SCOTLIGHT Volume Ii / EDITION III
Carlmont High School / 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas / Belmont, CA 94002
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ALEXIS MADAYAG
DJ • ARTIST • PHOTOGRAPHER CARLMONT HS ALUMNUS '98 T: 650.303.4542 E: am.almighty.visuals@gmail.com W: ksun37.wixsite.com/alexismadayag I: instagram.com/alstriker37
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Labels In our lives
06
Beyond my stereotypes
08 10 12 tABLE OF cONTENTS
More than meets the eye
The conservative label
Red or blue
Carlmont Journalism Carlmont Journalism is a nationally renowned media arts program run by the students of Carlmont High School. Our staff of 120 people works to deliver the latest news to our student body of 2,200, their families, and the community. News, within our school and beyond, is important to us, so we are committed to providing timely information, current events, and thought-provoking ideas to our audiences through story-telling, design, video, photography, and other emerging technologies. More than just another high school journalism program, our mission is to think beyond the “Bay Area Bubble” and stretch the community’s mindset to include those of the rest of the state, country, and world. We aim to encourage our community to step up and be educated advocates of change.
Scotlight is Carlmont High School’s “spotlight” magazine, distributed quarterly to our community. Spotlight stories take a deeper look at issues that are important to our audience and examine multiple aspects and angles. Our mission is to stimulate thoughts in our readers that are otherwise glossed over by offering in-depth feature stories that dig deeper into the lives of those around us. We aim to engage our readers through thought-provoking articles, photography, and design.
Our Mission
Letter from the editor
Dear Reader, From the moment we are born, we are labeled and placed in categories. Things like race, gender, and socioeconomic standing place us in groups that begin to shape the rest of our lives. Whether negatively or positively, our labels define us in society because our world finds it difficult to grasp that not everyone fits into categories. But in this day and age, self expression is more important than a label that has been placed on us by those around us. In this year’s final issue of Scotlight, our team explored the different sides and connotations of labels in order to, hopefully, show you that labels are just words. We looked into specific labels, how we are not defined by our labels, and what it means to be labeled a certain way to shatter the norm that labels are meant to be conformed to. Sincerely, Mona Murhamer Editor-in-Chief
Nina Heller Connor Lin Kylie Lin Sophie Lynd Kathryn Stratz Mona Murhamer
Staff
LABELS IN So what is a ‘label,’ anyway? Labels have different meanings to different people, and different experiences give us varying definitions of what it means to be ‘labeled.’ Labels can be bad, denoting divisions among us, but they can also be good. They can bring people of similar interests together. The following students describe what labels mean to them and how their lives have been affected by categorization. DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLIE LIN
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MORGAN HAWES
“
Being a woman in society, you’re always labeled as something that you don’t want to be. Just because you’re a woman, it’s like you have to choose a certain type of career. You can’t be an engineer or a doctor — that’s more of a ‘male thing.’ I’ve always wanted to not conform to those labels; I want to be an engineer when I grow up, and I want to be a big-time swimmer when I grow up. People in the past have told me, ‘Oh, you’re really white for being a black person,’ and well, I’m a black person. That doesn’t make any sense. That’s something that I’ve had to deal with for a long time. I hate the fact that I’m labeled as ‘white’ for talking in an articulate fashion or dressing a certain way. It’s gone down; I used to live in a very conservative area back in Chicago, and a lot of people were racist back there. That taught me, at a young age, that people will label me based on the way I look and who they think I am, even though they don’t really know me yet. And people look at me and ask if I play basketball or maybe volleyball. They always seem to be surprised when I tell them that I’m a swimmer, because you rarely see people of color swimming.”
OUR LIVES
“
I’d say that for me, using labels on myself isn’t really as important as it is to some other people. You can label yourself as something, but that doesn’t necessarily cover all of your experiences. In that way, your experience isn’t just defined by one succinct thing that you can call yourself. I loosely ascribe to labels like that. I also think that they really hold a lot of power, because when you label yourself as something, you start to see evidence towards that. Back when I labeled myself as an inherently flawed person, any minute failure I would see as proof that I wasn’t a good person. It’s something to be conscious of because labels can really help you define who you are, feel less alone, and find communities. But they can also be really destructive if you use them the wrong way. When it comes to my sexuality, a lot of times people want to ask, like ‘Are you this? Are you that?’ and I’m more relaxed with it. I am what I am regardless of what I label myself as. Personally, I use the term ‘queer.’”
JESSICA HALEY
“
Because of my music, people label me as someone from the south with extremely conservative views. It annoys me a little bit, but I kind of let it go because there’s nothing I can do about it. If you get to know me, I’m more independent. I grew up in California; I was raised here. Last year, there was one time where some guy asked, ‘Do you hate black people?’ And like, no. On a more positive note, there was a girl who said, ‘Oh, you’re that guy at school who plays country music! That’s cool.’ And people think of me as not really approachable, but if you get to know me, talk to me, I try to be friendly.”
JUSTIN PACE
05
y BE O
I live in the Bay Area. My parents grew up here, and both of them went to school here. I’m white. I get good grades. I must be privileged. In a way, yes, I am. I am not predisposed to controversial stereotypes, and I’m lucky for that, no doubt. However, our society has a way of assuming certain aspects of people’s lives – without even knowing them. We judge before we know, or even ask. As someone whose life has never been consistent, I believe that we let ourselves judge in order to make ourselves feel better. Teenagers especially seem to care about the material things in our lives. I came to school with a new laptop, and everyone asks me how much it cost or if my parents bought it for me. Truth be told, I worked over 50 hours during my winter break in order to save up for that computer. I get called a “try-hard” for studying at lunch or for worrying about school. And yes, I do try hard, but it’s for a reason. I have everything I need, but the area we live in is extremely wealthy and getting more expensive each day. My parents did struggle to get by at certain times, and it’s made me stronger and more sympathetic. But it also makes me worry; I strive to have a good future. Getting into college and AP classes has become so competitive. How could I not worry? The sad part is that I get ridiculed for it, because it doesn’t “seem cool” or fit social norms. But most students do the same thing; they just don’t show it as much as I do, or study at lunch. But surely, I am not the only Carlmont student who overachieves. I’m not trying to say that I’m not defined by these labels because there is some truth to them. However, it’s the misconception that we have a need to live up to them, or that we need to be defined by them. Maybe it’s cliché, but the world would be a better place without stereotyping certain people or tagging them before you even speak to them. We’d have more friends, and more opportunities if we didn’t because ultimately, the discrimination and prejudice that is still relevant in the world around us, fueled by labels and judgment. The fact of the matter is that the labels and judgement never end. I always thought that once high school was over, so was the drama, but from listening to my parents talk about work, or adult issues, it isn’t. Judgment is like a default setting, that by human condition, we turn on in order to boost ourselves. Labeling isn’t going to get us farther. As a society, we will never truly overcome social obstacles if we judge the worse about the people around us. The only way we can get over it, is looking beyond the labels that define us, and make new ones for ourselves.
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OND the stereotypes
WRITING BY JORDAN HANLON DESIGN BY CONNOR LIN PICTURED: JORDAN HANLON
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organized
lazy
brave
ignorant
resilient
introverted
curious
independent
self-absorbed
hard-working
tired
optimistic
kind
smart
angry
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It’s What you can’t see LABELS ARE MORE THAN WHAT MEETS THE EYE
What is the first thing you see when you look at a person? You probably notice what they are wearing, how they do their hair, maybe the freckles on their nose. And then, you will probably begin to make a series of judgements or assumptions about them based off of what you see. Some could be tied to traits that society has labeled as postive, such as being skinny or tall or being pleasant to look at. Others could be tied to what have become negative traits, such as having a big nose or wearing thick glasses. Yet, the traits that you do not see are just as valuable, because what’s on the inside counts too. We tend to learn about people from surface level traits stemming from their personalit and place labels on them from that. In fact, people with certain physical traits have more success in life. In a 2010 study from the Queensland University of Technology studied 13,000 Caucasian women, and found blondes earn greater than seven percent more than female employees with any other hair color. But what if that wasn’t the case? “When I look at someone else, I don’t care that much about what they look like. I care about how they act,” Aldon Chen, a junior, said. Looking at someone and not actually getting to know them only tells you a little bit about them, and frankly, what you see isn’t all you get. People are afraid of being judged for what they look like, which is why Spanx has made billions of dollars selling undergarments to make people appear slimmer, and plastic surgery is a thriving industry. However, for people like Chen, appearance is an unimportant factor in everyday life. “Individual expression, appearance wise, can be important to just you personally, but I don’t really care all that much about how people look at me, it’s more that I care how I present myself,” said Chen.
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Imagine if we lived in a world where this wasn’t like that. What if we saw personalities instead of faces and physical features? It’s not that there’s anything wrong with caring about what you look like, but our appearances place great restrictions on us. In a survey from Allure magazine in 2015, 50 percent of people felt that their appearance defined their identity. To some extent, it does. What you see when you first meet a person can control everything about your relationship to that person and what you think of them going forward. “In all our perceptions, from vision to hearing, to the pictures we build of people’s character, our unconscious mind starts from whatever objective data is available to us and helps to shape and construct the more complete picture we consciously perceive,” Leonard Mlodinow said in Psychology Today. In the Ted talk “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model,” Cameron Russell, a model, walks onto the stage wearing a short black dress and heels, but then proceeds to change into a longer, skirt and swap her heels for flatter shoes. “Image is powerful, but also, image is superficial. I just totally transformed what you thought of me in six seconds,” she said. “How we look — though it is superficial and immutable — has a huge impact on our lives.” Russell tries to go beyond her appearance, to defy the labels made for her by society. She wants the audience to listen to what she has to say, instead of what she looks like. But what she has to say, is that becoming a model isn’t exactly a career goal. Russell compares a little girl wanting to be a model when she grows up to someone saying they want to be a lottery winner when they grow up; it’s not something that you can control. Russell acknowledges that the only reason she is getting to stand on that stage is because of her appearance. The label of appearance is by far the greatest one we have. But what if we saw people for who they were beyond their appearances?
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WRITING AND DESIGN BY NINA HELLER
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THE
CONSERVATIVE
LABEL
I am not a Trump supporter. I am not homophobic. I am not pro-life. I am not racist. Let’s just make that clear. Whenever it’s established that I have conservative beliefs, people automatically slap on the stereotypical labels that come with the word “conservative.” Some things are true. Many are not. “Oh, so you’re a Republican?” I’ve been asked this too many times. No! I am 16. I am not a registered voter and will not be anything until I’m 18. Who knows what will change in two years? I may decide that I identify more with the Independent party than the Republican party. Conservative doesn’t necessarily mean Republican. According to the MerriamWebster dictionary, the definition of conservative is “The commitment to traditional values and ideas with opposition to change or innovation, and the holding of political views that favor free enterprise, private ownership, and socially conservative ideas.” No, I don’t think the government should support drilling the heck out of the Earth for oil. No, I don’t think it’s okay to deny people the right to marry who they
want. No, I don’t think it’s okay to stop providing free women’s health care. Generally, when I try to have a civilized conversation about politics with someone of a different viewpoint, I get one of three responses. They give an “ohhh…” and slowly remove themselves from the conversation, they get extremely triggered and immediately stop listening to what I say (because I’m “wrong,” of course), or they treat me like I’m some rare breed of monkey they’ve never seen: “Oh my gosh I’ve never met a conservative before!” Sounds ridiculous, but I’ve been told this more than once. Even though it might blow some minds in the liberal bubble of the Bay Area, I’m a conservative person, not a rare monkey. I’m a human. I’m not that different from any other person. Really. So what do I believe, then, you ask? I believe in less, as opposed to more, government intervention. I believe that a free-market economy is beneficial to the country and that private businesses should be allowed to be run as private businesses. I do believe in religion. But then again, being religious means a lot of things. On a scale from almost atheist to God, I’m
probably around a six or seven. Even so, there are conservative people who are atheist, and there are liberals who are practically Jesus himself. I do believe in feminism. I believe women should have equal opportunities for success as men. I believe women should be able to do what they want with their bodies, and nobody should tell them otherwise. And just because I chose not to protest at the Women’s March, donning a pink hat with a “This P*** Grabs Back” sign, doesn’t mean I’m not a feminist, and it definitely doesn’t mean I’m anything close to a misogynist. So don’t judge my approach or my opinions. We all have different ways of doing things and expressing our beliefs. And it’s issue-by-issue. At least it should be that way. No person should automatically agree with every conservative or liberal viewpoint on every subject. I shouldn’t have to apologize for the behavior of people who share some of my beliefs. I am not all conservatives, and they are not me. I do not support all conservatives. So stop associating “conservative” with all of these labels. WRITING, DESIGN, AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHRYN STRATZ
I asked 15 people what the first adjective they thought of WAS when hearing the word “conservative,” and here Is what they said: Trump closed-minded judgemental
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Traditional Selfish Traditional
bad righteous Misunderstood
old-fashioned strict Religious
Republican COntrolling Righteous
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I’ve definitely had things assumed about me. I think it’s hypocritical that the whole accepting side will hear one thing about me or one policy that I favor and then immediately label me. I’ve been called sexist, racist, or any kind of hateful label you can think of just for having an ideal. I’m not conservative on every issue; for instance, I’m not religious at all, but I would view myself as conservative based on my economical opinions and how the government should be run. I understand why people assume because there are conservative people who do have these older ideals, but at the same time, both sides have policies they don’t really believe in. Any time I get into a debate in any class and I voice my opinion, I can tell that people think things about me. ‘Oh he hates people that aren’t white, straight, and male’ is something people will associate with me. This just isn’t true at all.
Thomas Slayton Junior
” “
I think the thing about being conservative is that it’s not seen as a spectrum. It’s usually either ‘you’re on my side or not, and if you disagree with one thing I say, you disagree with everything I have to say.’ People will often treat one as if they have a prejudice against everyone just because of once belief. For example, if you tell someone how you think the government should work, it’s taken to another level and you become racist or sexist. I think this happens because people in the Bay Area are mainly liberal, as there is not a lot of political diversity, and so when someone speaks out with a not commonly heard opinion, I’ve noticed that they can be cast out as evil. That is not what our school or our country stands for, as you’re supposed to have different opinions on things, and so I shouldn’t be ostracized for my opinions, especially when they’re not harmful or directly targeted at one person or group.
Andy Thanos Junior
”
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ARE YOU RED OR BLUE ? Exploring the new reaches of the American political spectrum, its impact on society and culture, and the labels associated with each side The 1790s saw America’s very first political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Each side had its own strong stance on how to establish our nation and its constitution. Since then, along with the times, politics have changed,but loyalty to one’s party has remained strong. However, it seems that this loyalty now stems from the long-standing rivalry between today’s Democrats and Republicans rather than affiliation with the basic principles of each party. According to a survey conducted by the Washington Post in 2016, “Americans thought that 32 percent of Democrats are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The correct answer is 6 percent. And they thought that 38 percent of Republicans made more than $250,000 a year. The correct answer is 2 percent.” Stereotypes promoting that all rich people are Republicans and all members of the LGBTQ+ community are Democrats are the very factors thickening the line between Americans and their red and blue political parties. According to the same survey, “Americans overestimate the percentage of Democrats who are black, union members, or atheists. [...] They overestimate
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the percentage of Republicans who are seniors, evangelicals, or Southerners.” According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of white southerners do in fact tend to vote Republican and a majority of those not affiliated with any religion tend to vote
Indepen Indepen
Moderate Moderate Democrats Democrats Radical Radical Democrats Democrats
Democrat. Although these demographics may provide evidence behind some assumptions made in the survey, one would hope that the reasons people are affiliated with a certain party is because they agree with the actions that party is taking within government, rather than following others based on appearance and affiliation with other groups. In addition, not all registered Democratic voters want to raise taxes or create a welfare state, just as not all registered Republican voters are racists who want to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. While these issues are significant matters for both sides, registering and identifying as
endents endents
a member of either party does not automatically mean that voters standby every one of their party’s actions or ideals. After the 2016 presidential election, the ends of the political spectrum reached new extremes. Those who voted for Republican nominee, Donald Trump, were deemed racist. Those who did not were deemed left-wing extremists who must be against “making America great again.” However, it is not simply black and white, or in this case, red and blue. While most voters make efforts to stay loyal to their party, Trump’s actions since taking office have strayed far from the traditional policies of a Republican president and made it difficult for members of his party to continue their support for him. The candidates of the 2016 presidential election created a significant divide between the Democrat and Republican parties. The possibility of a woman taking office the White House after the first African American
Moderate Republicans
president was too radical for some, but for others, a reality television star was just as far-fetched. Because the political spectrum has expanded to new, more extreme ends, more variation between voters has emerged within each party. Although most members of the Republican party are supporters of the Second Amendment, many Republicans who consider themselves moderate are beginning to renounce the amendment after the eruption of the #NeverAgain movement, according to an article from Independent. While moderate Democratic Indiana Senator, Joe Donnelly recently publicized his support for the GOP tax bill, arguing that it will “make it easier for families to get mortgages,” according to USA Today. Although his opinion is not a popular one among the members of his party, he does represent the blue side. Party loyalty still remains in today’s political climate. However, there are many versions of this loyalty within each party. Despite our characatured notion on what a typical member of the Democrat or Republican party should look like, it is important to realize most voters have a unique and differing perspective on the basis of their own party. WRITING AND DESIGN BY SOPHIE LYND
Radical Radical Republicans Republicans 13
Sequoia Union High school District Carlmont High School 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas Belmont, CA 94002
Cover art by connor lin