February Carlmont Highlander

the

HIGHLANDER Match the car to the teacher: take the quiz pg 8

Exploring Carlmont’s clubs and activities from A to Z pg 12&13

Creating a mural: Angelo Zhao bringing color to Carlmont pg 24

February 2015 Vol VI Issue V

www.scotscoop.com @scotscoopnews

Keeping up with social progress Jessica Adair Copy Editor

Marriage: one man and one woman.

As 2015 begins, gay marriage has been legalized in 37 states.

In January, the Supreme Court decided to take on the case that will settle national debate over

same-sex marriage once and for all.

Anti-discrimination laws are being approved faster than ever, and our nation has made significant legal progress in the last decade. Yet, in a poll of 236 Carlmont students, 53 percent have admitted to using a gay slur. This begs the question, how much progress have we actually made?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a gay slur is an insulting remark or innuendo targeting an individual’s sexual orientation. In the past two years, Twitter has counted over 30 million tweets containing gay slurs, according to the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services.

“I have heard slurs being used by people who generally haven’t thought of the implications of what they’re saying. But once they are conscious and knowledgeable about what they’ve said, then the question of ho-

mophobia comes into play,” said Carlmont social studies teacher Kris Weisman.

Carlmont senior GSA member Alan Yan said, “My friends are more accepting and tolerant, so they understand that any slur is offensive and should be avoided.

If I did hear it, I'd say something.

It’s about actively promoting tolerance and equality instead of just being a participant.”

Despite the statistics regarding gay slurs, San Francisco was the second most gay-friendly city in America in 2014, according to Advocate.com and City Guide.

“The Bay area is a lot more accepting which is good, but sometimes people in the area take it as a signal that ‘the fight is over’ when in reality it's not. The Bay Area still deals with LGBTQ issues related to race, gender, socioeconomic class, age, and other pressing social groups,” said Yan. Weisman said, “We’re sort of living in ‘Bay Area’ bubble where the majority of people are very ac-

cepting.”

Bryce Schulte, a sophomore at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa, had a different experience. His school is just outside of Des Moines, Iowa, which ranked fourth on the list of the most gayfriendly cities. But not everything has been so easy for the LGBT community.

Schulte started a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at his school this past school year, and, as a result, controversy that followed.

“My school does this activity for clubs and they can come out and paint the football stadium.

We had painted a large equality symbol and we actually ended up winning best painting,” said Schulte.

Two days later, students in Schulte’s class had their annual teepeeing night at school, but some students went too far. They had broken into the press box of the football stadium, tipped over porta-potties, and vandalized the

Continued on pg 2

5 FACTS about gay rights

2. Same sex couples have 1.

In 1976 Harvey Milk was elected the country’s first openly gay city commissioner.

been allowed to marry in 11 countries.

3. In 1973 the American

Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders.

4.

Gay marriage is legal in 37 states.

5.

CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE EDITED BY VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

The rainbow is the symbol of gay pride because bright colors were used as an identifier between gay individuals.

NEWS Keeping up with social progress Page 2

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Continued from page 1

GSA's painting.

“They had spray-painted two penises over it, pretty much mocking our club and disrespecting the whole LGBT community, really. That was really kind of the turning point for my district,” said Schulte.

Schulte then rallied all the GSA members and painted over the vandalism with a ‘no hate’ symbol. Eventually, some teachers and non-GSA members even pitched in to help rebuild.

“After that, people learned and started to respect the club more, as well as the members of it. People are becoming more sympathetic towards the struggles of be-

February 2015

ing LGBT, and are starting to become more supportive,” said Schulte.

Schulte is correct as 57 percent of Americans opposed gay and lesbian relationships in 1987, according to Gallup Poll. Now, almost 30 years later, 66 percent of Americans support gay and lesbian relationships.

“Social norms are changing. I’ve especially noticed a significant change regarding language and negative stereotypes. I used to live in a rural area where regular everyday people would just loosely mock gays and lesbians, and it would be perfectly acceptable,” said Weisman.

Yan said, “I think most people are becoming accepting of the LGBTQ community. However, I don't think it's enough to

be accepting. People should be actively trying to promote more equality and understanding instead of just being willing participants,” said Yan. Some people think that this attitude towards gay rights is often very similar to the attitude towards race in the 1960s.

“This same kind of thing happened. The legal progress got so far ahead, and the social side just got swept under the rug.

Everyone was so much more open to talking about race then, now people think that there’s no reason to talk anymore. I hope that doesn’t happen with gay rights,” said Weisman.

With the Supreme Court decision looming, the United States is on the cusp of one

of the biggest moments in gay rights history, but there is more to be done.

“People shouldn't just stop advocating for equality after marriage equality is reached. It's the most high profile LGBTQ issue currently and I worry that people will stop caring after that issue is won,” said Yan. “The philosophy is that it will get better with the future generations. Tolerance will be passed down, and people will start to realize what the right thing is. But hate also gets passed down through generations,” said Weisman.

“People need to stay focused on the long term goal and not allow fatigue to stop fairness from reaching other important issues,” said Yan.

Si n c e 2 0 0 2 R

where education and dreams meet

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The age of responsibility varies with location Victor Li Staff Writer

Think of a time when you were not old enough to do something. How did that make you feel? Did you feel as if you had any control, power, or say in that decision?

“At the end of freshman year, it was hard to find a job over the summer because I didn’t meet the age requirement, even though I felt qualified,” said sophomore Katrina Talavera.

Many adolescents are confused about the extent of their rights because of mixed signals received from local and state governments.

Yet, it doesn’t take a teen to sense the hypocrisy behind age restrictions.

A 20-year-old Marine, old enough to risk his life fighting a war in Iraq, has to turn 21 before he can join a local police force or be allowed in a local bar. An officer involved in high speed police pursuits isn’t trusted to rent a car until the age of 25.

“Age restrictions don’t always seem fair to me. Many elders may lack certain motor skills they had when they were younger.

Despite this, elders don’t get their privileges deprived because they are so used to having them,” said junior Apollo Chen.

Another example lies within the criminal justice system, which, according to the Governing website, adopted the mantra “adult time for adult crimes” two decades ago. Consequently, in many states, a 10-year-old charged with a serious crime could be tried as an adult.

Despite certain inconsistent treatments

from age restrictions imposed by the law, are age restrictions actually there to protect us? Landmark birthdays of 16, 18, and 21 give us access to more and more privileges as we mature, but when does responsibility really begin?

It is important to note that different cultures and customs establish maturity at different ages.

According to the Washington Post, while drinking laws are strictly enforced in America, teens in most European countries are allowed to imbibe alcohol at as young as 15 to 16 years of age.

A possible explanation is that young people in European countries are introduced to alcohol in a cultural context that reduces heavy and harmful drinking.

“My parents are both Italian, and wine has been an important part of the family culture. I have had wine since a young age, but I don’t think it has changed me in any way. My parents say that moderation is the key,” said sophomore Sophie Clark.

While politicians continue to update existing age restricting laws, neuroscientists, a group of people who haven’t traditionally testified for age restrictions, are now stressing a scientific side of law making.

In an article from the Governing website, scientists found that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, an area that allows people to think through likely consequences of an action, doesn’t fully develop until age 25.

Though this bears little resemblance to ages enshrined in the law, it may further the influence of science on lawmaking.

AGE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Around the world the age of young peopleages taking on responsibility Kids become adults at different across the globe differs

UNITED STATES Drinking: 21 Driving: 16 Voting: 18 Military: 18

CHINA

Drinking: 18 Driving: 18 Voting: 18 Military: 18

MEXICO

Drinking: 18 Driving: 18 Voting: 18 Military: 18

UNITED KINGDOM Drinking: 18 Driving: 17 Voting: 16 Military: 18

ISRAEL

Drinking: 18 Driving: 16 Voting: 18 Military: 18 ASHLEY KAWAKAMI

The quest for the one true age of responsibility may not be as easy as previously thought.

Instead, some people hope to approach adulthood in a more gradual process.

According to the CDC, 4,500 Americans between ages 16 and 19 die from car crashes annually.

Because of this, all 50 states have come to a new approach called graduated driver licensing, or GDL, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

GDL enables teens to become licensed through tests and trials with a professional instructor.

According to a Johns Hopkins Univer-

sity study, states with strong GDL laws have cut car accidents by 40 percent among young drivers.

According to Governing.com, some states are beginning to favor this new approach and hope to incorporate this policy into other areas of responsibility. This way, teens can learn from their experiences with a limited amount of freedom, and prove that they can handle more.

“The point of laws should not be to set a single age of responsibility, but should help young people transition from a teenager to a responsible adult,” said science teacher David Talcott.

Geography is a factor when choosing a college Lauren Tierney Staff Writer

Going off to college means leaving your family, friends and the home environment you grew up in.

So many questions go into your final decision.

Do you want to be close to your family?

Or branch out and give yourself the opportunity to thrive in a new environment?

But wait... what about your friends? Where are they going? What if you don’t know anyone? How are you supposed to make friends?

Senior Natalie Tussy said, “I haven’t decided where I’m going next year, but some factors have definitely influenced my decisions about where to apply. I think that location has affected my decision the most. I plan to stay in California and it would be nice if some of my friends ended up in the same place, but I am not counting on it. I think it’s important to find a school that you will enjoy for yourself not just because your friends are going there.”

As if the process of college applications and choosing which schools you think may be a good fit for yourself isn’t hard enough, you also must face the reality of where you actually want to spend the next four years of your life.

According to College Niche, 58 percent of students go to a college within 100 miles of their hometown and 72 percent of students stay in state.

With the abundance of highly ranked schools in state, California residents have an advantage over the rest with their greater opportunity to stay closer to home.

Senior Sydney Carlier said, “For a long time, I considered going the Holland for college, but as it came time to apply to colleges I found that I have such strong ties

to family and friends that I wasn’t ready to venture out that far, at least this soon, so I applied mostly in state.”

According to College Niche, only 11 percent of students venture more than 500 miles from their hometown.

Parents often add pressure to the decision of where to go to school when they share their opinions.

Senior Anthony Fischetti said, “My mom definitely wanted me to stay close enough

to where I can come back when I needed too. I only applied to West Coast schools and I don’t find it necessarily to be a bad thing, but I do have family on the East Coast so I would have enjoyed living out there and having an opportunity to experience a new place.”

Senior Sofia Kurt said, “My family had more of an impact on my decision to stay closer to home for college. I have such a big family that I don’t want to miss any big

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milestones. I want to be able to drive back if I need too.”

And the pressure intensifies as the days until graduation grow shorter.

Senior Jasmin Riedel said, “I applied to many schools that are a short, cheap plane trip away from my family. My friends of course have impact on how far I want to go but I know that at the end of the day I will make friends no matter where I am and it’s most important to go to a school that satisfies my personal needs.”

Going to a new state for college is made harder by the fact that you may not know anyone at the school or even in the state.

But many students find a change of environment extremely intriguing.

Senior Tomasso Ferme, who plans to attend Boston College in the fall said, “I wanted to attend college out of state because I really want to branch out and become more independent.”

Twenty-four percent of California resident students leave their home state to attend schools in other states and countries.

Senior Elise Dimick said, “At first I wanted to go out of state because I felt that being close to home would hinder my opportunities and adventures. I wanted different scenery, and there were some schools that really caught my eye. However, it took me a while to realize that there are financial benefits of staying in state. When I finally considered the cost of college, I realized that staying in state isn’t so bad, and my opportunities will be just as abundant.”

College is often seen as a time in one’s life when they are able to venture out, live in new places and open themselves up to different cultures.

Whether you decide to stay close to home or to venture out of the country, college will open the doors to new experiences and opportunities.

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February 2015

No longer a cookie-cutter household Lila Schulman Staff Writer

For modern families, love is what makes a family, not just a blood relationship.

The popular TV sitcom, Modern Family, is an example of how different families have become more common. This humorous show is about an extended family that consists of people from different cultural and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and ages.

The show portrays the many difficulties and normal day-to-day activities from a modern family’s perspective.

This sitcom may be a more accurate reflection of modern society.

In present-day society, many families differ from one another, and definitely don’t look like the average 1950s mom and dad combo with 2.2 kids and a dog. Families are built through adoption, divorce, mixed-races, single-parents, and same-gender parents, just to name a few interesting combinations.

“A modern family is blending the old with the new generation. It’s mixing tradition and culture,” said Administrative Vice Principal Jennifer Cho. Cho is married to a Korean man and they have two children. Cho feels that all families are special, and that we should all value our families no matter what they appear to be.

Sophomore Lillian Gowen has a family that consists of two mothers, her sister, and herself. Both Gowen and her sister were adopted from China.

Gowen said, “I’m perfectly fine with my family. Girl power!”

Gowen believes that people are more open to homosexual relationships than ever before.

Gowen said, “When I was younger, I was bullied because my parents were lesbians, and people assumed I was as well. [However,] I don’t get picked on anymore.”

For Gowen, her family is her norm. The family one is raised with is their family, no matter the gender, race, or blood-relationship.

Here in the Bay Area, one can look around and see all kinds of families. The Bay Area is known to be more culturally and family-diverse than other areas of the U.S. According to the website Paragon-re, “San Francisco has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any major U.S. city.”

A single mother and her two children display a family photograph from the 1900s.

Cho said, “It depends on the area you are living in. In some places, my husband is the only Asian person. Here in the Bay Area and Peninsula, there is a lot more diversity.”

Senior Kailee Wiser said, “My family is modern for sure.

My family involves mixed-race, gay, and divorced.”

Wiser has two moms, both of whom have been divorced, a stepmother and her other mom’s female partner. Not only does she have same-sex parents and same-sex stepparents, she and her younger brother are both bi-racial. They’re half Chinese, half Caucasian.

Wiser said, “A family is people who raise you and shape the way you see things.”

Google’s definition of family is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household [and/ or] all the descendants of a common ancestor.”

However, Google isn’t very up to date on what a family is. While websites and dictionaries try to give a logical and simplistic definition of what a family is, culture has evolved

MINH-HAN VU

beyond the classic definition of family.

Having a modern family can consist of a variety of cultures and religions. Pauline Sy, a sophomore, has a family made up of two cultures and religions.

Sy said, “I am Filipina and White. I am also Catholic and Jewish.”

Sophomore Dylan Adams, who is being raised by a single mother, said, “A family used to be a typical layout; now there are different kinds, like adoption and mixed-race.

Some people at school feel like family to me.”

In the past, having a family that didn’t consist of a samerace mother, father and children may have been perceived as very unusual. The meaning of “family” is now interpreted in more modern ways.

“We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” said Cho. A family is a family, regardless of how it was created.

Playing with phones instead of food Adriana Ramirez Staff Writer

“How was school?” Mom asks, as she does every day.

This is just one of the many questions teens avoid answering, as they gradually connect less with their parents.

What teens don’t know is that this evasion could be bad for them. Penn State researchers stated that the time teenagers spend with their parents is important for their own well-being.

“Teenagers and family time is always going to be an interesting question,” said Principal Lisa Gleaton. “I think family time is really important.”

According to the recent homework survey done at Carlmont, many parents believe the amount of homework their child has affects quality family time.

“This year, parents said, ‘Am I ever going to see my daughter again? Am I ever going to see my son again? They grunt at us at dinner and then they go back to their homework or just spending time on the phone,’” Gleaton said.

According to the website Family Lives, it becomes more difficult for parents to stay close to their children as they grow older.

Junior Lily Lindmeier believes that family time is important, but there are a lot of distractions.

“You are more connected to your friends

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Some students spend dinner time focused on social media instead of communicating with their family. and phone. There are so many other things you can be doing instead of face-to-face time with parents,” said Lindmeier.

English teacher Victoria Nilson said she would see her children for a reasonable amount of time in the past, even though they were busy working or had schoolwork.

“I didn’t feel it was an insufficient amount of time. I think what has changed, in my perspective, is that childhood is much more extended. But students still need support during high school,” said Nilson.

According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, over the past five years, teenagers have increased the amount of time they use the media from six hours and 21 minutes to seven hours and 38 minutes.

“My phone is a distraction to me because it has Tumblr, Instagram, and I message a lot of people, which makes me lose track of time,” said sophomore Emelia Bejram.

While some people find their phones a distraction from spending time with their families, others have different priorities.

“For me, spending time on phones doesn’t take away family time,” said junior Molly McDowell. For McDowell, family time isn’t something she plans to take part in because they are busy most of the time.

“Family time is basically in the extra time. I schedule activities, and on the unscheduled time, we do things as a family,” McDowell said.

According to the website Family Dinner Project, most American families spend time together during dinner, since it may be the only time of the day when they can reconnect.

“I spend time with my family when I help them cook dinner and when we eat dinner together,” said Bejram.

In his freshman year, Gleaton’s son told her that he did not want spend his entire high school career studying, just to be accepted into a prestigious university.

“When my son said that, I totally supported him because I wanted to see him those four years too. I understand that other people see it differently,” said Gleaton.

She believes that all families should decide on their own whether it is worth taking advanced classes or having too many activities.

Gleaton said, “I really want to push people to make that time because you never get to spend that time again with your kids or parents.”

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Carlmont revives an old tradition with Sadie’s Stuart Vickery Staff Writer

If you walk through the halls of Carlmont around January, you will be able to see a yearly ritual in action.

All around campus you will see boys asking girls to formal with flowers, posters, and any other creative way they can think of.

At dances like formal, prom, and homecoming, it is the tradition for boys to ask their date; however, Sadie Hawkins will give girls the chance to choose who to ask.

The tradition of Sadie Hawkins dances started in the 1930’s. The idea of girls asking guys came from a popular comic strip from that era that featured a character named Sadie Hawkins who got the chance to choose her husband whether he liked it or not.

While asking someone to a dance is different from making them marry you, the theme of girls choosing their dates became popular and the Sadie Hawkins dance was created.

“Sadie Hawkins is a chance for girls to take a less traditional role and ask a guy. I think that Sadie Hawkins dances caught on because it’s a way for girls to get more comfortable with situations that they would otherwise not be put through,” said sophomore Alex Broussard.

This March, Carlmont will be hosting a Sadie Hawkins dance for the first time in several years.

Other peninsula schools have integrated the Sadie Hawkins theme into other more contemporary dances like formal.

At Hillsdale and Aragon High Schools, winter formal is a Sadie Hawkins dance.

“At Sadie’s, girls get the opportunity to ask a partner of their choosing instead of waiting to be asked. It gets rid of the old tradition and provides a more modern way of going to dances,” said Erik Garcia, a senior at Hillsdale. “I enjoy Sadie’s because it relieves the pressure on guys for needing to ask a girl.”

Carlmont used to host seven yearly dances, a stark contrast from the three dances, prom, formal, and homecoming.

One of the dances that Carlmont used to hold was a Sadie Hawkins. The dances were hosted yearly up until four years ago.

“We started out with 300 to 400 people [that would attend Sadie’s] which is not a lot but is doable,” said Jim Kelly, the Associated Student Body teacher at Carlmont.

“Every year less and less people would come.”

Sophomore Ryan Callan speculated that the dance’s failure was due to it being too different from other dances which made people uncomfortable.

“Going against tradition is always difficult at first,” said Callan. “However it could be more successful a second time.”

This year Carlmont’s ASB class is planning on giving Sadie Hawkins dances another try.

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Carlmont’s Sadie Hawkins dance gives girls the opportunity to take the initiative and turn the tables on the “promposal” tradition.

“Anyone who could have attended the [last Sadie’s] dance has graduated. This year there is a fresh set of Carlmont students who have never seen a Carlmont Sadie’s dance,” said senior Megan Guillermo, a member of the dance committee. “We’ve built up a reputation of good dances, so we figured why not try again?”

ASB is using the student body’s lack of experience with Sadie Hawkins to their advantage by trying to create the best dance possible.

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Ultimately the success of the Sadie Hawkins dance will depend on whether Carlmont students decide that they want to try something new and different.

“I definitely think it could work. It gives girls a chance to ask instead of having to wait to be asked. It’s fair to let girls have a chance to take the initiative. Guys are often expected to take the initiative, but just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you can’t ask a guy,” said sophomore Hayden Clark.

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What students want teachers to know:

1. Assigning massive amounts of busy work isn’t beneficial ­— it’s time consuming.

We’d rather learn something new. Doing the same worksheet over and over will just make us more bored and frustrated than actually teach us.

2. If every student is confused about the class material, it’s quite possible the teacher is at fault.

30 students+ 20 “F”s on the test= we need more direction on the subject.

3. Sometimes we actually are using our phones for a good reason.

Moms can’t tell themselves where their kids are going after school.

4. We learn better when we’re not constantly taking notes and listening to lectures.

This just makes us bored and restless.

February 2015

What teachers want students to know:

1. We see when you copy homework, tests, and assignments in class.

Sidenote — ­ the hand hovering over the bottom half of the homework worksheet is a telltale sign it’s not complete.

2. We know when you are on your phones (stop looking down at your crotch!)

It’s most likely not “your mom checking in.”

3.Students shouldn’t try to understand solely the class material.

They should be constantly striving to understand and learn how to be better students.

4. Teachers know all, and are constantly forming their opinion of you by observing you in the classroom.

Sometimes, we’ll let things slide.

But everything is stored in the brain for when final grades come around.

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Five factors in choosing a college major Brooke Buckley Staff Writer

Money

How much money am I going to make?

Students are often pressured to pick a major that will make them financially successful. Some majors are high-paying right out of college while others take time to make a stable salary. According to myplan.com, the top five highest paying college majors are anesthesiologists, gynecologists, oral surgeons, internists and orthopedists (all ranging from $200,000-300,000 a year). According to forbes.com the lowest paying majors fall to Culinary Arts, Photography, Social Work, Art History and Family Studies.

“I applied for environmental sciences and management in hopes of having high financial success,” said senior Michael McGill.

“When picking a major I thought more about how much money I would make because I want to be able to comfortably support myself and my family,” said Sarah Anderson.

from others. Other students are influenced by what their parents do, and want to follow in their footsteps. There is also the pressure to “make our parents proud.” Parents can have many different influences on what students decide to be.

“My parents were an influence when I picked a major because it was important to me to know I would have a successful future doing something my parents would be proud of,” said senior Toni Lupilin.

Senior Megan Guillermo was accepted to Cal Poly for engineering and said, “Most of my family members are engineers, and just being around them I just got inspired to become one.”

Impacted Majors

Should students avoid impacted majors in, the hope of transferring after they get into the school of their dreams? Or should students risk rejection to avoid the process of switching majors?

Depending on which college you are interested certain majors are more popular than others.

In the graph below there is a list of impacted and non-impacted majors at all California State Universities(CSU). “I’ve known for years that I’ve wanted to do optometry;if Cal Poly rejects me beDo students do what they want or listen to cause I applied for what i know I want to learn about their parents? then obviously it wasn’t meant to be and I belong Parents can also be a factor for students when at a different college,” said senior Erica Aldanese. picking a major. Some parents often press stu- “I avoided impacted majors when applydents toward certain majors and steer them away ing to some of the more difficult schools be-

Parents/Family

cause I’d rather get in and transfer majors than not get in at all,” said senior Soha Said.

Skills vs. Interests

Do you pick what you like or do you pick what you’re good at? How do you pick something you know you’ll be good at?

It is hard for students to know what exact skill set they will be able to succeed at.

There are many resources and tests to find what you like, but what happens if a student likes something but is not good at it?

“My interests are kind of in line with what I’m good at so I did not hesitate when picking what I like to do,” said Sydney Carlier.

Time

Do you avoid “hard” majors or ones that require more than four years of studying?

Some students choose to avoid majors that they don’t want to commit the time to.

According to thebestcolleges.org, the top five easiest college majors are Education, Humanities, Math, Computer/information science and Health. The top five hardest majors were said to be Engineering, Life Sciences, Business and Management, Physical Sciences, and Social/Behavioral sciences.

Tenure allows unqualified teachers to keep jobs Elena Mateus Staff Writer

a teacher is fired.”

Even though not all of school’s problems can be attributed to tenure, some believe According to the pro-education reform that it has hindered schools’ abilities to documentary “Waiting for ‘Supermeet its two essential purposes: enman,’” one out of every 57 hancing knowledge, and prodoctors loses their license viding a safe and secure acato practice medicine. demic environment.

One out of every In most states, in97 lawyers loses cluding California, their license to teachers are granted practice law. tenure after only a But in most few years of teachmajor cities, only ing, at which point one out of 1,000 they are difficult teachers is fired to fire. “Tenure is a for performancedouble edge sword- it related reasons. Why? protects the good teachTenure. ers, and it also protects Tenure is a status grantthe teachers who aren’t doing ed to teachers and professors VERONIKA DVORAKOVA their job,” said Harrison. that provides job security after a probaFor example, in New York, from 2006 to tionary period.

2011, only 32 out of 132,000 teachers were At the start, tenure was established in fired for any reason, according to the AlMassachusetts in 1866 as the Progressive bany Times Union.

Era swept the country. Tenure was a due Or consider Chicago-- when only 38.5 process, something intended to work as percent of 11th graders met or exceeded a check against administrators wrongly passing rates on the state’s standardized firing teachers and replacing them with test, Newsweek reported that only 0.1 perfriends, family or less qualified people. It cent of teachers were released for perforwas also designed to protect teachers who mance-related reasons between 2005 and took political stands that the community 2008. When barely a quarter of students apmight have disagreed with. proaching graduation can proficiently read Administrative Vice Principal Jennifer and do math, how can only one in 1,000 Cho said, “Tenure ensures that there is a teachers be fired for inadequate teaching? standard protocol for teachers and staff According to a poll of 235 students conmembers for how they interact and treat ducted by Carlmont Journalism, 78 percent staff members.” of students said they have had a teacher In today’s society, however, the teacher they believed should be fired due to perfortenure has been referred to as a “job for mance-related reasons. life,” a perk that is not enjoyed by any other Junior Lucas Coley said, “Tenure allows sector of the workforce. History teacher teachers who aren’t teaching adequately to Jarrod Harrison said, “Some teachers really slack off and slip under the radar and relike [tenure] because it makes sure that po- main at their positions for longer than they litical and personal issues aren’t the reason should.”

In order to ensure adequate performance from teachers at Carlmont, evaluations are held by administration every two years.

But with over three quarters of the student population claiming to have a teacher worth dismissal, some students do not think an evaluation once every two years is enough.

Junior Gabi Dimick said, “I think that because the teacher knows they’re being evaluated, they may act a different way.

I’ve had teachers act especially engaged on the day of evaluation and I don’t think it is coincidence. Teachers should be evaluated by the students who have to sit in front of them every single day.”

Cho said, “If there is just an obvious issue with a teacher, it does take time. When the process is being followed there are still hundreds of students going through that teacher’s classroom that are being affected.”

In part, teacher unions have assured that even when successfully terminating a teacher, the process is both greatly expensive and time consuming. The cost to eliminate the teacher in New York, for example, averages out to $163,142, according to Education Week.

With California education budget cuts, schools may struggle to make ends meet financially; for this reason tenure can be seen as unaffordable. Keeping a teacher around continually locks in substantial costs.

“Right now, if there is a teacher who isn’t doing their job, you can get rid of themit just takes a lot of work and effort and a lot of administrators just don’t want to go through the trouble to do it,” said Harrison, “it takes a lot- lawyers, arbitration, and a whole lot of money.”

Mark C. Taylor, chair of Columbia University’s Department of Religion and author of a book against tenure, estimates that a university uses between $10 million and $12 million of its funding to support

a single tenured professor for a 35-year career. For universities, debt increased 54 percent last year, making it on average $168 million, according to Businessweek. If each university tenured around 25 fewer professors, the debt problem would be much more likely to solve itself.

In a study done in 2011 by the University of Texas at Austin, evidence revealed that schools would potentially save $266 million a year if it could get half its professors to be as productive as the top 20 percent of professors and fire its least effective faculty.

The many obstacles and growing number of expenses that come with tenure have caused some people to seek an effective alternative.

Harrison said, “What we need to do is to develop a new system where it is easy to identify, attempt to rehabilitate, and then release bad teachers. Regardless of public consent, there are a lot of ways to do that.”

In North Carolina, Senate leader Phil Berger implemented a plan to remove traditional teacher tenure and move to meritbased pay. This would base teacher’s pay on the success of their students as determined by progress from grades and test scores.

Junior Matthew Trost said, “Adequate teaching could be determined by an acceptable number of students passing a course.

This may discourage complacency, but it also may not be fair if a teacher is teaching a class full of unmotivated students.”

Another alternative is having renewable contracts that provide some long-term stability, but also make strong demands on teachers to demonstrate success and improvement.

While the tenure-based system may run the risk of producing lackadaisical methods from underachieving teachers and run big costs, it benefits teachers -- the good and the not so good.

FEATURES

Page 8

The Highlander

February 2015

Match the teacher to the car B.

A.

Scott Chan Chan teaches Physics and Greentech to Carlmont students. He grew up in the East Bay and then moved to Palo Alto, Calif. to attend Stanford University. Chan is married and has two children in college. In his free time, Chan likes to ride his bike, race cars and scuba dive.

Rebecca Pearlman Pearlman teaches Statistics, AP Statistics and Algebra this year at Carlmont. She grew up in Rhode Island, which is where she gets her slight accent from. Pearlman stayed in Rhode Island for college where she attended Brown University. She is married, and has one son, one daughter and one step-son. In her free time Pearlman enjoys playing tennis.

C.

Amber Mills

Jarrod Harrison

Mills teaches AP Calculus AB. She is married and has a son named Jake who is in elementary school. She attended UC Riverside. Mills likes to spend time in the kitchen finding new vegan foods to try. She has been an off and on vegetarian since high school and recently decided to try vegan foods and loves it! She also loves to spend time with her family and her dog.

Harrison stays busy teaching U.S. History, AP U.S. History, AP Comparative Government and International Relations at Carlmont. He is married and has one son and one step-son. Harrison attended San Francisco State University, where he got his masters. Harrison likes to spend his time mostly playing with his 19 month-old son.

D.

Gold teaches 11th and 12th grade English, some of which are Academy classes.

She is married. She attended college at San Diego State University. In her free time she enjoys reading for pleasure and writing creatively.

F. INFORMATION FROM MIRANDA IRWIN AND PHOTOS BY VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

Josh Engberg Engberg teaches Chemistry and Integrated Science. He is married and has two sons ages five and eight. In his free time Engberg likes to surf, camp and take part in outdoor activities. He attended college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

G.

David Talcott

Kristen Fewins

Talcott teaches Physics this year at Carlmont. He is married and has one baby boy named Nathan. Talcott spends the majority of his time commuting to work because he lives so far away, but if he had more free time he would spend it “building stuff.�

Fewins is a new teacher at Carlmont this year. She teaches AS English I and English Language Development. She grew up in the East Bay and then attended college at UC Davis. Fewins, in her spare time, likes to go on hikes and spend time with her friends.

H.

Answer Key: A-Mills; B-Chan; C-Harrison; D-Talcott; E-Pearlman; F-Engberg; G-Gold; H-Fewins.

Susan Gold

E.

FEATURES

February 2015

Page 9

The Highlander

SAT vs. ACT: Which one should you take?

Bijan Khalili Staff Writer

Several things are going through a student’s mind throughout the school year, from making sure their grades are good enough to compete on their sports teams to keeping up with friends.

SAT and ACT testing are also on the top of the to-do list.

Every year, many students contemplate whether to take the SAT, or the ACT or both.

It has been the common belief amongst high school students that if you didn’t do well on the SAT, you could make it up with the ACT or vise-versa.

“For me, I took the SAT and I didn’t do too well, so I decided to take the ACT and I got a better score on that, so I used that for my college application,” said senior Elie Abinader.

The ACT has been taken more than the SAT this past year, according to Test Prep Authority, possibly due to its reputation of being the “easier” test.

In an article on CNN, College Board President and CEO David Coleman said in regards to the SAT, “The [SAT] is too stressful for students, too filled with mystery and "tricks" to raise scores and isn’t necessarily creating more college-ready students.”

Knowing this, The College Board has made some changes to the current SAT that will be implemented after the

Spring of 2016.

The changes include two required sections per subject instead of three Evidence-Based Writing and Math. The essay is optional, and the test is out of 1600 instead of the regular 2400. Lastly, the vocabulary tested words include relevant words in context instead of obscure ones as seen with the test right now. Also, there will be penalty for wrong answers.

“I really like changes made on the SAT because before it seemed really overwhelming and I’m glad I get to take this version,” said sophomore Paul Bastaki.

According to U.S. News and World News Education, many years ago the test a student decided to take was chosen based on the geographical location of the college you wanted to attend.

For the Midwest schools, students took the ACT; for the East Coast, students took the SAT. But that is not the case in today’s College Board system.

Carlmont counselor Kimberly Miller said, “For most colleges, they’re going to take them both equally-- they’ll use them interchangeably. There’s not one test that is better than the other.”

Some colleges still have a preference of what test to take.

Senior Jack Stanger, who got into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Early Decision, said, “For Cal Poly, they preferred the ACT over the SAT which was good because I had a high score on the ACT.” When it comes to which test to choose, the question is

which test best suits you.

“I would recommend you do a pre- test or a practice test online or from a book for each of them and see which one you are more comfortable with,” said Miller.

U.S. and World News Education said the SAT primarily assesses reasoning ability, while the ACT focuses more on strict knowledge.

Both tests have a math section and both require a solid understanding in geometry and algebra. The SAT is more likely to include story problems and creative application of the basic rules of geometry. The ACT, by contrast, tends to be more straightforward.

In the English section, the SAT places a greater emphasis on reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Although the ACT includes a reading comprehension section as well, it focuses more on the grammar and syntax of the content.

The ACT has a science section as well which does not exist in the SAT. All in all, the ACT is more a test of knowledge than of reasoning and problem-solving.

When it comes down to it, during testing season there’s no reason not to take both.

“Take both and see which one you did better on in your junior year. If you want to retake a test your senior year retake the one you did better on and use that for your college application,” said Melissa Hero, educational technology specialist, and 10-year Avid teacher.

College apps: Are the SAT and ACT really that important?

Andrew Cross Staff Writer

You have five minutes left and you still have 15 questions to answer. As time is running out, the pressure mounts. You need to get a good score because your future depends on it. Or does it?

As many students know, the SAT and ACT are standardized tests that students take and put on their college applications.

The ACT allows colleges to see how much you have learned while the SAT shows your reasoning skills while taking the test.

Even though the SAT and ACT are on college applications, the question arises of whether or not they really matter. According to a new study, they don’t.

On the PBS website, William Hiss’ data showed that 33 colleges, both public and private, question if the tests are necessary.

“Hiss’ data showed that there was a negligible difference in college performance between the two groups(the submitters and non-submitters). Only .05 percent of a GPA point set ‘submitters’ and ‘non-submitters’ apart, and the difference in their graduation rates was just .6 percent,” according to PBS. The nominal difference between the

Editor in Chief Ashley Kawakami Business Manager Kristen Friis Online Shira Stein Copy Editor Jessica Adair

“... Some college admissions offices no longer require the SAT in their admissions process and some even disregard test scores in their evaluation of student applications,” according to Eduventures.

KIMIKO OKUMURA If there are Students anxiously wait outside to take the dreaded SAT. college admission offices submitters and non-submitters shows that that don’t pay attention to test scores, then ACT and SAT scores are not the most imwhat’s the big deal? portant thing in the world.

Even though there are studies that say Some people agree with this statement. test scores are not as important as we think, They think the SAT and ACT scores don’t students believe that they can still make a make a difference in student acceptances. difference of getting into college over an“I don’t think colleges focus too much on other student. test scores. I think they try to evaluate the “I think SAT and ACT scores are very vistudent based on their GPA, classes and extal when it comes to choosing one student tracurricular activities,” said social studies over another because colleges can’t accept teacher Marcello Di Cicco. everyone, ” said junior Connor Loucks.

In fact, Eduventures website believes Colleges can only accept a certain that some colleges ignore test scores on colamount of people, which makes it harder lege applications.

Editors Michael Bastaki Sarah Boro Alyssa Fagel Dominic Gialdini Claudia Leist Kimiko Okumura Karissa Tom Zoe Wildman

The Highlander

Junior Editors Avery Adams Aria Frangos Megan Tao Sophie Haddad Kelly Song

Facutly Advisor Justin Raisner

for the student to get accepted. For example, according to news and reviews website, Ivy league schools like Yale and Columbia have acceptance rates of under 10 percent.

Other schools that look at tests scores are CSUs. These colleges like to evaluate your test scores and your GPA. “Your chance of getting into a CSU is 100 percent based on your GPA and your test scores,” said Math and AVID teacher Matthew Miskelly.

Even if you are not applying to a prestigious academic school, some students think that you should still put scores on your college applications.

“If you are not applying to a top academic school, you should still put your test scores on your applications just in case they want to look at it or compare it with other students,” said junior Taylor Lenci.

Even though many people have different opinions on the subject, most can agree that standardized tests shouldn’t determine whether you get into a certain college or not.

“Tests shouldn’t determine whether if you are accepted or not. If you have a good GPA while taking hard classes while participating in extracurricular activities, that should be enough,” said senior Zach Miller.

Staff Writers

Ayesha Abbasi Arianna Bayangos Brooke Buckley Angelina Castillo Holly Chen Andrew Cross Evan Davies Becca Fradkin Karen Gao Becca Garner Ravina Gujral

Danielle Hamer Mia Hogan Miranda Irwin Kian Karamdashti Bijan Khalili Victor Li Colley Loum Elena Mateus Anya Meredith Jocelyn Moran Mateen Nozzari

Lara Ostroff Taran Sun Sonia Paulo Alisa Takahashi Kiera Pendleton Lauren Tierney Justine Phipps Stuart Vickery Adriana Ramirez Ethan Wong Kat Savin Hana Wong Sarah Schisla Connie Yi Lila Schulman Hannah Young Gianna Schuster Marco Sevilla Victoria Shanefelter

Art and Graphics Ivy Nguyen Alyssa Espiritu Art Director The mission of The Highlander is to accurately and honestly cover community and school events. As Veronika Dvorakova Minh-Han Vu

a student run open forum newspaper, we strive to incorporate multiple views and represent the diverse community at Carlmont.

Page 10

The Highlander

FEATURES

February 2015

Does video game violence influence real life?

VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

Evan Davies Staff Writer Out of all forms of popular culture, the video game industry is widely considered to be one of the most controversial.

When compared to movies, television, and literature, video games are still a relatively new medium. While the first video games were made in the late 1970s, they didn’t become largely popular, until the late 1990s and early 2000s.

According to The Imagine Games Network, this is a large part of the reason why the video game industry is under so much fire from both the media and the government.

It seems that every time a shooting or violent crime occurs, somebody accuses video games of being the cause, often times disregarding the criminal’s psychological record or criminal history. Sophomore Lucas Lemaster said, “I don’t think crazy people do violent things because of video

games, they do violent things because they’re crazy” According to Electronic Arts, the two groups who most commonly make these accusations are news outlets and conservative politicians.

Some people believe that these groups are stating the facts presented to them, but others suspect that each group has it’s own reason for targeting the video game industry.

Junior Zachary Ma said, “I’ve never once seen a news report that presents actual research about video game violence. It’s just, ‘Video games cause violence because we say so.’”

According to The Huffington Post these news stations and political groups likely have ulterior motives for targeting video games.

According to The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the media’s motivation simple, video games present competition. It may not appear so, but video games compete

with the media.

According to GamesRadar, both industries depend on people viewing or playing their content to be successful, and if someone is playing a video game then they aren’t watching the news.

When looking at conservative politicians the answer is more complex. Their attacks on video games may relate to Republican views on gun control.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, many questions began to surface about the U.S. gun control system such as how a mentally unstable person was able to acquire a high powered rifle.

The republicans are against gun control and have blamed video games for the shootings. According to Microsoft and the National Broadcasting Company, conservatives are attempting to lower resentment of their own policies by turning public opinion of video games.

These groups seem to blame video games more than violent movies, televi-

sion, or song lyrics as the cause of violent shootings. According to Gamespot, while it is not unheard of for media to attack these forms of entertainment as well, it is much less common.

“If video games cause real world violence shouldn’t the same be true for movies and television?” said Sophomore David Vondran The reason is that the video games are an easy target. While movies, television, and music have enormous communities behind them video gaming is still in it’s adolescence.

If news outlets or political figures attacked the film industry in this way there would be national outcry and a huge pushback, but the video game industry simply doesn’t have that kind of support yet.

The vulnerability of the video game industry has caused it to become a target for journalists and politicians who see an opportunity to further their own organization’s goals.

Creativity of fans brings about a new culture Karen Gao Staff Writer

Fan communities express their passion through creative means like art, music, fanfiction, conventions, and cosplay.

Cosplaying is when people dress up in elaborate cosThere are fans who don’t just have a “casual” interest in tumes based on fictional characters.

Alyssa Feigelson, a sophomore, said, “Cosplay is awea series.

Friends who don’t share the same interests can be close, some; a really unique form of expression, and it’s not just but being able to meet others who have the same fandoms art. You become the character yourself. I once roleplayed is a different experience, as fans immediately have a strong with some people and we found each other the next day. It feels like you found your friends, and fandoms are a tight connection to each other.

A fandom is a community of people who enjoy a certain knit group. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Fanfictions are complex stories ranging from continuatelevision, book, game or comic series. In these communities, people gather to enjoy and display their avocations tions of the real storyline to what-if situational stories that are written by fans. with dedicated fan works.

Junior Sara Chong said, “I feel like I can connect “I think fanfiction helps with fellow fans, I feel closer people who are not confiand more social around them.

It’s nice to relate to others, and “People put so much dedication and dent in their writing. There collaborative communiit’s harder to be social or make effort into their creations and it amazes are ties and people can get realjokes with my other friends,” me. Yet it doesn’t surprise me because ly good advice and support said junior Melody Nejad.

However they’re not mere that’s just how incredible people in a from others. People are really positive and optimistic.” hobbies; people love them befandom are. It’s a bond that can’t be Fanart and music allow cause the fandoms’ creators people with different opinput their heart and soul into compared to any other.” ions to enjoy something their work, which resonate Alyssa Feigelson fan-made together. with their fans deeply.

Feigelson said, “Fanart Sophomore Sophomore Pauline Sy said, is gorgeous because people “In my fandom experience, I just bump into people and freak out. I freak out, then I take their talent that could be for anything, but use it to exramble a lot, and freak out some more. I can connect with press their fandoms. They create the most beautiful things and become better and talented artists.” them, and share a passion with other people like me.”

These fictional worlds are created for others to enjoy.

There are some fandoms who have nicknames because of their notable number of fans. Some of them include Na- With all the action and character development comes the rutards (Naruto), Bronies (My Little Pony: Friendship is important messages that fans take to heart.

Most fans come to share the same beliefs and values, Magic) and Potterheads (Harry Potter).

There’s a strong sense of unity among fandoms due to with the majority rejecting negative views.

Feigelson said, “I feel like there is a section that you don’t many contributions.

“People in fandoms can get along, and feel safe and at talk about. Like those people who think that Fullmetal Alease. They unintentionally understand each other,” Nejad chemist’s dark ending is more ‘realistic’ and for ‘adults’ or that you can’t like an animated series because animation is said.

“

KAREN GAO

Dedicated fans show their spirit by cosplaying as their favorite characters.

for little kids only. Those people are just baiting the serious fans into pointless arguments. I am usually like ‘ugh, this again’ when I see these debates on forums.”

The extent of their passion is shown when, in desperate times, people raise money or protest for more of a fandom they are part of.

In a Kickstarter for the webcomic Homestuck to get a video game, fans raised $2.4 million total, surpassing the goal of $200,000 in 32 hours. The fans of Kim Possible petitioned to save the series with a fourth season.

Creativity drives the fans’ desire to expand, change or create their own versions of something they love.

“People put so much dedication and effort into their creations and it amazes me. Yet it doesn’t surprise me because that’s just how incredible people in a fandom are,” Feigelson said, “It’s a bond that can’t be compared to any other.”

FEATURES

February 2015

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The Highlander

Goofing off can be good for you Kian Karamdashti Staff Writer

“If only you spent more of your time focusing on school and homework instead of goofing off.”

Like a broken record, countless students have listened to this criticism for their tendency to “goof off.”

“I do feel pressured to finish my work when I get home, but only to a certain extent,” said junior Kamrin Choye. “I feel the pressure to get my work done as soon as possible to get it out of the way and off my mind. However, I often find myself way too tired to do it after a long day at school, where we are expected to be attentive, on task, and productive for six to seven periods. When I get home, I want to do mindless things like TV, computer, or just sleeping.”

The definition of “goofing off ” according to freedictionary.com is “the evasion of work or duty,” a negative connotation.

However, recent studies show that “goofing off ” or “down time” adds to student success.

According to Professor of Organizational Behavior John P. Trougakos at the University of Toronto Scarborough, “Mental concentration is similar to a muscle, it becomes fatigued after sustained use and needs a rest period before it can recover, much as a weight lifter needs rest before doing a second round of repetitions at the gym.”

“That makes a lot of sense to me,” said junior Lukas Kelly. “I can’t immediately continue schoolwork at home. It takes an hour or two to unwind before I start homework.”

“I nap because I don’t sleep enough on

Short power naps of around 20 minutes in length are useful for quick rejuvenation if teens are too busy to sleep enough on school nights. school nights,” said sophomore Matt Shen.

“When I do nap, after I shake off the drowsiness, I definitely feel more rejuvenated. I think most students would love to nap more, but it can be impossible, especially with extracurriculars.”

With schedules more crammed than ever, some students find the ability to unwind and “goof off ” through their extracurriculars.

“During swim season, I use swimming as a way to let off steam,” said Kelly. “It’s nice to focus your energy on something else besides school. It helps me unwind, and I start homework sooner when I get home.”

Shen agrees that sports are a good dis-

traction.

“Basketball helps me get through the day. I’m not sure what I’d do without it. It’s not all about sports though. Little things help me de-stress too, like sitting down and eating a good meal or just checking my phone for 10 minutes. You can’t work for 24 hours.”

Despite proven benefits of “goofing off,” there is a reason it has a negative connotation.

According to a poll of 2,700 students taken at Desales University, 64 percent of students reported procrastination, or “goofing off,” as having a negative effect on their lives, with 18% of those students

MINH-HAN VU

claiming it as being “extreme.”

“It can get pretty bad,” said senior Jack Stanger. “I find myself procrastinating a lot, and that can definitely lead to problems.

However, I am usually able to figure it out.

It’s a juggling act.”

At the end of the day, most students will agree that some downtime is needed.

“School is extremely stressful and a lot of students are struggling to cope with that,” said Choye. “Sometimes the best way to deal with the pressure and stresses is to stop working and do some mindless activity to unwind and relax your mind.”

Naps aren’t only for toddlers and preschoolers Colley Loum Staff Writer

A student comes home, kicks off his shoes, and takes a two-hour nap. When his parents see him, they think he is a lazy bum.

But is he?

Though many people think of napping as a waste of time, it can be useful for a high school student.

The National Sleep Foundation says that napping has a large impact on the mood, productivity, and awareness of every person.

As students’ levels of schoolwork increase with age, it can be hard for some students to get enough sleep.

This causes students to be exhausted in class, which leads to a lack of comprehension. Some students are forced to teach themselves in addition to completing homework,

or never understand the material at all.

This endless cycle takes a toll on many students, and ends up making high school a lot harder than it should be.

Junior Evan Lee takes one-hour naps after school when not in the midst of basketball season.

“Naps help me work quickly through my homework,” said Lee. Lee’s naps energize him for retaining information, and he gets to bed at roughly the same time whether he naps or not.

Sophomore Paul Bastaki is another Carlmont student who habitually takes a two-hour nap when he gets home from school.

Bastaki said, “After a long day of school I am exhausted and not ready to start my homework. A nap makes me feel energized and prepared to do homework.”

According to a research project performed by Dr. Larry Rosen of the Huffington Post, students of all ages are able

to focus and stay on task for an average of only three minutes before being distracted by a phone or computer.

Taking a two-hour break before studying is more effective than stopping for breaks while studying.

Many students who have extracurriculars after school do not have time to nap for hours. Yet there is still a way for these students to reap the benefits of a quality nap.

NASA conducted a study on the perfect length for a short nap. In the first 21 minutes of sleep, before the brain enters the REM cycle, the body is rejuvenated with energy.

Carlmont science teacher Josh Engberg said, “Sleep is important for overall health. It doesn’t have to come all from one straight shot, and naps could be one way to boost your overall sleep.”

Breaking up sleep time is helpful for students to get the highest amount of sleep possible.

TALK BACK: What kinds of breaks do you take during homework?

“

“

I lay on my bed and listen to music.

“

junior

“

freshman

Zac Miller

Alison Luna I read a book or watch TV for awhile.

“

senior

“

Matthew Matias

I hang out with friends or walk my dog.

MINH-HAN VU

Page 12

The Highlander

CARLMONT F Finding a home in Flag Club

Ethan Wong Staff Writer

C is for CHOIR

B is for BAND

A is for ASB

Home is where the heart is, and for some students, their “home” is found in the various clubs on campus.

Clubs are not only organizations that promote a certain idea, but also a place where students can have fun and be themselves. The diversity of the clubs allow students to join a club and pursue their passions. There are many clubs at Carlmont, so students can explore and find the one that’s right for them.

F is for FOMF The Friends of Millard Fillmore Trivia Hunt, also known as FOMF, is a research competition that is held between high schools in the San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. This year, Carlmont took the victory of the annual hunt. FOMF was started by Robert Hunter, a former Carlmont history teacher.

“Flag club? We have a flag club?” said sophomore Chris Ding.

Clubs are a huge part of student involvement in Carlmont’s campus, but some clubs like Flag Club are lesser known and are under-appreciated.

“I don’t really know what the club is, but I think flag club is a very interesting club where they study the designs of world flags and their origins,” said Ding.

Not many people may know much about Flag Club, but it is more than meets the eye.

“Our club is about learning about flags and learning about their significance. Flags are very important and people should start to get educated about what they mean and what they can do for cultures and nations,” said Flag Club President Max Conrad.

“However that’s not all we do in the club.

For example we’re student ambassadors for the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides assistance to war veterans.”

Senior Conner Abernathy said, “[This club] is about having fun really, connecting and seeing what we can learn from each other. It’s not necessarily just talking about flags, you can talk about making your own flag for example.”

O is for ORCHESTRA

N is for NIGHT GAMES

KIMIKO OKUMURA

Whether it’s football or basketball, students participate in Carlmont’s cheering section, Screamin’ Scots at night games.

L is for LACROSSE

S is for SELF DEFENSE CLUB This club was started by junior Gabi Dimick to spread awareness about sexual harassment and learning self defense.

P is for PACIFIC ISLANDER CLUB

D is for DANCE “I was really scared when I first started Carlmont Dance as a freshman because it was with people I didn’t know at all, but over the years I’ve made so many friends in that class and it feels like a big family. It has enhanced my high school experience a lot because it’s a place where I can always have fun doing what I love to do with people I love to be with.“ Ella Reich, junior

X is for X-TRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Carlmont offers many extracurricular activities including Drumline and tutoring.

V is for VOL

FROM A TO Z n Carlmont clubs Carlmont’s Flag Club, also known as The Vexillological Society, currently has approximately 12 members, but is hoping to expand.

Abernathy said, “We want to spread patriotism and general knowledge about flags throughout the school through community service.”

Carlmont’s Flag Club is currently planning to spread awareness of their club through a flag designing contest.

Flag Club’s teacher adviser Jarrod Harrison said, “Right now were talking about holding a contest where we have students design a flag for the club within certain principles, so we’ll be doing some business.”

J-Pop Club

The Japanese Pop Culture Club is beyond an average anime-watching club here at Carlmont. One of the qualities that makes this club so special is the closeness between the members.

Freshman Marco Vasquez said, “This club gives the sense that you’re part of a family. No one judges you here and it’s a really fun place to hang around.”

On a daily basis, this club does many activities that relates to Japanese pop culture.

President of the Japanese Pop Culture Club Trishia Nunez said, “Most of the time we’ll either watch anime or listen to music. We do have a lot of days where we play games and such though, like on Valentine’s Day last year we played a Japanese dating game, which was really fun.”

On the other hand, this fun-loving club is taking a step away from their normal activities to prepare for Carlmont’s upcoming heritage fair, where they will be performing a special Japanese dance.

“This year we are trying to get a little away from purely just being an anime club because we are a culture club. Japanese culture isn’t purely anime, so this year we decided to participate in the Heritage Fair in an expression towards the direction

LLEYBALL

we’re heading,” said Nunez.

This club also organizes fun bonding events for the members to meet up and spend a day with each other.

Vasquez said, “We have an annual trip to Japantown in San Francisco, an anime convention where we meet up in San Jose, and on occasion we meet up at each other’s houses for karaoke nights.”

Fashion Club

“Every day is a fashion show, and the world is the runway,” said Coco Chanel.

This is a motto that Carlmont’s Fashion Club lives by.

Fashion Club is a recently revitalized club, restarted this year after being shut down since 2011. However, they’re now well prepared and organized and are up and running smoothly.

Sophomore Estella Lippi said, “We’re a bunch of people who really like fashion and we go to a club where we do activities such as fashion collages and sewing, and we explore a lot of the different careers in fashion.”

Fashion Club helps students explore different careers in fashion, and is closely associated with Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), a highly respected design school located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

“We’re sponsored by FIDM, and there’s opportunities to get a $1000 scholarship to FIDM and it looks really good on your college applications,” said Lippi.

This club is planning multiple activities and events in the future to help spread awareness of the club.

Fashion Club’s teacher adviser, Julia Schulman said, “We are going to attend a big FIDM convention and go on other field trips. Also, we really want to do a Carlmont fashion runway to explore different cultures’ clothing. We are aiming to have a fashion show during Heritage Fair, but realistically we will definitely have one next year.”

As a new club, Fashion Club currently has 14 members.

Schulman said, “I think more people need to know more about this club and feel comfortable joining us. I don’t want people who are really into fashion but have alternative or unusual tastes to think that they aren’t welcome, they are. We want people from all walks of life to join us, there’s no one right member for this club.”

“It’s a family environment and we’re all friends in this club,” said Lippi.

Page 13

February 2015 I is for IMPROV “Improv is just a really good way to get out of your comfort zone. you think faster on your feet when you’re in improv. It’s really important for the business world, like when you start doing interviews, because if you’ve been in improv you can think faster. We have a really small team, so everyone gets really close over the course of the year.”

Lauren Pittock, senior

R is for ROBOTICS

“I love the way robotics has given me experience dealing with all types of people and tasks that are applicable to so much more than just technology and engineering.”

Sydney Salzman, senior

M is for MONTY THE SCOT Carlmont’s mascot, Monty comes out for sporting events and spirit rallies.

He is known for blue kilt and signature beard.

JUSTINE PHIPPS

E is for EUROSOCCER CLUB

J is for JAZZ BAND “Carlmont jazz band is a very key part of Carlmont because [we are] very skilled in our playing. We have one of the best jazz bands in the Bay Area. We go to festivals all the time, we compete, and we get the highest ranking that we can. A lot of the people in jazz band are dedicated musicians -- they practice at home and come in prepared every day to class. If people are absent in jazz band, it’s like a big hole in the band, so everyone in the band is really important.”

Kaelen Ghandhi, senior

U is for UKULELE CLUB K is for KEY CLUB

Q is for QUIZ KIDS “Just like [some] students enjoy playing sports, Quiz Kids is an academic competition. These competitions have a wide breadth of subjects -- name one and it’s there. It’s meant to be a fun competition for people who are interested in academics. Like any other club it’s also a social network. There are some teams out there that are really hardcore. Our Carlmont team -- of course they enjoy winning -- but it’s always been more about having fun as well.”

Patricia Braunstein, supervisor

W is for WATER POLO H is for HARMONY CLUB Harmony Club, also known as the GayStraight Alliance, is a home for LGBTQ youth and allies.

G is for GLEATON

Lisa Gleaton is the outgoing and friendly principal.

Y is for YEARBOOK KARISSA TOM

Z is for ZERO CHEATING TOLERANCE

T is for THEATER “Being a part of the musical has given me the opportunity to make so many friends and meet so many people that I would never have otherwise become friends with. My favorite part is being able to become a completely different person while on stage.”

Davis Schmitt, junior QUOTATIONS COMPILED BY GIANNA SCHUSTER

FEATURES

Page 14

The Highlander

February 2015

The myth of “one size fits all” Angelina Castillo Staff Writer

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Senior Mark Tulchinsky models his gauges, nose piercing and pens in his beard.

Body Modifications

You’re shopping with your friends and come across a store advertising that one size fits all. You walk in and start trying on the clothes only to find it fits your friend but it doesn’t fit you.

Does one size really fit all?

“One size fits all” clothing means it can fit every body shape. The definition of all according to Merriam Webster is “the whole, entire, total amount, quantity, or extent of.”

Not one person shares the same body shape, the advertisement stating “one size fits all” should be reworded to “one size fits most.”

Often times clothing is advertised on thin models or thin mannequins which doesn’t match a majority of the populations body shape.

Teens often worry about body image, shopping with friends who can fit into the clothes that advertise fitting

all body shapes can put damper on one’s self-esteem and cause embarrassment.

Brandy Melville isn’t interested in catering to any woman whose body shape doesn’t fit a restrictive idea of what “most” people can actually wear.

“The one size fits most clothing might turn off somebody if they don’t walk into the store, but if you walk in you’ll find something even if it’s a bag,” said Jessy Longo, a store owner and close friend of one of Brandy Melville’s cofounders. “We aren’t focused on branding a certain model or branding one race and we don’t seek out a certain type of look.”

Typically brands such as Brandy Melville who advertise one size fits most only sells clothing of a small or medium size. In regards to waist size, the pants and skirts are created for a waist size of 25 inches.

At the end of your shopping experience when you walk out of the store empty handed because one size fits all did not apply to you, don’t let that define yourself.

Holly Chen Staff Writer

Walk down any street in Hollywood and take a look around. Chances are, you’ll see it. Body modifications.

Some fill their breasts with silicone to achieve their idea of the perfect breast size. Others have facial piercings, while some have entire body tattoos. But, their actions come at a price.

Sungmi Yi, a Carlmont mother said “I had double eyelid surgery on both my eyelids. I got this procedure because of the saying that ‘more money will come.’ Yet when my friends noticed my surgery, they said that my new eyelids did not look good on me. I began to start to feel self conscious.”

ISAPS, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery stated that in 2013, over 23 million procedures were done worldwide. Leading in plastic surgeries was the United States with 3,996,631 procedures done in one year alone.

Guiping Jiang, another student’s mother, got plastic surgery on her eyelids to make them look larger.

She said, “When my friends saw me after the surgery, they were shocked. I felt like I should have been satisfied with my natural eye shape before and wished I hadn’t done the surgery. I think I am the representative of a failed case.”

Many people declined to discuss about their surgeries because they worried their peers would judge them for “having work done.”

One person who wished to remain anonymous said, “I prefer others not to know about my procedures. I am pregnant now and wish that my current family not find out that I had work done. I feel like my in-laws would be unhappy and think I am fake.”

But for some body modification does not necessarily mean going under the knife. For them, body modification means adorning themselves with tattoos and piercings.

Senior Mark Tulchinsky said, “I have my earlobes stretched and pierced. My nose is also pierced. I got these done because I like the look and now it has stuck with me for over 5 years. It’s just something I wanted to do and went for it. Go big or go home.”

Tulchinsky faces the opinions of others in his day-today life. Unlike those who have gotten plastic surgery, he embraces his piercings.

Tulchinsky said, “I do feel judged by others. But over the years I have grown to enjoy the gasps and wide-eyed looks from parents. Fitting the description of the ‘kids your mother warned you about.’”

Tulchinsky is not alone in the reactions he faces from those around him.

Junior Malia Canepa said, “ Both my parents didn’t like [my stretched ears]. A lot of people ask me to take them out, or ask if they can stick their fingers through my ears.

And when they do, some of them say ‘Eww,’ but I don’t really care.

Another Carlmont student, junior Aleyna Isik has piercings on her face and ears.

Isik said, “I did feel uncomfortable around older people.

I purposely got piercings that would not leave scars, so I can take them out in the future when I have kids. But until then, I will definitely continue to get piercings.”

Despite some negative backlash, many young people continue to get body modifications, and continue to embrace them, despite what others say.

Canepa said, “I like my stretched ears. It is me, and I would never change myself, because of others.”

VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

Popular stores choose their customers Mia Hogan Staff Writer

Plot twist: the store picks their customers.

Contrary to the typical idea that the customer pick what brands to wear and style, storefronts have begun to pick their customers.

While shopping at brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, it has become apparent that these stores do not carry sizes above a large.

Before walking into the store, individuals face social pressures and judgement.

Junior Skylar Stratton said, “Images and [shirtless] sales reps out on display in stores like Hollister make me feel judged when shopping and that I shouldn’t be there.”

The next challenge is to find clothing that actually fits.

Last year, in response to the complaints of pilling, Founder, former designer and chief executive officer (CEO) of Lululemon Athletica Dennis Wilson said, “Some women’s bodies don’t work with [leggings]. It’s really about the rubbing between the thighs and how much pressure is there.”

Wilson talked about how thinner girls should wear Lululemon because it fits their body better and how their clothing is designed for those whose thighs don’t touch.

Social pressures to conform to fashion trends coupled with companies discriminating toward certain body types ostracize those who cannot meet

the society’s body standards.

“With unrealistic body images projected onto young women, it is detrimental to their self-esteem and overview on who they aspire to come based on trends in pop-culture. It is hard to remove yourself from these negative trends if everyone around you supports them,” said Natalie Tussy.

It is even harder to ignore negative perceptions on body image when popular brand names endorse an exclusive fit of their clothing.

Since 2006, style has increasingly been more exclusionary and competition between retailers has increased.

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries stated in an interview with Salon that their clothing line is only for the good looking cool kids.

Jeffries said, “We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive allAmerican kid with a great attitude and lots of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary?

Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny.”

Currently, Abercrombie’s biggest size is a large, demonstrating how larger individuals do not fit Abercrombie’s requirements and body image standards.

In 2013, 18-year-old Benjamin O’Keefe initiated a petition through Change.org asking Abercrombie & Fitch for an apology and production of larger sizes.

O’Keefe was upset with Abercrom-

bie’s idea of bigger kids not fitting into the popular crowd and the exclusion of overweight people from their brand. O’Keefe has gained over 80,000 supporters in the past two years.

As a young adult who suffered from an eating disorder, O’Keefe brings attention to how the controversial issue of stores omitting bigger sizes can affect the self-worth those who cannot fit into the clothes.

In his petition, he said, “As silly as it seems, as a kid, it made me feel worthless to not be able to wear the “it” styling that everyone else was wearing.”

Although Jefferies has addressed O’Keefe’s concern in an online apology on Facebook, the post can no longer be found. Furthermore, Abercrombie continues to produce clothing ranging from an extra small to large.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association, over one half of teenage girls and a third of teenage boys have used unhealthy weight loss methods before including skipping meals and vomiting.

Companies discrimination toward individuals are not just based on sizes or gender. With social factors involved, clothes have now become a individual’s profiling system. Pressuring young adults to meet society’s body image standards, many are led down a dark path fighting against eating disorders and a lack of self-esteem.

February 2015

FEATURES

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The Highlander

Skinny shaming Kat Savin Staff Writer

It is okay to tell a thin person to eat a sandwich, but, it is not okay to tell an overweight person to lay off the donuts?

Looking at this statement, you are probably thinking that’s not true at all, but in reality we do this all the time without realizing.

“Everyday someone asks me if I ‘even eat food’ or I get asked if I’m anorexic,” said junior Samantha Pipkin. “No matter what body type you are it seems like someone will always have something negative to say about it.”

Society seems to have the tendency to criticize people based on their size. A huge focus is pressed upon body image and is also pressurized in high school, as students grow and change.

“I think that society believes being skinny means being beautiful,” said senior Nisha Aeri.

The media glorifies a skinny figure, and as a result, it is common to see headlines criticizing someone’s weight or a picture in a magazine edited to “perfection.”

“The media criticizes all body types, in a way, by either criticizing those who are too skinny or making fun of those who are overweight,” said Pipkin. “Even someone with an average body type will be photo shopped, which basically sets up an unachievable body image.”

Because of this glorification of a skinny figure, people not seen as skinny have disadvantages in society because they don’t fit the stereotypical look of what’s beautiful according to the media.

“Skinny people do have an advantage,” said senior

Amanda Breslauer. “Skinnier is perceived as prettier and pretty people get treated better.”

Weight is now becoming a definition of what beauty is rather than physical features. This perception is being noticed among youth who look up to these unrealistic standards as achievements.

“Skinny people are looked at as ‘beautiful’ or ‘having the perfect body’,” said sophomore Cory Dufault. “People look at models and see how skinny they are and they believe that is the definition of beautiful.”

While it is true that skinnier people do get more benefits, that does not give society the permission to target them.

“I think that people have to put someone else down to make themselves feel better,” said Breslauer. “For example, people will be like ‘Oh she’s skinny but atleast I have a big butt. I got them!’”

Many people who are thin, or even overweight, have eating disorders which prevent them from controlling their body type.

“I don’t think it’s right to comment on someone’s body because you don’t understand what is going on with them,” said Breslauer. “They may have an issue with eating food, so I feel uncomfortable with commenting on someone’s body type.”

In the end, a perception of other people should not be based on body image but rather personal qualities.

“I personally think that what you think of yourself is what makes you successful, it should never be based on what you look like,” said Aeri.

A graphical representation of liberating oneself from society’s expectations of women’s bodies.

VERONIKA DVORAKOVA

4220 Olympic Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403 650-315-2075

Page 16

The Highlander

LIFESTYLE

February 2015

Cupid would not approve Lara Ostroff Staff Writer

Fifty-three percent of women would end their relationship if they didn’t get something for Valentine’s day.

This statistic was found through a Valentine’s Day consumer survey conducted by the Retail Marketing and Advertising Association, a division of the National Retail Federation.

“Seriously? Come on ladies,” said Carlmont teacher Emily Bandelt. “My husband and I don’t exchange gifts for Valentine’s Day because we don’t need to, we usually just cook dinner together.”

The history of Valentine’s Day, specifically Saint Valentine, is clouded in mystery.

According to History.com, the common theme within the disputed tales of St. Valentine was that they all highlighted Valentine’s key personality traits, like his sympathetic and heroic romantic ways.

The placement of Valentine’s Day in mid-February is thought to either commemorate the anniversary of St. Valentine’s death, or to Christianize the celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrated around February 15.

Either way, the modernization of Valentine’s Day shifted its focus to displays, and spending money on others instead of time.

“Usually my boyfriend and I will go out to dinner and maybe a movie. We both buy each other gifts,” said senior Kat Myers.

“I think a big part of Valentine’s Day is buying your significant other a gift because how many people are content with only having ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ said to them? 53 percent of women aren’t,” said

senior Cody Campbell.

According to a recent poll conducted

by Carlmont High School’s journalism department, one out of every 10 students at Carlmont believed that a person should leave his or her relationship if they did not receive a present for Valentine’s Day. “I definitely believe in gifts, but I don’t think it’s a big part of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is for love, do what you love to do and what the person you love wants to do,” said senior Soha Said.

The New York Times online store currently has an entire section dedicated to their own collection of Valentine’s Day gifts, ready for purchase.

Of those gifts, 105 are specifically selected as “gifts for her,” while only 79 fall under

the category of “gifts for him.”

According to CNN, 2.2 million roses are grown specifically for Valentine’s Day, and of those roses, 73 percent of them were found to be purchased by men.

These statistics not only question the consumerism of Valentine’s Day, but also the possible sexism of it.

“Valentine’s Day is a sexist holiday to me because it is centered around women. How many businesses advertise things to get for ‘your guy’? Advertising is all about ‘get this for your wife’ and where ‘your man’ got you something,” said Campbell.

Valentine’s Day is not only thought to be sexist towards men because of an assumed role to purchase gifts for women, but is also sexist towards women because certain

ALISA TAKAHASHI

companies suggest that buying women gifts will lead to sexual acts in return.

Teleflora, a flower company, used Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima to imply that buying women flowers will lead to sexual favors in return.

“Valentine’s Day is not that complicated,” said Lima. “Give, and you shall receive.”

In the commercial, Lima dressed herself in thigh-high stockings, zipped up her cleavage-bearing dress, and flashes a seductive smile at the camera.

Valentine’s Day is designed to celebrate is love, however one wishes to view it.

“People shouldn’t need a gift to understand the relationship that they are in,” said senior Thomas Gifford. “Things like love shouldn’t be materialized.”

The new disease around campus Sonia Paulo Staff Writer

A boy is telling his friends about a girl he has been talking to recently, “I have a problem,” he said, “I think I caught feelings for her.”

“Catching feelings” is being referred to today as if it were a disease, and caring deeply about someone is thought of as being “whipped.”

Why have feelings become something to be weary of rather than a celebration of finding the right person?

And what makes caring about someone something to be ashamed of?

“I think people are afraid of getting feelings for eachother because they are afraid of getting attached due to past experiences,” said senior Donna Ghaemi, “The older you get, the more times you’ve been hurt, and I think people are scared it won’t work out.”

The age and past experience plays a role in whether or not students want to be willing to develop feelings for another. Naturally, the more times one has been hurt in the past, the less willing they are to become that vulnerable again.

Senior Taylor Sexton said, “The older you are, the more times you’ve gotten hurt and no one wants to be rejected again, so people feed off of that when deciding whether or not to have feelings for someone.”

As high school progresses, more past experiences accu-

ALYSSA FAGEL

Some students worry that feelings can be as contagious as the common cold.

mulate which ultimately affect and develop students outlook on life. Senior Andy Kelm said, “High school changes your mentality and ultimately how you go about things as a whole.”

Not only do past experiences change students as they grow, but their moral standpoints develop with them.

“Freshman year, feelings were really focused around the idea of ‘going out,’” said senior Cole Castro, “but as you get older, especially senior year, its a lot more of ‘lets hookup but not be official’ and you wouldn’t want to get feelings in a situation like that.”

The issue of getting attached when the situation isn’t right goes beyond just unofficial relationships, but also the inevitability of high school ending. Not only do high school relationships get a bad reputation, students also end up going their separate ways for college, making relationships difficult.

“People, especially later in high school, know that the relationships will end and no one wants to get super attached then grow apart,” said Castro.

The inevitability of college deems high school a bad situation to get feelings in if heartbreak is trying to be avoided.

“It’s scary because so many relationships end in ‘heartbreak,’” said Ghaemi, “The chances of a ‘high school sweetheart’ relationship is so slim.”

Getting feelings for someone appears to be more surrounded in fear rather than embarrassment or a sign of weakness.

Contrary to what some may think about high school initially, it appears high school is not full of naive adolescents, but rather people with life experience keeping them away from repeating past actions.

LIFESTYLE

February 2015

Page 17

The Highlander

The beginning of chocolates and roses Kiera Pendleton-White Staff Writer

Love is in the air as the holiday of romance approaches, but instead of asking people to be their valentines, the Romans picked names from a jar to decide who they were going to spend the holiday with.

The Romans sacrificed a goat and a dog, then skinned them and used the hides to whip the crops and women.

These traditions were part of the Pagan holiday Lupercalia, which honored the Roman god of fertility, Faunus.

The name “Valentine’s Day” came later when Pope Gelasius I tried to get rid of Pagan rituals in the 5th century by melding St. Valentine’s Day and Lupercalia together.

There is no certain origin of the saint, St. Valentine, the holiday was named after. All the theories have to do with a saint named Valentine who was beheaded for going against the Romans. Even though we do not know the true story of Valentine, all legends depict him as highly sympathetic

and, of course, romantic.

One of the main legends about Valentine is how he was killed for trying to help Christians escape Roman prisons, where they were beaten for their beliefs.

Another legend says that Valentine was imprisoned and fell in love with the jailor’s daughter who visited him when he was confined. Before he died, he allegedly wrote her a letter and signed it with, “From Your Valentine.”

Since there is no solid evidence to prove that either legend is true, the topic of the actual truth is up for debate.

History teacher Linda Garvey said, “I doubt either one is true. Some of the aspects may have specks of the truth in them, but the Catholic Church isn’t a reliable source of information because they have their own agenda.”

Fast forward a few centuries, and Valentine’s Day became known as the day that the birds started mating in England and France.

An article by the Huffington Post says that most scholars credit this idea to the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote the first record of romantic celebrations in

1375. This record came from his poem titled “Parliament of Foules.” He references it as the day the birds found their mates when he says, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.”

Valentine’s Day gained popularity as a romantic holiday in the 17th century. In the 18th century it became common for people to exchange small objects or handwritten notes.

“Whoever helped develop this holiday was probably more aware of the commercial value of Valentine’s Day rather than the historical value,” said Garvey.

Valentine’s Day then grew into the large commercial holiday that it is today.

“I think Valentine’s Day was mostly molded by society so the fact that the holiday has Pagan origins isn’t that surprising, most holidays do,” said junior Claire Gonzalez.

The history of Valentine’s Day, although interesting, is not taught in our school’s curriculum. Yet, knowing the history gives the holiday a bit more cultural value.

No matter which theory of St. Valentine’s origin is most believable, the holiday has always emphasized couples. Just try not to be consumed by all the roses and chocolates.

Spending Valentine’s Day single yet again Hana Wong Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again.

The day where single people are reminded that they’re alone yet again. Sounds bad, right?

Valentine’s Day is the holiday where people in a relationship get to show off their significant other and adorn them with romance for a whole 24 hours.

So, what happens to the other people on this planet that don’t get to share the day with a significant other?

Some people try to do as they would normally. Get up, go to school or work, do what they’re suppose to do, and ignore all the heart-shaped objects around them.

For others, it’s a long, depressing day.

Cute teddy bears, dozens of red roses, multiple boxes of chocolates, and adorable couples stand in their way of living their life.

In reality, it’s hard for some single people to like Valentine’s Day because some of them don’t get any positivity out of it.

Sophomore Sydney Schoonbrood is one of the single girls that has to go through the day trying to disregard all things love.

“I think Valentine’s Day is really negative for singles because it’s a horrible holiday that is just a reminder about how lonely and sad their love life is,” said Schoonbrood.

It’s not only single people looking for attention on this day. The sadness mostly comes from Valentine’s Day getting overcommercialized.

According to About.com’s health sec-

tion, television and magazine ads use models with their perfect bodies to sell a product for Valentine’s Day. Along with trying to make a sale, Valentine’s Day ads also try to recreate the “perfect relationship.”

Here’s where it gets tricky. There’s not one perfect relationship in our world. The two people might be perfect for each other, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their journey together will be smooth.

This is where it can get discouraging for a single person, because people are too busy promoting the idea of a “perfect couple” on Valentine’s Day and the single person watching gets blinded by fantasy.

“To avoid all things couple related, I usually begin with drowning my eyes in bleach,” joked sophomore Owen Massalere. “Or I just go about my day as much as I can. All the lovey dovey couple stuff does make me feel sad, because I don’t really have anybody that I miss or who I want to be romantically [involved] with.”

“I think most people would much rather be in a relationship on Valentine’s Day. It makes everything a lot easier, and it’s cuter,” said sophomore Theresa Gomez.

So how can we fix this phobia?

The answer is S.A.D (Singles Awareness Day).

Yes, there is such a thing. Singles Awareness Day is on February 15. This is the one day where single people can be loud and proud about being single, while feeling great about themselves.

According to singlesawareness.com, the goal of S.A.D is to celebrate, have gift

ALISA TAKAHASHI

Single people often feel cold toward couples on Valentine’s Day. exchanges with single friends, and just let loose. The awareness day was established by single people who were just sick of feeling left out on Valentine’s Day and support of the day growing every year.

Valentine’s Day can be intimidating but you can always get a could laugh out of how corny all the Valentine’s Day products are.

On the brighter side, there is a whole arrangement of chocolates available to eat with friends that are single, watch a bunch of movies, or just relax.

“I embrace it. I find it pointless to mope around when instead you can go and do you, and have fun being single with other single people or just pamper yourself,” said senior Jessica Fong.

If you still don’t want to be single on Valentine’s Day, be one of your friend’s Valentine and get them cheesy gifts.

“I don’t particularly hate hate the day, but I do think it’s more important for people who are in a relationship. But, to keep the spirit alive, my dad usually tends to be my choice of Valentine on that day. He usually gets me the cheesy gifts and flowers which I’m perfectly fine with,” said junior Melody Shanahan.

Don’t worry about not having someone with you on Valentine’s Day. The day will come when you find someone and can share the romantic day with them.

There are plenty more Valentine’s Days to come.

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Page 18

The Highlander

February 2015

Post-college questions: what’s in your wallet?

Justine Phipps Staff Writer

Welcome to the Game of Life! On your turn, spin the wheel to see where you’ll end up in your near future. (If the spinner arm stops between numbers, spin again.) Then move your car the number of spaces on the spinner. Spin a one, two, three, four, or five, and you’ll be on the path to no walk college debt. Spin a six, seven, eight, nine, or ten, and you’ll be on the path that will get you stuck in debt for the next 20 years.

You blankly look down at the gameboard. You spin the wheel, unsure of what’s to come. You have a 50/50 chance.

Is fate on your side?

In reality, you control your own fate. Students face multiple opportunities to help pay for college throughout their junior and senior years, including financial aid through Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and local scholarships. These are offered to Carlmont students through Naviance and local groups. FAFSA scholarships can offer anywhere between $100 and $20,000 to help students throughout college.

“Scholarships are important because no matter how much [a family] makes, [college tuition] is very high. Anything helps,” said senior Zerena Silva.

The common assumptions students make are that “scholarships are primarily designed for students who are in dire need of financial assistance. This is not the case,” said Scholarships.com. “In fact, winning a scholarship will be beneficial to any student for several years following their receipt of the award.”

Many students don’t realize that when deciding whether or not to take the time to fill out multiple scholarship forms and essays, they are determining whether or not they will have future debt.

“You never know what you’re going to get, so why not try?” said senior Sara Arredondo, who has already begun

filling out her scholarship applications.

It’s the second semester of your senior year. The last thing anyone wants to be doing is writing a 500-800 word essay on how you benefit your community or why you’ll be the best engineer of the century. The process is tedious, you’re sick of talking about yourself, and you just want to stay in bed and watch Netflix. But that essay could be the reason you stay out of debt in your adult life.

“It’s a good idea to apply for scholarships to assist in paying for your college tuition,” said Lisa Hamor, a third grade teacher at Highlands Elementary School who continues to deal with college debt. “It helps provide support financially for your family and it demonstrates responsibility for your education.”

In a recent poll conducted by Carlmont Journalism, 37 percent of seniors said they are working on scholarships because they want to, 40 percent said they are working on scholarships because they need to, while 21 percent said they aren’t doing it because they have no reason to.

“Mr. Miskelly told [our class] a story about a boy who applied for a scholarship that girls normally apply for, and since he was the only boy, he ended up getting it. To me, that makes a big difference,” said Arredondo.

According to the Project on Student Debt website, “Seven in 10 seniors (69 percent) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,400 per borrower.”

The Project on Student Debt website also showed that in California alone, an average of 55 percent of college students face debt after graduating. The average amount of money students owe is around $20,340.

“My big one is the Incentive Awards Program (IAP) for the University of California, Berkeley. It’s specifically for Berkeley, and if you get accepted, they give you around $32,000 a year,” said Arredondo. The money offered in the IAP almost completely covers the cost of attendance for UC Berkeley.

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Student loans are known for creating issues with credit reports, but what many people may not know is that they also can affect home owning/ mortgage approval, car loans, and more.

“School debt continues to affect my life today because I have currently been paying my student loans for 14 years and still have many years to continue paying them off, ” said Mrs. Hamor.

Instead of worrying about the few hours you’ll spend researching and applying to scholarships, look at the positive side and think of how you are potentially giving yourself a debt-free future.

The armed forces offer opportunities for graduating seniors and beyond Becca Fradkin Staff Writer

“The Few. The Proud.”

You see ads on billboards, live combat on TV, and even a military representative in the quad. The armed forces look to high school students for enrollment.

About two to three times a week, a representative from the armed forces stands in the quad or college and career center in uniform, ready to recruit students.

“Because we receive funding from the government, we are not allowed to ban the military from entering school grounds,” said College Counselor Connie Dominguez.

In an earlier Highlander article, Instructional VP Ralph Crame said, “Organizations like the military don’t pay us to advertise. We let them come for free and provide information to students.”

Some are concerned that enrollment into the armed forces will prevent young adults from attending college for a degree.

“I always tell students that if they are going to the military because they think they cannot afford college, financial aid is an option. But if that student believes in defending the country and the armed forces movement, there is nothing wrong with it,” said Dominguez.

However, senior Shelby Rebholtz plans on attempting both.

“After college I might go into the air

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force. If I go to college I will be able to have a higher ranking in the air force which gives me an advantage. The air force is not going to pay for my college tuition unless I do the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship which I’m not, unless I take the initiative and commit to a program,” said Rebholtz.

The U.S Army awards scholarships to students who enroll in the ROTC. This is considered a college elective, not a degree.

In the ROTC, cadets can attend universities and colleges across the country and receive scholarships up to $80,000 a year. According to the U.S Army Cadet Command, students who study science, engineering, nursing, business and other majors are eligible to receive such prestigious scholarships.

On the other hand, there is an option which does not involve a college education.

Senior Cole Castro said, “Even though I applied to college, no matter where I am admitted, I am going straight into the army after high school.”

All armed forces programs enroll on a strictly voluntary basis.

However, males over the age of 18 must put their names in the draft, but this does not necessarily mean they will be forced to enroll. The United States has not used the draft system since the end of the Vietnam War in 1973.

Rebholtz said, "I think it is important that everyone sign up for the draft. How-

ever, the country already has enough people on a voluntary basis to fill the military so not everyone has to join, but we should keep relying on the draft system if some day the country really needs it.”

Unlike countries such as Israel and Switzerland, where military enrollment is mandatory for teens after high school and before college, the United States is dependent on volunteers.

“In Israel, the mandatory system works because the country is constantly under threat and the masses respect the military.

Because the whole population is so dependent on their military, the masses are willing to help. The US doesn’t have this problem, therefore it wouldn’t work. Also, there are too many people that do not support the military,” said Castro.

While the armed forces may not be for everyone, many enjoy the lifestyle it entails.

“I’m going into the military because it is something I have always wanted to do.

It’s something different from everyone else and has a unique lifestyle than most people are not used to. In the military they teach discipline which forces people to grow up faster, this is just a part of the lifestyle that I have always liked,” said Castro.

Not as many students thinking about enrollment are as confident as Castro.

“Enrollment has a long contract, so I would be stuck in the air force for four years at a time, which I might not be willing to commit to right now,” said Rebholtz.

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The armed forces may be for those who are too stressed out to go into college, or may be an opportunity for those who are passionate to serve their country.

“I would hate for a student not to see all their options,” said Dominguez.

If you are interested in what the armed forces can offer for you, contact SGT Ramon Adriatico by email at ramon.adriatico@marines.usmc.mil or at the College and Career Center.

CAMPUS

February 2015

Page 19

The Highlander

The pressure is on for 2015 seniors Jocelyn Moran Staff Writer

You're sitting at your desk with the many college acceptance letters in front of you, and all you can think of is where your parents want you to go and which college is the best college. You’re exploring the many options and the many factors of each college, and you’re hearing all these different voices in your head of what’s best for you.

The pressure is on.

This scenario is one that many seniors will be expecting in the next couple of months. Some may have gotten into their top school, but others may have not had a top school and are now struggling to figure out where to spend the next four years of their lives.

As acceptance letters are rolling in, students are researching, talking to their friends and parents, and figuring out which college is the best fit for them.

Senior Zerena Silva said, “San Diego State has always been my first choice, but I don’t know if I am going to get in. I like it because it has a pretty campus and a good

nursing program. However, I am also tak- by my parents, but I feel like friends make a big deal about it. Some of them already ing money into consideration.”

For some students, their parents have know where they’re going, and it’s kind of raised and encouraged them to attend a awkward when they’re talking about it, and you don’t know where you’re going yet.” certain college.

Three common Senior Sara Arquestions are rolling in redondo said, “I feel seniors heads: Which pressured by my mom “I feel pressured by my school will offer me because she has almom because she has the most money? How ways wanted me to go to Stanford, but my always wanted me to go do I know that this college is best fit for me? mind has never been to Stanford, but my mind Will I be surrounded there. I don’t have by people I like? that high of expectahas never been there. I John Henry Newtions for myself. I am don’t have that high of man, a cardinal priest looking into other expectations for myself.” in the 19th century, colleges, and decidexplained in his work ing which college to Sara Arredondo "The Educated Man" go to based on the that a university is not Senior money they offer me a place where successand which one is best for me, but it can be hard to go against your ful people such as leaders and conquerors are born and created. Instead, "it aims at mom.”

Friends who are not stressed can also be raising the intellectual tone of society, at be a source of pressure for those other se- cultivating the public mind, at purifying the national state, at supplying true princiniors who are feeling stressed.

Senior Kat Myers said, “I feel pressured ples to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims

“

to popular aspiration, at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age, at facilitating the exercise of political power, and refining the intercourse of private life."

Newman aimed at the idea that a university is a place that gives people the opportunity to develop their minds, and is a place for influence.

Whether students agree with Newman or not, the final decision lies in their hands.

Senior Tina Enkhbat said, "I think the takeaway from college is learning about yourself. Whether you go to a community college or Stanford, it's you who decides your fate because there's no formula to success."

Seniors, you make the decision. It’s all up to you, and ultimately, you control your future.

Lie back, breathe, and take the many factors into consideration. Think about what is best for you. Let Newman’s words sink in, and be confident and hopeful that you will make the right decision.

Zig Ziglar’s words may even offer you some comfort. “Where you start is not as important as where you finish.”

The truth about being deferred during the college process Marco Sevilla Staff Writer

For many prospective college students, receiving a letter in the mail from a university usually means the end of a dreadfully long wait for admission or rejection. But for some who apply early, receiving a letter of deferral only means that they have to wait longer.

A college deferral means that a student who applied Early Action or Early Decision is put into the normal pool of admission. Instead of being completely rejected, the applicant must wait for their admission status later than expected. Some students view these letters as a “death sentence” for their chances of getting into the school of their dreams.

Senior Adam Cobb said, “Personally, I applied to the Massachussetts Institution of Technology, and I know that’s a tough school to get, so I wasn’t offended that I didn’t get in early because they only admit 625 of the best students in the country. I find out if I get in March 14th so the wait is a little longer. It was good that I was deferred instead of being completely rejected.”

Prestigious schools like Harvard admitted 997 early applicants for the class of 2019 and M.I.T. only admitted 612 undergraduates. Deferrals have a large impact on hopeful students all over the nation and some students at Carlmont have experienced feelings of disappointment over receiving these letters.

Senior Nico Camerino said, “I don’t think of being deferred as a death sentence. Seeing the e-mail for Harvard, I

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A senior gazes hopelessly at his deferral letter from the University of Notre Dame and prepares for the wait.

knew I wasn’t accepted because the first word wasn’t congratulations, but I kept thinking, ‘Just don’t be a rejection,

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just don’t be a rejection.’ I was a little disappointed when I saw it but I’ll find out if I get in or not later.”

About 34 percent of colleges in the United States use the waitlisting and deferral systems. According to Peterson’s, colleges rank their applicants by quality of the application.

They set certain thresholds for who makes it in early and who gets deferred or rejected altogether. According to the company, those who receive deferrals are safe to assume that their chances of getting into that school are slim but possible.

Senior Amanda Breslauer said, “My deferral from Boston College was a letter. I was fine opening it up because I knew if I was deferred I would have another chance and if I was completely rejected then it just wasn’t meant to be.

So now, I’m sending them my fall grades and a letter of recommendation.”

In the past decade, statistically there has been an increase in the number of acceptances for early applicants.

According to the Huffington Post, the reason for this is because students are applying to more schools than students have on average. The increasing competitiveness of college has affected the amount of schools students apply to to increase their chances of getting into one.

Overall, students have been greatly impacted by the the deferral system. Deferrals often discourage prospective students from thinking they have a good chance of admission into their schools. Fortunately for some, deferrals give students hope for their future opportunities after high school.

Dereck Caso

SPORTS

Page 20

The Highlander

From bench warmer to on-field star

Steve Young Former San Francisco 49ers Player 1) Before former San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback, Steve Young, became a Professional Football Hall of Fame player, he sat on the bench watching Joe Montana play.

2) Following an injury to Montana’s elbow in the 1991 pre-season, Young became a starting player leading to his future victories and multiple record breaking plays.

Rich Gianuario Carlmont’s Head Football Coach In 1998, when I was the Head Coach, I had a player that lost his leg in a car accident. It took him two years just to get used to his new leg and he came to me saying he wanted to play football. He earned a starting role the last game of the season against Sequoia. He played defensive line, and he played well. He pulled himself out of the game after giving everything he had for the team.

February 2015

Keeping the bench warm Anya Meredith Staff Writer

Could the most important player be sitting on the bench?

Of the over two dozen teams at Carlmont, only so many of the players actually participate in games.

Sophomores Ryan Geronimo and Nicole Lyon are two examples of players that sit on the sidelines.

Geronimo played frequently last year on the freshmen basketball team, so this year has been a whole new experience for him on the junior varsity team.

“At first, it was challenging to be supportive of my teammates, but I realized that basketball is a team sport so I changed my attitude, which in turn has made me a better player. I am working extra hard in practice and making the most out of my minutes, but by no means does it ensure my playing time,” said Geronimo.

Lyon especially struggled with not getting as much time on the court as other players.

“I think I dealt well with not playing as often because I knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to have all that much playing time. I did take it pretty hard though when other players playing my position would substitute out with each other even when they weren’t playing well, but [the coach] never put me in, even after both middles weren’t playing well,” said Lyon.

Lyon is not losing hope for the next season however.

“I do plan on continuing to play volleyball next year. I am playing club volleyball and I am currently the starting middle hitter for my team,” said Lyon.

However, the students who are starters, such as sophomore, Megan Olazar, shared how they feel about the students who don’t get to play.

“There were about three to four girls on my lacrosse team who didn’t get to play as much as everyone else. I

felt really bad for them. I know what it’s like to be a bench player. I think every athlete at one point has been a bench player and knows how much it sucks,” said Olazar.

Players, not only coaches, realize reasons why players should not play.

“Some players have attitude problems. Some play too rough and some just don’t have enough talent and the best lineup is needed in the game,” said Olazar.

The players are not the only ones affected by bench players.

Rich Gianuario, Carlmont’s head varsity football coach, said, “I try to get every player in each game, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. Work ethic, understanding of position, and talent are keys to being on the field.”

“All players must earn their spot. I make sure everyone knows at every practice that each position is open and that anyone can challenge for a starting role. I don’t want to have bench players on any team. I coach because in every practice and game we need them to contribute. Everyone needs to be able to contribute whenever asked so each player has to be ready to step up and play.”

JV football coach, Bruce Douglas said,“We want all the students to have a positive experience and learn more than just the game of football. It is competitive sport and playing time is earned through hard work and good attitude.”

Some players who cannot control their playing time are injured players.

“I was hit in the nose with a softball on the turf which broke my nose. I was out for six weeks but could play the last three games by only hitting,” said Cameron Kondo, sophomore on JV softball.

Kondo learned what it felt like to be a bench player.

“It was hard because we lost some games that I feel I could’ve helped, but I still felt very much a part of the team and felt that I was still important. It does suck to sit on the bench and watch everyone else play the game,” said Kondo.

SARAH BORO

Senior Nathan Rosenthal and Coach Jodi Beloff speak extensively at practice.

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Student athletes are good to go with a 2.0 Connie Yi Staff Writer

GPA standards can either restrict or motivate student athletes.

The California Scholastic Federation Student Eligibility Brochure states that high school students are required to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA out of a 4.0 in all enrolled classes in order to participate in a sports team.

Carlmont student athletes and their coaches have a broad range of opinions on this standard. Sports are a very time consuming extracurricular activity, so most would agree that participation impacts academics and life outside of school, either negatively or positively.

“I think the GPA system for athletes is set at a good rate because they shouldn’t have to worry about not being able to continue their sport,” said sophomore Gia Stavos, a soon to be varsity swimmer.

Some students are year-round athletes, playing sports in the fall, winter and spring. For them, the demanding schedule and balance of school and sports is not only necessary, but normal.

High school is a time for many students to prepare for colleges, and to do so they need to maintain a high GPA. But when it comes to sports, different aspects contribute to if students are allowed to play a school sport or not. Students who focus on sports may not have as much time to

work on homework. While students could pass by getting all C’s in high school, students would need to get better than a C to participate in a college level sport.

“The trend is for high schools to raise academic rules for athletes, especially in light of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s plan to raise the required GPA for college athletes to a 2.3,” said Paula Lavign, a reporter, in the article “Bad grades? Some schools OK with it.”

Not all students agree with the 2.0 GPA requirement.

“I don’t think this is right, because if you don’t have a high GPA then you shouldn’t be involved in other activities. Sports are something that should be earned,” said Matthew Hong a badminton player with a high GPA. For some, sports means a college acceptance letter. For others, it could mean the difference between being out on the streets or pursuing a passion.

“I have a couple of friends who, because of the 2.0, didn’t get to play football. So to them, why bother coming to school? A couple have dropped, and there are still a couple in here that don’t do the work,” a senior from Auburn High School said to ESPN. Although Carlmont students might not be dropping out of school when their GPAs don’t allow them to continue to play sports, not being able to play affects students in other ways.

Junior Jkhari Campbell could not play in the second half of his sophomore football season because his grades dropped.

“I felt like my grades dropped because of football but more because I wasn’t focusing on school work that much, and only focusing on football. Sports take up a lot of time so I feel it takes over school time. I feel like if I did focus and tried to balance my work out more, than I could have played again this year,” said Campbell.

GPA restrictions affect students and coaches, as there are different perspectives regarding the distinction between needing a sport and wanting a sport.

Carlmont’s varsity football coach Rich Gianuario said, “This year we lost two students on the varsity team to poor grades. I’ve had players quit because it was too tough to balance both, and I’ve had players work with the team every day until grades improved and they could play in games.”

Although some are in the process of improving, other students are ready to take school and sports to a different level.

Gianuario said, “I’d like to point out that we had 11 scholar athletes this year, players that had a 4.0 or better GPA. You must do well in class in order to play a sport so I feel it’s a motivator, and most students do work harder.”

Sophomore Neda Sohrabi, who has a stable GPA, is prepared to do a sport during the spring season.

“I am currently involved in spring swimming for the 2015 year and my GPA is relatively high, but I’m glad kids who are not the best students have the opportunity to excel at a sport without worrying about being kicked off a team,” said Sohrabi.

February 2015

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 21

The Highlander

Winter as we knew it: changing quickly Sarah Schisla Staff Writer

It doesn’t really feel like winter when people are wearing shortsleeve shirts and leaving their jackets at home.

According to reports of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2014 was the hottest year on record.

Although records only trace back to 1880, some scientists like Don Wuebbles of the University of Illinois have said that 2014 was likely the warmest year in the past 1,700 to 2,000 years, and things are only heating up.

Despite the heat trend, many believe it is possible to slow the increase in temperature by cutting down on fossil fuel use, being mindful of pollution, and supporting greener energy sources overall.

Sophomore Ashley Wen said, “I think that a lot of people are becoming aware of the issue of climate change, but it’s going to be very hard to somehow make amends for people’s increasing wastefulness these past years.”

According to NOAA, the average temperature of 2014 was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th-century average.

The hottest 15 years on record have all occurred in the past 17 years. Furthermore, 10 of these

Ideal snowmaking conditions past 17 years were the hottest include temperatures close to zero year on record at some point, setdegrees Fahrenheit. ting record high temperatures for In late January of 2015, Rexer their time. went back to Lake Tahoe, and the This heating trend accelerated temperature was over 55 degrees in the early 1970s. Data from the Fahrenheit during the day. past 50 years indicates that the “There were patches of dirt and average temperatures of northern rocks everywhere because they regions of the United States are couldn’t make fake snow.

It hadn’t increasing at a much faster rate gotten cold enough,” she said. than those of southern areas.

Even without snow as a visual Physics and Engineering and indicator, California residents noGreen Technology teacher Scott ticed the extra heat.

Chan said, “When talking about Senior Zach Andriella said, climate change, “I was in the Bay it’s important Area during break. to look at the A lot of people are I noticed that I global data. We didn’t have to wear becoming aware of the can’t base these findings on issue of climate change, sweaters that often, and I even wore daily weather but it will be hard to shorts a few days. either. This climake amends for people’s It was very sunny mate change is referring to increasing wastefulness. and a lot warmer than I expected.”

Ashley Wen long-term patStudents travelterns across the Sophomore ing outside of Calglobe.” ifornia during winter break saw The effects of this climate trend the effects of this winter’s warmer were evident in many regions on temperatures as well. every continent.

Junior Amit Netanel visited For California, this year meant Chicago for parts of December a severe drought throughout the and January.

“It was my first time state and a lack of snow in the there [during the winter], but it mountains. was definitely warmer than I exJunior Emily Rexer, who spent pected it to be.

It got colder every her winter break skiing at Lake day but it still never fell below 15 Tahoe, said, “The last couple years [degrees Fahrenheit] in the subhave had noticeably less snow urbs, and there was no snow.” than before.”

In much of the Midwest, snow It is not unusual for the ski redid not fall until January, after the sorts surrounding Lake Tahoe to new year had already begun. produce artificial snow.

“

Despite some areas experiencing extremely cold weather in late January, data still indicates an upward trend in temperature.

“Climate change of any kind entails more extreme weather.

The huge snow storm on the east

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coast is still a result of [the heat trend],” Andriella said.

Chan said, “Looking at this trend, I think it’s inevitable that the temperature will continue to rise. It’s just the physics of the atmosphere and the earth.”

Evolution of laughter: can’t you just take a joke?

Taran Sun Staff Writer

Some people just can’t take a joke.

Modern day satirical humor is a tool that has been proven to hold the power to incite international conflict and even murder.

“The Interview.” Charlie Hebdo. Both are examples of modern satire that in recent months have been catapulted into the public eye, receiving vast amounts of publicity and resulting in retaliation from offended parties.

In reference to “The Interview,” sophomore Paul Bastaki said, “I thought the movie was fine and had the right to be made. It is a comedy and I expected it to be offensive to some people, but it should be treated as it was meant to be treated: as humor.”

In the literary world, satire is a genre of literature that serves the main purpose of highlighting shortcomings and ridiculing different issues, usually with the aim of bringing attention to them.

“The Interview,” produced by Sony and directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan, was recently released to the public. The movie is the film equivalent of satire. The premise of the movie was the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. North Korea responded with utter outrage to the release of the movie, issuing threats.

Senior Hannah Knoot said, “Freedom of speech is a right guaranteed in the USA. However, because the movie was about assassinating a current, still breathing, dictator who has access to nuclear weapons, I personally think that it was immature and quite frankly stupid. Yeah it’s a comedy and is supposed to be taken lightly, but I don’t personally think it was a smart idea by Sony because the topic is so sensitive.”

A recent hacking incident involving Sony was pinned on the North Koreans, supposedly in retaliation to the release of “The Interview.” Following this occurrence, President Obama released a public statement in which he said, “We will respond. We will respond proportionately and we’ll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose.”

“I thought the movie was really stupid, but funny at the

same time,” said senior Kaitlyn Kelly. “The producers had the right to make the movie because it’s a free country, although it was pretty bad in terms of racism and respect.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that it was made, especially because it wasn’t in theaters. I just don’t think it was morally right to make fun of them and spread it through a movie.”

Charlie Hebdo, on the other hand, is a weekly French satirical magazine. After its recent controversial depictions of Muhammad, radical Islamists reportedly took offense and retaliated with violence. The first terror attack against Charlie Hebdo occurred on Jan. 7, and killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris.

Senior Lia Eldridge said, “The Interview and Charlie Hebdo were both protected by the freedom of speech. They were distasteful and a little bit dumb to produce, but it was well within the rights of the people to do so and the retaliations on both accounts were in no way justified, especially

the murders.”

These events have sparked major controversy worldwide, and have become the fuel for many to speak out defending the freedom of speech.

Junior Lucas Coley said, “Western society has adopted free speech and this has led to the ability to dismiss forms of art that are offensive to some people. Many people see these creations as what they are: art, not tangible threats, and this is said by some to be a sign of society’s maturity.

Radical Islamists and North Koreans need to develop and gain the same level of objectivity if they are going to coexist in our multiethnic world.”

While satire is indeed a form of humor that, on its own, can cause little more than hurt feelings, when it is applied to a major controversial figure or serious topic it can have significant repercussions. Ultimately, these issues are significant events in the history of the case for freedom of speech, and should be respected as such.

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Juniors Natalie Stainton and Ariana Crame express their joy and glee while laughing and enjoying their time during lunch one day.

OPINION

Page 22

The Highlander

February 2015

Domi-Nation Editorial: Admit it, sometimes you’re wrong Dominic Gialdini Editor

“Blessed is he that can laugh at himself, he will never cease to be amused.”- Anonymous

Nasty love

Hey you, yeah, you two over there shoving your tongues down each others’ throats in the middle of plain sight, please stop.

Whether it’s the unregulated hormones or just the lack of decency, a select few couples at school have decided that it is acceptable to make out excessively, oftentimes straddling each other in the process (and inconsiderately creating traffic due to the masses of stunned students who don’t know what to do aside from assuming the fetal position and letting the trauma of what they have seen process through their minds).

I’ve seen some pretty bizarre things -- worse things than what is to be described -- around campus lately that I wish I could forget, but I fear that these sights have been permanently seared into my once-innocent mind.

The lewd scenes would be better suited for a “Fifty Shades of Grey” novel; but alas, they are all too real at our beloved public school.

Sure, the school shouldn’t go totalitarian on us and ban all public displays of affection on campus, but that doesn’t mean that people should go cave (wo)man on one another and give into any and all urges, either. Control yourselves, people!

Kissing?

OK, whatever; I don’t really care.

Making out?

I’d prefer that you didn’t, but whatever, I guess I can redirect my gaze.

Licking the face of your significant other while I am trying to pass by to be on time for class?

BAD! NO! Don’t do that.

I am a modern day Perseus. Everywhere I go, potential danger looms for me. I can hardly go 32 feet without seeing something that truly petrifies me. I admit, comparing myself to a demigod is melodramatic and somewhat echoes a narcissistic tendency -- for the literati reading this, do you like how I just tipped my hat off to yet another mythological story? We can feel smug knowing that many people reading this either have absolutely no idea what is currently going on in my article or are about to look up some mythology to understand what I’m saying. But I digress; this paragraph is far too long and the interjection that was previously intended to be brief will now make reading this part hard to follow. For that, I am sorry, but I don’t feel like editing this, so please just deal with it. -- but it is comparable to how I feel.

Anyway, back to the filthy sights infecting the school.

Maybe Carlmont should consider creating a class aimed toward teaching social etiquette.

It seems as though an unnerving quantity of students would benefit from being taught that there are some things you shouldn’t do with people in public -- common sense things.

It’s February; love is in the air. Still, that doesn’t mean that you have a pass to practically make love in the halls and traumatize the freshmen.

Actually, forget the freshmen -- think of all the teachers that will inevitably lose sleep after seeing the ungodly exhibition that you call romanticism.

You are corrupting all our eyes, and I’m pretty sure none of us -- hopefully none of us -- are enjoying it.

All I really have to say is, thank God Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year.

I can and will avoid the public -- more specifically, the “affectionate” high schoolers who will inevitably infest society with their shocking behavior.

I would like to thank you all, whether a casual reader or devoted follower, for reading yet another of my rants about the shortcomings of society.

As a reward, I would like to leave you with a pearl of wisdom specifically directed toward those overly zealous lovers for whom this column was written: Cannibalism is illegal, so stop gnawing at each other’s faces!

There is a large difference between being wrong and being too stubborn to admit it.

Back in preschool the “you’re wrong!” and “no, you’re wrong!” fights were everywhere. We argued with each other until neither party could even remember what they were fighting for. We argued with each other as if being wrong was the ultimate offense.

This stems from the plain and simple fact that people don’t like being wrong.

Being wrong can feel embarrassing. In classrooms some students turn bright red, and in some cases are even against ever raising their hand again.

We forget that it is okay to be wrong. We get things

wrong ourselves, but those around us do too. Being wrong isn’t something to ridicule someone over or be embarrassed for yourself.

It’s not so much about having the correct answer as it is about how you handle it. Arguing for an answer that is not at all correct is just stubborn pig-headedness. Being able to take being wrong is a skill that will take you far. By opening yourself up to being wrong and accepting the correct answer, you’re opening yourself up to learn.

We’ve matured beyond the preschool arguments, but we still think that being wrong is bad.

We have to embrace that sometimes we’re wrong and learn to take that in stride.

Evaluating pop culture Ivy Nguyen Staff Writer

Like most people, I like pop culture, and some aspects of it are problematic. I like “Game of Thrones,” even though its portrayal of people of color is dismal. Many people like comedian Amy Poehler, even though she has made racist, fatphobic, and transphobic comments.

Junior Erin Alonso said, “As much as I hate admitting it, some of my favorite artists are sexist. I still listen to YG, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and others. However, most of the time when I like a song that has sexist comments in it, I pay more attention to the beat and song themselves rather than the problematic person or lyrics.”

But do we have to look into it so deeply? For me, it’s hard to just turn off the analytical part of my brain, so I can’t exactly enjoy something only at its surface value.

Bethany Farmer, a writer for Fembot Magazine said, “Every song, every movie, every book, and every television show are representations of our culture. They often promote and maintain the power paradigms we live in.”

Knowing that, nothing is “just” a song or a TV show.

Although some might say that people shouldn’t take media so seriously, it is still our responsibility to consume media responsibly. It’s important to analyze and criticize the faults of our pop culture. This means thinking about skin color, sexuality, gender, ability or disability, and body types while consuming media.

With that in mind, here is my guide on “how to like problematic things.”

1. Acknowledge that your fave is problematic and do not make excuses

Because individual experiences impact the way that we interpret media, something oppressive to one person may be seen as completely harmless to another. At this point, it’s important to listen to minorities who may have different experiences or views. After acknowledging that what you like is problematic, excuses such as “they didn’t mean it” or “well they’re just realistically portraying society” can’t be made.

2. Do not gloss over the issues or derail conversations about them It’s easy not to think too deeply about the negative el-

ements of something, but you should try to think about them because they can deeply affect others. Even if you can admit that something is problematic, you still need to be willing to engage with people about it, learn about what makes it wrong, and advocate for change. Not every conversation about media has to be about what’s wrong with it, but there needs to at least be some discourse about everything in our lives.

3. Consider where to draw the line

Some things are just not redeemable. The bad can outweigh the good, and that might mean not watching, listening to, or supporting certain things or people anymore.

I can’t enjoy Eminem’s music because of his lyrics about violently killing women and calling them sluts and whores.

There isn’t a set line for everyone, but there are boundaries that need to be considered and a line that needs to be drawn.

Liking problematic things doesn’t make you a bad person. In fact, you may be a better person for it, because it means that you are able to criticize and analyze aspects of our culture.

Junior Alexis Morrow said, “I usually focus on the music rather than the artists themselves, so if I like a certain song, I will still listen to it regardless of the the artist’s views.

Although most of the artists I have an interest in are not problematic, it’s definitely something to take into consideration when I decide whether I like an artist as a person.”

Personally, I acknowledge Azealia Banks as a rapper and appreciate her commentary on the state of racism in America while recognizing that she has said transphobic and homophobic comments and slurs.

Although some people continue their support for problematic artists, there are others who wouldn’t.

English teacher Jody Humes said, “I would no longer support an artist I like if I found out that they did or said something problematic. They’re people you look up to; if they’re spouting ignorant things, then I couldn’t respect myself while simultaneously dancing to their songs.”

Because we are humans, there will be some fault in everything; we just have to learn how to recognize what people do and grow from these mistakes. Next time you listen to Taylor Swift or Childish Gambino, think about the questionable things they’ve done and decide whether or not to support them as artists.

What's the message in the music you listen to?

ALISA TAKAHASHI

OPINION

February 2015

Airport harassment

How TSA affects people beyond the gate

Regardless of age, anyone is at risk of being searched at the airport by the TSA.

Shira Stein Scot Scoop Editor in Chief

SHIRA STEIN

without her first setting off a hand-held metal detector in that area,” “Any excessive squeezing or groping of sensitive areas,” or “Requiring a passenger to expose private or sensitive areas of the body.”

“I had my legs and the inside of my crotch thoroughly Even in the Bay Area there are breaches in policy. searched.

In July of 2014, a San Francisco finance manager imperShe told me that she was going to put her hands in my sonated a TSA officer and led two female travelers to a pripants, starting in the front and working her way around. vate screening room in SFO. “She completely touched my front and back area. In Although the officer who searched Liana was also fethe process she was compressing me so much she actually male, it is not required for a pat-down to be conducted by pulled my pants halfway down my butt. an officer of the same gender.

“It was at least a seven to eight second delay of it hapTSA states on its website that “The pat-down should be pening and her telling me I was allowed to pull my pants conducted by an officer of the same gender,” but it is not up. always the case.

“When she was touching my breast area, I thought she Another important piece of information to remember was actually going to go under my bra or flip it up because when undergoing a pat-down search is that TSA officers she was pushing so hard. are only allowed to feel sensitive areas, such as the upper “When I asked the officer who took me out of line why torso or groin, with the back of their hand, as stated by the I was being searched, he looked at my ticket, looked me TSA website. in the face and said, ‘I don’t know,’” said Carlmont student All other areas they are allowed to use the front of their Liana*. hands, but they must be wearing gloves at all times for any Every day, someone on the Selectee List of TSA is pulled pat-down search. aside for an interaction like this.

ABC News producer Carolyn Durand went through a These passengers have similar situation to Liana been labeled as dangerous or where she told ABC This flagged as terrorists, and so Week in 2010 that “the their boarding passes come woman who checked me printed with “SSSS,” which reached her hands inside my stands for Secondary Secuunderwear and felt her way rity Screening Selection/Searound.” lectee on it.

The policies placed on airNeither TSA nor airlines plane travel since 9/11 have will publish the criteria for been criticized by a multibeing added to the Selectee tude of people, resulting in list. blogs like “Jetsetting TerrorLiana* The existence of this list is ist,” a man who is on the SeCarlmont student a problem in itself because lectee List who chronicles his the way these people are misadventures going through airports, and the sentencing treated can border on harassment and assault. of Clarksville, Tenn. mother Andrea Abbott, who in 2012 TSA said on a difficult to find back page of their web- was found guilty of disorderly conduct for refusing to alsite that a “passenger can request a private screening at any low TSA to pat down herself and her 14-year-old daughter. time and a private screening should be offered when the Alarmingly, as stated on the ACLU website, there are no officer must pat-down sensitive areas. exemptions for minors from the pat-down searches.

The passenger may be accompanied by a companion of Anyone who refuses to be subject to a pat-down search his or her choosing.” might not be allowed to board their flight.

This information is considered secure security inforTSA previously had the ability to fine a passenger mation and is almost never on signs anywhere in SFO or $11,000 for refusing a pat down, but that policy was overother airports across the United States. turned on Nov. 23, 2010.

But under Liana’s circumstances, she turned down the The takeaway from what happened to Liana is that option of a private screening because she “assumed it people need to be responsible for educating themselves on would be like the first time, so [she] thought it would be their rights when it comes to TSA. fine doing it in public.”

We the people may not be able to change TSA’s policies, They also did not tell her that she could bring in another but people need to be concerned about their privacy now. person with her.

A month after the situation described, Liana said, “As far Ken LaMance wrote on LegalMatch.com that an in- as I know, my name is still on the [Selectee] list.” appropriate search can be constituted by a multitude of things, such as “Feeling in-between a woman’s breasts *name has been changed for student’s anonymity

“

When I asked the officer who took me out of line why I was being searched, he looked at my ticket, looked me in the face and said, ‘I don’t know.’

Page 23

The Highlander

Mike’s Corner Michael Bastaki Editor

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”- John Wooden

The forgotten terrorists

There’s a new radical terrorist organization causing massive mayhem and death.

It isn’t ISIS, or ISIL, or whatever else that organization calls itself.

It isn’t Al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

It’s Boko Haram.

On Jan. 3, 2015 Boko Haram terrorists captured the Nigerian Multi-National Joint Task Force Base in Baga, Nigeria.

They then went into nearby towns and proceeded to slaughter thousands of innocent civilians.

By Jan. 10, 16 entire towns were razed to the ground and over 2,000 innocent civilians were feared dead.

More alarmingly, this is another example of the radical, fanatic Islamic ideology that is sweeping through the world.

And this terrorist organization, Boko Haram, is flying below the radar of the mainstream media.

The result is that the average Carlmont student doesn’t even know what Boko Haram is.

In fact, a poll conducted by Carlmont Journalism revealed that 78% of Carlmont students have absolutely no idea that Boko Haram terrorists exist.

These poll results tend to mirror the national media.

You won’t find Boko Haram’s slaughters on the front page of any American newspaper. Instead you’ll find news of some allegedly deflated footballs, Marshawn Lynch’s pathetic attempts at an interview, or the blockbuster American Sniper.

So why does no one care about Boko Haram?

Well one reason is that the national media has been doing its best to black out news of Boko Haram.

The media has focused on other events, such as the beheading of Americans by ISIS or Russia’s invasion of Crimea.

Another reason is that, believe it or not, the Nigerian government has tried to suppress media coverage of these events, as they fear that the massacre undermines their credibility as a legitimate government that has the power of the people.

There are even some Nigerian officials who are trying to claim that the number of casualties is greatly exaggerated and that the whole situation was fabricated by the media.

Regardless of why there’s a media blackout of Boko Haram, the important fact and purpose of this article is that Carlmont students, and all Americans, need to realize what Boko Haram is and what it stands for.

Let me enlighten you.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, a radical clerf with a graduate degree and a strong hatred for Western values.

The name Boko Haram literally translates to “Western education is forbidden.”

Since its inception, Boko Haram has been terrorizing the Nigerian people, organizing mass prison breaks, and killing numerous police officers and civilians.

In 2013, the United States officially recognized Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, which is a label that Boko Haram has worked hard to earn.

“Nigerian casualties are now running more than double those in Afghanistan, and substantially higher than in Iraq just a few years ago.” said the Washington Post.

Most notably, since April 15 these Islamic extremists have held 276 female students.

This mass kidnapping received minor media attention, with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls briefly trending on Twitter.

However, what that Twitter hashtag won’t tell you is that more girls have been abducted, with the number now believed to be closer to 300.

What it also won’t tell you is that these girls are being sold as child sex slaves for roughly seven dollars each, and are raped each day by these Haram terrorists.

So now that you know what Boko Haram is, here’s how you can make a change.

Go on Twitter and use the hashtag #RememberOurGirls.

It’s about time someone remembered them.

Page 24

The Highlander

February 2015

MINH-HAN VU

New mural brings color to campus

Junior Angelo Zhao leaves his mark in the form of a large mural outside of the Student Union Zoe Wildman Editor

How did you get into art?

I’ve had a long journey with art.

I began taking private lessons at the age of 3, as my parents found out that I could draw much earlier than they expected. I began building upon my craft, drawing every day and night on projects, book reports, etc. I began to really enjoy myself, as I saw art as a way to communicate and connect with other people. Even after I left my art class, I held on to what I had learned and hoped to apply it one of these days to something big. So this journey through art, in a sense, led me a path, from the paper and the pencil to the wall and the brush.

How did this project come about?

I initially wanted to draw a dragon on the back of the shed wall down by the football field.

Surprisingly enough, our cross country T-shirt logo became the Chinese dragon, so I thought it would be pretty cool if I drew a Chinese Dragon stretching out along the shed wall. However, after a few weeks, I began to think a little bigger. And it just so happened that the Vice Principle offered me a chance to paint a mural on the student union panels. I found this to a be a big leap from my original plans, but I took on the challenge and accepted the offer.

Why are you painting this mural?

MINH-HAN VU

1 3

5

2 1. Artist Angelo Zhao works on a grassy portion of the mural. 2. General wall paint 6

4

was used on this mural. 3. Zhao creatively incorporated his initials into the gate that leads up to the castle. 4. Zhou works meticulously at mixing paint to create the perfect color. 5. The mural required the use of a ladder to get to the higher portions of the wall. 6. Zhao used a spread of paints to complete his project.

One reason is just to lighten up the school a bit, as a little art can brighten up someone's day as they are walking to their classes.

Another reason is to inspire and motivate people to think big and act upon the decisions that they make. And of course, I wanted to paint this mural as a little thank you to my friends and the Ninjas Of the Coicle (one of the groups who have been supporting me the whole time), due to the fact

that many of them encouraged me to do this project. They were with me 110% of the way and gave me the greatest motivation of all. I would also like to give a personal thank you to Justin Tsuchiyama and Zachary Ma for helping me paint this mural. I also painted this mural for family, to strengthen the already tight bond that I share with my brother and my parents. Throughout the project, my family given me unimaginable encouragement and help, which in turn pushed and motivated me to incorporate the greatest effort into this project.

Did you have a theme or inspiration in mind?

The theme I had in mind to begin with was a mythical and somewhat fantasy-like genre, in which the story was originally going to outline a Scotsman fighting a massive dragon. I always loved the ideas that fables and stories introduced to us, as if life was some epic adventure or quest.

So I began to add onto my ideas, introducing the idea of more Scots, more dragons, and more scenery so that it could all tie together into a story that almost anyone could interpret or have a good idea of.

What message, if any, are you trying to convey with this mural?

The message of this mural can interpreted in many ways depending on the perspectives of the the viewers. Some might say that the mural inspires courage over fear, while others might take it to a standpoint of giving the best of effort into anything or everything you do. And in many cases, both would be true, as well as many other viewpoints. The whole purpose of this mural can be seen as to motivate, encourage, strengthen, or to inspire someone to tackle the challenges that lie before them.