Issue 7: April 16, 2024

The Campanile

Teachers Balance

No mark

In eforts to narrow the achievement disparity between underrepresented minorities and the rest of the student body, PAUSD has begun promoting the use of “No Mark” to replace F grades and Pass to replace D grades.

Board of Education Trustee Jennifer DiBrienza said the achievement disparity is not a result of a student’s ability

Te metric for determining what counts as sufcient work, however, is subjective and placed at the individual teacher’s discretion.

“It is dependent upon what the student has done or not done and determined by the teacher, whether there's going to be an appropriate time for the student to make it up possibly, or there's not enough

DiBrienza said minority students are disproportionately hurt by current grading policies.

“If you're doing poorly in a class (and) you have a C, you drop your grade on purpose to get into that D to F range in the hope that your teacher will provide you a new mark, and you'll be able to make that up to full credit later,” Gottipati said.

However, Gottipati also said systemic change is a positive.

After weeks of campaigning, ASB cers have been elected for the 2024-25

Junior Julian Hong was re-elected as President and will work alongside junior and Vice President Amani FossatieMoine. Freshman Paul Wang will take over as the Treasurer, and sophomore Gavin Lin will retain his position as

At the individual grade level, juniors Kennedy Do and Tasman Johnson became senior class president and vice president, respectively. Sophomore James Park will be junior class president and sophomore Emily Tang will be junior class vice Freshmen Katie Kim and Leilani Chen will serve as the sophomore class president Kim said she noticed a lack of underclassman representation in school events, which she hopes to change in the “If I do a good job of representing my class, at least I can add on and advocate for my class in certain (ASB) discussions,” Kim said. “(I would like) a little bit more communication with the class in terms of what they want instead of assuming

Park said he wants to increase transpar-

“I will propose to amend the ASB constitution to make it so that we have to pass a budget report every semester so people can see where their money is going,” Park said. “I hope to make ASB an organization that’ll better serve the student body.”

“Latinx students are six times more likely than their whiter peers to get an F than a ‘No Mark,’” DiBrienza said.

DiBrienza also said if the work is not made up by a certain timeframe, the student will receive the grade they would have originally received, most likely an F.

A “No Mark” does not replace any other letter grade, as PAUSD considers Ds and above as passing grades for

While “No Marks” have always been an option for PAUSD teachers to use, students mainly had to self-advo-

“Some subgroups of our population were advocating for a ‘No Mark,’ and therefore given a chance to make up that work and get a better grade, and other students were not getting that opportunity, whether because they weren't advocating for it, or it wasn't being ofered to them or they didn't know it existed,” DiBrienza said.

Kline said receiving a “No Mark” has several academic advantages compared to an F. cit in the GPA because F holds 50 more points than any other grade,” Kline said. While Fs and Ds drop students’ GPAs, “No Marks” and Passes do not.

School Board representative and junior Karthi Gottipati raised concerns about the policy being exploited for abuse.

“ Te best possible option would be to make the system apply equitably, as opposed to just getting rid of it because it has issues,” Gottipati said.

Kline said the second chance a “No Mark” gives opens up new learning opportunities for students.

“It has a signifcant positive impact in terms of students' ability to maintain eligibility in outside events and organizations,” Kline said. “It also allows students (to) take a class that's not as difcult and would continue to fulfll the graduation requirement, because currently, if you fail a class, you need to retake that same class.”

Gottipati said the fexibility of a “No Mark” option provides students with more chances of proving their academic ability.

“It defnitely makes sense to provide an opportunity to make up classes if you get super sick (or) something happens to you that makes you unable to do well in the class,” Gottipati said. “ Tat shouldn't impact you, and you should be able to make that up, because I believe in second chances, and I think providing those second chances are important.”

Paly Teatre presents Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’

Paly Teatre’s spring production, “Hamlet,” premiered at the Performing Arts Center on April 13.

Set in modern day Denmark, Prince Hamlet (senior Kyle Vetter) is commanded by his father’s ghost to avenge his murder by his uncle Claudius (senior Jack Champlin) in his attempt to become king.

Unlike previous spring plays from Paly Teatre, which typically open in early March, the difculty of a Shakespearean play such as “Hamlet” meant more time was needed to prepare for the play, according to junior and Assistant Director Aether Yun.

“Aside from just memorization, ‘Hamlet’ is also a longer play,” Yun said. “It’s also more intensive in blocking because you can’t rely on just the text to convey the meaning of a monologue or soliloquy.”

Senior Mireia Sainz Blasi said one of the biggest challenges she faced while preparing for the play was balancing her work for theatre with other schoolwork. As the Stage

Manager, Sainz Blasi has to attend every rehearsal.

“It's a really big time commitment, and I'm in the (Performing Arts Center) from the end of school until 6:30 p.m. every day,” Sainz Blasi said. “But luckily, not everyone is called at all times, and so the main characters in a lot of scenes have of days.”

Teatre teacher Sarah Termond said as a result of the later premiere date, some of the cast had time conficts with spring sports. “Scheduling logistics was complicated,” Termond said. “But pushing our spring show back defnitely helped ease the stress in a lot of students involved. Compared to last year, we felt much more calm during preparations this year.”

Termond also said high schools rarely perform “Hamlet,” but this play allows for creative freedom in their interpretation since many of Shakespeare’s lines could have double meanings.

“I've been joking that I'm directing like the most anti-Hamlet Hamlet play,” Termond said. “I do think that the way we’re interpreting it is going to make it

have a little more action than people might be expecting.”

Wang said he ran for ASB Treasurer because he wanted to try something new dent he could do well in.

“For next year, my goals are to … make sure our funding is in check, as well as the proper utilization of the new semester budget reports,” Wang said. “One signifcant change I want to make next year is to subsidize all dances. So this year ASB subsidized prom a bit but we didn't subsidize the other dances — Hoco and the Welcome Back to School dance.”

Because of ASB’s role in organizing student activities, Park said he plans to increase regular student engagement in ASB.

“ Tere's a very common misconception that student government is a very exclusive class to only a small population of the school,” Park said. “Including more people will mean that we get more participation with activities and will also beneft the student body in general because it makes it seem less like it’s a very exclusive society and more of a body that actually serves the students.”

To counter this preconception, Chen said she wants to change how accessible information is to students.

Tings like the ASB minutes and budget reports — they're all available online, but students don't really know where to fnd them,” Chen said. “People are constantly asking, ‘What's the schedule?’ ‘What are late start Mondays?’ and if we make that information something that's a little bit more available, like on Instagram, that's gonna be something better for students so that everybody can feel like they know what's going on.”

Chen said she also plans to make Paly a better place for students mentally.

“I noticed through my past seven months at Paly that, at times, there's a very toxic mentality that a lot of students have, and maybe even myself, of the need to achieve, and I want to be able to do more things that encourage students to be proud of what they've done,” Chen said. “I would really like to integrate more events based on social activism.” Chen said the breakfast social she organized this year was one of her favorite events because of the student involvement. “I want to do more socials for the sophomores and combine great events with freshmen, juniors or seniors,” Chen said. “I hope to be able to work even harder than I did this past year to create more events and changes in our school that students can notice and appreciate.”

Annika Chu Staf Writer Senior Jack Champlin brings the pivotal wedding scene of 'Hamlet' to life. Teatre teacher Sarah Termond said, “I do think that the way we’re interpreting it is going to make it have a little

A2

Students face logistical issues with new FAFSA

Following this year’s attempt by the Department of Education to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, completion rates dropped by 31% for seniors compared to the same time last year.

With the updated 2024-25 so-called Better FAFSA, various logistical and technical issues faced students trying to fll out the new application.

FAFSA is the ofcial form used to determine student eligibility for college federal fnancial aid. Many educational institutions, individual colleges and universities, also use FAFSA to determine a student’s

sounded like it could help families in need of aid.

“Especially for families who don’t make a lot of money, a lot of the questions were irrelevant,” Cernobori said. “With smart logic and dynamic application, it was supposed to be able to fgure out who those people were and change the questions accordingly to make it much easier.”

Although Del Pilar said the FAFSA typically opens in October, the Better FAFSA launch date was pushed because it wasn’t ready, and the law creating the Better FAFSA only required it to be ready by Dec. 31, 2023.

to hear the complications it has prompted, especially for low income students.

“(Te Department of Education) realized they had miscalculations, even a slight miscalculation on their part can really afect a lot of people and the amount of aid that they get,” Yang said. While assisting students failing to fll out the form, Cernobori said she’s been continuously dialing the FAFSA support hotline for help.

“Sometimes they could help us, and sometimes they could not,” Cernobori said. “(Students) were incredibly frustrated and stressed because it wasn’t working. Tey

Trust, the National College Attainment Network, NASFAA and student fnancial aid counselors,” Del Pilar said. “All of these organizations are creating resources and are trying to support students in completing the FAFSA. I would say don’t lose hope because of a single form that may prevent you from going to college.”

In response to the Department of Education sending FAFSA information to colleges two and a half months

use the original or updated records for packaging aid ofers to ensure students can make important education decisions,” the Department spokesperson said.

Del Pilar said he is severely disappointed by how the FAFSA process transpired this year, and the Department of Education cannot continue delaying the process.

“ Tis is the frst time I’ve ever seen in the admission cycle where students will

Sam Liccardo wins 16th district primary election

After a tie for second place between two contestants in California’s 16th Congressional District election to replace outgoing Rep. Anna Eshoo, two individuals have asked for a recount. Te winner of this election will be the frst new representative for the 16th district since Eshoo took o former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo ended the race with 38,489 votes, more than 8,000 votes ahead of the two second-place fnishers. But California changed to a top-two system for Congressio nal races in 2012, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and California Representative Evan Low both ended this race with 30,249 votes. According to KQED, the two individuals who both separately demanded a recount, are Jonathan Padilla, Licciardos tor for his 2014 campaign for mayor, and Paci Dan Stegink.

Eshoo, who is set to retire in the fall, said in an email to Te Campanile that she wants to know the motives behind the two people who demanded the recount.

“My questions are: Who is paying for this and under what auspices?” Eshoo said. “ Te voters of my congressional district deserve to know

Additionally, Eshoo said the same rules that apply to her should be applied to any other candidates out of

“Just as I’ve been required to follow full disclosure every year of who has made contributions to me and in what sum, so too should the person who has requested the recount,”

Regardless of who’s funding the recount, junior Zachary Crystal said he

“I didn’t know how it was going to end and nally they tied, so that was crazy,” Crystal said.

“I’m not surprised that a recount was requested though.”

Crystal also said the recount will help the election accurately represent what the people want.

“It makes sense to have a recount because having three candidates that could be seen as pretty similar could split the votes in a way where the winning candidate might not be the actual favorite choice,” Crystal said.

Sophomore Finnegan Schoebel disagreed, and said the recount is a waste of time and not worth it.

“It’s silly to ask for a recount because it’s not going to make more than superfcial changes, and it’s delaying the peaceful transfer of power,” Schoebel said. “Considering all these factors, it’s basically just a publicity stunt.”

History teacher Adam Yonkers said this election highlights the importance of every eligible person voting, regardless of their political beliefs.

“Democracy matters and your vote counts, it was just so close,” Yonkers said. “ Tat’s one of the things we sometimes forget about, and the outcome of this election is a great reminder of that.”

Te campaigns of Low, Simitian and Liccardo did not respond to Te Campanile’s requests for an interview.

Meryem Orazova

Writer

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Heather Song Social Media

Palo Alto City Council removes ban on gas infrastructure developments

In compliance with a federal court ruling issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Palo Alto City Council agreed unanimously to stop enforcing its ban on gas infrastructure development on Feb. 26, no longer requiring new buildings to be all-electric.

Castilleja senior Julia Zeitlin, executive director of the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition, thinks the court ruling is a mistake because the city’s previous ban on new natural gas appliances provided numerous benefts.

“Gas appliances can leak harmful chemicals into our home that are pretty detrimental to human health,” Zeitlin said. “ Tere’s evidence that shows growing up with a gas stove in your home could lead to a higher likelihood of developing asthma and other respiratory conditions.”

Because of the environmental and health benefts ofered, Nadr Essabhoy, a broker associate with Compass, a real estate agency, said electric appliances have begun increasing in popularity.

“In the past, a lot of people preferred gas stoves and ranges for cooking,” Essabhoy said. “I would say that is still a little bit of a bend towards that. However, more people are starting to change their view and are starting to become OK with electric stove tops and ranges.”

However, due to the ruling, Zeitlin said Palo Alto no longer has codes that go above and beyond the state-mandated environmental requirement. Te state of California has these base-level energy efciency requirements that all buildings must meet, but in progressive cities like Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Jose, these cities can develop reach codes that reach beyond these energy standards,” Zeitlin said. “Palo Alto has already moved to pause that ruling and no longer has a reach code.”

For many residents, Essabhoy said the real issue with converting to all electric appliances is upgrading their current electrical systems.

“Let’s say you had a gas range and a gas water heater, and now you wanted to switch it to electric,” Essabhoy said. “In Palo Alto, a lot of homes are older and they may not have the electric capacity in the panel to accommodate an electric appliance. So that would mean replacing the entire electric panel to be able to have an electric water heater or electric stove.”

Zeitlin said when new gas appliances are added, they can stay there for a long time.

“People are installing gas appliances that will last for 10 plus years,” Zeitlin said.

With gas appliances in these houses lasting a decade plus, Zeitlin said the city’s reversal on banning new gas appliances could have efects on its goals surrounding global warming.

Tis goal (is) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels 80% by 2030,” Zietlin said. (And), a huge portion of Palo Alto’s greenhouse gas emission comes from natural gas (such as stoves).”

While costly, Zeitlin said in the end, the transition to electric would have an overall positive impact on Palo Alto.

Tere’s obviously challenges with making these changes,” Zeitlin said. “ Tere’s a higher upfront cost at times to purchase electric appliances, but over time, these purchases can actually in some cases, save money.”

But Essabhoy said even if the city required all new buildings to be fully electric, it would only make a small dent in overall emissions. “ Te new houses are such a small stock of overall housing,” Essabhoy said. “So if we want to try to get to a greater solution, then I think more of the question is how do we incentivize people to move to electric not only new units but all units.”

Palo Alto Chief Building Ofcial George Hoyt said he wasn’t available to comment on this story.

Made by Social Justice Pathway sophomores Brendan Giang, Emily Tang and Max Reiter, Te “ Treads of Change” documentary won frst prize in the High School West Division of the StudentCam 2024 competition. Te annual contest is hosted by American cable company C-Span.

Te six-minute documentary details the efects of fast fashion on climate change. Social justice and social studies teacher Austin Davis said while the C-Span competition was announced in July, he introduced the project to SJP in early November.

Tis year, the competition had two prompts: ‘In the last 20 years, what has been the biggest change or the most important change in America,’ and ‘In the next 20 years, what will be the biggest change in America,’” Davis said. “People did a whole variety of topics for my class, including homelessness, international relations, health care, school shooting and other big issues of the day.”

Giang said the group immediately thought to look to the future after reading the prompts, preferring topics with solutions where people could participate with minimal inconveniences.

Eventually, Giang said the group settled on tackling fast fashion, addressing how wasteful spending on the latest trendy wear has a negative impact on the climate and urging others to be more conscious in their purchases.

“It really came down to something everyone interacts with every day: the closet,” Giang said. “Everyone wears clothes. Everyone buys clothes. But there’s a diference between conscious purchases and simply splurging on fast fashion brands. In fact, if every American bought one fewer piece of clothing every year, it would be the equivalent to removing the carbon emissions of half a million cars of the road for that year.”

Giang also said the project was his frst documentary, and the process presented a lot of challenges, including scheduling interviews, shootings A-roll and B-roll, editing the footage, balancing the sound, setting up lighting systems, working the camera and animating scenes with Adobe After Efects.

“I’ve never put this much efort into something like flmmaking and documentary making before,” Giang said.

Davis said he was happy with the competition results.

“ Tis is my frst time doing the C-Span project,” Davis said. “ Tere were so many aspects to making a documentary, and they put together some really good videos. I’m super proud of them.”

You can watch the documentary on C-Span’s StudentCam website at https://www.studentcam.org/.

ART BY ALBERT JUNG

MAGGIE MA/USED WITH PERMISSION

Sophomore Brendan Giang outlines his winning project on a whiteboard. Giang said, “I’ve never put this much efort into something like flmmaking and documentary making before.”

Spotlight

Senior Maxwell Zhang walks onto the golf course, hefting a club and the rest of his gear while wearing a green polo shirt he found in his closet. He looks at his teammates beside him, who are also wearing mismatched green shirts. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the other teams in the tournament, all sporting shiny new gear and custom polo shirts.

Zhang said the minimal amount of funding for gold led to equipment shortages.

“For the frst two years I played, we didn’t actually have a uniform,” Zhang said. “ Tey just wanted us to wear a green shirt. In tournaments, we can see the other teams have more funding.”

Zhang said golf costs a lot of money to upkeep and play.

“For golf, it’s pretty expensive because for some players that can be up to $1000,” Zhang said. “(Golf balls) take a really big chunk of funds because we have to practice (often). Approximately 15 players need to hit around 50 balls each, so you can see how the price adds up.”

GENERAL FUNDING

According to the Paly Athletics website, parent expectations include fundraising and providing fnancial support. According to the 2022-23 Athletic Department’s Manual, PAUSD provides funding for facility access, coach stipends, transportation budgets up to $50,000 and equipment reconditioning up to $15,000. All other revenue for general athletics comes from donations, concessions, ticket sales, sponsorships, apparel, merchandise and seasonal or annual fundraising events. Te manual also states “the minimum donation goal per student is $250,” and “every team will hold a team giving campaign to support their respective program’s needs and goals.” For Paly’s Sports Booster, their goal is to “raise funds and support special initiatives and capital improvement projects” for athletics through general donations and fundraisers. Te program outreaches to Paly students and parents, but also to alumni and the broader Palo Alto community. However, many sports are self-funded and do not rely on the booster’s program. AD Council and Student Athlete Leadership Team member Tasman Johnson said Paly Athletics is in the process of organizing the Paly Sports Boosters Program again but has yet to determine when it will be functional.

“I think (Paly Athletics) is trying to (bring back Sports Boosters),” Johnson said. “Some parents did step up this year for the tree lot, for example. I know (Sports Boosters) are looking for parents (to participate).” Johnson said teams control their own budget and can conduct fundraisers.

“(For Paly Athletics), money goes to an overall general budget, and then each team has their own budget, which the coaches can do as they wish like buying uniforms and supplies for their teams,” Johnson said. “ Tey can also fundraise to get money for their teams by working concessions at basketball or football games or doing Stanford parking. Te money from that will go to the individual team’s accounts.”

Johnson also said ASB manages the accounts for Paly Athletics, as it allows for greater student representation.

Te money in Paly Athletics is now under ASB as it’s supposed to be — it’s the student body’s money,” Johnson said. “So the money spent by athletics is supposed to beneft (the students). 50% of the student body is supposed to be afected or be able to use that money spent. And that’s why it’s now under ASB, because it needs student representation.”

Funding Sources

Boys’ soccer coach David Light said his sport is primarily self-funded through donations from families. “We have to pay $300 before the season, and those funds go towards uniforms and equipment,” Light said. “Seventy-fve to eighty percent of

our parents donate $300 each –– $100 of that goes towards Paly and the other $200 goes towards our soccer program. Tis season I bought uniforms for almost $6000 with the donations we got from parents. Te money has to come from somewhere, so the parents chipping in and helping out is good.”

Davidson also said thousands of dollars of funding end up going towards the athletic department.

“We ask for a participation donation, but $100 of that per child automatically goes to the athletic department,” Davidson said. “So with 100 kids, imagine $10,000 goes to general athletics and whatever is left is what we get to use. Tere’s nothing coming from the athletic department, nothing coming from the school district and nothing coming from any other place (besides) the parents.”

Badminton coach Rudy Suarez said encouraging parent funding has helped with paying of the mounting debt from previous years’ coaches.

“When I started coaching last year, we were in a defcit because we owed money from the prior season,” Suarez said. “ Tis year, it’s gotten better. One of the other coaches really took charge and got the parents organized to help with funding. He’s done an awesome job, so I’m thankful for him.”

Junior and assistant badminton captain Abhimanyu Deshpande said parents have stepped up their support through funding.

“Last year, there was a bunch of talk from the parents for increasing funding because we didn’t have uniforms,” Deshpande said. “ Tere were a lot of emails going out to parents that donated because in some situations, it was possible we wouldn’t even get a bus. We were in a situation where we needed money just to get to the next school (for a competition).”

Davidson said the team has tried to participate in fundraising activities before, but they have not seen much success.

“Anytime we do have charges (for meets), it’s for league or CCS, and CCS, we don’t get any of that money,” Davidson. “We don’t participate in snack bars because those are nominal fundraisers, maybe $500 for instance. We tried to do a cross country Fun Run, but we never got enough traction. Tere were some other ideas we had early on, but none of those really manifested.”

But Suarez said badminton has participated in other fundraising eforts outside of parent donations, which has helped with the team’s funding.

“I tried to get the kids to talk to the Athletic Director to fnd diferent ways that kids can get funds for the team, like participating in the tree lot sale during Christmas time or volunteering during concessions basketball season,” Suarez said. “I know our team has done a little bit of that. Tis year, a lot of our players did work concessions at diferent sporting events, so that helped aside from parent donation.”

Usage of Funds

Girls varsity water polo coach Deke Rowell said only a small portion of the funds from parent donations go to uniforms.

“Last year, we asked for $400 per player and $100 of that goes to the Athletic Department directly,” Rowell said. “(Te other part of the budget is) supposed to fund transportation, referees and tournament fees. Ten, the remaining is for the girls’ suits.”

Senior varsity swim captain Grace Gormley said the team has been able to purchase new uniforms with their budget. Gormley also said selecting the right style uniforms is crucial in helping athletes feel comfortable while playing their sport. “Most of the girls seem to like (the new suits), since the Jolyn brand is really popular,” Gormley said. “So we picked that brand because we wanted our swimmers to feel the most comfortable. Since I’ve been here, we have been able to get new suits every year, and we’ve also gotten pieces of merch that help the team look more cohesive.”

Gormley said athletes rely on donations from parents to help pay for other crucial equipment.

“Our families are able to contribute to help support the constant infux of clothes,” Gormley said. “I think that if a

sport (doesn’t have) funding, and they don’t rely on donations, it would cause turmoil in terms of being able to get their merch, uniforms and the equipment they need because every sport isn’t just their clothes and their Track and feld coach Michael Davidson said funds for the sport are key in replacing team uniforms.

“We seem to be ordering them every year because uniforms tend to walk of repercussions for (students) to have to turn the uniform back when we ask them to do that, so if the uniform doesn’t come back, we’ll have to repurchase uniforms. On top of that, there’s damage from usage.”

Edward Hattler, the boys lacrosse coach, said the team often has to replace equipment as well as uniforms.

Te balls go bad after a certain period of time, and we lose a lot of balls, so we have to buy new balls very frequently,” Hattler said. “Some (players) don’t have sticks, so we have to buy sticks, but then sticks can break.”

When there aren’t enough funds to purchase new uniforms for the students each year, sports teams often turn to used uniforms, prioritizing using remaining funds for purchasing equipment and uses for tournament travel.

Deshpande said it would be ideal to receive more funding for transportation and new equipment.

“We always need shuttles and better nets,” Deshpande said. Te nets we have are (usable), but it would be nice to get new ones since we share them with the PE classes. It would be nice to have a sports set that doesn’t get kind of messed up.”

Rowell said girl’s water polo suits have changed over the years to become more revealing.

Uniform Differences

Davidson said as a result of little funding, female athletes have been given the option to wear their own black shorts since the team hasn’t been able to purchase new uniforms. However, the boys still have stricter guidelines based on league rules and must wear school-provided uniforms, so other track and cross coaches are striving to give Paly male athletes more uniforms options to wear.

“Some sprinters have the spandex,” Davidson said. “(While others) don’t and want to wear a diferent version. From an option standpoint, there’s not always the same options for girls as there are for boys from the manufacturers.” Davidson also said the limitations of uniform choices are based on California Interscholastic Federation regulations.

Te CIF tends to make more options (for girls), and there are limitations based upon what the league says,” Davidson said. “CIF rules say what girls can wear and how their uniforms can be. But that’s where we have to adhere to certain types of sports and where some inequities come from what’s available.”

Girls varsity water polo coach Deke Rowell said prices difer between girls and boys’ uniforms as well.

“ Te mens’ suits are around $35 because there is a lot less suit,” Rowell said. “It’s like a Speedo, so their suits are less expensive.”

“If you watch the swim team, they have swimsuits that kind of cover their bottom,” Rowell said. “ Te water polo suits, for some reason, are more exposing. I’ve often thought ose look uncomfortable’ –– the girls are pretty Rowell also said the topic of uncomfortableness with uniforms is not a conversation that he has had directly with the girls varsity water polo team.

“I think there are some girls that probably are uncomfortable, but no one’s ever brought it to my attention,” Rowell said. “I (tell them) we’ll get whatever suit you guys feel comfortable (and that) you want to wear.”

Rowell said he has had parents who have expressed surprise about the cut of the water polo uniforms.

“Quite frankly, when older people like parents and people come to watch the games, sometimes people are a little taken aback by the fact that the suits are somewhat revealing,” Rowell

Gormley said girls water polo is a sport that deals with inappropriate comments and harassment due to the nature of their uniforms.

“Swimsuits don’t have a lot of coverage,” Gormley said. “And that’s by nature because we have to be able to be fast, but if people are being inappropriate, it can leave us in a vulnerable position, which is defnitely scary. at’s why it’s so important to have a positive culture, and it’s really hard if that culture is betrayed.”

Gormley also said there have been multiple instances where girls water polo athletes were photographed without their consent or subjected to inappropriate behavior during games.

“Last year, there were some cases of inappropriate photos being taken of members of the team,” Gormley said. “ Tose were situations that defnitely made the girls feel a lot more uncomfortable and a lot more hesitant to be on the deck. But I think some policies were instituted to try to prevent that situation from happening again. Hopefully that will allow people to feel more comfortable.”

Funding Future

While most teams receive donations through parents, head volleyball coach Darryl Chan, said there are other ideas to increase funds for the team, including fundraisers hosted by the school and sports clinics.

For Chan, running a youth sports clinic brought in good money for the boy’s volleyball team.

“ Tis year, we plan on running some community clinics for elementary and middle school kids as a way to allow us some exposure into the community and allow us to see some younger students who will be coming into the program for several years,” Chan said.

Chan said this type of fundraiser benefts both the team by raising funds and community morality, and benefts children as they get to grow their passion and techniques for a sport.

“By giving us an opportunity to train (prospect volleyball players) and get them started in the right fundamentals and mechanics, when they do come to Paly they’ll already have some good fundamentals,” Chan said. Girls varsity golf captain and senior Alexa Piñeda said she participated in fundraisers for the golf her freshman year including Stanford parking –– which ASB organizes for sports teams and clubs –– and pancake breakfasts with the boys varsity golf team. But Pineda said many of these options ended or changed during the pandemic.

Rowell also said sports fundraisers are crucial, especially when a team’s gear and equipment are costly.

“We host games and tournaments,” Rowell said. “We also help run a national event, called Junior Olympics, which is here every other year. So we’re able to raise $5,000 on our own without donations.”

Outside of fundraisers, Chan said a Sports Booster program would greatly increase the funding for sports teams.

“Other schools’ (Sports Boosters) asked me twice a year for funding requests for new balls,” Chan said. “I could ask for equipment, and typically we got $1,000 to $2,000 per period. With the sports boosters, we’d buy uniforms almost every three or four years. Ten we would go through the design process. Te boosters with the athletic director would be approving the design and the costs.”

Hattler said ultimately, supporting high school sports carries tremendous benefts for students.

“Athletics is really important in people’s lives,” Hattler said. “It contributes to the growth and development of people. I was a captain of my college lacrosse team, and I think that leadership development through sports was very helpful. So, recognizing that and supporting that in the schools to the greatest extent possible (is important). I know there’s other competing demands and a limited amount of funds, but to me, athletics is very valuable.”

Athletic Assistant Fatima Gifen declined an interview request for this story. Assistant Principal in charge of athletics, LaDonna Butler, did not respond to interview requests, and Athletic Director Jennifer Crane initially agreed to an interview for the story but then did not respond to follow up requests to schedule an interview or answer questions.

Students should take advantage of wide range of clubs, extracurriculars

Wisps of gold and orange light paint the dark sky as trees sway with the soft breaths of wind.

Te cold, crisp air nips at my cheeks and hands as I race through the desolate and damp streets.

Tis is my experience biking to farmers’ markets at 6:30 a.m., where I work weekends with Little Sky Bakery at a range of di tions in the area.

My shifts involve setting up overfowing displays of baked goods, helping customers pick out tasty delights, gossiping with my cowork ers and lots of packing and unpack ing boxes.

As a second semester senior, I have put my career as a hardworking and overachieving academic student on hold.

My classes and grades no longer matter to me like they used to, now that my schedule is graduation requirements and lessons in subjects I don’t plan to pursue in college.

At frst, I was delighted at my sudden expanse of free time, racing home just to lay on my bed and doom scroll, watching the same meaningless videos for hours on end.

Yet, after a couple weeks of this hollow ritual, I became unsatis with how I was spending my spare time.

So instead, I found new activities, like this job, where I could produc tively pass the time while simul taneously exploring my academic interests in psychology.

Over the years, I found that the most efective way to expand my interests is to try activities that are outside of my comfort zone.

Tis has allowed me to test my limits, get more comfortable

speak with a range of people and hear their intricate

Furthermore, it has allowed me to gain confdence in my own voice

Trough journalism, I have been able to dive deep into topics such

Bay Area should expand transportation through BART to increase efciency

Palo Alto’s public transportation system boils down to three inefcient options: the Caltrain, the Valley Transportation Agency bus, and the Palo Alto Link.

Unlike other parts of the Bay Area, we lack a form of public transportation that is essential to anyone living in a large metropolitan area: a short distance train.

And for us to have a viable public transportation option, we need the Bay Area Rapid Transit to be expanded into Silicon Valley and through Palo Alto.

Tough Caltrain has been working on their large scale electrifcation project, I simply feel that expanding the BART transit system through Silicon Valley would be a major step towards making a more sustainable and efcient future.

Not only do short distance trains work at a higher frequency, but they can transport people to their destinations in a more timely manner. But in an ideal situation, both forms of transport would be available to citizens.

For example, Chicago has two main trains that work in tandem to create a more efcient system of transport.

So when someone needs to go from Los Altos to Palo Alto, for example, they can take the BART between shorter distances and if they need to go to San Jose, they can have the Caltrain as an option.

Tough expensive, BART expansion projects are currently in line to be fnished by 2036 and are projected to cost 12.2 billion dollars.

Tese plans include making stations in San Jose and Santa Clara in order to connect the East and South Bay together.

BART is also now fully electric and extremely sustainable, which can help the Bay Area reduce its carbon emissions.

Additionally, because much of the public transport leaving Palo Alto is within Silicon Valley, people would be able to have a sustainable option to go to their workplace if it is nearby.

According to Metro Magazine, the average American spends $2152.80 on gas per year while the average year’s worth of transportation costs $800.

So although the Bay Area is spread out, building up a stronger public transportation system will help people get to work in a more timely manner and without emitting carbon.

One new addition to the South Bay in terms of transportation is the VTA light rail, which has not been fully integrated into the South Bay and Silicon Valley so far.

By using electric light rails and connecting suburban and urban areas, we have been able to see a concrete example of what a fully expanded BART could do.

Tough this is an upside, the lightrail is a state of the art train which is almost completely opposite of the BART.

Many complaints about the BART are that trains are not well kept and are old cars which aren’t cleaned often and are many times vandalized.

However, by 2030, BART is planning to have new cars and new technology in order to make the quality of the experience better for customers.

Te Bay Area can become an even more lucrative area for people to live if there is a more efcient way to get to work, and a form of public transportation that allows them to explore new cities and areas that they haven’t seen before.

At the end of the day, the new progress on the Caltrain expansion is a promising start to the emerging public transport scene in the Bay Area, but I think that if BART has a full expansion, they can revolutionize the way Bay Area residents use public transport.

Another example of stepping out of my comfort zone is rock climbing. I used to have a massive fear of heights; yet I joined this sport on a whim, and have found great joy

Doing pullups and exhausting my physical limits has given me dence in my strength.

Also, it has allowed me to spend time with my friends and laugh through the stress of school.

Finally, a month ago, I took a glassblowing lesson at school for students with no experience. I must admit I was scared to death that one of the inexperienced students was going to burn a hole through their hand, however with great danger nal misower vase we collectively made was strikingly beautiful.

Although I may not hold a blowtorch in the Fiery Arts Center again, it was fun and opened my eyes to exploring similar treasures

Hobbies and extracurriculars allow students to discover their passions and navigate their future career or major in college.

From my experience, each one of these activities has given me insight into who I am, taught me life lessons and allowed me to grow. ese activities have all given me memories I will keep for the rest of my life and have helped guide who I am. I implore every student to explore new things and see what random interests you might discover

Caitlin Clark on her way to transform WNBA

NCAA men’s basketball hosted its frst collegiate March Madness tournament in 1939.

Te tournament initially only consisted of eight teams, and over time, has turned into one of the biggest sports events in America.

Every year, March Madness averages 9 million views and around 1 billion dollars in annual revenue.

Yet despite this massive rise, there remains a crucial question –– why hasn’t women’s college basketball garnered the same attention?

At the beginning 2020-21 season, the Iowa Hawkeyes brought in Caitlin Clark, a six-foot shooting guard from Dowling Catholic High School, to change the future of the franchise. Clark started the season of strong, averaging 26.6 points and 47.2% from the feld. With such stats for a freshman, it was no surprise she started to form an exponential fanbase as time progressed.

Junior Emil Bothe, a selfdescribed college basketball fan, said Clark is making an impact on women’s basketball for younger generations and redefning how the game is played in terms of promotion of the sport and what it means for the WNBA to start getting the attention it deserves.

“You could play basketball as a woman, but you defnitely wouldn’t have sold-out crowds watching you the same way that men’s games do,” Bothe said. “With the way she’s promoting the sport purely of of her play, it’s making girls around the world dream of playing in front of crowds and being a star.”

To add to her historic season and her time spent with the Hawkeyes, Clark broke the NCAA Division 1 singleseason scoring record for both men and women (male or female) in a win against Ohio State.

By the end of the regular season, she was averaging 32.2 points per game, approximately 8 more points than the top 10 players in the league Bothe also said Cark’s athletic skills have brought an unprecedented amount of attention to female sports.

“I personally have never really watched women’s basketball before, but just with all the hype around her and in some of the recent March Madness games I’ve watched recently it’s defnitely changed my perspective on the game,” Bothe said. “It’s also

very difcult to replicate the skill that NBA stars have but I see that type of talent in her.”

As a senior in college, Clark is projected to be the frst overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes team helped draw over three million people to watch the frst round of the women’s March Madness game this year against Te College of Holy Cross and an audience of nearly fve million in the second round overtime victory against West Virginia. In the fnal loss against South Carolina, 14.2 million viewers tuned in to watch making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game ever and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast which shows the incredible shift of attention that women’s basketball fully deserves.

Embrace localized interpretations of cultural dishes

As the sun beams directly over the plaza, a group of rowdy teenage boys stroll down the sidewalk, discussing where to grab food after a hardfought soccer match. Stomachs growling, they scan the row of restaurants and list the three cuisine contenders — American, Chinese and Mexican.

Earlier this school year, my soccer team and I found ourselves in the same situation during an away tournament. As the debate got heated, I listened in.

“I want some good Chinese food, like orange chicken,” one of my teammates said. “Wait, orange chicken isn’t real Chinese food. Maybe I’ll eat beef and broccoli instead.”

As the group settled for Panda Express, I couldn’t help but smirk at my teammate’s comment. While orange chicken isn’t authentic Chinese food, neither is beef and broccoli — a blend of American taste with Chinese cooking techniques. But looking at the Panda Express menu, it could be hard for non-Chinese persons to discern the authenticity of an item.

From tater tots to bufalo wings to hot dogs, a number of famous dishes originate from the United States.

Many of these dishes also have backgrounds rooted in other cultures. General Tso’s chicken, for example, is a dish invented in Chinese-American restaurants, but most authentic Chinese restaurants don’t ofer the dish.

With increasing demand for authentic foods, criticism of these “fake” dishes has risen. And it’s not just Chinese-American food — spaghetti and meatballs, taco salad and chicken tikka masala have all faced the same treatment.

In my experience, there certainly are distinctions between authentic and westernized foods.

Americanized food is generally meatier, sweeter and made with more convenient (unhealthy) cooking techniques. Additionally, most western Chinese food has Cantonese origins, since a lot of early immigrants were from the Guangdong region.

As a result, much of western exposure to Chinese foods are narrow in scope compared to the variety of favors, styles and ingredients found in the various regions within the expanse of China.

But why label Americanized food as fake? Even though many ChineseAmerican restaurants don’t serve traditional Chinese cuisine, they don’t market themselves in that way.

Cuisines worldwide have adapted the foods and cooking techniques of other cultures. For example, both the egg tart found in Cantonese Dim Sums and the deep-frying technique used by the Japanese for the famous tempura dish can be traced back to Portugal.

Take a look at the American Dog in Japan. It captures the essence of the corn dog: meat skewered with a stick and dipped in cornbread.

But there are also diferences. Te fried batter, which is more cake-like, tastes incredibly sweet. Additionally, the Japanese use fsh sausages, as opposed to the typical combination of processed pork, beef, chicken and turkey for corn dogs in the US.

Food is no diferent; many dishes were created by immigrants, and others were invented by American-born citizens.

Italian pizza, Mexican tacos and Chinese stir-fry are all staples in the American diet, even though their recipes have been adapted to ft American appetites. We can also see this in Palo Alto. At Town and Country, students are able to try a variety of cultural cuisines, ranging from American to Japanese to Mexican.

But is the American Dog “fake” American food? No. It’s simply a localized interpretation from Japan, which introduces locals to food from other cultures. America is a melting pot of cultures, defned by its rich composition of traditions and identities. Its history of immigration contributes to its cultural blend, as migrants stretching across the globe mix traditional with American values. For example, in music blues, jazz and hip hop all have roots in other cultures, yet they are embraced by American artists and audiences.

Among the hundreds of thousands of people applying to colleges each year, many have an assumption that strong athletic abilities unfairly guarantee students admission to top-tier universities.

However, the reality of the situation is far more nuanced.

In reality, a small percentage of high school athletes end up continuing their sport in college, as it is no easy feat.

According to the NFHS Network, a leading high school sports streaming site, only 6% of high school athletes go on to play an NCAA college sport, and only 2% of high school athletes getting recruited receive any kind of athletic scholarship.

Out of approximately 2000 students at Paly, only 13 ended up getting recruited to play a college sport.

Te recruitment process is arduous and stressful due to the limited number of slots available for athletes.

Te process is often competitive and timeconsuming due to the number of phone calls, visits and decisions, with only a fraction of athletes getting successfully recruited.

Recruited athletes also have to spend hundreds of hours honing their skills, which in many cases, is more time than what regular applicants would spend on extracurriculars outside of school. For example, in a

study by Verifed Athletics, high school football players spent nearly 21 hours per week on their sport, which is almost three hours every day of the week, compared to the average of 1.5-2 hours of of homework per day that Palo Alto High School students recieve.

On top of this, recruited athletes must meet the minimum GPA standard of a 2.3 GPA given by the NCAA, as well as the minimum GPA and SAT/ACT score of their college.

Carrying the load of excelling at games every week while juggling extracurriculars and academic responsibilities can also be overwhelming.

While most students face challenges throughout the college admissions process, playing sports adds another layer of challenges, especially when attempting to be recruited requires access to money, time and support.

College coaches often go to high school matches to scout for athletes, and this can alos put a lot of pressure on athletes to perform their best.

It is important to acknowledge that there are also biases within the recruitment process. According to Te New York Times, favoritism towards athletes in niche sports in college admissions can prioritize certain racial groups and privileged applicants that have access to money over qualifed athletes in more popular sports.

In the 2019 Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, which had direct connections to Palo Alto, wealthy parents, college coaches,and admissions ofcers conspired to gain admission for students into prestigious universities.

Tis scandal particularly targeted niche sports such as sailing and fencing and highlighted how the recruitment process for niche sports can be easily exploited by rich families.

Tese families should be punished for their actions rather than innocent athletes, and the recruitment process should continue to provide opportunities for high school athletes to play their sport on the collegiate level.

Te misconception that being a recruited athlete is an unfair advantage in college admissions overlooks the complex realities of the recruitment process.

While being a talented athlete can be an asset, the road to making it to a college team is met with vast challenges and rigorous standards.

It’s essential to stop making assumptions about the hard work of others, as both recruited athletes and regular applicants invest substantial time and efort into the application process.

Amaya Bharadwaj Staf Writer

Even if the chicken bowl at Sushi House lacks many traditional Japanese ingredients, it is still a student favorite. So let’s embrace Americanized food. When there is a real history behind the development of a dish, nothing about the food is fake. It is time we hold our American creations as something of our own, not as an inauthentic ripof of another culture.

United Nations’ lack of power undercuts legislation

Holden Lee Lifestyle, Sci/Tech Editor

As the president of our school’s Model United Nations club, I present the UN as a bastion of international cooperation — the organization that promotes and maintains world peace.

However, as the body passes resolutions condemning genocide or establishing subcommittees to monitor nuclear weapons development, I’ve realized that even in the real world, the lack of the UN’s power severely undercuts the efectiveness of each of their policies.

Article 1 of the United Nations charter declares its commitment “to maintain international peace and security”. However, the UN seems to forget to follow through with the second part of the article: “to take efective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace”. Te failures of preventing infghting among powerful nations and inefectively dealing with humanitarian crises display the extent to which the UN is in dire need of reform.

Te UN is divided into six main branches, including the General Assembly, consisting of all 193 member states, the International Court of Justice and the Security Council. Te GA consists of all 193 member states, while the Security Council has 10 elected members, who serve two-year nonconsecutive terms, as well as fve permanent members who hold veto power on resolutions. Tese nations, colloquially known as the P5, are Russia, the United States, China, France and the United Kingdom.

Te UN relies heavily on its member states to enforce decisions. Peacekeeping forces are voluntarily given by certain countries. Without the support of one of the fve permanent members, it is nearly impossible to get policies through, even if smaller nations carry dissenting opinions.

Tere also lies the question of the changing role of the P5. Te members of the P5 were chosen for being the victors of World War II. But we are no longer in the 1940s. Why is India or Japan, some of the largest countries with huge economies, not included, while France and the UK are? Why are there no African or Latin American countries present when those regions are poised for the highest amount of population and economic growth in the next century? Many of these countries were colonies during the formation of the UN, and the continuation of the same fve members as the ones with the most infuence seems to perpetuate historic injustices.

Tere also remains the issue of the UN’s conficting messaging around moral issues. For example, the UN allowed Saudi Arabia to be the head of the human rights council in 2015 while the Saudi Arabian government beheaded more people than ISIS in that year — seemingly refecting Saudi Arabia’s infuence as a leader in the oil-price controlling organization OPEC. Simultaneously, the UN failed to take steps to prevent genocide in Rwanda or Bosnia in the 1990s largely due to the lack of will to militarily intervene, regions where the great powers have little interest. Te infghting between the P5 also stifes the progress of the UN. In the Syrian Civil War, for example, Russia repeatedly used its veto power to block resolutions condemning the Syrian Assad regime or calling for intervention. And when Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, Russia blocked attempts by the Security Council to impose sanctions on Russia. Recently, the US has frequently used its veto power to block resolutions critical of Israel, until the US abstained

from a vote passing a resolution calling for a ceasefre in Gaza. To deal with such power struggles, the UN is inefective at dealing with the perpetual power struggles between the P5.

Te General Assembly is often criticized as well for its inefectiveness, such as in 2005, when Secretary-General Kof Annan from Ghana criticized the assembly for sacrifcing efective policy in favor of reaching consensus and passing resolutions that refected “the lowest common denominator” of opinions.

Even climate agreements, an area the UN has made notable progress in towards signing international agreements, can show how fragile the resolutions are. Te successes of the 1998 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Climate Conference seemed to be nullifed after the US withdrew from the climate agreements in 2017 citing economic losses in the fossil fuel industry.

Te lack of oversight over peacekeeping missions also highlights the failures of having a purely voluntary military force. A 2019 report described the increase in sexual assaults by peacekeeping soldiers towards civilian personnel, with many cases going unreported and ultimately unpunished. Te UN needs to implement structural reforms to deal with the high turnover of personnel within the peacekeeping so that all members can be pre-screened and trained.

To deal with these inherent problems, the P5 should be expanded and contracted based on a specifc set of criteria, such as population and economic infuence, and also include representatives from each continent to ensure geographic diversity. Veto power should also be restricted, forbidden especially when mass atrocities occur.

Simultaneously, as the body of the UN that all countries have an equal say in, the GA should have more power over overseeing peacekeeping operations. And smaller countries, who deal with the brunt of climate change and other global economic challenges, should be able to better hold the P5 accountable through an elevated position in the GA.

When the founders of the UN met in 1945, they recognized the dire need to create a peacekeeping body to respond to everpresent global power struggles and prevent the next world war. But as our world seems to teeter ever further into polarization, combined with existential threats such as climate change, it is more crucial than ever to create an efective organization to unify humanity.

Students should get ‘No Mark’ instead of ‘F’

To prevent the current racial disparity in students failing courses and to increase individualized opportunities for students to improve their semester grades, PAUSD is encouraging teachers to replace Fs on students’ transcripts with No Marks and Ds with Pass. No Mark is signifed by NM and Pass is signifed by P.

Te Campanile applauds this move by the district and wishes there were a way to require all teachers to use such a system.

According to Principal Brent Kline, the use of NM on transcripts would indicate a student has not completed enough of the course requirements to receive a letter grade indicative of their abilities, course knowledge and academic performance. An NM, like a P, does not fgure into a student’s GPA.

Klein also said the bar to pass a class is always up to individual teachers. As such, teachers have the fnal say about whether to ofer a student an NM or an F (or a P or D).

Because the use of NMs and Ps provides students with a second chance to improve their GPAs in a competitive school environment and

also individualizes support for those who need extra time to complete a course because they have been unable to attend school for whatever reason, we don’t see why every teacher wouldn’t ofer this to all students.

In fact, the NM has been available for teachers to use for at least three years, but in the past, parents and students would individually reach out to teachers and ask to use this option.

But as Board of Education Trustee

Jennifer DiBrienza recently pointed out, Latinx students were six times more likely to receive a grade of F than “No Mark” compared to their white counterparts, leading district ofcials to try to change this gap.

Te Campanile praises the district for working to level the playing feld when it comes to the use of NM.

In addition, we call on teachers and administrators to look into why the bar to pass classes at Paly is so high that so many students need a second chance to pass.

While Paly accepts a D as a passing grade, the University of California system and the California State University system do not. And while PAUSD allowing students to pass with a D and allowing students to

While Te Campanile applauds the Athletic Department for recent improvements in transparency regarding sports funding, we think it still needs to work on providing student-athletes with safer, more equitable experiences when participating in their sports.

Many teams Te Campanile spoke to report having trouble supporting their programs fnancially, especially since the Sports Boosters disbanded during COVID-19. Tough there are attempts underway to try to rebuild the program, until that happens, the systems in place don’t seem to adequately prioritize equitable funding across sports.

Adequate funding is essential for team expenses like purchasing uniforms and equipment, hiring referees, paying registration fees and attending away events. However, the responsibilities of fundraising without a Booster program often fall on the parents of the student-athletes through heavily encouraged donations or volunteering.

To solve these issues, Te Campanile urges a swift reimplementation of the Sports Boosters program, so it can collaborate with the Athletics Department to reevaluate the allocation of funding and increase transparency.

In the meantime, rather than having a large part of the burden for funding fall on student-athletes and their families, Te Campanile calls on the

retake a No Mark class might be viewed as a way of infating average GPA or making courses easier, Te Campanile thinks these policies are necessary for helping all students meet Paly’s rigorous requirements.

It might not seem related, but the rigorous courses at Paly blur the lines as to what constitutes an A, B or C. A student performing at C-level at Paly might receive Bs at other schools.

And we think that a better use of PAUSD resources is not just creating more opportunities for students who are on the verge of failing a class but examining why so many students are ending up in this position in the frst place. According to Paly’s 2024 Midcycle WASC Progress Report, 979 students took at least one AP exam in 2023, of which 95% received a passing score of 3 or above compared to the national average of roughly 62.5%.

Additionally, 53% of Paly’s AP test takers in 2023 received a score of 5, indicating that AP courses at Paly set students up for success in exams.

But attempting to teach students to score a 5 on AP exams forces them to catch up to standards they otherwise wouldn’t be held to in other schools.

athletic department to adjust its budget to fund all teams with an equal amount.

One area where the lack of equitable allocation of funds is noticeable is the use of uniforms.

Many teams have to reuse their uniforms from past years, and crosscountry even had a relay team disqualifed from a meet because they didn’t have matching uniforms.

Since schools do not have jurisdiction over what uniforms teams wear, teams must comply with the ever-changing standards of the local high school leagues. Tere are also uniform restrictions for both girls’ and boys’ teams –– for instance, male cross-country runners must wear spandex suits and female feld hockey players must wear skirts to follow California Interscholastic Federation or Santa Clara Valley Athletic League regulations. We think students should have more input, especially when working with league restrictions, to

As such, we think giving students a second chance to refect on and improve their grades is a worthwhile endeavor, and should be ofered to all students as an option when they’re in a position to receive an F at the end of the semester. But even more important is looking at why Paly’s standards are so much higher than some other schools in the state and how that is afecting our struggling learners.

While some may argue that it is unfair for students who originally received a high letter grade in a class to potentially end up with the same GPA as students who retake the course for a better grade, the No Mark forever remains on a student’s transcript, even when the NM is replaced by a diferent score once the class is retaken.

So we encourage all teachers to present the option to convert an F to an NM and a D to a P, and we also encourage administrators to take the efects of the rigor of Paly more seriously, understand that even though an NM is a good safeguard as a replacement for failing, the threshold for meeting Paly standards is far higher than the national one, putting less privileged students at a signifcant disadvantage.

achieve more fexibility and update the rules that require students to wear uniforms that compile with the same standards that college athletes have to follow.

Finally, since college athletes have closed practices and regulated sports games that often require pre-entry screening or paid tickets, Te Campanile thinks the district should establish similar safety conditions for high school practices and games. Te Campanile hopes increased student input regarding uniforms and prioritization of safety regulations will ultimately create a safer environment for student athletes to comfortably practice and compete in their sport.

Lifestyle

New York Times games rise in popularity among students, building community

If junior Ivan Sandler isn’t playing Te New York Times’s “Wordle,” “Connections” or “ Te Mini” while his frstperiod math class takes notes, then that means he already completed the games and sent his time for completion to friends while getting ready for school.

In October 2021, the Times introduced Wordle, appealing to puzzle lovers and time-passers like Sandler through its simple design. Creator Josh Wardle said he wanted to make a game that didn’t separate the player and the game through a paywall or ads the way most other games do. Instead, Wordle limits players to one go per day, inviting them to continue playing the game as a day-to-day habit. Te game has become more than just a fad among those interested in exercising their brain.

Junior Aditya Hiremath, who said he has solved over 1,200 NYT’s Mini Crosswords, said the game’s simple format and concept is its biggest appeal.

Tere’s nothing overly complicated,” Hiremath said. “It is simple and easy to understand, and it is free, so it’s very easy for anyone to play and share it with anyone else.”

Sandler, who said he began playing Wordle a few months ago after his mom introduced him to it, said he also incorporated other trademark NYT games into his daily routine for their cognitive benefts.

“It’s turned into a good daily routine,” Sandler said. “It gets me started for the day and helps me think more critically in the mornings by waking up my brain.”

Hiremath also said the rise in popularity of such games is also largely attributable to their accessibility.

“Instead of needing a newspaper, you can search the (games) up immediately, or fnd infnite versions if you want to play more than once,” Hiremath said. “ Te digital version also gives you multiple tries and hints, which aren’t possible on paper and pen.”

Hints, such as revealed letters in Te Mini Crossword, and score comparison to other players on various games are perks specifc to online users.

Sandler, who used to complete paper crosswords, said he appreciates the digitalization of such puzzle games.

“Like everything else, crosswords are so much simpler digitally,” Sandler said. “Pen and paper puzzles and word games are last generation’s thing, and NYT-type games are our thing.”

Hiremath, who also plays other NYT games such as the crossword, Te Mini, Connections and Spelling Bee, said they’ve helped him in school.

“Playing these games has improved my vocabulary and the speed at which I can think of synonyms for words in my writing,” Hiremath said. “It also improved my literacy.”

Sandler also said he uses NYT games as a way to connect with friends.

“I enjoy competing with my friends to see who can (solve puzzles) quicker or who gets (them) right,” Sandler said. Tey recently added a leaderboard section, so now we can all see how our scores compare.”

Junior Svina Narang said similar to other computer games, these online puzzles can be distracting. “ Tey are not very time-consuming so they don’t cause too much harm, but it’s true that I sometimes play them when I should probably be working,” Narang said. Sandler, though, said playing NYT games during class regularly hinders his productivity.

“Typically, I play them frst thing in the morning, so before class, but I sometimes play with my friends during math and that can be a big distraction,” Sandler said. Teacher Sarah Brankis said she often notices students distracted by such games but said she thinks they can be used positively.

Tey are not appropriate in the middle of the lesson, but they are appropriate during breaks,” Brankis said.

“I have had a couple of algebra classes where, during the middle of a brain break, we’ll all work together to solve the Wordle.” Although Brankis said she wishes students would focus more on math during class, she said she still appreciates these word games for their ability to bring people together.

“It contributes to a better community culture,” Brankis said. “One of my aides and I will chat about it on occasion.

When I see students distracted by these games, I try to combat it with humor because I’m never truly angry since I get it — the games are fun.”

Sandler also said NYT games difer from the traditional computer games they replaced for him.

“I wouldn’t put games like Wordle in the same category as video games because I see them more as puzzles,” Sandler said. “Most computer games don’t require any critical thinking, but the NYT games are like puzzles (that) use your brain more complexly.”

And overall, Hiremath said the increase in popularity of word games has positively benefted students.

Hiremath said, “ Tey can be distracting, but compared to pointless computer games, at least they stimulate your brain and can be a means for conversation among friends.”

Farmers markets foster learning, support local businesses

Gulman Business Manager

When former Paly student Diana Narancic applied to colleges during her senior year, international schools didn’t cross her mind until she started researching opportunities online. Narancic, who attends the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said she chose to study abroad because of the opportunity to gain a new global perspective.

“I chose to study abroad because my university ofered me to study the program in which I was interested in pursuing,” Narancic said. “And the opportunities that allow me to broaden my horizons.”

However, Narancic said she faced many challenges abroad — one being home-

As a school bell blares through Ohlone Elementary School, students rush from the classrooms, heading towards the school’s own farmers’ market with cash clutched in their hands. Freshman Leilani Chen, who attended Ohlone, said she remembers buying produce at the school’s Tursday farmers’ market after school.

Te farm had organic materials, so they would sell whatever fruit was in season like plums, lemons and apples,” Chen said. “ Tey would also sell honey and plum jam.”

According to Halo Lynch, a 2021 Paly alumni, farmers’ markets like those at Ohlone help support growers of locally sourced produce.

“Being able to help the community give people a place where they’re not maybe buying from a ginormous corporation, or they know that their food is not having any pesticides on it is great,” Lynch said.

Chen said while it was fun to purchase fresh produce, students at Ohlone also learned money management skills from the farmers’ market.

“Parents would bring cupcakes and cookies, and they would be sold to students,” Chen said. “It helps students learn how to handle money.”

Te after-school Ohlone farmers’ market is just one example of many farmers’ markets in Palo Alto,

sickness for her family, friends and life in America.

“I did experience a lot of homesickness the frst year,” Narancic said. “However, the school is very international. A lot of other students who I met were also going through the same adjustment, which made the transition easier and I felt more comfortable and welcomed.”

Liza Miezejeski, who attends AngloAmerican University in Prague, Czech Republic after graduating high school in Connecticut, said she chose to attend school abroad due to the cost and a strong desire to travel.

“I was initially motivated mostly by a fear of student debt associated with going to college in the United States,” Miezejeski said. “Tuition was much more afordable across Europe and I could graduate with a

which build local communities while supporting local businesses.

Tian Mayimin, the owner of Little Sky Bakery, said farmers’ markets were instrumental in starting her business.

“I showed up with one basket of bread at the frst farmers’ market because that’s all I could bake by myself, and it sold out in like 20 minutes,” Mayimin said.

Lynch said working at the farmers’ market with his family for around 10 years helped him develop business skills.

“Every Saturday, I woke up at 6 in the morning and told my dad to pack up the car and we’d head out there,” Lynch said. “I’d get to talk to customers. I worked a register (and) helped be a salesperson. (I) also built some pretty good relationships with other vendors that work there as well.”

According to Mayimin, the people at the farmers’ markets create a kind, close-knit community.

“When I frst got started, I was so busy,” Mayimin said. “I was the only one selling, and I remember sometimes customers would volunteer to jump behind the line to help me. Tat was always really sweet.”

Mayimin also said for many small businesses recovering from the pandemic, selling products at the

bachelor’s degree in three years instead of four. I also considered that with an increasingly globalized world having this international experience would help me stand out in the job market.”

Once she discovered international universities, Miezejeski said she quickly began researching study abroad programs that ofered programs taught in English.

“I did tons of research on U.S. accredited schools in France, Germany and the UK,” Miezejeski said. “Eventually, after meeting with a college admissions counselor from Beyond Te States, a platform that helps you discover international college degrees, we found the right college match for me, which was in Prague.” Miezejeski said she submitted her application to the school through a seamless process requiring a resume, letter of recom-

farmers’ market helped sustain businesses, which in turn bolstered the community.

“For a while, it was very difcult for everyone,” Mayimin said. “ Ten, markets (were) reclassifed as an essential business where people could get food and in a pretty safe space.”

And fortunately, for those who live in places like California, Mayimin said year-round farmers’ markets are unique to good weather.

According to Chen, farmers’ markets also bring in diverse products from people across the state.

“ Tere are vendors coming in from a lot of places like Half Moon Bay, and they’re bringing what they’ve made,” Chen said.

Lynch said the success of farmers’ markets in Palo Alto also demonstrates the city’s strong community.

Lynch said, “We’re really fortunate to have such a vibrant grassroots community here in Palo Alto (because) a lot of places in the world don’t have something like that.”

ARTBYCHERIANNEYOON

mendation, transcript and responses to short essay questions. Miezejeski said the Anglo-American University was the only school she applied to during her senior year, which made the application process much less stressful.

“Once I completed the application and received my response, the school required me to submit my fnal high school diploma,” Miezejeski said. “And before I knew it, I was buying a one-way ticket.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, Miezejeski went on to receive her master’s from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, where she now lives and works as a web analyst, content strategist and international education advocate. Miezejeski said students who are currently applying to colleges should research all opportunities.

“Do your research and don’t be afraid to reach out to people for help and advice,” Miezejeski said. “ If you want to study internationally full time just remember that it can be incredibly difcult at times, but if it’s right for you, it will also be the most rewarding experience of your life.”

Gabriella

Music erupts and the ground rumbles around senior

As the song fades, the crowd waits for the next performance at Los Angeles’s Rolling Loud music festival, which features popular artists such as Future, Metro Boomin, Ty Dolla Sign and Don Toliver.

Many students like Kapadia say music festivals builc their appreciation for music and create a sense of community.

Te synergy between the crowd and artist is incredible, and it makes me enjoy it that much more,” Kapadia said. “Seeing music live is a collective excitement, everyone (is) really happy and having a good time.”

Sophomore Estelle Dufour, who attended Buena Vista Lake’s Lightning in a Bottle, said she enjoyed observing the crowd’s extreme enthusiasm.

“Lighting in a Bottle has a very diferent vibe from what we normally have here in Palo Alto,” Dufour said. “It’s a really fun environment to dress up and listen to music.”

Despite the excitement music festivals bring, Kapadia said the events can be both mentally and physically draining.

“ Te type of music festivals you’re going to attracts diferent demographics of people, but the majority at the ones I have been to (include) teenagers and young adults,” Kapadia said. “To attend music festivals you have to have a lot of energy, and you have to be out for a long time.”

English teacher Alanna Williamson, who has attended music festivals Warped Tour, Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly, said that the age demographic is dependent on multiple factors.

“Some music festivals attract a younger audience because it is pretty rough on your body and some (people) don’t have the energy for that,” Williamson said. “ Te price point does also set an age range because a lot of teenagers can’t aford a $300 ticket. When I frst went to Warped Tour, it was right before the pandemic, and tickets were cheap and accessible, so the age range there was high school and younger college students.” Dufour said Lightning in a Bottle mainly attracted adults, so she views festivals as more of a family event.

“Music festivals impacted me a lot because it’s a tradition in my family,” Dufour said. “It’s a special moment we all share together and look forward to every year.”

Dufour said there are also many other activities to participate in at festivals, outside of the concerts.

“Group yoga, group meals, group meditation, swimming, day concerts and night concerts are all activities that we do there,” Dufour said.

Kapadia also said many festivals, including Outside Lands and some Shoreline concerts, have large outdoor venues that provide a variety of enjoyable activities outside of music.

“At Outside Lands, there is a big lawn where you can take photos and buy food from local vendors,” Kapadia said. “Shoreline has outdoor venues, (making) it less claustrophobic. Te lawn can be really nice to hang out on.”

Additionally, Williamson said that her experience at Outside Lands was unique because of the outdoor venue.

“I remember sitting on a picnic blanket and hanging out with my friends, vibing to the live music, talking and eating,” Williamson said. “It was a slightly diferent experience than the other music festivals I attended.”

For each festival, Kapadia said the location played a big role in her overall experience.

“Each festival you go to is a completely diferent adventure,” Kapadia said. “ Tere is a ferris wheel at Rolling Loud, and at Outside Lands, there’s a park that you have to walk through to get to the music.”

Overall, Kapadia said her experience with music festivals brings her closer and is a micro cosm of the Paly community “(Spirit week) gives the same sense of togetherness and community that music festivals and concerts do,” Kapadia said. “Even though you don’t know the people at the festivals, you are all there with the shared interest of listening to music and enjoying yourselves.”

Lifestyle

Summer programs increase student curiosity, exploration

As senior Clare Antonow stepped onto Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus for the New York Times Summer Academy in the summer of 2023, she was immediately immersed in a crowd of international students.

Upon being welcomed by her summer program’s counselors, Antonow said her feeling of excitement overtook her unease.

Antonow is one of many Paly students who attend programs over the summer to study academics, sports or civic engagement.

According to Forbes, students receive many benefts from attending summer programs, including academic enrichment, exposure to college life, skill development, networking and personal growth.

Antonow, who attended the NYT Summer Academy for flmmaking, said summer programs can provide an opportunity for students to pursue their passions.

“It really did make me realize how much I love flm, and being in a room surrounded with really creative people who are super passionate about the same thing and working with them was just the best feeling ever,” Antonow said. “It made me realize this is what I want to pursue, and it was such a valuable experience.”

While summer programs often mainly focus on providing enriching learning experiences, Antonow said some of her most valuable takeaways were the global connections and friendships she made.

“My roommates and the people on my foor were from all over the world,” Antonow said. “It was such a cool experience to become friends with this girl from Milan or this girl from China or this girl from Belgium. I’ve never had the chance to make friendships with anyone who lives internationally, and it was such an awesome experience in that sense.”

Te Council on International Educational Exchange is the largest nonproft study abroad program in the country, specializing in intercultural exchange.

Spanish teacher Angela Ambrosio brought this program to Paly and said CIEE language programs provide students with independence and ofer them realworld experiences outside of Palo Alto.

“You meet new people, you learn to be a little more independent,” Ambrosio said. “It’s a good way to not be around your family for a little bit. Getting out of this area (and) doing something diferent (is) also something which I know a lot of high school students are looking for.”

Similarly, the National Student Leadership Conference program focuses on preparing students for life beyond high school.

Sophomore Will Stover, who plans to attend this program this summer, said he hopes it will provide him with meaningful connections.

“With NSLC, not only do I gain experience and understanding, but I also gain connections through my summer program, and I think that’s also very important to do well in your career,” Stover said. “ Te most important thing is having good connections, and that’s another thing I really look for when I apply for summer programs.”

Stover also said he hopes this program will help him discover what he wants to major in, while simultaneously building his resume.

“I’m interested in political science, and I really think that what I look for in a summer program is the next step to build up my resume and gain experience,” Stover said.

While some students think attending high school summer programs helps with college admissions, College

Advisor Janet Cochrane said the programs don’t beneft students as much as they think.

Tey don’t help with college admissions, only in that it may help a student fgure out what they want to major in, or help with deciding if they like the particular campus they stayed at if the program was on a college campus,” Cochrane said.

Senior Anna Feng, who attended Medill Cherubs, a summer program hosted by Northwestern University aimed towards rising seniors interested in journalism, will attend Northwestern University in the fall.

Feng said participating in the program allowed her to follow her passion for journalism under a more focused lens.

“I was able to be immersed in an environment that was solely focused on this one aspect, or one extracurricular that I was really interested in,” Feng said.

“And to learn from professionals in the feld and see what it would be like to take it to the next level.”

However, Feng also said the program was expensive.

As dawn breaks, the gentle glow of the sun seeps through the window of a bustling Starbucks, illuminating junior Kaitlyn Gonzalez.

She stands behind the counter, swiftly operating the espresso machine amid the aroma of freshly brewed cofee and the hum of hissing steam.

According to a study by the National Center of Education Statistics, like Gonzalez, nearly 20% of students age 16 and over

become employed sometime during their time in high school.

Gonzalez said she chose to pursue a job to fnancially support her family.

“I felt like if I could buy the things we needed, she wouldn’t have to spend as much and (could) focus on putting her money towards other important things,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez, who said she averages 20-30 hours of work per week, said it is challenging to manage her time between her academics, extracurriculars and a job.

“Being a student athlete can (make) it very stressful if you don’t balance your time well,” Gonzalez said. “ Tere’s been some times where I’ve had to skip a class to go run to a shift.”

Sophomore Kensie Pao, who works as a barista at Boba Guys, said working alongside a diverse group of people has helped her understand new perspectives.

“It’s interesting to see my coworkers see the community diferently,” Pao said. “ Tey all have been supportive of me.” Pao said her job provides valuable experiences by connecting her with the

community and improving her social skills. Tere’s so many diferent interactions you’ll have with people that you won’t get anywhere else,” Pao said. “It makes you feel responsible for the job at hand because people are relying on you.”

But, unlike many other programs, Cherubs ofers scholarships to students from lower-income families.

“Price-wise, it was $5000, so defnitely on the higher end of things, but I know they had some pretty generous scholarships,” Feng said.

Like Antonow, Feng said another valuable aspect of her summer program was connecting with people from around the world who shared her passions.

“Getting to hang out with 50 other journalism students across the nation and internationally, and seeing how their publications operated and how they approached their stories was really cool,” Feng said.

With summer programs in mind, Ambrosio said it is important for students to destress during the summer.

“It’s very important to take time of, just take some time to yourself, kind of rejuvenate and fnd something you’re passionate about and pursue it,” Ambrosio said. “Spend time with family, and if you have an opportunity to travel, whether it’s with your family or through a program like this with other high school students, I think that’s very valuable.”

Work Experience teacher Rachael Kaci, who teaches at both Paly and Gunn, said Career Technical Education pathways at Paly allow students to develop new interests and eventually discover a career path. “You want to be mindful that you are already building your career portfolio in high school already, (whether) that may be electives courses or extracurriculars,” Kaci said.

And in addition to participating in CTE pathways, Kaci said getting a job in

high school can help students strengthen their skills and work ethic in preparation for a future career.

Te next step would be going to career events and networking, meeting industry professionals, volunteering and getting a job,” Kaci said.

Alex Isayama Staf Writer

Nupur Kapadia as she screams the lyrics of Travis Scott’s “FE!N.”

Luca Vostrejs Staf Writer

ART BY RIVER WU

ART BY CHARLOTTE LIU

Sofa Singer Staf Writer

ARTBYSAMSACCHERI

ARTBYJESSICABAE

Book piracy increases accessibility, creates ethical concerns

Breathing a sigh of relief, sophomore Joseph Sun clicks on a link to the perfect research paper to help him with his project after hours of scrolling. However, when he tries to open the website, he runs into one of his worst enemies: a paywall. With no other choice, he turns to Z-Library, his trustworthy method of accessing the paper by bypassing the paywall.

According to a study by MUSO, a company based in the UK that monitors piracy, there were 229.4 billion visits to piracy websites in 2023.

And Sun said piracy can serve as a helpful resource that transcends fnancial barriers to promote learning.

“I think it’s a great thing to have, especially if you’re trying to access things like research papers or books you really want to read, but just don’t have the money,” Sun said. “It can be a great alternative to buying them or those (other) pieces of literature.”

Sophomore Brian Liu, who has pirated books in the past, said that there are some books he can’t fnd anywhere online, so his last resort is discovering them on these easily accessible websites.

Tere’s really no place to read them except pirated websites,” Liu said. Freshman Paul Wang also said accessing educational materials through piracy is easier and more accessible for him as a student without a job. .

“It allows me to access a lot of digital information without actually paying for it, which is something that I can’t really do because I don’t have a credit card, and I can’t buy those materials,” Wang said. “So piracy just allows me to get materials that I want for free –– it’s very convenient and easy.”

On the other hand, sophomore Kathryn Chen said people should fnd books through legal channels, like libraries.

“Could you not try to get (the book) from the library instead?” Chen said. “Or use resources that are already available so as to not take things that essentially don’t belong to you.”

Although she has never pirated content , Chen said she understands how others may justify their actions in the moment.

“It’s really hard to actually own a piece of media for yourself,” Chen said. “You don’t have a lot of other options other

than, ‘Oh, I’m gonna download this show illegally so that you can actually own it and not get it ripped away from you when they decide to take it of of Netfix.’”

However, Wang said not all piracy sites are benefcial because many of them have high risks of malware, inviting the possibility of accidentally downloading a dangerous virus.

“Pirating websites do a thing called malware advertising,” Wang said. “ Tey make money by advertising malware. Just don’t click on those links, and you will be overall fne.”

Wang said ad blockers and prior experience with piracy help him avoid diferent viruses.

“If you know your technology, you won’t get a virus,” Wang said. “You just need to be informed. Personally, I have a lot of ad blockers that help clear pirating websites of ads.”

Another downside to piracy is the issue of legality — piracy can come with fve years of jail time and a fne of up to a quarter million. But Sun said education should be prioritized above the law.

“I don’t think it should be (illegal),” Sun said. “I guess you can break the law

to some extent if you’re trying to educate yourself.”

Tere are also ethical problems with piracy. Librarian Sima Tomas said piracy is essentially robbing creators. “I think piracy in all forms is harmful, just from an ethical standpoint outside of my profession,” Tomas said. “It is harmful to content creators because it robs them of the chance to be credited, to be paid.”

Wang said he would pay for the works he pirates if he had the fnancial capability to, but he just does not right now. “If I was able to aford it, then I would defnitely pay,” Wang said.

Tomas said students should try their best to support writers by avoiding pirated books. “Writers are the people that create meaning and refection for our society and are so relevant and so important,” Tomas said. “Piracy is going to hurt them all.”

Gavin Lin Assistant Managing Editor

My eyes blur as I get a headache, stressing over feeling behind on school and extracurriculars. When I take a look around me, I feel overwhelmed by what everyone else is doing: robotics, sports, Speech and Debate, volunteering and an egregious number of AP classes.

And on top of all of that, some students work a job. Others attend elite summer programs. Some even get internships at research labs they’re hoping to work in. Here are a few thoughts to take into consideration at a high school where it’s easy to let academic pressures infuence your decisions.

Passion. We all want to do as much as we can for our college resume. After all, how else are we supposed to get into a good school? But if students are spending countless hours on classes, they should enjoy them. Some students enjoy pushing themselves and enjoy the rigor of a heavy workload, and that can be a good thing for them. However, not all students should feel like they have to enjoy that same rigor. If students don’t enjoy challenging classes, then they shouldn’t feel the need to take them purely for college or so they don’t feel out of place within Paly’s strong academic culture. Te same goes for extracurriculars. As a freshman last year, I thought I would like Speech and Debate and wanted to have it as an extracurricular. I soon came to the realization that it wasn’t for me, and I questioned whether it was worth it or not to keep this extracurricular for my resume, even though I didn’t truly like it. I came to the conclusion students should prioritize extracurriculars they are passionate about. If a student loves what they spend their time on, it fosters and nurtures their curiosity, and that shows.

Parents. Rather than serve as a driving force behind the pressure kids face, parents should be supportive and understanding of their children’s decisions. Before all the parents come after me, what parents instruct their kids to do may end up being the right decision. However, instead of having everything be black and white, talk about high school together to understand where everyone is coming from. It’s not fair for parents to put too much pressure on students in the name of doing what’s best for their resume. At the same time, students should see that parents want what’s best for them and fnd a consensus.

Privilege. Many of us also should check our privileges. We’re lucky if we have the stability, opportunity and resources to spend our time on all of our classes, extracurriculars and sports. Te other day, I was stressing out about a math test. As I was leaving for school, my mom who works for an international non-proft was discussing how girls in Afghanistan can’t go to school. While this may be an extreme example, it changed my perspective. It made me appreciate that I even had the opportunity to get education and challenge myself. It’s normal to stress out about our academics, but we should check our privilege and realize how fortunate we are to have academics in the frst place.

While my thoughts may not make any immediate impacts, they’re important to keep in mind moving forward in an intense environment with so many infuences. Recognize the importance of balancing your own passions with outside infuences like your resume, parents and friends. Explore your passions, nurture your own curiosity, and the rest will come.

Albert Jung Staf Writer

Walking into his math class, Kai Lee deposits his phone in the box without a second thought, a strict, unspoken routine he and his classmates follow, even though just last period, students were allowed to have them resting on their desks, available at any moment. Although technology is often necessary to complete schoolwork, phone use is often restricted during class. When it comes to smartphone use in education, some teachers favor a more lenient approach while others favor a stricter approach and implement mandatory rules like phone boxes.

AP Environmental Science teacher Nicole Loomis said Biology teachers implemented phone restrictions in class following the pandemic.

“I teach freshmen biology, and in middle school, they are not allowed to have their phones on them at all,” Loomis said. “Because students really struggle to pay attention in class if their phone is there, we decided as a team that we would get these little boxes to continue the philosophy of not having your phone.” Loomis said the efectiveness of this no-phone policy has worked in some ways, but she said some students are still distracted.

“Putting a phone box has been pretty efective, but some students are still pretty determined to do whatever they’re doing, and they’ll do it on their computer, in which I have to nudge them to stop,” Loomis said. “In terms of computers, so much is done online, a byproduct of the pandemic, so it would be nice to pull back.”

Senior Brandon Lorinson said most of his teachers have relaxed phone policies, with the expectation that phones are away during class.

He said many teachers also incorporate fve-minute breaks where students can use their mobile devices, but one teacher who implemented a more restrictive policy faced high amounts of student blowback.

“One of my teachers put a light policy on phones, expecting them to be away, but as he realized students would not be considerate of the policy, he set up phone pockets for his class, and created a lot of controversy,” Lorinson said. “I personally don’t mind having phone restrictions, but about 90% of the class does, to the point where I feel that reactions can be a bit much for a class of

majority seniors despite the aim of keeping students engaged.”

Gunn senior Kai Lee said the phone policies at Gunn seem to be similar to those at Gunn, where phones are expected to be away during lectures.

“Almost all of my teachers make you put your phone away if they see it, and a couple of my teachers have phone pockets where you leave phones when entering class,” Lee said. “In my experience, phones and computers are mostly treated the same.” Lorinson said standardized phone policies among classes should be implemented to combat the high number of students distracted by electronics in class.

“I think phone policies should be relatively similar from class to class, with exceptions being dependent on the subject or time of day, not just the teacher’s opinions,” Lorinson said.

While Loomis said a standard phone policy could help, it would be difcult to enforce school-wide.

“It’s not my job to tell other teachers what they should and shouldn’t do in their class,” Loomis said.

“But I think it would be easier for those of us who are implementing an open policy if everybody did it, because it would just be the standard, but that’s something that would need to come from higher up.”

Lee said he is mostly satisfed with the current phone policies in his class and thinks teachers should regulate phones depending on how much students in their class use them.

“I think current phone policies, where teachers decide for their own classroom, are fne and don’t have to be standardized,” Lee said. “But I also am part of the larger whole who isn’t really afected by restrictions whether they exist or not, because class would be the worst time to be texting or scrolling on social media in general as you can’t focus on either the lectures or personal conversations.”

Ultimately, Loomis said it is up to students and administrators to decide the direction of phone use in school and classroom as they hold a lot of control in these sorts of scenarios.

“Although putting tighter restrictions on distractions is useful, it is a losing battle to try and fully remove electronic distractions,” Loomis said. “It is up to students and administrators how it’ll go, but class time is for class. Since most of us already give breaks for people to walk around and socialize, it’s up to students to see how device usage will go.”

Luca Vostrejs Staf

Tucked away within the Palo Alto Central building on California Avenue lies Imperial Treasure, a Chinese restaurant that opened at the end of last year.

As Chinese-Americans, we have our reservations about self-described “authentic” cuisine. Walking in, we were greeted by modern-style Chinese architecture and the typical chatter of a bustling restaurant. Dressed in hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing, the staff escorted us to the bar seating after a 20-minute wait. Taking our seats, we noticed the elaborate red and gold paper fish arranged on the ceiling, swimming gracefully as if the entire restaurant was a pond. Nearby, we watched diners stream in and out of two semiprivate rooms situated under makeshift gazebos, perfect for hosting large parties.

The fusion of dark, modern interior atmosphere and traditional Chinese decorations, such as the red lanterns scattered throughout the restaurant and the bullfrog statue greeting customers at the entrance, contributed to a unique ambiance that caters to both newcomers and those familiar with Chinese culture.

To immerse ourselves in the experience, we ordered popular Chinese drinks served in glass bottles: ArcticOcean Orange Soda and Sour Plum Drink.

The iconic soda tasted just like it does in Beijing: a carbonated orange-flavored soda with a light yet crisp flavor profile. The sour plum drink was not as sour as expected and also had a smoky essence to it.

The lovely drink experience lasted until we received the check, when we discovered each drink (that costs 5 RMB, or ~$0.70, in China) took $5 out of our wallets. 7/10

Not many items on the Chinese menu have become more standardized over the years than fried rice and string beans. But both the fried rice ($15.95) and dry-fried string beans ($16.95) had noticeably more oil than their counterparts at other restaurants. We were also disappointed by the traditionally unremarkable fried rice after comparing its price to its relatively small portion size. Similarly, the shiny string beans appeared to be coated in garlic-infused oil while lacking the typical wrinkles, meat and peppers, making it a more oily stir-fry than an oil-free dry-fry. 4/10

Every dish we ordered was carefully plated, and the sliced pork belly was no exception with respect to presentability. We eagerly picked up our chopsticks and dove right into the slices of fatty pork belly coupled with a bowl of sauce. A thin layer of fresh cucumber surrounded the slices of pork belly, and, after soaking the pork belly in the garlic soy sauce, we found the crunchy cucumber nicely balanced the pork while still maintaining the pungent

savoriness flavor from the sauce. Priced at $16.95, our only complaint was that it was too good, and the plate was empty soon after it was served. 10/10

Like the name suggests, this dish contains small pieces of cooked lamb on toothpicks, resembling kebabs. Unlike what the two chili peppers next to its menu name suggest, the spice in the dish was nearly undetectable despite it being covered by red peppers. The lamb, full of flavor, was decently salty and complemented well by the fried rice. The dish also had a crispier texture than the rest of our orders, providing a nice contrast.

The main drawback, however, was the small portion size of lamb, as a large portion of the dish was red pepper, cilantro and ginger, which only served as decoration. And for $26.95, the dish served our taste buds more than our empty stomachs.

8/10

The diced beef tenderloin also had a chili pepper next to its name, and in similar fashion, we were unable to corroborate those claims. Despite the misleading spice-level description, the dish started off strong. The meat was incredibly tender, and the strong seasoning was balanced out by the bell peppers and onions, or the fried rice.

At $32.95, this was our most expensive dish but also the dish with the most food. As we dug in, however, we noticed the accumulation of oil on the plate, and what started out as a delicious dish became a platter of grease. While tasty, it may not have been the best for our health. 7/10

As one of the most popular Chinese dishes in the West, this classic pork dish was — as was the diced beef tenderloin — served alongside a little inedible flower

Imperial Treasure is highly authentic and gives a good profile of Chinese cuisine if you order the right dishes. Don’t be afraid to stray from your normal ones. However, with the small portion sizes and high price, this restaurant may be best for special occasions, especially in larger parties that can share more dishes to bring the variety. 8/10

ARTBYCHERIANNEYOON

The Crossword

HOLDEN LEE/THE CAMPANILE

Sports

Dance wins frst place at Nationals

For the second year in a row, the dance team placed frst in the Open Small Hip Hop category at USA Nationals on March 23.

Senior and captain Rachel Ho said despite a tough start to the season, the team remained motivated and worked hard.

“We really never gave up, and I think that’s why we were able to succeed at Nationals,” Ho said. “Even though we struggled a little bit with placements at our regional competitions and local ones, we ended up doing really well at Nationals because we just kept working.”

Head Coach Alanna Williamson said the team starts training in the summer to work together in a piece without a mismatch of skills. Ten, she said they start learning their competition routines in the fall, before fne-tuning it and competing locally in January.

looking at, there was always a really strong performance.”

Ho also said the team would constantly give each other feedback during practice to keep the routine clean –– a large part of the scoring component.

“We do local competitions that give us feedback on how we did, and hopefully we win something also which is always fun, but really we’re looking for that feedback that will help us at Nationals when we’re trying to get the big wins,” Williamson said.

Tis year, sophomore Keira Mok said the team focused on embodying specifc characters in each dance when performing as a group.

“Dance relies so heavily on each and every person,” Mok said. “Even when we’re sick, and even when we’re super tired, we’re still pushing ourselves to do this for each other because we’re not just dancing for ourselves to win, but also each other.”

Junior Melanie Bonilla said the consistent practice of routines, after initially learning the choreography in September, allowed team members to hone in on their facial expressions and energy on stage, which she thinks set their team apart.

“Our whole team had really good facials that matched the feeling of each song and went really well with the dance,” Bonilla said. “No matter who the judges were

“ Tat can sometimes go really wrong if people take it really personally or they feel like the other person’s trying to be mean about it,” Ho said.

“But our team is so kind to each other and really cohesive and everyone knows that all we’re trying to do is help each other improve as dancers, and so I think that having our strong teamwork helped us really help each other improve.”

Williamson said she is extremely proud of the team and winning Nationals is a testament to how hard everyone worked.

“I was screaming so loud and they were all crying, and it really validated all that hard work we put in this year,” Williamson said. “All of that training and stuf, and especially the day before that for our practice, paid of. So that’s been really positive and it feels really good to have come home and have that win to say, ‘We did it.’”

Williamson said going to Nationals was a fun and inspiring experience because they were exposed to a new group of highlyskilled dancers, and USA competitions have a friendly atmosphere.

“Studio competitions can often feel overly competitive against the other studios,” Williamson said. “You’re not really encouraged to be friends or be super cozy with each other at competitions. But at the ones that are for schools, everybody wants each other to win even though you also

want yourself to win. So when we watched NorCal teams compete in the fnals, we all sat on the foor in front of them and held up signs, and that was really fun.”

Earlier in the season, Ho said the upperclassmen had to help prepare the newer dancers well for the stressful competitions.

“Everyone spent a lot of time outside of practice drilling the parts that needed to be worked on, and it showed in how clean everyone looked in the routine,” Ho said.

Bonilla said multiple people got injured or missed practices due to sickness throughout the season, which caused a few setbacks.

“We would change the dance, and then someone would have missed that day and have to catch up with the changes on the new day as they’re making more changes,”

Boys tennis defeats Fremont in 7-0 sweep, remains persistent despite struggles with missing players

Boys tennis won its away match against Fremont in a 7-0 sweep despite missing multiple key players.

Senior and team captain Mihir Menon said the team remained perseverant and pushed through the many challenges of playing at an away match.

“Playing an away match comes with a set of diferences,” Menon said. “For one, we need to commute, which reduces the amount of time we get to warm up, which is pretty important in tennis. A lot of the sport is about feel and touch, so the warm-up is vital. Our matches start pretty early, so we often need to miss a full class.”

Menon also said Fremont’s sportsmanship was notably positive.

“Our teammates are usually the ones cheering the loudest,” Menon said. “So I would say the atmosphere was pretty similar to a game in Paly.”

According to Menon, the team was short-handed during the match due to last-minute changes that were made to the team. “We were short a few players, which is always a struggle,” Menon said. “It shifts our whole lineup

and especially afects our doubles players. We had a brand new partnership and people playing in new positions. With that being said, we knew we were a deeper, stronger team than Fremont, so the team was confdent regardless of our missing players.”

Despite being below strength for the match, Menon said he was impressed with how the team handled the pressure.

“I’m super proud of the resilience of our team and everyone’s sharp play today getting us a 7-0 win,” Menon said. “ Tat means all four singles players and all three doubles teams won. Fremont is one of the weaker teams in our league, so we aren’t going to dwell on this match too much.”

Looking to the rest of the season, Menon said the team’s toughest test will be against Los Gatos in two weeks.

“We hope to have everyone back against Gatos,” Menon said. “We need to win that match if we want to win the league championship.”

Bonilla said. “Having a busy practice and catching up with it was one of our main challenges.”

Despite these difculties, Ho said winning Nationals last year inspired the team to set high goals this year and believe in themselves after the hard work, time and passion they put into the sport.

“Winning the backpacks and frst place last year showed us how we could actually achieve that goal, and so coming into this year I felt, as the captain, there was a bit more pressure on me to continue the legacy and get us motivated,” Ho said. “And I’m so happy that we were able to (do) that.”

Boys golf moves into playof s, aims to qualify for state championships

Following the loss of two key players to injury, the boys golf team is still confdent as it heads into the playofs according to senior and captain Chase Kacher.

Head Coach Doyle Knight agrees.

Te beginning was tough because two of my top players were injured and some other players had other tournaments happening simultaneously, causing the lineup of players to be afected,” Knight said.

Kacher said to help prepare for the remainder of the season the team has switched to diferent tactics by working on skills and increasing their strength.

“We are prepping in the weight room right now on the grind for playofs. We have the toughest stretch of the season ahead of us,” Kacher said.

Kacher also said junior Ryan Chang, who was the 5th of the 6 starters, gained new skills with the extra experience.

“He shot three under par at the Wente, one of the tournaments we went to,” Kacher said. “ Tat’s really impressive for golf. He has improved by a lot.”

Knight said Chang continued to achieve an impressive score in multiple other tournaments too.

“He shot the lowest score of 68 which is really good,” Knight said. “ Tey call him the medalist, which is a person who scores the lowest.”

As the team moves into the playofs, Kacher said he hopes they will be able to qualify for the state championships.

“We are coming back and the team is forming into what we hoped,” Kacher said. “We are doing everything we can right now to prepare and stay healthy, and I’m pumped to see the outcome of the season.” Sofa

Senior and captain Chase Kacher tees up his ball. “We are coming back and the team is forming into what we hoped,” Kacher said. “We are doing everything we can right now to prepare and stay healthy, and I’m pumped to see the outcome of the season.”

Sophomore Lucas Tung serves the ball. “I’m super proud of the resilience of our team and everyone’s sharp play today,” senior and team captain Mihir Menon said.

Sophomore Kiera Mok performs her routine at Nationals. “Even though we struggled a little bit with placements at our regional tournaments and local ones, we ended up doing really well at Nationals,” senior Rachel Ho said.

Flurry of of season NFL trades drives speculation

As junior Hudson Mar opens Instagram and begins scrolling, he’s surprised to see the big “breaking news” caption under a picture of quarterback Russell Wilson: Wilson was just traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for draft picks.

Tough the NFL trade deadline isn’t until November, the 2023-2024 ofseason has already seen plenty of moves, with players like Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry switching jerseys. Mar, a Seattle Seahawks fan, said team owners are responsible for this season’s frequency of early trades. Te moves this past ofseason have been crazy,” Mar said. “ Tere have been so many. It’s hard to keep track of. A lot of NFL players have criticized ownership for lack of loyalty to players, which, if true, would explain why so many players are fnding new teams every year.” Wilson’s trade from the Denver Broncos to the Pittsburgh Steelers makes Wilson one of the biggest names of the ofseason so far.

However, Mar said Wilson may be past his prime. “I’m glad he got a second chance, but I’m not sure how much of an impact he will make and how much more he’s got left in the tank,” Mar said. But the Steelers decided to add Justin Fields as a backup.

Junior Carson Packard, an NFL fan, said Fields’s move to the Steelers was surprising, as Wilson is expected to be the starter.

However, Packard said he is optimistic about Fields’s future. “I feel bad for Fields because he never got the chance to break out in Chicago, but maybe he can beneft from having (Wilson) as a mentor,” Packard said. Mar said the problem with the trade, though, is having two strong quarterbacks will lead to one being benched in the future.

Te Philadelphia Eagles are another team making big moves this ofseason, including a trade for running back Saquon Barkley. Junior James Meehan, an Eagles fan, said this acquisition can help the Eagles adjust their ofense.

“I think the trades were good,” Meehan said. “We got a very

good running back in Saquon.We need to rethink the game plan by running the ball more and changing how we run our ofense to make it less predictable.”

However, Meehan also said the Eagles will need a good performance in the draft to boost their defense.

“We got a few solid linebackers which we lacked, but we need additions to the secondary from the draft,” Meehan said. Mar said the Seahawks will also be a team reliant on the draft for new players.

“We haven’t done much this ofseason, making smaller signings that somewhat fll the major gaps left in our defense,” he said. “We managed to bring back a few key players from last year which was great. We’re not known for making huge free agency signings, but we make it up in the draft.

Our GM John Schneider has done a great job since he’s been here picking up really good players, especially in the later rounds, so even if the picks he makes are a little bit crazy, I trust he knows what he’s doing.”

Mar said the trades give players a chance to perform for a new team.

He said, “In all, I’m excited to see how the new players pan out on diferent teams, from Derrick Henry with Lamar (Jackson) to Saquon on the Eagles.”

Rohan Bhatia Sports Editor

Athlete pre-game rituals drive team unity, provide nutrition

Anxious to consume their proper calorie intakes in preparation for a game the following day, hungry football players surround a row of tables topped with an assortment of foods.

Junior Dylan Taylor, a varsity running back and linebacker, said team dinners like these ones help players bond with their teammates before their upcoming games.

“Some days we have pizza days,” Taylor said. “Some days we have a barbecue, (other days) we have pasta. We’ll always have Gatorade along with water and salad.”

In addition to the dinners provided for the team, Taylor said he supplements his day-to-day meals with other foods designed to maximize his performance on the feld.

“Before my games, I like to eat bananas, pickle juice

to avoid cramps, protein bars and water,” Taylor said.

Just as technique and training vary between sports, diferent athletes turn to diferent sources of nutrition specialized for their performance. Sports medicine teacher and former Paly Athletic Trainer Stacey Kofman said proper nutrition extends beyond the basic food pyramid.

“You want to have your simple and complex carbs for explosive sports like football so you’re not depleting your energy stores,” Kofman said. “Swimmers have multiple events varying from 50 to 1650 meters, which is a mile swim. You need those complex carbs to keep you going for prolonged periods of time.”

Proper pre-game planning takes time and athletes should take precautions to

make sure their bodies can digest the food properly prior to their games, Kofman said.

“Even for salads, it’s best not to have it right before you play,” she said. “Ideally, you want to have it about six hours before.”

One such precaution, Kofman said, involves athletes trying to break up their meals to load up on the nutrition they need before their games.

“Multiple, smaller meals throughout the day are better for most athletes anyway,” Kofman said. “Most swimmers need about seven to 10,000 calories, which they’re not going to get in three meals in a day.” Some athletes choose to load up on fewer calories in preparation for their games, opting to consume more afterwards.

Freshman and tennis player Azad Wralidhara said he mostly eats lighter meals. “Normally, I drink a lot of water,” Wralidhara said. “I also eat a protein bar or an RX bar. When I come home after my games, I always enjoy my mom’s cooking. In particular, I like her chili.” For many athletes, having a familiar routine can matter just as much as taking the proper precautions to eat healthy. Kofman said the best pre-game routines often fall into the category of those tried and trusted. “Put in your system what works for you,” Kofman said. “Don’t try to do anything else and push your fuids to make sure you have enough in reserve and recover.”

Henry Liu Staf Writer

ART BY HANNAH SINGER

Sports

Neel Predicts: UFC 300 to showcase most entertaining battles to date

Every year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship expands their reach exponentially when they put together more than 40 live events for fans to watch.

UFC 300 is expected to be the group’s largest event yet, blowing UFC 100 and 200 out of the water.

With the UFC 300 event happening this past Saturday, I wanted to provide my personal predictions on the outcomes of the preliminary round and main card of the event.

Let’s start of with the preliminary fghts. In the featherweight division, I predict Aljamain Sterling will beat Alvin Kattar.

Since Sterling was previously a bantamweight champion, he will surely be able to outskill Katter in his new weight class –– despite his loss to Sean O’Malley last year.

In the fght between Diego Lopes and Sodiq Yusuf, I think Lopes will be able to come out with a victory because of his grappling technique. Grappling is a style of fghting where the opponent is tackled and put into some sort of lock.

Because of his background in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the fact that he holds several national titles, he should be able to grapple Yusuf even though Yusuf is also quite experienced in BJJ. In the Light Heavyweight division, we will likely see Jiří Procházka come out with

a win over Aleksandar Rakić because of his reign as the light heavyweight champion until his loss to Alex Periera.

Tough this matchup could lean either way, I think Procházka has consistently been a fan favorite to win his fghts.

For the women’s bantamweight division fght between Holly Holm and Kayla Harrison, I predict Harrison will win because of the roll she has been on with her 16-1 record and the hype she has from her recent success leading into this fght.

For the main card in the lightweight fghts I have Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan winning their respective battles against Max Holloway and Charles Oliviera because they are much more experienced fghters who have been on winning streaks recently.

For the Strawweight women’s division, I think Zhang Weili will defeat Yan Xiaonan, defending her title in the division.

Not only is Weili the current division title holder, but she is also a feared opponent after her last few wins. In the middleweight bout, Bo Nickal will beat Cody Brundage because of his insane start to his UFC career (5-0), along with the most favorable odds in UFC history against his last opponent.

Not only is he a promising upcoming star, but his longest fght so far has only been two minutes and 40 seconds long.

As my fnal pick for the main event I have Alex Periera winning against Jamahal Hill. Tough this fght will be relatively close, I think that Periera will be able to successfully defend his title and out-strike Hill and even out-maneuver him in the octagon.

No matter how my predictions have gone, I am excited to see how UFC 300 will pan out and hope that it will exceed fan expectations, becoming the best bout we have seen thus far.

Tyler Wong Photo Editor

With nine strikeouts over four innings by senior pitcher Vinnie Braga, along with home runs from junior catcher Coco Vonderhaar and senior infelder Charlie Bates, boys baseball defeated Central Catholic 5-1 on March 25 at the Boras Classic tournament in Sacramento.

Braga said the win was well-earned considering the team competed in an entirely new environment against Central Catholic.

“We were excited to get out there and show what we got,” Braga said. “We stayed in a hotel the night before to rest up. Our defense was great in the frst game against Central, and we had timely hitting that allowed us to build an early lead and hold onto it. It was a great team win and a perfect way to start the tournament.”

Senior and infelder Ari Smolar-Eisenberg said the tournament’s energy was high.

Te atmosphere against Central Catholic was amazing,” Smolar-Eisenberg said. “(Braga) pitched great. Our hitters were fnding barrels, and it was an overall great team win against a solid team.”

Braga also said Central Catholic put up a competitive game, but the team was strong enough to overcome it.

Te energy was high against them, and we were ready to go to battle,” Braga said. “ Te atmosphere wasn’t much diferent because we knew that if we would be ourselves and play our brand of baseball, we could be successful.”

Te win was also a confdence boost for the team, Braga said. “ Tis game was important for our confdence and morale as a team,” said Braga. “We know that when we play together we can beat anyone.”

TYLER WONG/THE CAMPANILE

ART BY HANNAH SINGER

Senior and infelder Charlie Bates throws a baseball in a match against Central Catholic, a match that resulted in a well earned 5-1 win for Paly. Senior and pitcher Vinnie Braga said, “We know that when we play together we can beat anyone.”

Science & Tech

Teens often base skincare routines on sponsored cosmetics for adults

Ablurred version of herself clouded by steam stands in front of junior Pippa West as purple, yellow and blue bottles stare back at her. Looking down from her bathroom mirror, West picks up a yellow-blue jar from her array of hair and skincare products to cleanse her face.

For the past three years, West said she has been using skincare products to help maintain her skin’s condition while preventing acne and dry skin.

“I sometimes use micellar water if I’m wearing makeup to take it of,” West said. “I also use a cleansing balm. But normally, I mostly just use moisturizer and wash my face with water.”

Brooke Jefy, a board-certifed dermatologist in Arizona, said the use of skincare products has become increasingly common among young adults due to social media.

“(Skincare) brands have seen this interest, and they’ve pivoted to making their products look more appealing to younger people,” Jefy said. “People are also more and more concerned at younger and younger ages about aging, partially because we all see ourselves on camera so much more now.”

But Marqueling said focusing too much on one aspect of your physical appearance can lead to worsened mental health.

“Middle school and into high school are stages where you’re

ARTBYKATEXIA

younger are nice and soft, and as you get older, they become callous. Tat’s an indication of what your stratum corneum looks like. As everyone’s skin ages it develops a thicker brick wall around it.”

Because of these diferences in skin condition, Jefy said some products may be irritating for teens.

“One of the processes of skin is that it replaces itself, and kids do that very quickly and evenly,” Jefy said. “Since the skin is thinner, (it) makes it more easy for products to penetrate which makes them more likely to cause a problem. Younger skin also doesn’t hold in moisture as well, so it’s also more prone to being irritated.”

And because most skincare products are considered cosmetics, Annie Marqueling, a Clinical Assistant Professor at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, said teenagers should be especially careful when purchasing products.

“When companies say that products work for certain things, a lot of that is based on research on adults,” Marqueling said. “A lot of these products don’t have to go through rigorous testing, so we don’t always know to what extent they’ve been studied. And in clinical trials, it’s very difcult to study individuals under 18 because it’s hard to obtain consent.”

To fnd more appropriate products, Waldman said reading

sure that they’re really doing the basics of skincare,” Jefy said. “Focusing on consistency, being sure that you never skip a day of washing your face and not going to sleep with your makeup on are important in making your skin more able to resist acne.”

However, when adding additional products to a routine, Marqueling said people should be cautious as some products targeting acne can pose risks to the skin barrier.

“Most acne medications do have ingredients that can cause irritation,” Marqueling said. “Starting with products that are on the lower strength to minimize those risks can be really helpful. We often recommend a benzoyl peroxide wash that is under 5% versus the ones that are at 10% because they work similarly, but the 2.5% and 5% are not going to give you the same irritation and dryness as the 10%.”

For other acne products like chemical exfoliants, Waldman said using them once every three nights and closely monitoring the skin is crucial.

“When using chemical exfoliants, a small amount of peeling, especially around the mouth and nose, is normal,” Waldman said. “If it’s a signifcant amount of peeling, redness, irritation or a lot of stinging whenever you put any product on, that’s a sign that you’re damaging your skin barrier –– that outer layer that’s protecting your skin. If that happens, you should back of using that product and really let your skin repair.”

After using chemical exfoliants, Jefy said it is important to use sunscreen because the efects of sun exposure can be intensifed when the skin is exposed to certain exfoliants.

“People don’t really realize that sunscreen is actually very helpful in helping acne,” Jefy said. “If your skin is infamed because it’s getting chronically damaged by the sun, the skin barrier is not working well, and you’re more prone to getting acne.”

Waldman also said teenagers with a balanced diet typically have sufcient amounts of antioxidants like vitamin C, which provide stronger protection against sun damage by reducing collagen breakdown.

“When you get sunlight exposure or an injury when you’re younger, vitamin C can help counteract that faster,” Waldman said. “As you get older, you don’t have that vitamin C as much, and your skin starts to degrade rapidly after 30 until you may need to replenish it.”

In addition to antioxidants, Waldman said a proper diet provides other nutrients necessary for skin health.

“Diet is well established to help maintain your skin barrier,” Waldman said. “When you eat fber, it feeds your microbes, and those gut bacteria use that fber (to) make fatty acids that you can’t make or eat otherwise,

and those actually make up your skin barrier.”

Waldman said protein is crucial in maintaining the elasticity of skin which can combat some signs of aging. “Getting sufcient protein is key because you need to make all the proteins in your skin like collagen and elastin,” Wladman said. “You have to eat full proteins, so you’re getting all the amino acids to build the proteins not just in your skin (but) in your whole body.”

Jefy said certain dietary choices are associated with worsened skin conditions, so cutting out certain foods can determine root issues.

“Dairy is contributory to acne by increasing oil production,” Jefy said. “Skim milk and whey protein are very contributory to oil production and acne. High sugar diets, highly-processed diets, (and) heavy red meat diets can all cause infammation in your gut, which causes infammation in the skin as well.”

But Waldman said everyone’s skin is diferent, so mimicking other routines is not always efective. “ Tere are a lot of rules on social media like, ‘Oh, you can’t do this,’ but everyone’s skin is diferent,” Waldman said. “If you want to do skincare as a young person, really listen to your skin and see how you’re reacting to things. Start with one thing at a time and use it for several weeks, so you really get a good sense of how your skin responds.”

Caltrain noise pollution disrupts classes near tracks

wood City by the fall, which will produce signifcantly less noise compared to the diesel engines. “At top speed, they should be fve decibels lower,” Lieberman said. “Decibels are on a natural logarithmic scale, making that actually a pretty substantial fve removed.”

As the cross country and track and feld teams begin their daily warm-up route, sophomore William Xue jogs along the train tracks of Alma Street. He turns to his teammate to start a conversation, only for the deafening screech of the Caltrain to hurtle by, cutting him of mid-sentence.

Due to the close proximity of the train tracks to Paly, Xue said the noise of the Caltrain is a nuisance to many students and teachers.

“It’s really loud and kind of annoying, especially when the train comes by and we’re running along the path between Paly and the railroad,” Xue said. “When the train comes by, and (our coach) is talking, everyone has to wait for the train to pass by before he can continue speaking.”

Additionally, Xue said he often has to record audio for assignments in Chinese, where his classroom is close to the tracks.

Te Caltrain is pretty inconvenient, especially if (we have) a timed assignment,” Xue said. “ Te train goes by and just messes up the recording.” English teacher Kari Snell, who has been teaching at Paly for 15 years, said she experiences disruptive noise from the train in the classroom.

“It feels like we’re right on the train tracks,” Snell said. “It is a constant distraction that you get used to. We’ve learned to tune it out, but it’s still there and is kind of bothersome.”

Caltrain Public Information Ofcer Dan Lieberman said the Caltrain system is expecting a shift to electric trains running from San Jose to Red-

Snell said she is appreciative of this advancement and the potential noise reduction.

Tere’s just general problems that come with the tragedies that have been associated with (the train), and that can be difcult for students to be reminded of,” Snell said.

Lieberman said the train electrifcation project will also afect residents from all over the Bay Area.

“Millions of people are going to ride this service,” Lieberman said. “We are at the beginning of a very major change, and we’re going to be seeing a big improvement in our service.”

And Lieberman said there are many other things developing on the rail front with high speed rail moving along. Te electrifcation of Caltrain is a very big frst step into an exciting new future of California rail,” Lieberman said. “I just can’t wait for people to get on board and see for themselves.”

Overall, Snell said the noise reduction will greatly impact her teaching in a positive way and beneft her ability to focus on carrying through her lesssons.

Snell said, “It will be such a nice refreshing change of pace to not have the train going by constantly all day long while I’m trying to teach.”