IN THIS ISSUE: Casual homecoming at Carlmont READ IT ON PG 4
Costume cultural appropriation READ IT ON PG 10
Why we need school spirit READ IT ON PG 30
HIGHLANDER DOES SCHOOL SPIRIT UNITE US? Scotlight: School Spirit READ IT ON PG. 16
Vol. XI Issue II | October 2019 | Carlmont High School | scotscoop.com
HIGHLANDER newsmagazine
Highlander Editors-in-Chief Nisha Marino Emma Romanowsky Scot Scoop Editor-in-Chief Veronica Roseborough ScotCenter Editor-in-Chief Mandy Hitchcock Publicity Director Rachel Matatyaou Faculty Adviser Justin Raisner Editors Andrea Butler Molly Donaldson Francesca D’Urzo Rachel McCrea Kimberly Mitchell Emma O’Connor Mari Ramirez Auva Soheili Staff Writers Joshua Baxter Audrey Boyce Brianna Cheng Samantha Chu Eoin Cunningham Natalie Doud Anna Feng Nihal Karim Zachary Khouri Ailee Lim Audrey Luey Ayal Meyers Miki Nguyen Miles Ozorio Bella Reeves Ava Richards Alena Ruhstaller Leela Stuepfert Maddy Ting Taisiia Yakovenko Highlander is a newsmagazine dedicated to providing Carlmont students, staff, and the community with highquality news, features, and opinion articles. We want to keep our readers informed on important issues ranging from events at Carlmont to international news, and want to engage them with unique stories and designs. Highlander is a publication completely run by the students of the journalism classes at Carlmont High School. Story ideas are generated by the students and the published content is up to the direction of the editorial staff. This issue’s editorial was written by Emma Romanowsky and the editorial cartoon was drawn by Rachel Matatyaou.
in this issue... campus 4-9 Casual Homecoming Carlmont's Custodial Crew Ms. Bustamante: beyond SOS Profile: Swing Club
features 10-15
Halloween promotes cultural appropriation Spooky sites in Belmont Primary Election Update
sports 22-26
Colleges don't pay student athletes Hannah Camenzind: female football player Carlmont's surfing culture
opinion 28-30
Streaming services oversaturate the market What does it mean to be 18? Editorial: We need school spirit
SCOTLIGHT: School Spirit Unites Carlmont Scotlight is Highlander newsmagazine’s in-depth cover story section. In this issue, Scotlight is focused on the many aspects of school spirit. Whether students paint their faces at football games, perform with choir, or represent their club by wearing a sweatshirt, it is the essence of Carlmont pride that is shared among all of Carlmont. School spirit isn't just Screamin' Scots, it's everything that students do to show that they're proud to be a Scot.
READ ON PAGE 16 Scotlight was designed by Francesca D'Urzo and written by Veronica Roseborough
Carlmont High School 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, CA
CARLMONT AT A GLANCE Save the Music is an annual event hosted at Twin Pines park to fund elementary school music programs. Carlmont students not only supported the event, but they volunteered and performed in it. These are some photos from Save the Music 2019. Carlmont at a Glance pictures taken by Anna Feng, Kimberly Mitchell, Emma O'Connor, and Miles Ozorio
Ava Richards Homecoming season has arrived, and it's time to plan the perfect outfit for the dance. To get inspiration, you open Instagram and scroll through some of its trending posts. You are dazzled by the perfect-looking girls you see, all wearing beautiful little dresses with matching shoes. It is hard not to imagine you and your friends in place of the happy group that you see on your screen, and these photos hype you up for the big night to come. With excitement rushing through your body, you send screenshots of your favorite looks to your best friend, looking for approval. “What do you think of these for the dance?” you type. They answer: “Haha, they’re cool, but what are you actually going to wear?” You are confused. You just spent the past hour picturing the entire evening in your 4 HIGHLANDER CAMPUS
head and planning out your own Instagram post. You just want the perfect outfit to help make it the fantastic dance you’ve imagined all these months. But then you realize: Homecoming is not formal at Carlmont. Instead of sparkling dresses and crisp suits, T-shirts and shorts are the standard attire. Casual homecoming has existed at Carlmont since the 1980s, when members of the Associated Student Body overwhelmingly voted to create an informal dance. Their goal was to make a more financially inclusive event each year. “The students voted very specifically and many times to not have three formal dances because of the money. There were a lot of students back then that couldn’t afford the extra formal dance,” said Jim Kelly, the Activities Director of ASB. To help cut the costs, the dance takes
place in the Stogner Gym rather than an outside venue like the Fox Theatre. ASB’s Dance Commission also does not heavily depend on vendors to bring their vision to life. Most funds go only towards hiring a DJ and renting a stage. The commission is also in charge of making and setting up the decorations in the gym. “One year, [when] ASB held a vote to decide whether or not they should hire a professional decorator, the students voted against it,” Kelly said. Focused on their original mission to give Carlmont a dance of equal opportunity, ASB kept the prices lower by carrying out these responsibilities by themselves. “We spend months making the decorations on our own. On the day of the dance, we are there from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. setting everything up. It’s tedious and takes a lot
of time, but it is worth it in the end,” said Supriya Haldankar, a senior and member of ASB’s Dance Commission. Informal homecoming has also helped create a relaxed atmosphere for attendees. With more freedom in their attire, students can showcase their school spirit and identity in an entirely new context. “I think since the dance is casual, it makes it easier to attend. It gives students a variety of what they can wear. They can express themselves however they want, which is unlike formal and prom,” Isaac Raskin, a senior, said. Since it is the first dance of the year, a simple and laid-back homecoming can help draw more student interest for the rest of the dances throughout the year. “The informality of the dance can help freshmen or people who do not normally attend dances to ease into the whole experience and prepare themselves for future dances to come,” Mark Castro, a sophomore, said. Over the years, the attendance of the dance has grown significantly as well.
“I know that other schools struggle to get people to go to their dances,” Kelly said. “In my past years, the average number of people that we had go to homecoming is somewhere in the 600 to 700 range. In the last four to five years, it’s been over 800 to 900. I think we even topped 1,000 last year. So in that sense, I would say that something’s working.” While the transition from a formal dance has helped to provide a different atmosphere at a dance, some drawbacks exist. The simplicity of it all can become repetitive to some who crave more excitement from a school dance. “[Homecoming] can tend to get boring as it’s the same thing each year. It’s just not as exciting as I hoped it to be,” Maya Kaileh, a junior, said. Anticipation is often associated more with the formal dances of the year, like winter formal and prom. At these dances, friends and couples prepare for the dance together, renting tuxedos and dresses and riding to the venue in limousines.
For some, it is discouraging to go to an event where there are little to no festivities and preparation involved. “Some may feel that casual homecoming is weird or unusual since other homecomings are much more dramatized,” Kaileh said. “[People usually] ask out dates with big, creative signs, they have homecoming king and queen, and dress formally. These things seem to bring down students’ expectations and motivation to go to our homecoming when it’s deemed as a much more casual dance.” What started as a tactic to enable more students to attend has evolved into a different form of self-expression for each student. Homecoming’s simplicity allows for more room to be adventurous but also holds the option of genuinely staying casual or relaxed. “We want [the dance] to be one less stress for people,” Kelly said. “It’s not like you have to go out to dinner, or you have to meet at people’s houses and take pictures, or you have to get a limo. It’s just a simple, old fashioned school dance.”
Ava Richards
OCTOBER 2019 HIGHLANDER 5
Carlmont’s Custodial Crew
Irwin Dillon Irwin Dillon has enjoyed working as a custodian at Carlmont High School for over 17 years. Dillon’s length of service has allowed him to see the growth of Carlmont, but the character of the campus and students has remained a constant in Dillon’s eyes. “Everybody’s friendly, everybody’s nice, and it is a very clean school. I think it is a fun place to work,” Dillon said. Dillon’s daily routine includes cleaning the classrooms and bathrooms. If there is a back-to-school night, he helps with setting up tables and signs. Dillon lives in Stockton, making his commute close to four hours a day. Despite Dillon’s long commute, he still finds time for pursuing his hobbies. “As a hobby, I play the bass guitar. I am hired at public churches to play twice a month,” Dillon said. When Dillon is not busy keeping the campus clean, he enjoys spending time with his family and goes fishing when he has the chance. “I am a family person; I love my family,” Dillon said. 6 HIGHLANDER CAMPUS
Amilcar Sagrero Amilcar Sagrero has been working as a custodian at Carlmont High School for five years, and he has been working with the district for close to 12. At lunch, he can be found laughing with the custodial staff as they sit together in the Custodial Lounge. “My favorite thing about Carlmont is all the staff because it is like a big family, we all get along well,” Sagrero said. Though Sagrero values Carlmont, he and the custodial staff also face issues. “It gets pretty messy, and we are the ones who have to clean up after [the students]. The situation has not improved since I have been [at Carlmont],” Sagrero said. Sagrero works up to seven days a week, depending on how much needs to be done. “I am the guy that is outside all day, even on the weekends, cleaning up after you guys,” Sagrero said. Outside of Sagrero’s time spent on campus, he has many other hobbies. “I love both music and cars. My brother-in-law and I build Jeeps for offroading,” Sagrero said.
You see them in the hallways every day but you probably don't know their names. You may never even speak to them during your four years at Carlmont but the members of this tight-knit group are responsible for making sure that Carlmont runs smoothly. From cleaning the campus, to fixing the pool, it's the custodians that make Carlmont the place that it is.
Rudy Medina
Rudy Medina has been working at Carlmont for six years, and can be found driving around campus each morning in a bright orange cart. “I enjoy working early hours because I have always been a morning person,” Medina said. In addition to keeping the campus clean, Medina is responsible for making sure everything on campus is in order and working. “My duties include making sure the swimming pool water is balanced, and if anybody breaks a window or a door is not working, I go to fix it right away,” Medina said. Even though he works every day to improve the experience of Carlmont students, Medina wants to let students know that he is always available if they need assistance. “I don’t have a lot of chances to meet every student, but I like to be helpful and if anybody needs anything from me they can let me know,” Medina said., “I like to tell the students to stay in school and work hard in their classes. I love soccer and hope that every student has the opportunity to do a hobby that they enjoy.”
Luis Mendoza
Luis Mendoza, has been working at Carlmont for two years, a relative newcomer compared to the other custodial staff members. Mendoza works side by side with his coworker and friend Amilcar Sagrero. Like Sagrero, one of Mendoza’s favorite things about Carlmont is the closeness between the staff. Also like Sagrero, Mendoza notices a lot of trash on the ground at lunch and asks for the students to be more conscientious. “It helps out a lot if students throw their trash away at lunch and try not to make a mess when they eat their lunch in classrooms,” Mendoza said. Outside of work, Mendoza enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with loved ones when he is not working. “I enjoy hunting, fishing, camping, and being with my family,” Mendoza said. Article, page design, and photos were all done by Audrey Boyce OCTOBER 2019 HIGHLANDER 7
Behind the scenes of SOS Leela Stuepfert
As students enter Carlmont therapist Shelly Bustamante’s office, they are greeted by a warm smile and comforting atmosphere. On-campus, she offers support for students in distress. Upon entry, the rose-colored lamps illuminate the room. The walls of the office appear hidden under the hundreds of pictures of students. These students pictured on her wall are a part of the well-known group Students Offering Support (SOS). This group would be nonexistent if it were not for Bustamante, who became a crisis therapist at Carlmont in 1997. When Bustamante first arrived, she began working on the existing freshman transition program. However, the program lacked a crucial topic at that time. “It did not address mental health, which everyone struggles with in one way or another,” Bustamante said. “I was one person. One therapist in a school of nearly two thousand kids at the time and it was not possible to handle them all at once.” Determined to do more for her students, Bustamante began creating small groups that focused on topics such as depression, anxiety, grief, and suicide prevention. This soon became known as SOS. Participants within each group began researching the particular issues that affected them. Once the research was complete, Bustamante encouraged students to present these issues to freshmen during Carlmont’s life skills unit. The purpose of these presentations was to connect personal stories to lessons being learned in class. “Rather than having freshmen read about these topics in school, we present them and educate our community concerning issues that are never talked about,” said Kelly-Anne Cumiskey, the president of SOS. “We do this so that if any student is going through a certain topic they know what to do and that they’re not alone.” By creating a haven for those seeking help, Bustamante has sparked courage within her students to speak up in front of the community. “She has a way about her. Her personality is easily approachable so when students are in a crisis they come to see her because they can trust her,” Vice Principal Grant 8 HIGHLANDER CAMPUS
Leela Stuepfert
Steunenberg said. Students who have opened up about their personal lives have developed deeper connections within the group. “SOS is like my second family and Ms. Bustamante is like another mother for me,” Cumiskey said. Every year, Bustamante hosts a Thanksgiving celebration on campus for SOS. Many of the students who attend have never had the chance to experience holidays at home. “For holidays I go crazy. I loved holidays when I was a little kid and I want to recreate that for my students,” Bustamante said. Beyond SOS, Bustamante works to further strengthen the community by learning and speaking with other professionals. Once a month, she runs a mental health collaboration group to connect with the other high school counselors. During this meeting, counselors check in with each other to address prevalent issues within the school. Afterward, Bustamante attends a crisis intervention team meeting to discuss students and ways to support their success. Throughout the day, she receives referrals from the assistant vice principal AVP to do mediations with specific students. If a student is hospitalized, Bustamante holds re-entry meetings with the parents to make sure their child is able to be at school again. “I do a thread of assessments to see if certain students are safe to be on campus,”
Bustamante said. To establish appropriate relationships between student and therapist, therapists must undergo the proper training. “They have professional development training to keep us on top of new treatments and the latest trends such as teen vaping,” Bustamante said. This enables teachers to understand the crisis thoroughly and properly react to the situation. Prior to working at Carlmont, Bustamante worked for the county of San Mateo on a grant from the Criminal Justice Department. She focused primarily on youth case management within local schools. “When I was assigned a case-load I went to the school that particular child attended,” Bustamante said. Her goal was to provide guidance for atrisk students battling trauma or drug use that hindered their success in school. Many of the students that approach her office experience an overwhelming amount of stress. Bustamante encourages them to try and enjoy high school without feeling as if they have to choose the same path as their friends. “Teenagers need to try to stay in the moment. If you’re worried about the future or stuck in the past you’re missing out on your life right now,” Bustamante said. By making others happy, Bustamante feels at peace. “I have a passion for what I do. Helping students is what pushes me to keep going. I love my job and I love the kids I work with and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
Swing club jumps into new year Sophia Deynega and Sophia Morgan Swing Club practices are in full swing in preparation for Heritage Fair. Club members express their passion for swing dance by practicing at Carlmont every Saturday in a social environment. During the two hours of practice, the members enjoy creating friendships with fellow students as well as learning new choreography. They also have meetings every Wednesday where club members discuss new choreography and do bonding exercises. To prepare for Heritage Fair, club president Tori Vega and vice presidents Matias Pollan and Marguerite Fields choreograph the club’s routine and teach it to the group.
Swing dance is a style of dance developed from the swing-style jazz music in the 1920s to 1940s. Swing is a very upbeat and lighthearted style of dance involving various moves such as the Charleston, the Dishrag, Chicken Walks, and the Lindy Hop. “The club is really fun. Everyone’s so nice, like incredibly nice. It’s so social, and you have a friend group that doesn’t judge you,” said Jack Beasley, a freshman and first-year club member. Every year, Swing Club performs at Heritage Fair, an assembly that gathers the different cultures and dance clubs at Carlmont to perform for students.
Sophia Morgan
Swing club members Hailey Hamady and Thomas Covington practice. Although there is a dance team and dance classes at Carlmont, the club introduces a different type of dance to the school. In contrast to the more hip hop oriented routines other dance groups perform, Swing Club brings back a more traditional style of dance. In each dance pair, anyone can be a lead or follow in order to let its members experience swing dancing from both points of view. Anyone can join the club, regardless of their past dance experience. Club members range from having involvement with other dance types, such as ballet and jazz, to others who are participating in the craft of dance for the first time. Students of all grades can participate in the club. Swing Club was initially created to encourage students to try a new style of dance and have a safe place to express themselves. “It’s a great club for expression and community because everyone here is really nice and friendly and down to have a good time,” Vega said, “Nobody here wants to see you fail.”
At Swing Club practice, club members radiate positive energy and fill the room with an encouraging vibe. While still heavily focusing on the choreography, members of Swing Club remain cheerful and laugh among each other. The club leaders are always open to new ideas and encourage input from members of the club. New club leaders fill the shoes of the club leaders of previous years by creating original choreography and expanding on the culture and welcoming environment of the club. Since the past successes of their performances at Heritage Fair, the members strive to improve and do even better than before. Swing Club’s ambition for the future is to increase the size of the club and expand by performing at other events aside from Heritage Fair. The club leaders intend to teach and spread the style of swing dance to others and put on a great show. “This club has made us one big family, and we really get along. It makes us one large group instead of just individual people,” Pollan said. OCTOBER 2019 HIGHLANDER 9
Cultural minorities haunt during Halloween Minority students at Carlmont speak out about their experiences with cultural appropriation
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blackface, large chains, and teeth grills, as well as large, baggy clothing — and even attempts at re-creating the appearance of a movie or TV show character who is part of a minority.” Barbosa, who is Latinx herself, has seen her culture appropriated in this manner before. “The appropriation of my culture is common among white society, whether it’s Cinco de Mayo and they feel justified to walk around in sombreros and fake mustaches, or in everyday life, where white girls wear large, Chola-style hoop earrings,” Barbosa said. Barbosa believes that witnessing the appropriation of one’s culture can harm their relationship with it. “It invalidates their personal connection with the values of their heritage. For example, when Kendall Jenner wears box braids or cornrows of African American inspiration, it is seen as ‘high-fashion’ and ‘trendy,’” she said. “But when the same style is worn on African Americans, it is seen as ‘ghetto,’” Barbosa said. The president of the Black Student Union at Carlmont, senior Janelle Kwofie, also delved into this double standard. “The best example I can use is when Kim Kardashian wears cornrows and is portrayed by the media as the ‘reinventor’ of the braid, while black people in this country have been punished for that same hairstyle,” Kwofie said. “Celebrities make money off of black culture and are aware they are making money off of black culture.” Another well-known controversy is with singer Ariana Grande, who has been accused of cultural appropriation uri
Children are skipping down the street, dressed up as skeletons, witches, and ghosts. Bright smiles are disguised by their face paint; jack-o-lantern-shaped baskets are dangling in their hands. On your way to your friend’s Halloween party, the words “trick or treat” ring in your ears. That’s when you stop and do a double-take. It’s the same man who does this every year, who gets defensive whenever you bring it up. He’s wearing the traditional headwear that people always think of in relation to your culture, the same clothing that would make you a target if you had it on any other day of the year. But what he has is a cheap rendition, bought off a store online. It’s something that he can take off, but will always be a part of your identity — despite what he may think, he has never walked a step in your shoes. This is what it feels like to be a minority during Halloween. Cultural appropriation is an issue that permeates throughout pop culture and society. It delegitimizes the significance of a culture or cultural artifact and is used to make light of the struggles faced by members of that culture. Although the phrase is often heard in the case of celebrities, it can also be perpetuated by your neighbor down the street. If you scroll through your social media feed, you might even find photos of people online dressed up as “geishas,” “Arabs” or “Native Americans.” However, these are rarely portrayed by those specific minority groups themselves. Other times, you might see people putting on a fake tan, baggy pants, and an accent, trying to present themselves as a “thug” or a “rapper.” The term “cultural appropriation”
has also been applied to brands. One example is with the backlash surrounding the announcement of a new Día de Los Muertos themed Barbie. The holiday has been celebrated in Latin America for thousands of years, while Barbie is a children’s toy that was, at one point, exclusively marketed as white. But others have praised the addition, describing it as a respectful tribute to the holiday. In the case of Halloween, stores continue to sell controversial costumes despite alleged cultural insensitivity. “There are many examples of cultural appropriation in Halloween costumes,” Julia Barbosa, a junior, said. “Indigenous headdresses, Pacific-Islander style clothing, Día de Los Muertos face paint and Latinx-styles ponchos and sombreros, so-called 'Ghetto' style —including
Zachary Kho
Zachary Khouri
from multiple fronts. The most visible of these accusations stems from her skin tone noticeably darkening over the years and her increasing racial ambiguity. Grande has adopted an image, look, and musical style that many see as a ploy to profit off of black culture. Accusations of cultural appropriation have also followed politicians, such as current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A photo of him wearing a turban and blackface at an event called “Arabian Nights” has recently resurfaced from 2001. Although he quickly released an apology, it soon became clear from other photos and videos that it was more than just a one-time occurrence. Although some would shrug it off as an innocent mistake, the issue with blackface is ingrained in history. “Blackface dehumanizes the black community. Its origins were literally as entertainment because in the past it was funny for black people to be compared to monkeys and clowns,” Kwofie said. “There is no excuse for it, and it is not necessary for any costume.” In the past, Kwofie has avoided visiting the quad at Carlmont during Halloween out of fear of cultural appropriation; she has heard previously from friends of students going as black celebrities and characters from popular media, often playing off stereotypes. “I cannot speak for all minorities but,
“Please don’t be ignorant on this topic. People need to realize and be aware of the impact they have on others, no matter how big or small.” Milicent Ku Junior
Zachary Khouri
whenever I see black characters portrayed during Halloween, it’s always through negative stereotypes. People will go as Quavo and start talking about baby mommas and child support, but Quavo has nothing to do with babies or child support. He is a rapper,” Kwofie said. “People will use their costumes as a way to be racist for the day.” Ignorance towards other cultures often plays a critical role in cultural appropriation. The president of the Chinese Culture Club, junior Millicent Ku, said, “As Chinese-Americans, we have seen our traditions culturally appropriated. In Utah, a girl wore a Chinese traditional long dress, or qipao, to prom. Although she did not realize it was an aspect of Chinese culture, her level of ignorance did not allow her to feel remorse.” She was also able to provide details into the root of the issue. “The issue comes when an ideal or tradition held to great significance by one is made light of by others. This may come in the form of so-called trends,” Ku said. “An example of this can be seen in the clothing one might choose to wear for style, when it’s something minorities have worked tirelessly to preserve.” The line between what’s cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation is a contentious one. President of the Japanese Culture Club, junior Kayla Stocker, was able to elaborate on the difference.
“My father is an example of someone who appreciates a culture, rather than appropriating it. My father is white, but my mother is Japanese. When they met, he tried to learn the language and different aspects of the culture. He has a great respect for the Japanese culture, and is therefore not appropriating it,” Stocker said. She, like Kwofie and Barbosa, had concerns over how influential celebrities like Kim Kardashian portray other cultures. “I feel the Japanese culture is misrepresented. For example, Kim Kardashian recently came out with a shapewear brand she named ‘Kimono,’ after the Japanese clothing. This was cultural appropriation because she failed to understand the significance of the kimono to Japanese culture,” Stocker said. “It’s a formal type of clothing, often worn at weddings or other important events. It, in no way, should represent shapewear.” Even though Carlmont is generally regarded as a liberal community, this does not negate its potential for cultural insensitivity. “We have not seen as extreme cultural appropriation here because we live in such a diverse, privileged area. However, exposure to diversity does not eliminate ignorance,” Ku said. “Please don’t be ignorant on this topic. People need to realize and be aware of the impact they have on others, no matter how big or small.” OCTOBER 2019 HIGHLANDER 11
Spooky in the Suburbs A guide to Belmont’s haunts
Kimberly Mitchell Waterdog Lake is a popular trail for many cross country runners from Carlmont High School and Ralston Middle School. With its winding trails, endless shrubbery, and wide lake, the trail is known for its beauty and serenity. However, what many runners may not realize is that the lake is ranked as one of the most haunted lakes in California and was the scene of a brutal murder 35 years ago. On Oct. 2, 1984, at about 7:00 p.m., Belmont resident Margaret Turner called the police to report her 12-year-old son, Lance, was missing from soccer practice. Several boys reported seeing Lance Turner head toward Waterdog Lake, threeeighths of a mile from the soccer field at Ralston. A search followed. After picking up his own son from practice, William Russell joined the search. He shined his flashlight onto some bushes in a gully off the path to the lake and saw feet sticking out of the bushes. Turner’s body was later identified under the overgrown bush with several stab wounds. Three female students from Ralston testified that about 3:00 p.m. they left school, skipping volleyball practice, and 12 HIGHLANDER F E AT U R E S
Kimberly Mitchell
went down to Waterdog Lake to smoke cigarettes. A man whom one of the girls described as having dirty blond hair, pimples and dirty teeth approached them and started a conversation. The man, later identified as Jon Scott Dunkle, returned back to the dock after the girls left and saw Turner jogging in the area. According to court records, Dunkle asked for the time to get the boy’s attention and then proceeded to stab him repeatedly in the side, throat, and heart. At the time of the murder, many Belmont residents were shocked and in fear as the killer remained unknown despite Turner being his second victim.
Kimberly Mitchell
Lance’s body was found in a gully off the path to the lake.
It took two years, an undercover cop at a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, and a confession by Dunkle’s cell mate before Belmont Police were able to identify and convict the killer. Parker Rianda, a senior and former cross country runner, first found out about the murder from his dad. At the time of the murder, Rianda's dad was an eighth-grader at Ralston. According to Rianda, the incident combined with his general “paranoia” made his dad concerned. However, like many other runners, the allure of the park made him ignore that warning regardless. “I’m a man of science so if I can’t prove it then it’s not there.” Rianda said. “Plus there’s this overgrown off-trail that I went on and it was pretty cool.” But while some runners such as Rianda doubt a supernatural presence, other locals claim to have heard screams and other ghostly noises coming from the lake. Abby Brendza, a senior, is a fan of the paranormal and found out about the murders back when she was at Ralston. “I enjoy the paranormal, but I don’t exactly believe in ghosts,” Brendza said. “However, I do think that there are some parts of the lake that are pretty creepy like the pipes by the dock and the fact that a kid was murdered there.”
Twin Pines Park tunnels: Hidden at the end of a creek, surrounded by overgrown vines and walls covered with graffiti, the tunnels appear frightening and eery to many who come across it. For seniors, Emma Wong, Alice Chamberlin, and Anika Vandertuin something unusual always seems to occur whenever they venture into the tunnels. When Wong and Vandertuin first visited the tunnels, the water drops, echoes, and overall atmosphere creeped them out. Relying on just one the flashlight to illuminate the dark ghostly tunnel, Wong screamed when Vandertuin suddenly Kimberly Mitchell turned it off. Overgrown vines obscure the entrance to the tunnels at Twin Pines Park. “I was honestly so terrified,” Wong said. “It was such a stupid and evil thing to do.” Wong and Vandertuin’s decision would lead to their spookiest encounter to date. “As we go into the tunnels we were like ‘Oh, it smells like someone is cooking something,’” said Alice Chamberlin. “And as we went further into the tunnels the smell of smoke just kept getting stronger.” “Eventually, we came across this huge book that was burning,” said Vandertuin. But, despite the book’s burning there seemed to be no trace of the person or thing that started the fire. While Chamberlin does not believe the park is haunted by spirits, the burning book was not the only creepy encounter she experienced at the tunnels. One day, during cross country practice, Chamberlin decided to explore the tunnels again. “I was in the dark and this random Kimberly Mitchell Kimberly Mitchell person showed up and he said a few things Graffiti lines the walls and empty spray cans are scattered across the tunnels. and asked us if we have ever seen anyone sketchy down here, but we couldn’t see his face the entire time,” said Chamberlin. “It was really scary, but it was fun.” In fact, while the burning book may have given her goosebumps at the time, Wong decided that she would use to tunnels to spook other kids. “I brought my church’s youth group from San Francisco there and when we were walking around we heard another group of kids there, so we started making howling noises,” said Wong. “And then we heard one of the kids just scream and they Kimberly Mitchell all just ran off.” O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 13
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An update on the 2020 Presidential election:
Keeping up with the candidates Natalie Doud
Many young voters are unaware of ongoing governmental issues: Political awareness is becoming more and more important as other world conflicts overshadow the significance of politics in the U.S. Before the critical decision of who the next U.S. president will be, potential voters should be aware of who the presidential candidates are, what their policies are, and why they personally believe they are qualified to represent the U.S. For the Democratic party, there are now 19 candidates, as seven candidates have dropped out of the race. For the Republican party, there are still just four candidates. The Democratic front runners of the race are Elizabeth Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, and Joe Biden, former vice president. According to a power ranking created by Business Insider, Warren is the number one contender, with Biden right behind her at second, despite his recent increase in popularity. On the Republican front, Trump holds the lead. Many of controversies surrounded Trump after he announced that he would be campaigning for his second term in office. The recent impeachment inquiry into Trump has contributed to his lack of support and is increasing his growing opposition, despite the high chances of his re-election. “What I think is going to stay the same is that a lot of people are going to be unhappy. Regardless of who wins people will be unhappy,” history teacher Jarrod Harrison said. “And I think part of it is that the rhetoric is so superheated so that if Donald Trump wins re-election, you know the Democrats will try really hard to impeach him. You know the investigations will continue. And that’s going to antagonize the people that support him.” Students 18 years or older will be eligible to vote by the next election. Students may already have an idea of who they want to vote for, whether that is choosing to re-elect Trump or voting for another candidate.
But some students may be unaware of the different candidates they can support and vote for, and others may feel that their voices and opinions don’t matter. “Well, the theory is that you have a say in how the government runs. I think a lot of people feel they don’t have a voice, but this is one way that you can, concretely, have your voice heard, even if your side doesn’t win,” Harrison said. Students have found several programs at Carlmont that foster these ideas and allow students to learn more about how they can contribute to society and how they can help their community. While this may not always mean picking up trash or going to a climate strike, becoming involved in politics and learning more about the U.S. government allows students to find other ways to have an outlet in which they can express their opinions. Programs such as the Junior States of America (JSA) and Mock Trial have significantly contributed, and, according to Abby Sanders, a junior and the chapter president for JSA at Carlmont, aided students in learning more about politics. “I initially joined JSA because I already had an interest in politics and government,” Sanders said. “So I’d say I’ve learned more about candidates in general. I’ve learned how to approach the elections in a way that allows me to recognize the individual impact I can have. It’s helped me recognize what’s important to me in a candidate because I’ve been able to think and talk a lot about my beliefs and values since I joined.” These organizations have brought awareness to students and have allowed them to develop their own political opinions and ideologies without being influenced by their parents. Harrison said, “Depending on who wins the election, I’ll be very curious because there are so many other things going on in the world. There are tensions in different parts of the world and how Americans vote and who our leaders are actually affects the rest of the world too. So it’s going to be historic, historically ugly probably.”
ELIZABETH WARREN
Current Massachusetts Senator Frontrunner for the Democratic Party
JOE BIDEN
Former Vice President Second most popular candidate for the Democratic Party
DONALD TRUMP
Current U.S. President Frontrunner for the Republican Party
Andrea Butler
OCTOBER 2019 HIGHLANDER 9
HOW DOES SPI UNITE US?
16
IRIT
Design by Francesca D’Urzo Writing by Veronica Roseborough
G
riffin Soelberg wakes up early on Fridays so he can get to school and have his face painted. He wears all white, decked out in a bandanna, white leggings, and of course, his trusty “Screamin’ Scots” t-shirt. He practices the cheers on the ride to school, trying to figure out the best way to start the wave at the football game. The game doesn’t start until 7 p.m. but he’s all set to cheer in the stands. He walks the halls all day, seeing some students decked out in white, just like him. But many more students do not wear white and do not have painted faces. A boy in his math class sports a “Deep Blue” hoodie, a girl in his science class repping her dance uniforms, another girl wearing her BTI shirt. Griffin reads each sweatshirt, noticing a common thread: every person is wearing something that says “Carlmont.” In every class, it seems, at least one student is wearing some form of Carlmont merchandise. Only a very small amount of the Carlmont gear he sees, however, says Screamin’ Scots. He turns to the girl sitting next to him, clad in her water polo sweatshirt and asks, “Are you going to the football game?” The girl laughs, “I don’t go to the games.” And both of them return to their work. Finally, the bell rings for the end of the day, and Griffin goes home to get ready for her night. The game starts at 7 p.m., so naturally, he needs to get there at 6:30. He arrives at the game, his face paint fresh, ready to cheer. He takes his place in the stands, noticing how many other students around her sport similar warpaint and Screamin’ Scots gear. Noticeably absent, are the people she saw in class earlier that day. The national anthem plays, and the game begins. And Griffin remains standing for the rest of the game, yelling “Scots Scots Scots” at the top of his lungs. There, sandwiched between his equally passionate peers, he cheers on his school.
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SPIRIT GOES BEYOND SCREAMIN' SCOTS
CROSS COUNTRY CAMARADERIE
It’s a feeling that’s all too familiar to much of the Carlmont population. Squeezed between two people in an attempt not to tumble down the bleachers, inhaling a little too much baby powder, and screaming at the top of your lungs that you believe that we will win. No matter the outcome of the game, you leave with a mildly sore throat, smudged face paint, and a sense of pride knowing one thing for certain: Carlmont has spirit. Most often, the term “school spirit” is applied in reference to the sense of community and identity shared by students within an academic environment. For Carlmont, this is most obviously exemplified through Screamin’ Scots. But, in reality, football game attendees represent only a fraction of all spirited students at Carlmont. “In my freshman or sophomore years, I would’ve entertained the idea that Screamin’ Scots plays a much larger role in encouraging people to come to the game than I do believe it plays now. That isn’t to say that Screamin’ Scots doesn’t play a big role, it plays a massive one,” ASB President Joe Sison said. “However, I do recognize that football games are social events and a majority of students are there for the social aspect.” There is no denying that Screamin’ Scots is a big part of the spirit at Carlmont, but it’s far from the only part. “I know a lot of people get a kick out of going to football games and getting face paint and all that jazz which is great and all, but I personally don’t get anything out of that because it seems fairly superficial. I find subtler instances of school spirit a lot more telling. It isn’t, or at least shouldn’t, solely be a function of how loud someone can yell about their mascot,” senior Max HaririTurner said.
With 119 athletes, cross country is one Carlmont's largest sports teams. But students don’t pay to see the runners race every Friday night, just as Screamin’ Scots doesn’t show up to cheer them on. As a result, the runners are their own cheerleaders and each relies on the support of their peers for motivation. Unlike traditional team sports, cross country is about the individual and the team aspect only comes into play for scoring. This puts all of the runners in the same boat every course, regardless of their skill-level, and serves to ease the tension that can exist between opposing teams, according to Hariri-Turner, a runner on the team. “You’d think that because it’s so insulated there’d be less teamwork and team spirit, but I’ve observed the opposite,” Hariri-Turner said. “There’s an incredible amount of camaraderie even between teams. Since your true opponent is the course, there’s no real downside to being friendly with other teams. It’s still highly competitive, but you definitely feel like your team has your back, if not other teams as well.” While runners from other schools may not know their names, their jerseys read “Carlmont,” and their actions shape the perception of the school as a whole. “We show school spirit in our casual interactions with other teams. I’ve seen Carlmont runners genuinely congratulate, joke around with, and help out other runners on numerous occasions. How we treat “the enemy” as a friend is one of the most defining characteristics of a good sport, and I’d say that reflects on our spirit both as a team and as a school,” Hariri-Turner said. Sison agrees that the actions of individuals contribute to their spirit. “School spirit is important because it exemplifies the very best characteristics of our students. We’re both passionate and respectful, hardworking and dedicated, prideful yet humble, and so much more,” Sison said.
One common way for Scots to show pride is by wearing Carlmont merchandise. Screamin' Scots gear, however, is far from the only Carlmont themed clothing on campus. Several groups, teams, and clubs on campus show their Carlmont pride by wearing their school gear.
SWIMMING SCOTS TRADITION Just because someone graduates does not mean they have to forget their team cheers. Swim team keeps the past alive by preserving the school spirit of those that came before them. “Our cheers have been said for many years and it's a Carlmont tradition to keep the same ones. The previous generations of the Carlmont swim team have created a cheer that is well known and proudly said during the Carlmont swim season,” said Sofia Sharron, a Swimming Scot. Such traditional spirit builds a sense of camaraderie that could be absent in other teams.
" THE TRUTH IS THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO SHOW CARLMONT PRIDE. MY HONEST OPINION IS THAT YOU JUST HAVE TO BE YOURSELF AND RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE A PART OF CARLMONT’S COLLECTIVE IDENTITY." - JOE SISON
At swim meets, we all encourage each other before our events and cheer everyone on,” Sharron said. “It’s really a great thing that I’m lucky to experience because we are all so involved and love to make it a good time for everyone.” Similar to other groups on campus, the swim team has their own gear which they sport even when it’s not swim season. “During the days leading up to big swim events, you can notice lots of students wearing swim merch and repping the school. You can catch some of us wearing our merch all year around,” Sharron said. Although their trademark hoodies are unique to swim, they make it clear that they are proud to swim not just for their team, but for Carlmont.
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SCHOOL SPIRIT IS FOR MORE THAN JUST ATHLETES Although the stereotypical way to show pride for one’s school is to play a sport or cheer on others, the academic-based portion of spirit often goes unnoticed. “You could be cheering people on at sports games or participating in groups like orchestra, band, or choir and you can also get involved in clubs like DECA,” said DECA co-president Lily Gittoes. DECA is a non-profit student organization that, through its 3,500 high school chapters and 275 collegiate chapters, “prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management,” according to its website. At Carlmont, it functions as a club that competes at conferences during the year and has been quite successful, especially in the past year. Despite their achievements, Carlmont’s DECA chapter has a relatively small number of students which provides a challenge when making a name for themselves and for Carlmont “Having spirit from your school is really important at DECA conferences,” Gittoes said. “There are other DECA chapters like Lynbrook and Mission San Jose High School who bring like 300 people so they're super spirited. We only bring like 20 so we are a lot quieter.” In the past, this has hindered the success and the reputation of the chapter. “I know that Carlmont used to have a DECA chapter from like, 20 years ago, but I've heard that they didn't do that well at conferences,” Gittoes said. The current DECA chapter is looking to change Carlmont’s reputation and leave their legacies for future chapters to aspire to, so they too can be proud that they are from Carlmont. “Although we might have the smallest amount of members, we have the highest per capita people who are winning,” Gittoes said.
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YOU'VE GOT SPIRIT According to dancer Kailani Firenze, school spirit is about making people excited to be a part of the school’s community, just as she does by dancing at assemblies and sports games. At the end of the day, the simplest of acts can show one’s school spirit. “Join a club. Attend performing arts shows. Spread awareness for an injustice or issue that means a lot to you,” Sison said. This refers to anyone, no matter what circles they run in, or the groups they are apart of. Those who have spirit only have to show up, recognize they are a Scot, and take pride in knowing they are part of something bigger than themselves. “School spirit is a result of all the good that happens at Carlmont. At the very least it can make high school an enjoyable experience,” Sison said. “At its best, it can bring us all together.”
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FAIR PLAY
The long-standing debate of colleges, their student-athletes, and the money between them Mandy Hitchcock After more than a century, California’s legislature challenged the legacy the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has instilled in the very fabric of collegiate sports. This was brought into reality by a single signature. On Sept. 30, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 206, also known as the "Pay Fair to Play Act." The law will take effect for the 2023 school year, granting collegiate athletes the right to earn money from the use of their name, image, or likeness while still maintaining their athletic eligibility. 22 HIGHLANDER SPORTS
This new reality defies the regulations set by the NCAA, an organization founded in 1906 to draw up competition and eligibility rules for college sports. The organization currently rules that all student-athletes who want to compete must receive an amateurism certification from the NCAA, and students are incapable of receiving any form of payment because of this certificate. Kaimei Gescuk, a Carlmont senior, was recently recruited to Division I University for cross country and track and field. Athletes from Division I schools are most likely to benefit from the new law as the NCAA holds them to the highest level of intercollegiate athletics and their sport
seasons garner the most media attention. Although California is currently the only state to have passed this type of legislation, a host of other states are looking into securing benefits for their student-athletes, Connecticut is among those states, according to CBS Sports. “My greatest hope is to find a balance I can thrive in. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself — I just want to do my best and have fun with it,” Gescuk said. Bryan Gescuk, Kaimei’s father, played football and baseball during the mid-1980s at Harvard University, a Division I school. He personally understands the consuming schedule one has to manage. “Being a student-athlete is not only
Photo Illustration and Graphic by Mandy Hitchcock
a tremendous honor, but also a sizable responsibility, as it requires the ability to balance two extremely demanding activities,” Bryan Gescuk said. “The danger in that is the person becomes so engaged in those activities that he or she loses out on important interactions with other students or exciting opportunities.” Tanner Anderson, Carlmont graduate from 2018, was recruited for track at Division I school UC Riverside. He also stresses the importance of organizing a busy day while juggling up to three hours of practice a day and classes scattered throughout the week. “The greatest challenge is just finding the time. You have to make sure you have adequate time to complete each thing you set out to do for the day, and you usually end up with nothing more outside of the set schedule you’ve made for yourself,” Anderson said. In the professional world, prominent figures in the NBA have spoken out against the corrupt policies of the NCAA, including LeBron James and Draymond Green. Speaking with reporters Sept. 30 at a Lakers’ media day, James described coming from a background full of financial hardships. If he had attended college for basketball, he and his mom “wouldn’t have been able to benefit at all from it,” while “the university would’ve been able to capitalize on everything.” Profiting off of advertising and the reputation of student-athletes, the NCAA reports their 2018 revenue of over $1 billion. The money is used to support the NCAA
and then systematically distributed back to the colleges, according to the NCAA. “I personally have felt that the NCAA has, for a long time now, employed a type of indentured servitude with inner-city black kids going to predominantly white universities, making those universities millions of dollars from television, game attendance, and sale of merchandise,” Bryan Gescuk said. “And this revenue is way out of proportion to the value of their scholarships.” These types of situations have garnered public outrage, especially in the case of University of Connecticut basketball player Shabazz Napier, who described “hungry nights” and was still expected to play to the best of his abilities back in 2014. “Can you imagine being a poor student trying to scrape together money for a meal and walking into a university book store and seeing your jersey on sale for $75?” Bryan Gescuk asked. “Something is fundamentally wrong with that.” For many high school students, the tuition is a key factor in the college application process. According to U.S. News, The financial strain is especially apparent in the last 20 years; in-state tuition and fees at public national universities alone have increased by 221%. The "Pay Fair to Play Act" would work to counter such expenses, providing student-athletes with the opportunity to ease the burden themselves. “I think athletes have a right to profit off of their talent; they work so hard and train for so many hours, it leaves little time to make money from conventional jobs on
the side,” Kaimei Gescuk said. However, critics of the Pay Fair to Play Act call into question the true extent of the act in benefiting student-athletes. “It really only benefits a small number of athletes who are able to even get big enough to pull in revenue,” Anderson said. “But nonetheless, the act is definitely going in the right direction for student-athletes.” On the other hand, opposition to student-athletes getting paid outlines how the lack of payment instills a greater love for the school and the sport, and in response to “hungry nights,” the NCAA voted to allow schools to offer athletes unlimited meals and snacks. Furthermore, colleges across the nation fear student-athletes will look towards California with priority. Because the "Pay Fair to Play Act" only applies to schools in California, the opportunity for profit would draw applicants away from their home states. Anderson also worries about the potential repercussions of testing the NCAA’s authority. Should the organization refuse to compromise, they hold the ability to deny representation for Californian institutes in major tournaments and meets. Of course, with every attempt to change the law comes a battle of legal appeals, institutional protests, and outraged public sentiment. Anderson said, “It’s an uphill fight, but definitely a worthy one; now it’s left up to the other states to hopefully follow the lead California set.”
Mandy Hitchcock
O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 23
Hannah Camenzind tackles stereotypes Ailee Lim Play like a girl, run like a girl, throw like a girl, kick like a girl. For Hannah Camenzind, playing like a girl meant joining the boys football team. Camenzind began by working out with the JV football team over the summer during her junior year. “To be honest, at first I just joined for the summer workouts so I could get in shape, but the more time I spent with the team and playing the game, the more I got into it,” Camenzind said. After putting in the hours, she discovered a passion for football and wanted to join the team. “One day after school I walked up to the coach and asked if I could join, and he said yes,” Camenzind said. Now a senior, she is both a cornerback and a wide receiver on the varsity team. “I really enjoy meeting new people that I usually wouldn’t talk to. Football brings everyone from different backgrounds together,” Camenzind said. Camenzind likes the adrenaline rush that comes with playing the games. “I also love the intensity of the game and how the way you play feeds off of your emotions. If you get aggressive and pumped up, you’ll play way better than if you’re nervous,” Camenzind said. However, being the only girl on the team poses a set of unique challenges. Camenzind experiences trouble building up muscle compared to her male counterparts, which is a common struggle for female athletes. “I have to put in more work to prepare myself for the season since generally it takes longer for women to build up the necessary muscle to play football safely. I work hard, but don’t see as much of an outcome as the boys do,” Camenzind said. According to Arizona State University, testosterone is one of the key components to gaining muscle mass. Since women do produce as much as men, it is more difficult for women to gain muscle. “I’ve been lifting weights for about two years, and some of the JV boys can lift more than I can, even though they have been lifting for a year or less. It’s hard to 24 HIGHLANDER SPORTS
deal with because you need strength to block and tackle,” Camenzind said. Another issue with being the only female on the team is how she is treated. Camenzind said she has faced remarks regarding her gender. “I am definitely treated differently by my teammates and coaches. I remember the first week of practice one of the coaches told me, ‘You can’t backpedal as fast as the guys because you have woman hips,’” Camenzind said. She also said judgment can be more subtle, and that it can be passed without one realizing it. “I believe my gender puts me at a disadvantage because people automatically have an insight bias towards me. Whether they realize it or not, coaches treat me different because I’m a girl,” Camenzind said.
"Whether they realize it or not, coaches treat me differently because I'm a girl." Hannah Camenzind Senior
Another challenge she faces was highlighted by a teammate, Adrian Tongthaworn, a junior. “When we all get dressed in the changing rooms she has to go to the bathrooms. Sometimes they are small and don’t have locks,” Tongthaworn said. While he acknowledges the technical issues of her being the only girl on the team, Tongthaworn does not see Camenzind as anything more than just another teammate. “[Her gender] doesn’t stop her from doing anything, she’s basically just one of the guys,” Tongthaworn said. However, despite the issues she is subjected to, her coaches vouch for her sportsmanship. “She is a good teammate and does what she is asked. We don’t ask her to do things
outside her physical capabilities, which is standard for all players,” said Jake Messina, the head varsity football coach. Camenzind is not the first girl on the team. Samantha Blucher, a kicker, played for the team two years ago. Kickers do not have to be as physical in the game. According to the NFL rulebook for kickers, “There shall be no unnecessary roughness ... a kicker is a defenseless player through the conclusion of the down.” “A lot of people who see me in Carlmont football gear assume I’m the kicker since I’m a girl. It annoys me because people think that women can’t play an actual position, but I’m out here playing cornerback and wide receiver,” Camenzind said. Her positions, cornerback and wide receiver, both require contact and strength. Cornerbacks are usually the fastest on the team and are responsible for covering receivers. They also may tackle opposing team members and create turnovers. Wide receivers also are speedy players, catching passes from the quarterback and attempting to avoid or outrun the opposing team. Eric Rado, an assistant coach for the varsity team, says that Camenzind was not a special case. Anyone can play football, regardless of gender. “It’s always up to Coach Messina, but any Carlmont student that puts the work throughout the whole entire year and follows all the rules can play football,” Rado said. Camenzind encourages female participation in football and wants any girl to join football if she is passionate about it. “If there are any girls who want to join football I would definitely recommend it. It’s such a fun sport and I think women should be encouraged to play,” Camenzind said. Camenzind says her prime motivation for playing football is to prove women can play and compete with men in traditionally “men only” sports. “Women can do what men can do. I want people to see that there is no barrier between men and women, and we can compete at the same levels,” Camenzind said.
Lexi Romanowsky
Top: Though currently injured, Camenzind stands on the sidelines in uniform and cheers on her team, Right: Camenzind speaks with a member of the Carlmont Varsity coaching staff. Bottom: Carlmont's Varsity football team has 39 players, Camenzind is the only female player.
Pat Smith
Lexi Romanowsky
O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 25
Scots break new waves:
The lives of Carlmont surfers Ayal Meyers On a crisp, foggy morning at Pacifica Beach, Christian Buck and Tyler Dartnell, sit on their boards, and survey the horizon. As a large wave approaches, they paddle just a few yards in front of it. They smoothly slide up over the waxed belly of the board as the shoulder of the wave carries them; an hour from now, they will be in math class. Long before it was a world-recognized sport, surfing was a cornerstone of Bay Area culture and Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, is in a prime location. It is a short drive from a number of prestigious surfing destinations including Mavericks Beach. Worldwide, Mavericks is known as the home to some of the deadliest waves on the face of the earth. Students teach surfing classes, make surfboards, and even surf before school. Surfing brands such as Quicksilver, RVCA, Volcom, and Vans are among the most popular clothing brands worn by Carlmont students. Beach-themed spirit days highlight the enthusiasts once a year. Despite the spirit days, surfing has become a hidden aspect of Carlmont’s culture due to the lack of representation through a surf team or club. Whether students are aware of it or not, surfing is deeply embedded in Carlmont’s current culture and history. Professional surfers Jeff Clark and Michael Ho attended Carlmont in the late 1960s and early 1970s. More than half a century later, Carlmont seniors Buck and Dartnell attempt to follow in their footsteps. The new bell schedule allows them to wake up at 5 a.m. and surf before school. “We are definitely willing to give up sleep to surf,” Dartnell said. While this wasn’t the intent of the new schedule, Principal Ralph Crame applauds those who take advantage of the late start in such a way. “I think it is great that students get to go and do something they love before school starts. ... I think it has a positive effect on a student’s overall well-being,” Crame said. “It also is a great way for students to socialize without social media. I think it helps 26 HIGHLANDER SPORTS
students maintain balance in their lives.” Carlmont science teacher and surfer Josh Engberg envies these students. He began surfing during the summer between seventh and eighth-grade, but never had this opportunity. “It’s great for surfers that we have a late start now, as the conditions are generally much better in the morning. I wish I could do that during the school year, but teachers have meetings and work to do on those late start days. Surfing is one of the most condition and weather-dependent sports, so it’s not like other sports where you can practice it at any time,” Engberg said. Additionally, a few select competitive surfers skip a class or two to participate in competitions. For example, this year’s Big Chill Out competition semi-finals drew a couple of students out of their classes. Despite hoping to surf professionally, Ruben Neyroud recognizes the importance of staying in school. Just like many other parents of student surfers, his parents are big advocates for their children getting their education. “I think I miss way less school than some other athletes who miss classes two or three times a week, whereas I only miss because of surfing once a year,” Neyroud said. While there are very competitive surfers, a multitude of Carlmont students also casually surf. Competitive surfers call them “troders” which is a term to describe a surfer who is generally inexperienced. These students are the type to surf once a year on a warm summer day only because they live close to the beach. “I know a lot of students like to get out to the beach only when it gets hot,” said Engberg. Engberg believes that these “troders” are the defining factor of the Carlmont surf culture, while Dartnell disagrees. Dartnell runs a surfboard company where he makes boards, and he claims that the majority of the people that buy his product are Carlmont students looking to surf more or improve their surfing ability. “I think most people at Carlmont come up to me wanting to become a more advanced surfer and don’t want to be just a once a year surfer type guy, but for the
most part they are scared off by the cold water,” Dartnell said. Water temperature is another aspect that makes Carlmont surf culture different from most other places worldwide. “We don’t have warmer water like in So-Cal or Hawaii, but I think that makes the people that do surf at Carlmont and in Belmont more passionate because it takes a different breed of human to willingly subject yourself to that cold at five in the morning,” Buck said.
“People that do surf at Carlmont and in Belmont are more passionate because it takes a different breed of human to willingly subject yourself to that cold at five in the morning.” Christian Buck Senior
While surf culture is represented in many different ways around school, from wearing a surf brand to showing up decked out in beachwear during spirit week, the core of Carlmont surf culture is in the passion and pride. Each individual talks about surfing the local beaches with such devotion and with such strong feelings, but when asked how many people they normally tell about their surf endeavors, the consistent answer was only one or two of their close friends, who in Dartnell’s case, also surf. “Surfing has been such an important part of my life and it was kind of nice to not feel like an outsider when I came to Carlmont. I would even say that I felt welcomed by Carlmont’s quirky and low-key, but vibrant surf community,” Dartnell said.
Cartoon Drawn by Seona Sherman
O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 27
Opinion: Streaming services oversaturate the video market Eoin Cunningham
Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you have watched “The Office” on Netflix and many other shows for a relatively low price. However, in the future, you will be paying more for less and won’t be able to find as many shows in one place. For example, NBC’s “The Office” will no longer be available on Netflix by 2021. But my distress for this development is dwarfed by my concern for the future of entertainment following this trend. NBC announced that they would be starting their streaming service called Peacock in 2020, and which is why they did not renew their contract with Netflix. An article published by CNBC, a subsidiary of NBC, said that “NBC is doing a solid for the traditional pay-TV industry.” They are, in effect, congratulating themselves. Now NBC’s service costs $12 per month and has advertisements. Whether or not they are doing a solid for the TV industry is not for me to say, but it is a loss for fans of “The Office” as well as other shows that fall under umbrella. More and more streaming services are being introduced. Most of these services are created as a part of a larger company like Disney+ or Sony’s Playstation Vue. All of these services are created to host exclusive content, giving consumers no choice but to buy the service if they want to watch specific shows. Prices for previously existing streaming services are rising as well. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime have increased their prices recently. They are using this money to (surprise, surprise) make more exclusive content like “Stranger Things” which are made exclusively for one service. Let’s be honest here: if these streaming services are trying to be similar to Netflix, the majority of this “exclusive content” will not be very high quality or watchable. This trend is going to be detrimental to everyone’s viewing experience, as people will have to pay more money to watch the same shows. Those shows are now on their exclusive service. It will also be less convenient, with none of the shows available in the same place. Let’s say you like to watch “The Office,” “Stranger Things,” and Marvel TV shows. Right now, it only costs you $9 per month with a basic Netflix subscription, but, in the future, it will cost you more than three times that number, as you will have to be subscribed to Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock in order to watch all of the shows you did before. 28 HIGHLANDER OPINION
It is not like these new streaming services are created because the companies are struggling. In fact, according to Statista, the television industry made almost $140 billion in 2018, which is up almost $100 billion from ten years ago. The public has responded to this development with memes about piracy**. Pirating these shows and movies is a questionable idea in theory with both upsides and downsides. You would get all of your favorite shows, and the chances of you being caught, fined up to $250,000, or being sent to prison are slim to none. If you don’t want to pirate content because you are about the effect of piracy on working individuals, you shouldn’t be. The only people who receive payment based on the performance of whatever media produced are usually well off to begin with. According to Glassdoor, senior vice presidents at Disney, for example, make on average,$250,000 a year and they make money based on a show’s performance. Of course, there are many people who don’t like gray areas. If you need a TV fix and have a strict moral code, there are billions of hours of content at your fingertips, thanks to the internet and platforms like YouTube which are free of charge. If many used these alternatives to subscribing to many streaming services, it could make the over saturated market suffer and force the companies to offer their content at a fair price on multiple platforms, but honestly, that probably won’t happen. If the new services succeed, television will have completed a full circle from cable, where one would have to pay to watch specific channels and still have to watch ads, to the beginning of streaming where you only had one service. In the near future, the norm will revert back to having to pay for each specific selection of channels and shows once more. The big production companies like NBC and Disney are getting greedy. They know that you can’t live without “The Office” and “Avengers,” and they want to squeeze every dime they can out of their most popular shows and properties. They do not care if they are doing this at the expense of the viewer. As long as people pay to watch the new Loki show, they are happy. You shouldn’t despair, though; perhaps the new competition will spur on a new golden age in television and make it worth the extra monthly bills. Maybe that thought doesn’t placate you, but let’s be honest here, are you paying a Netflix subscription right now, or are you mooching off of a friend or family member and essentially watching it for free like me? **Highlander newmagazine does not condone illegal behavior such as pirating content
PLATFORM QUIZ Which streaming platform are you?
If you answered mostly A’s...
1. What's your favorite after school snack?
A
Popcorn
B
Roasted veggies and hummus
2. What pet do you want?
A
Dog
B
Parakeet
3. What search engine do you use?
A
B
Bing
4. What's your favorite TV show?
A
"FRIENDS"
B
"M*A*S*H"
C
Whatever is out. I'm flexible
C
A
B
Benjamin Franklin
6. What's your chip brand of choice?
A
Lays
B
Kettle Chips
You either want to watch "The Office" or watch nothing at all. You stick with what's classic and are not afraid of going a little old school. Check out some of the seemingly thousands of "Netflix Originals" that seem to get pumped out every day.
Cat
If you answered mostly B’s...
C
Yahoo
C
"Game of Thrones"
5. Who's your favorite founding father? George Washington
You are Netflix
C C
Alexander Hamilton
Pringles
You are Hulu We get it, you watch 'The Handmaid's Tale." You appreciate the more niche parts of life, while also secretly watching "Real Housewives." Keep up with the hipster culture, but also remember that not everyone can sit through one hour of depressing TV.
If you answered mostly C’s...
You are Amazon Prime You appreciate when things are handed to you. We all know that you were there for the two day shipping, and saw the included movies as an added perk.
O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 29
Opinion: What does it really mean to be 18? Alena Ruhstaller
I’ve always looked forward to my birthdays as a kid. I viewed 13 as the start of being a teenager, and a sweet sixteen was something that always fascinated me in the movies. However, 18 was different for me. I thought I was excited to be an adult, but then reality hit. I was no longer a kid. I’m recognized as an adult in the eyes of the federal government. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 22.4% of the American population is under the age of 18. Even though I’m technically no longer a member of that 22.4%, I still feel like I shouldn’t be part of the adult world. Being 18 means growing up and becoming a mature adult, and honestly, I’m not sure if I can miraculously mature in the span of one day. How can I be an adult when I have no clue how? We’ve been taught a lot of things in school that will “help us in the future,” but none of it directly applies to what we have to know in order to succeed in adult life. I’ve been in school since I was five, and the harsh truth is that I’ll have no idea what to do with my life the second I move out. Finding the derivative of a function won’t magically help me understand how to file my tax returns and I can’t use my new eligibility to sign a lease if I don’t know how to. Going into adulthood with barely any knowledge of how my parents handle their responsibilities and obligations to the rest of society is truly concerning. I had two times growing up where I truly felt I was independent for the first time. One was when I was allowed to stay home alone for the first time. My parents trusted that I wouldn’t burn the house down and that I could take care of myself. However, I got a horrible feeling in my gut as soon as they left the house; was I really ready for it? But everything turned out okay. My parents trusted me more than I trusted myself and maybe that’s something that applies to me today; I may not think that I’m ready to be an adult, but others may view it differently. The peak of my independence as a child was when I got my driver’s license and a paying job at 16. All parents are different, but as soon as I passed my drivers' test, my parents had almost no control over what I did. I could leave my house whenever I wanted to as long as I was home by 11 p.m. and I felt like I was an adult for the first time. With my job, I was able to go out for dinner and buy new clothes without asking my parents for money. I was granted the freedom that I always dreamed about as a kid, and I was more than ready to take it. I wish it was that easy when I turned er all 18. I didn’t experience the thrill of driving alone st uh R for the first time like I did when I was 16, and I a en didn’t get that horrible feeling in my gut like I did Al when I spent my first night alone in my house. 28 HIGHLANDER LIFESTYLE
I felt completely normal like nothing had changed, but in reality, I unwrapped a whole new list of responsibilities that I don’t know how to handle. I’m expected to know how to approach these new responsibilities with the mentality of an adult while being stuck in an environment where freshmen boys throw grapes at each other, which doesn’t help when trying to be more mature. But we do get a bunch of new privileges thrown at us when we turn 18 that we didn’t have before. We can fulfill our dream of skydiving in Kenya after watching it on “The Amazing Race,” get those cute tattoos that we’ve had pinned on our Pinterest boards since sixth grade, and the extra piercing that our parents always forbade us to get. We also have the legal right to give consent, which gives us more control over our bodies and make us more accountable for our own decisions. I always wondered why older generations had the right to vote and make decisions that would affect the younger generations at a greater extent than it would affect them. As I watched the political landscape of the U.S. drastically change over the span of my childhood, I knew that we would be left in a completely different political climate than our parents did when we they were our age. According to Pew Research Center, 52% of Americans say that they’ve paid more attention to politics since the 2016 election. We are entering an era where our voices are more valuable than ever, and at 18, we have access to the most powerful form of political participation: we can vote! Although we have the right to vote, we still end up as the age group with the lowest voter turnout. According to the Census Bureau, only 46.1% of registered voters from ages 18 to 29 voted in the 2016 election, whereas citizens 65 and older had a turnout of 70.9%. We hold rallies, advocate for policy, and get outraged at our government in every way possible, yet we fail to use our basic right to vote. The most effective way to initiate change is to vote for what you believe in. Being 18 means that you have to start preparing yourself to go into adulthood, and one major responsibility that we have to society is to use our voices to make our country one that we want to be proud of. I always had this fantasy as a kid on how life would be like when I turned 18: everything was put together perfectly. I’m not anywhere close to where I envisioned myself to be; I lack motivation, spend half of my time stressing out about things I have to get done, reduce time playing the sport I love because of schoolwork and college applications, and look like a raccoon most of the time. How in the world am I supposed to call myself an adult if I can’t handle the stresses of having a job, being a student-athlete, and being a senior in high school? But maybe that’s what’s needed to prepare myself for adulthood: I just have to learn how to deal with it. Being merely called an adult on paper doesn’t make us adults in real life. We have the perception that all adults are super mature and know what they’re doing, but in reality, I don’t think it’s like that. Life is a learning experience, and the adults that I look up to are people that have decades of more life experience than I do. Adults seem like they know what they’re doing because they’ve been doing it for a long time, and I have no doubt that I’ll be like that one day too, even if it takes a while to get there.
Editorial: We need school spirit At a school of over 2,000, it’s easy to feel lost in a crowd. At least, not until you join it, then almost instantly, the crowd becomes a group of friends, not a sea of strangers. But it can be difficult to find a way to join in on the masses or even to find a want to join in. School spirit is the way to become a part of the crowd. School spirit, however, holds a negative connotation, at least at Carlmont. If students do not want to go to football games or paint their faces, it seems that they are at a loss. Screamin’ Scots is not for everyone, nor should it be. Frankly, for many, it’s embarrassing to walk around displaying so publically that they are excited to go to their school. But, what students fail to recognize, is that, in one way or another, they are already displaying some kind of school spirit. And not only is that okay, but it should be encouraged. School spirit truly is for
everyone, however reluctant a student may be to embrace it. High school is likely the most draining time of a teenager’s life thus far. Spirit, however, plays a vital role in reducing burnout. When students feel they play an active role in their school community and are willing and excited to display that pride in their school, they become more academically successful. Even if a student’s “spirited” contribution is not academic, the sheer act of them displaying pride in their school is enough to make a difference. And there is no excuse not to get involved, at least at Carlmont. With everything from ASB, to robotics, from choir to sports, Carlmont is particularly inclusive in making sure that each person can find a place to get involved at school. But as important as it is for students to find their place at school, it’s equally
important for students to want to show their pride. This desire to display pride is often the gap between those who are considered to be “spirited” and those who are not. And it all comes down to a matter of mindset: those who believe that they are proud Scots, are proud Scots and will express their pride in a unique way. Does this mean that everyone will dress up each day of spirit week? Probably not. But does this mean that each student of Carlmont can show their spirit? Absolutely. At its core, school spirit is a public display of an individual’s school. Nowhere is it defined to be screaming in the football stands, or painting faces, or even wearing a Carlmont sweatshirt. School spirit is embracing the school and saying that you are proud to be a student. And it is this pride that is crucial. Go Scots!
O C TO B E R 2019 HIGHLANDER 31
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