FRIDAY, MAY MAY 8, 2020 2020
THE PROSPECTOR Student Newsmagazine of Cupertino High School
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ISSUE 6, VOL. 62
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IN THIS ISSUE
news
Everything You’ve Missed During the Pandemic.............................. 04 Transferring to Schoology........... 06 Big Companies Using of the 24: Athlete Month
Child Labor.................................. 07
features
Cupertino High School’s Drama Department........................08
opinions
Why Handmaid’s Tale Encourages Misyogyny................................... 12 Why Tenure Should Be Abolished.................................... 14
investigations
Anonymous Online Communities.. 16
lifestyles
History & Toxicity of Paparazzi.... 20 Easy-To-Do Recipes................... 22 Staffer Tries Yubo........................ 23
sports
Badminton Captain: Maggie Li.. 24 Quidditch Team: Bay Area Breakers.................................... 26 Schools Should Have a Cricket Team............................. 27
perspectives
Comic: A Parent’s Guide to Quaranteens............................... 28 To All the Clothes You’ve Never Loved Before.............................. 29
postscript 08: Drama Department COVER DESIGNED BY STELLA JIA
COVID-19 Quarantine Hierarchy of Needs........................................ 30 Column: The Power of the Past...................................... 31
THE PROSPECTOR
STAFF 2019-2020
editors-in-chief Keerthi Lakshmanan Sanat Singhal Stella Jia
copy editors Calvin Anderson Juliet Shearin Sarah Pollans
news editor Rachel Park
photo editors Alexandria Hunt Juliet Shearin
opinions editor Joan Thyagarajan features editor Henry Ma
online editors Amir Iravani Lawrence Fan Megumi Ondo
lifestyles editor Jenny Wu
business manager Sarah Pollans
investigations editor Ankita Acharya sports editor Avinash Pandit perspectives editor Krithika Vekatasubramanian postscript editor Alexandria Hunt
writers Aashna Shah, Angela Ma, Anthony Zhu, Ariana Fahri, Ashley Kang, Darshini Vijayakumar, Jeffrey Xiong, Kavya Gupta, Kenneth Jeon, Maia Matsushita, Nikita Srinivas, Sohini Karmakar, Sydney Liao, Taha Shafiei
advisor 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. If you believe an error has been made or wish to have your opinion expressed in “The Prospector,” please contact us via mail or email. Letters sent become the sole property of “The Prospector” and can be edited for length, clarity or accuracy. “The Prospector” editorial board reserves the right to accept or reject any ad in accordance with its advertising policy.
Contact Us: prospector.chs@gmail.com The Prospector 10100 Finch Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014
A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Dear Reader, Welcome to Issue 6! Our first (and hopefully only) issue completed remotely from start to finish with Zoom, Facebook messenger, and determination. In order for us to release on time, our staffers had to stick to the same schedule while everything around them did not. We are especially proud of this issue, and even prouder of each diligent member that made it possible. Discovering a sense of normal through quarantine was wearisome, but we hope you have unearthed new hobbies or interests along with it. Staffer Angela Ma showcases a DIY drink recipe on page 23 while staffer Keerthi Lakshmanan dives into teen dating apps on page 22. Our journalism found new ways to succeed as we conducted interviews through video or phone calls. We continued to spotlight our school’s students, featuring the excellency of CAT (Cupertino’s Award-Winning Drama Department, page 8) and Maggie Li as Athlete of the Month (Badminton Captain, page 24). As a student population, we remain in an extreme period of uncertainty. However, we believe in seeking progress despite the downward trend of these past months; staffer Taha Shafiei considers the necessity in overcoming adversity in his column as well (The Power of the Past, page 31). So we implore you to remember that you are not alone. Teamwork is a strength in difficult times—and we have learned no better lesson from our journey together. Best Regards, Keerthi Lakshmanan, Sanat Singhal, and Stella Jia
NEWS
EVERYTHING YOU’VE MISSE DARSHINI VIJAYAKUMAR writer
Despite the coronavirus pandemic taking over many news platforms and stories, there are still numerous news events changing lives across the world, albeit in the shadows.
PG&E PG&E has agreed to plead guilty on 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of felony for illegally causing a fire in the legal aftermath of the Camp Fire in California. The fire was sparked by PG&E equipment and burned through three cities, destroying 150,000 acres of homes and stores in its wake. PG&E was set to appear in court in March, but could not convene due to the coronavirus, so the court date has been pushed back until further notice.
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US Senators Four US senators are being accused of insider trading of massive stock holdings that are worth millions of dollars. Republican Senators Richard Burr, James Inhofe, Kelly Loeffler, and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein all sold their stocks after learning the news of the economic damages that the coronavirus can do in the Senate. This violates the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which was passed in 2012, preventing congressional employees from conducting insider trading based on the information learned through their jobs. The senators traded millions of dollars worth of stock to avoid the potential losses that the coronavirus pandemic would cause on the stock market.
ED DURING THE PANDEMIC US Census Bureau Data has been showwn that US population growth is on the decline. The population growth of the United States is the lowest it has been since 1919 and can further be threatened by this pandemic. The University of New Hampshire reported that there was a record high in United States deaths last year, standing at 2,835,000, and the fewest births since 1986, standing at 3,792,000. In nearly 46 countries the number of deaths was far greater than the number of births in the past year. The coronavirus could have a major impact on population growth, much like the Spanish Flu did back in 1919, when the US population dropped by 60,000.
Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders drops out of the presidential race. After a strong performance in the first couple of states during the February elections but an ultimate loss to Joe Biden in a landslide victory in South Carolina, Bernie Sanders has now deemed it time to end his presidential run. The Vermont senator announced his decision in a live stream call with his campaign staff and told them that this was a decision he did not take very lightly. With Sanders dropping the race, the road is paved for Joe Biden to pursue the ultimate Democratic nomination and face incumbent President Donald Trump in the upcoming fall elections.
Pittsburg Synanogue Shooter
NEWS | 5
The shooter has the death penalty on the table. Robert Bowers, the gunman in last year’s Tree of Life shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, has been charged with the death penalty. The federal judge in charge of the case refuses to have the death penalty taken off the bid, but the defendant’s lawyers are calling it unconstitutional, claiming that it violates the Fifth Amendment, due process, and the Eighth Amendment, which relates to bans on cruel and unusual punishment. With Bowers having pleaded not guilty for his charges of killing 11 people, his lawyers are aiming to negotiate a life sentence.
TRANSFERRING TO SCHOOLOGY AMIR KODA online editor
6 | THE PROSPECTOR
Countless students have the Cupertino portal to Schoolloop always open, bookmarked, or at least have checked it obsessively for updates on grades after any important assignment. While Schoolloop has been used by the district for over ten years, in recent months, the school district has decided to switch to Schoology as its next learning management system. The decision was not taken easily. A selection committee of staff across the district including teachers, guidance counselors, data techs and administrators tried out various programs; after two years, Schoology was unanimously selected as the next platform to be used. “Schoology wowed us with the fact that it is so user-friendly. Its interface is easy-to-learn and engaging, which naturally translates into better communication between teachers, students, and parents,” said Julia Hedstrom, Cupertino’s Library Media Teacher and a member of the selection committee. “Students will appreciate the ability to access course materials, as well as any communication they might need for clubs, extracurricular activities and more.” She also mentions that one significant factor in Schoology’s selection was its ability to be one centralized hub for all student, parent, and administrative uses. Over the past ten years, the school community has had to use more systems—think Google Classroom and Infinite Campus, for instance—to solve problems that Schoolloop could not address. “Parents will benefit from seeing everything in one centralized loca-
tion instead of having to log into multiple platforms to see how their child is doing. Intervention teams, guidance counselors, data techs—all the many people who work to support our students—will be able to communicate and share information about students in one place,” said Ms. Hedstrom. Such features include discussion platforms, instead of Schoolloop’s Easy Loop, advanced insight on student grades to interpret trends, and simpler submission through Schoology. Some teachers have begun piloting the new program, one of whom is chemistry teacher Mr. Paris. As opposed to Schoolloop, which has limited features regarding turning in assignments, Schoology integrates useful tools to assist in streamlining access to homework. Mr. Paris describes his favorite features: “I insert a large table and organize it like a calendar with hyperlinks of my lectures, assignments, and/or videos. I also like the updates feature. I can easily make announcements to all my classes at once or to an individual class if needed.” Students of Mr. Paris have had mixed feelings about the platform. Said Junior Ishaan Shetty, “I believe Schoology will be great, but I’d rather keep Schoolloop [because of its simplicity]. Schoology is like Google Classroom. Schoolloop is very complex to turn in [assignments]— Schoology is like a mixture of Schoolloop and Classroom.” Many students have not had any interaction with the program, but by next academic year students, teachers and administrators will begin using it.
“I believe Schoology will be great, but I’d rather keep Schoolloop [because of its simplicity]. Schoology is like Google Classroom. Schoolloop is very complex to turn in [assignments]— Schoology is like a mixture of Schoolloop and Classroom.” - Junior Ishaan Shetty
“Schoology wowed us with the fact that it is so user-friendly. Its interface is easy-to-learn and engaging, which naturally translates into better communication between teachers, students, and parents.”
- Julia Hedstrom, Library Media Teacher
“I insert a large table and organize it like a calendar with hyperlinks of my lectures, assignments, and/or videos. I also like the updates feature. I can easily make announcements to all my classes at once or to an individual class if needed.” - Mr Paris. Chemistry Teacher
CHILD LABOUR ANKITA ACHARYA investigations editor
Slave labor feels like a thing of the past, something we learn about in history class and wonder how humanity allowed it to happen. However, many of the companies that provide products that are staples of our daily lives are building their fortunes on the backs of slaves who work for free or are paid pennies by the hour. Worldwide, there are currently 48.5 million people who are enslaved. This slavery ranges from widely known forms such as sex trafficking to scarcely paid labor for some of the largest companies we shop from today including Nestle, Nike, Starbucks, H&M, and Walmart. Corporate greed is the reason that slave labor is so commonly used. The less money companies pay their laborers, the more money they retain. They are then able to make products cheaper, encouraging consumer purchasing, and increasing their profits. Laborers are also often women and children (85% of sweatshop workers are young women according to feminist.org), demographic groups that have harder times finding paying jobs and are easily exploited because of the societal conditions in different countries.
Within companies, people are forced to work 12-hour days for mere pennies. Companies also fail to provide any form of worker protection or insurance benefits. The conditions within these sweatshops cause a dangerous working environment, often resulting in injuries for the employees. It’s not just the listed companies that use slave labor: in fact, it’s the vast majority of today’s companies. A scoring system from KnowTheChain uses worker conditions, hiring practices, environmental impact, and worker pay to calculate a company’s cleanliness score. They calculated that the average score out of 100 for 100 companies was a startlingly low 37. Unfortunately, a large reason that this issue continues to be prevalent is because of a continued market for the products of slave labor. There are currently relatively few companies that make clean products. Because these companies engage in environmentally safe practices and treat their workers well, the costs of their goods are higher than inhumanely produced products, thereby discouraging consumer spending. This cycle has the potential to drive humane companies out of business and increase the number of manufacturers that resort to slave labor to maintain profits. As long as people continue to buy
products of slave labor, these companies will continue to turn a profit and will have no incentive to change their practices. If you have the financial means to do so, you can support slavery-free companies by only buying from them. By buying from these companies you are not only ensuring their continued production of clean products as well as reducing the market for products of slavery. The last action that everyone has the ability to take is activism. This issue of slave labor is relatively unknown and people continue to unknowingly perpetuate it by buying products produced by slaves. Activism can range anywhere from raising awareness to staging boycotts; anything and everything has the potential to make a difference. As with every other issue, for widespread change to be made, there first has to be grassroots support. We can take this step by spreading the word and reducing our own slavery footprints. An ideal future would be one in which manufacturers ethically employ workers and none of the products in our daily lives are the consequences of human misery.
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NEWS | 7
Good Food, Good Life
FEATURES FEATURES
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ALL PHOTOS BY TAHA SHAFIEI
KENNETH JEON writer
societal worth. As one of five high schools performing the show in the 2019-2020 year, the story of Ranked seems to hold special relevance to Tino. Aside from the general competitiveness of the school and others like it in Silicon Valley, the show’s premier closely followed the college admission scandal of last year, which involved several schools from California and the Bay Area. CAT’s production of Ranked aimed to create a sense of scope, with prominent world-building elements, such as the towering scoreboard that publicly displays each student’s grade, being essential to the show’s atmosphere and ultimate message. Across these two shows, CAT actors and technicians encountered many opportunities to utilize a wide variety of theatre skills and abilities, ranging from nuanced performances finding balances between humor and drama, to creating expansive sets and immersive stories that serve to establish a deep connection with the audience.
FEATURES | 9
With the 2019-2020 school year, the Cupertino Actors Theater has brought two shows to the stage: the first being the comedic murder-mystery, Clue, in fall, and the second being the newly minted satire, Ranked, in spring. CAT began the year with Clue, a classic murder-mystery with a humorous spin, making for both a contained quintessential stage-play premise in which actors could personalize unique characters, as well as a more offbeat performance that emphasized an atmosphere of lightheartedness. Clue’s unconventional approach to its traditional story proved an exercise in tone and humor, through which CAT’s actors could flex their comedic talents while maintaining a personal style and complexity with their performances of each character. In contrast to the more classical nature of a story like Clue, CAT’s second show took a slightly darker, more experimental direction. Cupertino High School was one of the first schools in the country to present Ranked, a new musical which tells the story of a dystopian world in which academic grades define each student’s
CAT
ANTHONY ZHU writer
RURI
For Junior Ruri Kodama, CAT is an avenue to express her passion for singing, dancing and acting. Kodama joined CAT in her sophomore year because it seemed like an exciting opportunity to work with like-minded peers. Said Kodama, “I had a couple of friends who were already in CAT, and it just seemed like a lot of fun, especially the shows that were being produced. I had already been doing theatre outside of school, starting around 3rd or 4th grade. I auditioned
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for CAT at the end of my freshman year.” Ruri has participated in CAT’s productions of “Pippin,” “Clue” and “Ranked” and has taken on the crucial roles of lead actor, choreographer, and dance captain, so she has been through the process of putting on a show many times. This process consists of auditions, rehearsals, and the infamous “hell week”. Said Kodama, “What was supposed to happen before the school cancellation was tech week, where we would stay until 9 o’clock with full costume, full makeup, full hair, lights, and sound, and we would just run the show over and over again.”
But, it a l came to ways g in the e ether nd
“ Te c h week is usually what we call ‘hell week’ because you don’t get much sleep, you’re tired and it’s stressful. Sometimes there are moments of doubt about whether something will come together. But, it always comes together in the end.” All of this hard work is worth it for Kodama when the show hits the Robert L. Gomez Theatre. Said Kodama, “It is nerve-wracking when I’m on stage. A lot of things go through my mind when I look at the audience and see friends and families. I want to put on the best show possible so that people will be able to have a good time. On the last day of performances, we have to strike out. We clear the entire stage, take down the set, and then have a super late cast party at Denny’s.” Out of all the CAT productions Kodama has been in, her favorite is “Clue.”
S a i d Kodama, “’Clue’ is light and funny, and it’s based on the childhood game, so I definitely reminisced over it. We were proud to bring this beautiful show together, and we got closer through the ups and downs. As a lead, I learned how to do comedy, which is out of my comfort zone, as I am typically more of a dramatic actor. I learned that there are beats to help deliver a line and to make it funny. And I learned what lines are funny in the first place.”
AASHNA SHAH writer
to rehearsal after school, and I just love spending my free time there. The best part about CAT for me is the opportunity to expand my skill set. I don’t know where I’d be without the program.”
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THE PROSPECTOR | 11
“I’ve always been an outgoing person and from a very young age I knew that I wanted to act at some point in my life. High school gave me that opportunity, so I took it as soon as I knew it was there. To this day it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” said Junior Senih Okuyucu, when asked about why he joined CAT. As an actor and technician, Okuyucu has been involved in CAT in various ways. Said Okuyucu, “I’m one of the more experienced technicians in the class, meaning I help out with a lot of different things, including set design, sound, lights, and anyone else who might need help with something. I’ve learned to sing, dance, act, communicate with others, leadership, set design, set building, using power tools, cutting wood, sound design, sound engineering, lighting, and I could keep going.” Having been involved in the productions of “Little Shop,” “Our Town,” “Pippin,” “Wrinkle in Time,” “Clue” and “Ranked,” Okuyucu has a lot of experience with preparing for a show. Said Okuyucu, “Preparing for a show is a very unique process. Some people get really loud, some get really quiet, but everyone is nervous. I like to keep myself busy before a show, so you can usually find me double checking the sound, making sure everything’s in place, but always calm. I like to keep the atmosphere light, and sometimes I’ll listen to music. But again, it’s different for everyone.” When asked about “hell week,” Okuyucu responded, “Honestly my schedule is pretty much the same except for the famous ‘hell week’. The week before we open, rehearsal lasts until at most 10, and we run the entire show every day for 5 days straight. It’s hell, but it’s a necessary step closer to excellence.” “CAT is my safe space at school. I’m almost always looking forward
Seni
OPINIONS
KAVYA GUPTA writer
Hunkering down in contemplation during this once-in-a-century, nightmarish, unimaginable catastrophe, the future feels bleak and uncertain. Yet even now, it appears to be far brighter than the apocalyptic alternate universe presented in HBO’s television series, The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name is a groundbreaking piece filled with social commentary, refusing
massive amounts of government negligence that would allow such a scenario to exist. Atwood wrote her book 35 years ago — while the primary themes are still socially prevalent, the story itself has no plausibility in the country’s current state. For a fanatic, cultlike insurgence to dominate a country that has since significantly developed in terms of bigotry, it would require unimaginable ignorance to permeate the government and dismantle the country. Dystopian television must be grounded in reality if it wishes to make an impact on its audiences. With the vast amount of gore
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WHY THE HANDMAID ’S TAL to sugarcoat misogyny and magnifying the misdeeds done to women during a time when they were largely ignored. However, the television adaptation over-dramatizes the story, rendering it pointless and numbing to an already desensitized audience. Consequently, the great attention to gore and violence undermine its core themes about feminism and fighting oppression. The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a grim future for the United States, in which a totalitarian government subjects women into child-bearing slavery, brutally subjugating their roles in society. After a stunning first season, ending hopefully with the show’s protagonist, June, escaping her forced servitude, the second season sank into endless, cynical cruelty. Finding herself back at the feet of her captors, June is kept alive — but only just. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the
and violence in mainstream media, audiences become increasingly apathetic to its content. By raising the qualificationsfor shock-value, the images displayed on screens become increasingly detached to reality. The outrageousness of The Handmaid’s Tale allows critics and naysayers to point at how the forced servitude could never take place in the real world, dismissing the show as a whole. Today’s society is expected to settle, be grateful that their world isn’t as terrible as the handmaids’. The series has also received criticism for the heightened violence following the first season. The depictions of sexual assault take a backseat to the horrifying executions. Some especially graphic scenes can be too difficult to watch. The scenes add little to nothing to the effect of the show; they have
many. Similar to shows like 13 Reasons Why and Game of Thrones, particular scenes have been especially triggering to audiences who have gone through traumatic experiences of their own. The show’s cast and producers defend the violence, claiming that every scene is based on true stories across the world and throughout history. Contrarily, the TV series indeed feature forms of punishment without any basis in reality, suggesting that the producers may not be entirely truthful in their storytelling. Furthermore, the depiction of women is not empowering, nor is it kind. They are portrayed as weak and vulnerable, and they are never placed in positions of power. The greatest villains on the show are, in fact, women, but even then, they are not
ble. Perhaps it would do better to denounce the dehumanizing acts committed against the protagonists by allowing the villains to get the comeuppance they deserve. To hold The Handmaid’s Tale as a prophetic warning for the future is genuinely ridiculous. Many have drawn comparisons to the recent draconian measures taken against abortion, claiming that the bans are the gateway to the events of the show. In the worst-case scenario, many American women will lose access to abortion, which is deplorable. However, it is not nearly comparable to a dystopia with forced surrogacy via rape. In fact, several states, including California, Nevada, and Massachusetts, where The Handmaid’s Tale is set, have moved to expand abortion rights. Furthermore, Poland has a near-total abortion ban, as did Ireland until recently, but both
LE ENCOU RAGES MI SOGYNY countries consistently rank higher than the U.S. on the United Nations gender inequality index. In The Handmaid’s Tale’s binary world, men are either misogynistic control freaks, while women are either dupes of the patriarchy or helpless victims. The real world is far more intricate and developed than depicted in the show. Dystopian media based in ideology, rather than observed reality, rarely hit the mark, and HBO’s adaptation is one that doesn’t. If the producers were to pare down the drama and bring the story much closer to home, the show could make a significant impact on the world.
OPINIONS | 13
the ones with authority. The men in the show almost seem tame compared to their female counterparts. The Handmaid’s Tale is less interested in depicting men as the aggressors than on the women’s role in upholding the patriarchy. Yes, the show is feminist in females fighting against radical oppression, but with the never-ending cycle of torture and pain, the women’s fight feels pointless. It encourages conformity for the sake of staying alive and keeping some small semblance of autonomy. The show also attempts to sympathize with the villains, giving them detailed backstories and moments of vulnerability. However, the immense dreadfulness of their brutality is difficult to connect to their rare kindness. With the show’s refusal to make any of their villains truly evil, its condemnation of oppression feels fee-
SARAH POLLANS business manager/copy editor
14 | THE PROSPECTOR
Since its introduction in the 1920s, the teacher tenure has garnered as much criticism as it has support. It was first created as a way to defend teachers from dismissals based on false or arbitrary accusations. At that time, women made up most of the teachers in America, and with the women’s rights movement just around the corner, the idea of tenure came to protect all teachers from getting fired. In California, teachers go through a two year probationary status period where they are evaluated by school and district administration. After that, they gain tenure. Under tenure, teachers can only be dismissed for a “just cause� (unsatisfactory performance or misconduct) and must be given written notice of intent to dismiss for unsatisfactory perfor-
mance. Essentially, tenure gives teachers the right to due process in the event of a remark that potentially warrants dismissal. In 2012, the lawsuit Vergara v. California was filed, and lawyers challenged five statutes. Collectively, these statutes showed that, although tenured teachers are granted a due process before being dismissed, the process is tedious, expensive, and far more extensive than the typical process to dismiss a civil servant. Furthermore, the Last In, First Out statute states that, when layoffs are necessary, less experienced, nontenured teachers will be dismissed over tenured teachers and teacher effectiveness must not be used in determining dismissal. Despite the case never making it to the California Supreme Court, it shows how the tenure creates a biased system for tenured teachers and against students. Similarly, school ad-
WHY TENURE SHOULD BE ABOLISHED
ministration is less likely to discipline a tenured teacher over a probationary one, even if the same offense is committed, as it is understood that it will take a lot more time and money to dismiss a tenured teacher than a nontenured one. Imagine if the same held true for students: An underclassmen getting a harsher punishment than an upperclassman for the same wrongdoing. It simply does not make sense. As for potential tenure-caused repercussions faced by students, giving teachers tenure can create bad or otherwise complacent teachers. When a teacher gains tenure, though it does not explicitly guarantee lifetime employment, it can take years, and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, to dismiss them. With this security, many teachers may realize that they can do the bare minimum and still keep their jobs, as school districts likely will not shell out thousands to fire a complacent tenured teacher. An ineffective teacher directly affects any student who has that teacher. For an entire year, those students are missing out on the learning all their peers are getting from other teachers, which can potentially result in lower graduation rates, lower college acceptance rates and less income in the future. But how does tenure create bad teachers? Well, the probationary period in which teachers are evaluated for tenure is only two years in California. This means that after two years, as most K-12 school teachers are granted tenure, teachers have essentially guaranteed jobs (or at least jobs that are extremely difficult to get fired from). However, two years is not that long of a time — definitely not long enough for most to show their full worth as a teacher or, on the flip side, their complacency as one
An idea that has been repeatedly brought up by supporters of tenure is the fact that the tenure has been used as a sort of scapegoat for the problems academic institutions may be facing, such as overcrowding, underfunding or poor home environments. And while these issues are equally as prevalent to the school, it is correct that banning tenure will not solve all the issues schools are facing today. But of course it will not. That’s not the point of banning tenure, nor was it the point of creating tenure a near-century ago. Tenures are meant to protect teachers’ jobs. And that it has done, but it has also made it incredibly difficult to dismiss those who are merely doing the bare minimum to secure their job, creating extremely detrimental side effects for the lives of their students. Those who advocate for tenure say that, as tenure essentially promises job security, it draws more people to the profession and for recruitment. While there is little direct evidence for the counter — that having no tenure discourages people from becoming teachers — there is still a problem with this argument. If people are becoming teachers just for tenure’s sake, it still falls into the realm of creating bad teachers. Even if there is just a select group of teachers in it for the tenure, these teachers will not be as motivated or engaging in the classroom past the probationary period. Simply put, tenure was and is in place to protect and benefit the teachers. And they have been protected — they have been protected to the extent of creating complacent teachers, and it has collectively hurt all of their students. Schools are supposed to be about students’ education, not making teachers nearly impossible to dismiss.
“Many teachers may realize that they can do the bare minimum and still keep their jobs.”
OPINIONS | 15
INVESTIGATIONS
NIKITA SRINIVAS writer
16 | DESIGNED BY ANKITA ACHARYA
Anonymous online communities have long been commonplace on the internet and subject to controversy. Those who support these communities argue that anonymity is integral to the productivity and function of their communities. For one, anonymous communities remove the power-related influences that exist in regular conversations, allowing people of all backgrounds and stages of life to communicate on equal grounds. This factor can both empower societally marginalized voices and act as a check against powerful voices whose ideas alone lack credibility. Supporters also refer to the way anonymity allows people to discuss the validity of unconventional ideas –– regardless of social and career-related pressures. Accordingly, America has a long history of prominent figures publishing their work under pseudonyms, such as Alexander Hamilton with the Federalist papers. Others support using online pseudonyms solely for the sake of privacy. On the other hand, many are concerned with the disruption, and sometimes even extremism, associated with these online communities. Online trolls –– people
who purposefully sow discord on the internet through offensive or inflammatory messages –– are the most widespread example of this, and have caused many prominent figures to voice their concern. For instance, Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of Facebook, has said that she thinks “anonymity on Facebook has got to go” entirely. In 2010, columnist Leonard Pitts went as far as to say that anonymous comment sections “have become havens for a level of crudity, bigotry, meanness, factual inaccuracy and plain nastiness that shocks the tattered remnants of our propriety.” Most grimly, anonymous communities have faced scrutiny over how they unite people with uncommon, hateful ideologies and allow them to radicalize further. For example, multiple mass shooters have been found to have frequented bigoted 8chan message boards, a website where the content is largely unrestricted, and where some even published manifestos before their killings. However, people that support online anonymity argue that it makes it easier for the authorities to locate potentially dangerous people, as they are more likely to voice their beliefs in this setting. Regardless of your views on this form of communication, anonymous online communities are mainstream on the internet and do not seem to be going away in the foreseeable future.
ISSUES AT CHS LAWRENCE FAN online editor
Whether it is to acquire information, connect with like minded individuals, or just to pass time, many students in Cupertino High School have been actively involved in through sites such as reddit, discord and more. This should come as no surprise, with However, communicating online strangers is not free of risks, as users expose themselves to potential trolls and cyberbullies One way students access Anonymous Online Communities is through subreddits and discord servers, which can be easily found on the web. One can sign up as any username, and their identities are completely concealed. Omegle, a website that allows strangers to text or video chat does not even require users to register. Internet anonymity
Certainly, the online gaming community is considerable and extraordinarily active. This is even more so the case during the Covid-19 shelter-in-place measures, as teenagers turn to the internet to substitute the lack of in-person company. Another Junior (#2) said, “As of now I tend to spend more time on Online communities texting my friends and playing online games like Fortnite. I would go Online and play with my friends for at least 2-3 hours a day… but I’m trying to limit my time Online with schoolwork and college applications coming around.” The scope of anonymous virtual communities are not limited to video games. Discord servers and subreddits, which focus on a unique subject, are particularly popular among like-minded individuals. Subjects include Cryptocurrency, Anime, and Fortnie,
Accounts such as @fuhsdadvice, @fuhsd_ roasts, and @confessionsfromchs have amassed hundreds if not thousands of followers intrigued by the unorthodox content they post. and channels give users the opportunity to engage in both public chat rooms and private messages with complete strangers. Said #1, “When I was trading cryptocurrency discord was very big on that so we will talk about what to buy. I’ll give my opinion, asking a question or continuing the discussion, and then I’ll continue the discussion and start building rapport.” Unclaimed Instagram accounts also gain signif icant traction within the student body for both trivial and compelling reasons. Accounts such as @fuhsdadvice, @fuhsd_roasts, and @ confessionsfromchs have amassed hundreds if not thousands of followers intrigued by the unorthodox content they post. Recently, the account @fuhsd.expos.ed went locally viral after calling out the
INVESTIGATIONS | 17
is also prevalent on social media platforms, where instagram accounts run by local high school individuals operate with obscurity. Students report that the first extensive interaction often stems from multiplayer video games, connecting with players hundreds or thousands of miles away. Gaming simplifies the bonding aspect of virtual relationships, since all players share the same gaming hobby and goal of succeeding in said game. A junior at CHS (we’ll call him #1) said, “So when I was in 4th grade i started playing Clash of Clans, and basically how it worked is that I joined a clan… I started talking to these guys in high school and I was 10 and we started talking about it for a solid year, and never communicated with them ever again.”
18 | THE PROSPECTOR
school district for mishandling sexual assault cases. With the lack of regulation that holds one liable for their actions, members of Anonymous Online Communities sometimes exhibit inappropriate behavior, disrespecting other members and disrupting the virtual environment. This most frequently materializes as hateful comments with, but cyberbullying and occasionally even border on harassment. Although it is important to understand that troublesome individuals subtly loom in the web, those cases are rare, and users are approachable and respectful to the most part. “Other than occasional swearing there isn’t anything [too serious]. You could just leave the server [if you have to]. If you wanna talk to anyone online most ppl are pretty open and chill if you are nice,” Said #1 Despite these concerns, Anonymous Online Communities provide a meaningful outlet for many CHS students, and can be constructive intellectually and socially to those who use it. With proper precautions, students can enjoy these diverse and expansive internet communities while avoiding the more negative aspects of them. #2 said, “The best thing you can do is to be confident and don’t be scared to say whatever. Always know that these online relationships can end at any moment, so don’t take the stuff that is said to you personally, because it doesn’t really matter.”
ISSUES With
ZOOM JULIET SHEARIN copy editor
Since the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent introduction of distance learning, Cupertino High School has been contending with the challenges that online anonymity can provide to schooling. One of the most common forms of distance learning, that many teachers have adopted, is through Zoom, a video conferencing service that offers free meeting options and scaling paid plans. Zoom has many advantages that make it a viable solution for distance learning; for example, it allows up to one hundred session participants at their free tier, un- The options tha like comparable screen sharing programs like ditory telecon Facebook video breakout rooms chats. In an edu- valuable tool f cational setting, Zoom also does ditional teach not institute a online environ time limit on their meetings. Although generally free conferences larger than one-on-one have a forty-minute time cap, given the extenuating circumstances of the global pandemic, this cap was dropped for primary and secondary education. The options that Zoom provides— screen sharing, video and auditory teleconferencing, and breakout rooms—make it an invaluable tool for adapting traditional teaching styles to an online environment.
access to the link to join a Zoom meeting. This is the security breach seen most often in Zoombombing, wherein a malicious individual or group gains access to a Zoom meeting and disrupts it by saying or showing obscene or offensive content. Although the meeting link is usually obtained via social media platforms like Twitter and Discord, or is already publicly available, there have been reports of students sharing classroom meeting links with the intent of getting Zoombombed. Another feature of Zoom compounds the problem: screen-sharing. Because any meeting participant can share their screen at any time, showing offensive content pulled up on a computer screen to an entire class is easy to do and difficult to prevent. Apart from the self-evident negative effects of Zoombombing on learning, a New England teenager has already been arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and computer crime for disrupting a Zoom meeting with obscene gestures and language. As communication and schooling become ever more dependent on technologies like Zoom, practices like Zoombombing raise questions about security and adaptability. The social upheaval currently taking place is quite possibly unrivaled by any other event in a century, and thus a growing period is inevitable. As students and teachers alike accustom themselves to learning via teleconference, life under shelter-in-place, good and bad, threatens to become the new normal. What comes next is uncertain, but Cupertino High School and Zoom are attempting to prepare in the present and boldly meet the future.
INVESTIGATIONS | 19
Although not a perfect solution, its widespread adoption indicates it fulfills both teachers’ and students’ educational needs. However, Zoom also provides a high degree of anonymity. Making an account on Zoom does not require payment, which could connect an account to a single real person, nor anything other than an email. Therefore, troll or spam accounts can easily be made with impunity. However, to account for the relative ease of making dummy accounts, Zoom concentrates security to protect meetings themselves. All Zoom sessions can be encrypted with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, a form of encryption that secures communication between a web browser and a server. What this means practically for Zoom meetings is that communication is encrypted between each comat Zoom provides— puter and the g, video and au- Zoom server. Never theless, nferencing, and Zoom’s coms—make it an in- pany servers the enfor adapting tra- receive crypted data hing styles to an they transmit to the other nment. meeting participants while also possessing the key to decrypt it. Although Zoom’s usage of SSL encryption has raised concerns about their access to raw data and footage from private meetings, the company firmly maintains that they do not decrypt, sell or profit off of users’ data. Nonetheless, they could be compelled by subpoena to hand over meeting data. Every effort to encrypt a Zoom meeting is also worthless if an outside party gains
THE HIST PA
LIFESTYLES
An analysis on the prac STELLA JIA editor-in-chief
Flash. Click. Capture. The momentum builds as singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes leaves his Florida abode to take some fresh air from his quarantine shelter. The life of a paparazzo has always been one that fed on drama, attention, and the thrill; however, in this unprecedented time, it has become increasingly difficult to capture those moments. Paparazzo are under a unique circumstance given the limitations placed by health codes. But how did this fame chasing lifestyle begin? The occupation of these freelance photographers whose role is to capture lifestyle pictures of celebrities originated in the late 1950s when magazines yearned for more candid photographs of famous personalities, especially those that put the celebrity in a compromising position. The first photo which accomplished just that was in Rome, in 1958, taken by Tazio Secchiaroli. Secchiaroli’s target was King Farouk of Egypt, who was
pictured with two other women, neither of which was his wife. This photograph marked the beginning of an era of new sneaky photography known now as paparazzi. The word “paparazzi” was coined a little later by Italian film producer Federico Felleni who created a
“I believe in equality
like Secchiaroli who aggressively worked for unstaged photos of celebrities have been referred to as the plural form of “Paparazzo”: paparazzi. From the get-go, the motives behind paparazzi were never positive. Magazines wanted drama-stirring photos of celebrities for their magazine to gain attention for their publication. In the past few decades, the
for everyone, except reporters and
20 | DESIGNED BY JENNY WU
PHOTOGRAPHERS Mahatma Gandhi film about the culture of Rome at the time. Secchiaroli was included in the film under the character name “Paparazzo” which reminded Felleni of “a buzzing insect.” E v e r since the film, photographers Leonardo Dicaprio
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabell
TORY OF APARAZZI
ctices of the paparazzi limits that paparazzi are pushing to capture photos of celebrities have gotten to the point of extreme intrusion on their personal life. Audiences and fans thrive on seeing their favorite or hated celebrities out at a grocery store or caught in an immoral act. However, there is a limit to the extent to which their personal lives should be exposed. One of the most excruciating paparazzi moments was the death of Princess Diana. She was constantly put under the flashes a n d
Kanye West
Princess Diana
has caused an increasing thirst for both fans and paparazzi to capture these candid moments. Along with the increase in online media, many fans have learned the importance of their personal lives staying private and how many factors should be kept private rather than shared publicly with photographs or videos. With this in mind, a celebrity’s fame should never be one that feeds on the backs of these freelance photographers and the industry itself is problematic in letting that happen. When there are more photos of celebrities floating throughout the internet, it fuels the thirst for fans to want more and thus builds the paparazzi’s desire to take more. The paparazzi age is definitely past its horrific prime as both fans and photographers are not overstepping extreme personal boundaries. Some recent paparazzi have captured celebrities turning the encounter into a more positive situation by holding up posters that brought to light important organizations or issues. Leonardo DiCaprio is notorious for his “clever” disguises and playful reactions to the paparazzi. Even with these amusing reactions, it is still essential to be aware that celebrities’ personal lives should be kept private if they wish so and dedicated fans should respect their privacy as well.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE
LIFESTYLES | 21
lo
clicks of the paparazzi and would find herself with chauffeurs having to go overspeed to escape the limelight. For the most part, there wasn’t any trouble with escaping the paparazzi in a vehicle until one day in 1997 when the dangerous speed of the car led to a devastating crash and unfortunately, her death. The aftermath of that matter changed the media forever. There have been various incidents later on caused by the paparazzi like in 2005 when Lindsay Lohan was driving away from the camera and crashed her car, and in 2008 when Kanye West trashed the equipment of a nearby photographer at the airport. These encounters have even led to legal confrontations in more recent years, like in 2017 when George Clooney issued a lawsuit to the paparazzo that appeared to have climbed over fences to get photos of Clooney’s family in his home in Italy. The uptick of social media in recent years
STAFFER TRIES:
YUBO & SPOTAFRIEND
KEERTHI LAKSHMANAN editor-in-chief
Yubo and Spotafriend are social media apps notoriously known for being “teen dating” apps. They require you to build a profile—pictures and a short bio—and then set you against thousands of other users with a swipe feature. Both released in 2015, Yubo has grown more popular: it holds at #12 in Apple’s social networking category. It is intended for ages 13 to 25, and promises to “reinvent internet friendships.” Spotafriend is a bit more upfront: it calls itself “a Tinder alternative for people ages 13-19.” The Prospector thought it was time to put their descriptions to the test. Between Yubo and Spotafriend, I would easily place Yubo higher. It earns its popularity with a broader range o f
features than simply swiping—you can livestream with others and watch livestreams from people on an international scale. The interface is more accessible, too. Spotafriend only allows messaging after you match; in Yubo, there are ways to send friend requests and work from there. The difference is that Spotafriend is
ple that were willing to get to know me. I met a guy who did nothing but send me snaps of his jawline—not to deny that it was considerably impressive, but what’s a girl to do after a few days? I told another one the dog on his profile was cute and he left me on read. So as far as the dating aspect goes, it was a bit depressing. I did hit it off with a few people, but they would live half a country away in Michigan or Iowa; there’s no getting past that. Would I recommend these apps? Yes, for the thick-skinned. The adverse effects of any social media still apply. You need to be okay with putting yourself out there within a massive community— teen dating apps, if anything, are especially vulnerable to causing a lack of self-esteem or obsession with your profile. I do plan to keep my Yubo account active. It is worth it for the few messages that do click like magic. I swapped music and the best Netflix shows with teens from all over the country, I watched live streams from kids like me and kids very much not like me, and each message I traded with a stranger was a peek into a new lifestyle.
22 | THE PROSPECTOR
“I met a guy who did nothing but send me snaps of his jawline” geared to be just a teen Tinder, while Yubo expands to giving you the opportunity but lets you decide how to handle it. In my experience, it was easy to meet people. I received a solid handful of cheesy pickup lines, like “imma tell law enforcement you’re essential because you’re a meal”, which is commendable. But it was nearly Herculean to actually connect with them past the perfunctory “hey, wyd?’ texts. It took a load of swiping and messaging before I found peo-
IMAGE COURTESY OF KEERTHI LAKSHMANAN
STAFFER COOKS:
BROWN SUGAR MILK TEA ANGELA MA writer
This quarantine has separated you from your friends, classmates, and your favorite drink. We understand. Satisfy your craving and longing for boba with this DIY brown sugar milk tea. You can recreate this internet-crazy drink with 4 simple ingredients and enjoy while in quarantine.
Ingredients: Boba:
- 3 tablespoons (30g) brown sugar - 3 tablespoons (40g) water - 7-8 tablespoons (60g) tapioca starch
Syrup:
- 3/8 cup (45g) brown sugar - 1/4 cup (50g) water
Syrup:
1. Combine water and brown sugar over heat until it starts to thicken. 2. Add cooked boba to the syrup and cook until mixture is really thick.
Boba:
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF ANGELA MA
Milk tea (optional):
1. Make your favorite black tea and combine with milk (for stronger tea flavor add less milk). 2. Add sugar to taste or even add the brown sugar syrup.
Serve:
1. Put some boba and syrup mixture into a cup. To be extra aesthetic, use a clear cup and drip some syrup on the sides of the cup. Then pour in milk or milk tea to finish it off. 2. Take aesthetic pictures
LIFESTYLES | 23
1. Combine brown sugar and water on the heat until it boils. 2. Stir in a little bit of tapioca starch until mixture becomes thick. 3. Slowly stir in the rest of the tapioca starch until it becomes a soft dough. 4. Turn out the dough onto a nicely dusted board (with tapioca starch) and knead until it’s nice and smooth. Roll out into thin rope and cut into bite sized pieces. 5. Roll the nuggets into balls and cover with tapioca starch. 6. To cook, boil them for 10-15 minutes. Stir to prevent sticking 7. Throw them in ice water afterwards to make them more chewy.
24 | DESIGNED BY AVI PANDIT
SPORTS
Maggie Li
badminton captain KRITHIKA VENKATASUBRAMANIAN perspectives editor
In what is one of the most competitive regions for badminton in the United States*, senior Maggie Li has proven herself to be an exceptional talent, with a Norcal championship to her name and multiple banners hanging in the gym. Li has won two banners in her time at CHS: once as a freshman when she won NorCals, and once as a junior when she won league finals. Despite these achievements, Li stays humble. “To be honest, I didn’t think much of [the banners] when I won them or when I see them in the gym. I think more of them when people come up to me and ask, ‘Is that your banner up in the gym?’” Li said. Banners are awarded to athletes for achievements such as placing at league and state tournaments and are hung up around the gym to commemorate these achievements. “It’s cool that I’ve left something behind that will be hereafter I’m gone,” she said. Li has also won various tournaments, which are additional events attended by some members of the badminton team on Saturdays during the season. She has placed in both the mixed and doubles events at the 2019 James Logan Varsity Tournament as well as the 2019 Newark Varsity Tournament. “You stay at the tournament the entire day, and you’re playing nonstop. It’s extremely tiring but very rewarding,” explained Li. Li’s badminton journey started
at a very young age. “To be honest, I wasn’t the one who became interested [in badminton], my parents put me into badminton when I was very young. They put a racket in my hand when I was five, but I started training when I was eight,” said Li. Despite her talent, Li does not play competitively and quit club training during her sophomore year. “The biggest factor [in my decision to quit training] was time; schoolwork was mounting, and I had a lot of work to do,” said Li. In addition, the lack of opportunities to play beyond the high school level factored into Li’s decision. “To be honest, I knew I wasn’t going to play in college; I can play recreationally, but there’s no pos-
ever since. “I meet people that I would never normally interact with. [Now], as a senior, I’m able to meet freshmen, and I meet people in different clubs with different interests,” said Li, “On the team, I’ve met some of the best people I know. It’s like a community outside the classroom.” Li was named captain of the varsity badminton team in her junior and senior years. She also helps out her peers during practice, assisting the coach in demonstrating difficult shots to improve players’ gameplay. Of this responsibility, she says, “It made me realize how much work is going on behind the scenes. [...] I learned that delegation is very important, and it’s necessary to know when to hand over the responsibility to other people.” Recently, Li captained her team to a defeat over rivals Monta Vista High School, in what was the first and last game of their season, before it was cut short by the school closure. Remembering the win, Li says, “Bittersweet is the best way to describe it. It felt amazing to beat them. The last time we beat them was my freshman year, so it felt like it had come full circle. But, we got to know in the middle of the game that it was the last game of the season. It felt good to put everything out there, but then it was sad that it was the last game we’d ever play.” Despite being unable to complete her final season, Li has left a lasting legacy on her teammates and looks forward to playing recreationally in college.
“It felt good to put everything out there, but then it was sad that it was the last game we’d ever play.”
SPORTS | 25
sibility of recruitment [because badminton is not an NCAA sport],” explained Li. However, she regrets not taking club training as seriously as she feels she could have when she was still participating in it. “I took outside training for granted. I hated going to practices,” she said. “Looking back, I see that [club training] definitely made me stronger, physically but also mentally. I regret not seeing its value at the moment, but I do now.” Li joined the CHS varsity badminton team during her freshman year and has been with the team
Quidditch Team: Bay Area Breakers AVINASH PANDIT
26 | THE PROSPECTOR
sports editor
Everyone knows about the fictional sport, Quidditch, the primary sport in the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter. In 2005, the International Quidditch Association was formed, and “Muggle” quidditch started to grow in popularity. A quidditch team consists of six players who are required to remain on the pitch the entire game: three chasers, two beaters, and one keeper. The chasers’ role is to take the quaffle, a volleyball, and throw it into the opposing team’s hoop and this gives the team ten points. Beaters are the defenders and use bludgers to hit opposing chasers, forcing the chasers to drop the quaffle and return to their side of the field. The keeper tries to prevent the quaffle from going into any of the three hoops that they guard. Instead of flying on brooms, athletes hold a broom between their legs to play. But arguably, the hardest position to play is the seeker, whose goal is to obtain the snitch, who is a person running around with a tennis ball tucked into a yellow sock. The snitch is usually a volunteer, and there are snitches certified by the International Quidditch Association. Unlike the other players, the snitch can do almost anything to prevent the teams from getting the tennis ball, for example, pushing, punching, running or even throwing the player’s broom away. The snitch is released 17 minutes into the game and catching the snitch awards 30 points to the team. When the snitch is finally caught, the match ends and the team with the most points wins the game. As one may infer, Quidditch is chaotic, strategic and athletic. Shirley Lu, the manager of the Bay Area Breakers Quidditch Team, reflects on the best parts of being a Quidditch player. Said Lu, “I was – still am – a massive Harry Potter fan, so it was perfect for me. In college, I played for the Whomping Wellesleys of Wellesley College, and after moving out to the Bay Area for work, I played for the Bay Area Breakers.” She further elaborates on what she believes is the best part of the sport, “The sport is a lot of fun, but meeting players from all over California, across the U.S. and around the world is the best part for me. I have friends in so many different countries because of this sport, and it’s an incredibly diverse, supportive and inclusive community. For all our away tournaments, we rent a large Airbnb – we call it BreakersBnb. It’s a lot of fun hanging out and getting to know each other better before a tournament. After a tournament, we grab dinner and invite other teams over to party and have some fun.” ALL PICTURES COURTESY OF @BAYAREABREAKERS TWITTER
Schools Should Have A
CRICKET TEAM CALVIN ANDERSON copy editor
Diversity is defined to be a state where a variety of options and ideas are available. The word often applies to ancestry, race, sexuality, but an essential subject is often left out: sports. When asked to name highschool sports, subjects often spit out generic games like baseball, basketball, or American football but cricket is rarely mentioned. The problem with the lack of awareness in sports connects to a growing issue with cultural awareness and diversity. Cricket is predicted to have been created in the early 16th century, but it was rumored to have started in the 13th century. The game of cricket only began thoroughly embedding its roots around the globe between the 16th and18th century amid England’s period of imperialism, and from then on, the game continues to develop its influence in politics and multiculturalism on an international scale. The line between cricket and the importance of diversity in high school sports lies in contrast to the magnitude of which generic sports are played and the lack of concern placed on variety in sports. While internationally, 100 countries have a national basketball team and 80 countries play American football - there are 105 cricket teams,
outnumbering both American football and basketball - both a staple of teen sports in our nation. Even baseball, which is agreed to be the cornerstone of American sports, is modeled heavily after cricket of the 16th century. With schools around the nation having a predominantly caucasian populous, the need for a solution to soften and build diversity will continue to compromise public schools’ quality and exposure with the international community. Said an anonymous cricket play-
g ro u n d s to assimilate t h e m selves into the school and sports community as they continue to build trust and relations around fellow teammates Said Cupertino High School Junior, Amrutha Vaidyam, “Diversity in sports reduces the likelihood of subconscious stereotypes as events like powderpuff games further enhance the likelihood of people believing that stereotype.” Bringing cricket to the US should not, however, be a simple onestep solution. Instead, cricket should act as a centerpiece for sports diversity. Sports such as competitive bowling or the celebrated German pastime, Headis, should be included in order to allow students stemming from a variety of backgrounds to better find inclusion in public schools around the nation. Although Cupertino High has done its part incorporating sports such as golf and diving into their options, we should continue to explore more sports options to help students find their friends and passion - overall building a better school environment for all.
“While internationally, 100 countries have a national basketball team and 80 countries play American football - there are 105 cricket teams...”
SPORTS | 27
er, “They are just playing a sport and having fun which will most likely divert their minds from thinking about people’s race and more on the game itself.” Sports diversity comes into play as an effective solution because of the dynamics that apply. In sports, the GPA you earn or the ethnicity you come from doesn’t matter, instead, the more important factors are how much you play, and how effective you do. cricket is able to come into play as a necessity for this issue because of the broad range of students the sport resonates with. The large scale international community around cricket will better allow students of different cultural back-
PERSPECTIVES
A PARENT’”S GUIDE TO ‘
QUARAN”TEEN”S
28 | DESIGNED BY KRITHIKA VENKATASUBRAMANIAN
A Comic By Jenny Wu
TO ALL THE ARIANA FAHRI writer
clothes YOU’VE (NEVER) loved before not have time to make outfits”, you explain. I huff, “Then why buy so much, why waste your money and the resources that went into me?” “You do not understand,” There is a heavy pause, “I am not trying to be wasteful on purpose, it just happens” That is the issue: impulsive buying, purchasing without carefully weighing that choice to add to your closet. While you might not feel the impact of thoughtless buying, the environmental and mental impact is present. Having too many clothes leads to an overwhelming closet that has too many options even though you regret buying most of them. A lot of personal and environmental stress can be reduced if you try to be more thoughtful about your purchases, as I hope you start to realize. I was made to be worn, to have my moment in the sun. Instead, I have been kept in the dark, like an antique gaining dust in a museum. I am just another piece of clothing, wasting away like a relic of the past despite my functionality. It should not be this way, not only is it careless, it is squandering important resources like labor,water, and energy. You can find a way to use me, just do not ignore me. Reuse or recycle me. Upcycle me into a new creation that would be more useful. Give me to the thrift store on the corner, someone there needs me more than you do. I am what you do not wear, but that does not mean I am not here.
PERSPECTIVES | 29
I am stuck in the dark closet, feeling alone despite the nonexistent space between the clothes that are jammed together like sardines in a can. I am shoved to the back of the closet above a random pair of shoes you have not worn in a year, collecting dust. Each day, it is rejection station. I can feel the morning light shining on me, reflecting from your questing fingers. Try as I might to reach you, yet your fingers pick another so I enjoy the brief respite from the dark and cold before Ithe plunge back into the shadows. I wish I was trendy and new. I want to be like those other clothes you wear all the time, something useful to you. I know I am not that special compared to your prom dress or popular like the blue Champion hoodie next to me but I am here; I wish you would see past what I lack. “Do you know I am here?” I can not help but ask myself. It is like I am invisible to you. The indifference in your eyes as they look past me to the next, always to something better than me, stings more than outright rejection. I still remember the days when I was your first choice, when I was special to you and not this reject sitting here day in and day out. Singing to the world, I felt worthy in your eyes.You would wear me with a small smile and that is all I needed to have. Where did we go wrong? All I know is you stopped recognizing my worth but I still know I have potential. It is in the fingers that sewed me together, the hours of painstaking work that made me whole. I am endlessly discouraged by you to stop and see me. There is nothing I want more than for you to pause and hear my deep rooted frustration. “I wear all of my clothes though, there is just so much to do daily that I do
POSTSCRIPT
maslow’s covid-19 quarantine
hierarchy of needs ALEXANDRIA HUNT postscript editor
spontaneously cutting bangs & dyeing hair trying to achieve tik tok fame
self-actualization youtube ab workouts
instagram story challenges
esteem
facetiming friends & class zoom calls
daily family walks
love & belonging
30 | DESIGNED BY ALEXANDRIA HUNT
necessities for staying safe
safety needs basic needs baking cookies
10+ hours of sleep
phone + wifi
THE POWER OF SUCCESS DR. FA IL U R E B LV D .
THE PAST TAHA SHAFIEI writer
Our pasts, though they may not define us, shape us. They twist our malleable forms into reflections of our lives, so mangled that, at times, we can not grasp what we truly are. My earliest memories are moments with my parents in our, albeit cockroach-infested then flooded, apartment in Canada and tumbling down a hill after losing control of my cracked plastic sled. But that is not all I remember. I remember feeling weak, isolated, and ashamed. Ashamed of where I had come from, the language that I spoke, and the color of my skin. I remember desperately trying to hide away in a world of my own creation. I suffered in school, both academically and emotionally. I felt alone and worthless. Like a brown speck of dust on a white canvas, ready to be blown off at a moment’s notice. There would be cold nights where I would stay up, praying I could change. That come morning, I would be different, look different, that I would feel accepted. Come fifth grade, my prayers were answered, just not how I had envisioned. Moving to California was both a blessing and a curse. I now looked the part, surrounded by others with this particular shade of brown, but internally this camouflage did not take. I felt like a fraud. I was a fraud. That this past that I so desperately wanted to escape and forget was stopping me from feeling accepted. Even now, eight years after leaving Canada,
I still feel alone. In a place where I once prayed I would be, I feel more isolated than ever. Thoughts linger and poke at me from the shadows, blaming me for how I feel. That it is my fault that I still feel worthless. That it is my fault, I feel like a failure, a fraud. And perhaps they are right. Perhaps it is my fault. Perhaps I have been too closed off from everything for so long, so afraid that I would feel worse, that I have become numb to the warmth surrounding me. That perhaps now, after all this time, I am incapable of change - condemned to suffer like this internally to the end of my days. We have now reached the point where I must impart upon you some overarching lesson. How, after months of therapy, I have become a devoted follower of one of many mindfulness techniques and proceed to inadvertently admit that what you have read has been a very sophisticated form of clickbait. This is not that sort of column. I have yet to reach any conclusion or even start seeing myself as anything other than a mismatched mosaic of failure, lies, and shame. Hell, I don’t know what will feels worse: keeping up this charade that I have built for myself or confronting that I will never achieve the one thing I believe would fix me. What I do know, what has been repeated by the few people I confide in, and what has kept me going through the endlessly identical days and years, is that it will get better. It has to get better. I have to get better.
POSTSCRIPT | 31
