Senior Issue 2017

redwood

bark

V. lix n. 8

May 26, 2017 • Larkspur, CA

Illustration by Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan

Editors-InChief Gregory Block Emily Cerf Sarah Kimball Rebecca Smalbach Head Copy Editor Caleigh Stephens Copy Editors Gemma Calandra Shannon Donelan Tilly Friedlander Sam Sheridan Christine Watridge News Editors Annie Fogarty Maggie Smith Opinion Editors Caroline Cummings Alicia Vargelis

Business Manager Jordan Overmyer Social Media Manager Mary Winnick Snapshot Manager Sydney Soofer Art Consultant Maxime KawawaBeaudan Data Analyst Adam Kreitzman WebDevelopers Hayden Blum Kevin Gao Senior Staff Eric Ahern Sam Sheidan Caleigh Stephens Mary Winnick

Reporters Feature Eric Ahern Editors Michael Benz Pearl Zhong Josh Cohen China Granger Catherine Conrow Sports Editors Luke Dahlin Jason Fieber Sabrina Dong Daniela Carolyn French Schwartz Jack Green Andrew Hout Review Max Josef Editors Kaelin Kragh Julia Jacoby Jocelyn Alexandra Lee Overmyer Kendall Rhoads Lifestyles Charlotte Seton Editors Rachel Schten Anne Pritikin Henry Tantum Heidi Roenisch Amanda Trusheim Spanish Brendan Editor Winters Hallie Fox Advisor Video Editors Erin Schneider Garet Jatsek Sam Slade

redwood

bark. redwood high school

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DeYoung Exhibit

395 doherty dr., larkspur, ca 94939

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volume LIX no. 8

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Pacific Crest Trail

May 26, 2016

Jolly Roger printing resumes

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Prep of the Year

www.redwoodbark.org

22

Alum wins Pulitzer Prize

By Kendall Rhoads

Photo by Emily Cerf

LAYING OUT THE final issue of the year, Jolly Roger staff members including (left to right) Nadov Radar, Rex Collenette and Julliette Carey can now print their paper after a settled a contract dispute.

By Emily Cerf printed outside of the district if the district does not have the capability to print them, while the rest of the work will The district’s Classified Staff Union came to a be distributed to the secretarial staff. contractual agreement with the Tamalpais Union High With these added duties, the 15 secretaries who saw School District (TUHSD) board on May 9 which allows their work-year shortened by six days due to budget cuts Drake High School’s student newspaper, the Jolly Roger, in 2010 will gain back those lost days. These secretaries to print their backdated issues and one final issue this year will have only two additional days this school year, due to through an outside printer. the few remaining days in the school year, but in following Previously, a clause within the contract of the years will have the full six days more.

California Schools Employee Association (CSEA), of If the secretaries are not able to do the work due to which the TUHSD Classified Staff Union is a chapter, had more pressing commitments, other CSEA employees may prevented the Jolly Roger from printing since January. be asked to do it, and would receive a five percent pay This clause stated that if a position held by a classified differential for this “out-of-class” work. staff member is eliminated, that position can not be “We’ve essentially said, ‘We know it’s going to take outsourced for 39 months. The Jolly Roger previously more time, here’s six more days.’ To the other people who printed their paper through the District Print Shop, but didn’t increase their work year, we said, ‘We know you when the TUHSD board eliminated the positions of Print already got a lot on your plate. If we ask you to do extra, Shop Coordinator and Printer, the clause was enacted. we are going to pay you extra,’” said Lars Christensen, The new contract, which was approved on May 9, TUHSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. allows certain materials, including the Jolly Roger, to be Continued on page 2

RNL captures attention with glowing games

Redwood alumnus of 1993 and Bay Area News Group journalist Matthias Gafni, along with many other reporters, won a Pulitzer Prize in April for their relentless reporting of the Ghostship fire in Oakland, California. Gafni is the fifth Redwood alum to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Gafni, along with a group of other reporters from the East Bay Times, worked together to write a series of articles on the status of the fire and profiles of the victims. The group was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the work they completed within the first week of reporting.

“There were so many stories in the first week.

[We wrote] 36 profiles and every day we would write a handful of stories with the latest updates. There were at least over 50 people who contributed to the story,” Gafni said.

When the Oakland Ghostship fire occurred on Dec. 2, 2016, it took the lives of 36 artists, partiers and musicians. Gafni was assigned to report on breaking news for that weekend and was called to the scene.

“One of my colleagues called me but I didn’t answer because I was asleep. She called my wife and woke me up to report. I immediately got up and made my way to Oakland and stayed there the entire day,” Gafni said.

Gafni spent hours at the burned down warehouse and tried to report on every detail of the scene.

“I was sending feeds to the guys back at the office. After that first day I got pulled off of the dayto-day reporting,” Gafni said. “We spent a week in a conference room and we pieced together, of what we called a tick-tock, of every moment whether it be before the fire, through the fire and into the aftermath.”

The team did not expect to win an award of such high prestige.

“We were pretty shocked. It is kind of a bittersweet category. You are winning an award that is considered the top acknowledgment in the field of journalism.

But at the same time, it was at the cost of 36 lives. If Continued on page 3

Combatting testing anxiety

By Carolyn French

By Tilly Friedlander

The football field glowed yellow and green as students ran across the 50-yard line. Dark bodies, contoured by glow sticks circling their necks, dodged each other as they raced toward a luminescent flag on the opposite end of the field. Glow-in-the-dark capture the flag had begun.

Redwood Night Live (RNL), a club that aims to change social norms around binge drinking at Redwood through active weekend events, held their second annual glow-in-the-dark capture the flag event last Friday. Despite windy weather conditions, the club saw a decent turnout at the event, with around 70 participants, according to junior and club president Olivia Carpenter.

After spending the majority of the evening sprinting across a glowing football field, students flocked to a fire pit for free s’mores and warmth from the night’s frigid gusts.

Participants in the event said the night was a great way to bring the Redwood community together.

“It’s a good school spirit environment with lots of happy people,” said freshman Lauren Halsey, who said she decided to show up because she hadn’t been to anything like it before.

Many participants also attended to defy the social norms associated with drinking. Senior

In response to the academically-competitive environment at Redwood, the Wellness Center has started a support program called the Test Taking and Academic Performance Anxiety Group (TTAPAG). The group offers guidance for students dealing with the overwhelming pressures that come with school and will teach students skills to better cope with anxiety in their academic lives that they can apply to any stressful situation.

Since April 3, the group has met five times in the Wellness Center and will continue to meet for a total of six weeks this year and next school year in the fall.

The group is led by Bruce Killen, a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety and stress.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about eight percent of U.S. teens suffer from some type of diagnosed anxiety disorder, and school counselors and nurses across the nation have cited an increase in amounts of stress and pressure among students.

In 2015 Redwood students participated in a Healthy Kids Survey which focused in part on mental health. Students ranked stress and pressure around academic performance as their number one social and emotional challenge out of 14 different

Photo by Carolyn French

GATHERING WITH TEAMMATES to plan strategies, freshman Maximo Tribuzio plays glow in the dark capture the flag at the Redwood Night Live event. club member Kellie Lawler said parents about the drinking and she wanted to expand her horizons drug culture at Redwood. into doing more communityMembers of the club created based activities that Redwood a parent panel in January Night Live promotes. that provided parents with “A lot of these kids probably information on how their actions just drive around trying to find affect their children’s drinking something to do tonight and that’s and drug habits, as well as giving very common. Once they come perspectives on sobriety in high here, it gives them something school from a teenager’s point of to do and lets them hang out view. with their friends and have fun,” “Drinking should be Lawler said. something that is talked about According to Lawler, the rather than just completely kept RNL club has put on student- secret,” Lawler said. based activities since 2011, According to Lawler, the including a popular dodgeball Redwood Night Live club plans to tournament in the fall. However, continue with their student-based the club has begun to expand sports activities next school year, its audience beyond the student as well as the parental outreach. body, and is now focusing some of its attention on informing cfrench@redwoodbark.org

options which included anxiety, depression and personal family issues.

According to Wellness Coordinator Jennifer KennyBaum, the data made it clear that because Redwood students felt so much pressure and anxiety around school work alone, this was the area that the Wellness Center would work on informing students of skills they can utilize for these academic pressures.

Killen has been using a systematic approach to teaching students ways in which to cope with all of the academic pressure and anxiety in their lives.

“I use a three-pronged approach to helping people with anxiety that a psychiatrist named David Burns uses. The first one is exposure which is basically just kind of doing ‘the scary thing.’

What that basically means is just studying and practicing stuff even though it’s scary,” Killen said.

The second step that Killen uses in teaching students is cognitive behavioral skills, which has to do with changing the way students think about themselves in order to minimize the pressure that they put on themselves. “[This step] means really looking at what these kids are telling themselves, what do they believe about themselves, about tests and about what they’re supposed to do to succeed in life, and helping change some of those Continued on page 2

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Page 2 • News

May 26, 2017

Photo Survey:

Senior Edition

Who was your most influential teacher?

“Mr. Lovelady, for teaching me the ways of football and the importance of a perfect effort.”

Brenna Bunch

• Testing anxiety group Continued from page 1

thoughts and beliefs that aren’t helping them and are making them more anxious than they really need to be,” Killen said.

Finally, the third skill educates students about expressing the cause of their anxiety and practicing better ways to reveal their emotions.

“A lot of teens that feel anxious tend to be very nice people and sometimes they have a hard time, for example, expressing anger. So, if they’re not expressing their anger appropriately, that could make them anxious,” Killen said.

Kenny-Baum’s goal for the group is for it to teach students concrete skills that they can utilize to cope with stressful situations.

“My hope is that students will be able to get some tangible take-away strategies that would last beyond the group for students to use independently and employ,” Kenny-Baum said. “When you encounter any kind of situation that’s stressful, it’s almost like you’d have your own personal toolbox of ways that you manage and deal with things.”

In order to find students interested in joining TTAPAG, Kenny-Baum asked staff to see if they had anyone to recommend. Next year she will advocate or the group • Jolly Roger Continued from page 1

The district decided to close the print shop in early fall, according to Christensen, and it was officially closed on Dec. 6, 2016.

The decision was made due to annual cost of the print shop, which totalled $185,000 a year for the two employees’ salaries and benefits, along with the cost of materials.

The district also felt that the necessity for the print shop had lessened, as many within the district can print materials from their desks.

A main holdup in the negotiating process, aside from scheduling, was the CSEA’s wish that the district reinstate the position of Service Center Specialist (a position that was eliminated in 2010) at Redwood, Drake and Tam High Schools to do the work that would no longer be done by the District Print Shop, according to Christensen.

“We weren’t going to lay two people off to hire three back,” Christensen said.

“It was that simple, the numbers just didn’t make sense.”

Christensen said that the district is satisfied with the conclusion that the two parties came to.

“We think it’s very fair,” he said. “It suits

“Mr. Franklin, because he really wants to get to know his students and build relationships to help teach them.”

“Mr. Ippolito because he opened my eyes to how diverse the field of economics is.”

Chloe Mowbray

Parker Addison

Cameron Ely

and plans to let students sign up for the group themselves rather than recruiting students as she did this year.

“Turnout hasn’t been incredibly successful because this is one of the only groups that we’ve had after school and it’s really hard [to fit into students’ schedules]. And it’s on a Monday. I think that the timing is a challenge for people. I will go about getting students for the group a little differently next time,” Kenny-Baum said.

According to Kenny-Baum, students who have attended the group sessions found them to be very useful.

“Each person who’s come has said it’s weird to be alone, but it’s actually great. One person was like, ‘You have to put this on Redwood TV. You should advertise for this because it’s really good,’” Kenny-Baum said.

Killen is very optimistic about the potential of the group and the positive impact it could have on student’s skills to manage stress.

“We’re just starting. It’s kind of a work in progress.

We’ve had kids come to every group [session] and I’m very excited about that. And sometimes it just takes time for these things to get going. If the Wellness Center and the school want to continue to do this, I’m all for it,” Killen said.

The group will continue to meet for the next two Mondays after seventh period and the Wellness Center plans to offer another similar group in the fall of next year.

our needs in that we’re no longer suffering a $185,000 a year loss and we don’t have to buy a bunch of new equipment that would probably cost us six figures too.”

CSEA chapter president Tim Mullery said it was never the CSEA’s intention to not have the Jolly Roger print, rather the decision that the district made put them in the hard position to do so. He said that he feels bad about the way the Jolly Roger was affected, but doesn’t feel this was CSEA’s fault in any way.

Kris Knutsen, Junior Past President of the CSEA and member of the negotiating team, said that in the process of negotiations, both teams come together to fill in gaps of understanding that each party may have about the other. The motive of both sides, he said, is to create a dialogue that leads to doing the right thing by students and parents. “[The CSEA] never want[s] to impact students in a negative way, and our hearts are in the right place,” Knutsen said. “But it’s not just one group looking out for its self-interest and another group looking out for what they think is best for the district.

Even though we are on other sides of the negotiating table, we’re a team, we’re coming together.”

Christensen places the blame equally

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Photoillustration by Tilly Friedlander

STRESSING ABOUT ACADEMIC performance, students now meet in a group put on by the Wellness Center to combat testing anxiety.

If students are interested they can email Kenny-Baum at any time to be signed up for the group in the fall. tfriedlander@redwoodbark.org

on the district and the CSEA for the holdups in negotiations.

“I think it’s only fair to say, from the District perspective, we could have been more expeditious in getting it done, but I think it’s also fair to CSEA also could have granted the exception for that student newspaper to be printed off site,” Christensen said. “I think both parties bear equal responsibility for the legitimate frustration the students felt.”

Shortly before the district came to an official agreement with the CSEA, a tentative agreement was made between the Jolly Roger and the CSEA that permitted the paper to print outside the district. This was because the CSEA felt that a fair offer had been made by the district, and there was no point in continuing to hold up papers’ printing, according to Mullery.

Although the two parties have now come to an agreement which allows the paper to print, Jolly Roger Editor-in-Chief Aaron Silverstein said that the Jolly Roger staff had no input on the decision-making process. Additionally, Silverstein feels that the district has not created a way to fund the Jolly Roger in the future, as their printing costs have doubled since moving to an outside printer. “[The TUHSD board has] not come up

with a better solution. And when we talk to the district board, they just say, ‘Ok, we’ll figure it out.’ But they haven’t come up with a solution yet,” Silverstein said.

Mullery expressed concern for the Jolly Roger’s financial situation, and noted that they should reach out to the district for financial support as they were responsible for the decision that led to this lack of sufficient funding.

However, Christensen said that the Educational Services branch of the TUHSD would work with the Drake principal Liz Seabury to find a solution to funding issues, should they arise.

“Like every other endeavor on high school campus, we’ll work with our sites to determine how best to fund that. So we’re not going to leave the Jolly Roger high and dry,” Christensen said.

In order to cut costs, the Jolly Roger has been forced to combine their last two issues into one 32-page issue, according to Silverstein.

“We need a long term solution from the district that is funding supplemental costs they added,” Silverstein said. “That hasn’t been brought to the table.” ecerf@redwoodbark.org

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Class of 2017 valedictorian announced

as a musician,” Mattern said. “I think she always got that and I think Gaither is that kind of person who knows, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get together and it’s urgent that I do’ for reasons other than getting a grade.”

Gaither will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, and plans on studying bioengineering. Her university plans align with her favorite subjects in high school, the maths and the sciences.

“BC Calculus was probably my favorite class, even if it was by far the most difficult class I’ve taken at Redwood,” Gaither said.

• Ghostship Fire Pulitzer Prize Continued from page 1 36 people hadn’t died in this tragedy then we would not have even been eligible for this award,” Gafni said.

For Gafni, the state of the scene will always be vivid in his memory. This helped him write the stories throughout the first week of the incident.

“I remember getting to the scene and it was dark and sooty, scorched with smoke still coming out of the top. The fire chief was there and I interviewed her. There were only a couple of news reporters there at the time early in the morning,” Gafni said.

The huge impact of the fire took a while to fully hit Gafni.

“I asked [the fire chief] how many people had died, she said around eight, and then I asked how many people were still missing and they believed there were dozens still in there. That is when I realized the gravity of the whole thing,” Gafni said.

Gafni believes that the Ghostship fire story is one of the most powerful stories he has written.

“By far this is one of the stories that immediately affected the most people. When you have 36 people die, it is not just those people who lost their lives. It is their families and friends,” Gafni said. “The story got international attention due to the loss of life.”

Gafni attempted to gather details as accurately as he could.

“I spoke to some people there; however, a lot of people did not want to speak. You just felt the raw emotion there of the people who escaped the flames. There were friends and family and that is when it really hit me, the human cost of this tragedy,” Gafni said.

alee@redwoodbark.org

krhoads@redwoodbark.org

By Alexandra Lee Senior Audrey Gaither has been named the valedictorian of the Class of 2017.

Gaither attended Redwood for four years, earning a total academic weighted GPA of 4.56.

Over her high school career, Gaither has taken 14 AP and Honors classes. She has participated in swimming and band, serves as co-captain of the speech and debate team and is a member of the model rocketry club.

Gaither said that becoming valedictorian has been a strong focus of hers, but she was determined to balance high academic standards with opportunities to follow her passions and interests outside of school.

“I’m really proud and I’m really excited to give the speech at graduation, but what made it so significant for me was the fact that I’ve been able to do so many things and pursue academics, and this was just a validation of the fact that I’ve been able to manage my time really well,” Gaither said.

She also said that her friends and family are very proud of her achievements, although they were not completely surprised at the fact that she was named valedictorian.

“I do think that I have been working really hard for four years and my friends and family have noticed that, so it’s really, really nice to get that recognition, but it definitely hasn’t been sudden,” Gaither said. “I’m more proud of the work I’ve done than necessarily the awards.”

Gaither’s four-year band teacher, John Mattern, has seen the kind of dedication and drive she has had towards music, as well as school and swimming. “[Gaither is] one of the more dedicated young people I’ve known. Dedication

Photo by Alexandra Lee

ATTENDING MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE of Technology in the fall, Audrey Gaither has been named the valedictorian of the Class of 2017. comes obviously with the kind of grades she pulled off and all that, but she loves music and she’s a swimmer,” Mattern said.

While Mattern believes that academics can often overshadow extracurriculars, he thinks that Gaither has maintained the passion necessary to excel in music and school for reasons other than getting a good grade.

“One can become deluded with getting good grades and equating that to setting up for a successful life, when all the pieces aren’t really there. And on the other hand, doing music is a very different thing because there’s this continual fine tuning and hard work that it takes to become better

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Page 4 • News

May 26, 2017

Friendship club holds carnival to promote inclusivity

By Charlotte Seton The screams of laughter could be heard even above the DJ’s blaring pop music on the South Lawn at Redwood High School on Saturday, April 29 at a free carnival hosted by Redwood and Terra Linda High School’s Friendship Clubs.

The carnival featured 15 booths offering games, education on various topics including gardening and art, relay races, a clown, a jumpy house, food and music.

The Friendship Clubs work to integrate the special education students with their peers at their schools by engaging them in fun activities, projects and events. People of all ages attended with their families and friends.

Karen Starkey, assistant teacher for special ed students, hopes this will be the first of many carnivals.

“The caregivers love it, [and] the kids love it,” she said.

Julia Mika, parent of special education student Freddy Mika, also praised the event.

“This is a way for me to connect with Redwood kids that are currently neurotypically developing,” Mika said. “It’s also good for Freddy [and] for me to know Shiriel King Abramson The Ahern Family The Alioto Family Callaway Allen Family The Alliston Johnson Family Malcolm Brenner & Cynthia Altman Susan & Mark Anderson Laura & Mark Anderson The Arias-Montez Family The Arnowitz Family James & Katheryn Baldwin Cammi Bell The Belvedere-Tiburon Library The Bender Family Stephanie & Brad Bennett Lisa Bernardi The Bialek Santas Family Tonya Bjornson & Don Roelle Hannah, Lauren, & Ella Blazei The Blixt Family Howard M Block The Block Family The Blum Family Bill & Kathleen Brady Mimi & Bill Breck The Briggs Family The Brostoff Family Donal & Brenda Brown William Bunney Doris Burma Jim & Carrie Burroughs The Byck Family Thom Calandra & Maura Thurman The Carswell Family The Cerf Family The Chou Family The Christman Family The Churton Family The Cico Family The Cohen Family Jody Coker & Mark Dosker The Colicci Family Rebecca & David Conant The Conner Family The Conrow Family Fred and Lara Conte The Cook Family The Cooke Family The Cooperband Family The Corn Family Beth & Chris Cummings The Cusack Family The Dabora Family The Dahlin Family The Dalzell-Piper Family The Desin Family Brune Deuss Family Will & Milena Dixon The Dong Family The Dow Family The Downing-Chao Family Laurie Dubin The Dudgeon Family

the friends that he is involved with.”

Mika explained that many special education kids will be attending classes on the Redwood campus for several more years, so this carnival was another way for her child to connect with people at Redwood.

“That’s what it’s all about for my husband and me, making sure Freddy is dialed in with his community and this is just one more thing that does it,” Mika said.

Students and their families commended many of the activities as well as the event as a whole.

“The Friendship photo album— that’s really neat because that’s both the neurotypical kids and the special needs kids together, and that’s a reflection of what it’s like on this campus all the time,” Mika said. “This is [Freddy’s] community and [this event] is really about community.”

The Elks Club of San Rafael sponsored the carnival as a way to give back to the school and their special education programs, according to Kim Cochrane, Redwood’s Friendship Club’s advisor.

“This is a way of celebrating everyone no matter their differences and showing the families we have a lot of respect for the children they’ve raised,” said Jenna Herz, Redwood’s Friendship Club’s president.

Photo by Charlotte Seton

PLAYING A GAME, attendees at the Friendship Club’s first carnival celebrate the inclusion of special education students at Redwood and Terra Linda High School.

The two schools’ clubs have been planning the carnival since last autumn.

Redwood’s Friendship Club also offers

Bark Patrons

The Edington Family Naz Erickson The Evans Family John & Deirdre Evershed The Ewry Family Dee Ann & Gus Ezcurra Sara Fargo The Fargo Family The Felder Family Jill & Jeff Finegold The Finkbeiners The Foer Family The Fogarty Family Kawamura Foley Family The Fragakis Family The French Family Steven Fulton Eva Geitheim Lynn & John Gerson The Gibbs Family Elon Ginzburg Emily Glidden Donna Ellison Goldman The Goldwasser Family Cindy & Chad Goodman The Graf Family James E. Granger & Yu-ling Wang Brenhan & Katherine Green Francesca Greenberg The Grujic Family Tom Guarcello The Gustafson Family The Hackett Family The Vance Hadley Family Dominique & Neil Halilej The Hankin Family Joe & Debby Hanssen Kevin Haroff & Donalyn Pryor Peter Henry Caroline Henry The Henry Family The Herz Family The Hillbush-Greenberg Family Bill and Caren Horstmeyer Kevin & Karen Hout The Jacks Family The Jackson Family The James Family The Jensen Family The Jessen Family Jill Kauffman & Tyler Johnson Lee & Jeff Johnson The Johnson Family Sylvia Jones Sumi Kaga The Kardel Family Lisa Katz The Kehoe Family John Kellerman Amy Kelly

The Kennedy Family The Key Family Janie & Jon Kimball Louis Kimball Joe & Angela King Bernice Kintzer Coral & Mike Kisseberth The Klein Family The Klionsky Family The Klopukh Family The Knott Family Caroline Kreitzberg Linda Kreitzman The Lando Family The Lawler Family David & Melissa Lee The Leo Family John & Linnea Leonhardt The Leslie Family The Levy Family Carolyn & Mike Lewis Jean and Norton Lin Rachel Lin The Lloyd Family Karen Loebbaka The Loo Family The Malck Family Alice & Bob Marks The Marlowe Family Erin & Chris Matthews Kevin McGee The McKechnie Family The McKernan Family The McKinley Family Laura Mellberg The Middleton Family The Mikolon - Gomez Family The Millers The Mogilnicki Family Juliana & Mia Morgan The Morse Family The Mowbray Family Stephen P. Mulcahy The Neustaetter Family The Newhard Family Christine Nguyen Sarah Noble & Family Mark & Donna Norstad The Notter Family Dennis & Jude Oh Ilissa Oulch The Overmyer Family Barbara Owens Vera Palczynski Kurt Paul The Peppel Family The Perczek Family The Peters Family David Peterson & Lynn Soper The Petri Family

other outreach activities Halloween and spring dances. cseton@redwoodbark.org

including

The Pole Family The Polidora Family The Porter Family Ilissa Povich The Pritikin Family Manny Ramos & Robin Snyder The Rankin-Williams Family The Ratcliffe Family Diane Rittenhouse & Charles Sakai The Robinow Family HJill Carole Robinson The Rocha Family Frank Rollo Stacy & Jack Rose Allison & Andy Ross The Saylor Family Christy Seidel & Peter Stock The Sellers - Van Pruissen Family Chris & Corinne Seton Jane Sherman & Paul Smith Tom Sivertsen The Slade Family The Smalbach Family Louis Smith The Soofer Family The Sperlings Dana Linker Steele & Rich Steele The Stephens Family Paul & Paula Strand The Strotz Family The Sweet Family The Sylla Family The Tallerico Family The Tantum Family Karl and Jeanine Tede The Tenaglia Family Greg & Heidi Thomson The Thomson Family Jane Thornton Marylou Tierney Jeanette Tietze TJ’s Gym Wendy Tolkin Richard & Sophia Tong Karol Towns & Ronal Wagner J. Gregory Tull The Tully Family Maureen Valley The Van Brunt Family Vickie Vann & Steve Gregory Cheryl Vohland and Don Buder Kris and Philip Wade Jordan Warren EIC ‘83 The Watkins Family Penny Watridge The Watridge Family The Welch Family The Whelpley Family Isolde & Aleck Wilson Amy Young Zachary & Marlies Zeisler Joe & Joanna Zesiger The Zlatunich Family

opinion

Page 5

‘13 Reasons Why’ disregards role of mental illness

By Alicia Vargelis Like many Redwood students, I remember when 10-year-old me first read “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, a book about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide and leaves 13 tapes (each one about a specific person) explaining why she chose to kill herself. After finishing the book, I didn’t think of it again until I heard that filming for the Netflix adaptation of “13 Reasons Why” was going to be taking place in San Rafael.

It has been about two months since the Netflix release of “13 Reasons Why,” and the show has already caused an abundance of memes (“Welcome to your tape”), theories about the ambiguous ending and most important, discussions about mental health issues and suicide.

After watching “13 Reasons Why,” I agree with the many other mental health experts who have spoken out about how the show romanticizes suicide and has the potential to cause copycat suicide, which is when an individual mimics a suicide they learn about through some form of media. The show also fails to discuss the mental health disorders that often cause suicide, which in turn makes Hannah’s choice to commit suicide seem black and white.

Wesley Cedros, the Senior Director of Student Services in the Tamalpais Union High School, emailed all TUHSD families regarding the show and wrote, “[The district’s] student services staff, including school counselors, school psychologists, administrators and wellness staff, have reported that a number of students have sought support after watching the series. The graphic depictions of bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, and suicide have proven to be very triggering.”

The show’s dangerous association of suicide with revenge is one of the main reasons why the portrayal of Hannah’s suicide and its aftermath is sugar-coated. This is shown through Hannah getting justice after her death (by leaving the tapes) and damaging the lives of students who carelessly hurt and abused her. Throughout the series, as more lies come to light and new emotions arise, the viewer can see how Hannah has shown her fellow peers why they are responsible for her death, therefore making her suicide more impactful to others.

But in reality, suicide is not that simple.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 90 percent of individuals who die by suicide have

experienced mental illness. In the show, common mental illnesses such as depression are never mentioned and Hannah’s choice to commit suicide is seen as inevitable.

The message that suicide is not preventable or that school faculty and students cannot make a difference is unhealthy and promotes the mentality that suicide is the only way out.

Increased rates of suicide have occurred up to 10 days following a television report of a suicide, according to the Modeling and Suicide study done in Germany. The copycat suicide phenomenon is what makes the scene when Hannah slits her wrists in the bathtub so controversial. In the book, Clay says that Hannah swallowed pills to kill herself, but in the show Hannah’s suicide is the most graphic scene and watching her bleed out in the bathtub is painful for the viewer. The creators of the Netflix series say that the raw suicide scene was necessary in order to not make suicide alluring and to show the true pain Hannah feels before she dies. However, I believe that if the producers’ main purpose is to educate about suicide then the whole premise of the show is wrong. Suicide is preventable, but the show focuses more on Hannah’s personal retribution instead of

Illustration by Cici Wolf

the mental illnesses which often cause suicidal thoughts in the first place.

Netflix recently released a statement that, due to concern among viewers, in addition to the TV-MA rating and warnings before episodes containing graphic scenes, they will strengthen the language in the existing warnings and will add a “viewer warning card before the first episode as an extra precaution” for anyone about to start “13 Reasons Why.” I am not saying the struggles that the characters in “13 Reasons Why” face aren’t realistic; however, I believe that the way Hannah’s suicide is depicted and the process she goes through of blaming her classmates is not authentic.

The series’ unbalanced display of suicide triggers is not healthy and many leave some viewers believing that suicide is the only way to fix problems they face. Those who decide to watch the series should not treat it lightly and should also remember that the portrayal of suicide in the show does not accurately depict suicide and the mental and emotional struggles that come with it. avargelis@redwoodbark.org

Intrusive classroom software harms student-teacher relationship

By Emily Cerf The tired trope of Big Brother as a synonym for any sort of perceived invasion of privacy is a fixture of our society, so it was no surprise to me when students in my AP Literature class referenced the Orwell classic a few weeks ago when instructed to download a Google Chrome extension on our district email accounts on school Chromebooks. The software allows teachers to view the screen of any student on a Google Chromebook computer at Redwood at any time. The software also lets teachers to take control of students’ screens, block websites and send messages to screens with phrases like “No Peeking!” if a student is off task. It was only used for a few days, and that specific software was not chosen for use in the following year, but it was indicated that a very similar software would be used in the future,

especially with underclassmen.

While I do agree with my classmates that this seems to be an invasion of our privacy in the Big Brother realm, I think the issue goes beyond just that. Let’s face it: students in public schools aren’t granted a great deal of privacy in the first place.

School officials retain the right to search and seize students’ personal items without warrant while they are on school property.

Additionally, a recent study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that “champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation,” found that oftentimes Education Technology (Ed Tech) software is not protecting student privacy. Despite laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) intended to protect against third parties gaining access to students’

Illustration by Andrew Hout

information, third-party Ed Tech companies often qualify as “school officials” and can therefore bypass these laws.

Software that allows teachers to watch their students’ computer screens challenges the trust and respect that exists between students and teachers, a relationship that is often already strained in a high school setting. This fragility can be caused by many complicated factors, such as a power struggle between students and teachers, behavioral issues and a lack of engagement by both teachers and students, among other things. This means that we should be doing everything possible to maintain or improve this relationship, rather than damage it further and risk a loss of learning.

Students of all grade levels are being told to download the software in various classes, and while my teacher noted that she would be using the software more with freshmen, students in high school should be afforded more trust than what these teachers are offering.

The childish graphics and the messages that accompany them are patronizing, as is the feeling that the teacher may or may not be watching your every keystroke.

This leads to the impression that students need direct supervision, downgrading the teacher to a babysitter. If a person is nearly an adult, and less than a year away from living independently, then they should be allowed to manage their own time.

Obviously there will be a few students who exploit this system, but it is not fair or appropriate to treat all students as if they

are children.

A classic argument that arises in any sort of matter of privacy and surveillance is that if you have nothing to hide, then you don’t need to worry about being watched.

On a national security level this creates what is called the chilling effect, in which this mentality stifles the ability to have a place to go to be free, to be one’s authentic self without fear of someone watching and the repercussions that might come with that. And while of course teachers are not actively trying to suppress creative freedom, there is something to be said for a student’s ability to do their best work if they feel as if they are always being watched. They might be worried about taking creative risks in their writing or taking longer to complete a more difficult assignment.

The truth of the matter is that if the material being taught and the activities being done in class are interesting, then teachers wouldn’t need to micromanage students at this level. I know this from my own experience as a student of 12 years—if I’m interested in a lesson, then I won’t feel the need to be off task. There will always be outliers who don’t pay attention at all or simply aren’t interested in the subject, but for the majority of students teachers should turn their attention away from this type of micromanagement and instead focus on making sure students are engaged by the material that is presented in the first place. ecerf@redwoodbark.org

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Page 6 • Opinion

May 26, 2017

UnPresidented: Trump retains unfaltering evangelical support

By Caleigh Stephens

“UnPresidented” is a column discussing the transition and first days of the Trump administration.

For more “UnPresidented,” visit redwoodbark.org/unpresidented Facing an adoring stadium of more than 50,000, Donald Trump delivered his first commencement speech as president on May 13 at the evangelical Liberty University.

Following a glowing introduction from founder and former leader of the Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell, Trump took the opportunity not to comment on the recent firing of FBI director James Comey, Russia or the purported success of his first 100 days in office, but to deliver a speech based largely in religious rhetoric. As Trump continued his campaign tale of being an outsider in Washington, he declared, “In America we do not worship government, we worship God.” And indeed, in America, evangelicals seem to worship Trump.

The invocation of religion in presidential discourse, as it were, has long been used to appeal to the hearts and minds of the American public. Yet for a president whose electoral victory largely stemmed from the evangelical Christian vote, Trump has had a rocky path.

The last time he visited Liberty University, during his campaign, Trump was the target of ire after he spoke of “two Corinthians” in an incorrect reference to the section of the bible called “second Corinthians.” And late into the election a student group called Liberty United Against Trump was formed and put out a statement calling Trump “one of the worst presidential candidates in American

history.” The group also claimed that in the presidential primaries in Virginia, Trump only received 90 votes from Liberty students, a “colossal rejection of his campaign.” However, any hint of the former opposition was absent at the commencement.

Despite this, evangelical support for the president has not wavered. A lateApril study by Pew Research found that 78 percent of white evangelical Protestants approve of Trump’s performance as president. It is also interesting to note that support has gone up 3 percent since the election, with an October 2016 Pew study finding that 75 percent of white evangelical Protestants intended to vote for Trump for president. So it is no surprise that Trump found a welcome home at Liberty with the seemingly infallible backing of the evangelical community.

Trump’s evangelical approval percentage is especially striking when compared to the overall approval rating, which is a dismal 38 percent according to Monday’s Gallup poll. The evangelical community, then, is the heart of the remaining stronghold of Trump’s base.

However, this support of Trump doesn’t seem to stem from any particular action he’s taken to please the evangelical community.

In fact, his recent executive order dealing with religion, which Trump professed to be a landmark of religious liberty, has been met with lukewarm feelings all across the religious community, evangelicals included. One of the main impacts of the order is an attempt to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which opens up religious organizations to losing their tax-exempt status if they endorse or oppose a political candidate. This revocation, however, has not been welcomed by religious leaders, as 99 religious organizations (including some evangelical ones) sent a letter to Congress in April asking them to preserve the Johnson Amendment. The letter argued that “permitting electioneering in churches would give partisan groups incentive to use congregations as a conduit for political activity and expenditures.”

And a February survey from the

National Association of Evangelicals found that 89 percent of respondents said that “pastors should not endorse politicians from the pulpit.” That number is quite a bit higher than the two thirds of Americans opposed to churches endorsing candidates that Pew Research found in a 2016 study.

Both show, however, that the order has failed to garner the goodwill from the religious community that Trump might have been seeking.

The rest of the executive order has little policy impact, but the action itself is indicative of the Trump administration’s purported emphasis on “religious liberty.”

Vice President Pence has also furthered this, declaring at a world summit on the persecution of Christians on May 11 that “protecting religious freedom is a foreign-policy priority of the Trump administration.” There were echoes of Reagan throughout the speech as well, with the statement that “America was and is and ever will be a shining city on a hill.” The language of a “city upon a hill” has decidedly religious origins, coming from colonial John Winthrop’s comments on the colony of Massachusetts. It was invoked frequently by Reagan, who in his his farewell address even said that “I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life.” The comment also reveals that when members of the Trump administration talk about the concept of religious freedom, it is extended only to the Christian community, something already evident by Trump’s Muslim-targeted travel ban.

But like most of the Trump administration, Pence’s purported campaign has been more rhetoric than concrete action. Trump wasn’t the one to quietly pass the Frank R. Wolf Act in December which elevated the position of ambassador for international religious freedom in the State Department (a position Trump has yet to fill). And with Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, he exhibited his support for the age-old American ideal that diplomacy and national security are more important than religious freedom or human rights concerns.

Since 2004, the United States

Commission on International Religious Freedom has designated Saudi Arabia as a tier one CPC, or country of particular concern, as a result of “continuing severe violations of religious freedom,” yet last weekend Trump basked in the regal welcome he has received by the Saudi government. This runs counter to Pence’s earlier claims of foreign policy priority.

But beyond the seeming disinterest in Trump’s actions regarding religion, there is an implicit acceptance of Trump’s personal life among evangelicals. Trump doesn’t seem the type to draw the evangelical crowd, as someone who has been married multiple times and made morally dubious statements throughout his campaign and presidency (consider the 2005 video released and his comments about women contained within).

It seems as though the white evangelical community is wholly willing to overlook any character flaws in their support of Trump. This assertion is backed up by studies from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. In 2011, a mere 30 percent of white evangelicals believed that “an elected official who commits an immoral act in their private life can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life.”

By October of 2016, the institute found that 72 percent of white evangelicals think that personal immorality and governmental performance can coexist. With this, the group shifted within a span of five years from the least likely to claim that personal actions have no bearing on the ethicality of an elected official to the most likely. The catalyst for such a dramatic shift? The only plausible explanation is the candidacy of Trump. It is clear that evangelical support of Trump extends beyond personal and political failures.

And so, the question of whether Trump supporters will turn their back on the president in light of a large political scandal, then, has been resolved. The answer, for evangelicals at least, is a resolute no. cstephens@redwoodbark.org

Grappling with nostalgia: a senior’s ongoing struggle

By Gregory Block It might sound strange, but in the midst of what should be the happiest and most exciting time of my high school years, I am overwhelmed by nostalgia.

It hits me when I least expect it—when I’m surrounded by friends in the parking lot, celebrating a victory with my baseball team or sitting in a classroom filled with lively discussion. In these moments, the moments that typically have made me happiest throughout my four years at Redwood, nostalgia comes up behind me and knocks me over the head. It’s not just a fading emotion in the back of my mind, but a consuming presence. And its existence is making these last few weeks of high school even more bittersweet than I expected.

I’m a naturally nostalgic person, someone who always experiences a tinge of sadness on birthdays because it means another year has passed. And, for as long as I can remember, I have dreaded the last day of school, sad about the fact that a year’s worth of memories and relationships and moments is coming to an end.

So, graduations are my worst enemy, the grandfather of all last days of school. On the night before the last day of eighth grade, I didn’t sleep. Images from my three years of middle school flashed through my head in a montage of memories. I spent the night staring at my ceiling, caught between a terrific excitement for high school and a dreadful longing for the past.

But that was eighth grade. Even though middle school graduation was a milestone in my life up to that point, it was still only middle school. I knew that I would be attending high school with most of the same kids.

This upcoming “last day of school” on June 8 is much different. It’s final, concrete and unchanging. This idea is uncomfortable for me. As excited as I am for the future, I can’t help but think back on the moments, people and memories that have shaped me into the Redwood graduate I will soon become.

The problem is that reflection has become overwhelming. Everything I do reminds me of a similar

moment in the past, or leads me to reflect on high school. And so, I’m torn. I want to address the nostalgia, stare it in the face and respond to it.

But to do so would be an acknowledgment of the fact that high school really is coming to an end.

For the past few months, I have existed in a state of perpetual sentimentality, where memories flood my head and my emotions become an indiscernible mix of happiness and regret and excitement and insecurity.

Did I do enough to leave a legacy? Did I try hard enough in that class? Was that the last conversation I’ll ever have with that person? When I walk across the amphitheater stage, will I be content with what I have accomplished?

These are the questions I subconsciously ask myself, ones which I am unable to answer. I might never truly be able to answer them, but the mere fact that they exist as questions in my head is enough to put a serious damper on my remaining weeks of high school.

A few weeks ago, as a particularly troubling bout of nostalgia attacked me as I lay in bed, I realized that I had to do something. I couldn’t let this nostalgia continually beat me to a pulp. I had to stand up to it.

I thought about the people who had changed me, the classes that had excited me, the communities that had welcomed me. I acknowledged that yes, these experiences would all soon be facing the crossroads of graduation.

Some relationships would soon end, some classes would become afterthought, rallies and sporting events and class

Illustration by Sabrina Dong

activities would go from current events to photo album memories. But by addressing the nostalgia that had so long been crawling into the deepest corners of my mind, I was able to come to peace with it.

Yes, graduation will be a bittersweet event. But graduation is not for two weeks. Until then, there are memories to be made, relationships to be solidified, legacies to be engraved.

By choosing to co-exist with the nostalgia rather than push it off or ignore it, I can only hope that when I do walk across the stage on June 8, I will do so with those high school memories and people and moments pushing me forward, putting confidence in each of my steps, rather than weighing me down.

gblock@redwoodbark.org

www.redwoodbark.org

Editor-in-Chief farewell letters

By Becca Smalbach When I first joined the Bark, I was a copy editor.

I thought that meant that my job was to search through every story, making sure all content was grammatically correct and adherent to AP style, and that’s what my job ended up being, to a certain extent.

There’s a sense of accomplishment in knowing that a story is 100 percent errorfree, and I liked editing stories and placing them into neat little boxes without getting into the messy, more undefined aspects of what makes a story great.

But as I gained more editing experience then eventually became editor-in-chief, I realized that editing solely for grammar left something to be desired.

The most important changes that I can make to stories come in the form of content edits, rather than grammar edits, since the meat of the story, the angle and topic and voice, is what makes them great, rather than merely good.

When reporters conduct insightful interviews and gather revealing quotes, they put together great stories; stories that I could better by checking for correct grammar, yes, but which are already fascinating and original reads on their own.

Articles like an in-depth profile on Lead Custodian Tim Mullery or an investigation of how a toxin impacted California’s crabbing industry exemplify this–they demonstrate the amazing talent that the Bark houses, and the willingness

of its reporters to seek out the most interesting stories and tell them in the most interesting ways.

Being an editor means encouraging everyone to stretch themselves to their limits in order to produce their best work, not only in terms of interviews and writing quality, but also in terms of pursuing the topics about which they are most passionate, so that passion can come through in their writing.

And in my year as editor-in-chief, I’ve come to believe that the Bark’s primary strength is its ability to allow student journalists to marry an understanding of the technical aspects of the craft with a sense of freedom to pursue the topics that motivate them to be great.

Great stories are achieved through the process of great people doing great reporting using great grammar, and in my last two years in the advanced journalism program, it seems to me that the Bark, at least most of the time, has all three.

rsmalbach@redwoodbark.org

Page 7 • Opinion

By Gregory Block “Why do you care so much about Bark?’ people ask me. ‘It’s a school newspaper. I don’t get why you spend so much time on Bark stuff.”

The answer that I reply with is one that constantly changes.

If I’m posed the question after a particularly chaotic paste-up, I might reply with something simple.

“It’s the writing,” I’ll say. “I love to write and Bark is the best platform for that.”

On my more energetic days, when I haven’t stayed up late editing stories, I’ll respond to the question with something different, something closer to the truth.

“It’s the people,” I’ll say. “There’s something special about the people.

They’re passionate, they’re quirky, they’re smart.”

But the most typical answer I give is one that reflects my inability to put into words the significance that Bark has in my life.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” I’ll say. “It’s just Bark.”

For those who have also spent hours at paste-ups, exchanged Barks and Bites, talked politics, sports, culture, and life, they might understand what “just Bark” really means.

To be honest, I don’t necessarily understand what I mean when I say that to people. It’s my best effort t o

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express something that is impossible to express. While I can sit here and write about the ways Bark has helped me improve as a journalist—how it has made me a better writer and a more critical thinker, how it has introduced me to people and stories that I never knew existed in my own community, how it has taught me the importance a journalist can have within an institution, even one as small as our own school district—I also know that Bark has changed my life beyond the journalism. To me, “just Bark” is the ideas I have developed, the relationships I have formed and the creative nature I have discovered.

Out of all the communities I will be graduating from in the next two weeks, the Bark community will be the hardest to say goodbye to, mainly because I’m not sure if I’ll be part of a community like it ever again. There’s something special in the intellectual and creative freedom that our class is built upon.

There’s something special in the energy that Barkies bring to class each day. And there’s something special about picking up a copy of a freshly-printed Bark and knowing that each of us did something to contribute to the final product.

For the stories, the skills, the collective dedication to create something original, and for that extra something that is impossible to describe but also impossible to ignore, I want to thank Bark and the incredible people I have had the privilege of working with over the past three years. I will always be grateful. gblock@redwoodbark.org

By Emily Cerf

By Sarah Kimball When a dead body is found in the rubble of one of our country’s most devastating atrocities, the typical person doesn’t expect to find more than the blood-soaked clothes, chaotically twisted around the victim’s limp body.

But for Bill Biggart, this was not the case. As the final shutter clicked on September 11th, 2001, Biggart took his last breath when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed upon him.

His body was later found accompanied by his burnt-edged press card, three demolished cameras, six rolls of film and one undisturbed compact SD card carrying almost 150 images.

I first learned about Biggart from an indelible film in the Newseum in Washington D.C.. Featured in an exhibit describing the media’s role in the 9/11 attacks, the movie highlighted not only Biggart’s tragic demise, but also his ambitious and heroic act for the sake of the media. Immediately after hearing about the plane crash, Biggart ran home to grab his cameras and headed straight for the World Trade Center, without hesitation nor thought. As his pictures indicate, Biggart was eventually shooting straight up at the burning buildings.

What spoke to me most about this typically unknown hero was his courage and unwavering passion for the media.

He never stopped to realize the possible repercussions of capturing 9/11, nor did he stop shooting as black smoke and coals infected his lungs. Biggart literally died reporting the truth. And this is what I have loved most about journalism and being on staff for the Bark, informing on the truths, the realities and the facts: a sometimes difficult, yet noble feat.

While on staff, the stories I have felt the most pride for publishing were the ones that questioned the status quo and brought forth the truths within our community. Between “School board considers recommendations to cut funding for wellness programs,” “Brandy Hell-

ville,” a n d “ C l u b and school sports prove closely intertwined,” the Bark has sparked conversation within our community based on the cold, hard truth.

As students, our voices are often weakened, but the Bark provides us with an outlet to report on issues we as students see in our community in a reputable and informative manner.

In Bark, we have learned how to tell a story that means much more than words; a story that unleashes the realities of Marin County and the truths of Redwood High School. Sometimes it will take more than one attempt to get it right (or four for me), but when you do, the sensation of uncovering the truth is something no one can recreate. skimball@redwoodbark.org

Some people look back at high school as the best times of their lives, their glory days. I, however, don’t think I will be one of those people—high school was hard in many ways. But I know that when I do look back to my high school

experiences, my memories of Bark will be some of the fondest. It’s hard for me to put into words what this community has done for me, both on an academic and personal level, but here I am.

Beyond the close friendships I have made and the unforgettable memories of long pasteups and heated class discussions, most influential to me has been that I have been lucky enough have found an answer to the omnipresent question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?” It often times can be hard to find meaning in some of the schoolwork that we do in high school, but I have never felt that way about my work for the Bark, it has never been just

another chore. There has always been a deeper sense of purpose for me in regards to journalism, knowing that I am striving toward a larger goal of making the paper beautiful and cohesive while telling the important stories that need to be told.

There is a certain rush that comes with writing an important story that many journalists talk about and I too feel that I know I will never get tired of, no matter how many stories I write.

Even if many of our readers just look at the pictures, knowing that what I write might make a real impact is the most rewarding thing I have done.

We often talk at Redwood about finding our passion (there’s a whole week dedicated to it!) and I think I have been able to truly find mine in the Bark room.

Furthermore, Bark strives to embrace the individual passions of our reporters and of the community that we cover.

I think this is an important takeaway for the student body to consider.

If a fellow student is passionate about something, then you should make an effort to give that passion the respect it deserves instead of talking down upon it.

It’s been through my time at Redwood that I hear people putting down things other people love because they may not understand or appreciate it—and I know, from personal experience, that it hurts.

It’s simple—refer back to the age-old golden rule treat people the same way you would want to be treated.

It has been an honor as Editor in Chief to help further journalistic values of representing the truth, and doing so conscientiously, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable this may be— something I think the Bark has done so well this year on many occasions.

No matter the challenges along the way, I will forever be grateful for the opportunities Bark has given me to grow as a writer, leader and as a person. ecerf@redwoodbark.org

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Page 8 • Opinion

www.redwoodbark.org

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Redwood High School 395 Doherty Drive Larkspur, CA 94939 www.redwoodbark.org E ditors -I n -C hief Gregory Block Emily Cerf Sarah Kimball Rebecca Smalbach

Head Copy Editor Caleigh Stephens

Copy Editors

Examining our relationship with admin editorial Build a bridge between us and admin

Barks & Bites

When we, as seniors, reflect back on our time at Redwood and the community that we have been a part of for the past four years, what usually comes to mind first are the positive relationships we have made with our fellow students and teachers, even amid the many changes that have occurred in our tenure. But as we look back on the connections we’ve made, those we’ve had with the administration don’t conjure up the same warm and fuzzy feelings.

This is evidenced by an April Bark survey in which 42 percent of the student population reported that they do not know the administrative faculty well. Eight percent of students said they’ve never had any interaction with the administrative faculty at all.

As students, and perhaps even more so as upperclassmen, we don’t see administration as people who are on our side. Many students avoid going into the assistant principals’ office, the attendance office and the principal’s office unless they absolutely need to. We’ve come to associate the offices and the people working in them as people who are out to get us in trouble, which puts students on the defensive and creates an unnecessary tension in interactions.

When students feel like they are talking to a person who wants to reprimand them, or someone who assumes they are always going to misbehave, it can be difficult to develop a relationship with them. This may be amplified by the fact that we don’t see these faculty members on a daily basis as we do with teachers.

While their actions largely go undetected, the administrative staff are the force behind so many activities and programs that we require. We don’t see the AP tests getting organized and set up, or our schedules being arranged, so we don’t realize that these people are as integral to our education as some of our teachers.

There have been many examples throughout our high school experience when this animosity has come to light. When administration insisted upon the end of many hazing traditions at the rallies, many upperclassmen at the time resisted this change. However, looking back we can see that these are positive changes that have resulted in more respect between classes.

But not all such interactions result in mutual understanding. In the beginning of the year, a parking committee made up of students was assembled by the administration. The goal was to hear student concerns about parking, a heated issue at the time. According to some students in the committee, they met and shared their insight, only to have it be ignored. Many of the things these students suggested were not implemented.

For students, this was was very upsetting.

The meetings seemed like a waste of time and

A BARK to the seniors. Keep it L17!

A BITE to AP proctors who go off script. This isn’t the time for you to practice your improv.

A BARK to the masquerade prom. Masks off.. Oh wait.

A BITE to final presentations in Spanish class. ¿C ó mo llorar en una otra lenjuage?

A BARK to Zane for never getting breathalyzed. Way to hide in plain sight.

A BITE to tea chers who pretend to be chill about senior ditch day, but then assign quizzes that can’t be made up.

they didn’t feel heard. For administrators making the difficult decisions on parking, it was stressful to face the student backlash and anger towards decisions made in the best interest of the entire school. The parking situation amplified the students’ feeling that the administration was not on their side and administration likely faced more rudeness than before.

These challenges surfaced during behavioral talks by the Assistant Principals to warn seniors about the protocol to be a “senior in good standing” early second semester. The APs were met with heckling in place of understanding, and the threat of not walking at graduation remains looming over our heads, making the APs the villains in our final stretch of our high school careers.

Yet strained relationships between students and non-teacher staff are not a foregone conclusion. Walk out into one of the parking lots any day at break and you’ll find students hanging out with the campus supervisors, coming up with secret handshakes and forming friendships.

Messy basketball teams and the janitorial staff happily coexist, with students writing them end of the season notes of appreciation.

And so, there’s still hope to mend this tension-filled relationship between students and administrative faculty going forward. For this to happen there needs to be more compromise.

Students should become more understanding of the fact that these faculty members are trying to act in our, and the school’s, best interest. At the same time, administration should listen to our input when they ask for it, and work with us to solve problems that involve us. In addition to this, we need to have more regular interactions with these faculty members so that they aren’t just the “office people” at Redwood. We should invite them to participate in more rally activities, greet them in the hallways and create room for conversations that go beyond just taking care of business or dealing with problems.

Students and administration want to live in a community with less stress and more friendly interactions than tense ones; with a little bit more understanding and effort from both students and administration, we could create a more cohesive community.

Have an opinion regarding anything that appears in the Bark or in general? We encourage our readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters to the Bark should be 500 words or fewer, typed if possible and signed.

They must be submitted to room 177 or the Bark mailbox in the facility. They may also be emailed to bark@redwoodbark.org.

#Fakefriends.

A BARK to the freshman letters to your future self.

Thanks to Mr. Ippolito we now know that the five dollars we gave ourselves are worth less.

A BITE to the library’s ban on water bottles. C’mon the library is already dry enough.

A BARK to all the seniors who showed up to the Sequoian Banquet on senior ditch day.

We came for the food, and left because of it too.

A BITE to all the bathrooms being shut down last week.

That was a pain in the ass.

A BARK to smooth AP testing.

Shoutout to Admin for putting our desks far enough apart.

A BITE to the senior rally.

It was like watching a kid’s birthday party but not participating.

BARKS and BITES are the collective opinions of the BARK staff concerning relevant issues. BARKS are in praise of accomplishments, while BITES criticize decisions or events.

Gemma Calandra Shannon Donelan Tilly Friedlander Sam Sheridan Christine Watridge

News Editors Annie Fogarty Maggie Smith

Opinion Editors

Caroline Cummings Alicia Vargelis

Feature Editors China Granger Pearl Zhong

Sports Editors Jason Fieber Daniela Schwartz

Review Editors Julia Jacoby Alexandra Lee

Lifestyles Editors Anne Pritikin Heidi Roenisch

Spanish Editor Hallie Fox

Video Editors Garet Jatsek Sam Slade

Business Manager Jordan Overmyer

Social Media Manager Mary Winnick

Snapshot Manager Sydney Soofer

Art Consultant

Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan

Data Analyst

Adam Kreitzman

Web Developers Hayden Blum Kevin Gao

Reporters

Eric Ahern Michael Benz Josh Cohen Catherine Conrow Luke Dahlin Sabrina Dong Carolyn French Jack Green Andrew Hout Max Josef Kaelin Kragh Jocelyn Overmyer Kendall Rhoads Charlotte Seton Rachel Schten Henry Tantum Amanda Trusheim Brendan Winters

Adviser

Erin Schneider

POLICY: All editorials are unsigned and have been approved by the majority of the Bark staff.

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Página 9

Nuevos estudiantes mudan a Marin para jugar squash Por Hallie Fox Una pelota pequeña y negra rebota en el suelo de la cancha cúbica. Continúa rebotando de la pared hasta que cae cerca de la pared forzando a un cuerpo a lanzarse de cabeza rápidamente. Los dos chicos encerrados en la cancha de squash se ríen entre ellos y se burlan el uno del otro en español.

Junior César Segundo y Senior Sergio Martín están clasificados número tres y cuatro respectivamente en la liga de squash de adultos en California.

Según uno de sus tres entrenadores, Erick Chacón, Segundo y Martin también pueden estar entre los diez mejores en la categoría de menores de la 19ava división de squash en los Estados Unidos.

Martín se mudó a Marín desde Querétaro, México en agosto de 2016 y empezó a ir a la escuela en Redwood al comienzo del año escolar. Segundo se mudó desde Puebla, México a Marín en enero de 2017.

Martin y Segundo, quienes eran número uno en sus estados de su país en la categoría individual, fueron invitados y se les dio una beca para mudarse a Marín por el Academia Internacional de Squash de Marín (ISAM), encabezada por Chacón.

Estar en el Academia Internacional de Squash de Marín es una gran oportunidad para Martin y Segundo.

El programa les permite promover su crecimiento como jugadores de squash, estudiar en una secundaria americana y trabajar contratados a través del squash en una universidad americana.

Ambos Martin y Segundo creían que ellos no podrían crecer más en sus carreras de squash en México y mudarse a los Estados Unidos les ofrecía más potencial para mejorar.

“En Puebla, me estanqué. Ya no subía de nivel y necesitaba mudarme para poder jugar mejor y venir aquí es una oportunidad para mejorar mi nivel de juego”, dijo Segundo.

Aunque su mudanza a los Estados Unidos le permitiría a Segundo más oportunidades, estaba nervioso de venir a los Estados Unidos.

“Yo me sentí muy como presionado y a la vez nervioso porque es un sueño estar acá porque siempre he querido estudiar en una high school, en los Estados Unidos y entrenar”, dijo Segundo.

Segundo agregó que a pesar de la gran oportunidad, se sintió intimidado por la cantidad de entrenamiento que le espera a él.

Segundo dijo que Chacón recluta jugadores para ISAM que pueden soportar

Fotós por Hallie Fox

(La cima) ESTÁ ALCANZANDO POR una corta pelota, Sergio Martin, un estudiante de ultimo año, corre a la pared de la cancha de squash cuando Cesar Segundo, un estudiante de tercer año, esprinta detrás de Martin para golpear la próximo pelota. (La izquierda) ESTÁ BALANCEANDO SU raqueta adelante, Martin corre a la pelota. (La derecha) ESTÁ ARREMETIENDO POR la pelota, juega squash. el horario riguroso cuando ellos vienen a los Estados Unidos a jugar por el programa.

“Nuestro entrenador Erick está como reclutando jugadores buenos que pueden pagar una cantidad por estar aquí y que pueden aguantar el ritmo de vida que se tiene aquí que es ir a la escuela, entrenar, hacer tarea y entrenar”, dijo Segundo. “Y la gente que conoces y que está decidida a poder aguantar todos estas características”.

Fotó por Hallie Fox

ESTÁ PREPARANDO GOLPEAR la pelota, Martin lo sigue con sus ojos cuando Segundo admira su golpe.

Ahora que Segundo y Martín están No fue hasta diciembre de 2016 que en Marin, juegan contra gente de su edad ellos empezaron a hablarse. En el torneo del Área de la Bahía y estudiantes de la US Open en Yale University en New universidad de la Costa Oeste, incluso Haven, Connecticut, a Martin le dijeron estudiantes de Harvard University. que Segundo iba a estar en ISAM y los dos Segundo está tratando de obtener una chicos empezaron hablar. beca para jugar Segundo y squash en las Martín pasaron universidades de ser amigos s americanas. a hermanos con Martín, por la convivencia otro lado ya se ha y jugando para comprometido con ISAM. Dickinson College Los chicos en Carlisle, dicen que tienen Pennsylvania con una buena una beca parcial. relación porque Una de las se leen uno al metas de Martín otro bien. era recibir una “O sea nos beca, insistía por Cesar Segundo, entendemos en él y su padre, un estudiante de tercer año muchas cosas en aunque considera algunas no. En el deporte más muchas cosas nos como un puerta a entendemos, nos una universidad. reímos de puras “Con squash no es solo para la tonterías y siento que es muy padre esa universidad también me gusta hacerlo y lo relación”, dijo Segundo. que quiero es divertirme y si eso me abre puertas, pues adelante”, dijo Martin.

Contribuciones adicionales por Bea Segundo y Martin a menudo jugaban Cazares uno contra el otro en torneos en México y Segundo dijo que él siempre perdía cuando competían. De hecho, los chicos dijeron que se odíaban. hfox@redwoodbark.org

Ya no subía de nivel y necesitaba mudarme para poder jugar mejor y venir aquí es una oportunidad para mejorar mi nivel de juego

bark

Page 10 • Feature

May 26, 2017

JUUL:

The modern cigarette

by Mary Winnick

You begin to notice a fuzzy feeling in your head. A feeling that makes you want to relax, a feeling that may make your body hot or cold, a feeling that many Redwood students have become addicted to: the feeling of hitting the JUUL. The JUUL is a thin black vaporizer that comes with prepared cartridges containing nicotine, chemicals and various flavors.

Produced by Pax Labs in San Francisco, it has become increasingly popular among Redwood students. According to a February Bark survey, 87 percent of Redwood students know what a JUUL is.

Eleven percent of people surveyed, or a projection of 200 students, reported using a JUUL at least once a week.

The JUUL is a vape that many teens find easy to use. Unlike other vapes that require users to mix their own juices and create their own flavors, the JUUL pods are premade.

Although the JUUL company states on their website that each pod contains 5 percent nicotine by weight , the true amount is unknown as it is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA.) Anonymous junior “Hailey” bought her first JUUL sophomore year after being introduced to it by her best friend. She consistently took “mokes” (a marijuana and tobacco mixture smoked out of a bong) at the time and liked the similar headrush the JUUL gave her.

Hailey uses the JUUL throughout the day, in the bathroom and off campus.

Usually when Hailey takes a hit from her JUUL, other friends or peers will ask if they can also have a hit and it will be passed around.

Despite her frequent usage, Hailey is extremely fearful of the health risks associated with the JUUL. “It’s just way too much nicotine for our bodies and it’s not healthy,” Hailey said.

“It really sketches me out.”

Hailey herself has thrown up after hitting the JUUL too many times and has also had a seizure after taking a moke.

She believes both of these reactions were caused by nicotine.

The first time Hailey hit the JUUL she instantly got a head rush after one hit and felt like the chemicals were altering her brain. Now, after one hit she feels nothing at all.

“If I hit it five times in a row without breathing in-between then I will get a head rush. I definitely have a massive tolerance to it,” Hailey said.

This change in Hailey’s tolerance has caused her to only use the JUUL for the taste and the different flavors rather than the feeling of getting a head rush.

Hailey said that even if serious health notices were released about the JUUL, she would only stop using the JUUL if she could find another alternative that has a similar flavor in order to stop.

“I’ve been thinking about [stopping] for a while now, it’s just more about getting myself to actually stop and it’s kind of hard at Redwood just because everyone uses it and it is such a widespread thing in Marin,” Hailey said.

Anonymous junior “Jimmy” was first introduced to the JUUL when he was a sophomore, but had no interest in using it until this year.

“Once I started using it, I did some research and saw that it is a little bit healthier than using tobacco,” Jimmy said.

“Then it was like, ‘Oh I’m not going to use it for the hype, I’m going to use it to not smoke actual tobacco or chew tobacco.’”

Although many vapes and e-cigarettes do say that their product helps tobacco users, the JUUL company does not advise non-tobacco or nicotine users to begin using the JUUL. Jimmy believes the JUUL is healthier for his lungs because rather than containing tobacco, it contains vaporized smoke with nicotine.

Professor Neal Benowitz, who specializes in human pharmacology of nicotine at the UCSF School of Medicine, has found that the chemicals in e-cigarettes and vaporizers are not as harmful as the chemicals found in traditional cigarettes, but still does not know how much injury the chemicals cause.

“The presence [of chemicals] for the most part are in small concentrations in the e-cigarettes, so we think the e-cigarettes are much less harmful and the concentrations [of chemicals] are much lower,” Benowitz said. “There are many more things in regular cigarettes in higher concentrations than in e-cigarettes.”

When asked how often he uses the JUUL, Jimmy laughed and said, “very often.”

Although Jimmy says the JUUL has helped him stop dipping, he also has noticed some negative side effects such as his lungs giving out much faster when he runs and the need to use his inhaler, to help with his asthma, much more often than he used to.

Jimmy believes that the school may be paying more attention to vape use on campus. He has seen the campus supervisors numerous times when going to the restroom to use the JUUL. School administrators sent an email to the Redwood staff in November to inform teachers and supervisors of what a vape is

and what it looks like.

“I ask that you keep your eyes open within your classes, and when in the hallways, for students in possession of or using vaporizers. If you see a student, please report the incident/student to administration and/or a Campus Assistant,” wrote Assistant Principal Brian Lynch in the email.

Since November, the staff’s concern with vape usage on campus has only increased, according to Lynch.

He sent out another email in early March expressing a more specific concern.

“I wanted to remind “Lucie,” you all to be junior diligent about watching out for the use of vaporizers on campus. ‘JUULs’ seems to be the latest iteration of nicotine products that our students are choosing to use. We are getting reports that students are not only using these in our bathrooms, they are using them in class,” Lynch wrote.

Administrators began receiving an increasing number of reports of vape usage on campus in one of the boys’ bathrooms, further increasing concerns before the updated March email was sent out, according to Lynch.

Using vapes and e-cigarettes that contain nicotine at a young age when the brain is still developing does have an effect on an adolescent brain, according to both Benowitz and UCSF School of Medicine Professor Mark Rubenstein.

“There is data in both humans and in animals that if you can postpone nicotine exposure until the brain is fully developed, there is a much lower chance of long-term addiction and continued cigarette use than if you start in your teens,” Rubenstein said.

However, students, including Jimmy, still choose to use the JUUL, even despite sometimes experiencing negative effects from them.

“Sometimes my heart pumps really fast—like weirdly fast and I get super domed. There was one time where I held in a really fat hit and I might have had a lightweight seizure from it which is really funny,” Jimmy said. “My vision kind of went out for a second and I had to sit down.

I was like ‘Oh well, okay.’”

Jimmy does believe there are some

Photoillustration by Mary Winnick

serious unknown health risks of the JUUL, but remains unconcerned by them.

“If the [health risks] are super bad then I won’t use it as often, but if it isn’t as bad, like the stereotypical ‘Oh, it’s going to give you cancer’ then I’m probably not going to stop,” Jimmy said. “I don’t think you will [get cancer] because it’s just vaporized smoke; there’s nothing that could harm you in that.”

This belief is common among frequent JUUL users. In a recent Bark survey, 73 percent of people surveyed who believe a JUUL carries no health risk also selfreported JUULing at least once a day.

Unlike Jimmy, sophomore “Lucie,” who wishes to remain anonymous, began using the JUUL this past January because of all of the hype surrounding it at Redwood.

“I got one because everyone else had one honestly, but then I got pretty addicted to it pretty fast,” Lucie said.

Shortly after beginning to use it, Lucie noticed that hitting the JUUL eased her anxiety. The JUUL has been the only supplement Lucie has found to consistently relieve her anxiety since she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in eighth grade. Many of Lucie’s friends also use the JUUL to relieve their anxiety.

While Lucie’s mom is not supportive of her JUUL usage and has taken away three of them, a relative of hers is very supportive and recently bought her 3,000 JUUL pods for a few thousand dollars.

The relative also purchases all of her new JUUL starter-kits when she gets the JUULs taken away.

Lucie now goes through about three pods per day, hitting the JUUL more than 100 times.

“When I wake up, I get bored and hit the JUUL a little bit before I get ready and I get a major head rush after the first hit in the morning. During the day I would say five hits give me a head rush,” Lucie said.

I got one because everyone else had one honestly, but then I got pretty addicted to it pretty fast.

For a longer version of this story, visit www.redwoodbark.org

mwinnick@redwoodbark.org

bark THE LEGACY REMAINS AS HARDIMANS AND REDWOOD PART Page 11 • Feature

www.redwoodbark.org

by Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan

Some days, they’re everywhere: black hoodies dotting the halls, worn by seniors, juniors and sophomores alike.

In orange text, they read, “Trenchless Titan.” They serve as advertisements for the company by the same name, and the Redwood family that founded it, the Hardimans.

Most students at Redwood know the name Hardiman; after all, the school and the family are inextricably intertwined. Six Hardiman children―Sean, Kevin, Brendan, Eilish, Liam and Declan―have come to Redwood. Their mother, Melissa, attended in the ‘80s. But the Hardiman story (the Irish half of it, at least) started far from Larkspur, in the bogs of County Galway, Ireland.

There, in a little town called Attymon, Gerry Hardiman worked alongside his father, who maintained the machines used by a government-owned company, Bord na Móna, to dig up a heating fuel called peat.

From a young age, Gerry worked amid the enormous engines of his father’s trade: the baggers, bulldozers and turf-cutters. He drove locomotives, cleaned drains and moved railroad tracks. In his free time, he played a game called hurling, the national sport of Ireland. He played well―so well, in fact, that he was recruited by a hurling team in America, the San Francisco Gaels. He arrived in San Francisco in 1986, a young immigrant with nothing but an invitation from a regional sports club.

Later that year, he met Melissa Ross, a California girl who’d lived in Larkspur all her life. After finishing the sports career that had brought him to the United States, Gerry worked for a contractor who installed large sewer pipes, storm drains and water lines for municipalities. It was similar to some of the work he’d been doing in Ireland as a teenager, and in 1988, Gerry got his own contractor’s license and set up his own company. That same year, Melissa and Gerry married.

Since then, the Hardimans have built their enterprise and a family of six children. They’ve juggled two sets of roles: parents and business owners. The outside of the Hardiman house speaks volumes about this balancing act, and how the two spheres overlap.

Parked on the curb outside of the suburban Larkspur home are three heavy-duty pickup trucks. In the backyard, power tools lie where a play structure once stood. The backyard separates the main house from a stand-alone, one-room office where Melissa and Gerry base their operations.

When the company began, in the late ‘80s, the back office housed just two desks: one for Gerry, one for Melissa. They worked on huge, multi-million dollar projects, mainly on public works for cities that took them everywhere from Santa Cruz to Sacramento. The work site was miles away, and the kids had their playground.

“Our backyard was very self-sufficient. In the olden days it didn’t look like a work yard. This was the neighborhood house. The kids would come here and play.

They would crawl all over, and I had toys and Johnny Jump Ups,” Melissa said.

While the formative years of the company left the house largely free of clutter, the job left little time for leisure. The Hardimans were working long hours, day after day, all the while balancing their multitude of roles: crew chief, boss, husband, wife, father, mother.

“I worked between the hours of nine and two, and when the kids were off of school I was their mom, and

Photo by Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan

LEADING A TEAM of workers on the job site, crew chief Sean Hardiman pauses to take a break they went to bed at eight and I came out here and we’d work,” Melissa said.

All that work paid off. Hardiman Construction started growing. The company fixed pipelines, built foundations, erected houses, shored up retaining walls and put in storm drains. And one day, the Hardimans decided enough was enough.

“We were working too hard. We needed to take our kids to soccer practice, to soccer games,” Melissa said.

They shifted their focus to more local jobs, so that Melissa and Gerry could stay closer to home. They became more of a self-described ‘mom-and-pop shop.’ By this time, the kids had grown. The eldest Hardiman son, Sean, had just graduated from high school. Sean joined

Photo by Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan

CRACKING OPEN THE road with the excavator, Brendan (left) and Gerry (right) discuss how best to execute the manuever. the construction team, and was soon running a crew of his own. In a natural progression, family and company became further intertwined.

Of course, everyone in the Hardiman household had been involved with the tools of construction long before this. All of the boys had learned to drive the machines and operate power tools. They learned to use backhoes and run excavators, tow trailers and drive trucks.

“I was just running with the crew. Sometimes I’d have to go out and cut open the road so we could actually dig down to the pipe. Other times, we’d come through after and pull the pipe through,” senior Declan said.

Soon enough, many of them were signing on for real.

Kevin, the secondoldest son, graduated from school at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2015. Melissa and Gerry were overwhelmed with smaller, local jobs, and the paperwork that came with them. Kevin came in to help with bookkeeping and payroll.

Brendan graduated from Redwood and took up a leadership position as a crew chief. Eilish returned from Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo and took a desk in the office, helping with the accounts receivable and accounts payable. Liam worked during the summers.

Over time, the Hardimans built a community of workers extending into Redwood itself. Many of their children’s friends eventually found a place in the company.

Declan and his friends Nick Calzaretta, Jackson Holscher and Wiley Geiger, current Redwood students, signed up to work during the summer.

Today, around the Redwood campus, this connection with the company and the family appears in the Trenchless Titan hoodies, which friends of the Hardimans, along with students who have worked on their sites, sport in the halls.

Trenchless Titan, Hardiman Construction’s sewer repair company, started in 2009, under the guidance of Sean and Gerry.

While the Hardimans didn’t develop the trenchless method of sewer line replacement, they were the first in Marin to adopt the new method. Normally, installation involves digging a trench from the house to the street. The trenchless method uses specialized tools to pull a new pipe through the old

pipe, pushing the old out of the way.

Sewer line replacements occur more frequently in Marin than one might imagine. Recently, the local sanitary district passed a new mandate requiring people selling, remodeling or buying a house to inspect their sewer lateral. The mandate has brought a great deal of business to the Hardimans from Marin.

“Most of the sewer lines around here are about a hundred years old, or fifty or sixty.

They’re often defective or in bad condition,” Gerry said.

If the pipes fail a pressure test, they have to be replaced.

“It’s not like a new beautiful backyard or patio. It’s not aesthetically lovely. Twenty bucks says most people don’t even know that they have a sewer pipe,” Melissa said.

In this way, much of the work the Hardimans do goes unnoticed.

When they do their job well, no beautiful verandas or glossy wood floorboards are left in their wake. They’re the behind the scenes players of the construction world―as invisible as they are integral.

As the company and the children have grown, they’ve left an indelible mark on the community around them.

And even as the last child, Declan, graduates this year, the family name won’t fade from these halls. After all, the Hardiman house and office lie a mere five-minute drive away from where mother and children went to high school.

The Hardimans are just around the corner.

The Hardimans have built their enterprise and a family of six children.

They’ve juggled two sets of roles: parents and business owners.

mkawawa-beaudan@redwoodbark.org

Alabama

De Anza College

University of Alabama

Diablo Valley College

Cooper Weingart Julia Curry

Arizona Arizona State University John Dannerbeck Daniela Krpan James Murphy Michael Vandengoorbergh

Northern Arizona Univeristy Kayla Dolberg

University of Arizona Kyle Fulton Benjamin Gold-Matejka

James Bohan

Cody Meylan

Loyola Marymount University Sydney Abrams

Occidental College Emma Jaime

Orange Coast College Holden Bailey

Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts Mason Ritchie

Pepperdine University Kyle Campbell

Saint Mary’s College Robert Geissberger

California

Cabrillo College Eleni Callos

Cuesta College Charles Quanstrom

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Donald Ahn Isabella Bacino Courtney Carswell Allison Fobes Estefany Guevara Desiree Hale Emily Johnson Lillian Kane-Dacri Delaney Kellen Lauren Knott Madaline Lynn Sean McKenna Robert Middleton Margot Moore Jacqueline Racich Isabella Ramirez Aviva Schiff Jack Spalding Lise Swain Andrew Thomas Vivienne Ward Andrew Weiss Grace Westle

Cal State Chico Ariella Bellingham Nina Belloni Aranza Berruecos Shauna Ewry Riley Marsh Preston Massey-Blake Christina Meylan

Cal State Fullerton Scott Smith

Cal State Monterey Bay Daniel Lane

Cal State Northridge Sam Roiz

Chapman University Maxwell Fennema Edwin Peterson Kendall Rhoads Claire Schulberg Aubrey Sine Henry Zeisler

College of Marin

Rodrigo Azevedo Michael Benz Andrew Carlisle Chad Ferrando Nathan Green Andrew Jensen Cameron Kardel Dosym Kunhardt Maia Mazur Mari Molina Colette O’Connell-Phillipps Jonathan Palacios Robin Rinaldi Linda Lima Rivas Samantha Sanchez Robert Schwartz Neema Shoja Austin Torney Alexander Torreso

San Diego State University Gabriel Marra Kendall Shaver Olivia Tait Alex Wilson Lake Wilson

San Francisco State University Simon Ermolov Ana Oliveira

San Jose State University Maria Nogueiro

Santa Barbara City College Lucas Addleman Megyn Horton Erica Pohl

Santa Clara University Arman Araghi Nikolas Baumbach Luke Dahlin

Santa Monica College William Gallagher Victoria Gioia Christopher Keating

Santa Rosa Junior College Samuel Miranda

Sonoma State University Dezire Celis Isabelle Corn Shiva Kaveh Andres Marroquin

Stanford University Gregory Block Rebecca Smalbach Lindsay Thornton

UC Berkeley

Eric Ahern Josef Alavi McKenna Bonkowski Catherine Conrow Sabrina Dong Lukas Finkbeiner Anne Fogarty Olivia Hering Kimihiro Kamei Maxime Kawawa-Beaudan Neeve Kennedy Scott McCrae Sabrina Nunez Noah Talamantes

UC Davis

Justin Bae Aidan Ferguson Andrea Silvera Sean Tracy

UC Irvine

Tiffany Dong

UC Los Angeles Evelyn Anderson Natalie Epstein Sophia Landeck Daniel Oh

UC Riverside Tara Antee Giuliano Costa

UC Santa Barbara Haley Bjursten Anthony Bronzo Oulana Dobrin Danielle Dudgeon Layla Dunne

Simon Halbert Zachary Lopez-Brennan Christian Reilly Sam Sheridan Carl Simpson-Heil Nicole Yang

UC Santa Cruz

Nathan Delaney Zachary Gottesman Teddy Hayden Thor Klein Liam Lucas Jenna Neustaetter Kyler Scarpa Elliot Shanks Aaron Swoiskin

UC San Diego

Parker Addison Gemma Calandra Leo Cooperband Ashlyn D’Orazio Adam Kreitzman Stephan Lightfoot Ben Lloyd Dylan Losee Ella Olgin Alexis Orrick Emma Reagan

University of the Pacific Wyatt Barker Dante Lentz

University of Redlands Charlotte Trotter

University of San Diego Lauren Foehr Matthew Walravens Grant Wyman

University of San Francisco Joao Alvarenga Kevin Gao Erik Parawell

University of Southern California Helene Churton

Aarti Dixit Jenna Herz Elizabeth Smith John Van Liere Noa Zimmerman

Connecticut

Quinnipiac University Sophia Gazor Emery Raynor

Yale University

Colorado

McKenzie Cooke Jeremy Goldwasser

Charles Bucklar

Florida

Gianni LaCarrubba

Isaac Farrell

Robert Breuner Andreas Louis Brostoff Benjamin Cook Lily Gaudin Lily Page Hartwell Ashlyn Jennings Victoria Laury Sean Lowry Alexander Mindel Courtney Morris Caitlyn Reed Juliet Ricci Sydney Soofer Cameron Sylla Lauren Wickham Julia Winterhalter

Georgia

Tanner Jacobberger

Illinois

Colorado State University

Colorado State University, Denver University of Miami University of Colorado-Boulder

University of Colorado-Denver University of Denver Lily Armstrong Zachary Babikian Charlotte Dyer Tanner Jacobberger Chase Petri Jordan Stern Blaise Van Brunt

US Air Force Academy Francesco Cico

Colorado School of Mines Viveka Brockman

Emory University Alicia Vargelis

Hawaii

University of Hawaii at Manoa Talita Stiles Lydia Perigo Aziah Garvey

Idaho

College of Idaho Nick Calzeretta

DePaul University Samantha Salzer

University of Chicago Vanessa Graf Stephanie Oh Caleigh Stephens

Northwestern University Emily Cerf Cecilia Wolf

University of IllinoisUrbana Champaign

New Jersey

Rhode Island

Stevens Institute of Technology

Brown University

Rutgers University

Rhode Island School of Design

New York

South Carolina

Mathieu Depuy Claire Jackson

American Musical and Dramatic Academy Lucy Phillipes

Cornell University Sanjana Seshadri

Thomas Dufficy

Danielle Kisseberth

Clemson University Samantha Conte

University of South Carolina Tierney Becker

Texas

University of Texas-Austin Hayden Blum William Kosinski

Texas A & M University Nicolas Belgum

Texas Christian University Hugo Dalzell-Piper

Southern Methodist University MacAllister Hogan

The New School Eliza Peppel Erez Putterman Olivia Gardner Royee Weng

Vermont

Mollie Dreskin Madison Hake Max Josef Kristina Varganova

Washington

Syracuse University

Marist College Astrea Slezak

New York University Drew Dawson Gordon Evans Tyler Warren

North Carolina

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Cameron Breck

North Dakota

University of Mary Aaron Gold

Colombia College Chicago Katherin Kiehfuss Gabby McNell

Indiana

DePauw University Mary Leonard

Indiana University Dixon Aguero Alexander Barnet Brendan Winters

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Kate Garrison

Maryland Johns Hopkins University Leah Jun Timothy Peterson

University of Maryland, College Park Amanda Trusheim

Massachusetts

Berklee College of Music Matthew Michna

Boston College Trevor Foehr Brendan Shepard

Elias Haddad

Massachusetts College of Art & Design

Ohio

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Alexander Cooke Cole Dosker

Northeastern University

Oregon

Alice Sowa

Audrey Gaither

Leif Carlson Inaara Lalji

Michigan

University of Michigan Brenna Bunch Cameron Ely Lucas Faudman Filip Platek Zach Morris

Minnesota

Carleton College Matt Stecklow

Missouri

Washington University in St. Louis Abby Rodler

Montana

Miami University

University of Oregon Kate Badertscher Augustine Buddie Vanessa Clare Grace Epstein Ella Flax Ava Hagen Thomas St. John Lily Lauterman Kellie Lawler Mya Miller Chloe Mowbray Gabe Stephens Jennifer Thompson William Thornton Grace Walker

University of Portland Katelyn Peoples

Emerson College

New Hampshire

Catherine Gotz Austin Stengle

Harvard University

Glennis Murphy

Darien Strickler

Garet Jatsek

James Conant Caroline Noble

Dartmouth College

Western Washington University Estelle Ronayne

University of Washington Cameron Chao Jason Fieber Andrew Hout Raymond Reis Alyssa Wolfe

Washington D.C. American University Tezel Byrnes

Georgetown University Jack Elders Heidi Roenisch

Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin-Madison Samantha Dyer Zane Feldman-Isaksen Claire Joyner Andrew Lupario Hanna Sweet

Military

Larison Bluto Alejandero Socarras Peter Cline

Gap Year

Colton Carlson Collin Hackett Robert McInnis Colin McLean

Prep Year

Chris Kress Tiago Schwartz

International

American University of Paris

Nicolas Desarnauts

Jennifer Kieffer

University of Montana

Ryan Schoenlein

Drexel University

Sergio Martin

Sarah Kimball

Gabriel Mosse Francesca Padilla Pearl Zhong

Gonzaga University

Dickinson College

William Lewis

Boston University

Henry Tantum

Frances Darden Ashton Finegold Mary Winnick

Pennsylvania

Mariam Kamal Moustafa Nikos Melendy

Carroll College

Middlebury College

Franklin & Marshall College University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh

ESSEC Business School (France) University of British Columbia Gracy Buckholtz

University of St. Andrews Elliot King Julia Waddington

McGill University Alazais Walters

University of Calgary Aisling Ogilvie

Uppsala University Disa Johansson

bark

Page 14 • Feature

May 26, 2017

Reviewing the Decisions: Class of 2017

Above, from left to right: The first pie chart depicts the percent of students going to college in-state and out-of-state. The second chart shows the amount of regular applications versus early applications. The last chart describes the results of the total amount of submitted applications to all colleges

Data was provided by the Naviance Senior Survey through the College and Career Center. Seniors were able to opt out of sharing their postgraduation plans with the Bark.

Post-graduation breakdown

Four-year college 88.7%

Two-year college 8.8%

Other 2.5%

UCs vs. CSUs: Through the Years

Graphics by Christine Watridge

review

Page 15

Summer of Love exhibit amuses with vibrant relics

By Shannon Donelan Tie-dye, protests, hippies and LSD: those might be some of the first things that come to mind when you think of the Summer of Love. Based in the San Francisco area, specifically the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the Summer of Love occurred during the summer of 1967.

A new exhibit at the de Young Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Summer of Love exhibit contains roomfuls of artifacts from the era to engage and inform every age group. The de Young Museum, located in Golden Gate Park, is offering the multi-room exhibit until Aug. 20, and is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. At the low student price of $10, you can experience the exhibit’s multitude of rooms filled with cultural artifacts, interactive exhibits and light shows that give insight into an era characterized by bright colors, free love and free spirits.

More than 300 artifacts make up the exhibit, and visitors can decide the length of their trips in the moment which is a major plus, allowing people to focus on the aspects of the exhibit they like most. My favorite object was a jacket from the era covered in pins with different slogans like “Nixon Agnew” and “Welcome our heroes home,” referring to the Vietnam War. Afterward, I scoured the gift shop to find some pins of my own.

Some especially popular artifacts were the embroidered hospital scrubs. When a group of young people had a bad drug experience and were hospitalized, they tried to make the sterile hospital match the colorfulness occurring outside the walls, accurately representing the carefree spirit I love about the era. I enjoyed these specific artifacts because they connected into my background knowledge of the era from history class this year.

The bright, colored posters on many exhibit walls showcase the musical conquests of famous artists such as Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley and Victor Moscoso. The Grateful Dead and peace signs were also common objects seen all around the rooms. The posters were one of the most enjoyable aspects of the exhibit for me because I could envision them on a teenager’s bedroom walls today,

Photo by Shannon Donelan

DISPLAYING POPULAR PINS from the era, the de Young demonstrates the philosophy of the Summer of Love in the SF Haight-Ashbury during the 1960s with several colorful artifacts from the era. despite the gaping years between their creation and now.

Walking through the exhibit, brilliant colors popped out everywhere along with some psychedelic lighting that enhanced the cultural feel of the era which many experience while on LSD. Alongside the lights shows and posters, the catchy music played a key part to creating the atmosphere.

My favorite aspect of the exhibit was the distinct clothing displayed from the time period, giving a tangible feel to

the era. The knitting, tie-dye, embroidery and repurposed denim set this era apart and gave it a unique look.

The Summer of Love exhibit perfectly captures the infamous time with something for everyone. Pins, posters, artifacts and lighting create an unforgettable exhibit that will bring visitors back in time. sdonelan@redwoodbark.org

Lamar simultaneously impresses and dissapoints fans in long-awaited ‘DAMN.’

By Hayden Blum Kendrick Lamar’s new album, “DAMN.” places him in uncharted territory as a hip-hop superstar. While he has long been heralded as the best rapper alive, he never dominated the billboard chart. Then “HUMBLE” dropped. And the streams for “DAMN.” were released. Now Kendrick is not only the best rapper alive, but also the most popular hip-hop artist of 2017, even more so than the billboard juggernaut that is Drake.

While “DAMN.” is an impressive hiphop feat, it still somehow disappoints.

Maybe fans have been spoiled by Kendrick’s past two albums, which have undoubtedly been some of the best in rap history. And thanks to false rumors of a second surprise album that were swirling around release weekend, not everyone was content with the project at hand.

That is the trouble with Kendrick Lamar.

The bar has been set so astronomically high, it may have been impossible for him to impress fans with his newest album.

Kendrick’s first standout album, “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” (GKMC) was one of the best narrative-based rap albums of all time and his follow up project “To Pimp A Butterfly” (TPAB) utilized sounds and influences like no album before it, all while giving the Black community a voice at such a divisive time in America. “DAMN.” simply doesn’t live up to this greatness.

Kendrick begins “DAMN.” hurt and on the defensive, specifically against Geraldo Rivera and Fox News. He samples a clip from a newscast where Rivera, referring to Kendrick’s controversial BET award performance, says, “... this is why I say that hip hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years.” While Kendrick is able to dissect

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

SHOWCASING KENDRICK LAMAR’S spectacular ability to add nuance to rap music, “DAMN.” topped all first-week record sales of 2017. and obliterate these critics with ease, this is really nothing new. Kendrick touched on these race-related topics constantly on “TPAB” and his perspective hasn’t changed significantly since then. While it is obvious that race relations haven’t settled since “TPAB”, Kendrick needs to find a new angle if he is going to touch on the same issues he speaks on so often.

While “TPAB” was critically acclaimed and a Grammy winner, it was not as well received by mainstream fans. The jazzy and experimental sound lacked the replay value of the albums before it. On “DAMN.”, Kendrick brings back the mainstream hiphop styles such as the boom-bap sound on “DUCKWORTH” and “FEAR”. He shows trap influence on the hits “HUMBLE” and “DNA”. He also ventures into the R&B

realm with “LOYALTY (feat. Rihanna),” “LOVE (feat. Zacari)” and “GOD.” This is new for Kendrick as he is not by any means known for his singing ability, most often praised for his outstanding lyricism, flow and delivery.

But while these tracks aren’t unlistenable, they are nothing special in a time where moody R&B is quite mainstream. In fact, Kendrick is outshined by his featured artists on both “LOYALTY” and “LOVE”. It is clear that Kendrick is not a seasoned R&B artist and while he doesn’t need to stay away from these sounds, it is not where his talents are best utilized.

Kendrick is at his best when he works in two different sounds: the hard-hitting banger where he proves his technical ability is above that of any other Emcee

(see “HUMBLE” and “DNA”) and on story-based tracks where Kendrick profoundly and adeptly speaks about his past and expresses emotion like no other (see. “DUCKWORTH”).

The main issue with “DAMN.” is the lack of the latter. Songs from Lamar’s discography such as “The Art of Peer Pressure”, “Good Kid”, “How Much a Dollar Cost” and “The Blacker the Berry” are the reason he is seen as such a revolutionary talent.

But, Kendrick strayed away from this style for the most part on “DAMN.”.

While it could be seen as admirable and innovative to try a new style and not make the same song over and over, these storytelling tracks are hailed as classics for a reason and Kendrick should not have strayed away from what brought him such success.“DAMN.” is undoubtedly the best rap album of 2017 and one of the best of the decade, but somehow it is still only the bronze medal in Kendrick’s discography, even though it is his best-selling project to date. This is the curse of being the greatest rapper alive.

While it may have been impossible for Kendrick to fully meet expectations on this project and while there is no bad song on the album, it somehow is still a disappointment because it feels that he has not upped the ante. On “DAMN.”, Kendrick flexes his muscles once again and shows that he is the best out by a longshot.

However, he is no longer being compared to his contemporaries, but instead the all-time legends, such as Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac. And to compete with this company, Kendrick must do more.

Great just isn’t good enough. hblum@redwoodbark.org

bark

Page 16 • Review

May 26, 2017

Tamal delivers delicious, pricey Mexican cuisine to Fairfax

By Caroline Cummings Marin’s new Mexican restaurant Tamal made it clear that it was not a restaurant for teenagers the minute a friend and I walked through the doors clad in shorts and tank tops. The look of bewilderment on the host’s face as he realized we wanted to eat dinner illustrated the more high-end atmosphere of the restaurant. That being said, while this initial awkward encounter may have created an uncomfortable few moments, Tamal did not disappoint.

Located in downtown Fairfax, Tamal offers a modern take on Mexican cuisine.

With minimalistic decor—just a few Mexican textiles hanging on the white walls around the restaurant—Tamal provided an alternative to the typical bright lights and colors seen in Marin’s other Mexican restaurants.

Once past the initial patronization from the host, Tamal proved to be a great experience. Although the Mexican music playing throughout the restaurant was slightly too loud, making it hard to hear the person sitting directly across from you, it was still enjoyable. The open windows looking out into the center of downtown Fairfax let the fresh air and sunlight stream into the restaurant.

The food was delicious as well. The starter course of house-made chips with guacamole and three salsas for $9.50 was a great way to begin the meal. The chips were thick and crunchy and tasted as if they had just left the oven. They paired well with the generous serving of guacamole, which was thick, creamy and flavorful. The three salsas did not disappoint, offering a variety of different flavors and levels of spice.

The habanero salsa was flavorful with minimum spice, while the salsa oaxaquena supplied a spicier alternative with the same chunky consistency. The tomatillo green salsa with avocado was delicious as well, although it was a bit too watery to eat with the chips.

Photo by Caroline Cummings

FILLED WITH STEAK, lettuce and cilantro, the tacos de carne asada offer a fresh taste and delicious flavor, although they are pricey for teenagers at a cost of $15 for three tacos.

Although the main courses came to our table at different times, that was made up for with their quick delivery and high quality. I ordered the tacos de carne asada, which proved to be a great choice. The meat was juicy, and the shredded lettuce and cabbage added a nice contrast with their crunchy texture. As with the guacamole and salsa, a strong taste of cilantro stood out and gave a fresh flavor to the tacos. The housemade tortillas tasted authentic, and their soft consistency paired ideally with the steak and lettuce.

While this meal was tasty, it is important to consider the price. Three small tacos cost $15, and a simple meal of two small bowls

of rice and beans with three tortillas was $12. This is often not a great price range for teenagers, which is again why Tamal would be a much better option for families or adults who are willing to pay slightly higher prices for quality food. The servers were very attentive, frequently checking in and refilling our waters. The wall to the kitchen was open to the seating area, offering a view of the food being cooked, which I always find to be a plus.

In terms of the room available, on a Saturday night around 6 p.m., it was about half full and we were immediately seated with a choice of locations: either a booth, a table or on stools at a bar. Although it is

not ready yet, an outdoor space is being added at the back of the restaurant that is even expected to include a fire pit, making it a great location to eat on a nice spring or summer evening.

Tamal exceeded my expectations in regard to the quality of food and the atmosphere. While it is important to keep in mind that it is not necessarily a great restaurant for teenagers in terms of price or atmosphere, Tamal successfully offered a more modern take on Mexican cuisine, effectively combining high quality food with a simple and understated ambiance. ccummings@redwoodbark.org

Adaptation of satirical novel does not come full circle

By Julia Jacoby “We are not meant to know everything, Mae. Did you ever think that perhaps our minds are delicately calibrated between the known and the unknown? That our souls need the mysteries of night and the clarity of day?” said Mercer, the seemingly paranoid ex-boyfriend of protagonist Mae Holland in Dave Eggers’ satirical novel, “The Circle.” The purpose of this quote and, to a larger extent, the novel, is to portray an exaggerated dystopia under the tyranny of social media where privacy has become a nightmare of the past.

In this world, secrecy is the equivalent of robbery, and all information and experiences are possessions to which everyone is the heir apparent. This novel begs the questions: Who gets to control the flow of information? What are the dangers of a watched society? In a world where everyone’s information is readily accessible, to what extent are people entitled to the secrets of others?

These are the exact questions the cinematic adaptation of the novel completely undermines. While reading “The Circle,” the only reason I didn’t finish the entire book in one sitting was because I had to stop and take AP-Comp mandated annotations. Walking into the theater for the film adaptation, I was excited to see how the book would translate into a movie, but 110 minutes later, I found myself both frustrated and disappointed.

The ambition in this attempt at a transformation of a literary satire into a comparable movie is admirable. However, the movie is sloppily organized, and overlooks the nuances that are so crucial to the progression of the novel. Lacking the direct insight into a character’s

Photo courtesy of STX Entertainment

WORKING AS A low-level costumer service employee, Mae Holland (Emma Watson) starts her time at The Circle, a company that diminshes all forms of privacy. thoughts that books are able to capture, the movie needed to incorporate a human element into its characters to maximize the emotional impact on the audience. While the movie did show us some of the potential detriments of a world where everyone can see everything—a broadcasted handjob between Mae’s mother and sick father, a man driven off of a cliff—these are portrayed so superficially and without explanation that they provoke little to no emotional reaction. This prevents the movie from legitimizing the hazards about which it’s trying to warn us by showing us the potential chaos of a world that condemns privacy.

Instead, Emma Watson’s performance of Mae, the young go-getter who lands a low-level job at The Circle, a company

modeled after large technology companies like Facebook and Google, is flat and uninspired. Watson’s acting gives her character little depth or personality besides her blatant naivete and strange affinity for kayaking. This makes Mae’s indoctrination into the dystopian ideals of The Circle almost entirely indiscernible to the audience. In the book, Mae is the figurehead for the destructive philosophies of The Circle, the pinnacle of which being “transparency,” by wearing a camera at all times for the viewing pleasure of millions.

The movie fails to capture the way Mae willingly submerges herself into The Circle.

The messy progression of the movie’s plot is especially disappointing considering Eggers collaborated with the director, James Ponsoldt, on the screenplay. The

movie is fragmented, randomly introducing characters and splicing scenes together. For example, Ty, the brilliant mind behind The Circle’s revolutionary technology, is not Mae’s enigmatic love interest as described in the novel. In the movie, the relationship between the two is never given any depth, only explaining their attraction through a clichéd scene of Mae looking dreamily out of a window. Ty’s character, played by John Boyega, is reconfigured so his purpose in the narrative is unclear. He randomly appears to warn Mae of The Circle’s power on their second encounter (she does not even know his name at this point), which was dumbfounding and nonsensical, considering that main thematic crises don’t usually happen so early in movies.

Not only is the movie’s message blurry, but it’s also oversimplified and at times contradictory. In one scene, Mae is pledging “transparency” and using it to expose the wrongdoings of the company’s other two leaders, and in the next, she is smiling at a drone watching her as she kayaks. In the novel, Mae is not our heroine, but instead a symbol of the control that technology has over our lives. In the movie, we see a glimpse of rebellion in Mae, then immediately after, total submission to The Circle.

The movie transitions from scene to scene so hastily that when the credits rolled, I found myself wondering how I spent nearly two hours in the theater while still feeling like the movie was incomplete.

However, I must admit the movie was successful ideologically in one way: after watching, I disagree with motto of The Circle in that maybe we don’t need to see just everything. jjacoby@redwoodbark.org

bark Beauty in the Bay: exploring the best trails in Marin Page 17 • Review

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By Kaelin Kragh As the spring returns, and the sun reappears, so does the incentive to get outside and explore. One of the easiest to enjoy Marin’s beautiful landscapes and weather is to hike. The Bark ventured off on the trails in order to find the best hiking spots in Marin.

Mount Tamalpais (Mill Valley) Mount Tamalpais is arguably one of the most iconic hiking locations in Marin County. Its breathtaking panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay are only part of the reason why it is considered the best hiking location in our community. The mountain is made up of several routes that accommodate the levels of all hikers– beginner to advanced. The length of the trails range from one to seven miles. From Mount Tamalpais’ 2571-foot peak, you can see a range of views including the Farallon Islands, Marin County suburbs and Mount Diablo. Its serene atmosphere at the top of the mountain is the perfect place to relieve any stress while admiring the true beauty of the county we live in. In addition to hiking, Mount Tam can serve any activity your average, outdoorsy Marinite would be intrigued by: from picnicking, to mountain biking, to just taking in the stunning views. If you’re interested in hikes with sights so beautiful that they almost don’t seem real, then Mount Tam is the place to hike. Considering Mount Tam is a Marin County landmark, weekends are congested with rowdy teens and obnoxious tourists. However, there are trails and lookouts at Bolinas Ridge where you can find seclusion.

Ring Mountain (Corte Madera) Although it may not be as prominent of a location as Mount Tam, Ring Mountain is the perfect trail for beginning hikers. The terrain is mostly uphill causing occasional segments of difficulty. The trail has a breathtaking view of the San Francisco Bay, distracting your mind from feeling out of shape. The unique geology and proximity to water of Ring Mountain provide a home for an abundance of flowers going through their spring bloom.

An aspect that makes Ring Mountain especially unique is Petroglyph Rock, which is near the peak of the small mountain and is adorned with rock carvings from Native American tribes. The entire two-mile route takes approximately 90 minutes, but there are various short cuts that most people take. It’s a perfect neighborhood hiking spot, as parents walking dogs or kids going on mountain bike rides tend to be seen at Ring Mountain.

Due to the neighborhood closeby, it isn’t the hiking spot to go to if you’re looking for peace and quiet.

Photo by Kaelin Kragh

OVERLOOKING THE SAN Francisco Bay, Ring Mountain offers beautiful views and landscape and is more suited for beginning hikers.

Phoenix Lake (Ross)

Tennessee Valley (Mill Valley) The Tennessee Valley Trail is mostly level, providing a relatively easy hike that’s great for all hiker levels. The hike itself is 3.4 miles to Tennessee Beach and back. For more skilled hikers, however, there are a number of other trails that guide you to the breathtaking views above the valley.

Tennessee Valley is better suited for picnic hikes, where you can relax on the beach taking in the beautiful scenery of the ocean. Although the 30-minute hike to the beach may not wow you, once you get closer to shore you can smell the salt water and feel the breeze against your cheek. This location is definitely more of a destination hike, as opposed to a scenic route. The hike is a bit strenuous to reach a view that’s nice to look at for all of about five minutes before you’re ready to turn back. Due to its location near downtown Mill Valley, it’s a fairly crowded trail. Unless you’re hiking near sunset, this trail tends to be congested with tourists. If you’re looking for a place to get away from reality, this would not be the spot to venture off to.

Phoenix Lake Trail is a 2.8-mile trail located in the heart of Ross, and loops around Phoenix Lake. Primarily a flat stroll, this hike is suitable for any hiker. Due to its extensive land and routes, there isn’t much hiking traffic.

Phoenix Lake is one of the most peaceful hikes in Marin County. Besides the faint chirps of birds permeating through the air, the atmosphere is peaceful and serene. For all you dogs lovers, dogs are also allowed on this trail. It’s a great place for a family hike or bike ride with small children.

The trails lead to the beautiful lake, with gentle slopes and short distances that are manageable by most. However, parking spots are limited, so Phoenix Lake is hard to access on weekends and after school.

There are also numerous more challenging trails accessible from Phoenix Lake that can accommodate the more adventurous hikers or mountain bikers. kkragh@redwoodbark.org

Chart-topping Chainsmokers album proves unmemorable

By Jordan Overmyer The recently released debut album of the Chainsmokers, “Memories…Do Not Open,” wasn’t particularly memorable, but that hasn’t stopped the album from already hitting number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts after being released for one month.

However, the album brought nothing new to the table, as it lacked a unique sound and instead just resembled some of their past songs like “Closer” and “Don’t Let Me Down” through their synthesized beat drops that break the melodic hooks.

Leading up to the release of the full album, they dropped three singles that quickly rose to the top of the charts. The most popular and arguably the best song on the album, “Something Just Like This” hit number three on Billboard’s Singles charts, a very notable placement. The success of these singles generated a great deal of buzz, played nonstop on the radio, and flashed promise that there were new cutting edge sounds to come with their first album.

However, the failure of the album to live up to its anticipated greatness made the album as a whole seem as if it missed the mark. The album lacked variety and some songs appeared to be choppy.

The Chainsmokers’ signature upbeat electronic melodies were woven into all of the songs and contrasted with smooth piano and guitar chords. The duo played with the build up of riffs, integration of calm pauses

Photo courtesy of Simp4live Records

OFFERING LITTLE MORE than interesting collabs and repetitive lyrics, “Memories...

Do Not Open” fails to translate catchy songs into a cohesive album. and a more conversational style.

At first, all of the songs seemed to blend together into one long ballad, but after listening to every song individually, a subtle unique rhythm and melody can slowly be distinguished from each one.

Taggart and Paul took a step back from their usual chaotic trap beat drops, and approached the album with simple instrumental drops that resembled a more rock and alternative style. The voice of

the songs appear to be nonchalant, parallel to a teenager’s casual speaking tone. At the beginning and end of songs such as “Honest” and “Don’t Say” are sound strips that display more of their own casual and fun side through the dialogues, but felt pointless to me and often I found myself skipping through.

Most of the songs are written about the ups and downs of young relationships.

Although the rhythm is upbeat, the lyrics

speak to teens as they often talk about struggles and the negatives of love through blunt lyrics.

“And there’s this girl, she wants me to take her home. She don’t really love me though, I’m just on the radio,” sings Taggart in “Honest.”

The impressive list of guest vocalists, including Emily Warren, Jhené Aiko, Florida Georgia Line, Louane and Coldplay, helps bring variety and range to the album.

Jhené Aiko leads in “Wake Up Alone,” a song about how it’s hard to find real love once you’re famous. It has deep undertone pulse that keeps a steady beat. The chorus consists of only three words: “Wake up alone.” This is just one of many of their songs that have oversimplified and basic lyrics, which is why this album caters to a younger audience: a phrase can only be repeated so many times until it becomes excessive.

The most popular song on the album is the collab with Coldplay in “Something Just like This.” Coldplay is known for their alternative rock sounds. The bands combined the two mediums into a hybrid alternative, electronic song that blended perfectly turning into a magnificent collab.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to each song as a catchy soundtrack. But for their debut album, they failed to translate the success of their singles into an album. jordan.overmyer@redwoodbark.org

lifestyles

page 18

Alternative ‘pathways’ offer seniors real-world experience

By China Granger Last year, as a Redwood junior, Carly Ball realized that despite being at school seven hours a day, five days a week and with the same students, she rarely felt comfortable enough to learn. Ball realized that for her, a traditional school setting was not conducive to learning. She couldn’t spend her last year of high school in the same desks, the same hallways, the same school she had attended the last three years.

“I’ve never really been happy at Redwood,” Ball said. “As a junior I knew that I was either going to have to transfer schools or find some alternative program.”

And Ball found that program. She applied for Pathways, an alternative schooling program offered by Tamiscal to seniors from across the school district.

The program allows 22 students to customize their classes and schedules to fit their individual needs and interests.

The Pathways program, run by Lead Coordinator Alyssa Callahan, was created six years ago by former Tamalpais High School Vice Principal and San Andreas English teacher Candace Curtis to enable seniors to pursue their passions while still having access to supportive networks within a classroom environment.

“It’s not just to push kids toward college. It’s to push them to start thinking about their future life after high school,” Curtis said.

Since its creation, the program has almost doubled in size. Last year, 22 students from across the district were selected through a stratified lottery system of around 60 applicants.

“I was determined to make senior year something that I was going to enjoy,” Ball said. “I’m definitely a lot happier doing this program because I get to study things I want to study.”

After three years in a traditional high school setting, Ball knew she would be more successful in an alternative program.

“I know that I would be having troubles at Redwood and I probably would be having trouble graduating. I definitely wouldn’t be as happy,” Ball said. “Personally, I don’t totally like to think about where I’d be without this program.”

Pathways senior and former Redwood student Isabel Rauchle said that although she could have stayed at Redwood, Pathways seemed like a better option.

“I can do really well just sitting listening to a lecture and everything. I can do it, [but] I just got bored of it,” Rauchle said.

Photo by China Granger

EARNING A YEAR’S worth of college credit through Pathways, Rauchle will attend UC Santa Barbara next year.

Rauchle joined the program not only to move away from traditional schooling, but also to align her classes with her interests.

“I know I’m really interested in psychology and I know I want to go down that route. It was nice to be able to take a whole bunch of psych classes at once, rather than only being able to take one a semester,” Rauchle said.

Similar to Ball, Rauchle said another reason the Pathways model appealed to her was because she tired of typical school days and was attracted to the flexibility the Pathways model offered.

“By the time junior year came around, sitting in the same class every day at the same time just drove me nuts,” Rauchle said. “If I took snippets of my life, it would literally be the exact same from freshman year until now, like, ‘Wake up, sit in the classroom, eat lunch, sit in the classroom, go home, do homework, go to bed.’”

The Pathways program generally consists of three parts: the Pathways class, additional classes at College of Marin (COM) and an internship.

On Tuesday afternoons, Thursday afternoons and all day Friday, the program’s 22 students attend the Pathways class at San Andreas and taught by Callahan. The class is a combination of English and Social Studies and is designed to fulfill all graduation requirements for seniors.

According to Callahan, the small studentteacher ratio allows her to better support her students.

“Students get so much more of my time dedicated to them that I’m really able to support them in every aspect of their College of Marin classes, internship and high school and I feel so much more successful because I have the time to do that,” Callahan said.

Besides blocks of class time on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Pathways students are available to schedule COM classes and internships for themselves.

“You can really shape your schedule the way you want to,” Ball said. “I had a lot of afternoons that were open and I was able to work around my work schedule, since I also have a job.”

According to Callahan, Pathways Carly Ball, has an understanding senior with COM that allows students to take up to 12 units, which amounts to three or four college courses, and also gives them priority when choosing classes.

According to Ball, the program as a whole has helped her become more independent.

“Teachers are checking up on you, but it’s really up to you to follow through and be responsible and to get your work done on time to be doing well in your COM classes,” Ball said.

The Pathways program allows students to access varying amounts of teacher assistance on their work, which was by design.

“Those students who struggle in school or are turned off by school, they get a lot of individualized support in order to be successful. They get sort of their hand held,” Curtis said. “At the same time, those kids who are just straight-A students and they’re ready to be in college, they’re done with high school, they can really fly.

Because of the ability to individualize [Pathways], it can work for any kid.”

Course loads in the program can vary greatly depending on what kind of a

Photo by China Granger

JOINING PATHWAYS BECAUSE she wanted a different learning experience, Carly Ball was able to intern with the Canal Alliance and organize a gap year trip to Ecuador. schedule individual students want to take on. Students can take as few as one COM class and work at an internship for six hours a week, or choose to work twice the amount of time at their internship and take as many as four COM classes.

This year, Rauchle’s rigorous COM schedule has included multiple biology and psychology classes. Rauchle plans to attend University of California, Santa Barbara this fall having already completed almost a full year of college her senior year. “[Rauchle] needed me in the very beginning, but I would say really quickly she just got a grasp for what she needed to do. She was really comfortable going after it on her own and didn’t necessarily need the supportive structure,” Callahan said.

For the internship component of the program, students are able to spend anywhere from six to 12 hours a week at an internship that typically changes each semester.

Some Pathways students, like Rauchle, choose to align the classes they take at COM with the field of their internship, while others take classes and internships in many different areas to explore different fields they might be interested in.

Aside from her classes at COM, and Rauchle also did an internship at Center Point, Inc., which provides comprehensive housing and rehabilitation services to combat substance abuse and poverty.She was able to sit in on counseling sessions and take notes.

Based on that experience, Rauchle decided to take Drugs and Behavior and Modern Social Problems the following semester.

Ball took an internship as a kindergarten assistant, but realized it was not her calling.

“I was always interested in early childhood education, which now I realize is definitely not the way I want to go,” said

Personally, I don’t like to think about where I’d be without this program.

Ball, realizing as a result of the internship the amount of energy and patience the job demanded.

Ball spent her second semester as an intern for the Canal Alliance managing case files and also worked in a program aiming to motivate and enable Latino students to pursue higher education.

“I work with eighth graders so they’re a little older, they’re more mature. I enjoy that because I get to joke around with them,” Ball said.

Through this internship, Ball was able to organize a gap year trip to Ecuador through people she met during her time there. According to Ball, her experiences in the program and the ability to have a paying job outside of school have enabled to take this gap year.

“If I had stayed at Redwood, I probably would have gone straight to a fouryear college just because gap years are expensive,” Ball said.

In comparison with Rauchel’s experience at Redwood, the small class size allows Pathways students to build better relationships with their peers.

“I was always kind of shy in my classes at Redwood, so I would finish the year sometimes still not knowing people’s names,” Rauchle said. “Now I know everyone from Pathways. I know their stories.”

Students are also able to take regular high school classes at their previous school.

According to Callahan, the Pathways program tries to allow students to maintain a connection with their previous school, by allowing them to participate in high school sports and attend events like school dances.

Unlike Ball, who decided to only attend the small ceremony for Pathways students, Rauchle will walk at Redwood graduation.

According to Callahan, she is able to clearly see how her Pathways students grow over the course of the year.

One huge benefit of the program is that they graduate feeling much more comfortable about themselves and much more confident about what they’re individually capable of doing,” Callahan said. cgranger@redwoodbark.org

Page 19 • Lifestyles

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Senior follows in sister’s footsteps on the Pacific Crest Trail

By Gemma Calandra Long days, sore feet, heavy backpacks—this is what awaits those who attempt the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)— as well as beautiful views, new friendships, self-discovery and the adventure of a lifetime. This combination proved irresistible to senior Robert McInnis, who plans to hike the trail in its entirety in the spring of 2018 after being inspired by his sister, Redwood Class of 2014 alum Julia McInnis.

The PCT spans 2,659 miles of the West Coast between Mexico and Canada and takes the average backpacker between four and five and a half months to complete, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association website.

The idea to hike the trail first started forming after Robert joined Julia on the first three days of her trek in the summer of 2015. She completed the section of the PCT between Echo Lake (near Lake Tahoe) and Canada with her friend Rachel Urban.

“I saw my sister do it, and it looked super fun and like a cool experience,” Robert said.

Though the first few days were tough, according to Julia, she enjoyed her brother’s company and is excited that he will also be hiking the PCT. “The first few days were such a slap in the face,” Julia said. “I was stoked, though, that my brother came. He’s way cooler than me in every way, so it was fun to have him out there.”

According to Robert, he has experience backpacking, including in high altitude in Colorado, and does not plan to train specifically for the PCT. However, the physical component of the trek is a challenge for everyone, according to Julia.

“You can be the fittest person ever and when you get out there, your body just goes into utter shock,” Julia said.

“I live a really active lifestyle, but nothing is the same, nothing can train you for carrying a 23-pound pack and hiking over a marathon a day.”

As PCT veterans frequently comment on the connections they make to other hikers during their journey, Robert said he is looking forward to meeting new people while on the trail.

The social aspect of the PCT was one of Julia’s favorite

Photo Courtesy of Robert McInnis

BACKPACKING WITH JACK Harper last year, Robert McInnis enjoys the views near Lake Tahoe. Though Robert does not plan to train specifically for the PCT, he has experience backpacking in various other areas such as Desolation Wilderness. parts of her hike. In fact, she hiked with a few people she met for several hundred miles of the trail.

“It’s a really special group of people that go out there.

No one can really understand the hilarious and crazy moments that you experience [on the trail] unless you’re doing it,” Julia said.

Julia would advise future PCT hikers to make sure they are informed about the trail before they begin, as they are capable of putting not only themselves but other hikers in danger. However, she also wanted to encourage fun and positivity.

Though she faced some criticism, she said she remained confident and tried not to let it get to her.

“Along the way, I got a lot of comments like, ‘Oh, you’re out here alone as a girl, do you have a gun?’ and all that kind of bullshit,” Julia said. “You’re going out there

to hike it for yourself and in the end you’re all hiking the same trail north, so it doesn’t matter how you get there or how fast you go.”

According to Robert, he is looking forward to spending time in the wilderness and to the spontaneity of the trail.

“I’m [excited for] the adventure of something different every day, not really knowing where you’re going to stay, or where you’re going to eat, you just go,” Robert said.

Julia was not surprised that Robert wanted to hike the PCT, and said she is pleased with his decision.

“He would not only be great out there, but I think that the trail would be really great for him,” Julia said. “Every person goes out there for their own reasons and everyone walks away from it with something different.” gcalandra@redwoodbark.org

Diverse destinations in sight for gap year seniors

By Pearl Zhong Most seniors at Redwood follow a typical direction in their senior year— applying for college, anticipating admissions decisions and ultimately attending a new school for the next four years. While this may be the conventional path, seniors Grace Garcia and Collin Hackett are paving an alternate route by choosing to embark on gap years instead.

Grace Garcia Garcia has been devoted to special needs students from the moment she stepped foot into Room 175. Thus, she will be spending her gap year right here at Redwood. Since the beginning of this year, Garcia has been a teaching assistant for the special education department. However, her work ethic and dedication to the program landed her a job offer that would allow her to work full time at Redwood next year as a one-on-one assistant.

“These kids, they’re teenagers. You can relate to them just like anyone else. I think that they’re really underappreciated here, and I think they are the most amazing people you’ll ever meet in your entire life, and people don’t see that. It makes me really frustrated because people in the hallways will look, or point, or stare or make comments. I just really want to change that,” Garcia said.

Garcia has especially developed a strong relationship with Nick, a freshman in the department. She spends time with Nick at school, assisting him in schoolwork and other activities. In addition, Garcia also had the opportunity to fill in for one of Nick’s caretakers during ski week, spending eight hours with him daily.

“Nick and I had connected more than anyone else. It was just like hanging out with anyone else, and I loved it,” Garcia said with a smile.

In addition to the full-time job, Garcia will live independently in a small studio apartment in Corte Madera. She will also take courses at College of Marin to work towards a teaching credential.

“College isn’t the right thing for me

Heard in the halls:

“Pack your bags, we’re going to Jamba Juice.”

- Freshman, Gym “My teacher just went on fraternity leave.”

-Junior, English hall “Is Alzheimer’s contagious?”

- Senior, Science hall Photo by Pearl Zhong

WORKING WITH NICK, a special needs student, senior Grace Garcia plans to spend a gap year as a one-on-one assistant in Redwood’s special education department. right now. I would just end up getting overwhelmed, not doing well, dropping out and not having a plan. But right now, I have a plan,” Garcia said.

Collin Hackett Starting in September, Hackett, along with 11 other students from around the world, will embark on a three-month expedition through China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. At each destination, the group will participate in various events and philanthropic activities.

In China, he will have to opportunity to sightsee in popular cities and camp on the Great Wall. Hackett and his group will also be teaching English to students attending school in rural villages, where Western exposure is very limited. In Cambodia, Hackett will help build and assemble water filters that will be provided to villages without access to safe drinking water. In Vietnam, he plans to assist in providing aid to children who are affected by perpetual health conditions due to their parents’

exposure to Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide used during the Vietnam War. This three-month, adventure-packed trek is just what Hackett was searching for.

“I think I need to take some time off and have an adventure, whereas this might be my only opportunity to do that, because once I start working I won’t be able to do that, and once I go to college it will be even harder. I figured it’s the perfect time to do so,” Hackett said.

Hackett lived in Japan for three years and has been to China, so he isn’t concerned about the initial culture shock that many experience. However, Hackett believes that being across the world from his family could be difficult.

In the future, Hackett will either spend the second half of his gap year living with relatives in Sweden or Ireland, or his family friend in Japan. In the fall of 2018, Hackett will enroll at Orange Coast College to pursue a career in aviation. pzhong@redwoodbark.org

“I need to go back to the library. I’m sweating.”

- Senior, South Lawn “What’s boba? I bet it’s another drug.”

- Teacher, hallway “USD is such a country club.”

- Senior, History hall “How do I let this senior know I don’t want to hook up?”

-Sophomore, Prom

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Page 20 • Lifestyles

May 26, 2017

TATT’D UP: SENIORS SHARE THEIR INK

By Eric Ahern

“Health, holiness and happiness.” - Rosie Jennings On her foot, senior Rosie Jennings has a small wave composed of three cursive H’s that stand for her grandfather’s iconic saying: “Health, holiness and happiness.”

“It says wow if you look at it upside down.” - Cosmo Taylor Senior Cosmo Taylor has “Mom” inked on his thigh with a crown tattooed above the writing to show support for his mother as she was going through breast cancer treatment.

“Home is where the heart is.” - Lucas Addleman Senior Lucas Addleman has a tattoo representing the Bay Area on his forearm, a design he came up with himself to honor the beauty of Marin and San Francisco.

“I’m really impulsive.” - Sydney Abrams Senior Sydney Abrams got a tattoo of a small heart on her wrist on a whim, although she had been thinking about it since freshman year. eahern@redwoodbark.org

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Page 21

Junior ranked first in the nation for the 3000 meters

By Carolyn French As junior Gillian Wagner crosses the finish line at any of her track meets, her teammates and spectators go wild.

She is congratulated as she walks away with a first place title, but a first-place finish is not an anomaly in her running career.

Wagner has been running as a varsity athlete on both the cross country and track team since her freshman year, but reached a milestone at the Stanford Invitational meet on April 1, where she placed first in the 3000-meter race with a time of 9:58, the fastest time in the nation for high school runners in the 3000 meter.

The Stanford Invitational was the first time Wagner competed in a 3000-meter race. However, this unfamiliarity with a new distance didn’t stop her from entering the race with enthusiasm and confidence.

“I was put in the race so I knew I had to run fast, and I had a good cross country season so you could say [that] inspired me to do well in the longer track events. I’d never really run anything like that so I was super excited to just go out with no expectations and just see what happened,” Wagner said.

Wagner had initial success during her freshman year, after qualifying for the 800-meter run at the California State Meet. Since then, Wagner said that she has continued to improve in both strategy and strength.

Cross country and track coach Laura Schmitt grants much of Wagner’s success to her technique, which comes from her exemplary work ethic.

“It’s not an accident. It’s not talent,” Schmitt said. “She’s absolutely talented but the thing that tips her over is her work ethic and her awareness to details.”

But besides her ability to work hard, Wagner has a great deal of inherent talent for the sport, not only in her athletic capabilities but also in her talent in handling the stress of a competition. She can apply what she’s worked on in practices into her performance in competitions, according to Schmitt.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Pole

CROSSING THE FINISH line in first place in the 1600 meter race at NCS, junior Gillian Wagner has cemented herself as an elite runner at both the local and national level.

“When she hears a [start] gun, she is competitive and she knows exactly what to do, and she does it when it’s necessary in a race. If you’re running a mile, you don’t just go out there and run a mile. There are strategies and she implements them with absolute confidence and poise,” Schmitt said.

Wagner knows there is still room to grow as a runner, and she hopes to continue practicing throughout her high

school career and beyond.

“I think now I’m able to use competition more in a way that makes me better. And I’m still getting faster and all that,” Wagner said. “There’s so much time left in high school, and maybe beyond, so I know I’m still progressing on it. It’s an upward trajectory which is cool.” cfrench@redwoodbark.org

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Page 22 • Sports

May 26, 2017

Preps of the Year

Photo by Jason Fieber

Photo by Jocelyn Overmyer

Glennis Murphy

Nick Calzaretta

“I distinctly remember my first week. It was crazy and I ran my butt off every day and it was really hard, but I knew literally on the first day that it was something I wanted to do,” said senior Glennis Murphy of her first week running for cross country.

Since then, Murphy has had continued success, winning the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division III state title in cross country, the first in Redwood’s history, with a time of 17:27.2 in the 5K race, placed sixth at the 2015 Foot Locker Regional Cross Country Championships West Regional meet where she ran against athletes from 12 states, placed 28th out of 200 in the 2016 Nike Cross Nationals meet, placed 21st out of 40 in the 2015 Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships, and finally placed fifth in the 2015 CIF DII State cross country meet.

Murphy has also has performed tremendously locally, breaking the Marin County record in the mile run when she was a freshman, winning the Marin IJ’s Girls’ Runner of the Year for 2016, as well as MCAL Runner of the Year for the past three years.

Murphy accredits her stellar track career to her dad, who first introduced her to the sport.

“My dad always talked to me about his running experiences and how fun it was so I decided that I would try cross country and track and see how it went,” Murphy said.

In the fall, Murphy will be attending Dartmouth College as a member of both its women’s track and field team as well as the cross country team.

According to Murphy, she was also recruited by Yale, University of Virginia, UC Berkeley and Stanford, but zeroed in on Dartmouth after taking an official visit there. “[Deciding where to run next year] was a really tough decision. I was really torn since there were scholarship opportunities other places and Ivy League schools can’t offer them.

I picked Dartmouth because I just loved the school,” Murphy said. “The campus was really beautiful and it was a really good community. I felt like that I would be friends with everyone at the school but I would not be isolated to just the team. I also could not deny the academics.”

Dartmouth coach Courtney Jaworski said he is very excited to have Murphy on his squad for the next four years.

“First off, Glennis is a stellar athlete. She has done very well, not only at the regional level but at the state level in California. That is a great thing in terms of what college coaches look for,” Jaworski said.

Jaworski said that the team fell in love with Murphy and her personality when she visited the team on her official visit.

“She has a really great personality. She really meshed well with the team. They fell in love with her. It’s nice to have not only the athleticism, but the nice work ethic and generally happy person around,” Jaworski said. “You want to make sure that there are not only people who work hard but also bring about a good aura to the team.”

Redwood teammate and fellow senior Andrew Thomas also said that Murphy’s personality has a positive impact on her teammates.

“If you think about the culture of Redwood cross country and track, it is all about success and winning and not only having great depth of athletes, but also quality individuals,” Thomas said. “I think that [Murphy] is a very integral part of that culture and she is one of the individuals that heightens the team to level we are at.”

Jaworski said that he expects Murphy to have an impact early in her collegiate career and has high hopes for her to join the Big Green’s top seven runners.

Laura Schmitt, Redwood’s track and field and cross country coach, said Murphy’s departure is bittersweet.

“The worst part of coaching is seeing your athletes leave and go play for someone else, but the best part is seeing them go on to the next level,” Schmitt said. “I know [Murphy] is prepared and ready for the next level and that is a great feeling.”

Schmitt said that she expects Murphy to have continued success at Dartmouth.

“If you are someone who has a lot of talent and is willing to work hard like [Murphy], the sky’s the limit for your potential,” Schmitt said.

Murphy brings an eagerness to improve, which is is one of the most important qualities of an athlete, according to Schmitt. “[Murphy] came in as a freshman, eager to learn and grow in the sport. She came in with talent but she was able to put in the work to grow,” Schmitt said. “[Murphy] is going to have instant success. That is an absolute. She is going to transition beautifully. She can run for a long time.”

Senior Nick Calzaretta has been playing football ever since he and his friends found Ron Patrick’s sports camp and the Pop Warner football program in elementary school.

He’s also played rugby, baseball, basketball and soccer, but Nick is primarily known for his complete dominance of Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) varsity football.

This year, Nick broke the MCAL rushing yard record with 2,738 yards throughout the season, a record which had previously stood for 30 years, and he also led the Giants to their first NCS win in school history. He was named Offensive MCAL MVP in 2016 and was part of the MaxPreps 2016 All-NorCal Football Team.

But his athletic path hasn’t always been so smooth. He didn’t get to travel to nationals with his Pop Warner team in middle school due to his weight, and balancing football with school work has proven a challenge, although he thinks he’s found a balance.

However, he believes that his intensive work and the inspiration with which his older brother Jeff provided him is what allowed him to succeed. “[Jeff] had an insane work ethic so I tried to do everything I could to just follow him, and he was pretty good so that just influenced me to try and be my best,” Nick said.

Nick’s strict training regimen began the summer before eighth grade and continued into high school, and Nick considers the start of his training a turning point between a less fit, middle-school version of himself, and the strong, fit athlete he is today. “[The training program] was three days a week, 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. We worked out with Marines, and then I started working out at John Anderson’s gym as well,” Nick said. “Basically I would go to the military training, go to school, practice and then to John’s [gym] after. Ever since then I’ve just been training hard to get better at the sport.”

That extensive training has paid off, especially in Redwood’s win against Casa Grande in the first round of NCS playoffs this year, the first playoff game won by varsity football in Redwood history. “[Winning] felt really good. We went in there with a lower seed, and kind of giving [Casa Grande] a whoopin’ was a good way to do it for the first time,” Nick said.

Nick showed up with a strong performance when winning his first playoff game with 356 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 27 carries. Redwood then fell short to Campolindo High School in the next round, and although Nick himself had 202 rushing yards and one touchdown, the team still could not pull out a win.

“I thought we were in the game. [Campolindo] is just a really well-structured team, very well-coached,” Nick said.

Nick’s powerful running style is best demonstrated with a memorable play, dubbed “That Run,” against Novato during the Redwood Homecoming game this year. The 60yard touchdown run was named the Play of the Week by MaxPreps.

“There was nowhere to run, so I just lowered my shoulder and tried to give [the Novato defensive back] everything I had and when I hit him he was gone and I heard everyone go crazy and that was all I remember. It felt real good,” Nick said.

Beyond his impact on the field, Nick’s been an inspiration to his little brother, Joey, similar to how Jeff has been an inspiration for Nick.

“I think [the reason why Nick has stepped up as a leader] has been Jeff being the lead on Nick, and as Jeff went off, Nick took the role of being the alpha, and he looks out for me a lot,” Joey said. “We’re all really close and always want to help impact each other’s lives in a positive way.”

Joey also believes that the rest of his family has influenced Nick’s work ethic. “[My parents] always talked about setting goals and reaching them, and I know [Jeff] put a lot of pressure on him to do great and be something special,” Joey said. “I know at the beginning of high school Nick set out his goals on what he wanted to be, and he worked hard to get there, and now he’s got it.”

Although Nick is committed to the College of Idaho to play football, his plans haven’t always been so certain, as he received another offer from Cal to play rugby.

He ultimately chose to play football due to his love for the sport, and this love is also what convinced him not to join the military immediately after high school.

“I was going to join the military until some people in my life influenced me to go to school first because the military will always be there,” Nick said. “ I want to see how far football can take me, because the military isn’t going anywhere—I can always join. But it’s definitely still in my interests.”

mjosef@redwoodbark.org

mbenz@redwoodbark.org

By Max Josef

By Michael Benz

Additional contributions to this story by Jonny Ash

Page 23 • Sports

www.redwoodbark.org

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Honorable Mentions McKenzie Cooke

By Annie Fogarty

Photo courtesy of McKenzie Cooke

Alex Wilson

By Sydney Soofer

Five-foot-tall, nine-year-old Alex Wilson was decked out head to toe in pads, a helmet and his oversized navy jersey, towering over his friends in the huddle. Little did he know that nine years later and a whopping 1.5 feet taller, he would lead the MCAL in touchdowns, yards and receptions for wide receivers.

Football continues to be a huge part of Alex’s life, not just because of the “knocking of skulls” and “the thrill of the game” but also due to his connections with his teammates.

“I really liked the energy that came with [football],” Alex said. “The passion I felt and learned from my peers made an impact on me and helped show me what a great sport it is and how much fun it is to play.”

Alex not only performed on offense, but also dominated on defense, earning second team all MCAL as a strong safety.

“Alex was used in a lot of different ways and he thrived in every position he played in.” said Redwood coach Allen Talley. “He always showed and played through the pains of playing football.”

Sabrina Nunez

By Jocelyn Overmyer

Photo by Jocelyn Overmyer

Teddy Hayden

By Brendan Winters

Senior Teddy Hayden picked up mountain biking for fun in middle school, but it quickly became something much more than a hobby. Since he first started riding, he has become one of the best bikers, not only in the school, but in the nation.

Hayden specializes in a specific type of mountain biking called enduro, which is timed, downhill-oriented riding. In enduro races across the country, Hayden has achieved incredible success, and he considers his biggest accomplishment to be his national championship win as a sophomore.

Following that, he finished second in the 2015 Enduro World Series Round 5 in Crested Butte, Colorado, against some of the best under-21 male bikers in the world. At the time, Hayden was 16.

“I like how different it is than any other sport,” Hayden said of his interest in mountain biking. “It combines fitness and discipline with just having fun.”

McKenzie Cooke felt immense excitement as she served what would become the game point in the 2015 MCAL volleyball finals. Not only was it her 17th birthday, but also a game that she would later recall as the most memorable moment of her high school volleyball career.

Her final serve proved essential and the team ultimately beat Marin Catholic and won the championship pennant.

The 6’2” outside hitter is an offensive powerhouse with an overall hitting average of .345 and 1186 kills. Not only is she dominant in serving, blocking and hitting, but she is also very proficient in the back row.

Cooke prides herself on her consistency and focus, with an impressive overall serving percentage of 91.0.

This consistency not only helped Redwood win the championship, but has also has helped Cooke develop into a standout player.

“Each point is a new point, and instead of focusing on the highs and lows of games, I focus on the end goal,” Cooke said.

Cooke’s determination and drive is one of the key attributes that has made her a successful volleyball player.

“She was never complacent or satisfied with what she had achieved. She always wanted a little bit more each outing, each practice,” said former varsity volleyball coach

Katie Pease, who coached Cooke for all four years.

In her four years as a varsity player, Cooke’s drive has led her and her teammates to many successes. She has a MCAL championship and three NCS Division II titles under her belt. This year, she was named to the MCAL First Team and helped take her club team to the Junior National Volleyball Championship in Dallas.

Cooke is a team captain her senior year, but only four years ago, she was one of only two freshmen on a varsity team loaded with nine seniors. Cooke said she has grown a lot as a person and a player since her first season.

“I used to be scared and nervous all of the time, but now I feel like I’m more of a leader on the court. I just love playing more than I did back then,” Cooke said.

As she cleared out drawers of old papers, Cooke recently stumbled upon a letter she had written to herself as a seventh-grader. Along with the many other dreams that she had for the next five years, she had written that she wanted to play Division I volleyball in college. Cooke definitely did not disappoint her former self, as she will continue her career playing Division I volleyball at Yale University this fall.

afogarty@redwoodbark.org

Alex’s dedication to the sport paid off, earning him preferred walk-on status at San Diego State, a Division I school.

Wilson has played with many of his football teammates since elementary school and has developed many close friendships “Alex brings a lot of experience; whenever we’re in a tight situation, Alex knows how to handle it,” said senior running back Nick Calzaretta, who has known Alex since 4th grade. “He’s a veteran guy and I know I could always rely on him.”

Throughout Alex’s three years on varsity football, the team’s record steadily improved. For the first time in Redwood history, the varsity team won a playoff game, beating Casa Grande in the first round of the 2016 NCS tournament.

“It was really humbling to know that we were the first team in 60 years to have accomplished that,” Alex said. “It’s crazy to know that we are going down in the record books.”

But eventually, the Giants’ magical season neared the end. By the fourth quarter of the Campolindo playoff game, the Giants knew this would be the last time the tight-knit team would play together. The realization hit Wilson especially hard.

“I felt pride for what we had built within the Redwood football program, but sad we couldn’t continue on” Wilson said.

In eighth grade, when all of Sabrina Nunez’s peers were deciding where to go to high school, Nunez was deciding where to go to college. Eventually, Nunez committed to UC Berkeley for college softball.

Her commitment to Cal was another step in what has been a lifetime devoted to softball. Nunez first stepped up to the plate when she was four and since then has made varsity softball as a freshman, has scored 129 runs in her 99 games at Redwood. Nunez also holds a .511 high school career batting average, the second highest on her team.

Her travel team, All American Sports Academy Gold, is currently ranked third in the nation and has won two national championships.

“She’s the kind of player all coaches want. She is one of the nicest kids, she is a great athlete, she is friends with everyone, and no one has anything bad to say about her.

Even if she wasn’t a great athlete, her personality is just the kind of kid you want to have around,” said Emily Atkinson, Nunez’s Redwood coach.

Junior Annie Connors, a teammate of Nunez’s for the past three seasons, says that Nunez not only brings athletic prowess to her Redwood team, but also leadership qualities that her team appreciates.

Among the crowd at Nunez’s travel tournaments in middle school were recruiters from colleges across the country. Now, Nunez and the rest of her travel team are all committed to Division I schools. Nunez corresponded with Cal recruiters by phone every week during middle school, and was eventually offered a scholarship.

Choosing Berkeley was not a hard choice for Nunez, as she had always aspired to go there. Even though committing to a school so early on eliminated the anxiety of applying to colleges, Nunez avoided the urge to take the easy way out academically.

“I do take harder classes because I want to prepare myself for Cal and not just coast through high school and get there and not be prepared as a student,” Nunez said.

As her season wraps up at Redwood, softball will still be a key part of Nunez’s daily life.

“The sport in general gives you a lot of skills in itself,” Nunez said. “Creating bonds with the girls has definitely been a big part of my life and all the coaches that have taught me, I look up to all of them as role models. It’s a whole community in itself and it’s nice to be a part of.”

Hayden also won the high school cross country state championships in biking his freshman year in his first year in competition.

“It’s one thing to see [Hayden biking] in a video, but it’s actually mind blowing to see how fast he goes in person,” said senior Robert McInnis, one of Hayden’s friends who bikes with Hayden often.

While Hayden has an impressive record on the trails, he originally started his athletic career sailing in middle school. He didn’t start riding competitively until high school and this is his fourth year.

During a typical week, Hayden goes to the gym three days a week to do strength training and conditioning. The other 60 percent of his training takes place on a bike. He does interval training on the road and he travels to Santa Cruz, Pacifica and other locations in Marin where there are jumps and downhill trails on which to practice.

Much like a mountain biking trail, Hayden’s biking career has had its ups and downs. In his junior year, he had two crashes that kept him off the bike for seven months.

A fair amount of that recovery time was spent in a hospital after Hayden suffered a concussion, a compound fracture in his wrist, a torn quad tendon, a dislocated shoulder

and a broken glenoid. However, Hayden said the injury gave him time to think about his future. He has since decided to continue his education next year at UC Santa Cruz instead of signing with a factory team, but he expects to keep biking for fun.

ssoofer@redwoodbark.org

Photo by Sam Slade

jocelyn.overmyer@redwoodbark.org

bwinters@redwoodbark.org

Photo Courtesy of Satchell Cronk and Dave Trumpore

Sports by the Numbers 2738

2017

yards rushed for by senior Nick Calzaretta this season

1st time a public school won the girls’ MCAL golf tournament

85 goals scored by senior Wyatt Barker during this year’s water polo season

84

MCAL games won

by Redwood during coach Steve Compagno’s nine-year tenure

5

4

swim records broken this season

consecutive trips to MCAL finals taken by the boys’ varsity volleyball team before winning the pennant