RAVEN REPORT SEQUOIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSMAGAZINE VOLUME XII, NO. 3 // MARCH 2019
Girls Basketball dribbles into history, p 9
PAGE 2 // CONTENTS
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 NEWS
New courses to debut next year Students see Pope Francis in Panama
9 SPORTS
Athletes who compete in unique sports Girls Sports compete in CCS
10 FEATURE
Then and now: Fashion trends The price of being a Silicon Valley kid Why teens turn to Juul Planning maternity leave Local growth affects teacher housing
18 OPINION
Shake Shack review Un nuevo capÃtulo La comida casero vs. la de restaurante
PAGE 3 // NEWS
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Letter from the Editors A New Season for Empathy With spring approaching, we enter the time of year of rebirth and seasonal cleanings. And, despite the cliches, there is something to say about spring’s effect on the soul. It might be the rains clearing the dust in the air skies or the flora and fauna re-emerging from hibernation. Regardless, closets will be emptied to clear the clutter from the past year, and Goodwill bins filled by those who empathize with the struggles of others in their communities. And it is this empathy that we want to impart on you. Whether or not you participate in the ritual of “spring cleaning,” let this be the time that you look to recognize, acknowledge, and understand the stories of those in your community. Each member of this unaliyi must understand that their student, their teacher and their principal all have issues, worries, stories of their own, in and outside these walls. Students must empathize with the often villainized teacher who still smiles in the face of dozens angry students ready to criticize— and they must understand that teachers teach, certainly not for the money, but because of the few students who smile back. Yet teachers must empathize with the frustrated, often infantilized student too often reminded of the ever-rising expectations to be successful or even adequate in the future—and they must understand that merely acknowledging students’ fears as opposed to actively working to reduce them, like decreasing excess or trivial workload, does
not suffice. This age-old tale—of students forgetting staff were once students, and staff forgetting they too were once students—is rife at Sequoia like at any other school. The Raven Report functions as the only official student news publication at Sequoia. We find and shine the light “informative, engaging and relevant news” and continue to adapt ourselves, in spring and all year long, to be the best platform we can for the entire community. We hope we do our community justice by sharing their stories so that change can be made. Yet change cannot be made without empathy from our readers. Let the opinions, stories, and news we share with you be the launching pad of your empathy. Let spring be when students realize that their complaints only work when there is trust behind them, and when teachers realize that trust won’t come until they show—not say— that they hear the complaints. Let spring be when communication thrives, emerging from the hibernation of winter and mid-winter break. Let spring be the season for empathy.
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ABOUT
The Raven Report is a Sequoia High School student publication produced in the journalism class through the efforts and decisions of the staff and the publication’s editors and adviser. The Raven Report is a public forum for students, staff, parents and community members. The Raven Report strives to provide Sequoia High School with informative, engaging and relevant news. The staff will exercise integrity and adaptability while promoting justice and transparency through professional reporting about the school, the community and the world.
CONTACT
The Raven Report staff welcomes signed letters to the editor so that readers might share in the opportunities of the scholastic free press in open forum. The written views of students, parents or community members must be responsible, in good taste and free from libel, slander or obscenity. Letters may be edited for grammar or content if necessary; furthermore, editors will not guarantee that letters will be published. 1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062 www.ravenreport.org ravenreport17@gmail.com
Raven Report // 18-19 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Beatrice Bugos Benjy Jude MANAGING EDITOR Brighid Bugos COPY EDITOR Shannon Coan
NEWS EDITOR Taylor Gayner FEATURE EDITOR Ysabelle Punzal OPINION EDITOR Nick Abraham
STAFF REPORTERS Madeline Carpinelli Jake Carroll Alyssa De Leon Laniah Dickinson MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Zoe Dufner Aviva Futornick Ray Evans ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Kelsie Garay Sophie Harris Maddie Reynolds Andrew Mancini SPORTS EDITOR Jay Tipirneni
Collin Mavrinac Lex Navarra Mia Padilla Tino Pohahau David Ramirez Caitlin Sorensen ADVISER Kim Vinh
PAGE 4 // NEWS
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Ravens delve into faith with trip to Panama to see Pope BY SHANNON COAN Copy Editor
In celebration of World Youth Day, four Sequoia students traveled to it. At the time I was going through some stuff, but once I saw him and Panama City Jan. 22 to Jan. 27 with their youth group in order to hear once he spoke it made me relax,” sophomore Carmelucia Sabrían Rivera from Pope Francis. said. “I was sobbing. I just had this peace in me. “What encouraged me to go was knowing that just Something told me that everything was going to be by contributing and having this experience, I could fine, and that all the stuff that I’m going through was make a change like the millions of people who have just going to go away.” gone to this meeting with the Pope before,” senior The night prior to the Pope’s mass all of the youth Edwin Galicia said. from across the world came together in the field World Youth Day is an international event for where the Pope will deliver his sermon the next day. young people hosted every two to three years by the “Once arriving there, it was like a different world. Catholic Church where the Pope presents a message The vibe there was all happiness and joy. Many people for the youth. This year’s event ended with the Pope were dancing and singing and seeing the thousands holding a mass in the morning and giving a speech of people that were going there was amazing,” Edwin thanking the youth for coming in the evening. More Galicia said. than 500,000 youth traveled to Panama for the event. While on the trip, the students connected with “I remember every detail of the night [the Pope] Pope Francis’s comments on those in the local community, youth from other parts spoke to us. The other priests who joined him topics, including divorce, of the world, and the around 100 other youth from also spoke and what they said really touched me,” gay marriage, and the sexual Northern California who they traveled with. These abuse scandal within the sophomore Eric Galicia said. connections largely came from singing and dancing, This trip marked Pope Francis’s first visit to Catholic Church, have led to particularly on the night before the Pope spoke where Panama and the first time a World Youth Day was controversy. many were too excited and anxious to sleep. held in Central America. Pope Francis, originally “I joined a dance with people from Germany, from Argentina, has taken more liberal stances on traditional issues, Columbia and Spain. We danced in a circle, and I joined just for the which has sparked controversy between those who appreciate the fun of it. It was pretty cool just seeing people dancing in circles,” Eric Catholic Church’s shift towards these ideals and those who do not. Galicia said. Recently, he became the first Pope to publicly acknowledge the sexual Since coming back from Panama, Sabrían Rivera has not taken off abuse scandal within the church. the rosary, a string of beads used to aid in prayer, that was gifted to her For the youth who went, seeing the Pope made a profound impact. on the day she saw the Pope. She, as well as the Galicia brothers, intend “Going into the trip and going to see the Pope, I wasn’t really feeling to travel to Portugal in 2022 for the next World Youth Day.
World Youth Day attendees march with religious symbols, including the cross (left) and the Virgin Mary (right), as part of the celebrations surrounding the Pope’s speech.
Photos Courtesy of Carmelucia Sabrian Rivera
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
New electives, math courses unveiled for next school year BY ANDREW MANCINI Staff Reporter Elective offerings are broadening next school year, giving students an even greater opportunity to explore their passions, whether in the areas of child development, learning about leadership through athletics, or something else. Three new electives will be added next year: another Digital Photo 2 class (CTE Digital Photo and Design), CTE Child Development: Prenatal through Early Adolescence, and Sports Leadership. Additionally, a new physical education class, P.E. Conditioning, will serve as a P.E. 2 class emphasizing yoga and mental relaxation. Furthermore, Sequoia will adopt new IB math curriculum, replacing PreCalculus and AP/IB Calculus with two SL and HL classes, to better prepare students for math in college and beyond. “The new courses give students more opportunity to take a class that they’re interested in,” Head Guidance Counselor Melissa Perez said. “There’s more variety to what we offer, meaning students get more exposure to a range of topics.” Students are currently in the process of selecting core subject classes and electives for next year. These new electives give students more options, which, in some cases, makes it harder to choose classes. “Sometimes students have a hard time deciding which elective to take,” Perez said. “[Guidance counselors] dig in and give information on a variety of courses. We try to suggest classes that a student is most interested in, based on their interests and personal hobbies.” In most cases, the process of creating new electives begins with teacher interest. As teachers propose new courses, the administration considers whether there will be sufficient student interest. If so, plans for curriculum are made and the Guidance Office begins to market the class to the school and recruit students into the classes for next year.
CTE Child Development: Prenatal through Early Adolescence Recognizing the need to cultivate students’ interest in education and psychology earlier rather than later, English teacher Nichole Vaughan began writing curriculum last year for a course focused on child development. With the help of a grant from the Sequoia Union High School District, Vaughan’s curriculum will be implemented in a new elective she will teach next year, CTE Child Development: Prenatal through Early Adolescence. “When people hear ‘Child Development,’ I think that they think of little kids, but there is so much more than that,” Vaughan said. “Students [will] learn about the way children learn in their communities and understand all the marketable skills that are cultivated and practiced through teaching.” Vaughan emphasizes that much of the class will allow students to apply the lessons they’ve learned in class to how they view their own lives and educational experience. “I’m looking forward to students being able to actively look at themselves, their families, and the communities they live in through the lens of this class,” Vaughan said. Vaughan and other teachers who have evaluated and analyzed her curriculum are
working with local community colleges to allow the course to count for college credit, potentially saving students time and money after high school. “It would be a super cool experience to take something that’s not just a mainstream class [in high school],” said senior Ana Elena Smith, who plans to study child development or child psychology in college. “With the [availability] of these cool electives that you can choose from, kids can branch out and dabble in new things and get a taste of college.” The class, which is the first year of a planned two-year course open to 10th-12th graders, will include curriculum on different theories of development that influence individuals, reflection time for students to apply those theories to their own lives, and projects involving anatomy and biology. Vaughan also has plans to take field trips to observe children at school sites and have students interview professionals in education. “I think the class can create a great amount of reflection and action,” Vaughan said. “As I’ve been planning, I feel myself get excited over the things that we [will be] learning, and I hope that it translates into the classroom.”
Sports Leadership Students enrolled in the new Sports Leadership class will have the chance to take a deeper look at a wide range of topics within athletics, from learning about sports writing to promoting athletics at Sequoia. “We’ll do units on sports marketing, sports writing, coaching, and sports management,” said Athletic Director Melissa Schmidt, who will teach the class next year. “Students will also take over running the athletics website and Instagram page, and help with recognition of athletes and teams.” Schmidt, who got the idea from other schools in the district who offer a similar elective, says she is open to expanding the
curriculum based on what students are interested in learning more about. She has spoken to some sports teams and provided information to coaches about the class, but emphasizes that all students are welcome to join the class, not just those that are highly involved in athletics. “I’m really excited to provide an opportunity for students who want to be a bigger part of the athletics program,” Schmidt said. “I think this class will appeal to a wide variety of students: kids in sports who want to help raise the level of the program, as well as kids who are interested in careers in athletics, but who may not play a sport at Sequoia.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
CTE Digital Photo and Design From learning advanced digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera techniques to setting up a photography show in the community, Digital Photo and Design will give students the opportunity to study and gain experience in the photography industry. “It’s a chance for [students] to learn the business aspects of photography—how to have shows, advertise their work, and design a website—while still being creative,” Digital Photography teacher Kate Sheehan said. Sheehan, who plans to teach the class next year, says the district promotes Career Technical Education (CTE) courses like this one, because they provide students with pathways to future careers. She found that some of her current students have decided to pursue photography after high school, as a hobby and as a career. “Photography is a hard business, with a lot of trial and error,” said senior Chris Saravia, who is enrolled in Digital Photography II this year. Saravia plans to continue digital photography in college. “To focus on the business side of
P.E. Conditioning For students considering taking a second year of P.E., Jennifer DeRego’s new P.E. Conditioning class will provide students with another opportunity to be athletic. The class, offered to 10th-12th graders beginning next year, will emphasize yoga and mental relaxation techniques. “It’s a chance for students to deal with mental stress,” said DeRego, who began teaching P.E. 1 at Sequoia this year. “It gives
Students use tongs to move pictures in the darkroom in Digital Photography I. The new Digital Photo and Design class offers students the chance to learn about the photography industry. things would be [beneficial] and help people out in the future.” In contrast to the Digital Photography II class, which emphasizes fine arts photography curriculum, CTE Digital Photo and Design will focus on both the studio and business aspects of photography, an industry that has grown 1.6 percent in the past six years, according to industry research company IBISWorld. The class will be open to 10th-12th graders next year who have completed Digital
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Yoga [helps] students feel more confident. Really, yoga is just helping people [succeed] where they already are. Jennifer DeRego, P.E. teacher
Students in P.E. 1 and P.E. 2 start the first lap of their timed mile run. Beginning next year, 10th-12th graders will have the opportunity to enroll in P.E. Conditioning, a class focused on yoga techniques.
Photo by Andrew Mancini
Photo by Andrew Mancini
Photography I. When asked what she is most looking forward to about the new course, Sheehan brings up the real-world experience in the photography industry that she believes will help students grow most. “It gets kids to learn how to promote themselves,” Sheehan said. “It challenges them in a way that they can directly select and be successful in.”
students an additional option to be athletic, for kids who dislike team sports, or running, or [purely] physical stuff.” Prior to coming to Sequoia, DeRego worked as an assistant cross country and distance track coach at University of California, Los Angeles and taught at Heritage High School in Brentwood. While teaching there, she developed a similar P.E. Yoga class that she taught for seven years. “I found that a lot of students were saying, ‘I never realized how stressed I was,’” DeRego said. “I saw a lot of kids really growing physically and mentally, and that helped them grow socially and academically.” DeRego plans to start class with a short period of what she calls “mental relaxation,” followed by a yoga lesson in one of the specific styles of the ancient Indian practice. Finally, each workout will finish with the Shavasana pose, a practice in which one lies on their back, closing their eyes, with their arms stretched outwards, to rejuvenate students’ minds and bodies. DeRego, an athlete and yoga practitioner herself, advises that all students, both beginners and those experienced in yoga, sign up for the class next year. “Yoga [helps] students feel more confident,” DeRego said. “It’s fun, not competitive. It’s all individual. Really, yoga is just helping people [succeed] where they already are.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
New IB Math Pathways:
IB Analysis and Approaches and IB Applications and Interpretations Sequoia is restructuring its higher-level math McCahon. course pathways based on changes from the “We know that it’s still International Baccalaureate (IB) organization. important for students to Beginning next year, Pre-Calculus and AP/IB take AP exams,” McCahon Calculus will be converted into two pathways, said. “The math department, IB Analysis and Approaches (“IB Analysis”) in collaboration with the and IB Applications and Interpretation (“IB Instructional Vice Principal Applications”). and IB, have figured out where “The IB organization has all of their courses all students are going to go, so on a 7-year curriculum review process,” IB they get served and properly Coordinator Lisa McCahon said. “[Regarding prepared.” math], the organization wanted to address Some students expressed the current needs of this economy, and what concerns that with the new kind of mathematical skills are needed, so they changes, the title of the math revamped the curriculum to incorporate that.” course they would be taking The two pathways will both be offered wouldn’t be universally at 1-year (SL) and 2-year (HL) levels and recognized, compared to be offered to all students after completion former titles like “Pre-Calculus” of Algebra 2/Trigonometry. After IB HL and “AP/IB Calculus.” Analysis, students will be able to continue Although McCahon onto AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, or the understands their uneasiness, rotating college math courses taught by Dr. she assures students that Terri Bittner. IB SL Applications will only universities will still be aware be offered to 11th and 12th graders. Current of what skills are being taught in the IB math students enrolled in Pre-Calculus or higher classes, regardless of their course title. will continue on the old pathway for one more “Colleges review the content and the year. syllabus of each IB and AP class because “The Analysis pathway is geared toward they determine for their own department students who have an interest in pursuing a how a certain course will articulate into their STEM field. It’s for campus,” McCahon students who are said. “They decide, curious about, or love for a class, whether learning, theoretical they will give college math. There are real- We want students to leave credit. And if yes, what world applications, Sequoia with skills that are [students] would have but the class has an to score to receive emphasis on calculus,” required in college and this credit. In essence, it McCahon said. “The economy, and those skills are doesn’t matter what [a IB Applications class changing, so IB is changing with it. class] is called.” has a greater emphasis Lisa McCahon, IB Coordinator The new changes on statistics, modeling, also affect teachers and using technology. who will need to be It’s for the student who is interested in taught the new curriculum. Teachers in feeder pursuing a non-STEM field, who is interested math courses, including Algebra 1, Geometry, in focusing on the real-world applications of and Algebra 2/Trigonometry, will be included math.” With the new classes, students will not only be able to choose a class based on the content that interests them, but also which course prepares them best for their possible college majors and career fields. The IB office and math department have carefully worked out which classes students can take next year. Even the timing of when students will be best prepared to take AP Calculus and Statistics exams—after taking IB HL Analysis or IB HL Applications, respectively—has been evaluated, says Graphic Courtesy of the IB Office
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in the training, so that they know what topics students need to learn to be best prepared for the IB courses. “It’s good that teachers come together, because it forces us as a school to continuously train our teachers and have professional development,” McCahon said. Despite the potentially disruptive changes, McCahon assures students that the administration, math department, and IB office has worked to figure out how the new courses will best fit into Sequoia’s math program. “We recognize that change is hard for everyone. Although it seems disruptive, it’s a really beautiful thing that we have curriculum that is forever changing itself, and making sure it’s relevant in the current world,” McCahon said. “We want students to leave Sequoia with skills that are required in college and this economy, and those skills are changing, so IB is changing with it.”
After completing Algebra 2/ Trigonometry, students can choose between two new IB classes and AP Statistics.
PAGE 8 // SPORTS
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Athletics sport new practice policy
BY KELSIE GARAY Staff Reporter
goal,” Schmidt said. The new policy may challenge some students to make it to all of their The new sports practice attendance policy requiring students to practices. Freshman Isabelle Simon is a member of the track team but attend 90 percent of all practices, recently implemented for the winter is also involved in music lessons outside of school. She misses practice sports season at the end of October, will continue to be the official once a week for piano and violin lessons, and worries that she won’t policy for the rest of the Sequoia sports. receive credit for participating in track. There was no sports policy before this new policy was put into place, “It can be hard [to get to all the practices] because I do have some and each sport had different rules on attendance. With the new policy, after-school conflicts that require me to miss practices, so it’s causing me every sport has the same rules regarding attendance to be a little bit stressed about it,” Simon said. “But at practices. I think [the policy] is good because it motivates “I think the biggest thing is that at the end of the people to want to attend practices more.” day, being on a team is a class. There are attendance Instead of running with the wind in her hair, requirements for courses, and so what was happening freshman Anja Linkwitz splashes through the was we weren’t really applying that same logic behind Part of the goal of high school pool. She is part of PCC’s swim team and swims sports is to teach you a lot of with Sequoia’s varsity team as well. As part of the athletics,” Athletic Director Melissa Schmidt said. Before, some sports would practice every day things beyond just the sport, and varsity swim team, she has practices every day of after school, while others would only practice once or I think that one of those things the week, options to attend two practices in the twice a week. Now, each team practices every day and is teaching commitment and morning before school. the coaches keep track of attendance at every practice responsibility. “Sometimes [practicing every day] is not Melissa Schmidt, in order to keep track of their team’s attendance. very convenient because sometimes I want to do “I think that if you are going to make a Athletic Director something other than swimming in the afternoon, commitment to an after-school sport, then it’s a but I’m pretty used to going every day,” Linkwitz commitment. Part of the goal of high school sports said. is to teach you a lot of things beyond just the sport, and I think that one Overall, the new policy will be holding students accountable for of those things is teaching commitment and responsibility, and what it attending practices when they choose to play a sport. looks like to be part of a group and working together towards a common
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The attendance policy, that requires players to go to 90 percent of practices, was created for winter sports, like soccer. The policy will stay in place indefinitely.
Photo by Collin Mavrinac
Girls sports have great run
PAGE 9 // SPORTS
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Two girls teams win league championships
Photo by Aviva Futornick
BY JAY TIPIRNENI Sports Editor
Kurland said. They credit their recent accomplishments This past season in Sequoia girls sports has to their brilliant coaching and team dynamic. “Our coaches and our team chemistry [has been groundbreaking, as both the girls soccer and basketball teams have qualified for Central helped us greatly] throughout the season,” Coast Section (CCS), with the girls basketball Kurland said. “We have two really strong coaches who team winning the CCS championships. The girls varsity basketball team had an have a lot of experience. Our head coach is Steve Picchi who 11-1 record this has been coaching season and won for 40 years,” the CCS Division Kurland said. 1 championships The team after defeating the has also seen a top-seeded Palo We all love each other a lot and it’s change in their Alto High School sad that our season is over now. We competition, Vikings with a had a great season and we are proud particularly with final score of 50of what we accomplished. the ages of their 34. Jacqueline Kurland, opponents. T h i s sophomore varisty basketball player “ T h e championship [opposing] teams win is significant are definitely in being the first time any Sequoia girls sport has achieved such younger than they were last year. A lot of seniors graduated. It’s a whole new league,” a feat. “We won CCS D1, which is the first time Kurland said. The team is proud of their accomplishments any girls sport has done that here, which is huge for us. We did not expect that to happen” and proud that they were able to set a record for sophomore varsity basketball player Jacqueline the school, even though it may have been cut
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short due to a loss to Cosumnes Oaks during the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation State Playoffs with a final score of 43-31. “We all love each other a lot and it’s sad that our season is over now. We had a great season and we are proud of what we accomplished” Kurland said. The girls varsity soccer team has also been making waves this season and qualified for CCS for the second year in a row. Their 3-1 win over the defending Ocean division champions South City crowned them as the Ocean division champions. Much like the girls basketball team, much of their success during the season can be attributed to their improved team chemistry and skill level. Not only that, but also the fact that the team has been able to persevere through difficult games. “We’ve been working together better, and playing more difficult games has made us grown a lot,” sophomore varsity soccer Kira Spottiswood said. “I think we just started with a pretty good team, and we have more talented players” Spottiswood said. Sadly their long and accomplished season was cut short as well after a loss against Terra Nova High School with a final score of 1-0.
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Special sports showcased by Sequoia students Camogie Balancing a sliotar on a racket and lunging it into a goal sounds like something out of Harry Potter. But in fact it’s real, and freshman twins Colleen and Bridget Diether play Irish game camogie competitively. “[Camogie] is not like any other sport. It’s kind of like a mixture of lacrosse and field hockey, but it’s really its own sport,” said Colleen Diether. Eleven players on each team defend their goals on each side, aiming to hit the ball, or sliotar, into the net for three points or over the crossbar of the goal for one point. The male version of the game is called hurling, and it is mainly played in Ireland and is not very common in the U.S. Only seeing it can describe the intensity and complexity of camogie. “We started because family friends of ours played. They went to Ireland and told us about it. We went just to see what it was and we picked it up,” Colleen Diether said. Since that time, over four years ago, the Diethers have played with the Gaelic Athletic Association in San Francisco. The team practices two to three times a week during the spring season. Traveling for the sport is inevitable as the next closest team resides in Chicago, and they travel throughout the spring and summer time to go to tournaments all over the U.S. “I like that it’s different and not everybody knows about it,” Colleen Diether said. “It’s a
quick-thinking game, because you have to make split-second decisions, and you can do so many things with it.” The sport is very tough and physically demanding because players hit each other with sticks. It requires helmets and lots of padding to keep players safe. “It’s not like soccer where you can push, and it’ll be a penalty,” Bridget Diether said. “You can get away with a lot.” After visiting Boston, Ireland and more places for competitions, the Diethers brought home many wins. In June 2016, the Diethers competed in Ireland for one of their first
BY MADELINE CARPINELLI AND CAITLIN SORENSEN Staff Reporters
notable competitions and won second. “We went to Boston, and we won that year, and then we went the next year and won that year,” Colleen Diether said. “We went to Buffalo, and we won there. Then we went last year to Boston, and we got second.” The twins plan to pursue this sport although there are difficulties with how uncommon it is. Some midwest and east coast cities have local clubs, but Ireland is one of the only places they could play in college. “I’ll probably play as long as I can, but it depends on where you move to,” Colleen Diether said.
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Ping Pong
Ping pong is just a hobby for many people, but freshman Qing Chai has played it competitively for 5 years. “The first time I started playing ping pong was when my grandpa came to the US and showed me the sport at the Stanford Recreation Center,” Chai said. Chai often places second and third places when competing in different competitions across California. “Two years ago, I played at the US Open, and I sometimes compete at local tournaments,” Chai said. Competitive table tennis can be more difficult than people anticipate, especially at bigger competitions like the US Open. “The sport is very challenging and challenges me to become quicker in areas like reaction,” Chai said. Chai doesn’t plan on playing professionally but still has a passion for playing the game. “I think I’ll just continue to play it,” Chai said. “I think I’ll continue to play in college.”
Crew
Over 16 hours of practice a week with schoolwork on top is just a glimpse of sophomore Laine Bradley’s life as a rower. She’s rowed in Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle and she isn’t slowing down. “Everyone who’s there wants to work hard. It’s a really devoted sport,” Bradley said. With her team, Bradley has competed up and down the West Coast in well-known races, often placing high. One important competition is Head of the Lake, which is well-known in
the crew community and it happens in Seattle. “When we went to Seattle we got second in our U17 boat, which was super cool,” Bradley said. “That trip was really fun.” Despite stereotypes, crew is a challenging sport that requires lots of training. “[One stereotype is] you have really strong arms, but it’s mostly in the legs,” Bradley said. “Some people think it’s not that hard, but in reality, it’s so hard.” Bradley has to practice in the morning before school some days as well as practices after school, which can make it difficult to juggle school work on top. “We have two-morning practices Monday and Friday, which go from 5 to 7. The rest of the week is 4 to 6:30. Saturdays, it’s three hours. It’s like 15 hours of practice time, plus extra stretching, it’s probably like 16/17 hours a week,” Bradley said. Rowing throughout high school and continuing on into college is in the future goal for Bradley. “I would really love to row in college,” Bradley said. “That’s where I want to be.”
Synchro skating Freshman Anahita Memarzadeh has had a passion for ice skating since she was four years old. Ten years later, she’s competing halfway across the country with her team in synchronized skating. “After watching [people skate], I just remember really wanting to skate,” Memarzadeh said. “And so I started taking
lessons, and I’ve been skating ever since.” After many years of individual skating, Memarzadeh ventured to synchro skating in 7th grade. Now she skates with her team, Tremors, that practices in San Francisco almost once a day for up to 10-12 hours a week. Memarzadeh’s team competes yearround in places as far as Chicago. “I think the coolest place I went to was Wichita, Kansas. I don’t know why, it’s so random, but it was the coolest place I’ve ever competed in because it was such a small city,” Memarzadeh said. “Everywhere you went, you saw synchro skaters. They all have their jackets, and they all look the same, and it’s so much fun.” When Memarzadeh’s team competes all over the nation, they often place high, including 1st place. “Last year we were .03 points away from [going to] Nationals, and this year we were three points away, but we’re really hoping to go next year,” Memarzadeh said. Ice skating is not an easy sport, especially when it’s synchronized. 12-20 ice skaters skate together to make different formations. “For me when I’m ice skating, it’s the most freeing thing ever. I also dance, but compared to dance, I have so much more freedom,” Memarzadeh said. “I love everything about it, and there’s so much you can do with the sport.” Memarzadeh’s passion for synchro skating is very deep, and she plans to continue skating in her future. She hopes to pursue synchro through college either at the select few colleges that offer synchro or at local teams around college. Her end goal is to skate with the Haydenettes, one of the best synchro skating teams globally, that resides in Boston. “I would love to join them one day,” said Memarzadeh. “It would be a dream come true.” Top left photo: Sophmore Laine Bradley rows crew with her a Northern California team in the SF bay. Bottom left: Freshman Colleen and Bridget Diether competed in the Continental Youth Conference in Boston for the sport camogie. Bottom right: Anahita Memarzadeh and her team Tremors competed in the U.S. Synchronized Skating Sectional Mid West in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
PAGE 12 // FEATURE
RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Stereotypical Silicon Valley look caters to the rich
Stereotypical Silicon Valley kid starter pack
BY YSABELLE PUNZAL Feature Editor
From Airpods and Hydroflasks to North Patagonia Fleece Face and Patagonia, the Silicon Valley lifestyle $99-$120 is evident in the halls and in the classroom. Many students in the Bay Area are seen Apple Watch sporting this look, flexing their $400 Apple $400 Vineyard AirPods watches and $100 North Face backpacks. This Vines $159 lifestyle is known for being fun and trendy; T-shirt however, this relatability only applies to those $48 who can drop that kind of cash. According to Data USA, a website that calculates housing and living statistics of every city, the average household income in Khaki Pants Redwood City is $90,461 while San Carlos $30-$50 comes in at a whopping $135,220 average Lululemon Leggings household income, compared to the national $98 average of $61,858. These high average household incomes allows some to splurge on Hydroflask $40 clothing; however, the propagation of this ideal ignores those who cannot afford to partake. Furthermore, these trends are predominantly North Face worn by those who are white and Asian, which Backpack $89 does not encompass all that live in the Bay Sperry Boat Adidas Area. Shoes $98 Superstars One can end up spending hundreds, maybe $80 even a little over a thousand dollars to obtain this look. Many students tend to want to follow what’s trendy, and that often means spending an unspoken rule that you have to follow it. are] brands that people follow, like Supreme, those benjamins. “I don’t understand the cult mentality of it, and Vape, expensive brands like that,” Smith “My [Puma] shoes were on sale for $30, especially with the Hydros,” senior Diego De said. “I can’t afford them and if you don’t have my Lululemons were like $98, my Brandy Nault said. “I feel like it goes beyond water the money for it, you can’t really fit into the Melville top was $25, this [Patagonia] jacket bottles. It’s become a thing where it’s sort of a stereotype.” was like $230, and my The Silicon Valley kid stereotype makes right of passage, in certain North Face backpack was groups, to have a Hydro the division amongst students more evident. $100,” junior Marika Fong Walking down the halls, it’s clear who belongs and be apart of that.” said. “[I can relate to] the Because of the to which group. types of clothes people I think other people “Although we all live in Silicon Valley, there popularity of these trends, wear, [having] a Tesla, and some students might is still evidently going to be a divide between feel pressured to be this my parents also work for feel pressured to dress people, and I think that already with the divide Silicon Valley norm, but a tech company. I feel like a certain way, or have at school, having this money topic as a barrier not everyone can fit in. everyone thinks that it’s certain things because it also is not helpful,” senior Cassidy Flynn said. Marika Fong, junior seems as though everyone “I think it might alienate people in a way that normal.” With these outfits adding makes them feel less worthy or valuable.” is. up to a hefty amount, some Feelings of judgement and alienation may “It’s definitely limited students find that spending to a certain amount be felt by those who either choose or are so much money on it is unnecessary or out of of people. Not everyone’s given the same unable to follow these trends, an attitude many their price range. [economic] advantages of others,” Fong said. agree should change. “My personal friend group, we don’t care “I think other people feel pressured to be this “If you don’t do those things, I think that about these things. We don’t really fit into Silicon Valley norm, but not everyone can fit you are looked down upon and I don’t agree this stereotype,” sophomore Jordan Smith in.” with that,” De Nault said. “If someone was to said. “We don’t really have as much things like Since trends in this area tend to be very wear those things or do those things, I think everybody else.” expensive, relating to it can leave those who that’s great, but when you unconsciously sort Because the Silicon Valley kid trends are so can’t necessarily afford it out of the picture. of disassociate yourself with those who aren’t prominent in the Bay Area, it becomes almost “I can’t really relate to hype-brands [which doing those things is not a good thing.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
The good and the bad of e-cigarettes BY LANIAH DICKINSON Staff Reporter E-cigarettes are starting to take over teens’ lives outside and during school. At Sequoia, students have been seen smoking in the bathrooms, during class, at lunch and while waiting for the bus. E-cigarettes have become a new trend since 2017 when they became popular, and it may or may not be the healthiest thing for developing teen brains. “Growing up school was one of the foundations of me experimenting with smoking,” said School Resource Officer Filise Maafu, the “campus cop.” According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the effects of using e-cigarettes at such a young age are addiction, wanting to use other addictive substances, reduced impulse control, deficits in attention and cognition and mood disorders. “Kids think that if it’s in a device, it’s safer. We don’t know what the actual juices do to you or the other ingredients. We don’t really know the effects of what it can do,” said Zayn, a senior whose name has been changed. E-cigarettes—electronic nicotine devices that, when inhaled, deliver vaporized, flavored nicotine into the body, seen in an array of shapes and sizes—don’t contain tobacco or other harmful chemicals like in real cigarettes, so they aren’t as toxic. Many E-cigarette juices come in varying strengths of nicotine and some juices don’t contain any. The point of having little or no nicotine is so that former smokers can gradually start cutting back their nicotine intake, but can still enjoy the sensation that smoking brings. Juuls were originally made for smokers who wanted to quit. However, many teens have appropriated the product, despite not previously being addicted. “One of my friends bought it for me at a liquor store where they don’t ask for ID,” senior Harper said. The shape of the Juuls and other e-cigarette devices make it easy for underaged kids to hide them and use them in school. The style of the Juul wasn’t meant to look like a USB, like most people compare the device to. Instead, it was shaped to not resemble a cigarette. “I see kids all over school do it. Mainly in the bathrooms,” Harper said. “Not [often] but there have been times where I’ve seen kids do it in class while the teacher is on the other side.” Several sources found that teens who never previously smoked and just now jumped into
the trend have a greater risk of future smoking. About 10,000 responses from a University of California, San Francisco survey said they had not smoked a cigarette once prior to using e-cigarettes. “I smoked a whole pack once last summer. It took me two weeks to finish a pack. That was the only time I smoked cigarettes, after that I got a Juul,” Zayn said. Juul pods come in an array of flavors including mango, cucumber, mint, menthol, Virginia tobacco, classic tobacco, fruit, and creme. The FDA started in September 2018 to crack down on the distributing of the more teenfriendly flavors at gas stations and convenience stores. “Smoking e-cigarettes are very popular now. It tastes good and it doesn’t have the same chemicals as real cigarettes,” Harper said. E-cigarettes are really popular and kids want to find a way to relieve stress, feel good and give them an escape. Many teens say they aren’t addicted and just do it for the rush. “No, I am not addicted. I just do it because it relaxes me. I could stop anytime,” Harper said. Most, however, teens started doing it
because they wanted to fit in and soon started to like it. E-cigarette chemicals aren’t as bad, so teens tend to continuing to smoke because they aren’t very worried about the effects. “I smoke because it helps with my headaches and then I started doing it because I liked it and it relieves my stress,” Zayn said. Although it might help with things like headaches or stress it is still illegal on school campus and for underage teens. On campus cops and security are required to confiscate these devices. “Teens can just go into a shop and buy it like it’s candy,” Maafu said. “I’ve seen kids hide it in their sweaters and hoodies and most look like USB chargers. [It’s] way easier for this generation to access it and hide it.” According to Med Shadow, “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. and 85 to 90 percent of those with the disease smoke or did so for a long time.” If people changed over to E-cigarettes it would slowly lower the death percentage because anything is better than cigarettes. “It’s easy to buy and get a hold of. There are smoke shops on every corner”, Maafu said.
A quick request on Snapchat for pictures of e-cigarette devices resulted in a flurry of responses from teenagers.
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Planning maternity leave with school policy pains teachers BY BEATRICE BUGOS Editor-in-Chief Every year, there are a handful of teachers who go on maternity or parental leave for months on end. Many students don’t know what it fully entails. Months before the leave takes place, the teachers must consider the options available to them in terms of their pay, timing and plans for their class and family. “The tricky part is what’s always best for myself and my family is not always what’s going to be the best for students,” History, IB Psychology and AVID teacher Erin Cespedes said, who will be on leave
f r o m Ap r i l until fall semester. “We always want what’s best for our students. So I feel like a lot of times we compromise what’s best for us to try and make it work.” There are at least five teachers taking maternity leave by the end of the year, a higher number than normal years, according to IVP Kristin Stout, that have to consider the right balance for their students and families when they plan their leave. However, not everything can be planned exactly because a birth can be unexpected. “You really can’t plan it,” English teacher Emily DeVoe said, who will leave at the end
of March and come back during fall semester. “I think lots of teachers try to aim for a June delivery date, but it just doesn’t happen that way.” Despite the teachers not being able to plan out exact dates, they are able to work ahead enough to prepare their students for their absence. “I feel confident that my teacher is doing the best they can to make sure we are still getting the education that we need and the proper resources for that class,” said senior Kara Shannon, who has both DeVoe and Cespedes as teachers. Once a teacher decides to go on maternity leave, a request is sent into Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) Human Resources and then to Sequoia’s administration notify them of their pregnancy and approximate time for leave. After that, the search for a long term substitute teacher commences. “My secretary works closely with me,” Stout said. “We have the list of people who are available. But we can also post [to the entire substitute pool]. If it’s in an area like English, we are likely to get someone with a credential. If it’s something like culinary that is more of a challenge.” Stout and her office are in charge of finding a long-term substitute with a credential so that the long-term substitute has expertise and can stay in the position longer. Often times, teachers are involved in the process of finding their substitute. “I’ve been working with Ms. Waters this whole year, so she can take over my classes,” DeVoe said. Elizabeth Waters is a student teacher who is working towards her master’s degree in Education and teaching credential from Stanford. Not all teachers have the luxury of having a student teacher. Sequoia therefore does their best to find teachers who have been connected with Sequoia before. For Cespedes, her substitute has been working as a long term substitute for a teacher who was previously out on maternity leave and has since returned. “It would be nice if there could be a week where there was overlap so the sub could be here for the whole week before I go,” Cespedes
said. “Then that way it’s a smoother transition and she can see how I run the class.” Despite this ideal for many, the SUHSD can only pay the substitute for one day of work during that week of overlap. As part of the planning for maternity leave, the teachers have to understand the SUHSD maternity leave policy. For some teachers, it is a struggle understanding all their options. “I’ve h a d
multiple p e opl e explain it to me multiple times and I still get confused,” DeVoe said. “There’s the amount of leave that you can take and there are different rules [for the] different kinds [of leave] that start and end at different times. And … the pay rules are different from the time rules. So there’s these two overlapping layers.” Although it can still be confusing, there are many resources available, like certain people
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019 in the SUHSD office, at Sequoia and many teachers who have been on maternity leave help out those who are going on it. “It seems like the administration and union district office team are aligned and have my best interest in mind,” English teacher Andrea May said, who will be leaving at the end of the school year to come back in fall semester. “I’m so thankful that I didn’t get pregnant at any of the other schools I’ve worked at because the relationship between the district, administration team and the teaching staff wasn’t as positive or team-oriented.” May feels supported by Sequoia; however, she feels that the policy could be amended. “It feels like I have to choose child or profession or I have to choose my child or pay,” May said. “I just think sometimes the maternity leave policy puts women in a position where they feel they have to choose one or the other when i t
could be the case that with more flexibility, you could really have both. But I know you can’t have everything.” The SUHSD teacher contract only offers two days of guaranteed paid parental leave, one the day of the birth and one the day after. After those two days, teachers have to use up their sick leave for paid leave. If a teacher has a signed note from their doctor saying they cannot work for a certain period of
time, they are given disability leave for six to make it the most generous parental leave in eight weeks. On disability leave, once all sick the US. There has been no announcement of leave is exhausted, how the parental leave will the teacher gets be paid for. If the policy is differential pay—they put into place, the leave receive their salary The tricky part is what’s time will gradually grow to minus the salary of always best for myself and my six months over a few years. family is not always what’s the substitute. “I think it’s great, I Since teachers going to be the best for totally support it,” Cespedes do not pay into State students. said. “I think all women Erin Cespedes, History and AVID teacher should have at least six Disability Insurance, they have to pay for months with their child. I their own disability think it’s better for families, insurance. Under new it’s better for the workforce. state law, AB 375 and the California Family I know so many moms that have not gone back Rights Act, teacher can have up to 12 weeks to work, because they had to go back too soon.” of bonding time which can be used anytime Cespedes speaks of a network of teachers within the first year of the baby being born, who have shared their experience with each adopted or placed in foster custody with the other. Within Sequoia, the network has teacher. This leave is paid through sick days allowed teachers to share information to new first and then differential pay for the rest of the parents going on leave. time. “The teachers here are really awesome. “The problem is, if you have your baby in I’ve had a lot of people who have had children the fall and then you come back in January, who’ve reached out, have asked you have no sick leave left. So if you get the if they flu or the kid gets the flu, then any day you take off is an unpaid day,” said Sequoia District Teachers Association President and Spanish teacher Edith Salvatore. “And so that’s really scary to some people and it would be nice to be able to say, ‘Listen, I’m budgeting for this, I’ll just go on the differential pay for the whole amount of time. And I’m going to save my sick days.’ But the law doesn’t let you do that. You have to use your sick leave up first.” Even within Sequoia, there is a slight difference leave for spouses who have a significant other who is giving birth. The SUHSD policy also covers those who are adopting and receiving a new foster child. These teachers get the two days of paid leave and the child bonding leave, but not the disability leave. “I definitely feel like there’s equality in the policy now,” said physics teacher Ben Canning, c a n d o who will be on parental leave for about a month a n y t h i n g , and have and a half near the end of the school year. “I given advice for options, post-babies, in terms feel like it is pretty good, but [the policy] is of coming back to work and people in the area nowhere near what European models or some who are in childcare,” May said. “So some of of the high-end companies are doing.” the guidance from the wiser teachers has been In Silicon Valley, there are differences really helpful.” among the maternity leave policies depending Whether it’s a teacher’s first child or last, on where someone works. For many jobs in there exists a universal theme of struggling technology, for example Netflix, parents can between missing the classroom while take a full year of paid time off. However, on welcoming their new baby. the less generous side, McDonald’s only offers “I love teaching so much and I love 12 weeks of partial paid leave. my students so much,” DeVoe said. “I also In California, Governor Gavin Newsom obviously love my family and I’m really excited proposed six months paid parental leave to meet this baby because I love my daughter policy, meaning the six months is split between so much and I know I’m gonna love this one the two parents, which, if approved, would too.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Then and now: fashion trends BY ZOE DUFNER Staff Reporter From leg warmers to leggings, vibrant leotards to bodysuits, even with comebacks, fashion has changed immensely since our teachers were in high school. With more access to social media, trends like teddy jackets, FILA Disruptors, and camouflage pants have started spreading fast, despite expenses and practicality. Aggressive online advertising also causes a trend to go from non-existent to popular within days. Back when our teachers were in high school, this was not the case. “Compared to now, fashion trends used to take a lot longer to get started, so they would stay around a lot longer too,” science teacher Jessica Magallanes said. With a lack of social media, high schoolers from before the 2000s would look for fashion inspiration in various other places such as fashion magazines or celebrities. “When I was in high school it wasn’t the Instagram era,” Magallanes said. “For inspiration, you would look at models or fashion magazines like Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue.” Nowadays, fashion trends usually come from products from brands like Lululemon, Tommy Hilfiger, and Brandy Melville advertised online, on social media or by celebrities like Kylie Jenner or Jaden Smith. However, there still are online influencers that create trends or popularize them. “I look up to fashion bloggers, actors and singers for fashion inspiration,” junior Jessica Martin said. “I know a lot of other people look up to models for fashion inspiration as well.” As a result of fashion trends getting more recognition faster, people will spend a lot more, especially on well known brands—like Supreme and Bape. “I think many new fashion trends are insanely expensive,” junior Ava Barganier said. “People are often buying the brand, not necessarily the clothes.” However, with online shopping, more clothing options are also more accessible, making it easier to find cheaper clothes from brands like H&M. “You can definitely find cheaper fashion options if you look online or know where to go,” senior Natali Petani said. Thrifting has also become popularized recently through social media influencers like as Emma Chamberlain. Thrifting is not only a way to save money on clothes, but a way to bring back old fashion trends. “90s fashion has really made a comeback and I’m all about it,” Magallanes said. “I have my pair You can wear what you want regardless of Dr Martens from high school in my closet.” of gender norms. You see a lot more Along with experimenting with older trends, boys wearing more feminine clothes people have become more open to other aspects and girls searching their masculine of fashion as well. side. It really opens up a broad range of “I think that now there isn’t just one kind of clothing options and styles. style for everybody, it’s much less oriented, you Ava Barganier, can wear what you want regardless of gender norms,” Barganier said. “You see a lot more junior boys wearing more feminine clothes and girls searching their masculine side, it really opens up a broad range of clothing options and styles.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Town Hall addresses teacher housing as Redwood City development grows BY NICK ABRAHAM Opinion Editor With boarded up windows downtown, vacant buildings and empty streets, Redwood City earned the nickname “Deadwood City” for years. Today, the city has taken a 180-degree turn. The development of the Downtown Precise Plan in 2016 brought the construction of more apartment complexes, the addition of retail space and fine dining, and has attracted a large number of tech companies such as Box and Shazam to bring operations to Redwood City. With this came the inevitable rise in housing value and rent. According to RentJungle, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Redwood City is about $3,000. According to Zillow, the median home value in Redwood City has more than doubled in the past 10 years, going from $767,000 to $1.63 million. For many teachers, this means having to spend more than half of their income on rent and being unable to save for a down payment on a house with such an unpredictable housing market. Teacher salaries in the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) are high compared to other Bay Area school districts, according to an analysis by EdSource. However, the discrepancies between teachers’ and tech workers’ salaries remain drastic. According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a software engineer at Facebook is approximately $126,000. Meanwhile, the highest salary possible for a teacher in SUHSD is $119,950; the districts’ starting salary is $64,800, and the average experienced teacher salary is a little under $100,000. A town hall in Sequoia’s Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) on Feb. 13 highlighted the various struggles teachers have endured in continuing their jobs while also being able to afford housing in the Bay Area. Among teachers that told their stories were many from Sequoia, including English teacher Jose Rosario, as well as Edith Salvatore, Spanish teacher and president of Sequoia District Teachers’ Association (SDTA), the district’s teachers’ union. Rosario has been vocal about his experience with housing since soon after he started teaching at Sequoia in 2013. He has lived in his studio apartment in Mountain View during that time, and a combination of high cost of
living and $60,000 in student debt led him to pick up jobs on the side such as working as property manager for his building, teaching after school and over the summer, and driving for Uber. “I’m tired and it’s not sustainable,” Rosario said at the town hall. “I desperately want to stay around all of the wonderful professionals in this area who want to do right by kids, but what I want is inconsistent with my need, and I need to leave.” Salvatore’s story is multifaceted. Her parents, two former San Francisco public school teachers, were able to help her and her brother with a down payment on a house in the city after selling her grandmother’s house. While she is grateful to be able to live in the Bay Area, Salvatore struggles with the commute, which takes up two hours of her day, leaving her little time to spend with her family. “I’m incredibly lucky that my parents started teaching in 1968 and purchased a home early, but if it weren’t for that there’s probably no way I could have stayed and raised my family in the area,” Salvatore said. “I couldn’t even think of looking at houses near my school because they were more expensive than buying
a house in San Francisco.” Salvatore was part of a panel at the town hall that included Armando Sanchez, executive director of Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County (HEART), Maya Perkins, strategic initiatives manager at Facebook, and Sarah Chaffin, founder of Support Teacher Housing. The panel was moderated by Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller. After hearing teachers’ stories, the panel elaborated on potential solutions to this housing crisis, such as buying underutilized public land and using money from various government agencies to subsidize housing on this land. “If we’re going to get this done, it’s going to require a range of approaches,” Simitian said. Perkins highlighted the role of the corporate sector in creating dedicated affordable housing for teachers. In 2016, Facebook committed $18.5 million to the Catalyst Housing Fund, which supports affordable housing. “There’s actually been a real ground swell of desire from the corporate sector to partner with folks to create affordable housing for everybody,” Perkins said.
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Miles away from a passing grade
Photo by David Ramirez
Running an eight minute mile isn’t easy for today’s teens
By DAVID RAMIREZ Staff Reporter
Many teenagers loathe the idea of running the mile in physical education (P.E.). Reasons for this include lack of determination and another could be that they are out of shape or unhealthy. According to The World Health Organization, many teens who find P.E. agitating will have long lasting complications for future health. Students lack passion for running while others don’t. Those who do usually are the ones who don’t do very well or don’t like the mile. In order to achieve a passing mile time, it requires proper form alongside proper training. Though a handful of teens don’t have proper training, they may have disadvantages when it comes to their body and issues. School work, personal issues and stress levels won’t at all help with proper form. Teens definitely do not go out to play tag or ball as much as previous generations had. I discovered from The Telegraph that researchers claim the endurance of teens is on average 15 percent less opposed to the youth of the same age 30 to 40 years ago. You’d think there be a little more sympathy for teens, as stated by the Pew Research Center that two thirds of today’s youth are far less virtuous and much more lazy. “When my parents were kids they were out playing tag and soccer, but now kids my age are just on their phones which makes them [idle] because they don’t go out as
much to get fit like kids used to,” freshman Ana depictions of proper form and won’t allow Rojas said. them to have great mile times. Technology plays a huge role in the Naturally teens may not like the mile all ramifications. More teenagers have their mind too much. They are forced to run to get in hooked on video games and social media. As a shape and have a better body, though they’re result, school sports and P.E. are the sole ways being set up for failure when they must run most students will be provided with physical miles that decrease thirty seconds every other activity. mile, which is unreasonable for the amount of “I like it because it gives running they me a challenge but I know do compared why people don’t agree with to the more it,” freshman Maddox Pepa persistent kids. said, an experienced runner. “At first “If people want to get active When my parents were kids, they I found the then I think the mile is a were out playing tag and soccer, [mile time good choice.” expectations] a but now kids my age are just on Teens that do participate little [absurd] their phones which makes them in sports often do so but I thought in excess, though the idle. it was better participation is falling as Ana Rojas, when I got into opposed to child obesity Freshman running more,” which is gradually rising. Pepa said. The teens who do a surplus It all amount in sports and have comes down great determination are labelled as young to the mile time grouping the youth into one athletes who can run a mile as quick as 7 to category: fit and healthy. But that isn’t always 6 minutes. But these “young athletes” are the true, when not most teens fit into that group minority. and have to take more time. The mile time may As these young athletes put in much be trying to flourish their running, though it is devotion, they have the risk of repetitive strain only harming their grades and may even harm injury, which is very common. There are their futures for the reason that they aren’t fit more than 3 million cases in the U.S. per year. enough. Though these teens are the ones the mile time “I feel like it’s not fair because there are is favoring. people who exercise and are used to running,” Teens are expected to run miles when some Rojas said. “Those who aren’t used to running may have body issues or are severely stressed as much won’t be able to pass because it because of grades. This won’t help accurate ponders to the more athletic group of kids.”
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
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East Coast Burger Chain Shakes Up the Bay area BY ALYSSA DE LEON AND JAKE CARROLL Staff Reporters You walk in and the aroma of fries and ice cream makes your stomach growl. As you reach the order station and type out on the Ipad, you are engulfed by the sound of pop music and people munching on their burgers. This is the experience one might get when you go to the brand new Shake Shack at Stanford Mall. The east coast burger chain made its way to the Bay Area on December 15, 2018 and ever since then people have spent hours waiting in line just to try their burgers and frozen treats. It’s often referred to as the East Coast’s version of In n Out. But some have argued that Shake Shack may be better than In n Out, so we investigated which burger chain reigns as supreme. “It’s one of the best burgers ever because it has the ease of a fast food restaurant but the quality of a sit down burger” said senior Devansh Mehra. Another appeal to Shake Shack besides their burgers are their frozen custards. Shake Shack’s most popular dessert is similar to ice cream, however it’s made with eggs, as well as being kept at a warmer temperature. Custard is denser and creamier than regular ice cream. “It’s really rich and creamy, very different than ice cream, better” Mehra said. Shake Shack also has local specials based on the region of the location of the restaurant to appeal to their audience. In Miami they have the Vice Crispy Treat made of “vanilla custard, marshmallow sauce and crispy crunchies.” At the Stanford location they have the MB Malt, made from vanilla custard, whole-wheat chocolate-chip walnut cookies from Los Gatos-based Manresa Bread and fudge sauce. They also have special burgers, like the Golden State double made from local products:
two patties made from Moraga-based Richards Grass Fed Beef in partnership with Cream Co. Meats in Oakland, white cheddar, smoked garlic aioli and bread and butter pickles from McVicker Pickles, all on a sweet potato bun from San Francisco institution Tartine Bakery. The specialty burger will be available daily in limited quantities. There is no doubt that Shake Shack’s food is very good but the price of it all does seem to drive some people away, especially when we have a cheaper solution right in our backyard…In n Out. During our trip to Shake Shack we spent a grand total of $32.54. We ordered two Shack burgers, one Hot Chik’n, cheese fries, one shake, and one frozen custard. If you were to order a regular meal for yourself, including a Shack burger, fries, and a milkshake the total bill would come out as $14.37. If you were to go to In n Out and order a similar meal of a cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake the total would come out to $6.15. Shake Shack does, however, have more food options such as the Smoke Shack, a cheeseburger topped with applewood smoked bacon, the vegetarian ‘Shroom Burger, a fried portobello mushroom filled with melted Muenster and cheddar cheese, and the original hot dogs. The burger chain has grown since its humble beginning as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001 with over 200 locations from around the world. There’s no doubt that Shake Shack has plenty of die hard fans from London all the way to Moscow, and now from the Bay Area. Shake Shack announced in January 2018 that it would be coming to Palo Alto and later will be opening in San Francisco and Marin County. Shake Shack plans to keep expanding their brand and deliver delicious burgers all over the world.
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Migrating towards a
Sequoia High School has always had a greatly diverse student body walking the campus. Although we are a school that consists of hundreds of different origins, cultures and practices, the two most common races on campus are Caucasian and Latinx. While we are completely aware of the importance of representing and reporting on the happenings of all cultures, we want to make small steps to begin diversifying our publication and the topics we cover. We hope to be a continuously-growing news publication that, eventually, does a quality job of reporting on all cultures seen on campus. Until we reach this goal of utmost diversity, here is what we are going to do... BY TAYLOR GAYNER News Editor I joined the Raven Report my freshman year because I loved to write about things that were important to me and that I felt needed to be talked about. The publication provided opportunities to do so. During this first year, I regularly heard our editors encourage the class to try our best to write articles that appealed to many people at Sequoia and to not just cover topics about the IB diploma, unpopular sports, or pop culture that only a small portion of our school keeps up with. This year, I returned to the Raven Report dedicated to writing more stories that appeal to a wider group. I wanted to create a well-rounded, diverse paper that truly reflects our student body and is accessible to more of our community— because we haven’t yet accomplished this. This is a story about why it’s a problem that most of our editors are white, upper middle class or in IB classes, and journalists tend to cover the stories they are familiar with. It’s a story about how a group of people who want diversity and who believe in equality inherently couldn’t reflect this in the coverage of the Raven Report. It’s a story that matters not because the happenings of one high school paper are important, but because we demonstrate a problem that’s playing out right now all over the country in different environments. This is the story of how we are changing things and this is a pledge to not only tell the story of how we’ve failed in the past, but also how we are making changes, starting now, to talk to more of our students and address stories important to them. We student reporters understand that we
Sequoia High School student body racial identification for the 2018-19 school year have represented only part of our school for years. Last year alone, Sequoia had a Latinx student population of 48.15 percent, yet only 12.1 percent of Raven Report interviewees for the entire year were Latinx. While this may not sound problematic for someone who isn’t familiar with reporting or news, interviewees typically make the article, and appeal to the audience. They act as the outside sources of information and opinions beyond the knowledge of the reporter. Having diverse interviewees speaking on different perspectives makes an article that much more informative and accurate to the population they represent. While having more diverse interviewees would help this problem in some ways, there’s no better solution than having diverse students covering and writing articles themselves.
Diversity exists in many forms; all of which are valid and should be taken into account, however, it’s inequitable that we ignore the ways of a culture that makes up almost half of our campus and community population. However, the factor of reporting which makes an article more informative, effective and representative is the diverse group of reporters writing the articles. We choose what we write. We choose topics important to us. Yet because our journalists are largely Caucasian and living in a similar, middle class bubble, many of the stories we write and the people we interview do not adequately address topics that are important to our Latinx and non-white student body. Diversity in writers brings along diversity in story ideas and perspectives.
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diverse Raven Report
Right Chart: Raven Report student interviewee racial identification for the 2017-18 school year Below Chart: Raven Report staff racial identification for the 2018-19 school year
Our Promise Nuestra promesa We pledge to to examine our practices in an effort to diversify our topics, our writers and our writing styles. Starting with this issue of the Raven Report, and for each issue thereafter, we will actively dedicate space for at least one article written in Spanish by a native Spanish speaker, addressing a topic important to our Latinx student body, in which those students feel is newsworthy and needs to be addressed. Each article will be printed in our magazine and published on our website. Initially, students from one of our Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) classes will be invited to participate in the writing and printing process. Many of Sequoia’s diverse students who are enrolled in an AVID class are motivated, hardworking, enthusiastic, and are willing and ready to report on newsworthy topics they encounter. If you are in an AVID class and are interested in making your voice and opinions heard, reach out to any of our editors.
Entonces, nos comprometemos a cambiar nuestras prácticas en un esfuerzo por diversificar nuestros temas, nuestros escritores y nuestros estilos de escritura. Comenzando con este número del Reporte Raven, y para cada uno de los siguientes, dedicaremos activamente espacio para al menos un artículo escrito en español por un hablante nativo de español, que aborde un tema importante para nuestro cuerpo estudiantil de Latino, en el que los estudiantes sienten que es De interés periodístico y necesita ser abordado. Cada artículo se imprimirá en nuestra revista y se publicará en nuestro sitio web. Inicialmente, los estudiantes de una de nuestras clases de Avance Vía Determinación Individual (AVID) serán invitados a participar en el proceso de escritura e impresión. Muchos de nuestros diversos estudiantes que están inscritos en una clase AVID están motivados, son trabajadores, entusiastas y están dispuestos y listos para informar sobre temas de interés periodístico que encuentren. Si está en una clase de AVID y está interesado en hacer que su voz y sus opiniones sean escuchadas, hágaselo con cualquiera de nuestros editores.
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RAVEN REPORT // MARCH 2019
Homemade vs. Restaurant:
Comparing the Bay Area’s Mexcellent Food La comparación de la comida casero vs. la de restaurante BY MIA PADILLA Staff Reporter
Sopes:
Sopes are made from a circle of fried masa with pinched sides that can be filled with many ingredients. The homemade sopes were a flourish of flavor as the Mexican cheese complimented the carne asada, whereas El Grullense’s had a combined taste of cilantro and meat. As for the cooking styles, the homemade sopes base was cooked then fried leaving a crisper masa base, but at the restaurant they just fried the base which made the masa greasy and undercooked. Los sopes están hechos de un círculo de masa frita con lados pellizcados que se pueden rellenar con muchos inAs we explained in our diversity gredientes. Las sopas caseras eran un No es ningún secreto que California y el article on page #, the Raven Report toque de sabor, ya que el queso mexiÁrea de la Bahía están muy influenciawill begin publishing select articles cano complementaba a la carne asada, das por la cultura hispana, y uno de los in both English and Spanish, to mientras que El Grullense tenía un saaspectos culturales que más recurren es la acknowledge and reflect the bor combinado de cilantro y carne. En comida. Al otro lado de la calle de Sequoia cuanto a los estilos de cocina, la base de number of Spanish-speaking hay una taquería muy popular, El Grulsopes caseros se cocinó y luego se frió students who make up our lense E&E. El Grullense tiene más de siete dejando una base de masa crujiente, community. restaurantes en el Condado de San Mateo. pero en el restaurante solo frieron la Aunque esta cadena de restaurantes es base que hizo que la masa se pusiera popular, ¿cómo se compara con la comida grasosa y poco hecha. mexicana casera? Comparé la comida de mi Abuelita Lupe con el Homemade: 9/10 menú de El Grullense, comparé sopes, tacos, salsas y horchata. Lo juzgué por el gusto y la apariencia general. Restaurant: 8/10 It is no secret that California and the Bay Area are influenced greatly by Hispanic culture, and one of the cultural aspects that are is most visible is food. Across the street from Sequoia is a very popular taqueria, El Grullense E&E. El Grullense has more than seven restaurants in the San Mateo County. Although this restaurant chain is popular, how does it compare to homemade Mexican food? I compared my Abuelita Lupe’s food to El Grullense’s menu. I compared sopes, tacos, salsas and horchata Editor’s note: on taste and the overall appearance.
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Salsas:
The three different homemade salsas were roasted tomato and chile, green tomato and non-roasted chile which we compared to El Grullense’s two sauces; super spicy and roasted tomato. Homemade food definitely gives you more opportunities to try something new. The super spicy and roasted tomato were both masked the tastes of chile, vinegar and cumin. The homemade roasted tomato and chile was a nice fusion of sweet and a tomato flavor. The tomato salsa and non-roasted chile were a merger of chile with a modest pinch of pepper. Las tres salsas caseras diferentes fueron tomate asado y chile, tomate verde y chile no asado que comparamos con las dos salsas de El Grullense; Tomate super picante y asado. La comida casera definitivamente te da más oportunidades de probar algo nuevo. El tomate súper picante y asado fue una patada extra que enmascaró los sabores de chile, vinagre y comino. El tomate y el chile asados c aseros eran una buena fusión de dulce y un sabor a tomate. La salsa de tomate y el chile no asado fueron una fusión de chile con una pizca de pimienta modesta.
Homemade: 7/10 Restaurant: 7/10
Horchata:
Horchata is a drink made from rice, cinnamon, sugar and condensed milk. My abuelita’s horchata was topped with cinnamon, while the restaurant’s was watered down with barely any cinnamon taste. If you are looking for a good restaurant horchata, I would recommend the El Grullense at Hillsdale Mall. La horchata es una bebida hecha de arroz, canela, azúcar y leche condensada. La horchata de mi abuelita estaba rematada con canela, mientras que la del restaurante estaba aguada con apenas sabor a canela. Si está buscando un buen restaurante de horchata, le recomendaría El Grullense at Hillsdale Mall.
Homemade: 10/10 Restaurant: 6/10
Tacos:
Tacos are a traditional Mexican dish containing varieties of meat and vegetable toppings. The restaurant tacos were held together by a greasy tortilla with scrap, low-quality meat inside. The meat felt rubbery and coarse. Most taquerias do not use the hombro (shoulder) of the animal, and reheat the meat with grease when they are ready to sell it. When tacos are homemade, the meat is lighter and less greasy, indicating that it is fresh. Los tacos son un plato tradicional mexicano que contiene variedades de ingredientes, como carnes y verduras. Los tacos del restauranteestabanunidosporunatortillagrasientaconrestosde carne de baja calidad. La carne se sentía gomosa y corse con un poco de sabor. La mayoría de las taquerias no usan el hombro del animal, y recalientan la carne con grasa cuando están listas para venderla. Cuando los tacos son caseros, la carne es más ligera y menos grasa (lo que indica que es fresco).
Homemade: 9/10 Restaurant: 6/10
Lunar New Year 2019 Hundreds of Bay Area citizens gathered in Redwood City’s Courthouse Square on Feb. 9 to celebrate Lunar New Year and Asian heritage. The Lion Dance is a tradition of Lunar New Year celebrations and is meant to bring good luck and prosperity while also warding off evil spirits.
California Kung Fu & Tai Chi martial artists, and Shaolin Lion Dancers performed in the square.