Issue 3 2014

W ED N ES DAY, D E C EM B ER 10, 2014

AVID and Terra Nova

The right to choose OPINIONS page 4

Mockingjay Review

FEATURES pages 6 & 7

VOLUME 56 NO. 3

Classic holdiay recipe how-to Lifestyles page 9

FLIP SIDE page 12

The Prospector

CHSPROSPECTOR.COM

Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School

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Synthetic turf linked to cancer An investigation into whether the turf is harmful to students DIANA KRUZMAN editor-in-chief

ALLAN WU lifestyles assistant

Since its introduction in the 1960s and widespread implementation in the 1980s, artificial turf has gained substantial attention as not only a potential substitute, but a superior alternative to natural grass. Over the decades, thousands of grass fields nationwide have been torn up and replaced with artificial turf, which blankets over 1,000 playing fields in California alone. Turf is used in schools, recreation areas and parks; however, research has suggested that the material can lead to numerous health problems, a discovery that is steadfastly denied by turf distributors.

At first glance, one would easily miss the small black crumbs — the infill used for artificial fields — that seem to hide under the green synthetic fibers that mimic natural grass. However, these easily overlooked particles are the center of massive controversy. Many individuals have reported cancer — mainly lymphoma and leukemia — as the result of consistent contact with artificial turf.

In one case, Amy Griffin, associate head coach for the

University of Washington, compiled a list of 38 soccer players in the United States who have been diagnosed with cancer — and found that 34 of them are goalies. Goalies find themselves constantly in contact with turf as they fall to deflect goals from the opposing team, and are thus the most exposed to turf infill, which lodges itself into their mouths and noses.

People seem to think [artificial turf fields] could be harmful. [However], [...] compared to most grass areas, they are less toxic. All articles I’ve read have been trying to find something and force something to show up when there isn’t.

-Brad Metheany, FUHSD Coordinator of Athletic Facilities Cities and schools from Washington to New Jersey have decided to avoid the artificial material due to the potential health concerns.

“We need to be sure we’re providing a safe environment for our student athletes,” said Mike Prato, principal of Ken-

nedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington, in October.

Turf crumb is composed entirely of scrap tires that have been ground up to use as infill. Studies examining the composition of this material — including several by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station — have identified the presence of carcinogenic elements. The EPA compiled a list of 30 compounds and materials, typically found in the tires decomposed for turf crumb, that range from butadiene to styrene. Butadiene is a known human carcinogen, and styrene is a neuro-toxic chemical.

However, other studies — as well as the turf manufacturers themselves — maintain that no substantial evidence proves a definitive, causative relationship between turf crumbs and cancer. A study by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery acknowledges the presence of such chemicals, but states that the amount released by the turf is below the limit set by state safety standards.

“All exposures were below health-based screening levels, suggesting that adverse health effects were unlikely to occur in persons using artificial turf,” the study stated in its abstract. continued on page 2 SERENA NGAN

A tragedy sparks discussion Running for Light City takes steps toward safety following bike accident

PETER MARTIN flip side assistant

Ethan Wong, a 15-year old Monta Vista High School student, was riding his bike to school on the morning of Oct. 27 when he was fatally struck by a passing vehicle on a stretch of McClellan Road. The vehicle in question was a large gravel truck, the driver of which was unaware of the accident and had to be flagged down by bystanders. This big rig belonged to Moonlight Express, a California based transport company. As of now, the driver has not been cited and there have been no charges against any party involved.

In the wake of this tragedy, many have questioned the legality and safety of having these large vehicles driving in close proximity to schools. The Cupertino municipal code contains strict laws limiting the roads usable by commercial vehicles, but there are exceptions. Specific roads within the city are designated as commercial vehicle routes, and it is on these roads exclusively that commercial vehicles are allowed to drive.

A commercial vehicle is “any vehicle “that exceeds a gross weight of three tons and has a total combination of motor truck, truck tractor and/or trailers of sixty feet or less in length.”

However, vehicles may leave these roads when

taking the shortest possible route from these designated courses to a location for picking up or dropping off goods. McClellan road is not one of these designated commercial vehicle routes, but the driver in the accident was evidently picking up or dropping off at the time, allowing him to drive on McClellan road.

The city of Cupertino has responded to this accident by investigating ways to increase safety for students biking to school. At a Public Safety Commision Meeting on Nov. 13, attendees discussed options for keeping young bikers out of the street. The commision discussed raising the maximum age of children who are allowed to ride bicycles on the sidewalk, citing the higher age limit in many other cities and states.

Cupertino has a comparatively low age limit, with a maximum age of ten. Committee members considered adding specific criteria to when teenagers would be allowed to ride on the sidewalk, such as only when traveling to and from school. The enforcement complications of this type of constraint eventually caused the issue to be dropped.

The city has yet to take any action regarding a change in municipal code surrounding commercial vehicles. On December 13th the public safety commission plans to discuss commercial vehicle traffic around schools and possible regulation of hours, traffic signage, and bike lane safety.

Students raise money for organization

SERENA NGAN

THE PROJECT’S INITIATOR| Sophomore Amal Mehta created Project Running for Light to provide solar lanterns to villagers in India.

ISABEL LIN features editor

In India, around 400 million people lack access to electricity. For these people, much-needed lighting can only be supplied by crude, dangerous kerosene lamps. In an effort to provide lighting for school children and adults in rural India, sophomore Amal Mehta founded Project Running for Light in 2011. Since its inception, Running for Light has raised around $14,000 and has provided lighting for an entire isolated village in India.

Mehta was inspired to start the project when he visited his native village, Aina, in India three years ago and observed the plight of villagers who lacked

continued on page 2

2

News

The Prospector

S TA F F 2014-2015

Cupertino High School Established 1958 Vol LVI, No. 3 | 2014 editors-in-chief diana kruzman jessica shin news editor brian zhong opinions editor laura shkouratoff features editor isabel lin lifestyles editor maithilee kanthi sports editor nikita devdhar flip side editor delanie medina online content editor jay shroff copy editors anirudh pai joyce ye photo editors thu dam serena ngan business manager marvin wang media liasons alex shieh jeremy xue news assistants

neil mcclintick rishi nair myung ju song

opinions assistants

anisha dangoria michelle pyke

features assistants

shalmali patil stephanie shi

lifestyles assistants

melissa silva allan wu

sports assistants

daniel fertelmeister marvin wang

flip side assistant

peter martin

online assistant

melinda sun

photo crew

jason munoz jeremy xue

adviser ann peck

Editorial Policy “The Prospector” is an open forum of expression for student editors to inform and educate their readers. It will not be reviewed by or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution. Advisors may and should coach and discuss content during the writing process.

The staff of “The Prospector” seeks to recognize individuals, events and ideas and bring news to the Cupertino community in an accurate, professional and unbiased manner. “The Prospector” will not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dissent or controversy.

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The Prospector

December 10, 2014

Dear Editor: Daniel Fertelmeister’s main argument in “The Flaws in School Drug Education” comes simply stated: The DARE program is entirely ineffective, and he has a variety of statistics to “prove” it. Though I did enjoy and agree with some of his main points, such as DARE’s “obvious disconnect from its [teenage] targets, instead of providing a solution to fix this “extremely ineffective” program, the article provides an overly simplistic data dump without consideration of opposing viewpoints or statistics to the contrary. The program has actually been shown by a plethora of studies to be advantageous to its participants, a perspective you would not have gained from Fertelmeister’s article.

First, Fertelmeister does reference factual studies, but it is the lack of consideration from opposing sources that makes him ineffective in proving his point against the program as a whole. In fact, there is an abundance of statistics that contradict the studies he provides. According to the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, participants in the D.A.R.E program report lower alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use than students who did not receive the program. The Research Triangle Institute and the Journal of the National Medical Association have shown that D.A.R.E graduates are five times less likely to engage in smoking compared with nonD.A.R.E control groups.

Now, I personally am not entirely convinced by these statistics, and whether or not they truly show the effectiveness or lack thereof of the D.A.R.E program. I acknowledge there are confounding variables: what location were these tests performed in, what are the demographics of these test groups, were the statistics self-reported? But it’s this ambivalence of the relevance of statistics that makes Fertelmeister’s viewpoint so misguided. Instead of presenting an impartial case that equally considers and compares both sides and the potential biases with each study, it haphazardly strings together a few studies in an attempt to prove correlation and fact.

Finally, Fertelmeister’s suggestions that he advocates are largely baseless, and therefore not convincing as to why they should be used instead of the already implemented D.A.R.E program. His proposals, saying the program “needs” to be based on “educated suggestion” and letting students “make smarter choices,” are not supported by any empirical studies or data. Has “educated suggestion” been proven to work with students? Does “allowing students to make smarter choices” really cause students to do so? The fact that there is no factual evidence to back up his recommendations makes them unconstructive, and I find myself skeptical as to if these recommendations would truly be more effective than D.A.R.E. It’s not that Fertelmeister’s article should be completely disregarded. His point about the disconnect between the program and actual participants is valid. But painting the program in a slanted light without consideration from any contradictory viewpoints or facts, ultimately proves ineffective in teaching readers about the program that he disregards in a seemingly predisposed manner. Drug education is an important issue in America, but it is not as clear-cut as Fertelmeister makes it seem. Instead, it is a convoluted problem that the public should learn about in an impartial light, not one that is influenced by clouded studies and tendentious rhetoric.

Sincerely, John Siano

Running for Light continued from page 1

access to electricity.

Said Mehta, “Students [that] didn’t have electricity […] had to work all day with chores, helping with their family [...] and had only the nighttime to study.” Upon seeing students deprived of education due to lack of lighting, Mehta became aware of the utmost importance of lighting.

To raise money for solar lanterns to provide the villagers with much-needed lighting, Mehta worked with the nonprofit organization Grameen Pragmati to take part in races and marathons that were sponsored and supported by various businesses. One such event Mehta ran in included The Relay, a 200mile relay race that spanned various cities across the Bay Area.

Mehta participated in the run with several other students from the school, with each team member running about 20 miles.

“Some parts of [the run] were pretty difficult, but we really bonded as a team, and finished [the run] in 35 hours,” said Mehta when reflecting on his experience participating in the run.

With the funds raised through various races and marathons, Mehta traveled to India last summer to provide lighting for 70 homes in Aina. Six additional streetlights were given to a children’s hostel located outside of Aina. For Mehta, nothing was more rewarding than traveling to the village to distribute the solar lanterns to the villagers.

Said Mehta, “I loved [seeing] the villagers’ reactions when we gave them the lights because [the lights] [...] are so overwhelmingly important in their lives.”

This coming year, Mehta seeks to participate in more races, including The Relay, and garner more funds and public interest in Running for Light. Through the project, Mehta hopes to continue lighting up the villages of India to provide a brighter future for their inhabitants.

Synthetic Turf, Quantified

11,000 $500,000 Synthetic turf fields currently in use throughout the United States

Amount of money that contracts can run upwards of

According to FieldTurf, synthetic turf results in

7%

19%

Fewer total injuries

Fewer substantial injuries

12%

Fewer concussions SOURCE: FIELDTURF

Possible risks of synthetic turf continued from page 1

FieldTurf — the company that installed artificial turf on the school’s sports fields — argues that the potential health effects of artificial turf are minimal, and provides articles and research to back up its claims.

“Synthetic turf is, and has always been, safe,” stated the company on its website. “There is no legitimate scientific or medical evidence that synthetic turf poses a human health or environmental risk.”

The Fremont Union High School District, which commissioned FieldTurf to construct the school’s new artificial field three years ago, supports FieldTurf ’s claim.

“I’ve read many articles,” said Brad Metheany, FUHSD Coordinator of Athletic Facilities. “People seem to think [artificial turf fields] could be harmful. [However], [...] compared to most grass areas, they are less toxic. All articles I’ve read have been trying to find something and force something to show up when there isn’t.”

In fact, according to Metheany, artificial turf is actually safer than grass fields because of the decreased risk of injury.

“A larger concern would be a [natural] grass field without proper care: potholes, rocks, pits which can cause knee injuries,” Metheany said. “Overall, [artificial turf] creates a safer environment for athletes to participate in.”

As further research is conducted and more is understood about the adverse effects — or relative safety — of artificial turf, administrators and officials will decide whether or not to change their approach toward the use of this material in schools and public spaces. For now, students continue to make use of turf for sports and recreation, and the district upholds its decision to incorporate the material into its building plans.

NEWS BRIEFS The European Space Agency explored new frontiers as the Philae Lander successfully landed on top of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on Nov. 12, 2014, after more than ten years of travel. The lander performed valuable experiments, one of which determined that comets are mainly composed of ice and carbonbased compounds.

On Nov. 18, the Keystone XL Pipeline project was rejected in the Senate in a slim margin of 1 vote. The Keystone XL Pipeline would connect the Canadian oil sands to Texas oil refineries. Although some argue for the economic benefits of establishing a new pipeline, opponents criticize the project for its negative impacts on the environment.

Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Nov. 4. A similar bill failed to pass in Florida by a close margin. Such measures reflect the changing view on drug use by the nation, where recent polls have suggested that as much as 65 percent of the population now supports legalization of recreational drugs.

The Missouri Grand Jury returned a verdict of no indictment for Officer Darren Wilson on Nov. 24.

Police officer Darren Wilson has been accused of killing Michael Brown on August 9, 2014. In response to the verdict, a fresh wave of riots rose in Ferguson.

Tensions are high in Congress over the President’s new proposal on immigration reform. The reform, which plans to grant citizenship to almost 11 million undocumented immigrants, has seen stiff resistance in the Republican-dominated House. Frustrated with the development in Congress, President Obama exercised his executive powers on Nov. 20 to shield 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Under the international agreement made on Nov. 12, the United States would cut its emissions to 2005 levels before the year 2025.

In return, China is predicted to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and aim to get 20 percent of its energy from zero-carbon emission sources by the same year.

COMPILED BY MYUNG JU SONG

News

The Prospector

December 10, 2014

3

Google X

The secretive program, which brought about the self-driving car and Google Glass, has more products in the making

NEIL MCCLINTICK

rather than post-diagnostic treatment. This is a noticeable deviation from the widespread conception that Google solely centers around its search engine. Google X seeks to benefit from fruitful markets and expand technological horizons as a whole. Founded in 2010 — coincidentally at the same time as the development of its driverless car — the division acts in secrecy and subtlety, selectively unveiling its progress in various projects. Shortly after projections were released for its first creation, the famous self-

news assistant

JAY SHROFF online content editor

On Oct. 29, 2014, Google’s experimental division, Google X, released designs for a pill that uses nanotechnology to allow physicians to easily detect cancer and other dangerous diseases.

Small magnetic particles that are swallowed by the patient in a pill format would be absorbed into the bloodstream and would record important physiological data, such as the amount of sodium, plaque buildup and presence of cancerous tissue. This type of technology would allow for an extremely fast and precise diagnosis, capable of gathering the necessary information months before conventional techniques would.

According to physiology teacher Samantha Southerd, “Right now, [the process of diagnosing diseases] is based on symptoms.

For example, you go to the doctor and say you have pain, and then it becomes an effort to find out why you have pain. This [new form of treatment] is: let’s just take a pill and see if things check out. This would be prediagnosis. You wouldn’t need chemotherapy or radiation treatment as extensively had you not waited until [stage] 3 [of cancer].”

This revolutionary advancement in cancer diagnosis is one of many examples of Google’s expeditious branching into many different fields, and could represent a dynamic shift in the medical field, reorienting focus around presymptomatic measures

This [new form of treatment] is: lets just take a pill and see if things check out. This would be prediagnosis.

- Physiology Teacher Samantha Southerd driving car, several states willingly passed legislation in order to allow for the public testing of the car, allowing the public a quick glimpse of futuristic devices. Current projections from Google state that its driverless car will be available to the general public by the year 2020. Fitting with the almost Star Wars-like technological advances, Google calls its developers “Moonshots,” after scientists and inventors who were thought to be crazy for positing mankind’s ability to land on the moon.

Along with the nanoparticle pill, Google X has also announced plans for a smart contact lens that would non-invasively measure glucose levels. This would allow those who have to monitor their sugar levels on a daily basis, like diabetics, to get their glucose level read in a less painful way than pricking their fingers.

Additionally, Google X has begun “The Baseline Study,” a plan to collect large amounts of genetic information from thousands of people across the globe in order to establish a baseline for the chemical information of the average human. Such information would allow physicians to make comparisons with their patients and the data to diagnose and treat illnesses more effectively.

Google has also advanced in other science fields as well. Astro Teller, one of the Google X project heads, who has also been dubbed “Captain of the Moonshots,” has recently released data on Project Wing. This work seeks to develop a prototype delivery service that uses VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) pilot-less drones to ship goods in only a few minutes. The employee attaches the item to the drone, which then flies it to the desired location, such as a house, and then lowers the object to the ground using a hookline. Teller has already completed test runs for the Project Wing drones in Australia, but has yet to test them in urban places and harsh weather conditions.

Although many of these projects are still in the development phase, Google X employees have been very optimistic about the possibility for releases sometime this decade. With demonstrable progress continuing to surface, maybe “The Moonshots” aren’t so far from the moon, after all.

SOURCE: RESEARCH.GOOGLE.COM

Google X is founded.

Self driving cars Google Glass prototype Google contact lenses Project Wing is announced. are developed. is announced. are introduced.

2010

2010

2012

Speaking success in China

Sophomore shines in Chinese Bridge Competition

COURTESY OF MIHIR KHAMBETE

CHINESE BRIDGE COMPETITION | Sophomore Mihir Khambete became the continental champion and attended the international competition with his knowledge of Chinese language.

NIKITA DEVDHAR sports editor

Not many non-native Chinese speakers can fluently speak Chinese, let alone use it in real-life conversations across the world; however, sophomore Mihir Khambete has not only shown his fluency with the Chinese language, but his ability to use it in practical applications.

Khambete recently became the continental champion in the 7th Chinese Bridge competition, a speech competition meant for non-native Chinese speakers.

Khambete began learning Chinese in preschool, and has continued learning all throughout elementary and middle school.

“I started in first grade because my parents were both working at the time, so they sent me to a Chinese after-school [program], and with that, the added benefit was that I got to learn some Chinese there,” Khambete said.

During middle and elementary school, he took Chinese at weekend school, and is currently continuing his studies in the Chinese classes offered at Cupertino.

“I think it definitely has an impact on who I am now because I am able to form a connection with other people who can also speak Chinese,” Khambete said.

After passing the preliminary rounds, and winning national and regional championships, Khambete advanced to the continental stage of the Chinese Bridge competition, which con-

sisted of participants from North and South America.

“I think it was a higher anxiety and higher reward that [I] felt because it was a higher degree of something that I won,” Khambete said.

After winning at the continental level, Khambete and his partner were given the opportunity to compete at the international level of the competition, held in Beijing, China. Along with competing, Khambete was also given the opportunity to travel around China and visit many famous locations, such as the National China Museum, the Terracotta Army, and the Forbidden City.

“I think the whole experience of being there is more of a higher ideal, because it’s almost like you’re over there, and of course you’re learning there, and you get to speak Chinese and your Chinese level increases a lot,” Khambete said.

Although he and his partner did not win the international competition, Khambete still remains as the continental champion of the 7th Chinese Bridge competition, and has taken away valuable memories from the experience. “[Speaking Chinese] broadens my view of the world, and I like other cultures and studying about them, so I think Chinese is just one more step in that,” Khambete said. “It’s a new culture and it’s good to know about.”

January 16, 2014

August 28, 2014

Google Pill is announced.

October 29, 2014

Opinions

4

THE FLAWS IN OUR

MUSIC INDUSTRY

JASON MUNOZ photo crew

The days of record stores are long gone. No longer in order for a do consumers play their music from vinyl alsolo artist to make bums, cassettes, or US minimun wage, even CDs. Music they would have to sell is a form of media that people now consume digitally, and many do not even pay for their songs on itunes music anymore. The music industry is constantly evolving, every and right now it is all about music streaming. People use online services such as Pandora Radio, month Youtube, and Spotify to stream their music — many without paying for anything.

Though Pandora and Spotify offer premium services which allow users to skip ads among other features, most of the revenue from music streaming comes from playing ads for their users, and only a fraction of the revenue goes to the artists.

F o r consume r s , music streami n g h a s worth of been pirated an apmusic preciated change in the music industry because it provides

2,044

MUSIC

by the

in 2013, Spotify users streamed over

NUMBERS 4,500,000,000 hours of music

95%

the average ipod contains

$800

of music downloaded online is pirated

December 10, 2014

THE RIGHT TO -

them with fast and easy access to songs. For the artist, however, music streaming can really hurt profits.

For an artist to make the equivalent of minimum wage per month solely off of the money he or she gets from music streaming, his or her songs need to be played over 40 million times. iTunes sales, in comparison, give artists about 94 cents per album sale, or about 10%, with Apple and the artist’s record label taking the rest. For artists like Taylor Swift, whose last album, Red, sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. alone, the small amount of money she’s received from iTunes and Spotify certainly add up. However, not every artist is as commercially successful as Swift, and it can be difficult for smaller artists to turn a profit.

At its core, the music industry is a business, and the artists that survive are the ones that make money. In the music industry, where there is already no shortage of talent, it becomes even harder for artists to become successful and reach more fans if they can’t afford to do so.

To solve the problems artists are facing, it’s up to the consumers to make some sacrifices. If services such as Spotify showed more ads to their users, then they would gather more revenue and could pass on more to the artists themselves. Though it may be irritating to users to see more ads, they will eventually adjust. Not long ago, YouTube began playing ads before many of its videos, and though the change was initially met with disdain, users adjusted with time.

Music access has been getting cheaper and easier for decades, but it’s time to take a small step back so that listeners can continue to see great new artists on the scene, and support their favorite existing artists.

CHOOSE LAURA SHKOURATOFF opinions editor

In defense of assisted suicide

On Nov. 1, 2014, Brittany Maynard chose to end her life. Using a physician-prescribed medication, she passed away in her home in Oregon with the comfort of close friends and family surrounding her.

Mayard had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer months before her death, and moved from California to Oregon to be given the right to die under Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act.

The act gives patients that have 6 months or less to live the choice to be given medicine that will kill them painlessly. Mayard had been suffering through seizures, stroke-like symptoms and neck and head pain as a result of the aggressive brain cancer. Before her death, Mayard released a short video that encompassed her experience with her disability as well as the choice she decided to make.

She quickly became an advocate for patients’ rights to physician-assisted euthanasia, as her video sparked a global conversation on the issue.

Though there is a high level of debate surrounding the topic, the ethics behind it are straightforward — patients should be allowed to have this choice. People euthanize pets to keep them from suffering, and similarly, it’s right to take a human out of his or her pain if death is only a matter of

time. The level of pain and suffering a terminal illness can bring to a patient is astronomical, and the patient may often want to end the long strain of suffering. It’s also much safer for these patients to choose physician assisted euthanasia than illegally attempt to kill themselves, which can cause many more complications, suffering and problems, both legal and emotional.

A significant level of resistance has come from Catholics and other religiously affiliated groups, yet it is unfair for one’s religion to come in the way of another’s needs. “Brittany Maynard was not Catholic,” said Rev. Dr. Ignacio Castuera, a board member of Compassion & Choices, a charity that advocates for physician-assisted euthanasia. “People of faith are free to follow their own beliefs and consciences. But it is wrong to use the police power of government to impose a set of religious beliefs on people who do not share them. It is not the American way.” Similar to the abortion debate, an individual will never be forced to take the life-ending pill. If it’s against a patient’s religion to do so, no one is stopping that person, but it is immoral for religious groups to be taking the right to choose away from others who want to be able to make that choice for themselves.

The fact that Maynard had no choice but to move out of California in order to access this right to die with dignity is a problem in and of itself. The state should adopt a movement to cater to potentially thousands of suffering patients who are ready to end their suffering and move on.

Opinions

The Prospector

December 10, 2014

THE TRUTH ABOUT

VACCINES THU DAM

5

MY American

IDENTITY MAITHILEE KANTHI lifestyles editor

photo editor

1 in 10

more than

Polio. Measles. Smallpox. Many people today are unfamiliar with what each of these diseases entails — but that’s a good thing. Thanks to the immense number of advancements in the medical world, these and countless other potentially fatal diseases no longer serve as serious threats to America’s citizens. Rudimentary versions of vaccines against smallpox have been used since 1000 A.D., and as a result, this serious and contagious disease was declared eradicated in 1980. Since then, according to the Center for Disparents vaccinate ease Control (CDC), vaccines have prevented over 322 million their children cases of various childhood diseases in the last ten years. on a schedule Despite the progress, these numbers don’t seem to be quite conthat is not CDCvincing enough. Only 76 percent of children aged 19-35 months are up reccomended to date on all of their immunizations, and 54 percent of parents are concerned enough with the adverse effects of vaccines that they consider omitting their child from vaccinations. Numerous individuals and organizations have protested against vaccinations for children on the grounds that they are unnecessary, cause serious allergic reactions and can even trigger autism, a developmental disorder. In order to properly address these concerns, from 2004 to 2008, however, it is essential to unpack the complexities of a vaccine is and how it functions.

Vaccines work by exposing the body to either a weakened, killed, or small part of a disease-causing agent of U.S. residents diagnosed called a pathogen. These “pathogenwith measles had not been imposters” do not cause the actual vaccinated because of a disease; instead, molecules on the pathogen called antigens trigger the personal or parental objection immune system to create cells to combat the pathogen. Because the body has already been exposed to the virus, it can create memory cells. It can then elicit a quick and powerful response in the case that the actual disease is encountered.

Vaccines often do cause mild side effects as the body is acquiring immunity, but the main concerns are the fatal side effects and allergic reactions. For example, the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine can cause acute encephalitis (brain swelling) in 11 in 1 million cases. However, when weighing the odds, the diseases it prevents are fatal in 1 in 20 cases, 1 in 10 cases, and 1 in 1,500 cases respectively.

Extensive studies have also shown that vaccines do not cause autism, despite the apparent correlation. There have been cases where shortly after receiving vaccinations, a child begins to show symptoms of autism, which is where the hypothesis came from. This connection is easy to assume, but correlation does not always imply causation. Children get their vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella at the age of 12 to 15 months — the same age at which autism symptoms typically become noticeable. This coincidental timing issue continues to raise concerns, which is why it is important to be informed of all the other variables before jumping to a conclusion.

Today, the number of cases of many fatal and contagious diseases has been greatly reduced as a result of vaccinations.

If these diseases are practically eradicated, some see no point in getting vaccinated. But these horrible illnesses are barely talked about anymore because of vaccines. Criticizing the exlives are saved act medical advancement that ended a fatal disease would be worldwide each counterintuitive. It would be too easy for a nearly eradicated year by vaccines disease to infiltrate the United States, and if the majority of the population is not vaccinated, an outbreak is a real possibility. Those with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly or cancer patients, cannot get vaccinated, and rely on what is called “herd immunity” to protect them. This means that contagious diseases will be blocked out by those who are already vaccinated, eliminating the risk for those who are unable to do so.

The dropping percentage of vaccinated Americans is a huge concern for the entire population.

Choosing to get a certain vaccine can be a case of weighing the odds, but the scales tip very strongly in its favor simply due to the deaths and cases of diseases it has prevented.

Prevention is always the best cure.

68%

3

million

Whenever I meet someone new, the same inevitable question comes up.

“So where are you from?” they’ll ask quizzically, trying to identify my accent and analyze my name. I’ll reply “California”, but of course that’s not what they meant. They meant “Where are you really from?” That dreaded “really” all immigrants know about, when suddenly, despite our entire lives being spent in the US, we have to cast ourselves as someone “Other.”

I have no problem being Indian. I think Indian culture is rich and nuanced and it is a significant part of my home life. I go to Indian parties, eat an Indian diet, and listen to Bollywood music nonstop. But I resent the implication that despite who I believe I am, society needs me to tack on my ethnicity before the word American simply so they can make sense of my difficult-to-

I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an AfricanAmerican; I’m an American.”

-Raven Symone

pronounce name. White people can answer that they’re American to the origin question and be left alone, but somehow it sits uncomfortably on the same askers when I respond with that.

It is one of the biggest lies of this nation, after the American Dream, that the United States is a melting pot of cultures. Sure, living in the Bay Area may allow us to operate under the delusion that the rest of the nation is as diverse and accepting as we may be. But any person of color who has lived outside of the Silicon Valley can confirm the lack of ethnic diversity.

When I say I resent labeling myself as anything other than American, it is not because I am ashamed of my background, but rather that I fear the stereotypes and generalizations that are associated with my ethnicity. I worry that if I ever chose to leave my multicultural community, someone will take one look at my skin tone and immediately decide whether or not to employ me. It probably wouldn’t even be a conscious decision, but without realizing it, they would categorize me as frugal/living on a visa/a lazy worker/all of the above. People of every ethnicity in the U.S. are responsible for this automatic categorization, this inherent need to sort every name and accent so they have one less judgement to form. So while I may be proud of my Indian culture, is it so wrong for me to want to avoid this unwanted evaluation?

In this increasingly migratory world we live in, it’s not uncommon to find people of mixed backgrounds and heritages. The “where are you from” question could just be an innocent inquiry for someone trying to make friends based off some common ground, such as an ethnic background. However, I don’t owe anyone an answer that conforms to their neat racial categorization. Ultimately, I’m Indian and I’m American. But I’m also really neither because there isn’t yet a solid understanding of what it means to be both. After all, aren’t all teenagers just trying to figure out their own identity anyway?

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December 10, 2014

SHALMALI PATIL features assistant

AVID, just like any other classroom, strives to teach its students how to study efficiently, communicate well with others, and become self-motivated; however, one crucial difference between the AVID class and any other class around campus is that in AVID, the students are able to get plentiful one on one support from both teachers and tutors.

Monique Machado, a World Core, American Literature and the AVID 11 teacher, compares the two classes. “The structure of their conversations with me are a little bit more personal and relaxed as opposed to an English classroom.

They know that they can come to me and I will support them academically and also personally,” Machado said. The AVID teachers are not without challenges and are always faced with a constantly changing curriculum. As Machado said, “It is a matter of what the students need, I run my classroom a little differently [than my other classes] because I know that if my students have a really big test coming up, I know that that’s what they need to focus on and we are going to worry about college stuff the following day.” However, as different as an AVID classroom and typical classroom are, they both wish to instill critical values, such as good communication, motivation and an excitement for learning, into their students.

As important as a good student-teacher relationship is to AVID, the teachers

have a lot of students and are not always able to provide one on one help, and for this reason, there are AVID tutors. AVID students have access to personalized tutoring sessions with their assigned tutors twice a week. As one of the main goals of AVID is to promote good study habits outside of the classroom, tutor and senior, Aman Gupta says “In AVID tutoring, I don’t ever give [the students] the answer, instead, I work with the group so that the group helps the person who has a problem.” Regarding his goals as a tutor, Aman Gupta says, “A lot of the students that I teach that are freshmen are really unsure about their own work.

They have the right answer but they don’t have confidence and I hope to get them to be more confident in their work so they don’t always fall back and ask for THU DAM help and instead, do it themselves” As of this year, Machado states that five new students came to her hoping to join the class because of the positive things that they heard about the course from others. She hopes to see the size of the class continue to grow since “[AVID] is one big happy family [...] They all know each other really well. They all get along.”

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AVID from the perspectives of

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However, some students decide to join for something more than just academic support.

“I honestly joined because neither of my parents have been to college,” said junior Rylie Zea. “AVID definitely motivates me to work JASO N MU NOZ harder because my AVID teacher … reminds us everyday that we can go to any college we want to as long as we try hard enough.”

The class provides a lot of help with the college application process and can play a very important role in the lives of students who do not know as much about the complicated and tedious process. From standardized testing preparation to college seminars, students are guided along the process in order to make sure that they are applying to a college that is fit for them. However, although there are many aspects of AVID that are beneficial to students, there are still some ways that AVID can improve to help students be more productive during the class times.

“It would have been more helpful if we had a more strict agenda during our freshman and sophomore years … and less free time,” said Subijano.

Still, AVID continues to be a successful program that continues to impact many students around the world by providing them with resources for academic success and encouraging them to create meaningful relationships with each other.

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In an environment where students are greatly impacted by their family and editor-in-chief peers, if a student is not placed in a comfortable or hard working environment, school work, extracurriculars, standardized testings, and college applications can seem like a meaningless burden. However, these students can make up for this motivation that they are lacking by taking AVID. By providing students with more resources and a family-like environment, AVID pushes students to work harder and set higher goals for themselves, both socially and academically.

For some students like senior Tiffany Subijano, AVID is first introduced to them in middle school during a seminar in which AVID representatives describe the concept of the class. Subijano was convinced that this class would be necessary for her once she started high school because of the academic support that she viewed as important for her success. Students are provided with tutorial sessions with student tutors in subjects that they may be struggling in. These tutorials not only help them to learn more academically, but also socially because they are able to rely on each other for help and work together to improve on a specific subject. During her junior year, however, she felt that she would be able to manage her school work without AVID, and later found that her year off only taught her the importance of the class.

Said Subijano, “I noticed that it was heavily incorporated into my life as a student and helped me NGAN to … make the most out of my resources.”

SERENA JESSICA SHIN

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AVID: student viewpoints

Features

The Prospector

December 10, 2014

Terra Nova’s student impact MICHELLE PYKE opinions assistant

Despite popular belief, not every student can name the courses offered at the school as if they were written on the back of his or her hand. Among the lesser known classes, Terra Nova, a class suggested for sophomores and juniors, has made more of an impact than anybody could have imagined because of its focus on personal relationships in addition to academics.

The class provides a safe and supportive environment for students who struggle with the demands of high school, an aspect that seemed to be lacking in some of the most basic courses at school. Senior Kristen Yabes recommended the class to those that feel like they are “doing [their] best, but [were] not really achieving” their goals academically or felt “that they [needed] the support.” As she explained later, there are oftentimes “a lot of things that are going on during high school” that may involve drastic changes in friends or family, which greatly affected the quality of everyday life for students.

She admitted that she was “terrified” at the beginning of the year, but as she grew accustomed to the environment, the students in her class became like family to her due to the small class size and one-on-one help with teachers.

Terra Nova may not be as challenging as an AP or Honors class, but its emphasis on its students brings several lessons to light.

Furthermore, school is not meant to be an establishment with the sole purpose of educating students by presenting specific pieces of information that fit certain guidelines. It is important to note that the literal mindset of each person shapes the path that they take for their future and students require more than merely facts and statistics to discover what they can accomplish.

Yabes enthusiastically remarked that Terra Nova ultimately allowed her to discover what she wanted to pursue in college: teaching. She pointed out that she “learned to empathize and sympathize,” and that it was “okay to ask for help and to have that extra support” even when it may not be desired.

Junior Teresa Montano added on to this by stating that she learned “how to work with other people” and to simply PHOTO BY JEREMY XUE “ask more questions.” Although Terra Nova may not be as well known to the student body, both Montano and Yabes agree that the program is influential to those who have the opportunity to experience it. This serves to demonstrate that school may not be as rigid in structure as people seem to believe and is merely a system that seeks to improve its dynamic towards a more prominent aid in student life.

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Teaching Terra Nova BRIAN ZHONG news editor

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Students encounter their teachers nearly every day, yet they often feel detached, believing that the only responsibility of teachers is to instruct using a rigid set of standards. At Terra Nova, however, this mindset is proven to be untrue. Since Terra Nova students attend three classes together in their sophomore year and two classes together in their junior year, they establish a rapport and camaraderie with their teachers that no other class can replicate.

“The learning environment creates an opportunity for students to share their experiences with others,” said first-year Terra Nova teacher Monique Machado.

One unique aspect of Terra Nova is its Life Skills class. Kevin Morgan, an English teacher who has taught Terra Nova for five years, described the class as “a safe haven for students to receive constructive help in their academic and personal lives.”

Morgan often organizes team-building activities and lighthearted games completely independent of any academic work.

One example is a game called “Honey, I Love You,” in which one student carries a conversation with another student and has to end the conversation with the phrase “Honey, I Love You.” “Initially, the activity was only supposed to take fifteen minutes,”

Morgan said. “After fifteen minutes, however, the students really wanted to continue playing, so I let them. Eventually, the activity stretched from fifteen to forty minutes long.”

This activity, and various others that students participate in, helps students develop a familial environment within the class.

“When students interact with each other in ways that a typical classroom cannot replicate, good things come out,” Machado noted.

Terra Nova not only impacts students, but also benefits the teachers. “[Teaching the program] has helped improve my empathy for students and deepen my understanding of hardships that they face,” Morgan said. “Since I started teaching this program five years ago, I feel as if I have a better grip [on] the unique circumstances of each student and can cater my teaching to help them. I also feel that the counseling environment in Terra Nova enables students to overcome obstacles in their personal lives and improve their academic capabilities.”

In order to better assess the impact of the program on students, Morgan has been conducting a study to analyze the skills that Terra Nova alumni gained.

Said Morgan, “I have talked with many seniors who participated in Terra Nova, and they have overwhelmingly said that the counseling that Terra Nova provides was crucial; if it weren’t for the counseling sessions, they would not have made it through.”

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Lifestyles

December 10, 2014

Conscious Consumerism

DANIEL FERTELMEISTER sports assistant

ANIRUDH PAI copy editor

In America, large clothing companies have routinely put the importance of their profits ahead of the ethics of their production practices, which has unfortunately popularized this practice in the industry. These companies create products using cheap labor overseas in countries with weak labor laws, such as China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. These workers usually labor in sweatshops — buildings with dangerous conditions, poor safety standards, and terrible treatment of workers. They also often use poor quality materials, such as cheap cotton, fake leather, and other substandard materials, in an effort to cut production costs.

It is important for consumers to do what they can to persuade companies to emphasize ethical practices instead of profits. One way consumers can advocate against these issues is by supporting and buying products from companies that have ethical production practices and use materials of good quality, a practice called “conscious consumerism.”

Many companies that have embraced unethical practices Although a variety of companies disenfranchise the community through malfeasant business practices, there are corporations which benefit deprived areas as well as people with benevolent business methods. For instance, Krochet Kids international sells woven goods produced by women in Peru and in Africa in order to empower these women as well as provide them with well-paying jobs. Additionally, each piece of clothing is signed by the woman who created it, which provides an emotional connection for the people who buy the items. The corporation Sevenly designs a new line of t-shirts each week for a different charity, and $7 from each product an individual buys goes directly to the non-profit of the week. KITE Products, a company that sells pencils, has a “one-for-one” system.”

For every pack of pencils an individual purchases, KITE Products pledges to donate a pack to disadvantaged children in both the U.S. and internationally. While there are companies that swindle consumers, individuals can change muddled business practices by engaging in conscious consumerism and supporting ethical businesses.

are already well-known and popular. In fact, a number of major retailers have been caught up in scandals relating to their production practices. In 2010, Swedish retailer H&M was found to be discarding its unsold merchandise in the middle of winter instead of donating it. An investigation later that year uncovered that the company had also been committing organic cotton

fraud; it had been using Indian cotton had been produced using methods and labor and

that unsavor y

$7 Se ve nly

Pove rte e s

Born in 2011, Sevenly promotes funding for various charities through a wide range of products. Every week, Sevenly’s followers team up to bring funding and awareness to numerous humanitarian causes. Every purchase made by an individual results in $7 that is sent to the site’s featured charity of the week.

Sevenly has donated nearly $4 million to hundreds of charities, providing aid and prosperity to over a million people.

Povertees, founded in 2007, began with two men walking down a Los Angeles alley, handing out lunches to homeless people, along with custom shirts that they had made. Since then, the brand has expanded, getting involved with rehabilitation centers and even staffing previously homeless people. The proceeds from their products allow them to continue helping the misfortunate in their city.

Krochet Kids International Three Washington college kids with a passion for crocheting founded Krochet Kids International, a non-profit organization that aims to benefit underprivileged women in both Uganda and Peru by allowing them to trade their woven items internationally. Thus these women experience larger incomes and savings. Yet, the greater reward for the women is the sense of empowerment that they undergo once they support their families in their otherwise male-dominated societies.

calling it organic. The Bangladeshi sweatshop that had been supplying H&M also caught fire that year, killing 21 laborers. It was discovered that they were forced to work late into the night, and that the fire exits were blocked, giving them no way to escape the fire.

Old Navy and Nike have also practiced unethical production methods. Old Navy’s parent company, The Gap, was found to be employing 8-year-olds in New Delhi to make its clothes.

In addition, the company was manufacturing in Chinese and Korean factories on the U.S. territory of Saipan, allowing it to violate U.S. labor laws without consequence. One of Nike’s contractors in Malaysia was found to be confiscating migrant workers’ passports and forcing them to sign contracts to work off their immigration debt — essentially making them indentured servants.

Large companies like Walmart and Calvin Klein have also been implicated of similar behavior.

The practices of prominent international corporations have brought the problem to the majority of the world. Millions of people around the world buy products with an uncertain history, and this only promotes the behavior of these companies. The best way to curb this is to avoid buying products from companies that have unsavory production practices, instead giving support to companies with a history of integrity in production.

/r/CHSPioneers Reddit, dubbed the “front page of the internet”, is a popular content and news aggregator that boasts a large following, despite its spartan user interface. Reddit has something for everyone — image macros of uncomfortable seals, celebrity AMA’s (Ask Me Anythings), and subreddits for every topic imaginable, from /r/pics, to /r/AskReddit to /r/Leagueof Legends.

Comment threads can contain anything from silly puns or drawings to opinions on news articles or simply relevant stories. Through the site’s voting system, users can “upvote” content that they find interesting and “downvote” content that they find doesn’t contribute to the site.

In addition to the default subreddits such as /r/funny and /r/ pics, Reddit boasts a considerable number of diverse subreddits. A user can find a subreddit for his or her favorite show, the most popular of which is /r/gameofthrones, followed by /r/pokemon, and /r/ DoctorWho. Another interesting subreddit is /r/Showerthoughts, where users can share unorthodox epiphanies or ideas such as “I wonder what my dog named me,” or, “What are snails even trying to do?”. In /r/photoshopbattles, users submit images and allow other users to post their own humorous renditions of the original picture, with upvotes determining the best creation.

A large portion of Reddit’s user demographic consists of high school students and young adults. Many students frequently browse Reddit during their free time, such as senior Omar Alhait, who has been using Reddit since his sophomore year.

“I found Snoop Dogg’s AMA to be very interesting,” said Alhait when asked about his favorite experience on Reddit. The Hip-Hop artist’s AMA included casual questions such as “Hey Snoop, why do you carry an umbrella?”, to which the artist replied, “fo’ drizzle”.

However, in addition to a source of entertainment, students can also find Reddit to be a valuable educational resource.

“I remember I asked a Reddit law group about a specific question that helped with some work I did with a lawyer over the sum-

there are over

JEREMY XUE

164,168

photo crew

subreddits /r/funny is the busiest subreddit it gets 6.5 million views per day

66%

of reddit users are males

redditgifts hosts the world’s biggest Secret Santa

the most upvoted post of 2014 has 582 votes it’s an infographic titled: Where we donate VS. Diseases that kill us

mer,” said Senior John Siano, a Reddit user of two years. However, while using Reddit, one must keep in mind that all content is anonymous and is therefore difficult to verify.

“I used to treat Reddit as a cool website and thought that everything I read must be true,” Siano said. “Then I realized after posting a few [fictitious] posts myself, like ‘I went to high school with Justin Timberlake and he was pretty shy,’ and getting around 50 up-votes and questions from other people, I realized how easy it was to [fabricate] everything.”

Social Studies teacher Sean Coleman is known to have a strong stance on his students using Reddit for educational purposes.

Said Coleman, “I think that Reddit has its uses. It’s a great way to see new material and it is really easy to start a form of discussion there. [However], I think that when Reddit ventures into more serious issues such as politics and the like, that can be a problem due to the way that Reddit presents content.”

Reddit’s point system for sorting content, the “karma” system, promotes interesting and fresh content while burying bland or outdated content. However, according to Social Studies teacher Sean Coleman, this voting system contains a few inherent flaws.

“The material that gets upvoted on Reddit [...] is the stuff that tends to be what people want to hear and it doesn’t necessarily encourage people to read the article or whatever is being posted,” Coleman said. “A lot of the time it is pretty easy to just read the headline and hit the upvote button.The comment sections tend to suffer from similar issues.. Although many of them are well written, it is the content that panders to what people want to hear that stays at the top, and people that have different opinions get down-voted and sent to the bottom.”

As Reddit gains popularity among high schoolers and adults alike, it is important to keep in mind that while Reddit contains a plethora of intriguing content, caution should be used with the credibility given to the content of its users.

Lifestyles

The Prospector

December 10, 2014

MOC KINGJAY: a r e v i e w

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Thailand for fear of rebellion

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TEA

million $121.9

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of 163 get their tea by

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SERENA NGAN photo editor

Hunger Catching Mockingjay Games Fire Part 1 have done much more than it did; its main job, which it successfully pulled off, was to represent the characters well, make the book come alive, and entertain the audience.

56%

of readers l a w r e n c e ‘s believed Part 1 would end when The Hanging Tree Peeta attacks hit #2 on iTunes

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Released on November 20, 2014, Mockingjay: Part One continues Katniss Everdeen’s story in District 13. Although many complain that this movie could have been better, Mockingjay represented the book it was based on as well as it could, given that this book was possibly the worst of the trilogy.

The last movie left off when Katniss ( Jennifer Lawrence) had just been rescued by the rebel group from her second Hunger Games, just after her home, District 12, was bombed and her “starcrossed lover”, Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson) was kidnapped.

Throughout the movie, Jennifer Lawrence played her role as Katniss perfectly — whether she was shaking with grief, screaming in anger, or making one of her sarcastic comebacks, I never failed to see an accurate portrayal of Suzanne Collins’ Katniss.

Unfortunately, some other characters, such as President Coin ( Julianne Moore), were not exactly what I pictured. I feel that Coin could have been portrayed more like the cold, stern character described in the book instead of the warmer woman depicted in the movie.

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lifestyles assistant

One aspect of the movie which I found very clever was the integration of the broadcasting of Finnick Odair’s story into the rescue mission where Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and a few other soldiers rescue the tributes. The combination of those two events in the movie created a captivating scene that the book lacked — I would have never thought that these two scenes would work so well together.

In many movies inspired by books, it can sometimes seem like the directors and producers see the book as just a vague outline that does not necessarily need to be followed (ahem, Percy Jackson movies); however, Mockingjay did a decent job of sticking to the book, except for a few changes that made it even better. For example, Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) was only mentioned once in the book but played a big role in the movie, replacing Katniss’ prep team.

Overall, I think that while the movie was good, it was not as great as it could have been mainly because of the book it was based on. I’ll agree with just about everyone that the book Mockingjay, not nearly as captivating as the previous two books in the Hunger Games Trilogy, was disappointing. Because of that, I did not think the movie could

$152.5 million

MELISSA SILVA

it’s

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katniss

When it comes down to breakfast, students often see coffee as a vital part of any healthy morning meal; however, it is often surprising to learn that tea is a much healthier option.

With high levels of antioxidants, tea plays a pivotal role in preventing health complications such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, and even psychological diseases like Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, tea has been proven to speed up the body’s metabolism, lower stress levels, and function as an effective antidepressant. Although coffee is also effective in combating diabetes and Alzheimer’s, its health Even benefits essentially end here. though tea In addition to health benefits, oral hygiene may be the also comes in hand with drinking tea. In healthier opcontrast to coffee, which causes discolor- tion, coffee is, in ation and brittleness in teeth, tea helps America, the more prevent cavities with its powerful popular and effective antioxidants and rid the bacteria beverage when it comes responsible for bad breath with to a much-needed boost of its polyphenols. energy.

When considering While few are aware that it all whether to drink tea or dates back to the Boston Tea Party in coffee, remember to 1773, the popularity of coffee in Amerfactor in the health ica is undoubtedly clear today, with coffee benefits of each accessible on every other block. Because of beverage be- their convenience, coffee shops are common fore decid- locations for social gatherings, studying, and meeting. ings.

Coffee is not only a drink that brings people together, but it also keeps them active and boosts their heart rate and blood pressure with one ingredient: caffeine. When comparing caffeinated drinks for the expected energy jolt, coffee comes out on top. While 8 ounces of tea averages from 14-61 mg of caffeine, 8 ounces of coffee averages at least 95mg.

When choosing to drink either coffee or tea, first consider the effectiveness for boosting energy in each beverage.

42% over tea

prefer COFFEE

of 340 students

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STARBUC KS

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GRIND

Sports 10 Has sports mania gone too far?

December 10, 2014

ALEX SHIEH media liason

The street rumbles from the stomps of the angry mob.

The air is filled with terrified screams at the hurled rocks and smashing stores. People with painted faces and crazy outfits are running around while the police attempt to restore order. The place is brutal and chaotic, like a war zone.

Yet, the cause for such violence is not politics, religion or injustice; instead, it is ‍sports.

There have been several incidents in which sports fans were unable to control their spirit and consequently caused trouble. One such incident occurred in the 2014 World Cup, during the game of Argentina against Germany. In response to the loss against Germany, some of the Argentine sports fans went on a rampage, breaking storefronts and hurling rocks. In the end, 15 police officers were injured and at least 60 people were arrested. Another incident occurred at a football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. After the Packers mercilessly beat the Bears 55-14, the Bears fans went insane, threatening the Bears coach and eventually his daughter.

In both of these incidents, the fans indoubtedly went too far and couldn’t control themselves. Based on research, these wild actions are the result of what social scientists refer as “disinhibition” and “deindividualism”. To an average person, these terms are recognized as the notion that one can get away with carrying out certain actions as a fan in a crowd that wouldn’t be allowed in a normal society. Disinhibition refers to sports fans escaping from their normal

A GIANT SACRIFICE

ABOUT 100

revelers vandalized police cars and pelted officers with bottles.

FORTY PEOPLE were arrested

for public drunkedness, assaults, and outstanding warrants.

36 ARRESTED during 2014 Giants Parade

ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS ANISHA DANGORIA opinions assistant

PRO

As painful as college applications may seem, for many, the real trouble, trials and tribulations come after decisions come out, as affording college is simply out of the question. Often, academic scholarships simply do not cover enough of the cost, and students who are eligible for athletic scholarships deserve just as much recognition as those who are eligible for academic scholarships. These are students who have undoubtedly poured countless hours into their sports in order to reach the level of proficiency they are at. When it comes down to it, a scholarship should be rewarded to an individual that has demonstrated achievement in any field, regardless of whether it is academic or athletic.

The biggest opponents of colleges providing sports scholarships to athletes are those that feel such scholarships are not fair to those who are academically inclined as opposed to being athletically inclined and believe that sports scholarships are not where colleges should be funneling their funds. Admittedly, many schools may offer athletic scholarships to bring top athletes into their programs and enhance their athletic clout. However, contrary to popular belief, these students do not raise the admission standards for other students to get into the school, and the vast majority of college athletes are not brought in on full-ride scholarships.

One argument against sports scholarships tends to be that athletes should not have their entire education paid for them on the grounds that they are athletically gifted when colleges should be funneling that money towards academic scholarships. However, this argument has two central flaws. First, the vast majority of sports scholarships do not cover the athlete’s entire time spent at the university — according to CBS Sports, the average scholarship that athletes receive comes in at less than $11,000. Furthermore, full athletic scholarships are only available in six sports: men’s basketball and football, and women’s basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and tennis. Secondly, more academic scholarships are given out than sports scholarships — the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, states that of the millions of American students that attend college, only 2% of high school athletes are awarded any scholarships at all. Furthermore, many argue that recipients of sports scholarships are mistreated. However, incidents of this sort have been fairly isolated. The majority of athletic scholarships exist solely to supplement an individual’s financial aid packages in small ways. Athletic scholarships do not provide a free education; rather, they allow students to pay for their education in different ways.

While the resounding argument against sports scholarships rests on the fact that sports scholarships results in a smaller amount of money available for academic aid, sport scholarships are just as merit-based as any academic scholarship. Though it may seem like the vast majority of scholarships may be funnelled towards athletics, the truth is that academic scholarships are the vast majority of scholarships handed out, and even if an individual receives an athletic scholarships, it is unlikely that the scholarship will even come close to covering the complete cost of their tuition.

Most scholarships exist solely to aid talented students who qualify for this aid in paying for their college costs. When it comes down to it, the fact of the matter is that sports scholarships benefit the athletes that earn them without hurting other students.

lives and expressing themselves freely by cheering on their team. At this period, the fans act on their immediate emotions and motivations, without consideration of their behavior. Similar to disinhibition, deindividualism is when passionate fans identify themselves as an integral part of a team, and therefore feels less responsible for their behaviors. When both disinhibition and deindividualism are present within a sports fan, the individual simply does not care about the views of other people. This is when sports fans “go too far” and cause trouble.

Despite the times when sports fans go “insane”, some say being a sports fan strengthens the life of an individual by providing a sense of belonging. At a place far away from home, the sight of another person wearing the hat of a sports fan’s favorite team makes them feel right at home.

Research shows that an individual with a strong connection to a team is more likely to make stronger connections with people. This is due to a higher self-esteem level, a lower level of loneliness, and a less aggressive attitude that a sports fan acquires within a group. Also, some scientists have stated that the region of the brain usually associated with planning and controlling actions is activated when fans and players listen to conversations about their sport.

Therefore, watching could be a lot closer to actually doing than previously thought.

It is healthy for a sports fan to have a strong attachment with their favorite team; it is okay to have emotional connections with the team as well. However, there are certain boundaries that these connections should not pass.

Sports fans need to acknowledge these boundaries and control themselves. After all, at the end of the day, it’s just a game.

are athletic scholarships more valuable to society than academic ones are?

MELINDA SUN online assistant

CON

In light of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill giving its athletes fake classes with inflated grades to ensure their scholarship eligibility, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) handling of athletic scholarships has been under fire. Such scrutiny has been for good reason.

The key issue with athletic scholarships is that they are implemented unfairly at the expense of student athletes.

Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis notes that “student-athletes earn free tuition, which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000.”

Such benefits, however, come at a cost. When students a c cept college scholarships, they are not guaranteed a four-year education. Scholarships can be revoked for any reason, at any time. The National College Players Association examined the scholarships of top Division I teams, and realized that 22 percent of college basketball scholarships were retracted before the student received his or her degree.

With this threat, student athletes often physically overexert themselves to keep up with the high stakes but still have their scholarships revoked. Such an unexpected dilemma forces student athletes to choose between paying for their education or dropping out.

Stanley Doughty, a former football player for the University of South Carolina, had suffered collisions, temporary paralysis, and mild congenital stenosis. Doughty’s condition eventually required expensive surgery –– which the university was unwilling to pay. Unfortunately, Doughty’s scholarship was terminated, and Doughty was left without a degree, insurance or job.

Although being a college athletes is often more strenuous than having an average job, they are paid nothing and receive very few benefits. Instead, revenue earned from sports games and sponsorships goes to universities and the NCAA. Sally Kohn of CNN reports that “football players are practicing 50 to 60 hours a week — more than most full-time jobs — and risking all kinds of longterm health effects.” NCAA football coaches make an average of $1.64 million annually whereas athletes, who must practice and balance their academic studies, receive nothing.

The stakes are high for college athletics. The incentive for money generates a need for successful athletes, despite their inability to succeed academically. Previously, various scandals plagued universities, who often accept students who perform poorly simply because of their athletic achievements. For numerous years up until July 2013, the UNC gave A’s and B’s to student athletes in “fake classes” –– study courses requiring only a one-paragraph final paper –– to retain their academic eligibility. Such exceptions are non-unique to UNC. The hype over college athletics and their moneymaking potential has created a high-stakes industry where the temptation to commit such offenses has drastically increased.

The concept of athletic scholarships is usually well-meaning; scholarships have been vital to university funding and the advancement of its athletes. Many recipients attribute their ability to continue their academic studies to athletic scholarships. The main issues universities face today, however, have to do with implementation. The effects of athletic scholarships on students –– financially, academically, and physically –– are harmful. In many cases, the consequences are damaging to both the universities and to the athletes that they claim to serve.

December 10, 2014

The Prospector

Sports

11

Wrestling gains ground MARVIN WANG sports assistant

Over the past few years, few teams in the school have grown as strong in winning records as the school’s wrestling team. The team has won league titles consecutively since 2013, and has moved up into a tougher division league. Although it has struggled in obtaining a substantial number of players for years, this school year marks the team’s growth in numbers and skills, bringing excitement to coaches and student wrestlers on the team.

The head coach of the wrestling team, Mike Moyano, is ecstatic about the increasing number of wrestling participants, seeing that it could greatly benefit the team.

Said Moyano, “Having more students creates more competition because there’s more kids for each weight class, so it is going to cause more people to have to work harder in order to get that spot on the team.”

The wrestling coaches are always looking to increase participation through recruiting players from other sports teams. In order to have new and returning students stay on the team, the coaches have taken measures to make students feel comfortable on the team through assessing their skills and experiences and matching them with the tournaments that would be more comfortable.

“We’re going to go to more beginner and intermediate level tournaments so all the wrestlers can have success and hopefully develop and enjoy the sport,” said assistant wrestling coach Zach Jacobs. “They can win, come back, practice a little more, and have a little more experience to go off to tougher tournaments.”

The school year also marks the first year where the wrestling team had a noticeable increase in female participation. The girls’ difficulties in competing in wrestling, such as gender discomfort and strength differences, have contributed to a low number of female wrestlers on the team for many years.

Now, however, through extensive recruiting and changes in the sport to accommodate female wrestlers, the numbers have increased.

“The girls definitely have a place in the sport, so there are many opportunities for the girls to participate,” Jacobs said. “There are more girl tournaments [in addition to] the girls CCS and the girls state meet, so girls who are really talented athletes and just as capable as the boys have an equal opportunity to shine.”

Three-year veteran wrestler Solin Piearcy is excited about the increase in female participation in the sport and recounts her experiences as a girl wrestler in state championship during her freshman year.

Said Piearcy, “I think wrestling is not just a guy sport, but a girl sport. I was going up against this one girl who is a defending champion, and I desperately wanted to beat her because I wanted to prove to myself that I was a good athlete and that I can do it. And even though I didn’t win, I still achieved that challenge of not giving up and going against the odds.”

A four-year wrestler, team captain Rohan Galotra has seen the ups and downs of his team over his high school wrestling career. Yet, Galotra is optimistic about the outcomes for the wrestling team this year.

“I can see that as a whole, [this] team is working harder,” Galotra said. “One of the main goals that we have is to win the third league title, so you can see that everyone is going to work hard and put in the time to achieve that goal and help each other as well.”

Coaches are also seeing that, compared to in previous years, players are more motivated to learn and pick up the nuts and bolts of wrestling.

Said Moyano, “One thing I’m noticing [is] that people are more a little more focused this year, and they are picking up the techniques a little bit faster, so hopefully this means more success this year.”

Regardless of the results of the wrestling team’s season, there is definitely something to gain from the sport. For Galotra, it is building his character that matters to him the most.

Said Galotra, “Wrestling is important because it teaches students to value hard work and balance themselves, and if they are willing to put in the time, [they] will get a lot out of it.”

Flip Side

December 10, 2014

12

NOVEMBER IN PHOTOS THU DAM

THU DAM

THU DAM

THU DAM

SPORTS NIGHT | Seniors Lauren Rowe and Edison Espinoza recieve their First Team All League Awards.

CAPTURE THE FLAG | Teacher Zach TURKEY TROT | During the annual

Jacobs reaches for Senior Allan Vigent’s Turkey Trot, teacher Stacey Jacob runs flag during a lunchtime game of Capture alongside her daughter and friend. the Flag.

JEREMY XUE

ON THE RAZZLE | Junior Daniel War-

SENIOR NIGHT | Senior Kyle Avvaburton acts out a scene during CAT’s fall kumavits walks down the field with his production of On the Razzle. family before the Helmet Game.

THU DAM

COMING OUT FLICKR

DELANIE MEDINA

GINGERBREAD COOKIES Ingredients: Cookie: • • • • • • • • • •

1 1/4 cups sugar 1 cup butter, softened 1 egg 3 tablespoons molasses 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting: • • • •

3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

flipside editor

Instructions: 1. Add sugar, butter, egg, molasses and vanilla to a bowl.

Beat the ingredients at a medium rate, making sure to scrape the bowl frequently, until the mixture is creamy.

Then add the remaining cookie ingredients, and beat the mixture at a low speed until it is well mixed.

2. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate the dough halves for about 1 to 2 hours or until the dough is firm.

3. Heat oven to 375°F. 4. Leaving the rest of the dough refrigerated, roll out the cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the cookies with 4-inch cookie cutter.

Place the cookies, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Then bake the cookies for 6-9 minutes or until they are set. Take the cookies out of the oven and let them stand for 1 minute on cookie sheets before moving them to the cooling rack. Make sure to cool the cookies completely.

5. To create the frosting, add powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla to a bowl. While beating at a low speed, add enough milk to achieve the desired consistency. Decorate cooled cookies with frosting.

COMPILED BY STEPHANIE SHI

NEXT MONTH: JANUARY First Day of School

Monday, January, 5

Thursday, January 8

Financial Aid Night

MLK Jr. Day - No school

Monday, January 19

Winter Rally

Friday, January 23 Career Fair

Tuesday, January 27

Middle College/College Now Informational Meeting

Wednesday, January 7

THU DAM

Almost three years ago, I was outed by a girl who saw me and another girl kiss outside a classroom at lunch. For those of you who don’t already know, being “outed” basically means that someone, without your permission, decided to reveal your sexual orientation. With what I’ve realized from past experiences, being gay is widely considered a topic to gossip about as many consider it a defining characteristic and use it largely to determine who a person is.

For me, the most frustrating part of coming out, or even being gay, has to do with the reactions and comments other people feel entitled to bring up. All too often, people seem to forget that my sexual orientation is my own, and comments regarding its legitimacy are often rude and unnecessary. Personally, I feel that making a big deal about who I’d rather be in a relationship with is redundant since what I choose to do with my life really doesn’t impact anyone else.

The idea that gay people are obligated to come out is another way that members of the LGBT community are marginalized by the society that has already done so much to oppress them. As members of the LGBT community, we have to go through this tedious process of explaining our sexual preferences whereas straight people don’t have to because society considers heterosexuality as “normal”. Sometimes, at least for me, the most emotionally taxing part of being gay has to do with the fact that so many people make it seem as though my choices are unnatural and my feelings are invalid. Not only that, but many people who grow up identifying as something other than straight already spend a good chunk of their lives putting themselves and their worth down because they feel so alienated in a society that places a heavy emphasis on a heterosexual lifestyle.

I know it seems like I’m saying that coming out isn’t something entirely necessary, but the fact that some people use it as a way to bring people down or to hurt them in some way is extremely saddening and makes the entire process unnecessarily difficult. While I understand that people think coming out is an important milestone in their lives, I don’t see the point of it. Nothing about who you are changes when you come out.

Sure, now people know you’re gay, but the fundamentals of who you are don’t change and neither should people’s perceptions of you.