writer’s Craft teacher. “Thinking like other people is extremely dangerous, and when we all learn the same idea about Gatsby or the same idea about Maoist China, we’re in bad territory.”

Not only does creative writing induce originality, it also aids in shaping students’ logical abilities. Those who are able to write with intricate plot lines and multifaceted characters are generally more prepared to think rationally and organize their

thoughts chronologically. Although their structures are definitely flexible, understandable stories normally have beginnings, middles and ends, and a competent creative writer is usually able to arrange his or her thoughts in a cogent manner in order to tell stories effectively.

In fact, benefits of creative writing aid numerous people who participate in various other professions.

Many great writers have also established their prominence in other career fields, such as medicine, education and law. To name a few, surgeon Atul Gawande is a highly-acclaimed writer for The New Yorker and ophthalmologist Robin Cook is a popular playwright. Both have left impacts as medical specialists as well as writers through their successes in the two fields.

“Those who can communicate rise,” Filppu said. “If you have a way with words, you will be important with whatever you’re doing.”

Moreover, creative writing is beneficial to students’ mental health. According to the American Psychiatric Association, writing creatively, or journaling, can “provide general wellness and self-improvement benefits,” such as “making [people] more selfaware, boosting creativity and helping [them] build better habits.” It may

also help students release stress and serves as a safe coping mechanism.

“Writing is a tremendously healthy outlet instead of self-harm, using drugs or alcohol, overeating or any other way we cope,” Filppu said. “If students can learn other healthy coping skills, that’s great, and writing is one of them.”

Most importantly, creative writing should be taught more frequently in schools because we need to foster an environment of multitalented and diverse writers.

Most importantly, creative writing should be taught more frequently in schools because we need to foster an environment of multitalented and diverse writers. Writing is extremely important in the school setting, and while academic writing is beneficial, teaching students different methods of creative writing will hopefully produce well-rounded writers who do not think one-dimensionally.

“I don’t think that writers can fully develop their voice, their pace and their sense of who they are as a writer without being given the opportunity to write from their own views,” Filppu said. “They need to write about their own ideas and have their own sense of what matters on a page.”

Upperclassmen should vote to determine Prom location

ETHAN BUNDY

E

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

very year, the students of each class get to vote on the positions held in the student government (ASB). A great deal of Palo Alto High School’s events are run by the ASB and its leader, Matthew Hall. A couple years back they would put together fantastic events such as powder-puff football which has since been disbanded. They organize all of the dances for the students as well as the much loved Spirit Week every year.

Although the location of Prom is not the sole factor that determines how exciting and memorable the night will be, it does play a large role in the happiness of the students.

For the most part, students are happy with the decisions made by ASB and do not mind them dealing with certain events how they please.

However for one of the school’s annual events, the voice of students outside of ASB should be given the chance to speak. There should be more thought that goes into the decision on the location for the Prom. The Classes

of 2016 and 2017 will be attending their senior Prom at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. This is the same location that Prom was held three years ago for the Classes of 2014 and 2015. As a great deal of seniors have siblings and friends that are of these classes, a lot of us have already heard how great of a location it was for the dance. The general consensus is that it was not. This has caused a majority of the students to feel skeptical about how much they will enjoy their final dance at Paly. Now, all of the students realize that ASB puts a great deal of thought into the dance location in order to find a venue that will be enjoyed by all of the students.

However, the student government makes up a very minute fraction of the student population, so their ability to see what appeals to each of the students is extremely limited. Instead of a small group of students, with help from Mr. Hall, deciding where two classes of students will be attending a dance, there should be a vote among the upperclassmen of Paly to decide where the event should be held.

Obviously the whole class cannot just start throwing locations around because that would create way too many options. Instead, ASB should

choose three to four possible locations and make a poll where juniors and seniors can vote for the most appealing option. After all, those in ASB are only in their position due to the votes cast by their classmates, so they should take the voices of their peers into consideration on decisions that affect as many people as this.

Senior Nick Smallwood feels that the poll would be a great idea to achieve an agreeable location.

“I think the seniors should be allowed to choose the location for Prom because it is our last chance to go," Smallwood said. "We all want to make memories at a great venue, but sometimes the decided location is not what we are looking for. We want to have fun, and the best way for us to all be happy is to let us choose where we will spend the night.”

Another great benefit from the senior class choosing the location is the lowered stress level for the staff and student government. By giving the decision over to the whole senior class, it takes the responsibility away from a small group of people to please two entire grades.

“I think that letting the seniors pick from three different locations would be an easy way to appease both

the student body and the administration,” said senior Noah Galper. “Students are concerned with the venue itself and administrators with the cost and transportation. With this method they could kill two birds with one stone."Although the location of Prom is not the sole factor that determines how exciting and memorable the night will be, it does play a large role in the happiness of the students. Prom is an extremely expensive event for all of the students. The tickets alone are $130, not to mention the cost of dresses, tuxedos, make-up and hair appointments. That is a huge investment in a single night to have the possibility of the night being a disappointment due to where it is held.

The best way to avoid this is to choose the location from the majority vote of the senior class. This way, a larger group of people will be pleased with the where they will be going and everyone will have had a chance to voice their opinion on where they believe the dance should be held.

Obviously, it is too late for anything to be changed for this year’s seniors, but there is still hope for future classes that everyone will be pleased with their last dance before graduation.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

A8

EDITORIALS

Better student input system needed Improve testing center

T

o remedy the low student attendance at school forums, perhaps Palo Alto High School should host a forum to ask for student input on how to improve attendance. Alternatively, the Board could make a rushed decision to link every student’s GPA to attendance, based on the feedback of a small but vocal minority.

Jokes aside, students have been clamoring for additional student input on educational decisions since the Board made its controversial decision on Nov. 1 to change how weighted grades were reported. Students opposed to weighted grades complained that the decision happened without thorough consideration of student opinion, instead relying on poorly advertised Board meetings primarily attended by students and parents in favor of weighted grades.

This wasn’t the first time a decision was made with limited student input. On April 21, 2015 the Palo Alto High School Unified School District (PAUSD) made the decision to stop offering academic zero period classes at both high schools despite the opposition of 90.82 percent of students.

Understandably, students began to clamor for greater influence and representation in academic decisions made by the Board and PAUSD. Consequently, The Campanile has written many editorials asking for

greater student input on topics ranging from staff tenure to homework policies.

We are happy to report our voice has been heard. Student input is being collected by the administration on a variety of issues through student forums and online surveys. From Jan. 1 to March 16 of this year, there have been five student forums that asked for student input on important topics such as the bell schedule and weighted grades.

Unfortunately, there has been consistently low student attendance — typically fewer than 30 students attend a given forum.

This is troubling because the perspectives of this small sample may not reflect the views of the entire campus. Moreover, the low attendance rate may discourage administration from holding additional forums to collect student input. The probable result is that, despite dozens of angry Facebook posts, editorials and letters, PAUSD will eventually revert back to the way it originally made academic decisions — with limited student input.

After two years of struggle, the District wants to listen to student voices, but students are not speaking up. This is likely due to the way the feedback is collected — few students are willing to devote an hour or more to attend a forum with dozens of people where their individual opinion

may be lost.

Our solution is to hold the mini “forums” in mandatory advisory meetings. The Campanile has previously called for improving advisory, with a key focus on holding more meaningful, team-building meetings. Advisory is a chronically under. utilized period, and it has the opportunity to collect student feedback in small, familiar groups.

Each student’s voice could actually be heard, and the teachers could send their notes to the Board or District afterwards. If even half of the advisories classrooms participate (a single student grade has over 400 students), then the aggregate feedback will be much more substantial and comprehensive than the feedback currently given.

Another solution would be to administer mandatory surveys during class time. This process was previously used to administer teacher feedback and student wellness surveys.

We feel that this process would also provide a greater amount of student feedback with less effort made on the District’s part.

We hope the relevant Paly administration members take note of our feedback and work to improve how student forums are conducted. As evidenced by the controversies in 2015 and 2016, students want to be heard.

There simply needs to be a better system to collect their opinions.

B

ounded by the $29 million Performing Arts Center, the $6 million Media Arts Center and the $40 million gym sits a 14’ by 60’ portable referred to rather boldly as the Testing Center. This trailer serves Palo Alto High School students who are unable to take exams on the days specified by their instructors. Whether it be due to absence, illness or anything in between, many Vikings have found themselves within its rickety walls.

For those who haven’t sown their intellectual seeds in the Testing Center, The Campanile recommends abstaining from doing so in the interest of both mental and physical health.

The facility is small and often packed to the gills with students. Noises pour in through the door, footsteps make the floor vibrate, and a fireball of body heat keeps things toasty. Even with two staff members at its mast, the Center is clearly a sinking ship.

It is the duty of our administration to provide students with a comfortable and accessible environment in which to take tests. The limited hours of our current Testing Center, coupled with its close quarters, are an issue that needs to be promptly addressed. Student learning is impeded by low exam scores, and low exam scores are facilitated by substandard test-taking conditions. At a school like Paly, with an abundance of capital, resources and space, finding a

new classroom in which to house the testing center shouldn’t be a challenge.

The Campanile recommends the implementation of either a new space, available from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every school day, or a rotating schedule for available classrooms with the same proposed hours, staffed by the same. Problems most frequently arise due to lack of seats in the Testing Center — during any given Flex period, a line of students snaking out the door can be seen waiting anxiously for others to finish their exams and allow other test takers inside.

Such conditions can lead to some students waiting up to an hour or longer to make up their exams or abandoning their posts and negotiating with teachers to delay their tests even further. With the creation of an expanded Testing Center space or classroom rotation system, students would be able to make up tests at the earliest possible convenience, and teachers could grade and return exams sooner.

At the core of most Paly classes lies a necessity to succeed on exams, made more difficult by subpar testretaking conditions. If students must reschedule their exams, they should not be penalized with an environment that makes it difficult to perform well. The portable is functional but hardly practical. Our hope is to raise the bar at a benefit to students.

Intra-grade guidance would benefit students

M

ost students at Palo Alto High School are familiar with the cliche, “high school is like a roller coaster.” This is not only because they have heard it countless times, but also since they are experiencing it in real time. In the mess of course selections and college applications among a myriad of other important obligations for students to handle, guidance resources are often appreciated.

But while we already have great facilities within the guidance system, primarily run by adults working in the District, it is integral to incorporate student perspectives in providing guidance. Hearing feedback and advice from students, as opposed to teachers and counselors, can be comforting and relatable, and we don’t have nearly enough peer feedback when it comes to important high school decisions.

Choosing classes, especially for rising upperclassmen, can be one of the most important yet daunting processes at Paly. With the variety of electives that are offered, it is difficult for students to know where to start — a paragraph description is not nearly enough information for a student to understand the details of the curricula for different classes as well as their levels of difficulty.

The student-moderated class surveys conducted by Input Club is a good start to helping students better understand the difficulty levels of different classes by assessing the grade distribution and time spent on homework. But the homework time data clearly has a sampling bias, and the site lacks qualitative feedback that may be helpful to students selecting courses. Thus, it may be useful to hold student-led forums or Q&A sessions

within each department to help students decide among classes, especially electives.

If feasible, having upperclassmen offer their time for one-on-one advice may be a resource worth utilizing as well, as there are not nearly enough faculty members to provide students with individualized guidance in selecting courses. Alternatively, clubs such as Input could improve on their data collection by surveying qualitative data as well.

Similarly, guidance from a student perspective can be helpful for juniors about to experience the college application process. Not many advisories are held for seniors during the application season, and merely relying on adults for help through the process can be unrealistic, considering the busy schedules of most teachers on campus.

Graduating seniors can provide a uniquely important perspective due to their recent exposure to the exact same process. In addition to providing forums for soon-to-be-seniors to attend and understand the college application process better, it would be interesting and potentially extremely helpful for current juniors to obtain a “cheat sheet” of tips from graduating seniors. While this has occurred in several advisory classes before, it would be advantageous to offer this opportunity to more students and classes.

As the year comes to a close, it is worth re-evaluating the mechanisms by which Paly guides its students throughout high school. With increased interactions between grade levels in advising, whether it regards course selections or college applications, many students would appreciate the multifaceted help.

MARCH’S TOP TEN LIST Top Ten Ways to Spend Your Spring Break 10) S ­ tart on your summer reading list.

9) Quality family time.

8) Finish your Netflix queue.

7) Make it onto “Girls Gone Wild.”

6) Tattoo a butterfly on your lower back.

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Peter Maroulis • Jacky Moore • Kai Oda Ethan Teo • Jessica Wong Online Editor David Tayeri News and Opinion Editors Sam Yun Ashley Zhang

3) Try to fix your farmer’s tan before prom.

2) Get cornrows.

1) Cry over college rejections.

-MACKENZIE GLASSFORD & JARED STANLEY

Lifestyle Editors Eli Gwin-Kerr Annalise Wang

Sports Editors Cole Hechtman Kiran Misner

Multimedia Editor Mads McCluskey

Business Manager Bethany Shiang

Staff Writers Noah Baum Ben Beisheim Yael Ben-Shachar Josh Brigel Ethan Bundy Charlotte Cheng Uma Choudhury Kate DeAndre Philip Ericsson Joanna Falla

Vivian Feng Mary Fetter Mackenzie Glassford Renee Hoh Maya Homan Edward Kim Grace Kitayama Riya Kumar Raj Lele Eric Li

Photographers

Charlotte Cheng Maya Homan Gracie Kitayama

5) Sit at home opening all your friends’ vacation snapchats.

4) Spend the week in bed with the flu.

Managing Editor Alice Zhao

Gillian Robins Jordan Schilling Peyton Wang

Advisors Esther Wojcicki

Rodney Satterthwaite

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

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

The Campanile only prints signed letters.

Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts.

For more information regarding advertisements or sponsors in

Will Leighton Jacques Manjarrez Nicholas Melvin Anna Moragne Jordan Quigley Maya Bailey Niklas Risano Ehecatl Rivera Gillian Robins Paarth Sharma

Edan Sneh Kesi Sound Jared Stanley Avi Tachna-Fram Peyton Wang Clay Watson Allison Wu Byron Zhang Shannon Zhao

Illustrators

Kate DeAndre Renee Hoh

Jacques Manjarrez

Writing Coaches Evelyn Richards

Elisabeth Rubinfien

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!

L FESTYLE The Campanile

PALO

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Friday, March 31, 2017

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Missing in Academia: Teachers’ perspective on the tardiness and absence policies at Paly

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David Wu MAC 103 w

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Signature: Text and Design By: Design By:

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Rod Satterthwaite

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Tristan Wang Maya Homan, Grace Kitayama and Alice On (Paly/Forms/Pass to Class 4-up) 3/31

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tudent tardiness and unexcused absences are common occurrences present in every school, and Palo Alto High School is certainly no exception. Every teacher at Paly handles these issues differently, their expectations and consequences often varying considerably in method and severity.

Conveniently for students, information pertaining to how to clear unexcused absences and obtain prior approval for excused absences such as family events, athletic events and college visits can be found on pages 8-11 of the 2016-17 Paly Student Handbook. Paly administration has an attendance policy which explicitly defines tardies, cuts, truancies and excused and unexcused absences. It also outlines standardized procedures on possible actions to address poor attendance, and the possible results of excessive, unexcused tardies and cuts.

And yet, the Paly administration intentionally leaves the consequences for tardies in classes to the discretion of individual teachers, provided that the teachers clearly communicate their expectations with students at the start of their course.

This lack of policy consistency inspires students to take advantage of lenient teachers, fuels tardiness and absences and fosters a sense of uncertainty among certain teachers.

“As a school administration we do track cuts and tardies as a whole… but we allow the teachers some flexibility on the local level because they’re in a better position to deal with the everyday situations of the students,” said Assistant Principal Adam Paulson.

“Enforcing a strict school-wide tardiness policy is inappropriate and just too much to handle.”

Some Paly educators, like math teacher Cynthia Chen, establish clear consequences for tardiness for their students.

“When students come tardy, I have them stay during brunch or lunch to make up for the time that they lost,” Chen said. “Usually during this time I have them do homework, so there is a positive benefit because they can get some work done.”

Others, like math teacher Herb Bocksnick, neither consider nor wish their tardiness policies to be too penalty-driven. They instead incentivize coming to class on time or even early in order to discourage lateness.

“I usually allow early kids extra time to

work on their quizzes,” Bocksnick said. “The not respecting my time and other students’ only penalty is that if you’re late you’ll have time.”

Despite teachers’ clear objection to student less time to work on those… but it’s not too penalty-driven because everyone is allowed a tardiness, 68 percent of Paly students stated chance to remedy [their grades] if they come that they suffer almost no consequences for being late to class, and another 32 percent see me after school.”

Unsurprisingly, individual student tardi- are usually only given verbal warnings, acness for classes at Paly seems very closely cording to polls conducted by The Campanile. related to being late for school in general. Additionally, less than 13 percent of polled students who are tardy According to a recent consistently suffer acaFacebook poll conductThe lack of demically, and less than ed by The Campanile, 87 consistency in the 12 percent of the same percent of Paly students attendance policy population are denied who are consistently late certain in-class privifor class at least once a inspires students to leges as a result of their week believe that they take advantage of tardiness. Furthermore, are more likely to miss lenient teachers, less than 12 percent are the first period of the fuels tardiness called in to have conschool day than any versations with teachers other period. and absences and after class.

However, most of fosters a sense of This can be explained the Paly teachers inuncertainty among by the fact that a subterviewed believe that certain teachers. stantial number of stumost student tardies are dents tend to skip ceravoidable, and that most cases of consistent student tardiness indicate tain classes more than others, depending a lack of responsibility and respect for others. on how strictly the teacher in “Traffic accidents happen, malfunctioning question typically red lights happen…

they can get away with [disciplinary actions] and avoid turning in an assignment or [taking] a test on time,” Vuong said. “I feel that this is something we teachers need to discuss as a school… so we can work out something fair and equitable for everybody.”

Like-minded educators, such as Spanish teacher Kevin Duffy, hope that the school can minimize this trend by enforcing a consistent tardiness policy for all Paly teachers.

“I would much prefer that the school had some kind of expectation in place across the board,” Duffy said. “The consistency would be beneficial because when students know that a teacher is more lenient than others … it’s almost like they have permission to come late to those classes.”

Chen offers similar input, and also hopes that a unified, school-wide tardiness policy would avoid any unnecessary ill feelings between tardy students and teachers who are perceived to be stricter than others. “ I ’d

deals with late students.

55 percent of students say they are likely to skip a class more if the teacher is less harsh in dealing with tardiness, and 11 percent of students say they exploit this fact “all the time.”

English teacher George Vuong is troubled by a widespread phenomenon he calls “strategic tardiness,” where students feign legitimate reasons for tardiness or absences to avoid deadlines and tests, or to acquire more time to work on late assignments.

“Sometimes students seem to intentionally be tardy… or absent, especially if they think

like some more guidance from the administration,” Chen said. “If the students know that it’s not the teacher’s discretion but a consistent policy applied to them, it also feels less like a personal punishment coming from the teacher.”

Regardless of their takes on specific expectations and consequences regarding late students, the vast majority of Paly teachers agree that all and any tardiness policies should ultimately be administered to cultivate character.

“Sometimes, let’s face it, the content that I teach comes secondary to leaving here with a life skill of responsibility and timeliness,” Bocksnick said. “At some point, being a late person is going to bite you in the butt.”

but I would argue that 98 percent of the tardies are completely avoidable, and choosing not to avoid that, I think, is self-centered and a little bit disrespectful to everyone else in the room,” Bocksnick said.

“If a student is consistently late, it most likely shows that they are not organized,” said science teacher Ashwini Avadhani. “They are

LIFESTYLE

Evolution of concerts and music festivals From casual outdoor gatherings to massive, cooporate-sponsered events that attract thousands of tourists from around the globe and feature a variety of cultural facets, music festivals have bringing people together since the 1960s.

REDBULL/FAIR USE

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SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM/FAIR USE

LIFESTYLE

DARK HORIZONS/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

LIFESTYLE

Everything Wolverine fans love ñ and no Stan Lee cameo.

A look at homelessness in Palo Alto; a famously affluent city.

Selective Service

Logan Review

PAGE B2

PAGE B3

The draft is required by law, but going to war has consequences.

PEYTON WANG/THE CAMPANILE

ENTERTAINMENT

Local Opportunity Center

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Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

B2 LIFESTYLE Foreign television programs to watch on Netflix Both Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City and Black Mirror will provide viewers with great entertainment BETHANY SHIANG

BUSINESS MANAGER

L

et’s be real, what are people really doing this weekend? It’s pretty likely that the majority of people — students, parents and teachers — will be watching Netflix at one point or another. Unfortunately, the biggest dilemma is just a click away. While you curl up in bed with your soda and an entire pizza, you are met with an almost endless selection of movies and television shows to watch. Beyond the featured selections are international television shows that are worth bingeing on.

Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City American reality shows such as Keeping Up With the Kardashians give audiences a peek inside what it’s like to lose a $75,000 pair of earrings in the ocean while in Bora Bora.

While it makes great entertainment, it’s unrelatable and in the words of Kourtney Kardashian, “There are people dying, Kim.” In contrast, Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City is a Japanese reality TV show centered around six young strangers — three men and three women — who all live together in a glamorous apartment in Tokyo, Japan. The twist is there’s no yelling, screaming or slapping. Instead, all problems are resolved through mature communication and polite respect between one another. The people on the show are genuinely likable and engage in day-to-day interactions with problems we all face, including friendship, relationships and jobs. The members in the house also choose when they can leave. Whether it’s realizing there’s no one left to pair up with, or choosing to focus on their jobs, no one overstays their welcome.

ANNALISE WANG

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

DEAR ANNALISE, I have a friend who is exhibiting the characteristic signs of depression.

He complains of always being tired, has lost interest in activities that he once enjoyed and is losing friends.

He is self-conscious and bullied in school. I assume the best course of action is for my friend to see a therapist or some other trained professional, and I’ve told his parents this. However, my friend refuses to go. Is there anything I, or his parents, can do to help?

-CONCERNED DEAR CONCERNED, Right off the bat, I noticed how much you’re looking out for your friend. This is so important and commendable, as your friend can really benefit from someone to turn to like you, so thank you for being there for them! I think a first step, if you have not already done this, would be to let your friend know that you care about them a lot, and that you’re there to support them no matter what. A simple “How was your day?” can matter so much to someone by letting them know that someone cares about how they’re doing, no matter how mundane their day may have in fact been.

You care deeply about them — let them know!

While you can offer your friend support and empathy, keep in mind that it is not your responsibility to “fix” their depression. Depression is often extremely complex in how it

COURTESY OF NETFLIX.COM (LEFT) FALABERENICE.COM (RIGHT)

Left: The stars of Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City sit together, talking. Right: Lacie from the episode Nosedive from Black Mirror tries to improve her social rating.

It’s a refreshing change from American reality shows in which audiences pray and cry for certain contestants to leave. The show’s only constant is a panel of comedians who react to each episode and offer commentary on how each situation should have been handled.

Terrace House’s strength lies in its cultural difference from American reality shows. For example, it takes several episodes before any kind of physical contact happens between any romantic parties. They go on sweet and endearing dates and talk about their hopes and dreams. Viewers also get a glimpse of life in Japan such as restaurants and scenic sites.

Plus viewers can learn some Japanese as well. Reality television is, when at its best, a view into a culture and a honest portrayal of how modern young people live their lives.

Black Mirror For those who don’t like sciencefiction, Black Mirror is a British television show worth considering. Set in the future, each episode is a minimovie with a different director, cast and story. However, Black Mirror tells a story in every episode that is a relevant problem to our time: technology’s hold over society.

Rather than focusing on unrealistic consequences of technology, Black Mirror looks at the emotional aspects of technology and how we’ve made machines like our smartphones into extensions of ourselves. In Season 3 Episode 1, “Nosedive” pays homage to social media platforms. The episode creates a society in which after every interaction, people rate the other person on a scale of 1 to 5; the better the interaction, the higher the rating. The episode’s protagonist La-

manifests and affects an individual, so at this point in time the most important thing that you can do is to recognize that your friend might be suffering from it.

Though you can’t cure them yourself, there are definitely some things you can do to help out. You mentioned that your friend is being bullied at school — if you’re present when you notice it happening, try to stand up for them. I’m not sure how severe the extent of the bullying is, but if it’s something like others verbally berating your friend, you should do your best to intervene. If it’s not something you can stop yourself, pull an adult into the situation to help. You said that the bullying takes place at school, so if you find yourself unsure of what to do with the situation at hand, ask a teacher or guidance counselor to resolve the immediate situation — they are trained to be able to stop the bullying as it is happening. It’s really important to be there for your friend in these instances, as being bullied can greatly affect one’s self confidence and potentially worsen feelings of sadness or self-deprecation.

You can also make efforts to be a good listener. Just being heard is also significant to your friend — depression can sometimes make someone feel like their voice is not being heard, or that they’re being silenced. Moreover, they can feel like their thoughts aren’t of importance, or even that they’re a bother to others. Remember that you are their friend, not their therapist, so please try not to play the role of the therapist or feel obligated to. Spending time with friends, trusted adults or family members is crucial to individuals with depression, and their support systems often have a great deal of impact on their dayto-day lives.

Finally, you can talk to them about therapy again. This doesn’t mean to nag them about it or try to push them to go, but to convey to them that speaking with a therapist might help them, and perhaps they will have a change of heart. If you or their parents force them to go to counseling unwillingly, it’s more likely that the sessions won’t be as helpful, if at all.

They are currently not willing to go, and though the reason is unclear right now, it is likely that they either refuse to believe that they need help, or deep down be frightened of the prospect of going. Counseling does have its stigmas — for example, some people

believe that “it’s only for people with something wrong with them” — but that’s simply not true; it can be truly beneficial for anyone going through a tough time, and can help you better deal with anything emotional.

No matter why the idea of counseling is currently unwelcome to them, reinforce that it’s probably a good thing for them to try. Try asking them why they don’t want to see a therapist so you can find out more about the reason why they aren’t interested. Counseling is like talking through your issues with a friend that is a trained listener and has concrete ways to help you work through your issues. In some ways, it is better than talking out your issues with friends and family because professional counselors have pretty solid ideas that have been proven to help, and can be tailored to the individual.

Having a friend is great sometimes — you are around the same age and have had shared experiences and feelings — but often they may not know what is best to say, nor do they necessarily know what will be best for you moving forward.

Additionally, you can suggest for them to go to the Wellness Center, as it’s a great on-campus resource with trained professionals for them to talk privately with about what they’re going through, and can connect them to help. The Wellness Center may be a more welcome idea for them since scheduling therapy sessions and finding a therapist can be a bit of a daunting task.

I sincerely hope that your friend’s condition improves. Just know that you’re doing the best you can to be a supportive and great friend! Depression is unfortunately more common than we like to talk about — the recent California Healthy Kids Survey of Palo Alto High School reported that 23 percent of Paly students have had “chronic feelings of hopelessness or depression for more than two weeks in a row” — an alarmingly high rate. When you walk around campus, at least one in every four or five people you see has struggled with feelings of depression, so it’s all the more important that we genuinely try to be kind to everyone we meet and interact with. Thank you again for looking out for your friend — I truly hope that your friend (and everyone, really) has more friends like yourself.

WITH LOVE, ANNALISE

cie is trying to buy a luxurious apartment, but her rating is 4.2, which is too low of a score.

Rather than focusing on unrealistic consequences of technology, Black Mirror looks at the emotional aspects of technology and how we’ve made machines like our smartphones into extensions of ourselves.

Thus, she sets off to raise her score to a 4.5 to qualify for the apartment in a short period of time. This causes Lacie to act overly nice to everyone she meets, but it’s clear to the audience that she’s being “fake.” Eventually, her obsession with raising her score spirals out of control.“Nosedive” depicts the selves people present on

social media accounts — Instagram, Twitter, Facebook — aren’t really who we are. They are the pretty versions of ourselves that we show to the world.

Other episodes such as “The Entire History of You” looks at moments many relate to such as getting a text message from your crush and obsessively examining it down to the finest details. The story focuses on a society where everybody has a memory implant that records everything they hear, see and do. The protagonist of the episode, Liam Foxwell, is suspicious that his wife might be cheating on him. Using the memory implant, he begins obsessively replaying footage to find out. Black Mirror resonates so deeply with its audience that at times it can be uncomfortable, as the viewers feel as if they are watching themselves in the future.

Student perspectives on Selective Service SSA requires men ages 18-26 to sign up ANNA MORAGNE

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

I

n the midst of World War I, it appeared that not enough men were enlisting in the army and the United States would not have enough manpower to fight Germany.

In response to this shortage, Congress passed the Selective Service Act (SSA) of 1917.

Although this act only required men to sign up during wartime, the amended Selective Service Act of 1940 required men aged of 21 to 35 to be registered in the Selective Service at all times.

Since 1940, the SSA’s requirements have been changed many times and now only requires men aged 18 to 26 to be signed up, yet this is not something that is particularly well known.

“I initially heard about Selective Service when Christian told me he signed up for it,” said senior Kevin Chen. “I was sort of surprised, since it hadn’t been mentioned to me before.”

“While it is the law for men to sign up for Selective Service, the person signing up has to think of the emotional and physical toll of the possibility of going to war.’’

Christian Rider Paly Senior However, when the SSA says enlistment is “required,” the term is used loosely. Although technically it is against the law for men 18 to 26 to not be signed up, they will not be penalized during peacetime. Yet, if it were a time of war, these non-enlisted men could be fined up to $250,000 or be sentenced to five years in prison for not being registered in the Selective Service.

Additionally, there are some benefits that come along with being registered: only men who have registered can be considered for federal Pell Grants or federal jobs, and citizen-

ship for those unregistered may be delayed.

“I signed up for Selective Service because I wanted to see if I could get some financial aid from schools,” said senior Christian Rider. “I was going to have to sign up for it anyway, so it is not as if I made a huge decision.”

While the United States drafts men through the independent agency of the Selective Service System, many countries deal with conscription in other ways. Some countries, such as Israel, require all citizens in able condition over 18 to serve in the army.

Men serve 36 months while women serve 24, and although there are exemptions it is seen as one’s national duty to be a part of the military. Yet there are also countries on the opposite side of the spectrum that do not require any sort of conscription such as the United Kingdom, India and Japan.

Although the draft has not been used in the United States since the Vietnam War over 40 years ago, men signing up for Selective Service still are forced to consider the consequences of what could happen to them if the United States should enter a time of war requiring army drafting.

“While it is the law for men to sign up for Selective Service, the person signing up has to think of the emotional and physical toll of the possibility of going to war,” Rider said.

The draft and Selective Service alike are still heavily debated topic. In fact, in February of 2016 a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives to abolish the Selective Service System and in turn end draft registration. Many believe that only those who choose to serve and volunteer to fight for their country should be the ones in the army.

“War is a terrible thing, and to think that an anti-war advocate who loves their country might have to go to war because of the draft makes me question if this should be the patriotic duty of every man in the United States,” Rider said.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

Cultural expectations impact success Stereotypes formed of migrants who struggle to follow American cultural norms

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Your monthly horoscope

ERIC LI

STAFF WRITER

T

hroughout history, our country has indoctrinated the entire world with the idea of the “American Dream” — the hope that through hard work and determination, one can achieve happiness and prosperity.

The United States, dubbed the “Land of Opportunity,” fosters more immigrants than any other country.

Immigrants come here in search of a better life, opportunity and education for themselves and their families. Many have moved specifically to Palo Alto due to high paying jobs and great schools for their children to go to. Although the decision to move here yields many long-term benefits, most migrants, if not all struggle with assimilating into the customs and lifestyles of their new country, especially if they have Eastern culture due to different values and languages.

Consequently, many migrants from Eastern cultures are ridiculed for being unable to follow cultural norms. This has spawned a stereotype for people specifically from Eastern regions — fresh off the boat — typically characterized by people from Asia.

In today’s culture, “fresh off the boat” culture is typically defined as exhibiting inadequate or broken English along with lack of appropriate manners. But at Palo Alto High School, it is also tied with pressure to succeed due to the long lengths that families have traveled to receive a westernized education. Many parents come to America to receive a higher paying jobs and expect their children to earn as much when they grow up.

Junior Hua Zheng’s family’s motivations were discrete. Zheng emigrated from China to Canada in 2010, first moving to Milpitas and then to Palo Alto. Both his parents still work in China, but they had bought a house here for Zheng to attend high school in the United States.

“My family moved here for a plethora of reasons, but it was pri-

KATE DEANDRE

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

GILLIAN ROBINS

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ASIAN AMERICAN POP CULTURE/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

American sitcom “Fresh off the Boat” details the struggles of immigrants similar to those who want an education in Palo Alto.

marily to grant me a western education,” Zheng said. “In China, a western education has more prestige.

Even when I still lived in China, my parents sent my brother to a British boarding school.”

Due to parents going to great lengths for the sake of their children’s education, students are overwhelmed by unreachable standards that Asian parents hope will result in the direct compensation of their struggle to move to the United States.

“Parents don’t understand student life here,” said junior Jerry Yang.

“They have unrealistic expectations for me when it comes to academics.”

Contrary to most places in the United States, the struggles of pressure far outweigh the struggles of transitioning to a new culture in a diverse area like Palo Alto.

The high-pressure and resultbased lifestyles that are seen in many Paly mirrors that of Eastern cultures.

The Bay Area has been touted as among the most diverse areas of the United States, which is consequently reflected in its schools.

“The cultures between here and Eastern countries are more similar than people think,” Zheng said. “People have same values and a lot of the

things they do in there are the same as in the United States.”

In addition, most schools have an English Second Language (ESL) program which provides assistance for those adapting to the new language. However, the ESL program has many flaws and for the most part, isn’t really helpful. Students are bound by the program until they are able to pass a language test and therefore declared English proficient. During this time, students of the program are limited in their ability to take certain classes even if they are fully qualified to do so.

“Parents don’t understand student life here.”

Jerry Yang Junior

“ESL program initially was helpful for like a semester but became pretty useless later on,” said an anonymous Paly student. “I think it actually hinders progress to an extent.”

As a matter of fact, most immigrants who come here learn much more through other activities, like books and TV shows. Resources that are directed towards younger children

could prove to be valuable for those learning a new language. Nevertheless, languages are still best learned by speaking the language, which ESL programs provide a haven for immigrants to speak English with confidence.

“A lot of [ESL] programs don’t really help. I could have learned more from it, but you have to work harder,” Zheng said. “I think I learned more from watching Cartoon Network.”

On top of that, ESL programs allow students of similar international backgrounds to meet. Consequently, many new immigrants become friends with other immigrants, forming communities and cliques dedicated to such backgrounds.

“I feel closer to other immigrants since I have more things in common with them,” Zheng said. “When my brother was in Britain, he hung out with other newly immigrated people, even if they weren’t from the same region he came from.”

Even though many view those stereotypes as negative, they are not as radical as people would seem and many are actually admittedly true.

“Most of what the public thinks is actually true,” Zheng said. “I don’t really think too much about them.”

‘Logan’ movie redeems X-Men franchise Marvel’s box office hit includes genres to accommodate a wide range of age groups

COREY PLANTE/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

In the movie, Logan, played by Hugh Jackman, helps a sick Professor X at a spot on the Mexican Border while simultaneously defending a mutant girl from the dark forces.

JACQUES MANJARREZ

STAFF WRITER

H

e looks friendly enough, doesn’t he? He’s got that expression of peace, that face worn with wisdom, that accent that’s like an Australian trying to impersonate a Canadian — it’s all there! Or is it? There’s definitely something missing, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. You approach him skeptically, asking him one simple question: “Where’s the Stan Lee cameo?”

Tears start to well in the eyes of the former sentinel. But don’t be mistaken, for these are not the tears of longing or sorrow. These are happy tears — tears that cry liberation. And under the bushy beard, now wet with the waters of Nirvana, there’s a smile.

A smile as bright as the potential future of the artistic medium of film.

I quite enjoyed Logan, the latest Marvel studios film written and directed by James Mangold. The plot traces the mysterious Logan (formerly X-Man Wolverine) in the not-

too-distant future, as he cares for an elderly Charles Xavier, the former Professor X of the X-Men school, who resides in a metal dome on the Mexican-American border. Having long since abandoned the practice of superheroing, Logan finds himself working as a limousine driver, saving money so as to buy a private boat for which he and the professor may live out the rest of their days in peace. Yet just as he and the professor are enjoying their relatively simple lifestyle in the rural desert, the cinematographer wakes up from his prolonged nap and conflict ensues.

These are not the tears of longing or sorrow; these are happy tears — tears that cry liberation.

Though the film is supposedly based off of the “Old Man Logan” comic series, it seems that, based on a thorough speed-read, there are very few similarities between the two. One

such similarity is that, in both stories, Logan is pretty old. A major difference between the two is that the film “Logan” is actually pretty decent.

This film is the one rational drummer trying to pull the rest of the band out of retirement before the lead guitarist overdoses: The movie goes through great lengths to repair all of the X-Men franchise’s prior mistakes. The problem with the X-Men franchise is that it’s very much based on the personal struggle of each individual protagonist, trying to save a world that refuses to accept them.

It’s in a genre that is tailored to fit as many demographics as possible, including but not limited to kids, teens, adults, nostalgics, elders, mutants, infants, cinema staff and especially ghosts. It’s because of this that the franchise has had this expectation of failure from the beginning; torn between the potential to become a serious, heart-wrenching story and its comic appeal.

But now, with “Logan”, the clouds begin to clear. Real character and

genuine, gripping stories descend from the heavens like rays of warming sunlight. Perfect dialogue and pacing grant nutrients to a bed of woefully underfed flowers that blossom a thousand radiant colors under a delicate blanket of light and innovation.

Though the film is supposedly based off of the “Old Man Logan” comic series, it seems that, based on a thorough speed-read, there are very few similarities between the two.

My main concern is what happens next. With a box-office weekend debut of $85.3 million, Logan will, without a doubt, have a lasting influence on future films of the genre.

Now whether that influence will destroy or rejuvenate the genre of superhero films, we’ve yet to see. So we sit patiently, basking in the sunlight with our plastic Wolverine figurine by our side, waiting for the flowers to grow.

Capricorn You won’t have much on your social calendar this month; so, turn on Rihanna and get to work. You may not have much luck this week with school, but at least you’re putting in the effort.

Aquarius Your future looks pretty meek, so I guess you should try to put as much effort in now as you can. Even though you have been rejected a lot lately (sometimes multiple times in a day), there are probably more rejections coming your way. The best characteristic you can attain right now is resilience.

Pisces You will encounter a spat with one of your coworkers this week. Pro tip: to prove your side, take your time this week to turn all other coworkers against this person. Talk mad s*** about them to others.

Aries You might find yourself crying alone in a bathroom stall this week.

Chances are you brought whatever made you so sad upon yourself. You can choose to improve yourself or accept your fate. Your reputation will stick with you awhile, so you better get used to spending majority of your time there.

Taurus It might be hard to focus on work since that special somebody is on your mind. But a good way to force it is to spend every waking moment focused on them. Forget work, forget food and sleep, clearly you have a special connection with this person.

Gemini You’ve been working so hard lately… well maybe not hard, but you’ve certainly been putting in work. You need some down-time from everything. Book a relaxing getaway to celebrate some time for yourself. You deserve it, girlfriend!

Cancer If you are beginning to get the feeling that somebody is trying to sabotage you, then you should follow that feeling. Everybody in the workplace is your enemy this week. Remember, there is no “team” in “you!”

Leo The best way to stay focused this week is to eat everything in sight.

Remember, food is your friend. Instead of going out with friends (what friends, amiright?), have a party in your pantry! Grab cookie dough, ice cream and hot cheetos on your way home from work and stay in.

Virgo You’ve read about it online, but now it’s time to try it out yourself.

Quit your job, travel the world, and become instafamous! It’s all the rave right now. Jay and Alexis? Those travel Instagrams that you obsessively stalk everyday? That could be you!

Libra You have been thinking about a moment for awhile. A person maybe or a decision you are hesitant to make. It’s time to make it. The stars have aligned and it is time for you to make that decision or talk to that person. Take a chance, live your life.

Scorpio You are going to do something very adventurous soon and you will love it. It will change your life. Maybe it is your first time doing something.

Whatever it is, you will enjoy it and it will change your life.

Sagittarius You’ve been working a lot. Time to take a break to get your sweat on and alleviate the stress. Try to get outdoors, but if that’s too much work then just hit up the gym and use a treadmill that has a nature video on it. Bonus if you can find one with the sounds of nature as well.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

B4

SPOTLIGHT Text and design by Niklas Risano

Bursting T

Silicon Valley’s bubble of wealth and liberalism had long surv election. Through a news analysis of recent events, T

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

W

ith a crime rate of nearly zero, self-driving cars and a $2.5 mil lion median home price, Palo Alto is undoubtedly a bubble. So when Palo Altans woke up on Nov. 9 and found that Donald Trump had been elected president, they were shocked beyond belief. They shouldn’t have been. Residents had long been living in the bubble, a state of ideological claustrophobia reinforced during the campaign by a media “filter bubble,” also known as an “echo chamber,” an environment in which ideas and beliefs are reinforced through communication and repetition.

People who float through life in these metaphorical bubbles tend to scoff at others’ ideas and problems. The phenomenon affects people from all political stances and walks of life, but few areas have been as consumed by the echo chamber as the Bay Area. Many individuals in Silicon Valley have time and time again condemned those with minority conservative opinions while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge that the opinions and problems of others hold relevance. One factor which has fueled this is that three-quarters of local voters backed Hillary Clinton in the recent election.

Many Paly students acknowledge that they live in the bubble, and for those who did not realize it beforehand, the election was surely a wake-up call.

“The students were shocked,” said Spanish

teacher Kevin Duffy. “I threw out the lesson plan and focused on positivity.” His sentiment was shared by many others in the Paly community who spent the day grieving over the election results.

Why did the filter bubble form, and does it matter?

Both the mainstream media and social media outlets have contributed to the Silicon Valley belief bubble. Catering to either side of the political spectrum are a plethora of news outlets that depend on consumers who seek a seemingly one-sided representation of current events. In Silicon Valley, many people completely disregard sources such as conservativeleaning Fox News, yet they often follow outlets such as MSNBC or CNN, which generally appeal to more left-leaning audiences. It is easy for people to (perhaps even unconsciously) filter the type of news they consume and to condemn biases they do not agree with. Add to that the fact that social media outlets such as Facebook deliver to users what they want to hear, and you have the makings of an echo chamber and an isolationism that keeps many Silicon Valley residents from understanding life and opinions in the rest of America.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Take the varied interpretations of the simple-sounding term “fake news.” In recent times, President Donald Trump has blatantly

referred to various news outlets as “fake news.”

Palo Altans might interpret “fake news” as the clearly made-up stories that circulated during the campaign, while Trump refers to coverage that he deems to be inaccurate, unfair or biased.

While many residents of left-leaning Palo Alto may view this as simply another “Trumpism,” his comments have struck a chord with many Americans who feel as if the mainstream media as a whole is untrustworthy.

According to a poll conducted by Gallup, only about 30 percent of Americans trust the media a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” While these figures don’t directly justify Trump’s assertions, they do reveal a fundamental flaw in the perception of the media and, as the saying goes, perception is reality.

“I don’t trust the media,” said junior James Roake. “I’m skeptical of almost anything I hear them say.”

A Pew Research Center project — a yearlong study conducted to shed light on the political polarization of America — took a look at the way consumers get information about the government and politics in three different ways, one of them being the news media. Looking at the results for the liberal population, they tend to look at an array of different news sources.

They also trust 28 of the 36 news sources surveyed.

A look at the conservative population reveals that they are more likely to stick with one me-

dia outlet. Among the conservatives surveyed, 47 percent named Fox News as their main source. Conservatives also distrusted 24 of the 36 news sources surveyed in the study.

The study revealed that the majority of consistent conservatives are tightly clustered around one news source. They are more likely to have friends who express similar views: 66 percent stated that their friends have similar views.

By contrast, the liberal population was less loyal to one specific news source. Additionally, they are more likely to follow issue based groups as opposed to following political parties or candidates.

When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives occupy different worlds. There is little to no overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust.

What the study revealed is huge filter bubbles among consumers of mainstream media.

“I like to consider myself somewhat of a moderate,” said junior Maxwell Harrenstein.

“But most of the time, I find myself sticking to one source of media. Obviously, this is not a good thing since I am only getting one point of view, but it’s what I feel comfortable with.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

In the golden age of the internet, social networking companies have attempted to cater to the interests of their users. Most frequently talked about is Facebook’s feed algorithm.

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

SPOTLIGHT

The Bubble

B5

Text and design by Ehecatl Rivera

rvived without any major wake-up call until the presidential The Campanile analyzes the role of media in the bubble.

News source trust levels among consumers

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Every time the website is opened, one of the world’s most influential (and highly misunderstood) algorithms leaps into action.

“Facebook is just an ad machine,” said Jeffrey Herbst, CEO of the Newseum, a museum in Washington, D.C. that focuses on the media.

“The algorithms don’t care: all they care is that you stay on site.”

The issue with social media algorithms is that they have created a tsunami of narrowminded news consumers. The wave of misinformation created by the algorithms is magnified by the lightning speed these stories travel via popular social media pathways. While scrolling through their feeds, many people read headlines and forward the information without reading the entire article. Additionally, photos may be taken out of context or altered and are not questioned, thus becoming “true” in people’s minds.

“What is frustrating is that even the act of disproving fake and misleading information can help to spread the fake stories as the small amount of space given to social media posts does not encourage scrolling or reading more deeply,” said Paly Librarian Rachel Kellerman.

Many social media users tend to follow other people who they agree with, so they do not encounter other points of view. This makes them prone to believe any posts shared, even an outrageous one if it conforms to the point of view in their filter bubble.

The study conducted by the Pew Research

Center revealed that consistent liberals are more likely to unfriend someone on their social media due to opposing views on politics. Additionally, consistent conservatives are more likely to hear and read political opinions similar to their own on Facebook.

This begs the question: is technology enabling us to be nearsighted more than technology is creating a nearsightedness?

“I think if we’re passive, technology will take over and could make us more narrow, but I mean Facebook can also feed you a broad range of sources,” Herbst said. “You have to signal it and I think that’s the new twist in all of this, that we can’t depend on the gatekeepers anymore. We have to take control over our news consumption strategy.”

Social media has further facilitated the monetization of fake news. Prior to social media, the utilization of fake news for monetary gain was virtually impossible. This was mainly due to the distribution cost, lack of audience, and lack of regulation.

In the new age of the internet, distribution cost is no longer an issue, and ads can be slapped onto any blog or website. Anyone can write and post a story at virtually no expense.

Additionally, the internet is open to a large percentage of the population, eliminating the issue of a lack of audience. Facebook and Twitter have enabled people to exchange information on a much larger scale, while publishing plat-

forms like WordPress have enabled anyone to create a website with ease. This easy access has supported an increase in fake news.

While social media is not directly causing a nearsightedness, it has enabled and facilitated it. If media consumers are passive, technology will cause people to be more narrow. In order to prevent this, the consumer has to take control over his or her news consumption strategy.

THE SOLUTION

In a time with so much mystery surrounding what is fact, opinion or fabrication, the burden to determine the truthfulness of blog postings, news stories and Facebook posts falls onto the individual news consumer.

While the internet may have enabled the publishing of fake news and the overall growth of echo chambers, it has also given us the tools to navigate the news landscape. Various factcheck websites along with bias check tools exist to aid consumers in their quests for truth.

One method Facebook is beginning to explore is the affirmation of the validity of published stories via third-party companies. It hopes this will deter the spread of fabricated stories in the near future.

“If the fact-checking organizations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why,” said Adam Mosseri, a Facebook vice president, in an interview with

NPR. “Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed.”

Another invaluable resource in a Paly student’s trek for truth is Paly’s librarian, who is currently speaking to English classes on the increasingly important topics of media literacy and fake news. Kellerman’s profession as a librarian and her passion for information literacy have led her to develop her presentation.

“Fostering information literacy and media literacy has always been an important role for teacher librarians,” Kellerman said.

Kellerman’s presentation on media literacy begins by outlining the various different types of “fake news,” which include blatant bias, complete fallacy and out-of-context information.

Through the use of news stories, Kellerman further impresses upon her audience the importance of recognizing bias in news sources.

In order to establish which organizations are left, right or center, Kellerman utilizes websites such as Snopes.com, which utilize user input to determine the bias of a certain news source.

Palo Alto has spent many years in the bubble without disturbance, and the election served as quite the wake up call. By any metric Silicon Valley is disconnected from the nation, and the recent election brought this to light.

For those who wish to step out of the bubble and beyond the echo chamber, it is essential to draw news from a variety of sources and stay well informed in as many ways as possible.

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Friday, March 31, 2017

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1

LIFESTYLE

in

2000

CULTURE highlights return of Southern rap Rising trend in rap music produced in Atlanta is seen from Migos and other artists

This edition featuring:

Cooper Kim with The Campanile’s own

“

ARTIST XITE/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Paarth Sharma

Migos’ new album C U L T U R E, which includes songs “Bad and Boujee” and “Get Right Witcha,” is the most recent example of the new musical movement of Southern rap.

The Campanile: I’m here with Cooper Kim, a local Paly junior who has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame as part of his InFocus show “Cooking with Cooper,” on which he cooks a variety of different recipes for his viewers.

Cooper Kim: Pleasure to be with you today, Paarth.

TC: So, how did it all start? Tell me about what led to the creation of the show.

CK: Well I had been watching a bunch of tasty videos on Facebook, but they were too repetitive, you know? Everything is just something else wrapped in bacon. I swear, that’s got to be like two-thirds of their page.

It really just got to me. I even had to take a trip to the Wellness Center one time after accidentally opening Facebook during brunch because I was so enraged.

TC: I see. Is this why you are always cooking unique and unknown foods such as quesadillas, meatball subs and sushi?

CK: Very funny, Paarth.

TC: Was this show your first time cooking, or have you had prior experience?

CK: Well, as a man in the show business, life has always been hectic.

From a young age, I had to be independent about everything. In fact, I drove myself to school as a toddler.

I had a yellow 1997 Fisher-Price.

Oh man, I used to pull so hard with that thing. As for cooking, I began at the age of seven. Growing up on the streets, I had to find a way to support myself and my family, even if it meant breaking the law. I’m not proud of it, but it is what is.

TC: I meant cooking food, Cooper.

CK: Oh right.` Well, like I said, I was a very independent young man, so I began to cook my own lunches back in preschool. I used to make myself a little thing I call the “Hot Pocket.”

TC: I see. Will this delicacy be featured on “Cooking with Cooper” anytime soon?

CK: I can’t let you know. I’ve revealed too much about myself already.

TC: Well, then, moving away from you, will InFocus bring back the weatherman position?

CK: Well, Paarth, We’ve made some big changes this year, and one of those was eliminating the weatherman position. Instead, we’re focusing on doing more original series, like “Cooking with Cooper” and “The Paly Bachelor.”

TC: Speaking of “The Paly Bachelor,” what are your feelings about that show?

CK: Well, as the anchor of the show, I am a little biased, but I must say, from the moment that I read the idea for such an incredible story, I just felt a spark.

TC: I think we all felt a spark watching that show. Any last words to the Paly community?

CK: No, that does it for this time.

Remember, you can get the latest Paly news from InFocus, anytime, anywhere by checking us out at www. infocusnews.tv. And check us out on our social media like Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. Until next time, have a great day Paly.

STAFF WRITER

PAARTH SHARMA

W

hen Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane emphatically declared that he was “back to [him]self” in his latest hit “Back on Road,” he wasn’t only referring to himself.

Southern rappers are beginning to make a comeback, with artists like Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty Travis Scott, 21 Savage and Migos signalling a new generation of Southern rap, a hip-hop style featuring heavy trap influences and slower beats.

A decade after artists like Mane, 2 Chainz, T.I. and Ludacris made heavy drums, layered synths and Autotuneinfluenced voices mainstream, many of the rappers nowadays associated with Southern rap hail from Atlanta, which has enjoyed a recent rebirth as a hip-hop capital.

Atlanta’s recent outburst of music began when duo Rae Sremmurd dropped its sophomore album, Sremmlife 2, which featured the same laidback style that brought the duo’s first album commercial success in 2015.

The first single, Black Beatles,

topped the charts for weeks after being featured as part of the viral Mannequin Challenge that took the internet by storm in the fall of 2016.

Brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi’s second single, Swang, also enjoyed significant commercial success, peaking at #35 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

As a whole, C U L T U R E brought the focus of the hip-hop world back to Atlanta, acting as the final capstone in the city’s recent rap renaissance.

However, it was not until Migos’ breakout album, C U L T U R E, that the world began to notice Atlanta’s latest rap wave.

The group, which features rappers Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, dropped the album in late January, and it immediately attained widespread commercial success.

The album features featured driving slow, syrupy trap tunes that recounted the Migos’ life and come-up in Atlanta.

Particularly on display throughout

the album is the role of drug culture in the group’s life prior to their rise to fame.

The album often times refers to the rappers’ marijuana habits. “Smokin’ on cookie in the hotbox,” a line in the chorus of Migos’ hit song Bad and Boujee, refers to the act of smoking a particularly sweet strain of marijuana known as “Girl Scout Cookies” in a “hotbox,” or enclosed marijuana indulgence session taking place in a car.

The album also delves into the group’s drug dealing past and present.

Bad and Boujee features many a line centered around cooking and selling drugs such as cocaine, “I used to trap out of Subway!” and about how they continue to partake in such activities — the line “Still be playin’ with pots and pans, call me Quavo Ratatouille” in Bad and Boujee refers to the pots and pans used to cook up hard drugs — which just goes to show, showing how fame has yet to change them from the carefree group that spawned in North Atlanta nearly eight years ago.

Migos also used their album to call out their many “biters” or other rappers who attempt to copy their

patented “triplet flow,” a style that involves using three notes per beat for the majority of the song, but having lyrics of the song slightly offbeat.

Migos patented this style with their 2013 single Versace (feat.

Drake), but since then, multiple artists, most notably A$AP Rocky and Kanye West, have used the same flow in some of their own songs. Quavo calls them out on their “biting” in the songs Dat Way, Copy Me and a verse on their hit single T-Shirt.

Many of the rappers nowadays associated with Southern rap hail from Atlanta, which has enjoyed a recent rebirth as a hiphop capital.

As a whole, C U L T U R E brought the focus of the hip-hop world back to Atlanta, acting as the final capstone in the city’s recent rap renaissance.

The album is thick, sticky and laid back, with rhythmic, heavy drums and multiple layers of synthesizers, full of the elements that have long made Atlanta a hip-hop capitol.

Eventful year for Chance the Rapper recapped Chance’s unorthodox approach proves successful after seven Grammy nominations WILL LEIGHTON

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

C

hance the Rapper, whose full name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, has had a fully loaded year. From becoming a father to winning three Grammys, Chance’s rise to stardom is a captivating story.

Chance started his rapping career as a high schooler in 2012, releasing his first mixtape “10 Day,” which was originally created while he was on a 10-day suspension from Jones College Prep. Since then, he has exponentially gained followers. This year he was nominated for seven total Grammys in his first year of attendance.

Becoming a Father On Sept. 20, 2015, Chance’s life changed forever when he became a first-time father with his girlfriend of three years. Their daughter was kept out of any social media posts until December of 2016. His daughter has since then become an internet sensation, being featured in a series of Instagram videos with her dad.

Chance, a rapper from Chicago, who has never sold a single song, found himself with seven Grammy nominations this year.

When Chance sat down with Complex Magazines Noah Callahan-Bever they went into great detail surrounding fatherhood and the change in perspective that it comes with.

Chance talks about the newfound sense of love he now has: “There was never a point in my life where I could ever remember loving somebody as much or more than my mom until I

NRK P3/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

The past year has been monumental for Chance the Rapper, not only for his music career but within his personal life as well.

met my daughter.”

Creating Coloring Book Chance hit another big break when he released his third mixtape, titled “Coloring Book,” a reference to his recent transition to fatherhood.

The mixtape had an impressive list of features, including big names like Kanye West and Lil Wayne.

The mixtape was received extremely well, so well in fact it took Chance to the Grammys for his first time.

Chance also spent a lot of time around his long time role model, Kanye West. Chance was credited of five of the 12 songs on Chance and nominated for a Grammy for Winning the Grammys Chance, a rapper from Chicago, who has never sold a single song,

found himself with seven Grammy nominations this year. He was nominated for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album for three of his songs. Not only was Chance nominated, but he actually also won three Grammys; Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album, making him the first artist to win a Grammy for a streaming-only album.

“There was never a point in my life where I could ever remember loving somebody as much or more than my mom until I met my daughter.”

Chance the Rapper Giving Back to his City This announcement

followed

his meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner discussing education and other “important issues affecting” Chicago as well as the state of Illinois.

However, Governor Rauner recently refused to keep his promise of giving $215 million in funds to Chicago Public Schools, which lead to Chance taking matters into his own hands.

On March 2, Chance held a press conference at Westcott Elementary School, on the west side of Chicago, announcing that he was donating one million dollars to Chicago Public Schools.

Michelle Obama even tweeted out praise; “Thanks @chancetherapper for giving back to the Chicago community, which gave us so much. You are an example of the power of arts education.”

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

LIFESTYLE

B7

Student business AllergyTable provides career insight

Student entrepreneurs Chirag Akella, Ethan Kao and Ian Woodfill gain valuable experience founding company EDWARD KIM

STAFF WRITER

M

ere miles from the central hub for venture capitalists of the world on Sand Hill Road, Palo Alto has always been under the influence of powerful businesses and money. Entrepreneurs drew the initial flood of money into Palo Alto, from the meager beginnings of Apple and Hewlett-Packard to the more recent dot-com boom that transformed Palo Alto from a sleepy west coast town to a vibrant suburb with billions of dollars of revenue flowing through it every day.

Growing up in the shadow of this financial boomtown has fostered an affinity for business and entrepreneurship within the youth in the community. Especially in Palo Alto’s high-achieving high schools, business and finance culture pervades the atmosphere. Paly itself has no less than five business oriented clubs, from competition teams such as Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) to investment clubs like Happy Day Microfunds.

From this nurturing community a number of student entrepreneurs have developed their own studentrun businesses. Seniors Chirag Akella, Ethan Kao and Ian Woodfill are some of these students.

These students all saw AllergyTable as an opportunity to advance their future career interests.

“My friends and I were interested in business and finance and wanted some first hand experience in the field,” Akella said. “We thought there was no better way to truly experience the field and learn than to go through the trials and tribulations of starting our own company.”

ETHAN KAO/ALLERGYTABLE

Left to right: AllergyTable founders, seniors Ian Woodfill, Chirag Akella and Ethan Kao, in a promotional video for the company.

In 2014, their sophomore year of high school, the trio founded AllergyTable, which allows “people who suffer from food allergies to find and search restaurants based on its ability to accommodate their dietary needs.”

“After talking to many more experienced entrepreneurs who have tried or started companies.. we realized we need to come up with creative solutions to drive people to our site.

Chirag Akella Senior To do so, these students needed to maintain the company’s website, but could not always do so due to the heavy workload of high school. Thus,

they created a crowd-sourced database to keep the website alive while they were completing schoolwork.

“The AllergyTable database is made up of members of the allergy community who are able to input their experiences at restaurants, giving an idea of a restaurant’s service based on its ability to accommodate food allergies,” Akella said.

“Through this community, users can gain insight and find restaurants in their area faster and efficiently.”

AllergyTable goes farther than just an attempt to break into the business world, however.

“For me, starting AllergyTable. com was personal as I have food allergies,” Akella said. “For someone with allergies, I have to make sure that any place I eat at is allergy friendly. Growing up, it would have

been nice to have a place where I could look and quickly find allergy friendly restaurants.”

However, an idea is just that; an idea. To make their goals come true, the students had to take action in order to build a functional company and website. Although Woodfill has considerable knowledge in programming as one of the Paly Voice’s webmasters, beginning his own database was a difficult endeavor.

“As a website that is mainly dependent on the input of user based data and user interactions, creating our initial database [was] the hardest part,” Akella said.

Furthermore, these students needed to figure out what to do with the website even after creating it.

“After talking to many more experienced entrepreneurs who have

tried or started companies with similar problems, we realized we need to come up with creative solutions to drive people to our site which we implemented with moderate success,” Akella said.

Even after the bulk of the work, the website, was finished, the trio still remained concerned about legal troubles. To prevent this, the students turned their company into an LLC to prevent them from any allergy-related lawsuits in the future.

Since the company’s founding, the students have had to creatively deal with new problems that the ever-changing world has thrown their way. Even with all the adaptations they have made, their core values have always remained the same.

“We have never really deviated from our original mission to help people find new and closely allergy friendly restaurants in a timely manner,” Akella said. “However, after facing problems throughout the process we have had to get creative with how we reached our possible users.”

Unfortunately, the future of this student-run company is uncertain.

After senior year, the company structure will need to be revised in order to continue functioning correctly.

“With the possibility of all three of us going to different parts of the country, it might be hard,” Akella said. “However, working on AllergyTable has been a great experience and I’d love to continue.”

Akella, Woodfill and Kao are not unique in their endeavors to pursue business opportunities within a resource-rich section of the world.

Look for several other student-run businesses to pop up in the future with ideas curated by business clubs such as DECA and FBLA.

Opportunity Center provides transitional housing to homeless LifeMoves assists Palo Alto's low-income citizens and their families by offering subsidized housing and meals PEYTON WANG

STAFF WRITER

L

ocated in the heart of Palo Alto is the LifeMoves Opportunity Center. 10 years ago, the building opened its doors to offer housing to homeless people and those who were marginally housed, or lived in a home with inadequate facilities.

Currently, the center is occupied

by LifeMoves, a company that runs transitional housing sites for the homeless across the Peninsula. To this day, the Opportunity Center provides access to a variety of dropin services, including meals, clothing closet, medical facilities, education, transportation assistance and case management.

Around 60 to 90 lunches per day are served to the center’s clients. The center receives hot food deliveries from the Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen and pastries from Starbucks every day.

Occasionally, The Cheesecake Factory and Safeway will donate food as well. In addition, the center partners with places such as Second

PEYTON WANG/THE CAMPANILE

On a daily basis, clients drop by the Opportunity Center to utilize the services, including meals served by volunteers, education, medical facilities and case management.

Food Harvest to supply an electronic benefit transfer card (EBT) to their clients.

“An EBT, which we call food stamps nowadays, is like a credit card, and you can use it at stores like Whole Foods,” said Stephanie Bruggeman,

the center’s Volunteer and Program Coordinator. “The nice thing is if you’re in line behind somebody using it, then you’ll never know they’re using it because they just swipe and it looks like a credit card, so it brings dignity to the whole process.”

Last year, the Opportunity Center set a record of housing 47 people.

Its waitlist holds approximately 160 households, so they are currently not accepting new applications.

“Our building houses 88 units of permanent supportive housing,”

said Bruggeman. “It’s permanent so folks don’t move in and out. The rent is highly subsidized, so it might be $300 a month, depending on their social security.”

Continued on thecampanile.org

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

B8

The Evolution of Music­­ Festivals

The Romanticism of Vaping

NICHOLAS MELVIN

STAFF WRITER

O

utdoor music festivals have come a long way since their unofficial establishment in the 1960s. They have attracted visitors from all over the world and provided musical and cultural entertainment through popular and upcoming artists, art attractions and unique cuisine.

The Woodstock Festival in 1969 is notable for being the most famous festival of all time. Organizers of the festival had originally planned for 50,000 attendees, but they were able to sell over 200,000 tickets. When over 500,000 people showed up, the fences were broken down and it turned into a free festival. Attendees came to see famous artists such as The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead. Although Woodstock was not the first festival in the United States, the fourday festival has become be a pivotal moment in music history.

Since Woodstock, many festivals have been founded, such as Desert Trip, Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Stagecoach. Each of these festivals are either specific genre-focused or a mix of all genres.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the highest earning festivals, has attracted hundreds of thousands of concertgoers from around the world. Located in Indio, California, at the Empire Polo Field, the three-day concert sells general admission tickets for $399 and VIP tickets for $899. In 2016, the festival grossed $94 million, which officially made it the biggest music festival in the world.

However, Coachella has not always attracted this many attendees or been high-earning. The festival traces back to 1993, when Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Fields to boycott performing at other venues that were controlled by Ticketmaster, a ticket selling company. Due to a high turnout, it validated the use of the venue for large-scale events. A few months

later, Coachella was born. The singleday festival sold tickets for $50.

Since Coachella's founding in the 90s, ticket prices have soared. The festival has transformed from a one-day event into a three-day occasion with two weekends. Like many other festivals, Coachella started incorporating art to attract more attendees. In earlier years, many of the art pieces were recycled from Burning Man, another popular festival in Nevada. However, as its budget increased, Coachella focused on commissioning specific pieces for the festival.

As time goes on, music festivals will continue to bring entertainment to the public and success to the music industry.

Another attraction that many festivals have tapped into is food. The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco has been notable for the different variety of foods they offer along with their showing of music and art.

In 2016, Outside Lands attendees were able to select from 79 food vendors. There was a multitude of selections; including traditional Japanese, Mexican and American. With a variety of options, concertgoers have the chance to try unique foods and experience something different than a typical concert.

As the variety of music festivals in the country have expanded through the decades, they have also infiltrated popular culture in a variety of ways.

Music festivals have gained popularity among different age groups as well as celeb-

TEXT AND DESIGN BY: CHARLOTTE CHENG

rities that use these venues to promote themselves and their music. Through social media, these celebrities have been able to expand their network, and sparked a new generation of social media associated specifically with festivals.

As festivals became featured on social media, they became more about people’s appearances at the event as opposed to the music itself. Not only do these festivals promote specific individual’s agendas, but specific industries also use the events to benefit themselves. Industries such as fashion and specific food venues have gained money and popularity through their appearances at these specific locations.

Popular online stores such as Nasty Gal, Planet Blue and Lulu’s contain separate tabs for festival clothing.

With festivals all around the world gaining popularity, festival creators have a goal to create events that can outdo the most popular festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza. As a result, more and more smaller festivals are being established, such as Bottle Rock and BFD. Outdoor music festivals have evolved from being solely about music to the culture it presents to its audience. As time goes on, they will continue to bring entertainment to the public and success to the music industry.

DESIGN BY: RENEE HOH

At long last, smoking is dying out.

After years and years of the educated folk of America peppering those with lighters in pockets and tar in mouths with dirty looks and scientifically-backed remarks about the harm smokers are doing to all, smoking in America is finally on its deathbed, a place where it has sent many before it.

But no great evil dies easily, and tobacco is no exception. Smoking is dying off because it is no longer considered “hip.” It does not make you look cool; in fact, it does the exact opposite. Most people see smokers as cancers on society and try to dissuade them from their ugly habit anytime they get the chance.

As a result of this, the percentage of smoking adults in America has steadily declined, dropping from nearly 45 percent in 1965 to just 15.1 percent in 2015. But the tobacco industry is a sleazy bunch of motherf***ers, willing to account for one out of every five deaths in America if it means that it is making money. So it took the logical next step. It introduced a new way to get their tobacco to new users: electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).

E-cigarettes have one major advantage over traditional cigarettes: the lack of stigma surrounding them.

At Palo Alto High School, it is difficult to use the restroom without being greeted by a roomful of vaporized nicotine water. And as unpleasant as this can be, nobody ever says anything about it.

The only real communication between the urinator and the vaporizer is a polite nod, or a nonchalant offering of illicit substances. There are no dirty looks thrown, or comments on the side effects of the substance that it being injected — merely a polite interaction that stays true to the bathroom code.

But the idea that vape pens are ok is not one that should be accepted.

They may not have the repulsive tar and chemical cocktail that is found in cigarettes, but they are by no means healthy. Among other dangerous chemicals, vape pens use nicotine, the fifth most addictive substance known to man.

Another thing that has led to the marginalization of the effects of vaping is the thought that vaping only emits a harmless cloud of water vapor. In fact, that harmless cloud is chock full of nicotine and chemicals that harm both the vaper and the guy sitting inside the stall trying to poop in peace.

On the other hand, if one were to walk into the bathroom and immediately breathe in the output of a cigarette, one would immediately call into question the mental sanity of those who thought it would be a good idea to inhale smoke in such a confined space.

Now this is obviously a different situation, as cigarettes are a far less practical thing to smoke in a confined space, such as a bathroom, but the fact still remains that we have a distorted view of e-cigarettes here at Paly.

Every day, more and more people try vaping for the first time. Convinced by the idea that there exists no tar or any of the other dangerous chemicals that exist in regular cigarettes, they take a hit, and join the vapers in the practice of puffing away at a USB chargeable Juul pen.

This acceptance of e-cigarettes has to stop, as it is harmful to both our learning and living environments. So stand with me Paly, and fight for the right to breath clean, fight for the freedom from smokers and fight for a better future with bathrooms that are moist and smelly, but in no way toxic to our health.

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017 ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

SP RTS

Junior basketball player Spencer Rojahn gained notoriety after sinking a gamewinning shot.

SEE THECAMPANILE.ORG

THE UNJUST ADVANTAGES OF

MEN IN DANCE

S

eniors Nathalia Castillo and Cayla Flagg do their hair, put on their leotards and cram their feet into their pointe shoes in preparation for one of their daily six-hour dance practices. The long dance classes are preparation for shows and competitions the two will partake in, which could potentially win them scholarships.

“For my dance studio we have two important shows,” said Castillo.

“During the winter we perform the Nutcracker and during the spring we perform our spring showcase.

In Paly Dance we have our performances from football and basketball halftimes, competitions and our end of the year showcase where we introduce our upcoming team for the next season.”

However, like many other female dancers, Castillo and Flagg’s busy schedules, filled with rehearsals and classes, are seemingly unrewarded.

Regardless of the dedication these women put into their dances, they are always at a disadvantage. The judges often unfairly reward male dancers, solely based on the gender imbalance in competitions.

“Some judges do give boys higher scores because it’s

unusual to see guys so it’s like giving them a boost of self-esteem to continue dancing because it’s something pretty unusual,” Castillo said.

This phenomenon is not seen only in the Bay Area –– it occurs frequently nation wide. Male dances have a higher chance of earning a dance scholarship, have a higher chance of placing better and have a higher chance of receiving more attention in dance class.

As unfair as this bias can be, the dance world is still challenging for the male dancers and some judges feel the need to give them a confidence boost. At the preschool level of dance, boys make up only 20 percent of the dance population. This percentage severely drops after age five, according to Principle Creative and Performing Arts.

Dance Moms, a hit reality TV show hosted on Lifetime, features pre-teen dancers and their mothers.

These dancers, usually girls, compete in dance competitions every weekend and are well aware of the prejudice in the dance world.

“I’m nervous for [my daughter] Bryn to do a solo against [a boy],” said Dance Mom Ashlee Allen on the

hit TV show Dance Moms. “[Because] it’s a boy, and I’ve even heard from the judges before they like when boys stay in dance. So they tend to give them a leg up.”

The phenomenon is not unknown to other dance moms and dancers.

“We call [the unfair points given to boys] penis points,” said former Dance Mom Melissa Zeigler.

The injustice does not discourage either Castillo or Flagg. They continue to compete and place in the competitions they attend. “[Competitions are] really fun because we do secret sister gifts every competition so we get closer to all of our team and our coaches,” Castillo said. “And we get to go to Disneyland for Nationals. And we get to learn new choreography and perform them in front of lots of people so that’s really fun.”

Not only is it fun, but competitions are helpful to the dancers. At some compet i t i o n s , the dancers re-

ceive critique and advice from the judges.

“I think it’s good to get input from the judges and it’s also a fun event to do with your dance friends,” Flagg said.

Debates about whether boys should be given an edge in the dance world continue and will probably continue to be made, but currently each competition and each studio decides what is best for their dancers. Castillo, similarly to many others, believes there is a middle ground.

“At some point I do [think it’s fair],” Castillo said. “When they are younger, it’s more understandable if they give them a higher scores that way they continue. But once you’re at the competitions that we’re doing, everyone has to be judged equally.”

Dance competitions will always be challenging, as hundreds of dancers compete, each hoping to win first. However, whether or not dance competitions are equal for everyone is still up for debate.

Why a lazy senior still does track

ALICE ZHAO

MANAGING EDITOR

As a senior who is quite mediocre at running, you may wonder why I do track and field. After all, it’s not like I need a prep to escape Physical Education. To be quite honest, a lap around the track still leaves me breathless and I’d prefer not having to shave my legs as often.

Like all other “spring” sports, track starts in the dead of winter — the thought of running in the wet and cold weather voluntarily after school was at first not extremely enticing.

However, the following rationale eventually led me to get my athletic “Green Card” and continue running for Paly.

1. I refuse to hit the gym Most gyms are pretty expensive, except for the YMCA, which means everyone goes to the Y. Knowing that peers are watching me while I work out at the Y makes me quite selfconscious — especially when I am drenched in sweat from only doing two and a half reps of push ups or flailing on the elliptical.

2. Running clothes Athletic clothing is super in right now. Normally, I would feel bad splurging on rather plain clothing, but track gives me an out. If it is all in the interest of staying in shape, I’m all for spending $80 on a hoodie!

3. Complimentary high resolution photos Malcolm Slaney and Mark Foster are names to be revered in the Paly Track community. Rain or shine, these photographers will be at the meets to capture your most tender moments. On the stands, at the end of the jumping pit, at the last curve, these photographers will stop at nothing to get your most flattering expressions. Without fail, these photos will be uploaded a Flickr album for all of your peers and parents too gawk at.

DESIGN BY ALLISON WU, NICK MELVIN, ALICE ON & SHANNON ZHAO

TEXT BY MADS MCCLUSKEY

4. Juniors, sophomores and freshmen As petty as it sounds, doesn’t everyone want someone to miss them when they graduate? Outside of class, I rarely interact with students from other grades, but in track, the few seniors on the team don’t really have much of a choice. I’ve gotten to know some amazing individuals from other grades at track, but more importantly, they’ve gotten to know me! At least a few will remember the mediocrity that is my athleticism.

5. It’s my last season I had promised myself (and colleges, though that is a separate issue altogether) to see my four years at Paly track through. I may have peaked sophomore year, but track is more than just times and distances.

The camaraderie that is built on ice baths and shin splints almost makes all the pain worth it.

SPORTS

The history of superteams in the NBA

No matter the time period, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has never been a league of parity. Read an in-depth synopsis on the history of the most dominant teams to take over the esteemed league.

DIAMOND LEUNG/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

PAGES C4-C5

MALCOLM SLANEY/USED WITH PERMISSION

Kent Slaney: track superstar Speedy Slaney is a premiere cross country and track athlete.

PAGE C7

STEVEPB/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

PUBLIC DOMAIN/CREATIVE COMMON LICENSED

Athletes advise dieting

CFB recruiting imbalance

PAGE C7

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Diets play a prominent role in the well-beings of athletes.

There is an eminent shortcoming among college football recruiting.

Friday, March 31, 2017

C2 VIKING REPORT BASEBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Santa Teresa 3/25, W, 9-0 Paly vs. Saratoga 3/27, W, 12-2 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Homestead 3/31, 4 p.m.

Paly vs. Gunn 4/8, 11 a.m.

SOFTBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Castilleja 3/20, W, 5-0 Paly vs. Saratoga 3/22, L, 8-1

BOYS LACROSSE

The Campanile

SPORTS Tennis begins season with multiple wins The team starts season trouncing opponents by going undefeated in De Anza league EHECATL RIVERA

STAFF WRITER

T

he Palo Alto High School’s boys tennis team kicked off its season with an outstanding 6-1 win against Aragon High School on Feb. 22 and has been playing solidly through March. Currently at 4-4 in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) De Anza Division, the team is looking to earn some more wins and improve overall this season.

“Overall the team is looking to improve in several areas,” said junior Johnny Loftus. “We’re looking towards locking down wins and having a solid high singles lineup.”

Currently, the team has one freshman and one sophomore on its twelve man roster, an unusually low number of underclassmen on the varsity team.

Additionally, the team lost several star players from last year, including captain Shiv Matta. This year the team is led by senior Noah Galper and head coach Andy Harader.

“I felt that we connected very well and played as a single unit.’’

Johnny Loftus Junior

RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Gunn 3/24, W, 16-7 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Menlo 3/31, 3:30 p.m.

Paly vs. Oak Grove 4/20, 5:30 p.m.

GIRLS LACROSSE RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Mountain View 3/24, W, 9-7 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Los Altos 3/31, 4 p.m.

Paly vs. Los Altos 4/14, 7 p.m.

BOYS TENNIS RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Homestead, 3/28, L UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Gunn 3/30, 3:30 p.m.

TRACK AND FIELD RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Homestead 3/23, W Paly vs. Milpitas 3/28, W

SWIMMING RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Saratoga 3/10, W Paly vs. Los Altos 3/17, W

BADMINTON RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Saratoga 3/23, L Paly vs. Milpitas 3/28, L

GOLF RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Homestead 3/23, W

“The seniors were really instrumental in our ability to win last year,” varsity doubles players Andrew Shieh said.

A highlight of the season has been the team’s trip to Fresno for their annual California Tennis Classic Tournament. The team showcased a very solid performance from both the singles lineup and doubles lineup. They were able reach the finals only to fall to Santa Margarita Catholic Prep.

MADS MCCLUSKEY/THE CAMPANILE

Senior varsity player Adrian Smith gets ready to hit a forehand shot in practice to prepare for the season that lies ahead of him.

“We had an outstanding performance,” Loftus said. “I felt that we connected very well and played as a single unit.”

Other high points of the season include a 6-1 defeat against Saratoga High School and a 5-2 win against Lynbrook High School away. Unfortunately, the team was put to the test after a 4-3 loss at Henry M. Gunn High School.

“It was a learning experience to play against them,” Shieh said. “We figured out what we need to work on.”

The team has shown inconsis-

tency throughout the past few weeks.

They have lost about the same games as they have won. They have experienced many losses as well as many wins. The team is in the highest division in California and a struggle is expected.

“Our biggest goal is to work on playing aggressively but at the same time consistently.’’

Johnny Loftus Junior “We are playing against a lot of

people who are better than us but obviously we will be able to learn and get much better from these players,” Loftus said.

With lots of new players on the team, Loftus believes that there needs to be more chemistry amongst the players for the team to perform well throughout the season.

“We all don’t know each other very well but we are definitely going to improve as our team chemistry goes up,” Loftus said. “Our biggest goal is to work on playing aggressively but at the same time consistently.”

Boys lacrosse hoping to continue win streak Vikings aiming to even out early-season inconsistencies and take full command of league PAARTH SHARMA

STAFF WRITER

F

rom time to time, a feeling awakens inside all of us. The desire to do more, improve and deny our doubters the sweet feeling of confirmation is something that fuels the human population each and every day. The Palo Alto High School boys lacrosse team is no exception.

While this band of young men may appear to be just another group of regular Paly students, they are in fact one of the most compelling sports stories of the year, with many a player shrouded in a cloud of mysterious vapor known as determination.

The team, wasted no time getting off to a great start. It appeared as though they looked to the weather for guidance, raining down 15 goals on their first victim, Archbishop Mitty High School.

“From the sidelines, I loved the way we executed against Mitty,” said senior captain Ryan Mitra. “We came out and scored a lot of goals early, which propelled us to the win.”

On March 2, the Vikings’ tsunami of terror met its next opponent, Menlo-Atherton High School. As Newton’s second law of motion describes the relationship between an object’s mass and the amount of force needed to accelerate it, it also described the Vikings’ relationship with Menlo Atherton High School: F=MA.

as the Vikes poured in nine goals to trounce the Bears 9-4 in such a dominant fashion that demonstrated why grizzly bears no longer live in California.

“We’ve played great the last few games and our quality of play in only going to increase from here on out.’’

The next day, the Vikes lost at home to Menlo-Atherton by the same score, and suddenly, the torrent that had brought the team 24 goals in two games had run dry. It seemed that even ceremonial rain dances could not save the team’s offense in this one, as they put up just a third of their average points per game. On

Ryan Mitra Captain Indeed, the onslaught continued,

Track and field team sprinting to success

Vikes undefeated in the race to first place

ASHLEY ZHANG

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

W

ith the addition of four new coaches, the Palo Alto High School track and field team has started its new season on a high note with a successful meet against Los Altos High School where the varsity boys came out victorious, but the girls varsity team fell short.

This year, the team was joined by new head coach Michael Davidson, middle and long distance coaches Michael Granville and Wendy Saul and hurdles coach Vick Hudson. Davidson replaced previous head coach, Kelsey Feeley, who left the team after the 2016 season.

With the new coaches, many athletes have seen a shift in the focus of their practices.

“Many of our coaches from last year have been replaced with new coaches, so our method of training has changed,” said junior hurdler Karen Li. “This year, the focus has

been shifted to speed.”

As with the previous years, athletes look forward to each meet for a chance to compete and to bond with their teammates. For their upcoming meet against Los Gatos High School on April 13, athletes look to hone their technique to increase their speed and continue the team’s successes.

“I personally hope to work more on hurdling technique and form, as we did not have the chance to hurdle very much in the month leading up to the first meet,” Li said.

The coaching has made the team confident about the season.

“The team is functioning much more smoothly than it has in the past, and within just the first few meets of the season many of us have already made huge improvements on our previous season times, which definitely speaks to their coaching,” said junior and varsity sprinter Maya Reuven. “On top of that, they are all incredibly supportive, and make track a fun place to be.”

“From the sidelines, I loved the way we executed against Mitty.

We came out and scored a lot of goals early, which propelled us to the win.’’

Ryan Mitra Captain

March 9, the team welcomed their next opponent with open arm: Serra High School. The Vikes offense came ready to roll, scoring eight goals, but unfortunately, the Padres’ offense was too strong, scoring nine goals, forcing the Vikings into the depths of defeat for the second time in six days.

The team lost two of three games until the tsunami that is known as the Vikes returned. On March 23rd, the Vikings destroyed Mountain View High School 16-7. They faced off against rival Gunn the next day, trouncing the Titans by a score of 130.

The team looks forward as they review and reflect upon the first few games of the season.

“Our team has executed very well over the last few games,” Mitra said.

“We’ve played great the last few games and our quality of play is only going to increase from here on out.”

Badminton struggles through first matches Team longs for victory in winless season EDWARD KIM

STAFF WRITER

A

fter weathering the graduation of star player Eric Chiang and a coaching transition from Arne Lim to Jake Halas, the Palo Alto badminton team is in turmoil right now.

“Although we may be struggling right now, the next several years for Paly badminton will shine bright. ’’

Michael Chau Junior Coming off consecutive losses, including a humiliating defeat at the hands of Monta Vista High School, the Vikings look to retool and recover in order to make a mid-season push back into a competitive standpoint.

Their attempt at redemption came last Thursday, when the Vikings took on Saratoga High. In an improvement from their first defeat,

the Vikings only lost 17-13 this time around.

Previously, Paly badminton had fallen to Monta Vista by an embarrassing score of 22-3, wherein the team was forced to forfeit the majority of their matches.

The Vikings may be on the downturn with their winless record, but the team seeks to at least build a positive foundation for underclassmen.

“Our team has lots of young players and they are the future of the program here after my class graduates,” Chau said. “Although we may be struggling right now, the next several years for Paly badminton will shine brightly, as these underclassmen all have the potential to be top-class players.”

In the midst of this losing streak, Chau understands the importance of keeping one’s head up even in the face of extended adversity.

“It’s a difficult season so far, but if we train hard I think that we have a shot to be a real good team next year,” Chau said.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

SPORTS C3 Basketball’s best season since more than a decade Vikings finish their season competing for the NorCal championship title, community proud of their successes SHANNON ZHAO

STAFF WRITER

T

he boys basketball team had its eyes on the state championship after winning the Central Coast Section (CCS) Division I Championship title.

However, the Vikes fell just four points short of winning the Norcal Championships, losing 65-61.

Paly sealed a win against Los Gatos High School in the final round of CCS as the buzzer sounded by a score of 63-60, earning its spot in the California Interscholastic Federation Division I State Championships.

The Vikings won their first round of Norcal Playoffs in an equally intense match against the Fremont Tigers, 59-56.

From there on, the boys emerged from the semifinals victorious, defeating both the number one and number five seed, Dublin High School and St. Mary’s College High School respectively, with astonishing drive.

Paly proceeded to play James Logan High School in the final round of the

Norcal Championships.

To celebrate how far the team had advanced in the state tournament, Coach Diepenbrock brought NBA player and former Paly athlete, Jeremy Lin, back onto Viking territory to pep up the boys and give advice from when Lin’s own team won States back in 2006.

After coaching the team about the mental side to the game, Lin played with the boys in an empowering scrimmage.

“He taught us about how we needed to always go 100 percent,” Jefferson said. “So we can make that statement that we are doing right now.”

Shortly after his visit, Lin posted a #tbt on Instagram, reminiscing his high school basketball days and congratulating Paly on its championship win.

In addition, practices were adapted to emphasize the importance of the mental aspect of basketball.

The long and arduous practices were shortened to focus more on building the psychological strength

EMMA VAN DER VEEN/USED WITH PERMISSION

Junior Jared Wulbrun scans the floor while Viking fans watch in hopes for a basket as the game intensifies against James Logan.

of team.

The boys spent ample time watching film to be prepared on the court.

Students, parents and faculty filled the stands, cheering and rallying on the Vikings.

Paly and James Logan played in a nail-biting match, finishing regulation time 52-52. The Vikings dived

into the second half leading 26-19.

However, by the third quarter, exhaustion and fatigue spread across the Vikings’ court and the Logan Colts bounced back with strong and unexpected defensive strategies.

The game ended in a close call, James Logan taking the victory 6561.

The boys have had an incredible season, taking Paly to the State Championships for the first time since 2006.

Given that the majority of the varsity players are currently juniors, Viking fans can only expect to see an even more successful season in the upcoming year.

Swimming looks ahead to strong season Baseball expects wins, Athletes train hard in hopes for more wins in upcoming meets team prepared for season Committed players take hardships in stride as they hope to move on to CCS ERIC LI

STAFF WRITER

T

DION LI/USED WITH PERMISSION

Senior Alex Liang swims butterfly as he participates in a meet against rival Monta Vista early on in the busy season, placing first.

KIRAN MISNER

SPORTS EDITOR

W

ith consecutive dual meet wins against Monta Vista High School and Saratoga High School, that the Palo Alto High School Vikings swimming running smoothly. The well-oiled machine that is the swimming squadron of 2016 is ready for another year with high goals for the season.

“We want to win the [SCVAL] meet first and then our hope is to win the [CCS] meet as well,” said junior swimmer Zachary Chen.

This task is a formidable one, but based on past results from the Vikings, it is still attainable for this group of talented swimmers. Last year, the boys fell short of a perfect performance at CCS after SCVALs with a third place finish. The girls team, on the other hand, completed

what was considered one of their best performances of the year, taking home first place and earning the title of CCS champions.

However, before thinking about championships this year, Chen believes that the team must approach each meet one by one.

“We want to win of all our dual meets first, which will lead to qualifying for SCVAL and CCS meets,” Chen said.

Despite having a strong roster, the team expects to face adversity this season.

Intense competition in their league from teams such as rivals Henry M. Gunn High School and Los Gatos High School will force the Vikings to compete at their best.

To be at its best all the time, the team is currently going through an intense training regimen, which consists of two practices per day.

“Training is used to swim laps and work on our techniques,” Chen said.

“When we go to morning practice, we don’t go to the pool; instead, we lift weights in the weight room.”

One key change that has the potential affect the team this year is the lack of a pool at Paly.

Due to construction of the new gym that is scheduled to finish this summer, the Vikes do not have a pool on campus. Instead, the team operates on a rotating schedule in which they use the Jordan Middle School, JLS Middle School and Gunn pools.

According to Chen, this has not caused much trouble other than the travel.

“Overall, it hasn’t affected us much other than the fact that we need to travel to practice and that takes time out of our day,” Chen said. “Other than that, practice pretty much runs like normal.”

he Paly baseball team is looking to avenge last year’s disappointing first-round playoff loss with postseason success this season.

The Vikings have found their rhythm early in the season, advancing to a perfect 5-0 record in interleague play and a 10-3 overall record with key wins over teams such as Saratoga High School.

“So far, our season is going great,” said junior Nathan Willis. “We’re just hitting our stride, but have great team chemistry and a great environment.”

Despite losing several key players from las year, the team has been able to continue dominating interleague play, where the Vikings had achieved a 12-2 record last year. In addition, their 10-3 overall record is best in the De Anza League.

The the team also welcomed back key players such as junior Spencer Rojahn and senior Ethan Stern. Both players are returning from their fantastic basketball season, which unfortunately ended with a heartbreaking loss.

However, the only conference teams that the boys have played are Willcox High School, Milpitas High School and Saratoga High School, all teams with records below .500 (with records of 2-4, 0-5 and 2-3, respectively). They have yet to play Los

Gatos High School, the team that handed the Vikes both of their losses last year in league play.

“The game will definitely be a tough,” Willis said. “Gatos has plenty of good pitchers, so we’re going to have to play small ball to counteract that.”

The team has been lead by junior Niko Lillios, who has landed 15 hits and racked up an impressive .469 batting average. Lillios is flexible, doubling as a baseman or as a pitcher, frequently closing games for the team.

“Niko has been awesome for our team this year,” Willis said. “He brings a good attitude every day both at practice and at games. He never complains and always brings positive energy to the field.”

The Vikings play crosstown rival Gunn High School at Gunn on April 8 in what is expected to be an exciting game. The Vikes beat Gunn 10-2 in last year’s match.

“Even though Gunn is in a league below us, I think that it will be great game,” Willis said. “Also, we’re friends with a lot of players on that team, so there we some friendly competition with them.”

Although the season is quite young, the Vikings have set their eyes on winning the Central Coast Sectionals (CCS) championship this year.

“We hope to win league and then CCS,” Willis said. “Anything else would be a disappointment.”

Girls lacrosse prepared for difficult season Softball dominates Despite setbacks, girls welcome new teammates, keep winning games after recent loss Solid teamwork helps softball team keep their winning attitude and strong results NICK MELVIN

STAFF WRITER

L

osing has been a foreign concept to the 2017 Palo Alto High School softball team.

The team boasts the league leaders in every relevant statistic, with the exceptions of batters struck out and stolen bases, and has altogether dominated all who dare step into its path.

Senior Madeleine Frick has been beyond pleased with how the season has gone thus far.

“I think our season has gone really well up to this point and I’m really glad we are starting off with a winning record,” said Frick.

Through the first seven games of the season, the Vikings have consistently demolished their rivals, outscoring practically all of their opponents by a total 44 runs and posting a 5-2 record.

Frick attributes the early success to team chemistry.

“I think we really have come together as a team this year and we can all relax and depend on each other to do our part which makes a difference,” Frick said.

The team had a game scheduled against Fremont High School on March 24, but the game was cancelled due to heavy rain.

A makeup game has been scheduled for April 17.

Looking ahead the Vikings have no games until after spring break, when the play the Gunn High School in the infamous cross-town rivalry on April 12 at Paly.

Frick believes that the team could have a successful season.

“I think we need to keep up the good attitude and play our best in every game and we can have a great season,” Frick said.

MAYA HOMAN

STAFF WRITER

T

he Lady Vikes are back and ready to dominate the field.

The Palo Alto High School girls lacrosse team began its season with a crushing 14-4 loss to Monta Vista High School, but quickly bounced back with consecutive 14-1 victories against both Los Alto High School and Leland High School.

In their most recent match against Gunn, they won 10-7.

The varsity squad ended last season on a high note, losing only one league game and winning the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship. Although they lost key players Maya Benatar, Reid Walters, Meredith Kinnaman, Kylie Callan, Holly Tumminaro, Mikayla Spaizman and Chelsea McIntosh, the squad still has high hopes for the rest of the season. They have welcomed juniors Julie Cornfield, Sarah Shader, Zoe Dooley and Michaela Fogarty to the team.

“Our first few games have gone really well,” said junior and defender

Maddie Hare, who has been on the varsity lacrosse team since her freshman year. “We of course miss our graduated seniors, but we haven’t missed a beat and we are able to be just as competitive of a team without them.”

“We’re off to a pretty strong start and I have a lot of confidence in the team, I think we’re going to do well this season.”

Matilda Kenrick Senior Although the team has been successful in recent years, they remain dedicated to improving their technique in the upcoming season.

“There are things that we could have tightened up and things we are working to get better at in the future,” said Hare, referencing their 16-6 thumping of Saratoga High School on March 10. “But we can’t complain about the score!”

Although the Vikes have had a promising start to the season, they’ve

still encountered a few of bumps along the road to victory. Their goalkeeper, senior Matilda Kenrick, has been ruled ineligible to play for the rest of the season due to CCS requirements.

“I did an exchange year last year in Sweden... and since I didn’t go with a program it’s called an ABA transfer (from school A to school B to school A again),” said Kenrick. “Since I played lacrosse in Sweden (even though it was a Rec league) I’m not eligible to play here because I am a transfer student.”

Since it is unlikely that Kenrick will be able to play later in the season, teammates have been filling in for her between the posts.

However, Kenrick is still optimistic about the rest of the season, and the team has remained successful in her absence, winning three out of the past four games.

“We’re off to a pretty strong start and I have a lot of confidence in the team, I think we’re gonna do well this season,” said Kenrick.

Their next game is on March 31. against Los Altos High School.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

SUPERTEAMS

C4

The History o

From Bill Russell’s Celtics to Steph, Klay, KD and Dray: an in

W

hen ex-Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors in free agency, many fans chided him for taking the “easy route” out of the situation. Durant, they claimed, had decided to go to a team that was already championship caliber instead of staying in Oklahoma City and building a championship team himself.

A few years earlier, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James announced his much-maligned move to join the Miami Heat alongside fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The team won back-to-back titles and went to the Finals for four consecutive years.

Before that, the combination of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen dominated the league, going to the finals twice in three years and posting multiple 60-win seasons. Moving further down the National Basketball Association (NBA) timeline, we continue to find stacked teams that often begin the season as heavy favorites to win the championship.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman in the 1990s. The Showtime Lakers of the 1980s. Bill Russell’s Celtics, who won eight straight titles between 1959 and 1966. Since its inception, the NBA has rarely been a league of parity.

However, the free agency superteam as we know it is actually a relatively recent invention. Most recent superteams are a result of players being acquired via unrestricted free agency, a concept that allows players to switch teams in free agenc y without repercussions which did not truly exist until 1988. Since then, many

1957-1969: Less than a decade after the

NBA begins, Bill Russell’s Celtics form the first superteam, winning eight consecutive titles between 1959 and 1966 and 11 of 14 during between 1957 and 1969.

1980-1989: The “Showtime Lakers,” led

by the Hall of Fame-bound trio of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, go to eight finals in 10 years, including four straight appearances between 1982 and 1985 and back-toback titles in 1987 and 1988.

teams have followed the blueprint of finding one o r two marquee players, then adding complementary players via free agency.

Unexpectedly, this route to the championship has not been without criticism. Many feel that those who join superteams are weak-minded and simply looking for the ever-elusive championship ring, which carries more weight than ever on a player’s legacy.

Durant’s move to join an alreadyloaded Warriors team that had broken the single-season wins record the year prior was the move that once again, gave the critics of the superteam plen-

ty of fresh ammunition. It appeared that unlike before, when superstars joined together on average teams to turn them into superteams, top free agents would simply join the best team in the league.

“The fact that he [Durant] weakened another team and he’s gonna kind of gravy train on a terrific Warriors team,” said NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, an outspoken opponent of superteams, “[I’m] just disappointed.”

1991-1993: Michael Jordan’s first three-

peat of championships. MJ and Scottie Pippen led the Bulls won three straight championships, including a five-game series win over the Showtime Lakers. Jordan would win Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league in 1991 and 1992.

1996-1998: Widely considered the greatest team of all time, the late 90’s Bulls, led

by Michael Jordan bring home another three-peat of rings, this time breaking the single-season wins record in 1996. Led by the legendary trio of Jordan, Pippen and Dennis Rodman, the Bulls cruise their way to three titles. Jordan would win the NBA MVP award in both 1996 and 1998.

2000-2002: Ko

the scene, winn championships, only the great M plished until the of Bryant and fe O’Neal’s career, the highest scor during this time

2004: Bryant a

eager to return Hall of Famers i Gary Payton. W did find itself pl title, they lost in to the Chauncey Detroit Pistons.

Text and Design by Paarth Sharma

The Campanile

Friday, March 31, 2017

SUPERTEAMS

C5

of Superteams

n depth look at the superteams that have dominated the NBA Especially outraged by Durant’s decision were Thunder fans, who were quick to label him a traitor and a coward for joining a team that was not only already

re-

cordbreakingly successful, but one t h a t h a d

obe Bryant explodes onto ning three consecutive , achieving something Michael Jordan had accomhen. This was the highlight ellow Lakers star Shaquille r, as the duo ranked among ring players in the NBA e frame.

and O’Neal’s Lakers, to the Finals, sign two in Karl Malone and While the team laying for the n five games ey Billups-led .

knocked his team out of the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion less than a year ago in game seven of the Western Conference Finals.

When Durant returned to Oklahoma City as a member of the Warriors, he was met with distasteful signs and jeers by the crowd. The team itself even handed out shirts labeling him a coward to fans entering the arena.

But despite the intensity that surrounded the game, the supposed feud between the teams never manifested itself on the court. The Warriors cruised to a 21-point win, led by Durant’s season-high 40 points in the blowout.

This decidedly uneventful result of a supposedly marquee matchup has become a cornerstone in the argument against the superteam – the idea that these teams reduce league-wide viewership.

Many claim that since the presence of superteams means that there are only three or four realistic con-

fans i n t e re s t Nevperteams h a s the

tenders for the championship, of other teams will lose in following the league. ertheless, supporters of suwill argue that a different team won the championship each of last four years, a feat not seen in decades that points to an unexpected increase in parity during the new era of superteams.

But this new increase in parity is not as clear-cut as it appears.

Certain telltale signs point to a de-

2007-2010: The first well-known “Big

Three” in recent years, the Celtics trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen steamrolls to two Finals appearances in four years, winning the title in 2007.

2008-2010: Kobe Bryant returns, mak-

ing three straight fInals appearances.

With fellow stars Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on his side, the Lakers go backto-back in 2009 and 2010.

crease in parity over the last few seasons, despite the winner of the Finals being unique each of the last four years.

What do each of the last six NBA Finals have in common? The presence of LeBron James. Moreover, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers have faced the Stephen Curry led Golden State Warriors in each of the last two Finals.

This season, a rematch of the last two years is often seen as nearly inevitable by many, including the teams themselves, who have been acquiring role players through signing and trade in an attempt to defeat the other team, without even considering the possibility of being defeated within their own conference.

In response to claims of predictability, those in favor of superteams will argue that the NBA has never been more exciting, shown by skyrocketing TV ratings, all-time highs in popularity among youth and an increasing role in popular culture the NBA has not had since Michael Jordan starred in Space Jam over 20 years ago.

On top of that, many would say that the superteam is just plain fun. There are few things in sports more entertaining than watching the Golden State Warriors shower down deep threes on an opponent as the Oracle Arena crowd rises up for each possession. Indeed, hardly anything is more wildly engaging than watching Kyrie Irving float up an alley-oop to LeBron James for the one-handed dunk.

In today’s sports world dominated by 30-second highlights on social media, nothing gets the audiences going like the display of utter control and dominance that a superteam exemplifies.

This, combined with the league’s complicated history with the superteams, means that the superteam, like it or not, is most likely here to stay.

2011-2014: LeBron James takes his tal-

ents to South Beach, and teams up with fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat’s “Big Three” go to four straight Finals and win consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013. James, Wade and Bosh all average over 20 points per game, with James winning MVP in both of the Heat’s championship seasons.

2015-present: In 2016, a year after

winning their first title, the Golden State Warriors, led by the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, break the 1996 Bull’s single-season wins record, as Curry wins back-to-back MVPs. The following summer, they sign free agent and former MVP Kevin Durant, bolstering their status as a superteam.

Design by Kesi Sound

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

C6

SPORTS

Petition proposes creation of Paly field hockey team Field hockey has developed a growing interest among parents and students, already has 46 pledged students RIYA KUMAR

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto High School is known for its excellence in athletics which was recently proven once again when both girls and boys varsity basketball won the Central Coast Sectionals (CCS) championships. However, many students and parents are asking that another sport to be added to the diverse array of Paly athletics: girls field hockey.

Field hockey, a popular sport in all over the world, has been played for many years. It originated in Greece 3,000 years ago, and it is one of the most established female team sports in America.

In early November last semester, a petition was circulated by several parents in order to encourage the school to include girls field hockey as a sport. With 46 signatures, this petition organized by Alexa Gwyn explained why it makes sense for Paly to create a girls field hockey team: ‘’Half of the schools in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League have girls’ field hockey teams: Cupertino High School, Homestead High School, Los Altos High School, Los Gatos High School, Lynbrook High School, Monte Vista High School and Saratoga High School,” Gwyn said. “We would like Paly to have a girls’ field hockey team too.”

Due to the plethora of other local high schools that have girls field hockey as a sport, it is a shock for

K.M. KLEMENIC/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

High school field hockey programs provides another sport for female athletes to explore in addition to traditional alternatives.

many students that Paly does not have team of its own. A sophomore at Paly, who wishes to remain anonymous, has played field hockey for another team echoed this sentiment.

“I’m actually quite surprised that Paly, of all schools, does not have a field hockey team,” she said. “As a person who has played hockey, it feels kind of odd that Paly has never considered adding the sport. I would join the team if we had one.”

She also explained why it would

make perfect sense for Paly to have a girls field hockey team. Both institutions are a perfect match due to their shared interests.

“Hockey is a very aggressive sport,” she said. “I definitely believe that Paly would really shine if we had a team. It would also be great for students to expand their skills in the sport.”

Paly Associated Student Body President Anmol Nagar sees schoolwide benefits in adding a field hockey.

“I think that the addition of a field hockey team would be great for the sports program as it would increase the participation from people who have carried interests,” Nagar said.

Although many are enthusiastic about the idea, there are issues preventing the team from being created.

“I think it would be great for Paly to offer as many sports as we could,” said Paly Athletic Director Kathi Bowers. “Unfortunately we are limited by things like space and logistics.

If we can solve the space and logistics problem, I’m all for it.”

Timing is an additional reason why building the team must be postponed.

“Right now with the gym opening, and all the things we’re trying to do here, in order to start a new sport it’s going to take somebody a lot of time,” Bowers said.

According to Bowers, the ideal time to establish the team would be in the fall of 2018. Before then, a lot of things need to happen for it to be a successful team. First, there must be enough students willing to sign up for the sport, which is not an issue for girls hockey—the petition that was created contained 46 pledged players. Since Paly requires that there are around 175 percent of the number of players required for that sport, or around 20 players in the case of field hockey, that shouldn’t be an issue.

Additionally, the team will need to hire a coach and get funding in order to pay for salaries and for uniforms and equipment. More formalities include receiving approval from the district and the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League as well as creating a team schedule. With all the work that it will take to form a girls field hockey team, and the opening of the gym, it is understandable why the team cannot be created any earlier. Hopefully, Paly will not forget the fervor parents and students have for a girls field hockey team, and will create one as soon as they can.

Male and female athletes receive Differentiating between unequal degrees of recognition dance and cheer teams Paly students share accounts on how sports differ based on gender GRACIE KITAYAMA

STAFF WRITER

GT8073A/CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSED

Males and females experience different treatments on and off the field in all sports.

GRACIE KITAYAMA

STAFF WRITER

A

ll sports require hours of practice and training in addition to physical exertion and strength regardless of which gender plays the sport. However, there are variations in the different boys and girls teams that can change how the athlete plays his or her game.

Throughout the course of a school year, over 21 different sports are played in the fall, winter and spring seasons at Palo Alto High School.

This semester alone, over 801 students will have participated in a winter or spring sport.

These variations first appear when students first try out for their sports.

On all girls teams, any student that isn’t a senior is eligible for a position on a junior varsity ( JV)team. Boys, on the other hand, are only eligible for a junior varsity team while they are underclassmen.

This has notably caused disparity during tryouts when many junior girls, who did not make it onto the coveted varsity team, will often quit their junior varsity team. This leaves JV teams with a lack of players. As a result, more girls often drop out of sports once they become upperclassmen do to this rule.

“Everyone is mixed together when

trying out,” said junior Maddie Hare.

“Also, this year, there were cuts which we haven’t had in the past.”

Once the players are on the team, the differences between each sport for boys and girls varies. Lacrosse has vastly different rules for different gendered sports.

“Pretty much everything is different,” Hare said. “The rules, the equipment, the field, the ball, I think the only similarity is the name [of the sport] and the goal. Girls and boys [lacrosse] are very different sports it is almost like comparing field hockey and ice hockey. I think that throws some people off. Girls lacrosse is less aggressive, but just as valid as a sport.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, swimming has practically no variation between its male and female teams.

The only differences that junior Julia Qiao notices are the events that Paly athletes compete in.

“Girls and boys all practice together,” Qiao said. “The only difference is that we compete separately.

So because we have the same coaches and the same referees, I think everything is quite equal.”

Junior Zoe Lusk agrees that there is virtually no difference between how boys and girls swim. “[Swimming is] actually more like a coed sport because for club we prac-

tice with girls and guys teams combined,” Lusk said. “We win meets as a team with boys and girls scores combined, because of this we are all treated more or less the same.”

Similarly to swimming, track and field — the most popular sport at Paly — is also considered to be more like a coed sport according to track athlete Maya Rebitzer.

“The team is divided by event more so than by gender,” Rebitzer said. “For example, varsity girls will race the 400-meter, then varsity boys, then JV girls, then JV boys.

Regardless of how different the sports are from each other, a common theme across Paly athletics shows that female sports gain less attention than male sports. Junior Ally Scheve said girls sports are underrepresented at Paly.

“Both girls and boys are very successful, but I don’t think the girls side always gets the same recognition as the boys side for their accomplishments,” Scheve said. “The coverage from Paly publications can really vary on girls and boys teams even if they had equally great seasons or the girls had a better one.”

The lack of attention the female athletes feel they are receiving in sports has an impact on how they play their game.

“I think that I feel less pressure to succeed in my sport because I am a girl,” Lusk said. “I feel like people don’t pay as much attention [when compared] to boys sports.”

The lack of attention to her sport has had an opposite effect on Hare, who said she has to try harder in her sport to prove herself.

“I sometimes feel like I have to validate girls lacrosse as a serious sport,” Hare said.

Junior Sophie Frick also said her sport receives less attention than its male counterpart.

“I think a lot of times female sports are seen as less legitimate than male sports so there is a pressure to succeed in order to gain more respect and recognition,” Frick said.

From tryouts to practice to competition, Paly’s student athletes all must show impressive amounts of dedication to be on a sport. Whether they are feeling that they need to justify their sport or feel that all teams are equal, when it comes to meets, tournaments or games regardless of gender, the students are athletes first when they enter the playing field.

SHANNON ZHAO/THE CAMPANILE

The Campanile’s own Shannon Zhao, left, discusses some of the ways dance and cheer differ.

SHANNON ZHAO

STAFF WRITER

*Disclaimer: all opinions are the writer’s own. ou would think that the large bolded font “PALY DANCE” on my varsity jacket would be enough to indicate that I am on the Paly dance team. However, for some reason people still feel the need to ask if I am a cheerleader. In some instances, the dance team has even been mistaken for the JV cheer team; as if being asked repeatedly this blatant question wasn’t annoying enough.

Inarguably, dance and cheer have similarities — we both do movements to music and rally at sporting events. However, the numerous differences in the style, uniform and technique of the two teams make it easy to identify between the two.

For starters, according to the PAUSD athletics department, cheer and dance are not even in the same category of extracurriculars. Cheer is considered a sport and consists of stunts, tumbling and stiff move-

Y

ments. Dance is an expression of art and therefore has essentially no limitations to what can be considered “dance.” There are many different distinct styles of dance-hip hop, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and more, while cheer routines generally all look very similar. Dance routines have much more variation in the range of motion and can be soft, flowy, smooth and sharp all at the same time.

The differences between cheer and dance expand far beyond that the fact one team throws people up in the air and the other does not.

While both teams perform at sporting events, our commitments outside of school is entirely different.

This year, the dance team attended five competitions and competes at a national level. The cheer team did not compete. The majority of dance team members are trained outside of school, where as the majority of the cheer team are not.

The relationship between dance and cheer team members is similar to one of a square and rectangle. Dancers can be cheerleaders but cheerleaders can’t be dancers.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The Campanile

SPORTS C7 Athletes focusing on diets to improve performance From Paly underclassmen to professional players, more athletes are realizing success from structured eating VIVIAN FENG

STAFF WRITER

W

ith celebrity advertisements, social media boasts and increased scientific backing, diets have become embedded in the lives of millennials. From the plated vegan meals DJ Khaled shows off on his Snapchat stories to the popularly endorsed Fit Tea, modern diets have expanded hopefuls beyond targeting weight-loss. To most people, the word “diet” is associated with negative connotations bringing to mind fad diets that often cut out entire food groups. For athletes concerned with their nutrition, dieting is one of the most essential performance-enhancing elements.

“Diet directly translates to making your body feel better,” said Davante Adams, a starting wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.

For many athletes like Adams, nutrition is a critical factor in helping them stay in the best shape possible.

Proteins help with muscle growth, carbohydrates provide energy and vegetables supply provide vitamins.

Varying sports require different amounts of each food group, but unlike fad diets, athletes never cut out an entire food group.

“The key is balance in your diet,” Adams said. “Even though diet is still pretty leniently enforced. You can’t afford to [eat poorly] at this level.”

Furthermore, pre-game meals and snacks are an often forgotten way to get mentally focused before a match.

“I’ve been eating the same thing before every game for the last three years,” Adams said. “You have to figure out what your body likes.”

At Palo Alto High School, current student athletes similarly emphasize the importance of eating right and monitoring their nutritional intake.

LOMBARDI AVE/FAIR USE

Paly alumnus and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams follows a diet during the regular season and offseason that has helped him excel in college and the NFL.

“Depending on what type of athlete you are, you could go on diets to build muscle, or to lose weight,” said sophomore football player Wes Walters. Walters shares that Coach Dan Sullivan has given the football players diet recommendations.

“My meals usually contain a lot of meat like chicken [and] some vegetables and salad, and we usually try to keep it light on the candy,” Walters said, “We also eat a lot less bread.”

For sophomore wrestler Masa Perez, her diet is much more tightly enforced, particularly before matches.

“If I put something I don’t like in my body, I won’t get to wrestle at my best,” Perez said.

Beyond nutrition, wrestlers also need to monitor their diet more me-

“Diet directly translates to making your body feel better.”

Davante Adams NFL Wide Receiver ticulously to compete in their desired weight class. Perez recalls the day before one of her tournaments where she needed to lose five pounds by the next day’s competition in order to compete. She explained how she bundled herself in heavy layers of sweats and how she needed to run in order to lose the excess pounds. Despite the urgency to lose and control

her weight, Perez has learned never to skip meals before tournaments.

“In order to maximize a wrestler’s performance for a tournament, throughout the day they should stay hydrated, eat lots of carbohydrates and eat a little protein,” said Physical Education teacher David Duran.

At the same time, each individual athlete needs to try different nutritional plans before settling to a plan.

Different diets work for different people, but the overarching consensus of nutritionists and athletes is that consistency is key.

“Before matches I like to eat oatmeal or applesauce, because before meets I won’t eat or drink water [to

lose weight], so it gives me the nutrition I need, ” Perez said.

Perez explains due to the lack of nutritional intake before one of her matches, she remembers cramping up early and then eventually losing.

The scale of which our bodies are affected by our diet is often undermined and overlooked. Contrary to belief, most diets are not about eating as little as possible or weight loss. Diets are a change in your eating habits, typically relating to the change of one’s proportional intake of the food groups. In the athletic world, athletes diet in order to get the proper nutrients at the appropriate quantity to help them perform their best.

Runner leaves lasting impression on Paly cross country Kent Slaney began running in kindergarten and excelled through high school, setting records along his journey EDAN SNEH

STAFF WRITER

M

ost people at Palo Alto High School recognize the name Kent Slaney, or know him as “that really fast guy” on campus. Slaney, a senior at Palo Alto High School, has been a top tier long distance runner in cross-country and track and field. Since Slaney’s freshman year, he has placed on the podium almost every time in national events.

Along with Slaney’s national presence, he is well known by the Paly community and many can speak to his many accolades as an athlete and a student.

Slaney’s began training long before his freshman year. He started running in kindergarten, joining a jogging club that met during lunch.

In jogging club, Slaney had modest goals. He would earn prizes such as Jamba Juice gift cards or pencils.

Slaney thoroughly enjoyed this time despite the low-quality prizes.

“I really enjoyed that and it was my first running tournament experience,” Slaney said.

It did not take long for Slaney to get recognized locally. As a first grader, Slaney won a 5,000-meter race and was noticed by the media.

“I won the race and got in the paper, and that was really exciting for me,” Slaney said. “The feeling I get after winning a race is amazing. I decided to keep going from there.”

“Nothing really compares [to winning a race], it’s like all your training coming to fruition.’’

Kent Slaney Senior Slaney’s talent in running came as a huge surprise for his family. Most of Slaney’s family did not consider themselves athletic, and at first did not believe the schools when they told them how fast he was. After seeing him win first place in his first 5,000-meter race, at Palo Alto’s “Running of the Bulls” event, his family immediately recognized his great talent. Slaney’s father, Malcolm Slaney is supportive of his son’s running. He helps out at Paly by taking

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MALCOLM SLANEY/FLICKR

Left: Slaney as a child running an outdoor cross country event. Right: Slaney winning a recent track meet for Paly, where he has been on varsity for all four years of high school.

photos, writing emails and supporting the cross-country and track and field teams.

“It’s been really wonderful that Kent has found something that he really loves, and therefore he is good at it,” Malcolm Slaney said. “We wish all kids could find such love and success.”

Slaney’s running abilities aren’t solely due to natural talent. He trains hard and can be seen running on the track during his prep periods. Slaney motivates himself while training by remembering the intense feeling of satisfaction he gets after winning a race.

“Nothing really compares [to winning a race], it’s like all your training coming to fruition,” Slaney said. “It is very satisfying knowing that everything you are working for finally pays off.”

Slaney is well known at Paly, not only because of his running, but also because of his friendliness.

“I have made a lot of friends through running,” Slaney said. “I do a running club over the summer where

I also get to meet lots of people. I have a lot of friends on the track team, and running is a great way to meet people.

I find that the people that are runners are generally nice and make up a great community.”

While Slaney mainly runs in the Bay Area, he has extended himself to places all around the United States.

Slaney has certainly had many opportunities travelling and meeting people through his running career.

Out of all the places he has visited, his favorite place to run is Telluride, Colorado. It is not too hard to understand why he loves Telluride so much. The city has some amazing mountains, 14,000-foot peaks, soft snow and flowing rivers.

“The Telluride run is at 9,000 feet so the air is a lot thinner,” Slaney said.

“It takes a while to get acclimated, [but] the place is amazing.”

Slaney’s journey through running has been a long one, but he has received help and inspiration from his older peers. One peer that has particularly inspired Slaney is Dami Bolarinwa, a Paly graduate of 2016

and current student-athlete at Notre Dame de Namur University.

“Dami Bolarinwa was on my track 4-by-[400-meter] team and he generally anchored. It was always inspiring to watch his persistence.” Slaney said. “He would start 20 meters back and he would catch up. Even after catching up he would keep going and set the PR [Personal Record] for us.”

‘‘Running is a big part of who I am and it is important to stay true to that.’’

Kent Slaney Senior Though Slaney and Bolarinwa are two drastically different people they have similar running routines.

“He would work hard even after the season ended, and he was influential,” Slaney said. “I am definitely glad that I had him as a teammate, and am flattered to be compared to him.”

Slaney has inspired others in the running community just as Bolarinwa inspired him. A junior by the

name of Reed Foster runs track and field with Slaney and works out with him. Foster’s relationship with Slaney during freshman year was one-sided, and he viewed him as an idol.

“Later in sophomore year, we started to get to know each other a bit,” Foster said. “I think we are probably friends now. We eat lunch almost every day, and often hang out at brunch.”

Slaney believes running is an important part of life and should be done by everyone.

He has been recruited to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through his exemplary athletic and academic performance, and has received a running recommendation to Harvard.

Slaney wants to continue running even after college.

“I regard running as a lifelong venture,” Slaney said. “Even after college, I want to go up in distance. Being able to run long distances for the rest of my life is important to me. Running is a big part of who I am and it is important to stay true to that.”

Friday, March 31, 2017

C8

The Campanile

SPORTS

A COLLEGIATE COLD WAR: THE ARMS RACE FOR TOP RECRUITS

TEXT AND DESIGN BY COLE HECHTMAN

T

he numbers don’t lie; recruiting has proven to be the single-most critical factor for any college football team or athlete’s future success. The best recruiting programs tend to win more championships, and highly-regarded recruits are more likely to be drafted into the National Football League (NFL). In this year’s recruiting class rankings released earlier this month, the University of Alabama was unanimously recognized for the best class of recruits for the seventh successive year. Consequently, the Crimson Tide has appeared in five of the last seven championship games, winning three of them.

These trends expose how severe the imbalance of recruiting power amongst the top organizations stands, as well as how strongly this has affected the National Collegiate Athletic Association Football (NCAAF). From 201316, there were a total of 126 elite five-star recruits, but these same athletes committed to a mere 30 different schools. Additionally, out of 128 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, only 23 percent received at least one five-star recruit in those years.

Even amongst those top teams, however, there remains an acutely unequal distribution of strength. In fact, 16 out of the 30 top teams during this period received a maximum of two five-star recruits. The remaining portion, equal to just over one third of these times, averaged

roughly one five-star player each year. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy of power lies teams such as the University of Alabama and the University of Southern California (USC) that average at least three five-star recruits per class.

ONLY 16 TEAMS HAVE HAD A TOP10 RECRUITING CLASS IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS. Using the 247 Composite team rankings as an indicator for recruiting ability, only 16 teams have had a top-10 recruiting class in the past four years. Had there been a different group of teams each year, there could be as many as 40 teams. However, this limited number of teams provides further evidence towards how elite teams continue to dominate.

Lastly, a mere four teams have finished in the top-10 in all of the past four years: Alabama, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University and Auburn University. Not surprisingly, two teams, Alabama and Ohio State

DESIGN BY EDWARD KIM AND VIVIAN FENG

(who both have the highest recruiting finish in the last four years) have also won a College Football Playoff Championship.

While this imbalance of recruiting power is explicit, discussion regarding whether it is beneficial to the NCAAF remains undecided.

On one hand, the concentration of elite athletes on a limited number of teams creates an unparalleled level of performance and competition. After all, the best players commit to top teams to gain exposure from NFL scouts, and winning is the best way to achieve that.

That being the case, the level of competition amongst players on the best teams is what makes these teams the most watched. It’s the same reason that stands fill out when top teams compete, and why bowl games receive more viewers than regular season matchups: seeing the most talented athletes in the country go head-to-head brings an all around level of gameplay other teams cannot offer.

Conversely, others argue that the current system requires amending, and that college football is meant to take place on an even playing field. In addition to the teams finishing with top recruiting classes benefitting, any others left out will become relatively weaker as a result. These effects have only exacerbated with time, leaving mediocre teams stuck in the dirt for consecutive seasons, besides the occasional boost from an emerging star or

exceptional coaching. However, for the vast majority of football fans, the team they are associated with won’t be ranked, which will only discourage viewers and gradually contribute to a lessened interest in college football in general.

IF YOU’RE A FAN HOPING TO ROOT FOR A CONSISTENTLY WINNING TEAM, I’D SUGGEST PRAYING FOR A SPARK PLUG. Regardless of whether fans like it or not, college football’s current recruiting system is here to stay. The schools finishing with the best records will more than likely be recognizable names from previous years, and the future will be no different. If you’re a fan hoping to root for a consistently winning team, I’d suggest either praying for a spark plug or moving to Alabama.

ART BY ALICE ON