T U ES DAY, S EP T EM B ER 19, 2017
Speaking up to stop cheating rings
Homecoming preparation
OPINIONS pages 4-5
FEATURES pages 6-7
VOLUME 59 NO. 1
Football Feature: Jhanvi Patel
Fanservice in Anime
FLIP SIDE page 12
MICHELLE MA
SPORTS pages 10-11
Summer hotspots
FLIP SIDE page 12
The Prospector
CHSPROSPECTOR.COM
Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School
10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INVESTIGATES HARVARD
COURTESY OF NAPLES HERALD
KENNETH JEON photo assistant
In a press statement released on Aug. 2, 2017, the Federal Department of Justice stated that it would investigate Harvard University due to a complaint received from the Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) concerning discrimination against Asian Americans in the admissions process. In a related lawsuit against Harvard regarding affirmative action in college admissions, the plaintiff, an organization called “Students for Fair Admission” requested the records of Monta Vista. Affirmative action in college admissions has been a controversial issue for quite some time. In November 2014, students for Fair Admission filed a complaint claiming Harvard officials are “employing racially discriminatory policies and procedures in administering the undergraduate admissions program.” The group brought the lawsuit to the local level in Cupertino by demanding the records of four American high schools with large populations of Asian Americans, one of them being Monta Vista.
CHS TEACHER RETURNS FROM CHINA MISSION
“It is definitely something to think about,” CHS senior Joycelin Liaw said. “When you fill out applications, they ask for your race, what you identify as, and that definitely plays a huge factor [in admissions]. I have definitely heard [Asian students] joking about identifying as a minority or as something other than Asian in order to boost their chances.” The AACE filed a complaint in 2015 against the school for discriminatory practices against Asian American applicants. On Aug. 3, CNN reported that Department of Justice spokesperson, Sarah Isgur Flores, came out with comments concerning this plan: “The posting sought volunteers to investigate one administrative complaint filed by [the AACE] in May 2015 that the prior administration left unresolved.” These moves “could support a broader effort, seen in the Harvard lawsuit, to reverse a 1978 Supreme Court decision that allowed colleges to consider an applicant’s race as one of many factors in admissions,” CNN reports. Said Sanika Mahajan, Cupertino alumna and current Harvard freshman, when asked about her experience with race in the admissions process, “I would say that I was pretty careful, espeMICHELLE MA
BIKE CLUB BUILDS REPAIR STATIONS XINYI ZHANG copy editor
GENE KIM business manager
Former Cupertino High School Science teacher Bruce Cheung returns to continue teaching after spending three years in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in south-central China. Prior to his departure in 2013, Cheung taught Chemistry and Chemistry Honors, and was also a co-advisor for the Footprints Christian Club. During that time, Cheung was active in mobilizing students to stand against social justice issues such as human trafficking. Initially upon arriving in Wuhan in fall 2013, Cheung taught English at a renowned university to students desiring to study overseas. However, he eventually transitioned to be a part of a social enterprise business startup that focused on providing senior in-home care. “My primary role as the training administrator was to develop a robust bilingual curriculum to equip local caregivers to provide specialized care for the elderly, especially those with illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s,” Cheung said, addressing China’s overgrowing population. Cheung and his wife, whom he met in Wuhan, also mentored a group of adults who attended
cially private institutions and Ivy Leagues, because obviously, I’ve heard of affirmative action in the past...Many [Asian American students] know it is difficult to stand out when a lot of Asian American students are high achieving.” Said fellow Harvard freshman and former Cupertino student, Geoffrey Tourette, on his perception of the process, “At the end of the day, it is who they like better on paper. I think [the Harvard administration] did a good job of leaving race out of it, but at the same time I cannot be one hundred percent sure.” Harvard denies the use of racial quotas in their admissions process. However, they do stand by their efforts to diversify their student body. A document submitted to the Supreme Court in 1978 titled the “Harvard College Admissions Program” states, “In Harvard College admissions the Committee has not set target-quotas...At the same time, the Committee is aware that if Harvard College is to provide a truly heterogeneous environment that reflects the rich diversity of the United States, it cannot be provided without some attention to numbers.” Nevertheless, the Department of Justice is continuing to investigate.
a local church, counseling them through difficult life decisions and supporting those experiencing difficult personal struggles. Cheung first became fascinated with China in 2005 when, after college, he taught English at a small language school near the China-North Korean border to students studying to become English translators. Upon returning to the U.S., Cheung worked as a chemist at a local biotechnology company, and eventually attended graduate school, before coming to teach at CHS. But his experience in China has stayed with him through the years. While Cheung taught at CHS between 2008 to 2013, he spent some of his summers in Southeast Asia helping to training local scientists on a clean water project. As he became exposed to the very real needs throughout Asia, he gradually began to seriously consider relocating overseas. During Cheung’s five year career at CHS, he always had a strong heart for raising awareness for social
Bruce Cheung, continued on page 3
Under the leadership of Walk-Bike Cupertino, Cupertino’s Rotary and the Bike Club, a bike repair station was installed at Cupertino High School in mid-June near the staff parking lot facing Finch Avenue. The station at CHS is one of many that have been established across Cupertino in the past year. The stations were built to make bike riding more appealing as a form of transportation and accessible to the citizens and students of Cupertino. Designed by Dero, a biking infrastructure company, the Dero Fixit serves one biker at a time and features Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, box wrenches, tire levers and a pump, all attached to the station via steel cords. There are also mounting racks on the station for the bikes during maintenance. The Fixit at the CHS campus is red in color. The offer to install these stations came from Cupertino’s Rotary Club this past spring. The repair stations are part of Walk-Bike Cupertino’s larger plan to create positive changes in Cupertino’s transportation system. Said assistant principal Geoff Wright, “Larry Dean, a member of the Cupertino Rotary, brought this idea to us and the district. He was the point person who helped fund this project and helped everyone understand [the proposal] and get the approvals from the city.” After receiving approval from city hall, the Rotary Club of Cupertino and the Fremont Union High School District purchased the
Bike Repair Station, continued on page 3