Issue 7, 2/26/16

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

PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44

The Campanile

Vol. XCVIII, No. 7

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

Friday, February 26, 2016

CDC investigating Palo Alto suicides

New blended courses to Researchers to conclude two weeks of inquiries as part of Epi-Aid for PAUSD debut in fall MADS MCCLUSKEY

STAFF WRITER

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However, despite the overwhelmingly positive response to the CDC’s mission, many are skeptical of the impact that this investigation will have on the community.

Marc Vincenti, campaign coordinator for “Save the 2,008” and former Henry M. Gunn High School English teacher, is one of the most vocal investigation dissidents. Despite the seemingly-parallel goals between “Save the 2,008,” a coalition aiming to reduce stress in Palo Alto’s high schools, and the Epi-Aid, Vincenti believes this investigation does not include a vital factor: student voice.

“I understand that this study has an emphasis on collecting data, and

welve new courses have been added to Palo Alto High School’s course offering, among them blended and twilight classes.

Blended classes began in 2009 at Henry M. Gunn High School and soon spread to Paly. Some of the classes have flex time in which students have free class periods during the week to use for what they need, whether it be meeting with teachers or studying on their own. During these flex periods, students do not have to attend class. Twilight classes will be offered one day per week during after school hours.

“Blended courses give students more flexibility and choice in their daily schedules, as well as encourage more independent, student-driven learning and provide more opportunities for one-on-one time between teacher and student,” Advanced Placement Psychology teacher Melinda Mattes said.

The new blended classes for the 2016-17 school year are Getting into the Game, Interior Design 11/12, Sports Nutrition, Shakespeare/ Chaucer, World Literature 12, AP Psychology, Positive Psychology, Algebra 2, AP Biology, AP Music Theory and Spanish 5.

The Social Justice Pathway (SJP) is also introducing new classes for the upcoming year. It will be incorporating Economics, Sociology, World Literature and Escape Literature into SJP curriculum.

Many students utilize their time talking with their teachers or catching up on reading and homework.

However, there are also drawbacks to this extra free period.

CDC

BLENDED COURSES

MADS MCCLUSKEY/THE CAMPANILE

Representatives from PAUSD prepare for a meeting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discusses the recent suicide clusters in Palo Alto’s two high schools.

ASHLEY ZHANG

STAFF WRITER

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he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently conducting an epidemiological study on Palo Alto’s recent suicide clusters in order to address and mitigate Santa Clara County’s problem of youth suicide after a formal request from the county and state public health departments last March.

The field work portion of the CDC’s Epidemiologic Assistance (Epi-Aid) investigation will be conducted in partnership with Palo Alto’s Project Safety Net — a community network created to foster youth well-being in Palo Alto — and the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The CDC uses Epi-Aid to determine the cause of health problems and develop prevention and control strategies.

We are very grateful that [the CDC] is here to look at our community and provide us with feedback and additional resources as well as ideas for prevention to help us in moving forward.

Kim Diorio Principal The investigation is focused on examining the patterns and trends of

youth suicide by addressing potential instigators at the individual, family, community and societal levels. It will include an examination of media coverage to determine if safe reporting guidelines were met, along with informal meetings with local organizations to discuss prevention strategies.

Palo Alto High School principal Kim Diorio believes that the CDC’s assistance will help guide ongoing and future initiatives and services within the community.

“We are very grateful that [the CDC] is here to look at our community and provide us with feedback and additional resources as well as ideas for prevention to help us in moving forward,” Diorio said.

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Court to release 10 million Career Month speakers to present in March students’ private information Keynotes will focus more evenly on careers in STEM and arts Data requested by parent association in lawsuit against California Department of Education CLAIRE DENNIS

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

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ollowing a lengthy legal battle between the California Department of Education and an advocacy group, the Concerned Parent Association, Judge Kimberly Mueller ordered that the Department of Education release private information on over 10 million current and former public school students for statistical analysis.

In 2011, the California Concerned Parents Association and the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association (MHCP) filed a suit against the Department of Education. MHCP, a non-profit group, accused the state of not allocating federally required funding to students with disabilities.

The 5-year dispute made headway when U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller approved MHCP’s request for statewide student data.

The data to be released includes Social Security numbers, addresses, mental assessments and physical assessments of all public school students who have been enrolled since Jan. 1, 2008. Data will be released to the MHCP’s legal team on April 1, 60 days after the court order. For-

mer students and parents or guardians have until April 1 to complete a form, found on the Department of Education website, to have their information removed from what will ultimately be sent to MHCP. In releasing the information, Mueller placed a protective order on the data. No parties outside the MHCP, its attorneys and the statistical team will have access to the data. The information itself will be available to fewer than 10 individuals, those of which are responsible for performing statistical analyses. Once the analyses are performed, MHCP representatives are required to return or destroy any data used, to ensure privacy.

MHCP asserts that they are not searching for individual student data, but rather aiming to establish generalizations about the amount of resources allocated to special needs students.

“We feel that the way [the California Department of Education] has used Social Security numbers and made them available to thousands of administrators and staff across the state that have little or no training in

RACHEL FARN

BUSINESS MANAGER

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alo Alto High School will be hosting its eighth annual Career Month during the first two weeks of March, an event in which students will be given the opportunity to listen to guest speakers and learn about a wide range of career possibilities.

The speaker series will take place in the library at lunch, where pizza and other foods will be provided for students. Speakers will cover a number of topics, including what a typical day at their jobs looks like, and how they came to choose their specific career path.

COURTESY OF GET INVOLVED PALO ALTO

Marriage counselor Chandrama Anderson speaks to students at Career Month in 2015.

President Alan Eustace, Pinterest Qualitative Researcher Altay Sendil and eight other speakers.

The second week of speakers, March 7 through March 10, will include GeneWeve Chief Technical Officer Diego Rey, DreamWorks Story Board Artist and Animator Rob Koo as well as seven other speakers, one of which is a surprise guest in professional sports.

Career Month uses Jim Harbaugh’s words — “Follow your passion with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind” — as its motto to inspire

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Christina Owens, Paly Community Service and Career Advisor, is facilitating the speaker series alongside a committee of senior student leaders. The committee consists of Co-Chairs Jeanette Wong and Priya Misner, Co-Directors of Operations

Minyoung Kim and Allison Zhang and Business Manager Zach Segal.

After putting out a survey and reflecting on past Career Months, the student leaders decided to put a heavier emphasis on careers in the arts this year. “[We’re trying] to get more speakers related to arts,” Kim said. “Last year, I think most speakers were STEM related and didn’t have as many variety of speakers, so this year we tried to make it half-half.”

The first week of speakers, Feb. 29 through March 4, will include Musae Choir Director Ben Johns, former Google Engineering Senior Vice

COURTESY OF CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM

COURTESY OF BEAR MARKET

BO FIELD/THE CAMPANILE

COURTESY OF BENNET HUANG

MHCP

Last year, I think most speakers were STEM-related and [we] didn’t have as much variety of speakers, so this year we tried to make it half-half.

Kim Diorio Palo Alto High School Principal

CAREER MONTH

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INSIDE

N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1- A 4 O p i n i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 5 -A 8 L i fe st y l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 1, B 8 StudentiLife..................................B2 Te c h n o l o g y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 3 Spotlight...............................B4-B5 Entertainment .............................B6,B7 S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C 1- C 8

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Check us out at www.thecampanile.org

OPINION

College Pride Censorship

Communitites should encourage students to display their post-Paly plans.

PAGE A5

LIFESTYLE

Teens on Terrorism

Adolescents remain unconcerned about terrorism while world fear rises.

PAGE B1

SPOTLIGHT

Breaking College Values

Colleges join to change the way students view the application process.

PAGES B4-B5

SPORTS

Aspiring Olympians

Paly athletes train to earn Olympic and Junior Olympic titles.

PAGE C1

Friday, February 26, 2016

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NEWS TO KNOW

The Campanile

NEWS Board to decide distribution of budget Members presents plans for funding of PAUSD language immersion, mental health programs ETHAN TEO

SPORTS EDITOR

COURTESY OF LEO CORREA

@JebBush Thank You

NPR

@nytimes President Obama sends Congress a plan to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

@ddlovado Take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak out about something and then I’ll be impressed.

@BreakingNews US State Department formally announces US, Russia ceasefire agreement for Syria, propose it to start Feb. 27

EONLINE

@kanyewest My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal.

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alifornia’s Senate Bill 77 has allocated $490 million in block grants to public schools across the state in accordance with the Educator Effectiveness Program Plan. The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education and the Educational Services team discussed the district’s proposal to adopt the plan, as well as the allocation of PAUSD’s $1.3 million grant from the state of California at the board meeting on Feb. 23.

The district’s main education goals include utilizing appropriate evidence-based teaching and assessment strategies to support students in meeting Common Core Standards, improving the ability to support equity for all students and supporting positive school cultures.

With funding from the state,, teaching staff will have greater access to workshops, summer institutes and other resources. However, the board is concerned over a lack of clarity in the evaluative process of the plan.

“You have to use multiple metrics because success in professional development is very hard to gauge,” board president Heidi Emberling said.

“What works for one student may not work for another. What works in terms of professional development for one teacher might interpreted dif-

ETHAN TEO/THE CAMPANILE

PAUSD board member Ken Dauber consults his laptop during the board’s Feb. 23 meeting.

ferently by another teacher. I think we have to find some metrics and ways of measuring outcome towards the goals that we set. ” After the meeting, the Educational Services team hopes to make a more detailed plan. The board will make a final decision about the plan on March 8. The board also discussed plans to expand support from the Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), which provides parenting services to Mandarin, Korean and Spanish speaking families.

PAUSD’s contract with AACI will be extended for the remainder of the school year for $15,000.

Board member Ken Dauber proposed an additional $50,000 of funding for use regarding mental health and wellness support at the staff ’s discretion for the remainder of the 2015-2016 school year. Dauber believes that one of the district’s top most priorities should be the increase of extensive mental health care coverage for PAUSD students.

“It’s clear that some students are having a hard time accessing services that they need,” Dauber said. “For example, some students don’t have good health insurance or their parents are not supportive of them of getting mental health care.”

Paly film festival showcases student talent

Students from all grade levels present independent creations at third annual school film festival

@icecube @kendricklamar will induct N.W.A at the @Rock_Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airing 4/30 on #HBO. #RockHall2016 . @DISupdates @dennyhamlin wins the #DAYTONA500 with a photo finish!

@cnnbrk Suspect in Michigan shooting deaths was driver for Uber, company says.

ANTONIO KIESCHNICK/THE CAMPANILE

Junior Jason Pollack acts in the film “For Sale,” which was in the running for the Best Picture award at Paly’s Feb. 19 film festival.

DAVID TAYERI

STAFF WRITER

GETTY IMAGES

@WSJ British pound plunges after London Mayor Boris Johnson backs campaign to leave the EU.

P

alo Alto High School film enthusiasts gathered in the MAC on Feb. 19 for the third annual Paly Student Film Festival (PSFF).

The 2-hour show featured student made films from this school year.

Presented movies during the event ranged from foreign language dramas

to spy flicks to whimsical animated shorts.

The event was attended mostly by parents, Video Production students and a handful of other observers, including Paly and Gunn students.

Paly Video Production and Graphic Design teacher Brett Griffith was not dismayed by the sparse audience.

“Attendance is always something important because it’s great to see people supporting [the films], but

specifically the production value, and whether the artists themselves are satisfied with what they made, is what I’m interested in,” Griffith said.

The future looks bright for Paly film. Cinequest, a film festival out of San Jose will show three student made films. “For Sale,” “Perpetual Woods” and “Swimmy” will all be featured in the festival, which is endorsed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More in-

ASB plans Paly-Gunn activities Student council works with Gunn to coordinate night rally and dance JACKY MOORE

STAFF WRITER

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ith the end of the third quarter approaching, Palo Alto High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) has organized two upcoming events for both of the high schools in town. The two student governments are working to promote unity and friendly competition between Gunn High School and Paly.

“ASB and Gunn [Student Executive Council] SEC have been talking for a while about doing an event together,” ASB Vice President Anmol Nagar said. “This year we’re aiming to change that with our dance and rally.”

SEC and ASB’s first event for both schools’ student bodies will manifest in the form of a winter dance. Highlight the Night will take place on Feb. 26 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Mitchell Park Community Center. The dance’s theme is whiteout and neon, and casual dress is suggested. Students are encouraged to wear white, as glow pens will be made available to be worn on clothes.

“We’ve [ASB and SEC] been working really closely together to create the best possible dance that will

Dauber’s mental health awareness proposal, as well as the extension of AACI’s contract, was unanimously approved by the board.

The board will discuss the budget on mental health and wellness support for the 2016-17 school year at its next meeting. As of now, the district will likely spend approximately $50,000 on expanded AACI services for the 2016-17 school year and also add one full-time Adolescent Counseling Service (ACS) staff member to be shared by the two PAUSD high schools. This staff member will specifically deal with issues of drug and alcohol abuse.

“I think that drug and alcohol abuse is clearly an issue in Palo Alto as it is in most other communities,” Dauber said. “There’s a clear need and a clear benefit in providing these services.”

In addition to partnering with ACS to strengthen support for drug and alcohol abuse, the district is likely to invest in rebuilding partnerships with local health providers like the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

“There used to be stronger partnerships in addressing drug and alcohol abuse between the school district and local health providers,” Dauber said. “Those partnerships are not as strong as they used to be, so I think it’s important to build those back up and it’s also useful to have an ACS staff member focused on that.”

appeal to both schools,” Nagar said.

“This year we’re aiming to celebrate the competition between schools, but we also want to be able to have fun together.”

“If students liked Homecoming, they’ll love the ‘Highlight the Night Dance,’ which has everything from homecoming and more,” ASB President William Zhou said. “It’s bigger and better.”

Zhou explained that ASB had done its research and was looking to improve after past dances.

We’ve [ASB and SEC] been working really closely together to create the best possible dance that will appeal both schools.

Anmol Nagar ASB Vice President “We polled people after homecoming and heard that some people had complaints about the DJ so for this dance, we booked a brand new DJ who’ll help hype up the event.

Additionally, they’ll be lots of activities students can participate in while not dancing or eating,” Zhou said.

Gunn Senior Class President Jerri Zhang stated that the intent of the

Paly-Gunn event is to strengthen the relationship between students from the two schools.

“Our goal was to decrease the stigma of being rival schools and to increase the interaction between Paly and Gunn students,” Zhang said.

Additionally, students from both Paly and Gunn are encouraged to attend a night rally in Gunn’s gym on March 24. Like Paly’s night rally last October, this event will allow students from both schools to write cheers and compete in different activities. The rally will act as a 2-hour long Spirit Week beginning at 7 p.m. “[Students] will be competing in various games between grades and between schools,” Nagar said. “The purpose of the rally is to celebrate the rivalry in a fun and positive way.”

Zhang agreed, emphasizing the cooperative nature of the groundbreaking event.

“Students should look forward to having friendly competition through fun activities and performances from both schools,” Zhang said.

Both Highlight the Night and the night rally aim to bring Gunn and Paly students closer together.

“We really want to increase unity within the schools,” Nagar said.

formation about screening times can be found on Cinequest’s website.

Furthermore, the PSFF is also looking forward to the construction of the new Performance Arts Center.

“The building will have stadium seating, awesome acoustics and proper lighting, all of which will mean a better experience for spectators,” Griffith said.

Griffith also looks forward to expanding the amount of awards given out at the festival, especially by adding a category for animated films.

This year, the awards of Best Picture from Video 2 and Best Picture Overall went to “Dark Was the Night” and “For Sale,” respectively.

Alec Cohen-Schisler is a Video 2 student who is also a part of the James Franco film workshop. Cohen-Schisler starred in and directed the film “Stepping Up,” which was nominated for the Best Picture award from the Video 2 category.

“I’ve been making videos since I was nine years old, and video production is something that I’ve always been interested in,” Cohen-Schisler said. “In addition to starting work for next year’s festival, I’m working on some videos for my private channel.”

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Fun in the sun at strategically planned college towns all across America

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

NEWS A3 New blended, twilight course Career Month to options available in the fall be held in March CONTINUED FROM A1

“The blended classes gives more choice in how they manage their time, and the flexibility of a blended class give kids a chance to seek help when they need it,” Social Science teacher Eric Bloom said. “The blended classes also give kids the option to waste time and so a down side of less structure is that some kids are allowed to make bad choices.”

However, blended classes are not built to fit every class dynamic or structure. The blended curriculum allows teachers to incorporate more unique and creative approaches to education that classes with standardized curricula would not have room or time for.

“Educational research suggests that giving kids more choice in how to demonstrate competency raises achievement, and offering classes that are not pegged to a national test [such as APs] allows teachers to be

more creative in how they ask students to demonstrate competency; more engaged students learn more,” Bloom said.

These classes are newly introduced as per student or teacher interest, so if less than around 28 students indicate interest in signing up for a class, the course will not be offered.

“New classes come from teacher ideas, coupled with student interest, and require teachers who are willing to do the hard work of creating and designing the new courses,” Mattes said.

In order to be a teacher of blended learning courses, teachers must undergo training, and Paly is currently holding its fifth training. Teachers are not required by administration to attend these trainings unless they choose to teach a blended class.

Right now, there are nine teachers at Paly teaching the blended classes, and some are teaching twilight classes as well. In twilight classes, stu-

dents are given a prep period during the day and meet once a week after school from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. During the time spent outside of class, students complete work and projects online.

“The whole big picture with blended and with twilight and all of the interesting electives is to give students more choices and options,” Spanish 5 teacher Emily Garrison said. “We have a really big school, we are lucky enough to be able to do blended learning and to have it supported. So, it’s all about student options.”

To aid students in course selection this year, Paly’s Input Club has created a supplemental online course catalog resource to digitally aggregate course information. It lists course descriptions for each class among other data, including time spent on homework, grade information and Advanced Placement (AP) data when applicable.

CDC investigates Palo Alto suicides CONTINUED FROM A1

it’s not the fault of the CDC that that is the nature of this study,” Vincenti said. “I think that the mistake is in people being allowed to think of this study as something that will make a great and profound difference for this district. The study’s shortcomings are fairly obvious in that the researchers … will not be interviewing a single teenager in Palo Alto. … You can’t do a study of teenage suicide in Palo Alto and not talk to a single teenager.

It just does not make sense.”

Vincenti also mentioned a related study done two years ago after an eerily similar chain of suicide clusters prompted an Epi-Aid investigation from the CDC in Fairfax County, Va., a similarly affluent suburban area.

“The study being done in Palo

Alto is essentially a mirror image of [the CDC investigation in Virginia],” Vincenti said. “[The investigation] happens to be a very, very superficial, once-over, data-based study that lacks in-depth interviews with a great number of people who could make a contribution.”

However, PAUSD hopes that the CDC’s research will yield information that can deepen the Palo Alto community’s and stakeholders’ understanding of youth well-being and mental health and develop service efforts on subjects such as prevention, early intervention and postvention.

“One of the most important changes that should be made [to prevent future tragedies] is reducing the stigma [around mental health] and making sure that students and teenagers are recognizing what a mental

health condition is,” Diorio said. “We as a community as well as a society, should be making sure that people understand that like [for] any other health condition, there is treatment and help, and that students and teenagers can avail themselves to the services or people that can help them.”

The CDC will hold four more meetings with the Project Safety Net network and other PAUSD groups in February to gather more information on the topic. The fieldwork is scheduled to end after 13 days of investigation on Feb. 29. At this point, the CDC will continue into the third and final phase of the investigation — the follow-up — which consists of further data analysis at the CDC and SAMHSA offices to create a final report that will be shared with the Palo Alto community.

CONTINUED FROM A1

students and expose them to new career paths.

“We think it’s important for students to hear from people who are actually working in the field about their career and what they do,” Kim said. “We also bring in many speakers so that students learn about new career fields they may not have known before.”

Career Month not only teaches students about different occupations, but also creates an opportunity for students to network with people currently in the work force. “[Career Month helps students] to create that new connection and provide opportunities for them to ask the speakers any questions they have directly.” Kim said.

Last year’s Career Month included speakers from professions such as surgery, art, engineering and counseling. There were also two featured special speakers: Edward Zuckerberg,

a dentist and social media consultant, and Jaime Waydo, an engineer working on the Google driverless car.

Career Month serves as more than an educational experience. To some, the presentations are also entertaining.

Career Month … creates an opportunity for students to network with people currently in the work force.

“I like going to see some really cool speakers who have some odd stories to tell,” senior Katie Francis said. “I think most of the jobs can get pretty into tech work or obscure jobs.

They try to go for the speakers who are interesting.”

Each year, Career Month exposes students to an array of professions, inspiring students to pursue careers that embody not only what they love to do and what they are good at but also what the world values.

Student data released after court order CONTINUED FROM A1

computer security is inappropriate,” MHCP said in a statement on their website. “We don’t want social security numbers, but CDE has embedded them in records that show CDE does not follow federal law.”

The Department of Education challenges allegations of any wrongdoing against students with disabilities. They have circulated information regarding the opt-out program to schools.

“We have fought vigorously to protect students’ privacy rights and will continue that fight,” State Su-

perintendent Tom Torlakson said in a press release.

While parents and students may disagree about the importance of releasing the private information, most agree about the need to inform students about the ability to opt out.

“They should have some type of public service announcement about this because the public shouldn’t be blindsided by a court decision that will release a lot of private information like this,” senior Nicole Chen said. “In schools, like in advisory or something, teachers should let students know about this so they can make an educated decision.”

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

A4 NEWS Stanford announces work Apple and FBI clash on suicide prevention app over iPhone security New app is believed to be the most cost efficient way to reduce suicides

JOSH BRIGEL

KATE DEANDRE

STAFF WRITER

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STAFF WRITER

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tanford University has recently began working with Mersey Care Trust, a mental health care provider, to produce a mobile application to prevent suicides.

A prototype of the app is set to be completely constructed by June 2016, and patients will have access to the app by January 2017.

The app producers believe that using technology will be the most efficient way to reduce suicides because physicians will be able to monitor patients more easily. The company believes that technology is most effective in reaching patients because people are constantly on their phones.

“This is an opportunity to exploit technology in a way we’ve never been able to before in health, by providing very powerful, decision-making, statistical support to clinicians in real time for the people who are most at risk,” Mersey Care Medical Director Dr. David Fearnley told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The app will observe the communications of people by monitoring their cell phones. It is imperative that the patients are deliberately aware that they are being tracked by physicians, so the app cannot be placed in a person’s phone anonymously.

“We think we can anticipate people who may be likely to harm themselves with greater accuracy than we currently do, and therefore be able to do something about it and save their lives,” Fearnley said in an interview with the BBC. Physicians will monitor the patient’s social media applications,

Tech giant refuses to unlock shooter’s phone

COURTESY OF MARK WILSON

Facebook recently pioneered a similar social media tool that aims to prevent suicide.

emails they send or receive and incoming or outgoing calls, as well as other means of communications.

The physicians also have the ability to follow the patient at all times to see if they have missed an important event or if they are at a location that is known for suicides.

This is an opportunity to exploit technology in a way we’ve never been able to before in health, by providing very powerful, decision-making, statistical support to clinicians in real time for the people who are most at risk.

Dr. David Fearnley

Mersey Care Medical Director If the patient shows any signs of suspicious behavior, the app immediately notifies the clinician who will

then check in with the user to make sure their patient is okay.

Mersey Care NHS Trust hopes to end all suicides among their patients by the year 2020.

Many other organizations have similar intentions to that of Stanford and Mersey Care NHS Trust and have developed similar electronic tools in an attempt to limit suicide.

Most of the tools are used to communicate with the suicidal person to check their mental well-being.

Recently, Facebook has partnered with Forefront, Now Matters Now, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Save.org to search for solutions to reducing suicides. The Facebook tool provides tools to people who may be struggling by sending out an anonymous message to the person. The message empathizes with the person and offers ways that Facebook can help the person.

n Feb. 17, electronics company Apple Inc. released a statement stating that the company may begin creating a program for the iPhone which is able to unlock any Apple phone.

This backdoor program is being requested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI) in light of recent terrorist attacks, specifically the San Bernardino shooting.

Apple stated in their customer letter online that they released this “for public discussion” and for “people around the country to understand what is at stake.”

The main fear in creating and releasing this backdoor is that although the FBI believes that the program will be used once only for the iPhone, it is still subject to being stolen or hacked. This program, if possessed, could open any iPhone, compromising the security of all Apple phone users. Hackers belong to a strong and growing community that has been able to compromise the Islam State in Syria (ISIS) and electronics company Sony among others.

The FBI is stating the All Writs Act of 1789 in this case, in support of creating the program though Apple is resisting and most likely looking for public support through this letter.

The Act states that it may issue “all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” This means that the judge can order someone to follow the law, but it has to be done in an agreeable way. According to the New York Times, Apple does not want to give

up this right whether they are made to or not. Apple is trying to make an unhackable security system that “experts say [Apple] almost surely will” succeed in doing.

After the original customer letter was published, news surfaced that the iCloud account on the phone had had its password changed remotely. At first it was thought that the password was changed by local officials, but this was denied and recently reinforced by an FBI release that it was done under supervision of federal officials. This is especially important because the FBI originally denied providing supervision for the action.

Although Apple would not create a backdoor program, they would help in backing up the shooter’s iCloud data. If the password was not changed, the government could have taken the phone to a previously connected WiFi area and had the phone automatically back up its data.

The phone in question is under government supervision because the owner worked for the San Bernardino Department of Health, giving them ownership of the phone. The phone is an iPhone 5c which has no fingerprint scanner, something that could have unlocked the phone with the deceased owner’s fingerprints and avoided this controversy.

This program, if created, would be the first ordered by the government to a company in disarming their encryption. It seems quite likely that this case may reach the Supreme Court through appeals that will have large impacts for all U.S. software companies. If the case is upheld, Apple believes that this program may take thousands of hours to even complete and unlock the phone.

County guards stand Youth forum promotes resilience Palo Alto Youth Council holds conversations about mental health and relationships accused of jail abuse Investigation into misconduct, excessive violence at Santa Clara County Main Jail EDWARD KIM

STAFF WRITER

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ay Area law enforcement officials are investigating the Santa Clara County Main Jail for several instances of excessive abuse and misconduct towards inmates which have occurred as long ago as April 2015.

A new investigation into the bludgeoning of inmate Ruben Garcia on July 23, 2015 has begun after additional allegations of physical abuse were made by correctional officers within the jail.

Guards Philip Abecendario and Tuan Le allegedly beat Garcia repeatedly while he was shackled and unable to defend himself until Garcia’s jaw became permanently disfigured.

In response to public criticism and investigations from the Santa Clara Police Department, the Santa Clara County Main Jail has temporarily relieved the two guards from their normal duties.

The additional complaints [lend] credence to what we’re hearing, that the Michael Tyree incident wasn’t isolated. It adds even more urgency to our work.

Ladoris Cordell Independent Police Auditor for Santa Clara County Late last August, the Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s Department removed three guards from their posts in the jail for allegedly beating inmate Michael Tyree to death. Tyree, a mentally ill inmate, suffered from multiple blunt force wounds before succumbing to his injuries on Aug. 27. Though these guards pleaded not guilty in a trial last month, the accusation raises alarming concerns about inmate treatment.

In addition to these high-profile cases of abuse, the current inmates at the jail have spoken out themselves.

In a letter to the San Jose Mercury in late 2015, 41 inmates claimed that the guards threatened them with a “war they cannot win” if they filed grievances.

Since Tyree’s death five months ago, the jail has placed eight guards on probation pending the results of the investigation of inmate abuse and lawlessness.

In October 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stepped in to aid the troubled jail, after news of nearly 100 inmate complaints of guard misconduct reached the public.

Two months later, the FBI and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office released a grievance after completing their probe that found that more than a dozen guards had exchanged text messages filled with racial slurs. These degrading texts drew harsh criticism from the Sherriff.

Sheriff Laurie Smith, who oversees all Bay Area jails, called the texts “repugnant and vile” in a written statement. Following the allegations against the jail, Smith has vowed to bring about change and hold the guilty guards responsible for their actions.

In July of 2015, Donald Specter, the director of the Prison Law Office, a firm dedicated to improving the care of inmates, labeled the Santa Clara County Main Jail as “harsher and more punitive than most” in a letter he penned to a prisoner rights group.

Once the country determined that the jails could not function efficiently, they appointed Ladoris Cordell, Independent Police Auditor of Santa Clara County, to oversee the workings of the prison. Cordell recently released an official statement on the investigation.

“The additional complaints [lend] credence to what we’re hearing, that the Michael Tyree incident wasn’t isolated,” Cordell said in his statement. “It adds even more urgency to our work.”

MACKENZIE GLASSFORD/THE CAMPANILE

Panelists discuss their various high school experiences and common struggles they face to an audience of students and parents on Feb. 6.

MACKENZIE GLASSFORD

STAFF WRITER

T

he Palo Alto Youth Council (PAYC) and the City of Palo Alto hosted their second annual teen forum at the Mitchell Park Community Center on Feb. 6. The forum, entitled “Palo Alto Strong: A Teen Movement to Promote Resilience and Empathy,” featured discussions on topics from building strong relationships to tackling mental illness.

During the event, teenagers were invited to participate in dialogue circles that emphasized various youth challenges. Dhara Yu, a member of PAYC and a junior at Palo Alto High School, helped to organize the event.

“There were five different groups, each of which had a different area of discussion and were lead by a student facilitator as well as an adult facilitator,” Yu said. “The objective was to just kind of discuss the topic, and the topics were dealing with stress, building strong relationships, tackling mental illness, helping a friend in need and daily life choices.”

During the discussion circles, parents and educators were able to participate in a workshop designed

by PAYC to provide support for parents in the community whose families have been affected by issues teens face. PAYC decided to host the event following the tragedies at Henry M.

Gunn High School last school year.

Elinor Aspegren, PAYC president and Gunn senior, wants the group to inspire people to move forward rather than live in the past.

“We really wanted to promote resilience and empathy, ... move forward and talk about struggle, like how you get over struggles and how you move past struggles,” Aspegren said. “That’s kind of why we started this forum, because we need to focus more on moving forward. There are several people who are still dealing with the suicides from last year and we wanted to talk about moving forward from that event rather than staying stuck in the past.”

The point of this primarily was to encourage honest and open dialogue.

Dhara Yu PAYC member Another major problem PAYC found with the Palo Alto community is the absence of student voice in student well-being conversations. The forum was the group’s way of providing a safe place for teenagers to voice their feelings and give their opinions on issues that affect their daily lives.

“There’s an absence of student voice in discussion,” Aspegren said.

“Students really care about what happens to them because, well, they’re

the people who are most affected when there’s a change in the community. We [students] deserve to have a voice. We have a lot of great ideas and a lot of the time our ideas aren’t heard because there are people who say that our voices don’t matter, that we’re just kids, but our voices do matter.”

The forum ended with a student and alumni panel made up of community members who have taken steps to encourage empathy and resilience. They answered questions about their own high school experiences Members of PAYC asked the panel questions about issues that they had dealt with in high school that are usually considered taboo to talk about and are often stigmatized, such as depression and suicide.

“The point of this primarily was to encourage honest and open dialogue about issues that are very prevalent in high schoolers’ lives,” Yu said. “We wanted to tell people that it’s okay to do things differently, it’s okay to not be perfect at everything.”

As of now, there are no plans for a future forum. However, Yu encourages students to participate if another one should ever occur.

“I think it’s really valuable and these are issues that pertain to everyone,” Yu said. “I think everyone can offer something very valuable so, everyone should come out in the future.” The forum is a great way to reduce stress and bond with parents.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

OPINION

A5

Students should show pride in college plans

MAGGIE ROSENTHAL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

F

rom graduation caps decorated with college logos to The Campanile’s own College Map to wearing college apparel the day following finalized college decisions, advertising one’s plans for the next four years is customary for any graduating senior. But these practices do not occur without complaint.

Administrators, parents and students alike have all attempted to address this “issue,” questioning these traditions and their alleged role in adding to the stress and pressure students face.

Though these concerns are backed with good intentions, they are nothing if not misguided. Instead of focusing on ways to eliminate college from discussion, it is more practical and helpful to strive to reform the larger issue around college and the related stress, stemming from the culture and sentiments of the community.

College is the next step for most graduating seniors, as over 90 percent of the graduating Class of 2015 went directly to college, according to the Palo Alto High School profile. Because of this, ignoring the fact that the

majority of seniors will be continuing their education after graduation, or attempting to conceal the exact schools where they will be attending is not an effective way to handle the situation.

To truly address the issue of stress and pressure coming from college admissions, there must be a conscious shift in attitudes towards college and academic achievement as a whole by administrators, teachers, parents and most importantly students.

Many wrongly perceive the issue of stress as coming from the display of college pride, the boasting of getting into a “good school,” and look at these factors as added stressors to those who may have ended up in final circumstances they did not expect. But students displaying their pride in their future endeavors is not and should not be considered the root of the stress related to college applications.

The true problem lies in the assumption that a student knowing what other students’ future plans are would negatively impact his or her own outlook. No student, or anyone for that matter, should view another success as his or her own failure. From the curving method that requires contrasting students to the college admis-

sions process that pits students from the same school against each other, the academic system we have all been through has failed us in one major aspect.

The main motivation in all of this is competition, a comparison of students. No one group is to blame for this, but the mentality of being against one’s peers pervades into all attitudes towards academics, including college decisions after they have been made.

As students, we must shift from comparing ourselves to fellow classmates to supporting one another.

Someone choosing to go to a certain college is not a personal attack on another student who wanted to go to that college. It is simply an achievement for the person who has decided upon a college that is a fit for them and should not be viewed as anything more than that.

Anyone instructing students to downplay where they are attending college is acting detrimentally, despite any good intentions that come along with it. Denying students the ability to outwardly show college pride perpetuates the harmful ideas in the community that one set of post-high school plans is somehow better than another.

College is a goal that many students have worked towards for four long years. It is a tremendous accomplishment for all who choose it and is not something to be dismissed. All seniors should feel free to share this achievement without shame. Yes, college is a personal decision, but once that decision has been made, it is something to be celebrated, not hidden.

texts. The FBI currently possesses data from Farook’s iCloud account up to a month and a half before the shooting, but investigators believe the rest of the data on the iPhone may contain photos and WhatsApp messages between Farook and other jihadists. Going dark is the biggest intelligence obstacle for government officials, and having access to Farook’s phone would expedite the process of preventing the next terrorist attack and fighting ISIS.

and gain evidence critical into the case.

It would be advantageous for Apple to assist the FBI. Farook’s iPhone is a pivotal piece of evidence in the case, and when an attack of this level is concerned, it is imperative that all means of gaining evidence should be used in order to further the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and make American lives more secure.

Apple CEO Tim Cook released an open letter to customers arguing the right of privacy and how creating a backdoor would undermine both the importance of encryption and Apple’s core values. Cook argues that by creating this new operating system to use

on Farook’s iPhone, it will create a “master key” potentially used to access any iPhones if it lands in the wrong hands. However, the government is being very specific in their request for the use of the software; it is asking for this software for this particular case.

This is not the phone of an average Apple customer; this is the phone of an Islamic extremist who is in communication with an organization that poses an imminent threat to the American people.

Because the San Bernardino attack was an act of terrorism, the FBI needs to do everything in its power to investigate the incident and prevent future ones from happening. If we have the tools to access information that would help prevent terrorist attacks, they must be utilized. People fear that this software, if created, could be used to hack other peoples’ phones.

According to the government filing, no other party besides Apple will have access to the operating system put in place to help break into Farook’s device. Such an accusation is unwarranted because the operating system created by Apple will only be in the hands of Apple, and they have complete control over who accesses it.

This is a precedent that needs to be set. The phone most likely contains information imperative to the antiterrorism agenda, as Farook very well may have communicated with members of ISIS. Now more than ever, terrorist organizations are employing social media such as Twitter and Facebook to publicize their ideologies, then going dark encoding messages. By cooperating with the government, Apple would be responsible for a massive step in the right direction for the fight against terrorism. According to NPR, ISIS jihadists take to messenger apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to encrypt

The mentality of being against one’s peers pervades into all attitudes towards academics.

The community’s actions to reduce stress related to college are meaningful in intent, even if not in actual execution. It is an appreciated gesture and not one to be overlooked. The effort, coming primarily from school administrators, is important, and shows a level of caring for students that is not underestimated.

But these efforts could be more effective and do more if placed in beginning a change in culture, a jumpstart to new attitudes of support rather than competition, instead of ending traditions that simply allow seniors to show their joy and excitement for the future.

Apple compliance important step to fight terrorism

GILLIAN ROBINS

T

STAFF WRITER

oday Apple will give its official response to the Justice Department’s motion to comply with the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) in decrypting the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook.

Farook was one of the terrorists involved in the San Bernardino, Calif. attack in December that killed 14 people. If they choose to comply with the court’s order, Apple would create a backdoor operating system that would allow FBI investigators to break into the iPhone 5c that belonged to Farook

When an attack of this level is concerned, it is imperative that all means of gaining evidence should be accessed in order to further the fight against ISIS and make American lives more secure.

Although the government has impeded on citizens right to privacy before, they are transparent in their actions to use the software for one purpose.

The FBI does not have hidden intentions of overreaching and corrupting people’s right to privacy. They simply want an opportunity to guess the password correctly and gain all the evidence they can in the phone. Given the severity of the situation, Apple needs to help decrypt the iPhone. This is a critical step in the fight against anti-terrorism that needs to be taken.

As only Apple will have access to a backdoor software, they have complete jurisdiction over how and when it is used. The anti-terrorism cause is elusive, and terrorism could get worse in the future. With the threat of Islamic groups imminent and so digitally-based, it is extremely important for Apple to comply with the government, and take all the potential steps to stop terrorism.

Friday, February 26, 2016

A6

The Campanile

OPINION

Scalia’s death & perversion of the constitution PETER MAROULIS

NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR

A

merica was built on a foundation of democracy 238 years ago; today, the country is in somewhat of a midlife crisis.

With the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative judge on the highest court in the nation, Republican congressmen have announced their intentions to block President Obama in appointing a new justice. This declaration of defiance has brought America’s young republic to the decisive junction of constitutionally and deviant political ideology.

While American history has seen a clear adherence to the Constitution, the success of blocking a Supreme Court Justice nomination will not only be dangerous for the legal system of the present, but also set an equally damaging precedent going forward.

Article 2 of the Constitution states that the president, “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,” “shall appoint” Supreme Court Justices among other governmental positions (i.e. ambassadors and public officials).

At the most basic level, this language indicates that lawmakers and the president should work together— not butt horns over appointing officials.

In American history, there have been 12 rejections over Supreme Court nominations, but never before has there been a total, preemptive rejection. This is not a happy landmark.

Saying outright that any suggestion Obama makes for Scalia’s replacement will be denied is going against the collaborative principle specified in the Constitution. If Republican senators are successful in suppressing Obama, it could permanently redefine national politics. With such a precedent, whichever party is in power could reference the Scalia replacement decision as support for blocking the formation of an opposition cabinet, and America

would subsequently find itself with a bureaucratic headache and stagnation on Capitol Hill. The country is increasingly nearing the point of no return, where partisan whining will have faded constitutional ink; who knows where the law could be bent from there?

Disregarding the long-term consequences of not appointing a new justice during the remainder of Obama’s presidency, there are also a few direct drawbacks that could irreversibly alter the legal system. As the highest court in America, the Supreme Court can, with the stroke of a pen, clarify or even make the law of the land. And though only about 100 cases a year make it to this upper echelon of the legal system, the rulings in those cases are immeasurably affective. In the last decade, the court has not been shy to use its power,

making decisive affirmations on free marriage and gun control that might otherwise have been struck down in lower level courts. But now, the game has changed.

The current Supreme Court without Scalia is reasonably balanced, with a liberal backbone in Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and a conservative establishment in Samuel A. Alito, Anthony Kennedy, John G. Roberts (a mild right-winger) and Clarence Thomas. Without a ninth justice, the possibility of a hung court, a 4-4 vote, is now in play, which would mean that the exclusive “law of the land” power would go down to the appellate courts. So, if a controversial decision has been bumped upstairs to the Supreme Court on an appeal, a tie would mean that the controversy

would go permanently unsettled and thus become American law. Regional ninth circuit courts are generally more biased than the Supreme Court, from southern Republican sway to northern Democrat leanings. With 12 such courts, a cacophony of conflicting decisions could be imminent.

American lawmakers have a clear choice, with the potential to set their country and their people on a painful course. Partisan bickering is tolerable so long as it is to some constructive effect, but disregarding collaboration as presented in the Constitution is completely unacceptable. The Republican party is not having its arm twisted; of the thousands of federal judges in America, a single centrist judge is sure to exist. If America wishes to remain a bastion of democracy, that judge should be found immediately.

, a professor of political science at the University of Texas at Dallas, wrote.

“When interest groups donate funds to the other party, the donations are designed to have as minimal electoral impact as possible.”

The alliance between big money and the establishment wing, or the dominant group within a political party, is well documented. So far in the 2016 presidential race, large individual contributors have provided over 75 percent of the funds for all three major establishment candidates, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio.

This influx of money from big donors to establishment candidates provides them with a larger amount of money to spend on their campaigns than other candidates.

The fact that establishment candidates get money from big donors means that they are better able to win elections, since money is necessary to win elections and more money gives a candidate greater ability to win campaigns.

Hence, more establishment candidates that have similar ideologies to the big donors that support them, are elected.

This essentially means that the interests of the big donors are overrepresented.

As practically the only other source of funding for candidates other than big money, small money may seem attractive to some people. Bernie Sanders, sees big money as corrupting politics, believes small money has many of the same negative effects on politics that big money does.

The latest election cycle has seen an unprecedented rise in the number and popularity of extreme and populist

candidates such as Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. According to the center for responsive politics, Sanders receives 72 percent of his money from individual donors, Carson receives 59 percent of his money from individual donors, and Cruz receives 42 percent of his money from individual donors.

More funding equates to better campaigns, which read to brighter election prospects. This shows that small money has the same effect of creating overrepresentation for small donors as big money has on creating overrepresentation for many big donors.

While extremists, populists and establishmentarians are overrepresented, the people that do not donate — such as moderates and those in poverty — are not equally represented. Since moderates and poor people either generally do not feel strong political efficacy, or do not have enough money to donate, they do not donate. Therefore, they do not have as much political power as they should in a democratic society which should hold the ideal that all people should have equal power in politics.

For all people to be equal in the political realm, all people must have the same amount of political power, and this is currently not the case. Since moderates and poor people are marginalized by the donation system, they are politically unequal. This inequality is dangerous to the democratic political system.

Some people, namely the Supreme Court, may say that money should be allowed in politics because it is a form of speech. This may be true, but it is

inherently a bad form of speech. Since money in the political sphere disadvantages moderates and the poor, this political inequality is against the very nature of democracy.

The concept of limiting free speech may seem outlandish and dangerous to some, but it is an established precedent that free speech which infringes on the rights of others should be banned. This reason for banning speech applies to campaign funding because the current method of campaign funding gives less political power to those who do not donate, and therefore infringes on their right to representation.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent death has the future of the judicial branch in question, as partisan conflict may lead to damaging precedents.

Big and small money threaten political integrity

The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling has given a select few the ability to essentially run politics through large donations, bringing up concerns of political corruption.

AVI TACHNA- FRAM

I

STAFF WRITER

n the past four years since the Citizens United case, the media and the public have carefully analyzed and studied the effects big money, donations to a candidate over $200, have had on politics. However, the effects of small money, donations to a candidate under $200, have garnered little focus. Small money has had a similar importance to big money and to combat the influence of both big money and small money on politics, a system that removes the undemocratic influences of money on politics should be implemented.

Most of the arguments about whether big money should be allowed in the political system are based on one simple principal: big money creates corruption.

This assumption is unsupported by the fact that most interest groups and large individuals donate to candidates and parties that share ideologies similar to their own. If interest groups and large individual donors were just donating to gain more influence, then logically they would donate to either party in order to gain more power. In addition, if big money truly corrupted politicians, then politicians would attempt to solicit donations from any group regardless of ideological considerations.

“Interest groups have preferences as to which party controls a majority of seats in Congress, which leads them to direct ‘sincere’ and electorally useful money to this party (i.e., labor groups prefer Democrats, corporate groups prefer Republicans),” Thomas Brunell

Individual contributors have provided over 75 percent of funds for all three major establishment candidates.

The only logical way to solve the issues of campaign finance is to create a system in which all candidates are equally financed and the money for campaigns comes from the government, so that everyone’s interests are equally represented.

The issue with the mandatory government financing system is the precedent set by Buckley v. Valeo, which banned mandatory government financing of elections. To solve this issue the only feasible solution would be a constitutional amendment that would set a mandatory limit and government funding for each candidate.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

OPINION

A7

Paly should present more options for CTE and VAPA classes

BETHANY SHIANG

A

STAFF WRITER

cross most student transcripts, core classes spanning Math, English, Science and Social Science will arise as commonalities. However, these transcripts are diversified with more specified classes that range from topics such as graphic design to sports medicine.

Such classes are in the Career Technical Education (CTE) and Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) departments.

Paly students must take at least two semesters of a course in both the VAPA and CTE departments in order to graduate and be eligible to attend a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) school. Consequently, many students are faced with scheduling problems as having to fulfill the CTE and VAPA credit. This takes up valuable time that could otherwise be used to take

other classes that the students could benefit from. If there were more classes that would satisfy both CTE and VAPA requirements in one yearlong class, students would have more room in their schedule to take classes that they want to pursue in the future.

“I think it would be nice to have one class that fulfills both credits because even though it’s not a big deal, it’s nice to get rid of the requirements that are not that big of a deal,” junior Mina Kim said. “It’s like taking living skills, you want to take it in order to get rid of the requirement, but it’s not like that big of a deal.”

Although Paly does offer a wide range of electives that may deviate greatly from the standard English or laboratory science, these classes do not fulfill the CTE and VAPA requirements. Classes such as Principles of BioMedical Science fill the ‘g’ requirement, which goes towards “additional credit for graduation.”

Rather than counting these classes

towards other credits, these electives should go towards CTE or VAPA credits which would broaden the choices for students.

While there are some classes at Paly that offer both VAPA and CTE credit, such as classes associated with campus publications, these classes require a prerequisite class —Beginning Journalism— which already fulfills the CTE requirement. As a result, students are able to learn how art or digital art and applied academics correlate.

In the modern workplace, there is greater demand for employees who have a versatile skillset. Providing credit for other requirements in one class would help improve the overall scholastic curriculum and create a rich and diverse learning experience.

“It’s always nice to see an employee or intern that has a great personality and has a unique set of skills,” Ben Ruppar, Senior manager at Addepar, an investment management technol-

ogy company, said. “To know that the employee has a great range of skills whether they are handy or not shows that they are willing to learn different things.”

Admittedly, the addition of more classes that fulfill both the CTE and VAPA courses would cause logistical problems with scheduling and increased requisite pay for teachers.

However, there are many CTE and VAPA classes that have low enrollment such as AutoTech and Theatre 4. The school district can discard low enrollment classes in order to make room for other classes.

Furthermore, many students consider these VAPA and CTE classes to be beneficial and a relaxed period while allowing student to experience a different job path. Therefore, taking away low enrollment classes may be detrimental to some students. However, low class enrollments such as AutoTech could be combined with digital art to help students understand the breakdown and parts of an automobile.

This could help fulfill both the CTE and VAPA requirements and create a creative learning environment.

Admittedly, the addition of more classes that would fulfill both the CTE and VAPA classes would cause logistical problems with scheduling and increased prequisite pay for teachers.

“I feel like having classes that have the CTE and VAPA requirements would help us not only get our graduation requirements, but also be interesting to use different resources to understand what we are learning,” Kim said.

By creating more classes that fulfill both the CTE and VAPA class requirements, the district would be able to give Paly students the opportunity to fulfill both graduation requirements and have more space in their schedules in order to take part in other classes or to participate in other outside activities.

Paly should offer driver’s ed elective for sophomore students GRACE KITAYAMA

O

STAFF WRITER

ne of the highlights of becoming a teenager is getting a driver’s license. For many students, however, driving has become more than simply a perk of turning 16; taking the wheel is now a basic skill needed for everyday life.

Palo Alto High School should offer driver’s education that takes place in a classroom setting, as it is an essential and necessary ability that every student should have the chance to acquire before graduating high school.

Not offering driver’s ed as a course at Paly forces students to spend hundreds of dollars on driving lessons and online courses by themselves for a skill that has become almost obligatory for students to have.

Paly stopped offering driver’s ed two years ago, due to disagreements on how the class was being taught.

Since then, students have had to pay for driver’s education online. Most websites charge 50 dollars for written and driving lessons. This is all in addition to the 33 dollars fee for taking the written test in California.

The cost of getting a license is not inexpensive. Online courses cost approximately $50 and state-mandated in-car driving courses to obtain a license can cost upwards of $500. Junior Lauren Jozefov is in the process of practicing for her driver’s test.

“We shouldn’t have to pay for [driving lessons] because [they are] a necessary class I know other schools offer it and that we used to,” Jozefov said.

Many students want the independence that takes place along with driving in addition to the responsibility of having a license. Both students and parents benefit from students learning to drive in high school.

Many students find that the most difficult part of learning to drive is studying for the permit test outside of school.

Sophomore Peter King is a newly licensed driver.

“I need to drive because my parents won’t always be there to give me a ride and I want to be there for myself,” King said.

Many students see driving more as a necessity than the privilege that it used to be. Since driver’s ed is not a course offered at Paly, students must resort to take class outside of school which is both time-consuming and expensive. This only adds more pressure to the already stressful life of the average Paly student.

If driver’s education was offered at Paly, it would take the workload and pressure of another class outside of school off of students.

Many students find that the most difficult part of learning to drive is studying for the permit test outside of school.

“The most tedious thing about getting a license is the online work and studying for tests there are so many odd rules to memorize,” King said.

In addition to the costs of written and driving lessons, many students also tend to learn better in a classroom setting rather than at home in front of a computer.

If Paly was able to give students the opportunity to take driver’s ed while making it an interesting and engaging class, students would retain the information better than doing a class online.

Sophomore Clare Thomas relates to the confusing and difficult struggles of taking driver’s education online as opposed to taking it in a classroom setting.

“I think Paly should offer driver’s [ed] because the process can be very confusing and if we could do driver’s [ed] at school it would be easier and much less discouraging,” Thomas said.

When Paly did offer driver’s ed two years ago, it took place before the regular 8:15 a.m. school start and covered all of what students needed to know to pass their permit test. With a driver’s ed class offered at Paly, students would have the opportunity to work with a teacher who they could gain the support they needed from without being discouraged. And be able to ask a teacher questions before taking their driver’s test. Due to a lack of funding, Paly stopped in-car driving lessons.

Since many Paly students take driver’s education online, they are not being taught from a state regulated curriculum. Therefore, the websites that they use to take driver’s could be faulty, and not teach to the written test as accurately as in a school course that did have a regulated curriculum.

“I think Paly should offer driver’s ed so that students can have one-onone behind the wheel time in a state institution that has to maintain standards,” King said.

Students at Paly face enough pressure from the individual class work on their own. Having driver’s ed not offered as a course at Paly forces students to spend both extra money and time on an outside class for no extra course credit or additional support.

Furthermore, online courses generally do not assure that they will teach the material to the test or teach the material thoroughly enough for all of the students to retain. If students were given the opportunity to take driver’s ed in a classroom setting at Paly with teacher support and a set curriculum, they would receive a more comprehensive and through ed on driving, as well as less stress in

Friday, February 26, 2016

A8

The Campanile

EDITORIALS

Elective classes should offer class Computer science should previews for interested students be a requirement for all

S

tudents often look forward to electives as an exciting part of their school day, as they are not required core courses, but are instead optional courses that students choose due to their interest in the subject of the course. However, as course catalog descriptions can be very brief, and not all students take the same electives, it can be difficult for a student to gauge what a course entails and to get an accurate idea of how an elective course will impact their schedule for their upcoming school year. Thus, in order to better help students select their elective courses, The Campanile believes that there should be a variety of opportunities for students to gain information on elective courses when deciding on their schedules for future years.

One option that would allow for students to preview elective courses would be an event in which students visit the classrooms of different elective courses and meet with teachers and current students to discuss the content and style of the course. This preview day would take place in late January to early February, the time that students are in the preliminary stages of deciding their schedule for the upcoming year.

Students would travel from elective to elective as they please, similar to the style of Club Day. Through this preview day, students get the chance to know the teacher of the course, hear the workload and requirements of the course from both teacher and student perspectives, and have any of their questions or concerns about the course resolved.

Additionally, providing a chance for students to shadow one class of an elective would allow students to gain more familiarity with a course.

Students from other schools often use shadowing as a way to become more familiar with the atmosphere and the classes offered at Palo Alto High School — and similarly, students who are looking to explore new classes should have the same option. With teacher permission or during prep periods, students should be able to more deeply explore elective options and more clearly see classroom dynamics and teacherstudent interactions. These kinds of intangible aspects of courses are something that can only be seen by directly visiting classrooms, and yet are extremely important in terms of fitting students’ needs and showing students more realistically what courses are like.

Ultimately, it is crucial that students can more clearly see what occurs in the classroom so they can choose the correct courses that fit them — and because electives act as a way in which students branch away from pure academics, it is imperative that students select these courses with more information in hand. By allowing students time to explore classes before they actually enroll in courses, Paly would prevent the scrambling that often occurs once students begin classes and realize they do not fit with the course’s content, dynamics or structure. Previewing courses would help guidance counselors as well — allowing for students to test out electives before course selection would avoid the whole scenario of enrolling in courses they do not end up liking.

This makes for a less hectic guidance office in the beginning of the school year, as many students may sometimes have to wait lengthy periods of time to switch their schedules.

As a whole, The Campanile believes that the entire process of course selection would be made easier for students, teachers and counselors if students were given more opportunities to explore elective courses before enrolling in them.

C

areers requiring knowledge of computer science are increasing at twice the national average rate of other jobs. If the current rate of computer science degree acquisition continues, about one million jobs will be left vacant due to the current amount of insufficient education and interest in the subject.

The Campanile applauds Palo Alto High School for offering a range of courses in the topic and believes the country should follow in its steps.

Nonetheless, given the ever-growing importance of technical computer science knowledge in careers and daily life, we believe that an introductory semester-long course focusing on intuitive languages like Python should be required for all Paly students.

Students who have not taken computer science in high school often feel intimidated to take it for the first time in college, due to the apparent difficulty or believing that other students enrolled will be more advanced.

The Palo Alto Unified School District board should adapt to the trends surrounding us as it did in creating in Living Skills, which exceeds state and UC/CSU requirements.

Consider Economics, a semesterlong class that seniors must take to graduate. Beyond exploring the basic principles of economics, students

learn an alternative way of thinking that is applicable throughout later life and provides an understanding on a critical aspect of our society.

Computer science is quite similar; The Campanile would argue that, in this day and age, it is of equal if not greater importance than Economics.

A lack of resources is not a justifiable excuse. With expanding facilities and eager donors, the cost of an additional teacher and classroom could easily be met. Moreover, The Campanile strongly believes that the benefits, skills and knowledge students would receive through a semester computer science course would meet, if not outweigh, the costs of administering the course.

On average, fewer than 10 percent of students at Paly take a computer science course per year. This is not at all proportionate to the number of jobs that require the related skills. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, over 50 percent of jobs today require technology skills to some extent; experts expect that percentage to increase to 77 percent in the next 10 years.

To account for this disparity, The Campanile believes in introducing this requirement, which would equip every student with the education to succeed in the changing world.

Tenure policies in need of a revision

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t the heart of America’s lasting education debate lies a topic often contested with extreme vitriol and frustration: teacher tenure. Although varying by state, teacher tenure generally refers to policies that protect teachers with non-probationary status from being unjustly terminated.

In California, which was the first state to adopt tenure laws and has some of the most protective legislation for teachers, education reformers and teacher unions are constantly at odds. Opponents of tenure claim that it encourages complacency and stagnation among educators, whereas proponents believe that its effects are overstated and that it fairly protects the vast majority of teachers.

In 2008, then-D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee pioneered tenure reform in public education.

She proposed a “pay-swap” for teachers, that is, a contract which would increase teachers’ salaries if they agreed to surrender their tenure rights. These contracts would allow mid-level teachers with salaries of $62,000 to earn more than $100,000 yearly at the cost of job security. When the teacher ratification vote came around, however, the proposal failed to pass.

Rhee later resigned, leaving behind a somewhat infamous legacy of discipline and pugnacity.

Despite Rhee’s lack of success in D.C., tenure reform quickly became disputed across the nation. Two years later, in a surprising display of bipartisanship, the Colorado State Senate set national precedent by passing Senate Bill (SB) 10-191, which clamped down on teacher tenure. Specifically, the bill mandated that much more importance be placed on teacher evaluation and student academic growth. Perhaps the most shocking tenet of the policy was the possibility for non-probationary teachers to be demoted to probationary status after receiving two consecutive years of unsatisfactory evaluations. More than half a decade after the bill’s signing, Colorado’s teachers unions are again protesting the reform, this time suing to strike down the law.

Both of these examples of education reform, however, are inherently flawed. Rhee was too authoritative in her brand of reform, alienating many teachers after a sudden mass firing of teachers and administrators.

And Colorado’s reform was too unforgiving, increasing restrictions on teachers without benefitting them in the slightest — inevitably incensing teachers unions.

Ultimately, the debate over teacher tenure is myopic. The two parties of this disagreement fail to realize the underlying problem with America’s

education system: that teachers are not valued as much as other professionals in our society.

According to Dana Goldstein, author of “The Teacher Wars,” the difference between what American teachers and attorneys or engineers make is much larger than the corresponding differences in Finland or South Korea — two countries with excellent education systems.

As a result, only around 23 percent of new U.S. teachers graduate in the top third of their graduating class, as compared to 100 percent in Finland and South Korea, found consulting firm McKinsey & Company in their report, “Closing the talent gap.”

Additionally, the report found that teacher turnover rates in Finland and South Korea were 1 and 2 percent, respectively, compared to the U.S.’s 14 percent, illustrating that many American teachers are unhappy with their careers.

These two countries have selective admissions to teacher training, government-regulated supply of teachers, widely-considered professional working environments in education, cultural respect for teaching and a host of other factors that contribute to teaching being a desirable and viable career option. McKinsey’s report found that the United States was lacking in all of these fields, contributing to both the absence of student enthusiasm for the discipline and the high turnover rates.

Increased federal apportionment for teacher compensation would help amend these pitfalls hugely. Paying teachers more is the single most effective strategy to attract top talent for educators while maintaining low attrition. McKinsey’s study noted that a system similar to Rhee’s proposed pay-swap seemed to be promising, in addition to special incentives for math and science graduates. Additionally, salary increase is the simplest, most effective way to illustrate that teachers are valued as much, if not more, than other professionals.

And, as with other professionals, teachers need to have their own feedback loop in which they are open to evaluation. This means enacting legislation similar to Colorado SB 10-191 that does not unconditionally guarantee job security, but rather rewards effectiveness.

America’s education system is not waiting on teachers to take more accountability for their work. Rather, it is waiting on a paradigm shift, one that will give teaching paramount importance in society. Only then will America constructively work towards a better education system, and only then will America’s quality of education compare to other rich nations.

“I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE WORKING TODAY ANYWAY”

CATHERINE YU/THE CAMPANILE

The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Miranda Chen • Stephanie Cong • Owen Dulik Lauren Klass • Mischa Nee • Nikhil Rajaram Online Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Fu News and Opinion Editors Claire Dennis Peter Maroulis

Lifestyle Editors Aiva Petriceks Carissa Zou

Sports Editors Kai Oda Ethan Teo

Business Manager Rachel Farn

Design Editor Bo Field

Photography Editor Dami Bolarinwa

Yael Ben-Shachar Abira Berezin Josh Brigel Uma Choudhury Kate DeAndre Greg Eum Joanna Falla Maddie Feldmeier Mackenzie Glassford Eli Gwin-Kerr Danny Hammerson

Staff Writers

Jamie Har Cole Hechtman Antonio Kieschnick Edward Kim Grace Kitayama Masha Konkov Christina Le Will Leighton Tiffany Liang Anant Marur Madeline McCluskey Nicholas Melvin

Kiran Misner Jacqueline Moore Anna Moragne Josh Ng Thomas Rauner-Swan Gillian Robins Maggie Rosenthal Bethany Shiang Thomas Smale Adrian Smith Noah Smith Jared Stanley

Photographers

Abira Berezin Daniel Hammerson

Talia Stanley Avi Tachna-Fram David Tayeri Annalise Wang Sarah Wang Clay Watson Jessica Wong Catherine Yu Samuel Yun Ashley Zhang Alice Zhao

Jacky Moore Jordan Schilling

Editing Consultants

Evelyn Richards

Elisabeth Rubinfien

Advisor Esther Wojcicki Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to theeds16@googlegroups.com The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis.

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

The Campanile only prints signed letters.

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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 policy of The Campanile is to publish editorial content that represents at least half of the staff.

L FESTYLE

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

STUDENT LIFE

Tips for Prom The best places to prepare for Prom on a budget.

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TEENS ON TERRORISM

TEXT AND DESIGN JESSICA WONG

Despite reports that Americans are more fearful of terrorism than ever before, teenagers share different views

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hile the discussion cans said that an attack was “very” surrounding terror- likely in the upcoming months. Howism is rapidly gaining ever, these statistics are drawn only momentum, the possibility of an from registered voters. Just 58.5 perattack occurring on home soil cent of Americans between ages 18may still seem distant to many 24 are registered to vote, compared to Americans. However, outside the 78.1 percent of Americans age 65-74, sanctuary forged by U.S. borders, skewing data in favor of an older demographic. While this remote conresults suggest cept has become “One student’s thoughts on that Americans reality. Despite are more fearthe nonchalance terrorism can be completely different from another ful of terrorism with which some student’s, depending on than ever, they fail Americans diswhere they’re from and to account for a miss the threat of an attack, others what they’ve experienced.” large percentage of teenagers and may feel conyoung adults. stantly at risk. In Rachel Cui While a majorlight of the Paris NYU sophomore & Paly alumna ity of American terrorist attacks voters have some in November, where 130 citizens were killed level of fear of a potential terrorist atin multiple coordinated attacks tack, American teens seem to possess across the renowned city, and the differing views. In a random survey San Bernardino, Calif. shoot- of 87 Paly students, just 8 percent are ing in December, where 14 were worried about being impacted by terkilled, the subject of terrorism rorism, while 48 percent are “somehas taken center stage. Following times” worried and 44 percent are not Central Intelligence Agency worried. “[Terrorism is] very uncommon,” Director John Brennan’s recent claim that an attack carried out senior Charlotte Moffatt, who is not by militant group Islamic State of fearful of being directly impacted by Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on U.S. soil an attack, said. “It’s more likely that is “inevitable,” some Americans I’ll die or be hurt in a car crash [than are becoming more fearful of the a terrorist attack], and yet I still drive places, so I see no reason to be worthreat terrorism poses.

According to a recent Wash- ried.”

Even in some of the nation’s most ington Post/ABC News poll, Americans’ fear of terrorism is at prominent and populated cities, stuits highest since Sept. 11, 2001. dents consider the possibility of an 83 percent of registered voters attack to be slim. While the potential surveyed believe a terrorist attack for terrorism is always existent, stuin the United States resulting in a dents feel that focusing on the unprehigh number of casualties is likely dictable chance is irrational.

“I’m sure everyone living in New in the near future, while 40 percent of those surveyed also believe York City has passing thoughts about some form of major attack to be being the next victim of some ter“very” likely. In a similar poll con- rorist attack, but it’s just as useless to ducted by the New York Times/ worry about terrorism as it is to worry CBS News, 44 percent of Ameri- about getting cancer from being out

in the sun,” New York University abouts, perspectives may drastisophomore and Paly alumna Rachel cally change in other parts of the Cui said. “There are some precautions world. In recent months, Europe you can take, like avoiding areas that has increased security advisories are more likely to be target venues for in several countries following terrorist attacks, but it’s ultimately heightened terrorist activity, causout of your control.” ing a negative shift in the attitude The recent increase in Americans’ of some Europeans towards the fears of the potential for terrorism is potential of an attack. Palo Alto due in part to extensive media cover- teenagers seem relatively unconage on the subject. As Americans are cerned by the possibility of acts of presented with detailed reports of at- terror, but those living in or near tacks occurring throughout the world, recently affected areas in Europe they in turn become more wary of the are more apprehensive about posimilarities between their own lives tential attacks. and the lives of those affected in at“The terrorism risk has gone up tacks — crowded markets, classrooms greatly throughout Europe, so to of students, concert halls and office be living in London and attending buildings. In reality, the probability of a school...next to the French eman American being killed in an act of bassy is very frightening,” Emily terrorism on home soil is extremely Dobson, a 16-year-old student at low. In November, infamous hack- Queen’s Gate School in London, ing group Anonymous, who declared said. “I would assume that Ameri“war on ISIS” following the terror at- can teens living in suburbs would tacks in Paris, attempted to assuage be less fearful, since they’re not as American fears by proclaiming that prominent a target for an attack in the likelihood of comparison to being killed by an somewhere like “[Terrorism is] very incident of terrorLondon, Paris uncommon. It’s more likely ism is just one in 20 or Brussels.” that I’ll die or be hurt in million. However, Te e n a g e r s a car crash, and yet I still those who have exshare similar drive places, so I see no perienced or nearly views in U.S. reason to be worried.” experienced the efcities and subfects of terrorism urbs, but teenCharlotte Moffatt firsthand may be agers in Europe, Paly senior more likely to be situated in the fearful of an attack in the future. midst of threat, are understand“I’d say that I’m more wary of a ably more anxious of their safety. terrorist attack than my peers because Despite recent surveys that have I was minutes away from a large- relayed many Americans to be scale terrorist attack in Paris this past fearful of a terrorist attack, teensemester while studying abroad,” Cui agers are generally doubtful of the said. “One student’s thoughts on ter- plausibility of such an act occurrorism can be completely different ring. Across the globe, teenagers from another student’s, depending on have varying views on the likeliwhere they’re from and what they’ve hood of acts of terror, and no poll experienced.” can truly summarize the dismisWhile some share similar views siveness, or uncertainty, of milregardless of their domestic where- lions of people.

Enjoy being a minor

AIVA PETRICEKS

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

We have all dreamed of the day when we are no longer considered our parents’ property by law and finally gain full responsibility of ourselves. This is marked by your 18th birthday when you officially become an adult! I have been waiting for what seems like centuries for the day I can get a tattoo, get hitched in Vegas or get locked up in jail. This day came two days ago, and I can finally say, “I am an adult” (which, if you know me, is probably the most terrifying thing you have ever read). I can now do all said things, though I have yet to accomplish any of them, but potential suitors come at me with a ticket to Vegas. Because at least 75 percent of my Paly Pals still have time before adulthood, here are some tips to best take advantage of your adolescence.

One thing about turning 18 that many look forward to is moving out and getting to live in a “non-mompoliced” room. Many of you will turn 18 in college and you will get to embrace your adulthood to the fullest, as you will be away from your parents.

However, for me and many others, we will still be in high school even after turning 18, and therefore still living at home. As my dear mother has brought up several times, she could make me pay rent at any moment, so I have to be very careful about my sass level towards my parents in the upcoming months before I leave for college. Now I’m not saying you should be a pain in the butt to your parents while you are still a minor, but if you were to be a pain in the butt, now is the time.

Somehow people think that turning 18 means you can suddenly make super mature choices because adults are just super smart, but that is not the case. I can promise anyone I will be doing the same stupid things I was doing a week ago, even though I am now an adult. Being an adult means if you break the law, you’re going to be in bad shape, as you get arrested.

As a minor, your parents would be notified of your wrongdoings, which some would say is equally as bad as getting arrested. Since all of you are fantastic students with even better morals, I bet this tip will not apply to any of you. However, for all my rebellious Paly Pals, movie hop as much as possible while you are still legally a child before you have to face the big man. Also, my friend Anant Marur would recommend going to Chuck E. Cheese as much as possible before you turn the big 1-8 because it’s where a kid can be a kid, and you are still a kid. If you go after becoming an adult, then it’s just weird for everyone involved.

In all seriousness though, and this goes for high school in general, enjoy your adolescence. It is a time where a lot of things in your life are (semi) constant and you know how those 18 years are going to go, but once you become an adult it is the start of a lot of unknowns in your upcoming years.

Bye Paly Pals!

LIFESTYLE

The journey of Andrew Luce

COURTESY OF ANDREW LUCE

A Carmel teenager’s transition from a boarding school student to the newest artist of the electronic music world, performing at renowned festivals across the country, including SnowGlobe and Coachella.

Unknown Coachella artists The Life of Pablo

Contemporary memes

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COURTESY OF THE LOVING TOUCH FERNDALE

COURTESY OF THE VERGE

ENTERTAINMENT

ENTERTAINMENT

Examining emerging musicians performing at this year’s festival.

Taking a look at Kanye West’s controversial seventh album.

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COURTESY OF MEMESVAULT

ENTERTAINMENT

Exploring a cultural bastion of modern Internet humor.

Friday, February 26, 2016

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DEAR JAMIE: I have a friend who I think is gay and has feelings for me.

I’ve felt this way for a little while.

He’s been my best friend for a couple of years, and we’re extremely close.

Sometimes I feel like he’s the only safe outlet for me to vent to.

Lately, he’s been acting really strangely towards me, like touching and hugging me a lot more, scooting closer to me, sometimes resting his head on my shoulder and such.

He’s also different when he talks to me now and will compliment me a lot more.

If he is gay, it definitely won’t affect my friendship with him. He’s never come out formally. I’m concerned because I’ve heard that coming to terms with your sexuality is a difficult time, and he’s been having a rough year with grades and family matters, and all of those things coupled together could spell trouble.

However, I don’t want to make the mistake and accidentally offend him since that could ruin our friendship forever.

How should I proceed?

— HESITANT & CONCERNED

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

DEAR HESITANT & CONCERNED: I can tell that you really care about your friend and want to help him in any way possible. Let’s discuss your situation in terms of two separate concerns: your friend’s academic and family struggles and his sexuality in relation to your friendship.

Putting aside any questions about sexuality, have a conversation with your friend about his declining performance in school and his emotional and mental well-being. Talk about why his behavioral changes might have occurred and how you can reverse them.

Unexpected small actions can also have large rewards; treat him to his favorite foods, or show you remember when he has important events coming up by sharing encouraging words.

For instance, if he has lost motivation in school, identify what motivated him before, why it no longer does and things that can help to motivate him again. Discuss ways to recognize,

self-assess and adjust his thoughts, emotions and perspectives.

Encourage positivity in your friend’s life by focusing on his qualities and the activities he likes. For instance, if he is particularly talented at chess and enjoys it, choose to play some rounds with him instead of doing another activity when you are hanging out together. Unexpected small actions can also have large rewards; treat him to his favorite foods, or share encouraging words with him before important events.

I sense that you care just as much about your friend’s well-being as your friendship with him. Balancing your desire to be a “good friend” who makes his best friend feel happy and accepted with the need for personal boundaries is difficult. You are being very brave and responsible for considering how to handle this situation intelligently instead of running away from it.

Throughout this process, remember that you cannot fully understand what your friend is experiencing. This may seem daunting at times, but it can be comforting too. You should not and will not be expected to know

exactly what to do, so you have no need to stress about perfection. Rather, focus on maintaining your integrity and character as a loving friend.

Your friend’s behavior may be related to his sexuality or it may not. Whatever the circumstance, don’t worry too much because you can continue being a friend who loves another friend for his qualities and character regardless of sexuality.

First, let’s consider the situation if your friend’s actions are not related to his sexuality. Some people take a long time to open up and become expressive with other people, and some express care for others through physical touch and closeness — one of the five languages of love. It is possible that your friend has finally become comfortable enough around you to express his true thoughts and feelings more openly. Though you yourself may feel that you overcame any barrier of discomfort or self-reserve long ago, he may have just reached that point.

Even if your friend is attracted to other males, he may not necessarily be attracted to you. Again, his closeness could just be indicative of his increased trust in you. In addition, even if your friend has experienced feelings vacillating between friendship and sexual interest in you, because of your long and strong friendship, he may see you first and foremost as a friend just as you do. If his feelings are temporary and fleeting, they may not turn into direct actions.

If your friend is gay, he may choose to tell you. In this case, it is important to highlight that you care about him as a person and that there will always be people like you who love him for his admirable characteristics.

If your friend is also sexually attracted to you, he may or may not act upon his feelings. In the case that he does, try to emphasize how much you care about your friendship. Show him that you want to and plan to remain his supportive friend. If he asks how you feel, respond as you would to anyone else regardless of their sexu-

ality. In addition, avoid actions that might be misunderstood as intimate interest in your friend. For instance, if your friend starts being touchy and you do not feel comfortable, you can politely create space between the two of you. It is better to tell the truth and to act accordingly than to lie or lead a person on. Do not feel bad about drawing lines because though your friend’s feelings are important, so are yours.

You are being very brave and responsible for considering how to handle this conflict rather than merely running away from it.

Do not have a conversation directly asking your friend if he is gay because he is most likely still going through the very personal development that is discovering one’s sexuality. He will tell you when he feels fully comfortable and you should not rush him into opening up before he is confident in it himself. In general, labeling should be avoided because it constricts people’s perspectives, confines people’s identities within distinct categories and can easily be misapplied. I know you are already being cautious, but removing labels will allow you to be more objective and mindful.

These kinds of situations and conversations probably won’t be easy for either of you to experience, but regardless of what happens, remember to continue offering support and encouraging open communication.

Just like you, he probably wants to do as much as possible to keep his best friend close. Emphasize and build upon the values of your friendship, and keep being the thoughtful friend you are.

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

Prom preparation advice to ensure a memorable night The most effective ways to maneuver Prom wardrobe, hair, makeup and shoes within a student’s tight budget UMA CHOUDHURY

STAFF WRITER

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t is the night all juniors and seniors dream of, but all the wallets dread: Prom. Some might think that starting to plan for Prom in January or February is too early, but that is far from the truth — all the elements that go into this special night need to be arranged months ahead in order to schedule all the hair and makeup appointments, as well as to ensure that you will not match with anyone.

With tickets, hair, makeup, dresses and more, preparation for the culminating dance of high school can become extremely pricey. As many students are on a tight budget, choosing the perfect outfits and preparation routine for Prom can be difficult. However, if you look in the right places, your budget will not be a problem.

Wardrobe A girl will probably spend most of her Prom budget on her outfit, primarily for the pre-Prom pictures, which will be plastered all over social media for everyone to see. Finding a luxurious dress can be time-consuming and unnecessarily expensive.

Here are some stores that will help you save money while looking stylish.

For girls, Lulus offers over a hundred prom dresses to buy ranging from $25 to $150. But hurry — if you care about twinning, dresses from this website are getting claimed very quickly. For those who do not want to spend over $100, Rent the Runway has many designer dresses for customers to rent. Although you are likely to find a dress you will love, you might find an issue with the sizing since you cannot alter it.

While buying a dress is generally more expensive than renting a tuxedo, there are small yet pricey details of the guys’ outfit that are overlooked.

Cuff links, pocket squares, shoes and bow ties can start to add up, on top of the tuxedo itself. Men’s Wearhouse offers full suits for as low as $129 and rentals at a low of $59.99. However, the cheapest options tend to be very boxy, so the extra money can be worth the tailored fit. If guys want to avoid

SAMUEL VASQUEZ/THE CAMPANILE

After preparing the appropriate wardrobe, hair, makeup and shoes, many Palo Alto High School students will congregate on April 16 at the Design Galleria to celebrate Prom.

buying a whole suit and just want certain accessories, ASOS carries a wide range of options to choose from, such as belts, watches and ties.

For those who do not want to spend more than a hundred dollars [on a dress], Rent the Runway has many designer dresses for customers to rent for under a hundred dollars.

Hair While doing your hair at home would be the more affordable option, many girls opt to get their hair done at a salon as a treat for a special occasion. Additionally, a salon service is likely to last longer because of professional products and equipment.

Drybar, located at the Stanford Shopping Center, is a premier blow dry bar where many girls may opt to get their hair done. They offer blowouts at a standard price of $40, not including tips, and charge more for an added braid or bow. With a wide

variety of stylistic options, Drybar has enough hairstyles to satisfy anyone’s needs.

If you want curly or wavy hair, The Cosmo, The Mai Tai or the Dirty Martini are the best options. For a more simple hairstyle, The Manhattan, Southern Comfort or The Straightup are the go to styles. DryBar now has a new addition “Dry on the Fly,” which allows customers to order a stylist to come to their home and style their hair. However, it comes at a more expensive cost of $75 (tips included).

Another option is Halo Blow Dry Bar, located in Town and Country.

Even though it has fewer hairstyle options than DryBar, Halo promises a complete blowout in 45 minutes or less with a standard price of $49 plus a recommended tip of $15-$20.

For more glamorous hairstyles, Party Curls, Pretty Please and Glam-a rama are suitable choices. You can also go to MeOnly Better and Give It to Me Straight for more simple hairstyles.

For guys, schedule a haircut one to two weeks before Prom, so the hair can have a little time to grow out, but still look clean cut.

Makeup This is the trickiest step in preparing for Prom, because ideally, you want makeup to look flawless and last all night. One option in regards to makeup is watching Prom makeup tutorials on YouTube, and doing your makeup by yourself. However, you can also choose to get your makeup professionally done.

Although known for giving blowouts, Halo Blow Dry Bar offers makeovers administered by professionally trained makeup artists. The “All Night Long Make Up” look creates a glamorous tone, takes 45 minutes to complete and costs $55.

A more natural option is the “Day Make Up,” which costs $45. Another popular makeup locations is Sephora, where you only need to spend $50 on products the day of to qualify. You can either buy the products minutes prior

to the session for the makeup artist to use, or you can ask for the makeover to be done and then buy the products.

At a counter at any department store, such as Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, also have options similar to those at Sephora.

One option in regards to makeup is watching Prom makeup tutorials on YouTube, and doing one’s makeup by themselves.

Shoes To tie the whole outfit together, you need good shoes to keep you dancing on your feet all night. Designer Shoe Warehouse carries a multitude of different options for both men and women at a reasonably low price.

Any local department store including Macy’s, Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, also carries a variety of diverse shoe options from high heels to flats but at a more expensive price point.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

TECHNOLOGY

Hearthstone to add new formats

Popular online game to introduce wild and standard modes NOAH SMITH

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

New electronic essentials for 2016 From smartphones to laptops, here are the best and most exciting devices on the tech market

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earthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is approaching its two-year anniversary, and game developer Blizzard is preparing to implement the biggest changes the popular digital card game has seen thus far. In a conversation with Polygon last week, Blizzard revealed plans to add formats to Hearthstone beginning with the launch of the game’s first expansion of 2016 in the spring.

The idea of formats will be familiar to people who have played traditional card games such as Magic: The Gathering. Essentially, formats are rules that determine which cards from the complete set can be used in any given game. In the case of Hearthstone, there will be two formats introduced in 2016: wild and standard.

Wild format is the traditional mode that players have used up to now, where cards from all expansions and adventures is allowed. The new standard format will only allow cards from the Basic and Classic sets and any expansions or adventures from the the last two calendar years. Both wild and standard will have separate ranked and casual play modes.

“The volume of feedback that we’ve been hearing is, ‘Hey, it’s getting more and more difficult to get my friends to play Hearthstone,’” lead designer Ben Brode told game forum Polygon in an interview. “We really want each new thing that we release to really shake up the metagame. It’s one of those things that very slowly, over time, it gets harder and harder to do that.”

When standard format is introduced this year, cards from the Curse of Naxxramas and Goblins vs.

Gnomes sets will not be allowed in that format. Blackrock Mountain, The Grand Tournament, and League

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JOSH NG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

W

COURTESY OF KEENGAMER.COM

Blizzard’s Hearthstone is planning on adding wild and standard formats to gameplay.

of Explorers cards will be allowed, along with Basic and Classic cards and cards from the currently unnamed new expansion.

We really want each new thing that we release to really shake up the meta-game.

Ben Brode Lead Designer of Hearthstone Blizzard is calling 2016 “The Year of the Kraken” as “a thematic way to refer to the first year of standard format year.” As card sets are rotated out of standard with each year’s first expansion, Blizzard will give each year a new name. Once a set has been rotated out of standard, it will no longer be purchasable with either real money or in-game currency. Players will be able to craft any non-standard cards they want to use in wild format using the game’s arcane dust crafting system.

This includes cards from adventures, which were previously uncraftable.

Adventures will also no longer be purchasable. Blizzard may consider making non-standard adventures purchasable again in the future, but the developer wants to avoid confusing new players with options that aren’t as useful to them.

“Most of Hearthstone isn’t changing,” Brode said. “You can still play Tavern Brawls with all your cards and solo adventures and challenge your friends and play in wild mode.

We’re basically just adding a new way to play if you want a meta-game that changes more frequently or don’t have all the cards and want to get into a mode where you don’t feel like you have to go get every card ever made.

That’s really what standard is for.”

In addition to the new formats, Blizzard is taking this opportunity to introduce further changes to Hearthstone. One of the changes is that players will now be able to create and save 18 deck slots, more than the current nine allowed. The Hearthstone team will also use the deck rotation each year as an opportunity to review and tweak cards from the Basic and Classic sets, which will remain part of standard format forever.

“We have a list of cards that we’re looking at,” Brode said. “This will be the biggest balance change that we’ve ever made to Hearthstone.”

Blizzard has not said when the new cards and changes will be added and patched into the game, but Brode mentioned a spring release was a realistic possibility.

e are currently in the Digital Age, and major tech firms and companies are always seeking ways to produce the best possible product for their targeted audience. Below is a list of tech products that are the best in their respective tech categories.

Jaybirds Bluebuds X2 Everyone needs a pair of headphones that aren’t a pair of Apple Earpods or a pair of earphones sold at CVS. Jaybirds Bluebuds X2 are a pair of headphones that not a lot of people have heard about; however, this does not go to say that they are not good.

The Bluebuds X2 are a wireless pair of earphones that are not only sweat resistant, but also made to take a beating, meaning that they can be thrown across the room and will not break. They come with six pairs of interchangeable earbuds so that you are given the option to use the pair of earbuds you find the most comfortable. Despite having a small form factor, running the Bluebuds X2 on a single charge through a micro USB will allow the pair of headphones to run for eight hours. The Bluebuds X2 are a perfect pair of headphones (at $150) for anyone who wants to listen to studio quality music without having to worry about carrying around a large, clunky pair of headphones.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Microsoft has always been overpowered in terms of popularity by Apple when it comes to the laptop department. When it comes to soft-

ware, Mac OSX is usually preferred over Microsoft Windows. However, with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Microsoft created a laptop that rivals Apple’s Macbook Air. What separates the Surface Pro 4 from other laptops is it’s hardware. The Surface Pro 4 both a tablet and a laptop. The body of the Surface Pro 4 is like a tablet; however, one can attach a cover that also acts a keyboard for the tablet. It is easy for students to carry around a school campus or to the local coffee shop to get some work done. The current price is $1500.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Samsung has two smartphone lines that are highly anticipated yearly by fanboys: the Samsung Galaxy and Samsung Note. During the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S7. Though the hardware of the S7 looks strikingly similar to its predecessor,, the updates are more prominent on the inside.

The S7 boasts the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, expandable storage and a new display.

Because the smartphone market is getting more difficult and difficult, a faster processor and a longer battery life won’t cut it. The S7 features an “Always on” screen, meaning that the screen is on by constantly lighting up a few pixels. The “Always on” screen shows its user any recent notifications and the time and date.

Other features include a water resistant chassis, a 12 megapixel camera and Android’s newest operating system, Android Marshmallow. The official price and release date is expected to be around 700 dollars and released sometime in March.

Friday, February 26, 2016

B4

The Campanile

SPOTLIGHT

BREAKING COLLEGE VALUES A look into how colleges are shifting from academic to humanitarian values

STUDENTS COME FIRST

W

hen 83 colleges joined together last fall to assert that “students come first,” they were met with fanfare and bugles from the academic community. However, four months later, it is clear that the group faces challenges to its success, both from students and its own member colleges. Not only does the group face logistical issues, but it must confront problems with its own philosophy as well.

The prestigious colleges, including all eight Ivy League schools and Stanford University, proposed to redefine applicant qualifications, escape the limitations of the current college application process and make higher education more accessible to students of low socioeconomic status under the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success. In order to accomplish its goals, the Coalition announced an alternative college application platform to the more widely used Common Application, known as the Coalition Application. This service aims to “encourage reflection and self discovery” in students through college-specific questions and the inclusion of work from a new online portfolio. The Coalition also encourages colleges to look beyond academics to activities such as community service. However, students such as Palo Alto High School junior Josh Code believe that the proposed process has its pitfalls.

“I think the Coalition is naive in its goals,” Code said, referring to its intent to have students portray themselves as wellrounded. “It’s particularly easy to present oneself as kind when opportunities are present in one’s life to easily do community service even when one’s heart is not in it. I think it’s easier [for students] to fake this kind of ‘do-gooder’ personality than colleges would expect or are willing to admit.”

Members of the Coalition themselves are having second thoughts on their ideologies as well. By strongly emphasizing the importance of community engagement and personality, admissions officers worry that applicants may lose sight of their academics, which are still deemed important. Harvard University’s Dean of Admissions and Financial aid, William R. Fitzsimmons, is concerned that the Coalition has given applicants the impression that academics are being devalued.

“Academic excellence in all its forms is critically important,” Fitzsimmons said in response to the Coalition’s recommendations. “There are students out there who relish the possibility of taking many AP [Advanced Placement] tests, and it’s one of the things that gets them ready for work in college. We still find that standardized test scores are useful.”

This sort of internal conflict within the Coalition furthers the notion that not all of its members are ready for a complete overhaul of the college application paradigm. Despite not having everyone on board, the Coalition is optimistically advancing with its ideologies.

Last September, the Coalition announced its new application system, the Coalition Application, which places an emphasis on student character. The introduction of the Coalition Application reflect these values in that the Coalition is looking to refocus on the humanitarian aspects of students, support low-income students and change the way students apply to and ultimately perceive college.

On the Coalition Application, each college will be able to create its own questions to get a better sense of each individual’s interest and determine whether applicants are a good fit for the college. This empowers colleges associated with the Coalition to ask nuanced questions that reveal students who are the greatest fit for their campuses. Additionally, colleges will be able to request specific pieces of work from a student’s virtual locker, which students will be able to add to through the application starting freshman year.

However, Paly College Advisor Sandra Cernobori believes the Coalition members created the platform for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of students who will be using it, thus contradicting the Coalition’s belief that “students come first.” The Coalition Application allows them to ask applicants

any questions they want, no matter the logistical cost for students.

“The reason why [the Coalition Application] exists is that [colleges] don’t want to be confined by what they perceive as the limitations of the Common Application,” Cernobori said.

Moreover, the Coalition was formed in the wake of technological problems with the Common Application. On Oct. 16, 2013 a glitch with the Common Application temporarily barred students from applying to college, resulting in many overdue or rejected applications. The colleges that would later create the Coalition met later that year to discuss the creation of an alternate application process, implying that the creation of the Coalition Application stemmed from problems with the Common Application rather than ideological flaws with the college application process.

“The cynical part of me thinks [the Coalition] has to do with the major technological snafus of the Common Application a couple of years ago,” Cernobori said.

“I think these colleges got very irritated and wanted to pursue another application so that if something like that was to happen again they could tell students to apply another way.”

And although the goal of the Coalition Application to individualize student applications may sound great, it poses serious logistical challenges. The Coalition claims that the application will aid financially disadvantaged students by providing extended support over their four years in high school but its vague solutions bring into question how socioeconomically disadvantaged students might benefit from the platform.

The new application requires students to acquire and upload a separate school report, counselor recommendation and a transcript record for each school they choose to apply to. Because each college may ask different questions and require different types of work from a student’s virtual locker, a student looking to apply to 10 colleges through the Coalition Application will need to prepare 10 individual applications which have similar components, but are still sent out individually. Cernobori prefers the Common Application over other college application processes because of its superior organization and consolidation.

“We only support an all-electric process, in other words, the Common Application,” Cernobori said. “Other schools that need a letter for a counselor or a transcript have to be done separately.”

When compared against the efficiency of Common Application, which allows teacher advisors and teachers to upload required information and letters to a single application that can be sent to any of the 623 schools registered with the Common Application, the Coalition Application may seem to be a step backwards.

Many students are confused by the Coalition’s actions, which claims to put students first, but then makes it more difficult to compile and submit applications.

“Hearing that the Coalition Application requires applicants to submit separate [questions] and supplements for each school makes the Common Application seem a lot more straightforward in comparison,” junior Jack Stoksik said.

Senior Josh Yuen, who completed the college application process with the Common Application, believes that its efficiency and consolidation were some of its major advantages.

“The Common Application was by far the best out of all the college application [services] I used because it was so efficient for recommenders to have a core place to submit letters of recommendation,” Yuen said. “It was so much easier just to have one login and one place to fill everything out.”

“I think the Coalition is naive in its goals... it is easier [for students] to fake this kind of ‘dogooder’ personality than colleges would expect or are willing to admit.”

Josh Code

Junior

THE VIRTUAL LOCKER

H

owever, despite the superior functionality of the Common Application, there is an upside to the Coalition Application — colleges can choose questions and ask for work that helps them see students as more than statistics. The Coalition Application helps colleges determine if a student is the right fit for a college through nuanced questions that also help differentiate applicant information so they can stand out.

The Coalition is also working to create online virtual lockers for students that will be accessible at the start of their freshman year. These lockers will provide students the opportunity to interact and receive feedback from colleges throughout their high school years. The Coalition hopes that this feature helps socioeconomically disadvantaged students with the college application process. Students will be able to upload their essays and other supplemental materials to their lockers for free to curate a collective portfolio, then share the documents with colleges. Colleges will be able to give feedback to the students, acting as a college counselor would, providing low-income students with an often expensive resource.

“The idea is to encourage ninth graders [to] begin thinking

m o r e deeply about what they are learning or accomplishing in high school,” Scott Jaschik from Inside Higher Education wrote in a review of the Coalition. “[The Coalition hopes] to create new ways to help [freshmen] emerge in their senior years with a body of work that can be used to help identify appropriate colleges and apply to them.”

Getting a head start on college applications will allow younger students to explore and build their strengths while also reducing stress that often occurs leading to senior year, when college applications are started from scratch and finished over the course of a few months.

“I think starting a college portfolio freshman year would be really helpful because that way colleges can monitor your progress over time,” Stoksik said. “It is better to know about the college application process sooner than later. While students should not be worrying about where they will be going to college freshman year, they should be worried about their transcript, and the Coalition Application gives them the perfect opportunity to do so.”

However, beginning the college application process earlier is not appealing to all; some consider preparing for college applications during freshman year of high school premature. Although the Coalition Application does not require students to begin their applications their freshman year, Code feels that since the option is available, the underlying notion is that students must start the process as soon as possible to be competitive.

“The application says that you can upload materials to your portfolio as early as ninth grade,” Code said. “Of course this means that you must upload work as early as possible. If you see an optional essay on a college application, are you going to write it? You probably are.”

While the Coalition hopes that the virtual locker will increase the accessibility of valuable feedback to lowincome students, there are logistical issues concerning the number of assignments college counselors will have to review. If the locker becomes a widely used service, the provided counseling will likely be spread thin by the huge number of applicants looking for guidance. Speculation around the Coalition Application and its idealistic goals will be clarified when its official version is released in July.

However, it is unclear how many students will use the Coalition Application this summer.

“The reason why the Coalition Application exists is that colleges don’t want to be confined by what they perceive as the limitations of the Common Application.”

Sandra Cernobori Paly College Advisor

THE COALITION BY THE NUMBERS

83

Participating colleges

Years of preparation

4

9

Extracurricular slots

Participating top 10 universities

4

OCTOBER 2013

The Common Application expe technical difficulties that caus among students nationwi

3

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

SPOTLIGHT

B5

Design By Bo Field

Text and Design By Alice Zhao Kai Oda

LOOKING FORWARD

TURNING THE TIDE

C

ontinuing on the mentality of prioritizing students, the Coalition supports Turning the Tide, a report created by Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education which was published in Janurary. Key players in the college admissions process, such as college admissions officers, university administrators, high school guidance counselors and principals, participated in this exploratory report hosted by Making Caring Common.

The report focuses on reshaping college admissions by placing a larger emphasis on three aspects intended to provide equal opportunity for economically diverse students. These aspects include more involvement in community service, engagement and contribution to diverse groups of people and reduction of stress on academic achievement. By encouraging community service, the Coalition hopes that students will engage in projects that genuinely reflect their interests. Furthermore, group projects are highly valued as they promote teamwork, problem-solving and empathy — skills that are undervalued in the current application processes.

“Rather than students ‘doing for’ students from different backgrounds we encourage students to ‘do with’ — to work in diverse groups for sustained periods of time on school and community challenges, groups in which students learn from one another,” the report stated.

Unfortunately, the unpleasant truth is that some applicants will attempt to game the system. By shifting priorities from academic to humanitarian, colleges make it easier for applicants to lie about themselves in order to get into college.

“I think the shift towards philanthropic and humanitarian traits in applicants is a good one, and I think the motives are pure, but I don’t think the time is right for the implementation of this system,” Code said. “[This shift] comes with certain trappings, such as people who may not be as nice as they let on, masquerading as philanthropic heroes.”

While academic achievements are quantifiable, personality is more abstract. However, the Coalition aims to assess an applicant’s character by looking at his or her contributions towards others.

eriences sed panic ide.

Whether it be taking care of a sibling or working to support the family, the Coalition intends to praise selfless actions. In this regard, low-income students who may not have enough time to study because of their familial duties will benefit from the Coalition Application.

“The admissions process should seek to assess more effectively whether students are ethically responsible and concerned for others and their communities in their daily lives,” the report recommended. “The nature of students’ day-to-day conduct should be weighed more heavily in admissions than the nature of students’ stints of service.”

Lastly, the report recommends that the college admissions process reduce its stress on extracurricular activities and academic achievement. To lessen the pressure on extracurriculars, the Coalition recommends that students engage in only two to four meaningful activities.

Sophomore Aashai Avadhani agrees that there is too much emphasis put on the quantity of extracurriculars a student does rather than the genuine interest he or she has for them.

“I do think that a lot of students do activities just to get into college,” Avadhani said. “It is not about what you do in life, and the passions that your pursue — it is about what checkmarks you need to slash to get into college.”

Another way the report wants to reduce the pressure of academic achievement is to lessen the weight put on standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT by either making them optional, or diminishing their importance by placing more emphasis on humanitarian work.

Paradoxically, Harvard Admissions does not plan to decrease the weight that college-level courses or standardized tests hold, still deeming them as a crucial component in an applications.

“One of the things that we hope does not get lost in the enthusiasm that people have for the report is academic excellence, measured a whole variety of ways, including by standardized test scores,” Fitzsimmons said.

By adding the focus on charity and compassion, supporters of Turning the Tide are attempting to level the playing field for economically disadvantaged applicants.

T

he college admissions process is undergoing a drastic change that will encourage students to expand their horizons beyond standardized tests, grade point averages and notable extracurriculars. The addition of the Coalition Application may be an indication of a larger movement — one in which colleges are shifting their values by putting less emphasis on academic rigor and more emphasis on an applicant’s personal traits.

Despite the fact that Paly is considered to be an academically driven school, some students agree that the values set forth by the Coalition will improve the college application process.

“I think the Coalition Application is a step in the right direction,” Stoksik said. “There is more to students than just their grade point average. [Colleges] want someone who can interact with the community [on campus] and improve the future in more ways than just solving problems on paper.”

On the other hand, the values set forth by the Coalition encourage impartiality, a feignable trait that fails to take into account the addition of a new worry applicants must face. “[The Coalition has] not seen or [has] chosen not to see the ramifications of the Coalition Application,” Code said. “It is exacerbating the already present stress on students — stress to construe yourself in a certain way. Being a good person is not the focus of higher education. It is to educate you, to make you smarter and to help you see portions of the world that you otherwise would not have seen.”

Although the work that the Coalition is doing is riddled with improbabilities, its ambitious goals send a hopeful message to students. The Coalition Application and the virtual locker seek to uncover what students are passionate about, so that college admissions officers can evaluate applicants more closely than with current college applications.

At the core of every student’s college-related anxiety is the belief that their self worth is tied to academic excellence. However, by pursuing their own genuine, natural instincts and interests, students can make themselves more authentic, and therefore more interesting to colleges.

“Whatever application you choose, what colleges are looking for is authenticity in your application,” Cernobori said. “When you’ve chosen these things that are self-guided and self-motivated, you’ll be able to talk about them in specific ways that reveal a part of your personality and make you a memorable applicant.”

“One of the things that we hope does not get lost [in applicants] is the enthusiasm that people have for the report is academic excellence.”

William R. Fitzsimmons Harvard Dean of Admissions

TIMELINE OF THE COALITION

DECEMBER 2013

Prestigious schools, including all eight Ivy Leagues, form the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success.

SEPTEMBER 2015

The Coalition announces the release of the Coalition Application that “puts students first.”

JULY 2016

The Coalition Application will be released for students in the Class of 2017 and subsequent classes.

Friday, February 26, 2016

B6

LIFESTYLE

Kanye West releases long-anticipated album Yeezy’s ambitious new album “The Life of Pablo” represents a dramatic shift in his creative mentality and process BO FIELD

DESIGN EDITOR

K

anye West has always been at his best when he pushes boundaries and influences hip-hop in a greater way. He sets precedents for stylistic evolutions in the genre to the point where his albums can serve as benchmarks dividing the modern eras of rap. His albums have historically set the stage for the next wave in hip-hop, from the impact of “808s and Heartbreak” ushering in a generation of autotuned melodic writing to “Yeezus” subverting sonic expectations and paving the way for greater experimentation within the genre. These works have been lauded universally not only for their originality but for their near flawless execution. This is due mostly to Kanye’s perfectionist work ethic and devotion to excellence. But the Kanye we see on his latest record, “The Life of Pablo,” has become less Dürer and more Pollock, mixing spurts of genius with wild unfiltered creative abandon to create a hastily finished work that is equal parts incredible in its ambition and disorientingly ad-hoc in its execution.

“The Life of Pablo” is interpreted as an ambitious conceptual album chronicling Kanye’s struggle to retain his devotion to his family and religion amidst the trappings and temptations of fame.

Lately, Kanye has diversified his creative vision into almost every conceivable field of expression, ranging from film to fashion design, and focused especially on his Yeezy Season line of ready-to-wear clothing In all lanes, however, his previous perfectionism seems to have been left in the dust in favor of raw, unfiltered final products that seem to stem directly from his bizarre psyche. “The Life of Pablo” is exemplary of a new Kanye, one who publicly switches his album name three times in a month, changes track structures and arrangements on a whim the night before release, and generally disregards all standard practices for modern album releases and creative endeavors in general.

“The Life of Pablo” is interpreted as a conceptual album chronicling

COURTESY OF INDEPENDENT

Kanye West performed his latest album “The Life of Pablo” at Madison Square Garden after the release of his newest fashion line.

Kanye’s struggle to retain his devotion to his family and religion (the title referring to Kanye as Pablo, or Paul the Apostle) amidst the trappings and temptations of fame, a theme consistently addressed throughout Kanye’s career. The sonic duality representing Kanye’s binary internal conflict is blatant, with his signature soaring gospel refrains and dense arrangements juxtaposed against seemingly random samples of Desiigner’s single “Panda” and robotic crooning about bleached assholes. However, despite the conceptual purpose it serves, the album’s incredibly busy and varied composition can be jarring and confusing. Listeners are lucky to get to enjoy more than a few measures of each promising concept before being thrown mercilessly into something dramatically different, never to return. This frantic devotion to the switch up leads to tracks — like “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” and “Pt. 2” — sounding more like a diverse sonic mood board than a finished idea, leaving fans of any one particular stretch wanting more but scratching their heads at various other sections of the 5-minute suite.

The album also flits between Kanye rapping with some of the most proficiency he has ever shown on songs like “No More Parties in LA” to lazy and misguided boasts against

a familiar cast of enemies Kanye has made in his day, ranging from Ray J to Taylor Swift. These lyrics are an effective self-parody of how Kanye is seen by the uneducated, People Magazine-reading crowd, who make up the majority of his detractors.

However, when they are delivered with such desperate sincerity, they render certain songs unplayable in mixed company and difficult to stomach even in privacy. The shock value aspect serves only to fuel tired twitter meme machines in the interest of quick album promotion and will detract from the long-term legacy or lyrical consistency of the album. On “Pablo,” Kanye simultaneously proves that he can hold his own on a track with Kendrick Lamar and that he should think twice about recording raps at all. This paradox is part of the inherent duality of his concept, but does not absolve him from the fixation on his petty personal drama as a subject in lieu of the less harebrained themes explored on other parts of the record.

The pop hype machine surrounding the album also detracts from its potential. In contrast to “Yeezus” lack of mainstream features and accessible melodies, “Pablo” features guest choruses by artists like Rihanna, Chris Brown and on an early version of the album, Sia. These artists come in

seemingly with the intention to try as hard as they can to prove they can sing well in a pop context, leading to unneeded segues into desperate belting on songs such as “Waves” or “Famous,” which otherwise features sinister looping instrumentation that needs nothing less than an interlude of power ballad vocals. The clout Kanye pulls in the music industry as well as his respect for these artists’ works influence their respective placements on the album. However, just because you can feature a pop star it certainly does not mean you should, and the various collaborations only further complicate the already difficult jumble that makes up the tracklist.

It seems as if for the first time in his career, Kanye has released an album not because he has something to say or a new concept to introduce to the greater hip-hop genre, but because the world was clamoring for a new Kanye album and he felt obligated to provide.

But amidst the tangle of top 40 intrusions, lewd sexual exploits, and absurd grandiosity, Kanye’s natural ability as a musician and artist still shines through. “Ultralight Beam” is an excellent opener and collaboration with fellow Chicagoan and spiritual

successor Chance the Rapper laying down beautiful vocals and a cleverly referential verse. “Freestyle 4” channels the same raw energy that worked so well on “Yeezus” as a dark interlude before the tongue-in-cheek spoken word “I Love Kanye.” “FML” is a gorgeously written ballad showcasing Kanye’s melodic writing skills at their finest. The ending of the album from “Real Friends” to “No More Parties in LA” contains some of the best Kanye songs in a very long time in terms of technical lyrical writing and production. For all of its confusion and offense, Kanye simply will not let listeners ignore the merit inherent in his music — “Pablo” will never be written off as a complete failure when it includes such successful moments.

“The Life of Pablo” represents a veritable grab bag of the different concepts that have been reverberating around Kanye’s mind. From its wild release, which has been unparalleled in both its hectic nature and its publicity through Kanye and others’ social media feeds, we can see the melding of many very different concepts into one final product. The lack of cohesion is unfortunately too clear, and it is easy to tell which songs have been formulated for months and which were recorded hours after the label deadline during the album’s delayed release. It seems as if, for the first time in his career, Kanye has released an album not because he has something to say or a new concept to introduce to the greater hip-hop genre, but because the world was clamoring for a new Kanye album and he felt obligated to provide. This can account for the selfderivative nature of even the album’s best songs, which tend to just sound like a return to the general sound and feel of “The College Dropout” after a decade of debauchery and insanity. By making an album primarily aiming to please his fans, detractors, and himself, Kanye has relinquished the subversion and innovation that have led to his career-spanning streak of quality releases and instead taken the easier route of impressing Twitter feeds and online music publications in the short term. In the long term, Kanye West as a mogul and public figure will remain constant, and as he continues his different endeavors he will doubtlessly continue to sprinkle his madness with dashes of genius.

Coachella hosts a multitude of unknown musicians Indie music festival releases its complete 2016 lineup featuring new artists Alvvays, Nosaj Thing and Beach House ELI GWIN-KERR

STAFF WRITER

O

n Jan. 4, The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival released its 2016 lineup, which featured LCD Soundsystem, Calvin Harris and Guns ‘n Roses as the main stage acts. During April 15-17 (Weekend 1) and April 22-24 (Weekend 2), Indio, Calif. will host the annual festival. The lineup also boasts names such as A$AP Rocky, Flume, Courtney Barnett and Ellie Goulding, but between the heavy schedule and swirling rumours that include a much-speculated N.W.A. reunion (Ice Cube is set to perform on April 16 and 23), many up-andcoming indie artists have gotten lost in the hype.

Alvvays (39,074 Spotify subscribers) This Toronto band debuted its first LP in mid-2014. The self-titled album, “Alvvays,” stuck out in a sea of contemporary indie groups that fuse ‘60s and ‘80s pop with contemporary guitar jangle. Singer Molly Rankin’s aching-without-feeling-angsty voice and witty lyricism lends Alvvays an element of deadpan romance, with subtle unsentimental come-ons sprinkled in between the frank but radiant melody. Rankin puts a twist on several indie-pop cliches, such as turning the break-up song on its head in and pining away about breaking into a lover’s life. Alvvays succeeds in beating the American Apparel clad and bleached-blond-haired competition with a debut album steeped in irresistibly sharp songs that evoke feelings of nostalgia and uncertainty for commitment, sentiments felt particularly by their college-age audience.

Relatively new to the festival scene,

the group’s appearance at Coachella 2016 is their second major festival appearance after Glastonbury 2015.

Kamasi Washington (29,398 Spotify subscribers) One of many jazz figures featured in Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 album “To Pimp A Butterfly,” Kamasi Washington is one of few artists at Coachella that happens to be a saxophonist-composer with great prestige outside of the jazz world. His 2015 triple-album “The Epic,” however, is devoid of the hip-hop associations he has been previously known for, and instead blends the sounds of Miles Davis with melodies reminiscent of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” intertwining the generations of jazz that led to the inception of hip-hop into a masterpiece of a debut album.

The euphonious evenness of the music is so rich at times that it seems to creates a sonic texture, a wall of sound that blends lyrics and instrumental.

The three hours of music that “The Epic” holds jumps from string sections to R&B vocals to even funkier soul at times, while never straying from the classicism it is categorized as (Washington plays tenor sax).

Coachella will see a refreshing new act in Washington, and if the reception of “The Epic” is any indicator, future lineups may very well feature similar figures.

Nosaj Thing ( 6 6 , 9 0 1 S p o t i f y subscribers) Continuing with the trend of collaborators behind major hip-hop headliners, Coachella will feature

MADS MCCLUSKEY AND ANNALISE WANG/THE CAMPANILE

producer Nosaj Thing, who creates music that many popular rappers sing and rap over. Only recently have his albums gained recognition, despite having produced songs such as Kendrick Lamar’s “Cloud 10” and Kid Cudi’s “Man on the Moon.” Jason Chung donned the moniker Nosaj Thing in 2006 with the release of his debut EP, and has since produced three albums. Despite having collaborated with mainstream hip-hop artists, Chung falls into an elusive category of music alongside minimalists such as Flying Lotus and Shlohmo, a category where just dubbing the music “experimental” or “glitch-hop/ electronic” does not quite cut it. Nosaj Thing produces the type of music that plays in your head when watching a documentary on deep space and

black holes late at night. His appearance at Coachella this year is not his first, but hopefully it is the year that he emerges from the shadows of his collaborators to distinguish himself with his spaciously unearthly music.

Beach House (350,584 Spotify subscribers) Most bands are prone to fluctuations in popularity and artistic relevance over time, especially after hitting the ten-year mark. Beach House is one of those rare groups that has consistently put out alluringly dreamy music for over a decade whilst staying relatively under the radar in the world of alternative rock. Since 2004, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have been producing records that push dream pop ever-forwards in the

2010’s. The joy of listening to Beach House comes from the sense of balance they create: the sound builds up gracefully, filling the melody with luxuriant tones that seem to put the listener’s mind at ease in a daydreamy state.

The euphonious evenness of the music is so rich at times that it seems to creates a sonic texture, a wall of sound that blends lyrics and instrumental. Beach House’s musical atmosphere is just as entrancing through headphones as it is live and their festival history proves it; this year at Coachella will be their second. After producing two equally heavy records in 2015 (“Depression Cherry” and “Thank Your Lucky Stars”), their appearances on April 17 and 24 will surely add to their legacy.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE “Race” recreates Jesse Owens’ narrative

Flawless cinematography and phenomenal acting transforms Race into a thrilling watch

COURTESY OF SINUOUSMAG.COM

The biographical sports-drama portrays Owens and his journey to earn four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

KIRAN MISNER

STAFF WRITER

F

ocus Features and Stephen Hopkin’s film “Race” discusses Jesse Owens’ pathway to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and his quest for Olympic gold. A black man born into the segregated society of 1930s United States, Owens is discovered for his running and jumping ability on the track and is recruited by a white coach. Owens defies all odds and sprints his way to the 1936 Olympics while facing discrimination and a deep hatred from people from both the United States and Germany. He is torn between staying in the United States and running in Berlin, but decides to go on and compete in Berlin. While his fight to get to the Olympics is over, Owens faces trouble in Berlin. Hitler’s vision of a white supremacist society allows white men to discriminate against

Owens. Through his fight to get to Berlin and the racism he faces there, Jesse Owens’ struggle to become the best enthralls the audience with ideas of racism, courage and determination.

However, the movie does have certain holes which confuse the audience.

Through his fight to get to Berlin and the racism he faces there, Jesse Owens’ struggle to become the best enthralls the audience with ideas of racism, courage and determination Throughout the film, director Stephen Hopkins and his team did a flawless job with cinematography and capturing the scenes in Berlin.

The camera angles that the film team uses make you feel as if you are in the stadium watching Owens dominate the track. Secondly, the quality of the filming adds depth to each scene.

Lead actor Stephan James, who plays Owens in the film, brilliantly leads the film. In points of the film, James takes badly written lines and smoothly transforms them into meaningful and impactful words. His acting and character worked very well with Jason Sudeikis who plays Larry Snyder, Jesse’s coach, and the pair’s acting often end up carrying the movie when the writing gets boring.

Additionally, the movie does deliver when the viewer is seeing Owens’ race. The races are thrilling and exciting and while they only last a few seconds, these races play in an important role in movie. The races re-energized the viewer if they were bored by the last part of the movie and kept the other part of the audience interested in the movie. Carried by the acting duo of Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis, Race does a very good job in reliving Owens’s energy and his epic victory in Berlin.

However, while Race fulfills expectations in the individual acting and cinematography categories, it disappoints in many other sections of the movie. Although Race is a biopic focused on Owens and his journey to and in Berlin, his character is surprisingly undeveloped and lacks depth by the end of the movie. Many of the major conflicts in the movie do not surround Owens and causes attention in the movie to be diverted away from him. For example, one of the major storylines in the movie is about whether or not the United States should compete in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Though the director does relate the problem back to Owens’ later in the film, this conflict is mainly handled by the presidents of the German and American Athletic Associations. The result of this scene, along with other scenes that do not include Owens, is an undeveloped main character.

Furthermore, there were many unnecessary scenes that made the movie run longer, yet failed to have any real impact on the film. The film spends a reasonable amount of time detailing the affair Owens’ has with another woman while he is away on tour, however, this doesn’t change the film at all. When he returns back home to Alabama, his girlfriend who knows about the affair, still agrees to marry him and the affair doesn’t tie into any other part of the film. The movie was fairly long to begin with and the unnecessary scenes did not help move the story along in an exciting way.

Overall, Race is a feel good movie which starts with hope and ends on an uplifting note as Owens’ returns back to the United States from Germany. However, the film is burdened by a lack of thinking on certain scenes and a main character whose personality is not fully expanded.

Funny memes prevalent among populace

Since the creation of memes, they have been the foundation of comedy on the internet ANTONIO KIESCHNICK

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

I

n the dawn’s smoke, miasma pouring through endless fissures strewn across his bedroom, dreams still wispy in the room, waiting for just the right moment to float away through the window, still slightly ajar, while sleep’s tender embrace began to fade its way back into the warm covers, Palo Alto High School Senior Ryan Reed arose with but one thought on his mind: memes.

Meme: a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users. Origin: from the Greek mīmēma, or “imitated thing.” The word “meme” was originally coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkin in his bestseller “The Selfish Gene” to describe the spread of an idea from person to person. While “meme” was hijacked by bloggers in the early 2000s, Dawkins himself stated it was not that the new meaning was not that different from the original one. In a sense, the word itself has flitted between the real and unreal, at times inhabiting a sort of preternatural dreamscape in the adolescent conscious, somewhere between a distant fantasy and a closer, more tangible reality. Memes seem to inhabit that no-man’s land — or should I say no-meme’s land — between being both the abstract concept for a joke, and the joke itself. In a sense, it is as if someone came up with the punchline for a joke which they had not written yet, but then the punchline turns out to be the entire joke, and it’s author just goes around repeating the punchline without any broader context.

A meme — such as the Willy Wonka, Bad Luck Brian and the Scumbag Steve meme — can be the abstract concept for a joke in the sense that it is not always inherently funny, but derives its humor from the cult status that develops around it.

Take the Einstein meme: it originally surfaced as a minor anecdote from a commenter on the social-networking site Reddit, when a commenter referred to a discussion they had in a Spanish class a few years back. In the class, the teacher was attempting to define the difference between conocer

COURTESY OF MEMECREATOR.ORG

Memes have recently grown in popularity, some of them are the Willy Wonka, Scumbag Steve, Doge and Bad Luck Brian meme.

and saber, explaining that to saber the city of Boston would mean to know every inch of Boston, which would be impossible. It was here that one classmate countered with, “Einstein could, he’s wicked smaht.” Thus, a meme was born, but the important part here is that other than a certain quirkiness, the phrase itself is not really a joke. However, this phrase was picked up by fellow redditors and reused as nauseum in various other contexts. At times, it felt like posters were commenting simply because they knew they were setting up a joke for the Einstein punch line. That might not be the best way to explain a meme, but it might be the only way.

A meme is, in a sense, an inside joke shared by “the Net.” It feels almost as if everyone in the world were around a table, with keyboards for mouths, the ceaseless whir of machinery replacing the smoother, rounder human sounds. Every “that feeling

when” replacing Jim’s famous fishing trip. Every Drake meme a modern, globalized version of Jane’s brilliant impression of a teapot. The only difference being that, at this wifi table, each inside joke is actually funny, at times even providing an insightful social critique. A lot of this social critique takes an almost absurdist bent, something like a Monty Python skit played out in single pictures.

“Memes are kind of a silly concept,” senior Roy Zawadski said.

“They’re kind of a modern sense of humor, in the sense that now, our humor is adapting to this new form of technology: the internet, with posts on message boards, etc.”

This “internet humor” is most evident in the famous Doge meme, originally a picture of a Shiba Inu dog.

The “Doge” meme surfaced as a satire of the average cat picture, except this time of a dog. Even then, it took its name from one of the first internet

memes: Homestar Runner, a show about a flash cartoon character. The allure of the “Doge” meme is simply the absurdity of it all. A dog with a humanoid expression staring intently at his audience. “Doge” is not simply a funny-looking dog, it is an ethereal set of pixels clustered to twitch and tamper with the human conscious.

It feels designed to give us the sense that we have laughed, and yet to never actually make us laugh. “Doge” feels funny to a lot people, and yet there is no clear reason why we feel that way other than “we just do.”

A meme is much more than a set of pictures or a passing fad, the basic human principles that underpin the spread of the meme are ones already on clear display during World War II with the spread of Kilroy, a figurine graffitied across the world by disgruntled soldiers. So perhaps a meme is not a thing, but rather an idea we still can not quite comprehend.

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Struggles of an unlicensed senior

GREG EUM

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Being a Second Semester Senior is not as great as it seems. The workload remains the same as first semester and teachers get stricter on tardies and cuts. I have always been a procrastinator, but being a SSS has stimulated that procrastination to new heights.

Sadly, I am one of the few SSS’s who still doesn’t have their driver’s license.

When I was an underclassman, I would always envy the upperclassmen who would somehow show up to class with the universally-recognized Chipotle brown bag or Taco Bell box.

I vowed to myself that I would have Chipotle every single lunch period for the rest of high school when I got my license.

However, just like every vow I ever made, I forgot about my goal to get my driver’s license. I am reminded everyday about my procrastination when I have to fight to get on the free Palo Alto shuttle with a bunch of freshman and sophomores after school ends. Sometimes I come home from school with bruises from all of the elbowing on the shuttle. It makes for a pretty awkward conversation with my parents, with me just explaining that I was not in a fight, but just the shuttle royale.

This year, I discovered that I despise two phrases. One being “dank meme, dude,” and the other being “Hey, let’s drive to [insert any location not Palo Alto].” It is humiliating when my friends have to alter their itinerary to accommodate me not having my license.

If I had to give an example, my friends would like to go see a movie in Redwood City. I would mention that Redwood City is pretty far to bike and they would look at me like I just lost the Super Bowl to a 39-yearold quarterback and then offer to give me a ride. Even if I let my pride get to me and say that I am fine and I do not need a ride, it is also embarrassing when I arrive at the location on my bike and there is enough water on my back to save California’s water supply.

In my group text — better known as “grext” by the kids these days — with my friends, my most used text is probably, “Can I get a ride?” I actually put that as a shortcut on my phone, so whenever I type anything, that phrase will always be suggested for me to select.

You would think biking everywhere would save money because I do not have to pay for gas, but my friends are ruthless sharks when it comes to “gas money,” or a fee that you pay to the driver as compensation for gasoline lost. If I do not have the money, usually food or my first-born child suffices.

I used to believe that driving is not as wonderful as people make it out to be. I did not get jealous when I saw one of my peers driving. Instead, I felt pity, as you have to wake up earlier to find parking spots and deal with bikers who do not give any hoots about cars.

However, as I am about to graduate in a few months and move on from Palo Alto, unless I get a certain letter from a certain university across the street, I will need to learn the ways of the road.

Therefore, I decided to start my journey towards obtaining that precious license. Before I do that, however, I would like to use this space to thank everyone who has supported me (by giving me rides): Thank you seniors Clara Wolfe, Nicholas Olgado, Reed Merritt, Przemek Gardias, Matthew Lewis and the many moms and dads for all that you have done for me, I owe you all. In about six months, I will join you on the road.

Drive on.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

LIFESTYLE

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Design by mackenzie glassford and aiva petriceks

text and design by Christina le senior staff writer

staff writer and lifestyle

This edition featuring:

Raj Lele The Carmel teen’s journey from producing in his room to performing at snowglobe

F

ew artists have been able to successfully adapt to the constantly evolving electronic music industry; even fewer have been able to build a bridge between rap and electronic dance music. At just 18-years-old, Andrew Luce, a senior at Stevenson High School in Carmel, Calif. has navigated his way to stardom with both original content and remixes of popular songs.

With over ten million plays on SoundCloud and over 65,000 followers, Luce has taken the Internet by storm. His music has gathered support from some of the biggest names in the electronic business including Diplo, Krewella, Madeon and many others. Luce has also performed at popular music festivals such as SnowGlobe Music Festival in 2013 and 2015 and Coachella Valley Music Festival in 2015.

Luce began developing his interest in music at a young age. Before producing music digitally, he played the guitar and drums.

“I started taking private guitar lessons, picked up playing the drums and learned to read rhythm when I was eight,” Luce said.

After three years of simultaneously taking drum and guitar lessons, Luce began to experiment with music using computer applications.

“In fifth and sixth grade, I put my music on Garageband, then got a software called Logic, where I recorded my guitar playing and added basic instrumentals behind it,” Luce said.

In eighth grade, Luce was assigned a year-long project called the “Recital Project,” where students researched anything related to music of their choice to ultimately make a project out of their research. With his passion for music, Luce produced an album for his project. From then on, Luce knew that he wanted to continue producing music.

Not going to lie, I cried when I released the EP because it was something that I planned to do for a very long time.

Andrew Luce Luce would use his free time to produce music, eventually leading to another album. As a sophomore, Luce released a song with Red Cube Record label, which Luce ultimately bought the rights back from.

“I admit that I was young and foolish to release on a small label at such a young age, I ended up paying for it a few years later,” Luce said.

Photos courtesy of alex abaunza

In 2013, Luce submitted a mix of his music to a contest hosted by SnowGlobe in Lake Tahoe. The annual contest chooses up-and-coming independent artists to perform at the popular electronic dance music (EDM) festival. Luce received the highest number of fan votes, and was one of three winners to perform at SnowGlobe in 2013, making him the youngest DJ at the festival. Luce was also the youngest solo act to perform at Coachella.

According to Luce, performing at SnowGlobe was the turning point in his life where producing music became a career.

“I had to get serious about music and continue to crank out new material,” Luce said.

With the motivation he got after performing at SnowGlobe, Luce decided to make remixes of songs every week in January 2014. However, after over a month of producing music every week, Luce decided he wanted his material to represent quality over quantity. He then started producing new remixes every other week, at which point the music picked up more steam than before.

“I felt like

the pace was too fast, and the music that I was producing every week wasn’t the quality that I wanted,” Luce said.

After a year of producing remixes, such as his well known remix of Day n’ Nite by Kid Cudi that has over 28 million views on YouTube, Luce took a break from remixes and chose to focus on creating his own music.

“The consistency was great, but I wanted to do more than remix songs that have been remixed before,” Luce said. “I felt like every week, I was following a formula that all built up to a similar practice.”

Following Luce’s decision to stop making remixes in November 2014, he planned to work on his first EP. However, due to complications, Luce took a two month break from producing music and resumed his work on the EP after.

“It was time for me to get serious, and after months of work, I released the first single to ‘BLANC’ in April,” Luce said.

In August 2015, Luce and music producer Vincent, formally known as XVII, released his first full EP, “BLANC.” “Not going to lie, I cried when I released the EP because it was

something that I planned to do for a very long time.”

After their release together, Luce and Vincent, along with a few other producers, cofounded Daruma, a music collective.

“Daruma was just an idea that was nothing back then and had no name behind it,” Luce said. “It was a Google document with Vincent and a few others with some ideas.”

As time passed, Daruma drew a lot of attention, and gained a fanbase after their release of the first compilation including artists like Graves, an artist who has production credits on Kanye West and Justin Bieber records, and thirteen other artists.

Currently, Daruma has over 34,000 followers on SoundCloud with support from artists like Diplo, What So Not and Mat Zo. Luce has used his young age to his benefit — connecting with the younger audience while surpassing artists with twice the years of experience. In August 2015, Luce signed with Paradigm, one of the biggest booking agencies in the world. Paradigm books artists including Zedd, DJ Snake, E-40, Sage t h e

Gemini, Skrillex and Tame Impala.

Luce is the youngest artist with Paradigm.

“It was definitely one of the most exciting moments for me because they have an incredible roster and their proficiency as an agency is unparalleled,” Luce said.

Since his signing to Paradigm, Luce has not posted new material to his SoundCloud, as he is focusing on working on Daruma.

“Right now, we’ve just been laying a lot of groundwork for Daruma,” Luce said. “We launched a visual roster and the end goal of it is to be a multimedia powerhouse, rather than just a music group.”

When Diplo followed Daruma on SoundCloud, Luce describes the experience to be one of the best moments of his career.

“He downloaded an entire curation of something that I had started from the ground up, and it was real recognition of something I created as an artist,” Luce said.

Many would consider up-andcoming Luce to be successful.

However, Luce does not consider himself to be “famous.”

“Sure my life has changed, with the shows and travelling, but I’m not

even two percent of where I want to be,” Luce said.

Luce mentions that he does not produce music for the fame nor materialistic desires.

“Making money is nice, but nothing feels better than traveling and doing the stuff you love,” Luce said.

“Whether I’m performing for a crowd of 100 people or 7000, it’s a very exciting thing when people are coming out to see you do the thing you love most.”

[Diplo] downloaded an entire curation of something that I had started from the grounded up, and it was real recognition of something I created as an artist.

Andrew luce Luce has chosen to step back from bigger concerts in 2016 such as Coachella and Outside Lands to focus on his music in preparation for 2017. For now, he will be performing at Wobbleland and Euphoria Music Festival in the spring.

As Luce’s career grows, he hopes to give back to communities in the future by promoting music programs in schools.

“I want to bring music to education systems to get students motivated to go to school everyday ,” Luce said. “I want to enhance and enrich the current music program that schools have because there is nothing more special than having that creative connection.”

Luce also relates his emphasis on fostering passions to the pressure of academic success present in high school and college, especially in Silicon Valley.

“High school is such a pivotal time to foster a passion like music and do something with it,” Luce said.

“Building your passions and doing something with them can give teenagers real meaning to their lives, instead of not looking forward to their daily routines.”

Luce also makes a point to prove that people should pursue their passions because they want to, not because they have to for ulterior motives.

“Rather than saying how many honors you took, it is sick as f**k to say you performed at Coachella on your resume, that way you can get the benefit of college but also be content with yourself on what you’ve done with your passions.”

with The Campanile’s own

Anant Marur The Campanile: How would you describe your meteoric rise to fame?

Raj Lele: It’s been pretty crazy. I wasn’t even planning on signing up for InFocus, but Living Skills was all booked out, so I told them to just put me in InFocus.

TC: Do you feel you’re missing out on an opportunity to interact with styrofoam penises?

RL: Not at all. I don’t really want to deal with those in the first place.

TC: Fair enough. What does it feel like to be the most beloved InFocus anchor?

RL: Oh, I didn’t know I had that kind of fame, I just shot up the tenth grade ranks. Getting recognition and validation from the seniors and my peers is something I’d never imagined.

TC: Speaking of getting recognized by seniors, do you expect a lot of Prom askings?

RL: Definitely not, even if I did I don’t think my parents would let me.

TC: Which elementary school lunch snack do you feel best describes you?

RL: Fruit snacks for sure.

TC: Fruity. Why do you say that?

RL: My parents never used to let me have them because they had too much sugar.

TC: So is this you rebelling against the authoritarian regime?

RL: Not really. I just like fruit snacks.

Also, the only other option I could think of was Go-Gurt and I never liked Go-Gurt. It’s uncomfortable.

TC: Agreed. Change my life in five words.

RL: Just do it.

TC: I don’t know if you realize this, but that’s only three words.

RL: I like to challenge myself.

TC: Are you a Nike fanboy? A pawn of the corporate machine?

RL: Not really.

TC: You’re a mythical creature for a day. What are you, and what do you do?

RL: Something that eats cats. Cats really piss me off.

TC: Aggressive. What is it about cats that grinds your gears?

RL: My neighbors have cats and they’re always getting all up in my yard.

TC: Do you have any plans to take care of them?

RL: If you mean take care of them as in feeding them then definitely not. If you mean reporting them to animal control then probably.

TC: What mid-tier celebrity would you hire as a personal motivator?

RL: Derek Jeter.

TC: Good answer, but the correct answer was Shia Labeouf. But don’t worry, you’re doing great. Any spring fashion advice as it starts to warm up?

RL: Yeah, why don’t guys start wearing athletic shorts and normal shirts instead of hipster pants and preppy collared shirts?

TC: Asking the hard hitting questions. As a fan of athletic shorts, would you describe yourself as an athlete?

RL: I make sure that I get my daily dose of sports by covering them during InFocus and doing play-by-plays of professional games at home.

TC: I see a power hungry glint in your eye, do you have any plans to stage a coup?

RL: If I could gather enough manpower, I would probably pull an MIT style prank on the school.

TC: Maybe you should advise the senior class, we could use some great minds.

RL: My door is always open.

The Campanile

Friday, February 26, 2016 ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

SP RTS

Senior Alexis Harris is the current top scorer for the girls basketball team.

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Aspiring Olympians Paly has a history of producing all-star athletes, an elite few of which have competed in the Olympic Games. some have even brought home the gold medal. Although very few athletes have gone to the Games, many Paly athletes have attended the Junior Olympics.

J

unior Bennet Huang’s Instagram is inundated with pictures of him doing handstands, teetering on the edge of giant rocks and posing with a group of highly toned teenage boys, who form the U.S. Junior National Men’s Gymnastics team.

Huang started taking gymnastics classes when he was only four-years-old. Two years later, he began competing. Now, a decade after his first competition, Huang is a member of the U.S. Junior National Men’s Gymnastics team.

“It had always been my dream to make the Olympic team, and being able to be a part of the Junior National Team is certainly one of the steps to it,” Huang said. “It has been a very cool experience to represent the U.S. at international competitions.”

Huang’s training routine is normally as laborious as his workout regimens. Huang’s daily training begins with a 15-minute warm up, when he stretches his muscles in preparation for the rest of his performance. He then moves on to completing two workout routines for each of the four to five events, focusing specifically on areas of difficulty in order to perfect them. Finally, Huang finishes his workout with 30 minutes of strength and conditioning.

With a high level of performance comes attention from universities. During the competition season at the Junior Olympic National Championships, Huang was noticed by a number of college coaches and recruiters. He has been officially scouted by Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley and Penn State University. Additionally, Huang has talked in person to coaches from the University of Iowa, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Michigan.

The local club swim team, Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics (PASA), is known by many to breed high-performing swimmers, something the club takes great pride in. This is evidenced by the extensive list of alumni that swim at elite universities around the country, as well as entries on the U.S.A. Swimming Top 100 and Top 10 list, all located on their website. Junior Alex Liang has been swimming with the club since he was 5 years old. As a small child, his love for the sport was pure and warranted only by the pleasure of participating in it.

“As a little kid, you just want to go out there and have fun,” Liang said.

“But as you get older, you realize what potential you have. You try to be the best.”

According to Liang, there is one big competition each season, and occasionally two in the spring. In addition to the four big PASA competitions, Liang will also compete in the most intense swim meet in the United States: the Olympic Trials. The Olympic Trials for mens swimming will take place this summer in Omaha, Neb. Liang is hoping to compete in the 2020 Olympics in the 400 meter individual medley. Even if he does not qualify this year, Liang plans on training for the 2024 Olympics while attending college. According to Liang, there is a small chance that he will qualify for the Olympics this round, as he is still considerably young in the sport.

According to the U.S.A. Swimming website, the Trials are broadcast live on NBC every night for eight days and nights. In 2012, a 164,000 fans attended the Olympic Trials, which also took place in Omaha, Neb. The trials were nominated for the acclaimed “Sports Event of the Year” by the Sports Business Awards.

On the PASA swim team, Liang is one of 15 kids training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. According to Liang, practice is only slightly different for the swimmers pursuing the Olympic Games, in comparison to others.

“We just train with a little more intensity, focus

[and] precision,” Liang said. “We are more attentive to small details.”

According to Liang, around 1,000 of the nation’s best swimmers compete for places at the Olympic games.

“You have to [place in the] top two in your event [to be on the Olympic team],” Liang said. “For the freestyle events, like the 100 and 200 meter freestyle, you can be top six because they are relays.”

PASA’s frequent and hardcore practices attract the most dedicated swimmers, making it a prime platform for kids to get noticed by college recruiters. Besides Olympic training, Liang is being scouted by top-tier colleges, including Stanford, Duke University, Michigan and Harvard University.

Junior Katie Passarello is a unique athlete, as she is a Junior Olympian in both swimming and volleyball. She began her swimming and volleyball careers at four and nine years old “At 4 years old I didn’t know what Junior Olympics were, but as I got more competitive I started training to go to the Junior Olympics, Far Westerns [and other competitions],” Passarello said. “Volleyball was the same thing, but since I started later, I knew about the high competitions sooner.”

For Passarello, swimming and volleyball acted symbiotically to increase her performance, supporting her physically in different aspects.

“I had strong legs from swimming that helped me jump in volleyball, and a strong core from volleyball that helped in swimming,” Passarello said. “As of last year, when I was doing both swimming and volleyball I had nine practices a week, and that was tough.”

Passarello believes that training for the Junior Olympics is very similar to training for any other competition in both swimming and volleyball.

“Training for the Junior Olympics is not much different than regular practices — for swimming your shave and taper will be arranged accordingly and in volleyball you just keep training hard like you have been all season.”

Competition at such a high level requires great passion and determination from athletes in order to sustain the intense demands on their bodies and their time.

Hopefully, hard work will prove fruitful and push these ambitious contenders to make it to the Olympic Games.

TEXT BY: KATE DEANDRE & GILLIAN ROBINS

DESIGN BY: KATE DEANDRE, GILLIAN ROBINS & RACHEL FARN

Golden State Warriors vs. Chicago Bulls

COURTESY OF THE SOURCE.COM

With the Golden State Warriors’ superb record, they are starting to be compared to what is widely considered to be the best basketball team in history: the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Maki Yasuda

PEDs Benefit all Sports

The Push for Cycling

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COURTESY OF MAKI YUSADA

Synchronized swimmer finds new passion in coaching.

COURTESY OF BARRYBONDS.COM

Why the stigma around performance enhancing drugs is misguided.

COURTESY OF XANDER KOO

Students urge PAUSD to offer cycling as a school sport.

Friday, February 26, 2016

C2 VIKING RECAP

The Campanile

SPORTS Boys soccer team places first in SCVAL Fourth seeded Paly team to match up against Watsonville High School in CCS playoffs

BOYS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Homestead 1/29, Tie, 2-2 Paly vs. Gunn 2/3, W, 5-1 Paly vs. Mountain View 2/5, Tie, 2-2 Paly vs. Santa Clara 2/17, W, 2-0 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Watsonville 2/27, 1:00 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Mountain View 2/5, L, 0-2 Paly vs. Sacred Heart Prep 2/8, W, 5-1 Paly vs. Saratoga 2/10, W, 1-0 Paly vs. Santa Clara 2/17, W, 4-0 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. Archbishop Mitty 2/27, 1:00 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Los Altos 2/5, W, 40-36 Paly vs. Fremont 2/6, W, 54-44 Paly vs. Wilcox 2/17, W, 70-60 Paly vs. Los Gatos 2/19, L, 50-53 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. TBD 2/27

GIRLS BASKETBALL RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Los Altos 2/2, W, 70-30 Paly vs. Mountain View 2/5, W, 53-17 Paly vs. Wilcox 2/6, W, 58-33 Paly vs. Los Gatos 2/16, L, 36-43 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly vs. TBD 2/27

WRESTLING RECENT SCORES

Paly vs. Gunn 2/4, L Paly vs. Wilcox 2/11, W Paly @ SCVAL 2/12 Paly @ CCS 2/19 UPCOMING GAMES

Paly @ CIF 2/26, 10:00 a.m.

KAI ODA/THE CAMPANILE

Junior Derek Schoenberger skillfully maneuvers past a defender in a 3-0 win over Milpitas High School. The boys have gone on to remain undefeated for the entire season.

JOANNA FALLA

STAFF WRITER

A

fter closing out an undefeated regular season with a victory against Santa Clara High School, the Palo Alto High School boys soccer team looks forward to the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships. Despite winning the league, the boys are currently seeded fourth for CCS and are scheduled to play Watsonville High School.

With a 15-0-4 record, senior Ariya Momeny attributes the team’s success to a hard-driven work ethic.

“Most teams would say that they just want to win more than the other team, but that isn’t true in our case,” Momeny said. “What sets us apart from other teams is our refusal to lose.”

The team is known for having fun during practice, but its members are also able to work together to utilize each other’s strengths. As one of two sophomores, Matt Knowles recognizes team chemistry as an important aspect to their winning season.

“We’re playing a lot more as a team,” Knowles said. “At the beginning of the season, we were playing more individually, but now that we’ve practiced a lot, our team chemistry is much better.”

All players on the team agree that they have a lot of talent, but that it is not the only skill needed to be a good, cohesive team. According to Momeny, Paly needs to have the will and the friendship to be victorious.

“There’s no doubt that we’re a team with a lot of natural talent, but you don’t need talent to work hard and that’s what we’re going to do,” Momeny said. “We are going to outplay and out-hustle the opponent.

All of us have played with each other during club season and that plays a huge role, we mess around a lot, but push each other when needed.”

At the beginning of the season, we were playing more individually, but now that we’ve practiced a lot, our team chemistry is much better.

Matt Knowles Sophomore While the boys played well throughout the season, a string of injuries forced the team to adapt and prove that nothing can stand in their way. Junior Derek Schoenberger thinks that the team pulled through due to their winning work ethic.

“We went through a slump where as a team we weren’t playing very

well and had a lot of injured players,” Schoenberger said. “The other teams played us well and for some of those games we barely got the tie. We were down for most of the tied games and came back from either one or two goals down by simply refusing to lose.”

In preparation for the huge loss of 11 seniors next year, the team has recently added freshman Leyton Ho. Schoenberger thinks that Ho will be a valuable asset to the team.

“Leyton is an incredible player and even for a freshman his game awareness and decision making on the field is very advanced,” Schoenberger said. “He’s definitely a player I’d want playing with me during a big game.”

Schoenberger is surprised by the team’s fourth seed placement for CCS and expects a challenging game.

However, he believes that as long as the team remains focused they will succeed.

“I’m a little disappointed with our seeding because we had the best record but we’re the fourth seed,” Schoenberger said. “We have a pretty hard matchup but I think if we play our game we have a decent chance of going all the way this year.”

Knowles is confident about playing against Watsonville, but is more apprehensive about the team that

Paly would play in the following round: defending CCS champions Bellarmine High School.

There’s no doubt that we’re a team with a lot of natural talent, but you don’t need talent to work hard and that’s what we’re going to do.

Ariya Momeny Senior “If we get past the first round, we’ll have to play the first-seeded Bellarmine, who knocked us out of CCS last year,”Knowles said. “We’ve kind of been keeping track of them this year because we were very upset losing to them last year, but our main focus right now is on Watsonville in the first round.”

The team agrees that the winning streak is due to talent and team chemistry, but Momeny believes that an old tradition with undefeated teams gives them the spirit to win.

“We have this saying, ‘Five Minutes,”’ Momeny said. “After every goal, and at the beginning of each half we all shout it as a team, and we just sprint for five minutes straight and get every single ball, because the kickoff is always a time that makes a difference.”

Girls soccer to face Mitty Wrestling prepares for in quarterfinals of CCS state championships Paly seeded seventh despite strong record TOMMY SMALE

STAFF WRITER

T

he girls soccer team finished League play with a firm 16-1-1 record, placing the team second in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) behind first place, Mountain View High School.

Unfortunately, the record also placed the team as a shocking seventh seed in the Central Coast Section (CCS) open division bracket. Palo Alto High School has the second best record in the bracket and tied first seeded Mountain View High School earlier this season. Mountain View also tied Saratoga High School, a team Paly defeated twice.

As seventh seed, Paly will have to face second seeded Archbishop Mitty High School on Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m.

The two teams have yet to meet this season, leaving the likely winner of the matchup up in the air. Although Paly is the lower seed, the Vikings have a better record than Mitty and stand a decent chance in advancing to the semifinal round of CCS. Last season, Paly lost to Mountain View in the CCS Division 1 bracket.

The team hopes the end result will be different this year.

“We’re definitely looking to win, that’s for sure,” senior captain Heidi Moeser said. “This CCS round is going to be a lot harder because we’re in the open division and so were playing a lot of harder teams. I’m confident that we’ll be able to pull through and win.”

Paly gained a lot of confidence after storming through SCVAL this

season. The team’s recent blowouts have been particularly motivating.

The team defeated Sacred Heart Prep High School 5-1, Milpitas High School 6-0 and Homestead High School 5-0. Opposing teams have found it difficult to score against Paly’s strong defense all season.

Our defense is very strong this year and is an integral part of our team. They really back us up and it’s really beneficial to our team.

Heidi Moeser Senior In 17 games of play this season, only five goals have been let in the whole season. Defense plays a major part in the team’s success and has allowed the team to win many games by small margins. Despite struggling offensively in games against league opponents Los Gatos High School and Saratoga, a reliable defense helped Paly beat both teams by a score of 1-0.

“Our defense is very strong this year and is an integral part of our team,” Moeser said. “They really back us up and it’s really beneficial to our team.”

Paly’s nearly impenetrable defense eases pressure on the offensive players. Scoring just one goal can wind up winning the entire match for the team.

“Our outside defenders make a lot of runs up [towards the opponent’s goal] which is really helpful, because then we [attackers] can get a lot of crosses in, Moeser said.

Team to bounce back from losses at CCS KIRAN MISNER

STAFF WRITER

P

alo Alto High School’s wrestling team competed at Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships on Feb. 19, where junior Sara Aguilar qualified to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championships; yet it still remains unclear if others will qualify.

While only one wrestler qualified, head coach Jonathan Kessler hopes that they end their season well.

“We aren’t looking at the wins and losses column,” Kessler said. “We’re looking for guys who are fighters, who will fight till the very end.”

The wrestlers participating at CIF are looking forward to practicing before the competition.

“We want to get a little bit more experience before CIF starts,” Kessler said.

Kessler believes that the mentality from CCS will lead to more focused work during practice. After CCS, they know CIF will not be easy.

“We need to feed off of the positive things a bit more and obviously work on the negative things,” Kessler said. “From CCS, we learned that there were a lot of both, so we definitely have some work to do.”

Junior Seth Goyal thinks that the CCS championships were a good precursor before competing at the CIF championships.

“The level of wrestling at CCS is about the same as it will be at CIF, so it was very good practice.” Goyal said.

While some of the wrestlers competing might be outmatched at

CIF, Kessler believes that skill is not the only way to win.

“It’s still all about work ethic and how hard our guys are willing to work,” Kessler said. “We know that other teams are training hard, so we need to do the exact same thing.”

While CIF championships are at the front of the team’s mind, both Goyal and Kessler are looking towards next season, where all wrestlers are expected to return.

“We’re going to give the guys a few weeks off to rest up and relax their bodies, but after that we have to be back in the weight room,” Kessler said.

It’s still all about work ethic and how hard our guys are willing to work. We know that other teams are training hard, so we need to do the exact same thing.

Jonathan Kessler Head Coach For Goyal and his teammates, the way to get better will be changing their style of wrestling.

“After the high school season, I am going to wrestle the Greco-Roman and Freestyle type of wrestling,” Goyal said. “It’s a big difference from the American style we wrestle in high school, but I think it helps me get better.”

CIF championships will be held this Friday, Feb. 26 in Fresno,Calif.

“One of our CIF goals will be to win some matches,” Kessler said. “But I really just want the kids to get some experience and have some fun.”

Friday, Febuary 26, 2016

The Campanile

SPORTS

C3

Vikings set to play in CCS quarterfinals after disappointing losses

to win CCS tournament

Vikings claim fourth seed in CCS Girls basketball poised

MADS MCCLUSKEY/THE CAMPANILE

Senior Justin Hull fights for a rebound against a Gunn player; the Vikings lost 59-72.

GILLIAN ROBINS

STAFF WRITER

O

n Feb. 27, the fourth-seed Vikings will play their first game of Central Coast Section (CCS) Playoffs in the quarterfinals after hard losses.

The seemingly omnipotent Vikings fell on Jan. 29 to the Titans by a score of 72-59 in a battle of blood, sweat and tears. Before the game, the Viking crowd lightly taunted Henry M. Gunn High School, gaining no response. Although their attire was quite loud — most students wore wacky clothing — Gunn fans sat quietly up until the 10th point as part of “Silent Night.” At that point, they exploded with noise and continued to be zealous and loud throughout the game. Across the court, Palo Alto High School students were also packed in the stands, sporting patriotic apparel matching the noise.

Paly missed shots and suffered from ineffective ball possession — off its game from the get-go. Gunn was able to rack up points near the basket.

“I think that we could have passed a lot better,” sophomore Spencer Rojahn said. “We turned the ball over way too many times, and, in order to win these big games, our team needs to limit the turnovers.”

The Titans rapidly gained on the Vikings in the first quarter with a score of 12-22. In the second quarter, the Vikings picked up their game in an attempt to close the deficit, but they fell short, entering halftime down 26-41. A large portion of the points Paly scored were from foul shots.

I think that we could have passed a lot better. We turned the ball over way too many times, and, in order to win these big games, our team needs to limit the turnovers.

Spencer Rojahn Sophomore Much to the dismay of the crowd, about five minutes into the third quarter, Paly junior Miles Tention fell to the floor, afflicted with back spasms. This was especially unsettling because Tention was the star player of Paly’s last game with Gunn. After lying there for a few minutes, Tention stood up and did not play the rest of the game. Later that night Tention posted on the Paly Sixth Man group, informing students on his condition.

“Being hurt was not an acceptable excuse for my play,” Tention said in his post. “And I am sincerely sorry.”

Going into the fourth quarter, the boys were down 54-39. Following Tention, a Titan suffered an injury.

The quarter was highlighted by the two three-pointers from sophomore Spencer Rojahn. The final score was 72-59.

The Vikings had prepared to shut down Gunn’s star player , Alex Gill “In practice before the game, we made sure to work on stopping Alex in the open court,” Rojahn said. “We didn’t accomplish this in the game.”

The Vikings took on Fremont High School on Feb. 6. The boys stayed strong through the fourth quarter, winning the game 54-44.

Tention sat this game out due to his injury, it did not prove to be too much of a hindrance. The boys faced Wilcox on Feb. 17 and claimed victory by a score of 70-60.

A tear or two were shed on Feb. 19, as it was the boys’ Senior Night; against Los Gatos High School. The teams played evenly throughout the entire game. After the first quarter, the boys were losing closely at 16-15.

Junior Ethan Stern played superb defense, intercepting passes with careful aggression. The Vikes ended the half up 29-26, and Gatos caught up with a tie score of 40-40 at the third quarter.

During the fourth quarter, things started getting intense as the boys gained momentum. Within the last minute, Gatos increased their lead to three after making both foul shots, despite the aggressive barking from the Paly crowd. As the clock was winding down, Rojahn and Tention both desperately tried for threepointers in quick succession, sadly to no avail. The Vikings lost 50-53.

The team is looking forward to the CCS playoffs because of the improvement seen over the course of the season.

“I think we’re all excited about Playoffs and have been playing much better towards the end of the season,” senior Justin Hull said. “So we feel prepared and ready to make a run at it.”

Los Gatos steals league title on Senior Night CLAY WATSON

STAFF WRITER

A

fter losing to Los Gatos High School in the last game of the regular De Anza League season, Palo Alto High School’s girls basketball team is ready to head into Central Coast Section (CCS) Playoffs.

The Vikings Honored their seniors on Senior Night against Los Gatos Maddy Atwater, Coco Lovely and Alexis Harris, the Vikings played a hard, scrappy final game, ultimately losing 43-36.

“We were a bit upset to not come up with a win, especially for our seniors, but it was a hard fought game to the end,” junior Skylar Burris said.

Finishing up De Anza League play 9-3, the Vikings fall into second place behind Los Gatos High School and ahead of Mountain View High School. Ultimately, the team relied on their teamwork and well executed post plays to pull off many of those key victories.

“We definitely worked on getting the ball in down low, which is where we are the biggest threat,” Burris said.

“We went through some tough losses which only brought us together and reminded us that we have to work for every win and can’t walk into the gym expecting to beat every team.”

Leading the team in scoring this season was junior Lauren Koyama, who averaged 10 points per game.

Followed by senior Alexis Harris, who averaged nine points per game, and senior Coco Lovely, who averaged 8.7 points per game. In addition to a strong post oriented offense, the Vikings relied on 6 players all averaging over five points per game.

The team averaged a strong 52.2 points per game, on 34 percent field goal shooting. In addition to strong post plays and team oriented offense, the high scoring this season can likely be attributed to the team’s willingness

to follow coach Scott Peters’ game plan, while playing focussing on a selfless style of play, averaging close to eight assists per game.

While the team’s season has been generally successful with a strong record and sound strategies, the Vikings hope to address several issues that they hope to avoid during CCS Playoffs. If the girls want to succeed in the playoffs, they need to remedy these issues.

“Sometimes we’ll lose our heads and fall behind, basically digging ourselves a hole,” Burris said. “We let the refs or the fans or even the other players get in our heads, and we just to need to remember that we’ll only win if we keep playing as a team and put everything we can on the floor.”

In all honesty I think we can go all the way this year. As long as we stick to the game plan and give it our all.

Skylar Burris Junior Paly’s girls basketball team not only qualified for CCS Playoffs, but with a bye in the first round, the team will not play their first game of the playoffs until either Feb. 26 or 27.

With lofty hopes for the playoffs and a first seed in Division 1, the Paly girls basketball team is excited to play any team thrown their way.

“At this point we just want to win.

No matter who we play, we’re going to go into the game to get it done and bring back a D1 championship for Paly,” Burris said.

With a successful season thus far and a proven team strategy based on teamwork and post centric offense, the sky’s the limit for how Paly’s girls basketball team will do.

“In all honesty I think we can go all the way this year,” Burris said. “As long as we stick to the game plan and give it our all.”

Friday, Febuary 26, 2016

The Campanile

WARRIORS VS BULLS

C4

2015-16 GOLDEN RIVAL The 1995-9 T

he players of the San Antonio Spurs could not keep up with their opponents, whos are the second-ranked team in the National Basketball League (NBA), were be Warriors.

Over the course of a few years, the Warriors have integrated young talent and a Spurs on Jan. 25, 2016 showed off their progress and greatest strengths. Their fast-movi tunity for numerous three-pointers and mid-range shots. Their turnovers and fast-break did not stand a chance, and walked away from the game with a 90-120 loss. In the oth their dominance in the NBA. In the 2014-15 season, the Golden State Warriors looked unstoppable, eventually complished their best franchise record since 1976, with a remarkable 67-15 season and year’s to compare with the last, but the Warriors have performed beyond expectations. T league record, but also claiming the best start to a season in the history of all major prof passed the season’s halfway mark with a 37-4 record in their 82-game season. With the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, the widely-accepted best team in National Basketball League ( their season at 72-10. However, the Warriors are quickly approaching many of the Bull

WARRIORS Points Per Game

115.4 Rebounds Per Game

46.8

B

eing the two greatest teams in NBA history, many expected the two teams’ play styles to be similar. However, the dominant offensive dynamic has changed drastically between the two decades that the teams have played in. The Warriors have introduced an innovative attack strategy that has begun to change the league as a whole. Analysts speculated the Warriors’ smaller roster would have been detrimental to the team’s success, but the opposite has been proved. Boosted by a top-tier defense, the Warriors favor an outside game, taking most of their shots from mid-range or behind the 3-point line.

Arguably the most critical aspect of their offensive success has been their selflessness. The Warriors’ roster has done an outstanding job distributing the ball and leads the NBA in assists. Their high-tempo and high-energy on the court have created countless scoring opportunities ­— especially off of fast-breaks — which they also lead the league in. Additionally, the Warriors have been extremely efficient, leading with an efficiency rating of 112.5 points for every 100 possessions. Head coach Steve Kerr has received extensive credit for assembling the squad. On top of their appreciable skill, the team seems to get along with each other very well and displays great mentality during games.

On the other hand, the Bulls played an inside game with a few key core players. Their offensive strategy is what is known as the triangle offense, established by Hall of Fame coach Sam Barry of the University of Southern California.

The system created a sideline triangle with the Center standing in the post, the Forward at the wing, and the Guard in the corner. The other Guards stand on the top of the key and the weak-side forward on the weak-side post. The system was designed to create a pass to place the ball inside the post, but also created isolation between the attacking players.

The Bulls’ team fit this strategy perfectly, with big players who could challenge opponents inside the key, and also grab offensive rebounds.

The team also had numerous outside-shooting threats, who driving players could dish the ball to when defenders moved towards the basket in anticipation of an inside shot. Additionally, the team carried talented players who could effectively pass defenders and maneuver to the basket. With these factors, as well as their unmatchable energy and tenacity, their offense was unstoppable.

Assists Per Game

29.3

B

Shots Made

49.1%

Play Styles

Team Stats

oth the Warriors and the 1995-96 Bulls clearly had amazing seasons. However, another example of their success is also evident in the teams’ statistics. Through 50 games, the Warriors boast many outstanding team averages.

They are currently making 49.1 percent of their shots, including 42.7 percent from the 3-point line. On top of that, they average 115.4 points per game (PPG), as well as 46.8 rebounds per game (RPG) and 29.3 assists per game (APG). Additionally, the unit produces over eight steals per game, 6.26 blocks and hits 75 percent of their free throws. On the other hand, the 95-96 Bulls shot 47.8 percent from around the court, with 40.3 percent of threepointers falling through the net. They averaged 44.6 RPG and 24.8 APG, while making 74.6 percent of their free throws. Also, they offer about nine steals per game and 4.2 blocks. Through 82 games, the team’s mean was 105.1 PPG. Analyzing both teams impressive statistics, the Warriors appear to have an advantage in the majority of the data, mostly dominating three-point shooting, PPG, and APG. Meanwhile the Bulls outperformed the Warriors solely in steals. Both team’s numbers are very impressive and, for the Warriors, there are many more games to be played this year.

Steals Per Game

8

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Friday, Febuary 26, 2016

The Campanile

WARRIORS VS BULLS

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STATE WARRIORS 96 CHICAGO BULLS

se players sported blue and gold jerseys that flashed between the defense. The Spurs, who eing destroyed on the court. Their opposition: the seemingly unstoppable Golden State

an aggressive play style to form an unstoppable team. The Warriors’ matchup against The ing and unpredictable ball movement confused the Spurs defense, opening up the opporks continued to extend the lead, and the Spurs were unable to fight back. Ultimately, they her locker room, the Warriors celebrated their crushing victory and their fans cheered for

cementing their superiority with a championship title. In this season, the Warriors acbroke many individual and team records along the way. Few would have anticipated this To begin the 2015-16 season, the Warriors won 24 consecutive games, not only breaking a fessional sports in America. After a 113-95 loss against the Detroit Pistons, the Warriors eir extraordinary performance, many spectators have begun to compare the team with the (NBA) history. The Bulls currently hold the best NBA season record of all time, finishing l’s records and may soon become the most decorated team in the NBA’s history.

A

team support

lthough Curry’s and Michael Jordan’s forces were monumental in the success of their teams, their overall successes were and are largely dependent on some of their secondary forces. On the court with Curry are players such as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Shooting guard Thompson has been an extremely active player, serving as Curry’s counterpart. Their dual forces have labeled them as the “Splash Brothers.” Thompson is averaging 21.5 PPG while completing 47.5 percent of his shots including 43.4 percent from the arc.

Thompson has stepped up as a leader when Curry has struggled, including scoring 45 points against the Dallas Mavericks at the end of January this year. However, no player on the Warrior’s roster is more productive than power forward Green. Not only does Green average 14.5 PPG, but he also averages 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Green has 19 double doubles, and leads the league in triple triples with 10. Green’s balanced gameplay makes him difficult to defend and an important part of the team. In this year’s All-Star game, both Thompson and Green were selected to play on the reserves list.

As with the Warriors, Jordan was not the Bulls’ only dominant force. Serving as the team’s starting power forward, Scottie Pippen was unquestionably a star player and a force to be reckoned with. Analysts have labeled Pippen as “the perfect wingman” for Michael Jordan. Pippen averaged over 18 points each game, while shooting 46.3 percent around the court and 37.4 percent from three-point range. Additionally, Pippen averaged six rebounds and 5.5 assists each game, although he only managed to make 67.9 percent of his free throw attempts. Pippen may not have been automatic from distance, but he was an extremely reliable and productive player, usually shooting mid-range of low-range shots with accuracy. Another notable teammate was point guard Steve Kerr. While he may not have made a major impact during his year with the bulls, Kerr it is important to note that he currently serves as the head coach as the Warriors this season.

B

Star Players

ehind every team’s groundbreaking success is always a roster that has been equipped with one leading force. As the face of the Warriors, point guard Stephen Curry has dominated in just about every one of his appearances, despite sometimes only playing three quarters. Curry currently leads the league in points per game (PPG) with just under 30. After breaking the single season record for three-pointers made and winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last year, Curry has only improved. He is making 51.8 percent of his shots, and also shooting an exceptional 45.8 percent from behind the three-point line. On top of that, Curry has made 91.8 percent of his free throws, and has averaged 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Curry’s ball-handling, incomparable accuracy from distance and ability to maneuver to the basket have made him nearly impossible to cover.

Similarly, the 1995-96 Bulls squad was led by Michael Jordan, who is largely considered to be the best player in NBA history. That year, Jordan made 49.5 percent of his shots, while also averaging 42.7 percent of his three-point shots. Jordan averaged 6.6 rebounds as well as 4.29 assists each game, however, he only made 83.4 percent of his free throws. Jordan’s pristine accuracy, resilience and ability to perform have distinguished him from any other player to play in the league. He is one of four players to win six championship trophies in his career, and is also a 5-time NBA MVP. Clearly, Curry has big shoes to fill in comparison to Jordan, but last year gained him one championship and NBA MVP, and he has a long career ahead of him.

BULLS Points Per Game

105.1 Rebounds Per Game

44.6 Assists Per Game

24.8 Shots Made

47.8% Steals Per Game

9.1

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le Hechtman d, Cole Hechtman, Bethany Shiang

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Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

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SPORTS Junior Yasuda finds The best Bay Area hiking spots new joy in coaching

Synchronized swimmer transitions roles

Explore a plethora of ecologically diverse trails near Palo Alto CARISSA ZOU

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

SARAH WANG

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

W

hether one is looking for a mild workout, an activity to do with friends or a great view, hiking provides all of the above. Palo Alto provides a variety of spots for hikers to explore, each offering different strengths to its hikers.

KAI ODA/ THE CAMPANILE

Yasuda stands with her team after having performed at the Intermediate Invitational.

TALIA STANLEY

STAFF WRITER

A

mix between swimming, gymnastics and dance, synchronized swimming demands both strength and grace.

Maki Yasuda, a junior at Palo Alto High School, dedicated herself to synchronized swimming for five years before becoming a coach in her sophomore year for girls with similar aspirations as her.

“When I was little, I explored many sports that I didn’t really stick to,” Yasuda said. “Synchronized swimming to me is a really beautiful sport that takes a lot of teamwork and dedication. It’s the most fun sport I’ve ever done.”

Yasuda started off her synchronized swimming career well, winning most improved in swimming when she was in sixth grade. In addition, she won highest-scoring swimmer in various competitions during her first, third, fourth and fifth years. She also won the Triple Crown and Grand Slam during her fourth year. Her duet team took first place at the Intermediate Invitational in Sacramento during her first, third and fourth years.

“I enjoy it because it’s a team sport, and I love my friends from [synchronized swimming], and it’s a nice way to forget about the stress from school and just have fun,” Yasuda said.

As an athlete with, it was not always easy for Yasuda to balance her numerous practices with studying and personal time. Although she did not experience any huge setbacks, she experienced several struggles along the way.

“When I was on [the competitive team] it did get overwhelming, and sometimes I didn’t want to go to practice but by the end of each practice, I always had a good time,” Yasuda said.

During her first year, Yasuda practiced for up to 19 hours each week, and during her second year, up to 23 hours each week. Her last three years were less competitive; however, synchronized swimming became a huge time commitment and eventually, she decided to stop competing.

Although her busy schedule did not allow Yasuda to maintain her huge commitment to synchronized swimming, Yasuda found a good balance when she discovered a coaching opportunity.

“I’ve been coaching for almost two years now, and when I quit, I decided to keep coaching since I didn’t want to give up the sport completely,” Yasuda said.

This is her second year coaching girls between the ages of 7 and 10 at Belle Haven in Menlo Park twice a week.

“I love coaching so much because they [the kids Yasuda coaches] absolutely love synchro,” Yasuda said.

“You can see their determination and passion for the sport [and] it makes me happy to see them grow and to be able to say I helped them.”

Synchronized swimming has ultimately left a lasting impact on her life.

“The coaches were extremely strict about working hard, attendance and being on time and I think that affected me growing up to work hard in everything I do,” Yasuda said.

Foothills Park Open to only Palo Alto residents and their accompanied guests, Foothills Park features a private park close to home. With scenic views and hiking trails for residents of all ages, Foothills Park is a great resource for Palo Altans to explore numerous ecosystems through a variety of hikes.

While the park offers over 15 miles of hiking trails, each of varying lengths, sceneries and difficulties, the longest hiking trail is known as the Los Trancos Trail. Weaved along the Los Trancos Creek, this 7.5-mile long hiking trail transitions between open space views of Portola Valley, woodland forests beside the meandering creek and occasional seasonal waterfalls along the trail. The Los Trancos Trail, while lengthier than other local hikes, is fairly flat and gradually rises 985 feet throughout the hike. If one is looking for a more strenuous hike at this site, the Steep Hollow Trail rises 425 feet in only 0.6 miles and is surrounded by a towering oak woodlands ecosystem. On the other hand, if one is seeking an easier hike, the Sunrise Trail, Coyote Trail, Panorama Trail, Toyon Trail and Chamise Trail are all viable options, with less than two miles of trail and fairly flat terrain.

The Dish “The Dish” is the name of a radio telescope used for space communication located in Stanford University.

However, the term is more commonly used to refer to the paths that weave throughout the Stanford foothills.

The 3.5-mile recreational trail was recently repaved during the summer of 2015, providing a smooth but very hard black pavement for visitors to run and walk on, though bikes and animals are not allowed. One can reach a maximum elevation of 500 feet above sea level.

The Dish is split into two parts, the “Lower Dish” and “Upper Dish,” with two long, steep hills connecting the two parts on either side. The entire dish itself is riddled with plenty of short and long steep hills, providing a strenuous workout for both joggers and walkers.

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Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley boasts a handful of beautiful vistas.

However, visitors only have one chance to get a sip of water from the Dish’s single water fountain, nestled at the end of one of the Dish’s many hills. Water is a must when traversing the Dish, as the black pavement combined with the powerful sun makes for a scorching workout. Once visitors reach the Upper Dish, however, the view of Stanford and Palo Alto makes the heat and steep hills worth it.

Mission Peak Nestled in Fremont, Calif. next to Ohlone College, Mission Peak is known for its breathtaking view at approximately 2,517 feet and its trademark Mission Peak Monument, where many people climb the signature Monument pole at the end of the upward climb. The rigorous 5.6mile hike consists mostly of grassland and rolling hill views, but one might also encounter scraggly trees, natural wildlife and rocky terrain along the way.

As one ventures through the trail, unique views of the South Bay are sprinkled throughout the hike.

The beginning of the hike is not too strenuous, and consists of mostly flat land that weaves through grassy hills. On the other hand, the end of the hike consists of far steeper slopes paired with rocky terrain, making the final strides to the top much more rewarding.

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve At the heart of the beautiful Portola Valley, Windy Hill Open Space Preserve offers two peaks — the Sausal Pond and a diverse array of hiking experiences. The Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is characterized by its breezy grassland ridges and redwood, fir and oak forests.

The Spring Ridge Trail, a total of about 2.7 miles from the Portola Road parking lot and the Windy Hill peak, provides an open trail and 360 degree views as one climbs the hills towards the peak. Although the one-way trip is fairly short, the spring ridge trail is filled with steep hills, making for an enduring hike up to the peak. However, once one reaches the Windy Hill Peak or the Herb Grench Overlook, one will be greeted with spectacular views of the surrounding area, including Palo Alto landmarks like Hoover Tower and the Dish in the distance.

The Hamm Gulch Trail, on the other hand, is a 2.6-mile trail along the middle of the land, and is embedded in the distinctive redwood, fir, and oak forests that constitute the preserve. This trail, along with the 2.3-mile long Razorback Ridge Trail, contain plentiful switchbacks, making the hike much more interesting as one ventures through the winding wonders of the forest. The Eagle Trail, which connects the Hamms Gulch and Razorback Ridge Trails in 0.7 miles, is an especially distinctive hike, seeing as it is not exactly a trail, so much as it is simply the road along the side of Alpine Road.

The Windy Hill Open Space Preserve ensurses that hikers know where they are going by placing helpful signs at every turn or fork in the road. As long as one pays attention to the signs along the trail, one should have no problem navigating the hike.

In general, this site is a great resource for students to explore scenic views on the peaks of Windy Hill and Herb Grench Outlook, meander through the switchbacks of Hamms Gulch and Razorback Ridge or venture an alternative hiking experience along the roads of Eagle Trail.

Rio de Janeiro faces daunting challenges for 2016 games Zika virus, water sanitation and enormous building costs all stand in the way of succesful Summer Olympics ANNA MORAGNE

STAFF WRITER

R

io de Janeiro, along with the rest of Brazil, will be in the spotlight this summer when it hosts the summer Olympics for its first time. In fact, these games will be the first Olympics ever held in South America.

However, many concerns have recently been brought to light as to whether or not Brazil will be adequately prepared.

The recent outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil has become a major problem that could affect the upcoming Olympics. With about 500,000 people traveling to Brazil for the Olympics, the spread of Zika virus worldwide becomes a prominent threat. There are believed to be 1.5 million people in Brazil who have contracted the virus so far, which would make it rather easy for the

disease to be transmitted to travelers during the time of the Olympics.

Although Zika is not harmful to the average person, at most resulting in flu-like symptoms, the virus can be extremely harmful to a pregnant woman’s unborn child. The virus can result in a child being born with severe birth defects and, most notably, an abnormally small head. There is currently no cure or vaccine for Zika virus, making it a poignant issue.

Everybody runs the risk of infection in these polluted waters.

Dr. Carlos Terra Hepatologist The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, said that he does not believe that the Zika virus will be a problem for the Olympics because it will be held during South America’s

winter season — when the weather is drier and cooler, and mosquitos will be easier to control.

The Olympics are going on as scheduled, and officials are keeping a close eye on the Zika virus.

“We are closely monitoring the situation through the CDCs [Centers for Disease Control] and have ongoing contact with the International Olympic Committee, the organizing officials in Rio,” U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in an interview with USA Today.

Along with the Zika virus, there have been concerns about water pollution. Just last summer, 13 out of the 40 members of the American rowing team got sick while in Brazil for the Olympic trials. The illness was reported to be due to the pollution of the lake that the rowers were training in. Olympic sailor Erik Heil also had to be treated for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a flesh-eat-

ing bacteria, shortly after he did an Olympic test event in Rio. Rio is planning on using natural water venues for a multitude of aquatic Olympic events, but the question is whether or not they should be.

The Associated Press recently conducted a study that showed the water in Rio was just as contaminated far offshore as it was close to shore. The contamination is primarily due to raw human sewage flowing into these bodies of water.

“Everybody runs the risk of infection in these polluted waters,” Dr. Carlos Terra said in an interview with Business Insider. Dr. Terra is the head of a Rio-based association of doctors specializing in the research and treatment of liver diseases, Carlos Nuzman, Rio Organizing Committee President, said that the water quality should be resolved by the time that the games begin but it is questionable if this goal is realistic.

Mid Peninsula Orthodontics STACEY D. QUO DDS, MS Specialist in Orthodontics

965 High Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 Tel: 650-328-1600 FAX: 650-327-6556 email: info@orthoquo.com

Due to the construction of new venues for the games, the Brazilian government has evicted over 3,000 families in poverty from favelas, or shanty towns. The new government provided residences are away from the city and in a quiet barren part of Rio. This new location makes it very difficult for the families to move around the city and find adequate transportation. The construction of new venues is going to be costly — it is projected to take $11.1 billion to host the summer Olympics. In the midst of a recession, this may prove difficult for Brazil.

With the country becoming more prominent in the global economy, Brazil would seem like a perfect fit to host the Olympics. However, the health risks that are currently present in Rio create an unsafe environment for the thousands of athletes that will be traveling there this summer.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

SPORTS C7 Sports should allow performance-enhancing drugs Entertainment, performance benefits of using body-building drugs significantly outweigh ethical quandaries NICHOLAS MELVIN

STAFF WRITER

W

here there is competition, there is cheating. Whether it be competition in the classroom, or on the playing field, when there are multiple competing parties, there will always be those who cheat in order to gain an advantage over the rest of the pool. This is an undeniable tenet of competition, and despite the many attempts at reform, there will never be a true stop to this habitual dishonesty. But in some cases, this cheating is far more mild than the media makes it out to be. One example where this is the case is with the usage of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports.

The usage of PEDs in sports is not nearly as bad as the media makes people think. In fact, other than the fact that using these drugs is against the rules, there is little case to be made that PEDs are bad.

A popular case against the usage of performance enhancing drugs is that the usage of such drugs can be detrimental to athlete’s health, but athletes are undertaking serious health risks by simply playing their sports.

Think of the all the buzz surrounding concussions and their long term effects on the human brain, along with all the athletes that have sustained severe injuries. For example, Raymond Johnson Chapman of the 1920 Cleveland Indians, who was struck in the face with a pitch, later died from the brain trauma associated with the pitch. Also, if the usage of these drugs were institutionalized, and safely distributed and regulated, players would not have to rely on illegitimate, unsafe means to receive their drugs.

Another case against the usage of PEDs is the morals behind them. Is it wrong for players to use drugs to make them better? Frankly, who cares? It

COURTESY OF BRAD MANGIN

Barry Bonds hits his record-breaking 739th home run in front of the crowd at AT&T Park. Bonds was later convicted of using PEDs throughout the course of his playing career.

is their morals at stake, so it should not concern the general public. It is their life, their ideals and their choices. And if using PEDs is so morally wrong, then why is it that Sylvester Stallone, famed star of “Rocky” and “Rambo,” used them? Because he was competing against anyone. If this is the case, then why not just let everyone use them, leveling the playing field, rather than only allowing those that are willing to break the rules to get a competitive edge?

A third case against PEDs is that if professional athletes are allowed to use these drugs, it will be impossible to justify the fact to the youth that play sports, who admire these athletes, that they cannot use them too. Now this may seem like a strong, compelling argument, but in reality, it is not. If the usage of these drugs was institutionalized, then the distri-

bution of these drugs would be easier to contain. If everyone was receiving their PEDs from a central source, instead of many back alley dealers, it would be far easier for the usage of these drugs to be contained to strictly those who should be using them.

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did more than just drive countless home runs into the bleachers; they also drove countless fans into the bleachers.

When PEDs are integrated into sports, the popularity of the sport skyrockets. A prominent example of this is in baseball. Before the steroid era, America’s pastime was losing its edge. People were drifting away from the great game out of boredom and

frustration after a strike shortened both the 1995 and 1996 seasons. In these seasons, baseball’s average attendance plummeted, from over 30,000 people per game, to below 25,000. Then came the steroid era.

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did more than just drive countless home runs into the bleachers; they also drove countless fans into the bleachers. The game was more popular than ever, with the average number of fans attending games rising to well over 33,000 people. And it was all thanks to the use of drugs to improve “player ability.” Then the ban on PEDs came in, along with the more frequent testing, and now, baseball is once again drifting away from its throne. As the players lose their astounding abilities, ith the number of fans per game begins to once again dipping below 30,000.

Another point to be made, is that not all Player-Enhancing Drugs are harmful, as many people believe. In fact, there are many which have not only been proven to not be harmful, but have also been proven to benefit people’s health and athletic ability. One example of this is the drug Quercetin, a natural ingredient normally found in green tea and onions.

It has been proven to help respiratory and cardiovascular health, balance blood pressure, help alleviate stress, along with its main benefit: improved athletic performance.

The usage of PEDs in sports is one of the most lopsided debates in sports, and it is one with little base behind it. The only thing that is truly bad about the usage of PEDs is that it is against the rules. Therefore, the only logical solution is to lift the ban. from professional sports.

Alternatives to failing Pro Bowl system British soccer setting

Though NBA All Star Game successful, NFL exhibition drops in ratings SAMUEL YUN

Underdog Leicester City looks to finish on top

STAFF WRITER

A

s National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Weekend comes to an end and its immense success, the decline in popularity of the National Football League’s (NFL) Pro Bowl has become even more apparent. This year’s Pro Bowl game reached an all time low in ratings and the situation doesn’t seem to be getting better soon. Since 2013, the Pro Bowl has seen a steady decline in ratings, from 7.7 to 5.0 out of 10.0 in a matter of three years.

This downturn has once again forced the NFL into discussions about removing the Pro Bowl altogether.

“I think our biggest standard has to be what we expect from the NFL and what our fans expect from the NFL,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in his annual state-of-the-league address. “It’s not the kind of [Pro Bowl] that I think we want to continue to have in its current format, based on what we saw last week.”

Goodell has previously suggested that removing the game would be the best course of action for the upcoming seasons.

However, completely cutting the Pro Bowl out of the NFL schedule should not be the league’s response to a sub-par showing. Revisions can be made by taking inspiration from other sports and suggestions from fans.

One request called for is the skills competition. Although discontinued in 2007 due to its low popularity, many fans have been calling for it on social media. If the NFL was to increase its publicity and broadcast the event live, it could potentially build into an event similar to the NBA’s three-point shootout, slam dunk contest and skills challenge.

Previous NFL skills competitions have included the 40-yard dash, throwing for accuracy, kicking for distance and the bench press. Other challenges could include various tests run in the NFL Combine, an annual event in Chicago where college graduates demonstrate their skill set to NFL scouts. Such additions could pique the interest of viewers.

up for thrilling finish WILL LEIGHTON

STAFF WRITER

B

COURTESY OF ZIMBIO.COM

John Kuhn of the Green Bay Packers runs the ball for a gain in the 2015 Pro Bowl.

Additionally, more incentive should be given to encourage popular athletes to participate in the events. In the recent years, many players who were initial selections to the Pro Bowl have deferred, simply due to lack of interest or physical health concerns.

Last year, the team that won the Pro Bowl collectively received $55,000 while the losers took $28,000, an insignificant amount for professional athletes. If the stakes were higher and a greater reward was given out, perhaps more athletes would be willing to participate.

This year’s Pro Bowl game reached an all time low in ratings and the situation doesn’t seem to be getting better soon.

If money does not prove to be the correct solution, then pride could factor in as well. By giving players a chance to defend their dignity and gain bragging rights, more effort would be displayed. A format such as rookies versus veterans could be a way to dig up this pride factor.

The younger players would have the chance to claim that they have beaten a 2-time Super Bowl Most Valuable

Player while the older-players would have their name to uphold.

Another alternative that could work is pitting players against each other based on their roots. Players generally have strong and loyal ties to where they were raised from so having them represent their hometown or region could serve as another way to provide incentive for competition.

Fans can also be used to persuade players to play harder during the Pro Bowl. Since athletes owe their supporters their career as their source of income, showing respect back would be sensible for every football player.

By having the MVP of the Pro Bowl’s team host the following year’s Super Bowl, there would be an incentive for fans to want their team’s representative to perform well, thus translating into incentive for the players to perform well. Extending beyond the fans, the city that could potentially host the Super Bowl would see their popularity rise, to add an even greater impact.

Pride, loyalty, fans and location all serve as universal incentives for athletes. It’s about time the NFL chooses to use those traits to make the Pro Bowl great again.

arclay’s Premier League (BPL), also known as England’s Premier League, is England’s national “football” league. Established on Aug. 15, 1992, BPL has twenty competing teams vying to place in the top four, which would allow them to play in the UEFA championship league, a Europe-wide football tournament. There is a huge incentive to do well apart from placing in the top four; teams that end in the last three places must drop out of the league and are swapped for new teams.

Each season is comprised of 38 busy weeks and lasts from August to May and is the main form of British sports entertainment. With 380 games in a BPL season, the teams each play 38 games and compete against every other team in the league twice: once at home, and once away.

As stated earlier, twenty teams from various regions around the UK compete against each other in the league. A few of the most prominent teams include Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City. In recent times, these teams made up the “Big Four”, dominating the entire league and coming together to finish first multiple times.

An Unexpected Leader Historically only five out of the twenty teams have been able to win the league: Manchester United, who has won 13 times, Chelsea, with four wins, and then Arsenal, Manchester City, and the Blackburn Rovers, who have won three, two and one times, respectively. Following this pattern, Chelsea walked away last year as the 2015 BPL champion. It is only week 26 but already it looks like the season will end quite differently. Never-before-winner Leicester City (pronounced “Lester”) has managed to maintain the top position in the rankings, with the Tottenham Hotspurs and Arsenal close behind.

Mid-Season Recap This season Chelsea is playing to defend their title as champions, for

the fourth time, however this hasn’t been easy for them. As of right now Chelsea is in 12th place, which can be attributed to chemistry issues within the team. AFC Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City are the three teams which have been promoted to the Premier League this season. Out of the three, Watford is doing the best in 9th place,with the other two in 15th and 17th, respectively.

The current league leader, Leicester City has had an incredible comeback from last year, when they finished 14th in the league.

The current leader, Leicester City has had an incredible comeback from last year, when they finished 14th in the league. Ironically this is partially due to their hiring of a new coach, Claudio Ranieri, former manager of Chelsea. Ranieri can’t take all the credit, Jamie Vardy, a forward who joined the club in 2012, was awarded Barclays Player of the Month in October and November 2015 for his stellar performance this season.

Vardy also has 19 goals, three ahead of his nearest competitor: Tottenham’s Harry Kane, a forward.

Vardy’s teammate Riyad Mahrez is also influential to Leicester’s success recently. Mahrez, a midfielder, is currently number one on Barclays Player Performance Index, scoring 713.

The index is a measure of a player’s performance based on winning performance, player’s performance per match, appearances, goals scored, assists and clean sheets.

Looking forward With the underdog Leicester City in the lead, and Tottenham close behind, sports fans everywhere can only hope that the rest of the season is as thrilling as it has been for these past few weeks. Perhaps a new favorite will be found for some in Leicester City if they manage to hold on to their number one position, or will there be a last minute upset changing everything?

Only time will tell.

Friday, February 26, 2016

The Campanile

SPORTS

C8

ATHLETE OF THE

MONTH TEXT AND DESIGN BY JOANNA FALLA STAFF WRITER

DESIGN BY ANNA MORAGNE STAFF WRITER

Alexis Harris with The Campanile’s own

Kai Oda

THE FIGHT FOR PALY CYCLING A group of kids go riding during a normal weekend. While most people wear whatever comfortable clothing they want when they bike, this group of kids is wearing skin-tight suits and shoes that attach to the pedals. Balancing school and sports is always a difficult task, but when that sport is not even offered as a school activity, it can be even more challenging.

Juniors Xander Koo and Alex Gao of Palo Alto High School and Henry M. Gunn High School respectfully have joined together to petition to add cycling to the list of sports offered in the Palo Alto district. Koo has been working to make cycling a sport since the first semester of the 2015-16 school year. He started working with Gao in case the district would rather offer the sport as a district sport instead of individual school teams.

[] “Taking on the challenges of biking alone is usually hard and it’s easy to give up but to have a community within school that is open to spending time with their peers to bike will build a stronger connection between students.”

ALEX WANG JUNIOR

“Gunn has a group of around 15-20 people interested in it becoming a sport,” Gao said. “Right now we ride and train together as friends for the race season this spring. We're talking to [Superintendent Max McGee] about having it become a sport, as both members of Paly and Gunn are interested; things move really slowly in the district, so we haven't gotten much word.”

Other schools such as Mountain View High School and Los Altos High School have also expressed interest in starting a sport, and Gao thinks that his joint team proposal will succeed if enough people sign up. Currently the training situation for the potentially district-wide sport has complicated issues with

safety and liabilities, but most of the students in the Bay Area have already met through club teams. While there is already a junior league team offered to minors, Gao and Koo hope to receive any form of cycling offered at their respective schools.

“I think it all depends on what the district hopefully decides, and what is most convenient for the district,” Gao said. “We train together as friends’ due to liabilities with association with the schools, but right now we ‘ride together with friends’ as separate schools.”

As well as going through administration and the logistics of the sport being sponsored by the school, the possibility of a PE unit centered around cycling instead of an actual sport offered by the school is also a disputed topic.

“As far as I know, they've talked about it at the PE steering committee and Athletic Advisory Committee,” Gao said.

While to an average person it seems that cycling is a more relaxed sport, it requires a large amount of stamina and strength to be able to ride on all levels of incline at any speed necessary to overcome fellow competitors. Koo says that a student must also be a well-rounded athlete in order to keep up with the standard level of excellence.

“It requires a lot of aerobic capability, especially for sprinters, in which case you would need a lot of explosive power,” Koo said. “For climbers you would need to be pretty small and have good stamina.”

Many cyclists go to several different tracks around the Bay Area primarily utilized by racing minors. The Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose would be used as their competing location as well. Both Gao and Koo believe that potential cycling competitions would work in a similar fashion to cross country — it would be organized by invitationals between two or more teams at a time.

“There is a league for juniors 18 and under racing in California, so we would probably race there,” Koo said. “The basic form is a race with all teams so it would be sort of like how cross country works with invitationals.”

The Bay Area has many cycling clubs where the boys have met others who share their same passion, but struggle to find the time for such a complex sport with expensive materials involved.

Koo speculates that the reason the administrators are questioning the validity of the sport may stem from the risk factor and possible expenses that would cut into the already tight budget for sports.

“There are a lot of liabilities considering it’s a high risk sport, and there’s also a barrier in terms of monetary cost since bikes cost money and raceworthy bikes are expensive,” Koo said. “There’s a lot of equipment involved.”

The bikes might be expensive and the risk might be high, but Koo stands with the claim that the sport is in high demand and has valid claim for becoming a school-sponsored sport. The fast-paced competition and the bonds between the friends he made along the way make it all worth it, according to Koo. “[Cycling] is definitely a legitimate sport, and it would be good for interested cyclists to have a way to go out and compete,” Koo said. “Also there are quite a few interested people, at least within my social circles.”

Alex Wang, another Paly junior interested in the possibility of implementing a cycling team at Paly, agrees that the bonds created through cycling pushes others to keep going and improving.

“Taking on the challenges of biking alone is usually hard and it's easy to give up but to have a community within school that is open to spending time with their peers to bike will build a stronger connection between students and make cycling a lot more accessible to students.”

Although Koo competes in the sport as a hobby, it requires a good amount of work and solid technique to keep up with the other cyclists.

“The skill level is relatively high I think,” Koo said. “I'm definitely not the best cyclist — there are others at Paly and Gunn who are a lot more experienced than me — but

I guess it's more of an interest that I want to continue pursuing.”

The biggest reason that most people are drawn to the sport of cycling is due to the rush of going down the cycling track at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour by professional standards. Cycling is a fast-paced sport with little room for error, and although Koo appreciates the sport for the high stakes and close friends, he started participating in the sport for a more meaningful reason.

[] ‘Being myself, a scrawny Asian kid, it’s kind of difficult to do a lot of mainstream sports just because of my size disadvantage. But I felt the thrill of going really fast was something that appealed to me, so I’ve stuck with it until now.’’’

XANDER KOO JUNIOR

“My late friend Harry Lee got me into cycling around freshman year,” Koo said. “He gave me his old road bike and we went on a few rides. He was the one who actually got me interested since he was always talking about bikes and cycling.”

Koo continues to participate in the sport to honor old friends and to strengthen bonds with the friends he has made along the way. Another benefit to doing cycling is its inclusivity to all body types makes cycling applicable for any type of athlete; while one teen excels at sprinting, another teen does better at climbing.

“Being myself, a scrawny Asian kid, it's kind of difficult to do a lot of mainstream sports just because of my size disadvantage, Koo said.

“But I felt the thrill of going really fast was something that appealed to me, so I've stuck with it until now.”

Senior Alexis Harris plays center on the girls basketball team. Her height and strength, coupled with her impeccable shooting, has helped push the girls to have a winning season.

The Campanile: What do you enjoy most about basketball?

Alexis Harris: I enjoy everything about basketball.

TC: All right, who do you look up to on the team?

AH: I look up to myself on the team because I’m the only tall player and I have the guards to motivate me to look up to myself.

TC: So how do you get better at basketball to beat the guards?

AH: I train outside of school with a trainer, he helps me with everything.

He’s the one who actually helped me get my scholarship.

TC: When did you start playing basketball?

AH: I’ve been playing basketball since I was four years old. When I was young I didn’t know I was going to be this tall, but now I am, and basketball is my passion.

TC: So has your height helped you become a better player?

AH: My height helps out a lot, but being around so many people in my family who play or played basketball motivate me to do better and keep playing.

TC: What is it like to be taller than everybody on the team?

AH: Well since everyone calls me “Tree,” it’s fun, but some days I’m like “Ugh, why am I this tall.”

TC: Alright, if you could say one thing to your coach what would it be?

AH: I don’t know, would you cut any swear words out? Uhh, no comment.

TC: What has basketball taught you?

AH: I’ve learned to be a better player, both physically and emotionally. It keeps me composed, and when I’m stressed out it’s something I can go to focus.

TC: So it’s all good stuff?

AH: Basketball keeps me in-shape, motivated and everything. It keeps me together and without it I wouldn’t really know what to do. Although I’m tall, I don’t like other sports. I only like track, so I might do some of that.

TC: What will you do with the rest of your senior year?

AH: I need to get my knee better because I injured it at the beginning of the season and it still hurts some days. I’ll train, maybe do a little bit of track, maybe not.

TC: So no wild parties?

AH: Oh no, I’m going to party hard!

You better believe it. After basketball season I’m going to be free to party, to turn up with the squad, all within legal means.

TC: If you could go back to being a freshman what would you do differently?

AH: Well I would maybe listen to my older peers a little bit. I ignored them because half the time they didn’t know what they were talking about, but maybe I would listen to them.

TC: You were probably better than them anyways. Do you have any pregame rituals to help you get psyched up?

AH: I turn up with the team in the locker room, dance, party and record them on Snapchat. Before every game you’ll see a Snapchat story and I’ll be going “Mmmm k… Mmmm k.”

TC: What will you miss most about basketball?

AH: I’ll miss the team a lot. I’ve been playing with Coco and Maddy for seven years and the other girls for at least five. I’m going to be on a whole other team, going through college and I’m going to be the youngest person on the team because I’m only 17.