W ED N ES DAY, O C TO B ER 29, 2014
Celebrity (and student) activism
The problem with D.A.R.E.
FEATURES pages 6 & 7
OPINIONS page 4
VOLUME 56 NO. 2
Best Buddies
LIFESTYLES page 9
FLIP SIDE page 12
Arangetrams
The Prospector
CHSPROSPECTOR.ORG
Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School
10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
Keeping Tino Clean The trash predicament on campus and the ways students are addressing the issue SERENA NGAN
MYUNG JU SONG news assistant
“One of the worst cases of littering we have seen this year was when someone spilled milk over a half-finished salad and decided to slide the mess across the entire table,” said the school’s custodian Bernardo Chavarria. “It is a complete disrespect for the beautiful campus the administration has spent millions of dollars to provide [students] with,” he added. Recently, the trash and littering problem in the school has been growing out of hand. Students often fail to clean up after themselves after eating, even when the trash can is merely an arm’s length away. “There is absolutely no reason other than laziness for students who don’t throw away their litter. We have trash cans in literally every corner of the hallways, cafeteria, and two trash cans in each class,” said Chavarria. Earlier this year, the littering problem grew to a point that there was trash and leftover food left in almost every table in the cafeteria after lunch. With such a blatant display of disrespect and lack of responsibility, the administration was forced to take drastic actions: students must pick up their trash, or Clubs Day would be put on hold. “I think the students need to know that there will
be punishments or rewards for both insulting or commending behavior,” said Principal Kami Tomberlain. “In this case, there was only complete disrespect and lack of ownership for our school — if this littering problem is not reversed, the students need to see the consequences for their lack of maturity.” Since the warning, the littering situation has noticeably improved. Many students, finally realizing the gravity of the situation, started to clean up after themselves and others. “I became more conscious of the littering in school and reminded myself to pick up my trash every time I ate in the cafeteria,” said senior An-
I became more conscious of the littering in school and reminded myself to pick up my trash every time I ate in the cafeteria. Sometimes, if I had free hands, I picked up trash from nearby tables, too - Senior Angela Choi
The Umbrella Revolution
Hong Kong students protest for democracy in their nation
Bonds J and K An overview of these two measures PETER MARTIN flip side assistant
SERENA NGAN photo editor
In early September 2014, several protests erupted after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress — China’s legislative body — and the Hong Kong government announced a new process for electing Hong Kong’s next chief executive. As these protests have since grown in scope, the causes and impacts have affected students of the school in different ways, whether they support the protestors, the Chinese government, or a combination. The protesters were mainly comprised of teens and young adults led by 17-year-old Joshua Wong, the most prominent student leader in Hong Kong and founder of Scholarism, a student organization advocating for a democratic government. On September 28th, Wong led a movement dubbed ‘Occupy Central’ in which protesters trespassed upon Hong Kong’s central government complex. As more joined the already large student movement, the Hong Kong police started to crack down on the protestors, even resorting to physical force, tear gas and pepper spray. In order to stand their ground, several protesters used umbrellas to protect themselves, which is where the name “umbrella movement”
gela Choi. “Sometimes, if I had free hands, I picked up trash from nearby tables, too.” The school office eventually decided that the trash situation had sufficiently improved and that Clubs Day would take place as usual. Although Clubs Day is back, students still need to take a greater part in taking care of their own campus. “The trash situation has improved, but I still see students failing to throw away their litter,” said custodian Esteban Orozco. “There are cases when students leave their drink on the floor and people kick and walk over the spilled food to cause a bigger mess.” The school did its part by ordering new trash cans to be installed on campus. These trash cans will encourage students to throw away their trash, and also stop outside elements from disturbing the trash. “Although the seagulls and wind are not big problems as they were in past years, they still tear up the trash cans and spill the trash inside,” Tomberlain said. The school has taken steps to improve students’ access to locations to dispose of their trash, but has equally stressed the importance of student awareness and responsibility towards the campus. Ultimately, according to Chavarria, “it’s a team effort and part of the Tino pride to clean up after your own school — treat it with respect and the care it deserves.”
JASON MUNOZ
CONNECTIONS TO THE PROTESTORS | Junior Mavis Tsoi
has relatives who are participating in the protests in Hong Kong.
originates from. After hearing about the student protests in Hong Kong, several students of the school were pessimistic about the success of the movement. “Hong Kong still belongs to China, but Hong Kong is a city with its own culture and chief executive,” said senior Chelsea Hu. “The Hong Kong people are fighting for a democracy — but I don’t think it’s possible for a democracy to exist under China. [Still,] I don’t think it’s fair to tell people that they can vote but not really give them the right to Continued on page 3
This coming November, California voters will be deciding the fate of two important propositions: Measure J and Measure K. First approved in 2004, Measure J will renew the $98 parcel tax that goes towards the Fremont Union High School District. This tax will go towards protecting teacher positions, avoiding increasing class size, and assuring that students are prepared for college and university. A parcel tax is a type of property tax, the rate of which is determined by factors other than property value. These factors can include age of property, frontage, size of property, or a flat rate for all parcel taxes. Anyone over the age of 65 or receiving disability aid is exempted from this tax. This is not a tax increase, simply a renewal of an already existing bill. Measure K is another bond measure for the school district; it allocates up to $295,000,000 to build new facilities and upgrade the technology currently in schools. The maximum tax rate for this measure would be $21.00 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. These proceeds cannot go towards teacher or administrator salaries, and will be overseen with annual performance audits, along with other safeguards. Supporters of these measures say that these are vital investments in the future of local schools, while opponents state that it is unnecessary spending and a poor use of tax dollars. The vote will take place on November 4th.